obsessed

let me introduce you to my phone. fondly known as "the blueberry" - because it's a wannabe blackberry. blueberry's only capabilities are phone calls + texts. but not picture texts. and certainly no internet. well, i was completely content with blueberry...


but then verizon got the iPhone. and i've been holding off for almost 3 months since its release. but between a quarter-life crisis + upgrade eligibility... my willpower went out the window


and suddenly i don't know how i used to function without it. i mean, how could i possibly have gone to the gym without being able to stream episodes of scrubs on netflix? imagine, i used to watch the gym tv. and have to settle with whatever was on. completely absurd, i know. the netflix app even tells my netflix at home where i stopped during an episode so i can pick right back up during lunch. AMAZING.

and now i can take pictures of my cat whose hair is finally coming back after that tragic haircut i gave her.
and i can document my love of wednesday mornings. because you can't beat overnight oats + the weekly grocery store ads. i'll pause now while you laugh at the fact that i am a 40 year old soccer mom hiding in the body of a 23 year old.

and i could go on and on and on, but let's face it, i'm just now realizing what everyone else has been enjoying for years. i remember being at a study group at baylor, and all my friends reached for their phones. i was like "what? did i miss a text?" - they all laughed at me and told me baylor had just sent a mass-email. embarassing. well, i've finally caught up.

galvy

in exactly 4 months, i'll be starting med school orientation. people keep asking me if i'm "excited" - i always say, "i'm not sure i'd say excited, but i am warming up to the idea.." -- i am excited to be moving forward with my life, have my own place, and be more of a grown-up; i'm not excited about being shackled to studying. especially when i've had so much free time to cook, work-out, and play. but hey, that's life. and i certainly don't want to work at my current minimum-wage job forever, so i'll deal.

ANYWAY, that wasn't the point of the post. the point was that i went to galveston today with my dad to apartment hunt! i had been down last summer to look, so i knew what was there, but this time we were looking to sign. and luckily, we were successful! i signed on a one bedroom/one bath apartment within walking distance of campus. and while the building itself is old, thanks to hurricane ike, the entire inside has been renovated! new appliances, countertops, tile, carpet, cabinets, etc. the only disadvantage is no washer/dryer :( -- when i saw the laundry room with the coin-operated washer/dryers i had flashbacks to dorm-life freshman year! oh well - it is worth the trade-off for being so incredibly close to campus! AND my friend Yara is living in the same complex! i'm sure she will be banging on my door & forcing me to class every so often!

we did get to drive through campus on the way-in and way-out, and i got super excited seeing everyone in scrubs and white coats! i think finally signing on an apartment and getting a move-in date makes it feel a lot more real! i fully intended on taking my camera but forgot - so google/images will have to do...

1. loved seeing the white coats everywhere :) - i get mine august 21st!

2. aerial shot of campus

3. another aerial shot - utmb is in the far left corner. apparently the WORST thing about going to UTMB is that you can see the cruise ships coming and going (as you can see in the left corner) from campus... that is going to be such torture!

4. just a pretty building on campus :)

anyway, i'm off to lounge + do nothing now in preparation for august :)

routine

so after 2 weeks of waking up when i please, lounging around, and getting little to nothing accomplished, i decided that my life was in dire need of some structure. i hate to admit it, but i love routine. it makes the days predictable and productive.

since i wasn't in school this year, i never bothered to buy a day-planner. so instead, i went online and printed off a calendar. i have tons of appointments and things i need to get accomplished before med school (only 4 months away), so i decided it was time to start chipping away at that list. nothing says fun like eye appointments, car inspections, and hunting for next year's housing...

anyway, i'm happy to report that the calendar is working already! this morning i did the first half of my TB test (i had to wait 25 minutes in the waiting room for a 15 second visit with the nurse: annoying). but hey! that's one more thing i can cross off the list.

i'm also making myself wake up with an alarm clock. i've been getting up at 7:30am, eating breakfast, enjoying the today show & my coffee, and then going to the Y. today i went to a really good spin class. want to hear the best part? i looked over at the guy next to me, and i assumed he accidently spilled his water bottle all over the floor. then i realized he didn't have a water bottle. and that he was sweating so much that he had formed a massive puddle on the floor. granted, it is a sweat-tastic class, but that just can't be normal!

anyway, after the Y, the TB test, and a trip to the grocery store, it was time for lunch!



on the plate: sandwich thin topped with a spicy black bean burger, spinach, and ketchup with a side of strawbs, broc + ranch, and blueberry chobani for dessert! yummmm.

deals and meals

this week we got some great coupon offers in the mail, both to stores i don't generally frequent. however, the offers were too good to pass up, so i thought i'd give it a shot.

• first up: sports authority. land of the incredibly overpriced activewear that i can buy for 1/2 the price at marshalls. well, let me tell you, i hit the lotto here today. i found these nike shorts, originally priced at $28. sports authority had them "on sale" for $21.98. combine that with the $15 "instant-cash" coupon, and i walked out with these for a mere $7.56. that's a savings of 75% (pre-tax). WIN.

• next stop: kohl's. i have a major issue with this store because you never know the price of an item until you price check them. every single item in the store is on some sort of sale, but good luck because the signs don't match up with the items. anyway, complaints aside, i scored big-time here as well. i picked up this travel mug (originally priced $9.99, marked down to $7.99) and card ($2.49) -- i decided it was time to invest in a travel mug since i'm going to be hooked on a caffeine IV come august. and i needed a birthday card as well. my subtotal was $10.52 with tax. i had a $10 cash-reward. i paid $0.52. yes, that's right: fifty-two cents.

anyway, all that deal-hunting worked up an appetite. i came home and whipped this up to enjoy along with an episode of GLEE! on the plate: sandwich (turkey, french onion laughing cow cheese, spinach, & whole wheat sandwich thin), carrots & ranch (i make my own ranch using light sour cream & a ranch packet), and fruit salad (grapes, oranges, & strawberries

is it weird that i post food pics? - my friend Diana got me hooked on a few healthblogs, and they document EVERY SINGLE MEAL. i'm not that crazy, but i do like to share when they are so pretty + colorful :)

happy friday!!!!

fast food

i agreed to ride along to a doctor's appointment with my mom this afternoon. since we were in a rush, she asked me if i wanted to eat out - being the crazy person i am, i said no. instead, i threw together this little feast in about 5 minutes.

on the plate: PB2 slatered on a toasted, whole wheat sandwich thin with a side of broccoli, yellow pepper, & ranch. and chobani peach yogurt for dessert! yummm.

unemployment update

so in my spare time lately...

• i've taken on the role of head-chef at my house. which includes meal-planning, grocery shopping, and meal-preparation. i've relegated my mom to sous-chef & dishwasher. LOVING IT. i'm perfecting recipes and trying out new ones all the time! so fun! i took on the challenge of replicating the couscous salad at my favorite meditteranean restaurant -- SUCCESS. it is SO good.


• i've become addicted to GLEE! - why do i always wait until the 3rd season to start watcing a show? -- my family got netflix though, so i've been knocking out 3 or 4 episodes a day... obsessed


• houston humidity and heat have set-in, so i've semi-given up on outdoor running for the time being... and since i absolutely can't run on a treadmill, i'm switching to p90x, group exercise classes, and the gym (last resort) -- 2 days of p90x, and my thighs are SO sore. i guess when they market something as a "shread," that should probably be a clue...


• in a continuing effort to healthify my favorite foods, i stumbled upon PB2 - a powdered peanut butter that contains 85% less fat and 1/4 of the calories of regular peanut butter! you may not find this exciting, but you have to understand that i'm one of those crazies that may very well choose peanut butter if forced to eat only one thing the rest of my life. seriously. i'm that obsessed. but PB2 is great - you can either mix it with water to make regular peanutbutter, or you can just add a scoop to smoothies, etc - SO YUMMM.

hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

an unlikely couple

so i've spent numerous hours lately skimming health blogs. in an attempt to be more health-conscious, i've been seeking out ways to "healthify" various recipes. today, as a baker and chocoholic, i set out to make a satisfying dessert. the result: chocolate chip fudge brownies. now you're asking yourself, how could this possibly be even moderately healthy? well, shockingly, they are. and they only require TWO ingredients:why yes, those are black beans. crazy? i thought the same. but it really works! all you do is drain & rinse a can of black beans. throw the beans back in the can. fill the can with water just so the top of the beans are covered. puree the watery bean mix (i magic bullet-ed it). stir into dry brownie mix (omitting the usual eggs/oil/water). sprinkle in chocolate chips if desired. bake according to the instructions but monitor the timing. mine took less time than expected.

The result: dense, fudgy, chocolatey goodness! My sister and I both thought they tasted like Cosmic Brownies: TOTALLY ridiculous. and tasty.

why hello life

so now that i've quit my day job (literally) & only work at the Y two nights a week, i've been showered with hours upon hours of free time. loving the freedom, not missing the commute, but still trying to figure out how to structure my days so that i'm semi-productive.

so far, that has taken the form of:

1) laying in bed, eating breakfast, & watching the today show

2) working out: spinning yesterday + jogging today

3) getting ready. as in, shower + lounge clothes + NO make-up

4) making a colorful lunch... houston decided to be extra nice out today, so i ate poolside. too cold to swim but just right for sitting outside!

5) talking to/harassing the cat. and for those of you who asked, no, it was not an april fools joke. i really did shave her, and she seems rather pleased with herself. my sister went so far as to say "she has more self-confidence" - i think that's pushing it, but... i shaved her because she is a long-haired cat and her fur gets matted when it gets too long -- and apparently it costs $60 for a professional. i'm sorry, but i only pay 1/4th of that for my OWN haircut. definitely not spending that kind of cash on the cat

5) afternoon time: the gap between 1-4pm is kind of awkward. and here is where i need YOUR input. i feel like this is the time where i need a productive activity/hobby/other. yesterday i knocked out my laundry + today i cleaned the kitchen, but stuff like that gets old after awhile. of course, i've thrown in naps both days, but i feel like i'm just wasting time before i need to start dinner. any suggestions of things to do would be much appreciated!

6) cooking dinner followed by either working at the Y or hanging out with my family. it's good i live at home, or else i'm pretty sure i would go psychotic sitting in an apartment all alone all day + night. today my sister and i went to walmart & then my dad (the engineer) rigged up a double tea kettle that would allow the tea to brew while staying warm. genius.

7) lay in bed + blog + surf the web. but let's be honest: that happens like 8 times during the day.

8) going to sleep + NOT setting an alarm clock. now that's all sorts of glorious.

anyway, it's crazy going from working 41 hours a week to 6. i think i'm probably experiencing the same shock people do who retire. it's nice having time to do things, but it is hard coming up with things to do. i definitely want to maximize this time because i'm only months away from ZERO freetime for the next decade, so... like i said, any suggestions are more than welcome :)

baldy

so last night i decided to shave my cat:

i've clearly missed my calling as a pet groomer...