Dog Biscuits!

Usually, we get dog biscuits from Petco and pay $3.99 a pound. Our dogs love them, so I figure it's worth it once in awhile. However, I noticed that our dog biscuits were getting low and we hadn't been to Petco in awhile, so I decided to bake my own! Do you know how incredibly EASY it is to bake dog biscuits?!!! I googled "dog biscuit recipes" and it came up with one that I used. In the next few weeks I'm going to bake some different types, but here's the Peanut Butter Dog Biscuit Recipe!

2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375'F. In a bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In another bowl, mix peanut butter and milk, then add to dry ingredients and mix well. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Bake for 20 minutes on a greased baking sheet until lightly brown. Cool on a rack, then store in an airtight container. --- This is the original recipe, but I have found the cookies burn easily.

Courtesy of Bullwrinkle

I baked mine at 370 for about 10 minutes instead of 375 for 20. They didn't burn, and they are incredbly soft still a few hours later. My dogs literally salivated over them!

Overwhelmingly Overwhelmed.

I've recently started a diet--- err, lifestyle change, inspired by Luke and Leah's Weight Loss. I've started a low carb diet, hoping to jumpstart some weight loss. I'm only on day 2, and while this morning I was feeling great, I was in tears by 7 o'clock this evening.

This isn't new for me- when I change my eating habits, I have an overload of emotions. When I worked out with my trainer, I would eat well all day, work out with her, and come home and cry all night. I had no idea what was wrong with me. I think that the overall weight loss goal- I need to lose a whopping 120 lbs to even get into the high range of my weight class- is so incredibly scary to me. Everyone says, take it day by day. And I try, but it just kills me.

So tonight, when I was pumped up for Zumba and I called 5 people to go with me- all of them declined- and I couldn't find my right shoes to work out- I just burst into tears. I curled up into a ball on the couch and sobbed. My boyfriend looked at me with sadness and bewilderment. I ended up not going. It's only 7:11 and I'm already regretting not going, but when I'm in these moods, I feel myself fighting back tears while doing the workout.

This part may get me in trouble. I have several facebook friends that have gotten Lap Band and gastric bypass surgery. I'm incredibly jealous of this. Because, like them, I've struggled with my weight for years. (about 15). Unlike them, I can't afford the surgery. I can't afford it, and Adam isn't in the military- so insurance covering it is also out of the question. I'm also not going to take out a $15,000-$20,000 loan. I'm not saying that weight loss surgeries are cheating, but a part of me feels that having a surgery puts you leaps and bounds before me in the weight loss game.

So, here I am. Tomorrow's day 3. I've heard that after day 3 you don't crave the carbs as much. I don't worry about craving the carbs as much as getting bored with the selection that I have. Today while I was eating green beans and chicken and salad, I wanted to steal my coworkers Spanish Rice.

I hope things get better... this is life or death now.

Thankfulness

As the weather gets colder and the leaves crisper, I can't help but think about the wonderful holidays coming up! The holiday season is really the best time of the year, and as I've gotten older I've really become a lot happier when Christmas rolls around. (It helps that last year I was on a beach the week before!)

In honor of Thanksgiving and the Facebook "Thankfulness" challenge- I will post the things I am most grateful for. But I won't do it every day. Maybe every week or so. So since it's already November 5, here's 5 things I'm so thankful for today:

1. Adam. He came into my life like a whirlwind and stuck around. He's seen me at my absolute worst, he's seen me at my radiant best. We have so much fun together. We get each other. We're stubborn together. We have barely anything in common except for our joint love from the Golden Girls. He loves anything grilled and I'm a sucker for fried; he loves old music and I'm a total pop star; he loves Clint Eastwood movies but I love Reese Witherspoon. It works. He adores me, and I'm quite fond of him as well.

2. My job. Sure, it's rough some days. Sure, it took 100 resumes, 2 interviews and 20 rejection letters to get here, but a lot of people are still without jobs in this economy. I'm grateful for the opportunity and the challenge that it is and will be for me.

3. Zumba. Before I got caught up in Zumba, I was silently (okay, not so silently) cursing my ever widening hips at home, sitting on the couch. Zumba has not only given me a lot more energy, shrunk me just a little, but also given me valuable "me" time- away from the hustle and bustle of my home! I love that one hour I'm away!

4. My mother. She's a good mama. She answers my 20 calls a day, she laughs at most things I have to say, but she can always put me in my place.

5. Mod Podge. I love it. It has helped me in my pursuit of crafts. I love creating things, and it makes it all work!