An Empty Place and Dessert

What a whirlwind! I’ve been really busy trying to get things together at my apartment.

 

Our living room- so light and airy! 

 

The other half of the living room/ den area 

 

Our great kitchen 

 

I love the apartment so far and can’t wait for my parents to get here and hang out with me! In the mean time, I was invited to a barbecue this afternoon. I thought about making a pie to bring along, but new apartment means no food, so I had to make due with what I had on hand.

Unintentional Cardio!

Luckily this site helped me out to use of some of the 8 grapefruits I bought yesterday. Why did I think walking this far and carrying all my groceries was a good idea? Not sure at all.

Well only 1.6 miles total, but definitely an arm workout.

 

Anyway, I wanted to make something delicious today and grapefruits delivered.

Looks icky, but don’t yuck my yum! 

 

I hope the rest of the group likes it this afternoon.  I am also curious about the sustainability of grapefruits. I tried to do a bit of research and found that they are grown in California and Texas. This fruit fails the 100 mile test, in that it’s trucked into where I live. But aside from that, I couldn’t find that much information. Agriculture is definitely not the most sustainable thing, and in fact 60% of emissions that contribute to greenhouse gases come from agriculture.  I also came across a great article about sustainability and fruit. Anyway maybe this lack of information is a sign that we could be aided in more research on foods’ sustainability potential.

As much as I love pulled pork and cornbread, I figured I would get in some healthy snacks before throwing in the nutritional towel.

Chai tea and an apple 

 

I also chomped down a carrot which happened too fast for pictures.

 

It’s a beautiful day for a party, and I’m really excited for this afternoon. More later on!

What is your favorite summer dessert?

 

 

Goodbye Reno

I’ve been gone for a bit from the blog because I had to get myself back to school!

I grew up on the west coast and worked this summer in Reno, NV. For the past two years I’ve gone to school on the East Coast. Sometimes I feel torn because my hometown and real family is in one area and my best friends and chosen family is on the other coast! That being said, I love my life and wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

I have some great memories from the past three months:

 

Can’t beat that scenery

Here I am presenting my final project for the summer- research on forest fires in Tahoe

 

I also have to say a big “Thank you” to all my awesome friends from this summer for their support with the blog. And for the awesome face, Eddy!

 

Our group of interns on the last night out for fro-yo. A great option for a healthy snack! 

 

So, at the end of my research program this summer, I had to pack up my apartment skedaddle back to the east coast. As far as sustainability goes, this is definitely not a good thing. I bought some household items in Reno, but left them there and may need to buy them again in Baltimore (Coat hangers, can openers, tupperware). Not to even mention all the air travel and flights I have to take to get home for breaks, to see my family and to fuse the two parts of my life. I have  no idea if the benefits will outweigh the negatives in this case because I’m studying sustainability, but this is my life for now.

After packing up an apartment and trying to schlep all my stuff back to the east coast, I totally am going to clean out my closet and hopefully sell lots of clothes to a consignment store. I can’t handle more stuff!

So much stuff… 

 

A banana provided necessary energy:

It was kind of triangular from squishing. But still good! 

 

And so today, I am back in my wonderful apartment beautifully furnished by my roommate. I have many things to do, so I may only sporadically post until after labor day when all my activities die down a bit. Enjoy those last few days of summer, everyone!

 

Monday Pick-Up

Is anyone having a rough monday out there? Take a minute and breathe deeply. Think of the birds singing, the sun shining, and a peaceful moment. Want to see what I found relaxing today?

Hehe  

 

Ouchies!

 

 

Those scoundrels!! 

 

Thank you, pinterest! That last one seriously cracks me up.

 

What do you do when you need a pick-me-up?  

Now, wish me luck! Off to the poster session!

 

Olympic Marathon-ers

I just came across some summary articles of the Women’s Olympic Marathon. Wow! Us Americans seriously had a rough time. I don’t know that much about any other women’s participants except for Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher, but those have really interesting and sad stories. It sounds like the two of them trained and worked their butts (and legs! and arms!) off only to have a less-than-great finish. What a bummer! Though neither of them completely left the course like some injured competitors, they still had some serious issues with cramping.

 

A really awesome image of two incredible athletes

 

What I wanted to point out, though, is how incredible they both point out their working relationship is. They have different competing styles but try to admire each other and hope for the best for the USA, not just individuals.

Coming from (and going back to in 4 days!!) a school that was notorious for a fierce competitive spirit it’s refreshing to hear about two women who tried for the best in each and literally supported each other when the going got tough.

I read these two articles about the race which I completely missed on TV. When was it, even?

Recap post by the Denver Post

ESPNW post with some good quotes from both

I can’t wait to see what these two do in the future!
Also, shoutout to us Pacific Northwesterners! Both these ladies trained in Oregon. Who knew?

Easy like Sunday Morning

This morning when I woke up I realized that I had no milk, eggs, prepped oats, cereal, or bananas. What does that mean? Well I don’t really know, but I do know that it doesn’t mean breakfast.

So off to Bibo’s it was!

Check that out- not a veggie in sight! Muhaha

I decided to have a lazy day and read Gone Girl as a part of Julie’s blogger book club. It’s really good so far!

And finished a headband from some too small sleep shorts:

Will it make me look like a baby? Only time will tell

I also watched a ton of episodes of Grey’s Anatomy (Poor Callie! She has so many ups and downs) and generally lazed around my apartment . Which of course spurred my appetite

The peach was almost too far gone- I totally had to save it, right 😉

Now we’re all sitting around getting ready for the presentation tomorrow. There are nails to be painted, people!

To whom it may concern: #truelove #2012 #renoisawesomeright?

It’s Saturday Night!

I woke up a bit early this morning to head out to my local farmer’s market. I’ve been meaning to go all summer, and I want to get in the habit for next year, so it was awesome to finally make it out there! But first, some simple scrambled eggs which I microwaved (isn’t that weird? They were good, so maybe it’s not weird…) and a piece of toast.

 

And some fancy nails! Gotta look good for Monday’s poster session

 

Then it was off to the market. It was awesome! Every which way you turned there was something interesting and yummy, and I was so glad I went. My haul included:

• 1 bunch of carrots (And the price was right also- $2!)
• 2 heirloom tomatoes
• 1 bag of microroaster coffee
• A random assortment of peaches and plums from one very aggressive sample-distributor. They kept giving and I kept taking!

It was so fun exploring everything and checking it out with the lovely Sara. I am going to miss this girl in just one short week!

Such a lil cutie! And Sara looks great too 😉 

 

I also have to recommend the coffee roaster who was kind enough to let Sara and I sample all the coffee flavors we wanted. The Bali roast was really good and kind of a strange fruity flavor. Very unique and interesting.

 

Of course, the day was not complete with a quick googling of a nearby yogurt shop.

Sara’s included Valencia Orange flavor- yummy!

Cookies and cream with toasted coconut 

 

It was a great day! Sara and I had a laugh with this cool bumper sticker she got:

Well it wasn’t, right?

 

On a nice prominent place

 

Now I’m off to get ready for the movies tonight- I’m seeing Hope Floats with another intern- we almost got a guy to come too!

It’s Friday, Friday

Hello y’all-

 

Wow, what a day! Let me just say today was an amazing for one reason:

I got my  research poster into the print queue!

 

  She blinded me with science!

 

Do I really look like that at work? Unknown…

I’ve been working really hard on my project all summer, and for a while there it seemed like it wasn’t going to happen. But it has!! My research is about Forest fires and management in the Tahoe Basin, and while it may not be the most groundbreaking research it has been a fantastic experience this summer and I’m really happy that I accomplished the poster this summer.  I’m picking it up Saturday and then it’s out of my hands, which is somehow a good feeling!

 

Of course, the day was not complete without some good eats:

  Blueberry-Cottage Cheese-Almond Oats

 

And they were scrumptious. For the almonds I have to thank my wonderful Mother who sent me a great care package a couple weeks. I love these black diamond almonds, they are so good!

  Way better than granola

 

I was working like a busy bee all day and it was nice to have a yummy breakfast. This one will definitely show up again.

 

Last but surely not least were some delicious doughnuts thanks to my boss. Although I have to say they were not the best doughnuts I’ve ever had…. definitely see Life of Blyss’ post  for some good thoughts about snacking! I love that post idea from Fitmixer. Tina has a great post about fear.

 

That box may have been quite a bit more full this morning… 

 

Like I said, it was a great day. I planned on rounding it out with my third run of the running plan but all the doughnuts kind of threw me off my game. However I’m not going to beat myself up for a missed workout, and there is always another day. Besides I had a bigger goal of finishing the poster which was accomplished.

What did you accomplish today?

I have to give a huge shout out to HM&H. I really appreciate all the attention this week and you guys are seriously the best. I love and miss you all tons!

Life Begins

Just saw this quote, and I can definitely relate:

 

 

This is  a great quote and I’d love to have this near my door or somewhere as a reminder to push myself. Who wants to live with the regret of passing up an opportunity or risk because it was out of your comfort zone? It’s important to be responsible, but I think it’s harder to push yourself to do something new or slightly uncomfortable (uncomfy!). It’s easy enough to rely on our strengths but where growth comes in, where success comes in, is when we try something we haven’t done before.

What is a risk you are curious about taking?
This upcoming semester I want to push myself to do the best I have done before while maintaining my fitness and health goals. I’m taking more classes than before and one of them is not in my strongest area.
Bring it, I say!

In a Pickle

Let me just get one thing clear. Crystal clear.

 

I hate pickles. I really hate them.

 

Disgusting

 

I am not a picky eater by any means and I usually love to try new things! However pickles I just cannot stand. I also had a hard time with this meal in Brazil…

 

I may look happy, but that was the worst meal of my life 

 

It was ground root vegetable flour and oily stewed meat. The appeal of the dish is when you mixed the two together it stuck to your plate. Yeah.

 

At any rate, I’ve gotten to the point where I say I’m allergic to pickles if they will be served as a side with my food. I just hate the smell and taste and I feel like it stinks up the whole room!

 

Now, something I do like:

 

Delicious! And nutritious 🙂

 

A carrot cake is definitely on the books for something to make this weekend. Keep your eyes peeled for a recap post!

Now, off to have a scrumptious dinner. Goodnight!

The Run to Rule Them All

Today, I made a PDR (personal distance record). I’m so excited and proud!

4.2 is good for you!

I know 4.21 miles may not seem like very much at all to some people, and I have even walked farther than this while walking a dog. However I’m not a runner and running is a huge challenge for me. So let the cheering begin!

Lil red tomato face

Why the challenge and strange distance, you may ask? A few months ago a close friend encouraged me to go for a run with him. At that point in my life I hated running but definitely had the drive to accomplish the goal. In the past, and on that specific run, I would go for a quick jog pace, go for about five minutes, and then get tired and frustrated. This was always the pattern. I’m a great power walker, an awesome ellipticizer, a beast cycler, but running was not my deal. Why? I’m not really sure. I do know, however, that I am big on visualizing. I am usually able to visualize any goal I have, be it dead lifting a certain amount, or backpacking 14.4 miles in one day, or acing an exam or project. From here I have the motivation to make a plan to move forward and achieve this goal, but if I’m not able to visualize my goal I know it won’t happen. Running, making a relationship work, eating some kind of gross (or grossly prepared) vegetable. That was my main problem with running, in that I couldn’t visualize running. At. all.

So, that became my new goal! I bought this book from Canada’s Medical Association for a 13 week Run-to-Walk plan and wrote out all the workouts. MWF have become my run days and TTH are strength, with Saturday in there for some wiggle room. It’s been going really well (save for some kooky runs last week…) and I’m just so excited about my goal. Also today I got some less than pleasant news, and it was just amazing to bust out this milestone.

Ps. this happened this weekend:

And it was so gooooood

More on that later in my San Francisco recap post!

Pps. Need a goodnight song?