Top o’ the mornin’ to ya!
I told you yesterday’s Mom walk temps were “not bad,” but today’s were “frigid!” We were tromping through a 26 degree wind chill, and actually made it back in record time. Cold air gets those legs pumping a little faster, that’s for sure!
Oh my gosh you guys, I have to show you Ben’s ”research” papers for his basketball draft last night. RESEARCH PAPERS!
Aka lists of players for every position, ranked from best to worst. People and their fantasty leagues just crack me up!!
He said he accidently picked the wrong player two times (long story) but other than that, he’s feeling semi confident in his final picks. Just in case you were wondering 
Well I’m happy to announce, per my challenge to myself yesterday, that I experimented with baked oatmeal last night and made Baked Apple Pie Oatmeal for breakfast!
In the mix:
- 1/3 cup each old fashioned oats, water and apple juice
- 1/2 of a chopped & peeled Braeburn apple
- splash of vanilla
- dash of cinnamon & nutmeg
- ~2 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
Directions: Peel & chop apple, then microwave for 1 minute. Combine all ingredients, mix and bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Eat immediately, or if you’re making it ahead of time like I did, stash in the fridge overnight and microwave for 1.5 minutes in the morning.
LOVED this baked apple pie oatmeal! Perfectly sweet, but still a little tart from the Braeburns. And can we talk about the smell wafting from the oven as this was baking? It was as though Granny herself was in the kitchen whipping up one of her homemade apple pies.
The apple juice I used was “Simply Apple” brand juice. I never, ever buy juice because I hate drinking sugar and I hate paying ridiculous prices for liquid. Simply Apple juice, however, contains…simply apple juice! No extra sugar or preservatives – just 100% pure, pressed apple juice. It was so clean tasting – plus, it was on sale at the store this weekend!
FYI the sounds on the homepage of the simply apple website are making me miss summer in the worst way!
Last night’s Creamy Corn & Chicken Soup made the cut for lunch today.
I am seriously faithful that this soup is going to be seriously delicious today. It’s one of those things that gets better and better as it sits. I was thinking yesterday that this is definitely a “the more the merrier” type of soup too, so broccoli, hashbrowns, cubed ham, asparagus, peas, etc. would all be great to add in!
A banana shall be my 2pm snack today. Does anyone know what the number on the Dole banana sticker means?
Well I don’t know if it’s the fact that my Mom and I blazed through our walk, or if I’m just getting better at fixing my short hair (I got 3 more inches cut off!) but I have extra time this morning. Can you imagine?!
What to do…what to do…Starbucks?!
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How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?
Pre-haircut it was 35 to 40 minutes from the time I got up, to the time I could walk out the door. Post-haircut, we’re looking at 50 minutes. I’ve got all that ratting/teasing + hairspraying to do now!
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The number on the banana is the number the cashier uses to ring them up. Each produce item has a unique number. So, basically, you throw the produce on the scale, type in the code, and the register calculates the price. For items that are not sold by weight, like cauliflower, you just input the quantity and the produce number to get the final price. These numbers were standardized about 15-20 years ago. Prior to that, I believe each store had their own system. There is a lot of room for error here. If a cashier types in the wrong number, you might pay too much (or too little) for an item. When I first started as a cashier (17 years ago), bananas were #110!!
I definitely need to try the whole baked oatmeal thing. I keep seeing different versions on the blogs & it looks so yummy!! Pumpkin Pie… Apple Pie… yum!
my sisters boyfriend is the EXACT same way about his draft. he schedules everything around it and takes it VERy seriously hahah i love it
Your baked oatmeal looks great – I have never tried it. I love all of the ‘Simply’ Juices. Have you ever had the lemonade, limeade or grapefruit? They are all incredible, and I rarely drink juice. Try ‘em!
OMgoodness…apple pie oatmeal! Sounds ahhhmazing!
That oatmeal looks amazing!
Hmm, I take about 30 minutes or so to get ready in the morning. Sometimes more sometimes way less (when I’m running late!).
that’s so funny about his “research papers”
i need to do this baked oatmeal!
I wholeheartedly agree. Shorter hair takes so much longer! I just got mine cut to right above my shoulders. I went from blowdrying with a brush to blowdrying with a brush, flat ironing, a little more blowdrying, hair spray…grrrrrr
That oatmeal sounds delicious.
The number on the banana is just the code for that type of banana. I think.
Mmm…I had baked apples oats last week and they are my new favorite! It takes me anywhere between 30-45 minutes to get ready for work. Some mornings I am just more pokey than others
Baked apple oatmeal looks yummy! My hubby is all about that fastasy sports thing too, they get kind of crazy over that stuff!
looks like dessert!
That sounds like a great oatmeal recipe
It depends what’s considered in my morning routine. If running, showering, and eating breakfast all count, I’m pushing 3 hours today
Another cool tip about those Price Look-up (PLU) numbers: The number tells you how the fruit was grown. So….
4 digit number means it was conventionally grown (using chemicals).
5 digit number beginning with a 9 means it was grown organically.
5 digit number beginning with an 8 means it was genetically modified
Find more info here: http://www.plucodes.com/Default.aspx
P.S. Love your blog. You have such and up-beat spirit. Keep up the good work!
That’s so cool! I never knew that. When I was a teen I was peeved when the store I worked at switched to the standardized codes. I had to re-learn all that info!!
I think I remember Jillian Michaels saying that all organic fruit has the number 9 at the beginning….where as most fruit starts with 4.
My boyfriend is the same way about his fantasy football and I have to say, I find it completely adorable! So cute to see them get so excited about it, don’t you think?
Depending on what I do with my hair, it can take anywhere from 30-45 minutes for me to get ready. I try to keep it simple during the week so I can sleep a little longer!
Ooh, it’s freezing there! Your baked oatmeal looks fabulous, though. I need to try that. It takes me about 15 minutes for the basics to get ready. Then another 25 to make and eat breakfast and coffee. I like waking up about an hour and a half before I have to leave though, so I can have some time to relax and check blogs.
Its too funny how guys (and gals) get excited and “stressed” about their fantasy teams!
Pre-baby it took be 30-40 minutes to get ready… w/baby… it takes me a solid hour plus!
Have a great day
your baked oatmeal ALWAYS looks so tasty!!!
It tastes me about 30 minutes to get ready, with a shower. If I’m rushed, I can do it in 15-20. That’s ONE good thing about curly hair…I let it air dry, even though I look like a foo’ in January!
hahaha my husband is the same way about his fantasy football picks. it’s hilarious!
I like to be up for 1/2 hr before I get in the shower. Drink tea, read paper, watch news – just slowly wake up. I get grouchy if I wake up too quick!!
From shower to out the door I am 45 minutes tops. I aks my stylist to give me an easy cut that takes minimal styling. Just some product, a blow dryer and my fingers and Voila! Letting your stlyist know your style and likes / dislikes is KEY to getting a great and easy to do – do.
That baked apple oatmeal looks SOOO good. I have to try it!!!
It takes me about 30-40 minutes to get ready if I just get ready all at once, but I like to relax in the mornings so I usually get up a little earlier so I can take time to read blogs while I eat breakfast and wait for my hair to dry – then it takes about an hour!
I usually give myself an hour, including making and eating breakfast!! Not too bad in my opinion! I can always go faster by taking breakfast on the go!
Love your batch of oats!!
Boys and their sports… sigh. haha. The banana number is for scannig purposes at the register 
lol boys and their fantasy crack me up! Hilarious.
Those Simply juices are simply the best! =)
Depends on if I shower at night or in the morning. If the former, takes about 30 minutes. If the latter, it varies from 30 to 50 depending on if I dry and style my hair. Otherwise it goes up in a pony or clip. I prefer quick and easy most days since I like my sleep too much and I have to leave the house at a dead-set time.
I made apple crisp last night and my kitchen had that yummy apple cinnamon smell too. I get up an hour before work, but it only takes me about 30 minutes to get ready. I like to watch girly shows saved on my DVR before work, shows that my fiance hates. I’m lucky that my office is only 5 minutes away so I can sleep until 8 and watch a 30 minute show before work.
Looks like your first commenter answered the question! I’d also like to add that organic produce has a 5 digit SKU beginning w/the #9 instead of a random 4 digit SKU.
I take one hour exactly to get ready start to finish in the am. Pain in the A. I have naturally curly/wavy/crappy hair so I straighten it daily.
my boyfriend is the same way when it comes to fantasy basketball. we were out at a nice dinner and we had to leave a bit early so he could make it home in time for the live draft.. lol
It doesnt take me long to get ready in the morning. about 40 mins?
But I like 2 hours.. one hour to wake up.. stretch..drink coffee.. and blog
Your baked oatmeal looks tasty… I just made some pumpkin, apple, cranberry baked oatmeal last week and will be posting the recipe later this week. I’m not normally an oatmeal fan, but I think it won me over!
Ha ha ha! Ben and my husband would get along well. My hubby is all about the Fantasy teams/drafts.
The number on the banana is the PLU for the cashier. If you go through self check out you can ring up produce quicker by typing in the PLU instead of the type. There is usually a sticker on all fruit at the grocery.
For me I get ready in about 15 minutes. Now that my hair is longer I have to pull it up everyday and I just put on my make up. I tend to take my shower the night before after the gym.
That simply apple juice is good stuff!
That soup will undoubtedly be made at my house. Looks awesome.
Gads, it takes me about 45 min with a shower. I try and leave about 5 min for staging (grabbing breakfast, lunch, snack, throwing on jacket) and it takes me about 10 min to shower and then the rest is devoted to hair and makeup. My hair used to be shorter (like chin length) and then I had even less prep time because it took me less time to dry my hair. I miss those days.
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