Bad Blogger

I've been a very bad blogger.  I don't feel like I really have a lot going on, but all of my days have been absolutely packed.  I've been taking a few pictures here and there, though, so I'll use them to share what I've been up to.

First things first - I've successfully woken up in time to do 6AM workouts 3 times since I last posted.  Luckily I just stumble blearily down to the basement, so I don't have to worry about my bangs sticking up everywhere.  Although I don't love waking up that early, I am always so happy to get my workout in first thing in the morning; if I wait to exercise after work, something else almost always comes up and I don't get around to it.

I'll write more about the Physique 57 DVDs once I've done them a few more times, but so far I'm a fan!  I've done the classic 57-minute DVD twice and the 30-minute ab and arm booster DVD once.  The workouts are definitely tough and I struggled to get through a few of the exercises - mainly the ab routine!  After I did the classic DVD for the first time, I could really feel it the next day in my booty and my lower abs <-- good signs!  I particularly like incorporating the ball into the workouts - I could really feel the burn in my inner thighs, which is great since that area is typically difficult to target.  And the ball also greatly increases the effectiveness of the ab exercises, from what I can tell (as evidenced by my extreme shaking, haha).  So far so good!

Check out these beautiful flowers which greet me when I go to work:

I still need to work on improving my lunches - this is basically what I've been eating every day (apple, carrots, bell pepper, sugar snap peas, Larabar).  Tasty, but I could use some more variety and creativity.

Someone wants to share my lunch.

I've been mooching off my parents so far, but today I finally stopped at TJ's to get some food of my own.  Hopefully that'll help me to mix things up a bit.

My haul:

Brown rice cakes, seaweed snacks (excited to try these for the first time), beer for a Memorial Day party, spinach, steamed lentils, Greek yogurt (it's been too long! Can't wait to dig into this container), sunflower seed butter, raw unsalted almond butter, natural peanut butter, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, salsa, cherry and cashew cookie Larabars, B vitamins, white bean basil hummus (sounds interesting - can't wait to try it), dry roasted unsalted pistachios (I haven't had pistachios in SO long, very excited for these), sweet potatoes, and a baguette to go with bruschetta that I'm planning to make for the Memorial Day party.  Oh and there are some medjool dates hiding somewhere in there, too.  There have been so many desserts and treats around lately and I've been over-indulging, so my plan is to snack on a medjool date to satisfy some of my cravings for sweets.

I think Barbie was out shopping while I was at TJ's.  See that bubblegum pink Mercedes convertible?

A new favorite snack of mine:

Whole wheat bread with peanut butter, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and some granola that my sister made.

I had a coffee date at my favorite local coffee shop (Angel Falls) with my BFF who was in town from DC.  I got a cortado, which is 6 oz. of milk with 2 shots of espresso.  Bzzzz.

I brought some work with me to do after my friend left.

More coffee today.  It wasn't actually 95* out, but that's what my car was reading when I first got in.  Great day for iced coffee!

Plus a chocolate cookie with walnuts (both from Panera).  About those medjool dates to satisfy my sweet tooth...

Other happenings include a day at the racetrack.

The muscle cars were my favorite.

But the semi with a jet engine was pretty cool, too :)

I got a little overzealous with my library holds.  Lots to read/ watch/ listen to!

Last but not least, did  you know that wiper blades don't come in pairs?  You have to buy two separate packages.  Mmhmm, I didn't know that.  Also, I decided which brand to get based on the packaging.  (Bosch won, clearly.)  That's logical, right?  I'm such a sucker for marketing/ good design.

And I think I'm all caught up now.  Hope you enjoyed that hodgepodge of random stuff.  Oh, one more thing - I've already worn my new maxi dress twice and have gotten compliments each time.  Success!  So if you've been hesitant to try one on, I say go for it!  It's super comfy, and looks very chic, in my opinion.  I mean, come on, doesn't a floor-length dress make you feel fancy?  I've already got plans to wear mine again this weekend, haha.

Off to tackle a million and one things on my to-do list.  See ya later!

Song of the day:

"Beekeeper's Daughter" by the All-American Rejects.  I know, I know, but I had to.  I have a soft spot for AAR (I get nostalgic every time I hear any song from their debut album - it instantly takes me back to summertime in high school, driving around with my best friends, singing along with the windows down).  I got to meet the band one time at Warped Tour (yup, I definitely thought Warped Tour was the coolest thing ever when I was in my wannabe-punk stage) - the guys had a signing tent - and I can assure you that Tyson Ritter is just as beautiful in person.

I even got a picture with Tyson <-- prized possession, haha.  

Hay is for Horses

Hey everyone!  How's your weekend going?  It felt good to slow down a bit and take things easy today.

Breakfast this morning was a classic bowl of oats - 1/2 cup 1-minute oats mixed with 1 cup boiling water, lots o' cinnamon, a sliced banana, and a spoonful of peanut butter:

Coffee with almond milk and cinnamon on the side, plus some delicious gummy vitamins.  And the 3rd book of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series.  I was so excited to pick it up from the library yesterday!

You know that saying "my eyes were bigger than my stomach"?  Well I think it applies to me in terms of getting new books to read and my ability/ time to actually read them.  And I have more on my Kindle!  Summer reading time.

I had a great lunch today - a big salad with grapes on the sides.

I finished off my huge bag of spinach and added some yellow bell pepper and a leftover chicken breast with apricot sauce from my dinner at Olive Garden earlier in the week, topped with homemade Italian dressing (and some unpictured sliced almonds).

It was delicious and very filling, which was good because I needed the energy to help out with some yard work.

My dad is planting some new grass around the yard and my job was to spread hay over the seeds.  It sounded pretty simple to me, but handling a couple big bales of hay helped me work up a sweat, and left me covered in hay.

**Update:  I was informed at dinner that I was actually spreading straw, not hay.  Very different, apparently!**

I shouldn't have worn my gym clothes for that.  But I figured since I had them on, I might as well go for a jog while I was already dirty.  People probably thought I looked like an escaped farm girl or something.  It was a really nice day so I was happy to be outside instead of in the gym.  I might try to do a few bodyweight strength moves like push-ups and some ab work this evening to round out my workout, though.

As promised, here are my purchases from yesterday.  I got this navy blue shirt from Aeropostale.  I haven't been in that store forever but the girl I was baby-sitting wanted to go in, and I thought this shirt was really cute (and fortunately not obnoxiously emblazoned with the brand name), and when I saw that it was half off, I couldn't resist.  No surprise there!

And I got this maxi dress from J. Crew.  I really didn't think I could pull off a maxi dress (still not sure I can) but I do love the look, so I figured I would try this on.  The girl I was with said that the dress was pretty and convinced me to get it.  Twist my arm, why dontcha?  :)  AND it was a great deal - originally $98, I got it for $32.04 after the sale price and my student discount!  Bargain hunting is just so satisfying.

Time for dinner with my family and then I'll probably get sucked into The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.  Have a great night!

Song of the day:

"East Harlem" by Beirut.

Making Banana Pancakes

"Can't you see that it's just rainin'
There ain't no need to go outside"

It's overcast and rainy here today, but my morning was delightful thanks to these delicious banana bread protein pancakes.

I really love the ingredients in these pancakes:  1/2 cup old-fashioned oats, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup cottage cheese, 1 egg, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.  It's basically oatmeal, but in pancake form.  Very healthy!  I used a blender to mix everything up, which created an awesome texture.  I topped my pancakes with syrup (of course I just recently said I didn't think I'd ever go back to syrup, haha), plus the other half of the banana and a couple sprinkles of pumpkin pie spice.

Growing up, my mom rarely made pancakes, but if she did, it was always with Bisquick.  Same goes for waffles.  I guess that made me think that making pancakes from scratch would be difficult, but it's not at all!  I think I could improve my cooking technique, though - I hid a very ugly pancake under the 3 decent-looking ones for picture purposes, haha.  My family used to go on vacation with another family, and I'm still in awe of the awesome pancakes that the other mom made - she could pretty much make any animal you wanted.  It was so cool!  My favorites were a squirrel and a grasshopper - impressive, right?  I'm lucky if I can make a decent circle.

I enjoyed my pancakes with lemon water, my vitamins, coffee with cinnamon and almond milk, and read The Girl Who Played with Fire while I ate.  It's the first book I've checked out from the library on my Kindle.  Normally I prefer reading an actual book, but I decided to ask for a Kindle this past Christmas for practical purposes of being able to easily take it along with me when I'm traveling, or if I have some time to kill on the go.  And when I finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I went ahead and put both the book and Kindle versions of the 2nd book in the trilogy on hold at the library because I couldn't wait to start reading it!

Also, happy Earth Day!  Are you doing anything exciting to celebrate?

I try to be environmentally conscious in my day-to-day life, but there are always more things I could be doing and things I need to improve upon.  Something I try to be really diligent about is taking reusable bags to the grocery store with me, and reusable mugs when I get coffee.  And something I need to work on is taking shorter showers.

One thing I started doing recently that is kind of environmentally conscious, as well as economical, is making some of my own cleaning supplies.

When I finished up a bottle of store-bought daily shower spray, I decided to mix up my own solution.  I followed the instructions here and used 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide, 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol, 2 teaspoons dishwashing liquid (I used Method brand, which is what I had on hand at the time), 2 teaspoons JetDri, and filled the rest of the bottle up with water.  I also added 10 drops of grapefruit essential oil, which is completely optional but I thought it would be a nice touch.  It works just as well as the store-bought stuff!

I also just mixed up some all-purpose cleaner.  I was inspired by this idea that I originally found on Pinterest.  Since I've been drinking a lot of lemon water recently, I had a lot of leftover lemon wedges.  So I filled a mason jar with white vinegar (leaving some room at the top to allow for the citrus to be added) and every time I squeezed a lemon into my water, I would put the leftover wedge into the vinegar.

When I couldn't add any more (which took about 2 weeks, I think) I strained out the lemon and added the citrus-infused vinegar to an empty spray bottle.  I filled the bottle halfway and left the remaining vinegar in the mason jar to have on hand for another batch.

I filled the other half of the bottle with water, and that's it!  I feel better cleaning with this mixture, especially in the kitchen, because it doesn't have any harmful chemicals.  (Neither do Method cleaning products, which I love and is what was in this bottle originally, but they're also pricey.)  I tried it out on my counters and it works great.  

This was my view last night:

Gray, dreary skies - but I love the strip of clear sky right above the water.  An "orange lining," perhaps?

Since the weather is so crappy out today, here is a picture of my favorite place on earth:

This is in Michigan, where my family goes on vacation.  (The same place where I got to eat those awesome animal-shaped pancakes!)  

I hope you had a relaxing weekend and got to do something to honor Earth Day.  See ya later!

Song of the day:

In keeping with the title of this post, "Banana Pancakes" by Jack Johnson.  A classic that I still enjoy every now and then.  

Circuit Workout Plus More Confessions

As promised, here is the circuit workout that I put together recently:

Alternate push-ups (go to knees if/ when you need to) and overhead triceps extensions	3 sets, 12 reps each exercise	Bodyweight for push-ups, one challenging dumbbell for extensions (I used 10 lbs)
High knees	1 minute	Bodyweight
Alternate deadlifts and plie squats with heel raises (lift heels off floor at bottom of squat, then place heels down and return to standing)	3 sets, 12 reps each exercise	Set of heavy dumbbells for deadlifts (I used 15 lbs), set of challenging dumbbells or body bar for plie squats (I used 10-lb dumbbells)
Jump squats	1 minute	Bodyweight
Alternate 21s and bow extensions	3 sets, 12 reps each exercise	Set of challenging dumbbells for 21s (I used10 lbs), one medium-weight dumbbell for bow extensions (I used 5 lbs)
Alternate chest presses and chest flies (both on bench)	3 sets, 12 reps each exercise	Set of challenging dumbbells (I used 10 lbs)
Assisted pull-ups	10 reps	As little counterweight as possible while keeping proper form (start with subtracting 30 lbs from your weight and see if that is too easy or too difficult)
Alternate leg raises in captain's chair - 1 set with straight legs, 1 set with bent knees	2 sets, 5 reps each	Bodyweight
Alternate 15 frog crunches and 15 supermans (supermen? Ha)	3 sets, 15 reps each	Bodyweight
Alternating toe touches, lying on mat	25 reps each side	Bodyweight

It took me about 45 minutes to complete this.  If you try it out, don't forget to warm up for about 5 - 7 minutes with your choice of cardio (elliptical, treadmill, bike, etc.) before starting the circuit.  Follow it with some high intensity cardio for an extra blast, or go straight into stretching after you're finished.  It left me pleasantly sore the next day - I like knowing that I challenged myself!  Do the circuit 2 - 3 times a week on non-consecutive days to allow your muscles time to repair.

This circuit has a little bit of everything (chest, arms, shoulders, legs, glutes, back, and core, plus cardio to get your heart rate up), which makes it perfect for getting ready to break out your bathing suit soon :)  Feel free to decrease or increase the weights and reps - the most important thing is to maintain proper form; you'll get a less effective workout and risk injury if you compromise your form just to use heavier weights or do more reps.  Take small breaks and drink water when you need to!

I had a pretty busy week, hence the lack of blogging recently.  I had a paper due on Friday, so I'm glad to have that out of the way (2 papers down, 3 finals to go).  Unfortunately, I pulled an all-nighter on Thursday to get the paper finished in time.  I have another confession:  I'm a horrible procrastinator.  Even as early as fourth grade, I stayed home one day because I didn't have a project finished in time.  It's definitely something I need to work on, and every semester I say I'll do better, but it's still a bad habit of mine.

This is what happens to my kitchen when I have a paper due:

Papers everywhere!  (Not to mention the dishes piled up by the sink...)

I've read a lot about how sleep deprivation is bad for your health.  There are tons of ways that lack of sleep can have negative effects on you, and one of them is that it can cause you to gain weight for various reasons.  Your body is tired, so it wants quick and easy energy from food (meaning carbs + sugar), it impairs your judgment (so you're more likely to make poor decisions about what to eat), and just the fact that you're awake longer means you're more likely to eat when you would otherwise be sleeping.

So I'm going to chalk last night's dinner up to sleep deprivation, haha.

Another confession:  I only like Kraft macaroni and cheese, and only shapes (not regular noodles).  After years of contemplation, I think it has to do with the cheese to noodle ratio.  Much like the chocolate to peanut butter ratio that makes Reese's eggs so superior to normal Reese's cups.

Okay, and I also like getting to pick different characters.  I mean, come on, that's pretty fun.

Last night the Cars mac and cheese won.  And it was delicious.  Not a healthy meal, but I tried to balance it out with a lot of delicious green beans (which are sadly all gone now).  I easily could have eaten the entire box, but I made myself save some for leftovers.  Which I will most likely eat cold or at room temperature.  I don't know why, but they just taste better that way!

I think I made up for it with a healthy breakfast this morning.

First I sauteed some amazing little grape tomatoes in a pan sprayed with some olive oil.  I scrambled 3 eggs + 1 egg white (meant to have 2 eggs + 2 egg whites, but forgot to separate one of the yolks out!) plus a splash of almond milk in a bowl and added them to the pan, then tossed in some fresh basil leaves, spinach, and shredded carrots.  Very fast and so flavorful!

I enjoyed it with lemon water, my vitamins, coffee with cinnamon and almond milk, a banana, and a great book, The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels - A Love Story.  I LOVE the Pioneer Woman's blog (she's hilarious!) and I really like her writing style, so her book is absolutely an enjoyable and entertaining read.

'Twas a great start to the day.

Hope you're all enjoying the weekend so far!

Song of the day:

"Teenage Love" by Magic Wands.  My BFF Maryam just reminded me about this band the other day - we saw them live a few years ago when they were an opening band at a concert we went to in DC (I can't remember who they opened for...).

I love the story behind the band, which is comprised of a guy named Chris and a girl named Dexy.  The two met for 5 minutes once in Hollywood, and then a year later Chris heard this song, "Teenage Love," by Dexy on MySpace and couldn't stop listening to it.  He realized it was the same girl he had met in Hollywood and he got in touch with her.  Chris lived in Nashville and Dexy lived in LA, but they started talking every day and sending each other gifts, one of which was a magic wand (the inspiration behind the band's name).

Eventually, Dexy moved to Nashville to be with Chris and they formed their band.  A modern day MySpace romance, right?  I'm a sucker for a good love story :)  It's funny that Maryam just mentioned them because their first full-length album, Aloha Moon, is coming out in 3 days on April 24.

Hooked on Pancakes

(Do you remember those commercials for Hooked on Phonics?  I wonder if that still exists...)

I've really been loving making brunch on Sundays recently.  This past Sunday I decided to make these strawberry shortcake pancakes.  I was a little impatient and didn't let them cook quite long enough, but other than that they were delicious!  Coffee on the side.  Buzzzzz.

I topped the pancakes with some sunflower seed butter, seared banana slices, and fresh strawberries.  I don't think I can ever go back to syrup.

I enjoyed the pancakes while reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  Have you read it yet?  It took me a little while to get into it, but when it got good, I really couldn't stop reading.  I had tried to finish it the previous night, but couldn't keep my eyes open when I had about 60 pages left, so I finished it while eating brunch.  So.  Good.  And very disturbing, too.  I can't wait to read the next book in the trilogy!  Probably after finals... :(  But maybe in Florida :)

In an effort to save some money, I decided not to do a big grocery store trip last week and instead just picked up some fresh food from GFS.

I got that huge bag of spinach, 13 bananas (some to eat fresh, some to freeze), a huge container of grape tomatoes (which are really flavorful!), and a big bag of carrots for $14.65 - not too bad!

In the spirit of being economical and not having time to cook much, this is what a lot of my meals are looking like lately.  Basically, I just pull out whatever is in the fridge/ freezer and put it together.  I had a plate of strawberries, grapes, and grape tomatoes with hummus for dipping.

And a bowl of cooked couscous, cooked bulgur, rinsed black beans, frozen edamame, frozen corn, and fresh spinach - all stirred together and heated up in the microwave.

After my classes today, I went to the gym and tried out the circuit workout I put together over the weekend.  I'd definitely call it a success - it challenged me, but I got through it and felt great afterwards.  I'll type it up in a chart or something and put it on here soon.  And my gym friend did some push-ups with me today - so cool!  I felt like I had way more energy with her rocking them out beside me.  I warmed up with 7 minutes on the elliptical and then did this treadmill workout after the circuit routine, followed by stretching.  Left me sweaty and exhilarated.  Going to the gym feels even better when school is stressing me out!

Post workout protein smoothie:

That lovely sludge had 1 cup almond milk, 1 T ground flax seeds, 1 T natural peanut butter, 1 scoop vanilla Sun Warrior protein powder, lots of spinach, a frozen banana, and 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, plus two ice cubes.  Not much to look at, but it tasted good!

Time for a shower, dishes, dinner, and paper writing :/  I might have to sneak New Girl in there, though - it's only half an hour, so it will make a perfect study break.  'Til next time!

Awesome sunset last night:

Song of the day:

"Take Me Home to Marlyebone" by Patch William.  My BFF Maryam told me about this band, and she found out about them because she met the drummer at a party while we were in college!  I can't get enough of their music - their lyrics are great, the songs are catchy, and I kind of love that you can actually hear their British accents.

First Day of Summer... I Mean Spring

I know the weather is not the most thrilling subject to talk about, but I have to get it out - it feels like summer here.  

You just don't see 83* on the first day of spring in Ohio.

And I feel like everything started blooming today.  Not yesterday - today.  Buds popped out on the tree outside of my kitchen window, daffodils are in full bloom, trees are flowering - it's gorgeous.  

After doing The Fitnessista's Winter Shape Up plan for 8 weeks, I needed a new strength-training routine this week.  I planned to put a routine together myself (I'm a dork and have a file folder of exercises that I save from magazines - I'm trying to put them to good use!) but I haven't had enough time to look through my folder.  Luckily, I found something else just in time - the Tone It Up trainers are doing a workout program with Self magazine right now.  

I signed up for the Drop 10 challenge, even though I don't want to lose 10 pounds.   I'm not following the meal plan portion, but I did want to get the workout routines.  I just printed out the toning moves and took them to the gym with me, which worked out great.  I also like that the trainers did a video demonstrating all of the moves, which was a quick way to see how they should all be done correctly.  At first I thought the routine was going to be kind of easy, but I was shaking by my second time through the 8 moves - the push-ups at the end are killer!

I also did a great treadmill workout from Julie at Peanut Butter Fingers - I did the 25 Minute Incline Treadmill Workout (2nd one down).  Whew, it was tough, but a great workout.  

After the gym, it was just too nice to go back inside, so I decided to walk to the public library to pick up some things I had on hold.  

I need help.  I don't know why I keep putting so many things on hold - I don't actually have time to read all of these books!

Girl crush alert - love Zooey!

Oh good, I can get a head start on listening to Christmas music!  Just kidding, I put this on hold wayyyy before this past Christmas.  

After I got home from the library, I was hankering for a smooooooothie.

Into the blender:  1 cup rice milk, 1 T almond butter, 1 scoop Sun Warrior Vanilla Protein Powder, 2 big handfuls spinach, 1 cup frozen mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries), and 1 frozen banana.  Plus a little extra water to thin it out, and 3 ice cubes once the ingredients were all blended up.  

I just noticed that the mixed berries are called "Fiesta de Bayas" in Spanish - I love that, Party of Berries!  Fun.

Soooo this is pretty much the ugliest color of smoothie I have ever seen.  But that's okay, because it tasted good and was full of great ingredients.  

My apartment is a bit of a disaster right now, so I'm off to tidy up, wash some dishes (blech), and do school work.  Crossing my fingers for a pretty sunset!

Reader question:  Are you as obsessed with public libraries as I am?  I seriously have a problem.  

Song of the day:

In honor of the nice weather, I've been listening to my "Old School Summer" playlist, and one of my favorite songs on it is "The Rock Show" by Blink 182.  Oh Blink.  Those were the days.