Summer Job + Recent Eats and Moves

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

I’ve had some pretty sick tan lines for the past few weeks, and I’m proud of them in an odd way.

There are two different shirt styles printed on my back though. Like, mostly a racerback tan line, but also a faint bathing suit tan line. It’s a good thing I’ll be working in business casual clothes and scrubs all summer.

Speaking of which…

Yesterday I started my job at a rehabilitation hospital!

IMG_1301 (1)

It’s called HELP (Health Experience Learning Program), specifically designed for college students studying to be health professionals. We’ll be exposed to various health professions through classroom and clinical learning experience, and I could not be more excited!

I felt like a nervous child on her first day of school going into it yesterday, but as the orientation went on, I felt more comfortable and made some friends (I hope)!

I haven’t done a classic show-and-tell of my eats, moves, and grooves recently. I don’t know about you guys, but these are some of my favorite kinds of posts (ex: Kath’s “Lately” posts) because I like a ~~nosy~~ quick and dirty rundown of someone’s food and fitness.

Gina’s oatmeal cookie dough cereal with blueberries and bananas

avocado, smoked salmon, roasted red pepper, artichoke, spinach in a Flatout wrap

whole wheat toast: one with avocado, egg, sriracha + one with pepperjack cheese and egg

overnight oat green smoothie

spinach, tomato, chorizo, cheddar, avocado egg white omelette for Pop — I was so wishing that I made this for myself though

Italian chicken, mozzarella, basil, balsamic toasted sandwich

salad at a local Mexican restaurant (eaten with corn tortillas taco style) with the family

summer watermelon

dried figs with plain Greek yogurt!

my new favorite pasta dish inspired by Fr. Barnes: whole wheat spaghetti tossed with olive oil, marinated artichokes, mozzarella, heirloom tomatoes, spinach, Italian herbs, minced garlic, and lots of black pepper, topped with chicken/shrimp. WOWZA

leftover oatmeal dried fruit cookies from Christmas (thank God for freezers)1

overnight oats in a peanut butter jar on my first day of work

Moves and grooves these days have been really…organic. My workouts are chosen and done on a day-by-day basis, depending on what else I’m doing, how I’m feeling, and the weather. Honestly, this go-with-the-flow attitude allows me to have the most fun working out.

Last week involved a lot of rest and light hikes at Fiona’s summer house, but there were some other great workouts sprinkled in there!

Last Monday I knew I wanted to go outdoors for a workout. I also really wanted to use this wall, so I put on my creative cap (which I don’t have with me more often than not) and did this doozy of a workout:

literally can’t stop the feeling of joy/moves/grooves when listening to this song!! 🎶 “Can’t Stop The Feeling” @justintimberlake outdoor wall + dumbbell workout this sunny afternoon at home! #fituniversity @gofitu

A video posted by Alison (@alison_grooves) on May 16, 2016 at 10:57am PDT

//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.jsI broke that dumbbell at the very end of the workout because I dropped it on the ground in my exhaustion. At least it was 25 years old and had a good life.

On Friday, I did Tina’s At-Home Chipper Workout outside also. For the squats and lunges, I used my makeshift sandbag (a canvas bag filled with a bunch of random free weights ~26 lbs.). The burpees and pushups were the hardest!

at-home_chipper_thumb

Also, I know how I should do hollow rocks, but I feel like I am a useless, cranky banana when I do them.

Sunday’s workout involved these:

The stairs may be going up, but it kinda feels like hell.

3 rounds:

STAIRS UP
5 pistol squats
10 pushups
15 v-ups
20 tricep dips
STAIRS DOWN
5 pistol squats
10 pushups
15 v-ups
20 tricep dips

And then up the stairs uno màs.

My body still felt like a stone from Friday’s workout, so I let myself take decent breaks in between rounds.

those DAM stairs are always killer. nice to be back home for the summer 🌞 #fituniversity @gofitu

A video posted by Alison (@alison_grooves) on May 22, 2016 at 9:54am PDT

//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.jsI also took a 1 hour walk on Saturday night in the drizzly dark while jamming out to music. Pretty sure all my neighbors thought I was an angsty teen.

Lastly, this yoga video saved my body from the tension and antsy-ness of sitting in orientation all day yesterday.

Hope you guys have a lovely day!

So tell me:

College students: What are you up to this summer?

What was your favorite summer job you ever had?

Do you like these kinds of posts?

Best way you moved this week!

Best dish you cooked this week.

Three Words for Valentine’s Day Weekend

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

“I love you!”

…But not said to a significant other. I was saying that to my family and friends though, which is equally (if not, more) important.

I guess my three words are still “Dear No One“. (P.S. Tori Kelly’s dress on the red carpet for the Grammy’s last night, WHAT!? Gorgeous. Wish she won best new artist, but Meghan Trainor is cool too.)

I’m running short on time since I’ve been studying oodles for my exercise physiology exam, so here are some snapshots of my Valentine’s/President’s Day weekend in three words each!

another jar down

not as good

{but still delicious}

post-work lunch

childhood friends reunite

{dinner at Orinoco + dessert at Paris Creperie}

fantastic guava flatbread

roasted portabella arepa

dessert seemed mandatory

“Gram’s apple pie”

Snape-inspired crepe

this is inside

warmth before fashion

“Galentine’s” date night

{food bucket list at Gene’s Chinese Flatbread Cafe + watched “How To Be Single”}

lamb cumin noodles

HAND-PULLED NOODLES

Alton Brown approves

pork flatbread afterwards

hit. the. spot.

muffins are underrated

my Valentine’s date

Valentine’s self-gift

lunch with family!

{Dumpling Cafe}

soup dumplings ROCK

wish me luck

I LOVE YOU!

So tell me:

Three things you did this weekend (please feel free to use more than three words)!

Do you find that cashew butter is too mild to put on foods (I can’t taste it with my banana/cinnamon oatmeal!)?

Did you watch the Grammy’s? I actually did not, but of course I kept up with TK.

Five Minute Friday #2: Less Protein, More Carbs?

Posted on February 5, 2016 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

I don’t know if I believe in seasons anymore.

Yesterday it was almost 60 degrees, and today there is snow.

idunnodoctor

[source]

It has been both a beautiful and messy week over here. I won’t type too much, but I do want to preface this week’s Five Minute Friday vlog.

This week I’m talking about one part of my nutrition project, which involved recording everything I ate and drank on a typical day of eats. I also used the course’s diet analysis software to calculate my daily goals for calories, macronutrients, and micronutrients based on my age, weight, height, and activity level, and then entered my “typical day of eats” data to find out how my diet measures up to my goals.

So here’s what I thought about it all!

A few notes first:

If talk about calories or macronutrients is triggering for you, I recommend you skip this vlog today. ♥︎
I cheated— the video is not under five minutes. This was actually my second take, and I still couldn’t get it under five minutes!
I say at the end, “Just because some nutritionist or some nutrition program tells you what you should be eating, as long as you’re as balanced as you can be…that’s all you can ask for.”
- Clarification: PLEASE DO listen to your licensed nutritionist (RDN, LDN). They know what they’re doing. I obviously don’t. My point is that even RDN-approved softwares and diet analyzers are not end-all-be-alls. The computer/calculator does not know YOU in person.

video link here in case it’s not working!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

So tell me:

Do you feel better when eating more of a certain macronutrient?

How do you feel about the big protein hype?

What are you doing this weekend? Studying, working, and Super Bowl partying!

Day in the Life of a Second Semester Sophomore

Posted on February 3, 2016 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

A Tuesday in the life of a second semester college sophomore…

8:10 AM // First alarm goes off. Shut it.

8:15 AM // Second alarm goes off. Snooze.

8:25 AM // Third alarm goes off. Roll out of bed. {Should not have spent useless minutes scrolling Insta so late the night before.} Bathroom, brush teeth, put in contacts, etc.

8:35 AM // Morning prayer.

8:40 AM // Change into athletic clothes, just for the morning while I’m still studying (I try to wear real pants as little as possible).

8:50 AM // Head across the street to the dining hall for breakfast! Work on my nutrition project while eating.

hard boiled egg (with sriracha) + whole wheat toast with pb and banana + frozen blueberries

9:40 AM // Go back to my dorm building and read biomechanics in the study room.

10:20 AM // Head back up to my room for some foam rolling and a 30-minute yoga video.

11:00 AM // Change into real people clothes, tweeze my brows, and put on makeup.

11:20 AM // Film this week’s “Five Minute Friday’s” vlog and re-watch it. It’s over five minutes, dang it.

11:35 AM // Leave the room and walk to another dining hall for lunch with Rachel and Kelsey!

salad with beets, peppers, and some sort of marinated potatoes + grilled chicken with eggplant relish, sautéed collards, and couscous

plus an orange!

12:30 PM // Nutrition lecture. We learn about the basics of digestion, which isn’t the most exciting, but the professor is still awesome.

1:20 PM // Get out of lecture early! Walk outside to the river for some fresh air since I have 30 minutes to kill before my next class. Re-film my vlog to see if I can get it under 5 minutes (spoiler: didn’t succeed).

THIS WEATHER!!!

2:00 PM // Behavioral biology of women lecture. Such a fascinating course! Eat a snack before the lecture starts.

half pb sandwich packed into napkins during lunch #resources

3:30 PM // Walk to the Catholic Center for a meeting.

4:10 PM // Send some messages to people and study exercise physiology (gotta keep on top of that) in the CC study room.

5:00 PM // Attend daily Mass in the upstairs chapel.

5:40 PM // Descend into the basement for the beloved free Tuesday pasta dinner! Have a grand ol’ time catching up with friends.

6:45 PM // Start setting up for our weekly “Catholics on Campus” talk.

7:00 PM // Kick off the talk. Last night, one of the most hilarious nuns I’ve ever met came to talk to us about Catholic Church history. She transformed a history lesson into something that had my abs and cheek muscles hurtin’!

8:15 PM // Help clean up after the talk and walk back to my dorm. Eat a peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookie (compliments of my Aunt Sharon from Christmas!).

desperately need to do something about my nails/cuticles

8:45 PM // Shower, make appointments, write out my to-do list for Wednesday, brush teeth, chat with suite mates for a bit.

9:50 PM // Go up to the study room to take my online exercise physiology quiz.

10:20 PM // Finish the (easy) quiz and curse myself out for getting one question wrong because the directions said “place in order from low to high glycemic load” and I put them in order from high to low. I deserved that.

10:30 PM // Start typing this blog post!

11:20 PM // Finish up the post, head back to my room, pray.

11:45 PM // Hit the hay. Feeling ever so slightly hungry, but I already brushed my teeth and I’m lazy. I DO THIS EVERY NIGHT UGH (9/10 times I just eat and brush again).

Every day is so different, but this is the gist of life right now. Some days I’m ultra productive, and other days I let myself get a little too distracted with friends/social media. Some days, it’s a nice balance of both. I like to think it’s “mental health”.

I’m having fun though! I’m feeling more comfortable with tackling the work in each of my courses, and I’ve been blessed to encounter so many people from whom I can draw inspiration and motivation. Including you guys!!

Some new Tori Kelly therapy for you all today:

Hope you all have a lovely Wednesday!

So tell me:

Do you have on and off days in terms of productivity?

What was the best thing you ate yesterday? The chicken with eggplant relish and couscous was pretty darn delicious!

A silly mistake you’ve recently made. (← for my own selfish, empathy-seeking purposes. 😀 ♥︎)

Day in the Life of a Third Semester Sophomore

Posted on September 25, 2015 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

What am I? First semester sophomore? Third semester sophomore (since this is my third semester of college)?

I do know one thing I am: frazzled. School is starting to pick up with exams and such, but so are activities. It’s such a blessing to be busy doing things that I love, but hellllloooo, long days.

Now that it’s been almost a month since I started classes, I thought it this would be a good time to share a day in the life again. I managed to document my whole day on Wednesday, which was one of my more packed (but fun!) days.

7:05 AM— First alarm goes off. Check emails on phone.

7:15 AM— Roll out of bed and go to the bathroom.

7:25 AM— Pray.

7:35 AM— Change and try to look presentable for the day.

8:00 AM— Walk to my favorite dining hall for breakfast in the gorgeous weather. Praaaaaaaise.

8:15 AM— Nosh on eggs, French toast with peanut butter and banana, and a glass o’ milk while studying a bit.

9:00 AM— Move outdoors to study in the [again] GORGEOUS weather.

10:00 AM— Head over to the admissions office to get ready to give a campus tour!

courtesy of the admissions office // also, this was taken a couple weeks ago, but this is the essence

11:45 AM— Finish up touring [in the gorgeous weather] and talking to a family from the tour. Walk back to my room to change into athletic clothes because: a) sweating in my jeans; b) dance later; c) living in anything other than stretchy, comfy clothes is overrated. Pick up a special package on the way home.

11:55 AM— Get back to my dorm room, open up the package {from the awesome folks at PJ’s Organics!}. Rip off my jeans like they’re ~~going~~ completely out of style and change into yoga capris and a t-shirt.

the joy of free pits and aeration

12:10 PM— Meet my friends (badass, Division I soccer playas) for lunch at the dining hall.

12:45 PM— We all walk to human physiology lecture (favorite class this semester).

1:50 PM— Get out of class and head to the Catholic Center to do some studying. Eat a banana sometime there. Talk with people because they’re really cool and fun and I like them. Ugh, so distracting.

3:10 PM— Walk to the gym for my modern dance class. ‘Twas an amazing and challenging class, leaving me feeling spent.

5:00 PM— Dance class ends. RUN [literally] back to the Catholic Center for a 5:00 meeting.

5:10 PM— Inhale a granola bar before walking into the meeting a sweaty, smelly mess.

5:50 PM— Meeting ends. Eat a peach that I snagged from the dining hall earlier.

6:00 PM— Go to another meeting. My lovely friend brings snacks (thank the Lord).

this x50 (not a hyperbole)

7:45 PM— Go to dinner with my friend. Salad, pork with mango salsa, oatmeal raisin cookie a la mode, and a bite of my friend’s chocolate fondue, because the dining hall had FONDUE!!!

8:30 PM— Walk back to my dorm. Showerrrrrr.

9:00 PM— Sit down to do work. Get semi-distracted talking to Rachel. Try to do more work. Give my roommate a massage. Mentally give up. Get ready for bed sometime in there. Pray.

12:35 AM— Hit. that. hay.

Phew. I was aware that I was eating kind-of-a-lot-of sugar, but heck, my body needed it.

Happy Friday, everyone! Hope you have a fun weekend 🙂

So tell me:

Is it jean weather yet for you?

Are your days short, average, or long recently?

What do you like to dip in fondue?

What are you doing this weekend? Today: class and catching up on work. Tomorrow: touring, jazz fest, celebrating a friend’s birthday, and a movie night! Sunday: choir, Mass, studying, laundry, and dinner with family friends.