Pretty Skies

Do you feel fall in the air? My goodness it was a beautiful day! In the 60s, gray the first half, but then it opened up into a mixed sky. Blue pieces, with storm clouds, and puffs of white all together making for a picturesque evening. (This is one of my very favorite parts of fall).

courtesty of: Carol B. of GR, MI- also a fabulous friend



I decided to run indoors today at the gym because it was raining pretty hard this morning. I had a 30 minute tempo run and was able to sink in 3.5 miles. My stressed tendon on the top of my foot has really been bugging me, but I am trying to stretch my calves more and ice it daily. If it gets unbearable to run on it I may just stick to biking, some exercise videos I have (yes, they are embarrassing), and other strength training- we will see :) Tomorrow morning is a fast 3 miles with upper body strength work.

This afternoon I had tutoring with kids K-6th grade and we made some cookies and brownies for them and their parents- since it was the first meeting. The kids, I think, were mostly excited about the treats and there were none left by the end of the night. I, then, only ate 1/2 a cookie- blessing in disguise. But, wait...we went to my parents for dinner and we had mac n' cheese. I sort of behaved ;) I had a little serving (1/2 cup+) of that and made a big salad with veggies and lite ranch/salsa dressing. I ended the night with a chocolate vitatop gooped with a tablespoon of natural PB, mmmm!

All of this fall excitement got me wanting pumpkin- all varieties. I love making pumpkin cookies, but I am not ready for those just yet (colors haven't changed on the trees yet). So, I found a recipe for something I have been wanting to make for so long: Pumpkin Oatmeal. I am a huge fan of oatmeal anyways so I am excited to mix up my usual oatmeal with PB or raisins and walnuts (and maybe some brown sugar). Here is a recipe from allrecipes.com user JULOYES...

1/2 cup quick cooking rolled oats
1/4 cup vanilla almond milk
1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/8+ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon [sugar]
2 tablespoons raisins

Mix oats and milk in bowl; microwave on high for 1-2 minutes. Stir oatmeal and add any extra oats or milk for desired consistency and microwave for another 30 seconds. Then, stir in pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice, and cinnamon. Scarf Savor :)

Nutritional Info: (can also cut in half if you are just wanting a snack size)
Calories: 300
Total fat: 2.5g
Dietary fiber: 6.g
Carbs: 20g
Protein: 4.3g


I think I will try this for either breakfast in the morning or as part of our 'breakfast dinner' tomorrow night (along with omelets with veggies and cheese, and probably toast with nutella for Jake).  

Hoping to do a Fun Fall Fashion post next, cheesy, yes :)

God Bless your night, xoxo