Cloudy Day Fun

Happy Monday! I hope if you are reading this that you had the day off from school or work and are looking forward to another day off tomorrow. If not, cheer up, Monday is OVER! My Monday started early and it was fantastic. I am really loving this break - it is much needed. It started with my alarm clock going off at 5:25am so I could hit the gym for a 6am spinning class. I am still wondering as to why I felt the need to take a spinning class at 6 o'clock in the morning, but hey, it got me up and moving! I thought the class was pretty tough, but then again, I haven't taken a spinning class in almost three months so of course I am going to think it's tough! I'll consider it a warm-up for Felipe's classes Wednesday morning! I then went upstairs to do a mini arm workout followed by 15 minutes of incline walking on the treadmill while reading The Hunger Games. I have to read it for one of my English classes - rough life, huh?

After breakfast, a shower, and a nap, I was ready to drive to Galveston with Gayle for some fun in the sun. Or in the clouds, but hey, we still had a great time and managed to get at least some color!

Galveston may not be as beautiful as St. Pete, but it gets the job done!

I was pretty tired when we returned and have basically been sitting in the same spot on the couch while my brother is enjoying front row seats at the rodeo. It's okay, I have some quality entertainment lined up for the night.

The Blockbuster near my house is going out of business and everything must go, so I stopped in to check out the $1.99 movies. Clearly I am channeling my inner middle schooler with these purchases. Hey, Mary Kate and Ashley movies never get old.

Now I am off to analyze fill out my March Madness bracket. Who are you rooting for? Obviously I am rooting for Texas, but Duke basketball has always had my heart. Go BlueDevils!

Tough decisions! Who will be the big upset this year?

Walkability

I hope your Saturday has turned out to be a good one! I finally motivated myself to go to the gym and I just finished enjoying one of my favorite dinners of all time - grilled burgers, courtesy of my dad who makes the best burgers around town - with a side of broccoli. It doesn't get much better than that!

Do y'all like the Christmas plate?

My workout today was also good and although I have done this leg workout before, it was particularly tough today. I started out with a 3.6 mile run on the treadmill, followed by 10 minutes on the stair master. That was enough to get me sweating! I then completed a leg workout, complimentary of PBFingers (no surprise there!).

Exercise	Reps	Sets
Squats	100	1
One-legged leg press	15	3
Step-ups	15 each leg	3
Kick-backs	15 each leg	3
Lunges	15 each leg	3
Wall Sit	60 sec	3
Hamstring ball curls	15	3

*Exercises in the color means all sets were completed back-to-back

Walkability

As I was leaving the gym, heading over to Leibman's to get my mom and me some of their delicious Tomato Duet Dip to share, I received a text from her reminding me to pay the MAC bill. Luckily, Leibman's and the MAC are so close to each other that this wasn't a problem but it got me thinking about how if I were in Austin, I most definitely would have walked the distance between those two places as opposed to driving as I am forced to do in Houston. Austin is the epitome of a walkable city, as every which way you turn you see people either walking, running, or biking. I love how easy it is to walk to the convenience store and even to restaurants in Austin, and it makes me realize just how silly I would look walking down Memorial Drive in Houston to go get something to eat. I found a website that can tell you your cities walkability score, and my address in Austin earned a 92 out of 100 - a "Walker's Paradise." What did my address here in Houston receive? A whopping 48 out of 100 - "Car-Dependent." I love how walkable Austin is and I know that I will have a hard time moving somewhere after graduation that is not walker or biker friendly.

Always walkin' - even in cowboy boots!

Rainy Day Activities

As much as I dislike this dreary weather, it gives me a good excuse to lounge around and get a jump start on all the baking that I have planned for this break. This morning was supposed to start out with The Bayou City Classic 10K, but I decided to forgo it because of the rain, and I slept in until about 8:40. Score! I don't remember the last time I slept in that late. Gotta love spring break!

After breakfast and a quick trip to the grocery store, I got started on two recipes that I actually just pinned this morning, but they looked so delicious that I had to give them a shot! What were those two recipes you ask?

Oreo Pudding Cookies and Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies - I originally found both of these recipes on Pinterest, but the link took me to the blog belonging to The Girl Who Ate Everything. She has some quality recipes on this site and I am so glad that I stumbled upon it!

I started out with the Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies as per my brother's request, and I was told that they are delicious! They smell so good, and they were pretty easy to make! A link to the recipe and instructions can be found here, but here are some pictures of the baking process for this delicious cookie.

Chocolatey goodness 

The finished product

Thanks to my dad and brother for always being my taste testers!

Next up were the Oreo pudding cookies, which were also relatively easy to make. The hardest part was breaking up the Hershey's Cookies and Cream bar into tiny, tiny pieces. The recipe and steps can be found here, but again, here are some pictures of the process.

The crushed Hershey's bar

Oreo Pudding Cookies - just call me Betty Crocker! :)

I was a little hesitant to take these cookies out of the oven after only eight minutes, but the recipe cautioned that these cookies are not to be burned, so even though they looked a little undercooked, I took them out anyway. Luckily, once they cooled they were good to go!

There are currently over 80 homemade cookies at my house right now, someone please come help us eat them!

I am about to eat some lunch before hitting the MAC for a workout, and then hopefully get started finish my history essay that's due tomorrow. Enjoy your Saturday, take some time to relax and enjoy the rain! Read a good book, bake a few treats, watch a good movie, just do something that makes you happy!

Home Sweet Home

I am currently snuggled up in the curve of my couch watching TV as I write this blog post. I could not be happier to be at home with my family, despite this awful weather. I am so ready for a relaxing week full of my favorite Houston restaurants, the Houston Rodeo, and (hopefully) some tanning - let's hope this rain and cold improves by the start of the week!

This morning started early, yet I managed to be incredibly unproductive until about 1:30 when I decided to head to the MAC for a workout. I am now back to being unproductive but I can honestly say that I don't feel too bad about it. I do have some school stuff to do this week, but I think I am going to give myself a little bit of down time before I start on any homework. It just never ends!

Workout

I was so excited to be able to work out at my home gym today. It feels so familiar and I see so many friendly faces. Plus, I am always able to get a good workout in when I am surrounded by some intense exercisers! Today's workout focused a lot on the arms, so I think they may hate me a bit in the morning. I started out my workout with a 15-minute warm-up on the treadmill (inspired by PBFingers of course!)

It got me sweating and warmed up enough to tackle this arm workout - which was also inspired by PBFingers!

Workout	Reps	Sets
Chest Press	20	3
Bicep Curls	15	3
Tricep Dips	15	3
Upright Row	15	3
Lateral Shoulder Raises	15	3
Tricep Pull-Downs	15	3
Shoulder Press	15	3
Frontal Shoulder Raises	15	3
Bicep Curls	2 min straight	1
Tricep Extensions	15	3
Push-ups (Girly)	15	3

I then headed down to the pool and swam 60 laps. Like I said, my arms are probably going to hate me tomorrow! It felt good to get in a good workout because this past week they were all pretty subpar due to all of the studying and paper-writing that was thrown my way.

Once I got home, I made myself a smoothie complete with strawberries, a banana, almond milk, and a little bit of spinach snuck in to get my veggie fix! It was delicious and really hit the spot after a tough workout!

Now I am going to continue to sit all snuggled up on my couch until dinner. I should probably feel somewhat guilty about my lazy Friday but I am thoroughly enjoying myself! I hope you are enjoying your Friday!

Do Something Now

Since a countdown to spring break has made an appearance on my last few blog posts, I figure I can't break the tradition now. THIRTY HOURS to spring break! It is so close! I take my first midterm in a little over two hours, but I have looked at the material so many times that I decided I deserved a break, plus, my blog definitely needs updating!

Workouts

My workouts this week have been treadmill workouts inspired by PBFingers that combine incline walking with a little bit of sprinting thrown into the mix. I think they have been quite tough, but we all know how I feel about sprinting!

I also incorporated some strength sessions into my workouts and my arms and legs are definitely feeling a little bit sore this morning, and I love it! I am not so sore that I can't move, but I am sore enough that I can feel it and know that I put myself through a good workout.

I am hoping to squeeze in a workout today, but the chances of that happening between my first midterm, studying for my second midterm and a quiz, and packing to go home are slim to none. Who knows, maybe I'll manage to fit in a 15-minute power workout. My roomie and I were pros at those last year!

Studying has officially taken its toll!

Invisible Children

I mentioned Invisible Children in a post at the end of the year, about how one of my good friends (and froomies!) is traveling as a roadie with them this semester. They have put together a video to raise awareness about the injustice going on RIGHT NOW in Africa - children are having to endure pain and suffering under this man named Joseph Kony. The goal of the video is to make him known and famous so that the world can unite to stop him. This is a long video but it is well worth your time. Let's #makekonyfamous and #stopatnothing. I am so, so proud of my friend Lindsey for being a part of something so powerful and world-changing.

Keep changing the world Lindsey - you are an inspiration to us all!

Sign the pledge and watch the video - it will change your life, I promise!

A Pinterest-ing Spring Break

I hope everyone has had a very relaxing weekend! Mine has been full of gorgeous days, a whole lot of homework, and one very successful Wyldlife Half-Nighter! I have FOUR days of class to get through before I am jammin' out to country music, driving down I-10 East all the way home, or to Berripop. I have not been home since January 11th and I could not be more excited to spend an entire week in Houston, eating at all my favorite restaurants, working out at the MAC, and just relaxing for the first time since the semester started. One essay, two midterms, and two quizzes are all that separate me from a whole week of freedom. I seriously cannot wait!

As I may have mentioned in previous posts, last spring break I went to Florida with UT YoungLife and it was definitely one of the best trips I have ever taken. It was a wonderful week full of best friends, awesome fellowship, and the beautiful beach. I am pretty bummed that I am not going this year, but I am also excited to have no definite plans and just see where the week takes me. I have decided that I am going to try out a new Pinterest recipe or craft every day. It will be a Pinterest filled spring break! Here are some of the recipes that are high on my list of things to make:

• Glazed Peanut Butter Bars

• Banana Oat Snack Bars
• Reese's Stuffed Oreos
• Candy Stuffed Cookies
• Various Smoothies (my fav!)

• Chocolate Chunk Peanut Butter Swirl Fudgey Cookies

• Cinnamon Roll Cookies

There are definitely more recipes that I hope to try, but these are just very high on my list. I also want to learn how to cook things, since I will be responsible for cooking my own meals next year! Eek! Hopefully my dad can teach me his ways and I will be on my way to some delicious meals!

Workout

Like I mentioned in the beginning of my post, today was a beautiful day. I mean we're talking absolutely perfect. It was a high of about 72 degrees and I took advantage of that by biking over to Gregory to swim outside and simultaneously get some sun (three cheers for a one-piece tan!). I was expecting all of the lanes to be full, but surprisingly I was able to snag my own lane! After swimming, I set up shop on a lawn chair and pulled out one of the many books I have had to read this semester so I could kill two birds with one stone - school work and catching some rays. I'd say it was a very successful afternoon!

I am hoping to get to bed relatively early tonight so I can start my crazy week bright and early and squeeze in ONE good night's sleep this week! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday evening!

Birthdays and Independence

HAPPY TEXAS INDEPENDENCE DAY, Y'ALL! If you have been on Facebook or Twitter at all today, you might have noticed quite a few status updates and tweets about the great state of Texas. Why is there so much pride being shown, you ask? Well, was your state once it's own nation? That's what I thought. I absolutely love living in Texas and I have quite a bit of pride in this state where everything is bigger and better. Here are some quotes that always elicit a smile:

• "Texas is the finest portion of the globe that has ever blessed my vision" - Sam Houston
• "You might give some serious thought to thanking your lucky stars you're in Texas" - Jim Goode, Goode Company Barbecue
• "You may all go to Hell and I will go to TEXAS" - Davy Crockett
• "Some folks look at me and see a certain swagger, which in Texas is called "walking."" - George W. Bush

God spent extra time on this state! (Source)

In addition to this wonderful holiday, it is also two very important people's birthdays: Dr. Suess, and my best friend, Gayle, whom you met here. Dr. Seuss is one of the greatest writers of all time and through his writing he has given us so many valuable life lessons. One of my favorite book as a child was Green Eggs and Ham, but I truly loved all of his books and I have a very extensive collection of them at home. Thanks, Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel), for some of the greatest books ever written. Click here to enjoy some Dr. Suess inspiration!

And last but not least, Happy Birthday to the best friend a girl could have in this world. Thanks for blessing me more than I ever deserve, thanks for the endless hours of talking and laughing, thanks for being there for me - always, thanks for always being on the same wavelength as me, you are truly a blessing in my life and I can't believe we are in our twenties! We may be old in years, but we will always be young at heart. I can't wait to go through this next stage of life together! Love you and I hope you have had the BEST day ever - here's to making this one the best year yet!

Workout

I stayed up last night to text Gayle happy birthday RIGHT at midnight (because she always does that for me - she's the best!), so I stayed up watching (and finishing!) Boy Meets World when I probably should have been doing something more productive in the way of school but hey, you only live once, right? My wake-up call at 6:45am this morning was tough, but it felt nice to be completely done with my workout by 8:45am, including transportation time to and from Gregory Gym. I biked on over to swim a little over a mile before biking bike and completing an arm workout inspired by PBFingers. I am hoping my arms will be sore tomorrow - it was tough, but I probably should have increased the weight on some of the exercises. At least I learned for next time!

The rest of this weekend will unfortunately be spent studying - as I have two midterms, a paper due, and a quiz next week. I am hoping to be super productive this weekend so the rest of the week can be devoted to studying (doesn't that sound fun?) and I can feel like my hard work paid off as I take I-10 East all the way home for the first time since January. I can't wait!

Roomie Date

I had to include the roomie date that I just took with my roommate from last year, Melissa. I see her all the time since we are both RA's at SRD, but it was nice to get out of SRD and be able to talk, uninterrupted. Melissa was such a wonderful roomie, and since we both share a love of frozen yogurt we decided to take our taste buds to Yogurt Planet to get our fix of the stuff. I enjoyed a $5 bowl of fro-yo and I ate every last bite. Are we surprised? It was delicious, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent with my very first roomie ever!