Vegan Recipe Review: Lentil Bolognese

If you get this in your inbox today, I apologize! I accidentally unpublished it and then when I republished it, I'm afraid it'll go to inboxes tonight. Sorry!

I've gotten pretty lucky so far since starting these vegan recipe taste tests--just finding a vegan recipe online and making it, then writing about it--because I've really enjoyed the recipes so far. Last week's brownies were so amazing!

I have a Pinterest board with more recipes than I'll probably ever make, but I use it for inspiration when figuring out new recipes to try. That is where I found this recipe for Lentil Bolognese, found at i heart eating.

I love lentils and have been eating them for years. I even have a couple of accidentally-vegan recipes with lentils posted on my blog ("accidentally" means that they just so happened to be vegan). Two of my favorites are this super simple four-ingredient Lemon Lentil Soup and the almost-as-easy Lentil Chili. One of Jerry's all-time favorite dishes is the Lentil Chili.

I haven't eaten much pasta this year because I've been working on eating a lot of fiber and pasta just doesn't have much at all. (I've tried some of the pastas that are made out of other grains and I didn't care for the taste and/or texture.) This Lentil Bolognese recipe sounded good to make for Jerry and me while the kids were in Hilton Head (they don't love lentils).

Since I like to follow the new recipe exactly as written, I actually bought celery for this. I am NOT a celery fan--I really hate the stringy texture--so it was tempting to skip it, but bolognese always starts with onions, carrots, and celery. While I don't like to eat celery, I *do* love to chop it! I slice the ribs lengthwise into a few pieces and then crosscut into little slices. There is something really satisfying about slicing celery--so weird, I know.

The ingredients are pretty straight-forward--nothing weird ;)  It calls for red lentils, which I thought would be a nice texture because they get softer and creamier than brown or green lentils. After sautéing the carrots, celery, and onion, you basically just dump the rest of the ingredients into the pot and let it cook for 20-30 minutes until lentils are soft.

It made a HUGE amount, so I figured I'd be eating leftovers for days. I was surprised at how thick it got. It was almost like mashed potatoes-thick, so I added some extra water to thin it out a little, but it was still a thick sauce. This is what it looked like before I added a little water:

At first, I cooked one of the pastas that is made out of quinoa and a couple of other things, just to get in more fiber. However, it was terrible and Jerry and I both agreed to just dump it in the trash and use good old white pasta.

I wish I could say I loved this recipe, but honestly, I didn't even eat the leftovers. Jerry didn't care for it, either. The sauce was extremely thick, like I said, but it didn't really coat the pasta once I mixed it together; it kind of clumped up around the pasta instead. The flavor was kind of underwhelming, too, which surprised me because there is a large amount of dried basil and oregano in it, as well as seven cloves of garlic.

It looked delicious!

It smelled good and made the house smell good while it was cooking. It's possible I did something wrong, but I've made pasta sauce 10,000 times in my life and I am confident that I didn't make a mistake following the recipe ;)  I may try making another "lentil bolognese" by adding lentils to my homemade marinara--I like the idea of a lentil sauce!

Reading the reviews of the recipe, I'm clearly in the minority on this one--most people seemed to love it--so if it interests you, give it a try and let me know what you think! Here is the recipe link: Lentil Bolognese from i heart eating.

Here is a (probably controversial) random fact of the day!

I've been saying this for years (that you can lose weight while eating junk food as long as you don't eat too many calories). But we all know that weight loss is different from health. I believe you can eat nothing but junk and lose weight (as this guy did); but I also believe that the consequences of eating like this for the long-term would make your health suffer.

Also... I would feel SO crappy eating like that day after day. Even after going on vacation and eating more junk than usual I feel gross and bloated and I just crave healthy foods.

I read an article about Haub--which you can find here--and there is more to the story than just what the random fact states:

"Low calorie" is relative to his previous consumption; on this junk food diet, he was eating 1,800 calories a day. Two-thirds of his calories came from junk food; he also took a daily multivitamin, drank a protein shake, and ate a serving or two of vegetables. He was supposed to do the diet for just four weeks, but when he saw that he was losing weight, he continued until he reached a normal BMI. Finally, once he added meat back into his diet, his cholesterol went back up.

I think it was a cool experiment, but I don't like that he continued the diet past the four-week experiment phase. He's a nutrition professor teaching students about nutrition, but when he saw that he was losing weight by eating nothing but junk, he continued and said "it's unhealthy but the data doesn't say that". His agenda became more about personal weight loss than teaching his students about nutrition--because what did they really learn?

Anyway, that's just my two cents!

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Friday Night Photos

It's Friday--woo hoo!

Not that I really "need" a weekend; Jerry and I had a very lazy and fun staycation this week. The kids came home from Hilton Head last night; we picked them up from the airport at 8:30. It was really great to see them! While it was fun having the house to ourselves and not having any responsibilities all week, Jerry and I really missed the boys.

They'd gone down to Hilton Head to spend some time with my parents on vacation. Jerry and I aren't "beach people" so we aren't interested in going down there, but I'm glad the kids were able to. They had fun and my parents were thrilled to spend time with them.

Noah even walked 12,000 steps on the beach with my mom one day!

Considering Eli has been really into weight lifting, he went to a gym a couple of times while he was there. I'm super impressed that he did that. Clearly, he's modest about showing off his muscles... ;)

Meanwhile, the most active Jerry and I were (other than our training runs) was playing board games. We love Ticket to Ride; we also played The Oregon Trail (board game). The Oregon Trail was fun, but there are SO MANY rules to remember that we were looking things up each turn, which meant it took us well over two hours to finish a single game, hahaha.

I had the rule book right in front of me the whole time

I forgot to post this the other day when I wrote about our thrift store finds. Does anyone remember this "beauty mirror"? I used to have one! The lights next to the mirror had a few pastel filters--I can still remember the *thunk* noise and the feel of sliding the light colors between office, evening, and home. So funny!

Jerry and I made homemade pizza for dinner one night and this was my vegan version--it was SO SO GOOD. I made my whole wheat pizza crust, then spread it with roasted garlic and tomato paste with Italian seasoning. I topped it with sautéed mushrooms, peppers, and caramelized onions. Who needs cheese?!

 

I finally did something I've been really intimidated by and it worked out great! I'd never made a box joint before and I wanted to try it with my table saw. I don't have a dado stack (blades for the table saw that can cut out more material) so I had to make a jig in order to do the box joint. The pieces below are just scrap wood that I used to try it out. The joint fit together perfectly! Not too loose and not too tight (I have to be able to put wood glue in there). The edges are a little long, but I did that on purpose so that I can sand them down. I'd rather have to sand a bit than have them be too short and leave gaps. This corner joint probably took less than three minutes once I had the table saw and jig set up. I wish I'd have tried it sooner--it was so easy!

I mentioned yesterday that I took Joey with me on my run and how excited he was to go with me--look at his smile! This was while I was filling his water bowl after our run; he just watched me with a big smile on his face.

I thought this picture was too funny not to post. This was after we were back from the run and he plopped down on the floor while he cooled off. I went to take a picture of him and he looked up at me in the most unflattering way--you know how when you turn on your phone camera and it's flipped to selfie mode, so you just see a big double chin? This picture of Joey reminded me of that, haha.

Finally, here is the random fact of the day:

Have a great weekend! xo

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Return to Running Recap : Week 42

Like last week, I only ran three times this week instead of four. My knee--the opposite knee from last time-- was bothering me out of nowhere. Nothing terrible, but definitely noticeable. I was supposed to do speed intervals, but I decided not to take a chance of running through the knee pain. After two days off, it was back to normal. Thankfully, the plan I wrote is accommodating to only doing three runs per week.

I had a great couple of outdoor runs this week! Here goes...

FRIDAY (Run 3 miles easy)

This was the earliest run I've had in a long time! I've had quite a bit more energy lately and it felt so good to get the run done early. I wanted to try to run a little faster than last time, so I set the treadmill for 5.3 mph and just ran at that speed until the last half mile or so. Then I just kept bumping up the speed, finishing at 6.0.

Summary: 3 miles in 33:24 (11:08/mi average pace). Average heart rate: 152 bpm.

MONDAY (Long run - 4 miles)

I was in a very bad mood Monday thanks to Daylight Saving Time (I used to say "daylight savings" but then a reader commented that it's "Daylight Saving Time" and not "daylight savings". Now when I think of Daylight Saving Time, I remember that. It sounds so weird not to add the s onto saving.)

Anyway...

I was in such a bad mood that I ended up putting off my long run to Sunday. And I'm so glad I did! The weather was PERFECT for a run outside. Since it was my long run for the week, I was happy to be able to do it outside.

I set my Garmin but covered it with my shirt sleeve so that I wouldn't see my pace. I was truly curious what my pace would be without seeing any sort of feedback and just running by feel. The first mile felt kind of hard and I was sure I was probably running a 12:00-ish pace. After that, though, I got into the rhythm of the run and listened to my podcast. I ran a route I used to run all the time for four milers, and it felt kind of nostalgic. 

I felt like it was too easy during the second mile and I picked up the pace a bit to see when it felt hard. But I felt pretty comfortable the whole time--a moderate effort level.

I was shocked, then, after I'd reached four miles and stopped my Garmin to see that my overall average pace was 10:46! I had no idea. Even better, though, I felt really good. It was encouraging to see that I've made fitness progress.

Summary: 4 miles in 43:05 (a 10:46/mi average pace). Mile splits: 11:33, 10:45, 10:38. Average heart rate was 151 bpm.

THURSDAY (Run 3 miles easy)

Today, I woke up to another perfect morning for a run. I know Joey has been missing Eli, so I decided to take Joey with me. As soon asked I asked him, he started jumping around like crazy, slipping and sliding all over the floor, haha. He hasn't run with me in a while so I hoped he'd be good on the leash. As he's gotten older, he's been so much easier to walk on a leash.

Well, he was way too excited and was trying to run about 10 times faster than I was able. I had to hold him back from pulling, which is tiring and not easy to do while you're running. I was worried he'd make me twist my knee or something. After half a mile or so, he calmed down quite a bit. Whenever we saw a dog he got tunnel vision and either yanked me in that direction or came to an immediate dead-stop, nearly causing me to biff it right into the concrete.

So, this run definitely wasn't a smooth as the previous. It felt harder than it should have, due to Joey's excitement, but it still felt good to get outside and run. This time, I was trying to push the pace a little since I missed Tuesday's speed work. Nothing too hard, but more of a tempo feel.

Summary: 3 miles in 31:53 (10:37/mi average pace). Mile splits: 11:08, 10:38, 10:05. Average heart rate: 154 bpm.

Overall, I'm really happy with my running this week. Even thought I had to miss one, it was fun seeing the improvement of my outdoor runs. My heart rate on my long run surprised me--it was lower while running a faster pace outdoors than it was a slower pace on the treadmill a couple of days prior. I'm going to plan on doing at least my long runs outside every week. It felt nostalgic and I miss my old routes!

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Wednesday Weigh-In : Week 42

I was not expecting to have a good weigh-in this week. I had high hopes after last week's small gain, considering my pattern has been lose, lose, gain for weeks (months?) now. I weigh myself almost every morning and this week, the scale hasn't budged.

This morning, I saw a number that I've seen several times over the past few weeks:

I was at 147.8. This is a loss from last week, but not much. I was 148.6 last week, which was a gain from the previous week's 148.0. That's what's frustrating; I'm only down 0.2 in two weeks. I was looking at my previous weigh-ins and I saw that I first hit 147.8 on February 24, so my weight hasn't significantly moved in about three weeks.

I know I should just be happy I'm not gaining weight, but I'd really like to see some better progress on the scale! I did look at the bigger picture, though, too--I'm down about four pounds from a month ago, and considering I'm nearing my goal weight, that's not bad.

I used to work at Curves and the women would always talk about how hard it is to lose weight after you 1) turn 40 years old or 2) go through menopause. Well, I just turned 40 in January, so I guess I'll see how that goes ;)

I'm going to try a small change this week to see if I can get the scale moving again. I've been averaging about 1600 calories a day up to this point. When I had big success in the past with calorie counting, I had always had a "high calorie day" each week. This is not to be confused with a "cheat day"; since I don't have food rules to obey, it's not cheating to eat more calories than usual. I planned on it in advance and it wasn't a binge-fest; I just ate higher calorie foods that day (usually a total of about 2,000-2,500).

I haven't been doing high-calorie days this time around. There isn't a real reason for that; I just wasn't really thinking about it. Since the scale has slowed significantly down, I think I'm going to try eating slightly less six days a week and then have a high-calorie day once a week. Since I've been averaging about 1600 calories a day, I'll try reducing it to about 1500; and once a week, I'll choose foods that are more caloric (still vegan, though).

I have no idea if it will help, but it'll be interesting to see if it does! Next week I'll write about how it goes.

Here is the random fact of the day. This is actually yesterday's, but it was morning interesting than today's:

Can you even imagine?! (Here is an article about it if you're interested.) Before my skin removal surgery, I was terrified of anesthesia and the anesthesiologist asked me the two things that scared me the most. I said "not waking up"; he smiled and said, "what else?" and I told him, "waking up during surgery". He said every person tells him the same two answers.

Thankfully, neither of those things happened to me. A friend of mine, however, woke up while having her wisdom teeth removed and she remembers it very well. I was fascinated and horrified hearing her talk about it. I love that Iga Jasica simply asked, "How's it going?" when she woke up during brain surgery--haha!

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Transformation Tuesday #63

Happy Transformation Tuesday! Last week, I said I hoped to have before and after pictures of Noah's bedroom to share today (paint, shelves, posters) but I have yet to even step foot in there. The days have gone by so fast! The kids will be home Thursday, so if I paint, it'll have to be tomorrow. Otherwise, I'll have to wait until after he's home.

But I do have a couple of readers' transformations to share! Here goes... 

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This is a big one (for me anyway!). I'm now in my third year of working from home. Year one was at a table in the living room. Year two, I purchased a standup desk, brought home my large monitor, and stole space in our unused dining room. Now we're into year three--I'm permanently remote, and my husband is working at home two days a week as well. 

The room was fine for a dining room, but a bit blah for an office. I wanted something a bit cheerier and more energetic, without being too distracting and my husband needed a better workspace. New paint, art, furniture, curtains (which I made) has turned it into a place we both really like! It took from Sunday to Sunday, so a bit of work but we managed to get it done without too much down time.

Deb

Deb, it looks amazing! The wall color is perfect--bright enough to be cheerful, but not overwhelming. The new desk looks beautiful with lots of space. You did such a nice job with the curtains, too! - Katie

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I have numerous things in my life that need ‘transforming’… one of which is my cram packed basement full of junk/memorabilia that I just keep chipping away out here and there. I’ve been thinking I’d get that done and submit it to for a Tuesday post, but here we are 8 months later and it’s still not even close to done.

So, I chose a quick 5-minute easy transformation… the glove box in my car. It’s totally no big deal, but it did feel good to take care of it, especially since it’s something I’ve been putting off. It’s just full of stuff I didn’t want to take care of. I even found DVDs of when I got married in 2015, a marriage I have since been divorced from… in MY GLOVE BOX… why? I ride with other people sometimes and their cars are so clean and tidy, it seriously makes me question my life choices.

Next step is to finally donate all the stuff that’s been riding around in my truck for the last 6 weeks!

Elaina, from KY

Elaina, what a perfect idea for a five-minute transformation! I don't think your glovebox looked overstuffed--mine is definitely worse than that--but it must feel so nice to have it organized and to have gotten rid of the stuff that's been in there for so long. You've inspired me to clean out my glovebox tomorrow!  - Katie

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Thank you so much for sharing your transformations! They look great. If any of you have a transformation to share, please send a before photo and an after photo to me at: katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com. Be sure to include your name and a description of your transformation! Inspire us to transform something this spring ;)

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Thrift Store Finds

I'm in a much better mood than I was yesterday. I was definitely NOT pleasant to be around--poor Jerry. I just felt like my whole day was thrown off by Daylight Saving Time (which is dumb, because it's only an hour difference). The snow was a bummer, too.

Spring is so weird in Michigan. Yesterday, we had snow and 29 mph winds; today it's 62 and sunny with barely a breeze! I actually skipped my long run yesterday because I was in such a bad mood, but I made up for it today and ran outside. I'm actually really glad I waited because the weather is gorgeous.

When I was getting dressed for my run this morning, I noticed that I don't have any small running capris (I don't wear shorts, but I wear capris when it's warm). I have about five pairs but they are all too big since I've lost weight and I have to keep pulling them up when I run.

I rarely buy brand new clothes; the only time I do, I buy them when they are marked way down. Instead, I love thrift stores! I asked Jerry if he was up for thrift store shopping and he said heck yes; he loves it, too. So, we went to a couple of stores to see if we could find any treasures.

We didn't go to the Monroe Salvation Army that I always used to go to because they jacked up their prices to stupid high; they mark up the name brand jeans to $15-20 a pair! Not even designer jeans--just brands like American Eagle. (For reference, the Goodwill down the road marks all their jeans for less than $5.)

We first went to a thrift store we'd never been to, and unfortunately, it was kind of a flop. Their prices weren't bad but their selection of stuff was limited. I did find one hidden gem, though, and if you know me, I just HAD to buy it:

Jerry was totally jealous that it was a small and not a large. (The shirt is a Friends reference, if you don't know.) 

They didn't have any workout capris, which was odd; I usually see them at all the thrift stores. We went to a Salvation Army after that (not the one Monroe one). Their prices were better--not as good as Goodwill, but better.

I bought a couple of things for Luke and Riley, too. One day I was reading a book about the human body to Luke (it was a kids' book). He was really interested in it and I told him about when I broke my jaw. He asked me so many questions. I found this kit for making your own skeleton model and then painting it with glow in the dark paint. It looked like a fun thing we could work on together (because I love anatomy too!).

I bought two things for Riley. One was a Mrs. Potato Head set (above), which I think she'll like (Luke probably will, too). The other is a fleece mermaid sleeping bag that someone had made and then donated. It's in great shape and I think it would be fun for her to use when she comes over to spend the night.

Right now, the cats are loving it, of course! (Chick and Duck were playing in there)

When I got home, I dumped everything on my bed to go through it; not even two minutes later, Estelle and Chick were on top of it. It never fails!

And speaking of the cats, I found a cheap little pop-up-cat-play-tent-thingy. It was only a couple of dollars and even if it only lasted an afternoon, I thought the kittens would have fun with it. Interestingly, Estelle ran over to it and dove in, sliding it across the floor. She was having a blast! The kittens were watching her, clearly wanting to go check it out, but Estelle was having the time her of life.

The fitting rooms are closed in most stores because of COVID, so I was hesitant to buy clothes. I didn't have luck with workout clothes, but I bought a few pairs of jeans that I hoped would fit. When I got home and tried them on, they were too big! Remember when I wrote a post about what it's like to try on clothes after gaining 30 pounds? It was basically the opposite of that. (There was one pair that fit, which is in the photo with the Friends shirt.

I'm going to try to alter a pair that I really love; they are pretty big in the waist, so I'll try to take the waist in (I've done it once before and it worked really well, but it was hard and time-consuming to do).

I did happen to find a like-new Cuddl Duds Thermawear top. I *love* Cuddl Duds--Becky gave me a pair of their Softwear leggings that became too small on me so (reluctantly) I got rid of them. I liked to wear them to sleep in during the summer because they are super lightweight and I really don't like having bare legs--they feel sticky in the summer).

I had a store credit for Kohl's last week and I was there to return stuff for Amazon, so I looked at their clearance stuff. They had a pair of Cuddl Duds leggings for $17, which is half-off the website price. I bought them with my store credit because even at $17, it was a good deal. Anyway, the top I bought is on the Cuddl Duds site for $38, and I bought it for $3. I was pretty excited about that!

Today most definitely wasn't the greatest day for thrift finds, but you never know what you're going to get at thrift stores. I probably would have bought a few more things but without being able to try on clothes, I decided not to. I think my favorite find today was actually the Friends hoodie. Well, maybe the Cuddl Duds top.

Jerry and I have been having so much fun feeling totally carefree. The kids certainly aren't a burden, but there is a lot to remember and do when they are here: Noah's crazy school/work schedule, Eli's school, baseball practices, and lifting weights at the rec center (he doesn't have his license yet, so we have to drive him somewhere at least twice a day), nagging the kids to do their laundry or wash their dishes, etc.

I know the kids are having a blast with my parents in Hilton Head, so we are making the best of our "staycation". I'd like to plan a date night for us to do on Wednesday, but I'm not sure what we'll do yet. The next few days are either going to be really long or really short! Haha.

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Daylight Saving Time

Even though we only had to "spring forward" one hour today, the day went by SO FAST. I've been doing my runs and writing my blog posts in the morning lately, but it's already evening and I haven't done either one. I hate to make this a "non-post" but I can't, for the life of me, think of something to write today.

My kids are on vacation and Jerry is off work all week, so we have the place to ourselves--a "staycation". It feels so weird! It's snowing with 29 mph winds, so it kind of ruined our plans to do some stuff outdoors. I do need to work on painting Noah's bedroom, but this day went by so fast and I just wasn't ready. Daylight Saving Time really messes me up in the spring; I have no problem with the time change in the fall but losing an hour takes weeks to get used to.

Anyway, Jerry and I are going to play a board game, so I'm just going to call it a night and revisit tomorrow. Here is today's random fact of the day...

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Vegan Recipe Review: Brownies!

Over the past several weeks, I've been eating a vegan diet and I have loved trying out new recipes! Most of the time, I make old recipes (ones that I've made for years) and I just swap out a couple of things to make it vegan. I do like to try new recipes, though, and this series is the perfect opportunity to do so.

I haven't been craving sweets--at all--since I started eating a ton of fiber. Today, though, I chose to make vegan brownies. I haven't tried vegan baking yet and I was curious how they would turn out. Whenever I hear things like "vegan brownies" or "gluten-free cake" or "healthy cookies" I pretty much write it off--if I'm going to eat dessert, I want it to be GOOD--and I have always found that the "healthy" stuff just doesn't taste as good as the high-sugar high-fat stuff.

So when I see Pinterest links to all these vegan desserts, I naturally think they can't possibly be anywhere near as good as the traditional desserts. (Black bean brownies? They just aren't the same!) When I saw the picture of these vegan brownies, I couldn't resist making them to see if they really are the "Best Fudgy Vegan Brownies". You can find the recipe on Eat With Clarity. (I'll link to it again at the bottom of this post)

I'm going to spoil the ending on these brownies: HOLY COW. They are SO good!! I don't mean that they are "good for a vegan brownie"; I mean that they may be the best brownies I've ever eaten. They are SO moist and chocolatey and rich. I wish I could say that they are healthy, but they definitely are not. They are still high-sugar high-fat.

Vegan or not, if you like brownies, you've GOT to try these! There aren't any weird ingredients; the only "veganized" part of them is that the chocolate chips are vegan (I use the Enjoy Life brand) and instead of an egg, you use 2 Tbsp. flaxseed + 5 Tbsp. water (OR you could use applesauce instead of the flaxseed). I was curious to see how these would hold together without an egg and lo and behold, it worked. If I didn't make these myself, I'd have no idea that they were vegan.

(Note: If you prefer cake-like brownies rather than the dense fudgy ones, you may not like this recipe. These are exactly the way I like them--dense, rich, and moist. And very chocolatey.)

The unique part of this recipe is that you combine the sugar and water over low heat until the sugar is dissolved, and then you add it to the rest of the ingredients that way. I never would have guessed that dissolving the sugar first would make a difference, but then again, I know nothing about baking. The recipe developer from Eat With Clarity wrote that the sugar + water combination is what gives the top a shiny crust but leaves a fudgy center.

I followed the directions exactly as written and they turned out perfectly. These will be my go-to dessert when I need to bring something to a get-together.

The "flax egg" definitely doesn't look very good, but once it's mixed in, you'd never know.

Dry ingredients:

After adding the rest of the ingredients:

I was surprised that I had an 8x8 pan; I thought mine was 9x9. The recipe specifically mentions that an 8x8 pan is best. I don't like lining things with parchment paper because I can't get the paper to lie in there nicely and the edges always look weird when taking it out. But I did it anyway.

It was awkward and not at all fun taking it out. Next time, I'll probably ditch the parchment paper.

Once I poured the batter into the pan, of course I had to taste what was left in the bowl. I was instantly in love. I had Jerry and the kids taste it, too, and they agreed. I had to take the kids to the airport before the brownies were done cooling, unfortunately, so I'll make them again after they are home and they can taste them. But Jerry and I agreed that they may be the best brownies we've ever had. I can say with certainty that they are the best *vegan* brownies I've ever had ;)

If you have a brownie craving, I highly recommend these! Vegan or not--they are SO good.

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Friday Night Photos

Yay for Friday! I was really hoping to have good weather this weekend so I could try to do something with our landscaping, but it's snowing right now. I do plan to work on Noah's bedroom sometime in the next week, though--he's going to Hilton Head so I am going to paint his room while he's gone. He's been wanting to paint it and hang shelves and anime posters. Definitely more his style than the blue walls he has now.

I debated whether or not to even post a Friday Night Photos this week because all I have on my camera roll (that I haven't already posted) are selfies and cat pictures! So if you don't want to see selfies or cat photos, just skip this post ;)

I know I'm always posting pictures of Duck and his paper balls that he plays fetch with. I collected so many last week from under the furniture that I got out a bowl to put on the coffee table where we can put them when he's not playing with them. 

Whenever Duck is awake, he requires entertainment of some sort. He was up on the coffee table playing with the paper balls in the bowl so I put the bowl on his toy on the floor (the cats get so curious when something is moved to a different place, and that alone is entertainment for them). Duck took every single ball out of the bowl, haha. 

Speaking of entertaining cats, I bought this treat puzzle/activity center for the cats (mainly for Chick and Duck). You sprinkle treats around and the cats have to use their paws to slide the treat to the floor to be able to eat it. They love it! The little fishbowl cups are hard for them, but I think that's good--I didn't want it to be too easy. Even though Duck is extremely food-motivated, Chick is the one who patiently works on getting the treats out of the bowls. Duck gives up too easily.

Sometimes Chick gets SUPER cuddly. He climbs up on my lap and sprawls out, then nudges my hand to keep petting him. I was trying to type my blog post yesterday and I couldn't even type a full word without him poking my hand with his nose. I love when he's cuddly like this! I just feel bad moving him; I rarely sit down for a long time. It's funny how cats call the shots--you can only pet them or hold them when they ALLOW you to; and when they want to lie on your lap, you stay there as long as possible so you don't disturb them. My cats own me!

Duck climbed up there with me, too. I absolutely LOVE when cats sleep with their heads turned upside-down.

I have about 30 pictures of Duck jumping in the air to catch one of his balls--so I just put some of them into this collage. Instead of playing fetch lately, he likes to jump up and catch the ball in the air. Then he waits for another. He's good at it! I'm amazed at how high he can jump.

I bought this shirt from Goodwill a few years ago before a trip to Oregon. When I saw it, it just seemed appropriate and it was only 90 cents. However, it was waaaay too small. I could barely pull it down over my chest. I tried it on today and was excited to see that it fits! It has very short sleeves (one thing that I don't like about women's clothing) so I put a cardigan over it. Jerry and I have been thinking of planning a vacation with the kids toward the end of summer--going to the Pacific Northwest and driving the coast. I haven't been out there in so long! I would love for my kids to see how pretty it is. 

While I was trying to take the picture, Duck desperately wanted my attention. And this is his new way of doing it--he reaches his paws up my leg and stretches his back before pulling on my pants. It's like a toddler who tugs on your leg when they want your attention.

Remember when I posted back in November about the hoodies on sale at Kohl's? I think I got them for $8? Maybe $12? They were super cheap for Black Friday. I've always loved the Tek Gear hoodies, so I bought some. After buying them in size medium, I tried them on and decided to exchange them for size small (these are men's sizes--I'm definitely not a small in women's!). Whenever I checked at Kohl's, though, they were out of stock. They told me I have six months to exchange or return them, so they've been sitting in my car for months. Yesterday, I was finally able to exchange them--I love wearing hoodies and these ones are my favorites for sure.

Also, I'm back to wearing jeans again! Hahaha. This is notable only because once the pandemic started, I was either wearing "work clothes" (paint-splattered, wood glue and caulk-covered, holes here-and-there clothes) to work in the garage; and when I wasn't in the garage, I was wearing stretchy black pants. Now that several of my old pairs of jeans fit me again, I have been wearing jeans. For some reason, I feel better about myself in jeans. 

I saw this and it made me so nostalgic...

Finally, here is the random fact of the day (and it's *really* random):

Have a great weekend! xo

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