Cringe at the Thought

Boo - hiss - scratch. Meah.  What a buzzkill to a snowy Friday.

Today at noon I am scheduled for a long overdue dentist appointment.

It's not that I hate the dentist that much. I just have a strange feeling that they're going to keep me around to numb up my face and stick a saliva vacuum in my mouth while they're hard at work. If I didn't have this appointment I would have stayed home from work today as the snow accumulates in Portland - super buzzkill. 

You see, with all of the cold weather lately I've noticed a problem tooth that about a year ago was almost a candidate for a root canal. It's been so sensitive to the cold that I've even taken a pause from running (in the 19 to 32 degree weather) because the wind sends shooting pains through my skull. It's also not a good friend to me when I go for midnight ice cream hunts but that was another day's story.

I sadly have to cram this appointment in today because I go off of my parents insurance plan in 10 short days and need that premium coverage while I can get it!

I wish I could say that I'm overreacting, but this isn't the first of my tooth problems. My mouth is literally full of metal from all of the fillings I've had over the years. You could probably get a tan from the sun's reflection off my shiny metal mouth. I blame my tooth troubles on my self-inflicted malnourished adolescence.

If I could go back 10 years I'd tell myself that my body will take care of me if I take care of it. Even the best brush and floss job in the world won't save me now. 

Hey, so who's in on a $10 bet that I'll drive home and Snapchat everyone my chipmunk cheeks? That is - if I can drive home. Hey Brooke, can I crash at your place if it snows too hard? kidding, kind of. 

Wish me all the luck! And please come over and make me a protein shake this weekend? 

Gifs 1 & 2

Selfish Santa

Uh, so how many of you went shopping the past weekend and ended up coming home with more for yourself than for your loved ones? When I shop in December I'm normally all about glitter reindeer, seasonal hand towels and a new dress for a Holiday party I'll likely not end up going to anyway and I forget that I'm there to get mom something she'll actually use / wear and get dad something that my brother suggested because dad's are sometimes hard to shop for.

This past weekend for Black Friday I was extremely guilty of being a selfish Santa.... again.

Okay wait so hear me out. 

I've been eyeing a new MacBook Pro for some time now but never pulled the trigger. First reason is because I like keeping ALL MY MONEYS and the second reason being that I'm always on my work computer anyway. Why spend those dollars I've saved when all I need to pay for is that high-speed WiFi connection? 

Through my recent life changes I fell into some extra money when I was bought out for some of the bigger ticket items that I'd purchased for us - like a couch and an HP laptop. All the extra money in the bank made me buy-ready for this shiny new super computer.

Okay, so maybe not all the way buy-ready, but it was on my brain that I was going to make the purchase in the next few weeks/months. Thing is that I was using the laptop as incentive to continue to lose some pesky extra pounds through clean eating and a daily sweat session.

Can you tell where this story is going? 

Well I found out that Apple had a Black Friday promotion that if you bought a MacBook Pro at any time of Friday past midnight Thursday, you'd get a $150 gift card. I'm kind of serious about sales for things that don't normally have any special promotion attached to them so Thanksgiving night I set four alarms to make sure the Turkey sleeps didn't take over. Just after midnight I clicked "Buy" on the 13" with Retina Display MacBook Pro and scheduled it for Friday pick-up at our downtown Apple store.

Reward cashed in before the hard work. 

There you have it - my Black Friday shopping experience was all sorts of selfish and impatient - but guys I have a gift card now to spend on things to pimp my mac. #thankful

For a mini redemption, I hit up the Made in Oregon store to get a Christmas gift for my bloggy friend Marisa who I went to coffee with on Sunday morning when she was home over the weekend. I picked up the cutest coffee table book about the city I love: This is Portland.

What kind of shopping do you do for yourself around this time of year? How do you keep on track with buying things for others rather than yourself?

Paleo Meatloaf

I'm so excited to share this recipe with you today.

It's clean, it's mean and it's Paleo! 

This recipe is directly from mom and I've been using it for the past two weeks for glorious meatloaf meals in between chicken, turkey and other great protein sources.  If you follow me on instagram, you've seen the spaghetti squash + meatloaf work lunches and you may have drooled. Well here's your chance to make it for yourself! 

All you need are 5 easy ingredients (seriously only 5!) and hardly 15 minutes of prep time. Important note about these 15 minutes is that you'll need (and want) to get your hands dirty! Nothing like being wrist-deep in raw meat and eggs. 

Good luck! 

How amazing does that look? 

Here's how I've been eating it - with Spaghetti Squash! 

Make your own and tag me on instagram! Email me with questions using the comments section below!