what I've been up to

I know, I know. I was on a roll last week but I fell off the wagon. Want to know what I've been up to?

Ancho-coffee rubbed steak with sweet potato fries and a mixed greens salad with walnuts, dried cherries, and goat cheese. Yeah, Dad, I make savory dishes too!

My first landscape well...ever. My first painting ever. It's a 3 ft. x 5 ft. flat. Pretty stoked about the mountains, not gonna lie, even if they're a little too blue.

Running to a sweet new selection of music. If you see me walking around campus seemingly rapping to myself and doing my quintessential DJ mime hand dance, I'm most likely jamming to "Yes" by LMFAO.


Senior parents weekend is now only a day and a half away! Not only am I excited to rage with my parents, but I'd like to update my blog photo, which is from my brother's Junior parents weekend two years ago. I think I'll need to fast since I'm anticipating eating particularly well this weekend...

the biggest cry baby

Yesterday I just got pummeled by my cold. With high hopes of going for a run, I wore my running clothes all day, only to have a terrible chill come over me during my last class. I went home and took my temperature and officially admitted to having a fever.

Unfortunately, that meant that I had to skip my personal training class. I wasn't too devastated since I couldn't even fathom unwrapping the cocoon I had made around me with the super fuzzy blanket in our living room, but I decided that watching The Biggest Loser would be an adequate substitute. Who better to teach me how to be a personal trainer than Jillian and Bob?

Now, I'm not a die hard fan of The Biggest Loser, but if I ever see it on TV I definitely stop and watch it. I love watching these people push 25 ton train cars and lug huge sandbags across a beach so that their team can have access to the gym for the week. The only problem with The Biggest Loser is that whenever I watch it, I am unfailingly reduced to a big weepy mess.

Seriously though, I'm not usually a crier. I can specifically count the five times I cried last year, and one of them was while watching The Biggest Loser. I tend to thwart my ability to cry by over-thinking and rationalizing situations, but I'm always inexplicably moved to tears when 430 lb. men lose 20 lbs. in a week and finally realize that they are getting their lives, happiness, and health back through exercise and eating right. Not only that, but this season is called "Couples", and it's actually teams of one parent and one child. I'm pretty sure that's what gets the water works going. When these overweight dads are on the ranch with their daughters and say, "I'm doing this so I can be there to walk my daughter down the aisle." I'm just reminded that health is the key to living a full and happy life, but I'm also moved by the pure will power it takes to make huge lifestyle changes like eating healthfully and incorporating exercise into your daily routine. No one can make you exercise, and no one can make you eat right. It always boils down to your own will power and self-control. And when these people find that and realize that, I think that's the most amazing thing in the world.

So make fun of me all you want, but I think that everyone on The Biggest Loser is a huge inspiration, and I'm going to keep on crying because I'm just so damn proud of them. But if I keep up with this season, I'm probably going to need to invest in a Costco-sized pack of Kleenex. 

the more you know

Where does the time go?

I realized yesterday that the Holy Half Marathon is only 8 and a half weeks away. What?!?! I mentioned this to my co-worker and he asked me, "how far is a half marathon?" I replied, "thirteen point one miles." We got chatting about the race and he said, "Did you know that the marathon is 26.2 miles because when they first ran it in London, they wanted it to finish in front of the Queen's box?" Since I have done a little research about marathon history I told him that I thought it was simply the distance between Marathon and Athens.

In order to settle our little dispute we went to the knower of all things - Google. There we found that we were both right.  Yes, the marathon is in fact commemorative of the fabled run of Pheidippides from Marathon to Athens, but that's only about 25 miles. At the 1908 Olympics in London, they added 1.2 miles to the course so that they could use the Royal Entrance as the marathon tunnel and the runners would cross the finish line right in front of the Royal Box.

That being said, I have to get back to training. I've taken a much needed break from regular running - due to the slump  and the frigid conditions - only venturing out maybe three times a week. Thursday is supposed to be  56°F here, so my plan is to get out for a solid run after my interview (Yeah, for a real job. That's what's up). There's also a little 5k happening on campus Sunday which is the perfect opportunity for me to get back into the swing of racing. Remember when I was so excited to be running in the snow? Yeah, honeymoon's over. Get me back into shorts and long sleeves.  Or on a beach. I'll be happy either way.

lovely

Just a quick post about lovely things.

I saw this slideshow of couples throughout all stages of life and I wanted to share it. I am by no means the biggest Valentine's Day fan, but this warmed my heart. And the photos are great to boot.

Today is also lovely because South Bend was a tropical 39° this morning, soI decided to bust out my bike for the first time in months. I have a serious love affair with my bike, and I was elated cruising around campus on my unabashedly summery bike, even though the melting snow mountains made for a lot of muddy water splatter on my backpack. But nothing's lovelier than riding your bike straight up to your classroom building and not having to deal with on-campus parking. Seriously.

There it is in all of its white and lime green glory. I love it so much more than the person who left their's buried in a snow mound with only one wheel... 

Last lovely thing: I was greeted at home by a Valentine's care package from my mother with the loveliest apron in it. And biscotti. Tonight I may just eat the biscotti while wearing my apron, but soon enough I'll get around to baking something lovely in my lovely apron. Maybe this.

nova lox and Gorilla coffee

Sunday morning - alright, afternoon - has become one of the best times of my week. Three weeks ago, an Einstein Bros. Bagels opened just a hop skip and a jump away from my apartment,  and I have since become a regular patron of this fine establishment.

I was amped to try Einstein since I had recently been hit with the painfully specific craving for the savory deliciousness of an everything bagel with plain cream cheese. Upon walking in, I was overwhelmed by the bustling morning crowd, but while waiting in line I decided to peruse the menu and see what they had going on in the way of breakfast sandwiches. And then I saw it, glowing like the Griswold family Christmas tree on the menu board - Nova Lox Bagel. It was almost too good to be true. Cured salmon atop an open-faced ET bagel with a thin layer of cream cheese on each side and a couple rings of red onion.

This morning was the third Sunday in a row that I have had a Nova Lox Bagel for brunch (?) and it is still just as good as it was three weeks ago. I go to bed on Saturday nights with my mouth watering in anticipation for my Sunday morning splurge, but it still always surprises me when I go to take another bite and realize that I've already finished the entire thing.

Now this morning's bagel routine was accompanied by my "New Thing" for the weekend. A friend I encountered at a bar last weekend told me that he reads my blog, and in order to support that it was in fact my blog that he was reading he said, "Yep, 'Coffee for Lunch'". The way he said it just got me thinking about the name of the blog and the fact that I've really only ever written one post about coffee. In my defense, in my first post ever I mention that the blog is a reference to my limited budget while studying abroad, but I think it's time to give another shout out to the one thing that makes me a functional and relatively pleasant human being.

Over winter break, I was introduced to Gorilla Coffee "From a little town called Brooklyn". It was one of the best cups of coffee I had had in a very long time, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and get some for my daily enjoyment. It finally arrived in the mail, and I thought nothing would complement my nova lox bagel like my second cup of Gorilla coffee. But wait! It gets better! I'm a little ashamed admitting this, but for the self-proclaimed coffee connoisseur I am, I have never had coffee made in a French press. Until today. I ground the beans, loaded them into the little contraption, let it steep, and seven minutes later had a deliciously steamy cup of Brooklyn goodness. Yes, it's a bit high maintenance for everyday use given that I have to boil the water on the stove, let it brew, and then press the grounds out instead of just loading them into a filter and then pressing a button on my automatic machine, but it's well worth it on a lazy Sunday.

Bottom line: Next Sunday can't come fast enough. That bagel is already calling my name...

A little taste of my Sunday morning.

what to do, what to do...

I mentioned yesterday Monday (my problem in action) that I have recently found myself in a pickle. A priority pickle if you will. It may seem like a high quality problem, but I'm a hard worker by nature, and I hate letting others - let alone myself - down.

The problem goes a little something like this...(I have a feeling that Liza is starting to sing Aaron's Party in her head)


This semester has brought along some sweet perks. Fun classes! Three day weekends! No rehearsal! The wonder of Flying Dog Ales! But one thing that's missing from this list is the much anticipated free time I was so looking forward to. Even though I'm currently not training for a race, working on a show, or being bombarded by schoolwork, there still never seem to be enough hours in the day, and the weeks fly by faster than I can even mentally register. (Hence my mix-up above.)

The vicious cycle starts on Sunday night when I'm sitting in bed writing out my list of things I need to do that week while watching The Best Thing I Ever Ate, harnessing all of my willpower not to get up and drive to Avon, CO and get some sweet potato fries at Beano's Cabin. The list begins admirably with a note to send an e-mail to a potential job contact, then I remind myself that I need to book flights for spring break (both things completed now). I then look around my room and realize that my overflowing hamper is starting to take over the floor of my room, and I remember that the recycling is doing the same thing in the laundry room, so I begrudgingly write "LAUNDRY!!! and recycling..."

The next morning while I'm working on a paper I get a note from my dad saying, "finding a job needs to be your first priority, something that you work on everyday." I'm feeling a bit chastised, since I'm pretty dedicated to the job hunt but was also under the impression that as a full-time student my first priority should be my schoolwork. I mindlessly click over to my Facebook after my little pity party and am reminded of the post saying that I'm "off my blogging game." Ouch. I then find my list from the night before and add "BLOG" to the bottom.

Off to class. Quick run post-class to clear my head and take advantage of the 30° weather. (According to weather.com, it's technically 7° right now, but feels like -10°...) Then the grocery store and home to cook dinner. I drop in to catch up with the roommates and I tell them I'm going to blog so I can't hang out and watch The Bachelor. They're so excited that I have to say, "It's hilarious that I spend most of my waking hours with you guys and you still like reading about it in my blog." They reply, "We just like to read about it! Give us a shout out!" (Mags, Ali, and Kait, you are now officially shouted out, and I hope to do more of it in the future.)

Therein lies my problem. It's unquestionable that I need to find a job. But I won't be a desirable employee if I don't pass second semester senior year and thus don't graduate. On the other end of the spectrum, I want to be social and hang out with my friends, but they seem to want me to blog. But then I need to find time in my day so that I can do things that are interesting enough to blog about. It's a sad state of affairs when I'm brainstorming blog ideas and I write down "Grocery Store Receipt - sweet potatoes, Nutella, and apples".

Yes, that was my actual receipt from Monday and on my list of blog ideas. I have no idea why I thought that would be interesting to write about.

 This could all be stemming from the rapidly approaching May 22nd, and that looming feeling that this will all be over soon. I hate thinking that way, but when it feels like everything is just slipping by, it's hard to stop and soak it all in. New Goal: Live like I told myself to live ten months ago.

New Things: Hot Yoga

February Resolution #1: Stop starting blog entries with apologies for not blogging.

After Hot Yoga, a coffee date, and hanging out all afternoon with Kenzie, she opens up her computer, clicks a couple of times, looks at me and says, "You're becoming one of those 'once a week' bloggers." I reply (with a tinge of sass) "I'm sorry, I know you like to be updated on the everyday events of my life. I'll just leave now and go write about hanging out with you."

I'll try and hold you all over with a little recap of Hot Yoga, but tomorrow I'll give you a far more in depth exploration of my current life conundrum: Everything needs to be my first priority.


But that's for tomorrow.


Hot Yoga at Solace Yoga in Mishawaka was a sweet "New Thing" for my New Things Weekends. I woke up and started pounding water since my roommate Melissa told us that "Hot" means that the room is between 100°F and 104°F, and it was definitely necessary. We arrived at the brand new studio, paid our drop in fee (student discount!), ogled at the well appointed locker room, and grabbed ourselves a spot in the immaculate studio.

While the workout is not as obviously intense as a Jillian Michaels workout, I did hear her catch phrases like "Finish strong!" and "Don't phone this one in!" ringing in my head when I was trying to hold some of my poses. Hot Yoga was also a feat of endurance - an hour and a half of yoga in a 100°F room definitely takes a toll on your body, and even the shirtless tattooed yogi guy (totally ripped might I add) seemed to be feeling it by the end.  The instructor was also great because she definitely threw around phrases like "gather all of the energy in the room", "salute the sky", and "send out your positive thoughts", but she didn't make us take time out so she could ring Tahitian bells over our crown chakras (yeah they're a real thing).

Bottom line of Hot Yoga is that I'll definitely be back, but I'll have to remember to bring a towel so that I can towel off my sweaty hands and feet in order to hold my down dog. And since I never had to invest in a foam roller (thanks Mom for the best surprise ever!) I think that money might be going towards a sweet yoga mat.