Five Faves (Volume 4)

Linking up with Hallie for another installment of my Five Favorites this week. I have never been preggers, so Hallie's list was of limited benefit to me at this point, but maybe I will try Dan's lavender oil trick on Will as he studies for the Bar exam. I will knock the stress right out of him. Like a ninja.

1 - Handwritten thank you cards from strangers named Loretta. 

I had a couple snafus involving Will's graduation/commissioning announcements that involved slightly under an hour of phone conversations with some customer service reps at tinyprints.com. We ended up solving the problem (a new order was sent free of charge with free overnight shipping!) and then I received this handwritten thank you card thanking me for my angry phone call. So, duh, I recommend them.

2 - Ground flaxseed. 

source

I started adding a heaping spoonful of ground flaxseed to my smoothies in the morning. It's super cheap and you can't even taste it. Plus, I feel healthier just by saying the words "ground flaxseed."

My smoothies consist of (estimating here): 3-5 frozen strawberries, 1 banana, 1/4 C greek yogurt, 1/2 scoop 100% whey protein, 1/4 C blueberries, 1-2 C orange juice, 2 T ground flaxseed, 1-2 C spinach.

I truly feel that I'm faking out my body into thinking it's drinking a sweet strawberry milkshake. 

3 - PEAS!

source

My friends all know me to be a lover of peas. I would put peas in every meal if my husband let me. I have in fact contemplated changing the name of this blog to "Pass the Peas." But probably no one would get it. I don't even get it. Anyway, I did a happy dance when found and bought that FIVE POUND BAG of peas pictured above.

But don't call me a pea head.

source

4 - White chocolate macadamia nut Clif bars.

GOSH, these are good. When I was in law school, we had a Subway on campus and I would treat myself to the white chocolate macadamia nut cookies on the regular. Only 120 calories a pop. NBD. Now that I'm older and wiser (j/k, it's only been like two years), I opt for the Clif bar version. It's still a lot of calories (240, I think), but it's made with organic ingredients and packs a lot of protein. It's perfect for an afternoon snack before working out and doesn't taste disgusting like every other protein/energy bar ever made.

5 - Contigo autoseal travel coffee mug.

This mug gets me through my morning. You see, I have two problems when it comes to coffee: (1) I like to spill it on myself, and (2) I drink it slowwwwly. You have to press the button to drink out of this mug, and if you don't, you could throw it across the room and not lose any precious Tribute blend. It does not leak. Also, it keeps my coffee hot all morning, which is good, because I usually take a few hours to drink 20 oz.

That's it for me. Check back with Hallie for some other faves!