Weekend at Home + Vet Student Things

Date: October 15, 2017

Author: astottler

With all the fire starting this past week, I never got to recap my weekend at home. Before I get into that, I want to share a little bit about my weekend.

One of the most heartbreaking parts about the wildfires are all the animals that are lost/injured/killed when owners have little to no warning to evacuate. Some amazing people have been doing great work to evacuate, rescue, and save countless animals. Here at the vet school, we are starting to get patients. I finally got the chance to help out, and I jumped at the opportunity. I spent Saturday morning helping out with some burn victim kitties, and I’m on call Monday night in case we get lots of patients.

The only bright spot in all this tragedy is seeing the community come together to help. The spots to help out with the fire victims at the vet schooled filled up SO fast. My classmates raised money to take donations into Sonoma Country. Many businesses and organizations are donating money and items to help the victims.

And through all the tragedy, we are starting to see traces of hope; dogs that stayed behind to protect the farm animals, and all emerged safe. People who returned to find their houses gone, but their pet, healthy, waiting for them. People doing incredible things to save lives.

That being said, the fires are still burning, so my thoughts go out to those affected.

I spent my Sunday morning volunteering at a pop-up clinic. It’s an amazing experience, because we get to work with clients in need and practice taking the lead on cases. This morning was my first opportunity to take the lead myself, without the aid of an older student! Things like this weekend make me so happy I’m going into this field.

Also this weekend: I played intramural soccer. I haven’t played soccer in 8 years, but I grew up playing it from the age of 5. WHEW. I consider myself a fairly fit person, but soccer running is a different kind of fitness. We ended up playing a shortened game, and I don’t think anyone was complaining about that!

ALSO this weekend, I tried out Davis’s newest brewery, Super Owl. I like it, but 3 Mile is still my favorite beer in this area!

Back to my weekend home. I drove Chloe back Saturday morning after a final walk around the neighborhood.

One of the first tasks was visiting the GF bakery for Saturday donuts! These are great because they’re baked, not fried.

Maple donut, orange donut, chocolate donut, and apple cake and a cinnamon roll.

That afternoon, I snuggled with kitties and then met up with a friend at Stanford who just transferred there. It reminded me of how hard undergrad was. It’s somehow easy to forget that…

On my way home, I picked up dinner to celebrate my dad’s birthday, a bit late!

I had salmon with a baked sweet potato and broccoli.

We also broke open the growler that we brought home from Kansas in January! That was a definite upside of vet school interviews! Even all these months later, it was delicious and fizzy. This was Reindeer Sweat, which was a holiday-themed stout. I believe it had notes of chocolate and cherry. This was one of the best stouts I’ve had in a while. Totally worth braving icy temperatures!

My mom made a German Chocolate Birthday cake:

My sister made Gelato and brought dulce de leche to put on top, so I had a bowl of that! Yum!

Sunday morning, I ran 4 miles at one of my favorite places ever.

I’ve mostly been running 3 miles over the past year, and it’s amazing how different it feels with that extra mile…overall it went well though!

For lunch, my dad grilled peaches and chicken (I took lots of leftover grilled chicken back to school with me…) and we made grilled chicken and peach salad.

I also brought a zucchini with me and backed another loaf of zucchini pumpkin bread.

People who let their bread cool, I understand you the least.

That afternoon, one of my friends from home (the one with the puppy!) came over for a little dog walk. They’re officially friends, which was such a good feeling after Chloe’s behavior the previous week. They were both pretty tired, so when they played, it was sort of in slow motion.

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Then, it was time for me to return to school. When I got back, I had a text from my sister waiting, saying she has just adopted a kitten! Um, excuse me, you couldn’t have done that a few hours earlier?? Look how cute she is though:

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Ok, I’m back to studying!

Thunder from Down Under+Last Post from This Side of the Mississippi Round 2

Date: June 26, 2016

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Guys. It is currently Saturday night (this post will go up Sunday while I am in the air), and I leave for TN tomorrow. My flight LEAVES at 5am. Ouch. This is my last post from this side of the Mississippi! Recently on time hop, I came across my “Last Post from This Side of the Mississippi” from my summer in DC, so I guess this is round 2! I definitely want to blog about my experience in TN, but understand that I can’t talk about what I’m doing due to confidentiality reasons, so expect more of the usual food and fitness+weekend adventures!

This week has been crazy, trying to do everything before I go.

You may be wondering about the first part of the title of this post. My parents and I went to “Thunder from Down Under” Tuesday night, aka an Australian Shepherd playgroup at the local dog training/agility facility. Chloe LOVES playing with other dogs, and is a rough player. She hasn’t had the chance to play with a ton of Aussies. This was just the cutest idea! 6 dogs showed up, and Chloe stuck with the same one most of the time. I wish my pictures were less blurry, but crazy dogs=constant motion.

Chloe and her new BFF, Bacon. It was so funny to see all the dogs play and interact with the same behaviors and mannerisms!

About halfway through, they started to get a bit tired! When she gets tired, Chloe tends to just roll on her back and play from the ground.

Thursday was another busy day for me. I started with morning Crossfit. I did cleans for the first time since my stress fracture, 2 months. I was careful and kept it light, but was still sore the next day! My foot felt good during them. I went straight from there to meet my sister for iced coffee.

And then from there, I ran home to pick up Chloe for a walk with my High School friends. I hadn’t driven her in my small car since she has been full grown, and she kept trying to come into the front seat/my lap! She’s too big for that! It was great to see my friends.

Since my foot injury, I haven’t walked any sizable distance. That plus Olympic lifting that morning was a lot, and my foot was sore the next morning.

I was more than ready for lunch afterwards!

Microwave quesadilla, salad with Greek Feta dressing, and chicken.

More food: Fig and Goat cheese salad.

Microwaved gluten free blondie with caramel sauce and frozen yogurt.

Friday, my dad and I went to the Giant’s game. Food, as always was the highlight. Cauliflower flatbread with truffle oil for me, plus a cucumber and feta salad split with my dad.

Plus some of my dad’s hot fudge sundae.

We ended up pulling out a win by inches…it was not pretty there at the end!

As per usual, it was freezing. I had a long sleeve, sweatshirt, north face, and scarf, plus we had a blanket, and I was still so cold! I feel like I need to soak up the cold though before heading to TN!

It was fireworks night, so we stayed after the game to watch. While we waited, the birds swooped in!

And then, it was time for fireworks. It was a great show—the fireworks were really sparkly and pretty, plus we were really close.

The next morning, I drove down to my school Crossfit for the last time. I’ve been sad for a while about this day. This Crossfit has really become my family over the past 3 years. Through crazy school stress, illnesses, and two major injuries, it’s always been there. I spent so much time there over the past 3 years, and it really was one of the highlights of my college experience. While I still argue that sometimes you regret a workout (some types of soreness are brutal), I knew that whenever I went in, no matter what else was going on, I would leave feeling better. I think I’ve been there in every imaginable mental state. The workout was a great one to end on. A LONG partner workout, similar to the previous week but worse because of the addition of wall balls.

2 Sets

AMRAP 5 Rest 1

Max Assault Bike Cals
16 Alternating DB Snatch

AMRAP 5 Rest 1

Max Rower Cals
20 Wall Ball

AMRAP 5 Rest 1

AMRAP 5 Toes to Bar + 5 Burpee
5 Pt Shuttle Sprint

For the final grouping, I subbed 25 kettle bell swings for the shuttle run, and push ups for the burpees. KB swings combined with toes to bar KILLED my grip! It’s funny; I haven’t done many toes to bar lately (not for any good reason), but they have still gotten WAY stronger for me since doing so much ab work while my foot was in a boot. I guess it does carry over!

At the end of class, I said my goodbyes which I tried my best (and failed) to keep it together for. I’m really going to miss that place.

After a failed errand, lunch at home was rotisserie chicken, avocado toast, and fruit (pictures is the nectarine, plus cherries and some pear).

We had more errands to run that afternoon to prepare for my trip, but on the way, I wanted to get froyo. We ended up at Menchies. I love how they label all their nutrition info+allergens. And that they have sample cups readily available! I got some toasted marshmallow and some chocolate frozen yogurt, which I topped with hot fudge, strawberry,s and milk chocolate.

Dinner at home was a good one. Cheese soufflés (it’s a Cooking Light recipe that we’ve made quite a few times over the years).

Plus steamed artichokes and roasted Japanese yams.

For dessert+plain snacks, I made some more sweet potato zucchini bread, but with a few changes. I didn’t have quite enough sweet potato, so I threw in half a banana, and to change up the flavor a bit, I reduced the spices and put in butterscotch extract. It was a hit in my house!

And with that, from this side of the Mississippi, that’s all she wrote.

Where is your favorite place to go in the summer?

Coming Home

Date: August 16, 2015

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

I am currently sitting in an apartment in New York City! It’s my first time here, and I’m visiting my college BFF.

I just got in tonight and my friend has doe work to do, so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to catch up! I came to New York from a daily trip in DC. We had a family reunion trip for my grandma’s 80th birthday, and of course I suggested DC. I got to play the guide for the weekend and shepherd the group through the metro. Also-I had $20 on my metro card from last summer and I actually remembered to bring it! Score!

Last summer, I fell in love with DC. When my plane landed at DCA, I felt like I was coming home. I can’t explain the feeling, but I feel like I left my heart here and this is where I belong. I’ve never felt such a strong pull to a place. Last summer was the best summer of my life, and I knew I’d be back.

The first thing I did on Friday morning was take a short jog. We stayed in Pentagon City, so I only saw the Washington Monument from a distance.

The first stop of the trip was the zoo-my grandmother and grandfather went on their first date there, so our family sort of originated from that!

How’s this for a little transformation Tuesday? Last summer there were baby pandas, and I believe this is the same panda, now 1 year old.

After the zoo, we stopped at a restaurant on the way to the metro where I got a delicious beet salad with goat cheese, avocado, and chicken. I’m trying very hard to make myself enjoy beets, and I think this salad helped bridge the gap!

Next up was the American history museum, which was one I didn’t spend much time at last summer.

And finally, we went on a moonlight tour of the monuments.

(Free champagne in the lobby with my cousin!)

The monuments at night are beautiful, and I loved getting the history and background of various spots.

The rest of the night was spent catching up with family, including my long lost sister who I don’t see enough!

Saturday morning was another early day-we started with the botanical gardens before it got too hot.

Followed by the Air and Space museum. That might be my favorite Smithsonian. I didn’t really explore Space last summer because I got too burned out on Air (I had my long training run that morning+the Natural history museum on that day), so it was cool to see that stuff! I really like all the space stuff. In middle school I actually thought I might want to do aerospace stuff as my career (that didn’t last though-I am no engineer).

In the afternoon, we went to high tea at the Ritz.

Apparently high tea is a big thing in DC!

They treated us very well, and brought all kinds of extra food. I’m avoiding wheat right now (which is insanely complicated and probably deserves its own rant) so I ate the innards of the sandwiches, plus a few bites of the current scone (which was fantastic). The sandwiches were egg salad, lobster, and cucumber with herbed cream cheese. A lot of the desserts had nuts, so they brought out a special plate for me that was nut free, including lemon creme brûlée!

We had a nice dinner planned late that evening, but the rest of the afternoon was dedicated to an important task. There were 2 things I wanted to do on this trip. Run the monuments, and get cupcakes. I consider myself a DC cupcake expert. For our poison of choice, I chose Baked and Wired. I’m not about that line at Georgetown Cupcakes, and Baked and Wired is spunky and unique. We took the Metro to Foggy Bottom (my favorite area of DC) and then walked to Georgetown so I got to show my family my old stomping grounds!

One of the necessary qualifications of a cupcake shop in my book is having dietary restriction friendly fare, and Baked and Wired has several gluten free options (as well as vegan options). I went with a gluten free chocolate strawberry, which was chocolate cake with strawberries in the batter, topped with vanilla buttercream.

For dinner, we got all fancied up and went to a French American place near L’Enfant, Central.

If you go there, ORDER THE CHEESEPUFFS. Amazing. I only had a few bites, but amazing. I shared a delicious goat cheese caesar salad with my dad for dinner and had the rotisserie chicken, which was perfectly cooked. I also pretended to be classy and had a glass of Rosé.

Sunday morning began with my other goal for the trip, a monument run. I had originally planned to run from Arlington metro stop across the bridge to the monuments, but the blue line metro was about a 20 minute wait, so we instead got off at L’Enfant and made our way to the National Mall, past the Washington Monument and Lincoln, and over the bridge to Arlington Cemetery and back. It was a fun run-I managed to drag 4 other family members with me, which is a definite first! It was getting bit warm though at 10am!

Our last stop of the trip was the Native American History Museum. The cafeteria there was Native American food, and it was delicious!

Blue corn creed, cedar plant salmon with beet puree, and root salad with heirloom carrots.

Quinoa plantain cake with a dulce de leche center.

Then, it was off to NY!

This DC trip was awesome, and it made me even more sure that I want to spend my gap year here. This weekend, my fears of graduating and only having one year left of college melted away because I know there’s something amazing to look forward to after college. (That being said, should I do a life plans update post at some point??)

What city do you call home?

Crush Cancer 2014

Date: October 19, 2014

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Saturday morning, I participated in an amazing fundraiser, and my first Crossfit competition-Crush Cancer! This event was held at Crossfits throughout the world to benefit Stand Up to Cancer, an my home box was hosting. (For more info, check out this post.)

So, Saturday morning I ate breakfast and drove up there.

It was so great to see so many people out there to support a great cause!

I was in the first heat, which I was really happy about. I was a little nervous, and I didn’t want to have to wait around to go!

Of course, it wouldn’t be an event if my mom didn’t take an awkward picture of me stretching…

The workout was 3 five minute chunks, with a minute in between each. Each round consisted of:

1 minute power cleans (65#)

1 minute shoulder to overhead (65#)

1 minute double unders

1 minute kb swings (16kg)

1 minute burpees

(The pictures of me warming up are less blurry.)

Here’s the breakdown for me-the power cleans were super light. The shoulder to over head would be a bit heavier especially after cleans. I had no idea how double unders would go because they are super hit or miss for me. KB swings would sort of be a rest because 16 has felt pretty light lately and they were just Russian swings (not overhead). Burpees would be….burpees. Blech.

Here’s how it went:

I ended up muscle cleaning the power cleans because it was light, which means I didn’t really jump it up. The first round, I started WAYYY too fast-I think I got 20 reps in the first 30 seconds and then realized I needed to slow the heck down because it was starting to gas me. I did push press for shoulder to overhead, and it definitely wasn’t light after the cleans.

Then it was on to jumprope, which I was grateful for because my shoulders were shot. To my surprise, the jump roping went really well. My double udders were cooperating and it turned out to be a non issue. Note-jump roping with rubber arms is a weird experience.

The kettle bell swings were pretty uneventful.

And the burpees were surprisingly good. Because the kettle bell swings were fairly light and I muscle cleaned in the first minute, my legs were actually pretty fresh so these actually felt good. Weird…

Round 2 was definitely the hardest round for me. I slowed it back quite a bit in an effort to not die. Rounds 2 and 3 were when I started having the problem that my grip was failing on the barbell movements and kettle bell swings.

And as I write this, I’m realizing how sore my forearms are now….lots and lots of cleans will do that! Plus kettle bell swings-those can be hard on grip too!

I think the last round felt better than the second, maybe because I was almost done! Grip was definitely worse though! It was awesome to have so many people cheering me on through the last round.

But man, I was happy to be done!

^Pure relief.

That was HARD. Definitely the hardest workout I’ve done in a LONG time. Competition push and normal push in workouts are 2 different things! WHEW. I finished with 336 reps!

After watching another wave compete, I headed home for lunch, homework help, and kitties.

Lunch was pretty basic-taco salad with ground turkey and cheese.

Plus some fancy cheese and crackers on the side.

Then, I spent the entire afternoon working on CS homework. On the plus side, I’m really close I think!

I also did a little experimental baking-recipe to come soon!

I stayed for dinner before heading back to school-we ordered takeout from a fancy burger place. I got a wild salmon burger with sweet potato fries.

And I’ll leave you with some last cat pictures:

^He makes sure all my clothes come back to school furry.

And here I am! I stayed out too late coding (until I realized I couldn’t think straight and it was time for bed). I was planning on running this morning but brunch is about to open so that can wait!

What did you do this weekend?

Moved In

Date: September 21, 2014

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Well, I’m all moved into my dorm and sort of ready for school to start! I also only sort of have Wifi so there’s that…It has been so nice to catch up with friends these past couple of days!

In terms of fitness, I went to my last class at my home Crossfit on Saturday morning. The workout was tough, and I barely made the 20 minute time cap! It was the following:

10-1(start with 10 reps of each, then 9, then 8, etc.)

overhead squats

chin ups

-Between each round: 5 strict press and 10 pistols

I used 55# for the overhead squats and 45 for the press. I’m definitely sore today!

This morning, in lieu of a 9 mile run, I took the opportunity to squeeze the last bit out of my gym membership by going to one of my favorite spin classes, and it was fantastic!

Foodwise, I just had my first dining hall meal. My closest dining hall this year is known for having the best food, and it’s also nut free! They even have sunflower seed butter!

Dinner was veggies with a vegetable pot pie:

Plus plain yogurt, rice chex, raisins, and sunflower seed butter.

In terms of other food, brunch after spin was from Whole Foods because I needed to buy dairy there. I had huevos rancheros and fruit.

Breakfast the other day was eggs and berries-I love this plate! It used to be at school but I ended up taking my DC dishes to school.

The other noteworthy food was roasted plantains that we made at home. My parents ate them with brown sugar and cinnamon, but I went to sea salt route because they were cooked in butter and it seemed just right!

In foot news, I’m trying to treat them well. One thing that was recommended to me was getting a night brace. This keeps your foot in the flexed position so there isn’t so much stiffness in the morning. The one I got is basically just a sock with a strap that connects the knee and toes. I sort of feel like it’s a foot straight jacket. And I’m sure some night I’ll get up in the middle of the night and run into someone in the hallways, and said person will think I’m insane.

But it seems to be helping!

In the next few days, look for another recipe post and a little tutorial on watermelon cutting!

How was/is your dining hall food?