Variety is the Spice of Life

Hi friends!

Happy happy hump day to ya! ;)

It's no secret that I've been 1 part sick, 1 part exhausted, and 1 part stressed this week.

I decided to do something cray-zee today since my earliest class was cancelled (cha-chinggg).

I went to bed last night without setting an alarm! In fact, I didn't even take my phone into the bedroom with me...on purpose. I just wanted to let my body rest, and I knew I'd wake up at a decent time on my own. {I apologize to those of you that had to wake up at the 5's or 6's in the AM today, I'm sure you're all grumbling at me right about now!}

I walked out to the kitchen this morning, and to my surprise and delight, it was only 7:53AM! I decided not to go back to sleep, because I felt refreshed enough to start my day.

It was time for breakfast, and I wanted to do something new(ish).  Don't freak out -- it was still going to be oats (I am a loyal member of the oat fan club), but I decided to mix-er-up a little!

I haven't been to Dominck's or Target lately, and those are the only stores that carry my go-to Quaker Maple & Brown Sugar Weight Control oats.  I've been a little stumped on what to substitute.  At my belated grocery store trip on Monday, I stumbled upon this number...

Better Oats Oat Fit Cinnamon Roll

This oatmeal has only 100 calories per pack and no sugar.  Sounds good in theory, but, I definitely wondered, is this really gonna fill me up?? 

Yesterday, I tried mixing 2 packets together, because I really didn't think 1 was going to carry me through to lunch.  It actually (and probably thankfully) ended up being too much. 

So today, I was determined to try 1 packet, and get a little creative with the add-ins. 

I decided to do 1 packet of the oatmeal + 1/3 cup organic skim milk + 1 tbsp of Jiff Natural Peanut butter  + 1/3 cup of...

 0% Blue-Baby Chobani!!! 

After heating it all up, I mixed in a few slices of bananer, and I was ready to chow down. 

Topped with an extra little splash-o-milk. 

The verdict: 

We have a...runner up! I'm not sold on the blueberry greek yogurt mixed in with these oats.  I think the blueberry flavor detracted from the cinnamon roll flavor, and left my taste buds a little confused. 

Truth be told, I originally planned to use some plain vanilla greek yogurt that had been hanging out in our fridge for a while, but I came to a disappointing realization...

Expiration date: 4/2/11

It was dunzo! :( Straight to the trashie. 

I still enjoyed the oats anyway with my morning pick-me-up in peace and quiet on the couch.

Two interesting realizations I came to this morning over breakfast:

1) I am OBSESSED with small spoons.  I refuse to use a bigger spoon to eat my breakfast, and will even pull one out of the dishwasher and wash it really quick if there are none in the silverware drawer.

What a nut, right?! I think this obsession stems back to when I was little and I would always want to eat with this miniature Peter Rabbit spoon I had.  That thing was TINY. We are talking the size of one of those little spoons they give you when you are sampling ice cream (I l.o.v.e. those too!).

2) I have become a snob about my coffee. Justin wakes up much earlier than I do, and by the time I get to the coffee pot, it is never fresh enough for me anymore (even though it is still super hot due to our amazing coffee maker).

I have no clue when I became such a stickler for fresh coffee. I think it might have been after our Seattle trip when my Aunt pointed out that she doesn't like coffee if it has been sitting for more than 30 minutes.

So, that cup you see above?  It ended up going right down the drain.  I made a fresh cup of my Cinnamon coffee to enjoy with my breakfast.

In other news, I have also switched up my packed lunches. Remember how obsessed I was with my pre-packed good greens? Well, I kinda jumped off that train -- or at least, I'm not riding it every day anymore.

I was recently turned on to the glory of the whole wheat Arnold sandwich thins. These things are great because they allow me to get my sandwich on without the carb-o-loading!

The past few days, I've been packing this meal:

Sandwich: Whole wheat Arnold sandwich thin + dijon mustard + swiss cheese (not today because I ate WAY too much cheese yesterday, whoops!) + 4 slices of turkey breast {I buy this really fancy brand...something like "Oskar Mieyar"}

On the side: Chopped yellow squash and zuchinni, grilled with some garlic + olive oil + Nature's Seasoning. 

I spy a little treat: A single dove promise chocolate (some things, like chocolate cravings, never change!). 

Another repeat non-offender: 

My favorite lemon lara, for some pre-workout afternoon snackage. 

Packed it all up, and now I'm ready to go! 

Look Mom! I'm ready for my LAST WEEK OF CLASSES EVER!! :) :) :)

That's right, next Wednesday marks my last law school class, so I am now on my last week of classes! Can you believe it?! 

I am super, cray-zee excited. Never mind the fact that I still have 2 papers, and a final to get through! ;) 

And on that note, I better get to it. 

Hope you all have a great day -- get out there and make it a good one! 

See ya tomorrow,

xoxo

Jess