Three Things Thursday

Greetings, Salutations, and Happy Thursday to you all!!!

Yesterday was a hot mess for me... I over ate, I had a hard time getting in just 30 minutes of cardio, and my internship was frustrating as all H.E. Double Hockey Sticks!!! (I'm working with teenagers now, so I'm trying to work on my horribly foul mouth).

That is why I am...

1. First and Foremost, Thankful that today is a brand new day!!! Sometimes it is so easy to get hung up on the small stuff, and I just have to realize that that day is over, and today is a new day. With a new day, brings new snacks :) I am thankful for these little gems I picked up at Trader Joe's yesterday.

I haven't tried them yet, but they look absolutely delicious. I think my first experiment with them will be with Greek Yogurt :)

2. I am thankful that the stupid Human Development exam that I took is OVER. We haven't even had a class yet, and we are being tested. Personally, I think that type of stuff should be illegal. I made it through the proficiency exam, and am praying that I passed it. I really dont want to have to take it again :/

3. I am thankful that today was day one of Marathon Training!!! I was asked to complete a 30 minute easy run of 3-4 miles. I ended up running for 35 minutes and running 3.85 miles. I'm really trying to follow the guidelines set up for myself. You can view my race plan at the link below.

http://www.actionaid.org.uk/_content/documents/Marathon%20schedule.pdf

I had to do some shifting of days, but I think I got it all figured out now. Tomorrow I'm scheduled for a 50 minute moderate run. I'm hoping to get up early and get it done first thing in the morning... but with my track record... we'll see how that goes :/

Do you have any new favorite treats or snacks?!

Snail Status

Today was a long, exhausting, and accomplished kind of day!

I started with a wake up from my best friend at 6:15am... telling me that I needed to get out of bed, get in my running shoes and get out of the house. It took me a few minutes, but I finally made it out of the delicious cocoon of my sheets and went for my run.

I went running last  night, so I felt SUPER sluggish. I felt like my feet and legs were so heavy, and that there was no way I could go faster than a jog pace (and believe me... I tried!). During my run, I kept telling myself that I running on "Snail Status" today. I managed to finish my run and hopped right in the shower to get ready to go to school.

I had my usual breakfast, oats with banana, cinnamon almonds and honey. For some reason, I could not control my hunger today!!! I ate breakfast at 8:30 and was hungry by 10. I also had a delicious Iced coffee with Almond milk and some Stevia. I have gotten to the point where I need to have coffee in my life again. I wont make it a daily habit (who am I kidding?!?!), but it will be making an appearance on my blog more often.

Due to stupid typical 405 traffic, and some parking issues I was late to my group today. (I'm going to have to get better at this whole commuter things). The nice surprise was that my Field Instructor had snacks for everyone (even us Tardy Marties). He had apples, oranges and some marble loaf cake (droool!). I opted for an orange even though I REALLY wanted the marble cake... GO ME!!!

After group they served us lunch before our afternoon presentation. Thankfully, I brought my own lunch, because they had NO vegetarian wraps left :( I had my usual salad and a couple Trader Joe's power berries. A few hours later I was hungry again!!! (I'm sure it had nothing to do with my dry, boring lecture). I snacked a half a cup of grapes with my new friend, Tanya!

We did a lecture on working with children 5-10 and the theme was using play as a means of communication. Tanya came about during an exercise that asked us to learn how to communicate with our finger. Needless to say, this was the most exciting part of this 3 hour lecture.

After the class a few of us stayed after to study for our human development exam on Thursday. I snacked on an apple and some peanut butter towards the end of our session, because I was STILL hungry.

When I got home a few hours later, mom had Vegetable surprise waiting for me. It was delicious and I to stop myself from overdoing it. Now I'm catching up on some much needed television before doing some more studying.

What's your favorite study time snack!?!?!

New Shoooooes!!!

Happy Monday, Everyone!!!

Sorry I have been MIA for a couple days. I just keep getting busier, and busier and I'm not really sure what to do with myself. It looks like going to Graduate School, Volunteering, and training for a marathon (all while being a novice blogger) is going to be more difficult that I expected.

Anywhoo... quick recap of the Weekend...

Friday, I worked (lame) and then spent the Evening with Tyler (opposite of lame!!!). We woke up Saturday Morning and decided to go Hiking at one of our favorite places, Wild Wood Canyon. It was hotter than Hades, but it felt good to go Hiking. We always have the best talks, and enjoy each other's company.

Saturday Evening... I worked... and tried to study... (Lame!!!)

Sunday... I was EXHAUSTED!!! I woke up, took a quick run, and headed over to Tyler's. I got there, and almost immediately took a nap! I could not stay awake. Thankfully, I have the most amazing boyfriend in the world, and he let me nap :) Not only that, but I woke up to a delicious massage!!! (can we say Boyfriend of the year?!?!?)

After that, it was just about time to head to work (Booooo!!!). Tyler whipped me up a lunch and I headed out on my way. I stopped to grab a coffee at 7-11 on my way in (I was still really lethargic, and needed the pick me up). Let's just say that coffee at 4pm was a horrible idea. I could not sleep at all last night.

The fact that I did not get to sleep until almost 3, meant that I did NOT get out of bed to run at 6am today. I stayed in bed until about 7:45,  but I kept thinking that I should have just gotten up. I never really made it back to sleep, and I felt super guilty for not getting my run in.

I left the house and headed to Day Two of my internship at Communities in Schools. Today was a slightly better day, but I feel like my experience there is still off to a slow start. I tried to mingle with as many staff and clients as I could, and to keep my self busy throughout the day. Surprisingly... it worked :) Before I knew it, it was 4:00pm and time to go home!

Well, I didn't get to stay home for long. I was on a mission to get some new running shoes. Some of you might remember the last time I bought a pair of shoes. They were a pair of Nike trail running shoes. For whatever reason...I had massive trouble with that pair from day one. The toe was just too narrow, and were giving me horrible blisters on both my baby and big toes. When I left for Oregon, I decide that I was only going to use those shoes for hiking and not for running anymore.

However, that meant I had to find something to run in. I was using my old pair of Nike running shoes... but I think they have taken quite the beating. I finally got paid today, which meant that I was able to go to RoadRunner Sports and pick out a new pair of shoes :)

It was a pretty easy decision. I liked 3 pairs... but they only had one in my size. They're super cute, and super comfy.... so I got them :)

 

I got to break in my new shoes with an evening run. I felt AMAZING! I haven't run like that in quite some time. However, it did get REALLY dark. I forgot how scary it can get in my neighborhood. I did use the scared adrenaline to help me get through it quickly. 

 

I also bought a fuel belt, because I START MARATHON TRAINING ON THURSDAY!!!

I am suppose to be studying for a human development exam... but I just have not been able to bring myself to it. I am going to try and get some done now that I have taken care of everything else for today.

Three Things Thursday!

Man, Today I feel like I have more than 3 things to share... but I guess I will try to keep it to just three (while sneaking in some extras along the way).

1. I'm glad that I woke up early this morning and did a 30 minute yoga session. I haven't done any yoga for years, but I keep telling myself that I need to get back in the habit of doing yoga again. I taped an episode of Mind and Body Power Yoga of the Ion network, and just hit play once I woke up this morning. The episode focused on arms, which is something of mine that needs a great deal of attention. The were primarily difficult poses (have you ever done the crow?!?!?), but I tried my best to do as many as I could. There were also A LOT of planks. I am certainly feeling the burn.

I recorded a few more episodes, and i want to try to get in the habit of either starting or ending my day with some yoga. I found that it put me in a very different mind set for the rest of the day. I was running 30 minutes late to my lecture at UCLA today (stupid 405 traffic..), and I managed to remain calm through the entire situation. Normally I get really anxious and angry about those kinds of things... so this was a real surprise.

2. I haven't been drinking a lot of coffee lately, because I am trying to build up my caffeine tolerance until I officially begin grad school. I know I am going to need that caffeine rush for the next two years! But today, I was feeling a little sluggish at lunch. OK, so I literally could FEEL the bags under my eyes, so I decided to pick up am iced coffee with soy and added a splenda. I literally only took a couple mouth-fulls out of it, but it felt so nice, and certainly perked me up for the remainder of my 6 hour lecture on Human Development.

Simply Yum!

Not that I really needed a lot of pepping up... our lecturer was pretty phenomenal! She cursed like a sailor, and was not afraid to get down and dirty while talking about Freud's Psycho sexual stages. Any teacher that likes to over share about their sex life is A-O-K in my book :)

After the lecture I decided to take my first run around the UCLA campus. I'm really not use to dealing with having to stop at red lights, but I tried to make the best out of the situation. I used them as opportunities to either try some speed drills, or do some high knees while running in place. As I was running around, it was hard to believe that this is my current school. UCLA is my dream school, and to actually be a part of the campus is such an amazing experience :)

3. So, when I finally got home today, I had to run some grocery errands to Target and Trader Joe's... Oh darn!!! I came home with WAAAY too may things (including individual packages of kettle korn that are only 70 calories!!!), but when I returned to my car... I found THIS little lady...

Can you see her?!?!

She was just hanging out on my trunk, waiting for me to come to the car :) After our photo shoot, I found a piece of paper and removed him... I didn't want him to have to hang on for dear life while I drove home.

These are just some other photos from my day of things that made me happy. Hope you enjoy :)

My dinner: Sweet Potato bisque soup with Morning star meat crumbles and vegetables

Sunset on my drive home

Dessert: half a bagel, peanut butter and Chocolate soy milk :)

Do you enjoy doing Yoga?!?! What helps you find your Ohmmmmmm?!?!

Wrap-Up Wednesday

Happy Wednesday Everybody!!!

I hope you all had a great day. And for those of you in Southern California, I hope that you got to enjoy the AMAZING weather that we had today!!! I’m not sure if anyone else enjoys it… but today’s weather was my favorite type. It was overcast and drizzly all day, but still warm outside!

I started my day with an hour long Circuit Buster workout in my bedroom. I was really tired, but I forced myself out of bed to get it done (aren’t you proud of me?!?!). I did 15 minutes on the bike, 5 minutes of push ups, crunches, squats, lunges and jumping jacks. Then did 10 minutes on the bike, repeated the 5 minute sequence. Repeated that interval, and finished with 10 more minutes on the bike. I feel like I probably could have pushed myself harder… but hey, its my first week back in action… I can’t go full throttle the first week.

After my workout I showered and had my usual Oatmeal breakfast and headed for my first day at my internship!!!

The agency I will be interning for is called Communities in Schools. They provide counseling, case management, gang intervention and drop out prevention services to active teen gang members between the ages of 15 and 25. There are a lot of things that are going to be very different about this experience, but I'm really looking forward to working with this agency.

Today was a slightly depressing day. I usually try not to get my hopes too high... but I cant help but feel a little let down. I think I spent the majority of the day doing NOTHING! The kids are all in the middle of a training right now, and there really wasn't any thing for us to do. It felt too awkward just standing around watching them and not being able to participate. Our field instructor left after a couple hours, so we were left to just sit in his office for the majority of the morning.

Thankfully there were two other interns there that had been there since May.We went to lunch at Wing Stop. I brought my lunch and ate my usual lentil salad. Although they helped orient us to some of the key things about the internship... it was also kind of sad. They both felt like they did not learn anything from the agency and did not have a whole lot of positive things to say about their experience so far. I'm trying to stay positive and am hoping that their experience is different from what mine will be. They were present over the summer, when there was less for them to do, and they're 2nd years. I would imagine that my expectations would be higher at that level.

I spent my evening answering calls and talking to people at the Suicide prevention center. It was really busy tonight, so I still feel like I got to do some type of clinical work today :) On my way to the call center I ate apple slices, celery sticks, hummus, and a tablespoon of natural peanut butter. It didn't make me feel full, but it was yummy.

For dinner I had Tofu, veggies, and quinoa. I always forget that I don't really like quinoa, because it doesn't fill me like other carbs do, but I guess it worked.

For dessert, a Greek yogurt parfait. I'm really exhausted now, so I'm sorry for the quick update. I promise I'll be more animated tomorrow :)

 

Gettng Back in the Habit

Happy Evening, Friends!

I'm really exhausted from my long, first day back at school... so I am going to make this brief.

I started my day with a 5 mile run!!! (Yay Me!!!). My alarm went off at 6am... and I turned it off and convinced myself that I need just 15 more minutes of sleep... 30 minutes later I woke up with a startle and jumped out of bed! I was NOT going to to let myself excuse my way out of working. I didn't get to run as long as I wanted to because of time constraints... but it was still a really good run.

I came home, quickly showered, and got dressed to head to one of my first days of academia at UCLA :). The beginning of the day was spent meeting with about 13 members of my cohort to discuss our fears, anxieties, and anticipations about our internship cites. It's really fun being in a small group so we can all get things off our chest and get some great feedback from people that have been there, or just have another perspective on a similar situation.

They provided us with lunch, so I got to grub on some California Chicken Cafe. I had a veggie and rice wrap in a pita. I got the last half a sandwich!!! Thank god I had a salad in the car, just in case they didn't have anything. The wrap was really good... but I forgot to take a picture, because I was so hungry.

After lunch we received a 3 hour lecture on working with Children ages 0-5 and their parents. It was focused on how important the relationship between a child and their primary care giver is even at a very young age. We got to watch clips of children and their parents playing together in a therapists office and comment on what dynamics we were seeing in their relationships. It was a really eye opening lecture.. and watching the cute babies wasn't too bad either!!!

For the evening, I headed to Tyler's to visit, since our plans got mixed up yesterday. We watched "The 5 year engagement". It was a really cute movie, a little strange, but most Jason Segal movies do. The only problem is... now it makes me wish that I was engaged so I could plan a wedding (you know, because I have so much free time on my hands).

Tyler also made me dinner!!! (isn't he the best?!?!?!). A delicious portobello mushroom burger with carrots and corn. I was still hungry on my way home, so I had some grapes and a spoonful of peanut butter before bed.

Tomorrow is my first day at my internship for the next 9 months. I'll tell you more about it tomorrow, when I'm not so tired.

Wish me luck!!!

A Brief Slip off the Radar!

Happy Monday Everyone!!! and Happy Labor Day!!! I hope that everyone is having a wonderful Monday... whether you have to work today or not.

Now, I know what you're thinking.... "She isn't just going to pretend like she hasn't been MIA for the week and a half?!?!?"

And the answer is... NO!!!

I want to apologize to guys for just dropping off the face of the planet. I could give you my laundry list of excuses... but I really don't think you want to hear those. Although I do have some REALLY good ones if you want to hear 'em :)

The main reason I haven't been posting is because I did not have access to Internet in the house (it's a dumb story about not being able to find the wireless code)... but thanks to Mom... I am up and running again!!! Literally and figuratively.  (How do Mom's always manage to find things that no one else can, no matter how hard you look?!?!?).

Anyways... I last left off on part of our vacation to Bend. Let's Just say, I had an AMAZING last day, a safe trip home, and I'm utterly miserable that I had to come back to the real world!!! Since we got back, I have been having a really rough time getting back into the swing of things. I wasn't eating right, I wasn't sleeping right and I definitely was not running at all!!!

I'm not sure how I managed to keep so on track while on vacation and then literally fall apart when I got back home...

Today is another story... Today is my first day back into my new reality :)

Thankfully I started my day off with Race number five in my 12 in 12 series: Conquer the Bridge 4 Labor Day in San Pedro! It was a 5.3 mile race (random... I know...) across the Vincent Thomas Bridge between Long Beach and San Pedro.

To be honest, I almost thought about bailing out of this race. I was not ready, I was not prepared, and I was in no shape wanting to get up at 6 in the morning to drive an hour away from my house. I only had about 3 hours of sleep, and I haven't run since last Saturday... so my only goal was to run the full 5.3 miles.

My favorite part of Race Day :)

When I got to the event space, I couldn't find the start line. They didn't leave very good instructions on where to park, and i was convinced that I was in the wrong place :(. Thankfully I found some people with bib numbers on, and they pointed me in the right direction. When I finally got to the starting area, there were so many people in the pen that I almost had an anxiety attack. It was a little unorganized, and a little chaotic... but they had some fun music going on, and a large group of ladies were dancing... so I decided to have some fun and join them (by join them... I mean I danced near them, but by myself).

Finally, it was time for the race to start. I thought that i was ready, and began fantasizing about having a 45 minute finish time. However, I forgot to factor in that a lot of this race was going to be on an incline :( Not only that, but the first 3 miles were spent running straight in to the sun! I held my head up high (which probably increased my sunburn) and fought on to the end. Even though I thought about giving up... I held my ground and kept going :)

I finished in 46:40 according to my watch (47:13 according to their chip... but I think that's from the overall start time, not my start time). Either way... I ran the whole thing, and didn't die :)

I left pretty quickly after I finished. I just wasn't in the mood to hang around because I was so tired. However... I wasn't too tired to visit my best friend Rachel in Long Beach for some brunch and a pedicure :)

She hates taking photos for me :)

Rachel's Birthday was Saturday, so I figured it was only fitting that we spend today together. We went to a delicious restaurant called Delightful Crepes and Coffee... and that is exactly what we had!!!!! They were a small little cafe in a random strip mall, but they offered so much more than that. The service was intimate and extremely courteous. I felt like I was a guest in their home.

The food was amazing... everything was fresh, homemade and delicious.They had so many delicious choices, and it was really hard to choose just one :// I tried their burrito crepe which had eggs, cheese, jalapenos and bacon (i substituted the bacon for spinach) with salsa and a side of potatoes with a cup of coffee!!! I have no idea what brand of coffee they use, but man, it was good. Rachel and I tried to find it in the kitchen... but all we found was a can a Folgers!!! Rachel was also nice enough to share some of her FRESH butternut squash soup with me... also amazing!

I can't wait to eat the other half tomorrow :)

After brunch, we got pedicures, and they were simply amazing. I got an extra 15 minute massage and a callous scrub!!! My feet feel like they ave been reborn! Shortly after I headed home and have been putting my room back together ever since.

Just two girls getting pedicures :)
 

Tomorrow is the official start of my 1st year as an undergraduate student and I am nervous as hell!!!I'm planning to get a run in before I go though ;)