I’m Okay With That

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

Hi!

I feel like I’ve been off my blogging groove since there were a million and one things going on last week. Senior scavenger hunt, prom, after prom, graduation, and graduation parties…Phew! I seriously cannot believe that all happened within a week. I haven’t cried yet, but I have to admit that I’m getting pretty sad that everything is over.

Once I start shopping for dorm bedding…that’s when it gets real.

Well this weekend has been all about celebration, which meant a heck of a lot of food! When I think about my mentality towards food and fitness, I’ve made enormous progress between last year and this year, and definitely between two years ago and this year. If I was surrounded by all this food in the midst of my eating disorder, I probably would have locked myself in my room. Maybe not actually, but I would have gone insane trying to avoid it all.

This weekend, I was so happy to think, “I’m okay with that” for so many things {some food- and fitness-related, some weird-Alison-related}.

Partying this Monday morning with the lovely Katie!

Friday

I woke up near noon, and I’m {more than} okay with that. I added more sunflower seed butter on top of my overnight oats, even though there was some on the bottom already. I mean, why not? My moves: a brisk, peaceful four mile walk with mom at the park. Nothing intense, and I’m okay with that.

I still can’t do a dead hang pull up, but I’m okay with that. ‘Cause that’s flippin’ difficult.

But I can do toes to bar now!

I ate delicious fried hors d’oeuvres at Lauren’s graduation party, and I’m okay with that. (There were fried broccoli and cheese bites, whaaaaat??)

I filled my plate with a LOT of food, and I finished nearly everything. I’m okay with that. Maybe not at that moment though, since I immediately started dancing afterwards…bleh.

I busted some moves and grooves in the middle of the dance floor, and I’m {obviously} okay with that. Not sure if others were though. 😉

Saturday

I woke up late again and ate a normal-sized breakfast, even though I knew I had a big graduation luncheon coming up at 1 PM. I’m okay with that because I need nut butter in my life.

I embraced the rich, amazing food at Je’lyn’s lovely graduation party at Morton’s Steakhouse.

I was really okay with the huge, cheesy crouton on this Caesar salad. You would be okay with it too, trust me.

Also okay with that fresh parm. Mmm.

I used a good amount of the mustard mayo that came on the side with these crab cakes, and I’m okay with that. It’s not pictured here, but there was a small gravy boat of the mayo that came later!

I devoured most of this key lime pie {crust was the best part of course}, and I’m okay with that.

Then I hopped on over to Kristi’s graduation party (’tis the season for grad parties)!

I was super full when I got there, but after a couple hours, I ate some chips and a piece of cake. Sugar high? YUP. But I was okay with that. That cake was stellar.

My only moves the whole day was jumping on Kristi’s trampoline, and I’m okay with that. I had a blast!

Even though I ate a lot of crap that day, I knew I never really had a proper dinner, so I ate a midnight snack of veggies, chicken, and an isolated spoonful of almond butter. I’m okay with that.

Sunday

I was somehow hungry for breakfast. Hey, I ♥ breakfast, I’m cool with that!

cookie dough cereal from Fitnessista

I had a nectarine with my cookie dough cereal, just because it was ripe and I wanted it. Summer in a juicy fruit? Heck yeah, I’m okay with that.

I went to Mass by myself since my parents and bro went Saturday night while I was party-hopping. Just thought I’d chuck that in there since it was an important part of my day.

Moves: Lori and Michelle’s 18 min. plank workout done in my room. It never seems to get easier, but I’m okay with that because it gives me something to work on.

In the afternoon we went to hang out with Victoria, her friend Eric, and her family in the city!

Didn’t get a picture with Victoria and/or her family. Whoops.

We had an early dinner at Peking Roast Duck, which was okay with me because I had a wonky, light lunch.

I tried a little bit of everything, and it was all fantastic. Especially the duck.

I had so much meat during that meal, but I’m okay with that. Putting my carnivore teeth to good use.

I had about ⅔ of my order of Moo Shu Chicken. ‘TWAS THE BOMB.

Victoria’s dad had the awesome idea to order everything sans salt, and everything ended up tasting perfect! My fellow Asians tend to use a heavy hand with the salt.

I ate dried figs with Greek yogurt at 11 PM, because I love that stuff, and I’m okay with that.

So yes, I was definitely more than okay with this weekend. Not all my food choices were healthy, but that’s life. Sometimes ya just have to say, “Guatever.” 🙂

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

So tell me:

What is something you’re okay with now, but were not okay with in the past?

What has your exercise looked like recently?

Graduated

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

We did it!!!

I knew we would…most of the time.

Last night’s commencement exercises were short and sweet, just how everyone likes ’em. All the speeches and words of wisdom were so inspiring and thoughtful!

The first half of the ceremony was actually terrifying for me since my heartbeat was sprinting away from me as I waited to deliver my speech. At the very beginning of the ceremony, I also messed up the words to the alma mater when I sang it on stage with the rest of the chorus members. Woooooo.

Sam, the salutatorian, delivered a wonderful, funny speech to welcome everyone to the commencement. When it came time for my speech, I breathed my first sigh of relief when I made it on stage without face-planting the floor in my high heels. Then I breathed a second sigh of relief when some people laughed at my bad jokes. Finally, I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I finished the speech.

PS— when my principal introduced me, he mentioned THE BLOG.

PPS— I’m quiet??

PPPS— Here is my brother’s quasi-rap commencement speech from 2011. If you want to laugh, watch it!

Of course I had to make my speech about social media, right?

My mom was all over the place last night. If she wasn’t snapping photos of me in the back, she was manning the video camera. The school should have just hired her to be the pro photographer of the evening.

I think I’m finally starting to get a little emotional about this whole leaving high school thing. At least I have three graduation parties this weekend!

Pam! Dance and school buddies since the beginning.

Jeannine and Veronica (we were missing Je’lyn!)

The Times Square after-prom crew

Brianna, Kristi, and Sam (amazing salutatorian!)

Thank you for coming, Sister Sandy and Auntie Earnest!

Proud to follow in his footsteps

I kept telling people during the commencement ceremony: “I’m hungry.” So I was more than ready to eat some (read: a crapton of) sushi at my favorite restaurant afterwards!

I also requested Cold Stone ice cream afterwards. Dad, Ben, and I shared a “gotta have it” (large) size of mint ice cream mixed with oreos. If you ever go to Cold Stone, have that combination— you won’t regret it.

It was like mint cookies and cream!! How could you say no?

This post is uber late today because a) I was spending all last night uploading photos to Facebook; b) I slept until almost noon today. Hello, summertime sleep schedule! 😉

Happy Friday, everyone! I hope you have a fantastic weekend.

So tell me:

…I dunno…What are you doing this weekend??

Behind the Scenes #23: Prom

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

Well, hello, world! I have so much to tell you about this week, so it’s perfect that today is Thursday because…

with the wonderful Amanda!

1) Prom. It happened on Tuesday-Wednesday. And it was awesome.

2) Except for the fact that I had to go to two hair salons. Long story short: at the first salon, the lady that was supposed to do my hair was not there, so the lady that usually does nails did my hair instead…and it didn’t turn out quite as envisioned. I was getting flustered and dramatic about it, but mom was cool as a cucumber and took me to a more trusted salon to get it fixed. Yes, we should have gone to the more trusted salon first, but we thought we would dabble with the cheaper salon. Hmm.

3) My mom hosted this snazzy pre-pre-prom party at our house so we could take some of the standard prom pictures. Per usual, she made a plethora of food, which was a huge hit.

Yes, my mom put those balloons up herself just for the occasion.

I put on the boutonniere incorrectly apparently. At least I didn’t poke Michael!

Charlie’s Angels? Eh.

4) Everyone looked INCREDIBLE. Like, my school’s got some style.

5) ‘Twas a windy night, but the weather was perfect. If it were any warmer, we all would have been sweaty and nasty.

5) Dance, eat, chat, eat, repeat! The food was really good at prom, and the make-your-own ice cream sundae station at the end made me pretty happy. 😀

Photo boothin’

I still need a foot massage from dancing in heels all night.

6) At 11 PM, when prom ended, I was BEAT. I could not fathom the fact that Daliza, Jordan (her date), Michael, and I were going to NYC for another 6 hours afterwards. I kinda wished we could just sleep and go to after-prom the day later, but that would not complete the prom experience…whatever the heck that is anyway.

7) A majority of our classmates went on a boat around NYC, but we opted to (*ahem* stay sober) have our own adventure on land in Times Square.

View this post on Instagram

After prom on St. Patrick's Cathedral steps. #turnup

A post shared by Alison Yeung, PT, DPT (@alison_grooves) on Jun 25, 2014 at 12:07am PDT

After-prom on St. Patrick’s Cathedral steps #TURNUP

8) No, seriously, our little foursome had a blast. We played hide ‘n’ seek in Times Square!!! Rules: Between 42nd and 45th street, only on 7th ave, only outside. Fun times!

9) We also ate halal food from THE famous Halal Guys on 6th and 53rd as fuel for the next 5 hours. And I totally got a second wind, so I actually wasn’t tired in NYC!

10) We got back to my house at around 7 AM (yah, I know), and then we took naps and watched High School Musical 3. Party animals.

11) I’m graduating today!!! I have a speech to deliver?…Meep.

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

So tell me:

Did you go to prom in high school?

When was the latest you’ve stayed up?

What would you do for after prom?

“I’m Making Friends!”

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

Well hi there!

If you missed my epic story about how I hurt myself doing burpees yesterday, you can read about that here. It was a fun time.

In other news, I went to university orientation and had a great weekend to follow! Here’s what was going on in the noggin during the excitement…

Orientation + weekend = marvelous! Thanks for hosting, Katie!

Orientation Thoughts:

“People at this train station are hardcore judging my overnight oats in a jar.”

“I hope I don’t sleep through my stop while napping on the train to Boston.”

“Hooray, I’m in Boston!”

“Take the T (subway) or walk 2.6 miles with my bags to campus?…The weather is nice, so I’ll walk!”

“This is a lovely walk through Boston. Look, ma, I’m independent!”

“It’s getting pretty hot out here. Gettin’ a little sweaty.”

“Wow, I’m a sweaty pig right now. I smell.”

“I made it! I need a nap.”

“Wait, I want food first.”

{Sweet Chick burger @ UBurger}

“Hey, I have some pretty cool roommates for orientation!”

“I’m making FRIENDS!”

“Showering in the dorm bathrooms is stressing me out. Is it socially acceptable to walk around in a towel on the first day of orientation?”

“My actual roommate for this coming year is THE BOMB.”

“This is so much fun!”

“Don’t fall asleep during the long info sessions.”

“I ♥ the omelette station.”

“Where’s the peanut butter at in this dining hall?”

“Chemistry has separate classes for pre-lab, lab, lecture, and discussion. What?”

“Wow, they give us so many cookies here.”

“It’s fuel for all our walking on campus.”

“STILL HAVING FUN!”

“I’m so tired that I’m not tired anymore. Runnin’ on pure adrenaline here.”

“But seriously, where’s the peanut butter in the dining hall?”

“BENNNNN!”

“We have matching backpack sweat stains, bro.”

“This is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.”

{Ben and I split ‘The Double Awesome” and “The Gabby” scallion pancake sandwiches. Incredible. }

“I have the best brother in the world.”

“I had a blast! But I’m ready for my own shower and bed again. And nut butter.”

Saturday Thoughts:

“9 hours of sleep!!!”

“What a gorgeous day for Jen’s grad party.”

“I love her Italian family.”

“I also love Italian food.”

“Oooo cake!”

“I can’t NOT take weird selfies with Kristi.”

Sunday Thoughts:

“Prom is in two days!!”

“I’ve missed you, peanut butter.”

“Another gorgeous day for the Corpus Christi Mass.”

“Davida’s e-cookbook came out!!! YES.”

“LOL at my burpee wound.”

“Mom’s making chili and cornbread for the World Cup game? I’m down.”

{Eaten with a side of spinach + another huge, unpictured hunk of cornbread}

“I have never been so into a soccer game before. PORTUGAL LITERALLY SCORED IN THE LAST 30 SECONDS!!!”

And this ends the tour of Alison’s brain during the past five days.

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

So tell me:

What are some highlights of your weekend?

What’s the best thing you ate this weekend?

Have you been watching the World Cup?

I Hurt Myself Doing Burpees

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

True story.

I have a whole weekend/orientation recap post ready for tomorrow, but I thought this story needed it’s own post. It’s just another one under my “I think I’m cool but I’m really not” experiences.

[source]

I went on a walk with Michael earlier today, and of course, I had to do some burpees while we were at the park! First I used a bench to do some decline burpees, which was fun stuff. I also tried to teach Michael how to do pistol squats, for which he probably despised me.

Then we kept walking and I found a rock ledge that would be great for some “box jump” burpees. I’ll give myself a tiny bit of credit for at least doing a trial jump to make sure I could actually jump the height of the ledge. After doing that, I made it to 6 burpee box jumps. On the seventh one, I didn’t make it. My shin hit the ledge, which hurt of course, but I was too busy laughing at myself.

When I looked down at my shin, I saw a scrape…and a small hole. Like, a deep one. I may have used some colorful language.

Mike: “Oh man! That’s deep!”

Me: “…yeah….let’s go.”

The blood started comin’ so I took off both of my socks, tied them together, and then tied them around the wound. I felt like MacGyver!

Luckily, there was a festival going on at the park today, so a lot of ambulances were around to monitor the event. It was a quick hop/limp to the nearest one. A kind EMT got my shin all cleaned and wrapped, and my socks subsequently went in the trash.

Me: “This is exciting.” // “At least my prom dress is long!” // “I still love burpees.”

Needless to say, we just walked the rest of the time. I also decided to be obnoxiously cheerful by waving to every car that passed us. I got some judge-y stares, some ignorance, but still lots of reciprocated waves, and I saw some of our friends drive by!

It’s kinda funny because before I left the house, my mom unusually warned me: “Ok…just be careful. Don’t hurt yourself and don’t run too fast.” I was confused because she was being vague, and she never says those kinds of things when I go out for a simple run at the park, but I just said, “Alllllright…I will be!”

And of course I had to hurt myself the day she warns me. Motherly instinct is a scary thing sometimes. When I told her about my injury, she yelled, “I TOLD YOU! I knew something was going to happen!”

Meep.