Goodbye, Berripop

Let me preface this post with the statement that I do not actually consider what I am about to write a tragedy. I realize that if this is what makes for a "terrible Thursday," then my life is pretty darn great. And it is. I will not deny that. But just let me show a little bit of sass, because this news really got to me.

It is a sad, sad day for this fro-yo loving girl. Right before the start of my 11:00 class, I received a Facebook notification on my phone from my favorite former coach. It read: "I JUST HEARD FROM A STUDENT THAT BERRIPOP IS CLOSING THIS SUNDAY!!!! Life as we know it is over." I actually let out a little yelp of dismay, because if you are at all familiar with this blog, you know that Berripop Frozen Yogurt is my all-time favorite frozen yogurt establishment. It is what started my frozen yogurt obsession, and more than that, it is where memories were made. Sorry if I get a bit sentimental, but seriously, this was my go-to place for meeting and catching up with people. Chances are, you and I have been to Berripop together. One of my very good friends took me to Berripop for the first time after the first volleyball game of my senior season. Three of my best friends and teammates and I cried over the loss of our final volleyball game together. A friend brought me Berripop to cheer me up after he learned that my grandfather passed away. I introduced many of my high school friends, college friends, and former teachers and coaches to this place, and their frozen yogurt is honestly the best I've tasted.

Sure, I like Orange Leaf. I like Red Mango. Swirll is okay. And I am really starting to love PinkBerry (probably because it reminds me of Berripop). But first of all, Berripop was the most conveniently located, and they knew me at that place. I was quite the loyal customer. I am not sure if all of the Berripop locations are closing, or if it is just the one near my house, but no Berripop compares to my Berripop.

Emily and I at Berripop beforea volleyball game

It is being replaced with a crepe restaurant, toward which I already feel some resent. The funny thing is, Berripop replaced TCBY, so I was very hesitant to try the place that closed the last remaining TCBY in our area, too. While I am sure the crepe restaurant will be very successful, I can't even eat crepes most of the time, due to the dairy that is found in them.

So, imagine my state of mind when I learned of this news. Needless to say, I did not pay much attention in my 11:00 class. Berripop, thanks for four great years of frozen yogurt and memories. May I always be remembered as your most loyal customer.

Workout

Now, onto what most of you probably came to this see - a workout! I complained this morning about the fact that it still so chilly outside, but it turned out to be an absolutely beautiful sunny day. The temperature is currently in the 60's, and it made for the perfect running weather. I got out of my 12:30 class early (which NEVER happens), so I changed into shorts and drove over to Mueller Park for a 4.2 mile run. 

I don't know what was in me today, but I was hauling booty today, as my average min/mile was 8:11. That's pretty fast for me, but then again, this is my absolutely favorite running weather, so that might have had something to do with it.

Overall, my run felt great, and I feel much more prepared for the Blue Bell Fun Run (well, I'm at least confident that I will finish it without walking), than I did this past weekend. Here's to weather that is similar to today's!

Austin Forever

You're probably tired of this tag line at this point. You all know by now that I love living in Texas. And while Austin is the capitol city, it is truly a city of its own. The slogan is "Keep Austin Weird," and I will not deny that it is a weird city. Nor will I deny that it is one of the coolest college cities there is. I may be a little biased, but I have enjoyed every minute of my three years in Austin.

Though I do not necessarily see myself living here after I graduate - though you never know - I am still charmed by so many aspects of this city, and it will forever hold a special place in my heart. I came across this list this morning, and many of the items on it made me smile. Though I frequently forget my reusable bags (today), and the lac of parking anywhere in the city drives me nuts, nothing beats a run around Town Lake with this view,

the BBQ is some of the best in the state,

and the uniqueness that can be found everywhere you turn truly makes Austin one of a kind.

360 tree decorations

Trailer food

Wall art everywhere

Let me know if you're ever in the Austin area - I'd love to take you around to some of my favorite places!

*All images courtesy of this website.

Workout

Another Wednesday, another spin class. I've found that Wednesday spin classes tend to be my favorite, no matter the gym. This class was tough, but not as tough as previous Wednesday afternoon classes. We did some endurance interval training, so we worked on a lot of strength with a bit of speed thrown into the mix. I was glad for the less strenuous class today, because my legs are still a bit sore from my run on Monday. I feel somewhat pathetic saying that, but that's what you get when you take a break from running!

Lunch

I was pretty hungry immediately after my spin class, but I made a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up some produce. Enter the time I forgot my reusable grocery bags. Anyway, I came home and sauteed some spinach, heated up some black beans and corn, and topped it all with some salsa. Talk about a colorful lunch!

I also had some blackberries and a few banana-oatmeal-almond butter muffins. The perfect fuel for me to really make some headway on this research paper. I have loved analyzing the grading processes and teaching philosophies of some of my former teachers, but it's proven to be pretty difficult to draw some general conclusions across the board.

Humidity Level

Living and growing up in Texas means that I am no stranger to the humidity. Though I am no stranger to it, I am still not always sure how to handle it. I have naturally curly hair, so wearing my hair straight on days with high humidity is never an option, and running in the humidity is high on my list of things I don't particularly enjoy doing. However, I made myself suck it up for a 5-mile run, because I am running in the Blue Bell Fun Run 10K this weekend with a couple of my roommates and a friend from high school. Seeing as I haven't run that distance in quite some time, I felt like it would be in my best interest to do so, so that I feel somewhat prepared for this race on Saturday. I know it is just a "fun run," but I am a very competitive person, so I have a hard time not comparing my times from year to year.

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After breakfast, some studying for a test I have tomorrow, and a bit of brainstorming for my third and final research paper of the semester, - more on that coming soon, because I have to brag on some of my former teachers for helping me out on this one - I drove on over to Mueller Park to complete a 5-mile run. The run went much better than expected, though I was a sweaty mess by the end of it. 87% humidity is no joke!

I apologize for the glare on the photo - I have got to get better at taking pictures with my phone!

I am still trying to cool down from that run, and I about ready to make myself a huge bowl of fruit to tide me over until I decide what I want for lunch. And before I bid you adieu, if you're suffering from a case of the Mondays, look the bright side, the day is almost halfway over!

Malaga Tapas and Bar

As summer draws nearer and nearer, I have found myself feeling really homesick for Barcelona and my European travel adventures. I have spent more time than I care to admit researching different trips so that I can get myself back to Europe after I graduate from college - either a trip of some sort, or even living and working over there for a few years. I couldn't live there forever, but I think teaching abroad for a few years would be a wonderful opportunity. I'm currently working on convincing my parents to let me be a chaperone (because I'm old enough to do that sort of thing, apparently) on a Spain, France, Italy trip next summer - so we'll see how that goes! I'm willing to get down and one knee and beg, if that's what it takes!

Anyway, a few weeks ago a couple of my roommates were talking about a tapas restaurant downtown, and Sarah and I knew we had to check it out. One of our favorite things about Barcelona was the food (typical), and in particular, the Spanish tortilla. We met up with one of our other friends from Barcelona for a delicious Spanish dinner at Malaga Tapas and Bar.

Sarah and I were both going to get the Tortilla Catalana (I am sure you are all shocked to hear that one), but Blake suggested each ordering something different and all sharing. I was pro that idea, because I was also eyeing the Spanish meatballs, so this plan would allow me to enjoy both. We settled on the Albondigas en Salsa Brava, Tortilla Catalana, and something our waiter recommended - Coca de Pato Ahumado, which is grilled Spanish flat bread with thin slices of smoked duck breast. I couldn't eat that one because of the cheese, but they so kindly let me have a majority of the meatballs. Everything was absolutely delicious, and it made me even more homesick for Barcelona. If only we could have been overlooking the beach while we ate, it would have been absolutely perfect!

Our very favorite Spanish meal

It was an absolutely beautiful night - the temperature was around 75 degrees, the wind was lightly blowing, and we left just as the sun was setting. I hadn't seen Blake since Barcelona, so it was great to hear about the rest of his time in Barcelona, as well as just spend time catching up with one another. We made it our goal to find other tapas restaurants in our area, as these tapas were so authentic that we really felt like we were back in Barcelona.

And I'm off to squeeze in a bit of studying before my YoungLife team meeting. I hope you have had a wonderful Sunday!

Body Combat

Happy Saturday! So far, mine has started off on a GREAT note! But before we get to the great part of it, let's start with breakfast, which was also great, but it's not the focus of this post.

My breakfast looked identical to yesterday's breakfast of scrambled egg whites, spinach, and salsa, and again, it was delicious. I love sneaking veggies into my morning meals!

Workout

Now, onto the exciting part. My gym here in Austin advertised about a brand new class being offered this morning, so I jumped on the chance to sign up and try it out. I have talked about taking Body Pump classes before, which is part of the Les Mills series. Body Pump is a hour-long class that focuses on low weights and high repetitions to burn both fat and calories. It really gets your heart pumping! That is the only Les Mills class I have ever taken, and I really like it, so when I saw that this class was another of the Les Mills series, I couldn't resist seeing what this one was all about.

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This particular class was called Body Combat, which is high intensity, martial arts-inspired cardio. It involves doing different combinations, which I knew was going to be a challenge for me, as I took one ballet class when I was three years old and evidently hated it. That might contribute to the fact that I am neither particularly flexible nor graceful. Anyway, I absolutely loved this class. My heart rate was sky high from the warm-up, and though I struggled a bit with a few of the combinations, I eventually caught on and got pretty into them. If anyone thinks about messing with me, they better think twice! Kidding, but we did a lot of punches and jabs and roundhouse kicks and side kicks - basically, a total-body workout. We also never stopped moving, and we did moves that I am pretty familiar with - shuffling and high knees. I can thank my volleyball background for that one! The instructor was great - she was encouraging, motivating, and pushed us to work hard even though we were tired. The time absolutely flew, and my hamstrings are already sore, so I can only imagine how they are going to feel tomorrow. I hope to make this a regular part of my workout routine - you truly work every inch of your body, and it is something so different from what I am used to doing.

Enjoy your Saturday! I am hoping to get some homework done early, so that I can enjoy some of what is shaping up to be a beautiful day!

Gatsby Motivation

I would be lying if I told you that my excitement for going to the gym was so that I could read The Great Gatsby while on the cardio machines. As I am sure you know, the movie is coming out May 10th (I already signed up for a ticket purchase email alert so I can be sure to go to the midnight premiere), and though I have read the book once before, I want to read it again before the movie is released. It's not a long book, but I have had to limit myself to only reading a chapter or two at a time so that I can actually be productive in other areas of my life. However, since last night, I have managed to read five chapters. It's just so good, and I am THRILLED for the movie - I have a final exam at 9:00am the morning after the midnight premiere, but you only live once, right?

Breakfast

Because I stayed up late reading, I let myself sleep in a bit, and I woke up around 7:30 and scrambled up some egg whites, sauteed some spinach, sprinkled it with pepper, and mixed it all together with salsa for the perfect Friday breakfast. Because eggs aren't going to hold me for very long, I also had a few of my banana-oatmeal-almond butter muffins. I know you're surprised about that one.

Workout

I let my breakfast digest while attempting to start writing yet another research paper, before hitting the gym for a workout. Like I said, Gatsby was my motivation to get there, so I started out with 20 minutes on the stairmaster. I haven't done the stairmaster in quite some time, so it was tough, but in a good way.

Before leaving for the gym, I perused Pinterest for a good upper body workout. I found one that incorporated lots of different exercises, so I decided to do it twice through.

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I switched back and forth between 10 and 12.5 pound dumbbells, and substituted alternating bicep curls for the one-arm rows, because I didn't know what those were and didn't want to waste time looking them up on my phone. I rounded out the workout with a couple extra sets of standing shoulder presses and alternating front raises before hitting the treadmill. I originally planned to walk (and read) for 20 minutes, but I haven't run in a while, so I ran a quick 8:30 mile before transitioning into a walk until the time hit 20 minutes. A good workout that will hopefully keep me focused for the rest of the day. Lots to get done this weekend!

Tests vs. Papers

I am really excited for summer because that means my blog posts will be far more frequent. Until then, school and other activities are going to be crazy, but I will try and keep y'all as updated as possible. Just a fair warning - but please, keep stopping by my blog!

Speaking of school, my absence this past week was due to a big exam that I had this morning. The way the class is run is tough in itself, so my roommate and I always set up shop in the upstairs lounge for a few hours the night before the test, talking through everything we need to know. I knew this exam was going to be even tougher because, one, I spent the weekend at home, where I never get much school work done, and two, the material was all new-to-me information, and three, there was a lot of material crammed into four classes. All that being said, I found the test pretty difficult. And in addition to taking this exam, three papers were returned to me today. Not to brag on my writing skills (as an English major, they're supposed to be pretty good, though, right?), but I received pretty good feedback on all of them, just furthering my preference for papers over tests. With tests, I feel like I am never really done studying, but with papers, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I have the power to actually feel confident about what I am turning into my professor.

Workout

Now that my test rant is out of the way, we'll move onto more exciting (or less exciting, depending on your viewpoint) things - a workout! It has been raining all week here in Austin - I may not like it much, but the grass sure does - so I was hoping for a warm, sunny day that would allow me to swim. No such luck. The sun finally came out, but the temperatures have remained in the 40's and 50's all day. So, I hit the gym for a 5:45pm spin class. I have never been to this particular spin class before, but it was no joke. It was lots of interval speed work that was absolutely killer. However, I loved the class, and I thought it was interesting how the instructor incorporated bursts of slow pedaling with your torso at a 45 degree angle. It was a nice break from the "double time," but my legs were burning! I'd give this workout two thumbs up!

Dinner

After my spin class, I was ready for some dinner. I took a shower, sauteed some chicken and spinach, heated up some black beans and corn, mixed it with a splash of salsa, and enjoyed. The perfect post-workout meal!

Now I am going to plan campaigners for tomorrow and do a bit of homework. Like I said, these next four weeks are busy, busy, busy! But look on the bright side - it's almost Friday!