Allergy Testing

Date: May 2, 2014

Author: astottler

Happy Friday! I meant to be around here earlier than today, but yesterday I was busy cuddling with this guy:

Yesterday I went home to go see an Allergist. After breaking out like crazy after a small amount of peanut butter, I decided it was time! They did an extensive allergy test to a million different foods, and sure enough, I had some reaction to nuts. The reaction was really minor so my throat isn’t going to swell up or anything like that, but he wants me to aggressively cut out all traces of nuts for at least a year, in the hopes that I’ll grow out of it. So no more almond milk for me! And a lot more label reading! I also tested a minor allergy to blueberries and carrots…AKA 2/4 of my top favorite foods (mangoes, avocado, blueberries, roasted carrots). Apparently the DNA of blueberry and carrots looks very similar to that of pollen, so my body is likely recognizing it as pollen. I’ve never noticed any issues though, and he said cooking carrots should make them fine. So I GUESS if I HAVE to roast carrots, I’ll do it. 😉

So basically what I got out of the appointment is I shouldn’t go super crazy on blueberries, and I should roast my carrots-but more importantly I need to avoid ALL traces of nuts for 12-18 months. In terms of food, here is yesterday’s breakfast:

An English muffin sandwich with cream cheese and hard boiled egg, plus pineapple. And since I was home for my allergy appointment anyways, I got to enjoy a home cooked meal! On the menu was cheese soufflés, thyme mushrooms, and an herb salad with fancy lemon scented olive oil and aged white balsamic.

Dessert tasted much better than it looked-I melted some Easter candy (which I left all of at home) over some vanilla frozen yogurt. Delicious!

On the fitness front, I’m STILL sore from doing 10 sprints on Wednesday. Clearly, I need to do more of that! I think that’s one big way I can increase my speed! This morning, I had the intention of doing a hilly 5 mile run but I spent too much time eating carrots pre-run, so I cut it to a flat 4 miles. Yes, carrots make great pre-run food. Plus I’m out of granola bars. And bananas. And anything else that wouldn’t require me to make it at 7am. My legs felt kind of heavy. I’m not sure if it’s the soreness or I’m just out of shape because I haven’t run a ton lately. On the plus side, I had a 5 pound PR on my press at Crossfit tonight! On the life front, I’m playing Assassins with my dorm. For those that aren’t familiar with the game, everyone is assigned a “target” and has to “eliminate” the target with their water gun in a certain amount of time, while avoiding getting “killed.” I have until tonight to do it, but I never see my target! So we shall see. Meanwhile, I’ll be watching my back.

Also on the life front, I’m entering my 20s tomorrow! I feel like a new decade is the time for a fresh start. Or something. Time to make big life changes. My roommate had a great point-next year, maybe I can celebrate my 21st by eating peanuts! Haha. I think my goal for the next year of my life is to break my sugar addiction, once and for all. That doesn’t mean never eating it, or not eating it for a whole year. It means getting rid of my dependence and finding a healthier middle ground. So there’s that. Have a great weekend everyone! What are your weekend plans? Any advice for my 20s?

You’re Jamaican Me Crazy

Date: May 12, 2013

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

You know what is crazy? I only have a month left of school. That means that my freshman year of college is almost over! How did that happen??

This morning I was doing some blog reflections. I’ve noticed my writing style has changed considerably. I get the impression that it is choppier now that it was before. And a LOT more sarcastic. Am I getting TOO comfortable on the Internet? Haha. But I also get the impression that although my writing seems a bit rushed, it definitely has more energy and is overall more positive. The things sleep will do for you! It was also interesting to reflect on my food choices, especially given I’ve recently given up sweets. When I was doing crew, I ate sooo much! It’s crazy! It did make me nostalgic for crew as well. But hey, life happens. I do feel healthier now though that I am not consuming quite so much sugar. Another thing: I read some of the first posts from when I was getting sick. It’s kind of pitiful; 2 days into being sick, I wrote, “I think I’m finally getting better!” Sorry sweetie, but it’s going to be another month before you ACTUALLY get better. Hah. I had nooo clue what I was in for.

But ANYWAYS. My takeaway from this is that I want to improve my writing style. I want to be more descriptive, and I suppose in some ways more formal. I think I was beginning to write a little too much like I would write a text message. Also, I realized how many typos I have, and for that I am so incredibly sorry. I have so much trouble catching my own typos!

But let’s get back to life, shall we? My Psych midterm was pretty easy (I hope) so that was one midterm down. My super important midterm is OChem this Wednesday. After my exam, it was lunchtime! Friday was one of those days where I ate a ton, but was never super full.I started with a Southwest salad. Every time I am at the cafeteria there, I see this amazing looking pizza, but I can never rationalize getting a slice. Yesterday was no different, until I decided to just go for it, since I wasn’t full from my salad. It was described as Margarita pizza, but it wasn’t really like any Margarita pizza I’ve had before! Deep dish Margarita?This was delicious. There were globs of fresh mozzarella under the tomatoes, and the pesto complimented everything perfectly. SO worth it.

After class, I decided to go on a bike ride. I found a bike loop online that a lot of bike riders take around here. It’s not a bike trail, just 3 roads connected. It was a 15 mile bike ride. (My trusty sidekick that sometimes decides to try and kill me.)

I wasn’t too happy with the gears on my bike. The chains have fallen off a few times, and given my highly limited knowledge of bikes, I most likely did not put them back on in the correct place, so I only really had 2 gears to work with. I stopped to adjust them, and I think it helped. I really liked/really hated this ride. It took me a really long time to complete; apparently I’m the world’s slowest biker. Ah well. I’ve ridden most of the first leg of this loop before. The first leg is uphill for a long time, although for the most part it isn’t too steep. But definitely enough to feel the burn! This bike ride is interesting; I start on campus and see tons of people leaving work. Then, as I get farther out, the world transforms. I begin to see horses and ranches, and little town stores. On the second leg of the loop, I saw Vineyards and all of the sudden there were horses on the road next to me. It was as if I had traveled to a different time period. After some downhill, and more climbing, I was finally at the top. I didn’t realize I was at the top at first; I first noticed I had a feeling of unexplained happiness. There was nothing higher than I was! I was pretty tired at this point. I went down a hill, only to turn a corner and find a super steep looking hill waiting for me. I actually said “Oh shit” out loud before. I don’t normally say things like that to myself, that loud. It didn’t turn out to be as bad as I was expecting, since there was a pretty big downhill going in, and I had a ton of momentum carry me to the top.

All in all, a great ride.

As I mentioned before, friday was my Mom’s birthday. I love these pictures:

What an angel!

My mom sent me this caption: “They’re just lollipops to Lilly.”

I don’t know what it is, but my kitties love chewing flowers. Last year I had a big birthday bouquet of roses. We woke up the next morning to find the downstairs completely covered in rose petals. Oh cats.

For her birthday, we went out to a Jamaican restaurant called Coconuts.

Guac and Plantain chips? Um YES.

In case you are wondering why there are so many plates, it is because the restaurant was family-style. They weren’t all for me; I wasn’t THAT much of a bottomless pit!

The food was really good, but had this spice that took a little while to hit you. So by the end of the meal, all the spiciness had built up and my tongue was on fire! I’m kind of a wimp in that regard.

We all had a great time. I think I’ll hold off on the other things I want to share because this post is already pretty long!

Morning Blogging

Date: May 10, 2013

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

So I’m blogging in the morning before class…this is weird. I don’t know how people blog before work or school. I’m always in such a hurry as it is. But today I don’t have class until 11 (midterm yayyy) and this morning is a rest day (although I might go for a bike ride later). But since I didn’t have time to post last night, this is perfect!

As usual, my day began with a 7am spin class. There are these two adorable ducks that have been hanging out near the gym. Which is nowhere near water…And Wednesday they were sleeping in the grass outside my dorm. I’ve been meaning to snap a photo of them but I didn’t get the chance, until I saw them snoozing on my way back from Spin. Too cute!I attempted to make my breakfast look pretty…I had been planning on using my real camera in my room when I am eating instead of my phone, but my roommate is still asleep when I am eating, so it is kind of dark. And it’s not really fair to wake up my roommate just to take a picture….For some reason, my iPhone takes better pictures in this awkward lighting…Who would have known?

My 9am class had a midterm, but it was not difficult. I was done in half an hour. Then, I went to the library to study for today’s midterm, since I knew I had a lot going on tonight. At the library:What is that, you may ask? It is a Coupa Coffee machine! You swipe a credit card and select your drink, and it makes it right in front of you! I had a Cappuccino. Milk foam (AKA the only reason I like this drink).Espresso.

The finished product!

I spent 4 hours in the library working yesterday…with a lunch break 🙂A salad from the actual Coupa. No salad machine! Although how awesome would that be?? This is what I got:

beverlyhills chopped salad

chopped mesclun greens, romaine, chicken, tomatoes, olives, asparagus, and avocado topped with gouda cheese and tossed in a dijonmustard vinaigrette

YUM. I also learned you apparently get wayyy more when you get it for there, and not to go. Look at the height on this thing!

After 4 hours of hard work, my brain was pretty fried. In Psych section, we talked about our week’s project. We had to pick a social norm, violate it, and get a picture of ourselves doing so. The best was a person who wore tons of makeup on one half of her face, and people thought she was actually insane. Mine was boring. I went to the dorm lounge and did my homework upside down. I thought it was weird, but no one so much as looked up. Apparently I do stuff like this normally? I have been caught doing yoga with my textbook before…Yesterday I got the best idea for what I should have done. I should have walked around with a camera to all my classes and taken a picture of everything. How perfect would that be for the blog??

After class, I had to do laundry. I had an event last night, and not too many clean clothes. Although it turns out I had everything clean that I needed….Oh well I needed towels. Unfortunately, since I was under some time pressure (had to make it to yoga), I only did a really small load that would dry in time. And I still have a ton of laundry…as in, I have very few clothes. As in, my workout clothes are dirty. Good thing I have so many!

Pre-yoga snack:

One thing I’ve noticed since I gave up desserts is things are starting to taste really sweet. Like this oatmeal-ish thing. Interesting…It’s been a week guys! And honestly I don’t miss desserts. I was thinking, “I’ve had no desserts in the 19th year of my life! Maybe I can do the whole year!” Somehow, I doubt THAT is going to happen!

Yoga was awesome, as usual. I can feel myself getting stronger again. After yoga, I headed to Spring Fair. Yesterday, all the dining halls put out their best efforts in a Fair, where we could get tickets and get all kinds of delicious things. Since the fair was in the plaza, all the dining halls were closed. Aaaaall of the bikes.I got Hawaiian food from the best dining hall on campus. To be honest, I was disappointed. It was kind of plain. Then I got a lettuce leaf (that sounds sooo filling) and a veggie empanada from a different place. The empanada was good, but not my favorite combo of flavors.

After the Fair, I ran back for a shower before heading out…to make challah! My school has a program called Challah for Hunger, which makes and sells Challah to students and the proceeds go to charity. My sorority is vaguely Jewish ( I’m not. Only like 3 people are…) so we get a chance to do some of the baking sometimes.

Note: in taking these pictures I managed to coat myself and phone in flour and dough. Sacrifices, guys. LOTS of dough.All I was actually doing was braiding.

Aaaand done!

There was plain, chocolate chip, cinnamon raisin (I want to try this!), and banana. I know there was going to be Sun-dried Tomato and some other flavors as well, but I had to leave. I had to go to another sorority event. I didn’t actually decide to get any challah because I didn’t want to encourage myself to eat late at night, but that kind of backfired when I had yogurt after the mixer…

Ah well. It is Friday! Happy Birthday to my fabulous mother!

Any fun weekend plans?

Crazy Talk

Date: May 3, 2013

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Happy Thursday! I’m going to be in Yosemite this weekend with my dorm, so look for a guest post! There is no Wifi there so…

Guess what? Tomorrow is my birthday. I’m gonna be 19! I like that age. It sounds like a good number. I don’t know, I guess some ages sound weird to me. For example, 12 and 13. Everyone knows it is that horrible pre-teen phase…And 18 sounds…well barely legal. Yeah, 19 is a good number. Since tomorrow begins a new year in my life, I’ve been doing some thinking…But let’s get through my day first. Morning spin…nothing new but still kick butt. Since I had one of these babies last night, I wasn’t terribly hungry.

This is possibly my favorite cupcake…ever. It was coconut with raspberry frosting. YUM. But it was late at night….and here’s the bad part. I had to stay up late (for me) to finish a paper, and I knew I needed energy…so I turned to food. Yogurt bowl anyone? I would have drunk coffee but I waned to be able to sleep as soon as I was done…but eating at night means stomachache for Aurora. So I went with a light breakfast.

Hey, it got the job done! At my 9 am class, we learned how to handle lab mice, which was awesome. And got me thinking about possibly having mice as pets in my dorm next year. Or a guinea pig. Thoughts? To be clear, they’re strictly prohibited. But they have to actually catch you. I’m such a rebel, I know.

Lunch was a veggie scramble with garlic hummus, asparagus, onion, mushrooms, and nutrition yeast, which I topped with pesto after the fact.

Plus a million carrots with sunflower seed butter. I’m actually trying to wean myself off of it, given I eat so much of it….

After lunch, I met up with my family for a birthday celebration picnic.

Devil’s food cake with vanilla buttercream. The best.

It was really nice to enjoy the weather and chat.

The only other really notable thing from my day was a power yoga class which was really awesome. It was probably my best day at doing the crow pose. Funny story…I’ve had a yoga teacher laugh at me before…by doing a faceplant while doing the crow. Here’s the crow:

As you can see, if you shift too far forward, you’re in trouble. Because your hands are occupied. And the only thing to break your fall is your face…

But on to the meat of this post….I’ve been doing some thinking. Remember that sugar challenge I talked about about a week ago? Notice how I haven’t mentioned it lately? That’s because I broke it. On like the second day…I am in the habit of not posting snacks and sweets that I eat on the blog, not because I’m trying to deceive you but because I don’t think to take pictures. And let’s just say that my daily sugar intake hasn’t been too great lately…

Yesterday, I went to quidditch conditioning. It felt…kind of awful. I felt heavy. My legs felt heavy. We did a lot of the agility drills I used to do for softball…except last time I did them I was in great shape, and now…it was a bit of a wake up call. And on top of that…

My half marathon training starts at the end of this month! I seriously need to start treating myself better and be more careful about what I put into my body if I want to stick to a fairly intense running schedule. Especially since I want to keep up some of my other workouts.

Here’s what July looks like:

The mileage adds up pretty quickly. And I have hardly been running at all lately…

So it’s time for a change. I’ve been really trying to work on intuitive eating lately, but sugar completely throws me off. I cannot feel my body’s signals with sugar. And I’m drawn to more sugar. So. I’m going to attempt something a bit drastic. The daily maximum added sugar intake is recommended to be no more than 25 grams. I’m going to attempt to stick to this. And more drastic and scary…I want to give up sweets for the rest of the school year. This isn’t a permanent situation, I just want to reset my body so that I can actually listen to its cues. And I realize that I have failed on my last sugar challenges, but this time will be different…because I’m going to tell people. That way I won’t be the only one holding me accountable. I truly believe this is something I need to do for my healthy. I’m worried that if my body isn’t prepared for my training, I’m going to get injured. Plus I KNOW I’ll feel better. So that’s what is going on with me. In 1 hour, I will be 19! And I’m pumped for my weekend in Yosemite with some of my awesome friends! And since I had my birthday cake today…I’m good to go to start my sugar challenge as I start my 19th year on this planet!

Have you ever run a half marathon? How was the training?