See Ya Later, Boston

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

I’m back home in New York!

Where there is a kitchen and where the toilet paper is thick enough to use only three squares instead of seven.

That being said, I actually consider Boston my second home (maybe even just “home” now), since I do spend 8/12 months there. I also feel that the people I’ve met at BU are truly my second family. And I’m gonna cut the sap right there before I start crying and you start cringing.

Even though I’m not going to be living at “home” in Boston for another 8.5 months (oh my gosh) because I’m going to Dublin in the fall, I tried my best to maintain a “see ya later” attitude rather than a “goodbye” attitude, especially when it came to leaving friends.

My last few days in Boston were wonderful, spent with many people I love, and for that I am so grateful.

On Thursday, Rachel and I walked and talked for 2 hours, more or less. The weather was just perfect. We also watched The Parent Trap that night, which was a fantastic choice.

My favorite moves of the week: Hillary’s Dirty Burpee Workout on Saturday morning. I had to dodge lots of families who were hanging out by the river for graduation festivities, but it was like an agility obstacle course, ya know? There were also so many other people working out too!

last time workout there for a long time

That workout took everything out of me. The burpees felt like a break in between the .25 mile runs, which is evidence of how ~~much~~ little I run.

I tried this Aussie yogurt from our campus market store, since I had some dining points left to use. It’s called Noosa and it’s some of the richest, most delicious yogurt I’ve ever eaten. But I’m probably never going to have it again because I’m too cheap and buying individual cups of gourmet yogurt doesn’t seem very economical.

I also finished up some Nature’s Path multigrain wild berry freezer waffles for breakfast one morning. Topped with pb and banana, naturally.

On Saturday night after Mass, our Catholic Center chaplain, Fr. Barnes, hosted a potluck dinner for all the non-seniors who were still on campus. ‘Twas a lovely evening. We started with cheese and crackers (arguably the best appetizer of all time). My friends Casey and Fiona came through with some smoked gouda, brie, and sharp cheddar #BLESS.

My friend Nico brought quiche, which made me squeal.

Fr. Barnes made us the most satisfying spaghetti ever. Plain spaghetti tossed in olive oil with fresh tomatoes, grilled corn, raw garlic, Italian sausage, and basil. KILLER. I roasted some balsamic brussels sprouts and green beans to go along with it.

“Look bourgeoisie.”

Chef Barnes and Casey— two great people (p.s. Fr. Barnes has an awesome blog)

On Sunday morning, I attended the graduation for the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences with some friends to support more friends. I hope we embarrassed them by how loudly and obnoxiously we cheered.

Mom and Pop so generously drove up to Boston just to help me move out and drive me back home. What a lucky girl I am.

We ate dim sum for lunch and then hit the road. Back on the home front, I had/still have a lot of unpacking to do, but I got to cook! Honey mustard paprika salmon + honey balsamic roasted green beans and asparagus (can you tell that I like roasted things in balsamic?). Mom made quinoa too.

I didn’t take a pic of the roasted veg

In the midst of unpacking, I saw that Emily from Beauty in Christ sent me the sweetest package! Nuttzo + homemade peanut butter chocolate chip cookies! She’s so good to me.

Of course, I microwaved and ate one of her cookies for dessert, and they are seriously some of the best peanut butter chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever eaten. UGH. Thank you so much, Emily! ♥︎ I highly recommend checking out her blog if you love good reflections and inspiration regarding body image and ED recovery + beautiful things/positivity in general.

These next few days I will be with my friends Fiona and Rachel in upstate New York! I won’t have service, which is honestly a blessing, because I need to get my eyes off pixels for an extended amount of time. I’ll catch up with you guys soon though!

Hope you have a great week! Squeal with excitement over things like quiche.

So tell me:

Do you feel like you have/ever had a “second home” somewhere? I do still love home in NY and being with my parents ♥︎ Love you, mom and pop.

What is the best thing you ate this weekend?

Do you buy individual cups of yogurt or just big tubs like me? I buy individual ones if they’re on sale!

You Want To Be Productive But Then…

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

Friday was the best April Fools’ Day of my LIFE.

I am truly grateful that all of you are so supportive of my fitness company endeavors. 😉

how I felt about tricking even my DAD about starting a fitness company

This weekend, I had a nice long list of schoolwork and shorter list fun things that I needed/wanted to accomplish, but one thing leads to another, and the list of accomplished fun things inadvertently becomes longer and the list of accomplished schoolwork consequently becomes shorter…

Friday started off on a productive note with banana oats in an almond butter jar, biomechanics, a campus tour and a workout at the gym.

fab lunch: kung pao sweet potatoes over spinach + bbq lentil meatball sub

There were definitely some time periods during which I could have been studying when I opted to chat with new and old friends…

salad with carrots, chicken, beets, and balsamic + some unknown, delicious, cheesy couscous concoction

…but I think some more homework snuck in there before a bunch of my friends and I headed swing dancing!

we’re so gross and sweaty in this photo FYI; TMI

too adorable

It’s always fun to move and groove, even if it’s with clammy men who are either exceptionally advanced or exceptionally…not advanced.

My fellow banana (yellow on the outside, white on the inside) friend, Christine, was in town this weekend so I had to hang out with her. On Saturday, I ate wild berry freezer waffles with peanut butter and an apple in 60 seconds before meeting up with Christine for coffee/tea and a bomb pear almond scone that she kindly shared with me.

Girl talk with Christine is always a fun time! It wasn’t the studying I planned on, but it was 100x better. You should check out her blog for fashion and fitness (especially because fashion is nearly nonexistent here on Moves and Grooves)!

I went to work from 10-1 and then grabbed a freaking weird (but yummy) lunch while ~~studying~~ reading blogs and getting caught up in a political discussion thread on Facebook.

“seared tuna” salad + roast beef, smoked gouda, veggie, mustard, artichoke herb spread sandwich on whole grain ciabatta + apple

I told you it was a freaking weird lunch. Separately, everything worked well, but I must say that the seared tuna was a little more like a fish version of spam. Not the worst thing?

Then I cranked out some work. Wait no, I went to go pray at church with my friend Kelsey for a bit. The prayer time was much needed. Then I actually cranked out some work. Homework intermission was brought to you by Amsterdam Falafel!

three falafel on the bottom with almost every topping possible

It’s one of the places on the food bucket list that Rachel and I are making our way through. Since Rachel already went to Amsterdam Falafel on her own though, I decided to go there on my own for dinner on Saturday night.

I ate this in private. I know for a fact that I looked like a caveman eating this. ‘Twas super tasty!

I ended my night with some yoga. My arms and shoulders were BRICKS from whatever I did on Friday (probably the wall walks), so yoga was lovely.

For Sunday morning, I set my alarm for 8:00 and 8:30, the latter for if I wanted to sleep in. I turned off both alarms and slept until 9:20. I knew I needed it, so I was okay with sacrificing that extra hour of work for quality zzz’s.

Breakfast was a leftover whole wheat pancake with peanut butter, banana, and cinnamon.

Then I went to confession and Mass with Kelsey before heading to lunch to be greeted with the best dining hall meal ever!

It was “Sargent Choice” day for brunch in the d-halls, which meant that the Sargent Nutrition Center took over the options for the whole dining hall. They offered avocado toast (!!!) with sautéed spinach and a fried egg, so I beelined for that (and topped it with sriracha, of course). Plus a side of garlicky kale and butternut squash.

And then for my sweet tooth, I had some plain Greek (!!!) yogurt with kiwi, peaches, and blueberries + applesauce tea cake with brown sugar glaze.

I end up eating more when the dining hall offers things that I normally eat at home, because I’m like:

gx97OY

[source]

My afternoon consisted of a Catholic student group meeting at Harvard and a dorm workout (warmup, foam rolling, and a 20 minute leg circuit workout):

3 rounds of 10 seconds rest, 30 seconds work // Do each exercise twice for each round (once on each leg if applicable)

pistol squats
split jack lunges
side lunges
squat jumps/air squats
donkey kicks

Then stretch!

I showered, did laundry, did some work, and then went to dinner with some friends, which ended with a good ol’ bowl of {three different kinds of} cereal.

Afterwards, I called my parents for a quick bit to talk about some study abroad business! I’m going to Dublin, Ireland this fall!

My beautiful study/snapchat procrastination buddies for the night:

It’s funny because I feel like the three of us talked the whole weekend about how we need to do work, yet we could not get ourselves to be as productive as we wanted to be. C’est la vie.

Hope you all have a productive week!

So tell me:

You want to be productive but then…

Have you ever been swing dancing?

Do you freak out when a restaurant/event/dining hall offers a bunch of healthy food that you love?

Things to do in Dublin, Ireland! 🙂

Five Minute Friday #10: Personality + Exciting Announcement!

Posted on April 1, 2016 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

I definitely start a lot of my posts with small talk. I often like to talk about the weather, for example…

…but can we just…I was in shorts and a T-shirt all day yesterday. And WHAT is that next to Sunday and Tuesday?

But all this small talk is really just procrastination for what I really want to say (I have not told any of my friends or family about this, so you know it’s BIG and SCARY):

I’m working on a building a startup fitness company!

Moves and grooves have gradually become a bigger part of my life in the past few months, so this idea has been growing in my noggin for a bit. I believe I am at a very healthy place, mentally and physically, so I feel comfortable and empowered to take this on. Also, since I’ve become a Fit University ambassador, I’ve just had this inexplicable drive to integrate all my knowledge about physical therapy and eating disorders/fitness obsession and apply it to a holistic, supportive environment. I don’t want to divulge too many details since it’s still in the works, but I’ll be sure to share as the process unfolds.

WOW. LIBERATION. EXCITEMENT. Thanks for listening. Business things. Who would have thought?

Anyway, my friends and I have been rollin’ out the Easter celebration this whole week, despite real life things like laundry and ~~falling asleep in class~~ school.

Rachel and I checked off another food bucket list place on Tuesday with Zinneken’s liege waffles for lunch dessert! Instead of going to the storefront, we stopped by the food truck that was closer to us. I cannot tell you how much this food truck has been torturing me with its aroma of sugar-coated waffles for the past month whenever I walked by.

Tuesday was the day.

nutella + banana for Rachel // Speculoos cookie butter + banana for me

so beautiful (Rachel AND the waffle)

We bought our waffles, parked ourselves on a bench, and let all our fellow students watch us devour the crispiest, sweetest, most delightful waffles ever.

Other delicious foods from the d-hall this week:

two eggs scrambled with veggies, ~~drizzled~~ drenched with sriracha + whole wheat pancake with almond butter and banana + glass o’ milk

quinoa cake and roasted veggie bulgur + spinach salad with tofu, carrots, tuna, beets, couscous, olive oil, and balsamic

banana cake + pumpkin bread

Joyous feasting for Easter? 😀

I’ve also had lot of amazing conversations with friends this week, which brings me to this week’s Five Minute Friday! This one’s all about personality:

abstainer vs. moderator (inspired by Julie’s blog post!)
introvert vs. extravert
salt vs. light

link to the video!

*Note: After filming this, I reflected on my answer for abstainer vs. moderator, and I actually think I’m an abstainer when I’m more stressed, but I’m more of a moderator when things are going pretty smoothly. Is it cheating to say both?

Hope you all have a grand weekend! Also,

APRIL FOOLS!!!

I am NOT starting a fitness company. I have no plans to do so. Sorry. 😀

So tell me:

DID I FOOL YOU? Please say yes. I never fool anyone.

Do you think you’re an abstainer or a moderator?

Introvert or extravert?

Salt or light (if that’s applicable to you)?

Best April Fools story!

Let Me Brag About My Friends Again

Posted on March 14, 2016 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

I’m currently sitting outside on this last day of spring break, and I’m feeling all kinds of emotions.

Sad that spring break is over, overjoyed that the weather has been beautiful, grateful for amazing friends, anxious for the second half of the semester, and excited for what’s to come.

But can I brag about these people in my life who I call my friends (I think they call me their friend too, but who really knows)? These last few days of spring break have been wonderful in every way, but mostly in how down-to-earth, fun, and faithful my friends are. I’ve said this so many times before, but they constantly inspire me to be better and grow closer to God.

Friday

Friday started with some homework, maybe? I don’t remember. Regardless, the important part of the day was Mass and lunch with my friend Katie!

perfect weather

We chatted about the very depths of our souls over some bomb salads from Sweetgreen. I forgot to take picture with her, so my type-A-blogger self is sad.

The rest of the day involved Kan-Jam, a trip to the gym (too many heavy squats ➔ sore for DAYS), homework, and early bedtime.

Saturday

I worked from 10-3 before playing outside in the perfect weather (again). I also stopped by Whole Foods to buy a box of salad greens, Fage Greek yogurt (that was on sale!), fresh strawberries (also on sale) and Nature’s Path mixed berry buckwheat freezer waffles (also on sale #collegebudget). Those four things were my sustenance for the weekend.

crumbs everywhere on my bed

Yogurt, nut butter, waffles, berries, and leaves— nothing out of the ordinary for me anyway.

Saturday night brought some fun festivities! My friends and I went out for drinks…

…and I was the only one in our group under 21, which explains my Shirley Temple pictured above.

*waitress taking orders*

Friend 1: Guinness, please.

Friend 2: I’ll also have a Guinness.

Friend 3: Guinness.

Friend 4: Guinness for me too.

Me: …Can I get a Shirley Temple?

Honestly, that’ll probably be me when I’m 21 anyway.

Nevertheless, ’twas a grand ol’ night, complete with live Irish music and dancing. I’m grateful for my older friends who let me have fun with them despite me being an infant.

They went to another bar at 11, at which time I actually needed to go home. #NoFakeID

Sunday

That one hour loss, guys. IT GOT ME.

Nothing a good breakfast can’t fix though!

Better yet— Mass with friends… and more perfect weather!

After Mass, I knew that I had to move and groove outside. It seemed like all of Boston was saying hello to the blue skies!

I ran into more friends, who were willing to put up with my selfie shenanigans in the middle of their workout.

We all burpee’d a lot.

Lunch was the rest of my salad greens, Snap Pea Crisps, and an almond butter Perfect Bar.

I was planning on doing some more studying, but I didn’t need to do any work… So I went back outside 😀

As soon as I whipped out my phone, this squirrel that was stuffing its face stared me down and looked like it was about to kill me.

More frisbee!

It was also my friend Lauren’s birthday!!!

four-eyed friends ♥︎

The dining halls opened last night (praaaaaise), so a few of us chowed down.

Then I joined my saintly friends for Back Bay Mobile Soup Kitchen for a little while before coming back to ~~do some work~~ attempt to do work while waiting for RACHEL TO COME HOME!

She was on a mission trip in Guyana for spring break, so I had not talked to her/seen her/contacted her/known every detail of her life for what seemed like FOREVER. She shared her experiences from the mission trip, and I almost cried. God worked through her in such profound and incredible ways.

She also saw a lot of stars 🙂

Back to the grind today. Sophomore year will come to a close in just six weeks, help.

Hope you all have a kick-butt week! I’m going to need a couple kicks in the butt just to get out of bed.

So tell me:

Something you loved about this weekend.

Something you love about your friends.

Have you ever been “that” person under 21?

Have you ever been on a service or mission trip?

An Untraditional Christmas + Double Unders Cardio Workout

Posted on December 27, 2014 by Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves

Greetings from Florida!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/Happy Kwanzaa/Joyful Holiday Season! My mom, brother, and I were on the road for the past 48 hours (with a brief hotel break in Savannah, Georgia to catch some zzz’s) on our way to Florida, and we have finally arrived! My butt and legs are so thankful. #sittingissues

We were indeed driving all Christmas day, which explains the title of this post. It wasn’t an ideal way to spend the beloved holiday, but there were many festivities happening throughout the week that made up for it!

Christmas Eve Eve

My cousins, aunt, and uncle came over on Tuesday so that we could all spend some quality time together for a day. It was a joy to play with my little cousins, converse with my aunt and uncle, and celebrate the anticipation of Jesus on Christmas! And we ate lots because…’tis the season..?!

Mom and I prepared a buffet spread for the crowd that included curry chicken, green beans, salmon with dill honey mustard yogurt sauce, brown rice, and Singapore noodles from H-Mart. Everything was fabulous!

Lots of cookies have been consumed in the past few days, but I think these chocolate-dipped peanut butter pretzels from our lovely neighbors take first prize. Oof. Just look at that peanut butter to pretzel ratio.

Christmas Eve

Mom and I got up early to prepare breakfast for everyone, and my cousin Angela also helped make the banana pancakes and waffles with me!

That photo of the arranged Mickey Mouse pancakes/French toast muffins would be my plate, not my cousin’s. Because I knew I would be in Florida, so Disney, so yes.

The rest of the day involved more fellowship, food, relaxation, and some moves! I did Jen’s 1000 rep home workout before going to Christmas Mass in the evening.

No equipment, but all sweat! It was a fun, fast-paced, effective workout. However, I only quickly ate an apple after doing this and before going to Mass, so I was starrrrrrving for the 2.5 hours before we went to dinner. Christmas Mass was glorious though, and the hymns were beautiful distractions from my hunger.

Our Christmas Eve dinner was spent at a Brazilian/Italian restaurant called Gaucho Grill. Daliza’s family kindly gave us a gift card for the restaurant as a thank you for taking Daliza to Florida with us this summer (missing you here now, girl). The food was so delicious!

shared a crab cake for appetizer // Pop’s skirt steak // Ben’s meat-tastic paella // grilled asparagus and spinach for the table // Mom’s gargantuan chicken parm // my scallops with lentils // apple strudel a la mode to share for dessert

Came hungry, left pretty stuffed, but happy.

Christmas Day

Why did we decide to travel all day on Christmas you might ask? Well, Pop only had Christmas Day off of work this week, but we needed to get to Florida to prepare the house for our family friends who are coming today. Thus, my family decided to spend Christmas Eve together before mom, Ben and I left for our two-day road trip. As I said before, these were not ideal Christmas plans, but we still had lots of family time, so it’s all good!

Ben and I drove the whole way down because poor mom is battling a stubborn, nasty cold that is giving her cough attacks and puffy eyes, so driving for her wouldn’t be very safe.

Morning of travel calls for overnight oats! Bonus points for it being in an almost-empty peanut butter jar.

A road trip in the northeast also calls for a stop at Cinnabon. The three of us split this [big] baby sans frosting because none of us are too crazy about it— the cinnamon roll is sweet and delicious enough as is! (Sorry, Arman.)

Virginia is for lovers…me, myself, and I.

After 12+ hours of driving, we hunkered down in Savannah, Georgia for the night. There is no feeling quite like stretching out after being cooped up in a car all day.

Ben and I walked to and from Hardee’s (a fast food restaurant) near the hotel for a refreshing evening walk. We didn’t get anything— just walked in, took a whiff of the burgers and fries, and left.

Afterwards, I convinced Ben to join me in doing this 15 minute arms and abs workout. The chest-to-floor pushups really got us both on that one!

Too happy about hotel beds.