I need something, but I am not sure what it is. 

I love running, but I am feeling so blah with it lately. I see Caitlin, Meghann and Lindsay running in the Florida sun together and I am green with envy. Not that I run outside anyway, but they make it look fun. I am looking forward to joining a gym (once I get to N.J.), so I can try some new things and maybe some classes. Of course I will miss the treadmill in my parent’s house. It’s the most convenient thing in the world. I would sit on my butt all day long if not for that thing. Anyway, I did run today. A boring 5.3 treadmill miles and 1 mile walking. It’s not that I was bored when doing it. I was entertained by the Starter Wife, but I just don’t feel like I’m pushing myself at all. 

I continued my uneventful day with a game of Place Value Bingo with my niece. How do you say the word “Aunt?” I, and I believe all New Englanders say, “Ont.” 

Then I watched Drumline. That movie is good. Now Nick Cannon is married to Mariah Carey. What a riot! 

For dinner, I had two new things (1) Amy’s Vegetable Barley Soup; and (2) An Ezekial Hamburger Bun. That brought some pizaz into my day. 

It was definitely good for a canned soup, but not even comparable to theVegetable Barley Soup my mom made be on Oct. 27th. I think canned soup has a specific flavor that follows it no matter what brand.  But, it wasn’t greasy or overly salty like lots of other brands I’ve tried. 

I got the Ezekial Hamburger Buns upon Erin’s recommendation. Considering I’ve eaten an English Muffin produced by the Good For Life Company everyday (sometimes twice a day!) for the last three months, I enjoyed trying something new. I also like how they are already split in half so I am more likely to actually eat half like I always intend, but never ever do with the muffins. Definitely good, soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. I did miss the density of the muffin though. 

Today I also had a Macoun apple with Pumpkin Pie Spice. It’s so yummy. Two yums up. I can’t believe I just said that, yet I will not delete it.

About a week ago, I received a wonderful package from Megan at Megan’s Munchies I got lots of great stuff, including the three special Holiday Clif bars. I’ve eaten them all now and am here to share my humble opinion. 

I rank them in this order:

(1) Iced Gingerbread. Have you ever tried the Chai Luna bar? It’s similar in taste, but more moist and chewy.  A little spicy, but well balanced with sweet. Loved it. 

(2) Pear Apple Strudel. I was delightfully surprised by how much I liked the because I don’t generally like fruity bars. To me, they usually taste so fake that I don’t want to eat them, but this one had a subtle fruity taste and a wonderful aroma. I didn’t necessarily get a strong pear or apple flavor from it and I liked that. 

(3) Spiced Pumpkin Pie. I love  pumpkin dearly, so I was really looking forward to this, but there was nothing pumpkin aboout it.  I mean, pumpkin has such potential. It almost tasty minty to me. I actually checked to see if it was in the box next to something minty, but it wasn’t. V. sad.

Cookie of the Day: Lemon Squares

I love lemon, so a couple years ago I started experimenting with lemon squares. Eventually, I settled on a hybrid recipe. When making Lemon Squares, I combine the filling from this Emeril recipe (so I use the 4 eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and whole milk) and the shortbread base from this Gourmeet Magazine  recipe. I’ve made these a few times and everyone loves them. At first I was thrown off by the brown sugar/lemon combo, but they blend well and balance eachother out. Enjoy! 

And a special treat …

Date Balls

A visual for the Date Balls I posted a week or two ago. My mom made them today (I tried to help, but mine looked like cubes) and froze them for Christmas. The recipe made 77 balls this year.