What’s not to love about waking up to faces like this?

Top that pupper face off with some DD coffee, and eating straight out of the pot?

THAT’S what I call a great morning!

Does anyone else feel like they are totally breaking lots of rules by eating straight out of the pot???  I do!  YEAAAA, I’m a rebel!

At lunch – I ran to my local running store to try and get a new pair of running kicks before the BIG DAY – but they were out of my size*!

Since I went on my lunch break – I munched on one of these to hold me over!

(*Don’t worry about the running shoes – they ordered my size and they should be here shortly! )

For lunch – I got creative with my protein – because I’ve been craving it, which obviously means I’m not getting enough!

Being that I’m sort of in LOVE with these new Thomas Bagel Thins – I thought maybe a "Smooshed Bean Sandwich” would be the way to go.  (“Smooshed Bean” – very technical terminology.

Top it off with some Pepper Jack Veggie Slices and some lettuce:

Serve with pickle(s!) and soup – just like a restaurant “Soup and Sandwich” dish!

For a meal I just kind of threw together, while standing at my fridge/counter, half awake, at 6am – I must say – PRETTY. DARN. IMPRESSIVE!

Daily dosage of vitamin C – to help ward off any lingering cooties from all my travels:

Daily dose of…um…er…heart medicine?!  (Chocolate helps the heart, RIGHT?!)

I forgot how much I heart this chocolate bar.  Dottie got it for me a few months ago, and I’ve been obsessed with stalking it down.  Sure enough – the West Side Market has it!  It’s been right under my nose this whole time!

As for dinner…well – you’ll get that in another post!  I actually made (and pretty CLOSELY followed) a great recipe out of Cooking Light!

My brain is fried.  It’s Wednesday. I’ve got nothing for ya. How about this – Tell me something good!

Seeing as I was far too busy yesterday running 12 miles, and then enjoying relaxing on my couch – I just didn’t have the time or the motivation to make it to the grocery store.

Or maybe I had actually forgotten what grocery store was since I hadn’t been there in so long.  Who can say?

So when it came to breakfast – I went with the tried and true cupboard staple – TJ’s Quick Cook Steel Cut Oats & Naturally More PB!

It really might not look that great – but for two items you can stock up on so that you always have them in your cupboard – this meal rocks!

Lunch was a mixture of leftovers & my beloved Rockne’s:

Garden Salad (ordered with egg instead of pita!)

and a late snack/early dinner a little while later – 2 pieces of leftover pizza!

The early dinner was to hold me over because I NEEDED to go grocery shopping after work, and I knew it would take me a LONG TIME since we were just about out of EVERYTHING!

Once I finally got home from the store; to celebrate the fact that I’m finally home from my 2 weeks work of travels, I decided – why not have a little Sauv Blanc on a Monday night!

I’d actually been saving this bottle for a special occasion, since my friend Angelina got it for me for my birthday – and last night, I thought it would be the PERFECT treat!

Cheers!

After watching DWTS for a while – I thought dinner might be a good idea, and thanks to a post work grocery store trip – my fridge is now STOCKED!

One of my favorite finds from my shopping trip, that I couldn’t WAIT to break in to:

These crazy Bagel Thins everyone has been talking about!

I also picked up these Veggie Slices, which happen to be on sale.  Even though the CTC challenge is over – I’m trying to eat less cheese, so I thought – let’s try it out!

See that silly little wonky Harvey eye in the top right corner?  She was interested in the new find!

Sandwich assembly: Bagel Thin, cheese, jalapeno, eggs…

…and lots of Frank’s!

YUM!  These Bagel Thins are seriously perfect!  Normally, when you eat a bagel sandwich – there is just way too much bread and everything slides around!  Mr. Thomas – you, sir, are a genius!

So I think this is along the lines of soda, pop, coke – What do you call the place where you store dry food?  I’ve heard cupboard, cabinet, walk-in, closet & pantry.

I say cupboard for the area in above our microwave, and pantry for the larger closet in our hall, but would not consider those two interchangeable.  How about you?

Sunday morning I woke up feeling SO refreshed!  Nothing like sleeping in your own bed, knowing you have no travel plans in the near future!

Up there with sleeping in your own bed after traveling?  Eating a home cooked breakfast, with your favorite accoutrement!

“Dream” mug with Eight O’Clock French Vanilla Coffee – CHECK! 

TJ’s Quick Cook Steel Cut Oats topped with Naturally More PB in the cutest Green Lite Bites bowl – CHECK!

AHHHH!  It’s the little things in life!

After procrastinating catching up on interwebs for an hour, I finally buckled down and got ready to head out on my 12 mile run.  I was a little apprehensive since I’d cancelled my 14 mile run in Austin, but I was starting taper mode, so I had high hopes that I’d be okay!

Oh yeah – and I had these new beauties to test out!

I’ve seen Heather and Kim talk about these before, and after getting so nauseous during my 20 mile training run – I thought I should switch off Gu for a little while.

My opinion – THESE.SHARKIES.ROCK! Love, love, love them, can’t wait to use them again!   I’m actually going to have to try and not just eat them like snacks!

Oh yeah – and too make my run even better – I ran into this lady and her handsome pup, and they kept me company for 3 miles!!  

Suzanne, I’m going to steal him.  For realz.

When I got home – I had this gorgeous sight waiting for me:

I switched things up and went with the House Salad: greens, sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese

Don’t worry your precious little heads!  I immediately removed all croutons and fed them to the dogs threw them away!

But see this?

I ordered Creamy Roasted Garlic Herb, and this was neither creamy, nor garlicky.  As a matter of fact – if I was a betting woman – I’d say this was Balsamic Vinegar.   Normally – I wouldn’t care, I’m really not high maintenance when it comes to take out orders, but it’s the fact that I was looking forward to that dressing as a “post run indulgence” that made peeved.

Side rant for Clevelanders: One thing I do have to say about Melt these days…things get lost in the shuffle they are so busy! Don’t get me wrong, I’m super happy they are so successful, and have been so busy since being on Food Network, but this is the 3rd time in a row our carry out order has been messed up!   It’s totally minor (although – the first two times they completely forgot an order), but just becoming a little too repetitive for my liking!  And the reason we order carry out is because the weight is too long anymore.  Sorry – I love food, but I don’t want to wait 3 hours for a seat! Just needed to get that off my chest!

I digress.

Mike and I took advantage of the INSANE thunderstorms that rolled in around 3 to curl up and watch The Blind Side.  Cutest.Movie.Ever!   Watch it!  And oh man, do I love Sandy!

By the time we realized it was WAY past dinner time – I was STARVING!  Mike suggested pizza – and I quickly cringed – but then changed my mind when I realized Papa John’s still has the $10 unlimited toppings pizza!

I was ALL over it! I got every single vegetable they had (EXCEPT DISGUSTING MUSHROOM OF COURSE), and ordered it “Light Cheese, Extra Sauce”

Can you even imagine a more perfect pizza?!

What’s your favorite pizza topping?

My number 1 would be banana peppers, but if I can order a veggie lover’s pizza sans mushroom, light on the cheese – I’m in heaven!