It's a snow day!

Winter storm Hercules left me working from home. Woo hoo! I was so happy to not have to drive 20 miles to the office, plus driving around to the houses and another 20 miles back home.

The major downside to a snow day is shoveling...especially when it's single digit temperatures with a wind chill of -10. 

As you can tell, I didn't want to venture outside...

It wasn't so terrible when I was actually outside because I was powering through shoveling, but once the cold hit me, it was bad. Like really bad. 

After an hour of nonstop shoveling, I gave up and went inside. That's when the torture started. You know when you lose feeling in your hands and all you want is for the sensation to come back because the awkward numb fumbling is just too much to handle? Yeah, we'll this time I would have preferred to remain in that state than endure the aftermath. The pain of the feeling returning to my hands and fingers was unbearable.

The agony eventually subsided, thankfully. But wait, dear readers, that is not the end of my painful saga. After working up an appetite from hauling snow, I decided to cut up some red cabbage to sauté with leftover pulled pork. Bad idea. I sliced the very tip of my index finger off. Talk about a bloody mess. Why weren't my fingers numb when I actually needed them to be?! 

To make myself feel better, I baked some corn muffins from a box. 

Baking is therapeutic. 

Then, I got a phone call from one of the guys on my caseload at 3:30 saying he was in a rotten mood because he was bored and wasn't getting picked up until 4pm and wanted to go out for coffee. Believe it or not, these are real daily problems in my position that can lead to a more serious issue. What is my life?

I'm posting a picture of cats doing yoga because it makes me laugh and I need that.

I had plans more a more detailed post today, but as you can tell, today's happenings weren't exactly in my favor. Not a bad day by any means, just a day where I'm clearly off my A-game.

Nothing could make my Monday more marvelous than a great weekend behind me and short work week ahead

Yep, the title pretty much sums it up.

I mentioned my pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving celebration with my godfamily in my last post. Needless to say, it was a blast. But let's be real, how could I not have an awesome day when I was sporting teal leggings? Bold colors make me feel happy.

As always, I ended up playing bartender and blowing everyone's minds with my drink concoctions. My favorite sampling of the night was what I called a Caramel Maple Cake. The Red Hot Apple Pie and the Cinnamon Pumpkin drinks were pretty incredible, too, if I do say so myself. (Just a side note, my "drink names" really do nothing more than describe the flavors of nips that were randomly purchased and combined. ) I sampled all night without actually imbibing, however.

Sunday morning yoga was great as always, and almost all of my favorite people showed up. Yay! A good workout + good conversation = success.

I spent the rest of my Sunday grocery shopping, doing laundry, joking around with my family, and taking the opportunity to watch Meet the Millers since my sisters rented it OnDemand last night.

Oh, and I have to mention that leftover turkey is the best and I enjoyed it for dinner on a salad with spicy brown mustard and habanero mustard for dressings. Yum!

Not to break from the positivity, but my Weather Kitty made me sad today with the forecast. So I put on glasses on him. Yeah, didn't change the fact that it didn't reach 30ºF

This is why I hate New England. At least this cat is amusingly adorable.

Monday's forecast, regardless of the physical outdoor temperature, is looking a-okay to me. Lunch with someone on my caseload as part of my workday, vinyasa and hot yoga, and a 3-day work week.

As always, thanks to Katie for the push to see the positive side of Mondays. Linking up!

Apple bread fail

Just stopping in for a quick post before my usual hectic Tuesday schedule of work followed by a trek to Federal Hill to host trivia. At least I'm in at 10am today, so my first day back after a long weekend is a mere 13 (so I hope) hours rather than 14 or 15. Big props to the coffee manufacturers on days like today.

Yesterday was entirely uneventful. I had intentions of going out to look for new boots, but ended up staying at home all afternoon because 1) I'm lazy and 2) it's better that I save my money right now.

I had some apples in the fridge that were losing their appeal for raw snackage, so I thought, "Why not whip up some apple bread?" Cue Google. I came across this recipe from Southern Plate and figured it looked simple and delicious enough. Any recipe that only requires one bowl is for me. I also added a granola and cinnamon sugar topping to the top of the bread.

As evidenced by the final product, it was not such a success. When I took it out of the oven, the toothpick came out clean and it seemed done from the outside. Yeah, not the case. Apparently the inside wasn't cooked. Sigh, and usually I'm such a great baker. My family agreed it was still delicious, but more cake-like than bread-like. I think next time I use this recipe, I'll bake it in 8x8 square baking dish instead. 

Southern Plate's Amazing Apple Bread

Ingredients:

• 3-4 medium apples, peeled and diced (about two cups)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups self rising flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 cup cinnamon or oats & honey granola (optional)
• 1 - 2 teaspoons cinnamon sugar (optional)

Instructions

1. Peel and dice apples, place in large mixing bowl. Add eggs, oil, milk, vanilla, and sugar. Stir with a large spoon until well blended.
2. Add flour, cinnamon, and allspice. Stir again until well combined.
3. Grease a loaf pan with cooking spray and spoon batter into pan. Sprinkle granola and cinnamon sugar on top, if desired.
4. Bake at 350 for one hour, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
5. Allow to cool in pan for five minutes. Turn out.

Anyway, time to head off to work. It's snowing right now in Pawtucket, but it doesn't seem to be sticking. I am so not ready for winter! Breaking out the trusty Northface today and hoping that the temperatures don't stay in the mid-30s all week.