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!

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

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

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?

Evening all! Thanks so much for all your concern about my ankle. It’s mainly scraped up and bruised on the top. Thankfully, not twisted or swollen in any way. Either way, you all really are such great blog friends. 🙂

Tonight we enjoyed the most simple dinner. Simple and healthy – my kind of meal. This morning I tossed a couple chicken breasts into the crock pot with cider vinegar, brown sugar, and a BBQ seasoning packet.

At night, all I had to do was chop up a few red potatoes, toss them in olive oil/salt/pepper, and roast away at 400 for 35 minutes. Peter shredded the chicken, plopped it on a sandwich thin, and then dinner was served. BBQ chicken sandwiches and roasted potatoes.

I love me some BBQ!!! I also loved TBL (The Biggest Loser) last night. Nevertheless, I do have quite a few issues with how the show does particular things.

• Too large contestants. I hate how in recent seasons it was all about “the biggest” contestant with the majority needing to lose 200+ lbs. I was very happy to see this season’s contestants aren’t quite so morbidly obese. Many only need to lose 100-150 lbs, which is much more reasonable.
• Not really educating the contestants. I think there is too much time plugging last chance workouts and sponsored products for their low calories, rather than educating on health and nutrition. Also, I think the extreme workouts and calorie counts don’t set them up for success in the future. It just poses an all or nothing mentality for them to go home with.
• Therapist Jillian. I love Jillian and think she is an excellent trainer, minus a few unsafe moves I’ve seen her pull out on the show. However, when she plays therapist it drives me nuts. I think the contestants would benefit more from regular counseling from someone separate from their workouts.
• Too much expected of the contestants’ bodies. These people have not been physically active in awhile. Expecting them to jump into 8 hour workouts a day is not healthy. I do think the challenges to make it onto the ranch last night were more suitable though. Doing 500 steps or running/walking a mile makes much more sense than riding 26.2 miles on the first day like last year.
• Commercials within the show. They were really minimal last night. Let’s see if that lasts.

I must also say that all the contestants had really touching stories and seemed like they wanted to improve themselves inside and out. I really related to the girl who made the red team and had a bad relationship with food as a reflection of her relationship with her mom. It sounded similar to me turning to food in the past as an escape from my dad. That is why I still watch the show. I still admire people seeking to make their lives better. Even if TBL doesn’t have it perfect, the show still helps people who otherwise might never have made that change.

I’ve rambled enough about that show. Time for me to watch one without as much thought. GLEE!! I will leave you with this 6 month belly shot Peter happened to shoot of me. I should have known he was up to no good when he pulled my shirt up. 😉

Have a great night, y’all! Oh I can’t believe I just said that.

• What do you like/dislike about The Biggest Loser?
• What did you have for dinner tonight?