Hello! It seems like I’ve only been popping in on weekends, doesn’t it? I don’t have much to share about my weekdays; in terms of food, I’ve basically been having the same thing every day anyways!

I have a few scenes from my run. I made it 2 miles! That’s the farthest I’ve run since my stress fracture, and while it felt good, I don’t think I’m quite ready to go further yet.

So why not another weekend recap?

This weekend my parents came to visit! Which of course meant we got to eat lots of good food!

Thursday night, we met in Market Square and went to Trio. I got the Trio salad, with added roasted chicken. The salad had portabello, brie, and blueberry balsamic. Their chicken was super tender and delicious as well!

We then went to Rita’s for frozen custard. I went with chocolate and vanilla swirl.

Friday night after I got off work, my parents picked me up and we headed back to Market Square and hit up Cafe 4, which had been on my radar.

I had a really delicious salmon, beet, and goat cheese salad. My family also split cheddar grits. I love grits!

For dessert, we split a slice of flourless chocolate torte. I’ve actually been super impressed with the gluten free options in Knoxville. A lot of menus have things labelled.

We walked around downtown a little bit before calling it an early night. I definitely didn’t get enough sleep the previous couple of nights, and was feeling it!

Saturday morning, my parents slept in while I went to Crossfit. The workout was a partner AMRAP. It started with a 400m run then:

29 Minutes

7 burpees

13 goblet squats

19 sit ups

8 pull ups

7 box jumps

And no, I really don’t understand the numbering scheme. My partner and I switched off rounds. I am so impressed with how much my foot has improved in the past 3 weeks. I can do pretty much anything now. On Saturday I did 20″ box jumps for the first time (I had been doing 16″). For my burpees, I’ve been stepping back and forward. On Saturday, for the first time I started stepping back and lightly jumping forward! (It might be a while before I slam my foot into the ground by jumping back). My pull ups have also drastically improved. Now, I just do the WODs without a band for pull ups. Without questioning it. I didn’t do most of the sets unbroken, partly because my hands got slippery on the bar, but I did do one set of 8 continuous pull ups. A couple of months ago (or less), my max was 4! I felt really strong and fit out there during that workout. Since coming here, I’ve stopped babying my toes to bar and pull ups, and I’ve realized both how strong they really are, and have seen them get stronger. I feel really good, and really fit out there in my workouts. And I finally feel healthy, like a whole (non-fractured) person. That being said, don’t ask me how fit I feel when running! Still working my way back into that…it’s not easy to get back into, but I’m putting zero pressure on myself, and I have zero expectations.

For brunch, I took my parents to a gluten free bakery/market. We all had egg and cheese biscuits (although theirs had bacon).

After lunch, we drove into the Smokey Mountains.

It was a tad rainy. We got out at the head of the Appalachian trail to hike, and ended up getting back into the car and staying there for a little while while the worst of the storm passed.

It was pretty cool to be hiking there. Only 2,000 miles to Maine!

 

 

The scenery was beautiful!

It was a great afternoon trip. We DID the Smokies! (As my mom said!)

For dinner, we headed to Market Square yet again to try another restaurant on my list, Tupelo Honey Cafe. This was recommended to me by somewhere I went to Physical Therapy with when I was working on my foot!

We started with spiced and and grilled Okra, served with buttermilk ranch.

For my main meal, I got a side salad with Tupelo Honey Vinaigrette, and corn soufflé. The soufflé was delicious, and I would love to try and recreate this at home!

We got back on the early side, so once at my dorm I began laundry and Facetimed my college roommate. It was so good to catch up with her, even if the signal was sketchy! It’s amazing how much there can be to share about just a few weeks!

The next morning, I let my parents sleep in (West Coast time) while I went to a spin class. HELLO cardio. In terms of exercise, Crossfit has been my method of choice (and really my only option) for the past few weeks. I lost most of my cardio endurance with my broken foot anyways, so it’s been a little rough! I’m subbing spin classes the week I get back to California though, so I need to get it together a little bit!

I actually made my own lunch while cleaning up and throwing in some more laundry. it involved avocado toast, watermelon, and BBQ chicken over salad.

We met up again so that my mom and I could get pedicures. Mine were looking rough—I am pretty bad about my my nails. I tend to get a pedicure with my mom about once a quarter, and then leave that polish on until the next time. It had been extra long this time because my foot was too broken for a pedicure! I went with deep red.

Afterwards, I kidnapped my parents to help me work on my vet school apps. We went to K Brew, my favorite coffeeshop here, for Lavendar Honey Iced Lattes. (Yes, they are as good as they sound.) I have a pretty good idea of what I want to write my personal statement on , but we brainstormed a few more ideas. I think for my writing process, I need to get it down in a low stress, relaxed environment, so I’m hoping to find somewhere nice to hang out next weekend and get started on it. Everything feels slower and more relaxed here in Tennessee, and I know a return to the Bay Area is going to feel like a sack of bricks to the face.

We headed to Panera for an early dinner of a Fuji Apple Salad for me. Love that!

Then, it was time to say our goodbyes!

Thank you guys for coming to visit!

(Also—how crazy is this. This was my entire tank. That would take me 300 miles. In the Bay Area, $15 gets you like 2 drops of gas…)