It's okay to...

So I may have stolen this from a blog I stumbled upon the other day (of which I can't remember the title of...yikes, sorry to whoever is the author; I would love to give you credit!) But it goes a little like this;


It's okay to...


Use the stopwatch function on your watch when you go grocery shopping


I mean you obviously have not seen me wandering around grocery stores because otherwise you would understand why I have to put myself in a time constraint. This time it was 10 minutes, heck yes! Seriously folks, (wow I just said that hah) I have been known to spend upwards of an hour in the grocery store just checkin out the goods, you know, browsing the food I could possibly purchase one day(:

Shhhhh..don't tell anyone it's closer to 11 minutes than 10 minutes


I even spent less than 20 dollars AND only got one thing that wasn't on the list! (insert gasp and applause here) Yes I did have to purchase that good-looking arugula that wasn't anticipated (I'm weird right?)


Sleep until 11:30 on your rest day


I'm taking Sunday off for a much needed rest day, as I followed my workout plan I posted to the tee and actually even added to it as my Yoga class went over by 45 minutes! Hey, at least I was all stretched out(: Today I also did my first ever Open Water Swim to prepare for my triathlon and then a bike ride to finish off some more tri training. Swimming in the lake wasn't as big of a deal as I think it gets hyped up to be. I mean yes you are looking into an abyss of brown and can't see in front of you, but it went by pretty fast and I just switched between freestyle and breaststroke so that I could see. I actually finished in roughly 15 minutes (a 750m loop) which was much faster than I thought I could have done on my first try; score(:


Make Vanilla Decaf Tea while babysitting (when the kids are asleep of course)


This is all in order to rediscover your love for tea. I mean it's like the perfect sweet treat at night time (next to my frozen dessert mess of course!)

It's also definitely okay to hold the object that you are photographing so it gets the best lighting


And while we are at it, I guess it's okay to be blogging while the kids are screaming for their parents and crying to themselves to sleep (why! I hate when kids do this, but I know you just have to let it pass, trust me I have tried to stop the shrieking, the only results that yielded was a burst eardrum)


Shed a little tear when you get to the last bite of something really good

The corn this time of year is just amazing! For real, our family was so into it that last night at dinner we were discussing how tender the kernels were and how good the corn has been this year (I had to get my quirky habits somewhere; note how I used the word quirky and not weird (; )


Post a picture of your nightly frozen dessert even though you promised not to, because it was berrylicious and beaut-iful 

Just look at that pomegranate aril of epic (insert adjective here in which I could not fathom) #iamsuchadork


Answer only the questions you feel like answering in the latest survey (I mean you don't want to bore your readers :P )


1. What did you eat for breakfast this morning?


I guess it's also okay to change the questions a bit, so I'll add on "What are you wearing this fine day?"

My Tulane Lacrosse Jersey of course; supporting my Riptide(:

 That would be Popped Amaranth with Buckwheat Groats, Oats, Cherries, Peaches, Blackberries, Mixed Nuts and some Pumped Up Milk

 And that would be it all mixed up(:


2. How much water do you drink a day?

A ton; I mean I only have to pee every 50 minutes or so..

3. What is your current favorite workout?

You want to know something funny? I found that if I actually follow a workout exactly or at least write one down I work so much harder (or at least I sweat more) than when I just wing it; I know, so strange ;) But I recently completed Courtney's Treadmill Workout and the Strength Workouts from this book

I also want to try some more Tabata workouts because I did that once and man was it tough, but I loved how short and intense it was!

5. What are your favorite healthy snacks?

Although cereal probably isn't the best option (it's better than chips I guess) I really am a cereal monster at heart. I also like the veggie and hummus combo along with my Peanut Butter Popcorn and smoothies, like my Green Tea one you should try (no pressure!)

I count popped amaranth as cereal; I mean I eat it with milk, it's homemade cereal (:

8.  What is your least favorite body part to strength train? 

I find it really hard to do pull-ups and push-ups, so I guess my arms/biceps; but I'm trying to make those stronger of course(:

Ah man, I definately cut out my bicep muscle there #oops

12. Do you eat fast food?


I'll take an occasional Moe's, Chic-fil-a, Which-Wich, or Panera pit-stop (okay that's so a lie, I rarely eat fast food, but if I do those are my go tos)


And on that note, it's ok to utilize the free salsa bar when you do stumble into a Moe's  

Those five containers of salsa may or may not have been hoarded by me, you never know, my mom is quite sneaky! (I mean she did hide my rabbit from as a Christmas present; do you know how hard it is to hide a live present?)

Make the most oddly shaped pizza you have ever seen

It was delicious and the details on the recipe will be coming soon (:

And the best was saved for last...DRUMROLL

It's okay to smile because you just got a new Macbook Pro! 

For all you readers out there who are still with me fill in the blank (if you kindly would ;) ) 

"It's okay to _____"

My eats round dos; A little WIAW action

So here's some more of my eats from this past week and an actual day in the life; haha because I know you love just oogling over my pictures of food(: But hey, I do love looking at other's WIAWs because I use them as inspiration, especially when I'm in a rut! Thanks Jenn for hosting(:

So first we have Monday's eats (all of them; I know right, I'm getting fancy now :p)


Let's say 12:00 pm because I got up pretty late that day

Pumpkin Egg White Oats (am I the only one who enjoys it year round?) but wait, get this, they aren't just pumpkin oats, they are Pumpkin BBQ Egg White oats a la wildberry jelly, coconut butter, alm/cash/peanutbutter mix, blackberries and blueberries with a little cinnamon life, grape nuts, kashi cinnamon hearts and some shredded coconut action

2 pm snack

sensible snack~

Handfuls of raw okra x4 (or so haha)

Now we are at my mid-day lunchish; 3pm?

Oh look my dog! haha; she was lounging out in the nice sunshine with me. I was just eatin up my Cinnamon Canteloupe Chia Chiller (i'm liking the alliterations) I based it off this recipe, but I added chia seeds, vanilla extract, xanthan gum and protein powder.

Shall we say 4pm

Sensible snack~

 A snackity snack, Peanutbutter frozen popcorn

5:45pm before my Cardio Funk Class (yes I'm addicted; but the teacher is amazing!)

Chicken salad on a bed of lettuce and arugula with salsa and scoopers (sunchips, flaxseed chips, ricecakes and pretzels)

Sensible snack/dessert~

A little dancin fuel; one of my energy bites!

8:30 pm

 Frozen dessert mess of course (this one had pistachio pudding mix, vanilla protein powder, shredded zucchini along with the fixins, topped with strawbs, freezedried strawbs, chocolate, cacao nibs and a banana bread muffin

Now I'll just dump the rest of my recent eats on ya(: hehe

 Failed crockpot oats on the left and a frozen dessert mess on the right (I realize I'm bad with promises)

2-egg omelet topped with salsa served with roasted dill squash, canteloupe and another fail, a dry pancake haha. And on the right a yummy waffle with soynuts, freezedried strawbs, oreo crumbles and cacao nibs, topped with peanutflour syrup and a sliced nanners (success!)

 Whole-wheat bagel with chicken salad and jalapeño jack yogurt cheese

Served alongside red cabbage with avacado, walnuts, wilted arugula and spiralized squash with sauteed mushrooms, tj's seafood medley and marinara, (the bagel is hidden under the lettuce) 

 Part two of my breakfast today (part one went unpictured; a waffle with ssb and bloobs)

This is popped amaranth with a banana cream smoothie (a la incredible greens), strawbs and freezedried bananas and strawberries, cracklin oat bran and shredded coconut

Almond milk "ice-cream" made with chocolate protein powder topped with cocoa "puff"-ins, cacao nibs, sliced nanner, chocolate and blackberries

Cheers for the Freakin' Weekend; and the end of School!

Oh my. I have one day left of high school. One day! ahhh I'm so happy and relieved. We get our yearbooks tomorrow so I hope that I can get everyone to sign it (I know right, you would think we would get them earlier, especially since we are seniors and this is our last one...) Anyways. I thought I would keep this post short, and stick with my top five favorites from this weekend, because I'll have to do a full post on it's own for my Warrior Dash adventure(:

1. My NikeID shoes came in!!! So colorful and comfy (so far, I'll keep you updated because I have yet to run in them, haha, even though that's what I got them for, hey! I've been taking a little break from running since my insane 3.8 mud run(:

2. Having time to try all of Ashley's recipes! I love this girl's blog, in fact I may have to name it as my favorite(: Sorry guys! This Sunday it was half of her Savory Zucchini Bread and half of the Cinnamon Zucchini Bread; I just couldn't decide! Both were delish, and I only have one picture because I forgot haha. but I have tons more in the freezer for future meals, so I am sure you will be seeing the results soon.

I used the savory flatbread to make a mini pizza with marinara, this black bean salsa my mom made with corn, tomatoes and cilantro and daiya cheese. It was also good with a schmear of sunflower seed butter!

The only changes I made were with the cinnamon one, which I used millet flour instead of oat flour (because that's what it called for in the savory bread and I was making one of each) and I used one tablespoon of applesauce and one tablespoon of coconut oil instead of two tablespoons of oil (only because I wanted to see if that worked, because it worked for the savory version too). And like I said they turned out great! I can't wait to experiment with more of her recipes now that school is pretty much out and I will have more time in the kitchen(: yay for summer! haha I love how I am looking forward to cooking in the summer, when most look forward to the pool, hanging out with friends and just chilling (and don't get me wrong I will be doing all the above too) but it just shows how much I love cooking compared to most kids my age who can only make cereal.

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3. This music cover of Jason Mraz's "I Won't Give Up," I love the original so much, but this kid actually went to my school last year (he's now in college at UNCC) and he is soooo good! I love this video and have been literally watching it on repeat; go check it out!!

4. Peanut Butter Cheerios! I know this isn't your first time hearing about them because they are all over the blog world, but lately they have been making appearances on smoothies [in a bowl; cause that's how the cool kids do it!], on oatmeal and my frozen yogurt messes.

On top of a green monster! 

5. These compression socks (scratch that, I just looked it up and they call them leg sleeves haha) I got at Omega Sports (not sure if that is a national chain or just a local place) with giftcards I won when my dad, my sister and I won a duathalon (it was a relay with me running a 5K, my dad biking a 21K and then my sister running a 5K) Anyways.. he is a biker, like hard-core, I'm talking 50-100 miles on a Saturday ride, and he swears by these compression socks. Apparently they prevent muscle soreness/fatigue. Of course his aren't hot pink ti-dyed and cool like mine, but hey, not everyone can pull of this shade of pink(: In case you were wondering I got this brand and they were about forty dollars (so I hope they work!)

Okay, so I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend, and hopefully you are as lucky as I am in being out of school real soon to start summer!!!

Question: Do you like long posts every once in a while (or do you not really read them all and just scroll to the pics like I sometimes do, hehe) or would you rather a few short posts every couple of days? Just wondering(:

Water for the People 5K Recap and Eats!

So yesterday I had a 5K, the Water for the People 5K, a race to raise money for people in third world countries who don't have access to clean water. A great cause, but really all charity runs have great causes(:

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So I have a random question for any blogger out there reading, two things actually, do you have to post the source for every picture you post that isn't yours? and also do you ever like give your location? I don't know I just felt weird putting up where my 5K race was held at. Anyways, back to a mini-race recap.

I was definitely pushing it when I warmed up 15 minutes prior to the race start, oops :/ long story short, everyone at the starting line was giving me the evil eye as I was running up to the line only about 3 seconds before they were about to start the race when the realized I was a runner,,,..haha. So that was definitely an adrenaline rush! I'm not an amazing runner by any means, I've only been running since August when I tried out for my school Cross-country Team for the first time ever. But I actually did pretty good at this race, I think that I might have even PRed(: We had run the same course during our XC season like one or two times, so I'm going to check those times on Mile Split and see. I got a 25:14 time, (I told you that I wasn't the best, but that actually was an improvement from my last 5K this year, which I ran in 25:37), but I came in third for women (possibly because it was a very small race..haha). I won a mug, so I was excited(: yay for free stuff! I also got a shirt, and grabbed a bagel, (I love the free food they always have at the end). 

There's the first and second placers too, my dad took the pic, haha so it's not the best
  (We were posing for another pic)

Like my Carolina Ti-dye shorts(; ?

If anyone wants to know any details about the actual race and course, haha, it is flat except for this ginormous hill in the middle, which I actually liked because I usually run up this hill behind my house to get to the greenway path I run on. I passed this guy on the way down! I love it when I get to pass like older fit guys haha is that weird? It just seems like they should be so much faster and fitter than me I guess. Other than that the race went well, its kinda cool because it loops around the lake and then there is a straight-away where you can sprint to the finish; and boy did I have a kick for this race(: 

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Here some random eats from this weekend

Pre-race dinner (Friday Night): carrot fries and trader joe's seafood medley with étouffée sauce my mom made (anyone interested in the recipe?) on a bed of arugula, grilled asparagus, mushrooms and zucchini.

This was preceded by a big bowl of peanut butter popcorn and followed by a big bowl of my almost nightly dessert (similar to Tara's) made of cottage cheese, applesauce, silken tofu, cocoa powder, pumpkin, greek yogurt, cinnamon and vanilla topped with peanut butter cheerios and strawberries (yum; my mom got some of these at the local farmer's market and they were delish!)

Next we have my snack/dessert after dinner at Panera; popped armaranth, a chocolate chip cookie, tofu brownie, cacao nibs, freezedried fruit (raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries) and then strawberries and blueberries, plus two raspberries (I know right! who leaves two raspberries in the container,..little stinker) haha and topped with dark chocolate almond milk; yum!

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At panera I was intrigued by a poster and ordered exactly that, haha A strawberry poppyseed salad and half a turkey sandwich. The salad was okay, I probably wouldn't order again, also because I really love their fuji apple turkey/chicken salad. The sandwich was awesome, as always, you can tell they make the bread fresh!

And last my snack from today, which yeah, was bigger than my head! haha idk if you can see the spoon handle but try and use that as a relative size comparison. This bowl included cantaloupe, bloobs, yogurt, blueberry flax sprinkles, love grown granola, freeze dried bloobs and trader joe's fake kashi cereal, stirred up with a little almond milk