Checking In

Happy happy Thursday, everyone! I apologize for my absence these past couple of days - I truly had all the time in the world to post on both Monday and Tuesday, but I had absolutely nothing to write about - and I went home Tuesday evening to attend a Texas Girls Coaches Association (TGCA) Sports Clinic in Houston that took place all day Wednesday and part of Thursday. Though my Wednesday was a long one, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the clinic. Many of the other - veteran - coaches sort of tuned out during some of the UIL (University Interscholastic League) stuff at the beginning, but this being my first time to be on this side of it, I found it fascinating. I never realized just how intricate everything within the UIL is, and it makes me appreciate just how well taken care of I was over at Stratford. My coaches never missed a beat, and there sure are a lot of little hoops they have to jump through!

After almost three hours of UIL information, we broke up into our sports, so I went with the JV coach at Bellaire over to the competition gym at Tompkins High School, where we had the privilege of hearing from Tammy Clark, the head coach at Granbury High School. Her main talking points focused on:

Offense,

Defense, and

Off-Season (everyone's favorite!)

I think I enjoyed being in a classroom-like setting as a student, because I sure took a lot of notes. Then again, I am a note-taker by nature.

A lot of the drills were geared toward middle school teams, but obviously freshmen aren't that far removed from middle school, and they can easily be made more challenging. I so remember doing many of these drills myself, so they were easy for me to picture, but I also learned of a few new drills that I hope to implement into my future practice plans.

We also had the privilege of listening to Johnny Quinn - a member of the 2014 U.S. Olympic Bobsled team - as our motivational speaker, and these sorts of things can be very hit-or-miss, in my opinion. Well, Johnny was quite the hit, and I walked out of the common gym remembering why I agreed to become a coach in the first place. I had so many wonderful coaches who not only taught me volleyball skills, but above all, taught me life lessons, and if I can do that for even one of my athletes, I'll consider my job a success.

(Source)

Immediately after the last lecture of the clinic, I hopped on the Westpark Tollway and drove on over to Bellaire, making it just in time for open gym to start. Open gym takes place every Monday and Wednesday night, but since I am in Austin a majority of the summer, I am unable to attend. I decided that since I was home, I would go to one, and I had to smile when I walked into Bellaire and it just smelled like a high school. That may make absolutely no sense to any of you, but it just further reassured me that I made the right decision - especially after running into my high school principal and athletic director at the clinic and becoming nostalgic for all things Stratford (hey, once a Spartan, always a Spartan).

I made it home right around 7:00pm, where I hung out with my parents for a little bit before dragging my tired body off the couch so that I could go on an evening walk around my neighborhood. I wasn't really in the mood, but after sitting all day, I had to get my body moving at least a little bit. And I absolutely love taking walks, so I ended up being glad I did it, as per usual!

This morning once again started bright and early for day two of the clinic, and the morning started off with a discussion of our "legal duties" as a coach, and how we can stay out of the hot seat. Again, coaching is far more intricate than I ever imagined, and I once again applaud my high school coaches for taking such good care of us - y'all rock!

We moved back into the competition gym for two more lectures - from two coaches against whom I played while I was in high school - and I absolutely loved both of their lectures. Their love for the players and for the game just radiated off of them, and I hope I can bottle and display their enthusiasm in my own coaching duties. I especially liked that the Cy-Woods coach talked about keeping it fun, because so many girls will come to you burnt out and just tired of the same old things. I absolutely fell into that category at one point in my career, so I definitely want to keep things fun for my players.

From The Woodlands coach, I loved what she had to say about choosing a setter. I was a setter, so setters will always have a special place in my heart, and I loved that she said they are like "the quarterback of the team." The setter is a part of every play, and according to this coach, they should be athletic, intelligent, and mentally tough, as we tend to have a lot of the blame placed on us. Even when I play now, and it's just for fun, I find myself taking as much of the blame when a mistake is made as I possibly can. I guess it's forever in my blood!

Anyway, I truly enjoyed the clinic, though it definitely made for two long days. It was absolutely worth it, though, because now I don't feel so much like a fish out of water in terms of this coaching thing!

I headed straight back to Austin from Katy, where I attended a 5:45pm spin class at the gym, and then cooked myself a dinner of Brussels sprouts, zucchini, squash, and pork - all topped with salsa (of course).

And that concludes my exciting(?) week. Check back tomorrow for another round of Things I'm Loving!

Survey Sunday

Happy Sunday, and probably more importantly, Happy Father's Day to all of the fathers out there. And a very special Happy Father's Day to the man who taught me to love all Philadelphia sports teams, who pitched for my championship softball team, and who has supported and loved me through each and every one of my endeavors. I love you a lot, and I'm so thankful to call you mine!

Workout

I let myself sleep in as late as possible before getting up to squeeze in a workout before a six-hour shift at SRD. I started off with a walk at Town Lake, 

followed by ten rounds of stairs at Mt. Bonnell.

I was sufficiently sweaty by the end of the morning, and a hot, rushed shower didn't do much to help cool me down. That being said, it was a great workout, and a great way to start the day.

Breakfast

I know yesterday's breakfast was a reprieve from the egg whites and spinach that I normally have, but, fear not, today we're back with our normal day's events.

Survey Sunday

You guys know how much I love surveys, so here is another short one I found for you guys. I can’t promise that Survey Sunday is making its official return, but I will certainly fill them out and post them whenever I find them! So, without further ado, here is another fitness-related survey for your Sunday enjoyment.

1.  Run or Walk? 

This is a tough question, because I absolutely love going on walks. It is one of my very favorite things to do, and one of my only complains about Houston is its lack of walkability. That being said, nothing compares to the feeling you get after a good run, so I think running gets the edge on this one. 

2.  Elliptical or Treadmill? 

Treadmill, for sure. In high school I was all about the elliptical, but ever since coming to college, running has taken the cake. So, I will almost always choose the treadmill over the elliptical. I love being able to change speeds and incline at the drop of a hat.

3.  Longest distance you’ve ever run (or walked or biked)?

The longest distance I've ever run is a half marathon, so 13.1 miles. The longest distance I've ever biked is about 150 miles - from Houston to Austin as a participant in the BPMS150. 

4.  How many days a week do you work out? 
I would say probably five-six days a week I get some sort of intense (and I use that word loosely) physical activity. Some days it is more focused than others, but at the very least, I try to squeeze a 30-minute walk into my day.

5.  What’s your favorite cold weather recipe? 
Turkey chili. I absolutely cannot get enough of it during the colder months, and my dad so kindly fixes up a huge container of it for me to take back to school. Thank goodness I'll be living in his very house next year, huh?

 6. Do you lift weights? 
I shy away from this question a bit because while I would absolutely say that lifting weights is a part of my workout routine, it is not a regular part of my routine. I would almost always choose cardio over strength training, even though I absolutely understand the importance of and the benefits that come from strength training. It is hard for me to strength train on my own, though, just because I often get bored, so I love taking BodyPump classes at the gym as a way of covering all of my bases.

 7. Do you have a dream race you want to participate in?

I've been pretty lucky in that I've participated in two Nike Women's Marathon events (a Tiffany necklace at the end? Yes, please), as well as the Disney World Half Marathon. Those are certainly two races on my race bucket list, but I would also love to one day compete in the Boston Marathon. The only stipulation to running that race is the fact that I would have to run a full marathon prior to qualifying for that one! I would also love to participate in the Aramco Houston Half Marathon, since I didn't get to do that a couple of years ago due to a broken toe.

(Source)

Crossing Things Off

Guys, I don't think there is any feeling better than the one that comes with waking up at 2:30 in the morning, remembering that it is Saturday and I can wake up whenever I want to, and going back to sleep for the next five hours. That is pure joy, my friends.

Workout

So, after going to bed relatively early last night, I woke up right around 7:30am. I lounged in bed for a little while before getting up and going to the gym. I originally planned to take a spin class, but something about sitting on a bike for an entire hour just didn't sound appealing to me. Running, however, did sound appealing, so I figured I better jump on that feeling while it was still with me. I completed 5.4 miles in 45 minutes, and I will admit that it was a little bit more difficult than it probably should have been. That's what taking an entire month off of running will do to ya!

After cooling down for a couple minutes by walking on an incline, I headed over to the free weights area to complete this mini-upper body circuit. I did three rounds of each superset, with a 30-second break in between each set.

As I've said before, I tend to neglect strength training in favor of cardio, so when I do do it, it doesn't take long for me to really feel it. Summer goal - get better about doing strength training on a regular basis!

I was more than ready for a shower after that workout, so I headed home to do just that. I folded a little laundry (arguably one of my least favorite chores), and then I went to pick up my friend Hanna so that we could get some breakfast.

Breakfast

I think you guys are going to be pleasantly surprised by this part of my blog post this morning. Egg whites and spinach no more - at least for today! As I mentioned in an earlier post, I made a list of things I want to do in Austin this summer before the big move back to Houston. Should I be embarrassed that a majority of the items on this list are restaurants?

I used some of my work time wisely and tried to make my list look pretty, and after this morning, I can now cross another one of them off - Blenders and Bowls.

Blenders and Bowls is a place I have been meaning to check out since last year, and I am glad to say that I finally made it over there. And I will certainly be making a return trip.

Blenders and Bowls is Austin's first acai (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) cafe, and they specialize in smoothies and acai bowls topped with hemp granola, a variety of fresh fruit, and local Round Rock honey. Everything they serve is fresh, pure, and organic, in an attempt to serve up a meal that is both healthy and delicious. And they do just that. I wasn't too familiar with acai, but according to the Blenders and Bowls website, it is an antioxidant-filled (the most powerful in the world) berry whose flavor can be described as blueberry with a natural hint of dark chocolate. We are already off to a good start!

So now that we know what acai is, let's talk about the acai bowls. An acai bowl is a thick blend of the acai berry (along with other fruits), topped with a variety of toppings such as hemp granola, honey, fresh fruit, coconut, chia seeds, goji berries, and more.

After much deliberation, I settled on The Chill Berry, which was acai, strawberry, banana, and apple juice topped with hemp granola, strawberries, blueberries, goji berries, and honey. I added in some spinach to my blend, and subbed the goji berries for coconut, and I think my clean bowl spoke for itself. It was delicious, refreshing, and full of healthy ingredients.

I absolutely loved my bowl, and I feel as though it would be easy to recreate, but I can never seem to get my smoothies to be just the right consistency. They are never quite as thick as I want them, but now I have the motivation to keep trying. And the best part is that I was left feeling full for hours afterward. It was the perfect post-workout meal, and though Hanna and I were both skeptical about the acai at first, we both agreed that we were officially hooked.

And now I'm at work, planning on reading and working on a few crafts. Have a great Saturday. And if you need a laugh, check out this gem of a cup I stumbled upon at my house this morning.

Four Books

I'm not sure how the weather can change so drastically in just a few hours, but here we are with some beautiful weather on this Friday the 13th. It's certainly hot outside, but that made my dip in the pool so much more enjoyable.

It's no secret that I headed to Gregory after work today, and I enjoyed a swim that felt much more powerful than it did the other day. I think when the sun is shining like it was, it makes my stokes feel a little easier. There is probably absolutely no correlation between the two, but hey, just thought I would try.

Anyway, the rest of my afternoon was fairly uneventful after my sweaty walk back to my car, and I just did some laundry and took a nap. An exciting Friday, right?

Dinner

My evening was much more exciting than my afternoon when Hanna came over to my house and we had a trouble twin dinner at the new-ish Whole Foods at The Domain. I was the one who introduced Hanna to the beauty that is Whole Foods, so it is only natural that it is a place that we frequent together. There is so much to choose from at Whole Foods, but nothing beats the countless options available at the salad bar.

I built my own salad, purchased a $.79 50.7-oz water bottle (duh), and ate every last bite. It had been far too long since I had been to Whole Foods, so this trouble twin date was definitely needed.

I even caved and bought one of the mini-flower arrangements. They were just so pretty that I couldn't resist!

After Whole Foods, we made a run over to Target in the Arboretum so that I could get a couple of groceries to last me these next couple of days until I go home, as well as a few craft supplies so that I can work on a couple of things for my classroom. I'm working 10 hours this weekend, so I might as well attempt to be productive with my time!

Four Books

And onto day seven of the Ten Day You Challenge. Because I shared some of my favorite books within my Nine Loves post, I'll list four books that I want to read. There are many, many books that I want to read, so this is a very condensed list, but hopefully these will make it onto my summer reading list this summer! 

*The descriptions of these books are all courtesy of Goodreads. 

Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

(Source)

Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

"My greatest thought in living is Heathcliff. If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be... Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure... but as my own being."Wuthering Heights is the only novel of Emily Bronte, who died a year after its publication, at the age of thirty. A brooding Yorkshire tale of a love that is stronger than death, it is also a fierce vision of metaphysical passion, in which heaven and hell, nature and society, are powerfully juxtaposed. Unique, mystical, with a timeless appeal, it has become a classic of English literature.

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Signs of Life - Natalie Taylor

Twenty-four-year-old Natalie Taylor was leading a charmed life. At the age of twenty four, she had a fulfilling job as a high school English teacher, a wonderful husband, a new house and a baby on the way.  Then, while visiting her sister, she gets the news that Josh has died in a freak accident.  Four months before the birth of her son, Natalie is leveled by loss. What follows is an incredibly powerful emotional journey, as Natalie calls upon resources she didn’t even know she had in order to re-imagine and re-build a life for her and her son. In vivid and immediate detail, Natalie documents her life from the day of Josh’s death through the birth their son, Kai, as she struggles in her role as a new mother where everyone is watching her for signs of impending collapse.  With honesty, raw pain, and most surprising, a wicked sense of humor, Natalie recounts the agonies and unexpected joys of her new life.  There is the frustration of holidays, navigating the relationship with her in-laws, the comfort she finds and unlikely friendship she forges in support groups and the utterly breathtaking, but often overwhelming new motherhood.   When she returns to the classroom, she finds that little is more healing than the honesty and egocentricity of teenagers.

(Source)

Rebecca - Daphne de Maurier

The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady's maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives--presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave.

(Source)

Hopefully you'll see mention of these books on the blog in the very near future. I hope your Friday has been wonderful!

Things I'm Loving Friday VII

Happy Friday! As I mentioned yesterday, this week just seemed to fly by, and I'm not entirely sure where the week has gone. I feel as though I stay pretty busy during the week, so that's probably a contributing factor.

Anyway, before I jump into this week's rendition of Things I'm Loving Friday, let's back up to last night's workout and dinner.

Workout

It's been a little while since I've taken a spin class, so when I got a look at the somewhat dreary weather (which got considerably worse that evening), I decided to forgo my afternoon swim in favor of a 5:45pm spin class at the gym. Thomas teaches this particular spin class, and I always leave his class feeling pretty worn out, and sufficiently sweaty. This class was no different, and I just about quit when we pedaled using just our legs - that means no bounce in the upper body - for four minutes straight. Though I felt pretty weak by the end of it, I am feeling strong today, so I think the class did its job!

Dinner

I was hungry going into my spin class yesterday, so I knew dinner was going to have to happen fairly quickly once I got home. I remembered, however, that though I had quite a few vegetables ready to be heated up, all of my meat and/or fish was in the freezer. I knew I wasn't going to be able to wait until said meat thawed out, so I ran by Central Market to pick up a pre-cooked lemon rosemary chicken breast to heat up to eat alongside my vegetables.

While I was there, I also picked up a container of Latin Chipotle Red Quinoa Salad, thinking I would save it for another day. But nope, I went ahead and ate it after my chicken and vegetable bowl. I guess I was hungrier than I thought!

I spent the rest of the night just relaxing, packing, cleaning, and reading, and I was going to go to bed at a somewhat decent hour until the storm picked up and we lost power, resulting in a freak out from me. I probably should have included thunderstorms on my list of fears, because no matter how old I am, they will always scare me, at least a little bit. That probably comes from the fact that my house in Houston has flooded twice, and I always seem to assume the worst. Thankfully our power came back on around 7:30 this morning, so we are good to go over at The Clubhouse!

Things I'm Loving

And here we go with yet another week of a quick peek at some of the things I'm currently loving. Enjoy!

Austin Boardwalk

The Boardwalk Trail at Lady Bird Lake (aka Town Lake) experienced its opening weekend this past weekend. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Austin, or who have not heard of this project, the trail will allow runners to complete the 10.1 mile loop without having to run alongside Riverside Drive over I-35. This 1.2 mile trail goes over both land and water, and it offers spectacular views of the city. It will be lit at night (huge plus), and I even saw a few rollerbladers. Some of my roommates and I went and checked it out this past Sunday evening, and we were all very impressed.

Real World Survival Tips

I am such a sucker for any sort of article that attempts to give advice, especially those that are in the form of a list. One of my Facebook friends posted this article - 20 Incredibly Practical Tips to Survive the 'Real World' - and I have to say, this one made some great points. A lot of it I have heard before, but it's important advice nonetheless. While my transition is going to be made easier by the simple fact that I will be moving home, I am very aware of the fact that next year is going to be hard. And though it will certainly be tough, that certainly doesn't mean that it won't be great.

Handmade Crafts

One of my sweet friends, Hanna, who will be starting her own blog as she leaves the great state of Texas to attend law school in Indiana, gave me such a special graduation present that will certainly have its place in my classroom. This quote - "Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world" - is something in which I truly believe. Education is something to which every child can have access, and it is so much more than memorizing formulas and writing down the themes present in The Great Gatsby.

Quote by Nelson Mandela

Volleyball

I've mentioned a couple of times on my blog that recently Dylan and I have been playing a little volleyball. Once we found out that I would be coaching freshman volleyball at Bellaire, Dylan told me to pretend that he is a freshman girl at Bellaire who has had very little volleyball experience. We went over the basic footwork and movement for passing, setting, and hitting, and this probably speaks more to his athletic ability than my ability to coach, but he's a pretty stellar volleyball player. And I've absolutely loved this opportunity to brush up on my skills - it's just like riding a bike, it never really leaves you - and getting to play the game that I love so much.

Essie Nail Polish

I am not one to have my nails painted on a regular basis, mainly because once one nail starts to chip, I have to take the polish off of every nail. Painting my nails is also something I can never seem to do for myself, mainly because I feel as though I can't touch anything for hours after they've been painted. Dramatic, I know. But, I have recently discovered the greatness that is Essie Nail Polish - it dries quickly, lasts a respectable amount of time, and comes in colors that are both classy and fun.

I hope your Friday the 13th is as lucky as it can be! Have a great one!

Five Foods

And I am B A C K with another post for today! It’s time to continue on with the Ten Day You Challenge, and next up on the list is five foods.

Five Foods

As you can probably imagine with the nature of this blog, this post was also pretty difficult for me. I love good food (who doesn’t?), and I love discovering new restaurants – I think that’s what Dylan and I are at best at – so I’ve had quite a bit of good food in my 22 years of life. Because it is simply too difficult for me to pick five dishes that I have loved (that is a post for another time), I’ll just focus in on five foods that you would rarely see me say no to.

Frozen Yogurt

Obviously nothing else was going to top frozen yogurt for number one on this list – I could eat (and have eaten) frozen yogurt every single day and not get tired of it. When you have so many different flavor options, and a plethora of different toppings from which to choose, how could you get tired of it? The tart flavors are my favorite, but I will almost always add at least a little bit of chocolate to my mix!

Chocolate

Speaking of, chocolate is hands down one of my favorite foods, and it always has been. I’ve always picked chocolate over candy, and you’ll still be hard-pressed to find me turning down any chocolate that is offered to me. I don’t go a day without chocolate, and I’m not sure that will ever change!

Apples

Okay, I guess I’ll get some healthy food in here, too. Apples are easily one of my favorite foods – especially those of the Honeycrisp, Sweetango, or Granny Smith variety. I eat one almost every day, and when I was in Spain, I was averaging two or three a day. You just can’t beat something that is crispy, juicy, and delicious with many different toppings (my favorite is crunchy peanut butter).

 

(Source)

Celery + Hummus

I am on a serious celery and hummus kick right now, which is funny because I used to not care for celery much at all. I can’t seem to get enough of this combination, and I have been known to eat an entire stalk of celery in one sitting. Oops.

 

(Source)

Brussels Sprouts

This is another one that probably wouldn’t have made the list last summer. I turned my nose up at Brussels sprouts my entire life, and no one in my family much likes them, so I was never made to eat them as a child, either, and I just assumed that I didn’t like them (as is the case with many of the foods that I “don’t like”). I recently discovered that I absolutely LOVE Brussels sprouts, but I’m still on the hunt for the perfect method of cooking them. If you have any go-to Brussels sprouts recipes, please send them my way!

I’m loving this Ten Day You Challenge – but I will admit that it has been much more difficult than I originally anticipated. But in a good way that has made me think a little bit about the things that mean the most to me. See you guys for round seven - four books!

An Old Classic

Okay, someone tell me how it is already Thursday. This week is just flying by for me, which I guess is a good thing, right? Normally the end of the week means a little break from work, but I’m scheduled to work a little bit this weekend as well. I can’t complain too much, because the weekends are the most laidback, but I am definitely hoping to catch up on some of the sleep I have neglected this week!

Yesterday after work I headed over to Gregory to get a quick run in before Dylan and I were able to spend some extended time together as we didn’t have to squeeze in some together time between both of our work schedules. I completed 4.15 miles in 36 minutes, and it felt good to get a longer run in than just the two or three miles that I have been doing. I’ll slowly but surely build back up that endurance!

So, after a shower, and some unexpected time with friends (which is always the best time with friends, right?), we went up North to run a couple of errands, but in between those errands we just couldn’t pass up the P.F. Changs that seemed to be calling our name. I honestly don’t think that I had been to P.F. Changs in years up until this point, but it used to be a staple during my stays in Austin for volleyball tournaments. When you’re staying right across the street from one, why wouldn’t you go there three nights in a row?

Anyway, my only request was that we ordered the lettuce wraps, which Dylan obviously agreed to. They were delicious, as per usual, and they made me vow to recreate them so that I can take them to school with me next year. Something tells me that they won’t be as good as they are at P.F. Changs, but I can sure give it the old college try.

For my entrée, I was torn between a couple of dishes, but I finally settled on the Lemongrass Chicken Salad, which was colorful, refreshing, and very flavorful. The salad had chopped mango in it, which in my opinion, was the very best part. And I think my clean plate at the end of the meal spoke for itself.

Dylan opted for an item on the seasonal menu – the Chino-Latino Pineapple Pork – which he only ordered because it was one of the dishes I was considering, and I think I liked it a little bit more than he did.

But, it turned out okay because one, he also ordered egg rolls, and two, we were offered some free dessert on the house. When it came time to order dessert, we asked if there was anything dairy-free on the menu. The manager started talking about a flourless chocolate cake that he thought might have been dairy-free, but then he got so excited talking about the Banana Spring Rolls – which were dairy-free as long as the coconut-pineapple ice cream was on the side – that when asked what we thought, I just couldn’t turn him down. I couldn’t even get my full sentence out before he exclaimed, “You know what, it’s on the house!”

This is I think the third time Dylan and I have been gifted free dessert, and while these banana spring rolls were maybe some of the most delicious things I have ever put in my mouth, it was made all the sweeter knowing that we were getting it for free. I don’t know what it is about us, but I don’t think I will ever turn down free dessert! So, thank you to the kind manager at P.F. Changs for that sweet gift!

With full stomachs, we headed back to my house where Dylan did some scanning reading for class, and I just read a book on my Kindle. An excellent hump day, if you ask me!