Happy New Year! I hope that everyone had a safe and fun New Year’s Eve. I spent most of my day working followed by some baking and a very low-key celebration with friends.
I had to pick up some nice chocolate for my baking projects so I treated myself to a salad from the Whole Foods hot/salad bar for lunch. Then I had to patiently wait for my salad to digest so that I could workout and get out of the gym.
For my workout, I warmed up with two miles on the treadmill followed by the following strength circuit three times through.
15 sumo deadlift high pull with 35# kettlebell
10 decline pushups with feet on box
15 kettlebell swings 35#
10 lunges (each leg) with back leg on box
15 bosu crunches
10 bosu hip bridges
The workout was really nothing to write home about but something else exciting came out of it. I got the idea in my head that I was going to try to do a dead hang pullup when I finished running on the treadmill. I have actively been working on pullups for the last year. At the beginning of 2012 it was all I could do to just hang from the bar. I could do pushups forever but pullups were so challenging to me and I could barely do them with assistance from a spotter or a band. With a lot of practice and hard work I finally got my kipping pullups in July. Despite the fact that I had built a lot of strength and could kip, I still couldn’t do a dead hang pullup.I would give it a try every so often and it would never happen…no matter how determined I was.
Until yesterday!!! I went for it and it finally happened. And it wasn’t a fluke – I did four of them while I was playing around on the pullup bars. What a HUGE strength gain to end 2012! I cannot believe that I am strong enough to do a dead hang pullup. This is definitely a goal achieved!
Pullup videos and now pictures of Oreos…that’s how we roll over here. 😉 I wanted to make Oreo truffles for New Year’s Eve and couldn’t believe my eyes when I went to Harris Teeter to pick up Oreos and saw that they are now making Peanut Butter Oreos. There was no question that these were coming home with me.
Let’s talk about the magic of Oreo Truffles if you’re not familiar. Basically, you crush Oreos and mix the crumbs with cream cheese. You roll the mixture into balls and dip it in chocolate. It’s pretty amazing. (Although I make no nutritional claims about these!)
Oreo Truffles
18 Oreos, crushed
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
Mix together Oreos and softened cream cheese. I like to use a mixer for this to make sure it really gets combined. Roll the mixture into tablespoon sized balls and dip in melted chocolate. I find it easiest to drop them into the chocolate and then gently roll them around with a fork and carefully remove to a plate covered with wax or parchment paper. Place in fridge or freezer to set. This yields about 15 truffles.
I also made sugar cookie bars from a recipe that I saw on Pinterest but it turn out as good as I hoped. Oh well…I had the Oreo Truffles to make up for what these lacked!
I spent New Year’s Eve snacking, drinking wine and chatting with friends. It was exactly what I needed it to be. A quiet close to a year that I don’t even have adequate words to succinctly express my feelings about. I’m just glad it’s over.
Are you more low key or go big on New Year’s Eve?
