Go, Go, Go, Now Breath

It's almost Friday and let me just say....THANK GOODNESS. Sunday when I got back I was starting to get restless from inactivity and lack of things to do at home. I had caught up on all my TV shows, ate a ton, slept even more, and really enjoyed being home for two weeks...but I am an active person and have to have something to do at some point. So I was excited and ready to be back in Raleigh to start school, work, and hang out with my friends here.

Boy...let me stress....be careful what you wish for because I went from 0 to 60 on day one and haven't stopped until well...tomorrow when I get home. Monday I started work at Meredith Admissions which I love working there because the people are so great and I love helping promote Meredith whether it's sending out mail or data entry. I also started back  up at the YMCA. I work every day this week at Meredith and I ended up working Monday-Thursday at the Y. I also wanted to get back in the gym so after work on Tuesday and Wednesday I got back in the gym. Which I have to say was awesome. There is nothing like sweating out stress, tiredness, etc...

Then we get to today and I swear I don't stop from 8 in the morning to 9:30 at night. Let me tell you...for one: the bus system sucks. No joke, summer service is awful...buses only run every 30 min and they don't overlap where I can catch one without missing the other. So I drive to Pullen Park and then catch one bus. Well today I stayed after class to work on homework...and I left at 12:24 and waited and waited and waited. I was fit to be tied by the time the number 8 got there so I finally got back to NC State main campus where I picked up my book for class and then rushed to my car where I finally got back at Meredith at 1:45....when I was supposed to be at work in Admissions. I fixed myself a quick smoothie (banana, peanut butter, and chocolate smoothie) and headed that way. Well after Wednesday of all data entry today we just ran around! No joke, I went to the mail center twice and gave a speed tour and finally finished my bad emails! It was a great workout and I felt so accomplished but as soon as I left I made my way to the YMCA. Luckily we were slow there and when I finally got home I enjoyed a home cooked meal of zucchini/squash/tomato/chicken/pepper mix. SO GOOD. So it was 9:30 when I finally stopped, had the dishes cleaned up and I was able to sit down and eat. Heck yes. Crazy thing I had to remind myself I needed to slow down. I don't need to keep going. I could sit down and relax. I had gotten on a go go go mode today and I was still in that mode when I got home. But I as I am now writing this...I have stopped. I let my body relax and my mind. And it was great. We all need breaks in life and we all need to stay active. It all comes down to balance. We don't need to break so much that restlessness happens and we don't need to be so go go go that we forget to rest.

So in the end rest but not to the point of restlessness but don't become so busy that you forget to rest.




And with that...take a deep breath....and goodnight.

Smoothie Love

So this past semester I kinda, maybe, sorta got hooked on smoothies. Incredibly easy and they were the perfect drink to take with me to work to tide me over on those 4 hour shifts (that cut through dinner time mind you). People started asking what was in that blend of weirdly colored drink in my tervis. Well here it is:

I usually stick with four to five basics depending on my activity level:
Vanilla Extract
Honey
Yogurt (I get the low fat Swiss styled vanilla yogurt but you can pick your favorite)
Ice
Peanut Butter (only when I was training for my half and don't bash it until you've tried it...quite delicious)

Then you pick what fruit you want. I've done combinations such as:
-Kiwi, Strawberry
-Kiwi Strawberry, Banana
-Banana Kiwi
-Kiwi
-Blueberry, Blackberry
-Blueberry, Banana, Strawberry
-Blueberry Mango

....The list can go on and on. And don't be afraid to mix fruits....I have found almost any combination works. I use fresh fruit and usually whatever they have on sale at the grocery store. For example this week...mango blueberry (which is delicious by the way).

Put it all in a blender...
Oh and for the amount of each...I just put a random amount. You can up some parts or not. The beauty of smoothies is that they are really hard to mess up so almost anything is going to turn out good (unless you have rotten fruit). I blend it all together and it's good to go! When I make them because I don't have set amounts of ingredients it usually turns out quite large (fills up my 24 ounce tervis) but you can always make it smaller or larger depending on if you are sharing or what not.

So go out and enjoy a delicious snack/meal on one of these warm spring/summer days!

First Day Back and I'm Cooking Away

So I have been on a cooking kick recently and most of the time I just throw together whatever I have in a pan and cook it. It usually turns out pretty well. I mean how can you go wrong with such rich flavors as onions, tomatoes, peppers, etc… with a few seasonings…the more color the better! Today I went to the grocery store and picked up some zucchini and squash along with a few other essentials. I decided to cook them for dinner tonight but since I work later, I fixed them early.

Zucchini and Squash Mix:

You’ll need some olive oil, salt, pepper, whatever seasonings you like. I am partial to Italian dressing, garlic powder, and paprika. So I heated up a skillet with olive oil and added some chopped up onion and tomato. I cooked that for a bit until the onions were soft. Then I added the zucchini and squash and chicken. I let that cook on medium for a bit stirring frequently when I also added seasonings. I then let it simmer for a about 20minutes. Voila! You are done! Vegetables and Protein! 

One Year Later...

A year ago today, my sisters and I boarded a plane to make our way across the ocean to begin the most whirlwind, amazing, surreal experience of my life. A lot has changed in that year: I fell in love, fell out of love, turned 21, hit a car (or two), got my ONYX, performed my first CornHuskin' as an Oddball, ran my first half-marathon, found the CROOK, presented research, got accepted into the NCSU Civil Engineering department, and learned a lot about myself. I'm not really sure where to begin but I think it all started when I went abroad. It took me on a journey physically and mentally that continued even when I got back to the U.S. I had a new lease on life where I saw things differently and developed a passion for new things and ideas and people. I wanted to be able to share the things I have been doing from cooking to exercising to DIY to just what inspires me so I decided one year later I would start blogging again. Enjoy!

Some pictures of various goings on: (Ring Dinner, CornHuskin', Half-Marathon, Crook Hunt)