Here's the quick version of this post:
- I got a new job in a research lab on campus!
- I love sweet potatoes and steel cut oats!
- Today is the last day of my month without sugar!!
If you're sticking around for the longer version, here it is.
Here's what I love to eat.
1. Cauliflower (butter-free!) macaroni and cheese and baked eggplant. Everyone needs a friend like my friend Dave to have healthy cooking parties with. We suggest using a little less mustard, and little more cheese. It really doesn't need that much more though!
2. Spinach salad with Sweet Potato Black Bean burger. If you follow me on Pinterest you've seen me post this, but I finally made it and its pretty good. I wish it were a little more sweet potato-y but it's fantastic with some salsa.
3. Omelette made with the burger from above, some spinach, green onions, and garlic. The cool thing about that burger is it doesn't use any eggs, so you can use the mixture even if you haven't baked it.
4. Steel cut oats with peanut butter with a glass of milk. This stuff is the sustenance of my life. It has enough carbs and protein to help me make it through my morning classes and gym time. Cook your oats in milk rather than water. We could all use some extra calcium and it tastes better.
I also love making breakfast smoothies out of things like nuts, nut butter, soymilk, bananas, strawberries, flaxseed, wheat germ, etc. They have lasting power and healthy fat! Yay!
I'm working on my next food goal, suggestions are more than welcome.
Here's what I love to do.
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| Joe meticulously building a plaster mold. |
I really just spend most my time doing homework. Or researching o-rings for Work. Or making smoothies at Other Work.
Here's how I love the Rec.
Diversity and gym buddies! That's my key to loving the gym. I also have a locker for the semester and left my make up and my good razor in there, so if I want to semi-decent, I have to go to the gym. This only sometimes works.
A couple suggestions for helping you love the gym:
- Have a plan. Or at least half a plan. I try to lift on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and do cardio and flexibility on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. It helps me keep myself more balanced instead of doing whatever I feel like when I show up.
- Get help. If you don't know what you're doing (like me) get help, so your workout's worthwhile. There's a million apps, trainers, internet ideas, or even just friends that can help you out.
- Sign up for a class or go to a class. You work out so much harder, they teach you what to do and it gives you a reason to show up.
- Gym buddies. Ok, I started out HATING to go to the gym with people. I was self-conscious that I was sweaty or couldn't lift enough or wanted to watch silly movies on my ipod while running on the treadmill. But here's the deal. Everybody's sweaty. So find someone to meet you at the gym, encourage you, and give you a reason to want to go to gym. And hey, maybe you'll learn something new!
- Diversity. I hate doing the same thing over and over. For a cardio day I might go swimming or do intervals on an elliptical or take a cycling class. For the lifting days I sometimes just lift or go to a core strengthening class or rock climb or use my Nike Training app to put something together. For flexibility I go to a yoga class or do old dance warm ups.
Here's how I'm learning to love people.
I don't really have a picture for this one, sorry visual friends.
One of my goals this semester was to learn to be more selfless and loving. I'm at this point in my life where it's so easy to get caught up in myself. I'm in college, living with one roommate who's equally as busy as me, and life's really just all about me. But I've learned its a really miserable way to live.
Starting in January, I added "being more loving" and "looking for ways to put others before myself" to my daily prayers. Then, whenever I caught myself thinking something selfish, I tried to throw it out the window, and replace it with something less selfish/more loving/more responsible, etc.
I also did a little bit of research on the web and at the library. Most of those return results for marriage help, but that advice is really pretty good to apply to yourself in general.
I also try my hardest to keep all my commitments.
Example:
Our trash bins at my house were quite full, but didn't get taken to the curb on Tuesday (aka Garbage Day). My first thought was, "How come Roommate didn't take the garbage out today?! Didn't she realize how full it was?" And then suddenly this ridiculous in my head. Don't I live in the house too? Why didn't I take out? I set my alarm to go off early enough next Tuesday to get the trash out. This same concept applies to dishes, cleaning bathrooms, anything.
About the commitment part. Showing up is half of caring about people. Last night I was watching a friend's basketball game at the Rec. An older man showed up with his racquetball gear, headband and all. I overheard him tell someone he had reservation for the court at 8 with a friend. Eight o clock rolled by. At 8:15 I saw him checking his watch. Then slowly he took off his gear, packed up his bag, lingered a few minutes longer, then put his coat on and left. I don't know why exactly, but I felt so bad. He had looked so excited, and then so disappointed when his friend didn't show. I don't want to make anyone feel like that.
These are sort of silly examples, but this has really been a great thing to work on in all aspects of my life. It's all about understanding or just doing rather than blaming. In dealing with classmates, professors, coworkers, friends, anyone. And it's been sort of a hard thing to improve on. I was never an evil people-hater, but it's taken a month for me to really start seeing changes and effects. If you make the effort, people will reciprocate. I'm just barely starting to see the effects, and it's so much better.
There ya go. In honor of Valentine's Day, go out and love a little better!
Love,
A
