Thursday Thoughts

Heyo.

Sorry I've been MIA with comments and posts this week - getting back to school has been crazier than I thought it would be. Crazy as in I am pooped.

Good thing I can do Thursday Thoughts because my brain is pretty much a jumble of information and stress at the moment. Whew. I can get through this.

Gracias Amanda!

1. I brag about the fact that I'm hardly ever sick, but right now I feel icky. I'm taking a second rest day in a row, and with my schedule this weekend, it will probably be Sunday before I get another legit workout in! I guess that's life, folks.

2. What do you think about the new nutrition label proposal? I don't buy it, but of course, I don't buy a lot of label crap any more. They're apparently focusing more on calories, sugar, and fat - maybe if the food industry focused on real ingredients, promoting fruits and veggies, etc, they wouldn't have to "combat obesity." So yeah there's my two cents. (PS I know it can be more complex than that, but I'm just generally speaking).

3. In case you haven't been able to tell, it's NEDA Week! I opted not to write any recovery-related posts because a.) I just did, and b.) I knew a lot of other bloggers would be sharing their experiences and wisdom! But I did get my school involved by making posters, flyers, and little pencils that I had my class tape positive aspirations onto. D'awww.

4. Speaking of thought #1, I've been taking my workouts a little easier this week and last week. I just haven't been feeling 100%, and I think the cold is to blame. On the bright side, remember those faster paces I mentioned? Uh, not a fluke! I took a run when it was 60*...my average pace was 9:55, and my second and third miles were negative splits. What the?! I was really proud of myself! Hopefully this will keep up!

5. omgomgomgomgomg The Walking Dead and Grey's Anatomy have started, Being Human was CANCELLED, I've finished FRIENDS, and gah I watch way too much television.

6. I have almost completed Operation: Eat All My Nutbutters so I can buy MORE Fancy Shmancy Nut Butters. I see overnight oats in my future!

7. Okay do you guys feel really accomplished when you eat a whole sammich? (Sammich=big sandwich). I was at Which Wich the other day, and I managed to complete my sandwich without any problem while my friend had to pack her other half away. Obviously, I was listening to my body and not just stuffing my face, but I was like, "Dang girl! You just finished that awesome sammich!" Yup. I felt accomplished.

8. I get to dissect a heart tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know some might cringe at the thought of this, but gah I find it so fascinating and awesome. The heart is such a beautiful, important, intricate, and complex part of God's creation of the human body.

Wow I'm a dork.

9. I'm looking forward to tomorrow and this weekend!! Mom's birthday is tomorrow, and my sister and I are planning a little party for her, and this weekend, I am 1) getting my hair trimmed finally, 2) going to see Hairspray at a high school with one of my favoritest friends!

10. Well..that's all I have for today! Have an awesome Thursday!!

ALERT: BRAIN PURGE

hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.

I'm really delirious because I stayed up SUPER late (read: 1 in the morning...that is crazy late for me, okay?!) so you might get a constructive post or you might just get a bunch of rambling. I'm already being kind of obnoxious so we'll see how this goes.

In my defense I did post a constructive, thought out post yesterday which doesn't happen very often.

I like to go with the floooowww.

Right. Maybe before you leave/think I'm weird/annoying, I'll number my random thoughts to make it seem like I understand organized writing. (Plus my mom is a college English professor and if she reads this and sees any run-ons or lack of three point thesis or comma splices I'll be in trouble).

1. Cherry M&Ms are nasty in my opinion. The other day, my sister did that thing where you close your eyes, and someone puts a bite of something into your mouth as a surprise (wow there's no way to describe that without sounding sketchy). I was happy because I knew it was an M&M, but appalled at the flavor. No joke.

2. I've probably entered like 20 giveaways and STILL haven't won one. I don't blame the bloggers at all because I know there's a random generator thingy but come on!!! This is a common theme throughout my life - I never won at bingo, or class prizes (those were so unfair from the perspective of someone who never got anything), fundraisers, etc. All I ever wanted in elementary school was to ride on the Fur Bus to Stevie B's!!!

Interior of a Fur Bus, aka the coolest thing ever to my 3rd-grade self

3. Haircut. Need. Growing-out pixie cuts are not cute, especially when the owner has naturally curly hair!!!!

FIFTH GRADE FLASHBACKS

4. AAAHHHH I just filled out my application for joint enrollment! I'm so freakin excited and nervous at the same time! (Fun fact: I'm actually joint-enrolling at the college my mom teaches at....oh Lord...)

5. I have 4 containers of nut butter to get through. Mom said I'm not allowed to get any more until I eat them all...uh, challenge accepted!

6. Remember that blog change that I mentioned? Yeah, it's happening! I got some advice from Leigha, browsed through Wordpress, and have decided that I will be switching, and hopefully becoming self-hosted. Don't expect it any time too soon, though - I am not tech-savvy and will need some time to get it all figured out. But it's happenin'!

7. On my warm-up run yesterday (I always warm-up before I do a circuit workout), I ran a sub-10 minute mile. I know, I should be an Olympic sprinter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But in all seriousness, this was friggin accomplishment for me. Ever since my burnout (oh the memories), I have been keeping about a 10:30 pace. But I have noticed that my paces are getting a little faster - d'omg so excitiiiinnnggggg.

8. I really really really like really want to make these brownies! But my family believes it to be an unholy combination of disgustingness to make bean brownies. I can't say I blame 'em - I mean, how can you explain the combo of black beans and chocolate to an 11-year old Oreo-eater?! (not that there's anything wrong with Oreos, I'm just giving some perspective).

source

My game plan is to sneak a can of black beans into the grocery cart, make them while I'm the only one in the kitchen, bake them in a muffin tin to seem more appealing (who can resist muffins?!), and furthermore, explain that they are "flourless brownies" until I am sure they are mentally prepared to hear "black bean brownies." Which may be never.

9. I'm a really big science and nutrition nerd, so I love reading nutrition articles. However, nutrition (and anything in the medical field...yes, nutrition is medical) is SUCH a huge topic with so many studies, information, controversy, and opinions that I get really confused sometimes! I came across Cassie's blog a while back and absolutely love it, so I had to share. Namely these three articles that focus on simplified, balanced eating (PFC!), and this article focusing on the pointlessness of calorie counting. All articles are fact, science, and research-based (along with a few of her opinions, but what article doesn't have some opinion?). Browse around, you might discover some new info!

source

That's all I have for ya today, friends! Enjoy your day, it's almost the weekeeennnndd!! (<--comma splice)

This Isn't a Recap!!!! Or is it...

Did you miss Part 2 of my recovery story? Head on over and check it out, lovelies! 

In the earlier days of my blog, I used to write more "day in the life" type of posts. I've recently realized that for whatever reason, I've kind of slacked off on that element. Maybe it's because I feel like my life is a little monotonous (really, how many posts do you want to hear about how much I hate algebra/lounging around watching tv/homework/etc), maybe it's because I have awesome linkups and surveys that are too good to pass up, maybe it's because I have a really short attention span!! Who knows.

So rather than a full-blown recap, I'm going to try to sum up my trip through a sort of "day in the life" that spans over 3 days. Unless that's actually what a recap is. Whatevs. 

Friday morning, I woke up with the intention of getting the 25485985069834 things I had procrastinated the previous night done. And get done they did. (Did that sound like Yoda to anyone else?)

I was also determined to get a workout in, and I have some sort of freakish willpower so I got that done too. 

It was absolutely gorgeous outside, and I knew I had to warmup outside instead of on a treadmill. I didn't even take any pictures, but it was in the high 40s with snow still on the ground, the skies clear, and the sun shining. Believe me, it was beautiful.

I jogged for about 20 minutes at a warm up pace, and then headed inside for this circuit:

Then 5 minutes of cool down and boom, done. 

I packed in .00096 seconds (Lilly was no help), and was ready to leave. Yeeaaahhh that's not how my family really works...we're not usually on the same page when it comes to "ready to leave." 

I was planning on needing lunch in the car, but my Mom was running behind Rebekah and I, so I snacked on a boiled egg to get some protein in after my workout/hold me over. To be honest, I wish it was more like Amy's epic snacks, but my mind was more occupied on leaving. 

And I finished packing my goodies:

Finally, at around 1, we all managed to be ready. We were planning on leaving at 11 so yeah. 

Believe it or not, we weren't even "on the road" until around 3 because we had to make a couple of more stops (cough cough I drink a lot of water....).

Car lunch:

Yumz I love snacky lunches. Especially when they involve Larabars. 

Other snacking:

I feel like I eat more in the car than I do anywhere else. All I had was food/word search/Pinterest to keep me occupied for 4 hours. 

By the way, I'm so sorry if you follow me on Pinterest - I've probably been bombarding you with pins!!! I feel really carsick when I read books in the car (I know I'm weird), so I just played on my phone practically the whole time. 

We finally made it there about 7, and after hugs/kisses for the grandparents, it was time to EAT. Taco night, ftw. 

It was Valentine's Day, so of course it involved a little bit of looovveee (aka chocolate):

Mommy knows me well. I didn't eat this in bed 2 seconds later pshwhhaattt??

I woke up Saturday morning and had myself a nice yogurt mess. The "mess" came after I took the pic, of course. Vanilla Chobani yogurt, Shredded Wheat Cereal, a banana, and peanut butter. 

Eaten in the company of this dude:

He had oatmeal!!!!!! I made it for him!!! He liked it!!! Yay! He told me he was "choking it down" halfway through, and my yogurt bowl barely held me over for 2 hours. Guys, my appetite has been out the wazoo lately! 

My grandparents are always interested in my food "creations," and we chatted about cooking/my future plans that morning. I love them to pieces - they are so incredibly supportive  and I love them dearly for that. 

After a nap (I was ravenous/tired sooo...growth spurt?! Maybe?!), Mom, Rebekah, Grammy, and I headed out to look at some antique shops. The boys went...somewhere. I'm not even sure what they were doing! Ha ha. 

We came across an antique shopped that looked like a hoarder's house. Seriously, we had to shuffle through the "aisles," aka stacks of random stuff that almost reached the ceiling. My favorite area was the wall of old lunch boxes!

After a few hours of walking around, we headed to a coffee shop called "Elements" that was really cute! I love coffee shops - it seemed like a student/young adult hangout place, and more unique than a Starbucks.

For dinna, we picked up gigantic calzones. Dough. Cheese. Sauce. Win.

The rest of the night we just hung out and watched the Olympics! (P.S. Meryl and Charlie 5eva)

You still with me?! We're on Sunday, almost done! 

We opted to sleep in instead of church, and I made myself the best freaking bowl of oatmeal ever. EVER. Would you like to know the secret to the best freaking bowl of oatmeal EVER?!!

My grandfather takes frequent mission trips to Honduras (he's an ophthalmologist, so he works with the people who don't have access to glasses/eye doctors), and always brings back cases of Honduran Vanilla.

That, my friends, is the secret to the best freaking bowl of oatmeal ever. A splash of pure Honduran vanilla in anything sweet, and I'm pretty sure you're set. It gives the oatmeal such a delicious aroma and provides a richness. GAH I love it. 

Then I went out on a run! I mean that vanilla did something to me because I haven't felt like running in weeks! 

My grandparents live in a pretty flat area, and the change of scenery was amazing. 

I also spotted Rebekah, who had the same idea! She opted for a walk rather than a run. To each her own. :)

I had only planned on 2 miles, but ended up running 4! I love that runner's high you get! I probably would have lasted at least another mile, but we had more traveling to do! Wow that's a lot of exclamation points!

Check out that hair!!!!! Haha!

We drove to my great-aunt's house, who I have never met, and the ride took about an hour. Can I just say how tired I was of driving/riding in the car?! (By the way, this is after I had eaten/showered...I'm having issues transitioning)

But the drive was worth it - it was so, so wonderful to meet my grandmother's sisters. They are practically triplets, and the sweetest things ever! Rebekah and I decided we wanted to be like them when we get old - they were so cute, joking around together, giggling over old stories and pictures, and teasing each other. 70+ years young, I tell you! 

Aunt Dean, Grammy, and Aunt Betty

Aunt Betty and I

Also, we got to see some really cool pictures of my mom, uncle, grandfather, and grandmother, when they were all young. It was so cool! 

My mama was a looker. ;) We ended our afternoon/evening together with coffee and banana bread. It was such a sweet experience to see them!

The ride home....so long.....we got home, ate dinner, watched Downton Abbey, ate an evening yogurt mess...

And then crashed. 

Monday morning was departure day. I made myself a delicious bowl of steel-cut oats with warm cinnamony pears and homemade almond butter.

We lounged around til about lunchtime, and then I headed out for another 4 mile run!! Again, only planning on 2, thinking about stopping around 3, and then ending up finishing strong with 4! It was one of those runs where at first, I didn't really want want to, but was glad I did.

Bro took a cool-down walk with me, and then I showered, packed up, and headed home. 

Larabar + My Big Fat Greek Wedding to entertain me.

I love that movie. It cracks me up, and reminds me {just a bit} of my Mom's side of the family (yep, the ones we were visiting - haha).

Subway for my hungry tummy 3 hours into the trip.

And that rounds up my recap!!!!!!!! I miss my grandparents like crazy and can't wait to see them again!!!