Thanksgiving Break Recap, Fruit Deliveries, and Winter Running

     I can't believe its almost been a week since I got back to Union College from Thanksgiving Break! Being home with my mom and my brother was something I really needed. We all stayed up late watching movies, slept in late,  I had long in-depth conversations with my mom, I got to see my old friends, go to cycling classes at LA Fitness, and do some fun trail running. I also took advantage of Black Friday by purchasing some new Vibrams online (they were 30% off!) instead of buying them at Abbadabba's in Atlanta (I needed a new pair of Sprints. My old pair I wore a whole through it after wearing it everyday for almost 1.5 yrs.).

    

      I was planning to do the Atlanta Thanksgiving Half Marathon while I was home, but I changed my plans; my mom asked me if it would be alright to skip it this year so that she could have a relaxing and well-slept vacation (I didn't have my car so she would have driven me to the race at 5am on Thanksgiving Day in downtown Atlanta). Everyone just needs a break now and again, and my main priority on this vacation was to spend quality time with my family. They have supported me in my food choices, school choices, and especially in my races, and they are what I am most grateful for.

This is my latest creation, a "Baked" Apple Smoothie.

This smoothie was invented to replace my preplanned 

raw persimmon pie. I had all the ingredients but somehow

ants managed to find their way into the reusable bag, 

paper bag, and plastic bag that I had wrapped 

the Hachiya persimmons in to ripen.

     When I got back from break my good friend, Jamie, and her boyfriend picked me up at the airport in Omaha. Although I had persimmons waiting for me back in my dorm and some clementines I had brought back from the Farmer's Market at home, I was still going to need some more food to last me until my next shipment from Jourdan's Beautiful Foods arrived, so we stopped off at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.

Yum yum, eat em up!

     Yesterday was when my fruit 

packages started to arrive again. More Dragon Fruit!   

And today my package of Pomelos came in!!

I was amazed at the size of these guys. 

Wow! I know what I'm having for breakfast.

     Since getting back I hadn't gone running. I was sick of using the treadmill, but it was cold outside and I didn't have the appropriate outdoor running clothes for midwest temperatures.  So this Tuesday I went over to Scheels (a popular sports store hear in Nebraska) to fork out some money for a good quality winter running outfit: pants, shirt, coat, gloves, and hat (the whole shebang).

     While I was there I also invested in a new pair of running shoes. I haven't run or really even walked in anything but Vibram Five Fingers and thin sandles in well over a year. However, I've found that even with the Bikila's I'm only able to run a max of 14 miles on pavement (trails aren't a problem) before I start experiencing ankle pain. I viewed this reaction as an indication that if I plan on training and running the Lincoln Marathon this May, then I was going to need some shoes with more support; and with some research beforehand and some assistance from one of the staff members from Scheels, I found something that I believe will work for me - the Nike LunarGlide+ 3 Shield running shoe.

I ran in them for the first time today.

It felt a little weird because I'm not accustomed

to running in actual shoes, but I don't think it 

will be to difficult to adjust seeing as they are so light.

And even though they provide more support than 

Vibrams, they aren't really all that thick.

Bring on the cold, I'm ready!

     I only have one more week after this week before finals; then I can enjoy myself over Christmas Break - 3 whole weeks of fun, rest, and relaxation before Spring Semester starts. The first two weeks I'll be in California with Jamie (road trip!) and the last week of break I plan on flying back home to visit my family. So my posts might have been rather sparse over the Fall semester, but look out for a lot of activity  anytime after December 18th.

Later!

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!

Summer Break Recap

Hello my dear readers. It's been a couple of months and life has not been dull. I took a break from writing this summer to work on some personal projects; however with school starting again in less than two weeks I believe that it's time to get back into the blogging arena. This post is just going to be a basic recap of what I've been up to during my summer hiatus, with as many pictures as I could find of the fruit I've been enjoying and the places I've gone.

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! =)