This week was so crazy (but in a good way! .. are you tired of hearing me say that yet? :p), that I’d fallen embarrassingly behind on my blog reading. I don’t even know how far behind because Google Reader just said ’1000+’. So I spent a good portion of my morning catching up and being inspired 
Today’s post is missing the usual ‘Fitness’ and ‘Nutrition’ sections and is all..
FUN
I am also completely honored to have been nominated for a couple blog awards.
First, the wonderful Nicole at Healthy Chow passed on the Happy 101 Award to me. Thank u so much
10 things that make me happy:
Then the Beautiful Blogger Award from Kristen, the SwankyRD herself!
Lets see, 7 fun facts about me:
Sweet Recipe Success
Today’s kitchen experiment involved protein-infusing a recipe I saw on FitSugar.. Find the original recipe here.
Peanut Butter Protein Cookies with Chocolate Icing
2 scoops Peanut Butter Protein Power (other flavors would be good too!)
1/3 c Oats
1/2 c Peanut Butter (I used Low-Salt Better n’ PB)
1/4 c Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
1/4 c Wheat Germ
1/4 c Unsweetened Applesauce
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
Mix all the ingredients together and shape into balls. When you want a quick snack, pop a couple of these babies in the microwave for 30 seconds. If you feel like making a more indulgent version, make a bigger cookie and top with the following icing.
Icing:
1/4 c Plain Greek Yogurt
1/4 c Unsweetened Applesauce
2 tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa (I love Wondercocoa)
Just mix everything together and enjoy!
I was so pleased with how these turned out! A lot of times when you microwave protein powder it gets really dry and looses flavor, but these stayed nice and moist!
Pre-Cooked Dough Balls
Plain
Blingin' with Ice
Confession
Sighhhh.. as you can tell from the above recipe, I purchased Peanut Butter. I thought I was ready, I thought I was strong enough.. I was wrong 
I get so angry at myself and frankly, embarrassed, but I just can’t seem to maintain a healthy-serving relationship with Peanut Butter. I don’t know what it is.. I’m fine with most other foods, even if sugar is consciously avoided. It’s just frustrating. I definitely seem to do better with raw Almond Butter, so I suppose I’ll stick to that when the rare craving comes around. Besides the Protein Cookies would probably rock with Almond Butter anyway.
Self-Proclaimed Scrub Intervention
I love working from home, but there’s definitely a line where I start feeling lazy for only changing from sweats to workout clothes and back to sweats. When I lived in Berkeley & Baltimore I’d often cozy up for hours on end at a local coffee shop to study, write applications, etc, but I just haven’t found a great place here in Arizona (mainly just the standard Starbucks.. which I love, don’t get me wrong, but their internet leaves something to be desired). Where do you like to do work/study? Do you have a favorite spot? And if you’re in the Phoenix area, do you have any suggestions?
Appreciating Moments
I recently finished read the book ‘Yeah Dave’s Guide to Livin’ the Moment.’ It’s a really fun read, and I can pretty much guarantee a few laugh-out-loud moments. The author is a yoga teacher, but the book is more about him using his rather comical life stories to convey deeper lessons on experiencing the best moments in life, moments that occur each and every day. In the book, he recommends taking time each day to reflect upon a beautiful moment, a funny moment and a delicious moment as a way of gather further meaning and appreciation for all the little things that we experience each day. Well, not surprisingly, I love it, so I thought I’d give it a try for awhile. He also has a ‘Yoga for Foodies’ tour which I would LOVE to attend. There’s even one in my neck of the woods in a few week.. but I’m guessing it’ll be outside my budget :/ .. someday.
A Beautiful Moment: The sun coming out and me having to roll the windows down in the car it was so warm. Appreciated after a stormy couple of days.
A Fun Moment: Wandering around Pier 1 Imports
A Delicious Moment: Savoring a healthy dinner of Spaghetti Squash with Cottage Cheese & Avocado after having a couple too many PB Protein Cookies (those were pretty delicious too :p )
Fun Links
Congrats on both awards! Well deserved!
You go girl. You deserve the awards!!
sorry about the PB frustrations. i guess i shouldnt tell you that it is national PB day on sunday…
great recipe! fun to read your award answers
You seriously have to microwave it? no baking??? I’ve got to try it. I wish I had PB protein powder though, because that wouldve been awesome. Got to stick to chocolate for now!
I feel your frustration, I am far worst with chocolate or unnecessary snacks. You can always tell your roomie to hide your PB
just like your granola (I forgot the brand) haha.
Have a good night
Sorry to hear about your PB frustration. I can be like that with chocolate! I really like cashew butter.
Love your Appreciating Moments paragraph!
I understand the google reader overload, too many good blogs!! Congrats on the awards and those protein cookies look great and addictive. I seem to be like that if I make cookies, even if they are healthy cookies, I eat too many. Hope you have a nice weekend!
Ola, great website youve put together here. I really enjoyed skimming through this article. I noticed it this afternoon and found it very worthwhile, so it inspired me to post a few words. I know other people will most likely have the same view on this subject. So, Ill visit again when I have more time to read more. This is kinda weird, but I was just telling my brother concerning it, so this information was perfect. I will bookmark this site and subscribe to the rss in addition. Thanks again.