Mom's The Word

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers (and mothers-to-be) out there! You guys do so much for your family (especially your children), and I think every day should be yours! And I can't have a Mother's Day post without giving a shout out to mine.

There are not enough words on this Earth to describe how much you mean to me, but I'll try anyway. I'm thankful for all of those talks on the way to and from volleyball practice, and to and from tournaments. You keep me sane, you encourage me, and you think your children are just the best. Thank you for editing every single one of my papers, and never complaining about it. Thank you for always welcoming me (and my laundry) home with open arms, and thank you for letting me complain and cry to you. Thank you for always listening to me and offering the best advice, because your judgment and your advice is something I will always trust. Thank you for loving me and our family so well, and for showing me what it means to put others first. You are truly the best friend that I could ever ask for, and I don't know where or what I would be without you. I hope you feel loved and appreciated every day of the year, and I can't wait for all of the adventures still to come!

Back to the regular food and workout posts tomorrow! I have a few good ones up my sleeve! 

Senior

As of 9:45 this morning, I officially become a senior in college. I'm not entirely sure where the past three years went, and I can't believe I only have one year left as a student at the University of Texas. Anyway, my mini-absence has been because of finals, and the fact that I saw The Great Gatsby last night (incredible), but now I am back and ready for a summer full of fun (and then blogging about it)!

Only one more year here? And then I have to start wearing real people clothes on the reg? Say it ain't so!

Before I blog about the greatness that is Gatsby, I'll fill you in on today. I woke up around 7:30am for my 9:00am final. Instead of any last-minute studying, my roommates and I stood around talking about how good looking great of an actor Leonardo DiCaprio is. My roommate Katie said it best with her tweet, "Leo is entirely flawless." That deserved a retweet, because he did a fantastic job. Anyway, while we were discussing Gatsby, I scrambled some egg whites, sauteed some spinach, topped it all with salsa, and called it my breakfast of champions.

It powered me through my final, which I think went well, by the way, and I walked home to gather all of my school stuff together to take home. I don't know what it is, but there's something about filing away all of your old notes at the end of a semester. Or that could just be me.

Anyway, after a bit of packing, I headed up to Galaxy Cafe to meet Coach A for an early lunch. She had a meeting in Austin at 1pm, so I jumped at the chance to show an Aggie one of my Austin favorites. As usual, it was great to see her and catch up, all while enjoying a delicious veggie burger with a side of fresh fruit. 

Workout

Not five minutes after returning home, I threw on my bathing suit and biked to Gregory to take advantage of the sunshine. It was raining when I left for my final this morning, but it quickly turned into a beautiful day. I haven't been able to swim all week thanks to this bizarre weather, so I was glad to sneak in a quick and powerful swim.

I quickly biked home to shower and get ready for our last campaigners of the semester. We had them write letters to themselves that we will mail to them sometime right before school begins again in the fall. I did this when I was on Wilderness the summer before my senior year and I loved receiving my letter in the mail. I always tell myself that I am going to write a letter to myself that I will open in five years, but I have yet to actually do it. Maybe this summer will be the summer that it finally happens!

After campaigners, eight of my girls and I decided to go paddleboarding on Town Lake. The sky was quickly changing from blue to black, but we held out the hope that it wouldn't rain on us. We were in the water for a grand total of two minutes before seeing lightning and deciding it would be in our best interest to head back in. We were glad we did because it started pouring approximately ten minutes later. By that time, we were safely inside Magnolia Cafe, deciding whether to order gingerbread or chocolate chip pancakes. It wasn't what we had planned for, but it was fun nonetheless. I'd say today was a pretty perfect start to my summer, so I can't wait to see what else lies ahead. And because this post is already a novel, I'll save my Gatsby review for another post, and give all of you a chance to go see it. If you haven't picked up on this by now, I highly recommend it!

Entirely flawless, right? He was the perfect Jay Gatsby (Source)

Teacher Appreciation Week

The week of May 6-May 10 marks Teacher Appreciation Week, and I may be a bit biased since I want to become a teacher, but I have seen teachers do a whole lot for their students, and I am glad to see that there is an entire week dedicated to appreciating them (though I think we should show them our appreciation all year long).

It is no secret that I had some absolutely wonderful teachers growing up. From the first day of Pre-K to the day I walked across the stage at Don Coleman Coliseum, I can owe quite a bit (if not all) of my success to the many wonderful teachers I had throughout the years. I could go through and talk about all the wonderful qualities of every teacher I ever had, but you would probably get bored after about two teachers. Instead, I will just write a little thank-you note to any of my former teachers who happen to stumble upon this post.

Mrs. Cate - Second Grade

Miss Rosso (now Mrs. McGee) - Third Grade

Mr. Avis - Junior and Senior Year Physics

Mrs. Riddle (J-Rid) - Geometry and Calculus 

Coach Adcock - because coaches need to be appreciated too!

Thank you to all of my former teachers, for challenging me, inspiring me, and encouraging me. Thank you for explaining things to me until you were blue in the face. Thank you for all of those early morning tutorials. Thank you for assigning all of that homework (though I likely complained about it at the time), because it made me a much more diligent worker. Thank you for making your classroom a safe space, and for being someone students can talk to. Thank you for all of the hours you put into drafting lesson plans, and for the out-of-pocket money you spend on classroom supplies. Thank you for keeping in touch with your students even after they leave the classroom, and for pushing me to become a better student and person.

You deserve more than a week of appreciation for all that you do for each and every one of your students, and I hope that one day I can be to my future students what all of you were to me.

If you have an extra minute or two, read this note to teachers everywhere. It's sure to make you want to go thank a former teacher for all that he or she has done. 

Susan G. Komen

Happy Tuesday, everyone! One step closer to the weekend, right? Well, let's jump right in, because I have some exciting news regarding the Pretty Muddy Run in Dallas, that is taking place in only 24 short days (which also means that my brother graduates high school in 24 short days, crazy)!

Breakfast

Breakfast went as usual this morning, and I scrambled up some egg whites, sauteed some spinach, and topped it all with lemon pepper and salsa. I had a few handfuls of green grapes to go alongside the egg whites.

Workout

No more class means that my Tuesday and Thursday's are no longer jam-packed. This also meant that I got to take a 10:00am Body Pump class at the gym. You know how much I like my Wednesday spin instructor, and she is also the instructor of this particular Body Pump class, so I was glad to have the opportunity to take another class with her. It was a good one, and I really liked that she gave us the option to do inner-thing squats on the squat track. I have never thought to do that before, but now I will be sure to take advantage of it!

We also did this plank move called "Around the World," in that you start in plank position,

(Source)

move one leg out to the side (and back), move the other leg out to the side (and back), move one arm out to the side (and back), and finally, move the other arm out to the side (and back). It is much harder than it sounds, so if you are looking for a move that will challenge your regular ab routine, you should give this one a shot.

After BodyPump, I headed over to Town Lake to take advantage of this absolutely beautiful weather we are having. I walked the three-mile loop, and now I am ready to tackle a day full of studying and preparing for my final exam.

Pretty Muddy Dallas

It's been a while since I have blogged about this race, but since it is quickly approaching, and there is some exciting news regarding the race, I figured a post was appropriate.

Many of you are probably familiar with The Susan G. Komen Foundation, a foundation dedicated to fighting breast cancer, and eventually working to end it. The foundation has made incredible contributions, and it is a cause near and dear to my heart, as I know many who have been impacted by breast cancer. And that is why I am so excited to announce that Susan G. Komen is the official charitable partner of the Pretty Muddy Dallas event!

Jennifer Legere, the executive director of Komen Dallas County, expresses her excitement over the partnership with Pretty Muddy: "We are thankful that Pretty Muddy is joining us in the fight against breast cancer to help ensure Dallas County residents have access to life-saving breast health services. Each year, we invest 75 percent of the net funds raised back into Dallas County to support breast cancer education, screening, treatment and support services for medically-underserved residents. The remaining 25 percent goes toward national research to find the cures." Pretty Muddy is just as excited about the partnership, and I would have to agree with that excitement. Who doesn't want to help contribute to a great cause while getting your exercise in for the day? It's guaranteed to be more fun than logging those miles on a treadmill!

So, if you haven't signed up yet, make sure to do it quickly! And if you are planning to road trip to Dallas from Houston, please let me know, I'd love a car buddy!

Cuties and Pineapple

I wish I could tell you the funny (or not-so-funny) story about my night last night, but I don't want to jinx the situation. I hate that I am being so mysterious, but when I can tell you what happened, I will. It's a good one.

Today was the first day of "dead days" at UT, and I started mine off on a very good note. I scrambled up one of my best batch of scrambled egg whites for breakfast,

turned in my 16-page research paper (a whole post coming on this later),

It ended up being more than 100 pages when all was said and done

and took a brisk morning walk around Town Lake.

I then returned home to do some serious reading, as I have a final exam on Friday morning, and I don't want to blow the grade that I have worked so hard to maintain all semester. After some reading and a nap, I biked to Gregory and managed to snag a lane before it started getting really crowded. I was a bit surprised at the amount of people wanting to swim, given the dark skies and menacing clouds, but I was out there too, so I guess we're all a little bit crazy!

Cuties and Pineapple

I'm not entirely sure why it has taken me 21 years to figure out just how delicious both Cuties and pineapple are. I discovered my love for both of these fruits just this past weekend, and now I can't get enough. I purchased a huge bag of Cuties at the store the other day, and am almost finished with the two containers of pineapple that I bought. I think it's safe to say that I am officially obsessed. Better late than never, right?

Enjoy the rest of your Monday evening. I'm off to watch Harry Potter continue studying. See y'all tomorrow!

Graduation Luncheon

Today was an absolutely beautiful day here in Austin. Seriously, the weather was probably my favorite of all-time. It was a nice break from the cold temperatures and dark clouds we have been experiencing these past couple of days. I forced myself to get up around 8:00 this morning so that I would have time to make, eat, and digest my breakfast before a 10:00am cycling class. I made myself my normal breakfast of scrambled egg whites and spinach topped with salsa. I also grabbed a couple of my banana-oatmeal-almond butter muffins for the road.

I had never been to this particular spin class before, so I was excited to test out a new instructor. At the beginning of the class, I was a bit unimpressed with the difficulty of the class, but I quickly ate my thoughts, as the class got progressively tougher. We did a lot of strength work, which I normally really enjoy, but today we did speed work on the hills, which in my opinion, is the hardest thing you can do. The result of my spin class? A very sweaty Kelli!

I quickly showered once I arrived back at The Clubhouse, so that I would allow enough time for my hair to dry before I had to straighten it. Blow-drying my hair is high on my list of things I don't enjoy doing, so though I tried to avoid it, I had to run the dryer over my hair for a few minutes. Why the rush to get all pretty and dressed up? Remember my post about how my YoungLife girls will be starting high school next year? Well, the moms of the girls hosted an absolutely beautiful luncheon for the girls, and we, their leaders, were also invited to share this special day with them.

It was such a fun afternoon, and I know I have said it before, but I am so blessed by the incredible community I have in my co-leaders (who I am going to miss SO much next year), these precious girls, and their families. I loved celebrating them and just getting to hang out with the girls and their moms on a beautiful Austin afternoon. They are all so wonderful and I can't wait to experience this next part of their journey with them.

Two of my biggest role models

After I returned home, I worked a bit on my two papers, went on an evening walk around Town Lake with Sarah, and am now sitting on the couch watching The Parent Trap with her. A Saturday well spent!

C's Get Degrees

Though I may say these words sometimes, I don't actually mean them. Yes, when I was walking to my 11:00am class and heard someone say "Hey, C's get degrees" to her friend, I couldn't help but smile (and tweet it). This last week of classes is appropriately nicknamed "hell week," because professors have the tendency to cram all of their last tests, papers, and projects into this week, making for some very stressed out college students. Though I usually have a horrific last week of class, I got pretty lucky this semester. I only had one test on Tuesday, and one minuscule paper that is due tomorrow. I have one final exam next Friday, one final research paper that is quickly approaching 15 pages, and one take-home final exam that is in essay format. If all goes according to plan, I will officially be done with my junior year of college by noon on May 10th. A thought that both excites me and scares me.

I only have one more year at this place? Where has the time gone?

Workout

Due to this unpredictable Texas weather, my plan to swim after class was thwarted. Instead, I went to my professor's office hours, came home and worked on my research paper, and attended a 5:45pm spin class at the gym. It was tough. The class focused solely on speed work, and we did a lot of quick jumps - as in, one(ish) second sitting, one(ish) second standing, for 30 seconds straight. And we repeated that multiple times. He told us that we deserved to eat whatever we wanted to after that class, which was music to my ears because that is exactly what I did.

Dinner and Dessert

Tonight's dinner was a special one. I quickly showered and threw on some clothes and met my YoungLife team at Food Heads for our last dinner as a team. Three people are graduating, two of us are moving up to Anderson, and tonight was sort of our "send off dinner." I always laugh significantly harder when I am around my team, and tonight was no exception. Great food and even greater fellowship make for a great night.

I enjoyed the Spicy Apple Pork Tenderloin sandwich, and though the sandwiches there are pretty big, I ate every last bite. I was pretty hungry by the time my food came, and the food is just too good for me to pass up. After dinner, some of us made our way over to the Triangle for some frozen yogurt at Yogurt Planet.

I got a combination of chocolate (typical) and berry burst, topped with blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries. It's been a while since I've had any fro-yo, so it was much needed. I enjoyed every second of hanging out with my team, and I am going to miss them so much next year. I can't believe how much joy they have brought me, and they have been such an incredible community. It was a great last supper!

And now I'm going to do something completely un-school related before I hit the books hard again tomorrow. Good night!