Great wide open

Instead of the usual Christmas photos so many of us have, I am going to share some photos I took on our drive on Christmas day and then again two days later. Quite a contrast between the two days. Our drive through North Dakota on Christmas day was quite pretty. The sky was the same color as the snow and all the trees had been coated with frost amongst the foggy haze.  Now, these were taken out the window of a moving vehicle so they aren’t that amazing, but I think they tell the story.

 

 

 

 

For the ride home, we were up before the sun and were treated with a neat sunrise. The crisp clear day was a vast contrast to the previous trip on the same road.  Only the Great Plains, where you can see forever, can you capture such a winter morning.

  

 

 

 

Creepy robot-like Santa, circa 1982 with still working music and walking shuffle, says “Ho Ho Hope you had a Merry Christmas!”

Work It Out

I am happy to say I stayed on track with my workouts this past week. Thanks to the weather mostly. How did your fitness schedule hold up over Christmas?

My weekly workout report for the week of December 20th – 26th:

Monday, 20th

Barbell back squat
6 x 95
1 x 140 (this is a new PR)
1 x 140
6 x 115

Barbell complex (circuit style)
6 rounds of 6 reps each exercise, 1 minute rest between each round. First 5 rounds with Oly. bar, last round with 55 lbs:
-bent over row
-hang clean
-front squat to push press
-lunges
-good morning

Kettlebell style dumbbell swings
2 x 25 x 20

-2.5 mile jog

Tuesday, 21st
5.5 mile run outdoors

Wednesday, 22nd
6 mile run outdoors

Thursday, 23rd
5 mile run outdoors

Friday, 24th
3.5 mile run outdoors

Saturday, 25th
none

Sunday, 26th
3.5 mile run outdoors (my new neck warmer was key for the 16 degree temperature!)

total weekly running miles: 26

Game Day

By default, I follow sports in general. Since Mr. BKL listens to sports talk radio and some form of sporting event is common on our TV, I learn via osmosis. And, ESPN is the best channel on the TV’s at the gym.  I am not joking. Lucky for him, I ask the important questions.  “What is play action?” , “Why do the linemen have different cut jerseys then the wide receivers?”,  “I really hate the Carolina Panther’s logo and colors. Hello the ‘90’s called….” , “Why did Kobe do that ridiculous photo shoot? But I am glad he did because it makes me giggle every time.”  “Baseball is starting ALREADY?” And so forth…

Because of the colossal Metrodome collapse of 2010, the Minnesota Vikings moved their game to the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium last night. If you live in this state, you must have been living in a secluded igloo if you didn’t know that. It sure was talked about endlessly, adding to the already abundance of talk for a team that had a lot of hype beginning the season.

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I think one word sums up the Vikings season: Drama.  I think 75% of it falls on Brett Favre’s shoulders. I can’t quite figure out why sportscasters and game announcers obsess and virtually high five Favre every chance they can get. Sure he was a great player and holds many records – I get that.  I am not a Vikings fan but if I was, I think I still would be ready for him to take a bow.  For good. Last night, as the Bears clinched the NFC North, the cameras followed Favre around after the game instead of showing any Bears players or interviewing anyone on either team for that matter.

I am the last person who should be talking about football, but enough with the Favre-fest already. I am ready to not have to hear about him and his drama. And with that, I will say Go Bears.

Speaking of games…I was tagged!

Lisa is keeping a fun game of questions going and tagged me.

1. Best book you’ve ever read and best book you’ve read recently?

Best book I’ve ever read has to go back to Wuthering Heights. I should probably re-read it again and see if I would still say that.

Best book lately has to be The Glass Castle by Jeanette Wells. A dear friend borrowed it to me and I just ate it up. (Not literally, that would be rude.) I recommend it 100%. Thanks Ang

2. If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?

Even though I don’t particularly favor cats, I think I would be a cat. They get to lay around and nap in the sun all day without a care in the world.

3. Favorite race distance? Care to elaborate?

Well, since I have only technically run one race in the past 10 years, I am not the expert on this one. I loved racing the 800m in high school though. I am hoping the half marathon is a favorable distance for me in April.

4. What’s a favorite bible verse, quote or thought that encourages you?

“Be the change that you want to see in the world.” I think this is Gandhi.

5. White milk or chocolate milk?

I prefer white actually! Chocolate is a nice treat sometimes.

6. What 5 places are on your “must visit” list? (If you’ve already been to some of them you can still include if you like).

- New York City
- London
- Paris
- Hawaii
- Australia

7. What’s your go-to brand of shoes? I’m thinking running shoes here, but a girl needs classy dress shoes too, so share both.

I have always run in Nikes. They seem to work for me.
For other shoes, I am cheap and get stuff from Target and Famous Footwear.

 

Did you watch Monday Night Football last night? Then tell me your answers to the questions above!

Work It Out

My weekly workout report for the week of December 13th – 19th:

Monday, 13th

5.25 mile run - dreadmill. It was about 0 degrees outside.

Tuesday, 21st

NROL Strength 1, A3
Squat
6 x 100
1 x 135
6 x 100
1 x 135
10 x 100
15 x 95
Bulgarian Split Squat
3 x 15 x 55 (ouchers)
Step up
3 x 15 x BW
Back extension
2 x 10 x 25
swiss ball crunch
2 x 10 x 25
2 mile jog

Wednesday, 22nd

NROL Strength 1, B3
Bench press
6 x 65
1 x 90 (this was hard!)
6 x 65
1 x 85
10 x 65
BB bent over row
6 x 55
2 x 65
6 x 55
2 x 65
10 x 55
close grip lat pulldown
2 x 6 x 90
DB shoulder press
2 x 6 x 25's
3.25 mile tempo run, 2 miles at tempo

Thursday, Dec. 18
6 mile run outdoors

Friday, Dec. 17
I did 2 workouts in one day…it was a doozy…

NROL Strength 1, C3

Deadlift
6 x 135
1 x 175 (I tried to pull 185…nope)
6 x 135
1 x 165
10 x 135
15 x 135

Romanian Deadlift
3 x 10 x 95
Static Lunge
3 x 10 x 45

Good morning
2 x 10 x 45
INcline reverse crunch
skipped these

NROL Strength 1, D3

Chin up
6 x BW (smith machine, feet on bench)
1 x BW (reg. chin up)
6 x BW (smith machine feet on bench)
1 x BW (negative chin up)
10 x BW (smith machine feet on bench)

Barbell shoulder press
6 x 45
2 x 55
6 x 45
2 x 55
10 x 45

DB bench press
2 x 8 x 30’s
Wide grip cable row
2 x 8 x 60

Lower body Russian Twist (did Paloff press and over head Paloff press)
2 x 10 x 60
2 x 5 x 30 (overhead)

-2 mile jog

Total weekly running miles: 18.5

Winter running: then and now

I got all suited up for an outdoor run last night because the temperature actually hit 20 degrees. It’s been in the single digits or below zero since Saturday. I know there are many of you out there who have hit the pavement in the below zero stuff, but I am not quite there yet. I was planning on doing 5 miles but decided to keep going and did 6 instead. I felt much warmer then I thought I would and I explored a new trail, so now I have a new 6 mile route.

I see a lot of questions on what to wear fro winter running. Runners World has a handy tool called “What to Wear” depending on the temperature and weather conditions. It helps, but I really believe trial and error and finding out what you are comfortable in is best.

Now, I wasn’t always dressing appropriately and taking precautions like I do now. It wasn’t that I was a rebel, I just didn’t know better. In my teens and college years, I carried with me a certain pair of warm up sweats. These sweats were school issued probably back in the 80’s, but they were the best. things. ever. if you asked the track and cross country girls. They were worn in, beat up, and had holes. I don't remember who found them tucked away in a box in the athletic storage room, but the coaches, who frowned upon jeans with holes already in them, distressed clothes, and partook in general adult-to-teen disapproval, said we could have them. They couldn't understand why we liked those things so much. I know that since then, sweats and yoga pants have taken off and many girls wear them to school now. Whereas then, we only wore clothes like that on special theme days, or for what they were supposed to be worn for – athletic endeavors. 

These pants were worn as actual warm ups for track meets, winter runs, and their intended purpose. I also kept wearing them for winter running oh, until I was about 21. They got a little snug when I grew some womanly hips. Well that and they had deteriorated quite a bit and were become less warm.  I even sewed a patch in them to try to get some more mileage out of them. They were also adorned with safety pins holding holes together. Keep in mind I wore only these, no tights or anything beneath them.

Guess what?  I still have them. Sorry Mom.

I wore these pants, one to three cotton shirts on top, and the hat pictured below. I ran in this even in North Dakota winters. Sorry Minnesotans, North Dakota winters are way worse. The wind…my God the wind! I was much more hearty then I am today. I have to remember my winter running past when I think it’s too cold.

In my older and wiser years, I have started to gather some better suited for winter running attire. For a day like yesterday, 20*F with a light wind making the wind chill about 10-12*F,  I recommend starting with base layers.  Look for pants and shirts that are tight fitting, made of wicking tech fabrics, and are made for cold weather. My favorite top is a Nike Pro Combat long sleeve with mock neck and thumbholes I got on clearance at Nike.com. Make sure it’s tight fitting to keep you warm and dry.

Next, add some layers over your base. I still wear lots of cotton t-shirts, so in this case I went with a t-shirt and then a long sleeve over that. You could get away with one long sleeve over your base layer if it was a bit warmer.

My black Puma pants over tights, one of my outer layers and my Nike Pro Top. And Go Bison.

The legs stay warmer since you are moving them. You are running right? For a day like yesterday I wore my base layer tights and then a pair of Puma cotton pants that are thick, but not too thick. Any bit warmer and I would wear the tights only, or the Puma pants only.

As for accessories, I stick with a basic hat. Having a nice wicking hat would be lovely, but I have gotten by without one for years. 14 years to be exact. Just be sure to wash your hats every couple wears. (As for the other stuff, I try to wear my base layers twice before washing. You don’t work up much of a sweat in the winter, and since I don’t put my tech fabric stuff in the dryer, it takes a day or two to dry.) 

This hat has been with me for a long time. It was along for those runs with the pants above. They match!

 
I have always loved “hockey” style hats. The long sides help keep cheeks warm. Also pictures is my Minneapolis Marathon hat. I did not run the Minneapolis Marathon, but got the hat from volunteering with Team Ortho. It’s a great running hat.

 

I also buy a few pairs of cheap finger gloves from Target. Most of the time I don’t wear any gloves. My husband still can’t understand my lack of gloves on most occasions. I just pull my sleeves down over my hands which is why I love that a lot of the long sleeves are longer and have thumb holes.

I wear the thumb hole sleeve over my glove and I also tuck the cord to my iPod through my outer sleeve. Reasons for this being the cold cord doesn’t touch my bare arm and the cord tends to get stiff in the cold, so by doing this it’s out of the way. (I like to hold my iPod because I like to change the music or turn it off if I want.) I also wear whatever watch I am using over the outer sleeve so I can see it.

I wear my regular running shoes unless it’s wet and slushy out, then I wear old shoes. I am hoping to get some Yak Trax soon, but the trails have been maintained pretty well considering the snow we have had, and I was able to run on bare pavement most of the way. I probably should feel a bit guilty considering parts of Minneapolis and St. Paul still haven’t been plowed. But I don’t. I like where I live!

Spend some money on a few base layers and use what you have from there. Be brave, but be safe. Falling on ice and frost bite are not cool. And that’s my little ditty on winter running.

Holiday cards

I hemmed and hawed over whether to send out Christmas cards this year. We didn’t go on any extravagant vacations that warranted any fun pictures, but I was able to work with what I did have. We had a few nice pictures from all our time at the lakes this summer so I give you the before and after.

I used Photoshop for the editing and creating.

This is the original, taken by my Dad. 

 

 
Here is the final.

 

Of course there are a few things that bother me, but to the casual observer I think it turned out okay.

Below is a picture I desperately wanted to make happen, but it was just too grainy and dark. After removing some of the grain, it got blurry and ridiculous. It’s too bad because the sunset is pretty cool. But then again, I am wearing a hoodie from 2002, so maaaayyybe not. 

 

There’s always next year!

Do you send cards? Are you a letter writer? I love getting both!

Work It Out

 
My weekly workout report for the week of December 6th – 12th. Things of note this week…BRR. This December has been cold. And snowy. See my previous post! Spending a lot of quality time at the gym.

Monday, 6th:

New Rules of Lifting, Strength 1, A2
Squats
6 x 100
1 x 120
6 x 100
1 x 125
10 x 95
15 x 65
Bulgarian Split Squat
3 x 15 x 45
Step Up
3 x 15 x BW
Back extension
2 x 10 x 25
Swiss ball crunch
2 x 10 x 25

-2 mile jog

Tuesday, 7th:

NROL Strength 1, B2
BB bench press
6 x 65
1 x 85
6 x 65
2 x 85 (I need a spotter!)
10 x 65
bb bent over row
6 x 55
1 x 75
6 x 55
1 x 75
10 x 55
close grip lat pulldown
2 x 8 x 90
DB shoulder press
2 x 6 x 25's
lower body Russian twist ( I did Pallof press instead)
2 x 10 x 60

-3.25 mile tempo run, 2 miles at tempo

Wednesday, 8th:

NROL Strength 1 C2
Deadlift
6 x 135
1 x 175
6 x 135
1 x 170
10 x 135
15 x 135
RDL
3 x 8 x 95
static lunge (I put my back foot on a low step - it felt more stable and comfortable on my knees this way)
3 x 8 x 45
good morning
2 x 10 x 45
incline reverse crunch
2 x 10

-2 mile jog

Thursday, 9th:

6.5 mile run outdoors

Friday, 10th:

NROL Strength 1, D2
Chin up
6 (feet on bench, Smith machine)
1 (real chin up)
6 (feet on bench, Smith machine)
1 (negative chin)
10 (feet on bench, Smith machine)
BB shoulder press
6 x 45
2 x 55
6 x 45
2 x 55
10 x 45
DB bench press
2 x 8 x 30's
w/g seated cable row
2 x 10 x 60
Lower body Russian Twist
I did a few, then did some anti rotation cable work

-4x800m run, 3.25 miles total

Saturday and Sunday:
Snowmageddon. Shoveling was my only workout!

Total weekly running miles: 16.5

Lovely little Saturday

Bed Bath and Beyond and Home Depot. We weren’t sure if there would be time. 
Mother Nature made sure there wouldn’t be a choice. We wouldn’t be leaving the house, unless by dogsled.

  The drift that eventually got to about 4’ tall.

Big plans to go Christmas shopping on Saturday were scratched in favor of a snow day.  I think no matter your age, if you grew up in a cold climate, the words “snow day” are forever joyous.


Luckily, I had enough foresight to pick up a few essentials the night before.  A lovely New Belgium winter sampler 12 pack.  Unfortunately, I did not have that same foresight when it came to vegetables.  We had planned to make pizza anyway, but a green pepper and some spinach would have made this pizza a little more nutritious.  I felt like channeling my Scandinavian and German ancestors who survived many a harsh blizzard when I used jarred red peppers instead of fresh and plenty of yellow onions. Fresh produce is a convenience of the modern world! Roughing it, we were.

Okay maybe not. But it was still a snow day!



Winter Blizzard Chicken Alfredo Pizza
-one recipe homemade crust
-corn meal for crust
-Grilled chicken, diced or shredded
-Alfredo pasta sauce or pizza sauce if you have modern conveniences like access to a grocery store
-fire roasted sweet red and yellow bell peppers, diced
-caramelized onion
-Garlic Gold nuggets
-lots o’cheese
-Oregano

Optional
-fresh spinach sautéed and/or julienned green bell pepper

After your crust has risen, spread onto baking pans. I use one large jelly roll pan for the recipe above, but it could be stretched into two smaller or round pans. Spread  Alfredo sauce evenly on crust.  Now add chicken and vegetables, adding cheese, Garlic Gold nuggets, and oregano last. Bake at 400 until crust is done and cheese is golden brown.

Another fun snow day activity is baking. I made these amazing cookies on strong recommendation from Nicole at Prevention RD.  She was right. They live up to their billing.

The aftermath. Pretty right? Would be except it’s –2 degrees.

And also, for your viewing pleasure, this. is. awesome.

Real or Fake

I am sure by now if you put up a tree for Christmas, it’s up. It seems that most people either go out and find a real tree or put up their fake tree right after Thanksgiving.

The first Christmas we celebrated in our house brought up the epic debate: Real, or Fake? We may have had the discussion at some point before we were married when telling tales of Christmas traditions. Growing up, going out to cut down the perfect tree at the magical tree nursery was a tradition. (Ok, at least until I was a bratty teenager and became too cool for it.)

A tiny little part of me still cringes every time we put up our fake tree.  Mr. BKL told me that he was just fine with a real tree.  In fact I was more then welcome to go out and find my tree, cut it down, bring it home, place in a stand, and clean up the mess. And water it of course. Sure, sounds like quite the deal doesn’t it. Now before you go and write me off as lazy, the stubborn person in me would go and do all this to prove a point (hauling the tree on top of my Honda Civic would be a feat) but the reason I want to go out and seek the perfect tree is for sentimental reasons, and I would want him to join me.

I have fond memories of wandering – or being pulled in a sled - around the tree nursery while bundled up beyond belief, helping my Dad find our tree.  The forest of tress was a maze of Norway and Scotch pines; some better then others. Dad even brought his own hand saw that I never saw him use any other time except for the Christmas tree.  Once we cut it down, (we is a loose term) and dragged it back to the parking lot to pay and of course put it through the shaker machine (that think kind of scared me), we were on our way.

See? Look how much fun we are having!

The rest of this story that includes putting on the ornaments, lights, and garland could be told with a fake tree.  There was just something about that journey to the nursery, the free candy canes for us kids, the music, and the atmosphere at the tree farm that made it special.

But, at the end of the day, it’s the traditions you create with your family that matter. Of course I have those memories but we are now making our own. Real or fake, tree or no tree, Christmas or Hanukkah, it’s about finding your own traditions.

So, is it real or fake? Or no tree at all?

Girl Talk

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No, not the awesome game you played as a kid. The musician!

I wasn’t sure if this even warranted an entire post for itself, but I wanted to share how awesome the latest album  All Day by Girl Talk is, even though I haven’t even listened to the whole thing yet. It made my 3.25 mile run on the treadmill go by like lightening last night. It was so much fun recognizing the songs and seeing how they were brought into one amazing and ridiculous song. Think Hip Hop meets Alternative meets Top 40 all in one song. Constant beats and up tempo music perfect for working out to.

I had heard of Girl Talk in the past and hadn’t really investigated like I had planned to.  I am pretty sure I wrote it down one time after hearing a song in the car and then the scrap of paper went to the bottom of my purse, only to be found and discarded after not being able to read my one-handed scribbles. (fun fact: I have terrible handwriting!) This is my very inefficient system I like to call “music to download.”

Gotta give credit to AnitaLynn for alerting me to this awesome free download. Thanks!

Go here to download.

Around the house

This post will be lighter on words. Just a few Christmas decor pictures and a few new cheap non-seasonal additions that I am loving.  Perhaps posting Christmas decoration pictures will help me get more into the spirit.  I am a bit of a Grinch this year.  I am working on it….

First, a couple things we picked up at Ikea a few weeks ago. I have been on the hunt for a lamp for this corner of our living room and had a hard time deciding on the size – should it be a floor lamp or a table lamp that would sit on the table? And if it did, it would have to be a certain size to fit under the shelving above.  We started to think a table lamp would be all squished and look funny proportionately.

A shorter delicate scale floor lamp it is…

Next, I have been wanting a floor rug for our bedroom for, oh forever. Of course I have seen some beauties that were way out of our price range, which was next to nothing. I saw this one at Ikea and besides it being super cheap, it seemed to be the perfect fit.  It matches our duvet cover (which I still adore each day) from Crate and Barrel so well.  I would have paid a lot more for this rug because it fits in the room so well. 

And now some of my favorite Christmas decorations…the tress below were purchased the day after Christmas last year on mega clearance at Target. I totally forgot about them and was so excited when I unwrapped them.  It’s like I bought myself a gift!

Below is some garland that I just love – also from Target. I am into bright colors and retro designs when it comes to Christmas.

Next is another fun surprise I forgot about. Also Last year, my Mom bought me the ornament bulbs that match the garland above. 

Another ornament below.  These have special meaning because each year for as long as I can remember my Grandma has given each of us grandkids one of these gorgeous candy canes. They come in a nice box with the year on it wrapped in a velour protector. It’s such a neat tradition and I will always cherish these, thinking of my Grandma and knowing all my cousins also have the same candy canes on their trees.

And lastly, one of my favorite reminders to find joy this season. Hoping you all are finding joy, too.

A return to lifting

As you can see in my latest work it out post, I am doing 4 days a week of lifting versus the 2 I had been doing for quite a while now.

After signing up for my first half marathon last week, I decided I needed to take it easy on the running for a while so I don’t get hurt or burned out. That coupled with the recent dive in temperatures outside, I figured it was time to dust off my copy of New Rules of Lifting. Not to be confused with New Rules of Lifting for Women, this book is more then just one linear lifting program. I have done a 3 part series of workouts from this book called Fat Loss in the past. (Remember kids, fat loss is achieved through diet not a particular program. The Fat Loss programs are more intense cardiovascular and have little rest times as to keep you working harder the entire time.)

I decided to dive into the Strength programs in the book. This is a big departure from all the lifting I have been doing for the past 3+ years since this program has dedicated upper and lower body days whereas I had been doing full body workouts which work both upper and lower body in the same day.  The reason I prefer the latter is for me, it provides a better workout cardiovascular wise. I also tend to work through sets with minimal rest times so my heart rate is usually elevated. That and I am antsy and have no interest in sitting around watching the clock or flexing in the mirror.  You know they type I am talking about.  I start my next set when my body and mind feel ready.

So after completing my first week, I am first most excited that I haven’t lost much strength. Lifting 2 times a week during my race training helped not only with my running strength, but helped keep most of my strength I had worked on last winter.

So as I do this for the next month and a half or so, follow along with me and challenge yourself to get in some strength training if you aren't already doing so. If you are a runner I promise the right program will help you be faster and stronger and power yourself up those hills. If you aren’t, strength training is going to help you in your endeavors – athletic or not – in daily life.  Ladies, bone density is important especially as we age.  A lot of people say they hate strength training but I say they just haven’t met the right program. Remember, body weight work at home can be just as effective as pumping the iron at the gym.

Work It Out

 
A big shift this week.  I decided to actually do a weight lifting program instead of make up my own workouts!  So novel.  I had to blow the dust of my copy of New Rules of Lifting which I have had for over 2 years now.  I flipped to the Strength section.  There are 4 workouts in each stage and 3 stages. The 4 workouts  - A, B, C, and D -in each stage are to be done 4 times each. Two lower body and two upper body; which is a shift for me since I have almost always exclusively done full body workouts.  Time will tell if I like this method or not. I will say that without a doubt I struggled big time to even jog on the treadmill after workout A. Out of respect for the authors I am not going to note the exact details, but the weights I used for my own reference.

My weekly workout report for the week of November 29th – December 5th:

Monday, 29th
NROL Strength 1, Workout A1
-barbell back squat 95, 115, 95, 120, 95, 45

-Bulgarian Split squat 3x 15 x 45
-Step Up 3 x 15 x BW

-Back extension 2 x 10 x 10
-Swiss ball crunch 2 x10 x 25

2 mile jog

Tuesday, 30th
NROL Strength 1, B1
Bench press
65
80
65
80
65
BB bent over row
55
65
55
65
55
close grip lat pulldown
85
db shoulder press
20's
lower body Russian twist
oops! Somehow I forgot this one. I don't really like these anyway

-3.25 mile run

Wednesday, 1st
5 mile tempo run on the treadmill, 3 miles at tempo

Thursday, 2nd
NROL Strength 1 C1
Deadlift
135
165
135
165
135
95
RDL
95
Static Lunge
45
Good morning
45
incline reverse crunch - I hate these so I did Pallof press instead - I like to interchange core work at my own discretion
2 x 10x 60

-2 mile jog

Friday, 3rd
NROL Strength 1, D1
Chin up (did a combination of smith machine w/feet on bench chins and negative chins)
6 (assisted smith machine)
1 (negative)
6
1
10 (lat pulldown @ 100#)
BB shoulder press
45
55
45
55
45
DB bench press
2 x 6 x 30's
w/g cable seated row
6 x 75
8 x 60
lower body Russian twist
I did a few...
side planks
2 x 40 sec each side

-4 x 800's, 3.25 miles total

Saturday, 4th
3 mile snowy and slow run and shoveling!

Sunday, 5th
none

Make these now

Before I get to the post, I wanted to let you know I added a new way to read Bees Knees Life.  You will see on the right there is now a box to get posts delivered to your inbox via Feed Burner. It’s really easy, I promise.  If you prefer to not read via a reader this is a great way to stay updated!

Are you in your kitchen yet?  Why not? Oh, you are reading this at work. I see. Well, when you get home you should probably make these cookies.  I am probably in my kitchen right now making more.

A few weeks ago Mama Pea of Peas and Thank You posted a delightful recipe for peanut butter cookie dough balls.  I made them (as did most of the blog world) soon after and they were pretty awesome. Mine turned out a little dry, but I think it was because of my lack of whole wheat pastry flour.  Using only bread flour gave them a more regular cookie taste vs. a dough taste. Still delicious none the less.

Fast forward to this week and she posted a new variation of these delightful treats.

Christmas Cookie Dough Balls.

 

Since one of our favorite cookies here at casa de BKL is the sugar cookie, I figured it would be a win-win. I also found the elusive whole wheat pastry flour (please don’t tell me I could have made my own by putting regular whole wheat flour into the food processor) and got crackin’.  You will be tempted to eat the dough straight up especially since you aren’t living on the edge eating raw egg like you would with other cookie dough because these are vegan.* If you manage to get a few in the oven consider it a success.

 

 

*Mine are not vegan since I used cows milk. Other then that I followed the recipe exactly. Click here for the recipe.

Rainbow of goodness

A few weeks ago, I contacted Chobani because I was concerned about some mold I found in my 6 oz. cup of blueberry Greek yogurt. It wasn’t expired and just a day before I had eaten a container from the same pack.  I totally blame myself for not looking at the top before I started eating.  I don’t think I actually ate any of the mold, but I was still a little concerned, so I emailed them and asked if there was any reason I should call poison control, write my last will and testament, and run to the hospital immediately. 

Within about a half hour, I had received a response that was nothing but professional, courteous, and concerned. The woman I talked with offered to send me some coupons and I said that wouldn’t be necessary – I love their product and would continue to buy it as well as speak highly of it on the ‘net and on my blog, since these things happen. She insisted so I guess I can’t turn down free yogurt.  Then she had a nice woman in communications send me an email about the blog.  She said they would love to send me a case to try out.  But of course! Look how pretty….

 

Now, I tell you this tale firstly in full disclosure – the company did send me free product.  Secondly, I just wanted to say how great the customer service was. I was so impressed and am even more likely to buy from them in the future because of how it was handled.

And since I am a cheapskate, I will tell you that the cheapest place to get the 6 oz. size containers of Chobani is at Costco.  They offer a 12 pack in 3 flavors – strawberry, blueberry, and peach.  Second best place to buy is Super Target. They have large containers of  plain 0%, 2%, and vanilla – my fave – when they are in stock.  Last night I was there and their entire Greek yogurt selection was pretty much gone. I am excited to try the honey because I haven’t seen it in stores here just yet.