A random sick day vlog.

Posted on March 18, 2020 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

Boston University has officially made all learning remote for the rest of the semester.

The poor undergraduates who live on campus have been advised to stay home…but are also being asked to move out within 5 days. Good grief.

Yesterday I decided to film a random sick day vlog, mostly because I had very few important things to do.

Enjoy, if you so choose to watch!

The Blonde Ponytail 100s Challenge

Irish Apple Cake

So tell me:

What kind of activity do you like to do when you don’t really feel like working out?

What is your go-to food to use up a lot of milk / eggs?

What did you do yesterday?

Do you have your life together? I don’t.

Let’s stop talking about me; let’s talk about You, God.

Posted on March 17, 2020 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

I had a sick day yesterday that didn’t feel like a sick day, but I guess an abnormal day just feels normal at this moment.

I stayed home from clinical yesterday (and also today), because I must be without my sore throat and cough symptoms for at least 24 hours before returning to work. I was anticipating at least one sick day, and yes, I have symptoms, but I also feel 100% functional.

It’s the “abundance of caution” that is keeping me from work, which I totally get. But I don’t think these particular symptoms I’m having right now have ever kept me home from anything before. Hence a “sick day that doesn’t feel like a sick day.” Gotta do what ya gotta do though.

Additionally, our fridge/freezer stopped working yesterday.

What turned that around was the excuse to bake cornbread to use up some of the whole milk I bought this weekend. 🙂 Also, the fact that yesterday was a particularly cold day, so my roommates and I were able to keep our food outside on the porch to prevent spoilage.

Moves: this ab workout + this at-home HIIT workout from Natacha Oceane. I’m not usually a huge fan of just any fitness guru who puts out social media content, but Natacha was formerly a PhD student and chose to do YouTube instead. However, she still brings evidence to practice and makes the evidence very accessible and digestible, and I can get behind that.

Opportunities. Having a sick day and having more time to myself (#selfisolation) presents more opportunities to do things for which I’ve lost habit.

Exhibit A: FaceTiming my PT friend who had her clinical in Utah (hi, Elayne!)

Exhibit B: Prayer for 20+ minutes at a time. I went on a long solo walk to get some fresh air into these lungs, and just talked with God. I literally told Him, “I’m tired of talking about myself and asking what Your plan is for me. I want to know more about You… What was it like for Your people to turn against You and want to throw You headlong off a cliff?” (as that was the event of yesterday’s Gospel reading).

And that was the most fruitful prayer in a long time. It was a wonderful thing to focus on God for who He is and not myself in this time of chaos.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Say a prayer, wear green and eat something Irish. And don’t pinch anyone for not wearing green! Not because of coronavirus, but because that’s rude.

So tell me:

How are you finding “normal” in the abnormal of life right now?

What are some opportunities you are finding with the social distancing?

So…The “Future”?

Posted on March 16, 2020 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

We are in QUITE a bonafide shakeup, aren’t we?

And I don’t mean to make light of what is truly a serious situation happening in the world. I myself am actually sick with a cough and sore throat right now, so I’m trying to keep myself away from people (depending on how I feel this morning when this post goes up, I may or may not be going to clinical today). I hope the social distancing and/or quarantining has been fruitful and not too stir-crazy for you all.

The ~future~ seems a little blurry right now for most people, including myself. We had an additional 11 weeks of clinical experience lined up from March until June, but those weeks have been canceled for us physical therapy students, which is difficult to swallow in many respects, but also exciting because we technically have enough clinical hours to be DONE (besides the boards exam in July, and maybe some additional clinical experience as individually needed). Essentially, I have 11+ weeks to study for boards and just…do something.

Work a temporary (non-PT) job? Eh, doesn’t seem like people are hiring anyone right now.

Start applying for big girl PT jobs? Eh, I don’t know if I want to work in Boston or NY, and I need to apply for licensure in one or the other before I start applying.

Vacation? Nope, no traveling, please.

Hobbies or special skill development? I’ve been seeing ads for Zumba instructor training, and not gonna lie, I’ve clicked the links out of interest. Maybe this is the time to immerse myself back into the blogging world (perfect for social distancing in the physical sense!).

I don’t know.

Two weekends ago gave a Catholic youth retreat talk to a bunch of high schoolers who are planning on being confirmed this year on the topic titled, “you have a purpose, and God has a plan.” I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to speak on that particular topic, but little did I know even just two weeks ago how much I would need to pray deeply about the truth that God does have a plan through the convoluted madness of this spinning Earth.

So, if you’re also feeling lost today, you’re not alone. But you still have a purpose in your isolation, in your working from home / still working when no one is giving you business, or in whatever your situation may be.

Moves and grooves have been limited due to a stressful week, being sick, and now my gym is closed for a month. I was just getting into increasing my squat weight, but that’ll be on hold for a bit. Home and outdoor workouts are the name of the game now. I’ll take this as an opportunity to get creative and hopefully more flexible (re: both muscles and plans). Solo walks will also continue.

In all of this, I also realize how much of a physical touch person I am. Even just a little hand on the shoulder when I’m laughing or elbow touch when I’m saying hello/goodbye. I have to internally scream at myself, “NO, ALISON. CONTROL.”

In other news, St. Patrick’s Day is tomorrow! In honor of the feast day, I baked this Irish apple cake yesterday and it was one of the most delightful things I have ever baked. Staying in never tasted so goooooood. Skipped the custard sauce only because I ran out of vanilla extract and didn’t feel like going to the grocery store for, like, the 4th time this week.

I live for crispy crunchy crust with soft, buttery cake inside. It’s like apple pie in cake form + extra flavor of a buttery scone. OH my goodness, I miss it already.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend Mass (in either Boston or NY) for the foreseeable future due to city-wide efforts to “flatten the curve” of infection cases. Totally necessary, but definitely a bummer. Bummer because, of course, I would l o v e to receive Jesus in the Eucharist, but also especially a bummer because of all the beautiful feast days this week and next week (St. Patrick, St. Joseph, Annunciation). We shall celebrate and be in communion with Christ and others in different ways this time around though! Our creative minds are being challenged here.

The “future”? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ← that’s all I have to say about that. I trust, though. H~~e’ll pull us through~~ He’ll walk with us through this; He always does.

I am well overall, and I hope you and your loved ones are too. If not, drop a comment and I’ll pray for you especially.

So tell me:

What are some emotions you have experienced due to the changes in the world as of late?

How are you feeling about the ~future~?

What is the best thing you’ve cooked/baked in 2020 so far?

American Version of Ireland

Posted on March 20, 2017 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

It’s 12:15am and I’m eating frozen bananas while standing in front of my radiator.

But I wanted to blog! My brain can only organize things into an incoherent list right now though, so that’s what we’ll work with today.

This past week:

1) We had a snow day on Tuesday and it ruined everything.

My gross anatomy lab practical that was supposed to be last Tuesday is now tomorrow, the same day as the gross anatomy lecture exam. #ILoveEverything.

2) I can’t complain about sleeping in and having warm Slytherin socks though (thanks, Fiona ♥︎).

3) Megan and I also made a mini snowman after Mass that day.

same.

we named him Stello, the counterpart to Stella the storm

3) Megan, Briana and I were craving a taste of Ireland on our snow day, so we baked Irish brown bread (one of our favorite foods when we were abroad) using this recipe. It ROCKED fresh out of the oven with butter and jam/honey. *Irish jig*

3 mini loaves

we have finally mastered the art of baking in our hell-hot box of an oven

4) Another low regarding the snow/ice was that I walked 30 minutes to dance on Wednesday morning (and royally wiped out on the ice on the way there) all to find out that class was cancelled. ‘Twas totally my fault for not checking the facebook page for an update after the large snow storm.

5) I forgot how much I liked getting sandwiches/wraps at the dining hall until I ordered this beauty last week.

roast beef, provolone, roasted veggies, lettuce, tomato, sprouts, honey mustard on whole wheat wrap

6) Some of my favorite moves and grooves from last week:

Wednesday: 10-1 pistol squat/burpee ladder (10 of each, then 9, 8,7…1) + squat clean practice

Saturday: 5 rounds of this functional workout from Peanut Butter Fingers + overhead squat practice

Friday: alllll the dancing for St. Paddy’s day!

ugh this night was so fun!

7) I tried making a healthy homemade shamrock shake with peppermint stevia drops that had been sitting in my pantry unopened for ages.

milk, yogurt, oats, chia seeds, frozen banana, 1/4 avocado, greens, vanilla protein powder, peppermint stevia drops

My friends hate me for making this.

It was tasty and creamy, but I should have just left out the stevia because it wasn’t that strong, so I kept adding more until it just left a nasty aftertaste.

At least it wasn’t as sickeningly sweet as the McDonald’s version? And it’s green!

8) I helped out with a high school confirmation retreat on Saturday and the church spoiled the volunteers by inviting us to their St. Patrick’s/St. Joseph’s potluck dinner!

salad, lobster ravioli, jambalaya, clam fritter, eggplant parmigiana, shepherd’s pie, soda bread

#global.

all the boxed baked goods!!!

I also ate Welch’s fruit snacks and Cheez-Its earlier in the day during the allotted snack time, and I was on cloud nostalgia.

9) Despite the complain train of this post, I am truly grateful for the many wonderful people and privileges I have in my life. And especially this week, I am grateful for the little trials and heartaches that God uses to teach me how to be better.

I hope you all have a fantastic Monday. Go get ’em!!!

So tell me:

How did you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Danced and snacked the night away with my friends (and watched them drink because I’m still a baby here in America).

Two things you’re grateful for.

The best thing you ate this weekend. That one lobster ravioli (raviolo?) I ate at the potluck was smashing.

Feelin’ Lucky {MIMM #28}

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

Good morning and…

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Fun fact: St. Patrick’s original associated color was actually blue. So if you accidentally wear blue today, you can tell people that.

I hope you all had a fun weekend filled with some luck and {root} beer (as my Economics teacher says)! I wouldn’t say my weekend was filled {root} beer, but it was definitely filled with loads of smiles, tears, and delicious food, which always makes me feel lucky. And marvelous!

We’re lucky to have Katie as the fabulous host of MIMM!

It’s becoming one of the most (if not, THE most) hectic times of year with school, dance, and church events, so it’s easy to overlook all the blessings right in front of me. We’re all doing ten things at once at any point in the day, but it’s a wonderful thing to just reflect on all the things we’re blessed to have. So here’s to all the blessings from this weekend! But for the sake of St. Paddy’s day, we’ll just say lucky. 🙂

Friday

We were lucky to have a chilly, but absolutely gorgeous day on Friday. I couldn’t fathom the idea of cooping up in the gym for a workout, so I opted for a refreshing outdoor workout.

Moves consisted of several plyo exercises (jumping jacks, high knees, burpees, jump lunges/squats) and different variations of pushups. I took sufficient breaks and took it easy, but it was nice to get the blood flowing in the great outdoors… of my backyard.

I’m lucky that coconut oil tastes good. I tried that trendy oil pulling technique (inspired by Gina and Katie) on Thursday. Basically, you swish around a vegetable oil in your mouth for about 20 minutes every day, and it’s supposed to aid in teeth whitening, gum health, and have some other health benefits. I’m in it for the teeth whitening. I still haven’t done it again since Thursday though…

Let’s face it. Swishing oil in your mouth for twenty minutes is kinda nasty.

I’m lucky to have had another smooth evening babysitting my company director’s little guy. I fed and changed him, and then he went to sleep in no time. All I had to do was check on him every once in a while, watch Youtube videos, read blogs, and do homework. Is that what motherhood will be like?? 😉

I’m also lucky that they had watermelon popsicles in their freezer.

Yeah, I raided their freezer (with permission).

Saturday

I’m lucky to have peanut butter, oatmeal, and Greek yogurt. As if I haven’t made that very clear.

I’m lucky to have lunches on the go. This was eaten at dance: spinach salad with curry chicken and grapes + BelVita biscuits.

I’m lucky to have a dad who loves taco night as much as I do. We had a fiesta in honor of St. Patrick’s Day because we’re multicultural like that.

Whole wheat tortilla, lean ground beef, cabbage, avocado, cheese, cilantro, pineapple salsa, and squeeze of lime.

It had beef and cabbage, so it’s sort of like corned beef and cabbage, right?

Sunday

I’m lucky to have 14 dance company girls and an amazing company director who made my last company rehearsal EVER pretty darn great. My feet hurt and we were sweaty beasts, but I’m glad to have spent it with such beautiful, hilarious, loving ladies. I didn’t cry, but the waterworks are guaranteed to come during our last show in less than two weeks.

I WON’T CRY NOW.

I’m lucky to have a dad who will run to the store to pick up some buttermilk for Irish soda bread. I’m a huge fan of the stuff, so of course I had to make some for St. Patrick’s day! I used this recipe (I used half whole wheat flour), which is a fun twist on the traditional Irish soda bread with raisins. This one has dried apricots and orange zest!