Get Some Zzz’s…Please?!

So much to cover and so sleepy already! I don’t know about you, but I’ve been staying up later and later it seems! I have plans to change this by getting organized and getting on schedule (yes, I’m planning a new challenge!) but in the meantime, I will suffer with lack of sleep.

For breakfast I made Pumpkin Apple Oats with organic canned pumpkin, chopped apple, apple butter, molasses, milk, extra thick oats, flaxseed, pecans and extra apple on top (no extra sweetener!)

It was pretty good, but I’m still craving more of that coconut milk pumpkin oatmeal! Boy was it good!

I escaped my desk for 15 minutes to grab a very quick lunch with a co-worker. I saw the sun! (my cubicle is not near a window and the windows seem to be tinted making it always feel a bit dark…which I dislike since I love natural sunlight so much). I had leftover 3, 2, 1 veggie soba noodles, apple (from breakfast) and water.

For an afternoon snack, I was craving a blueberry scone from Starbucks but thanks to Eat in Month, I just had a Cherry Pie Larabar with some hot black tea with cream and sugar.

Post work, I played elf and passed out some last-minute Christmas gifts. Two down…two to go!

Post-gift-giving, hubby and I stopped by some friends’ apartment – hubby’s bachelor friends’ apt, that is. They were having a true bachelor dinner – 2 lean cuisines topped with some frozen grilled chicken with a side of toast with parkay.

Meanwhile, I went home and prepared a pizza for me and hubby to enjoy. I got another pizza dough from Trader Joe’s (can’t beat 99 cents!) but I got the white dough this time. I love my whole grains but sometimes white is just better. I wanted to test the TJ’s doughs out to see.

Following a reader tip by Biz of Biggest Diabetic Loser, I pre-baked my crust for 5 minutes (I just did it at 350 though since that was the baking temp of the pizza). The tip worked pretty well but probably would have been better if I had followed the complete tip which was to pre-bake the crust for 6 minutes at 425. Thanks for the tip Biz!

We weren’t planning on having pizza so soon but we had leftover sauce and the TJ’s stuff doesn’t last very long thanks to their lack of preservatives (which I appreciate)

I did our usual toppings – 1/2 cheese and 1/2 pepperoni with pizza seasonings. I added a bit of parmesan to the cheese this time since we had some in the fridge.

I prepped a salad for me and hubby so we could get a good veggie serving (or two).

I think purple cabbage is so pretty.

This discarded leaf in my garbage bag (gotta start that compost!) even looks pretty – the way it goes from vibrant purple to green.

The pizza was done in a snap.

Mmmm…piiiizzzzaaaa (channeling Homer Simpson)

But before we dug into our pizza we dug into our salads – aren’t they colorful!?

Salads: baby spinach, purple cabbage (organic), red pepper, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, and Drew’s rosemary balsamic dressing (which they are no longer selling at Fresh Market! As if!)

I started with a slice of pepperoni and cheese, each.

We had a little vino with dinner.

Seconds – another slice of cheese.

I think the secret to getting that from-your-local-pizza-place taste is the cornmeal on the bottom. I spread cornmeal thinly over my pizza stone and it gave the crust a nice texture and helped prevent it from sticking to the stone.

As part of my plan to get on a regular schedule, I’d like to start going to bed and waking up earlier. I know I’ve declared the desire to do this before, but I didn’t really make a concerted effort. I’m hoping to do better this time around. And, I’m hoping this Get Some zzz’s Tea from The Republic of Tea will help. It was a little expensive and I’m not sure if it will actually work, but even if it’s mind over matter and works like a placebo, I don’t care as long as it gets me in bed and asleep faster!

Secret fabric post revealed tomorrow and a giveaway for my DSLR friends!