And Just Like That, I Got Busy

Posted on January 31, 2017 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

Leave it to me to make a 12-credit schedule feel like a 20-credit schedule.

I feel like the busyness dial went from 1 to 100 in the past week, but I cannot complain. I don’t have that much time to write this (sleep is calling), but I thought I’d share some of the things that are filling up my days this spring semester!

I bought a 5-class pass for a modern dance class in Cambridge, since the dance class I usually take on campus was under-enrolled this semester. I don’t care that I have to pay extra and walk 35 minutes to and from the dance class, because this girl wants to DANCE.

walking with this view ain’t bad

Last week, a couple of my dear friends were sick up the wazoo, so they needed a lot of TLC. My friend Sarah and I made Rachel loads of chicken noodle soup. And then poor Sarah needed some Gatorade and crackers a few days later… 😦

Megan is a fantastic roommate for many reasons. She cleans things when I’m not around, helps me study for gross anatomy, and teaches me how to properly use chopsticks, because I’m the worst Asian and have never actually used chopsticks correctly (I cross them when I use them).

this method never worked for me until last week when a Pennsylvania Irish girl taught this Chinese-Laotian banana how to do things right

She also shares her desserts with me.

brownie pudding in a crockpot, black raspberry ice cream, and a buttercream frosting sugar cookie from a box that her mom sent her ♥︎

And lastly, she doesn’t judge me when I eat banana something for the 3rd time in a single day.

banana bread mug cake via Running with Spoons

I went to the dining hall for the first time in eight months last week, and it was fun being in the world of endless buffet again.

I am working again, which involves cooking up a HURRICANE for my bosses. Last week I made them meatloaf, salmon, baked chicken parm, tuna salad, barley risotto, and roasted veggies. Yes, it did take forever. Yes, I did taste every single one of them.

I will be killing more trees this semester than I ever have in a single semester. Gross anatomy requires all the printing of notes and all the flashcards.

Megan and I had a Dublin reunion with our lovely friend Cristen this weekend! She goes to a different school, so we met up in Boston for an Italian lunch. (Megan and I miss Italy so much.)

Megan and I were pretty darn hungry, so we split a meatball panini + side salad…

…and ordered our own pasta dishes. I got the spaghetti all’amatriciana (tomato sauce with pork cheek, onions, and pecorino cheese HOLY MOLY).

it was so good catching up with Cristen! 🙂

Other reasons why I fail as an Asian: I had no dim sum on Chinese New Year. Instead, I ate pasta, meatballs, and pizza. #identitycrisis?

National peanut butter day was last week, and I didn’t even know until Cristen texted me to remind me. Every day is national peanut butter day to me, so it all melds together.

I’ve gotten a couple great gym workouts in this past week + some much-needed yoga/walking days. Check out this intention wall in our gym!

And all the diversity of intentions…

“cry less” … “← same”

We had a SEEK reunion on Saturday night, and one of the activities was eating pizza with RULES. We were all numbered off 1, 2, or 3. Ones couldn’t feed themselves their own pizza, twos couldn’t touch their own beverages, and threes couldn’t touch their own napkins. Everyone had to help each other. I was a one, so Fiona and Rachel kindly fed me my pizza (which made me slow down significantly and appreciate each bite).

“pizza me”

There have been a lot of meetings with some great people and one okay dog.

our priest’s dog making himself very comfortable behind Rachel in the middle of our meeting

Apartment living has been a little more time-consuming than dorm life, but I’m loving it.

Although I have to remember that I’m not grocery shopping for a family of four anymore. I may have bought a huge box of salad greens that could feed 10 people. Hence the green in every food I make these days.

Lastly, I’ve tried to make time for reflection, prayer, and good conversation in all my days. I could take the extra hour (or two) to study, but I know that I will not be well overall if I continuously go without f illing my soul.

Alright I really need to go to sleep. Hope you all have a great week!

So tell me:

What’s been going on in your life!? (I haven’t been great about responding recently, but I read all your comments and appreciate them so much!)

Did you celebrate Chinese New Year or national peanut butter day?

Do you ever wonder, “how the heck did my schedule get so full!?”

Pray, Eat, Move, Groove, Nap, Repeat

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

When this happens during spring…

…you think…

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…so when this finally becomes real…

…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…

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

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:

12 minutes can take it out of ya

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

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by CHRISTINA CHU, MS, RD (@christinaychu)

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.

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!

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

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:

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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.

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“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 ♥︎

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!

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.

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).

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).

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

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.

I loved Rachel’s impressionist pancakes.

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!

Atsede Baysa— first place woman!

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

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.

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?

15 Signs That I’m Back in Boston

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

15 Signs That I’m Back in Boston

1) I eat overnight oats the morning I travel to Boston.

2) “Baeeeee!” – my roommate

3) Dining hall food and cottage cheese bowls (and judgement for eating cottage cheese).

4) Absurd amounts of walking.

I’m shocked that I walked that much yesterday. But at the same time, I’m not.

5) Being the first one in the suite to wake up because I’m hungry. And just being a bottomless pit in general (most likely due to said walking).

Thank God for pancake mix. (And thank you to my good pal who mailed this to me! You know who you are 🙂 )

may or may not have snagged a little bit of someone’s butter from the communal kitchen fridge

may or may not have been disappointed that I didn’t have peanut butter in my dorm at the moment

6) Cold wind that chills my soul.

7) Taking the T (and getting off at wrong stops because I don’t pay attention).

display of my short stature

8) Going to Mass and lunch with friends on Sunday.

9) Getting salad in my teeth and only realizing it after I leave the ten friends with whom I was just talking/smiling/laughing. (Be better friends!!!)

10) Girl talk in the dorms until we’re all ready to fall asleep. And choosing girl talk over typing up this blog post at night.

11) Always having to stop at the water fountain to fill up my water bottle and Rachel always being “shocked.”

12) This view.

13) Lots of big hugs.

14) Scheduling meetings and gradually expanding my to-do list.

15) Dorm oats.

with almond butter (ch-ch-chaaaaanges…[RIP Bowie])

To all my fellow Americans, Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! What a man to celebrate, yes? I’ve said this before, but the tour guide in me feels compelled to say it again: He’s a BU alum!

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Hope you all have a blessed day wherever you are and whatever you’re doing ♥︎

So tell me:

If you’re in college, what are some signs that you’re back?

If you’re not in college, what are some signs that you’re back to the work week?

Butter or nut butter on your pancakes? Preferably nut butter, but some classic butter can be spectacular.

What are you doing today? Meeting with a friend to work on a Catholic Center presentation, eating lunch with Rachel, going to the gym perhaps, and just soaking up this last day of break!

Living the Suite Life

Posted on August 27, 2015 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

If you’re under 25 years old, don’t tell me you don’t remember The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.

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I still make references to that show in my daily conversations.

Anyway, the point of that reference is that I’m all moved into my dorm suite!

Madre and I left our house at 7AM and drove up about 4 hours to Boston yesterday. Any travel day of mine requires overnight oats if at all possible. Luckily (scarily) for me, I was polishing off yet another jar of peanut butter— perfect for overnight oats.

brought four large, Costco-sized jars of pb to college, and that might be cutting it close

Once we arrived in Boston, we were hungry for lunch, so we stopped by our favorite cheap Vietnamese eatery for chicken vermicelli platters and egg rolls.

fueled and fired up for moving in

Move-in went quite smoothly, thankfully! Madre was superwoman as always and helped me unpack and situate my belongings while I helped move Rachel from her summer apartment to the suite.

my home for a while

The suite is set up as a double connected to another double, so Jordan (same roomie as last year!) + I are in one room together, and Rachel + Sheila are in the other.

The space in the room and this view is quite remarkable. It’s quite an upgrade from our little box last year.

My only qualm is that the bathroom is in Rachel + Sheila’s side of the room. I tend to drink a lot of water, so I feel bad about walking through their room every time I need to empty my tiny tank.

Like last night at 2 AM. I woke up needing to pee, and I think I panicked for a good three minutes wondering whether I should try going to the bathroom in our suite or just going downstairs to the lobby to use the bathrooms there.

“It’s the first night, and I’m already going to piss off my roommates. Almost literally.”

“Should I just not flush? No, ew.”

“The guard in the lobby will think I’m a freak.”

The lobby idea won, and I learned my lesson to not chug half a water bottle before going to sleep.

Moving on…

The dining halls don’t open until Saturday night, so we’re doing our best with snacks and our MicroFridges.

Jordan and Sheila cooked Rachel and me dinner last night though! A dorm-cooked meal, how lovely ♥

They were able to cook this the night before in our dorm’s communal kitchen, which is BEAUTIFUL.

We’re allowed to use it after 7pm on weekdays and anytime on the weekends. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, the sight of shiny kitchen appliances.

Jordan also brought us lunch from her work today. Cool roommate, that one.

While most of my friends are working, I’ve been cleaning up the dorm rooms and doing other housekeeping things. I even got to go back to the beloved Esplanade to do some stretching and exercise. Goodness gracious, I’ve missed Boston.

recycled picture from April when trees were still naked

Thankful.

So tell me:

Did you ever have to work out bathroom schedules/issues with roommates?

What is your favorite dorm food? peanutbuttersorrynotsorry.

Were you a fan of The Suite Life?

Weekly Moves and Grooves {Weekly Workouts}

Posted on September 7, 2014 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

Hey hey heyyyyyy!

I want to blog more. I really, truly do. But as many of you can probably understand, college life is quite time-consuming, and if I’m not studying, I’m socializing. If I’m not socializing, I’m eating. If I’m not eating, I’m sleeping…

Well you get the point, but I will definitely try to have an update post on here soon! For now, I have my weekly college moves and grooves to share with you all, as promised.

Hope you’re all doing well!

Monday

5 minutes on the stair master, followed by Julie’s squat jump leg workout

I used the squat rack for the first time ever, kids. EVER. I mean, I have used the Smith squat machine before at my gym back in New York, but normally I would always just use the curling bars by clean-and-pressing them to get them on my shoulders. The squat rack is (obviously) more convenient, and hooray for adding more weight!

This workout left me sore for days, by the way.

Tuesday

Boot camp class!

I took a for-credit boot camp class on Tuesday, but I unfortunately had to drop that class due to some weird scheduling issues. I would have loved to stay in it because the old-school boxing instructor kicked our butts!

We did 22 minutes of running drills and then core work for the rest of the class, including planks— my fave.

Wednesday

Rest

Except for walking everywhere and carrying heavy backpacks and textbooks, which is a darn good workout anyway. I would actually be interested to see how many miles I walk on some days. I’d say a good 3-4 miles at least!

Thursday

5 min row warmup + upper body workout + lots of walking + dodgeball

The upper body workout that I decided to call “psych” because I was looking at my psychology textbook when I was writing it out (I dunno):

I feel like I needed another rest day instead of this workout because at those very first burpees, I felt fatigued already. I still did it, but it was a tough push!