rainy days, happy days

Posted: September 27, 2010 at 1:05 pm

I’m crossing my fingers this Monday continues to go better than last Monday. I still have a ton on my plate, per the usual Monday routine, but I think the morning set my day off right. I heard pitter patter pitter patter on the roof. I love rainy mornings!

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I especially love rainy mornings that involve a cup of coffee and a cozy breakfast of PB Banana Waffles.

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And I really, really love rainy mornings that include special coffee. Pumpkin spiced coffee, to be exact.

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I used Mama Pea’s homemade Spiced Pumpkin Latte recipe to create a “best part of waking up” morning. Thank you, Mama Pea!!! 

After such a calm and pleasurable morning, I braced myself to head out for groceries in the rain. But you know what? It stopped! Don’t you just love when things like that happen? So, I headed out to do one of my least favorite errands. Yes, you read right. I do not like grocery shopping. It’s such a hassle to go with Makenzie. I always end up forgetting something and have to go back. I can’t just peruse and buy fun items with our budget. I don’t get to shop at a Trader Joes or Whole Foods or other store that excites me. I do a mix of Walmart shopping and Kroger shopping, depending on the product and prices. Yet another reason why I make a better healthy living as a whole blogger and not a food blogger.

Speaking of food bloggers, have you all been checking out the Project Food Buzz entries? These people inspire me! One of my future goals is to become more creative in the kitchen and try out more new recipes. I say a future goal, because right now it is simply not feasible. My palate right now has trouble deciding what tastes good. I fear trying new recipes and thinking I hate them when in reality its just my pregnant picky taste buds not playing nice. So right now, I will stick to our veggie + pasta/rice bowls, sandwiches, old stand by favorites, and anything else tossed together with little thought. It may put me in a bit of a food rut, but for the time being it suits me.

  • How do you like to spend rainy days?
  • Do you like grocery shopping? What errand do you hate?
  • Do you ever feel like its better to hold off on trying new things like I’m doing with building my recipe repertoire? Or do you tend to just dive in?

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36 Comments to “rainy days, happy days”
  1. Girl shopping with toddlers or babies is NOT Fun. It’s a chore we must do! haha! It’s not like we can power thru the store at warp speed and truly concentrate on what we’re doing…we are always multitasking and it’s hard! I hear ya! I do most, 75% of my shopping at the reg groc store. 24% at TJs, and 1% or less at WF’s. I cannot justify “specialty store” prices…at all.

    The pancakes look awesome btw!!

    🙂

  2. Mama Pea says:

    I make Pea Daddy watch the girls while I shop. It makes it SOOOO much enjoyable for everyone!

    Glad you loved the pumpkin latte. Best part of my morning too and goes great with blog reading 🙂

    • Tina says:

      It was delicious! 🙂

      And I think when I have two it may become a necessity to shop on weekends when Peter can watch the kiddos. I think I would rather face bigger crowds than handling TWO!

  3. You dislike grocery shopping!?! It’s one of my favorite activities! 😛

    I like rainy morning also, especially with a warm breakfast. It’s when I have to leave for work that I start dreading it.

  4. Joanne says:

    Love rainy mornings. Lying in bed listening to the rain come down – it’s the best.
    I really enjoy grocery shopping as long as I’m not rushed. But then, I’m a total foodie. Don’t get me wrong, I’d really rather be spending money on clothes and shoes, but we do have to eat.

  5. Janet says:

    I personally tried the fitness program selector to get the best matching program for me. It worked great 🙂

    /Janet

  6. I love grocery shopping when I have tons of time – on the weekend or something. But if it’s after work, I hate it!! I can see how having a little one only complicates it more.

  7. I love going to the grocery store … but I don’t have a toddler to keep track of. The errand I hate is running to WalMart when it’s crazy busy. Sometimes I wait until after work and go at midnight/1 a.m. Then all you have to contend with is all the workers restocking aisles … much better than a hoarde of people.

  8. I do like grocery shopping, but I can’t imagine enjoying it with a child! I can’t even stand grocery shopping with my HUSBAND!! It definitely has to be a solo shopping trip, with very few crowds for me to actually “enjoy” it!

    I’m so jealous of your rainy day! It NEVER rains in California. (okay, it rains for about a week straight in February, but that’s really it!) I miss rain and thunder!!! I’d spend it with a cup of coffee for sure! I even like running in the rain, if it’s not too “stormy.”

    As far as trying new things, I feel pretty comfortable trying new recipes, but I almost always have a back-up plan ready for failures– my husband knows if he doesn’t like something new, we can always order pizza! I’d rather him be honest and tell me if he doesn’t like something, so I don’t end up making it again!!

    That being said, I definitely get into food ruts, too! Once I discover something I like, I can eat it for months and months!! (hence, why there’s so much avocado pudding on my blog!) 😉

  9. Lauren says:

    Yum…I love pumpkin spice lattes!

    I also love rainy days, especially when I can stay home, curl up in my comfy chair with some good coffee and a book or a movie and (of course) stay in my jammies all day 🙂

    I actually love grocery shopping, probably because I love to find new products at the store and get home to snack on what I’ve purchased, especially if I’ve been to Trader Joe’s. I usually do it alone so I can power through it, so I can only imagine how frustrating it must be with a kid in tow!

    I say stick with your current recipe repertoire, especially during your pregnancy – eat what your body wants and needs right now. There will be plenty of time later to try new things 🙂

  10. i’m so glad you tried mama pea’s pumpkin spice! it sounded so great and now i want to make it even more!

  11. I just now have started to enjoy grocery shopping with the boys. They read the labels for me now (on the things they think they want, but know they can’t have once the read that label!). I dive into recipes. I love it! However, pregnancy does weird things to your tastes and it is just not worth it when you aren’t craving it! The rain has been nice the past couple of days…luckily it is supposed to bring in nice weather for the rest of the week!

  12. It’s raining here, too, (well, more like drizzling now…bleh) I haven’t even left the house today, but I am about to go to the gym and “get active” since I can’t do so outside. On rainy days I ALWAYS want to take a nap and read a book with some hot tea (how cliche!) HA!

    My least favorite errand is any errand having to do with our cars (oil change, inspections, bodywork, etc.) I just do not like waiting around and being around loud noises and dirty, greasy hands HAHA! Unfortunately, this week is THE week I have to get the cars inspected…F-U-N, lemme tell ya:)

  13. I hate having to grocery shop in the rain. And I really hate to go grocery shopping unless it’s Whole Foods, so you’re not alone there. Kroger is such a chore. Whole Foods is more like fun. If I’m off work and it’s raining, I like to spend time in the kitchen. I feel more productive when it rains b/c I get so stinking bored that I actually tackle chores 😉

  14. christina says:

    mmm pb& banana, can’t get enough. i LOVE grocery shopping! i hate buying cleaning products though, haha.

  15. I love grocery shopping, but I know from going with my mom that it is completely different if you have a family, picky eaters, and a budget (all three in our case). She says she would enjoy it so much more if things were a bit different. I’m confidant when we’re living on our ranch together (horse and food lovers unite) we’ll have many fun grocery shopping trips!

  16. I love spending rainy days inside reading a book. Unfortunately that never happens during the week 😀

  17. My favorite time for rain is on a Sunday Morning. Because I don’t have to worry about going out in it, I’m usually being pretty lazy, and I love just laying with a blanket on the couch and chillin’… 🙂

  18. whoops *confident. something I am not in my spelling =)
    Hope you have a great day, Tina!

  19. stacey heald says:

    I have been trying and trying to find a way to get coffee (ok, really just caffeine) in my body for a while. I am so excited about this!!! But where did you find pumpkin? My Publix and Kroger are both still out. Publix yesterday said to check back Tuesday. Did you buy it all last week?!? ha!
    Be prepared. Grocery shopping with two is about impossible. I’ll plan on passing you in the rows at Walmart after bedtime. That is the only time I can shop and not have to make 5 extra trips back for all the things I forgot!
    And I started a blog. I didn’t know if I’d even ever tell anyone but at this point I don’t have the answers so maybe someone else reading will. It’s not anything fancy but I think it is a step in honesty for me.
    Hope you got some rest this morning and didn’t get too wet. I LOVED the rain…but really wanted a nap!

  20. I don’t often shop at trader joes or whole foods either. Those are definitely the stores that get me excited about grocery shopping. Otherwise, I don’t really enjoy it all that much. I went to Sunflower Market (not sure where else they have it) this weekend. I spent so much money cause there was so much good stuff.
    I want to make my own pumpkin spiced latte! Looks great!

  21. I, too, get a ton of inspiration from Heatlthy Living and Food Blogs, but especially from those like yours!

    You exhibit that true health and happiness is a beautiful balance. I guess your blog title says it all!

    Maybe one day my blog will evolve from “Beautiful Struggle” to “Beautiful Balance”

    ~Missy

  22. I’m glad you like rainy days, I can’t say I’m a fan myself! Breakfast does look cozy (and mighty tasty!).

  23. I don’t really like grocery shopping that much, but we have a good plan for it usually so it isn’t too much of a headache.

    I like to watch movies and clean on rainy days 🙂

  24. Holly says:

    I would give anything for a rainy day! Fall is just not taking the hint in San Diego…it is HOT out today.

    I love grocery shopping but only when I can get there early on a Saturday or Sunday. If its busy and crowded I end up forgetting half my stuff bc I’m just trying to get out of there.

  25. I love rainy days… and I’d love them more if I had some of your pumpkin spice coffee 🙂

    I love grocery shopping! And you know what? Since I’ve started loving it and spending more time putting lists together, I’ve almost cut of grocery bills in half! And I still usually shop at the fancy places (& farmer’s markets)… it’s all about planning!

  26. Felicia says:

    I loveee rainy days. I spent it baking two types of amazing muffins (which included pumpkin!) and I also got rid of an entire garbage bag full of old clothes! time to let go of some things hehe. I need to make that spiced coffee, yumm

  27. Mads says:

    I love rainy days! Something about that sound is so soothing and calming.

    Although, it’s 109 degrees in LA right now, not exactly soothing weather.

    🙂

  28. I love rainy days!! I spend them in sweatpants on the couch, either watching a movie or reading.

    I can take grocery shopping, or leave it. Depends on the day 🙂

  29. ashleigh says:

    I hate rainy days!! I hate them because I can’t stand being wet and I don’t have any good rain gear. I guess I don’t mind them when I have nothing to do and don’t want to get out of bed!

    I love grocery shopping, I always have, long before I was a blogger I always wanted to grocery shop with my mom and load and unload the groceries. I do see how it would be not so fun with a child with you!

  30. I don’t like grocery shopping either, unless I have lots of time and energy to devote to it – which is rare! We can not be food bloggers together 😉

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