Happy Monday!

I hope everyone had a fabulous day off of work! I did a nice work out this morning, followed by tanning all day! I am happy to report that I finally am looking a bit more bronzed.

But before I went out to enjoy this beautiful day, I have had this urge to bake something. Last night, I looked through some of my Taste of Home cookbooks and came across this recipe for cookies: Double Chocolate Sprinkle Cookies.

These are a different version than the typical chocolate chip cookie. These have oats in them as well as chocolate sprinkles. I love how big they are. This is achieved by rolling the dough into balls and pressing them down with a glass. Word to the wise, dip the glass in flour every few times..it helps to make it easier to push down.

Overall, they are pretty good cookies. Mine didn't look completely done at the 12 minute mark so I left them in a bit more and now they're a bit crunchier than my liking. I prefer soft cookies. But it's nothing a quick zap in the microwave won't fix.

Overall grade: B +

Happy Memorial Day!

I hope that everyone is having a nice, long, relaxing holiday weekend! For me, it's been nice to have absolutely nothing to do this weekend. It's my first FULL weekend off since the end of March. I only have 3 more full weekends off till it's pageant time...then I'm on the road almost every weekend till Labor Day!


Yesterday I worked on my tan, and today did some shopping and yard work. And of course, I've been enjoying the new patio set I got Friday night as well as grilling out and taking advantage of the beautiful weather with some long walks with Gia. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Thank you to EVERYONE from the bottom of my heart for all the love and birthday wishes, whether it was a card, phone call, text, ecard, facebook or twitter. It was a fabulous 24th!

My birthday celebrations started a week early with B taking me to see Legally Blonde the musical. I got some awesome gifts from my parents, including Vera Bradley stuff of course and some new clothes.  My sister got me a new VB purse and a grilling cookbook that has already been put to good use!

These are the delicious ice cream cupcakes B and I got from Coldstone. They're amazing...you must go try them! 

Some of the cards and flowers sitting in the kitchen!

Walking on sunshine

While spring is not my favorite time because of my allergies, I do love this season because each night after work (weather and allergies pending) I take miss Giavanna on a nice long walk. It's so nice to be able to enjoy this nice weather before the summer comes. I prefer the weather to be between 55 and 75. Anything above that I'm not a fan of!

Typically I've worn my running shoes on our walks or just an older pair of tennis shoes, but my new neighborhood consists of a lot more hills. I figured rather than ruin my running shoes (since I'm starting to train for a half marathon) then I should invest in a good pair of walking shoes.

I ended up getting a pair of Reebok EasyTones. I figured since these claim to strengthen your calves and thighs that they're worth a shot!

While it's been raining the past few days and I haven't been able to try them out on the road yet, I can tell you that from just trying them on, they were the MOST COMFORTABLE pair of tennis shoes I have EVER put on.

I'll let you know when I test them out and if they actually do "work!"

Cheeseburger in Paradise

I'll be the first one to admit that I have the eating habits of a 15 year old and I attribute that to years of working out and having a fast metabolism.

The other day I got a free coupon in my inbox from Culver's (one of my favorite fast food places!) for a free ice cream sundae for my birthday. It got me thinking what other freebies can I get for turning a year older?

Upon googling it, there are an ENDLESS amount of restaurants that offer you something free on your birthday. From free ice cream at Coldstone to a free bagel from Bruegger's. I confess, I did sign up for a lot of them. While I probably won't use most, at least this gives me an excuse to extend my birthday for a couple of weeks after. I mean, growing up I always did consider May to be my birthday month..I thought I didn't get just ONE day but a WHOLE month instead!