April Showers

Can you believe it is already April? This year is just flying by and I am finding it hard to believe that my time in college is almost halfway done. The course schedule for the fall semester was released today so that definitely consumed a bit of my time this afternoon, but it just blows my mind that I will be registering for classes for my junior year of college. Wasn't I just a junior in high school?

Taylor, Emily and I - junior year of high school!

Boys vs. Girls Pep Rally - Junior Year! 

Volleyball beach retreat - hard to believe this was almost four years ago!

I was quite the looker, huh?

I have to apologize for my absence the past few days, in the words of a friend, school is "eating my lunch right now." I have been writing papers up a storm they all seem to be due in the same week or two, which unfortunately results in less blog posts. It is a shame that I can't major in blogging!

Workout

This morning's workout came after an early wake-up call. I went to bed around midnight last night because I worked the 10-12 shift, but I knew that I wanted to get up and workout and have the rest of the day to do whatever I would please. I was excited because after turning in my paper today, I thought I wouldn't have too much work for the rest of the week before going home on Thursday, but my astronomy professor just announced a quiz on Thursday. How we can have a quiz on Thursday when we just took a test last Thursday is a mystery to me. Anyway, I set out on my run around 6:30am and ran about 4ish miles. In case you were wondering, it is just as hot and humid at 6:30 in the morning as it is at 2:00 in the afternoon. I was dripping in sweat after running for only 30 minutes and it was definitely what I would call a tough run. I definitely need to brace myself for the heat wave that is sure to come this summer (after I return to America of course, I imagine that running through the streets of Barcelona will be quite refreshing).

Following my run, I headed down to the fitness center to complete a pretty tough arm workout. It lasted around 35 minutes and I definitely felt the fatigue as I took notes in my classes today. I can't tell if that is the result of a good arm workout or the lack of strength in my arms. I finished my workout with an easy 10 minutes on the elliptical before quickly showering and heading down to breakfast, as I was ravenous. Good news for those of you who were wondering, SRD is bringing back the old granola! Our supplier was out of regular granola, so this is is just a temporary fix. Phew!

Exercise	Reps	Sets
Exercise ball chest press	20	3
Lateral pull-down	15	3
Push-ups (girly)	15	3
Incline Chest Press	15	3
Bicep Curls	15	3
Tricep extensions	15	3
Shoulder press	15	3
Bicep curls to overhead press	15	3
Tricep pull-downs	15	3
Tricep dips	15	3
Bicep curls	1 minute	3

I couldn't end this post without a shout out to one of the greatest grandmothers there is - she is getting me ready for Opening Day:

I can't wait to rock these! We are going all the way this year!

Food Fun

I know, I know, it's been a while. I know I said that I was going to become more consistent with my blogging but this week has been absolutely crazy with tests and papers and YoungLife. I feel like I haven't even had a spare moment to breathe! Unfortunately next week will be somewhat of the same, but I am hoping that I can handle it a little bit better! But here is an update of my week which included LOTS of delicious food!

Wednesday was a special day because I got to help celebrate the 20th (TWO decades!) birthday of my freshman year roomie - Melissa! She would kill me if she knew that I was writing a post about her it; she does not appreciate any mention of her birthday! That is something I just don't understand because I LOVE birthdays, so I will do the honors! Melissa is such a blessing in my life; she is so encouraging and loving, and I really miss our late-night (okay, late for us is like 11:00 at night - we were such grandmas last year in 320!) life chats! Love you Melissa!

Melissa loves cupcakes - so obviously they were a necessity!

The birthday girl on her special day!

Melissa and I on a rainy day last year!

Here begins my plethora of food pictures.. enjoy! :)

Lexi and Emily enjoying some delicious watermelon

On Wednesday SRD had a cookout on the back lawn!

SRD Cookout!

SRD Cookout!

Precious roommates Crystal and Laura enjoying the beautiful weather

Toppings for..

Make Your Own Belgian Waffles on the first Friday of the month! :)

Gotta get those greens! :)

Honey Lime Chicken + Cooked Carrots

My absolute favorite meal - Shrimp and Beef Tacos complete with Guacamole Salad!

As you can tell, I am very spoiled with the food available to me at SRD. The kitchen staff is the absolute BEST and they do not get enough recognition for all that they do for us!

Today I rewarded myself (I am not sure why I felt the need to reward myself, maybe for making it through the week in one piece?) with frozen yogurt, a trip to Central Market for cereal, honeycrisp apples, and milk, and a little pit-stop at Francesca's, one of my absolute favorite stores, where I purchased the cutest pink shirt and two pairs of earrings. At Menchies, I enjoyed a combination of two of my favorite flavors of fro-yo: Pumpkin Spice and Chocolate Dipped Banana. Delicious! I could have polished off a whole other cup.

My stomach was happy after eating this yummy concoction!

Tonight I went to a fabulous dinner with two of my fellow RA's. We had dinner at The Shady Grove - one of Austin's hot spots. I enjoyed a delightful veggie burger topped with lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles, that was well worth the 30-minute wait we had in order to enjoy our dinner outside on this beautiful night in Austin. What a lovely evening!

And now I am currently sitting on the couch in my lounge watching game five of the Phillies - Cardinals series. It is such a nail-biter!

One more thing before I sign off.. it's 9:32 p.m. and OU still sucks! <-- more on that tomorrow!

Phightin' Phils

Happy October! I love October because it really starts to feel like fall to me, and luckily, the weather here in Austin agreed with me! It was a beautiful 65 degrees when I woke up this morning, and never got above 88 degrees! I have had the windows open all day while enjoying a wonderful Saturday!

My dorm also enjoys the fall season because we are all decorated for the occasion! Such a happy place!

I went to bed last night with the intent that I would wake up early and get a nice run in while the weather was cool, but I woke up this morning (after TEN hours of sleep! I must have been tired), and decided I was not really feeling a run, so I went down and got some breakfast (my usual, yogurt!), and began working on the pile of homework that I have to do - does it ever end?! I was really excited for today because one - it starts the beginning of the Philadelphia Phillies World Series Run and two - TEXAS FOOTBALL! We are currently beating Iowa State with a score of 34-0! Hook'em!

Anyway, today I did homework for a majority of the day, but I took a break to head over to Gregory Gym to swim some laps while the temperature was at it's peak. Upon my trip over there, I discovered that I evidently popped one of the tires on my bike while on a bike ride around Austin yesterday. It was the perfect afternoon for a long bike ride, and I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures along the way. I become more and more convinced every day that I live in the best city in the world!

These cows are seen all over Austin! I want to "catch 'em all!"

On a bridge at Town Lake!

People enjoying  the beautiful weather while kayaking! So much fun!

While at Gregory, I swam a little over a mile before heading back home to watch the PHILLIES dominate in their first playoff game 11-6 against the St. Louis Cardinals. Ryan Howard, you are my hero! He was the one who really got the momentum going in the sixth inning for the Phils. It was strange rooting against my (old - he was traded away much to my dismay) hometown favorite, Lance Berkman, but it has to be done. I still love him as a player, but I will love him even more once we beat his team!

It is such a beautiful night as I sit here with the window open that I am considering going for a late night run to the capitol once my shift at the desk is over. What a fabulous way to end a wonderful Saturday!