Permission

Posted on May 29, 2017 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

On this Memorial Day, let us never forget those who served our nation for the sake of our freedom and safety.

History_Memorial_Day_34766_SF_HD_1104x622-16x9

A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.

– Joseph Campbell

How was the weekend!? Or how IS the weekend (for those who have today off!)?

This weekend (alright, this whole week), I’ve given myself permission to embrace this period of almost zero obligations. I had to get over the phase of discombobulation of having nothing to do, but it’s been a pleasant week of acclimating to living farther from campus and relaxing.

Friday

There have been some errands and work in there too (keeps me sane TBH), like on Friday. I gave a campus tour, since a lot of BU’s tour guides are out of town these next few weeks. In classic me fashion, I was running late and had to speed walk for 1 hour to make it right on time.

Luckily it was a beautiful day for rush-walking + touring!

Afterwards, I gave myself permission to do a quick 16-minute workout, even though I had all the time in the world and all the gym space in the world (three cheers for the summer lull!).

‘Twas a fun one! 4 rounds, 30 seconds work, 10 seconds rest:

burpee deadlifts (30# DBs)
alternating DB snatches (30#)
modified v-ups
box jumps
squat OH half burpees (10#)
up down planks

Then I nommed on the lunch I packed that morning (part of the reason I was running late). I gave myself permission to take my time to eat this. I’m sure some of you understand that weekday lunch is often more or less inhaled on many days.

leftover peas and roasted broccoli + egg, avocado, pepper jack, sriracha sandwich + blackberries

I had big plans to get a lot Brideshead Revisited reading done for book club, but I got through thirteen pages before I gave myself permission to take a nap in the library’s armchair.

never goes to the library during the school year // falls asleep in the library during the summer

Before going to the library, though, I tried being that person to read on the stationary bike at the gym, but doing that kinda nauseated me. That + gym music = entirely ineffective reading.

I was awoken by an announcement that the library was closing in an hour. Thankfully, my friend Ben welcomed me to hang out with him before dinner, because I was groggy and without anything to do (what a nice problem to have).

Lauren, Nico, Ben and I went to Shawarma King for dinner. I got the vegetarian combo plate, which had falafel, hummus, babaganoush (omg so good), stuffed grape leaves, tabbouleh, cucumber tomato salad, rice, and pita. HOT DANG. I finished 85% of it.

Then we went to Athan’s Bakery for dessert! I got their pistachio gelato, which was the most sub-par gelato I’ve ever had, but it was still a delicious frozen treat.

We finished the night watching the original Grease movie. It’s the best bad movie of all time.

Saturday

Overnight oats to start the morning!

strawberry banana overnight oats topped with the last of my KIND peanut butter granola

This fueled another nice long walk towards campus…

please interpret this art

…for another Saturday Spartan workout with Ben!

Ben planned out this fun workout for us:

4 rounds:

run around baseball field
15 triangle pushups (slightly inclined)
2 flexed arm hang holds, any grip (15 seconds each or until failure ← definitely only held it for 5 seconds at some points)
25 Roman chair leg lifts
15 inverted rows
10 step up hops each leg

Topped it off with 10 minutes of core work.

I packed a snacky lunch to eat between the workout and a meeting with my spiritual director (basically someone who teaches me how to better give God permission to speak to me through prayer and to work in my life — the most important permission I could ever give).

rosemary Triscuits with pepperjack cheese + carrots with hummus

I gave myself permission to actually think about the taste of this snack (I guess people call it “mindful eating”), and it was 10x more satisfying than any other time I’ve eaten carrots and hummus/crackers and cheese.

loads o’ popcorn

I rushed through the popcorn and KIND bar, but they were still tasty.

I also gave myself permission to buy water from Starbucks for $0.27 because all the places where I usually fill up my water bottle on campus were closed.

This was less about permission and more about a fundamental need for water. I am endlessly grateful for constant, easy access to clean drinking water.

After spiritual direction, I video chatted with my uncle, aunt and cousins for two hours. We had a beautiful conversation. Ugh, I love them. I got to spend most of the two hours outdoors before I had to charge my phone.

The only downside was standing up and realizing that the bench I was sitting on gave me splinters all over my backside.

I picked up some groceries afterwards and gave myself permission to take an Uber back home instead of walking or taking the bus (the fact that an Uber was only $2.20 at the time was also a big factor).

Look what I found at the store!

Burpee plants!

Back at home, I showered, warmed up some leftovers for dinner, and spent time with Christie’s boyfriend’s dog, Koga. I got a taste of the neediness that most dog owners talk about. It’s annoying in the most adorable way.

Sunday

I gave myself permission to SLEEP. IN. I slept until 9:40! I promised I’d make French toast for all of us in the morning though, so I quickly got to work on that.

one whole wheat + one brioche topped with butter sautéed bananas, peanut butter, maple syrup, and slivered almonds + strawberries + glass o’ almond milk

Definitely taking full advantage of Christie’s pretty dishes and silverware for my food photos 🙂

I planned on running to the park ~4 miles away to meet my friends for a picnic in the afternoon, but my hip/quads/knee (!?) have been hurting these past few days, and running was a solid no-go yesterday. So I gave myself permission to pass on the picnic, walk home and do yoga instead.

The pain? Google says it could be some muscle tightness. Could be a labral tear. Hopefully not the latter.

idontalways-go-on-webmd-but-when-i-do-learn-im-20544544.png

[source]

I forget what I did for the rest of the day, but in the evening I walked to campus for Mass, and my friend Evan kindly drove me home afterwards (God bless gentlemanly friends).

Chopped salad for dinner! (Read: Salad cut up with a pair of kitchen scissors.)

spinach, feta, strawberries, avocado, sunflower seeds, and homemade honey mustard vinaigrette

Followed by dried figs with peanut butter and Greek yogurt. A classic.

Now I’m going to give myself permission to continue lying in bed and read Brideshead Revisited for real this time.

Hope you all have a wonderful Monday/Memorial Day!

Give God permission. — St. Teresa of Calcutta

So tell me:

Do you find it hard to give yourself permission to relax?

What is one thing you gave yourself permission to do this weekend?

Any good books you’re reading?

Cheers, Dublin

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

HELLO, AMERICA!

could not wipe the smile off my face when I saw this

I can hear Frank Sinatra singing, “New York, New York”.

It’s like I never even left this side of the pond. I’ve gone right back to eating sushi, driving, and using toilet paper that comes in roll form.

I swear I did not ask for this to be taken, but Madre takes as many random photos as I do

No, but seriously, my brain is still processing the fact that I studied abroad in Ireland for the past 3.5 months. It was a whirlwind, a challenge, and a blast. I’ll save the reflections for another post and just focus on the transition from Europe back to America in this post.

My peers and I celebrated what felt like the end of an era during our last days in Dublin. Megan and I were basically obligated to go to one last brunch:

The Lovely Food Co.1 was the first brunch place we ate at in Dublin, so we chose it as our last brunch destination to bring it full circle. ‘Twas a fabulous decision because this was the best brunch we had in Ireland. She ordered the eggs benedict, and I ordered the eggs royale (same thing except with smoked salmon instead of ham).

The crusty bread was unconventional, but it totally worked. For brunch dessert, we split an order of their brioche French toast, since that’s what Megan ordered her first time there, and she could not stop thinking about since.

For good reason!! This little guy was perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Served with cream, berry compote, and classic maple syrup. #dead.

We may or may not have bought two desserts from the bakery to take away.

After walking around city centre to look for books for our plane ride (I ended up buying the fourth HP book because I needed to return the one I had to the library, but I still had 200+ pages left), we had a late farewell lunch with all the students and program directors at Il Corvo Italian restaurant.

I had the lasagna with a side of veggies and happily finished it all. I also almost cried after one of the program director’s farewell speeches. All good things here!

Later that night, a few of us walked back to city centre for some gelato and store-perusing.

“Florence cream” flavor from Gelato di Natura (it tasted like saffron!)

Megan and I also watched Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them while eating our sneaked-in dinners in the back of the theatre.

sandwiches and salads — your typical theatre fare

p.s. the movie was great! a little confusing, but fantastic nevertheless. Eddie Redmayne *swoon*

And then, of course, we had to join the rest of our friends for one last night out on the town!

baby Guinness shots (the first and last shot I will have ever had in Ireland…until next time!)

I wish I could say I was cool and went pub-hopping that night, but I went home after the first bar and called it a night.

Saturday morning called for a quick workout and the last scramble to pack our whole lives into our suitcases (“It’s TWO POUNDS over 50!!!”). Eventually, we made it through the airport and onto the plane. My last meal in Ireland was this sandwich with veggies, relish, and an absurdly thick slice of cheese.

Followed by a pretty tasty airplane dinner a few hours later. They served us turkey and stuffing meals with pasta and veggies, soda bread and Kerrygold butter (♥︎), and raspberry white chocolate mousse. What luxury!

“milk in a stick”

Purchasing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for the plane ride was one of the wiser decisions I’ve made in my life. It occupied me for the almost the whole 7 hours! (It also blew my MIND.) I was also very surprised that I never napped or even got up to pee during the entire flight.

When we arrived in New York, my family greeted me at the airport, and I almost cried again. I was so happy to see them. Also, one of the first things my brother told me after I hugged him was that they bought me Lloyd’s carrot cake. I appreciate how well they know me.

Even though it was past midnight Dublin time, it was only 7:30 pm when I met up with them and they hadn’t eaten dinner yet. By then, I was pretty hungry for a midnight snack/dinner too, so they took me to eat some delicious sushi, since I had not eaten any in Europe (I had trust issues).

Also, Madre bought me a portable massage table for Christmas (upon my request, since I’ve been learning how to give good massages in Dublin), so Pop broke it in for me as I gave him a massage that night. The gift that keeps on giving, I say!

Regarding jetlag, I’m actually pretty adjusted already! I persevered and stayed up until 11:30pm NY time (4:30am Dublin time) and woke up at 9 am yesterday.

I was feeling ready to move and groove in the morning, but I had limited time before Mass, so I did 100 burpees for time. I tied my previous PR (6:12), but not without my heart feeling like it would explode. Holy smokes, I had not done a “sprint” like that in a while.

This dinner last night was nothing out of the ordinary except that I cooked the eggs on a gas stove (instead of electric like in our Dublin dorms, which I didn’t realize until now takes 10x longer to heat up) and that I topped it with SRIRACHA. Oh, how I missed thee.

Followed by cake for dayyyyyyz.

Today I’m headed up to a very special city for a couple days 🙂 More to come!

I have so much to say and reflect upon in regards to my study abroad experience in Ireland, but for now, I’ll say:

Sláinte, Baile Átha Cliath (Cheers, Dublin)!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Alison Yeung, PT, DPT (@alison_grooves)

So tell me:

What did you do this weekend?

What is the best airport/airline food you’ve ever eaten?

Are there any things about coming home that you didn’t even realize you missed during an extended vacation/trip?

48 Hours Unplugged

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

I’ve never experienced the feeling of time slowing down until last week.

I had the privilege of spending a few days in (relatively) upstate New York with two of my best friends, Fiona and Rachel. Fiona was so generous as to let us stay at her 106-year-old (!!) summer house, located in a secluded yet beautiful town.

Monday

On Monday, Fiona and Rachel drove down from Boston to my house. I cooked us a ~~little~~ rather large din din of caprese chicken + spicy pork chops + roasted broccoli (which was epic, not gonna lie) + avocado toast. Lots of leftovers for the ‘rents!

plus avocado toast!

beautiful food, even more beautiful people

I also made them one of my favorite recipes of all time— Amanda’s banana bread mug cake. Alongside some of Emily’s delicious peanut butter chocolate chip cookies + glasses o’ milk!

Tuesday

After spending a night at Fiona’s house, we ate breakfast and then drove up to her summer house on Tuesday afternoon.

made some banana oatmeal for the ladies

Rachel DJ’d in the car, and it was a classic grooves-mobile fest with backseat dancing and off-pitch sing-alongs.

And in no time, we arrived at the summer house!

Fiona calls it her “heaven on earth”, and I can 100% see why she does. There may not have been any cell service or wifi, but there were crystal clear waters, breathtaking views, and foliage for dayzzzz.

We were only at her summer house for 2.5 days, but it felt like we were there for a week. Fiona did warn us that time slows down at this place, but I didn’t believe her until I experienced it.

Look at how cute it is!

When we arrived, Fiona gave us a tour of the grounds, and then we went into town to buy groceries for the next few days.

The ONE stressor I had during the trip was when I got a call from my job (which I start today) about a form that I never received via email but that I needed to fill out, sign, and send by the next morning. It was actually a miracle that we were in town getting groceries when I got that call, because if we were back at the summer house, I never would have known because there’s no service there. Thank God for smart phones, because I was able to access my email, fill out the form, sign it digitally, and send it back in time.

Anyway.

Chips, salsa, PB&J’s and salads for lunch!

Followed by a lovely little hike to the waterfall.

self-timing it on a waterfall

UGH so cool.

The rest of the night involved reading, playing Clue, eating chili (that Fiona’s mom made and sent up with us!) and s’mores!

Chili and fires in the summer? Ya. ‘Twas pretty chilly up there actually (plus no heat). Rachel saved our cold butts with her fire-making skills. So Midwestern.

*ding*

I made “fluffernutter” s’mores with peanut butter instead of chocolate — 10/10 recommend

We snuggled into our beds by 10:30 pm (!!!). After some girl chat, we fell asleep to the sound of a legit babbling brook that flows by her house. People pay good money for that sound!

Rachel and I could not stop saying, “This is a dream. This is out of a novel.”

Wednesday

In an effort to gain feeling in my frozen feet in the morning, I went outside for some moves by the babbling brook. I did Jess’ lean legs workout (with some modifications).

I still couldn’t feel my feet after I finished the workout. They were ice cubes.

Nothing a good breakfast can’t fix though! Pancakes for breakfast!

We made buttermilk pancakes from a mix (added chocolate chips and/or banana) and ate them with a slew of toppings (peanut butter with the richest full fat vanilla Greek yogurt for me) and glasses o’ milk in cute mason jars. Eaten out on the porch. DREAMZ I TELL YOU.

After breakfast, we spotted beavers, played Sequence, did each others’ hair, tanned on the deck, and plunged ourselves into the freezing cold river as per Fiona’s tradition.

so cold, so exhilarating

We had a late lunch of tacos with all the works.

Followed by more reading, relaxing, and probably some napping. We decided on movie night with s’mores for dinner.

“You look like a frog.” – Rachel

We did a double feature of The Notebook and Hairspray. It was my first time watching both! (I know, I know. I’m only an eon behind on watching The Notebook.)

Thursday

Our last day at the summer house started with leftover pancakes…

…cleaning, packing, reading (I finished The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis— also 10/10 recommend!), hiking…

photos cannot do this view justice

…and a farewell to the summer house (for now!).

Back at Fiona’s house (and back to 432872 notifications on our phones), we ate a light dinner. Then Fiona took us to Bellvale Farms Creamery, aka the most incredible ice cream place of all time.

First of all, the drive to this place was beautiful. Secondly, we passed by the actual Bellvale Farm (like, we basically said hi to the cows that made the milk in our ice cream).

Thirdly, their ice cream flavors were excellent. I had “Calf Trax” (vanilla ice cream with peanut butter swirl and mini peanut butter cups) + cookies ‘n’ cream in a waffle cone. No words. Fourthly, this is the view right outside their doors:

I won’t stop thinking about it for the rest of the summer.

Rachel and I are gonna make sure Fiona gets engaged at this spot.

Our night ended with watching The Intern (such a sweet movie!) and deep chats.

Friday

I think I’m allergic to Fiona’s cat (whose meows sound like a whining human) because I scratched my eye so hard in my sleep that I woke up with my eye half shut and swollen. Whoops.

I made us some more oatmeal and then we headed out for some tennis! Fiona is actually good at tennis, Rachel can hold a good volley, and I spent most of my time fetching the tennis balls that I hit out of the court.

For our last meal together, we went to Fiona’s favorite local Mexican restaurant. We shared guac to start, and I ordered a chicken and a vegetable taco.

fabulous

I am beyond grateful to have spent such a rejuvenating and beautiful week with two of my best friends. Thank you so much again, Fiona. ♥︎ I miss you both already!

Something valuable I learned from those 48 hours unplugged is that, truly, you have so much time when you’re not always on your phone/playing music/checking emails. I was able to focus on one task at a time, reflect, and do a lot without the distraction of technology. I’ll keep all this in mind as I start work today (I’ll talk more about that later!) and continue on with my life.

So tell me:

Have you ever spent an extended amount of time in a place with no service?

What was the best thing you did last week?

Do you have a special place where you like can retreat?

Weekend Confessions: So College It Hurts

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

Thank you for your love and support on Friday’s post. ♥

Confession #1: My gynecology appointment on Friday was good, terrifying, confusing and disheartening all at the same time. I’m going back this Friday, and I’ll leave it at that.

Confession #2: I went to a formal workout for the first time in a long time, and it was FUN.

A new fitness group on campus hosted an outdoor workout in the middle of campus, so I decided to stop by and join them [10 minutes late]. It wasn’t anything crazy; it was just wonderful to be active outdoors with fellow Terriers.

Confession #3: I waited in line for 1.5 hours to see a comedian I hadn’t even heard of before.

Are any of you fans of the show Parks and Recreation? The comedian we watched was Retta from the show. We definitely had some good laughs!

Confession #4: I don’t want to say that the weather has been perfect these past two weeks because I don’t want to jinx it. But here I am saying it anyway.

Confession #5: My roommate had her birthday dinner this weekend and I felt like I was at a celebrity’s birthday party. 40 people at a trendy hot pot restaurant for THIS MODEL.

suite mates

Confession #7: I cooked the vegetables that so many people at the party didn’t want to eat, and I took them home as leftovers. Then I ate them cold. #dontwastefoodplease

Confession #8: Sandwiches are baaaaaack. 🙂 The no-fail meal option.

Confession #9: I have dessert practically every day here in college. Apparently “sophomore spread” is a thing, (like, my fat is supposed to spread out all over the place? all I can think of with that term is Jabba the Hut), but I think we’ll be okay.

We walk a lot.

Confession #10: I brought my own peanut butter to the Catholic Center pancake brunch on Sunday.

“Alison, you did NOT bring your own peanut butter.”

“But alas, here it is on my pancake.”

Confession #12: I spent $5 for public transportation to see fireworks. ‘Twas worth it because of these beautiful people.

Confession #13: I’m reading more text (that’s not on a blog) than I have in a long time. SO MUCH DENSE READING. SO LITTLE TIME.

Confession #14: I went to the gym for the first time in several months. I felt somewhat lost because a) they moved and added a lot of equipment; b) I hadn’t touched a weight in forever. I’m still not doing anything near what I used to do, but I did use some light kettlebells.

Confession #15: It took me a total of 4 hours to do laundry because apparently, college students like to do laundry on a long weekend. Who would have thought? Not me, evidently.

This weekend was so college, it hurts— studying, dining hall food, and events that require investments I would deem unreasonable outside of a college setting.

I hope you all had a fantastic Labo(u)r Day if you celebrated. Full force ahead!!! (<— me pretending to be enthusiastic about 8AM classes)

So tell me:

What is the most exciting thing you did this weekend?

Do you bring nut butter with you where you know it will be applicable?

Have you ever eaten at a hot pot restaurant?

Please explain what “sophomore spread” is supposed to mean.

I Need to Focus + Energy Balls Recipe

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

Pretty sure Amanda came up with thinking out loud before Ed Sheeran

1) I’m so glad you all enjoyed yesterday’s vlog! Your comments totally made my day. Thank you! The terms “cute” and “adorable” were big themes in the comments though…

[source]

This photo is the story of my life. #Forever~~Yeung~~Young

2) Shoutout to my friend Fiona for reminding me to change my age in my side bio. In the meantime, I also edited my About page and Blogroll. Check it!

3) I made balls yesterday! (<— balls jokes won’t get old.) They’re stereotypical energy balls, and they count as a recipe towards my summer bucket list! It’s kind of a cop-out, since this recipe didn’t take much thought or effort, but I’ll count it for now until my creative juices start flowing.

Into a food processor:

1+1/3 c. quick oats
1.5 c. roughly chopped dried figs
1/4 c. peanut butter (any nut butter will work!)
2 scoops (1/3-1/2 c.) vanilla protein powder
2 tbsp. chia seeds
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/3 c. almond milk (just enough to get the mixture to bind)

Pulse until the ingredients are well combined and wet enough to bind. Wet your hands with water and roll into 1.5 tbsp-sized balls. Makes ~20!

Confession: I did not measure most of the ingredients. Those are just estimates. Luckily, recipes like these are very customizable and flexible!

4) I need to focus. I get way too distracted with technology and social media these days, and it eats up a lot of my time. I accomplish the tasks that need to be done, but I still find myself scrambling because I spent just a little too much time reading blogs or watching Youtube videos.

5) New goal (please keep me accountable): No casual perusing on social media/technology after I get home from my internship (anywhere from 5-6pm). If I go on to blog or do something with a specific goal, that’s cool, but otherwise I will spend my time reading or doing something productive around the house. This will hopefully help me get into bed earlier and feel more relaxed at night!

6) I also need to read more books— read things that are not pixelated. Basically, I need to be my own parent this summer: “No technology close to bedtime. Eat more to grow bigger. Do your reading.”

7) I liked this song when I heard it on the radio, but once I found out that it was a tribute to Paul Walker, I loved it.

Paul Walker was (and still is) my biggest celeb crush. What a beautiful man.

[source]

8) I am enjoying my physical therapy internship more and more every day. I’m learning bucketloads of information and practices on how to take care of the human body through movement. The best part is the people though. I love the interpersonal patient interactions and the one-on-one environment of this particular outpatient clinic. Can I just stay at my internship and not go to college?

…LOL. Dreaming.

9) If you ever make Gina’s cookie dough cereal (which you should, it’s delicious), make it with at least 1.5 tablespoons of nut butter. If not, two tablespoons. You won’t regret it.