Virtual Coffee Date 8.24.13

if we were having coffee this morning, we'd also be eating these freshly made chocolate chip scones (that also happen to be paleo). i'd probably talk about them for a good 5 minutes, i'm so in love with them. recipe coming soon!

if we were having coffee this morning, i'd tell you that i'm ready to head back to school. there's still a month of summer left, but the month ahead looks mostly the same as the months before. work, internship, and crossfit. i'm really going to miss crossfit a lot, and i'm grateful that i have another month to learn some more at the PT office and to make some more money at my other job, but i'm ready to leave. to be reunited with my best friends, to be living in one of my favorite places in the world, to head back to class (did i really just say that?).

if we were having coffee this morning, i'd tell you that i finally jumped back into a #shereadstruth study today. it's been far too long since i just sat there and soaked up His word. i'd tell you how i'm so incredibly grateful and thankful for His boundless grace that every time i screw up, He's right there waiting for me.

if we were having coffee this morning, i'd be freaking out a bit that my first crossfit competition is in a week. i'm really excited for it at the same time, but i'm also super nervous. it's team competition, and i'm on the novice team from my box, but i don't want to let anyone down since i'm still pretty new to crossfit. but i'm also super excited because i get to spend two days doing something i love, learning a lot, and being challenged. i'm also really happy that i got a chance to do a competition before i leave to head back to school, because i won't be doing any while i'm down there.

if we were having coffee this morning, you'd be calming down my frustration at the fact that i have to take a CPR/First Aid class for my sports med internship next year... and it costs $140. at ucla, it costs $10. but there aren't any classes down there before the deadline to be certified, so i'm stuck taking it up here, and everywhere around me, it's $140. yayyyy spending money. not. // rant over

if we were having coffee this morning, i'd tell you that i'm so excited to have a day off this weekend to hang out with my momma. i haven't gotten to spend much time with her lately because of our conflicting schedules (she's coming home from work after i've already left for work and she's in bed when i get home) so i'm really excited!

Catch Up {early weekend countdown}

It's been such a long time since i've gotten the chance to sit down and write a post, and i miss writing and chatting with you guys so much! It's been crazy around here with schoolwork, work, writing my Mojo posts, and fitting in some time to have fun. This quarter time is flying - i can't believe it's already 8th week.

I have so much to catch you up on and so many photos that I want to share, so I thought I'd do a weekend countdown post a little bit early so that I could organize everything. prepare yourselves, this is a long one!

6 recent WODs

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we only did 10 minutes of chelsea and everyone in my class was dying. i can't imagine doing the full workout! i used a band on the pull-ups, 105# for the deadlifts, and a 35# kettlebell. my partner and i finished 7 rounds in the 12 minutes so we each ended up doing 70 deadlifts! i did this workout yesterday and my whole body is sore today. 

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I got up to 85# on the power clean, and used 65# on the first round of push presses and then dropped to 55# when i realized i wasn't going to be able to keep my form with 65#. i also used a band on the pull-ups and made it through 3 rounds in the 10 minutes.

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I alternated using a 40# ball with a 60# ball - when I used the 60# ball, I only did half a lap around the gym. My arms were so sore the next day! 

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 I used a 16# ball for the wall balls, and my partner and i had 55# on our bar and 15# dumbells for the WOD. In the partner WOD, the first exercise determined  how long the person doing the second exercise would go (when the first person couldn't go any longer, you switched, and kept switching until the 5 minutes was up). 

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 The handstands were so much fun to practice in this workout! It was harder by the end of the tabata because of all the blood rushing to your head, but it reminded me of the old days when I was always doing gymnastics as a kid. For the AMRAP, i used a 20" box, a 26# kettlebell, and I made it through 4 rounds plus 10 extra push-ups. I was dying on the push-ups by the end - I did a total of 58 push-ups by the time I was done with the workout, and my arms were trashed. 

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 i've been doing this workout a lot when i run out of time during the day and want to work out at night on the track (when there aren't athletes practicing there). there are pull-up bars at my track, but if you're doing this in a gym or outside, you could substitute 10 burpees for the pull-ups or something similar.

5 recent eats

 

native foods cafe with one of my foodie friends! i got their tempeh burger (with avocado, carrots, onions, and some other stuff i think) and sweet potato fries. it was heaven. 

 

addicted. the bag was gone in like 2 days. 

 

greek yogurt bowl with frozen raspberries, dried bluberries, almond granola, and barney butter. 

 

jamba when i was stuck on campus without food one day. i got their berry oatmeal (soooo good! and sweet) and a light razzmatazz smoothie with soy protein. 

 

one of the newer items our cafe is offering (see my post below about it!): mediterranean nachos! basically pita chips with veg, hummus, and tzatziki. soo good.

4 latest posts on Daily Bruin Mojo

• Q&A: A UCLA Dietician's Take on International No Diet Week 
• Interesting Ways UCLA Students Stay Active at the John Wooden Center 
• A Review of the New Bruin Cafe Menu  
•  4 Running Routes Around UCLA

3 random life updates

- i had so much fun at wango tango 2013 with my friends a few weeks ago. it was a concert put on by KIIS-FM with a bunch of popular artists, like Maroon 5, Flo Rida, Jason DeRulo, Demi Lovato, Bruno Mars, and more! i had a blast and we had so much fun that some of us bought tickets to see Maroon 5 and Kelly Clarkson next fall. 

-my parents are coming this weekend! i'm so excited to see them and eat some yummy food and sleep in a hotel bed. and i'm bringing them to the church i've been going to on sunday which i am really looking forward to.
-i'm seeing imagine dragons in concert next week - STOKED! can you tell i have a problem with spending all my money on concerts?

2 Bible verses
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17
"Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us" Isaiah 26

1 inspiring video to watch: 
i cried when i saw this video. it's so inspiring and was a beautiful reminder of how precious life is and how often i take everything for granted - my healthy body, my brain, and so much more.  
 

{Survey}: Currently.

current book(s): nothing fun, sadly. my chemistry, calc, and religion books have been the only ones I've been reading - but i do have Terra sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read!

current music: i am loving the album God's Not Dead by Newsboys - i just rediscovered it on spotify and can't get enough!

current guilty pleasure: not quite sure where to go with this, haha. but froyo is always on this list! that and pinterest (aka my time sucker).

current nail color: sparkly teal!

current drink: water & pumpkin spice coffee. all a girl needs.

current food: i just ate my new favorite breakfast again this morning - it's plain greek yogurt mixed with honey and a few spoonfuls of  blueberry muesli, topped with sliced banana, TJ's creamy salted peanut butter, an extra drizzle of honey, and today i added some granola on top. seriously, this is the most filling breakfast ever!! not to mention it's the perfect combo of flavors and textures - i love the chew that the muesli adds.

current favorite show: my one of my roommates and my neighbors got me hooked on the bachelor! it's so ridiculous and fun to laugh at. i also LOVE once upon a time (my roomie got me hooked on that too.. sigh), and modern family.

current wish list: this shirt:

kind of kidding. but kind of not.

current bane of my existence: chemistry. and math. and missing my family & kitties!

current celebrity crush: this guy will always be on that list.

current indulgence: strawberry froyo at the dining halls. SO GOOD. totally broke my 'rule' of trying to only eat desserts on the weekends for that one.

 current blessing: being able to attend this school & not having to worry about paying for it or taking out loans thanks to my amazing parents. and SO much more!

current slang: well i don't think i really have any 'current' stuff.. but i do always say fudgemuffins when i'm frustrated. everyone thinks it's hilarious, haha!

current outfit:  a tshirt and running shorts because i was feeling lazy this morning and don't want to have to change before my run later today. hey, whatever gets me out the door, right?

current excitement: that i don't have to work this weekend and can go to the grocery store on saturday morning. it's the little things! especially since all i will be doing all weekend besides that is studying for midterms.ughh.

current mood: a little overwhelmed, a little anxious about my schoolwork, but overall really really happy. i love my life here and no matter how hard it gets i wouldn't trade it for a thing. and lately God's been teaching me that taking time to just rest in Him does wonders for my stress.

 {pin it}

current link: no clue, so i'm going to link back to brittany at GoTheXtraMile cause that's where i got this survey from ;)

happy thursday everyone!

hearts will be glowing when loved ones are near.

praying for connecticut <3

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 i'm finally home and i'm so, so thankful for my family and friends.

i've been enjoying my time at home so much. lots of TV watching, baking, dance partying, trips to the gym with my momma, running, and spending time with my family.

my brown sugar cookies

yesterday we went into the city - one of our christmas traditions!

i started the day off with some delicious caramelized pumpkin pancakes (with barney butter of course) and a kickboxing class at the gym.

kickboxing was followed my a green monster (AHH! my first one in months!) and a shower

and then we were on our way!

 

we dance party on BART. #normal

my city!

visited the kitties in the macy's windows <3

chipotle for lunch! i got a burrito bowl with brown rice, steak, black beans, corn salsa, and guacccc.

macy's!

we're kinda crazy. (:

 in front of the big christmas tree!

i love this picture! one of my mottos: life is better when you're laughing. 

and of the course the night ended with froyo on the couch and a movie with the fam!

today i had a yummy breakfast (1 egg and 2 egg whites with spinach, & a whole wheat bagel - half with butter and half with almond butter), went for a run with a good friend, and zumba'd with mom. 

my mom and i also made a ton of chocolate pretzels to give as gifts and i baked these amazing magic cookie bars (with dark, semisweet, & white chocolate chips, and almonds). 

we dance partied while the bars were baking! i love my mom so much. 

and now i'm off to enjoy some pizza and decorate the christmas tree with my family :) 

Lately {Eating, Sweating, Doing}

happy WIAW everyone!! i have so much to share with you all today! :) 

what i've been eating:

vanilla Chobani with a farmer's market nectarine, walnuts, granola, and chia seeds

nonfat latte and a coconut macaroon

another Vitality Bowl.. whoops ;) this one had acai, guarana, strawberries, banana, flaxseed, soy milk, apple juice, spinach, and broccoli and was topped with granola, strawberries, kiwis, and goji berries.

super ugly but delicious lunch! a bed of rainbow quinoa topped with baked crispy tofu, and a mix of sauteed mushrooms, tomatoes, and shredded carrots that i added a little milk, flour, and pine nut hummus to. so good!

breakfast at my new favorite cafe! egg, cheese, tomato, and avocado sandwich on multigrain bread with a side of fruit and a large coffee.

a bowl of strawberries with vanilla chobani topped with homemade granola (see below)

more homemade granola with almond-coconut milk, and a simple berry smoothie with spinach added in

another homemade 'vitality' smoothie bowl

how i've been sweating:

• saturday: bootcamp class at my gym that killed me! i was so sore after!
• sunday: easy 4 mile shakeout run
• monday: 15 mins stairclimber + upper body weights workout 
• tuesday: 9.7 mile run (i only was planning on going 6-7 but my route ended up being a lot longer than i thought it was!) 

also, check out my progress! i'm so proud of myself for working hard to include strength training in my routine and am so happy with my arms- my shoulders really pop!

what i've been doing:

• baking! i made chocolate chip scones with a milk chocolate drizzle from ina garten's cookbook:

i also made golden granola from jenna's book, white jacket required. this stuff is SO FREAKIN GOOD. 

• working. last shift on friday! :( 
• school shopping.

i've ordered all of my textbooks (EEKKKK! haha my chem book scares the crap outta me!) and gotten a few more things for my dorm room. i can't wait to move in and show you guys what it looks like! 

• watching food network. hey, if i have the time, might as well, right?!

the great food truck race + m&ms + fancy root beer. definitely my kinda night!

• having quiet time doing the #shereadstruth study every morning. i am LOVING it! 

what have you been eating, sweating, or doing lately?