monday

the sunshine award: I promise I’m unique!

Holla at my fellow Chicagoan SuzLyfe for nomiating me for the Sunshine Award! You know what that means…you’re about to learn new, random, unique things about me! I never in a million years thought that strangers on the internet would want to know intimate details about me, and I wouldn’t be creeped out by it. In fact, it only seems appropriate that you all get to know more about what makes me, me, other than my insatiable love and need for food and a good sweat session. So without further ado….

1. I have been to 12 different countries. My favorite place was Prague in The Czech Republic, and my lease favorite was Venice, Italy. I haaaated that place. It was a claustrophobic girl’s worst nightmare.

2. Speaking of that, I’m claustrophobic. I had a traumatizing experience when I was little where I got trapped crawling through a dark tunnel, with someone in front of me and behind. It was the worst feeling of my life and I’ll never forget that panic. Ever since then, I can’t be in small, dark, enclosed spaces, and if I’m locked in somewhere, I have a panic attack.

3. In high school I pierced my cartilage with a safety pin (it didn’t end well)

4. My head is too big to fit into hats. I just tell myself it’s because I have too big of a brain 😉

5. I ate so much cereal in college that some of my friends referred to me as the “cereal killer”. I even went as that for Halloween once.

6. I have a twin brother!

7. Austin is my favorite city in America

8. I lived in Washington D.C. for a summer – and in two months made some of the best friends in the world. We still talk today!

9. I’m in a sorority – Pi Beta Phi

10. I was a barista in college. It was a humbling experience but also one of the most fun. I wish everyone could work in the food industry for at least a year because it really gives you a whole new outlook on life. Plus, I got free drinks whenever I wanted, so not only did I make money but imagine how much I saved on coffee throughout college!

So there’s that! I feel like you know me on a whollllle new level now. But now I need to hear some random things from you! Tell me something unique about yourself! Give me some workday entertainment.

keep calm and run like simba

Hey all!

I hope you had a kickass weekend. Mine was….busy to say the least, but I like it that way! I ate great food and even got to run outside, so I can’t complain. The fact that it was warm enough to get outside and pound the pavement got me way too excited for spring, a pretty premature feeling here in Chicagoland according to the weatherman.

But hey, I’ll take what I can get. The only downside was I couldn’t find a headband for the life of me so I looked like Simba by mile four.

One of the most important things I did this weekend was sign up for the Shamrock Shuffle downtown this upcoming Sunday! I was going back and forth about actually running this…call it fear, call it laziness, call it tight-wallet syndrome but I just couldn’t commit. Well I finally bit the bullet yesterday and registered. I’ll be running with my friend Jordan, and with a new playlist and visions of our post-race brunch, I’m confident that I’m going to kick butt. Here’s to hoping it hits 40 degrees!

In terms of food I’ve been trying to incorporate more veggies and pure sources of protein into my diet in preparation of summer, and I’ve definitely been making some progress! Like we talked about last week, it’s hard to crave veggies in cold weather (unless they’re covered in cheese, of course) but I’ve done a decent job. Not to mention I’m still balancing those healthy choices with things like cheesy chicken quesadillas the size of my head and chocolate. It’s a work in progress.

I have a crazy amount of work to do over the next few days so I’ll be back on Wednesday! But until then, here are a few pictures of my weekend happenings. Have a great Monday! Can you believe it’s almost April? Good lord.

shrimp, jicama, avocado, black beans, queso fresco, corn, peppers, tomatoes and onions

Protein Box from Starbucks

Pounded chicken with a panko/red pepper flake/garlic crust, baked at 400 for 45 minutes. Served with “hot pasta” aka pasta, finger hot peppers, parmesan cheese, olive oil, garlic and salt. Also the smallest glass of wine you’ll ever see

Homemade bran muffins

This was the best thing I saw all weekend. I don’t understand if there’s a cake in there or if m&ms just spill out, but either way, sign me up

Questions:

What was the best thing you did this weekend?
What’s your favorite part of spring that you’re looking forward to?

weekend happenings: oscar edition

wooooo happy monday, everyone!

It’s -12 here in Chicago (I know I know, I’ll stop talking about the weather once it stops being so freakishly unbelievable)

Did you watch the Oscars last night? I did and I had so much fun!! I don’t even watch, usually, but for some reason this year a small group of friends and I decided to get together and make it a big deal. So a big deal it was — full of funfetti cookies, m&ms, popcorn and Stella. Speaking of that, did you know you can use funfetti cupcake mix to make cookies?! My mind was blown.

The rest of the weekend was full of delicious eats (as most weekends are). I was happy to finally have the chance to take Zain to one of my all-time favorite little sandwich shops after we spent some time getting work done on his car on Saturday. The only thing I love more than a delicious sandwich shop is a cute, quaint, historically-themed sandwich shop in a picturesque downtown suburbs setting. Just adorable. Enter, Bluffington’s, named after a British man who met his demise when a cricket ball flew thru his windshield. I mean, not the way I’d like to go but it certainly makes for a good story! They have the best tuna melt in town and it’s always a treat when I can make the drive to get one.

For as I love the city, there’s something special about being in the suburbs. Everyone’s just so friendly. At Bluffington’s it was the owner’s birthday so he had a giant birthday cake sitting there for all the customers to share. Loyal customers kept coming in and wishing him and happy birthday, stepping behind the counter to give him a hug. It was really precious and I love witnessing little moments like that between people.

You know you’ve been dating for over 3 years when walking through a candle store is a hilarious and cute date idea.

Good lord there are some weirdddd smells out there now. Do you know anyone who wants to smell popcorn in there house WHEN NO ACTUAL CONSUMABLE POPCORN IS TO BE FOUND? Idk that just seems like torture to me.

Weirdly enough, though, they captured the “Football” scent very well.

I had to work both Friday and Saturday nights so nothing fun or exciting there. Sadly I’m just not a night owl – I accepted that a long time ago and would much rather fill my days with fun activities than stay up late getting into mischief, you know? 😉

Sunday played out like it usually does: church with my family followed by a mammoth breakfast and workout:

This workout murdered me! When did burpees get SO hard? I mean they’ve always been hard but DAMN.

Oh and side note I cried when Jared Leto won Best Supporting Actor, so there’s that.

An incredible actor, musician, humanitarian, and soul. I love him and am so happy he got the recognition he deserves as an artist.

Questions:

Ok now it’s your turn — tell me the best part about your weekend! Did you watch the Oscars? Who was your favorite?

weekend happenings + finding peace in a culture of scarcity

Welcome back to Monday! I’m tempted to be overwhelmed by all the negative parts about Mondays – missing the weekend, having obligations, less time to do what I want, feeling an overwhelming sense of scarcity (I didn’t get enough sleep, I should’ve worked over the weekend, I need more coffee, I didn’t get my to-do list done), and already, before the day’s even started, looking forward to the weekend.

Do you ever wonder if this is why life seems to fly by so fast? Because we’re constantly “looking forward” to things instead of enjoying the simple things that we get to do every day?

I’m in the middle of a new book (shocker, because I haven’t read a book by choice in God knows how long) called Daring Greatly. It’s all about our culture of scarcity, of “powering through” to get to the relaxing or fun parts of our lives. Ideally we’re all supposed to be doing something we love each day, but even if that’s not true, it’s seriously so important to realize and catch yourself when you look past the day and to the weekend, or a trip, or a happy hour, or even just 5:00 that night. Life happens all the time, not just when we barrel through a workday and finally get comfy on the couch 8 hours later.

Do I seem emotional? Man have I been lately. That, coupled with the fact that I did an hour of yoga before dawn this morning, have turned me into complete mush. Heartwarming commercials are making me cry, and One Republic is playing constantly on my computer and giving me the kind of butterflies in your stomach that only really personal music can give you.

I’ve been freaking out lately. Overreacting, having panic attacks, even practically pulling my hair out. Nothing has changed but for some reason I’m not coping well with my life right now. But I do know one thing – waking up this morning and doing sun salutations while the sun rose was quite literally one of the most peaceful things I’ve done in awhile. Daring Greatly has made me take a step back and see everything in life as something to be appreciated for what it is—living! I sometimes look around the train on my commute and wonder, do the people around me realize how random and insane it is that we’re even alive? It’s too early to get too deep (haha) but really…think about your life and how crazy lucky you are! I know I’m doing that more and more lately.

I’m really trying to get a handle on this out-of-control feeling that keeps rushing over my body when things don’t go my way. I had a bad weekend. I looked forward to a night off on Saturday and, so is life, things didn’t turn out exactly as I’d planned. What was my response? Pure anger. I was so, so angry. I let it ruin the whole night, and I wasted it. Now there’s nothing I can do to change what happened, but it’s so therapeutic to write it down, admit it, and hopefully react better next time. No more running to the bathroom to breathe deeply into my hands and pull at my hair.

I woke up this morning with every intention of running four miles. I was going to pound the pavement and get that high that only comes from a good run. I was going to turn my music up to max volume and tune out the world. But when I woke up this morning I felt a voice telling me that tuning out the world by blasting loud music and pushing my body to its limits this morning was not the way to start my week. This morning, the only answer was yoga. I didn’t have a mat, my hands are covered in rug burns now, but I feel incredible. I woke up with the sun and now I’m going to start my week in peace. I got enough sleep last night, I’m excited for the week ahead, and I know I’ll handle whatever comes my way. Let’s all avoid the culture of scarcity and just accept ourselves, and our lives, as enough, as worthy.

My weekend wasn’t all bad—Saturday morning I spent some great quality time with my parents. We went to the grand opening of Trader Joe’s in my hometown and it was, as expected, a blast and a half.

Sunday morning Zain and I went out to brunch at a French-themed restaurant, so right there we were combining two of my favorite things. It was almost an hour-long walk there and back to the restaurant but the sun was out and it gave Zain and me a chance to talk, electronics-free and enjoying the sights and sounds of the city. I was able to indulge in one of my favorite French treats (a croque monsieur—holy moley) and enjoy the feeling of Spring in the air.

Also, in a weird twist of fate we passed by a CTA stop that looked IDENTICAL to the metro stops in Paris. The whole morning took me back to my time aborad. I think it was a sign – that was a time when I was forced to be independent, flexible, and vulnerable. Who knows, maybe it was God’s way of telling me to reignite that strength inside of me, even though I’m home now

As I sit here, writing this early in the morning, I can’t help but have this awesome feeling of hope for the week. I’m smiling because I can feel myself growing emotionally and spiritually, two parts of myself that I tend to neglect. Don’t get me wrong, I have the physical health down pat. As “healthy living” bloggers it’s basically a rule, right? But health isn’t all about getting your vegetables in. We are complicated, beautiful, messy humans, and we have many sides to take care of. So I hope that by acknowledging my weaknesses as of late I’ll be able to make a difference in my emotional and spiritual state. That way I can truly call myself healthy.

Okay—so enough about me. Tell me about your weekend! What cool things did you do or how did you relax?

Questions:

Do you see yourself living a culture of scarcity?
How do you take the time to cultivate your emotional and spiritual sides?
And to lighten things up, tell me your favorite animal and why 🙂 I love pugs and can’t stop looking at pictures of them. INSTANT HAPPINESS!

Have a beautiful Monday!

writer’s block

so, i took a little hiatus from blogging. five days to be exact. I’ve been blogging for almost six months and even though sometimes when I sat down to the computer I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about, the words usually began to flow.

last week, however, I faced an incurable case of writer’s block. no new workout tips, no exciting recipes, no fun lunches to put together, nothing. so instead of force it, I took a few days off, hoping to come back this week revved up and ready to write!

Not much has happened in the past five days. I’ve worked doubles every day (internship and serving) so even if I wanted to write, finding the time was a challenge. A couple first-world middle-class suburban 20-something things that have happened to me lately include the following:

I channeled my inner 12 year old and got a ringtone. Yep, a ringtone. Does anyone with an iPhone even do that anymore? I just needed to hear my favorite song more often, so I decided to fork over the $1.99.

I also went shopping for new jeans. I decided it was time to stop wearing leggings and pretending that they were a step up from sweatpants and actually squeeze myself into some real material that will withstand Chicago winter.

I forgot how awful jeans are. Hence the sourpuss expression.

I got my first Starbucks holiday beverage. Newsworthy.

I had a coupon so I decided to get a massage. In other news, the woman asked me why I was skipping school. As in, high school. Yes, mam, I’m skipping third period geometry to go get a professional massage.

I got new running shoes because I’m itching to start running again and my old ones had a hole in the side that was only getting bigger.

These were $50 compared to their neon twins at $130. I tried and tried but just couldn’t justify almost tripling the price just for color. Does this mean I’m finally a grown up?

I celebrated my friend Jordan’s 23rd birthday! The year of Michael Jordan is already being good to her 🙂

I ate fro yo. Because I’m a blogger and that’s just the kind of thing we do.

And I worked out to balance out the sprinkles

So yeah. Big things happening over here. 🙂

I’ll be back tomorrow with regularly scheduled programming to share a new recipe with you all. Have a beautiful Monday! It’s snowing here!

What to do when you’re having a bad day

Here’s the world’s best advice to getting over a day that just isn’t going your way. This is totally fool-proof, I promise. No gimmicks here. Just follow my guide step-by-step and everything will turn around!

(Disclaimer: I in no way can actually guarantee a total overhaul of a bad day. I just happen to respond very well to lots of jumping around and sugar).

1. Go for a run

4 miles before work. My knees were achy all day! Must. foam. roll.

2. Drink lots of caffeine

Ps I know red bull is bad…it gave me a terrible stomachache and I only made it thru about 1/3 of the can

3. Text your friends and talk about how you wish you lived in a different time. Then laugh about how silly your college-educated best friend can be (love you, Meg!)

4. Restock your fridge with tons of staples so you feel organized and ready to take on the week in a health-conscious way.

5. Take time to create a nutritious, hearty, delicious meal. Cooking is a form of meditation and relaxation for me.

Grilled bbq chicken, spring mix salad with homemade dressing (dijon, balsamic, olive oil and garlic), and sauteed zucchini

6. ………to make room for FROYO!

Too much in that cup to even describe. The most important part was that they had puppy chow as a topping.

7. Jump around for an hour until your head is pounding and your hair is all in knots.

Karate chop the blues away

Zman had the brilliant plan of going to Extreme Trampoline and bouncing around until they closed. It was fantastic. Endorphins are real, people.

Life is crazy. Sometimes people let you down–sometimes you let yourself down. Trying to get started in a career is one of the most challenging things in the world. But the more time I take to complain and dwell on it I might be missing out on more opportunities that could be just right for me. So tonight I ate chocolate and bounced around like an 8-year-old, and tomorrow I’ll wake up and try this whole grown-up thing again. I’ll be testing out a new recipe soon so keep an eye out for that!

Happy Monday!

it ain’t easy being cheesy

I know, I know…there’s no such thing as too much cheese.

Until you’ve eaten too much cheese.

Between the ice cream, parmesean fries, and deep dish pizza yesterday, my body is in a dairy coma. I’ve gotten to the point where my body will tell me if I’ve had too much of something and I can realize it’s time to back off. Well today I decided to limit the dairy for a few days, and while I rarely drink milk, cheese is one of my best friends. Even though I fully admit there are few things better in the world than digging into a monstrous pizza, it’s just time to cut back.

I started the day with a 6am alarm to head to the gym before my first day of work. I worked from home today, but normally I’ll have to get up at 5am in order to squeeze in my workouts before taking the train to the city. I told you I was going to be busy, but sacrificing a good sweat before I start my day isn’t going to happen! I truly believe I’m a better person when I work out–it just makes me so happy! Anyone who says endorphins don’t exist clearly isn’t doing the right workout.

Long story short, I did a 30 minute interval workout on the stairmaster. My legs were so tight! I definitely need to stretch/foam roll more because this was next to impossible to finish. After I powered through I did my standard upper body workout that I’ve talked about before (3 kinds of curls, overhead tricep extensions, shoulder raises) and then finished the workout with 8 Minute Abs.

I came home and quickly drank some chocolate protein powder mixed with almond milk. Starting your day with chocolate is the bomb! For breakfast I kept my promise to myself by leaving out the cheese in my eggs. Usually I like salt and cheese to give eggs flavor, but today I added so much onion powder, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes that they tasted great without all that added fat and salt.

I made a huge scramble of two eggs and two egg whites mixed with an ungodly amount of vegetables: chopped spinach, green/red/yellow peppers, and onions. Also mixed in were two chopped up veggie sausage patties. Along with my coffee it was a hugeeee and satisfying breakfast that kept me full for a solid four hours (a miracle).

I had the busiest first day of work! I’m so happy because it seems like I’m truly going to be an integral part of the team instead of just a coffee-fetching intern, and it’s very similar to the health communication and social marketing initiative work that I worked on during my last semester of college. I feel well prepared and ready for my first in-office day tomorrow. The one down side to actual employment is that there’s no way I’m going to be able to cook nearly as much as I have been this summer, but hey, I’ll take employment over that luxury 😉

Lunch was made on a quick break from work. Thank god for the microwave.

Veggie corn dogs and broccoli. I’m glad I’m starting to get back on the broccoli train. I hopped off it for awhile but it’s great to be back together with the green goodness.

In the middle of my workday the best thing happen: the UPS guy came! Never did I ever think I’d be so excited to see a man in brown short shorts at my door. He had my SHOES!

Not to sound like a total girl, but don’t you love it when you find a great pair of shoes on sale?

$36 on clearance. Boom. Thanks Sole Society! This is my favorite website to buy shoes because they’re decently priced AND it’s always free shipping both ways. Can’t beat that!

This called for a snack celebration!

In totally unrelated news, isn’t it depressing when you realize how small 2 tablespoons of peanut butter actually is? Stupid serving sizes. Luckily I firmly believe in blissful ignorance so I scooped away with my big ol’ spoon. Apples balance it all out, right?

After I finished my work I went to job #2 at the restaurant. Oh boy it’s going to be a long few months, this whole two jobs thing. Luckily it was absolutely dead so I got home at 9 and was able to sneak in a quick dinner before heading to bed.

Followed by the world’s best popsicle:

Outshine Pomegranate. Buy them!

I’m trying to get a good night’s sleep for my first actual day in the office tomorrow. I’m planning on going to the early morning spin class at my gym before I catch the train so sleep is definitely necessary. Hope your Monday was cheery!

i had a big lunch

Because dreaming about food and fitness was no longer enough