Tag Archives for Pepper
Weekly Love
Just a few things I’m loving this week…
Salads » I’ve been eating a ton of salads lately. Lots of veggies piled high with sunflower seeds, avocado, and balsamic vinegar and sometimes I add tempeh that has been marinated in soy sauce overnight. So good!
A tired pup » I’ve been taking Pepper to the dog park this week and when he comes home he immediately passes out. He’s really loving hanging out with other dogs and chasing tennis balls until he’s totally wiped out. I also love how he sleeps with some of his toys.. it’s too cute.
This picture of my sister & nephew at the 5k on Saturday » I love how lil’ Angelo doesn’t even care about the creepy zombies hanging out next to him. Haha!
Other things that made my week » carving pumpkins /// this chili recipe /// watching Gremlins for the first time /// handing out candy on Halloween /// taking new classes at the gym /// baked potatoes covered in miso /// asparagus cooked in sesame oil, soy sauce, & garlic (smells amazing) /// this diy decorative ampersand
Recipes that look amazing & I’m wanting to try! » pumpkin pancakes /// almond wheat crackers /// orange chicken style tofu /// lasagna cups
I hope your week was great and that your weekend is even better!
Weekend Happenings
On Saturday morning we took Pepper to his final training class. The air conditioning was broken and I swear it was 100° in the training room, but he did pretty well despite the heat and got a graduation certificate and treat. He really just wanted to hang out next to the water bowl and chill in the giant puddle of water there.
After class was over they brought out some agility props for fun and to see if the dogs would enjoy them. Pepper didn’t really care for any of it because of the heat I’m assuming, but it was so cute watching him pass through the tunnel a few times before we left.
Once we got home he was pretty worn out and decided he was going to relax for the rest of the day. After those classes he will usually sleep for about 2-3 hours straight.
One of the ladies in our class had baked bread for everyone which was really sweet. I’m not sure what kind of bread it was, but man it was good. Greg and I ate the entire loaf on Saturday! There’s something about bread that I just cannot resist.. it’s almost worse than sweets for me.
I was in the baking mood myself on Sunday and really wanted some scones. I grabbed Vegan with a Vengeance because it contains my favorite scone recipe ever. It’s really simple to make and just requires basic ingredients you probably already have hanging out in your pantry. Most of the recipes in the book are like that which is why I love it so much.
I made my scones with just some sugar sprinkled on top and they were perfect. They tasted like sweet biscuits and were delicious! Greg & I had a couple and then I had to hurry and pack the rest up to give to my sister or they would have ended up like that bread.
Later that day, my sister invited us over for a cookout and a little bit of friendly Dance Central competition. I am so addicted to that game and ended up playing for about four hours.
Obviously I need a little more practice on the harder songs. I was having a blast and I guess I got a little too into it because…
…I got my first dance related injury. Haha! I smacked my arm so hard. I’m not sure what happened as I’m usually so graceful :]
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and got an extra day off to relax!
Have you played Dance Central before? What’s your favorite song to do on there? My favorites were Hey Mami because it’s a lot easier than the rest & Push It because it’s just so much fun. :]
Food Diary
The usual scrambled eggs and Ezekiel pita bread for breakfast. I swear this just never gets old and I always look forward to eating it each morning.
I got to work and made a quick Starbucks trip where I got a grande unsweetened iced coffee with soy milk and one shot of espresso. I always enjoy seeing how the barista will write my name and this one wasn’t too bad. I’ve had some pretty creative spellings throughout the years!
I also got a berry coffee cake and split it with Matt. It got him hooked on it which is my revenge for him getting me addicted to their cranberry orange scones.. those things are good!
One of the most delicious apples ever was my morning snack.
Lunch was an unpictured veggie stir-fry and half a sandwich with hummus, green peppers, tomatoes and sprouts on whole wheat bread.
Here’s where things got a little crazy. School has started back so I now eat in the dining halls which is all you can eat and dangerous. There are days that it’s completely fine, but then there are days like yesterday where I’m kinda down, there aren’t many vegetarian options and I have to go with some less than stellar choices. The only thing is once I have one bad thing it shuts off all willpower and rational thinking in my mind and I continue to eat one bad thing after another.
It would be one thing if I really had wanted the ice cream and it was good. But I honestly didn’t even want it and it didn’t really taste all that good. It was just there in front of me so I decided I needed it. I definitely need to stop and think if I really want something or not because half the time I really don’t even want what I’m eating and that’s not good.
After work I hurried home and ate some leftover udon noodles with peanut sauce. I love this recipe so much and make it all the time now.
I had to eat pretty quickly and change out of my work clothes because I had a H.A.B.I.T. meeting to get to. HABIT is this awesome program through UT’s veterinary school where your dog becomes a certified therapy dog and you make visits to nursing homes and hospitals. Pepper is on his way to becoming a therapy dog who will make a lot of people very happy!
They played us this video of dogs in nursing homes and I about lost it a few times. Those people were so happy to just hang out with a dog for a few minutes and they would talk about how they missed their own dogs so much because they had to give them away when they got put in the nursing home. It broke my heart.. especially when one lady started crying and saying the dog that came to visit her each week was her best friend and how much she loved talking to him. Ahh, so sweet and I’m tearing up again just writing this!
Pepper may not look excited, but believe me he is. He will be amazing at this and will love getting so much attention. He may not care for other dogs so much, but he’s never met a person who wasn’t instantly his new best friend. I love that dog :]
I wasn’t really hungry after the meeting, but it had been awhile since I had anything (the meeting was 3 hours long!) so I ate a tiny bit of kale salad I had picked up at Earth Fare earlier in the week.
Right before bed I had a bit of Greek yogurt, hemp seed granola and agave while I relaxed on the couch and caught up on a few blogs and bummed around on Facebook and Twitter.
Be sure and head over to What I Ate Wednesday and check out what everyone else is makin’! There’s always some incredible recipes to be found!
I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!
Weekend Happenings
My weekend consisted of…
Campfires & cooking veggie dogs over the flame.
The best plum I’ve ever eaten.
Taking Pepper to get a haircut.
Eating tons of super fresh vegetables.
and my favorite vegan pancakes early in the morning.
I hope you all had a great weekend! Did you do anything fun?
Weekend Happenings
Early on Saturday morning I met up with Priyanka for spin. It was her first class and there was some kind of launch for the spin program at the gym so it was crazy. I promised her that there weren’t normally balloons, photographers, free shampoo samples and people taking video during classes. She did awesome though and it felt great to get a wonderful workout in and out of the way so early.
After class I stopped by Starbucks to get an iced coffee and had to take a photo of their chalkboard. Seriously, how cool is that?!
It was time for Pepper’s first obedience class after that. This class is positive reinforcement training so we had to being along a ton of treats. I chopped up some pricey hot dogs and cheese and just knew he’d love it. Yeah, well.. during our first exercise he goes absolutely nuts at another dog and will not touch the hot dog (!!!) and I could feel myself tearing up with a mix of embarrassment and frustration.
I freaked because I didn’t think I could grab his focus but luckily the instructor had a huge tub of peanut butter and gave us some on a wooden spoon and he really loved it. We were able to get his attention and he actually ended up doing wonderfully during class.
I really need to learn to be more patient and not get so flustered. Luckily I didn’t cry, but whenever I’m embarrassed and around a big group of people I act like I have no sense. I need to learn to breathe and that some things just aren’t that big of a deal.
On Sunday we took a trip to Home Depot to pick up a few things and they had ferns on sale for $6! I bought one of those, a blue shelf and a water hose that we desperately needed.
And then this happened. Yep. Greg & I bought Vibrams. I know, I know. I’ve always talked about how ugly these things are but after having so many problems with running shoes I decided to give ‘em a try. They are super comfortable. I’m going to do a whole post on them soon and the pair of Merrell’s I bought.
I have flat feet and have gone to a couple of specialty running stores to be properly fitted for running shoes and I’m always put in an orthopedic shoe with a high arch. The pain those shoes cause is just too much for me to handle so I’m hoping that the Vibrams and Merrell’s will be different.
After some shoe shopping we went home and I made dinner. A baked potato with greek yogurt, asparagus with tamari, and some kale salad & jicama salad that I picked up at Earth Fare. Good stuff!
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!
