What Happens after 4 AM

After my early morning on Thursday, I was pumped for the day. However, I knew it wouldn’t last. I was right. Before leaving for school, I ate this yummy breakfast:

Strawberries and yogurt and a bagel with cream cheese.\

 Then I packed up my belongings and made a stop off at Biff’s app before class to drop them off. I spent the next hour and a half sitting in the most pointless class I have ever taken. I made use of the free time and chatted with my honey on the DL. After another class, Biff and I headed for the picnic tables to enjoy a lunch in the sun.

Tuna and coleslaw. Not pretty, but tasty.

 During my third class of the day, I could feel 4 AM pounding on my eye lids. But I pushed through it and went to play with the poopers at Journey’s End. Our usual sched continued and Biff and I headed back to the app for dinner.

Carrots, apple, and smoked turkey rolls. I planned on eating and nut butter ball with this, but didn't have the room.

 I followed up this light fare (which was actually incredibly filling) and devoured one of Earth Café’s delectable cheesecakes.

Earth Café makes vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, raw “cheesecakes” for health-food lovers like me. They have ten, quite descriptive, flavors. The first one I tried out was the “Who’s Your Daddy” carob mousse cheesecake. Let me start by saying, it was quite tasty. 

Nom nom.

 However, if you hadn’t told me it was cheesecake, I wouldn’t have called it that. The density was definitely more mousse-like than cheesecake-like. I happen to love how dense cheesecake is, so this was a minor disappointment for me. The awesome crust is made of nuts, which were a little salty, but it totally works. I love a little saltiness with my sweet. One of the main ingredients in this cheesecake is coconut butter, which was very evident, but perfect. It was super rich and I could never have finished a whole piece by myself. Luckily, I split it with my bestie. All the yumminess made me super excited to try the other flavors.

Afterward, we decided to mix things up and attend a cultural event on campus. Then we took went for a much-needed trip to Chili’s after a long hiatus.

Beccs and Biff.

Stewmart and I. I looked alot better than I was feeling...

I didn’t order my usual wine because of my bronchial issues, and opted for water instead. I still ate the chips though.

I could seriously eat 2 whole baskets of these.

 Earlier in the night, I realized that I had forgotten some attachments to my nebulizer. Needless to say, I was hacking up a lung by the time I was snuggling into the sheets. Cough medicine had to suffice for the night.

I woke up this (Friday) morning feeling meh and had an un-picture-worthy protein shake for breakfast. Soon after, I chose to go home instead of stay for my weekly Friday meeting. Once home, I noshed on lunch. It was a great deal more exciting than breakfast.

Turkey cucumber sandwich, cooked broccoli, and a horribly bruised, but delightfully juicy pear.

 With my belly full, I took advantage of the beautiful weather by sitting in the sun. Lovely. A nap was in order after soaking up the rays. Later in the evening, mama made a scrumptious and simple dinner of taco salad.

Salad beast with a side of roasted butternut squash.

 Lacking in self-control, I headed to the freezer for another Earth Café cheesecake- Flavor: I Found My Thrill on Blueberry Hill. 

Pretty presentation.

 Magical. Unlike "Who's Your Daddy?", the two main ingredients are blueberries (obvs) and cashews. Surprisingly, I liked it a lot better than the chocolately one. It wasn’t too rich and had the perfect amount of sweetness. The consistency was a little denser than the first one, but still not quite cheesecake-like. No matter. It was splendid. I give it an A+ for sure. It was a perfect top-off to my Mexican dinner.

Tonight is early to bed, because tomorrow is early to rise for Zumba Instructor Training! Wish me luck. Have a fantastic weekend!

Wednesday Recap: Errands and Epitomes

Good morning! It has become evident that the time change has my brain a little screwed up. I’ve been up since 4 AM, and have already studied and done yoga. Waking up early, if I’m not exhausted that is, makes me happy. Although by 9 tonight, I’ll probably be turning into a pumpkin. I’m taking advantage of my early rising to recap Wednesday for you! Without further ado:

I discovered Chocolate-Covered Katie’s blog on Wednesday, which was incredibly mouth-watering. I really think she’s onto something with this chocolate-covered diet. After some perusing, I decided to recreate her Cinnamon Roll Boatmeal (Oatmeal Boat Cake).

Boatmeal with cinnamon dusted nanner, a la Snack-Face.

 To. Die. For. It’s made almost the exact same way as I usually would make oatmeal, but instead it’s baked. Why didn’t I think of that? Kudos to you, Katie.

For the next few hours, I scampered around town, shopping for this and that. Along the way, I stopped to look at men’s wedding bands. Also on this shopping trip, I purchased my first January to December calendar. In doing so I realized a few things:

1) I am about to get married. Every time I think about it, I get butterflies and still can’t believe it. I’ll probably still have the “holy crap” feeling (the good “holy crap”) months after being married.

2) My life, up until this point, has been governed by a school calendar, roughly August to June. This will be the first year that I live like a normal person, and the first year in eighteen years that I haven’t been in school.

3) I only have 57 days until I see the love of my life again. That’s less than two months. I’m stoked.

4) I have only 57 days until I move to a foreign country. This would be an appropriate time for another “holy crap” moment.

With all of these thoughts flying around in my head, I am constantly experiencing a barrage of emotions from excited, to anxious, to sad, to ecstatic. It’s all a part of growing up, and I’m so ready for it.

Once my brain finally settled down, I had a lovely lunch.

Quinoa salad, rots, and cauliflower.

 Following lunch, I spent about an hour on the phone with vital statistics and the Department of State trying to get a certificate proving that I’m not, and never have been, married. Gah. Getting married in another country is not easy friends, let me just forewarn you.

By the time all of that was said and done, it was time for Mons’ band-mates to come over for some pre-church eats. Since they were ordering pizza, I figured I’d make a gluten-free pie for myself. Only problem- my pizza looked like the Himalayas and tasted like a pile of cheesy dough. I ate two slices, just because I made it (not a good enough reason, I assure you). Blegh. Let’s just say the dogs had a rather large Italian dinner, courtesy moi.  

Doughy mess and roasted butternut squash (AKA the only good thing on my plate).

Doggy dinner.

 Can I just say how much I love this time change? The sun is up late making perfect weather for evening walks, which is exactly what I did after dinner. I needed to digest that dough.

The rest of the night was spent cleaning, getting ready for today (Thursday), and assembling wedding invitations. *smiles*. I think today is going to be a really great day. I get to see Biff for the first time in almost two weeks, and I will be devouring Earth Café’s “Who’s Your Daddy” cheesecake for dessert tonight (yes, I plan that far ahead of time). I got a shipment of gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, raw cheesecake in yesterday from EC. Thanks guys! 

5 flavas!

 There are five flavors. I will be “reviewing” every night for the next five nights, thank you very much.

Have a fantastic day, and stay healthy!

4 AM tea words of wisdom:

Thank you, tea. I am aware.

Playing Hooky

Bronchitis is the pits. So is not sleeping. Three hours of sleep, in my humble opinion, is not enough to be expected to participate as a fully functioning member of civilized society. Keeping that in mind, I stayed home from school on Tuesday. Monday night, I used a nebulizer a little too late, which made me feel like I was on crack (not that I know what that's like).

Me and my crack pipe. Just call me Miley Cyrus.

 This resulted in an inability to get to sleep until about 1 AM. Then for some reason, I woke up at around 3 AM feeling sick, most likely due to the combination of vitamins, probiotics, and other get-better supplements taken on an empty stomach. Geez.

So I spent my day lounging around, eating, sleeping, and cleaning. Bo-ring. But, instead of being my usual stir-crazy self, I felt completely ok with being a bump on a log. Major indication of sickness in my case. So I'm rolling with it. I figure, the more of a break I give my body, the faster I'll be in the clear. Here are some of today's eats:

Yogurt, flax, pear, almonds, and dried cranberries. Yum.

Chopped salad and cottage cheese with blueberry jam.

Chicken soup dinner

My Biff and creator of Fashionably Plate, on the other hand, had a fantastic day! I just want to take this time to congratulate her on her acceptance into Northwestern University! I am so proud. All of her hard work paid off. Well deserved.

Another side note, a fellow blogger, Gillian Young, is hosting a giveaway to help out with the tragedy in Japan. By donating a dollar or more to the Red Cross, you can win some goodies from Gillian! Here's the link to Confessions of a Young Woman.

I've obviously had time to browse the web today and find a few interesting reads. Have a look-see:

7 Unhealthy Foods Masquerading as Healthy
How to be Hot
Avocado Lime Fro-Yo

Tomorrow promises to be another unproductive day. Gotta find some blog-spiration.

Positively Pitiful

I know this post is a teensy bit late, but honestly, I couldn’t get around to it until now. Such has been the nature of this weekend. Usually, a post that encompasses 4 days worth of life wouldn’t fit into one post. But, since most of my weekend was spent sleeping, this won’t be a problem.

Friday:

On Friday, Mumsy and Mons were out. I woke up at 7 AM, a reasonable hour for me under normal circumstances, and got busy with my day-today doings. 

Bagel with cream cheese and a grapefruit.

 I went to the craft shop for some wedding do-dads, then to The Pub for some ingredients to make this bad boy

Quinoa Salad

• 1 cups cooked quinoa
• 1/2 bunch green onions, chopped
• 2-3 celery stalks, chopped
• 3/4 cup of almonds, chopped
• 1/3 cups dried cranberries
• 1/8 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 6 oz. shredded cheese
• 1/2 can of beans of choice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves pressed
• 3 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1-2 tsp cumin

Mix it all up and enjoy!

Quinoa salad topped with parsley, cyooks, carrots, and a sliced boiled egg.

 So tasty, and perfect for a springtime lunch, or a party dish!

Then, like an idiot and completely ignoring my health, I did some strength training and Zumba. Stupid idea. I am convinced that the hour that I spent draining my body of every last ounce of energy catapulted me into full-blown bronchitis. Yikes! No fun. The rest of the night was spent hacking and regretting my earlier decision to choose fitness over health. Hello!! Ashley, what happened to all that stuff about “Listen to your body,” and, “Lead a balanced life?” Way to go. Self-critique aside, I have acknowledged the error of my ways and have taken a vow of laziness until I am well again.

Later, I had breakfast for dinner, albeit a “different” breakfast.

GF sausage, biscuit with jam, sliced apple, and apple/Cheddar quesadilla (sounds weird, but so good).

I ended up going to sleep incredibly early due to my mom’s urging and her claims that I was “looking pitiful (code for “You look like crap and need some sleep”).”

Saturday:

I slept WAY in until 9:30 and then came up with a new creation I like to call Oatmeal Hotcakes.

Plentiful

Then the fam continued our fairly consistent Saturday morning movie-going ritual. There was a debate between The Adjustment Bureau and Red Riding Hood. Amanda Seyfried won out in the end. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, although it was a little Twilight-y. No matter, it was a nice twist to the classic fairy tale.

After movie time, we traipsed over to the house-warming party for a friend of mine. Thirty minutes of chatting had me exhausted, and Mama took a good look at me and said, “You look pitiful. It’s time to go.” I came home and plopped right down in my bed where I stayed for the next 3 hours. All you need to know about the rest of Saturday night was as follows: Woke up. Ate Dinner. Watched TV. Went back to bed.

Sunday:

Sickness aside, Sunday was awesome. It began with a filling breakfast…

Over med eggs on torts with slices strawbeezies on the side.

…followed by yoga, which is supposed to be good for bronchitis. I am not very into yoga under normal circumstances, buti t made me feel surprisingly relaxed. I think might started yoga-ing it up more often.

Before Mama, Mons, and I left for our adventure, I noshed one some naturally cough-relieving foods:

Gigantic apple and almonds

Finally, we 3 musketeers headed over to O-Town (Orlando) for Wicked! 

Sixties-inspired sheath dress. $8 at TJ Maxx.

Mama, got us tickets for Christmas and we’ve been dying to see it ever since. We made a day out of it by stopping off at the Mall at Millenia before the show. While we were there, we dived into some Chinese fare at P.F. Chang’s, or Chang’s, as I so lovingly refer to it.

Large bowl of brown rice and chicken lettuce wraps.

Mons with her gluten food.

Luscious chocolate dome split three ways.

I thought this fortune was incredibly appropriate.

  I ate entirely too much food. So much, in fact, that I felt as if I would burst. I never eat until I’m stuffed anymore, and this experience reminded me why. Lord, help me.

With way too full of bellies, we headed to the Bob Carr to see the shizzy! 

 

 I’ve performed several songs from Wicked, so it’s a show that’s especially near-and-dear to my heart. I’ve been wanting to see it for so long, and I wasn’t at all disappointed. It was absolutely uh-mazing. 

And so begins the series of blurry pics...

Glinda was hilarious, Elpheba had a breath-taking voice, the costumes were gorgeous, and the set was so realistic. I really loved it.

Monday: Slept in. Ate. Errands. Ate. Mama said I looked pitiful and had dark under-eye circles. Napped.

Future plans are: Eat chicken soup. Watch TV. Sleep again.

I know, I know. I’m positively pitiful.