Friday, May 30, 2014

Back At It : Paleo Days + Sweaty Workouts

I am back at it and so, so happy!
 
Since Summer started, I've been working 40 hours/week. I tried finding a routine that worked best for me and have had a really hard time getting myself back into a routine. My afternoons have started to go like this: get off work at 4:30, UREC around 4:50ish, change, get things together and then head inside -- sometimes I don't finish at the UREC until 7PM. Then I usually head over to see Peter and Cabela, and eventually do not make it home until 9 or later. THEN trying to make dinner + lunch for the next day -- that just wasn't cutting it for me.
 
But, on Tuesday I woke up and realized it had been a week since I worked out last + eating nothing but junk the past few days. I was over it. AND it didn't help that I was going to the beach with some friends for the weekend. That extra push threw me into overdrive mode and I knew I had to make a change.
 
So what do I do when I'm stressed? I plan. What's my favorite kind of planning? Any kind that deals with food -- duh! On Monday Night, Memorial Day, Peter and I celebrated America by making tacos -- how American of us right? I ended up making a delicious taco salad with the ingredients so I was definitely in the mood for that again.
 
For me, the best way to  monitor my portions + caloric intake is to plan everything out -- to the very last detail. I start off by thinking of the 3 big meals and go from there.
 
Here's what my Tuesday looked like:
 
Breakfast:
-1 Fresh Pear (not pictured)
 
Lunch:
-Iceberg + Arugula
-Ground Taco Meat mixed with bell peppers, onions, garlic, mushrooms and tomatoes
-2 Types of Salsa (for dressing)
-Root Vegetable chips
-Spicy Guacamole
 
The recipe for the taco salad was super easy! Make tacos like you normally would and use your favorite taco seasoning. In a separate pan sautéed your desired vegetables. When meat is almost cooked through combine the vegetables with the meat. Stir + sauté until meat is cooked through.
For the guac -- Peter made it and his motto is the simpler the better. I, on the other hand, am not like this. The more spices + fixin's the better. So, I added a lot of cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and pepper to mine guac. I promise, you will thank me.
Mid-Afternoon Snack:
-JOJO's Chocolate Bark
 
After lunch I typically like to wait a little while (to extend the eating process of course) and have a mid morning snack! Today I was so excited to try JOJO'S Chocolate Bark for the first time! This bark is amazing + tastes just as good as it is for you! The bark has 152 Calories, 11g of Fat, 10g of Carbs, and 4g of Protein + is made with all natural ingredients - Dark Chocolate, Raw Almonds, Raw Pistachios, Cranberries and all natural Whey Protein! AND... drumroll please. It's PALEO friendly!
 
Stayed tuned my friends, there may or may not be a giveaway coming up soon -- hmm, maybe someone could win 10 whole servings of the bark?
Hmm... I don't know -- looks like you just have to stay tuned ; )
 http://www.jojoschocolate.com/
Pre-workout:
 
I decided that in order to keep myself motivated to go to the gym, I am going to start drinking my pre-workout as soon as I get in the car. I had one of my favorite pre-workout drinks, Raspberry Acai Green Tea, on the way to the gym. For those of you who haven't tried Celsius -- go out and get some. This stuff is amazing! At first I was pretty skeptical about drinking something out of a can before heading to workout, but since this is NOT carbonated I thought I'd give it a chance. The taste is amazing and it tasted like a refreshing cocktail ; )  + It was the perfect thing to keep me focused, ready to workout + energized throughout my workout!
Along with my Celsius I had half of my Strawberry Cheesecake Quest Bar -- so delicious. That was my first time trying that flavor and I absolutely loved it -- definitely kept me fueled for my intense workout for the day.
http://www.amazon.com/celsius-inc/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=ur2&tag=celscalobur0c-20
Workout:
-My 30 Minute Cardio Circuit
I blogged about this workout a while back here and wanted to pull it from the vault because it is the perfect workout. It's one of those workouts that you immediately feel. It gets me sweating, it gets my heart rate up and can definitely feel that my muscles are working!
 
Post Workout:
-Other half of Strawberry Cheesecake Quest Bar
-1 Bag of Grapes
 
After my workout I had my bag of green grapes and the other half of my Quest Strawberry Cheesecake Bar as my recovery snack. I ended up heating the bar in the microwave for about 45 seconds -- this made it nice and doughy. Heaven.
Dinner:
-Garlic Chipotle Sweet Potatoes  
 
Later that night, I headed home and decided I was in the mood to whip something up that was Paleo, filling and could bring to lunch for the next 2 days. I remembered I had 3 pretty little bell peppers sitting in my fridge and decided to make some concoction out of them. I ended up with spicy stuffed bell peppers with an awesome yogurt sauce.
Check out the recipe here!



Obviously I slept amazing Tuesday and was ready to face whatever Wednesday was going to throw at me! Since I had eaten so well the day before, + was feeling GREAT, I decided to continue the trend! I packed up a whole days worth of food, much like the day before.
 
Here we goooo:
Breakfast:
-1 Pear
 
Lunch:
-1 Spicy Stuffed Bell Pepper + Yogurt Sauce
-Garlic Chipotle Sweet Potato
-Strawberries on the side
Afternoon Snack:
-Black Pepper Pistachios
 
Since I loved my JOJO's Chocolate Bark so much on Tuesday I had to pack it for a snack on Wednesday! I also had a pack of Black Pepper Seasoned Pistachios from Graze -- more details to come on that amazing company soon but Graze is a month box that sends you perfectly portioned snacks (in individually wrapped packages) that are based off of your preferences based off your online account. They also give you a friendcode when you sign up to share with your friends -- it gives your friends their 1st and 5th boxes free. It then gives you the option to use the $1, you earn when a friend buys with your code, towards your next box, or you can donate it to the "graze school of farming". Use my friendcode to get your first box free (cancel anytime) : Z23XH5NMP
 
Pre-workout:
 
Workout:
Today for my workout I tried out a workout from one of my favorite fitness/foodie bloggers - Peanut Butter Fingers!
This workout was truly amazing - I felt great during it but it definitely was a challenge!
http://www.pbfingers.com/2014/05/28/20-minute-boot-camp-workout/
 


Post Workout:
-Apple
I headed out with Cabela to the dog park and enjoyed the nice afternoon! He loves the dog park -- even when no one's there... he wanders around, then chases birds, then smells the grass and then just sits and stairs. Well, to each his own.
P.S. my workout gear for the day was explodin' with color + rocking my CHAARG power pink tank!

Dinner:
- Spicy Bell Pepper Filling with added Kale + Egg
- Garlic Sweet Potatoes
- Other half of Chocolate Peanut Butter Quest Bar 

For dinner I wanted to use the last of my Bell Pepper filling but wanted to make it go further, so I added about a cup and a half of kale and topped it with a poached egg (except in the picture the egg yolk had already popped). This was the perfect post workout dinner because it was full of protein + carbs to refuel my body! After dinner, I wanted something for dessert but didn't want to blow my good day by eating Oreos. So I decided to eat the other half of my Quest Bar and throw it in the microwave for 45 seconds to make it like brownie batter -- awesome decision.
I forgot how good it felt to be completely Paleo for a few days and my body missed it. I love eating real, whole foods to fuel my body naturally instead of filling it with tons of junk. Don't get my wrong, I love some good old cheese fries and a hot dog, + I may or may not have just eaten both midway through writing this post ; ) If you eat healthy + work hard 90% of the time, you definitely need to treat yo' self!
 
 
Well, that's all for now -- heading off to the beach tomorrow so I'll catch up with you guys after that!
 
Have a fit + fantastic day!






*Disclaimer: The Quest Bars, Celsius, graze, and JOJO's Chocolate Bark products were sent to me as promotional items to blog about and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. And yes, I actually do love the products!

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Spicy Stuffed Bell Peppers + Yogurt Sauce

Boy, do I have an awesome recipe for you guys.
Your taste buds with thank me after this one -- I guarantee it.
 
Well, don't quote me on that, you may not like it. But that will be your own fault! ; )
Lately I've been very conscious about what I have been eating and sticking to my May Goal of being Paleo 6 days out of the week. This week I've been very strict Paleo for 2 whole days and feeling great -- but more to come on that later!
 
Now, before you freak out on me and say, "Who in their right mind puts yogurt on a pepper?" Let me just stop you right there. You've probably seen everywhere that Non-fat, plain Greek yogurt can be used in place of sour cream and you cannot tell the difference? And you're probably thinking "Lies, lies, lies -- all I hear is lies! Ain't no way that's true!"
 
I am here to tell you that this rumor is, indeed, TRUE. [gasps.]
I honestly have replaced sour cream on a baked potato before and honestly, could not tell the difference. So in my book it is definitely worth saving the calories, fat + adding a good bit of protein to your diet.
 
Now, before the Paleo people come and hunt me down for saying Greek yogurt is part of the "Paleolithic Diet". It's not. Technically. Every Paleo person is different and what they chose to eat is totally up to them. There is no book that everyone follows, because there are tons of different ones out there and no one completely agrees on what's Paleo and what's not! Some people say Corn is a big no, no while others say it's not a big deal to eat. Some say nuts shouldn't be consume, I say to heck with it! Nuts are good for you and so is corn + they come from the earth and I'm gonna eat em. So there. Hmmph. [wins.]
 
Anyway... Greek yogurt is considered Paleo in my book because, completely cutting dairy out of my life would be ridiculous. My body loves dairy and needs it. I could never cut it out and deprive my body of what it needs. So there you have it Paleo people, hunt me down.  
 
ANYWAY.. back to my point -- the yogurt sauce is, dare I say? Damn good.
I'm not just saying that. I had found the recipe on Pinterest last summer and loved it. So I decided to use it again.
 
So, in conclusion. Just try the sauce.
Just do it, okay?
This recipe is very simple and very delicious. My favorite thing about doing stuffed bell peppers is you honestly cannot go wrong with them. You can make the flavor anyway you like and put whatever you want in them, it is honestly totally up to you!
 
Last night, I was in the mood for some spice so I went for a super spicy concoction!
 
This recipe does not take long, but the most tedious part was chopping the vegetables. If you use frozen chopped veggies that would save a lot of time, or use a "chop magic" or whatever those crafty things are called -- to save loads of time chopping everything! Or if you are a quick chopper, by all means have at the choppin' my friend!
 I needed to relax and cooking + chopping vegetable helps me do that so I did all the prep work by hand.
 
Ingredients:
3 Fresh Bell Peppers
1-1.5 Pounds Ground Meat (I used Venison)
1 Cup Chopped Mushrooms (any kind will work)
1 Medium Fresh Zucchini
1/2 White Onion - Chopped
2 Cloves Fresh Garlic
10 Cherry Tomatoes
1 Cup Arugula
1 Cup Kale
3-4 TBSP Olive Oil
2-3 TBSP Cayenne Pepper (to taste)
1 TBSP Garlic Salt
2 TBSP Italian Seasoning
Salt, Pepper (to taste)
1-2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce (depending on preference)
3 Medium Sweet Potatoes (for side)
 
For the Yogurt Sauce:
4 TBSP Greek Non-fat Plain Yogurt
1 TSP Worcestershire sauce
2 TBSP Cayenne Pepper
Garlic Salt, Salt, Pepper, + Dill (to taste)
 
 
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. While the oven preheats, begin chopping the Zucchini, Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Onion, and Garlic.
 
2. In a saucepan, on high heat combine chopped vegetables (from step 1) with 2 TBSP Olive Oil. Sautee vegetables until tender.
3. In another saucepan, brown the ground meat (if necessary drain the fat and return to saucepan -- the leaner your meat the less fat and you will not need to do this). Do not cook meat through until a later step.
 
4. While the vegetables sauté and the meat browns begin preparing the Bell Peppers. To do so, cut the top of the Bell Peppers and take out the "insides" (seeds, linings, etc.) and place on a foil wrapped pan.
-- I had to take a picture of this. Part of me didn't want to use this pepper and instead I wanted to get some paint and use it to finger paint with! Food is just so pretty!  
5. After vegetables are tender and the meat is browned (this will both happen very quickly if both stove tops are on high) combine the vegetables to the meat saucepan. Cook/simmer until meat is cooked through.
6. While the meat and vegetables continue to simmer prepare the sweet potatoes for the side. Chop 3 Sweet Potatoes into small to medium sized cubes. Toss with 1 TBSP Olive Oil + Garlic Salt + Cayenne Pepper to taste. Place in oven on 350 before inserting the Bell Peppers.
 
7. Once meat is cooked through and vegetables are tender, begin placing the "meat mixture" into each individual pepper.
*I cut the stems out of my tops so I could fill them even more.
 
8. Once full, place top on Bell Pepper and fill the remaining room with the mixture. Place in oven for 25-30 minutes, or until peppers are tender.
*The sweet potatoes will take about the same amount of time -- I think I took mine out about 10 minutes before the peppers were done.
9. While Peppers and Sweet Potatoes cook, prepare the Yogurt Sauce. Combine 4 TBSP of Non-fat Plain Greek Yogurt with 1 TSP Worcestershire sauce, 2 TBSP Cayenne Pepper, Garlic Salt, Salt, Pepper, + Dill.
*The taste/amount is all up to you. As you know from previous posts, I don't measure my seasonings too, too often and usually go by smell + taste. This was another one of those times.
 
10. When Peppers are done remove from oven, top with 1 large TBSP of the yogurt sauce and enjoy!
I made 3 of these bad boys to eat for the rest of the week for lunch at work. They are one of the most filling meals to eat + there is so much nutrition in it it's almost as if you are eating something unhealthy -- it's that good!
 
I roughly added up the nutrition for the peppers and here is what I got for each one!
 
Nutrition per Pepper with Yogurt Sauce:
470 Calories, 13.1g Carbs, 27g Fat, 45g Protein
 
 
I hope you guys enjoy this recipe, it is definitely one of my favorites : )
 
OH -- I forgot to mention, this recipe would be even better if you added a little cheese into the "mixture" or even just to the top. Try it out and let me know how it is!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Have a fit + fantastic day everyone!
 

Friday, May 23, 2014

Happy FITtastic + GREATful Friday!

Whoa, it's been a while since I've done a FITtastic Friday post.
Ahh -- sorry y'all! Life has been crazy and I've been loving it!

Today's post is half FITtastic and half GREATfull. See what I did there? 

Before I begin, let me start off with this amazing picture I found on Pinterest.
I love everything about this picture. I love the font. I love the beach. And I love the meaning.
 
This is something I try extremely hard to remember each and every day. To be grateful. Recently, some amazing opportunities have come about -- and I have a lot to be GREATfull for! This is hard for a lot of us to remember. We all get bogged down with what we didn't get that day, or the day before. May it be, that new job, that "A" on that test, or made it to 100 Instagram likes (lol). But sometimes we forget to be thankful for the amazing opportunities we HAVE been given.

This has been my mantra to myself everyday. I am loving it + trying my best to stick to it! Maybe I'll start keeping a small journal next to my bed and write what I'm most grateful for every morning? Hmm... I like that, I'm definitely going to do this. I think this would be an awesome way for me to focus on the positive things rather than the negative + who doesn't want to start their day on the positive side -- who's with me?

One of my main reasons I have been so GREATfull is partially FITtastic too! After a few weeks of starting my blog I reached out to Skinny Girl Daily just for fun to see if I could promote their bars on my blog. For all of my Bravo TV fan friends (or my Skinny Girl Cocktails fans) you guys know that Skinny Girl was started by Bethenny Frankel-- who originally was one of the main stars on The Real Housewives of New York. I have looked up to and loved Bethenny since Season 1 of that show, whenever she started her own company of course I was obsessed with it. So when her company reached out to me and offered me to guest blog for them, I couldn't pass it up.

http://www.skinnygirldaily.com/
Obviously I was nervous, never having done this before, so I asked the blog editor (Lisa) a million questions. She told me I was free to blog about any type of workout I pleased, but to keep my audience in mind. Skinny Girl aims towards young adults to middle aged women on the go! They are all about convenience + effectiveness. About an hour later I knew what I wanted to do a rendition of one of my go to workouts for myself. My Jump Rope Circuit.

I wrote up a workout that was along the same lines as the one in my previous post but I totally revamped it. I made it more of a Full Body Jump Circuit to get the job done!

Today -- my post went live on their blog and I could not be happier + more grateful for this fabulous opportunity! Check out my post + try out the workout. Seriously you won't regret it!

Lately I've been on this salad kick lately and it's been great! I recently went to Trader Joe's and bought so much stuff. Some of which was a ton of different lettuces. I love making a salad with different types of lettuces mixed together -- it spices up a normal salad for me -- because with just once lettuce salads are boring ;).
My salad today was iceberg lettuce + arugula + baby carrots + organic cherry tomatoes + sliced turkey seasoned with Italian seasoning.

Okay -- so it sounds so simple right? And sort of boring, I know. But this thing was as my Dad would say "OUT THE BOX" good. I'm thinking it was the Italian seasoning on the turkey, or the fact that I warmed the turkey up before putting it on the salad. OR, maybe it was the Olive Garden dressing... you be the judge of that one.

Another HUGE kick I've been on lately is fresh fruit. Along with my lunch I had a fresh Kiwi, a bag of green Grapes and these little munchkins. These cute little things have the be the simplest and one of the healthiest "desserts" I've ever made. It takes all about, uhmm, 3 seconds to make it. All you do is take X amount of Raspberries and the same amount of Dark Chocolate Chips and then, you put the chocolate chip IN the Raspberry. And BAM -- deliciousness.

This was one of those quick easy recipes I found on Pinterest in my "to make file" and then end up forgetting when I got to eat Raspberries. But I finally did it this weekend and now I am hooked!
 
Well, that's all for me for right now! I'm heading to Bayou Country Super Fest in LSU Tiger Stadium in about an hour so I've gotta run. I'm so excited to have an awesome night with good friends!
But, stay tuned I've got some more GREATfull posts coming soon!
 
Hope everyone has a safe + fun Memorial Day Weekend!
Remember what the day is all about-- God Bless America y'all!
 
 
Have a fit + fantastic day!

 










 

Monday, May 19, 2014

Petco Adoption Day + Pretty Saturday Afternoons - Part 2

This past Saturday was so eventful I couldn't condense it all into one post! 

After an awesome morning at Petco, volunteering for National Adoption Weekend, Peter and I headed to Trader Joe's so I could pick up some groceries! I have a huge problem when it comes to Trader Joe's.  - Huge. Problem. - I honestly cannot say that I have left with just 1 item before. Or that I have left with what I actually went in there for. I go in with a "list" but leave with the things on the list + way, way more!  

Here was my haul from Trader Joe's on Saturday. Judge me. 
I picked up some of my FAVORITE things this weekend. 
As you know from tons of my posts. I love the French style frozen green beans from Trader Joe's. I honestly could eat them at any time of the day, everyday, for the rest of my life. Honestly.

I also love the Garlic Herb Goat Cheese log. I came across this stuff before Spring Break and came really close to just eating it with a spoon. If you're a goat cheese lover. This stuff is for you. I use the Root Vegetable Chips as the "chip", and the goat cheese as my "dip"!
After unloading all the groceries at my house, we took Cabela over to play with the next door neighbor's dog, Layla. She has a pool, which is the perfect + their favorite place to play!

Layla is our next door neighbor's dog and is a 1 year old yellow lab. She is only a few weeks younger than Cabela and they love each other, If you even say "You wanna go see Layla?" to Cabela his ears immediately perk up and he runs around looking for her! These two have been best buds since my neighbor got her. It's been so fun to see them grow and still love to play with each other!

Then - an even better thing happened. My next door neighbor's daughter recently did an impulse buy.
She bought 2 pygmy goats.

I repeat. She has two pygmy, mini, goats.
 
Everyone, meet Biscuit and Waffles.  
 
Biscuit and Waffles, meet everyone.
I laughed so hard for so long at these little things. I even held one for a little while. They are both so crazy and cute!

After playing with the goats (and watching Cabela bark at them forever) we headed back into the pool area so Cabela and Layla could swim.

They played for at least an hour running and jumping into the pool! After alot of coaxing, Peter finally got Cabela to jump from the side.  He usually lays on his stomach and paddles his way in from laying on his stomach... lazy.
Peter couldn't pass up getting in either, I look over and Peter was in the pool too. It was such a nice day, I don't blame him! As soon as he got in Cabela was so confused and jumped in after him and swam towards him! And this happened.
After our pool-time-play session, Peter decided HE wanted to cook tonight! He wouldn't let me help at all. He made mushrooms, green beans and Garlic/Pepper Pork Tenderloin. 
 
I was all over those green beans. I love green beans (obviously). They are so quick and easy to take out of the freezer and cook in the skillet. They taste so much fresher and crisper than canned to me!

He seasoned the green beans with Olive Oil and Tony's Chachere's. No measurements when you have a boy cooking for ya... But they were amazing!
Gotta get those action shots! 
Then Peter made some incredible mushrooms on the side! He seasoned these with a little bit of butter,  and salt and pepper! YUM.
Since it was such a pretty afternoon and we had been outside for majority of the day, we decided to eat dinner on the back patio. It was so pretty and felt so nice out. Plus, the natural light made for some amazing pictures!
Peter got the pork from H.E.B. in Texas the last time he was there. It was perfectly cooked and seasoned... to perfection. So good, I want to drive to Texas just to pick up another one. I didn't even notice until we started eating that Peter had made us a Paleo dinner. I knew I was rubbing off on him ;) 

One of my favorite times of day is right before sunset. Everyone seems to be in a good mood + relaxed. I love that about Saturday afternoons. This was the view we had while eating dinner. The picture doesn't even do it justice - it felt so nice and was so enjoyable. I could have stayed out there forever! 
Of course Cabela was with us begging for a taste. He may or may not have suckered me into giving him a few bites.

Maybe.

He is a pro at "puppy eyes".
Peter kept making fun of me for taking so many pictures that he took the camera from me and starting taking pictures of me. I don't think he realized how addicting taking pictures with a nice camera really is... He is now obsessed with it just as much as I am. Told ya, Peter.
After dinner we headed inside. I was dying for something sweet but didn't want to ruin the "Paleoness" so I decided to try one of those recipes I have seen on Pinterest. It was so easy!
All you do is take fresh raspberries and put 1 chocolate chip (I used dark chocolate) inside of the hallow part of the raspberry. They were perfect - just the right amount of sweetness!

Peter even said they were good. That's when you know you have a winner. 
Finally, my awesome + crazy + relaxing Saturday ended. 

I love days like Saturday. I especially love spending it with the people I love the most! 







Hope everyone had a great weekend! 


Sunday, May 18, 2014

Petco Adoption Day + Pretty Saturday - Afternoons Part 1

Yesterday, was one of my favorite Saturdays in a very long time. Saturday's are my favorite days to spend outside doing new, happy things and today was definitely one of those days!

This Saturday and Sunday (May 17-18th) is National Adoption Weekend at Petco! For those who know me personally, know that I am an avid rescue pup advocate! Last Summer my boyfriend, Peter, and I were planning on buying a puppy from a breeder because we wanted a specific breed. After many failed attempts to get in touch with the breeder we put getting a dog on the back burner. We thought it was a sign that we were meant to get a dog later!

On a random Sunday in July, I made plans to see a movie with a friend, my Mom and sister. My friend and I showed up early and noticed that they had pet adoptions going on at Orvis near the movie theater. Since my Mom and sister were running late we decided to check out the puppies. After petting every single dog, we got to a pen of 5 puppies - 2 black, 3 brindle. They had a few rambunctious ones but my attention went to the sweet one who was not barking, but wagging his tail constantly trying to lick me. I asked the puppy's foster mom if I could hold him and she immediately agreed! Apparently that sweet puppy, with 6 toes I might add, had been intentionally separated from his mother and abandoned with his 14 brothers and sisters in a shed. After a "failed attempt" to get rid of the dogs the owner of shed brought the dogs in saying "I tried to get rid of them but they won't die." All of the puppies had been adopted except for the 5 that were left.

Well, the rest was history. Once that sweet pup licked my nose, I was hooked. Four days later, Peter and I met up with the foster Mom and adopted Cabela on the spot.

Ever since adopting Cabela, I felt this need to help other dogs in his same situation! I started volunteering with a local non-kill animal shelter in Baton Rouge called Yelp!BR. I want to do whatever I could to help those dogs and puppies who might not have found their "forever home" yet and to feel as loved as possible. I have completely fallen in love with this organization and can not imagine a better way to spend my Saturday.
http://www.yelpbr.com/yelpbr20/index.php
Along with Yelp!BR, Companion Animal Alliance of Baton Rouge was there as well! They had tons of their dogs and puppies out for the big day! 
http://www.caabr.org/
They pulled out all the stops today at the event!  Tons of decorations and awesome volunteers! Peter even came out to help for the day (I usually have to drag him to these things)!
Saturdays are fun spent with friends giving back to a great organization! So glad we had some friends come out to help volunteer!
At the Yelp! table they had tons of ways for people to get involved! Because Yelp! is a non-profit organization, they rely solely on donations! They were selling their adorable shirts and soft drinks with their logo cups for $2!
One of the great things about Yelp! is they are some of the most caring people I know! They truly care about each of the dogs and finding them their "forever homes". Most of the volunteers are currently fostering dogs (and end up falling in love and adopting them)!

At one of the tables outside, they had a couple things going on. They were taking donations of dog food, selling T-shirts + bios about some of the dogs. This was such a great way for people to get to know some of the dogs they may not get to see and possibly sponsor them for their medical and other expenses!

This is Marla, a sweet Rat Terrier mix, who recently underwent surgery to remove one of her eyes due to a degenerative disease. Even though she is completely blind, you would have no idea unless you looked closely. She is such a sweetheart and the entire time I was at the event she was cuddling with her foster Mom and trying to steal our finger sandwiches!
 
Aww, sweet Georgina. I have no idea what she is a mix of, but she sure is cute! She is such a sweet heart too. She is only about 4 months and such a ball of fun. She wanted to kiss everyone - AHH I wanted to take her home!
Oh, Chews. I love Chews. Nope, his name does not mean that he chews a lot of stuff. His name actually is the last name of the man who rescued him + brought him in. So sweet.

Chews is about 4 months old and is the biggest baby of a dog I have ever seen. He is the epitome of a lap dog and so calm. He sat with Peter like this for about an hour, paws crossed and everything - because he is a gentleman. He really started coming out of his shell later in the day and starting running around pulling us on his leash!
This tub of lard's name is Rex. Rex is a hugger and I mean, literally. He jumps up, wraps his paws around you and holds on until you hug him back. It was hilarious. Rex actually got adopted today by a great family! They had a young son which was perfect for Rex - he needs someone who can keep up with his crazy energy + loveable spirit!
He was Peter's buddy for a little while! Smiling the whole time.


 I wish I would have taken a picture/video/something to capture this because no one will believe me. Imagine a biker guy (very manly type guy) walking up to Georgina - the puppy. As he walks up, I think to myself - Aww, he's going to pet the puppy, how sweet. Then out of nowhere, he starts "puppy talking". {For anyone who has seen, touched, or played with a puppy you know what I mean. It's like baby talk but higher pitched.} Imagine this manly dude, talking to this puppy like that. I had to hold myself back from laughing at him - it was adorable.There really is something special to say about a bond between a dog and a human. There is also something to say about a rescue dog and their rescuer. It's almost as if they know that you saved them and you can see it in their eyes!

After a little while, I headed over to the CAA side to take some pictures of their sweet puppies.

Prepare yourselves. The cuteness is unbearable.

I mean it.

It is almost as if this puppy is saying "Hi. Look at me. Take me home. I like to snuggle."
The cuteness is unreal. Even Peter couldn't contain himself. He wanted him too.

I mean, seriously. This just isn't even fair.
I couldn't get enough. Especially when you added his "crate mate" into the equation.
I am sorry for all the puppy pictures but these little terrier pups were just so scrappy and small I couldn't pass it up! 

One of my favorite things since we got Cabela is having that friendship with his "foster family". We see them everywhere and I love it! They are constantly attending events that we go to (because they still foster dogs) - most of which we bring Cabela to! They love seeing him and I love brining him around so they can see how great he is doing.

These are just a few of her fosters she currently has! I don't know how her family does it - they are truly a super fam! She always has her daughters with her as her helpers - they are adorable. Apparently they had 7 other dogs at home - not counting the ones they brought to Petco!

I wish I knew this dog's name because he was such a cutie when I took pictures. He was so interested in what I was doing and in the noises the camera was making. So precious.
This little pups name is Pipa! She is absolutely the sweetest and so, so young! She just wants to cuddle!
Babe. Yup that's his name. He is also one of her current fosters! Apparently, when he came into the shelter he had ZERO hair and was completely pink. So they named him Babe. If you look at him now, you would never know he had been through such hard times. Every time I tried to take a picture he would jump up and immediately run towards me to see what I was doing. I think I got a pretty awesome picture out of it - look that smile!

If you're interested in adopting a puppy or a dog I highly suggest rescuing one. I know that it may not seem like much. But by saving that one puppy, you have changed at least one life for the better - which is amazing!

One of my favorite quotes about dogs is: "To the world you may be one person, but to your dog you are their world". Makes me cry every time.

If you are interested in adopting, fostering or even just volunteering to play with the dogs. Check out Yelp!BR and CAA's websites for more info!







Have a fit + fantastic + puppy filled day everyone!