Even those of us who don’t go to work on Mondays can use a little something special in the coffee department, I think.

There hasn’t been a whole lot of sleeping going on at our house lately.  I blame the shift in weather.

I can’t sleep when it’s cold.

Meeker can’t sleep when it’s hot.

We keep the heater on (for Adrienne). We keep our windows open and the fan on in our room for Meeker. I wear a snowsuit to bed.

Unfortunately, I think Baby A inherited my disdain for cold-weather sleeping. Therefore, she hasn’t slept well since our little snowstorm last Friday night. Which means none of us have slept well since Friday…including Punky and Bagheera.

So, I’m drinking coffee. Well, I always drink coffee – but this is special.

I brewed it in milk. It tasted like a latte you’d get at Starbucks.

Ingredients:

• 3 T ground coffee
• 1 cinnamon stick (or a teaspoon of ground cinnamon)
• 1 1/2 C milk (I used cow’s milk, but almond, soy, coconut – it would all work)
• Any other flavorings you want (I used some peppermint sugar)

Warm the milk in a saucepan. Put the coffee, cinnamon, and whatever other flavorings you want into the French press. Slowly pour the milk in and press down a couple of inches so the coffee is submerged. Let stand for 6-8 minutes then press down the rest of the way and pour.

You could probably do this in a regular coffee maker, too – I’m just too lazy to clean milk out of a coffee maker. So I French pressed it.

Enjoy your Monday.

I started mine off with the crossfit workout of the day. (except I didn’t do 185lbs, I only did 100lbs. I’m just not that strong.)

I workout in our garage while listening to the baby monitor. I used to listen to music, but now I listen for baby A to wake up. (Also, the monitor is a good place to keep my wedding ring when I’m lifting – otherwise I get a ridiculously looking blister on my left hand under my ring finger).

Then I came in for cereal. A bunch of cereal, actually. Uncle Sam’s Flax, Love Grown granola, puffed millet, rolled oats, and ground flax.

Mmmm real milk. I love cow’s milk, but don’t drink it very often. It hit the spot this morning. (Mostly because we are out of soy)

Have a happy day!

Let’s start it off with some fruit cereal and coffee.

Fruit cereal is one of my favorite things on Earth – there are endless combinations, and they are all delicious. Kind of like a Starbucks menu.

This morning’s mix: apple, blackberries, mango, walnuts, flax seed + vanilla soy milk

And I again wanted to say a humongous THANK YOU to you all for your sweet comments regarding my kitty Bellatrix. I still feel really sad about the whole ordeal, but I am grateful to have 2 other lovely pets to shower my love on right now. In fact, I need to hustle out the door and take Punky for a walk before it gets to be a scorcher out there…

Happy Monday!

Tonight, when dinner rolled around, I reached for the old familiar.

Meeker told me that I couldn’t eat out of a wineglass, but I do what I want. This was a mix of Kashi’s Autumn Wheat and Peanut Butter Bumpers. Most of the Kashi was hidden under the milk, but you can see one little piece nestled in between the Bumpers.

Perfect Sunday dinner.

Did/does your family have any unusual meal traditions?

One egg, salsa, two slices of ww bread

I love my milk frother. This was an old leftover starbucks cup with ¾ coffee and ¼ steamed milk. I packed the sandwich in foil, put a lid on the coffee and hoofed it to school. The breakfast sandwich was enjoyed while checking email at my desk. 6 days, 6 days, 6 days…

At lunchtime I was beyond hungry. My lunch did very little to stop the grumbling.

Leftover chicken and zucchini

Cheese and crackers

a mini packet of M&Ms given to by a student

The day was so nice and warm that I took both of my afternoon classes outside to write poetry in the sunshine. I just strolled around listening to 8 year-old wisdom and soaking up the rays. It was glorious. After school, I headed to my after-school job in the office and had some homemade cheerio trail mix.

Cheerios, chocolate chips, almonds, pepitas

I left just after 6:00pm and walked home in the warm sunshine. I can’t even express how much I love the longer daylight hours of summer. Upon entering the door, I quickly made a taco salad.

Lettuce, shredded carrot, ground turkey, salsa, hummus, crumbled chips

The salad was so voluminous that I had to transfer it to a mixing bowl in order to eat it. Don’t believe me?

Proof.

For dessert, I made an insanely simple, delicious and healthy ice cream.

Just like a frosty. Into my food processor I put: one frozen banana, 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, splash of milk

In the 3^rd grade world…

My students have taken to using the phrase “google it up” – and I fear that I’m to blame. I don’t remember ever saying this, but it sounds like something I would glibly say in response to a question. For example…

Mrs. Unger, do you know what the alternative name for Orion’s Nebula is?

No, I don’t Timmy…I’ll have to google that up later.

Like I said, I don’t recall ever using that phrase, but I sometimes feel so comfortable with my students that I slip into the habit of using tremendously casual speech. I wouldn’t put it past myself. Either way, some of my students now think that “google it up” is a perfectly legitimate term for “doing research”

I would correct them, but honestly, I think it’s hilarious.

I stopped at a gas station for coffee, and enjoyed it with some M&Ms that a student brought me.

Thank you for being such a wonderful teacher! – I am so grateful to have appreciative families.

Lunch was divine.

Sweet potato, Greek yogurt, almonds and chocolate chips.

After school I had a 100 calorie pack of popcorn.

A fellow teacher brought in some yummy tomatoes and I was quick to snag one to incorporate into my dinner. (Thanks Kristin!!)

I sliced up the tomato, and added ham, broccoli slaw, hummus, and mustard and threw it all between two slices of bread.

Then it all went in the panini press. Hallelujah, this was the best dang sandwich I’ve ever made. No joke. All ooey, gooey and full of flavor. For dessert, I steamed some milk, added cinnamon, and made a little trail mix.

Steamed milk with cinnamon + almonds, coconut, chocolate chips

In the 3^rd grade world…

I whined about the snow all day. I am always cold. Always, always, always. My kids know this about me, and are quick to point out my ever-present goose bumps, and never fail to let me know that my hands are freezing. One of my sweet girls knew I was upset about the snowy weather, and thoughtfully left this on my desk.

The sun is always with you now. Warm.

I stuck it in the snow just to prove that it really does snow in April. In the blender went:

• 1 beet
• ½ inch grated ginger
• 1 cup frozen spinach
• ½ cup POM juice
• 2-3 frozen strawberries

Interesting? Yes. Tasty? Yes. Fantastic? No. I think if I had a juicer, or better blender (Vitamix, are you reading this??) it would have been fantastic. There were little beet chunks that kind of turned me off, but the taste was really good. I also had another breakfast a couple of hours later.

Shredded wheat and pumpkin flax granola with rice milk

At lunch, I had chili/polenta leftovers, carrots and hummus, and hot water.

Snacktime.

When I got home, I went for a long, unwinding walk while my dinner roasted.

Purple cabbage, beets, carrots, broccoli, hummus, nutritional yeast

In the 3^rd grade world…

Today, a little girl told me I had an enormous butt. Not everything that kids say is cute and endearing.

Meeker came home at lunch today, and I was deep into my to-do list, cleaning, folding, organizing and smiling. He promptly told me to settle down, and reminded me that I was on Spring BREAK. However, despite what it looked like (I was mid-pantry clean out when he walked in) – I AM very much enjoying the time I have to do these things. I squeezed in some yummy food and fun as well.

Breakfast was toast (from homemade bread) and butter and a HUGE glass of milk. I felt like I was 5 years old – toast and milk, yummy. I then took Punky for a nice walk, did some chores and then made an enormous salad for lunch.

Lettuce, cucumber, shredded carrot, guacamole, black bean hummus – and a leftover crumbled tortilla chip from Meeker’s lunch.

Plus ½ cup plain yogurt with ½ cup pumpkin flax granola

The day was so irresistibly warm and nice that I took Punky for another outing after lunch.

She watched me eat my lunch with this look on her face – I couldn’t say no to another walk.

For Meeker’s dinner I made him buffalo burgers and roasted cabbage wedges.

Then I left him to enjoy the above meal – while I went out with friends!

I’ve known these girls since jr. high – and we try to meet-up for dinner once a month. Tonight, we went to a place called Steuben’s in downtown Denver. It was a fun old diner type restaurant. I ordered salmon.

Plus yellow beets, brussels sprouts, polenta and braised fennel. So yum. I had never had yellow beets before, but they tasted just like the red variety. I also thought the fennel was onion until I looked at the menu online. I enjoyed every bite – I practically licked my plate clean.

I wish EVERY ONE of you had spring break. At the very least, I hope you can just take some time to settle down and enjoy life for a second today!

It was a long day, and my food was all meh. It all tasted fine, but everything I did today was rushed, and that led to less than inspired meals.

Breakfast was ever-present fruit cereal.

One apple, one banana, sun butter and vanilla soy milk. Black coffee in the back.

I came home for a quick lunch mid-day.

Kind of gross looking now that I am taking a second look…it didn’t taste bad, though. Half of a sweet potato, three pieces of baked tofu and spicy mustard.

Then a cookie…

I ate this at my kitchen table with the sun shining on my back – it was a glorious break in the middle of the day. I didn’t make this cookie, so I don’t really know what it was – but imagine a blondie with butterscotch chips. What a brown lunch.

Work, work, work…then home again for dinner.

Look at that little carrot piece stuck to the back of the bowl. Funny.

Sauteed broccoli, carrots, black beans, and Brussels sprouts. Nothing quite as satisfying as a bowl of veggies for dinner. I cooked these most of the way through, and then added cider vinegar – I tell you, it makes all the difference. It adds the best flavor. Especially to the Brussels.

***

Why the countdown title? Well…I AM LEAVING FOR MEXICO IN 4 DAYS!

My incredibly generous in-laws are taking the whole family to Puerta Vallarta for Christmas. We are leaving the 19^th (Saturday) and coming back the 23^rd, so technically, we aren’t going for Christmas, but it is a Christmas gift. A pretty awesome gift if you ask me. I will also be there for my birthday on the 22^nd.

The other awesome thing is that we just found out it’s the exact place that Meeker and I went on our honeymoon over two years ago. It will be so fun to go back – I can’t even wait. Now I just have 3 more days with the kiddos, 1 grading day and it’s beach time!!

1. What are your holiday plans?
   
2. What do you do to spruce up your veggies?

Last night while watching some weird zombie movie called Fido (Meeker picked it from instant Netflix…he loves zombies…what a nerd) I made an oatmeal sundae (a la Sarah).

Best. Idea. Ever.

This is so good – it deserves its own recipe page, which I posted here. My favorite thing about this dessert was the combination of hot/cold textures. Gah – it’s unbelievable.

Meeker and I slept in this morning, and I awoke with a strong motivation to work out (level 3 of the shed) and clean. So that’s what I did. I realized at noon that I hadn’t eaten, so I made a pot of coffee and had  several cups with vanilla soy milk and cinnamon (I’m kind of obsessed with that flavor combo lately…)

And two of these bad boys…

Crunchy and perfect.

Then I decided that I needed to reorganize and clean my kitchen cabinets. At 2:30, I was staaaharving and (again) realized I hadn’t eaten much, so I whipped up a hearty lunch.

This is ½ an acorn squash filled with turkey/veggie soup (minus the broth), topped with Munster cheese and popped under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese looked bubbly and browned.

I used an upside down muffin tin to keep the squash from falling over (a trick I saw on RR). Worked like a charm.

I also had a square of Newman’s Espresso Chocolate.

I really liked this one…the texture was the key for me. I could taste the crunch of the espresso all mixed in the chocolate goodness. I usually prefer my chocolate a little darker (70% or so) but the crunch of the espresso bean added a nice sharp flavor that made up for that. Two thumbs up.

After showering, Meeker and I decided to go to “dinner” at a restaurant called The White Chocolate Grill.

Here was my dinner choice…

I might go as far as to say that this was life changing.

Words like delicious don’t even really begin to describe the wonderfulness of this white chocolate bread pudding. I’m a huge fan of bread pudding – and this one was over the top. So rich, caramel-y, sweet, creamy…every flavor was so defined and delicious. The white chocolate part of the dish was melted, and the whole thing was plopped down on top of it. The flavor was reminiscent of a pecan pie (the burnt sugar) and caramel – all encapsulated in a chewy, bread-y, lovely square of mush. It literally took me an hour to eat because I savored each and every tiny bite that I took.

Then we came home and watched Dial M for Murder (which I had never seen, and loved) in between answering the door and doling out candy to trick-or-treaters. Now it’s about 10:00, the doorbell rings are starting to become few and far between, and the day is winding down. A very good Halloween in my book!

Also, happy birthday to my older brother, Matty! Here is a picture of us at my wedding a few years ago (has it really been 2 years!?!)

Katie