Snow in October!?

SO bloggies... how would you like to wake up to this in mid-October???!

Because I did. This morning. And it's been snowing since yesterday... halfway through my shift or so (I'd say 12:30pm) I was serving a table of 10, looked out the window, and went Ohhhh my Gah! out loud... the entire table turned and saw what I say. SNOW outside!!! It was snowing...

I love the snow, seriously, I do... we're tight... snow means Christmas, Holiday lattes, insane amounts of baking, X-Mas music on the radio, and snowboarding.. but really? In October!? We (meaning I) don't feel like we've even been able to enjoy Fall yet... and that is by far, my favorite season. :( Let's just hope this isn't a foreshadowing experience of the winter that's to come. If it's already below 30 at night & snowing now.. I don't want to see what December brings!!!!

But now that I'm discussing it, I DO want to know...

What's your favorite thing about the holidays??? :)

So anyway...

Yesterday pre-freakout from winter-come-early shenanigans, I made a yummy breakfast before getting ready to work, yet again, another double...

Oats!! Surprise, surprise!!

I haven't wanted anything else for breakfastthe past few days (weeks... months..) haha. Why would I!? It's the only breakfast that sticks with me for so long when I'm running around at work!

Today's creation was especially good since I mixed it up a little for once...

Instead of my usual banana inspired oats, I used a finely chopped Gala apple... I've done this combo before but haven't been craving it as much until that time.. cooked the same way as usual, 1/2 the apples cooking in the oats, the other 1/2 sprinkled on top afterwards...

Added some raisins...

Lots of cinnamon...

Dollop of Smoooth PB....

(P.S. I have ONE spoonful of MaraNatha left sooo I went out yesterday and purchased another jar of Teddie PB to replace it!! I know I haven't tried too many other brands, but Teddie has been stuck in my mind ever since I finished off the first jar... *sigh* Love at first smooooth, creamy, bite..)

This breakfast was phenom and it really kept me on top of things alll day long! I heard an interesting fact from a co-worker yesterday that eating an apple first thing in the morning is like drinking a cup of coffee... it gives you that needed boost to get moving in the morning...

Have any of you ever heard of any thing like this? If it's true, my apple intake (as if I'm not already full of these babies on a daily basis) will be upped just a bit ;)

I came fully prepared for the day when it comes to eats. I think this may have also played a big part in my positive, upbeat attitude all day at work yesterday. Working doubles at a restaurant can wear you down after the first few hours so it's good to find ways to keep you motivated OTHER than caffeine (which I DID have my fair share of on the side.. of course) At a job where your memory & personality are star players, it's really important to discover these little tricks.

I find that bringing healthy, filling snacks & meals to work... along with a filling hearty breakfast like oatmeal with fruit or a yogurt mess with cereal are usually my best choices. Proof: yesterday after my breakfast, I was wide awake and ready to get moving... usually I tend to laze around as long as I can before getting ready aka I'll read e-mails, catch up on blogs, etc. but yesterday morning after eating, I picked out my outfit, packed a bunch of good foods, & was out the door early!

I packed up:

~Honeycrisp Apple & PB Cookie LunaBar

~Strawberry Chobani w. Kashi Honey Almond Flax

~A bowl of my homemade Butternut Squash soup with a piece of crusty WW baguette

Went off to work, got alot done, made that monaaaay... enjoyed my LunaBar as a mid-morning snack & then it was time for lunch!

I was planning to heat up my soup for lunch but it's SUCH a pain to do that at work... we don't have a microwave so I would have had to "warm it" in the clay oven which is 1) dangerous and 2) annoying! haha... So I went out for lunch seeing as how I had an hour to kill on break...

Stopped at Bruegger's Bagels to see what options they had, AND because my girlfraaaan Britta swears by their apple bagels with pumpkin cream cheese (say whaaattt!?)

I picked out this baby from the menu after 10 minutes of staring down the menu & assuring a customer ahead of me who had just moved here from Texas that "No, we don't usually have snow in October, and no, the world is not ending..."

It was the Basil Chicken panini...

Grilled chicken... Basil pesto... Roasted red peppers... Mozzarella cheese... on WW bread. Honestly?? Mushy... maybe the employee put one too many globs of pesto (there was quite a lot oozing out the sides) but the middle of the sandwich was smushed, even after toasting!

I ended up eating only 1/2 of it but I wasn't too happy with this place. I'll probably come back for the infamous bagels with seasonal cream cheese, I know that much, but I'll stick to Panera for paninis.. seeing as how Bruegger's menu was rather similar to their's anyways.

After lunch my chocoholic alterego kicked in (believe it or not I really AM addicted.. hence the name of the blog. I need at least one small piece of chocolate everyday) and had to make a stop at Munson's for.. what else... but a dark chocolate pretzel rod. Gahhh, I would eat one of these every single day in a perfect world!!!

Along with a free sample of their French dark chocolate ;)
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Followed by a continuation of my chocolate fiending actions.. aka a hot chocolate later in the afternoon & a small scoop of Ben & Jerry's Half-Baked Froyo upon returning home after work (oops!) The monster I turn into when I don't have access to chocolate when I need it is somewhat like that of Sloth from the Goonies...


Moving onnnn to Friday!!!

I had pumpkin oats this morning :)

Yum yum yummm....

Oats, water, big spoonful of Libby's pumpkin, 1 naner sliced, sprinkle of chopped almonds, handful of raisins thrown on afterwards, & a dollop of Pumpkin Butter...

Perfect on a Winter, er...FALL, Friday ;)

Now off to the gym to get in a good workout after zero gym time the past two days due to working 2 doubles in a row ...oyyy, hoping these legs will get moving! I'm in need & want of a good, solid RUN. Two days without working out feels like an eternity to me!! Does anyone else get that feeling?

Then celebrating Cookie Friday?? Ohh, it's possible... ;)

Happy Friday Lovebugs!!!!