Friday, September 23, 2011

Friday Mishmash - And, Nugo Slim Bar Review

On the Mish and Mash today:

We are headed out to Galveston tomorrow afternoon for a weekend with Kelly and Chuck.  I can't wait - we'll be doing Beach Palooza on Saturday morning, which is a crazy 5K fun run with beach-themed obstacles.  Me?  I'm looking forward to jumping over fire the most.  Of course that is right now, while I'm sitting in the comfort and safety of my home.  Might be another story on Saturday.  Eek!  Look for Picture Palooza on Monday, providing we survive the race!

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Speaking of running, I'm going to go ahead and have my ankle "cleaned out" via surgery on October 4th.  Get rid of those bone chips.  Not gonna lie, I'm a little afraid of this, but I'm more tired of always having it ache and hurt, and it's obviously not getting better.  So this will be an outpatient procedure, and although I'll be going under general anesthesia, I'll be home in just a few hours after the surgery.  Then, the hard part.  Ice and elevation for ten days to two weeks.  No weight-bearing on that foot.  Crutches.  Somehow I had it in my head that I'd be back in the pool the next week, but I guess not.  However, if this will get me able to run again, and live without pain, then it will be worth the inactivity.  Y'all remind me of this when I start complaining, ok?

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Last week, Paco got a package in the mail from my mom.  Yes, the dog got mail.  Homemade peanut butter dog cookies!  I have to say that they smell really good, and Paco loves them.  Proof:
 Waiting...waiting...
Still waiting...Paco waits for the "OK" before he gets his cookie.  His ears were back because at this point he was pretty much OVER the waiting!

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Recently, I was sent some Nugo Slim protein bars for review.  The big selling point on these is that they are very low in sugar AND covered in real dark chocolate - no maltitol or artificial sweeteners.  Sounded good to me!  While I don't eat bars on a regular basis, I do like having them to throw in my purse in case I'm going to be running errands during the day and won't be home for lunch.
Brownie Crunch and Roasted Peanut flavors
Nutrition stats - I like the colorful "fast facts for slim" on the bottom - easy on the eyes!

I guess I was hoping for something really dessert-like, considering the bars are covered in dark chocolate.  Honestly, neither bar had much flavor beyond the chocolate.  I ate a few bites of the brownie bar and then thought "Why am I eating this?  It doesn't taste like anything" so I tossed it.  Then I tried a bite of the roasted peanut bar - again, not much of a flavor.  I set the bar on the kitchen counter, and later in the evening noticed that it had disappeared, so I tracked down Jeff and asked him what he thought of it.  "Kind of bland" was his response, which confirmed what I'd been thinking.  The best part of these bars was the dark chocolate coating, and let's face it, that's not where the protein is.  I could picture me treating these bars like I used to with a Twix bar - gnawing off all of the chocolate and caramel, and tossing the boring cookie center.  (please tell me I'm not the only one who did that...)

Anyway, nice as my contact from Nugo was, I wouldn't recommend these bars.  Sorry!  (FCC, these bars were sent to me for free; review is quite obviously all my own opinion.)

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I am so happy we are heading out of town for the weekend - it's Homecoming for two of the three high schools here, as well as a home football game for Texas A&M.  Can you say crowds?  The roads are going to be insane - glad we get to avoid the madness.  Hope you all have a peaceful weekend!

17 comments:

  1. I love how we can count on each other to be honest and not swayed by the receiving of a few free treats!

    Now, are we kinda looking forward to 10/4 to getting it over with--or dreading?

    I think Id be the former.

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  2. Your weekend is going to be so much fun with your visit to Kelly and Chuck. Make sure to take a lot of pics because the run sounds fun.

    I’m glad that you made the decision to have surgery. You will be fine, just think of running again when surgery goes fine, which will.

    Holy, you trained Paco well that he waits till he got the okay to eat the cookie. Bella really needs to come over to learn from you and Paco and of course her Mommy will come then too.
    So sweet of your Mom to send Paco a present.

    Have a great weekend sweety.

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  3. 2 Thoughts...
    1. Paco is a very good boy!
    2. I'll be thinking of you on Oct. 4th and sending happy ankle wishes.

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  4. I am rooting for you and your ankle.
    Have a great weekend. To think of a beach themed event in Sept., oh they joys of living in the South.

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  5. Have fun Paloozaing! Will try to wait patiently for pictures. Have I mentioned that I'm JEALOUS?

    The photo of Paco with the treat on his nose made me laugh out loud. How ironic that he will sit and wait like that but when you tell him to shut it with the squirrel barking he ignores you...

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  6. Have a great fun run. Hope your butt doesn't catch on fire. Wear your fire proof undies :)

    I think you are very brave to go under the knife to get rid of the pain. I am wishing much success with it and I am hoping it makes all your dreams come true!

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  7. Dealing with another 2 weeks of ice and elevation and crutches will totally be worth it compared to 9 months of no progress. When they say no weightbearing - they mean it. Don't make me come out there and hold your leg up while you walk around.

    Have a great time fire jumping!

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  8. I wish my dog was that well behaved.

    I'm so jealous of you for escaping to the island and doing a fun race now that the weather is finally bearable!

    Hooray for moving forward with the ankle - recovery will suck for a bit, but not nearly as much as the last many many months have sucked while you waited and waited and waited for it to get better.

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  9. I am with Beth, no way in hell my dog would rest a treat on his nose!

    Have a wonderful weekend with Kelly and Chuck!

    Sorry you have to have surgery, but I think its the right decision and hope that cures the pain and you can get back to running!

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  10. Paco! OMG how cute can a dog be?!

    I'm with you for surgery, holding your hand, um foot. Sounds like a wise decision. See my e-mail.

    Have a great weekend. As long as the Aggies are not playing UT, I will cheer them on. :-)

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  11. I'll have to try that trick with Sophie and popcorn. She snaps at that stuff like an alligator when I drop a piece.

    October 4!!!! That's soon! I just scheduled my hand for October 18. Too bad its not the same time--we could spend all day consoling one another. Yours is a lot more limiting though. At least I could walk from place to place, even though I couldn't do much when I got there.

    Interesting about the Nugo bars. I just found one in my cupboard, and looked at the ingredients list and was going to throw it out, but of course had to taste it first. The coating was VERY tasty, but the rest of it--just as you described. Into the trash it went!

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  12. HI Shelley, sorry to hear about the surgery, but HOPEFULLY it is short term pain for long term gain!! Have a great time with Kelly and Chuck! Can't wait to see the photos (on both of your sites). I laughed out loud at Paco with the cookie on his nose. OMG...that is the funniest thing I've seen in a long long time. Have a great Friday!!!

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  13. Have fun with the 5k!

    The ankle surgery & recovery will be crappy, but worth it. I've had ankle surgery twice and I've recovered 100% from them!

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  14. Good luck with the surgery and good for you for being proactive about it!

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  15. Have a great weekend with your friends and fire (??). And good luck with the surgery; I really hope it helps with your ongoing injury! You need to get back to running before you go crazy! :)

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  16. Back when I still ate Twix, I definitely nibbled off the chocolate, at the caramel, but I actually ate the cookie, too.

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