It’s time for another Sponsor Shout Out! I’ve got two lovely ladies this week to tell you about, so let’s just get right in to it!

I’m sure you’ve heard of Scentsy right? You know…the wickless candles that leave your house smelling ah-mazing!! Well my friend Miranda is a Scentsy consultant and wants to let you guys know about all the new Scentsy products! She’s got everything from new warmer designs, new scents (my f-a-v is Hazelnut Latte…go fig), plus a WHOLE NEW line of products called Layers, which includes lotions, shower gels, and body sprays! I could die!

Miranda’s even offered to GIVEAWAY a free Layers hand cream to the first 10 people that place an order through her shop. Is that not incredible?!! Head over to Miranda’s Scentsy shop and order some smell goods for you, your friends, and your family!!

My next sponsor is from the super recipe creator Meghan! Her blog, Stir and Scribble, offers up some tast-eee eats (and DRINKS!!). I mean, Donut Cake. Seriously! I wish Meghan were my neighbor…and not just for the cake! Her style is totally the style I fall in love with and wish I could be like. Her love of vintage kitchen tools, bourbon, and everything homemade screams classy. I just picture her baking away in a frilly apron, sipping on a tall Fuzzy Peach, laughing  the day away.

Ooh…and she’s worked for Alton Brown…how awesome is that?! So jealous!! If you’re looking for down home recipes and a girl that’ll put a smile on your face, you need to check out Meghan’s blog!

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I’d love to help support you and your blog/shop and introduce you to a new group of readers! Check out my Sponsor page for all the details!

Two weeks ago I ran Half Marathon #6 and just realized I forgot to tell you about it!

…so here’s the quick run down…

Coffee, PB toast, two dates, CHECK. Race bib, CHECK. Breathable shorts and white shirt CHECK.

I actually had a minor heart attack right before the race. Run for the Zoo happens in the downtown area of ABQ…which means there’s no direct parking at the start line. It’s more like park 10 blocks away at a meter and walk kind of thing. No biggie. Unless you walk half way to the start line and realize that you left your Garmin in the car…and the race starts in 10 minutes. Literally.

I freaked. I bolted back to my car. And was sprinting back to the start line. I was so nervous that running this hard to the start was going to really wear out my legs. But I had no choice. 

I made it back to the start just in time.

I was so relieved.

And felt even more amped for my race.

The gun went off a few minutes later and we were off and running.

The first few miles I spent just trying to find my pace and finally got in to a good rhythm around mile 4. The people I had been hanging out with were starting to fall behind and I could feel myself only running stronger.

Around mile 6 there was this girl in neon green shorts that suddenly appeared next to me. I’m not sure where she came from, but her and I ran together from mile 6 all the way to mile 12.

It was awesome because neither of us wanted to let the other get ahead, so we were really pushing each other to run hard and strong. At mile 9 she said, “thanks for running with me this morning” I laughed because I was just getting ready to tell her the same thing. I told her that we were doing great and were running an 8:23 mile. She smiled.

I’ve never ran a race with someone like that and was surprised that I enjoyed it so much. She really helped to keep me on track, and in the moments where I wanted to give up she kept me going. Maybe running partners aren’t so bad.

At mile 12 she went in to a sprint, and I let her go. There was no way I could sprint that hard for a mile. But of course, a few minutes after she took off I started doubting my choice and wishing I could have kept up with her. Just as I was starting to get down on myself I looked up and saw a familiar face…MY MOM!! She didn’t tell me, but she was at the last half mile marker cheering on the runners. When I saw her I started waving frantically. It was like I just drank an energy drink! She was running next to me, motivating me, and reminding me to just go one step at at time. After a few seconds she told me to “go baby GO”. And off I went!!

I crossed the finish line feeling so strong and so energized.

I didn’t PR, but I was so close! Official race time was 1:53:22. Missed a PR by seconds!

And I was ok with that, because I couldn’t believe the intensity I maintained from mile 6 to mile 13. One of the best races I’ve ever run!!

After the race I was dead tired and found myself actually craving a bag of ice!

I know, sounds crazy. This is totally one of those HURTS so good moments.

…and an ice bath isn’t complete without a HOT cup of coffee…Starbucks coffee duh!

The best way to end a race! (and just FYI those are bathing suit bottoms…not my underwear)

Hey there!

Do you ever wish you could have French Toast for breakfast?

Do you ever wish that French Toast didn’t take so long to make?

I mean I know this sounds silly because French Toast comes together pretty quickly. But I’m talking about quick-ER. Like, as in, two minutes!!!!!

And the type of French Toast that you don’t have to share.

Yeah? Then this is for you.

Single serving of French Toast, ready in two minutes!

The only b-a-d thing about easy peasy French Toast is that I want it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

I’m all about having breakfast at ANY time during the day. Breakfast is my absolute favorite meal. So I will use any reason to eat breakfast for dinner. No problemo.

The hubby is not really big on this idea. He’s been eating fast food a lot for dinner. Because I can’t put the mug down.

or the syrup for that matter.

Please send for help. I need to be saved.

Or don’t.

Because I’m perfectly content drowning in maple syrup, bananas, and eggy bread.

This is the way everyDAY should start!

…or lunch…or dinner…

even snack time.

French Toast in a Mug

2 slices whole wheat bread, cut in cubes

1 egg

4 tablespoons almond milk

2 tablespoons applesauce

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 banana, sliced

maple syrup

Layer half the bread cubes in to a coffee mug. Top with 1/2 of the banana slices. Layer with the remaining bread cubes and top it of with the rest of the banana.

In a small bowl whisk the egg, almond milk, applesauce, cinnamon and vanilla together. Pour over the top of bananas and bread. Place mug in microwave for 2 minutes on HIGH.

Remove from microwave and top with syrup. Be careful…even though you want to scarf it, it’s gonna be hot!

Today I’m showing you a magic trick.

I learned about this magic trick at my favorite fro-yo shop. (Is anyone else addicted to fro-yo like I am?) Well. Wait. I guess I should say I learned OF this magic trick.

Because they won’t share the recipe with me.

Fine.

Totally fine.

I get it. It’s Mama’s “secret” magic shell recipe. Little do they know I have my ways.

Take that fro-yo shop!

But that’s not the magic trick. (Me re-creating this recipe)

The magic trick is that this ice cream topper goes from liquid to crackable shell in 0.2 seconds flat! (!!!!!!) It’s like the best thing ever.

Kind of like the topping on crème brulee. But not torched. Because…um…that would melt the ice cream. Duh.

And melted ice cream is no bueno! You can imagine how fast I was snapping these pictures. I had to keep “cleaning” up the meltiness with my spoon. I think I m-a-y have consumed a whole bowl of melted ice cream. No biggie. 

My spoon cracking through this ca-aaaaa-ke flavored shell is maybe my most favorite food experience.

There’s no telling how many times I poured this magic shell.

One crackable shell just.

doesn’t.

cut.

it.

The only problem with making this at home is that I didn’t use frozen yogurt.

Blue Bell ice cream never looked so good. Neither has stretchy pants shorts (because it’s freakin’ hot out now!!), a huge bowl, and a permanent butt mark on the couch.

I’ll worry about the butt mark later.

Funfetti Magic Shell

1/2 cup coconut oil

3 tablespoons dry white cake mix

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup colored sprinkles

Melt the coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl, this takes just a minute. Whisk in the remaining ingredients. Let magic shell sit for a few minutes just to cool down some.

While it’s cooling scoop out some of your favorite ice cream in to a bowl. Sprinkle top of ice cream with a few extra sprinkles. Then drizzle magic shell over the top of ice cream. And get ready to crack!!

(You can pour any left over magic shell in a jar and store it in the fridge. When ready to use just heat for about 30 second in the microwave)

27 years ago my mom celebrated her first Mother’s Day.

And she’s spent the last 27 years dedicating her life to me and my brother.

Without her there would be no me.

Mom, thank you so much for everything you do. I can’t imagine having a better mama.

I love you!

And to all the other mama’s out there, Happy Mother’s Day!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Can you believe we made it? I almost didn’t think I would. This week had been a little CA-razy!!

But, it’s time for another Sponsor Shout Out! I love introducing you to my monthly sponsors! These women are SO incredible! And I hope you’ll take a minute to go and check them out! Make sure you say HI (!!)

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Ryan is a Southern Belle who serves up plates of comfort over at Spicy Richmond. Like literally. See what I mean! One thing different about this Southern girl though is that she is a SPICY food fanatic! She is laying on some serious heat, just look at this Cheesy Enchilada Pasta. Whoa mama! Nothing like heating things up in the kitchen –wink-wink-. Ryan also shares her everyday life moments…which I love! Because I like getting a sneak peek in to the lives of others, but totally not like a stalker. Although I do stalk Ryan and you should too! She recently underwent an allergy test and has some ca-razy pictures to share with you, plus a long list of “allergic to” items that she wasn’t expecting to see. So she needs some love right now! Go check out her incredible recipes!!

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So remember last week when I got attacked by a hawk while on my run? (true story…and now I’m deathly afraid of birds), well I think my body is paying me back with cramps.

Like KILLER cramps that no one should ever have to experience. The only thing that’s soothing them is a hot tea cup on my uterus.

Just a warning though, if you try this at home (!!!) do not, and I repeat DO NOT leave this cup on ur tummy and try typing with two hands. Or you’ll end up with hot tea in your crotch, which is w-a-y worse than the initial cramps. Trust me. It happened yesterday morning. And I wanted to cry.

I cannot tell you guys how elated I am! The last two weeks something incredibly crazy happened that I never thought would have.

Let me preface by saying that since I started the bloggie I’ve been trying to get my pictures accepted to Foodgawker, and everyDAY I would get a huge fat DECLINE. With only 11 accepted photos from the last year and a half, I was getting ready to give up. 

But then I got Adobe Lightroom and the last 10 recipes I’ve submitted have all been accepted!! SHOCKED!! Like for reals. I was so used to seeing “uh-no” over and over (for like 184 times) that to finally see “uh-YEAh” was a huge motivator. Just proves that old adage true. Never, never, never give up.

I was even more excited when my Rocky Road Doughnuts got accepted so that I could rub it in the hubbie’s face that marshmallows are not the devil.

But…then he said no one even got to taste the doughnuts, I was only accepted on my pictures. Uh. Death glare.

…so I’m seriously thinking about signing up for the F-U-L-L of THIS.

Thoughts?

I think it’s about time for #2.

Hopefully I don’t break my leg this time.

I can’t stop doing this to my nails. Halp me!

aaannd I can’t stop snuggling with this cutie.

No help needed for this problem though. I could lay next to this face all day long.

…and!!! The planking is catching on! #PlankProof is in full swing!

Check it out!!

Jordan and Anna planking it out

Deneene’s plank                                                                               Annabell’s plank

                                                                          Niecy’s plank

Tara’s Twitter shout out

You guys ROCK!! I can’t tell you how excited I am to see #PlankProof grow and to see you guys become Plank DOMINATORS!

Last Wednesday something crazy happened…I posted about planks…and you guys went crazy for it!

There were some of you that emailed me asking me for a weekly plank challenge. Where every Wednesday we could show of our plankness! I got messages from people planking in their office. Planking during their lunch break. Posting pictures of plank timers. And it got me so excited!

So from now on, every Wednesday I want you to

SHOW ME YOUR PLANK!

And plank your way become a Plank Dominator!

The only way to achieve the highest level of plankness is to just do it. No excuses, no sneaking out. I want to see you. Plank. For as long as you can. And each Wednesday I want you to post a picture of you planking, your plank timer, or your rockin’ abs to my Facebook or Twitter Page! Make sure to use the #PlankProof hashtag.  The more plankers that do this, the large the plank community will become. So please, show me our plank!

Oh…and what’s a plank dominator you ask? I figured you’d ask that question, so I made you a little chart!

So get to it!

I want proof people!

Rocky Road has to be one of my ULTIMATE combinations.

I could eat rocky road ice cream all day. No joke. The only thing that keeps me from doing it is that in the back of my mind I’m afraid I might turn in to a big marshmallow. (figuratively and literally).

And that would just be bad.

It’s kind of like that scary l.i.e my grandma used to tell me about the nasty faces I made as a kid. Never thought I’d be calling my grandmother a liar. But I am. And I did.

The other thing that keeps me from eating Rocky Road fro e-v-e-r-y meal is the fact that the Hubby hates Rocky Road. If that would have been on his eHarmony profile I’m not too sure I’d be wearing his last name right now.

He says he hates Rocky Road because of the marshmallows. Crazy talk right! I almost had a melt down when he told me that while in the ice cream aisle of the grocery store. What is life without marshmallows!

He’s the same with s’mores, marshmallow pops, Phish food. Won’t touch them with a ten foot pole.

Since I can’t really have Rocky Road, my cravings for it are sky HIGH. and are totally driving me to my crazy point.

So I had to take measures in to my own hands. And that means sharing my goodies with my co-workers instead of my hubby. They’re much more appreciative of marshmallows.

And I couldn’t just bring a container of ice cream to work in the morning. That would be weird. And only a crazy person would do that (have I mentioned before that I’ve just eaten ice cream for b-fast, straight up. I however am not crazy). The only thing that seems fitting for a morning gathering at the office is doughnuts.

And since we all survived the worst (!!!) workday i.e. Monday, I decided to treat every one to chocolate.

Chocolate with marshmallow frosting. Chocolate with marshmallow frosting and an almond coating.

Could life get any better?

I think NOT.

Take that hubby! You don’t know what you’re missing.

Rocky Road Doughnuts
makes 12 incredible doughnuts

For the Doughnuts:

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup dark cocoa powder

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon espresso powder

1 egg

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla

For the Marshmallow Frosting:

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup marshmallow crème

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon milk

For the Topping:

1 1/2 cups almond meal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray doughnuts pans with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl combine flour, dark cocoa, baking powder, sugar, and espresso powder. Add in the egg, buttermilk, applesauce, and vanilla whisking until batter is smooth. Spoon batter into doughnut pans filling 3/4 of the way full. Bake doughnuts for 10-12 minutes. Let cool in pan for a few minutes then turn out on to cooling rack to cool completely.

In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter, marshmallow crème, and vanilla for a few minutes until blended and fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar a little bit at a time. Then add in the tablespoon of milk beating for just a minute to thin out the icing (add more milk if icing is too thick).

Place ground almonds on a small plate or bowl. Dunk the tops of the doughnuts in the almonds.

Pour a cup of coffee and get your doughnut on.

Frosting adapted from Kraft

What a weekend.

I almost feel like I didn’t have a weekend.

I hate when that happens.

But between haircuts, grocery shopping, Derby watching, Cinco de Mayo partying, half marathon running, cooking, laundry, and a minor attempt at cleaning, my down time has been zip, zero, none.

Busy weekends means two days off is gone in a f-l-a-s-h. Poof.

Anyone else have this problem?

I think the best part of my weekend was this corn salad though. (Or maybe this breakfast “margarita”)

So refreshing. But creamy with avocado. And filling from the squash.

Yes. Filing.

Salad and veggies can have that affect on your tum-tum.

And can I just take a moment to tell you guys how ob-sess-ED I am with avocados (!!!) Like, seriously. I can’t stop eating them. I swear my skin is going to start turning green.

My latest avocado creations are avocados and a microwave-boiled egg (mash em up and spread on toast), avocados in smoothies (trust me!!) or avocados, just plain.                …and speaking of creations, I’m the chef of the week at eRecipe, go check it out!!!

The hubby thinks creation #1 and #2 are gross. Fine by me. At least I can have those avocados by myself. Unfortunately he liked this version of avocados. Now I’m hiding the last bowl in the back of the fridge, behind the almond milk. The best hiding spot ever.

Corn and Avocado Salad
makes a hu-jass bowl of salad

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 red onion, diced

1 yellow squash, chinked

1 bag frozen sweet yellow corn, thawed

1 1/2 ripe avocado, chunked

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

2 limes, juiced

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon garlic salt

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the red onions and squash, cooking until soft and onions are translucent, about 6-8 minutes.

In a large bowl dump in the sautéed squash and then add the rest of the ingredients. Stir to combine. Add more seasoning to taste.

Cover bowl and place in fridge until ready to serve. Eat by itself, or dip corn chips into it for the extra corn punch!