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The Great and Small Things I Learned {Summer Clinical #2}

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Sometimes I forget I have a blog.

But I lounged around yesterday for about an hour just scrolling through blogs that I follow on my Feedly like I used to during my high school leisure days… ahhhh. It was lovely, and I remembered that I like to blog too HAHA.

I’ve given a glimpse of how this summer has been in STL. Now that I am back home in New York / Boston, the reflective mindset has started to settle a bit. Ergo, it is time for another edition of “Great and Small Things I Learned.”

How to even begin summarizing the oodles of things I learned in the hospital!?

I worked with a physical therapist on the medicine floor of Barnes Jewish Hospital. This means we saw patients who have pretty much any and every comorbidity under the sun and who were admitted for a reason that is not primarily neurological, cardiopulmonary, or orthopedic. For example, I saw a lot of patients admitted for falls, sepsis, altered mental status, acute kidney injuries, hypoglycemia, hypertensive emergencies, acute onset of weakness from metabolic causes… etc… I guess.

Communication

50% of patients wanted nothing to do with physical therapy. De-escalating situations with  patients who had altered mental status or who were agitated at the time was a big skill to learn, but by the end of the clinical, almost no amount of sass or yelling could faze me.

Empathy and Listening

Requirements in the healthcare field. In the first few weeks of clinical, it was easy to be stressed and preoccupied over my performance as a student PT, so I had to remind myself that this job is about the patient in front of me, and the patient is hurting, often in more ways than one. Listening and motivational interviewing are always helpful.

Integrity, Honesty and Moving Forward

I made plenty of mistakes during clinical, but some were bigger than others. Thankfully, none of the mistakes resulted in anyone’s injury, but I learned some valuable lessons the hard way, that’s for sure. I had to practice integrity and timely honesty about my mistakes, and furthermore, I had to move forward and continue in confidence after all was said and done. My clinical instructor (who was amazing!) counseled me that letting my mistakes get to my head does not serve anyone well.

Neuromuscular Connection

The trendy/granola term for this is “mind-muscle connection,” I think. THINKING about what I want my muscles to do and how fast I want them to it during a workout has helped with increasing strength. There’s literature about it out there… I’m not going to go find it right now. But intentionality in life is important, and working out ain’t an exception! As Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson would say, “FOCUS!!!”

To “Just Be”

Moving onto matters outside of the hospital, I am grateful to say that I made several great friends through the young adult group at the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica. So many people took me (and Janice) under their wings and welcomed us into their community with love and generosity that were just astounding. People cooked for us, drove us around, invited us to watch the sunrise with them on a hill in the park, took us grocery/thrift store shopping, helped me babysit my cousins, toured us through the art museum, swing danced with us, prayed with and for us…

In so many of these great times, my friend Maria would call it “just being” — putting the phone down (even though I’d still snap a photo or two for posterity/the blog, ya know) and soaking in the moment, whatever it is, however mundane it may be. To “just be” with pals in fellowship and faith through the everyday and not-so-everyday things, and to do it all joyfully.

My heart misses all of our friends back there. They were so f r e e. Free and secure in their love for Christ which showed so evidently and made me want to love God more.

They made St. Louis home away from home. So did Janice, my roomie! She’d tuck me in almost every night (upon her offer) LOL. We shared a lot of ups and downs together this summer, and I am grateful for her being a dear friend through it all.

Don’t Give Up on Prayer

It can be hard to maintain a consistent prayer life with a 9-5 (or in my case, a 7-4:30) job, not so much because I don’t have time, but because brain energy is limitedddd at the end of the day. Prayer takes mental energy and attention that admittedly I don’t want to give when I get home from a long day of work + going to the gym. And I failed many days and did not prioritize prayer, but I learned to fight the good fight and never give up on it. Start anew the next day. Whether you meditate, pray, do some reading for personal development, do it, man. Probably in the morning before you’re wiped out from the day. Which means you (I) have to sleep early, which is difficult at times… But God is worthy of our love, the best we can give.

I could go on for ages and pages about my time in STL, but these are enough words for now. Thank you for reading along if you’ve made it this far.

At home now, I am doing at least 20x less work/activity and I am at least 20x MORE tired. I love being with the fam though ♥︎

Off to a camping trip with Boston friends this weekend!

P.S. Tori Kelly’s new album is FIRE.

So tell me:

What are some things you’ve learned this summer?

What are your plans this weekend?

 

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Summer Catch Up {Part 2}: Spartan Race and Bachelorette Party

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I meant to write this, like, two days ago.

This is my week off and my days have already been full enough to not have time to blog. SCHOOL IS COMIN’!!

It’s been full of mostly fun things though. Example: Last night I went out to dinner with my good pal Zoe and her family at Sweet Cheeks BBQ. We ate al fresco in the cool summer eve, noshed on giant honey-buttered biscuits, and ate lots o’ scrumptious meat. I truly don’t deserve this life.

Spartan Race

Rewind to…THREE weekends ago ALREADY. My friend Ben and I ran a Spartan Super race in western Massachusetts!

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It was 8.2 miles of epic fun. Well, the first 2 miles were miserable for me. Running felt really difficult at the beginning, and after the first wall obstacle, I told Ben, “Not gonna lie, I feel pretty damn terrible.”

But somehow I caught a first wind at around mile 3 and felt great for the rest of it. I owe Ben a lot of credit for leading the way at the beginning when I just wanted to go back to Boston to sleep and for lending his knee to help me up all of the tall walls. And just for being the greatest Spartan buddy.

FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE RACE:

So at last year’s Spartan Sprint race, I was *this* close to reaching the top of the rope climb, but I didn’t know how to use my feet for leverage, so my arms became super fatigued. I was a pull and a reach from the bell, but instead I slid down and got a rope burn on my ankle (in front of many spectators) that I still had by the Spartan Race this year. Since then, I’ve been determined to complete the rope obstacle, buuuuuut I don’t know where to find a rope for practice, so I’ve never trained for it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Anyway, at the race this year, there were some Army men/women standing at the rope obstacle (idk, moral support?). I was struggling to even START climbing the rope, so I asked one of the Army guys, “Do you know how to do the foot thing to climb the rope?” Army man coached me through it, and after a couple of failed attempts, I finally got the hang of it and started my way up the rope. At half way I wanted to quit because I was already fatigued and felt like I wasn’t using my energy efficiently, but Army man said, “You’re halfway there, don’t give up.”

Fine.

I kept inching my way up (literally like an inchworm), and when I was at about the same place as last year, I reached for the bell but missed. But I honestly had to just think of Jesus Christ on the cross (#dramatic but whatever, He’s always relevant) in order to not let go. So the tired leggies and the super tired arms did one more pull, and then I rang the bell!

…and then I slid down and rope burned the same part of my ankle as last year, except five times worse (it’s still scabbed and healing). And when my butt made its grand touchdown to the mat, I thanked Army man and all his friends as if they had just saved my life. It was a proud and humbling moment all the same.

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had to assure people that I am safe and not being harmed by myself or anyone else; “it was just a spartan race”

Hardest obstacle: The bucket carry. It just felt so bad for my back, no matter how well I tried to maintain my body mechanics and use my core.

Honorary mention obstacle: Dead ball (maybe around 50-75# for the women?) carry with burpees.

The weather was overcast (which was actually lovely!) and slightly rainy towards the end, but everything was a cow-manure-smelling, soggy, muddy slip and slide. I almost ate it at least ten times. Monkey bar obstacles were complete fails, 30% due to the conditions, 70% due to my lack of grip strength.

But we did it! In 3 hours, 18 minutes.

Our post-race meal (besides the free banana/protein bar/electrolyte super water they gave us) was ramen and ice cream. A fine celebratory meal, I say!

We’re already thinking of doing another one next year.

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[source]

Rachel’s Bachelorette Party

If you didn’t know, my bff is getting married in a couple months, and she asked me to be the maid of honor ♥

This was just F U N. Part one was a surprise party complete with some of Rachel’s favorite foods, a gold fringe curtain, polaroids, booze, some G-rated question games (since pinterest bachelorette party ideas are really gross, tbh).

Then we went out on the town and danced up a STORM at a couple bars. We were living. Also, I learned that people are so dang generous and enthusiastic to bachelorette parties. Free drinks and hugs left and right, man!! Creepy men left and right, too, but we held our ground.

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The collage obviously shows our ~tame~ side as well. Part two of the weekend was a quiet getaway to an idyllic farm Airbnb in middle-of-nowhere Massachusetts. Rachel requested this type of weekend for just her and her bridesmaids, so we delivered! It was wonderful in every way. The Airbnb hosts were great (we stayed here — highly recommend if you wanna stay on a peaceful farm lol) and sold us a whole fresh chicken that we roasted for dinner. They even set up a bonfire for us, which we used for s’mores at night as we chatted under the intensely bright moon.

Ugh, it was just phenomenal. It was “glamping”, essentially — all the perks of camping without having to sleep outside nor deal with camp stoves.

Most importantly, Rachel loved it, so it was a successful weekend 🙂

School starts on Tuesday! Hope you all have a delightful weekend. Do we feel that fall air coming on yet!?

So tell me:

Have you ever done an obstacle race before?

Have you ever been to a bachelorette party?

 

 

 

In and Out of Canada {Take Three}

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We had such a productive four days in Toronto!

It’s seems that my family has an annual tradition of being in and out of Canada to visit relatives. Here was take one and take two.

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Whenever I leave the ever-walkable city of Boston, my daily step count plummets by approximately 15,000 steps, while my calorie intake increases significantly, especially when in Toronto, amidst Asian food paradise.

But…

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After a fun and active day on Thursday with my cousins, Friday was a fun and food-filled day with my cousins at the Canadian National Exhibition! First though — moves, grooves and breakfast.

I did a nice 10 minute warmup (I am a zombie if I work our first thing in the morning) before completing this 20 minute workout (30 seconds on, 10 seconds off, 5 rounds):

  • burpee tuck jumps
  • weighted squats
  • donkey kicks
  • superman to scapula retraction
  • burpee to plank kick throughs
  • hamstring ball curls

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Followed by 4 x 30-40 second wall walk holds and Greek yogurt with fruit and granola.

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My cousin Amy and I were chaperoned by my parents to the train station and then took a train and bus on our own to get downtown.

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Quick story: At the train station, I tried to pay for my ticket with a $50 Canadian bill, but the guy at the ticket counter told me, “Go away,” while gesturing to the turnstile. I was confused and slightly distressed and didn’t know what he wanted me to do until Amy whispered, “He wants us to go for free!” OH. (You don’t see this happen in Boston or NYC.)

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I’m eight years older than Amy, but age is obviously just a number when it comes to having a clue about anything.

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Anyway, after a pleasant (and free) ride on Toronto’s public transit, we arrived at the CNE, ready to explore! The CNE is basically an annual MEGA fair in downtown Toronto. Just visit the website if you want to learn about what happens there; it’s huge.

We explored the “farm” first, which is a building filled with farmers and their animals from around Canada.

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alpacas!

I felt the slightest tug to never eat pork or beef ever again, but I’m a cold-hearted person I think eating meat conscientiously is not a bad thing.

Next we visited the arts and crafts building, which housed hundreds of vendors and booths, which means we housed many samples in our bellies.

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Amy and I met up a little later with my other cousins, Kate and Megan! We all hung out together for the rest of the day, which made for a sweet girls’ day 🙂

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The CNE has quite a few shows and performances throughout the day, so we first went to the ice skating and acrobatics show. It was awesome (and a little heart-attack-inducing with some of those acrobatics). There was also a “Fire Guy” show in front of the arena beforehand.

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Then it was time for lunch! The food building is RIDICULOUS, guys. There are so many food stands, healthy and…daring alike.

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this is like 10% of it

I walked around for 10 minutes feeling overwhelmed yet hungry, but I knew that I definitely wanted pierogis (Polish potato and cheese dumplings), so I got a cup of four with sour cream on the side to start.

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My uncle also recommended the waffle ice cream sandwich (a CNE classic apparently), so I had my heart set on one of those. It did not disappoint!!

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it doesn’t look like much, but it was PERFECT — tender, buttery, warm and toasted waffles with good ol’ vanilla ice cream in the middle — UGH

I wish I had more time/money/space in my stomach to spare, because there were so many things I wanted to try. Look at this list of 10 outrageous foods at the CNE, some of which look repulsive and some of which I would so eat.

We scurried out of lunch to watch the parkour show just outside the food building! This was one of my favorite things at the CNE. It’s just so entertaining and awe-inspiring to see people flip and jump over obstacles like it’s absolutely nothing.

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After the parkour show, Amy and I walked around the carnival area while Megan and Kate went on a couple rides.

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Amy and I shared a corn dog at some point because a) Amy had never eaten corn dog before; b) I secretly love corn dogs.

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The four of us met back up at another big exhibition hall for more samples and people trying to sell us things, like these self-massagers (admittedly, I could have used that thing for an hour).

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There were also sand and butter sculptures in the making!

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the butter sculptors were working on recreating that black and white photo in the background — Justin Trudeau holding baby pandas LOL

‘Twas such a successful trip to the CNE with these beautiful ladies!

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met up with our Aunt Sharon at the very end too!

Amy and I headed back outbound to our families for sushi dinner at 8pm. I really wanted vegetables at this point, and a starter salad had to suffice for the day, but I’m okay with a day of only 2-ish servings of fruits/veggies.

Because THIS:

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{Sushi} Roll me outta there.

On Saturday we spent a lot of time with Pop’s parents, which was wonderful. There was also a big family lunch at Congee Queen in there!

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The rest of the day was just spent chillin’ with my grandparents, dropping them off at a wedding, a walk/deep chat with Pop, Mass, and then more foooooood.

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Vietnamese for dinner (aka so many veggies YES)

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my two kids in a candy store 😉

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banana + tapioca in coconut milk *moment of silence*

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red bean pastry

My Asian side (aka my whole side) thrives in Toronto.

We all had big plans for Sunday morning, but none of them really worked out. I had big plans to work out before we hit the road for NY, but that didn’t happen as I went to sleep past 1am.

We also had plans to leave at 7am, but that didn’t happen as we promptly discovered that our car battery was completely dead. Thank God for CAA for coming to the rescue! We only left 1.5 hours later than we planned, which wasn’t bad at all. (I also got to foam roll and stretch before sitting in the car all day #bless.)

Then the rest of the day involved road tripping. Snacks and stretching are a must.

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ketchup chips are a Canadian road trip specialty/necessity in our family

We were back in New York as the sun was setting, so we headed to So Gong Dong for a last hurrah Korean dinner.

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Korean short ribs to share (the best)

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veggie bibimbap

Madre also graciously helped me buy some new training/running shoes at TJMaxx after dinner since mine were about as useful as slippers.

One day in NY now before heading back to Boston for another four months!!

Hope you all have a joyous Monday!

p.s. WHO IN THE US IS WATCHING THE SOLAR ECLIPSE!? My brother gave me special eclipse glasses to view it this afternoon from NY (not total eclipse, but 76% coverage isn’t too bad!)

So tell me: 

Have you ever been to the CNE?

What is your favorite carnival food?

Two things you did this weekend!

Has your car battery ever died? Thank God ours didn’t die in the middle of the road!

 

 

Shimmying in Charlotte + Recent Eats

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On top of my titles as selfie queen, peanut butter lover, and daughter of God, add saxophone enthusiast.

Not because I can play the saxophone by any stretch of the imagination, but because I went to the MOST FUN jazz sax concert in Charlotte, NC this weekend with my dear friend Lauren and her awesome parents.

Going to NC for 24 hours for a saxophone concert is one of the most random things I’ve ever done, but that’s what I love about the whole thing. There’s a saxophonist named Gerald Albright who Lauren and I talk about all the time, even though we only really knew one of his songs (“Slam Dunk” – highly recommend if you want a good time).

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our “Ger bear”

Lauren’s parents had an extra ticket and very generously invited me down to hang out with them and watch the concert. And BOY did we have a blast!

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Gerald was ridiculously amazing, even more so than I was expecting. The other saxophone star above was Kirk Whalum, who solo’d in Whitney Houston’s song, “I Will Always Love You” (casual..maybe you’ve heard it) and played for her for almost ten years. WILD.

There was also some dancing and soul trains involved during the concert, and we were all loving it. Even if Lauren and I were likely the only ones under the age of 35 there. We shimmied our way through the concert (and the whole weekend, honestly).

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The best part of the weekend was just spending time with Lauren and her parents. They are the most beautiful family. They also know to take a couple Boston girls to Chick-Fil-A immediately upon arrival in NC.

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my first Chick-Fil-A sandwich ever

A milestone, you could say. It was perfect.

Lauren’s mom also brewed some delicious iced tea at home that we sipped as we chatted in their living room. I rather enjoy the simple things in life.

Before the concert on Saturday night, we went to dinner at The King’s Kitchen, which I would describe as an upscale Southern restaurant. The food was utterly delicious, AND the proceeds go towards feeding the hungry and towards life skills development programs.

I got the pot roast, which came with three sides and either corn bread or a biscuit. I went with mac and cheese, green beans, collards, and a biscuit (you know I love corn bread, but when the waiter suggests the biscuit, you go for the biscuit – a good move).

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I finished e v e r y t h i n g.

The show was about three hours long, so afterwards, we made one last pit stop at Amelie’s French Bakery for near-midnight dessert. We split a lavender lemon cake, chocolate ganache cake, vanilla eclair, and raspberry lemon tart between the four of us.

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I think the raspberry lemon tart got the best vote all around!

On Sunday morning, I made them avocado egg toast because it is a) a joy for me to cook breakfast for people; b) necessary for every person to try avocado egg toast. I had peanut butter honey toast because they bought natural peanut butter for me *happy crying eyes*.

After breakfast, we headed to Mass and then had a light lunch at Chopt, ” the creative salad company.”

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sweet corn quinoa salad + turmeric ginger iced tea

Ugh, so fresh and delicious.

I already miss Lauren and her parents!! Thank you all so much again for your hospitality, generosity and love ♥︎ It was such a fun weekend.

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Also, I love Charlotte! I will be returning one day 🙂

Lastly, here are some recent eats and scenes that I haven’t shared yet from the past week!

My friends and I have still been using up our Groupon classes at The Ring. I will be so sad when it’s over. I LOVE BOXING.

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I cooked fava beans for the first time ever a couple weeks ago. They remind me of edamame!

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Overnight oats forever and ever. This one was with blackberries – a fine addition!

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My girl Elayne invited me to go to spin class with her at the HandleBar a couple weeks ago (I’m so behind with this recap), and as always with spin, the class kicked my butt! But the instructor was awesome and so fun.

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Two Fridays ago, my friends Justin and Kevin and I went to eat at Pho Countryside as our pre-exam studying treat. It keeps us going.

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It was everything I needed.

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We followed that up with some frozen yogurt at Cafe 472 (with Elayne!).

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Kevin and I shared apple pie flavor with granola, but I am convinced they actually made us pineapple flavor. It was great regardless.

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Some more of my beloved Asian friends invited me to join them for Kimbap on a different day. It’s basically like extra large sushi rolls with lots of yum stuff like bulgogi meat, seasoned veggies, egg, and spam if ya fancy. It was so tasty. I have such generous people in my life, my goodness!!

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Lots of peanut butter Puffins as a night snack these days.

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Overnight oatmeal smoothie bowls are my go-to weekend breakfast this summer.

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I think I followed up that smoothie with these scrambled eggs shortly after. Just cuz I was extra hungry. I forget how delicious simple scrambled eggs with ketchup is!

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I had whole wheat three cheese tortellini with sun-dried tomato pesto for a couple nights. This night I decided to put the leftovers over some greens.

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I’ve still been eating a lot of sandwiches for lunch just about every day!

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So I was at Target one day and needed to buy more bread for my sandwich lifestyle. I usually get the Harvest Wheat loaf for $1.99 at Trader Joe’s, so I tried to find an equivalent at Target.

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This one looked fine enough. When I got home, I decided to look at the ingredients (since the TJ’s one has a short and sweet list and I wanted to compare). I found…

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My first instinct was, “Aw man. I wish I could return this. HFCS is gross.” But then I thought, “Will I die? No. This is food. This is fine. It is bread. I will enjoy this bread and be grateful for it.” Do I want to buy this bread every week? Nah. But my life will not be a spiraling pit of doom if I have this bread for lunch every day for a couple weeks.

*steps off soapbox*

Last Sunday we went to Toscanini’s for ice cream Sunday! This is my favorite ice cream place in Boston. Listen to these flavors: thin mint (amazing) + matcha cookies ‘n’ cream cheesecake (yes, that’s one flavor and yes, it was delicious).

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Many days have looked like this recently! Blessed.

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On Friday night, a bunch of us celebrated our girl Zoe’s 21st birthday! She was abroad this summer and visited Boston to celebrate with us this weekend. WOOHOO!

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We started with apps and margarita’s at Sunset Cantina.

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And then moseyed on over to Landsdowne for some dancing!!

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I needed a midnight snack before bed that night. Smashed banana pb bread with cinnamon did the trick.

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When I don’t eat overnight oats for breakfast, Gina’s cookie dough cereal is another one on repeat.

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And last night I had another variation of pb banana that I hadn’t eaten in so long – Amanda’s oatmeal cookie dough smoothie! With Greek yogurt to dip into it (remember when I did that all. the. time?).

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Hope you all have a marvelous Monday and a kick butt week! Don’t sweat the small stuff.

So tell me:

Are you a fan of jazz music? 

Have you ever been to Charlotte, NC?

Do you like Chick-Fil-A (juuuust talking about the food here)?

The top three things from your weekend!

16 Hour Delay

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I feel like under-eye circles are the battery display of my body.

I got 7 hours of sleep on Monday night (which is average), but I still felt pretty tired, and I had purple circles under my eyes.

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yesterday’s breakfast of overnight oats!

I decided to nap after breakfast, which turned into almost TWO extra hours of sleep (still catching up from last week)! Then my under-eye circles were gone.

Purple circles = battery running low. No circles = fully recharged.

Yesterday I talked all about SEEK in San Antonio, but I didn’t tell you guys the story of how I got home. It all started after one last breakfast with the BU crew at our hotel in San Antonio. A couple of my friends and I then took a Lyft to the San Antonio airport at around 8:30 am.

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handy dandy standy table at the San Antonio airport

My first flight was only 30 minutes to Houston, so that was fine. Then came the delays. Thanks to the winter weather that I forgot existed in the northeast, our flight from Houston to New York was delayed 20 minutes… then 50 minutes… then 90 minutes (at this point, I also started to realize that I developed plantar fasciitis in my left foot)… then we boarded. Then it was delayed for another 30 minutes… then we took off, flew, and landed!!…

…in Washington DC. *sad trombone* The runways at LaGuardia airport in NYC were too short and snowy for our plane to safely land, so we were diverted to Dulles Washington airport. There were a couple flights in the same situation as us, so we were stuck on the plane without a gate in DC for a couple hours. I didn’t even care that we weren’t making it to New York that night; my butt just really hurt.

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free TV on demand for all as a consolation gift

Eventually we made it off the plane, but everyone was in a fit about when the next flight to LaGuardia was and whether we were getting hotel vouchers for the night. ‘Twas a mighty unfortunate situation for clients and employees alike, especially at that ungodly hour of 1 AM.

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Some people on my flight had been traveling for over 24 hours from Auckland, New Zealand!! God bless ’em.

We got our generous hotel and meal vouchers for the night and headed to our hotels for the “night”. I bought a caesar salad at the airport and ate it in my large Embassy Suite at 2:30 AM.

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thank God for a comfy bed and a shower though! I was so ready to sleep in the airport

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I slept for a solid 3.5 hours before I had to wake up again and eat breakfast at the hotel (which was included — so many things to be thankful for).

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plus some scrambled eggs + ketchup

This Embassy Suites had two huge pet swans in their lobby too, which was something to wake up to.

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Our scheduled flight to LaGuardia was at 10am, but once we boarded, we were delayed for another hour (our flight was less than an hour, so we could have already been in NY by then) due to some paperwork that had to be completed for the diversion process. People were just about fuming from their ears.

But we finally landed in NYC at almost noon, only 16 hours after we were originally supposed to land. We were safe and sound, which is all that matters. My whole fam picked me up from the airport, and then we headed to lunch at a Korean restaurant in Flushing called Kun Sohn Korean Noodle House.

We all shared loads of fresh, hot, handmade noodle soups + dumplings + seafood pancake + kimchi. The perfect food to drive out the winter chill. Later that night, I went to an evening Mass and then straight to bed at 6:45pm for my 14 hours of glorious sleep.

On Monday, I ate breakfast, did some cleaning, and then moved and grooved. I worked out once in San Antonio on the one day I was willing to sacrifice sleep and get up at the butt-crack of dawn. I am thankful for that one workout though! It did also make my butt sore for the next three days. I’ve used the word “butt” four times in this post already.

I did Colby’s day two cardio and core workout from her 10 day burn challenge. It was so nice to get the blood pumping, but my body was feeeeeelin’ it after a wonky week of sleep, eats, and travel.

After a quick shower, I met up with two of my best dance friends from high school, Susie and Charli, for lunch. It was so good catching up with those beauties!

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devoured this veggie burger (my only vegetable last week was salsa #notmad)

After my two hour nap yesterday, I ate a classic lunch.

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avocado toast with eggs + salad with homemade honey dijon vinaigrette

Then Madre and I went to Bed Bath and Beyond and the nail salon, where I started studying for gross anatomy (the prof says that she “cannot overestimate how incredibly much work this class is”).

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“which bones and muscles is she massaging right now?”

Yoga is what my body needed, so I did this great yoga video by Leigha Butler before dinner (Madre was simultaneously doing Pilates right next to me in the basement haha).

Look what I had after dinner!!

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dried figs with {full fat Fage} greek yogurt 🙂

Also, I had some of Madre’s pork soup, which was seriously the best soup/pork I’ve ever tasted. I don’t know why, but this was my JAM. She simmered it for hours with pork bones, lemongrass, kefir leaves, and salt. That’s it.

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Doesn’t look like much, but it’s what’s inside that counts.

I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday! I’m going to be seeing some lovely ladies tonight. Both of their names start with a C 🙂

So tell me:

Have you ever had to stay overnight in a city due to a flight delay?

Two things you did yesterday!