Hey, hey, hey FFF friends! I’m feeling good and spunky so let’s get this post going.

You would think I have some serious good news to report with that chipper greeting, but I don’t. Not really anyways. Today has trucked along like many other Wednesdays. I woke up at the ripe hour of 5:30 am to have my usual hour of morning time before needing to get dressed and out the door for my run. Quick pause – why does 5:30 am seem soooo much earlier than my normal 6:00 am wake up call? It felt like I lost two hours of sleep rather than thirty minutes. And yes, I know some of you crazy people (that I love dearly!) wake up at insane hours like 4:15 am. You crazy. Crazy crazy crazy!

Well. So much for a quick pause, huh? I would say sorry…but I just type and things like that happen. It’s natural. Anywaaaayyyyssss….

This morning I drove to the running path with a smile on my face ready to take on a five mile tempo run. My plan called for a one mile warm-up, three miles at an 8:20-8:25 tempo pace, then a one mile cool down. My legs took until mile four to catch up, but I’m still very pleased with the run. 🙂

• Mile 1 = 9:43
• Mile 2 = 8:39
• Mile 3 = 8:38
• Mile 4 = 8:19
• Mile 5 = 9:04

Interesting that my pace doesn’t look that different over the course of the run, but it sure felt different. And boy can you tell it takes me a couple minutes to find a steady pace at the beginning. Up down up down. Ha! Please excuse my running dweebism. I’m queen of the tangents apparently today.

After that the day looked pretty normal. I had some breakfast. I played with the kids. I tried to sneak in a few emails to catch up on. I put away dishes. And then, suddenly, something hit me out of the blue. I didn’t want to just coast through the day taking the precious people in my life for granted. Namely, Peter. I love trying to sneak in little spontaneous surprises for him and it saddened me that the last time I could remember was bringing him hot cocoa by surprise back in December! For shame, Tina!

So I pulled out some paper and jotted him a little love letter right then and there.

Then, packed the kids in the car and drove out to his work to slip it under his windshield wipers for him to stumble across when he gets out of work.

Little gestures like that make my day and I know he will appreciate it as well.

Peter and I certainly put forth the effort to show each other our love and support on a regular basis, but there’s just something about simple surprises that goes a long way in my book. It goes above and beyond and, in my opinion, keeps the spark more alive by lessening the opportunity to take each other for granted. Sometimes I have to remind myself that relationships take work and we shouldn’t just coast on through, even if they run well without the extra steps. I need to do these things more often! Heck, it will probably brighten my day even more than it will his because I’m a romantic cheeseball.

Now, I gotta get going. A typical Wednesday day has now become a typical Wednesday afternoon/night. Busy busy busy!

• What time of the morning is that breaking point of being too stinking early?
• What small gestures mean the most to you from a loved one?

Earlier this week a certain someone (cough Katy cough cough) divulged that you can now find fall candy in stores. That means candy corn, people. I’m not a huge candy eater. I will occasionally nab a box of Hot Tamales when going to a movie in the theater. And I won’t turn down a good piece of chocolate if its around. Nevertheless, I will still choose a mountain of ice cream, a hunk of frosting, or a slab of brownie over candy. Except for candy corn. It does something to me. It triggers this monster of a sweet tooth and I can visualize my hand trying to grasp as many of those smooth little triangles as possible to nibble away on until I reach the oblivion of sugar ecstasy. Yea, Katy. Look what you did. 😉

Despite my appreciation love preference full-blown-obsession with the stuff, I know I can’t gobble candy corn to my heart’s content and honor my health in the process. So instead of hunting down a bag in early August (stores just turn stuff out earlier and earlier, huh?!), I decided to ease my candy woes with healthier choices to dull the longing. Who says healthy eating can’t be fun and taste like candy? Okay, the tasting like candy thing may be a bit of a stretch…but healthy food sure can taste amazing and satisfy just as much as candy in its own right. I present you with  my healthy “candy” filled day!

Breakfast: Mounds / Raisinets / Reese’s Oatmeal

Or, more simply, chocolate oats with some coconut, raisins, and peanut butter tossed on top. 😉 I don’t care what you say, though. This bowl was epic! And I would probably choose it over the above in candy form.

To make the oats chocolate, I used unsweetened chocolate almond milk instead of vanilla and added a spoonful of cocoa powder to the oats. Other than that, I prepared them as normal and piled on the coconut, raisin, peanut butter goodness when done. It’s a new obsession.

Lunch: Starbursts

Fruit = nature’s candy. Perfect mango chunks and grapes = better than any Starburst I’ve ever tasted candy. Each bite bursts with such juicy, fresh flavor. Y-U-M. Oh – there was a sandwich and some carrots there too. They were good…but they weren’t starbursts.

Snack: Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Would you believe me if I told you that the above chocolate pudding look-alike actually contains spinach? That it’s actually a green smoothie masquerading as pure decadence? Well, it is. Trust me. This Chocolate Covered Strawberry green smoothie started as a bunch of things thrown in a blender -

• 1 cup unsweetened chocolate almond breeze
• 2 handfuls spinach
• 1 frozen banana
• a few large frozen strawberries
• a spoonful of cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

Then, it became the best green smoothie I have ever tasted. I discovered the one and only downfall to smoothies in a wine glass with this blend – you can’t lick a wine glass clean.

Dinner: Errrm…Green M&Ms???

Alright…dinner doesn’t really have anything I can call candy. But I do love me some Brussels sprouts (favorite veggie besides spinach in smoothie form) and so I shall call them Green M & Ms. Work with me. We can’t allow an entire post’s theme to fall in a shambles now ,can we?

Dinner brought back one of my favorites – BBQ Tofu Wraps! These make healthy eating fun and irresistible…like Ryan Reynolds. Hey, what do you know? I did find a way to tie in the candy theme. Eye candy at its best!

Oops. How did that get in there? So – dinner. BBQ Tofu Wraps with a side of Brussels sprouts. There’s your description of dinner. I’m currently mildly distracted and have no more words. Plus, I don’t want to short circuit my keyboard with my drool. Purely from my candy delicious eats today. Purely. Happy What I Ate Wednesday, friends!

• Are you a candy fan? Any healthier options you use to satisfy cravings?
• Who would be your eye candy?