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!

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! 

Training for Half Marathon - Days 61 to 64 + Recipe

Day 61 - Friday

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     Friday was to be ver rainy day. Fortunately the morning clear long enough for me to take a drive over to Johnson Park for a 40 minute run (approx. 4 miles). I just kept going and going until the rain came tumbling down. I think this was the moment I realized that I had officially become a running addict. 

I. LOVE. TO. RUN! :-D

     I was stuck spending the rest of my day indoors. Not to worry though because I kept myself occupied with my studies and Dance Dance Revolution 3. Hehe.

     That evening I made myself 2 quarts worth of OJ for the next day for breakfast and lunch. I don't know what came over me, but I suddenly wanted loads of citrus! Hehe.

Day 62 - Saturday

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     Saturday we were once again promised rain, but not until the later afternoon hours. From morning until about 3:40 p.m. the sky was blue, the sun was out, the sun was shining, and the weather was pleasently warm. On a day like this, how could I not spend as much of it as possible outside? So I took Charlie for a 23 minute run before heading to Dowtown Covingtion (lots of sidewalks and beautiful scenery) for 44 minutes of 4mph walking with some sprints.

Picked a dandelion. The grass was filled with them!

     That evening, since I  knew that Sunday was going to be a busy day for me (didn't help that I was still in major citrus craving mode), I made 2 more quarts of orange juice.

Day 63 - Sunday

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     By Sunday, most of my brother's food had run out  and the only place that carries most of what he likes is at Whole Foods. So my mom and I had to make a little trip. Unfortunately, the time change really through my body clock for a loop, and staying up later then I should have the night before didin't help. Anyway, it turned out that I accidently slept in for the first time in months, thus resulting in my mom and I getting off to a late start up to Whole Foods in Atlanta.Not to worry though, we made it there with little trouble and I got myself a lovely fruit juice (strawberry, blackberry, blueberry, grape, and apple).

     After getting home and putting my brothers food away, I felt like working out. Outside was a bit to wet and nippy for my taste so I played Dance Dance Revolution 3 for about an hour; you would not believe how much of a sweat you can work up playing that thing!

Day 64 - Monday

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     Todays training consisted of some weight training, followed by a 35 minute afternoon run in Dowtown Covington. The weather was lovely and I had my mom with me. She walked and I ran, and let me tell you that she is a brilliant cheerer. She kept me motivated to increase both my speed and distance on saying things like, "Go around again!" and  "One more time up the stairs!" Today makes me think that althoug I am nervous about the half marathon this Sunday, I really feel like I can do it.

     My eats for today:

• 4 C. Orange Juice
• 2 Chocolatete Sapote + 2 C. Strawberries, whole
• Green Smoothie (2 bananas, 3 mango, 3 huge handfuls of spinach)
• Smoothie/Pudding (10 bananas, 6 medjool dates)
• 1 C. blueberries + 2 C. Strawberries, whole

     What can I say? I was ravenous! :-D

Recipes

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      I've recently recieved a few comments requesting the recipe for my raw apple crumble. I would like you all to know that my mother and I are in the process of writing a recipe book/e-book, and recipe for my raw apple crumble will be in there, so at the moment I will not be posting it on my blog. I will however, leave you guys with my absolute favorite apple dish at the moment. I have been known to have this dish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! LOL.

 

Caramel Apple Delight

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- 1 large Banana, very ripe

- 5 Medjool Dates

- 0.3 C. Coconut water (or filtered water)

- 0.25 Cinnamon (optional)

- 2 large sweet Apples, cored and chopped

 Put the first four ingredients into a blender and blend until it's a smooth and creamy sauce. Take the chopped apple and put it into a bowl. Pour the sauce on top of the apples, stir to mix, and devour!

Training for Half Marathon - Day 32 & 33

Day 32 - Thursday

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    Thursday was an intense day for me training wise. I spent 15 minutes in the morning doing some stretching and vigorous weight lifting (I was really panting by the end of it) before I had to get showered and dressed so I could get my daily chores and studies done before my 2:30 chiropractic appointment.

     When 2:30 finally rolled around I got my regular adjustment and electro-heating therapy. Afterwards it was time for my physical therapy with 15 minutes of the leg curl weight machine. I managed 100 front leg reps (10 sets) for both legs , alternating between 20 and 25 lb. weights, as well as 50 back leg reps (5 sets) for each leg using 15 lb. weights.

     As soon as I got home I went for a 20 minute run around my neighborhood. I had to slow down to a fast walk on occasion to catch my breath. It's very hard to run in my neighborhood because it is made up almost entirely of steep hills, so running the whole time is near impossible for me at this point. And later that same evening, I accompanied my mom around the neighborhood for a 20 minute moderately brisk walk while wearing 2 lb. ankle weights.

     My daily eats for this day was 2935 calories, almost 3000 calories! Let me tell you I needed every bite and I had:

• 3 Honeydew Melon

• Spicy Spinach Mango Smoothie

1. Put the coconut water & the spinach in the blender.

2. Cut up the mango.

3. Put the mango in the blender.

4. Precede to use teeth to scarp and eat remaining Mango fruit on pit and peel. :-D

5. Add chopped Banana.

6. Blend!

7. Pour, drink, and enjoy!

• Happy "Caramel" Bars (just take a bite of banana with a bite of Medjool Date)

• The last two thirds of my durian

My mom and brother can't stand the smell, so I partook of my heavenly bounty on our back porch.

• 12 Clementines (no pic)

• 1 Personal sized Sugar Baby watermelon. 

Day 33 - Friday

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     I woke up this morning with very sore and stiff legs and arms! But after stretching for about 10 minutes I was just sore. LOL! So I decided to that since it was a little over a week since a I had a true rest day, without any type of intense physical exertion, I settled down in my room to study. 

     Around 2 pm I took a break and came out to get some lunch (A Minty Papaya Smoothie) to discover that it had begun to snow! :-D Around, 3pm, when it became clear that the snow was not going to stop, my family and I  immediantely went out to run some last minute errands before the roads got to icey. 

Even Charlie got dusted! Hehe...

 I hope everyone out there has a wonderful weekend. I know what I'll be doing. . . making a snowman!!!