Tag Archives: tuna salad

Pray, Eat, Move, Groove, Nap, Repeat

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When this happens during spring…

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…you think…

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…so when this finally becomes real…

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…you GET THE HECK OUTSIDE.

I’m typing this on Monday night, but it feels like a Sunday because we had an extra day off for the Boston Marathon! But the weekend fun definitely kicked off on Friday…

Friday

Class, lunch, bible study…

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tuna salad, artichokes, lettuce, tomato, roasted vegetables, and pesto in a whole wheat wrap

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corn muffin 🙂

…and some moves and grooves outside with mah girl Christina from @foodietunes and Fit University! We warmed up and started with a 12 minute HIIT workout. 3 rounds of 30 sec work, 10 sec rest:

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12 minutes can take it out of ya

Then we messed around with some yoga-y moves and partner pistol squats!

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She also convinced me to have force-fed me a couple bites of her Zinneken’s waffle with chocolate, cookie butter, and whipped cream. Life isn’t fair sometimes.

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It was decadent and amazing

Then I cleaned myself up for dinner with my friend Zoe, followed by my roommate’s fashion show that night!

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She is FIRE. Always so cool to see her rock that runway (← sounds like an ad for a new Target teen clothing line).
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I have never felt more awkward posing for a photo than in this moment. I have a lot to learn from Jordan in terms of effortlessness:

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via Mint Julep Facebook

Saturday

I went to bed way too late for getting up at 6:30 on Saturday. I joined some friends for BU’s Global Day of Service for the morning and early afternoon. We went to the houses of senior citizens to help them with yard work. It was a lovely day to be outside, and we all enjoyed meeting new people, serving, and reflecting on the day!

Afterwards, Rachel and I proceeded to shower and take long, delicious naps. I set my alarm for a 45 minute nap, but 90 minutes later I woke up not knowing anything.

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“5:45…am? Wait no, it’s sunny outside.”

After grasping a sense of reality, I did some random things before going to dinner with my friend Mai. We had some beautiful convo ♥︎

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that quinoa-stuffed tomato was fantastic

I spent the night in my room by my lonesome, so I watched this Crossfit “Behind the Scenes” movie on Youtube, practiced handstands, did this ab workout, did laundry, and worked on a paper. I really enjoyed the “me time” to recharge (extravert who is secretly an introvert?).

Sunday

Up and at ’em early-ish again for a fabulous girls’ brunch at Sarah’s (one of the Catholic Center missionaries) house!

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THIS WOMAN. Not only a radiant and inspirational woman of God, but a killer chef. She made us a crockpot egg/sausage/bacon/hasbrown casserole, blueberry cream cheese french toast casserole, and roasted potatoes. Whaaaaaaaat. Thank you so much, Sarah! ♥︎

‘Twas a beautiful day again, so a few of us took the 25 minute walk back to campus.

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We went to Mass and lunch before doing some work (TBH, I just folded my laundry from Saturday night and took a 20 minute nap). Then I went on a short run with Zoe before we met up with  Joe for the 1000 REP WORKOUT (← caps for dramatic effect).

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I’d been asking my friends to work out with me for a while now, so I was stoked that they joined me for some moves and grooves outdoors. They made it a fun and funny workout 🙂

Refueled with milkshakes (milk = protein, so essentially protein shakes).

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The rest of my evening consisted of Back Bay Mobile Soup Kitchen, dinner, a much needed shower, and homework.

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the finish line the day before the race!

Marathon Monday!

Since Boston University is in the heart of Boston (unlike the arch nemesis, Boston College) and the marathon course runs right through campus, we get a day off of school! Some of my best girl friends and I started the holiday with a lovely pancake breakfast in the morning. Rachel was in charge of pancakes, I sautéed the bananas, and Zoe cooked the eggs. Dream team.

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I loved Rachel’s impressionist pancakes.

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one with almond butter, one with peanut butter (and then another with blueberry syrup…and another with more almond butter) + glass o’ milk!

Then we hung out before heading to the Mile 25 marker of the marathon course!

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Atsede Baysa— first place woman!

I can’t get over how fast and resilient these people are. Holy cow.

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I screamed a lot again this year, but not as much as last year. Sparing my vocal cords was a smart decision. But my favorite things to yell at the runners are:

  • “YEAHHHHHH!!!”
  • “COME ON!”
  • “YOU’RE ALMOST THERE!”
  • “YOU GOT THIS.”
  • “DIG DEEEEEEEP!”
  • “KILLIN’ IT!”
  • “KEEP IT UP!”
  • “YEAH CANADA!!!”

My friends reprimanded me for that last one.

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We also got to see one of our friends running in the marathon (he finished in 3:00:05!!!), which was so awesome.

After a couple hours of cheering, I went to eat lunch and take a nap. I felt like I could nap for an eternity, but I got myself up after an hour and went to do some errands, move and groove a little bit outside, and do some work before having dinner with my brother and typing this up.

TL; DR — pray, eat, move, groove, nap, repeat.

Hope you all have a marvelous week! Cheer someone on (including yourself).

So tell me:

Did you get to go outside this weekend?

Have you ever spectated a big race? Are you a big cheerer?

Two things you did this weekend!

How do you feel about naps?

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Dad and Daughter Weekend

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God bless America and God bless three day weekends. I don’t know why I said the latter; I just came back from vacation.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and a lovely Memorial Day to my fellow Americans. As always, it’s nice to have a day off, but it is essential to remember why we do. Thank you to all the men and women who sacrificed their lives so that we could live ours freely and joyfully.

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Let’s catch up!

Friday

Up and at ’em early for my physical therapy internship! Brought to you by overnight oats in a jar.

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I’ve been adding chia seeds to the mix, and they increase the doughiness factor by at least 50%. I totally made that up, but chia seeds = thicker overnight oats = even better texture.

Lunch was eaten in the parking lot after my internship. It was tuna salad I had made that morning (with Greek yogurt, mustard, honey, olive topping, paprika, and black pepper) on mixed greens, alongside 34 Degrees cracked pepper crackers from Blend.

Cracked pepper crackers that are like crack.

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I saw my partner in crime (Daliza) on Friday night! I greeted her with egg yolk dripping down my face/hands/arms as I ate this for dinner:

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Once you break the yolk, there’s no turning back. You just have to inhale the rest of the toast so you don’t lose the dippy goodness.

P.S. I’m going to convince Daliza to do another vlog with me!

Saturday

I slept in and made a rather patriotic breakfast for Dad and myself— Greek yogurt with blueberries, raspberries, banana, cinnamon, nutmeg, stevia, chia seeds, a leftover whole wheat banana pancake, and Nuttzo power fuel.

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I don’t remember everything I did on Saturday, but I do know that I finally decided to unpack my luggage, did some moves with a leg strength circuit, and attended Mass. I also ate some delicious things in the afternoon!

Lunch was a salad with homemade tahini dressing, leftover pork chop (buried under there), and a sweet potato with melted garlic herb cheddar. Weird but YUM.

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I was feeling lunch dessert that day (…like every other day), so I broke into my stash of mint chocolate chunk Quest bars from Blend. I followed Aimee’s suggestion in my last post’s comments and microwaved it for exactly 23 seconds before topping it with peanut hazelnut butter.

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Yep, I’ll be doing that again! 🙂

Oh! I got new sneakers in the mail too! I won these in a huge raffle at the end of Blend retreat. Lucky for me, because I left my other sneakers in Boulder since they were so muddy from hiking all week.

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Thanks, Wellcoin and Puma!

After Mass, Pop and I went to my favorite Japanese restaurant for dinner! I went with the classic sushi combo that comes with yellowtail, tuna, and eel avocado rolls. All gone into my tummy.

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The waiter also surprised us with a complimentary dessert! Chocolate souffle cake with raspberry ice cream. Ohmahgoodness. I know I say I don’t like chocolate that much, but this was dreamy.

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Pop and I hunkered down for the night and watched not one, but two movies— The Giver and Macfarland USA. I totally loved both!

Sunday

Another sleep-in day, another breakfast for Pop and myself. I hadn’t eaten cookie dough cereal in a long time, so it wasn’t difficult to choose what I wanted that morning.

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I cleaned the floors on Sunday, and look at this horror.

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This is a picture of cleaning done in the highest shoe-traffic area of our house, but still, yuck! (Two-year-old word, I know.) You don’t really notice the dirt until you get down and scrub.

Moves involved yoga and a quick walk around the neighborhood. The weather was perfection!

I babysat at night and actually enjoyed my snack-time-esque dinner.

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I brought all the snacks myself, except for the cheese 🙂 (I was given permission.)

Monday

Pop and I started our Memorial Day with Mass and the local Memorial Day parade.

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Then we headed back home to cook and eat for the rest of the afternoon! Pop and I have never grilled without mom being around, since she is Mrs. Chefmaster Hospitality. But we had a successful cookout, I’d say! I shopped for the food, prepped it, and then left the grilling for Pop. He nailed it.

We had simple beef burgers with garlic herb cheddar and caramelized onions + tons of grilled vegetables. We also ate outstanding grilled shrimp using this marinade recipe.

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glass o’ vino in hand, what a natural
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Having a BBQ for two people also means lots of leftovers for the week!

Moves included grooving to music in the kitchen and a two mile neighborhood walk. I see a tan emerging!

After eating more of grilled goodies for dinner, we ended the night on a sweet note, as every night should end in my book. I macerated some fresh strawberries in lemon juice and honey for a few hours, and then we ate those on top of vanilla bean ice cream with a slice of the blueberry poppyseed mini loaf from Flagstaff House in Colorado!

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Me: I macerated some strawberries.

Dad: That sounds like it hurts.

[5 minutes later]

Dad: What did you say you did with these? Masqueraded?

Me: No, macerated. But masquerading them sounds fun.

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Hope you all have a great day! Clean your floors perhaps, eat string cheese, and say thank you to more people. *Also, stay tuned for an awesome giveaway later today!*

So tell me:

One productive thing you did this weekend.

One fun thing you did this weekend!

Do your floors ever get this dirty? We clean them often, I swear.

Americans, what did you eat for Memorial Day? 

Confessions of a College Homebody

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We have just a little over a week left in March! 2016 is basically around the corner.

I kid, but WOW, time is moving and grooving, am I right? To prove that, I can tell you that last week was a blur, which explains why I didn’t blog. That makes me sad.

But here we are on this fine Monday, ready to tackle a new week! I can’t promise I’ll be posting more than last week, but I can promise that I have some blog posts in the noggin that will make it to you very soon. For today though, I want to talk to you about how I’m a homebody.

I like to think that I am an adventurous and fun person, but there are many times when I just want to be in my room by myself, catching up on blogs, listening to music (when it’s not Lent), and just decompressing (both figuratively and literally; lying down after standing all day is heavenly for the spine).

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I love going out and trying new things, but I’ve come to terms that I tend to want to stay at home. Another term for a college student like me could be “loser”…and that could be accurate. But in my world, there are times for young and wild adventure (like the Great NYC Food Tour and that time I encountered an alligator in the wild) and there are times for retirement-status rest and relaxation. My weekends often call for the latter, and I’m okay with that.

There’s an underlying reason as to why I was a grandma for Halloween, I guess.

So what did I even do this weekend?

Friday

Worked out, showered, went to class, ate a fantastic Fish Friday lunch…

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tuna salad, veggie, honey mustard sandwich + maple orange tempeh and brussels sprouts

…took a nap, went to work…

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proud of this lemon pepper honey dill salmon that I made at work

…came home, ate oatmeal a la dorm for dinner (because the dining hall had already closed)…

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…and then watched CrossFit videos for the rest of the night.

Saturday

Ate oatmeal a la dorm for breakfast, help set up a Students for Life conference, stayed for a couple of the talks…

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…left the conference to change into BU gear and prepare for my campus tour, ate lunch…

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huge salad + “Asian salisbury steak” with “soba noodles” (yes, those all needed quotation marks, but it was delicious nonetheless!)

…gave my first campus tour ever (!!!)…

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…went back to the room to eat a snack, went back to the conference for a few hours, ate dinner, studied, did summer job searching, blogged…

…and I resisted Rachel with all my might, who was trying so desperately to get me to go out. But I told her that I wasted my time doing nothing on Friday night, so I needed to do work. She is right to suspect that I don’t remember the last time I went out on a weekend night during school, but I’m not complaining!

Sunday

Worked out, showered, ate breakfast…

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…did some homework, went to Mass, ate lunch, studied some more, walked around a bit, ate dinner, more job searching, FaceTimed with the parents, blogged…

…and here we are. I think I want a snack.

If you’re still reading this, you’re the coolest. On the surface, my weekend definitely wasn’t some wild adventure out on the town, but I still think it was filled with fun and exciting events! The Students for Life conference was awesome and inspiring, my first campus tour went very well, I walked outside in the sunshine (praise Jesus, winter is breaking), and found some possible job opportunities for the summer.

But don’t worry, I do have a social life and other weekend plans in the future. I’m not going to pass up the student activities here on campus!

Also, random inclusion: I whipped out this miracle substance for my weird spine pain, and it WORKS.

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It has that wonderful hot-cold, minty sensation that soothes your aches and pains. Ahhhhh. If you’ve never tried Tiger Balm, I highly recommend it for sore muscles, sprains, and maybe even aromatherapy (stuff smells so good IMO).

So there you have it, friends. Confessions of a college homebody.

Hope you all have a beautiful Monday! Let’s all get out of our comfort zone today, deal? 🙂

So tell me:

Do you tend to be a homebody or an adventurer?

One exciting thing you did this weekend.

One mundane thing you did this weekend.

Have you ever used Tiger Balm?

No Schedule = No Idea What to Do With Myself

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BIG E-HUG FOR YOU.

I said it yesterday, but I’ll say it again: Thank you all for your kind words, prayers, and support on Thursday’s post regarding my eating disorder. I absolutely mean it from the bottom of my peanut-butter-loving heart that I love and appreciate each one of you.

Some exciting news is that I am currently on spring break! Some disappointing news is that my backyard still has snow up to my knees. #perpetualwinter2015. I made up that hashtag myself, as usual.

I came back home from college via train on Friday night after waiting in the freezing station for an extra two hours due to a delay. I was wearing sneakers and a lighter jacket because I wanted to pack light, but that totally worked against me in this situation. I was shivering so hard that I was practically twerking. Luckily, I had some friends waiting with me who were going home on the same train, so I didn’t freeze alone.

Plus, I had peanut butter in my backpack to comfort and refuel myself once I got on the train.

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Mom and dad also brought me some homemade mok pa (Thai fish casserole steamed in banana leaf) with brown rice for my midnight dinner when they picked me up from the station. Swoon. I housed that meal and it nourished every part of my being. I had it again on Saturday and Sunday. Thanks, ma!

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What also hit the spot? My first overnight oats since winter break!!!

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*angels singing*

Disoriented Without a Schedule

I had the intention of getting ahead with a lot of studying and homework this weekend (lame, I know) before my friend Rachel arrives tonight(!), but without a concrete schedule or routine, it’s so hard to be productive. Everything I do just takes five minutes longer.

For instance, I’ll sleep in and then wonder: To eat breakfast now or to work out now? Breakfast usually comes first.

Then I’ll spend time perusing blogs for an hour… or two…while watching Food Network. I might do some homework, but then I think about other things I could be doing during my spring break, so I end up reading five pages of my book before getting distracted. Everything just moves at snail pace, and I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF.

So these are the things I do in an effort to get myself together:

1) Search blogs breakfast recipes and bookmark all of them.

2) Use paraffin as a skincare treatment and freak out at the fact that I look like a Madame Tussaud wax figure.

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3) Clean up after my inevitable kitchen fails.

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The downside to making oatmeal in a jar.

4) Chat and catch up with my parents. ♥

5) Joke around with Rachel.

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Muahaha.

6) Be the subject for Daliza’s film project.

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7) Take pictures of pretty Latin hymn music in church so I can sing it later.

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8) Go out for sushi (thanks to Groupon of course) with the family!

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We went to Shiki in Stamford, CT, and it was just okay. They were heavy handed on the tempura flakes, mayo, and salt. Does it mean anything that the place was filled with children who were having hibachi birthday parties?

9) Make my “famous” tuna salad for the padres. With 2% Greek yogurt + olive oil instead of light mayo and added craisins.

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10) And when all else fails, we bake! Leigha posted these Vegan Morning Glory Muffins on her blog yesterday, and I knew I wanted them. I hit up the grocery store, whipped ’em up, and bathed in the morning glory muffins at 5 PM.

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I made a few mini ones as well. I had three slightly underbaked minis slathered in peanut butter straight out of the oven. Mmmhmmm.

The only thing is that I tried to save money by grating the baby carrots we had at home already, so that took forever. It was worth it though. I also added walnuts, used craisins instead of raisins, and honey instead of maple syrup.

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So here I am typing this at 9:30 PM on Sunday night, and I have accomplished 2% of the homework I planned to do. At least I’m in the spirit of spring break, am I right?

Hope you all have a fabulous Monday!

So tell me:

Do you ever feel disoriented when you don’t have a schedule/routine?

One thing you did, one thing you ate, and one thing you wish you did this weekend!

Seven Things {+ I’m Going to Blend 2015!}

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I’ve missed you!!!

Whether the feeling is mutual or not, I am sending you all e-hugs right now. It’s only been 5 days since I last blogged, but considering I had been blogging almost daily during my winter break, those 5 days felt like an eternity.

Now that we’ve e-hugged I’ve assaulted you with e-hugs, here are seven things that sum up my first week of second semester!

1) Lots of studying calls for ice cream.

When I realized how much studying will be required for anatomy and organic chemistry this semester, I made sure to decompress my brain with some delicious ice cream this weekend.

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Dairy therapy.

2) Snow!

We had our first snowfall of the semester on Saturday, and it was a cute prelude to the snowmageddon that’s supposed to hit the northeast tonight (stay safe and warm, friends!).

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My roommate just informed me that a Boston University snow brawl is scheduled for Tuesday. DOWN.

3) Workout buddies make me happy.

I had three different workout buddies last week! Even if we’re not doing the same workout, the presence of another hard-working, sweaty pal definitely pushes me to work harder in the gym. Enough to make my hair look like it belongs in a forest/cage.

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4) Morning workouts are quite enjoyable.

Now I see why healthy living bloggers are all about those AM endorphins! It feels great to wake up before the big rush of students and to get moving before sitting in class all day.

I will try to get up for morning workouts as often as my body and brain allow!

5) Sandwiches are my go-to.

There is an art to making a good sandwich, and although I appreciate every person who makes me a sandwich, there are certainly some people who know how to make better sandwiches. It’s all in the distribution of the ingredients.

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Sandwich on the far right: You can see the empty bread space where there is no meat/veggies.

Sandwich in the middle: Perfectly distributed ingredients and cut diagonally.

Ya feel? (So petty, I know.)

Roast beef with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and honey mustard is my favorite combination, but tuna salad makes an occasional appearance on Fridays!

6) I ♥ carbs.

My friend jokes around and says that I never eat any carbs, but that is a million miles from the truth. For instance, on Saturday I had tour guide training all day, during which they served us muffins, bagels, and pizza. I had all three, thankyouverymuch.

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#carbloadingforthewinter

7) National Peanut Butter Day was celebrated ALL weekend.

Scratch that. National peanut butter day is celebrated all year round for me.

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Laughing because Albert decided to get a whole bowl full of peanut butter. Only four times more than we needed.

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*sigh* What a great holiday.

OH, BONUS TIDBIT: I’m going on the Blend 2015 Retreat! If you’re unfamiliar with what that is, Blend is a three day blogger/reader retreat (in Boulder, Colorado this year!) where you get to hang out, eat, move, and groove with fellow blog friends (“blends”). This will be my first time attending Blend, and I am STOKED.

Come so I can meet all of you!!!

So tell me:

Are you going to be hit by snow?

Thoughts on the art of the sandwich?

Do you prefer morning workouts?

Did you celebrate National Peanut Butter Day?

Are you going to Blend!?