*wave*!!!

I had absolutely no voice yesterday, so I was whispering and using (made-up) sign language all day. I did feel better physically though! Thank you all for your well wishes and prayers. Y’all are sweeter than cream cheese frosting on red velvet cake (when in the South…).

I accomplished close to nothing yesterday, but that’s what vacation is all about, right? Actually, I always feel slightly guilty whenever my days pass and I haven’t done something work-like-productive. That feeling is bogus though, because a) life is too short to always be doing work, b) it’s winter break, c) I did a lot yesterday anyway!

Breakfast was a delicious green smoothie consisting of:

• ½ c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• ⅓ c. 2% Greek yogurt
• ½ c. oats
• cinnamon and nutmeg
• splash of vanilla
• 1 heaping tbsp. peanut butter
• half a frozen banana
• a crapton of spinach

All blended up and eaten out of a huge mug with a spoon and Honey Nut Cheerios on top for crunch!

I made a run to Publix for a few food items that we don’t really need, but that we would like to have for some recipe experimentation. Ahem, crepes.

Although my body wasn’t feeling 100% yesterday, I still managed to get in some moves, which felt awesome after two days off due to feeling crappy. I did Jen’s “cookie crusher” workout, using light weights for some of the exercises. I took it slow and listened to my body extra carefully.

I also did some shoulder strength exercises later in the evening. Ooof the soreness in my shoulders is REAL, especially after this external rotation exercise. 5 lb. dumbbells never burned so much.

Lunch was composed of three of my favorite things— toast, avocado, and runny eggs. It’s an extremely close second to the peanut butter + banana combination, I must admit.

Carrots and hummus on the side!

I did some relaxing blog reading and Food Network watching as I ate lunch, and then Ben came downstairs from his slumber (he’s completely, literally nocturnal) to eat. He asked me if I wanted to join him for a hike at the Disney Wildlife Preserve, which would essentially involve a 2 mile trail walk on flat land.

Count me in!

He’s so sick of my picture-taking.

I feel like I wear this EVERY time I go hiking.

You can see the Disney influence on bench design.

We didn’t see any wildlife that wasn’t a plant, except for a couple tiny frogs and a lizard that wasn’t even on the reserve land itself. Other people logged in animal sightings of creatures such as a young gator and a bobcat. What?!

We figured that we didn’t get to see many animals because we went in the late afternoon when the sun was bright and hot. We saw this little fella only barely because he camouflaged so well.

And then this lizard on the sidewalk. Remember when one of these got into our house?

I found three sandhill cranes in their natural habitat though.

It was a beautiful, warm walk with brother Ben!

Back at home, I ate snacks, did some Instagram stalking, helped mom clean, and then ate dinner. I had Laotian sausage with sticky rice and a side salad. Plus bites and nibbles of other foods.

Then the ol’ classic— dried figs and Greek yogurt for dessert.

Our guests were at a water park all day, so they came home in the evening and we played some board games before going to sleep. Or at least, before they went to sleep. I’m typing this at 2 AM because I procrastinate when there’s nothing to procrastinate.

Also, I think my sickness has traveled to my nose, so I’ve lost my sense of taste. I just had a chunk of frozen banana and some almonds, and I could not taste the flavor of either at all. Sadness.

Today, I work! Work=studying my manual for BU tour guiding, reading, and just not watching youtube videos all night.

Happy New Years Eve Eve 🙂

So tell me:

Do you feel like you have to be doing something productive more often than not?

What is the wildest animal you’ve seen in nature?

For me, maybe a deer. I don’t get out into the wilderness that often.

What did you eat for lunch yesterday?