The dark rain clouds are lingering this morning, making me feel oh-so-cozy as I sip on a cup of hot coffee and blog away.
(I’m seriously in love with Godiva’s pumpkin spice coffee. Maybe my favorite coffee ever?)
My cozy feelings would multiply quite a bit if it wasn’t hot and humid outside, but since I’m indoors I’m going to pretend that it’s a blustery 55 degrees. Brr!
The fall is the time of year when I miss living in Illinois the most. Well, I miss it a lot on Christmas morning, too. (It was so weird to see Christmas lights on palm trees when we first moved here.)
The fall was always so fun in Illinois because the leaves would actually change color (imagine that!) and visits to the pumpkin patch required coats and scarves.
But Florida winters don’t make me want to die inside, so there’s a trade off, I guess.
Workout
I have a feeling I am going to be plagued with Jello arms again later today. I did another upper body workout that utilized the TRX straps like I did on Friday. Those straps really work my arms in a whole new way that I am loving.
I rushed through my workout a bit because I wanted to have plenty of time to awkwardly roll all over the foam roller on the gym floor. My hamstrings are so sore from Monday’s leg workout and all I wanted to do yesterday was foam roll them to help ease the soreness a bit.
It felt so good! My hamstrings already feel less tight. Walking around like a duck is cool and all, but I’d rather not waddle when I walk.
Breakfast
Thanks to a little prep work, today’s breakfast came together in 10 seconds.
In the mix:
- 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
- 6 ounces strawberry Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup milk (I used 2 percent)
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
After sitting in the fridge overnight, this combination was thick and creamy! I love the way chia seeds seem to increase the thickness of overnight oats by 1,000 percent.
I also had a toasted English muffin with a bit of pumpkin butter on the side.
Little Critters
As I mentioned above, the storm clouds lingered this morning and as Ryan and I drove to the gym, the roads were wet and slick.
I was driving this morning and drove extra slow through our neighborhood so as not to hit any toads hopping in the road.
Our new neighborhood seems to be the toad capital of the world and every morning on my walk with Sadie I see at least five toads squished on the road and feel awful for the little guys!
I’ve loved toads ever since I was little.
Growing up, my family’s house backed up onto a pond. In the summer my neighbors and I would always play near the pond and catch tadpoles and toads. (The boys would catch garter snakes!) My favorite toad was one I named “Big Guy.” He (or she?) was awesome.
Whenever a toad hops into our garage, I have no problem picking it up and placing it back outside. Get me near a cockroach on the other hand and I freak out!
Questions of the Morning
- How do you feel about little critters? Do frogs and toads freak out out? What about bugs?
I know snakes are universally creepy to people, but I had to laugh when one blog reader told me she took a week hiatus from my blog after I posted a picture of a snake we saw on a hike because she was afraid it would pop up again. Too funny!
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ahh, at my parents house in North Carolina, we always end up with frogs tacked onto our windows.
I’ve always thought they were cute little guys… but I agree.. bugs? not so much.
When i lied in Florida i remember seeing a lot of toads…and lizards of course! I didnt mind them back then..
yes! and in south florida the lizards are HUGE!
Ugh. I am terrified of frogs. I hate not knowing where they are going to jump and am always afraid they are going to jump on my feet as I walk by! When I take my dog for a walk or let him outside, I make him scare them away before I will walk past them.
I do not like critters AT all. I think they’re gross. my husband thinks I am crazy. Haha.
I gotta incorporate some more TRX stuff-I love it too! hello jello arms (and whole body!) But for now….off to teach BodyPump.
I need to try overnight oats….
i miss bodypump!
spiders. Ewww
couldn’t agree more. I thought they were bad when we lived in the woods but they’re 100x uglier and bigger in the city. What gives?
When you write about winters in Chicago vs Florida, I think of the movie Home Alone where they go to Florida during Christmas and how Macually Culkin doesn’t want to see palm trees during Christmas and instead ends up in New York (or at home…I think–not sure if that was when his family went to Europe)
I live in New York so it’s nice to get all the seasons however when theres 2 feet of snow outside and I need to shovel, Florida or anywhere tropical sounds good to me.
I thought your overnight oats were ice cream at first, with flecks of vanilla bean. 😉 I do not like critters of any kind, except maybe things like ladybugs. 😉
i wish!! ice cream for breakfast sounds good to me!
I work outside with plants, and you never know what’s going to come crawling out when you take something out of it’s pot. Spiders and worms I can handle. It’s the centipedes that freak me out cause they’re so fast!
I don’t mind toads, but I am deathly afraid if spiders. We don’t even use that word in my house – we just call it “the bad bug.” I know fear is irrational but I can’t help it!
I have been know to call my husband home from work to kill one. crazy!
ahh!! I’m terrified of frogs, always have been. The girl next door to me as a kid used to throw them at me and put them on my head so ever since I tend to freak out. I don’t think I could move to Florida for that reason!
We used to hunt for toads when I was little. We have tons of them in the summer months that are all ranging in size! I need to do the foam roller today. I ran my longest run yesterday after coming back from a minor knee thing! I was so proud! Have a great day!
I agree on the coffee, I look forward to my mornings just because they start with the Pumpkin Spice coffee.
I can’t imagine not having seasons. I love fall, the changing leaves and the crisp air. But, get back to me after out first snow storm and I’ll probably be begging to get out of NY.
I remember being young (I grew up in the woods/farm country of PA) and playing with salamanders all the time! We would spend hours hunting for them…I haven’t seen any in years but they were so much fun!
When I was little I used to LOVE little critters. Now they definitely freak me out a lot more (probably because I’m much more aware of the diseases they’re carrying! Haha)
I like little critters. 🙂 Especially chipmunks. As long as they all stay within a ten-foot radius of me, that is!
I do not like frogs. But I like chipmunks and squirrels. They’re cute. I have an insanely irrational fear of bugs. I start screaming and running no matter what. I think I have a legit phobia. It’s totally ridiculous.
I love all critter, especially frogs. When I was 2 (no joke) I mailed away for a “Grow a Frog” (the company is actually in Florida) and they sent me a tadpole in the mail (also not a joke). He lived 18 long years and died when I was 20! His name was Kermit, because what else do you name a pet frog? So like you, I safely swerve to avoid squashing toads and frogs when they hop in the road 😉
I am so impressed Kermit lived that long! Granted I have no clue how long mail-away-frogs should live but that’s pretty cool! hahaha
I used to play with toads in my backyard too. They don’t scare me at all nowadays. Snakes don’t scare me either, or rats (I used to own three). Any bug freaks me out though!!
Julie I’m originally from Illinois too, but moved up to Wisconsin about 5 years ago. Winters are even worse up here and it is coming! High of 50 today and windy. Want to trade places?
I cannot deal with bugs *read* roaches/palmetto bugs
But being a Florida girl, I love lizards and toads.
Very weird.
I used to keep them in jars on our patio and whenever a lizard would get into our house I was the one to hunt him down and get him out.
I just made my batch of overnight oats for tomorrow morning- can’t get enough of it! Have you tried slicing a banana into the mix? SO yuM!
I’d rather see a frog, toad, snake, or alligator than a tiny spider! I don’t know why, but anything with 4 or fewer legs is okay with me – spiders definitely are NOT.
I don’t do little critters unless they are furry, and even then I like them from a distance.
Toads are a big no go! Sorry 🙁
Happy Wednesday!
We have a ton of toads/frogs smushed around our house in Missouri too! When I am walking my dog I have to make sure she doesn’t try to take them as a chew toy … gross!
I personally am not a fan of little critters. Haha.
Aw, for done reason smushed toads makes me feel so sad 🙁 frogs don’t bother me. Spiders on the other hand…. Ick!!
I love little cirtters! Especially toads and lizards. One of my favorite things about moving to TX is all of the little lizards. Everytime I water my flowers they pop up out of no where! There is this little pink one living in my garage. I keep trying to catch him but he is too fast.
i don’t mind little critters if they aren’t inside. but inside…i make my husband get them out of there, usually as gently as possible. i’m against killing bugs! 🙂
i’m the same way! I don’t mind toad or critters (i don’t like to hold them like you do) but get me near a cockroach or scorpion and I run the other way!
I live in Illinois and it was a blistering 40 degrees on my walk to work this morning (brrrrrrr)! I would LOVE to be enjoying the 80’s again. They say the grass is always greener on the other side, but I’m pretty sure it’s greener in Florida!
I’m slowly getting over my intense fear of frogs, but will still not hold them. At my old place, I would never go outside at night or when it was raining (or had just rained) because they would be all over the place! I had one in my garage once and called my dad to come over and move it in a safe place on the grass. 🙂
My dogs actually love to chase.. and catch toads. Which freaks me out.
At our place, we have a huge pond out back which is home to tons.. and tons of bull frogs. I don’t mind them.. because they stay in their pond. BUT.. let me tell you.. those bad boys are LOUD. SOO loud. Especially during mating seat. We can hear them in our bedroom.. which is on the opposite side of the unit then the pond is on.
I live in Ohio…it’s a high of 52 degrees today and it’s raining buckets. I have been wearing my winter coat all week. I like to see the seasons change but when Winter hits I want to get out of here! The below freezing temps are not fun. I’m heading to the Sunshine State in February…perfect timing! I hope I miss a snow/ice storm.
Frogs and toads are ok with me; the critters that I hate are the ones that are capable of scurrying: mice, rats, moles, ect.
I really want to try the pumpkin spice coffee but don’t know where to get it in Ontario, Canada! Any suggestions or alternative brands that make a pumpkin spice coffee???
I enjoy looking at toads and other non-furry critters behind a glass, but that’s about it. There’s something about the texture of their skin that gives me the heebie jeebies.
I’m the same way. Frogs, toads, lady bugs, butterflies, worms, and grasshoppers I’m fine with but get me near a cockroach, spider, centipede or bats and I will scream like the world is ending!
Fall is my favorite season and I love experiencing it in the northeast but as soon as January hits I’ll be really wishing I was living in Florida!
Frogs are fine but bugs freak me the crap out. Last night I was taking Haley down for a walk and almost stepped on a roach that had to be 2-3 inches long. Talk about bloodcurdling screams!
I am LOVING the Godiva Pumpkin Spice coffee too! In fact, I’m drinking it as I type this. 😉
Little critters do kinda creep me out actually. Toads and frogs are gross to me, and snakes just freak me out. Ha. My younger brother had a pet snake when I still lived at home, and it escaped its cage one day. I nearly died. I didn’t even want to be inside my own home with the fear that the snake would pop out somewhere! My dad finally found it under a couch a couple days later. Eeek!
I’ll trade you an Illinois winter for a Florida winter! It’s supposed to be BRUTAL this winter. Ugh! And I’m cool with all the little reptiles. Better than the Chicago equivalent which are rats!
Oh wow I am dying to try the Godiva Pumpkin coffee!! I can’t find it anywhere around Knoxville, TN. I went to their website and apparently the closest store is over an hr away. Err!
Also, where do you buy your chia seeds? I’ve been having a hard time iinding them.
Hope you have a fabulous day! =)
Fall is one of my favorite seasons and one of the biggest things I miss now living in SoCal. I definitely miss white Christmas’ too but don’t miss the snow that would often creep until April (I’m from IL too!) But knowing how much I love and miss fall, my parents sent me a bag of colored leaves in the mail last week… 😀
We have tons of jackrabbits where I live because the coyotes won’t come into the city. They are so cute and they change from grey/brown to white in the winter!
Hahah that picture of you and Sadie is great! I always thought she was bigger than that, I pictured her about my Huskies size, he weighs 50lbs. I live out North (AB, Canada) and LOVE my winters, I couldn’t do that summer all the time thing, I miss rain though, it doesn’t rain up this way much.
I don’t mind Frogs and Such but I HATE Moths, they freak me the flip out. Yuckkkk.
Those foam rollers things hurt SO bad but man do they ever work, since I’ve started running I use it a fair bit and it helps so much. <3
I really, really need to find some chia seeds soon!!! Yum!
Roaches, frogs, snakes all freak me out a little bit!!
A cold front came through Louisiana yesterday and it was below 50 this morning! Makes me so excited for an afternoon run. Maybe it’s heading east toward Florida and you will get some cold weather soon?!?
You probably wouldn’t miss the Chicago weather today…. 50s and rainy with 60mph winds! The lakefront paths are closed b/c of risk of waves knocking over runners!
Living in Florida, made me a bit more immune to critters with all the frogs, snakes, lizards, etc. I remember walking out of my front door one day though and being confronted with a huge snake. Like 5 feet long and at least 4 inches thick. That scared the crap out of me. And there was also the time Ginger found a dead snake behind our house and picked it up and ran around with it for a good 20 minutes before I could get her to drop it. Roaches are really the only “Critter” I absolutely cannot stand.
I guess I don’t do well with any type of critter at all. Toad and frogs freak me out (no idea why) and I am legit terrified of cockroaches. I have gotten better of the years where I no longer have to scream and ask someone else to kill the roach, but they still terrify me!
Not a big little critters fan, and definitely not a bug fan. I can handle killing bugs (except for spider, I geek out over them). I don’t mind snakes when they’re in a zoo, I will actually hold them if they’re tame, but my heart stops beating when I see a wild snake on a run or walking on trails or something.
Umm well I didn’t mind toads when I lived in the midwest, they were normal sized and bearable.. but since I’ve moved to Florida they’ve become my worst nightmare. They. Are. HUGE. Like way bigger than my hand. YUCK