Blog Archives
Paper Cup Pick-Me-Up
Today’s caffeination came in the form of an Iced Tazo Passion Tea, just as bright as today is shaping up to be! (That sounded a lot cornier than I intended.)
My mom is coming up to my school for a visit tomorrow, so last night I made her a canvas painting to liven up her desk at work. Just a little whimsical and colorful decorative piece. With the passion tea and sudden urge to paint, I got to thinking about where inspiration comes from. For me, there are many people who inspire me to be healthier, fitter, happier. I know as girls, we tend to compare ourselves to others but I think it’s healthy to aspire to those around us who are more successful at things than we are. I’ll share first:
- Taralynn at Undressed Skeleton inspires me to bake healthy! She’s always recreating delicious desserts with less fat, sugar, calories, etc.
- Lauren Conrad inspires me to put together cute outfits and matching accessories.
- My leg workouts are inspired by Carrie Underwood (that girl is toned!)
- I will forever be aspiring to Jillian Michael’s Abs.
- To be as comfortable with my body shape as Miranda Lambert
- To be as disciplined in my workout plan as any professional athlete
Now it’s your turn. :) Who inspires you and why?
Breakfast at Starbucks
Apparently last night at midnight, Taylor Swift’s title track off of her new album “Red” was released. It’s a huge improvement from We are Never Never Never Ever Ever….Never Getting Back Together (although that’s not saying much..). There’s hope for the rest of the album still! The new song sparked an impromptu dance party while getting ready for school ;)
I almost always make myself a bowl of oatmeal in the morning to have with some coffee and fruit, but today I decided to let Starbucks do the work and order the Perfect Oatmeal. Have you had this stuff? It’s so yummy! Comes in the perfect size to-go cup with some mixed nuts, dried fruits and some brown sugar. I like to swap the brown sugar for some cinnamon and milk instead. So hearty. So warm. So delicious. So Perfect. Whoever named it was spot on.
This is also 100x more nutritious than any Starbucks pastry item for breakfast. No matter how tempting that blueberry crumb muffin might look, it’s full of sugar and fat and nearly 500 calories. The oatmeal, mixed nuts, dried fruit, milk and cinnamon clocks in at 350 calories, with whole grains, fiber, protein, “healthy” fats, and calcium. Pretty obvious winner here ;)
I’m hoping this healthy breakfast pays off with brain power for my first mid-term later this morning!
Marathon Race Crew
Yesterday morning, I volunteered, along with a fun bunch of my fellow track athletes, at our town’s annual marathon. Community service is a requirement for our school’s athletic department, and a marathon seemed like a pretty sweet gig for a distance runner like me to volunteer at! I was stationed at the finish line handing out medals, water bottles and gatorades to the runners.
Hardware!
Watching people young and old come through the finish line after completing 26.2 miles only made me more excited for when I can train for marathons. We stood at the finish line until the very last runner came through, enjoying the beautiful views. No cell service here!
Some of the marathon sponsors had booths set up with free samples. I was SUPER excited to try a new muscle milk: Light Vanilla Latte.
The vendor said it had a hint of chai! I saved it for lunch but was incredibly disappointed that I couldn’t finish one sip – GROSS. :( Just a water bottle for meee please!
I don’t know if us volunteers worked up an appetite from all our cheering or we were just bored. Luckily there was plenty of race fuel sitting around……
All around a good experience but, sounding like a broken record, I would rather be IN THE RACE than on the sidelines. Got to see some very cool and inspiring people cross the finish line. One older man carried his wife across the finish line. A few people got off-course and ended up running 28 miles. There were some pretty wild and fantastic outfits too! Any day that I get to spend in the forest surrounded by people running and challenging themselves is a good day :)
