Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Saying goodbye to 2014

It's official, I now have my first DNS.

This definitely isn't the way that I wanted to round out 2014, but with my intense monthly gift and GI problems, a 5k just wasn't in the books for today (sorry for the tmi haha).

Instead of being hard on myself, I'm going to crush a 5k tomorrow and reflect back on this past year :)


2014 definitely wasn't my best year for fitness, but it was the year that I finally found a balance :)

Throughout the first half of the year, I was running quite a bit, even though I didn't sign up for any races except for a zombie run with my mom.


Over the summer, I ran/worked out with my friend multiple times a week, except we did it for fun and did whatever workout we felt like doing that day, without the pressure of sticking to a schedule :)

When fall came around, I was suddenly so busy with school 5 days a week and 30+ hours of work! Fitness was soon on the back burner for me, but honestly I think that was one of the best things that happened to me. Instead of pressuring myself to maintain a perfect workout schedule, I really listened to my body and dialed it back, working out when I wanted to instead of feeling like I had to. I did lose a bit of fitness during this time, but it was such a great mental break, and I was able to hop back into strength training this past month feeling refreshed :)

In 2015, I definitely want to focus on getting stronger and running more. I may not be running 4 days a week like I was at one point, but my goal is to find a balance to keep my body AND mind happy :) 

What are some highlights for your 2014?

Do you set New Years Resolutions? If you do then what are yours? :)


Friday, December 26, 2014

Christmas things

Merry belated Christmas to everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing day :)

Christmas at my house this year was pretty lowkey since most of us were sick, so I'll just give you the highlights ;)


Our family friends from NC (pictured above with my mom on the left) always come to stay with us on Christmas Eve since they used to live up here and all of their family lives nearby. Once all the kiddos were upstairs we played Cards Against Humanity, which is super fun :) It's pretty awkward to play with parents though, so be forewarned haha.


French toast and hashbrown casseroles. AKA my favorite meal ever. My mom makes this every year on Christmas morning (and only then), so family comes over and we all do a huge breakfast after opening gifts :)


As the afternoon went on, I started feeling sick too, so Bryan came over and spent the evening in bed with me while watching Friends. Good thing I got seasons 4-6 to keep us entertained ;) (He thinks my obsession with the show is ridiculous haha).

I'm feeling a little better today, so if the crowds aren't too bad I might venture out and do some shopping with my mom later :)

What's your favorite Christmas tradition?

What's your favorite thing you got this year?
I got this really cute running shell! It's just a bit too tight to wear on top of winter clothes so I'm going to see if I can swap it out for a bigger size :)


Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Happy Christmas Eve Eve!


(Even though it'll officially be Christmas Eve here by the time this is published...shhh)

Yesterday was filled with work, but I did day 1 of Jamie Eason's Livefit program! I've been looking for a good lifting split for awhile, and I really like the way hers is laid out. I'm planning on following the schedule for the most part, but I prefer free weights to machines, so I think I'm going to just loosely follow the actual exercises and sub them for ones I prefer. I'm also planning on adding running to it at least a few days a week :)


It was a chest/triceps day, and I just used a set of 5lb and 8lb dumbbells and my body weight, and holy wow. By the time I finished I didn't think I'd be able to move my arms! It was intense and worked every ounce of those muscles. Even today they were super sore.


I always forget that we have a Salsaritas 2 doors down from my work, so of course I had to stop there for dinner ;) I had a bowl with brown rice, black beans, veggies, and salsa verde that really hit the spot!

Today I did day 2 of Livefit, which was back/biceps! After that I hopped on the treadmill to do a quick 15 minute run, but I was completely drained after 10 minutes. We've had my nephews/niece in the house all weekend (and we're keeping 2 until Christmas) and they're all sick, so I feel like I'm fighting it off. Thankfully I don't feel actually sick, just tired and it took forever for my heart rate to come back down after that short run, so in the mean time I'll be popping Airborne like candy :)


After the gym I hit Wegmans, and I was super happy to see that they sell Quest bars now! I tried the Double Chocolate Chunk one and it was so good :)

I had the rest of the day off work, so after spending some time with my grandparents I met up with my friend to finish up Christmas shopping!


To fuel up I had a "blendicano" from Starbucks! It's just shots of espresso, flavoring and I added cream to mine, blended with ice. I like Frappuccinos, but sometimes they're just too sweet, so this really satisfied my craving and gave me the perfect boost of energy! I also kept the #treatyoself train going and got myself Panera. No regrets.

Now that I finally finished my Christmas shopping, tomorrow will be filled with lots of last minute baking/wrapping!

Are you baking anything for Christmas?

Does anyone have fun plans for the holidays?!



Sunday, December 21, 2014

3 years later

Happy Sunday everyone! No blog post/workout happened yesterday because I went out to celebrate 3 years with this guy. I'll spare you guys the cheesiness ;) But I will say that it's been a wonderful 3 years and I can't wait for more :)


We kept it pretty low key this year. We were going to go ice skating, but traffic was crazy and we both felt like just relaxing so we went and saw the new Hunger Games movie :)


I haven't read the book in about 2 years, but seeing the movie brought back so many emotions from the book and they portrayed it so well! Even Bryan who hasn't read the books has absolutely loved all of the movies so far :) 11/10 definitely recommend seeing it.

After the movie we went to Carrabba's and had the best soup and pasta.


The rigatoni with sundried tomatoes and mushrooms was delicious, but the real star of the show was the minestrone soup. I wish I took a picture to show you guys, but I dug into it far too quickly. Whoops.


Sort of a side note, but I wore this sweater dress from American Eagle out and I'm in love! They have it (and everything else) on sale for 40% off. It was just the right amount of warmth and super comfy with leggings :) (Also please pay no attention to my room, Christmas wrapping stuff has temporarily taken over :))

It'll be back to the workout grind in the morning!

How was your weekend?! Did anything exciting happen?

What's your favorite pasta dish?
I love anything with a combination of tomato sauce/alfredo :)


Friday, December 19, 2014

Wizards and Panera

Whew! This week has been a long one. I've worked every day since Saturday, and I finally have a day off tomorrow to regroup. After this week things should finally slow down and I'll be back to blogging daily :)

What I've Been Up To:

1. Shopping

With Christmas less than a week away (!), I've been using any free time to get last minute shopping done. I have a pretty big family, so that's a lot of stuff to keep track of :)

2. Working out


Even with being busy I've made an effort to get workouts in :) On Monday I did this one from Meg Go Run, and honestly I only made it through one round. 10 minutes was enough to completely kick my butt. Tuesday I brought it and did an almost 2 hour workout at the gym! I did over an hour of weights and then a 2 mile run on the treadmill with speed intervals thrown in. I'm finally able to hold my goal 5k pace for half a mile, so I'm slowly getting there ;)

3. Relaxing

Last night I finally had a chance to slow down and relax and it was great and 1000% needed.


I hopped in the tub with this adorable wizard bubble bar from Lush while reading Harry Potter, how fitting ;)

4. Grandma time

I think I've spent more time this week with my grandma than I did in the entire summer. Her and my grandpa spend most of the summer at their place at the beach, so during the winter I see them a lot more. We went down south to Richmond to knock out some more shopping yesterday, and then grabbed dinner.


Panera is always a winner ;) I tried the black bean soup, and ohmygoodness. Where has this been all my life? I want it for every meal of every day for the next week (or two).

Actually, that's been about it for my week! Pretty low-key, but I'm sure I'll have way more to blog about next week :)

What are some highlights from your week? 

Do you like panera? What's your favorite thing there?
I need more ideas for next time I go ;)

What was your best workout (so far)?

Monday, December 15, 2014

Chipotle and the best mail ever

Happy Monday! I hope everyone's week is off to a great start :) I thought about recapping my workouts yesterday, but it was pretty sad and there were only 2.


Studying for finals zapped me of all motivation, but with my last exam being tomorrow morning I should have way more time to fit in workouts :)

Friday was a bit of a hectic day, so after getting up too early for work on Saturday I took it easy and read some Harry Potter, drank coffee, and went Christmas shopping with my mom.


I got a box of the Christmas Blonde K-cups from work so we decided to try them out (with my blonde dog lurking in the background, how fitting ;)). I normally like darker roasts, but this was still pretty good!


Yesterday morning I ended up waking up early, so I hit the gym for a spin class with my mom. My stomach felt awful from eating one three too many sugar cookies the night before, but at least my glycogen stores were nice and full ;)


After spin, I hit Chipotle with my mom to refuel. Brown rice, black beans, pinto beans, fajita veggies, salsa verde, cheese, and lettuce made my soul and muscles very happy :)


Later on, I came home to find the best mail ever! After looking absolutely everywhere for my Garmin charger, I accepted that it's lost forever and ordered a new one. I'm charging my watch now and can't wait to take it out for a run asap :)

How was your weekend run/workout/in general??

Friday, December 12, 2014

Fridays and finals

Happy Friday! :) Sorry I've been a bit MIA again! Finals have completely taken over my life. But in wonderful news, they're almost over!


I just have a biology final on Tuesday that should be easy, and I'm free! :)

Yesterday was spent mostly studying, but I needed a break so I made these zucchini pancakes. They had plenty of vegetables in them, so I didn't feel bad for adding butter and syrup after ;)


I veganized them, and they turned out really well! It also made for the perfect study fuel :)

After my final (which I pulled a B on!) I ran to target to celebrate, AKA Christmas shop ;)


I've heard such good things about this tea, so when I saw it I had to try it! It was definitely everything I hoped it would be. I added some cream and sugar and it was like drinking a sugar cookie :) (Next time I will definitely make sugar cookies to go with it)


This morning I went out with my friend Alexa and got breakfast at this cute place called Eileen's. We both tried the spinach quiche with mushroom and brie and it was so good! The honey fritter wasn't bad either ;)


Before the sun went down I set out for a quick 2 mile run. I ran in the opposite direction than I normally do and turned around at the end of it and saw this beauty. I swear it was 10x prettier in person ;)


Afterwards I came home and did the VS model abs video! My form is feeling way stronger on my runs, so I think all the core/strength work is really helping :) Fact: working out is way more fun when you have a festive view.

Do you like tea? What's your favorite kind?

Are you more of a morning runner or a night runner?

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Tangent Tuesday

Ah, December. The air is frigid, lights are glowing everywhere, and snow is falling. The season is upon us once again: winter finals.


I haven't had time for much else but studying, so have some Tuesday Tangents :)


Starbucks has been my bff lately. As if I'm not already in there enough ;) My schedule is pretty packed, so I'll be subbing some sleep for caffeine this week!



Roses in a Teapot by Ally Rhodes has been on repeat lately. It breaks my heart every time, but it's so, so good. The album is actually in my car right now and I think I've listened to it 5 times today. 


I probably should've studied last night, but I found myself at the gym instead. They say working out helps your brain focus, right? ;) 45 minutes of full body lifting and another 10 of foam rolling/stretching finished out my night. I can finally bend my knee with almost no pain, so I think all the strengthening and foam rolling is really helping :)


Today was my transfer orientation for George Mason University. I start in the spring, and I'm really excited to start there again :)

I was gone from 7:30am-7:00pm with orientation, so today's definitely a rest day. I've got a run on the schedule for tomorrow though! 

What's a tangent from your Tuesday?

Is anyone else tackling finals right now?


Sunday, December 7, 2014

It's time + weekly workout recap

Workout Recap 11/30-12/6

Sunday- off
Monday- off
Tuesday- 3 miles + bowling (totally counts ;))
Wednesday- 2 miles + bowling
Thursday- Blogilates
Friday- off
Saturday- 60 mins weights + 10 mins incline walking

Next week I'm definitely going to work to increase my mileage :)

Embarrassing moment from yesterday: I was using a dumbbell to do triceps extensions, and half of the dumbbell just popped right off.


Luckily it didn't hit my back too hard, and I only got one stare so it's all good ;)

After the gym I hit the library to pick up more Harry Potter books. I also found this one.


I actually started reading this book 2.5 years ago. I got halfway through, then heard a really really sad spoiler of what happened, and I just couldn't finish the book. I think I've checked it out twice since then and it just sat on my bookshelf. It's time to finally finish it.

What workouts do you have planned for next week?

What's your favorite book?

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Kind of silent Saturday

Happy Saturday! I'm running on little sleep and am having a hard time writing an actual post, so have a photo recap of my Friday :)


I went Christmas shopping with my grandma, but it quickly turned into food shopping. I think I found out where all of my money goes.


I finally tried this bad boy and I'm HOOKED. Good thing I can only find them at GNC or I'd get one every time I went out ;)


My new toy (a milk frother) :)


Movie night with my family/boyfriend. The Grinch is the best Christmas movie :)


Matcha latte to go with The Grinch. I got a little excited with the frother and it was more like a matcha cappuccino (still delicious ;))

What are some highlights from your Friday?

Friday, December 5, 2014

Caffeine and home workouts

Last night, I was flipping through channels before bed and happened across Disney. By some weird chance, the That's so Raven Christmas special was playing! Even better, it was followed with Sonny with a Chance, Hannah Montana, and Lizzie McGuire Christmas specials. No, I definitely did not stay up and watch every single one, I don't know what you're talking about.


Needless to say, I was a little tired after class this morning ;) I hit up Starbucks for some much needed caffeine!


Green tea lattes are my new jam. I had mine made with soy and 1 pump of vanilla instead of classic :)


The latte was perfect fuel for my day of studying :) Reading anthropology articles can be boring, but at least I had a pretty festive view. I also had the Nightmare Before Christmas on the TV in the other room. Kind of random, but I hate hate hate having dry hands in the winter, so I always have some sort of lotion near me (that little black pot). Lately I've been loving Charity Pot from Lush :) It keeps my hands super soft and 100% of the proceeds go to charity, so it's a win-win!

Fast forward 6 hours later, and I headed off to class again. Thursdays are my double class days and always super fun ;) Class actually flew by though, and it was the last one before finals begin next week!


After class my car was running on empty (oops), so I hit the gas station. I'm not sure what's going on with gas prices lately, but I'm okay with it staying this way :) (It's normally close to $1 more!)

I planned on hitting the gym after class, but it was pouring down sleet when I left so I opted for a home workout. 


I did the VS Model Ab Workout, 6 Minute Booty, and What Makes You Bootyful workouts from Blogilates and an arm workout from FitnessBlender :) These videos always look easy, but they kicked my butt! Literally. My knee is still bothering me so I'm really focusing on strengthening the glutes to get me back to normal :)

I worked out pretty close to bed so I wasn't hungry, but I had half of this protein shake from Svelte:


I mean, who doesn't like a protein shake who compliments you? ;) I had never had these before, but it was so good. It honestly tasted like a vanilla milkshake, and it's totally organic and vegan friendly :) They also have a cappuccino flavored one that I'm wanting to try next time!

Are you a Starbucks drinker? What's your usual order?

Do you like at-home workouts?

Thursday, December 4, 2014

3.5 hours of bowling and many pretzels later

I think I need to get more sleep (or drink more coffee ;)). I overslept by 2.5 hours this morning! I totally missed my morning class, and then after reading for a bit I fell back asleep, and I was late to an appointment that I had. Leave it to me to kick off the morning right haha.

After my appointment I met up with my grandma, and we went bowling again. She beat me by a long shot, but it's really nice to get consistent practice again. Yes, I know I'm a huge nerd ;) But competitive bowling is actually a ton of fun and I hope that I can actually join a league again at some point! Fun fact, I actually met my boyfriend on league :)



 When I got home I popped some shot bloks (I hadn't eaten in a whole 2.5 hours and was hangry) and took my new shoes out for a spin :) They definitely need breaking in, but I got in a quick and speedy (for me) 20 minute run!


It was nice and cool and the sunset was gorgeous, my favorite running conditions :)

I felt great and wanted to run longer, but I rushed home to heat up dinner and shower before meeting up with Bryan. While talking to him about bowling with my grandma, he decided that he wanted to go too, so we hit up the lanes for a few games.


I bowled pretty terribly, but it was still nice to get in time with my guy :) Who knew that bowling takes so much out of you though?? I was super tired driving home and actually almost stopped to get coffee.


Instead though, I stopped at Wegmans to get some stuff for my parents, and these babies called out to me. White chocolate and peppermint, you have my heart. If you haven't tried these, you need to try them asap :) My only complaint is that the bag isn't bigger, these disappeared way too quickly ;)

Are you a peppermint fan? What's your favorite combo?

What's your favorite non-running hobby?

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Getting back in the groove

Happy Tuesday! It's only been 2 days since I've blogged, but I feel like I have so much to share.

I'm incapable of writing a nice and coherent post, so here's a photo recap ;)


I worked on Sunday, and I planned on doing a quick home workout, but this cutie called and asked if I wanted to bowl (that's my boyfriend, Bryan :)).


I didn't have my ball or shoes with me, so I didn't bowl very well (my average is 130-140), but it was still fun!

Yesterday I had class and work, so it was really uneventful. I woke up not feeling too hot, so I decided to skip the gym and call it a rest day.


After TWO unscheduled rest days, I made sure to hightail it to the gym after class. It took awhile to get warmed up, but I cranked out 3 miles @ 12:03 pace (I'm a pretty slow runner, but that's actually pretty good for me for not running consistently for a few months ;)) My knee felt really good during the run, but I made sure to foam roll the heck out of my legs/IT band since that seems to be helping :) I'm trying to run a 5k this weekend so fingers crossed!

After the gym I went and got coffee (a soy chai for me) with my cute friend Alexa. We've both been really busy with work/school lately, so it was really nice to catch up :)

When I got home I came home to the best surprise!


I just got the confirmation that my Brooks order shipped this morning, so I totally didn't expect it to come in the mail today. I guess that means I have to run again tomorrow ;)

What are your favorite running shoes??

How many rest days do you take a week?
I try to stick to 2, but sometimes work/school get in the way.