My Fun Filled Weekend

     This post was supposed to get published last night; however, I had to wait until I was able to upload all the pictures I wanted to share with you guys. This weekend was probably the BEST weekend I've had this school semester, and I hope to have more just as fun (or more fun) than this one.


Friday Afternoon/Evening/Night:

     Friday afternoon, after  classes, Jamie (my BFF) and I got to head out for my very first concert: The Songs and Stories Tour featuring Steven Curtis Chapman, Josh Wilson, and Andrew Peterson! Located at the Barrean Church, we got there early because we had purchased special tickets that allowed us to attend the soundcheck and ask Steven questions before the concert.

The soundcheck

The concert! =D

My armband to get into the soundcheck.

A tour poster signed by Steven Curtis Chapman!

  
     We got arrived at the church at 5:30 and didn't get back until 10:30, and the next day my voice was hoarse from screaming, singing, and the smoke machine...it was the best night EVER! The artists were such real and down to earth guys, and their incredible Christian music made for the perfect sabbath opening. I can't wait to go to another concert. =)

Saturday:


     On Sabbath I spent most of my day sleeping, watching TV shows on my computer, and doing a bible study with my mom over Skype. However, I did go for a long afternoon walk with Jamie. We spent approximately 90 minutes wandering around Lincoln staying on the look out for any good rentals, and checking out the cool architecture and landscape of the houses in the area.

I discovered, thanks to Jamie, that rose 

hips are edible and quite tasty.

Some people had really cool yard decorations. 

This one was my favorite - A bottle tree.

During are walk we finally got to see the rare black 

squirrel that we had heard lived here in Lincoln.

     I forgot my camera so the pictures above were taken on Jamie's phone, so the resolution isn't that great, but I think it still captures the awesomeness that was our walk.

Sunday:

     Sunday was mostly spent doing homework, but I made sure to make the time to workout. I swam 1.75 miles that morning at our school pool and cycled approximately 7.65 miles on my interval trainer while I did my assigned reading for my religion class. I also took a couple of homework breaks.

     After Jamie got out of her final Scuba class (she is now Scuba certified, you go Jamie!!) she treated me to a drink at a local coffee shop because she had won a free gift certificate for the place at work. 

Jamie had a double mocha latte made with almond mylk.

And I had an iced Yerba Mate tea.

Good Eats!


     I also ate very well over the weekend. I had lot's of fruity goodies, but my two favorites were the two scrumptious creations below.

 My new date sauce recipe with Honeycrisp apple slices.

 My latest tropical green smoothie creation!

     You can find out what is in these two recipes when my recipe e-book is released January 1, 2012.

     Until next time... eat fruit, run fast!

Happy New Year! What to be expecting from me.

     Only four days into 2011 and it's still hard to believe that time has flown by so quickly. It seems like only yesterday that I was welcoming in 2010, and now it is passed. 2010 was a wonderful and eventful year for me and I hope it was the same for all of you.

     With this new year comes changes in my life. I enjoyed my first semester of college immensely. I feel that having the chance to live away from home allowed me to grow and explore who I am. I made some amazing friends and had the opportunity to try new activities. I got into rock climbing/bouldering and outdoor cycling; I was able to try my first triathlon and to preform a flying squirrel. However, all good things must come to an end and I am back at home. Union College provided me with a wonderful education but the tuition was just to high for me to stay. So I am now attending my local community college while I look for some scholarships and save my money. If I play my cards right I will be able to attend a very good private university for my last two years of undergraduate studies. My goal is to graduate with my bachelors degree debt free.

     Don't worry though, I still plan on keeping busy and updating this blog more frequently. I have so much planned for the future. Currently I am collaborating with my mom to write and publish a vegan recipe book. It's going to be half raw (mostly LFRV) and half cooked vegan recipes. The goal of this book is to help those who are transitioning from being SAD or vegetarian to being vegan and eventually (hopefully) raw or high raw. Personally, If I get enough feedback from you and those who purchase the finished recipe book I may publish a recipe book with just the raw recipes for those people who have already transitioned from cooked and just want the raw recipes. Also, I am working on starting up my own part-time business this summer. Stay tuned to find out what it will be! =)

     This year I also plan on training as hard as I can while going to school and improve my athletic performance. I have another half-marathon approaching in March and an obstacle course race called The Warrior Dash. I will training outside as often as possible but I will also be training at a gym on the days where the weather is unfavorable. My fitness goal this year is to become a bit more versatile in my athletic abilities.

     I will be working on developing my upper body more this year. I plan to do this through weight training, rock climbing, swimming, and yoga (hopefully). I will still be running and cycling, I just feel that increasing my upper body strength will improve my running. Remember that in running stronger arms give you more power to quicken your pace.

     How does all this effect my blog? I plan on documenting my training more often along with pictures of what I eat. I'm going to try to blog every day that I train, giving as much detail as possible. Blogging my progress will hopefully encourage me to really give it my all and maybe give you readers some ideas.

Rockin' and Rollin' in College!

Such a busy life I now lead. . . I managed to make a video for you guys though. Enjoy! :-)

Recap: The First Week of May

     Hello everyone! Can you believe it?! The first week of May had already flown by and Summer is just around the corner! I've been very busy this past week and I just feel so excited for whatever may await me in the coming months.
     
     Let's start with last Sunday. I spent a good part of the day doing my laundry and some CSNN homework before going with my mom into Atlanta later in the afternoon. She had some errands to run and dropped me off at Perimeter Mall where my favorite clothes store, Anthropologie, is located. I rarely ever buy anything in the store due to the price, but I love to look and take pictures of stuff I like with my camera!

     This time I did actually buy something because I needed a new pair of shorts. I would have bought a pair somewhere else less expensive, but all the other shops I looked in were selling those super short shorts and I hate those. Anthropologie had a much more modest and comfortable selection of shorts. 

I ended up purchasing these. . .

         

     

     Also pictured above is my favorite "spread the word" t-shirt. When I originally purchased it, all it said was, "Start a Resolution" below the recycle symbol. I thought that this was to vague and decided to take a black sharpie to the shirt to write down my resolutions:

"Know your creator!"

"Eat fruit and be raw!

"Drink Water!"

"Sleep long and well!"

"Get sunshine and fresh air!"

 "Be active!"

"Never stop learning!"

     Elsewhere in the mall, I visited a cookware/diningware shop and admired the lovely selection of bamboo and scrapwood bowls, plates, silverware, cutting board, ect. there were. Whenever I have a place of my own I would like to have kitvhenware like this, because it is made out of reusable material.

     The last place I visited was across the street from the mall, Barnes & Noble. Ever since I learned to read at 4 years old I have had a great love affair with books. New books, old books, I adore them all! I believe the simple pleasure of curling up with a good book and reading for hours on end will never leave me. I wasn't able to buy a new book this time around, but like always I took a picture of the ones I wanted so I woulsn't forget the author name and book title, so that next time a could purchase them.

     Skip over to Tuesday evening and my mom and I are off to the farmer's market to stock up on food. Usually we go Wednesday mornings, but we both had to much work to do around the house that needed to be done on Wednesday that we decided to go early. Sadly, for the first time in a long time, the produce was aweful. I ended up only purchasing a box of Bellize Papaya (plus two more single Papaya), a few bunches of Bananas, 3 Red Grapefruit, and a 1/2 gallon of freshly squeezed Honey Tangerine juice. That was the best I could make out with. :-(

     I was in luck though the next day when I stopped by my local Publix while I was out running some errands to see if they had anything good, and boy did they ever! I bought a couple of Pineapple, 20 Ataulfo Mangos, and a few bags of Organic Baby Spinach. Sometimes my local-everday-run-of-the-mill grocery store suprises me with tastey fruity treats! :-)

     Thursday afternoon my mom and I were on our way over to our old friend Scott's House to buy some tomato and bell pepper plants off him for our garden. While there he showed us his garden which has cucumber, bell pepper, tomato, okra, and green bean plants. He also showed us is AWESOME rain water catcher that he utilizes solely for the watering of his garden.

Plants We Bought From Scott

-------------------------------------------

 "Cherokee Purple" Tomato

"Pink Beauty" Tomato

"Goliath" Tomato

"Sun Gold" Tomato

"Lipstick" Bell Pepper

     Now, let's move onto my training for this week. Not only have I already signed up for the 2011 Georgia ING Half Marathon, I have also decided to sign up for the 13.1 Half Marathon 2010 Half Marathon happening in Atlanta by Ogelthorpe University in October. With this race about four months away I am back in training! :-D

Monday (May 3rd)

------------------------------

Morning - An hour of weight and circuit training

Tuesday (March 4th)

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Morning - Swam 60 laps alternating swimming style (10 laps freestyle/10 laps backstroke/10 laps butterfly) and 2 minutes holding onto the edge of the pool and kicking my legs in the water as fast as I could (talk about muscle burn!)

Wednesday (March 5th)

---------------------------------

Morning - 4 mile trail run with lots of difficult hills (Pace: 6mph)

Afternoon - 40 minute walk (Pace: 4mph)

Evening - 50 crunches

Thursday (March 6th)

---------------------------------

Morning - 4.5 mile trail run with lots of difficult hills (Pace: 7mph)

Friday (March 7th)

---------------------------------

Early Morning - 40 minute walk (Pace: 3.5mph)

Late Morning/Early Afternoon - 4 mile trail run with lots of difficult hills (Pace: 7mph)

Saturday (March 8th)

---------------------------------

Early Morning - 5 mile trail run with lots of difficult hills (Pace: 7mph)

Afterrnoon/Late Afternoon - 10.2 miles biking (Pace: 11 to 12 mph), 2 mile road run (Pace: 6 mph), 2 mile walk (Pace: 3mph), 45 push ups, 40 dips, and 60 criss cross sit ups      19.2 miles total

Sunday (March 9th)

---------------------------------

Rest

A/N: 

     It has come to my attention that after I posted this blog entry that I made something a bit unlear if you will. I am a Sabbatarian Christian. This means that I believe that Yahweh made the seventh day (Saturday) as the sabbath, and therefore I observe that day as such. 

     

     In my training log I wrote that I did exercises on Saturday and rested on Sunday. While that is true, the exercises I did on Saturday I did because it was  a BEAUTIFUL day and it inspired me to go out and enjoy the beauty of creation!

     When Sunday came along, my muscles were feeling the affects of my creation enjoying antics so I didn't do any exercises that day.

Welcoming Autumn with Activity

September is gone and October is here! Here in the South the weather is finally lovely! Last week we had a bunch of flash floods so all the bridges had to be closed down (I live almost right next to two of them) which made getting around town quite difficult. But now the temperature high is in the upper 70z, there is sunny and breezy weather with clear blue skies, and almost zero humidity. Yesterday was the same and I spent a couple hours outside doing my CSNN studies while drinking a decadent Spirulina Smoothie of my own spontaneous concoction!

So I haven't really written anything for a few weeks but honestly I've been quite busy adding things into my schedule. I now swim for 30-40 minutes at Johnson Park about 3-4 times a week and I've started attending my brothers karate studio to finish my advanced brown belt training and hopefully test for my 1st degree black belt by nest Autumn. At the house I've been trying to cram as many hours of CSSN while still keeping the house clean, the laundry done, keeping my brother and mom fed, running errands. . . just life in general.

Despite all this life for me is going alright. Just yesterday the two books I ordered from

Amazon.com came in, the 2010 Poetry Market and Sarma's new raw food book! I love buying

raw food recipe books for when my mom or I has company to blow them away with the delicious

and nutritious wonder of raw food. I bought the Poetry Market book because I am hoping to publish

my book of poetry that I have been working on for 4 years now.

This is what I want to encourage everyone in, stay busy! I find whenever I start feeling depressed

or alone that if I go for a swim, a walk, or pick up a book, start a project, just do SOMETHING productive,

I can temper or even completely eliminate the down feelings I have. We are human and we crave stimulation.

When people don't receive physical and mental stimulation we don't form any new muscles in our

body, and the synapses in our brain don't create new connections. This result in a deteriorated mind and body,

who would want to live like that? I can't think of anyone.

When life is dull and you wonder what's the point, that is the moment you need to reach out

and make something out of nothing. We are the dominant species of this planet. Why? Because we

are smart and resourceful and we have zest for LIVING not just EXISTING. We what to do things better,

we want to do things better, we want to learn, and we want to discover. Society today wants to shove

us in a box with a label and have us stay there for the rest of our lives. Not me, and hopefully not you!

Peace out everybody! Until next time. SMILE!! :)

P.S. And here are some recipes and pics:

My New Book!! I really admire Sarma.

She is an amazing woman.

A kiwilicious breakfast. Did you know that kiwi, along with blackberries, are actually a great source of zinc?

My mom wanted pudding so she asked me to make her a raw pudding. We only had the bare minimum of food left since it was the end of the week, but a managed to whips this up for her breakfast.

Tropical Mousse

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1 large ripe banana

1/2 cup of fresh coconut meat

1/4 cup of dried coconut flakes

1/4 cup cashews (pre-soaking is optional)

1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple, chopped

1 tbs. agar agar flakes soaked for 10 minutes in hot water

1/4 cup agave nectar

1/4 tsp. real salt

juice from 1/2 a lemon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 tbs/ coconut water

Blend the 1st five ingredients until smooth, add the rest and blend until smooth and refrigerate overnight.

Serve 4

I made this smoothie as a little treat for my breakfast that same day. Not much left in the house but I'm a resourceful raw smoothie loving girl! ;)

Coco Cacao Beauty Smoothie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1 cup coconut water

1 cup chopped frozen banana

1 rounded tsp. raw cacao powder

1 rounded tbs. raw cacao nibs

1 tbs. raw honey

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Blend until smooth

Serves 1

While studying this last Thursday afternoon I got really hungry. It was quite warm out so I decided to invent a new smoothie. OMG, I made this tried it, had my mom tried it, and we have both had this every. single. day. for the past three days. This smoothie tastes amazing, is incredibly satisfying, and gives me the most incredible burst of energy and mental clarity that I have ever experienced.

The Green Peachy Keen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1 large peach (about 2 cups)

11 frozen strawberries or 7 fresh strawberries

2 frozen bananas

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp. Hawaiian Spirulina

1 1/2 "scoops" of stevia ( I use the Now brand)

1/4 cup water

Blend until smooth

Serves 1-2

Keep it simple and stay motivated!

For the past couple of weeks I have really been increasing my exercising regime.: swimming laps and speed walking with intermittent sprints mostly. I really feel like I am getting into the swing of things and am looking to bump it up a little. The humidity in Georgia is beginning to lighten up so jogging/running is back on the agenda. I have also found a yoga class (I hope they have a spot open) which I hope to sign up for, and I finally cleaned out the garage and set the karate/work out room back up with a punching bag.

I think exercising is quite easy of you can find a form of exercise you really love and/or when you can find a reason to WANT to exercise. This morning for example, I woke up and did not want to drive to the pool to do my laps, but I knew that is I didn't I would miss out on the majority of good quality exercise for the day and would being messing up fitness training. So I found something to motivate me to get my butt out of bed, into the car, and to the pool. I remembered how good I had felt in Europe where I walked practically ALL DAY LONG. I remembered how GOOD I had been felling these past few days after swimming laps every morning and I realized that I wanted to feel that way today, so I got up and went out. When I got there I wound up feeling so energized that I wound up swimming an extra 10 laps! So in the end I swam 40 laps in 25 minutes rather than my usual 30 laps in 19 minutes. It paid off and I've been feeling really good with a positive and productive attitude.

Tomorrow I am starting on some strength and resistance training and I really REALLY want to get a bike so I can start cycling. I have never wanted to do all this stuff so much before and actually went through with it. I really believe that if you can find a good and influential reason to to get fit, that it will motivate you and lead you to success!!

Today I was also in a very simple mood. I didn't want a lot of different stuff meshed together so today I went for simple and it was incredibly refreshing! :) It went something like this:

• Breakfast: 8 cups of watermelon (so sweet and juicy!)
• Lunch: 2 cups of chopped spinach and basil leaves topped off with asparagus and fresh picked yellow and red tomatoes from the garden.

• Afternoon juice: 16 oz. of green juice
• Supper: Quart of smoothie - 4 mango, 4 bananas, a handful of strawberries & blueberries, and a bit of raw honey.

On my 1 to 10 simple eating scale (1 being the simples, 10 the most complex) I would say today was about a 3. I find the simpler I eat, the better I feel and preform through out the day. Just enjoying each individual flavour is really a delightful experience!

So go out there and have fun! Move around, enjoy the simple things in life when you can, and above all else . . . SMILE!! :D

Friday: BUSY!

I woke up this morning, got out of bed, and haven't stopped going since! Today I woke up extra early to go swim laps. Every time I swim I always time myself to see how many laps I can complete in the 2o minutes I have to swim. Yesterday was my first time getting back into the "swim" of things since I got back from Europe and I was incredibly surprised at the increase in my energy, stamina, and speed. When I first started swimming every other morning at Johnson Park, I could barely do 18 laps, and when I finished I was exhausted. Now, both yesterday and today I timed myself and I was able to do 30 laps in 20 minutes and I felt like I could do 30 more (but I had to get back to the house to get to work)!!

After my swim I sat in the Johnson Park parking lot and ate my breakfast while watching people walk and listening to the radio. Sometimes it's just nice to have breakfast completely by yourself and just relaxing . . . *sigh*. I had a Mamey Sapote with pumpkin pie spice sprinkled on top. . . aah . . . need I say more? :)

The rest of the day was spent cleaning the house, preparing food for my brother, running errands to the bank, grocery store, post office, etc. The whole day I felt like I was running on fast forward. It felt good though, to move around and accomplish things. It made sitting down in the evening all the more relaxing.

Wednesday (09/09/09): Not what I expected

Today didn't go or turn out even vaguely close to what I had planned. First, my organic plums turned out to be a bomb. Seriously, it was like eating slightly sweet water! I only wound up eating 2 of the 5 that I had, choosing some globe grapes to make up the bulk of my meal.

Then I had to go back to the insurance agency that morning because of some sort of misunderstanding/mix up that took about 40 minutes to resolve. No sooner had that been taken care of my up to Rainbow Natural Groceries to get more organic dog food. Since we were already in the area my mom and I had lunch at Rainbow and stopped off at Farmer's Market just to grab a few things so we wouldn't have to come back Friday, but instead could hold out until Sunday or Monday.

I get home and head off to TCB to do my CSNN work while my mom takes my brother to karate. Today I studied the important links between the digestive track, enzymes, and nutrient absorption. I also have started into studying the different types of carbohydrates and the enzymes needed to metabolize them.

Afterwards I picked up the dogs from the groomers and ran over to the nearest Ingles to see if they had any Organic peaches, they didn't have any. I guess I am going to have to check the other Ingles tomorrow morning when I go for a swim.

By the time I was settled back at home for the evening, it was 6:30 p.m. and all I felt like doing was making a smoothie and watching another Monk. Like I said, this day, not what I expected. Tomorrow though is another day and I plan to make the most of it! 

Tomorrow is Surprise Thursday, the day that my mom goes to PCLA in the morning to tutor in Algebra, and when she gets back in the afternoon I have a lovely lunch made up for everyone! Since my brother eats mostly cooked and my mom eats some cooked grains and potatoes, I always make sure that there is at least two healthy as possible, cooked dishes on the menu. The rest I make is raw and there for my family if they feel up to trying out one of my raw creations. I have no idea what I'm going to make tomorrow. I never really know for sure until it comes time to start making it! :)

Anyway, before I end this entry I wanted to make a list here on all the things I want to complete before Saturday. I'm thinking that if I list them on this blog that it might motivate me to actually do them and finish them. Wish me luck!

1. Clean bathroom.

2. Clear up garden (weed, prune, harvest)

3. Clean out garage/gym

4. Organize and label stuff in preparation to have a garage sale

5. Carry out Surprise Thursday

6. Swim Laps

7. Look into buying a bike

8. Finish Lesson 5 of CSNN module #1 by Friday evening

9. Get peaches

And off I go!