Love and Other Shenanigans
By Tamika Whitenack
There isn't actually going to be any romantic love in this post, in case you were getting excited. Romantic love is really just not part of my life, unless you count the fact that my daydreams about future life with kiddos baking/dancing in the kitchen probably implies a romantic partner.
But all that aside, this post is still full of love! I am full of love and happiness and all that good stuff and I will share some of the reasons why this is so in my life.
My exercise regimen this semester is awesome! I was really quite nervous about returning the cold north, and feared that I was not going to get adequate running or exercise. But it was in vain. It really hasn't been that cold, first of all. Secondly, I've been incorporating more varied workout types and am feeling very good about it! A typical week for me looks like this: Monday-Pilates, Yoga (small treadmill run?); Tuesday-midlength run outside; Wednesday-Pilates, treadmill run/workout, swimming; Thursday-run outside, noncontact boxing, Friday-run outside; Saturday-long run outside; Sunday-hike/swim/gym/run depending on circumstances. My quality of runs has greatly increased because I've started regularly running with one of my running friends on Tues, Thurs, and Sat, which makes the runs much more enjoyable even if we go on the same routes (plus, this new residential area thing is a good change! i'll probably tire of it by the end of the semester but for now its still new and exciting!). Additionally, a life-changing discovery has been the use of treadmill time for talking to friends! I spoke with Jae-An on Sunday and FaceTimed Miya today, and it makes the treadmill time pass by so much quicker! And I can even keep up a decent pace, so it doesn't compromise the workout. Of course, I'm quite pleased with this because it is an efficient multi-tasking thing that combines exercise + friends so is all around a good situation. One last note about the treadmill, for anyone else stuck indoors and looking for workout advice. I highly suggest utilizing the incline feature to maximize your workout, one of my typical progressions will be gradually increase the incline, gradually increase the pace as I decrease the incline, gradually decrease the pace. I find this sequence to be effective at providing a good workout but not too strenous (I simultaneously increased incline and pace once and that felt too much like a real workout and not just some fun and games exercise). I suggest increasing every 30-60 sec, depending on how long you want the workout to be.
Alright, enough chit chat about the exercise. Now onto another love of my life, food! I've been thinking it would be a fun blog post if I just tell you everything that is in my fridge, so get ready for the comprehensive inventory of what is in (and on top of) my fridge.
On top we have:
water filter + tea kettle
pretzels
raisins and dried cranberries
smaller raisins
peanut butter
driep apricots
banana chips
a banana
a zucchini
an apple (my roommate's)
a beet
sunflower seeds
Inside, we have:
almond butter
a lemon, partially bald
a lime with a wedge cut out
coconut milk
scallions and cilantro
coconut oil
almond milk
greek yogurt
coconut yogurt
low-fat milk
4 bosc pears
2 other pears
2 apples
2 oranges
some roast beets
some roast sweet potato slices
cucumber slices and cherry tomatoes
broccoli
lemon wedges (my roommate's)
frozen bluberries
applesauce
leftover pasta with tomato sauce
leftover roast onions and roast bell pepper
Well, doing a full inventory makes me realize I've really got quite a bit of stuff! But if you've ever seen our fridge at home, I'm sure you understand where this is coming from. Plus, since I'm blogging in the morning this will surely go down by the evening, as I plan to take some of that food to eat for my lunch and will use some of it in baking this afternoon (attempting vegan vanilla cupcakes!). That said, I didn't even start to share the stash of snacks I have in a box under my bed...hehehe. That will be another post. Anyhoo, as you can see, I continued to surround myself with food which makes me happy. Hurrah!
Other reasons for warm fuzzy feelings: class is fun! This is less of a warm fuzzy feeling and more of a general brain satisfaction thing I guess, but still a source of yay. Both sociology and environmental studies are just engaging and enjoyable, and I love learning and really caring about what I'm learning. But I also just like learning regardless of the material, so biology and Spanish are fun too, if less exciting. (Still really liking Spanish, it's just less new and interesting than sociology and enst). I'm also getting excited for lots of things coming up. Most immediately, this weekend will be the Lunar New Year dinner, so that should be fun! Of course, I'm going to miss celebrating at home with family, but I'm glad that I'll still be able to do something here. Spring Break is also creeping up incredibly fast, so that is also exciting! If you haven't heard, I'm going to be spending it on a farm!! More to come later :) Lastly, far in the future, summer slowly approaches! I've been looking into summer opportunities and am honestly getting really excited...but I shan't share too much yet, since I don't know any plans for sure yet...
Well, toodles for now and hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day (or at least a solidly pleasant Wednesday). If you're reading this, there is a high likelihood that I love you a lot so I'm sending some good feelings your way in the form of this little heart: <3
P.S. It was a balmy, near 40 degrees this morning and I wore running shorts!!!!! Wow.
There isn't actually going to be any romantic love in this post, in case you were getting excited. Romantic love is really just not part of my life, unless you count the fact that my daydreams about future life with kiddos baking/dancing in the kitchen probably implies a romantic partner.
But all that aside, this post is still full of love! I am full of love and happiness and all that good stuff and I will share some of the reasons why this is so in my life.
My exercise regimen this semester is awesome! I was really quite nervous about returning the cold north, and feared that I was not going to get adequate running or exercise. But it was in vain. It really hasn't been that cold, first of all. Secondly, I've been incorporating more varied workout types and am feeling very good about it! A typical week for me looks like this: Monday-Pilates, Yoga (small treadmill run?); Tuesday-midlength run outside; Wednesday-Pilates, treadmill run/workout, swimming; Thursday-run outside, noncontact boxing, Friday-run outside; Saturday-long run outside; Sunday-hike/swim/gym/run depending on circumstances. My quality of runs has greatly increased because I've started regularly running with one of my running friends on Tues, Thurs, and Sat, which makes the runs much more enjoyable even if we go on the same routes (plus, this new residential area thing is a good change! i'll probably tire of it by the end of the semester but for now its still new and exciting!). Additionally, a life-changing discovery has been the use of treadmill time for talking to friends! I spoke with Jae-An on Sunday and FaceTimed Miya today, and it makes the treadmill time pass by so much quicker! And I can even keep up a decent pace, so it doesn't compromise the workout. Of course, I'm quite pleased with this because it is an efficient multi-tasking thing that combines exercise + friends so is all around a good situation. One last note about the treadmill, for anyone else stuck indoors and looking for workout advice. I highly suggest utilizing the incline feature to maximize your workout, one of my typical progressions will be gradually increase the incline, gradually increase the pace as I decrease the incline, gradually decrease the pace. I find this sequence to be effective at providing a good workout but not too strenous (I simultaneously increased incline and pace once and that felt too much like a real workout and not just some fun and games exercise). I suggest increasing every 30-60 sec, depending on how long you want the workout to be.
Alright, enough chit chat about the exercise. Now onto another love of my life, food! I've been thinking it would be a fun blog post if I just tell you everything that is in my fridge, so get ready for the comprehensive inventory of what is in (and on top of) my fridge.
On top we have:
water filter + tea kettle
pretzels
raisins and dried cranberries
smaller raisins
peanut butter
driep apricots
banana chips
a banana
a zucchini
an apple (my roommate's)
a beet
sunflower seeds
Inside, we have:
almond butter
a lemon, partially bald
a lime with a wedge cut out
coconut milk
scallions and cilantro
coconut oil
almond milk
greek yogurt
coconut yogurt
low-fat milk
4 bosc pears
2 other pears
2 apples
2 oranges
some roast beets
some roast sweet potato slices
cucumber slices and cherry tomatoes
broccoli
lemon wedges (my roommate's)
frozen bluberries
applesauce
leftover pasta with tomato sauce
leftover roast onions and roast bell pepper
Well, doing a full inventory makes me realize I've really got quite a bit of stuff! But if you've ever seen our fridge at home, I'm sure you understand where this is coming from. Plus, since I'm blogging in the morning this will surely go down by the evening, as I plan to take some of that food to eat for my lunch and will use some of it in baking this afternoon (attempting vegan vanilla cupcakes!). That said, I didn't even start to share the stash of snacks I have in a box under my bed...hehehe. That will be another post. Anyhoo, as you can see, I continued to surround myself with food which makes me happy. Hurrah!
Other reasons for warm fuzzy feelings: class is fun! This is less of a warm fuzzy feeling and more of a general brain satisfaction thing I guess, but still a source of yay. Both sociology and environmental studies are just engaging and enjoyable, and I love learning and really caring about what I'm learning. But I also just like learning regardless of the material, so biology and Spanish are fun too, if less exciting. (Still really liking Spanish, it's just less new and interesting than sociology and enst). I'm also getting excited for lots of things coming up. Most immediately, this weekend will be the Lunar New Year dinner, so that should be fun! Of course, I'm going to miss celebrating at home with family, but I'm glad that I'll still be able to do something here. Spring Break is also creeping up incredibly fast, so that is also exciting! If you haven't heard, I'm going to be spending it on a farm!! More to come later :) Lastly, far in the future, summer slowly approaches! I've been looking into summer opportunities and am honestly getting really excited...but I shan't share too much yet, since I don't know any plans for sure yet...
Well, toodles for now and hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day (or at least a solidly pleasant Wednesday). If you're reading this, there is a high likelihood that I love you a lot so I'm sending some good feelings your way in the form of this little heart: <3
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| veggies |
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| blue sky :) |
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| geese on a partially frozen pond! |
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| my fridge |
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| more fridge |
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| fridge, aerial view |
P.S. It was a balmy, near 40 degrees this morning and I wore running shorts!!!!! Wow.
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