flashback friday: EASTER!
hey guys! i hope you all enjoyed deb’s guest post and the beginning of guest post thursdays! if there is something you want to shout from the rooftops talk about on my blog, feel free to let me know and i will arrange a thursday devoted specially to you and your ramblings.
so, it’s friday! can i get a HOORAY?! :D and not only is it friday, it is easter weekend! i love easter. i love coloring eggs, eating traditional dishes like ham & scalloped potatoes, getting an easter basket (yes, i still get one and i am almost 27), hunting for eggs (well, not so much anymore.. now i help my nieces and nephews find the eggs), and just hanging out with my family. i hope we have some sunshine this sunday.
SO! obviously there are a lot of meals and moves that have went on behind the scenes since i posted last wednesday. well, the whole point of taking thursdays off is to have a break.. which means i will not be telling you every single solitary detail about my meals & moves between posting. but i will show you a few highlights!
best SNACK i’ve had this week!
1 container brown cow greek yogurt + 1 deep chocolate vitatop + 2 TB of PB2!
i cannot think of a better way to consume 180 calories!!!
the fourth and final way i ate my BBQ pulled chicken!
in a quesadilla! so to recap, i ate this chicken by itself (topped with swiss), on a salad, in a sandwich, in a wrap and finally in this glorious quesadilla!
i layered a smart & delicious high fiber/low carb la tortilla factory tortilla with a wedge of laughing cow light swiss cheese, a layer of chicken and 2 TB each of trader joe’s peach salsa and corn salsa.
i folded it up and grilled both sides until it was nice and golden brown.
i served the quesadilla with a dollup of 0% oikos greek yogurt. SO much better than sour cream.. i promise!
mmm.. yes, i ate this BBQ pulled chicken five days in a row and never got sick of it! that is how you know it is a winner. winner, winner chicken dinner, actually. oh geez, i am so lame. i make me laugh.
guess what today is?!?!
today is NATIONAL PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY DAY! yaaaaa.
i made some peanut butter & jam thumbprint cookies last night to bring to the office today in celebration!
the recipe:
- 1.25 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter
- 3/4 cup peanut butter
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 TB vanilla extract
- jelly or jam of choice!
directions:
mix first 4 ingredients, set aside. blend butter & peanut butter together, add sugars, add egg, add vanilla, mix well. add flour mixture. roll into balls and place on cookie sheet!
bake them..
thumb them..
fill them with jam! i used momma b’s raspberry jam. FAVORITE!
EAT THEM!
yum, yum. i DID have one!
photos from bloggie friends!
- sami rocks the smoothie stache:
- christine’s protein cake ran away from her! this photo made me laugh SO hard!
has this happened to you? chances are, it has. try to use a wide mouthed mug or a bowl and you won’t have this problem. also, there have been numerous studies done lately on how exactly to make the perfect protein cake.. i think all of us bloggies are in agreement that 100% whey protein powder makes a horrible protein cake. in my experience, the best cakes come from BSN lean dessert protein powder. now you know.
a complete upper body workout in 38 minutes!
no, really! i was short on time last night because the elephant and i had plans. here is what i did:
warmup on treadmill (!!!) yesss back on the treadmill! thank you NEW SHOES! i can’t wait to get a real run in!
| minute # | speed (MPH) |
| 0-1 | 6.0 |
| 1-2 | 6.3 |
| 2-3 | 6.6 |
| 3-4 | 6.9 |
| 4-5 | 7.2 |
| 5-6 | 7.5 |
| 6-7 | 7.8 |
| 7-8 | 8.1 |
| 8-9 | 8.4 |
| 9-10 | 8.7 |
1.21 miles.
back:
| move | reps | weight |
| wide grip pulldowns | 12 @ 10@ 8 @ 6 @ 12 @ |
40# 50# 60# 70# 50# |
| seated cable rows | 12 @ | 60# |
*i did 30 seconds of high knees followed by 30 ball crunches between the first four sets
superset triceps & biceps:
| move | reps | weight |
| tricep cable pushdowns biceps cable curls tricep cable pushdowns biceps cable curls tricep cable pushdowns biceps cable curls tricep cable pushdowns biceps cable curls tricep cable pushdowns biceps cable curls |
12 @ 12 @ 10 @ 10 @ 8 @ 8 @ 6 @ 6 @ 12 @ 12 @ |
40# 20# 45# 25# 50# 30# 60# 35# 45# 25# |
| overhead cable extension single arm cable bicep curls |
12 @ 12 @ |
45# 15# each arm |
superset chest & shoulders:
| move | reps | weight |
| barbell chest press upright barbell row barbell chest press upright barbell row barbell chest press upright barbell row barbell chest press upright barbell row barbell chest press upright barbell row |
12 @ 12 @ 10 @ 10 @ 8 @ 8 @ 6 @ 6 @ 12 @ 12 @ |
25# 25# 30# 30# 40# 40# 50# 50# 30# 25# |
| dumbbell chest flyes dumbbell side raises |
12 @ 12 @ |
12.5# each 5# each |
THAT’S IT! the end!
super speedy and i have DOMS in my upper body today. mission accomplished!
here is a random story for you all..
i got the coolest email the other day! i wanted to share it with you guys.
first i saw this photo, and flipped out:
UM.. does that not look just like my penelope jane?!?! i then read this email:
Hi Janetha,
I was googling Entlebucher-cavalier mix because I have one, and was curious to see if any of her siblings’ owners ever posted anything, and I found your blog.
Our dog, Heidi, is 2 years old, and looks very much like Penelope, especially when Heidi was younger. She now weighs about 30 pounds. This is a very rare mix; we got ours from a vet in Alpine, California, who is a breeder of both entlebuchers and cavaliers (but not to each other!) She was born in February, 2008, one of 6 puppies born as a result of an “accident,” namely, the cavalier female was in heat and got out, and had a rendezvous with the male entlebucher.
Heidi is a very cute and friendly dog who has some characteristics of both breeds. She sits on our laps and loves to press against our legs on the bed, but is also an alert watchdog who runs roaring down the stairs if she hears a sound she deems threatening. She is also obsessed with playing “fetch” with tennis balls.
I am curious to know where you got Penelope from, since the dogs are so unusual. I’ve heard there were only about 900 entlebuchers in the U.S. I’ve attached some photos of Heidi. Please let me know if you could not open them. Hope to hear from you,
Best Regards,
Helaine
here is another photo of her pup:
WOW! looks like penny jane! so, for those of you who don’t know, i bought penelope AKA penny jane because i wanted an entlebucher and she was a mix breed (entlebucher mixed with cavalier) and she was $750 less than a pure bred entlebucher.. so i just went with it and bought her. (best decision ever, by the way!) but really, penelope’s litter was a TOTAL accident and it is not like people BREED this type of dog. it was just by chance that penelope was conceived.. and then i get this email about another dog owner who has the exact same type of story! except the mom and dad are switched, in heidi’s case, and the mom was a cavalier. penny’s mom was an entlebucher.
i think the male gene is the dominant one, or something, and that is why heidi appears to be a bit larger than penelope. oh.. and she has a normal sized head:
my poor penelope jane has somewhat of a pinhead!
anyway, i thought this was really awesome and i am so glad helaine emailed me about her dog! the photos are just too cute for words~ heidi resembles penelope SO much.. it is crazy! we sent a few emails back and forth.. it was fun to chat with her about their temperaments and what we tell people when they ask us just “WHAT KIND OF DOG IS THAT?”
loved this whole experience, wanted to document it on the blog. yep, random dot com. moving on!
i just ate a delicious sandwich.
sunflower market multigrain bread, nayonaise, mustard, cucumbers tomatoes, romaine and low sodium (columbus brand) herb roasted turkey breast. nom nom nom. all it needed was avocado, right danica?
LUNCH WAS BUENO.
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time for flashback friday!!
this week’s theme is pretty predictable.. EASTER!
2009:
turns out i have a plethora of photos from easter last year! i started the day snowboarding with my loverboat allie:
we ran into the easter bunny on the slopes!
i then went to my parents’ house with these cute easter basket cupcakes in tow:
they were fun to make!
there was the obligatory easter egg hunt for the kiddos:
momma b & me!
and some relaxing after a nice big easter dinner!
<3 family photo <3
2008:
coloring EGGS!
here is our family photo from 2008! no penelope jane, yet!
hanging out at the parents’ again…
the hunt!
i was going to dig up super old easter photos from when i was a kidlet but i didn’t have time. sorry!
and that concludes this week’s installment of flashback friday! did you participate? i know tina did and susan plans to! let me know the URL of your flashback post and i will link back to you!
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and now i am off. i’ve got the final phase of my TOP SECRET SHENANIGANS that i have been talking about for the past month or so…
i will let you all know what said shenanigans have been in my *next* post, but does anyone have any guesses as to what i have been up to???
hope you all have a glorious weekend! enjoy yourselves and i will be back (hopefully) tomorrow with the news!
don’t forget to eat pancakes on sunday!
spend some time outside, it’s spring!
try to squeeze in a workout!
eat some easter ham!
have a jelly bean!
kiss your dog!
smile lots!
laugh!
Qs~
1. do you celebrate easter? if so, what are some of your traditions? if this Q does not apply to you, tell me about some of your family traditions during some other time of the year! we always have ham on easter! and have an easter egg hunt!
2. any guesses as to what my secret shenanigans entail? no, i am NOT going to the doc for an ultrasound!
xo. janetha b.
P.S. i gave penelope jane the last of the NATURALLY MORE. she liked it :)
meals & moves 
So much cuteness in this post! Ahah I wouldn’t even know where to start. :)
that PB2 looked just like a hard boiled egg yolk to me, i was like WHAT kind of combo is that?!??! whew. PB2 sounds so much better. happy easter weekend! i havent decorated eggs in forever and im so jealous. i LOVED doing that growing up :)
Aww your little nieces and nephews are so cute! I love the flashback posts. Thanks for starting such a fun thing. :)
Our Easter traditions are an egghunt for the kiddos. My parents and us go to brunch usually and then we spend the afternoon at my inlaws for dinner and the egg hunt. Growing up we decorated eggs and I can’t wait to do that with M next year since I think she is still too young for it this year.
PS – Awesome on the short but successful workout!
1. Vitatop and quesadillas are so up my alley. I want :)
2. You are so cute with your National PB & J Day. I wish I had the time to make fun recipes—but no can do with all the studying and crap I’m doing. Someday right? Actually, this summer…I won’t be taking a class this summer so I will have time for lots of fun recipes and blog-time.
3. Your easter last year looked like a blast. I couldn’t even tell you what I did for Easter last year :).
4. Penelope Jane is adorable.
oooh boy. for a second i thought one of your PB scoops was an egg yolk. and i was like ok, you officially have crazier taste buds than i do!
happy weekend my love!
Those pictures of Penelope Jane and the Naturally More jar absolutely make me melt. So. Cute. You’ve got some serious cupcake decorating skills, my friend….the Easter baskets are too cute!
When I was little, Easter always meant an egg hunt. Now, my parents are lame and say I’m too old. You can never be too old for candy.
Have a great weekend and Happy Easter!
Love that vita/yogurt/pb2 combo!! Sounds so good. We do celebrate Easter, and go to both sides – my hubbys and mine. The best tradition is that my parents STILL hide the Easter eggs for us to find. :)
First off, totally love your BAoK!!! I am going to do a post (or 2 if theres enough response) about BAoK and will totally be mentioning your extreme kindness :) Great pulled pork dilla- I’ve made one for Josh before and he was in heaven. That is such a crazy story about the puppers! And the last picture of Penelope Jane MELTS my heart. I want to make those easter basket cupcakes- could they be any cuter? Enjoy the weekend and Happy Easter
I don’t really do Easter, but I do love me some Easter ham, and Easter candy, haha. I love the PB jar with the pup photo…I posted something similar a few days ago on my blog. Yours are better though :-)
Have a great weekend!
Those peanut butter thumb print cookies look fab! I’m hopefully having a roast with the lady I live with and maybe indulging in an egg…….
Congratulations you won my giveaway!!!!!!!!!! Yay x x
That picture at the end is absolutely adorable!
I don’t celebrate Easter so it’s just another Sunday for me! But last year, just for fun, I made my boyfriend do a “treasure hunt” with clues and the end prize was an Easter basket with grown up goodies (like his favorite protein bars and other goodies from REI). :)
Easter is definitely family time at my house! Everyones coming round Sunday for abig FEAST! haha! Except i’l be lonely without my bf because he’s away :( xx
I was going to come back and comment later but wanted to see what everyone’s guesses were for what you are up to, and NO ONE has guessed anything!!! I’m dying to know what you are doing! I’ll tell you my secret if you tell me yours ;)
The peanut butter & jam thumbprint cookies look & sound amazing!
We are going to hide Easter eggs for the toddler. We “practiced” today, and he had soooo much fun! It’s so cute. I realize how soon he’ll be all grown up, and I want this magical time to last forever… :)
Happy Easter!
OMG Penny and the jar with her little paws – I can’t stand it!
I love the Heidi/Penny story! I flipped out once when we saw a dog in our old neighborhood that was Cady’s twin and her name was LADY. I was like OMG, they’re twins and their names RHYME….and I was just met with a blank stare like “YOU are the craziest person I’ve ever seen!” Apparently, some people are just not fazed by coincidences like we are.
I will be having ONE Reese’s PB egg on Sunday and going to the Farmer’s Market to get the second part of your engagement present – very long overdue!
Have a great weekend! (I’ll try to FB Easter over the weekend. I have some pics when I was little)
Yummy quesadillas and some rockin’ workouts girl. Love the pics of your pup. So cute.
i feel cheated that national pb&j day fell on passover – no pb&j for me :( sigh. those cookies look wonderful – i’ve made some like that before. but the cupcakes – i’m not *that* daring of a baker. rock on girl! :)
Oh your killing me! I want to know what the shenanigans are! Can’t wait. We also have Easter Brunch and church. Oh and I always buy my husband and dozen cadburry creram eggs. He can eat them like there’s not tomorrow. Have a great weekend!
oh I love those pics of penny jane!! Her going after that peanutbutter is TOO MUCH! Well I was assuming the shennanigans were dress shopping till you said you would post it next. Can’t wait to hear!
recipe for the pulled chicken!?! looks so cool and good. nommy.
easter, usually we go to church, but this year i’m by myself, so looks like..nothin special? one time me and my sister hid lip glosses around the house! =D
Thanks for the reminder that today is PBJ day–I think I know what my evening snack will be…
Those cupcakes are friggin fraggin adorable.
Oh Janetha I am just so in love with your blog for so many reasons!! For one thing your dogs are sooooooooooo CUTE!! I just love ’em!! :) I want a dog that looks just like Randy… his EARS are just adorable!! And that last picture of Penelope Jane (love the name btw!) is just so funny and precious! :)
For Easter we usually go to my parent’s church for the Easter service and then we go to their house for a big Easter dinner!! :) My mom and grandma both still get me a basket, haha! ;)
oooh, I want a dog!
you got some mad leftovers skillz, that is for sure. I hate to say it, but I just can’t get behind leftovers. I don’t want to be wasteful but there are very few things I want to eat left over.
1. my mom still sends me an easter basket! my parents always hid the little foil-wrapped chocolate eggs (in the house!). inevitably we would be finding them until christmas :)
2. um, open sky shop? that seems to be sweeping the blog world lately.
have a great weekend!
You are too adorable with your cookies and sign! I wish I worked with you!
Your pictures of Penelope Jane and Randy are excrutiatingly adorable!! I especially can’t get over how Randy can look so cuddly regardless of his size. The two of you hold him like a baby and he is in heaven. This has to be my favorite of Penelope. My favorites of Randy was a few days ago being held by Marshall and the one of you lying on your back trying to exercise with him standing on your chest. I even tried finding that one a few months ago and finally gave up.
Why do I always get hungry everytime I venture to your blog?? stop posting delicious food!! LOL.
And we had a similar upper body workout today! We better be sore tomorrow! LOL
That last picture of Penelope Jane is priceless. She is definitely experiencing some major peanut butter bliss. :D
Love all the Easter-y pics!! Looks like so much fun! :D
Ahhhhh!!!! So much (as usual)….yay for puppy pics!! I don’t even want to see the mess my dog would get into with a jar of pb–probably get his head stuck in it lol.
And holy dog twins batman that looks just like her! Stefanie from “more to life than lettuce” and I have dogs who were separated at birth–so freaky!!
I am not a kid person but your niece is one of the cutuest kids ever!
I thought that was a hardboiled egg in your pic of the yogurt at first and was like “How the hell is that good?”
And what?? You want my address so you can make and send some easter egg basket cupcakes my way? I shall send you it jk :)
Love Easter too!!
That snack sure does look yummy :)
How did I miss PB&J day?!?! Okay, there is still time left. Off to celebrate by adding some jam to my PB yogurt this minute! :)
OMG what cute pics. She really does look like Penny! :)
Love the Easter flashback photos!
Have a wonderful weekend love.
Happy Easter!!
god that pic of penelope jane is too much. i wish someone would email me pix of julius’ doppleganger!
aaaaaaaaw penelope is so cute with the naturally nutty jar =)and all your food looks great, I need to find some pb2! or do you order it online?
Wellll….
1. Yes I do have traditions! Church, Easter egg hunt, gifts, then my cousins house for a big party!! I flashbacked on my blog ;-)
2. And I’m guessing since I saw your facebookie….A HOUSE!!!
Ah! That bottom picture breaks my heart!! SO cute! My mom is letting me take care of Archie for two weeks and the end of the month. He’ll get to trot around my apartment and I’m already stoked to walk him lots around my neighborhood and just have him around!! Also, I am impressed that you can lift a basset hound – those are heavy dogs!!
1. My family has ditched me on this fine Easter. My dad’s off golfing in Florida and my mom is visiting my sister. Boo-urns! We never did much for Easter growing up anyways. The Easter bunny has always scared me. Even as a child, I pictured him as some dude in a bunny suit. The kind that reeks of whiskey and cigarettes. CREEPY.
2. I saw on facebook!!! EEEEE!!!!
<3
duuuude those pb&j cookies are super good looking. so swanky
umm you are going to be the best mom in the world when you make cupcakes for your kids parties or to bring to school. like everyyyyone is gonna be so excited for your kids birthday parties. will i be invited?
Well hands down miss Penelope Jane stole the show on this post—she is SO cute in those photos! I laughed out loud at Susan’s comment about the easter bunny reeking of whiskey and cigarettes haha!
You covered our traditions, love the egg hunt, deviled eggs, potatoes, ham etc, etc.
Congrats ms. home owner xoxo!!
I love easter riding with my loverboat & the (creepy) easter bunny! i think we need to do it again this year : ) oh and those pics of penelope melt my heart!!! xoxo
you can thumb me anyday babe
those cookies look awesome!
the resemblance between you and your lil niece is uncanny. wow. and the family pics melt me. as i think i have mentioned, your family and the love and tenderness is 180 degrees from what i have, so i relish these types of pics and they inspire me to do better with skylar than my own childhood.
happy easter sweetie!!!!!!!!!
so many good eats in this post. the best snack ever looks nasty but i bet it’s really good. and that quesadill… wooo…. looks fantastic!! :)
I love all the puppy pictures in this post. It made my morning!
Whoever invented PB&J is brilliant. However, we should not forget Fluffernutters, OMG> Heaven on Bread. **Drooling.**
;-) Those quesadillas have inspired me to get some more Trader Joes salsa….NOM NOM!
Boy, that Penelope Jane sure is lovin on that jar. HAHA! Love the last picture. She is all up IN there! :)
We’ve never really been big into Easter since we moved here. However, when I was a kid I remember this sort of weird Hungarian tradition. At the time I thought was cute. Looking back now perhaps it was a bit creepy? HA! All the men come around and visit the girls (ladies and little girls) in their neighborhood and spray them with perfume and then give them a kiss on both cheeks. In turn they are invited in for a quick drink (or snack) and then they move on to the next house. I remember reeking of perfume and hiding behind furniture when I heard someone at the door. MWAHAHA!
Now for that super top secret think you keep talking about. Hmmm. NO IDEA! I’m so bad at guessing. Is it wedding related? Or wait. DID YOU FINALLY FIND A HOUSE? :)
HAPPY EASTER!!!!! XO
Those cookies look so good- do you think they would work with applesauce instead of butter? I have all the other ingredients…and am dying for a PBJ cookie right now.
Hmm. Secret shenanigans- open sky store? Book deal? Movie deal? Food network show? Something to do with going back to school? Job promotion? Ah.
I have never really celebrated Easter :(
That picture of Penelope holding the PB jar is priceless!!! I miss having a dog…
I’m definitly going to try out pulled chicken. So versitle ;)
-Mary
HEY HOTTEST BRIDE TO BE.. EVER!
DANG great snack girlllll! makes me realize i need some more VITAS in my life. vitatops are like vitamins, right? i mean, it IS in the title!
HAPPY EASTER SUGA PIE
Awww love the doggie pics. You KNOW how much I love Penny.
oh my jeebus – penny with the peanut butter jar – cutest.thing.ever.
you have the luckiest co-workers! I’d be so down with those cookies. It would be hard to limit myself to only one!
Girl you are SPEEDY on the treadmill! 8.7 is intense! I am copying this workout down, I love how speedy it is. (speedy is my word today, I guess!)
Love the puppy story, now I want to find a puppy like Penny. She’s too cute!
Ahhh I’m just catching up on blogs after the weekend, but I have to say that I love the pictures you included of Penny with the PB jar! I have a soft spot for dogs who use their paws as hands with things. :)
Is EVERY day a national something day? Geeeze louise, if I knew all these days I don’t think I could handle myself! Its like a birthday every day! hehe. But I’d have to agree PB & J is definitely something worth celebrating!
Love the photos of Penny with her tongue in the jar. Reminds me of what I do to the last of my jars, only my tongue isn’t as long. Sigh. That’s where iced tea spoons come in handy ;-)
Love you muahhh!