“I like it when it rains hard. It sounds like white noise everywhere, which is like silence but not empty.”
– Mark Haddon
It has been a rainy couple of days here. And I love it. I’ve woken up to darkness and storms for the last three mornings, and it has remained that way throughout the days. After I get my morning workouts done, or whatever else I need to get done for the days, I curl up with Ella and listen to the sheets of rain pour down on the roof. It is so relaxing.
Fortunately, I’ve been able to stay inside for most of the last couple of days, but that said, I don’t have much to talk about. Soooo this post is kind of all over the place topic wise…I guess I’ll get right into the foodie business!
WIAW
Hosted by Jenn at Peas and Crayons. Stop by her site for more WIAW fun!
I’m still kicking myself for not getting a picture of the amazing food spread we had at my brother’s open house. I guess I was too busy visiting and entertaining, but I do wish I could have shown you what we had. There was a ginormous vat of baked beans (my grandma is famous for them), quite a few pounds of BBQ pulled pork, pretzel buns (OMG), a veggie tray with hummus, deli meats and cheeses, a beautiful fruit salad, different kinds of chips, garden salad, Greek salad, pasta salad, potato salad, five kinds of cookies, and two cakes. Our extended family pitched in and brought most of that amazing food, and I have to tell you, by the end of the day, I was stuffed. It was so worth it though – why is it that visiting and eating go hand-in-hand? š
As I don’t have a picture of those goodies, so I guess I’ll move on to my regular WIAW…
Breakfasts
Boring…I have no new pictures for you. Nor do I have a new breakfast to tell you about. I’ve just been enjoying Greek yogurt over and over again. Like I said, boring.
Lunches
Leftover pulled pork inside a piece of whole wheat bread. We didn’t have any leftover pretzel buns. Sad.
After all that partying (read: horrible eating) that I did, I really wanted to start the week off fresh. So for lunch yesterday I had a plate of veggies and hummus. My dad bought two enormous tubs of hummus for the party, but we only went through half of one…so I will be eating hummus for the rest of my life. There could be worse things. š
Dinners
About a week ago, I made some Skinny Chicken Parmesan. Recently, I’ve been making it without putting the sauce on top, because I like the way the chicken crisps up in the oven without it. I just put it on the side now. I also made this batch with “real” Parmesan (meaning not pre-grated/out of a plastic container). Sooooo goooooood.
The other dinners I had throughout the week weren’t very noteworthy. That or they were just leftovers. š
Desserts
So, like I mentioned yesterday, I baked up two batches of cookies for the party. I’ve been snacking on those, as well as some of the three batches my aunt made, over the last week-ish.
I also have been enjoying Chobani as a dessert. It’s super good with chocolate chips mixed in. (Well, duh…) And finally, I had some chocolate frozen yogurt the other day – in a recycled Chobani cup. š
In addition to those desserts (I’m telling you, I was bad this week), I baked up two kinds of cupcakes. The first, Pina Colada Cupcakes, were made for my friend Sarah and her mom. If you click over to this post, you’ll see that the last time I made them, I frosted them with cream cheese frosting. This time, though, I made a simple icing from powdered sugar and milk, then topped it with toasted coconut. I liked this version much better.
The other kind of cupcakes I made were my Amazing Chocolate cupcakes. I made these for one of the families I babysit, in honor of the little girl and her mom’s birthdays. š
I frosted them with store bought vanilla frosting, and sprinkled sugar on top for some sparkle. The dots are just big sprinkles. I thought they were so pretty!
Last week was definitely not one of my best nutrition wise…but honestly, I had a lot of fun and enjoyed myself. I’m just getting myself back on track this week, and am trying not to regret anything. š
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Workouts May 26 – June 1 (what?? June??)
Sunday: Jillian Michael’s 30-Day Shred, Level 2
Monday: off
Tuesday: 40 minutes walking + 20 minutes jogging on treadmill
Wednesday: TBD – something at the gym
Thursday: rest
Friday: Kenpo X
Saturday: 30 minutes walking + 30 minutes jogging on treadmill
In other news, my mom found a couple of Groupon deals for our local Snap Fitness: $30 for the entire summer! I am super pumped – I’ve been trying to run on our treadmill at home, but that baby is definitely not made for running and I felt like I was going to break it with every step. After being spoiled with the treadmills at my apartment this past year, and not being able to run outside (allergies), I was not sure what I was going to do. Well, problem solved! The gym also has a little room with On Demand exercises, so I’m very excited to check those out, too. I’m also looking forward to getting into a bit more weight training. Maybe. Any suggestions for a beginner?
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Because a few of you brought it up in response to my post yesterday, here is the picture of that Luke Danes doppleganger I saw at the graduation the other day:
Luke Danes:
Random Guy:
I get a kick out of how similar they look! I tried to blur out random guy’s face enough so that it’s not too creepy, but even his face looks like Luke’s! So weird.
I think my grandma thought I was crazy for taking a picture of a random person, but I knew that some of you and some of my friends would get a kick out of the similarity – especially those of you that love Gilmore Girls as much as I do! š
Oh, the things bloggers do…Am I right?
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Questions for the day:
Are you a fan of rain?
What’s your favorite flavor cupcake?
Do you have any strength training suggestions, tips, or advice?
Have you ever seen a doppleganger?
I’m off to go cuddle with this cutie:
Thanks for stopping by – have a great day! š
Liv Lives Life 
Those cupcakes. Ahhhhh. I need to find a groupon deal for gyms near me. I’m on the lookout but I’ve got nothing so far. No way am I paying 100/month for zumba and yoga classes a few days a week. I’m a college student! I can’t afford that stuff!
Seriously! I hate how expensive gyms are. I mean, I understand why, but you’re right, it does stink for people with not great financial statuses like us!
No biggie about the lack of photos from your brothers open house. Sometimes it’s just better that way. I mean why pull out a camera when you are enjoying all the socializing w/ everyone š
You’re totally right. That’s what’s most important! š
Love your pictures of the flower and the rain. š I love the rain! I like how everything becomes so fresh after. :))
Those cupcakes are calling for me! š
I do too. Everything looks so much more green and colorful. So pretty!
The peony photo is so beautiful!! You can’t go wrong with hummus and veggies! I need to either make some or buy some. Most likely…buy some! š Have a great WIAW!
I always think about making it myself, but it’s just so much easier to buy it! I should get over that mentality and experiment sometime, but for now…I’ll just stick to buying it. š
I like the rain as long as I don’t have to go anywhere. I actually love rainy cuddle days with my girls. š
I love hummus, I have been eating it a lot lately too. And that chicken parmesan I am definitely going to have to give that I try. Thank you!!
That’s true – I only like rain if I can stay inside, too. š
I hope you do try the chicken! Let me know if you like it!
Oh my gosh I neeeed those cupcakes!!! Those sprinkles are too cute.
Oh and if you have any trouble with that hummus, feel free to send it my way š
I wish I could send you both things – the hummus and the cupcakes! š
I used to live in Ohio and I was never a fan of rain. When I moved to Arizona I began to appreciate clouds & rain because we rarely get that here! Not that I am complaining about the sun either ;). Those pina colada cupcakes sound amazing, I might have to try that recipe out!
I think I would probably miss the rain if I moved somewhere like that, but the sun definitely is great, too! I hope you do try the cupcakes out, they are so simple and delicious!
Hahaha at first I thought you had some kind of muffin on top of your chobani cup. Either way, it makes a good fro yo container š
Those cupcakes sound so good!
Haha that’s not a bad idea, either! š
This all looks delicious!! š
Thanks!
Oooh those cupcakes! I love your plate of veggies too š
Haha thanks! š
That guy so looks like an older version of Luke! Crazy- outfit, hat and all š
I love the rain, especially with thunderstorms. And we have certainly been get a lot lately! Did you guys have a tornado warning yesterday too? I came back to my apartment to find my roommate in the basement because tornado sirens went off (I don’t know where I was, but I never heard them…).
Those chocolate cupcakes turned out looking really great with those big sprinkles. The photo that you took of the foliage and raindrops is pretty spectacular too.
I KNOW! My brother doesn’t think so, but I thought the resemblance was very strong!
I love thunderstorms, too. We didn’t over here, but my aunt and grandma live over on that side and I heard it was pretty crazy! Glad you’re ok.
Thanks! š
Agreed! There definitely could be worse things than eating hummus for the rest of life haha š It’s amazing! Great eats Liv!
I thought you might agree. š
Mmm cupcakes š
š
omigosh that little puppy face is the cutest!
Also cute – those cupcakes! I love the little sprinkles š
How do you like 30 day shred? I looooove that DVD! Jillian Michaels is my favorite, ha!
I really like it! I’ve had it for a few months now, so I obviously haven’t been doing the designed “30 day plan”, but I like to use it every once and a while to mix up my workouts!
I actually really like the rain too – unless I have stuff to do outside.
Chocolate cupcakes are the only way to go. š
I’m the same way – I probably would have been complaining about it if I had things to do. š
Amen to that!
Man, those cupcakes look heaven sent. Also, we had a ton of rain last night, and this morning I went out and took pictures of the peonies, which look exactly like the first photo you published. The rain makes for some lovely flower photos, and if you need help working through that hummus, just let me know. š
The rain is perfect for that! I’d much rather take a photo when it’s cloudy or rainy than when it’s sunny just because it makes everything look better. And I wish I could send it your way! š