I made it through finals week!!

This was seriously the toughest week of my college career. Amazingly, I don’t feel like I got dominated by any of my finals! I even made it through Cost Accounting, which I honestly thought would be the death of me. Holla!

Here are a few things that helped get me through:

COFFEE!!! Lots and lots of coffee.

This week, I ate a protein smoothie every single day either for breakfast or lunch. The magical formula contained chocolate protein powder, a scoop of JIF, 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1/2 cup almond milk and lots of ice.

They kept me full for HOURS and blueberries are supposed to be great for memory!

Working out is my number one stress reliever. This week was no exception! I got up early every day to ensure that I got a chance to work out my stress and tension. I saw this workout ^ on Courtney’s blog this week and gave it a try. It was AWESOME.

Nothing tastes better than dark chocolate after a brutally long accounting test

 I couldn’t have made it through this week without a good deal of sleep and relaxation time!

Since I didn’t have my man to snuggle with, our blanket was a decent substitution

Luckily, I did have a pretty awesome light at the end of the tunnel to keep me positive as I struggled through a week of brutal tests…

RYAN GETS HERE TOMORROW!!!!

[The picture above is from a wedding we went to this summer. The hottie in the tangerine colored dress is my big sis ]

Knowing that I would end my finals week with the ultimate reward definitely helped me power through.

I know that I have been totally MIA for the past few months really and I am so sorry! My blog has really taken backseat to school and work this semester.

And unfortunately, I have a feeling that is going to be a common trend for the rest of 2011.

My sister and her hubby get here this week, so I really want to spend the holidays focusing on family, fun, food and relaxing! I have still be reading blogs and plan to continue, but I don’t plan on posting again until at least after Christmas.

I love you guys so much and I hope you have an AMAZINGLY BLESSED Christmas!!! I can’t wait to read about it!

Oh, and remember to keep in mind the real reason for the season!

xoxoxoxo

HI!!!!

I promise I’m still alive even though it’s been a zillion years since my last post.

Unfortunately, I am currently drowning under an enormous pile of accounting textbooks.

Currently, my life consists of eating, sleeping, work, and studying.

It’s SO FUN!

I miss you guys SO much and can’t wait to be done with these stupid finals so we can catch up again. Hopefully I’ll have time for a real post this weekend.

I hope you are having a wonderful week and are enjoying getting ready for Christmas!

Love you!!

Welcome to my second ever WIAW post!

After a week of eating way too much food and way too many treats, my body is definitely in need of some moderation and some nutrients.

I’m trying to get back into a normal, healthy eating pattern for the next few weeks so that I can feel good about indulging a bit during Christmas. So I figured doing a What I Ate Wednesday post would help me stay accountable!

Breakfast (3rd day in a row):

Protein Smoothie!

Blueberries, vanilla protein powder, 1/2 banana, and blackberries. Icy, cold and delicious.

Offset by a hot, foamy almond milk latte.

(Can you tell our Christmas decorations have made an appearance?! I will take pictures and share soon!)

After my first class, I snacked on a Chewy Granola Bar with one of the Jonas Brothers’ faces on it.

And then I went to ChewySuperstar.com.
Ha. Kidding.

Despite the fact that I still eat little kid snacks and pack my lunch in a polka dot lunch box, I really am in college!

Lunch:

Apparently I was still in the mood for breakfast food when I packed my lunch this morning.

Chobani Lemon (aka the best Chobani flavor everrr), 1 cup of Kashi Go Lean, and more blackberries.

Between the protein in the yogurt and the cereal, this kept me full for forever. I didn’t even bust into my midafternoon snack till around 4:30! It consisted of…

Some sugar snap peas and a Laughing Cow cheese wedge.

Since I had a day full of class followed by an entire evening at work, I had to pack up all of my meals and snacks so that I could eat on the go.

Dinner (eaten at work): leftovers.

Pulled chicken with bbq sauce, shredded cabbage w/ lite Asian Sesame dressing, and baked beans.

Looks gross, tasted delicious.

Somehow, I managed to fit all of that food into my awesome lunchbox:

Don’t act like you’re not impressed.

And as exciting as THAT was, I want to share with you the best part of this post: an awesome new workout!

Ryan taught me this workout last week while we were in Tennessee. I immediately loved the fact that you could vary it as much as you want, and make it as hard or as easy as you’re in the mood for.

First, you need one of these.

Ryan does this workout by simply alternating two moves: push ups and crunches. I decided to shake it up a bit and add in a couple more exercises.

For this workout, I decided to target upper body and abdominals.

I designated upper body to black cards, and abdominals to red cards.

Then, I picked the exercises that would target each muscle group: bicep curls and burpees for upper body, and crunches and v-ups for abdominals.

After you pick your exercises, your goal is to work through the entire deck of cards as quickly as possible. Flip a card, and do an exercise specified to the muscle group color for as many reps as are represented by the face value. Jacks, Queens, Kings and Aces all represent 10 reps.

For example, let’s say I draw this card:

I would do 10 crunches. The next time I draw a red card, I would do v-ups.

The goal is to make it through all 52 cards as quickly as possible.

After flipping over 52 cards and doing your 4 exercises nonstop, I can pretty much guarantee that you will work up a sweat!!

I finished the entire deck in under 30 minutes and rounded out my workout with 30 minutes of treadmill intervals. It was a great way to switch up my routine a bit.

It feels good to be back on the wagon of healthy eating and exercise! Anyone else with me?!

Happy Wednesday, my friends!!