Last Day of 2011

The last day of the year started out being a somewhat gloomy and overcast day, but the sun has finally made its appearance! This morning started out with a breakfast of yogurt and cereal - a mix of Kashi Honey Sunshine and Fiber One Honey Squares with some Unsweetened Almond Milk - my favorite! I then decided to let my food settle and make a few updates to my blog before I went for a run. Around 10:00 I got dressed and went for between a four and five mile run around my neighborhood before hitting the gym for some weights. Let me be the first one to say that is it both hot and humid here in Houston today! Made for a very sweaty run.

Nothing like running through my neighborhood on a beautiful day!

When I finished my run, I got in my car and drove up the road to the MAC - my home away from home. My friends make fun of me because they think I am either at home or at the MAC, which is generally true! :) Anyway, I wasn't there for very long, as the only item on my agenda was doing a few weights. I started out with some standing side crunches - 4 sets total of 21 on each side. I then moved into my lunge, squat, calf raises routine. This is where I complete the following: 

24 lunges-60 squats-78 calf raises

24 lunges-40 squats-78 calf raises

24 lunges-20 squats-78 calf raises

That first set of 60 squats is tough, but I always feel accomplished when I finish!

I then focused on completing some arm weights, which included bicep curls, lateral and frontal raises, with some overhead press reps thrown in there. I have gotten a little lazy as far as weights are concerned, because I have been so focused on running in preparation for my upcoming half. So hopefully I am feeling the effects of the weights tomorrow!

Some of the weights at the MAC

When I returned home from the gym, I completed a 30-minute walk around my neighborhood. I have started taking walks around my neighborhood every day because it is just so relaxing, and I do miss the built-in exercise that walking to class provides while I am in Austin!

Lunch

A girl whose blog name is "fitness & fro-yo" has to end the year on the right note. After the gym, I headed over to Berripop Frozen Yogurt for a dose of my favorite frozen yogurt to end out the year. Of course, that won't hold me over for very long, so a turkey sandwich will most likely be in the works soon!

My favorite concoction

Ever since my senior year in high school when my friend told me about the parfait, I have never strayed ordering that whenever I visit Berripop, which is quite frequent whenever I am home from school. I may switch up the yogurt and toppings from time to time, but even those usually remain the same! I am one of those people who finds what she likes and then sticks with it!

This order, which is my usual, is a parfait that contains chocolate yogurt with bananas as the bottom layer, strawberry yogurt with granola as the middle layer, and raspberry pomegranate with raspberries as the top layer. Berripop is definitely my favorite frozen yogurt venue - I love the tart flavors and just how cold and refreshing the yogurt is. Plus, the people who work there know me because I come there so often and are very generous with the toppings! :)

The top of my parfait - delicious!

I can't wait to shower and hang out on the couch for the rest of the day until I get ready for all of the festivities tonight. I plan on watching football, reading, pinning, and catching up on my favorite blogs. Sounds like a good day to me!

Words, Words, Words

I absolutely love finding cute, new quotes, and I even have a book full of quotes that I typed up and pasted in this book. I haven't updated that book in quite some time - I blame it on my busy schedule, and my discovery of Pinterest, which allows me to put all the quotes that I love in one place as well as discover brand new quotes. I decided to share a few of my favorites with y'all! All pictures courtesy of Pinterest!

I am finding Pinterest to be a common theme of my blog posts.. Maybe I should rename my blog with all of the Pinterest-ing I am doing! :)

These are just a few of my favorites!  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! :)

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year's Eve! It is so hard to believe that 2011 is almost over and we are about to welcome 2012. I feel as though it were just yesterday that I was saying goodbye to my graduation year and beginning 2011. Just when I get used to writing 11 on top of my papers, the year changes on me!

Some of my friends and I ringing in 2011!

It has been quite a year, but I will say that I am SO excited for 2012. I am excited about my classes (we'll see how long that lasts), the trips that I am going to take, and just about being back in Austin and enjoying my college years! It's hard to believe that I have already completed three semesters, and if I graduate on time, have only five semesters left. WHERE has this time gone?

I love Austin!

I decided that it wouldn't be New Years Eve without New Year's Resolutions, so I made myself sit down and come up with a list. 

However, whenever I make resolutions, they are always so generic and I never remember them nor do I stick to them. So I am going to come up with a list of goals and things I am looking forward to in 2012:

• Complete the Disney World half marathon

In just six short days, my friend Sarah and I are traveling to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida to run in the Disney World half marathon. That is not all we are doing. Sarah has never been to Disney World before, so I am going to introduce her to the magic that is Disney World. The park we are most excited about? HARRY POTTER WORLD! Yes, we are Harry Potter nerds. We heart Harry!

My cousins and I in Disney World - circa 2002

• Celebrate my 20th (TWO DECADES!) birthday
• Complete the Austin half marathon

I completed the Austin half marathon last year, and it was my first ever half marathon. That marathon must have really been fun because since then I have been running like CRAZY! And believe me when I tell you I was probably running's most anti-fan. I just did not enjoy it and did not understand how people could run miles and miles for FUN. I guess our tastes really do change as we get older!

• Do fun, Austin-y things

Segway tour, water bikes, slacklining, Enchanted Rock -- there are just so many things to do!

Sarah, Sarah and I after a fun day of kayaking!

• Live in the moment
• Love others and spread joy to people around me
• Get in the Word every day! God gave us just one book - it must be pretty important! :)
• Find time to read for enjoyment
• Learn a new skill

Whether it be tennis, golf, or knitting, I want to learn something new in 2012. 

• Keep my room clean

I am a pretty organized person when it comes to my school work and important papers, but when it comes to keeping my room clean at school, it sometimes gets the shaft when I look at everything else I have to do. I want to really make an effort to keep it neat this semester. If I clean just a little bit every day, then it won't get so out of control messy!

My roommate's and my room last year during finals!

• I say this every single year but.. really stay on top of my school work so that I am not scrambling and stressing out
• Eat smart and find new, fun ways to exercise!

I do not want to say "lose weight," like three fourths of people in this world, because losing weight is not my main priority. I love working out and I truly enjoy eating healthy foods. That's not to say I don't enjoy treating myself every once in a while. I don't ever want healthy eating and working out to become a chore, where I have to force myself to work out and be completely unhappy while doing it. I want to continue to love it and inspire other people to live a healthy lifestyle as well!

• BLOG, BLOG, BLOG! - I think this one speaks for itself! :)

Hope you have fun coming up with your New Year's resolutions - and that you actually stick to them! Easier said than done for sure!

What a Year It's Been!

Well, my goal of blogging at least five days a week during the holidays was an epic fail. I just enjoyed being home without the pressure of snapping pictures all the time. But that is okay because that is why we have New Years Resolutions. I was going to start blogging a couple days ago, but decided to really and seriously get going once the new year began. I have had a couple months to get used to blogging and learn some of the ins and outs, so now I am going to turn over a new leaf and really start blogging on a regular basis! Here is a precious "New Year's Printable" that I found on Pinterest and couldn't resist filling it out to end this wonderful year and start the new year!

A LITTLE ABOUT ME:

Name: Kelli

Age: 19 (almost 20!)

Favorite Color: Pink

Favorite Food: Frozen Yogurt

Favorite Activity: Running

Favorite Book: TOUGH question - probably Redeeming Love, followed closely by the Harry Potter series

HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2011:

Greatest lesson learned: my GPA does NOT define me!

Hardest thing of the year: being a Kamp Kounselor! Although it was extremely rewarding, it was much harder than I anticipated it would be!

Favorite memory: Florida Spring Break Trip & Crooked Creek Ranch

What I loved most about 2011: the amazing opportunities I was given!

My small group in St. Petersburg, Florida - Spring Break 2011

The beautiful Florida sunset

My cabin at Crooked Creek Ranch - a YoungLife camp

LOOKING FORWARD TO 2012:

Want to learn: how to make a difference in this world

Want to get better at: living in the moment (& blogging!)

Biggest goal: to share the love of Christ by loving others!

This Christmas break has been absolutely wonderful. While I haven't done a whole lot that could be considered productive, I have caught up on sleep, relaxed, hung out and caught up with high school friends, read (for fun!), worked out, baked, visited some of my favorite Houston hot spots, crafted, watched football, and have just spent some quality time with my family. While I am anxious to get back to Austin and get back into an actual routine that does not involve me just sitting around reading for hours at a time, because that is what happens quite frequently, I am very thankful for a five-week break from the daily grind that is my life while I am in school!

Lindsay, one of my closest friends from high school and I at Houston's - SO GOOD!

A tray that I baked - it is made out of peppermints! Directions can be found here

A Pinterest inspired recipe - cookie dough, oreos, and brownie mix!

My friend and I spent some time crafting with crayons and a hair dryer!

I hope you all have a wonderful New Years Eve - stay safe! I am excited to ring in the new year with my best friend since sixth grade - we are getting dinner, maybe seeing a movie, and watching the fireworks at the oh-so-popular City Centre! I can't wait to see what this new year brings! Wishing you and your family a prosperous 2012!

Chez Zee

Here's to being one of the last remaining people at SRD. Most residents have gone home for the holidays, but being an RA means we get to stay until the day the dorm closes, which is tomorrow at 9am. I can't wait to get home to Houston!

Last night, most of the RA's went out for dessert to celebrate one of our RA's birthdays. Her actual birthday was on Sunday, but she unfortunately had to spend her birthday studying for a Monday final, so we decided we would celebrate Monday night instead.

Madi and I before we left for the restaurant

7/9 RA's in front of our beautiful Christmas tree!

We went to Chez Zee, a restaurant that is known for it's delectable desserts. I had never been there before and I am pretty sure that is the restaurant I will want to go to for my graduation lunch (no harm in planning ahead, right?) It was so cute and the food looked delightful. However, we were there to tackle dessert.

We ended up ordering just one dessert, the Double Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake, because the person whose birthday it is gets a complimentary Lemon Rosemary Cake. Both looked absolutely incredible. It was a wonderful evening and it helped that we had a really personable waiter who told us some really cool stories about waiting tables in Montana and Hawaii. Talk about living the good life!

The Birthday Girl celebrating her 20th birthday!

Workout

I went to sleep last night with the thought that I was going to wake up and go for a run immediately, just to get it out of the way. I was starving when I woke up, so I decided to eat and pack up my room before going for a run. I ended up running about 5 miles but it was SO muggy outside, so it was definitely one of my more difficult runs. My thoughts while running were that it can't possibly be the middle of December! I did a few lunges and calf raises down in the gym after my run, but all I can say is, I'm pretty darn excited to get back to the MAC tomorrow! There's no place like home! :)

Just Workin' on my Fitness

Seeing as one of the taglines of this blog is "fitness," I should probably start posting about it a little bit more, huh?

My friend Mary Ellen and I FOUR years ago before running Race for the Cure!

Let's rewind back to Friday, when I made my first post in a long while. Thursday night, after my last final exam, I told myself that I would simply let myself sleep in as late as my body wanted me to sleep. Well, turns out my body isn't capable of sleeping much past 8am! That is fine with me, because it gets me up and ready to greet the day, but after the semester of getting a lot less sleep than I would have liked, sleep is definitely a good thing and I know my body is craving it!

I ended up waking up at about 7:15am, so since I was already awake and showed no signs of going back to sleep, I decided to hit up the Gregory Gym pool to swim a couple laps, as I realized I hadn't been swimming in quite some time. It was SO cold outside and even the indoor pool was a little bit cold, but I bit the bullet and once I got going, I was fine. It just takes me a while sometimes! Later that day I went for a four(ish) mile run. Since I literally spent the entirety of Thursday studying and taking a test, I think my body was telling me to WORK IT OUT on Friday! I felt like I had endless energy, but that may have been the fact that I knew that I was completely DONE with school for five glorious weeks!

Saturday morning I woke up knowing that today had to be a longer run than usual. I am running a half-marathon in about three weeks and I don't know how prepared I am to do it! Although I only ran about seven miles, it felt GREAT, and had I not already programmed seven miles into my head before I began running, I probably could have gone even longer. It made me feel a little bit better about my upcoming half! I am hoping to squeeze in maybe a 9-miler and a 10-miler these next two Saturdays, but we'll see how the weather feels about that plan! Once I returned to SRD, I trekked down to the fitness room and did 100 pushups. Not all at once, of course! I did 5 sets of 20 (girly) pushups. While it was tough, it wasn't as tough as it usually was, so I may need to up my number of pushups that I am doing at a time, or take less time for my breaks in between sets!

My friend Sarah and I after the Blue Bell Fun Run in Brenham - we will be doing the Disney World Half Marathon together in January!

Yesterday I went on a little over a four-mile run. I'll be the first one to say that it was a pretty tough run for me. It was damp and cold all day and I had a hard time getting motivated enough to just go out and run! Once I finally got out there, I quickly realized that my legs were still recovering from that seven-mile run the day before. I pushed through the entire four miles, but I was grateful for every light that forced me to stop running, something that usually irritates me to pieces!

Last night I went to bed later than planned, but it was well worth it, but I still had the mindset that I was going to wake up at 7 and swim laps at Gregory to get my day going. I have quite a few things planned for today so I decided I may as well start it off on the right foot! I biked over to Gregory and although I had in my mind that I was only going to swim my usual 72 laps, I decided to up that to 96 laps, the equivalent of a mile and a half, because the pool at my gym at home is currently being renovated, and I will be unable to swim for TWO weeks! I guess that's a sign telling me I need to get my butt in gear and start RUNNING in preparation for my half-marathon!

Me during my 10-mile "Run for the Water" race a few weeks ago - courtesy of Kreutz Photography

I can't wait to write workout posts about my daily workouts that will take place at one of my favorite places in Houston: the Memorial Athletic Club, or as how it is usually referred, the MAC. I can't wait for some long, intense, winter break workout sessions! My gym is definitely one of the things I miss most while being away at school!

Last Few Days in Austin

I have definitely been enjoying my 'lounge time' in Austin these past few days. I have been shopping, going out to eat, reading, and just spending time with friends before we all go home to our respective hometowns.

Some of my very favorite people!

Speaking of going out to eat, last night I got to enjoy a delicious dinner at one of my all-time favorite places in Austin - Whole Foods. This is not just any Whole Foods, it is the mother of all Whole Foods: the Whole Foods Headquarters. This place is awesome, no matter what you order, it is guaranteed to be delicious (and healthy!)

I could most definitely just live here!

I went to dinner with one of the sweet girls on my hall, I am an RA so I have gotten to know a lot of awesome girls through simply living at SRD. It was her last night in Austin and she had never eaten at the yumminess that is Whole Foods so I made the executive decision that we absolutely needed to go! She had eaten a late lunch so she decided to get gelato and a chocolate croissant looking thing - not my favorite but she said it was excellent! Like I am surprised - is there anything at Whole Foods that isn't excellent?

Alissa's Mixed-Berry + Chocolate Gelato Concoction

I went with my personal favorite meal - the herb roasted pork loin with green beans and broccoli on the side. Although I still believe my dad makes the best pork loin around town, this definitely rivals it! It was great getting to catch up with her - we both agreed to make this a more regular thing next semester!

My delicious meal - I think I could eat it every single day!

My night didn't stop there. One of my friends and froomies (future roomies) applied to be a Roadie for Invisible Children, whose mission statement is to "improve the quality of life for war-affected children by providing access to quality education, enhanced learning environments, and innovative economic opportunities for the community."

This is an extremely sought after position and she found out on December 9th that she gets to be a 2012 Roadie! Her position of a roadie means that she will be traveling around the country in a 15-person Invisible Children van for five months to "inspire young people to care about the world they live in and to recognize the faces of children 6,000 miles away." It is going to be tough, but such a rewarding and growing experience for her.

Lindsey and I before a football game last year

I am SO unbelievably excited that Lindsey gets the opportunity to serve in this way. She is going to do such great things and I can't wait to see how the Lord uses her over the next five months. She wasn't sure if she was going to be able to accept the position because she wasn't sure she would be able to find someone who could take her spot in our dorm, but as of an hour or so ago, everything fell into place and she will officially be traveling as an Invisible Children Roadie next semester! We are going to miss her so much, but we know that she will have the experience of a lifetime and that she will come back with some pretty incredible stories! Love you Lindsey!

Look for a workout post coming in a bit! :)

Max's Christmas Wish

Yesterday, while reading my favorite blog, PBFingers, I stumbled upon a post about Max's Christmas Wish. Max is an 8-year-old boy who has leukemia and the doctors do not think he will make it home to celebrate Christmas. Max has one Christmas wish: to receive 1,000,000 Christmas cards.

Let's make Max's wish come true by sending him a Christmas card - it is easy and fun and I guarantee you it will make his day!

If you can't read the address on the envelope, it is:

Max c/o Hailey Remish
417 Jones Street
Belle Vernon, PA 15012

Long Overdue

Sorry for being MIA for the past month or so, school has been absolutely INSANE with papers and projects and exams and work and YoungLife, but as of Thursday night at 9:00pm, I am officially DONE with my third semester of college. I will have to say that this was by far my toughest semester of college, and I don't think the rest of them are going to get any easier! Guess that means I will just have to work even harder, right?

I am going to do a bulleted list of the major things that have happened in the past month since my last post (don't worry - starting tomorrow, my posts will become more regular):

• Played in the WyldLife Kickball Tournament with my seventh grade girls!

My awesome WyldLife team - what a blessing these people are!

• Went to the annual Nutcracker Market in Houston with my mom and friend, Sarah, where we stocked up on presents full of Christmas cheer!

My mom and I at the Nutcracker Market - "Toy Town Texas"

Sarah and I at the Nutcracker Market

• Signed a lease for a house next year - love my froomies! :)

LOVE these girls!

• Ran a "Warrior Dash" - lots of mud and fun!

Emily, Ali, and I after the race!

• Had a nervous breakdown over the final Texas-Texas A&M Football game - the Longhorns came out victorious! :) What a great ending to a longtime tradition!

Justin Tucker - our HERO!

• Decorated my hall with the theme: "How the Grinch Stole Third Central" - although it was extremely stressful and although we didn't win, we still had fun staying up all night decorating our hall! :)

One of the doors on my hall - I have such artistic girls!

Despite being overwhelmed with finals and hall decorating, I have to say that I had a pretty good month! Now it is just smooth sailing in Austin for the next few days until I am allowed to go home for the next month. Hello shopping, reading, and doing Austin-y things! Can't wait!

"the world is a book and those who don't travel read only a page"

It's been a while since I have posted, and since I am not able to sit down and write an official post, I thought I would leave you with a list of places at the absolute top of my To Visit List - let me warn you, there are quite a few! :)

Spain

Barcelona, Madrid - I want to visit all of the beautiful cities in Spain! And hopefully that will be happening sooner than I think! :)

Beaches in Barcelona

Fat Tire Bike Tour: Barcelona - definitely on my bucket list!

London, England

I would love the opportunity to study literature in England. That's the bookworm in me coming out. Although I can't say I wouldn't stop for a picture at Platform 9  3/4. That's the Harry Potter nerd in me coming out!

Big Ben

Platform 9 3/4

Ireland

P.S. I Love You. Need I say more? Plus, I have a little bit of Irish in me, and who doesn't want to see the land of the leprechauns? :)

Seattle, Washington

Although it is sometimes known as "The Rainy City," Seattle has many beautiful attractions. I guess I can attribute my desire to visit the Space Needle to my fascination with all things astronomy and space related.

Space Needle

New York

My mom and I are going to celebrate my 21st year in New York City and I absolutely cannot wait! NYC is known as the city that never sleeps and I am fully prepared to take advantage of every minute!

Central Park

Statue of Liberty

Ground Zero - how moving!

Serendipity Frozen Hot Chocolate

McDonald Observatory

I am taking my first astronomy class, and while it is not always the most interesting, I think this observatory in West Texas would be a beautiful sight. I have always had a fascination with the stars and space; I wanted to be an astronaut when I was little!

The University of Texas McDonald Observatory

Alaska

I have never been on a cruise before, but my family has talked of possibly going on an Alaskan Cruise someday - I hear it is the best way to see Alaska!

Sitka, Alaska - The Proposal made this place famous!

Breathtaking!

Seaside, Florida

What says vacation better than relaxing on the beach with a good book? Plus, I want one of those trendy Seaside shirts!

“Everything under heaven belongs to me.” - Job 41:11

Nothing better than the beach!

There are definitely more places that I would love to visit, but these are just at the very top of my list!

Happy Halloween Weekend!