A variety of updates, and the introduction of my new boyfriend (Alton Brown!)

I had a 6am shift at work today, and I have to be honest.... I hate getting up at 5 to be to work by 6am. I am by no means a morning person, and have a tendency to forget everything important that I need to do for the day, in favor of coffee and countless other bad choices.

Today though was planned for in advance.
No coffee was had (sticking with one per week even though David just bought a fancy espresso machine!), and I am happy to report, not too many bad decisions were made. lol...
The only questionable decision was the absence of a work out. I skipped lunchtime yoga trying to hunt down a surprise for David which didn't work out after all! Lame, I know!

Oh well, the hunting got me out of the office and walking around town, which was a nice break in my day.

I'm sorry, I am getting distracted from my point here: my love of oats!
I packed oatmeal to take and make at work this morning: oats, flaxseed meal, cinnamon, a couple almonds, raspberries and I later added some almond butter! They were so tasty, and the addition of flaxseed meal (maybe it was the omega-3s?) kept me spunky all day! There was no am grouch!

In other news, look what Alton Brown taught me today!

I applied this rise, punch down, and shaping technique to the rye bread recipe David had been lusting after (a very similar recipe previously provided 8 loaves of flat, thrown away, rock hard, gummy rye bread, so I was a bit frustrated to say the least!). I have to tell you, I am so impressed with the results!

So in honor of my new found bread baking success, Alton Brown has to be added to my list of boyfriends, joining the likes of Bear Grylls (Man vs. Wild), and John Corbett (Northern Exposure and Sex and the City)! lol.... Don't worry, David is well aware of my side love interests! lol....

Update: we tried actually cooking the flaxseed meal with the oatmeal this morning, and it made quite the nasty mess - I am going to take oatmeal to make at work again this morning, but that just means adding boiling water, and maybe microwaving a for a minute or two. For future home use, we will try stirring some flaxseed meal into the oatmeal once it is already cooked.