Oops, I have a blog?

Sorry for that long hiatus. I'm alive, I swear! I wish I could say that I have been terribly busy this past couple of weeks, but that would be lying. My laziness got the best of me, which is why I haven't posted a thing since my trip to DC. Which was great, by the way! I got to go home and visit the fam. Fun :)

I got to try a couple of restaurants while I was in DC. The first day, we went to Bus Boys and Poets, a hip restaurant near the DC Convention Center that is also a venue for artsy community events. There's also a small fair-trade market and bookstore. Food-wise, they offer sandwiches, soups, burgers, salads, pizza, coffee. Pretty standard and solid. There are plenty of vegan and vegetarian options, which are clearly labeled on their menu. I chose the veggie burger which came with sprouts, tomatoes, and avocado with a side of sweet potato fries. The veggie patty was a bit dry and dense, but overall, it was quite yummy. The best part was the sweet potato fries. I am obsessed with sweet potato fries, and these were perfect! The skinny fries were perfectly crunchy and sweet, and the burger came with a lot of them. They filled up more than half my plate!

I cleaned my plate, and ate every last one of those delicious fries. It was very filling and my tummy was happy :)

The next couple of weeks will be final exams, and then I'll be going home! I can't wait, mostly because I miss cooking in my kitchen (haha, is that bad that I miss my kitchen more than my family?). I'll try to update more often and be a better blogger :P

On the Road Again

Guess how I'm going to be spending my Thursday night and Friday morning? Driving! (and hopefully sleeping, as well) But where am I going? To Washington DC! What am I possibly going to do there? Attending Powershift 2011!

What is Powershift? It's a conference for young activists who are passionate about global environment issues. Here's a description taken from the website:


This spring, over 10,000 young leaders will converge on Washington, DC to stand up for our future. At Power Shift 2011, we’ll stand together to reclaim our democracy from big corporations and push our nation to move beyond dirty energy sources that are harming the health of people and the planet.

I'm SO excited for this! However, between here and there, it's about 850 miles, a 16 hour car ride, factoring in breaks, and a long, sleepless night. However, it'll be so worth it! I enjoy road trips, especially in a car full of college kids :)

Oh, and did I mention that I am kind of from DC? I live in the suburbs, so more like the DC metropolitan area. I love DC and would have to say it is one of my favorite cities.

I'll be sure to update about my trip, if not during, then after :)

Rainy Monday

I woke up this morning at 6am on the dot. I have been trying to go to bed around 10pm for the past few weeks, and every morning, like clockwork, I wake up around the same time. Usually, I need about 7-8 hours of sleep to feel fully rested, and then I wake up automatically. I usually don't like to sleep in, unless if I go to bed super late, and I would definitely say that I am a morning person. I just love the light of dawn, the quietness, and leisurely getting ready for the day. This way, I am never rushed to get out the door, and I can sit down to a nice breakfast.

Actually, scratch that. I do that in the summer, but when I am at college, I tend to sleep late (around 2-3am) and wake up around 10 or 11am! It's funny, because all my friends have to wake up early during the school year, and sleep in during summer break, but I am the opposite. I sleep in at school and wake up early in the summer! However, since I am trying to be healthier, I am trying to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier.

Waking up early gives me the time to squeeze in a run. I like to run in the mornings, especially if it's going to be a hot day. I can't stand running in the heat. This morning was wet and a bit rainy. I was going to take a rest day today, since I ran Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Also, I am adverse to getting wet (I hate wet feet!). However, since I woke up so early and have so much time before my 11am class, I got a bit restless and went out for a short jog. Although it rained a tiny bit, I am so glad I went out today! It was cool and breezy, and it felt glorious. I should take more advantage of rainy days like this.

Okay, gotta eat breakfast and get ready for class, now! Have a great Monday!

Spring is most definitely in the air

This morning was beautiful; warm and sunny, a light breeze, the smell of flowers, and... pollen. I set out for a run this morning, and mid-run, my allergies started acting up. By the time I complete 5.6 miles, my eyes were itching like crazy, my nose was running, and I couldn't stop sneezing. Come on, trees, you're killing me... KILLING ME.

Ugh, this time of the year, it's unavoidable. Being indoors helps a lot, but I don't want to hole up inside when it's just so nice out! I try to avoid taking allergy medication, but I might have to buy some if it gets any worse. Hopefully the trees will stop trying so hard to reproduce, and I can go outside without wanting to scratch my eyes out.

After my run, I fueled up with a huge bowl of mango chia oats. I am probably going to hang out at the bookstore later today and get some school work done. Hopefully. I am usually so lazy on Sundays. Actually, I am lazy most days, but especially on Sundays ;)

Food= NRG

Note to self: eat before going out on a run!

This morning, I woke up at 6am because I had trouble sleeping. I had coffee, and felt a bit queasy, so I didn't have my usual protein shake: 

I usually have a serving of Spirutein before I go out to run. I like it because it tastes pretty good and gives me a boost of energy in the morning. It also helps me stay hydrated. So when I skipped out on it this morning, BIG MISTAKE!

The start of my run was pretty painful. My muscles felt fatigued and I started breathing rather heavily. It got easier after the first 10 minutes once my body started to warm up, but I could feel my energy draining. I was REALLY hungry during my run, and all I could think about was breakfast! I pushed myself, though, and kept going because the faster I finished, the quicker I could eat!

By the time I finished my 4 mile run, my blood sugar was crashing. I quickly made a bowl of oats mixed with chia seeds and a mashed banana. I like to cook oats with a lot of water in the microwave. It comes out watery, but adding chia seeds thickens it up.

Let this be a lesson learned. In order to function properly, food and water is necessary. Don't drink enough water= dehydration. Not eating= no energy. So simple, but apparently I didn't get it.

Ah, that hit the spot ;)

I also went grocery shopping today, and bought a ton of fruits and veggies, as well as almond milk and pita bread. My fridge is well-stocked, and that makes me happy :D

For lunch, I ate an apple and a green smoothie with spinach, cucumber, mango, and chia seeds. I sorely miss my Vita-mix blender (it's at home, I'm not). My wimpy Oster blender is just not powerful enough to completely pulverize all the green bits.

Using your laptop as a place mat is NOT recommended! I have a bunch of crap on my desk, so my laptop was a convenient place to plop my smoothie on.

Got hungry a couple of hours later, so I made myself a pumpkin sandwich. I spread pumpkin puree on a pita and topped it with cinnamon, ginger, raisins, and sunflower seeds. It's not very sweet, but I can eat pumpkin straight out of the can!

Hmm, not very neat

Still tasty, though!

(: Friday!

Yay it's Friday! Well, Friday's actually almost over. I've been pretty busy today, though, and I'm going to try to go to bed before midnight because I want to get up early tomorrow to run. It's going to be hot tomorrow (nearly 90 degrees!) so I want to beat the heat.

I didn't run this morning because I needed to study for an exam at 11am. Had another class, had lunch with a friend, and then went to work. After work, I came home to change, and went out for a run in Vibram Fivefingers. They are supposed to mimic barefoot running while protecting your feet. They look funny, like toe socks, and I always get comments on them. It is kind of weird to wear them just walking around, but I think they are comfortable and enjoy the feeling of walking barefoot. I bought them in January, and used them for a bit of walking, but I haven't really ran in them, yet. They are supposed to strengthen muscles that don't get used as much when running in traditional shoes. My calves got a bit sore, since I am not used to barefoot running.

Argh, I don't know why, but I have trouble staying hydrated. I feel like I am drinking enough water throughout the day, but as soon as I started out on my run, I started feeling thirsty. By the time I came back, my mouth was dry and I was REALLY thirsty. I carry around a liter water bottle during the day, and I drank at least one and a half bottle of water today, but I was still dehydrated. It was pretty hot today, and I sweat quite a bit, though. I'm like the opposite of a camel, really inefficient at retaining water. I have to pee like crazy when I drink a lot of water, too. Meh.