Oh Christmas Tree...and BSI Granola too late

First of all thank you for all the encouraging comments on my "5K". I still definitely feel like an ammature in the running world I see all over these blogs, but its totally because of all you guys that I wanted to push myself. Thank you!

Yesterday after my run the roomie and I ran some errands, Christmas shopping, manicures...etc. Well we lost track of time and eating and all of a sudden it was 4pm and I was STARVING!! I did have a Chai-der (Chai tea steeped in apple cider) from TeaLuxe in Harvard Square...SO DELICIOUS!...but did nothing for my hunger obviously. So of course all our cravings were just coming on strong and we caved...Buffalo Chicken Pizza, with a salad of course. It was from this little place near my apt, City Slicker Cafe. They even say their pizza's take 25 min or so but the resulting crispy crust is out of this world.

We each had 1.5 slices and some salad (baby spinach, roast tomatoes, candied pecans, and Cabernet Vinaigrette).Last night was the final dance show! It went really well, and I think everyone in my piece felt great afterwards. My fiance and roommate loved it because they've never seen me do a lyrical/contemporary dance before...I've always been on dance teams doing faced paced jazz or hip hop! It was a fun change.That's my amazing group (I am second from the right, knealing in front)

Then I did a SUPER fast change and we were off to the Holiday Cocktail party of our college friends at a bar in downtown Boston. It was so great to see everyone...and get dressed up!

(I will have to upload a picture from the cocktail tomorrow...it's on the roomies camera and she's not home yet. I had a really cute pink dress though!!)

Confession: I may or may not have had a slice of cold Buffalo Chicken pizza at 2am ;)

After a lazy morning with a nice big bowl of cereal medley

Kashi Autumn Wheat, Go Lean Crunch honey almond flax, Kashi Vive, and a sprinkle of honey bunnies.

Brian and I headed over to my mom's to decorate the Christmas tree!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the smell of Christmas trees. It's always so great to break out the old ornaments that have such sentimental value.

While there, we went out to The Aegean Restaurant for late lunch. The pita bread with the olive oil feta mixture they give you is incredible!
I ordered the broiled seafood...haddock, sole, salmon, scallops, and 2 stuffed shrimp...YUM! Half now and half for lunch tomorrow! I got the steamed broccoli on the side.

Now back at my apt, I wanted to make a batch of granola...this time I wanted to make more of a pumpkin spice version, but I actually ended up going with a Gingerbread Granola!

Dry:
- 2.5 cups thick cut oats
- 1/3 cup pecans, chopped
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp ginger

Wet (into a small sauce pan)
1.5T butter
1T canola oil
1 1/2 tsp Molasses
1T real maple syrup
2 tsp brown sugar
1/8 cup Apple Cider!

Heat up the wet ingredients, and once all melted together mix into the dry ingredients. Spread onto baking sheet and back at 275 for 30min, stir, then another 10-15 min or so. Take out of the oven and let cool before mixing it. I like to let it sit and cool to let some of the piece clump together (although the low amount of fat doesn't make for much clumping...fine by me though!)

Can't wait to have some of this on my yogurt in the morning.
So after I put the granola in the oven I realized I could of entered this into the BSI!!! Too bad I was like 1.5hours too late :( Oh well, maybe next time!

I just tried a little taste of the granola and it smelt really strong, but tastes nice and mildly sweet. The raisins seemed to absorb a lot of the liquid because they taste sweeter than normal too. The more I taste it, the better I can tweek it for next time...so far I think I will add a bit more spices next time.