First off, I wasn't able to find an affordable apartment in Lincoln when I was visiting in June. Fortunately I was able to visit Union College Campus and reserve I single room at a very reasonable price, so at least I'll have a room completely to myself in the dorms this year. =) After that was taken care of I decided it wasn't worth the gas money and the effort to drive my car all the way back to Georgia, so I left my car in Nebraska and hitched a ride back with my mom, and I have been borrowing my brother's truck to get around town. Visiting Lincoln was still good for me and my mom. Seeing a community that was more physical-outdoor-activity-friendly really lifted out spirits.
Holmes Lake in Lincoln:
People were kayaking. . .
walking and running. . .
and cycling on Lincoln's 120 miles worth of bike trails.
The Dekalb Farmer's Market fruit quality and variety was pretty good this season. The only qualms I had with them was their tendency to try and sell mass quantities of severely bruised and over-ripe fruit every few weeks, so at least once a month I was limited on my choices of good fruit to buy. Nevertheless, I have been eating very well this summer consuming massive quantities of Mangoes, Cherries, Dragon Fruit, Black Mission Figs, Oranges, Melon (mostly Watermelon), Papaya, Grape & Heirloom Tomatoes, Lettuce, Green Peas, Cucumber, and Okra.
I spent the better part of July training for my upcoming marathon in September, and helping my mom with some home improvement projects. One of those said projects was painting my room a neutral cover, which meant that the tree I had painted on one of my walls when I was in high school had to go. I was kind of sad, but I took a picture to remember it by, so I didn't feel to bad. There will be other walls to paint trees on in my future, and they will probably be better since my drawing/painting has improved since I was 16. =)
There was also a lot of yard work this summer. My mom's house has the largest partial of land in the subdivision, so by the time one of us finishes mowing both the back and the front lawn, we've pushed the mower approximately 5 miles (I checked this out with my mediocre pedometer, so I'm not sure how accurate I'm being). Yard work is usually more fun because almost every year we plant a vegetable garden, but since we weren't sure about what was going to be going on this summer we chose not to plant one this year. I've missed working on the garden and eating fresh heirloom tomatoes right from the plant. Oh well, maybe next year. On the bright side, our apple tree has finally matured enough to produce an eatable crop so we were able to have our first apple harvest. We have no idea what variety the apples are, but they taste very much like granny apples.
In August my mom treated me to a very special early birthday present. We drove to Savannah, GA where we stayed at the fanciest hotel that I've ever been to in my life: The Westin Savannah Golf Resort & Spa! We only were there for a couple days, but I had an awesome time having an all girls relaxation and pampering trip, something my mom and I have never been able to do.
We arrived in Savannah mid-afternoon, and after checking into our room we spent the rest of the day just driving and walking around to get a feel for the area before stopping off at Olive Garden to get something to eat. Yes I did eat at a restaurant. LOL! It's actually a lot easier for someone who eats a raw plant-based diet to eat out than a lot of people think. Any restaurant that serves salads, vegetables, and fruits is a possibility for me. All I did was ask for a large bowl of their classic salad without the croutons, salad dressing, and cheese, and I asked for extra vegetables. It also helps to bring some extra salad fixings with you in your purse. Hehe. I brought a couple of heirloom tomatoes with me that I had already chopped up and mixed with basil. When the salad came, I simple added it to the salad and tossed. It made for a very delicious meal, and I had to ask the waiter had to refill my salad bowl, AND it only cost $3!!
The view from our room. I would swim laps in the mornings
and then soak in the hot tub with my mom in the evenings.
Yummy salad dinner: tomatoes, iceberg, shredded carrots,
peppers, red onion, black olives, and basil.
The second day was spent walking around city market, taking in the sites, discovering a few health shops with a nice fruit stash, and enjoying a massage at the hotel spa.
During this pre-birthday vacation I decided to keep my training very low key, choosing to focus on rest, relaxation, rejuvenation, and de-stressing before having to go back to school and ramping up my training. Instead of running or cycling I swam and walked, I slept longer, and I had a large amount of knots that I didn't know I had worked out of my back, neck, and shoulders. I've been back for a few days now and I already see the positive results in training sessions. I'm running faster, and my endurance is higher.
I had fruit meal photos from the trip on my iPhone 4, but sadly the unthinkable happened when I got home, I lost my iPhone!! I'm hoping it's somewhere in my mom's house, but until it's found I'm stuck with my old iPhone 3G because there is no way I'm paying $600 to get a replacement iPhone 4. So a lot of the photos I took for this post are gone.
On the brighter side I celebrated my 20th birthday last Monday, I'm all registered for my next semester at Union College, and I'm hoping to have my new website up and running before winter. My brother is quite adept at graphical art, web design, and computers in general, and he's been kind enough to work with me on this project. I'm hoping to use this webpage to expand upon this blog and a raw plant based lifestyle. I plan on having video recipes and tutorials, e-books, articles, reviews, ect., so stay tuned! =)
