Sure……he looks innocent.

But the truth is, he’s covered in ticks!!

I am so afraid of ticks. It’s completely irrational.

When I was growing up, I was a self-proclaimed “woods kid”. I spent nearly all of my time building forts and playing outside with my brother, so nightly tick checks were a part of our routine. We would inspect all the hot spots–ears, scalp, ankles, etc. If we found one, we’d pull it off and flush it down the toilet.

Can someone please tell me what happened to that little girl? How was I a hundred times more brave as an 8 year-old?

Anyways, Andrea found a tick on Logan the other night. This is pretty much how things went down:

Andrea: “What’s that… that big thing on him? Is that a tick? I thought ticks were small.”
Me: “Not if they’ve latched on, they blow up ’cause they fill with blood. Let me see.”
…..
Me: “OMG IT’S A TICK. I’M PARALYZED WITH FEAR. GET IT OFF HIM!!”

Sorry for that caps lock moment, but it was necessary. Andrea took care of the tick, and Logan is still a healthy, happy (growing too fast) puppy!

Work it Out

I took the day off from the gym today, partly to nurse my Warrior wounds (huge scrape on my calf and a bad bruise on my shin), and partly to run errands and generally get my life back together after having very little time to do anything this weekend.

One thing I did was whip up a batch of homemade protein bars!

Peanut Butter Vanilla Protein Bars
Serves 8.

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp honey
6 tbsp peanut butter
4 scoops of vanilla whey protein powder
1 1/2 cups of oats

Instructions:

1. Melt the coconut oil, peanut butter, and honey together in the microwave for about 30 seconds, until it is easily stirred.
2. Mash the banana and add to the peanut butter mixture.
3. Stir in the protein powder, until it is fully combined. The mixture will start to look doughy, almost like peanut butter cookie dough.
4. Add the oats and mix until fully combined.
5. Spray an 8 x 8 baking pan with cooking spray, then press dough into the pan. Place in freezer for about an hour.
6. Remove from freezer and cut into 8 bars. Individually wrap the bars and store them in the freezer (I’ve stored these for at least two months before).

Nutrition:

I love these bars, they come together super fast, and taste like a sweet treat but pack a lot of protein too. The coconut oil really adds a lot of flavor. Plus, this recipe is very adaptable, you could add raisins, chocolate chips, peanuts, shredded coconut, the list goes on and on!

Bonus that they’re stored in the freezer!