How Can It Be…?

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

Finals got me like…

NBKvs

I am typing this at midnight after a long day of studying, but honestly, I have nothing to complain about. Finals always suck, but that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. Instead, let’s look at the positive things that happened last week. Theme: How can it be…?

How can it be that I’m going home in five days?

How can it be that my best friend gave me the most thoughtful Christmas gift in all the land? Rachel put together a beautiful scrapbook consisting of letters written by all my friends here at college, as well as family and friends from home.

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too many emotions!!!

I love you, Rachel! ♥︎ And thank you so much, friends who contributed!

How can it be that Christmas is less than two weeks away?

How can it be that friends who I’ve known for a year or less have become like family?

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How can it be that my engineering friends are so brilliant?

fireplace inside the gingerbread house thanks to iPhone technology

How can it be that my friend Emma and I made it to the roof of the Arts and Sciences building before 10AM on Thursday?

How can it be that my friends and I survived skating without falling on our butts?

How can it be that Mr. Bartley’s Burger Cottage delivered into my life everything I needed and more on Saturday night? It took Rachel and me 1.5 hours to get to this place (unexpectedly), we were hangry and fading, and I was dead tired. By the grace of God we made it to the restaurant and this meal made all things right.

pumpkin pie frappe (milkshake)! there were graham cracker pieces.

“iPhone burger” with boursin cheese, grilled onions, mushrooms, lettuce, and tomato + sweet potato fries (p.s. crushed that burger)

How can it be that the dining hall spoils me too?

African sweet potato, peas, and lentils

holiday dinner night: herbed chicken with apricot pomegranate sauce, sweet potatoes, and green beans

BBQ lentil “meatball” sub

baked fish with mashed sweet potatoes and sautéed kale

salad from the food court

How can it be that my friends are so hilarious?

How can it be that my brain and body are still functioning right now?

How can it be that God is so good to us “squishy mortals” (← favorite phrase ever via Geraldine)?

There is nothing more attractive in the world than my bed, so I’m gonna go there now.

Hope you all have a fantastic week ahead! This time of year is stressful for nearly everyone, but I hope you find some light in the darkness 🙂

So tell me:

How can it be that…(insert something wonderful)?

What is the best burger you’ve ever eaten?

Is this a stressful time for you?

Behind the Scenes #20: iDance

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

One of my favorite times of the week, hosted by Amanda!

1) Thank you all for the well-wishes on my AP Calc exam yesterday! After the test was over, I did the following:

Yell, “Hallelujah!!!” in my head.
Run to the bathroom.
Stretch my hip flexors because we had been sitting for 3 hours and 20 minutes (not straight through, but still).
Think I might have done a decent job on the exam.
Listen to what my friends answered on some of the questions.
Second guess my initial reaction to the exam.
Think GUATEVER I TRIED MY ABSOLUTE BEST, DANG IT.

2) At least I had my breakfast yesterday morning.

Overnight oats in a peanut butter jar. The REAL reason I got up yesterday morning.

3) My AP Calc class also celebrated ~~the end of such a painful test~~ our hard work and achievement at lunch after the exam! We decided to go to the restaurant owned by our AP Calc teacher’s family…naturally 🙂

“Big Bird” sandwich with chicken, caramelized onions, swiss cheese, and honey dijon sauce. So good! Enough to bring home for mom to have lunch too.

I was trying to decide on a non-awkward sitting position for this picture. I don’t think I decided well.

4) I found this gem of a video on my phone from ballet class earlier this year. One of my friends (I think Livv?) thought it would be a funny idea if we all took selfie videos while we were dancing. (The topic came up because a lot of us were filming arts supplements for college applications.) Thus, we have…iDance.

If you’re wondering why my head is making a weird spastic motion, it’s because I’m spotting while I’m turning. If you think it looks bizarre, that’s okay, because I think we all look like freaks. Joyful dancing freaks though! 😀

4) It took me over 2 hours to finish my dinner last night. I don’t know why I was just NOT hungry. It was a delicious dinner too!

Avocado toast with smoked salmon + spinach salad with sautéed onions

I took a break from homework to make this dinner because I was hungry at first, but then I ate some fruit while I was waiting for the bread to toast, and before you know it, I felt full. So I chipped away at dinner over the course of two hours, in the style of the cool and casual Europeans who are still conversing over dinner by 10 PM (is that a stereotype?).

5) You wanna know which exercise makes me SO sore? You probably wouldn’t guess.

I did 50 reps of this simple little side jump lunge exercise as a warmup on Sunday, and my derrière was hurting for two days. It’s happened before with this exercise only, and it just boggles my mind how sore it makes me every time! Foam rolling was a bleepity bleep.

6) Currently grooving to (like, literally dancing to it while I’m typing this):

Sing by Ed Sheeran. Loveeee it.

7) Is it greedy of me to want to buy maybe two bunches of bananas just so they can ripen and I can freeze them for smoothies? Or use them for baking. Ripe bananas are my best friends.

8) I’m out of thoughts. Either that or I’m just brain dead. At least first period AP Calc is just gonna be a big party from now on 😉

Hope you all have a nice Thursday!

So tell me:

What are some of your post-exam celebratory measures?

Thoughts on iDance? 😉

Which exercise almost always makes you sore?

What do you like to do with ripe bananas?

Behind the Scenes: A Full Day O’ Selfies

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

In a majority of my blog posts, I feel like I show a lot of what goes on right in front of me, but I rarely show what goes on behind the camera lens. I throw in a few pictures of me and my friends/family here and there because I think you would all appreciate knowing what I actually look like. Something that I almost NEVER do is post selfies. That’s right. Those pictures that are the reason why Apple put a camera on the screen-side of the iPhone. I do Snapchat people, but with the exception of a couple pictures in my early Instagram days (before I turned into a wannabe food photographer), I’m not a fan of posting selfies. The main reason is because I just feel a bit narcissistic. At the same time though, I kinda like seeing selfies from other people because it’s candid in a way…if you can actually take candid photos of yourself.

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Amanda from Running with Spoons has the same feelings toward selfies as me, and her “As We Speak” posts inspired this post. She stepped out of her comfort zone to show us selfies as she went on with her day. Also, Arman is hosting a Spill it Sunday that requires at least one selfie for fun. Well, I’m about to spill seflies ALL over you. This post is filled with pictures of me, myself, and I from Tuesday, the day of this week’s WIAW Photo an Hour. I made some of my friends get in the selfie with me because taking true selfies in school for no apparent reason is a social no-no. Although, I don’t care that much at this point. I’m already known as “the girl with the blog who loves food and peanut butter.” I take pride in it.

Behind the scenes in the AM…

Just a touch o’ makeup

Munching on honey crisp apple slices while waiting for my toast

Enjoying the best meal of the day

Behind the scenes at school….

What I think of my AP Calc work (Except I probably look even more frustrated than this 9/10 times).

Study hall buddies Itzel and birthday girl Nicole (with her dinosaur piñata)! Basically, procrastinating my AP Calc work.

Daliza and I are just so happy to be in Italian class!!!

Always snacking with my girl Kristi in Business Calc

Genuine excitement to be headed to lunch with Je’lyn!

My no frills locker. Books. Lunch. Jacket.

Walking to our cars in the frigid air. My face looks the same here as in the lunch picture…maybe it was just frozen like that.

Behind the scenes in the PM….

Smelling Mom’s curry is making me want to EAT

All bun-headed up for ballet

Not a fan of baby hairs that make me look like Alfalfa

Mis-matched socks to keep my toes warm when I’m sleeping

He’s the last one to whom I say good night 🙂

And that’s a wrap! I actually had a fun time doing this. I guess that’s why selfies are so popular! Also, I’m thinking “Behind the Scenes” might be a good title for my random Thursday Thoughts posts. Better than Loggin’ the Noggin….

Have a wonderful Thursday! Today’s a half day of school for me because of some teacher training things going on. Woot woot!

So tell me: How do YOU feel about selfies? What are you up to today?