Getting Specific

Happy Thursday (that's really a Friday)! Hopefully you are lucky enough to have tomorrow off so that you can enjoy a long weekend. I know I'll be more than ready for a couple days off of work after working eight hours tonight. Though I can't complain about having the afternoon and evening shift, especially on the Thursday before the Fourth of July, because it is so incredibly quiet around here. I plan on blogging, reading, and maybe watching a movie while painting my nails. Not too bad for being at work!

Asti

Let's start off this post with yet another item that has been crossed off of the list - Asti Trattoria. Dylan finished his test at the exact time I got off work, so we decided to grab a quick lunch before he left town for YoungLife camp. Asti is right in the Hyde Park neighborhood, so it was extremely easy to get to. And on top of that, there was approximately one other person in the restaurant when we were there, allowing us to be seated and tended to immediately.

Our waitress was extremely personable, and I really liked the feel of this restaurant. It was quiet (which was obviously contributed to by the lack of restaurant patrons), and had a very welcoming feel to it. We were well taken care of while we were here, and I found this to be a stellar lunch spot. Dylan and I don't typically get to go to lunch together because of our overlapping schedules, so this was a nice change of pace.

We started out with the Asti fries, seasoned with garlic and parsley, and they certainly didn't last very long. They were thin and crisp, which made it very easy to keep popping them into my mouth.

For my entree, I ordered the Grilled Salmon Salad. Dylan was disappointed in me for this, because I tend to gravitate toward salmon whenever we go out to eat, but one, I really like it, and two, if I ate a bowl of pasta in the middle of the day, that would be the end of my day. Plus, I just wanted something that was both healthy and refreshing, and this salad satisfied both of those requirements.

I was even too full for gelato at Dolce Vita, which was really too bad because they had a chocolate sorbet flavor. If you read this blog with any regularity, you know I'm a sucker for anything chocolate. I guess this means I'll have to go back!

Workout + Breakfast

I hung around at home for a little bit, watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with two of my roommates, before dragging my tired self up to the gym for a 5:45pm cycling class. For once, it wasn't that my body was tired, it was more that I was just worn out, and felt as though I could have gone to sleep for the night right then and there. I knew I would regain some energy if I got a little exercise, so I did just that. I started out with a little incline treadmill walking, and then worked hard for 50 minutes in spin class.

The instructor last night was the same instructor I had on Saturday, so I knew this would be a good class. We did the same pyramid interval exercise, but we did it backwards this time. Meaning, we started out with four minutes of work, had one minute of rest, did three minutes of work, and so on. In my opinion, this pyramid interval was a little bit tougher than the one on Saturday:

• Seated flat
• Standing climb
• Jumps (10 seconds sprint, 10 seconds rest)
• Standing to seated sprint (15 seconds --> 20 seconds --> 25 seconds)

And we finished the pyramid interval with a 30-second sprint that left my legs feeling like jelly. I'd call that a successful class!

Today my workout happened bright and early in the morning, but this it was of the water variety. I forget how much I love early morning swims, probably because I don't get to do them enough. I love watching the sun come up over the water, and it was the perfect way to start this Thursday.

I was more than hungry by this point, so I headed home to fix myself my usual egg whites and spinach.

I decided to brave the heat and go for a walk at Town Lake, but the sun absolutely drained me, and I downed every ounce of water in my CamelBak once I got back to my car.

After both a swim and a sweaty walk at Town Lake, I was more than ready for a shower and a snack. I ate half of a Honeycrisp apple before dropping a friend off at her house in Westlake and then running a few errands.

Not long after I returned home, I headed over to SRD for work, which is where I will be for many, many hours. As I said earlier, though, I can't complain too much.

Austin Murals

As you guys may have noticed when I posted about my Summer 2014 To-Do List, one of the items on this list was "Austin Murals." That isn't very specific, and obviously it is not very plausible to visit every single mural in Austin, so I made a list of the ones that I want to see most. Granted, I have seen almost every mural on this list, and I've even taken pictures of a few of them, but I am starting over with the goal of taking pictures of every single one in these next three weeks. It seems like a lot, but many of them are located near one another, so it really shouldn't be too difficult.

And on that note, I'm off to do a little bit of reading. Catch y'all later!

Return Of The Plumcot

Happy Saturday! It has sure been one long week, and though I am back at SRD for work, weekends are the easiest, so I can't hate four hours set aside for me to simply read and blog.

Yesterday after work I walked over to Gregory to swim (the Gregory pool is certainly one of the main things I will miss about UT), before returning home to shower, cook up a dinner of zucchini, squash, and chicken sausage,

and head up North to see The Fault In Our Stars with some of my YoungLife girls. I read the book last summer and absolutely loved it, so I was anxious to see how the movie compared.

While I obviously think the book is better (John Green just has such a way with words), I thought the movie was just wonderful. It was so incredibly sad, yet so sweet at the same time, and I managed to hold it together pretty well until the very end. Augustus gave Hazel a forever within the numbered days, and I absolutely recommend seeing this movie (and reading the book, of course).

(Source)

(Source)

I was pretty worn out from this past week, so I went to sleep shortly after returning home from the movie. I woke up around 7:20am, headed out the door for a beautiful morning walk around Town Lake,

stopped by the grocery store to stock up on a few items so that I can do some cooking and baking later,

and made my way over to SRD to work the first shift of the day.

Breakfast

Breakfast looks a little bit different today - we still have our scrambled egg whites and spinach as the star of the show,

but I did a little dance at the grocery store last week when I saw plumcots on display. For those of you who are not familiar with plumcots (I wasn't until my friend Alex introduced me to them), they are a natural cross hybrid between plums and apricots. They are very sweet and very refreshing. They are only in season from June to September, so I know they will be making a regular appearance on my grocery list this summer.

I might even try to do some baking with them, so I'll be sure to keep you updated on how that endeavor goes!

And on that note, I'm going to get back to my book - I finally found one that has made me want to keep reading, and I can't seem to put it down!

Sunny Wednesday

It's Hump Day already, and I'm going home to Houston tomorrow for a couple of days to attend a wedding of one of my oldest friends - eek, so this week has just flown by for me. You would think I would be sick of going back and forth from Austin to Houston and vice versa, after making said trip probably too many times in the past month and a half, but I'm not too annoyed by it yet. Good thing, since Houston is going to be my future home, and I already see a few Austin trips in my future!

I can't stay away from this for too long!

But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, because I have a bad habit of looking too far into the future and not enjoying the moment I am in right now. I still have about two months left in Austin, so I plan to enjoy them as much as possible before I make Houston my permanent residence again.

Breakfast

Breakfast was the same as it always is - scrambled egg whites with spinach, all topped with salsa, and a couple of cuties on the side. 

This morning, however, I also whipped up two batches of my banana-oatmeal-almond butter muffins, so I may have also eaten quite a few spoonfuls of the batter before I put the muffins in the oven. Oops!

Workout

My body woke me up around 8:15 this morning (not having to set an alarm is so nice, however, I better not get too used to it), so I wasn't too reluctant to actually get up at that time. I changed into athletic clothes and enjoyed a cool morning walk around Town Lake.

As much as I don't like the rain, especially on the days I don't have to work, I know that we do need it, and it does cool things off a bit, at least until the humidity comes in with full force.

After my walk, I came home to fix the above breakfast, do a little bit of baking, and begin the long and gradual process that is organizing and cleaning out my room. My official move to Houston date is now July 24th, and I will only be going to Houston a handful of times before then. So, to save myself some stress, I am trying to take as much home as I possibly can in these next couple of trips home, so that I don't panic come July 24th when I have no more room in my car. How I accumulated so much stuff I will never quite understand, but I have found a few things I thought I lost, so I am enjoying that aspect of it! 

The current state of our hallway

I also have a really bad habit of holding onto things (example - I still have all of my high school work in multiple bins at home), so I am trying really hard to just throw things away if I know I will never wear and/or use it, no matter how much it might have meant to me ten years prior. Seriously, I hold onto things for that long. It's a problem.

I digress. So, after a little bit of organizing, I headed up the road to the gym where I was able to take a spin class from my very favorite Austin spin instructor. I love her sass, and her classes always leave me feeling like I just got in a great workout. It didn't hit me until I was walking out that it was probably my last spin class with her, as my work schedule won't allow me to take a weekday noon spin class, and I obviously won't be in Austin next year. Bummer!

But we did a lot of interval work today, which is my very favorite type of spin class. We never stick with one thing for too long, so it prevents boredom and it keeps my muscles guessing. One of the highlights of the class for me had to be the mountain bike loops - in which we did 30 seconds each of jumps, standing run, seated climb, and standing climb. We repeated that cycle three times, with a minute flat in between each round. It had me sweating, that's for sure!

And now I'm off to fix myself a late lunch of chicken sausage, zucchini, squash, and Brussels sprouts and then continue on with my organizing. It is quite the process, but I know I'll be glad to have it out of my room (though I can't say my parents will feel the same). Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday!

Remember to Smile

Before I brag about how domestic I have been today, I will talk about the title of this post. I woke up around 7:15 this morning and headed over to Town Lake to complete my favorite three-mile loop, when this sign caught my eye.

I imagine the sign has been there the entire time, but today was the first day I noticed it. Naturally, I couldn't help but stop and take a picture, and post it on Instagram, because in my opinion, there is always a reason to smile, no matter what life throws your way. Sometimes it's hard to find the positive, but just think of what you have, instead of what you don't have, and I guarantee that will bring a smile to your face.

Workout

Like I said, I went on an early-morning walk around Town Lake this morning shortly after waking up. I love going between the time of 7:00am and 8:00am, because the before-work crowd has typically finished their workouts, and the later-morning crowd has not yet arrived, so the trail is not quite as packed as it could be. I returned home to make breakfast and do a little bit of cleaning before hitting the gym for a 10:00am Body Pump class. It had been about a month since I last took Body Pump, so I took the weights a little lighter than usual, but my arms will still burning during the chest and lunge track, as usual. I am anticipating some soreness tomorrow, but sometimes soreness reminds me that I got in a good workout, and there's not many feelings better than that one!

Lunch

Today's lunch was enjoyed courtesy of SRD. I didn't start work until 2:00pm today, but today's lunch was one of my favorites, so I came over a little bit early so that I could eat lunch before my shift started. Today's menu featured a make-your-own Caesar salad with grilled chicken, so I piled lots of lettuce on my plate, topped it with a heaping spoonful of grilled chicken, added a few mushrooms, chopped tomatoes, and black olives, and poured a little balsamic vinaigrette on top. It was delicious, and I ate every bite.

Domestic Goddess

I am just going to take a minute and brag about how domestic I have been so far today, and I have some solid plans to clean my bathroom later tonight. Sometimes I lead a really exciting life. Anyway, so far today I have:

• Purchased and mailed a Father's Day card
• Went grocery shopping
• Did my laundry (and I folded it and put it away)
• Started and emptied the dishwasher
• Cleaned out the Clubhouse refrigerator and freezer
• Cleaned the entire kitchen

I have a checklist of a random assortment of things to complete this week, so it feels good to get some of these things checked off so early in the week. Enjoy the rest of your Tuesday!

Austin, Day Two

After waking up in what felt like a sauna around 8:00 this morning, Amira and I were ready to hit the ground running for our last few hours of Austin adventures. We popped the last few energy bites in our mouths and headed out for an early morning walk at Town Lake. It was cold, but thankfully there was no wind, making our walk very enjoyable. Naturally, we snapped pictures every few minutes, and I was able to admire just how beautiful and peaceful Austin really is in the morning.

New graffiti

Ghost bikes 

Christmas fun 

Sup ATX

 After a solid three-mile walk, we drove the couple hundred yards to a place I have been dying to try for a while, but hadn't yet: Juiceland, a hole-in-the-wall juice bar with tons of options and friendly workers. Amira and I both opted for The Home Run - a smoothie that featured strawberries, bananas, and apple juice, and I think we would both tell you that they were delicious. It tasted so natural and healthy, though it definitely didn't help warm me up at all! 

Amira and I being artsy

Since we were in the area, and Amira is a big coffee fan, I decided to take her to Mozart's, a coffee shop and bakery with beautiful views overlooking Lake Austin.

We then made a quick stop at Central Market on our way back to the Clubhouse so that I could stock up on some carob chips to take back to Houston with me. I also snagged a few honeycrisp apples to take home with me because our stock was running low.

It was then time to get on the road back to Houston. It was a short trip, but a great trip that contained many of my Austin favorites. As sad as I always am to leave Houston and my family at the end of a long break, Austin is a pretty great place to go.

Workout

I got home around 2:00 this afternoon, so after a bit of relaxation, uploading photos, and digging into my newly purchased honeycrisp apples, it was time for a run. My half is TEN days away, and it's officially crunch time. I headed out for a rather chilly run around my neighborhood. I ran for 43 minutes, so I would guess I ran somewhere between four and fives miles. Not too shabby, especially considering the fact that I usually abandon any and all ideas of working out on days that I drive home from Austin!

Celebrity Sighting

There are a lot of famous men and women who are spotted in the city of Austin, such as Sandra Bullock, Matthew McConaughey and various other people who cause us to freak out with excitement. Well, for a Summer Olympics lover like me, I was very excited to learn that Michael Phelps would be in my very city swimming in the Olympic Trials at the University of Texas natatorium. I have been a huge fan of Michael Phelps ever since he landed on the Olympic radar and I really enjoyed watching him break records and win eight Olympic gold medals. I remember rushing home from volleyball games in 2008 so I could be sure to catch his gold-medal swims.

Around 9:00 this morning, my friends Sara, Sarah, and Lexi headed over to the Lee and Joe Jamail Swimming Center to catch Michael Phelps swim the 400 Individual Medley. He makes it look so easy as he just glides through the water. I am beyond excited for the Olympics this summer and I am hoping a stop in London this summer is in my future to see all of the preparations.

The program

Spotted: Michael Phelps

The finish

Winner!

Photo courtesy of my friend Lexi

Sarah, Sara, Lexi and I

After getting off work at the front desk at 3, I grabbed my iPod and set off for a daunting 8-mile run. It was such a beautiful, picture perfect day here in Austin that the time and distance seemed to fly by and I was back at SRD before I knew it. I did a new-ish route today, turning a different direction once I got to Town Lake and I was not disappointed. It was a beautiful run and I can't wait to explore that route further on my next long run. I then grabbed some water and headed off on a walk around campus that served as a cool-down for me, since I was sweating like a crazy person! I will admit that while my school's campus is not the most beautiful one I have ever seen, it is hard to not love it when you have spots like this on campus:

The Turtle Pond

I am now off to shower and get ready for a delicious dinner with one of my friends form elementary school who just transferred to UT, complete with a little Tebow Time after that! What a wonderful Saturday this has been so far - Austin, it's good to be back!