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MIMM #1

Hey guys! Since I only have a week left of school, there’s lots of marvelousness going around here! Thanks Katie!

So here it goes! 

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Marvelous is….

A little over a week until I am reunited with this guy!

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The fact that I can take a 4 hour nap on the weekend.

 

Freedom to eat whatever I want when I go home in a week!Image

 

Training for my first half marathon!Image

Beautiful California sunshine

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My awesome new spin shoes!Image

My fabulous freshman dorm, whom I will be moving away from in a week! I can’t believe I won’t be living with these amazing people anymore!Image

The beautiful flower flourishing in my dorm roomImage

What is MARVELOUS in your Monday?

WIAW-First Edition

Yay! I am finally doing What I Ate Wednesday!

Peas and Crayons

Thank you Jenn for hosting! You’re awesome!

I had a whole meal plan for today, but it kind of broke down later in the day. Luckily, I still have some photo-worthy shots!

I began the morning with a 45 minute Spin class, which was fantastic, as always. Then, breakfast!ImageAn obviously super photogenic biscuit from the dining hall. ImageA Harry and David pear and a hard boiled egg. Yes, I did try very hard to make this picture somewhat appealing. ImageMy gummy vitamins and calcium supplements. Yes, I am in college, and I still take gummy vitamins. Every since I had mono a few months ago and was popping 30 pills a day, I have wanted to avoid swallowing pills at all costs. Image

A much needed Cappuccino from Coupa. I attempted to use the coffee machine, but there were no cups, so I walked across the street to the actual cafe. The milk foam is way better from the real place. And let’s be honest, that’s the only reason I drink this. I had to bike with my drink. I felt like one of those cool college kids biking around with their fancy coffee drinks. However, I was very aware of any tiny bump I went over. As much as I love the idea of a scalding cup of coffee exploding onto my hand…

ImageA basic salad with Dijon vinaigrette, which I added 2 hard boiled eggs to. ImageRandom dog in the library. Soo cute. I miss my dog!

After class, I headed to the gym for a workout. I started with 4×5′ on the erg. I did the sets at stroke rate 22, 24, 26, 28, and each set had a faster split than the preceding one. Then, I did 10 minutes of abs. I’m loving this ab workout. 

I followed that with a 15 minute Crossfit style workout. Originally, the workout calls for 20 minutes, AMRAP, with 5 pull ups, 10 push ups, and 15 air squats. I can’t do pull-ups, so I do this on that pull down bar thingy. I wanted to have fewer rounds, but still get a good workout, so I changed it to 15 minutes, with 5 pull downs, 10 T push ups, and 15 goblet squats with a 25 pound dumbbell. I was rather sweaty. 

And then, it was FINALLY time to try my new Spin shoes! Here is the piece I was missing:ImageSo if you are buying Spin shoes, make sure you have this!

The shoes took some getting used to. The weight is on a slightly different place, and it was a little odd at first, especially out of the saddle. I especially loved them for doing sprints though. I felt like I could go much faster. I was on the bike for about 30 minutes. Tip: before you attach yourself to a bike, know how to detach yourself. Yeah. I spent a good 10 minutes looking like and idiot trying to figure out how to get the shoes off the bike. In case you’re wondering, you twist. Oops. ImagePost-wrokout fuel, plus pre-workout this morning. These are just ok, but they’re perfect for before a morning workout.ImageI was blown away by the veggie options at dinner today! I had a garden burger over salad, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted carrots, and cabbage.ImagePlus some extras:ImageImageAnd a studying snack (I have an impossible Chem midterm on Wednesday):ImageFor those of you that don’t know, I’m just coming off of a 3-week no sweets challenge. The last 2 days have been interesting…I haven’t gone crazy with the sweets, but a) they’re not as good as I remember and b) I definitely did not miss how they make me feel….

As a study break snack, I had some dark chocolate, pumpkin seeds, and this creation:ImageYes, I am a college student and I eat everything out of paper cups. This was inspired by my protein cookie creation of the other day. All it is? Sunflower seed milk (yes, it exists. No, I would not recommend it. Almond milk is better), unsweetened coconut, and a mashed up ripe banana, all heated up in the microwave to make a gooey, not too sweet pudding-like thing. I added a small square of dark chocolate, but I enjoyed it more plain or with a touch of sunflower seed butter. Better without chocolate? That’s a sure sign my tastes are changing! I finished off the rest of the banana (I only used half) with some sunflower seed butter. 

I love making non-dessert desserts. Especially of the microwave friendly variety. In paper cups. No shame. At least this is just slightly more photogenic than my old creation- mashed banana and dark cocoa powder in the microwave (yes, in a cup).ImageI cant wait for the baking/food freedom of summer! I have a banana bread creation in mind- look out for that in a few weeks!

Have a great day, and Happy What I Ate Wednesday!

…And the World Didn’t End

First of all, Happy Memorial Day everyone! I want to take a minute to remember all those who have made sacrifices to our country. 

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My day has been rather low-key. I actually got to sleep in today, and got 10 hours of sleep! When was the last time that happened?? Unfortunately, my allergies were going crazy this morning. Naturally, that would happen the same day I run out of tissues…I’m not sure what I might be allergic to or why it is such a problem all of the sudden, but it sure is annoying!

I planned to take some homework with me to the dining hall so I could grab brunch and then do work until I was ready for the gym. I ended up having a larger brunch than planned, so I was there for a good two hours, reading about Darwin’s finches (I’m in a class about evolution).

Upon arriving at the Spin bikes, I quickly realized that I was missing part of the shoe that would be integral in using my new shoes. I guess there is some clip that screws into the shoes. I am obviously so knowledgable. My wonderful mother went out and bought one for me though, so whenever I see her next, and I will finally be able to try my shoes!

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It looks something like this.

I did a short workout at the gym- 2 sets of 10 minutes on the erg, with the stroke rate 18, 20, 22, 24 for 4′ at 18, then 3′, then 2′, then the last minute at 24. I followed that with 10 minutes of abs. Why was my workout short? Because today kicks off my half marathon training! I am going for a 3 mile run with my sister pretty soon! In 10 weeks I will be running 13.1 miles!

I spent most of today doing laundry. Unfortunately, after my first load in the washer, there were no dryers free, so I attempted to hang everything in my room. Luckily, now everything is in the dryer! I usually do laundry early in the morning before everyone is awake, but I slept in today so that wasn’t really an option. 

The only other noteworthy thing from today- I ate dessert. I’ve gone more than 3 weeks without, but I finally caved. I had a chocolate avocado cupcake and some dark chocolate. And you know what? Nothing happened. Sure, I feel a little sick, but the walls didn’t crumble around me, and I didn’t eat an entire batch of cupcakes. Nothing tasted quite as good as I was expecting. I also realized that I am probably eating too many sweets that aren’t technically desserts, like muffins and pancakes. I intend to continue avoiding sweets after this-I just don’t feel that great; however, if something is amazing, I might try it. The biggest downside- I had wayyy too big of a snack recently giving I’m running in 30 minutes. Ugh. Oh well, what can you do? Sorry I don’t have any pictures from today. I’ll compensate like I normally do, with an adorable kitty picture! (And only 2 weeks before you guys get ‘fresh’ kitty pictures!)

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Excitement

GUESS WHAT GUYS!?!? I got Spin shoes! I am so excited! I plan to go to the gym later tonight to try them out! And look how pretty they are!ImageImageAnd the best part? REI was having a weekend long sale, plus I had store credit, so my total balance was only $10. Not bad!

Ok. Now that that excitement is over, I’ll go over the last couple of days. Last night, my sister drove me to REI to get Spin shoes, and then we stopped at a Ramen restaurant afterwards for dinner. I’ve never actually had Ramen before (besides Cup o Noodles).

We started off with some delicious Japanese salads and edamame. ImageImageChopsticks are most definitely not my strong point; especially chopsticks with a salad! Jeez. 

I had chicken ramen for dinner, which was really delicious and warm. It’s been a tad chilly here lately (relatively of course).Image

Upon returning to school, I decided to do a little “baking” experimentation. My friends had been talking about making coconut bread, so the idea had been planted in my mind. I really don’t have a lot in the way of ingredients; I am out of eggs. So I figured, why not try egg white protein powder?ImageI mixed up some unsweetened shredded coconut, egg white vanilla protein powder, vanilla, and a bit of sweetener, and then popped it in the microwave. I was not expecting the result- it tasted just like a coconut macaroon! I will post the recipe as soon as I perfect it. (Well, as soon as I get my act together enough to actually measure it). I tried it again today, and cooked it for a bit less, so it was almost like a pudding. ImageImageAs you may notice in the first picture, my hand is a bit colorful. Yesterday, I tie-dyed with my dorm. I’ve never done it before, and I had a ton of fun with it!ImageIt had to sit in a plastic bag for 24 hours, and it is currently lying in my room attempting to dye every surface. I’ll post a picture as soon as it goes through the wash! 

Today, I went on a rafting trip with my dorm, and had a great time despite some initial difficulties. The river we were going to was about a two hour drive away. An hour in, the check engine light when on in the bus, and we pulled over. The driver got out and inspected things, and then we were back on the road….for less than an exit. We didn’t even make it onto an offramp before the bus driver pulled over again. The engine was pretty badly overheated and the steering was locked up. There was smoke or steam coming out of the back of the bus. We had to call for another bus which was coming from pretty far away, and wouldn’t be there for another hour. The bus driver finally agreed to at least pull off the freeway, and from there, we had a little freedom to walk around and find food. I ended up with a chocolate banana smoothie from Starbucks. It was also around this time that I realized I had lost my lunch. The dining hall gave us all packed lunches for the trip. I’m pretty sure someone stole my lunch because a lot of people had more than one, and I had…zero. Near my seat, I found a lunch that had been ransacked (as in, no sandwich or chips), so I rescued an apple out of it. 

We ended up getting to the rafting place about two hours later than we had planned. 

Before I go on, let me just clarify that this is no white water rafting. It is way tamer! We were in big rafts and had paddles, in a river with a slight current. Being out on the water made me realize how much I missed rowing! I had so much trouble rowing forward. I ended up just turning around and rowing crew-style. Of course, this wasn’t exactly heavy duty rowing. The whole trip was just super relaxing, and it was a great end of the year dorm event. I’m going to miss living with these people! It’s insane that in a little over 2 weeks, my freshman year will be over! At the same time, this has been a pretty long year in that I’ve had soooo many experiences, and so many memories. Jeez, now I’m getting nostalgic! I’m sure week 9, midterms (yes, I have a midterm in week 9), and finals will take my mind off of that! 

How has your long weekend been? What did you do?