Explaining My Absence

I'm sorry for my lack of posts lately. I've been super busy with a number of things: 
1. Transitioning from summer job to school-year occupation.
2. Preparing for sophomore year.
3. Vacationing with the boyfriend.
4. And being sick since last Monday.

At first, I thought it was a cold but after  it neither went away nor infected my boyfriend despite his close proximity to me on our 14 hour road trip I realized I must be having serious allergy problems. 

So I've been suffering through fevers, coughing fits, sore throats, and severe stomach aches. Anyone know what it could be/have had something similar? 

Anyways I'm attempting to meet with a top allergist but they don't seem to have any openings earlier than September 25th. I don't think I can really wait that long...

Well, besides all that complaining, I really had a great time visiting my boyfriend's family again near Cincinnati, Oh. 
Some of the highlights of our trip include:
-Walking the purple people bridge  from Kentucky into Cinci (what nice views! Picture below!)
-Playing catch with Derek and his little brother (9 years old) and then watching him win his little-league football game!
-Making a late-night run to Kroger's for funfetti cake mix to make funfetti cookies (ever had them before? They're Derek's favorite and we just had to share them with the sibs!)
-Shopping with Derek's sis (she's almost 15 now! I remember when she was 13 and burning pizza rolls in the kitchen! Such a long time ago!) in Charming Charlies. What a cute store! Now I know where to go for her birthday present!
-Having the little bro ask when Derek would 'finally' propose to me (haha) and then once we're married how I'll be related to him (he seemed pretty excited that I'd be his sister-in-law. What a cutie pie!)

What a great trip! I couldn't have asked for a better vacation with the man I love 

Have a happy, healthy day!
XOX

The BF and I enjoying Cincinatti

State Fair

Today my family, my boyfriend, and I all went to the Wisconsin State Fair.
Otherwise known as 'Fried-Food Fest'. Otherwise known as 'my favorite day of the year'.

Today I ate:

• Two pieces of raisin toast

• fried cheese curds

• a buttered baked potato

• a grilled cheese sandwich

• half a bag of Maple Cotton Candy

• and half of one of our famous Cream Puffs!

So I'm sure the calories I consumed were quite extravagant as compared to my normal diet, but because we only go once a year I would never dream of restricting my food choices. Also, we spend the whole day walking around the grounds so I have always rationalized that that makes  the exorbitant amount of food consumed normal.

The BF and I taking a break from the 'buffet' that is the State Fair

Now that I think about it, considering what other foods we could have picked [fried butter, deep fried brownies, chocolate covered cookie dough, deep fried candy bars, etc.], we really didn't do that badly.

What are some foods or events that are definite 'splurges' for you?

Happy Eating!

XOX 

Some other posts you might like:

Workout #2
Harry Potter
Workout Foods
OUCH
Workout #1
The Beginning of this Blog

Workout #2

Hello all!

So yesterday, when I realized the episode of So You Think You Can Dance they were playing was a rerun I decided it was time to work out.

How I wish I looked running

I ended up running for 30 minutes (and it was so hot out last night I wouldn't recommend it) and then I worked on my abs and arms.



My favorite strength exercises for my abs are:
-30 second planks (sometimes to make sure I keep my body straight and balanced I place a 5 lb. weight on my shoulder blades and it really helps!)
-30 second side planks
-AND my most favorite (my friend introduced these to me) is what I call
The ABC Tracer
Here's how you do it:

My Abs at the peak of my training

1. Lie on your back with you legs together and your feet pointed in front of you

2. Raise your legs about one foot off the floor (if this is too hard raise then a little higher. If it's too easy keep them lower to the ground but make sure you don't touch the ground).

3. Keeping your legs together off the ground and feet pointed, begin to trace the letters of the alphabet with your pointed feet in the air, from A to Z.

If after that you still don't feel like you're dying start tracing numbers until you can't go any longer.
This one's really exhausting and I can always feel the burn in my abs afterward!

Me enjoying a post-workout snack :)

Working out your Arms- A Tip:

If you're doing Bicep Curls to tone your arms don't focus on lifting the weight up, try to really focus on lowering the weight and go slow so you can really feel it in your muscle.

Trust me, this works!!

What are some of your favorite exercises or strength training moves?

Happy Exercising!

XOX

Some other posts you might enjoy:
OUCH
Harry Potter
Workout Foods
Workout #1
Triathlon Training
The Beginning of this Blog

Harry Potter

So I've been on a real Harry Potter kick lately. My wonderful boyfriend has finally started to embrace my love for JKR's stories. He even suggested we have a movie marathon of all the movies. So far we're half way into the 3rd, Prisoner of Azkaban. My next goal is to get him to read all the books; I'm currently rereading them from the beginning.

I've found some really great HP fan sites/videos
I would really love to share them with you! So here they are:

Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls check out End of an Era
[linked ^ right there ], Open at the Close, Lupin's Tale, Oh Ginny, Necessity, The Boy Who Lived, Mischief Managed, Bridge to the Other Side, and many more!!! These songs make me so happy :D

Harry Potter Confessions New ones posted daily. Confessions of fans regarding the series, how its changed them, and how it's made them feel. Some of these have honestly made me cry.


























HPotter Facts Little-Known facts about the series, categorized by each book [SS/PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP, HBP, DH] and the set, after, etc. Really interesting stuff.

Also, if you're a fan of pinterest, there's been some great things posted on HP boards. I could spend hours looking up this stuff.
Here's my growing Of My Favorite Movies Pinboard I've found some pretty good videos. I've wanted to create a whole board solely dedicated to HP but I don't want to annoy anyone...

Also, I started a new drawing project. My goal is to eventually draw all the main characters of the series.

There's a ton of work left on this sketch. I now have it all lined and diagrammed and all that work has already took my 2 and a half hours.

If you have any ideas for what pictures of the other characters I should draw, post them below in comments!

Also if you have any other favorite fan sites I'd love to know those too!

Thanks for reading,
XOX

One of my favorite moments with the trio even though the setting is so sad...
















Some other posts you might like:

Workout Foods
OUCH
Workout #1
The Beginning of this Blog
Triathlon Training

Yogurt

My dad recently bought a whole bunch of yogurt varieties (our fridge is full from top to bottom with yogurt, not even joking) and I just tried Greek Yogurt for the first time.

What a game changer! Well, not really, but it is very different from the Yoplait Light that I've become so accustomed to [but seriously, who can resist the boston creme pie for 110 calories?!].

I was shocked with how filling one serving of the yogurt is, I packed a whole lunch to take to work with me and after starting the yogurt first I realized I was so full I didn't even need any other food! And the amount of protein in one serving really surprised me! As someone who can't really claim that they like eating meat very much [sometimes I really crave a steak or a cheeseburger though...] I've often struggled with getting a good dose of protein and iron in my diet. 

While I was training my solution were Luna Bars [surprisingly tasty] that I would eat to recharge after my workouts. Here's a sampling of their nutrition facts from their Peanut Honey Pretzel bar [which quickly became my favorite] from 

Lunabar.com

Now let's compare that to some sample nutrition facts for Greek Yogurt [let's guess who'll win...]



LUNA BARS VS. GREEK YOGURT


Well the yogurt has a bigger serving size, fewer calories, and more protein. 
But the Luna Bar has 30% DV for Iron [I, along with many other women, often have iron deficiencies that we don't even know about, especially if we aren't0 big fans of red meat]. That's actually one of my favorite things about Luna Bars:

•  They taste great
•  They satisfy my sweet tooth
•  And they help me get iron that's vital to my immune system. 

So choose Greek yogurt if you want a snack that's filling but light, packs a powerful punch of protein to help rebuild those muscles.
But Luna Bars are also a good choice if you want something easy to throw in your gym bag. They are also much sweeter than Greek yogurt (which has a reputation for tartness) and shouldn't make you feel that guilty. I mean, look at those vitamins and minerals they jam into those little [candy] bars! 


I would recommend, though, that if you're going with the Greek yogurt throw some fresh fruit or granola [or both] in there to sweeten it up. I like to use Kashi cereal in mine. Or get the kind with the fruit at the bottom, but STIR IT WELL!
You'll thank me later. 
Happy eating!
XOX 


Some other posts you might like:

OUCH
Harry Potter
Workout #1
The Beginning of this Blog
Triathlon Training