Five Minute Friday #14: Fill in the Blanks

This is going to be the most cop-out post ever—photos, teeny captions, and five minute Friday vlog. Hope you’re all doing well!

Life this past week:IMG_0670

the world is colorful again!

IMG_0644

moving and grooving at the Catholic Center spring formal last Friday

IMG_0661

IMG_0628

accidentally patriotic

IMG_0682

Saturday morning — almond butter AND peanut butter

IMG_0673

Boston is pretty sometimes

IMG_0668

one of those #hangry lunches

IMG_0686

embarrassed, but not enough to change anything

IMG_0676

fangirling over my friends’ a cappella skills

IMG_0678

late night food bucket list run with Rachel (“I’d put in the leg work for ice cream” ← love that chick)

IMG_0679

their famous cake batter cookies ‘n’ cream (+ mint oreo, my fave)

IMG_0694

carbs getting their own plate

IMG_0704

bloobs 

IMG_0711

100 burpees as my body slowly shuts down this week

IMG_0712

more beautiful weather

IMG_0697

BREAKFAST

IMG_0713

nourishment

IMG_0693

banana cake on one night

IMG_0719

 and banana bread on another

And here’s this week’s vlog with a little survey and a little catchup.

link to the video!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend! Eat some ice cream for me.

So tell me:

How has your week been?

What would you try at least once?

Best thing you ate this week?

Have you ever gotten a hug/call/affirmation right when you needed it most?

Advertisement

Five Minute Friday #13: The Trait I Value Most in People

Upside: It has been utterly GORGEOUS this week!

IMG_0612

morning workout with Rachel yesterday // she’s so stretchy

Downside: I could use more sleep. I know this because a) I’m nodding off in lectures more this week than ever before; b) I’ve been kinda out of it from 2-4pm every day (what I call my “dead period”); c) There are times when I want to do something (eat? exercise? talk to someone? dance?), but I have no idea what to do with myself to satisfy that urge.

Answer: SLEEP.

I also need to go on a social media cleanse this weekend, mostly because I need to buckle down and focus academically. On schedule this week: 2 exams, 1 paper due, 1 project due, and 1 lab exam.

Other upside: My family friends + Mom took me out to dinner on Wednesday night at the best Asian food court in Boston.

IMG_0610 IMG_3886 (1)

Mom: “Alison do you want a taro bubble tea?” // Me: “No…but I know you do.” ← how she gets me to share a bubble tea with her.

REAL BIG UPSIDE: THIS DISNEY ORIGINAL MOVIE MARATHON AT THE END OF MAY. It’ll be one of the best birthday presents a girl could ask for.

Five Minute Friday time! (My brain cannot make this post coherent, I’m sorry.) This week is about the trait I value most in people, inspired by this post!

link to the video!

Hope you all have a rockin’ weekend!

So tell me:

What is the trait you value most in another person?

What is the trait you find most attractive in another person?

Do you have a “dead period” during the day when all you want is a nap?

What are you doing this weekend? Work, spring formal, SafeTalk training for suicide prevention, possibly an a cappella concert, HOMEWORK/STUDYING, Mass, and hopefully catching some extra zzz’s.

Pray, Eat, Move, Groove, Nap, Repeat

When this happens during spring…

IMG_0427

…you think…

8-Frozen-quotes

[source]

…so when this finally becomes real…

IMG_0573

…you GET THE HECK OUTSIDE.

I’m typing this on Monday night, but it feels like a Sunday because we had an extra day off for the Boston Marathon! But the weekend fun definitely kicked off on Friday…

Friday

Class, lunch, bible study…

IMG_0521

tuna salad, artichokes, lettuce, tomato, roasted vegetables, and pesto in a whole wheat wrap

IMG_0522

corn muffin 🙂

…and some moves and grooves outside with mah girl Christina from @foodietunes and Fit University! We warmed up and started with a 12 minute HIIT workout. 3 rounds of 30 sec work, 10 sec rest:

IMG_0523

12 minutes can take it out of ya

Then we messed around with some yoga-y moves and partner pistol squats!

 IMG_0530

IMG_0531

She also convinced me to have force-fed me a couple bites of her Zinneken’s waffle with chocolate, cookie butter, and whipped cream. Life isn’t fair sometimes.

IMG_0529

It was decadent and amazing

Then I cleaned myself up for dinner with my friend Zoe, followed by my roommate’s fashion show that night!

IMG_0537

She is FIRE. Always so cool to see her rock that runway (← sounds like an ad for a new Target teen clothing line).
IMG_0539

I have never felt more awkward posing for a photo than in this moment. I have a lot to learn from Jordan in terms of effortlessness:

12957603_10153621229528178_827059039676758049_o

via Mint Julep Facebook

Saturday

I went to bed way too late for getting up at 6:30 on Saturday. I joined some friends for BU’s Global Day of Service for the morning and early afternoon. We went to the houses of senior citizens to help them with yard work. It was a lovely day to be outside, and we all enjoyed meeting new people, serving, and reflecting on the day!

Afterwards, Rachel and I proceeded to shower and take long, delicious naps. I set my alarm for a 45 minute nap, but 90 minutes later I woke up not knowing anything.

pretty-little-liars-hanna-where-the-hell-am-i

[source]

“5:45…am? Wait no, it’s sunny outside.”

After grasping a sense of reality, I did some random things before going to dinner with my friend Mai. We had some beautiful convo ♥︎

IMG_0563

that quinoa-stuffed tomato was fantastic

I spent the night in my room by my lonesome, so I watched this Crossfit “Behind the Scenes” movie on Youtube, practiced handstands, did this ab workout, did laundry, and worked on a paper. I really enjoyed the “me time” to recharge (extravert who is secretly an introvert?).

Sunday

Up and at ’em early-ish again for a fabulous girls’ brunch at Sarah’s (one of the Catholic Center missionaries) house!

IMG_0572

THIS WOMAN. Not only a radiant and inspirational woman of God, but a killer chef. She made us a crockpot egg/sausage/bacon/hasbrown casserole, blueberry cream cheese french toast casserole, and roasted potatoes. Whaaaaaaaat. Thank you so much, Sarah! ♥︎

‘Twas a beautiful day again, so a few of us took the 25 minute walk back to campus.

IMG_0574

We went to Mass and lunch before doing some work (TBH, I just folded my laundry from Saturday night and took a 20 minute nap). Then I went on a short run with Zoe before we met up with  Joe for the 1000 REP WORKOUT (← caps for dramatic effect).

IMG_0577

I’d been asking my friends to work out with me for a while now, so I was stoked that they joined me for some moves and grooves outdoors. They made it a fun and funny workout 🙂

Refueled with milkshakes (milk = protein, so essentially protein shakes).

IMG_0579

The rest of my evening consisted of Back Bay Mobile Soup Kitchen, dinner, a much needed shower, and homework.

IMG_0581

the finish line the day before the race!

Marathon Monday!

Since Boston University is in the heart of Boston (unlike the arch nemesis, Boston College) and the marathon course runs right through campus, we get a day off of school! Some of my best girl friends and I started the holiday with a lovely pancake breakfast in the morning. Rachel was in charge of pancakes, I sautéed the bananas, and Zoe cooked the eggs. Dream team.

IMG_0588 IMG_0587

I loved Rachel’s impressionist pancakes.

IMG_0589

one with almond butter, one with peanut butter (and then another with blueberry syrup…and another with more almond butter) + glass o’ milk!

Then we hung out before heading to the Mile 25 marker of the marathon course!

IMG_0592

IMG_0595

Atsede Baysa— first place woman!

I can’t get over how fast and resilient these people are. Holy cow.

IMG_0598

I screamed a lot again this year, but not as much as last year. Sparing my vocal cords was a smart decision. But my favorite things to yell at the runners are:

  • “YEAHHHHHH!!!”
  • “COME ON!”
  • “YOU’RE ALMOST THERE!”
  • “YOU GOT THIS.”
  • “DIG DEEEEEEEP!”
  • “KILLIN’ IT!”
  • “KEEP IT UP!”
  • “YEAH CANADA!!!”

My friends reprimanded me for that last one.

IMG_0601

We also got to see one of our friends running in the marathon (he finished in 3:00:05!!!), which was so awesome.

After a couple hours of cheering, I went to eat lunch and take a nap. I felt like I could nap for an eternity, but I got myself up after an hour and went to do some errands, move and groove a little bit outside, and do some work before having dinner with my brother and typing this up.

TL; DR — pray, eat, move, groove, nap, repeat.

Hope you all have a marvelous week! Cheer someone on (including yourself).

So tell me:

Did you get to go outside this weekend?

Have you ever spectated a big race? Are you a big cheerer?

Two things you did this weekend!

How do you feel about naps?

Five Minute Friday #12: Fear of Failure

I woke up in the middle of the night doing sit-ups, I KID YOU NOT.

I think I was dreaming about doing the sit-up test in high school phys ed, and as I was waking up in my hazy state, I felt the need to continue cranking out the reps. Hahaha ew.

I’ve also been going to sleep and waking up pretty early this week — bed at 10:30 ish and wake up at 6:45 naturally. Oh what glory! The early sunrise and blue skies for the second half of this week have been making me so happy.

Other things making me happy this week:

IMG_0509

big breakfasts: two eggs scrambled with veggies + whole wheat french toast with almond butter and banana + glass o’ milk

IMG_0518

impromptu d-hall dinner with the roomie (and her provocative captions…we sleep in our own beds FYI)

IMG_0516

visiting chefs in the d-hall! calamari salad + chicken with veggies and polenta

IMG_0517

ice cream with sprinkles + mini cannoli

IMG_0519

last exercise phys lab with the coolest lab group

My first article on Fit University! It’s basically the story of my journey to fitness and health ➔ “There Was a Time When the Healthy Living Community Was Bad For Me.”

The last thing making me happy(ish) this week: Asking God to be humble me and getting exactly that. Yeesh, ask and you shall receive, am I right??

That last point kinda leads me to this week’s Five Minute Friday, which is about fear of FAILURE. I way cheated this week and made the vlog almost 7 minutes, mostly because my brain is a wee bit slow and I can’t form words quickly enough.

link to the video!

Three day weekend up ahead for us at BU for Marathon Monday/Patriots’ Day! Yeeeeeya. Hope you all have a fun weekend!

So tell me:

Are you afraid of failure? How do you deal with it?

Have you ever woken up doing something really weird?

What’s making you happy right now?

Know anyone running the Boston Marathon!?

Nothing Like A Little Friendly Competition

Everything huuuuurts.

This weekend was packed with good and fun things (at the expense of sleep and my safety at times), which explains why I’m posting this today instead of yesterday. What’s been happenin’!?

Friday

‘Twas a pretty standard day— class, bible study, gym (two rounds of this workout— another one of my faves @Jo), work, “trying” to do homework in my dorm on a Friday night.

IMG_0456

I was actually in a good mood

IMG_0451

IMG_0452

they had avocado! *praise hands*

IMG_0453

very much wanted to eat the chicken I cooked at work

Saturday

Are you ever up in the middle of the night and tired enough that you can’t read a book but “on” enough that your brain can’t shut up? That was me this day.

IMG_0457

I must keep telling myself that I am indeed thankful for functioning kidneys.

Saturday was a big day because some folks at the Catholic Center (myself included) participated in a fun, athletic competition called the “St. Sebastian Cup”. My friend Lauren sent me a snapchat of herself that morning making a protein shake with the caption: “Are you scared?”

IMG_0454

I had overnight oats, so no, I was not scared.

IMG_0455

The competition consisted of three games of Ultimate Frisbee…

12977139_1175653815792500_6217010341993991759_o

copyright Cecilia R. Photography

My team didn’t score a single point in all three games… but we had HEART. Unfortunately, heart doesn’t get you points.

12976825_1175653809125834_5586802166297899879_o

copyright Cecilia R. Photography

But then there was this banana relay race. We all had to jump across a field and back with a banana between our knees, then run with the banana between partners without using our hands, and finally eat the banana.

12983819_1175653845792497_7232883365902792182_o

copyright Cecilia R. Photography

EXPERT. But only good enough for second place.

Next came the painful part. We played two games of capture the flag, and I may or may not have been plowed over by one of my teammates when we were both sprinting to tag the same person. It all happened in slow motion, and before I knew it, we were both eating dirt and my right hip was talkin’ to me.

But as any elite athlete would, we carried on with the competition.

Lastly, we had tug o’ war with a thin, slippery nylon strap. Safe? Not at all. Blood was shed. Maybe it helps that St. Sebastian is a martyr? (Too dark?)

Anyway, my team got fourth (aka last), and Rachel’s team got first.

12984037_1174871165870765_8834852091035671383_o

copyright Cecilia R. Photography

(*cough* stacked team *cough* what?)

IMG_0458

It was a mighty fun time though, and we all went to the dining hall to feast on good food, including some bomb bread pudding.

At night, I attended a Women’s Retreat about being uniquely made. It was a lovely, heartwarming way to end a hard day of “friendly” competition (things got pretty spicy at some points!).

IMG_0464

The lovely ladies running the retreat made us vegan sweet potato chili! I un-veganized it with cheese and sour cream 🙂

IMG_0467

IMG_0469

freshly baked chocolate banana bread ♥︎ 

I did some reading for class back at home afterwards, and I kept falling asleep. Rachel kept waking me up and motivating me to finish my homework like a good friend. But I wanted to sleep.

Sunday

I think it’s safe to say that everyone who participated in the St. Sebastian Cup woke up moaning in pain on Sunday morning. Convo with my girl, Lauren:

Screen Shot 2016-04-11 at 11.18.54 PM

The pain was even worse two days later.

But Sunday was a beautiful day for productivity, Mass, and National Siblings Day!

IMG_0471

banana oatmeal with almond butter for breakfast

IMG_0472

not a cloud in the sky

IMG_0482

finding places to stand and do work outside

IMG_0485

took the siblings out for dinner (Rachel is the “adopted sister”)

IMG_0484

roasted butternut squash, goat cheese, spinach, balsamic pizza

IMG_0487

berry + vanilla creme crepe

And then there was Monday, which was a solid day all around. We had stretch and massage day in dance class, so that was GREAT.

Hope you all have a fantastic week! Play outside and get into some friendly competition (just be careful).

So tell me:

What is your favorite competitive athletic activity?

Is there something that you get very competitive about?

What did you do this weekend?