“I’ve Had So Much Rest. I Should Be Able to Do This Workout!”

I feel like an adolescent going through a growth spurt. Or just a woman going through woman things.

I can’t. stop. sleeping. Or eating for that matter.

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Kylie’s banana pudding for breakfast

*eats a Rawxie bar*

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thanks for getting these sent to me, Emily! ♥︎ 

*eats a giant apple*

*eats a slice of cheese*

*eats crackers*

…within a 45 minute time span. *eats a spoonful of peanut butter an hour later*

Also, I defied my craving for a slow workout yesterday, which wasn’t the best idea. I did one round (instead of two) of Colby’s day three lower body workout, and I was absolutely spent. It wasn’t just a muscle fatigue thing; it actually did not feel good for my body or brain, so I skipped the second round.

After my warm up, I thought, “I really don’t want to do this workout. I could nap right here, right now.” Evidently, sometimes I still have trouble listening to my body, but I like to at least warm up and start the workout. If it absolutely sucks, then I modify like I did yesterday.

Do you ever think, “I gave myself a rest/yoga/active recovery day yesterday. Heck, I had so many days off of exercise last week! I should be able to do an intense workout today!”? That’s sort of what went through my mind yesterday, but I know that’s not necessarily true. We have a cycle ladies, so the kinds of movements and amounts of energy our bodies need cycle naturally.

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sneaky pic by Madre a couple days ago feat. college things

Dudes, you probably have off weeks too, right? I dunno, maybe you’re all invincible and never get tired.

All this to say: Don’t forget to listen to your body. You will not shrivel into a raisin if you do just yoga/walking/resting for one week.

Last night I had the privilege of meeting up with my wonderful friend, Christine! We were also supposed to meet up with Colby, but the poor girl had an infection that she had to take care of. Keep her in your prayers!

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Facebook reminded me that it had actually been exactly one year since we had dinner in the city together during my last winter break! This time, we met up at Le Botaniste, an organic, plant-based, fast-service restaurant.

We both got brown rice bowls with their delicious coconut curry peanut sauce. My add ons included pickled cabbage, turmeric onions, and Moroccan carrots.

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It was very satisfying, filling and tasty, but I can definitely make these at home. The company was the most important part though! Christine and I had a lot of much-needed girl chat.

Christine: “Do you want to get dessert?”

Me: “I was just about to ask.”

To froyo we went!

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toppings galore

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dessert-y for me, fruity for her

Vegetables and sugar are two of my favorite food groups.

I love you, Christine!! Thanks for a fun girls’ night 🙂

So tell me:

Does your workout motivation/energy ebb and flow?

What is the best vegetarian/vegan restaurant you’ve ever been to? 

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Birthdays, Sushi Nights, and Jack O’ Lantern Blaze {MIMM #11}

Good morning, folks!

Happy Veterans/Remembrance Day to all! Thank you to all those who have put their lives on the line to protect our nations. God bless.

There have been SO many marvelous things happening this weekend, so I’m just going to jump right into it! Thanks, Katie for hosting as always 🙂

MiMM

Marvelous is…

Ben’s 20th Birthday! I could barely grasp that he was an adult on his 18th…and now he’s two decades old. But he’s still my British-speaking “Mr. Penguin” brother to me 😉

One of Ben’s favorite desserts is cheesecake, so I surprised him last night with homemade banana cheesecake! I was so glad that he liked it. I accidentally decided to give it to him right before his run, so he just shared his slice with me. Works for me!

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Marvelous is…

TWO sushi nights! I’m so spoiled. On Friday night, a few of my closest school friends and I went for a girls’ night at my favorite Japanese restaurant upon my recommendation. I ordered my classic favorites: tuna roll and eel avocado. Afterwards, despite the chilly weather, we walked over to Cold Stone for some delicious ice cream. It’s never too cold for ice cream, right?! I ordered a mix two of my favorite flavors— sweet cream and mint— with graham cracker crumbs. My two favorite foods with some of my favorite people = a perfect night!

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Jeannine and Je’lyn! Our friend Veronica was with us as well.

On Saturday night, my family went out to a different Japanese restaurant with none other than….a Groupon. Yep. Still going strong with those. I’m tellin’ ya, “Extreme Grouponers” is looking better and better as a TLC show at this rate.

My mom and I shared a maki combo (tuna, salmon, and yellowtail rolls) and a “Beach Boy” Roll, which had eel and tempura flakes on the inside, and tuna and yellowtail on top. It was fabulous. The sushi quality was amazing, and I would definitely go back there even without the Groupon!

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Look at how fresh that fish looks!

Marvelous is…

Honeycrisp apples. I cannot get enough! They are perfectly crisp, sweet, and tart.

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Marvelous is…

Ashley’s BBQ Pumpkin Turkey Meatballs! My mom took out a package of ground turkey from the fridge and I asked her what she was going to do with it. She answered, “Just sauté it to have with other things.” But I had been wanting to make Ashley’s meatballs for a while, so I jumped on the opportunity to use the turkey for the recipe. We had leftover pumpkin and some really good BBQ sauce, so we were all set. My mom was cool with that!

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This recipe was super easy and oh soooo delicious, guys. I definitely recommend trying it out! Thanks for the awesome recipe again, Ashley! Everyone in the house loved it.

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Mom’s dinner and my dinner

Marvelous is…

The Jack O’ Lantern Blaze! I mentioned last week that Ben and I would be going to this event where there would be some amazing Jack o’ lantern displays (even though it’s after Halloween). It was spectacular! However, there was a little secret that we found out there: almost half of the pumpkins were styrofoam. Oooo…….I know, it bursted my bubble too. It was still impressive nonetheless because everything was still hand carved and super detailed!

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Fun stuff!

Well, that about wraps up the highlights of my weekend! Have a great Monday, everyone!

So tell me: What did you do this weekend? What’s your ideal night out? 

Girls’ Nights {MIMM #9}

These past few days have been filled with so many awesome moments with some of my best girl friends! It was such a fabulous privilege to spend time with friends from both school and dance, even amidst a pretty hectic time of year. Many fun things went down this weekend, so let’s get straight into the deeeets:

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Check out Katie’s blog for more marvelous posts!

Marvelous is…

Hot water bottles. Does anyone else use these?? They are so amazing for when I’m freezing in my house…or in my car as seen in the picture. My mom says it’s like cradling a warm baby. I don’t know about that comparison, but it’s definitely super cozy hugging one of these! (Holding one right now.)

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Marvelous is…

A breakfast party in AP Calc. There’s ten of us in the class and our teacher is awesome–she even made us corn bread! I actually just ate a jumbo corn muffin + corn bread. Obsessed.

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I was literally sitting in the back of the class manning the waffle maker while answering questions about derivatives.

Marvelous is…

Going to a local bakery 20 minutes away with mom just to pick up spur-of-the-moment pastry cravings. She got herself her favorite “Speculaas Bar”–some kind of almond paste pastry that’s only a seasonal product. She let me pick out some macarons for myself and my brother and dad. We also spotted a cute green dome cake, and when we found out it was pistachio and strawberry, we had to get it! Like I said, spur of the moment.

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Fig macaron!

Marvelous is…

Going to a(n) gyro restaurant on Friday night with some of my friends from school. Apparently the cross country team has some joke or memory with the place. They always say, “YO GYROOO” or something, so I was excited to visit this place. We also kept going back and forth saying JAI-RO and YEAR-O. The latter is the correct way, right? I usually say year-o, but I decided to say it jai-ro the whole night, and I probably looked like such a novice. Guatever.

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Kristi with her chicken gyro

Also, $1.00 soft serve from McD’s.

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Jeah.

Marvelous is…

Reese’s. After picking them all out from the candy we’re giving out for Halloween, we decided to make a treat using a couple of them. On Thursday night, I made Ben banana soft serve onto which he sprinkled a couple Reese’s and raspberries. I had a couple bites, and it was GOOD STUFF.

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Marvelous is…

A new PR for 100 burpees! I think this over a minute faster than my the last time I tried it three months ago! Tip: closing your eyes helps you grit through. Ha.

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Marvelous is…

Company sleepover!! Our first sleepover of the year was so much fun! I seriously love hanging out with these girls. We went to dinner at an Asian fusion restaurant, made s’mores, did some company traditions, talked, and LAUGHED a lot.

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Olivia and Hilary

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Charli

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Olivia aka “Swagmaster” or Beyonce

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Lilly, Susie, Thea (the host of the fabulous sleepover!), Jane, Alisia, Madi, and Charli!

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Love that charred marshmallow action

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(Top): Susie, Allison, Maureen, Hilary, me, (Bottom): Lilly, Madi, Pam

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So dysfunctional. Jane, Charli, Alisia, Rachel, and Swagmaster

Before heading to our Sunday rehearsal the next morning (we were zombies upon waking up), Thea’s super sweet mom made us a fantastic brunch of French toast, egg and cheese souffle, fruit, cider, coffee, and tea. DELICIOUS. Beats our usual bagels and cream cheese. Thank you so much, Thea and Co.! 🙂

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Quite a marvelous weekend, I must say. Hope you are all doing well too! Have a great week 🙂

So tell me: What did you do this weekend? When was your last girls/guys night out? How do you say “gyro?”