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!

MIMM 8.19.13

happy almost-tuesday, everyone! thought i'd participate in katie's marvelous in my monday link-up since this is a random post and what better way to tie it together than some marvelousness?

marvelous is... snuggles with my baby girl. who apparently had a question while she was sleeping, haha!

marvelous is... saturday morning coconut flour pancakes with dark chocolate dreams PB and fresh raspberries. 

marvelous is... this awesome sign i found in chinatown! regretting not buying it already..

marvelous is... a beautiful day in the city!

marvelous is... being reunited with one of my best friends from school for the weekend! she matches my crazy.

marvelous is... brunch with friends! i got a spinach, mushroom, and avocado omelet that was delicious. 

marvelous is... iced skinny mochas from starbucks. i'm obsessed and it's kind of a problem because my wallet isn't happy about spending $4 every other day on a drink, haha. 

marvelous is... going shopping & finding some good deals! i love this dress, and i also got a pair of mint shorts for $10 (score!) and a few pieces of jewelry (like the ring in the above photo for $3).

marvelous is... the toasted marshmallow latte i got at biscoff in SF. soooo good! 

 marvelous is... RX'ing a WOD! even when it's one with tons of pull-ups and you forgot to tape your hands and now they're ripped. #worthit

marvelous is... luke bryan. and his new album. playing it again. and again.

what was marvelous in your monday?

MIA

hey guys! sorry i've been so MIA lately, even though it's summer somehow my life has been surprisingly crazy in a good way (work, CrossFit, fun with friends & family). and i also found out last week that i got an internship at a physical therapy office for 8 hours a week for the rest of the summer, which i am unbelievably excited for. this whole past year i've been stressing far more than i should about not knowing what i want to do in the future or even what major i want to pursue. i am so blessed & lucky to get this opportunity - i know it will help me figure out if physical therapy is something i potentially want to do (and if i hate it, well, at least i crossed it off the list, haha). hopefully i enjoy it, i really think i will!

anyway, i have so much to share with you guys now that i don't know where to begin! i'm hoping to get into more of a routine with blogging so that all my posts aren't like this one in that brain/photo dump  sort of style.

eats of late:

coconut flour pancakes with strawberries, egg whites, and bacon

this tastes like cake batter. i die. 

typical CrossFit. lol! 3 eggs and bacon. 

fourth of july dessert: homemade shortcake with berries 

homemade white cake with lemon curd, cream cheese frosting, and coconut & a scoop of ice cream

best. dinner. EVER. brussel sprouts, alexia sweet potato fries, and a turkey burger with cheese and bacon. 

my lunch today after biking all over the place (see below)! a huge burger, totally hit the spot.

notable CrossFit achievements of late:

• i did a full rope climb! and completely tore my shoes. so i ordered some reebok nano 3.0s. say whaaat? i'm so excited for them to get here. 

• i did 90 handstand push-ups in the WOD yesterday. although they weren't full HSPUs by any means, i'm definitely improving! 
• i did a total of 250 pushups in a WOD last week. it was RJ, which was 5 rounds of run 800m, 5 rope climbs, and 50 pushups. there was a 45 minute time cap but i was on the last round in at the end so i ended up finishing out the workout in 51 minutes. 

other fun/random things:

• i saw 4 movies in the past 3 days! man of steel (can i marry superman?), monsters university, world war z, and despicable me 2. i think man of steel was my favorite!
• i fell asleep on the couch at 8:30 pm on the 4th of july. party animal over hereee! i think i was exhausted from working 5 days in a row, haha. 
• i had the best day today with one of my best friends! we drove to sausalito, biked up to the golden gate, watched a sailboat race in the america's cup, mountain biked in marin headlands (and explored all these old military batteries which was really cool), got lunch at the bottom of the golden gate, walked around sausalito, and then drove over the golden gate and spent the rest of the day biking along the water around crissy field. i had SO much fun! reminded me of how much i love the bay and how much i love the outdoors. i couldn't have asked for a better day! 

how was your fourth of july weekend? 

Five (+1) Things Friday

1. I DID A PULL-UP this week!! 4, to be exact :) That was my goal for the end of this school year and i'm so stoked to say that i CRUSHED it. and i know that i could've done more so i'm really excited to see where i'll be at the end of the year!

2. my mom sent me the cutest valentine's care package with coffee, brookside chocolate, a little burt's bee's kit, a few other things, and a little card that made my day.

3. a shirt that i ordered myself from fashletics finally came! i have had this shirt on my pinterest board for the longest time and now that i have a part time job again i finally justified buying it for myself. it's so comfy and flattering and makes me feel like a total badass!(the back says i choose strength)

 

4. another reason my mom is the best: texts like this.

5. when you get chocolate covered strawberries in the dining hall on valentine's day, a food baby is totally unavoidable. i'm pretty sure i ate like 6.. and i am perfectly okay with that because food was my valentine. duh. ;)

5+1. CHEM MIDTERM IS OVER. it was awful, but it's over!! and i'm so glad it's the weekend!


any fun plans this weekend?

Giving Thanks & My 18th

I am so happy right now. I love my family, I love my hometown, I love fall weather, I love leaves that actually CHANGE color, I love it all. Everything about this weekend has been absolutely wonderful - I think that Thanksgiving is rising in the ranks as one of my favorite holidays. I never really was all that excited about it in the past because Thanksgiving food isn't my favorite, but this year was the first year that I truly realized that the food is not what it's about. Being away from home has made me cherish my time with my family (including the kitties) all the more and made me appreciate so many things I would've taken for granted before.

I didn't end up taking any photos of the Thanksgiving meal but I did want to share some of the things I'm thankful for this year (not in any particular order).


1. The Lord's crazy love that never fails, never runs out, and never gives up on me. No explanation needed. I am so blessed.
2. My parents and my older brother - I don't know what I would do without them! They never fail to make me laugh when I'm down, always have the best advice, and just get me like no one else.
3. Being able to attend one of the best universities in the country. Not many people have the privilege of saying that - I am so grateful for my education!
4. My kitties! These little balls of fluff always turn me into the 5-year-old that I am at heart and give me so much joy.

5. Coffee that doesn't taste like dirt! I came home and my dad had bought my favorite coffee (Starbucks Blonde Roast) and made it for me - I don't know how I've been surviving on that nasty dining hall coffee. Maybe adding all that hot chocolate helps ;-)
6. Fresh fall air. Every time I've stepped outside since I've been home, I just stand there and breathe it in. I miss the fresh air and the colder weather a lot more than I thought I would. 

7. All of the little things I take for granted - always having food and water, a warm place to stay, safety, my health, and so much more.
8. Almond butter - Barney Butter especially!

9. The amazing friends I have, both old and new.
10. My Bible study at UCLA. They have made me feel so welcomed and and home which is a tough feat when you're making the tough transition to college. I love those girls so much!
11. My ability to run, lift, dance like a crazy person, and so much more. I am so lucky.
12. Music. Happy pop music to dance party to, down to earth country music, worship music, all of it.
13. Baking.
14. The blog world - the blogs that inspired me to create my own, the blogs that I read daily, and especially you guys. I love you all<3

I could go on and on.. I have so much to be thankful for! 

Anyway, I also wanted to share some photos of the past few days! :) 

When I got home on Wednesday night I stuffed my face with berries and pomegranate seeds, made pumpkin bread and dance partied with my mom, watched a random movie on an actual TV screen on my own couch while drinking pumpkin tea, and most importantly - was reunited with my babies!!

nose kissies! 

On Thursday morning I went to the gym with my mom and took BodyPump and BodyCombat. BodyPump used to be my favorite class, but since I started lifting heavy weight in my IFT classes at school, I wasn't as big of a fan. The bar constantly felt light and I'd rather do less reps with heavy weight than spend a really long time doing more reps with light weight. But BodyCombat was awesome! And just getting to workout with my mom made me so happy. 

We spent the rest of the day prepping for Thanksgiving - we had over 20 people over at our house - and then Thanksgiving night I got to go see the new Twilight movie. It was really good! I couldn't quite remember what was supposed to happen at the end but I was still surprised. Minus the creepy baby I give it a thumbs up!

Then Friday was my 18th birthday! I woke up to my baby girl snuggling with me, made pumpkin spice pancakes with almond butter and sprinkles and ate them while catching up on Glee, went for a run in the beautiful fall weather and ended at starbucks where I got a PSL. And then my brother came and picked me up<-- he's the best! 

I showered and then my mom took me to get foot massages, which were heavenly!! We came back home and cleaned up a bit and then went as a family to get a late lunch at Panera. I got broccoli cheddar soup, the turkey avocado BLT, and asiago bread as my side. So good! 

After Panera my mom and I got Peet's (my family always gets afternoon coffee together) - I ended up getting a pumpkin chai latte that I didn't snap a pic of, but it was really really good. Then we headed to Target (because I love that place!!), Whole Foods (more pomegranate seeds for meeee!), and came home to start making my birthday dinner. We made the Pioneer Woman's mac n cheese, and my dad made me steak. So delicious!

I opened presents after dinner and all I can say is that my family went above and beyond to make me feel loved on my birthday. I got some homey things - a kitty towel, two cute little bowls, a little decoration thing for my dorm room, and a super nice mattress topper for my bed at school! 

My brother got me a Starbucks gift card and the ZZ Ward album (love!). I love actual CDs. 

I also got almond butter, dark chocolate, and rainbow sprinkles (!!) and three new workout tanks. If that doesn't show you how well my family knows me, then I don't know what does. 

And to top my already amazing day off, the Christmas lights were up, the fire was lit, and I was snuggling on the couch with my man and a mug of sugar cookie tea. It's the holiday season!

I had a huge mug of mocha and peanut butter ice creams with some leftover chocolate cream pie crumbles for dessert - I think I've single-handedly taken down an entire half gallon of ice cream since I've been home! We also opened the ginormous peppermint patties that I got my brother for his birthday (it was earlier this month) and I had a few pieces of that too. It was so much better than a regular peppermint patty!

This morning I got up and made another batch of pumpkin spice pancakes (1/3 cup Kodiak mix, 1/3 cup pumpkin, a few shakes of pumpkin spice, a sprinkle of brown sugar, and enough water to get it moving) with almond butter and more rainbow sprinkles. Who says you only can have rainbow sprinkles on birthdays?? 

I'm sad that today is my last full day at home but I'm trying not to think about it too much because being sad will ruin the rest of this weekend and I don't want to do that. The sadness needs to wait until I'm actually leaving tomorrow! I'm going to just focus on how wonderful my mini-break has been already - filled with family, kitties, and good food. What more could a girl ask for?

how was your thanksgiving?