First Trip Back

Friday night I made my first trip back to Camden Yards to watch an Orioles game in person and to catch up with many of my old coworkers that I miss dearly. It was definitely strange to be back and to be on the “fan” side of things. Instead of running around like a crazy woman on game night, I was able to enjoy a few beers and really just take in the atmosphere.

It was so nice to be back in an American baseball stadium with announcers I could understand, names on the back of uniforms that I could actually read and a National Anthem that I could hum along to. Not to mention the familiar faces all around really made the night perfect.

The only thing that I would say is better in a Korean baseball stadium – beer is $2.00 instead of $10.00! 🙂

Workout

I spent much of yesterday sleeping or laying on the couch basically in a sleep like trance so waking up this morning and getting a run in first thing felt amazing.

It wasn’t much (the humidity here is still kicking my butt) but 3 miles are under my belt and I’m ready to start the day now!

Breakfast

During my couch time yesterday, I did my fair share of catching up on blogs that I have been missing lately and came across Julie’s recipe for Banana Vanilla Protein Pancakes. I made a mental note to try them soon and this morning seemed like soon enough for me.

I didn’t have cottage cheese on hand so I subbed fat-free plain Green yogurt for that and used a food processor in place of the immersion blender that I don’t own.

Aside from the two slight changes, the pancake batter was still smooth and creamy and the final product was delicious.

Next time I’ll add my peanut butter protein syrup on top instead of regular maple syrup though! 🙂

I’m off to get some things done around the house before heading to church and a Memorial Day barbecue with family. It will be so good to see some of the extended family that I haven’t seen since before I left for Korea.

Question:

What are your Memorial Day plans?

Guacamole Coma

After part II of my workout this afternoon (Body Revolution, Phase 3, Workout 9), I made sure to get in my 20 minutes of stretching for the “Stretch for Seven” Challenge. Today, I incorporated more yoga positions and flow sequences into my routine than yesterday. I forgot just how much I love the stretch I feel in so many different yoga poses.

(click image for source)

Triangle pose was pulling me in all the right directions today!

The 20 minutes flew by since I was also watching the end of the Orioles game against the Whitesox on MLB.com’s Gameday during them. An Adam Jones HR to tie the game and then a Matt Wieters grandslam to seal the deal. That’s Orioles Magic, baby!

(click image for source)

Snack

As soon as I was done with my stretching, I was hungry but not quite lunch hungry yet so I pulled the leftover guacamole out of the fridge and snacked on some with pretzels (gotta put a dent in the six-pound bag somehow!) and two tortilla chips.

I used the tortilla chips to really gauge how the guac was after sitting for the night and my taste buds were pleased. The extra hours in the fridge allowed all of the flavors to really mix together. Yum!

After my snack, I ended up not leaving the kitchen for quite a while longer because I caught the baking bug again.

By the time my cookies were pulled from the oven, I was ready to then start on lunch.

Oh…who cares about lunch? You just want to know more about the cookies you see above? Patience is a virtue, my friends. Plus, I haven’t gotten to adequately taste them and you know I have to do that before sharing where I found the recipe and the adaptations I made! 🙂

Lunch

When I put together lunch, my first step was to pull the perfectly set guacamole back out from the fridge. I covered half a toasted whole wheat bagel (from the bakery at Emart) with some guac and then set half of a chicken breast topped with pepperjack cheese on top.

A little lettuce rounded out the bagelwich.

On the side, I enjoyed a peach yogurt with peanut butter cinnamon spice granola on top.

And now that I am in a guacamole coma, I’m hoping to motivate myself to break out the text book and get to studying for the rest of the afternoon.

The weather is absolutely amazing outside and I would LOVE to know of a close place to sit outside and study, read, relax…whatever…while enjoying the sunshine! Do any Korean readers have a suggestion of a place close to Hanbat Stadium where I can do just that? I know there is a park by Say Department Store but I was hoping for someplace a little closer to walk to!

Question:

What is your favorite way to stretch?

Bittersweet

Today was a bittersweet ending.

Today I said goodbye to my job of six years.

Today I said goodbye to a place that has consumed many more than 40 hours a week from me for the past 312 weeks of my life.

Today I said goodbye to a place that has shaped me through experiences, good and bad, into the person I am today, both professionally and personally.

This morning I unlocked this door for the last time.

And spent my last day in this office that has been home-away-from-home for countless long days.

This afternoon I walked away from this view for the last time.

Today ended my time in what many people would consider their dream job.

Today I went from being “part of the team” to being “a fan”.

Today I walked away from a career, a passion, a part of me.

But today, I walk towards my future, my newest adventure, my new beginning, all with the love of my life there to make it our future, our newest adventure, our new beginning.

Today is a bittersweet beginning.

Guest Post: Funfetti Cake Batter Donuts

The next guest post up for your enjoyment is from Holly at Greek Yogurt and Apple Slices. Not only does Holly have a blog that provides killer workouts and amazing recipes but she also is a huge Orioles and Ravens fan (even though she currently lives in Florida) and you know that ranks her high in my book! In addition to everything else that her blog has to offer, I always enjoy seeing what new recipes Holly is coming up with and I’m so happy that she has provided one here for you all today!

As many of you already know, in December I am running the Las Vegas half marathon with Team Challenge for Crohn’s and colitis research and one thing that makes it even more special for me is that Holly suffers from Crohn’s Disease so in a way, my efforts are hopefully going to help to impact her life one day too! I only wish that she was able to run this year’s race along with me!!

So with no further rambling from me…here’s Holly!

***************************************

Good Morning Love Eat Run Readers!!

First things first, I have to wish Jenny GOOD LUCK on her marathon this weekend!! 🙂 I have read her blog for a while, and we both share some similar interests including running, ice cream & love of the Baltimore Orioles & Ravens!! I am so happy that she asked me to do a guest post for her while she tackles this marathon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am Holly & blog over at Greek Yogurt & Apple Slices.  I blog about life as a newlywed (just got married on May 27th this year 🙂 ), living with Crohn’s Disease, exercise, & delicious food!

Oh, and just so you know how big of Ravens freaks we are here is the top of our wedding cake:

They are the jerseys that we were wearing when we got engaged. (#27- Ray Rice & #74 Michael Oher) Craig proposed to me on Ravens field before their first game last year.

I figured that was just a sign that we needed to have our whole wedding in black & purple, which is what we did.

Told ya…we really are freaks 😉

Besides being completely obsessed with the Ravens, I really do have other hobbies like cooking & baking! (Unless it’s on Sunday, then I just plant myself on the couch & watch football all day 🙂 )

One of the BEST purchases that I have EVER made for the kitchen was a donut pan! I actually bought it on Amazon after seeing it on a few other blogs & I am SO glad that I did. It was well worth the $10! (yes, really ONLY $10!!)

After buying this pan, I cannot get away from making a TON of donuts. I swear every weekend I’m in the kitchen trying to come up with a new donut recipe. Thank goodness we have co-workers that love donuts, otherwise Craig & I might just turn into a donut 😉 )

Today I thought I would share with you my favorite donut recipe to date! Baked Funfetti donuts!! I also have a few other donut recipes that you can find on my blog, under the recipes tab.

I hope you enjoy these donuts as much as I did..and if you don’t have a donut pan yet, I hope this recipe convinces you to buy one. 😉

Baked Funfetti Cake Batter Doughnuts
(slightly adapted from this recipe)

Donuts:

• 2 cups Funfetti Cake Mix
• 3/4 cup cake flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup egg beaters (or any other egg substitute)
• 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk with 1 tbsp. lemon or lime juice mixed in (let sit for about 5 minutes after mixing together)
• 3 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Glaze:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp. unsweetened almond milk

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the Funfetti cake mix, cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

2. Add in the egg substitute, almond milk + lemon/ lime juice mixture, melted butter and vanilla extract. Mix with a spatula. There will be some lumps in the batter, don’t worry. Do not over mix!

3. Spray a doughnut pan with nonstick spray. Drop a few sprinkles into each of the doughnut hole molds.

4. Fill a large ziplock bag (or pastry bag, I just don’t have one) with the doughnut batter. Fill the doughnut pan with the batter. When filling the doughnuts, do not fill each one up too much.

5. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes. The doughnuts may look like they’re not done but they are, so don’t worry! 🙂 Take the doughnuts out of the pan and cool them completely on a cooling rack.

Once cooled, mix the powdered sugar & unsweetened almond milk together. Stir until there are no more lumps in the mixture. (you may need to add more milk to it; it will just depend on the consistency) Once you have the consistency that you like, drizzle the glaze over the donuts & top with tons of more sprinkles.

Then try to eat just one…I dare you 😉

These are so delicious & they are really festive, perfect for a birthday morning breakfast. 

Well, I hope that you have a great weekend..and that you root for the Ravens to win! 🙂 Thanks again Jenny for the opportunity to ‘invade’ your blog for the day!