Christmas Break Days #2 & 3: Let the Fun Begin!

     Hey guys! I would have posted yesterday, but we got into Jamie's parents place later in the evening and they don't have internet. I'm currently sitting in a Starbuck in Ukiah to write this. 

DAY #2

     So, yesterday we got up pretty early and headed out. Nevada consisted mostly of barren flatland and rolling hills, but it was beautiful in its own special way, especially as the sun rose. The rest of our time spent driving through it was relatively uneventful, but there were some fun photo opportunities during my driving breaks.

     We crossed the border into California around noon.

     And it wasn't long after that we were stopped and checked to see if we had any "contaminating" or "illegal" items in our cars.

     We were fine. =)

     Our next stop was off of exit 184 for Donner Pass Road. It was a totally random choice; we just needed a place to stop and stretch our legs out. However, we ended up finding some pretty cool places to check out...

Like an epic health food store! =)

DAY #3

     The plan was to sleep in, but  ended up waking up and going for a nice run with Jamie's dog, Chief at 7:30am. When I got back I was able to enjoy some of the California fruit that Jamie's folks had bought for us. I grabbed some strawberries, bananas, dates, and coconut water, through it all in the blender, and made myself the BEST fruit smoothie I have had in a long time.

Honeydew, pineapple, persimmons, oranges, mandarines, 

clementines, strawberries, bananas, etc.

     Afterwards we played with the dogs and hung around the house a little bit before taking Jamie's horse, Arnie, out for a buggy ride! I even got to steer him for a couple of miles. =)

   
     A couple hours later we came back, had lunch, and headed out again. We stopped off at Glen Eden trail to check it out. We only trekked a half mile  up and then raced back down, but we plan on going back there later this week and hiking the whole thing.

     Then we stopped of at the Blue Lakes and a Bison ranch.

     And that sums up the day. It's about time for dinner so Jamie, Johnny, and I are going to go head out and find some food. Tomorrow we'll be heading out to Fort Bragg to spend the day on the coast. I can't wait!

My "Chocolate" Pudding Three Day Weekend

     I just love weekends, particularly the ones that last three days instead of two. I spent all day Saturday relaxing. I slept in, laid in bed and read, took our family dog, Charlie, for a walk with my mom, and went crazy with my Chocolate (Black) Sapote. 

You remember this decadent fruit from my last post?

     I had bought quite a few sapote from jourdansbeautifulfood.com. However, unlike the last batch, these sapote ripened all at once. Yikes! Now don't get me wrong, I love eating massive amounts of sapote mono meal style, but after a while I was ready for a new spin on this scrumptious fruit. So I turned on my culinary creativity, went to work, and came up with this luscious meal that I dubbed. . .

Chocolate Silk Breakfast Pudding

     Despite its name, I love this meal so much that I have it for more than just breakfast. I often enjoy this pudding 2-3 times a day and as a result, I'm almost out of sapote. Oh no! I better go order some more. Chocolate Sapote only comes around once a year and I want to have my fill of it before the season ends.

Yum yum. . . eat em up! LOL 

Another meal that I have been enjoying 1-2 times a day lately is this tropical thirst quencher. . .

Punchy Pineapple Smoothie

     I just love how rich the color is because it gives the food the aesthetic appeal we humans often need to enjoy our meal. 

     The ingredients and prep work is really simple: take one ripe pineapple, chop it up, put pineapple pieces in the blender, add enough water to blend (I just use a splash of coconut water), and blend until frothy. That's it, your all done! Now just pour yourself a glass and enjoy. =D

     The rest of the weekend went well. By Sunday it was time to stock up on food, so the entire morning was spent making the Whole Foods and Farmer's Market rounds with my mom. I was really lucky that all my favorite fruits for the season were ripe (or almost ripe) and were being sold in bulk (it really saves me money). I ended up buying a box of large pineapple (6 pineapple), 2 boxes of persimmon (28), 2 lbs. of red grapes, 4 Organic red mango, 15 lbs, Organic bananas, and 2 Organic Hawaii Papaya (score!). I also got a bunch of greens and un-sweet fruit (e.g. tomato, bell pepper, cucumber) for giant dinner salads.

     Today(Monday) went less smoothly then the rest of the weekend. My college classes are supposed to start tomorrow and this morning all the classes I had registered for have somehow managed to unregister themselves and I can't seem to get them back. Hopefully someone in the administration office can help me get that sorted out tomorrow morning. 

     Then this afternoon I accidentally drove all the way to the gym and back with my emergency brakes on. I feel like such an idiot about that. I'm just praying that I didn't total the emergency break. *sigh* I guess I'll find out when I have the car checked out later in the week. *chuckles* The things that life throws at you huh? I just do what the penguins did.

     Well, it's getting late and I have a full day tomorrow, but before I wrap this post up, my weekend workouts:

Saturday

• Day off - 20 minutes walking dog and 20 push-ups

Sunday

• 8 miles cycling - avg. 16 mph pace
• 1 hour of yoga (my 2nd class and my arms are still feeling it!)
• 20 push-ups

Monday

• 1 hour run - 6 miles - avg. 6 mph pace

Citrus, NEWSTART, and College

     Ever since my last (and my first) mini-Juice feast I've wanted to do it again. These past few months I have developed a real love of all things citrus - navels, clementines, tangerines, mandarins, valencias, grapefruit - you name the citrus and I've been eating them by the pound. So this Wednesday and Thursday I drank nothing freshly juiced Valencia Oranges, Mandarins, and Honey Tangerines. It was so sweet, so refreshing, and to top it off, the days were sunny with clear blue skies! :-)

     Yesterday, I was terribly tired physically and mentally. My energy levels were so low that I forwent any intense workout. At first I thought it was due to my being indoors for to long and I tried to remedy that by packing my studies into my backpack to walk to the library (2.6 mile walk round trip). It didn't work.

     By the time I got home I had a killer headache, my eyes were burning, I was ready to crash. I drank a big glass of water and skipped my evening juice to go to bed early. I slept from 6:50pm to 7:30am and felt much MUCH better. It was the next morning when I looked at the bags under my eyes thatI realized what had been wrong with me, I was sleep deprived! 

     For the past couple of months I have been living on 5 to 6 hours of sleep and I do believe it has finally caught up with me. I had twelve hours of sleep last night and I still feel like I need another twelve to completely recuperate. Sometimes we have to stop and revaluate what we are doing in our lives that could be harmful to our health. 

     You can eat tons of fresh raw fruits and greens, drink plenty of water, get lots of sunshine, but your health suffers because you short yourself sleep. Our bodies are strong. Our bodies can take a lot of stress so that we can get through our daily lives, but if you short yourself on something crucial to your health for to long, your body will begin to suffer the effects, and the quality of your life.

     Follow NEWSTART to the best of your ability and you your body will thank you.

• Nutrition
• Exercise
• Water
• Sleep
• Temperance
• Air
• Rest
• Trust in the Divine (in my case Yahweh)

     As for today, my mom and I took a drive to see where I will be going to college in the fall, Kennesaw State University (KSU).  We drove aroung the campus, visited the admissions office, and took a peak at the campus housing (nice!).

            

     I originally wanted to go to a University out of state (still do), but decided that since the economy is a little shaky at the moment, and my mother and brother have to stay in Georgia one more year before they can move, I decided to stay instate for now.

     My mom and I made good time getting up to KSU and had enough time to stop off at Whole Foods for lunch. I picked up a 16 oz. "Strawberry Punch" (freshly juiced strawberries, grapes, pineapple, and lemon) juice and 4 cups of chopped pineapple. 

     I also came across this little treasure and got so excited! I have been looking for something like this for ages and all of a sudden I just stumble upon it unintentionally. No longer will I have to use disposable silverware because I've got my own REUSABLE bamboo eating utensils. Woohoo!! :-D

 

I'm Back! Here's a Recap.

     Hello my wonderful readers! I am so sorry for not posting anything these past few weeks, life has been filled to the brim with exercising, studies, making plans for this summer, and deciding where to attend university in the fall. I am back now though and am loaded with things to write about. :-)


     For starters, I finally got the last of my half marathon phtotographs. I ordered the online download but there was some sort of mix up and I wasn't able to download them for a month (yikes!).

     I went with my family to climb Stone Mountain (It's 1.3 miles to get to the top). I beat all of them and made a new personal best of making it to the top in 19 minutes flat. I got to the top, had my brother take a picture when he met me up there, and then proceeded to run all the way back down! I could have done it again, but my family was tired and ready for lunch. Oh well, it was still great fun! 

     The weather in April has been gorgeous and it inspired me to do something different in my routine. With all the sun that we've been getting in my little spot of Georgia I started to really miss all the walking I used to do to get around when I was in Oxford, England last summer. Instead of getting all depressed about not being in Oxford still, instead suring these past couple of week I attempted to recreate the environment as best I could. I packed up my school books, drove into Downtown Covington, parked my car, and walked to the library to study. It's a 2.6 mile walk in total to and from the library and some days I would go twice (a 5.3 mile walk) with my 20lb. book filled back pack. What a way to exercise and get some work done, no? ;-) During my walk I took lot's of pictures of the beautiful historical neighborhood. Pure southern beauty folks!

This area is also a perfect area to go for a run in the early morning. The air is cool and crisp, the birds are singing, and the sun is just starting to brighten the dark skies.

     After much deliberation, and many sleepless nights tossing and turning, I finally decided that I will be attending Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, GA come this fall. My mom has to stay in Covington, GA one more school year to teach before we can move to a farm with an fruit orchard. With the economy the way it is I want to be close to my mom and my brother, seeing as they're the only real family I have. I figured that I can always transfer to another university in a year or so once I know that my family will be ok and the economy won't blow up in our faces. 

     With that being said, I am looking into things I can do this summer. One thing I have decided to do for sure,  is to sew my own summer and school clothes out of organic hemp, cotton, bamboo, and linen fabrics. Last weekend I went to Barnes & Noble and picked up a couple of books on how to design and sew clothes. My mom already knows how to sew and we have a sewing machine so I'm not doing this totally blind. LOL. Once school gets out is when we get to sewing and I can't wait! :-D

     Today I decided to borrow my brother's bike and take it to Downtown Conyers for some serious bike riding. Now, Dowtown Conyers is different than Downtown Covington because it has more side walks stretching greater distances, so this morning I was able to go far 10 mile bike ride without having to worry about running out of side walk. 

     The ride was precisely what I needed to feel energized, rejuvinated, and motivated for the rest of the day. I have to tell you, that ever since I have started to regularly exercise for long periods of time with high intesity activity I have noticed a better quality of life due to the better fitness of my body and my never ending positive/good/happy mood. I notice that whenever I don't exercise, and I mean really exercise for to long, I start to feel depressed, sluggish, and just . . . bluh!

Pictured below is me using the Nancy Gwinn Library in Dowtown Conyers restroom to get all the sweat of my face after my 10 mile bike ride (and to show off my fit body.  I worked hard for it and sometimes a girl likes to admire the fruits of her labor! LOL) I was fueled by a delicious Pineapple-Banana-Spinach smoothie (which I had another one of once I got home) as my post workout meal (also pictured below). People who think/say fruit makes you fat really need to look at the people who live off fruit, then maybe they would see that fruit is good for you, and it's the refined/processed sugar filled junk food that maked you fat!