Happy Birthday to Me! And 18 Things I'm Thankful For

I'm 18 today. What a serious number-I can almost feel the cynicism and wrinkles creeping in. But before I get too old, I'd like to recognize 18 things for which I am thankful in this part of my life.

1. A supportive family-though they drive me crazy, I would not be the person I am today without them.
2. Wonderful friends-they fill my life with energy and laughter and I could not wish for anything better.
3. Musical abilities-playing clarinet had done so many great things for me and I hope I never give it up.
4. My perseverance throughout my weight struggles. At my heaviest, I weighed 150lbs at a height of a mere 5'2". The summer before my freshman year in high school I started running, and the pounds came off and have stayed off (aside from the occasional PMS bloat and emotional ice cream consumption).  Now I'm content at a weight of 125lbs and still work everyday on my fitness and well-being.
5. All the teachers who supported me throughout school and who inspired me to achieve my best.
6. Crest Whitestrips and braces. A little smile goes a long way! But of course, more is more.
7. The ability to tell myself "Rachel, don't be a weenie" (doesn't work if others say it lol) and then somehow magically it gets me to try amazing new things!
8. Books.
9. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ryan Gosling, Charlie McDonnell, the unusually large percentage of good-looking young men in Washington DC, Adam Levine, etc
10. Bride Day on TLC.
11. The opportunity to receive my undergraduate education through Cal Poly.
12. People who make a point to include others and make them feel welcome/accepted.
13. Table manners.
14. Maternal instincts and the ability to really listen to people so that they feel valued.
15. Chocolate.
16. Wisdom gathered from random places.
17. DOGS DOGS DOGS-their fuzzy butts, soft ears, soulful eyes-everything about them.
18. Lastly, I'm thankful to have this blog so that I can capture the positive moments of my life to look back upon in a few years (or when I need some cheering up). As Gretchen Rubin says, the days are long but the years are long.

The Happiness Project

This summer I read The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin-I'm so glad I did. It's so easy to get caught up in just going through the motions of life and this book really helped me stop and think about what I'm really doing with my life. Rubin ends the book with a few questions to think about soooo here are my reflections!

What makes you feel good? What activities do you find fun, satisfying, or energizing?
----I'm lucky to have quite a few things that bring positive energy into my life: playing my clarinet, working out, baking, making an effort to look good, and spending time with my dog/family/friends, but I also enjoy spending time alone.  Reading has become a refuge for me this summer, and sometimes it's also nice just to listen to music and paint my toenails.

What makes you feel bad? What are sources of anger, irritation, boredom, frustration, or anxiety in your life?
----Usually I love going the extra mile for people, but lately the people I've been there for don't give me the time of day except when they want something. People who have bad manners also irritate me (especially when they chew ice or chew with their mouth open). I've also been bored this summer due to my inability to find a job so that's been a sore spot-it just gives me time to think about things that I don't need to worry about.  And I'm often bothered by the fact that despite having a mile PR of 7:28, I can't seem to have a run where my average pace is under 10 minutes.

Is there any way in which you don't feel right about your life? Do you wish you could change your job, city, family situation, or other circumstances? Are you living up to your expectations for yourself? Does your life reflect your values?
---Well, I'm changing cities soon with my move to college! And there's nothing I would change about my immediate family or how my life reflects my values. But living up to my own expectations? Yes and no. I didn't study as hard as I should have in high school and my GPA limited my college selection. But even then, some kids would kill to have the opportunities I had when choosing my final college. It's just  that despite my score of 2250 on the SAT and 3.9 GPA, the vast majority of my friends are the smartest at the school, and sometimes I feel rather quite stupid next to them. But I'm determined to change that in college! I'll be in the honors program and I have a few goals about my GPA. (Best: 4.0 every quarter, Good: Deans List/3.5+ every quarter, OK: 3.0+ every quarter).

Do you have sources of an atmosphere of growth? In what elements of your life do you find progress, learning, challenge, improvement, and increased mastery?
---College is the ultimate atmosphere of growth in all aspects: my social scene/personal life, academics, staying healthy, trying new things but staying true to the people and activities I already love, and doing laundry.

I also thought it was interesting that she differentiated between goals and resolutions. In her words, "you hit a goal, you keep a resolution". For example, I have daily goals of practicing my clarinet, but I've been working on a resolution to make my practice more efficient and productive.

What do you do to make sure that you stay a happy person?

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

This week has been hectic-and I'm not even in school! There's been some ups and downs and "life intervening" moments so it certainly kept me on my toes.

But let's stay positive and focus on the highlights!

I painted my toenails hot pink-what a departure from my normal teal! It was a "YOLO I'm gonna be fabulous" moment. The color is Miami Nice by Essie-it has a lavender tinge in some lights and it looks so pretty!

My little sister's first day of 7th grade. It's tradition to have chocolate chip pancakes on the first day of school so woohoo!

Another early morning long run. I feel like its against the teenage code to get up at 5:20 to run but then I feel incredible for the rest of the day.  And thank goodness for chocolate Gu! That stuff keeps me going.  I really want to try to do 9 miles next weekend-this was my second 7 miler and I was still exhausted when I finished (so naturally I treated myself to a Jamba protein berry workout smoothie). And yeah I'm super slow, I know.

I got a twitter! You can follow me at @rosyrachelmarie. I'm trying to limit the time I spend tweeting though, not quite sure how I feel about it.  If it's called 'tweeting' does that make me as a user a 'twit'? Funny funny.

Food and friends! I had an end-of-the-summer get-together for a group of friends and OF COURSE had to make food including ribs, pasta salad, fruit salad, cherry cheesecake cupcakes, lemon bars, and cookie/reeses/brownie bars.  Aaaaaand now what to do with all the leftovers. Hm.

Cupcakes!

I don't even know what's happening in this picture.

One of my favorite people, Bridget. What you see here is her trying to eat kettle corn around a tower of flameless candles. 

This morning's workout-part of my 'Strength Sunday' routine.
All with 8lb weights:
10 step back lunge rows on each side
15 side bends on each side
10 forward bends
10 squats to shoulder presses
10 lunges to arm lift
10 pushups

Repeated 3 times, ended third set with 10 squat jumps and 10 burpees. I'm so bad at lifting weights it's ridiculous hahaha.

Today is really exciting-washing my new clothes, practicing my clarinet (college wind ensemble audition coming up soon), and catching up on some reading.  Tomorrow I'm going to watch the NCIS marathon with my sister-maybe I'll try to do some exercises in front of the TV.

Plans for Labor Day? Best way to power through a weights workout and/or long run?

Everything I'm Excited About In This Very Moment

1. My new nike vomero 7's. They'll be the shoe I run my half-marathon in!  I took them out for a (fartlek) spin and they were absolutely perfect.

2. Surfing trip in Pismo in September.
3. My new nike running capris-best my tush has ever looked! Everything looks so firm and sculpted. Tempted to invest in a second pair.
4. My long run Friday: I went 7.4 miles, tried some vanilla plus caffeine Gu (which kept me perked up) and listened to podcasts (Hypothetical Help is hilarious) which kept me running longer. I always do better when I'm distracted from running which is why I love running with friends. And it was awesome! I came back and had a total endorphin high. Now I finally understand why people go for such long runs. (My previous longest run was a little over 5 miles. Maybe I'll try 9 miles next weekend.)
5. All the books/CDs/movies/books I have from the library! This needs to stop lol.

6. Back-to-school shopping next week.

7. I'll be 18 in 2 weeks! Holy cow. I'm hoping to receive one of these-it would make my long runs a little easier.

8. Meeting my roommate in person at move-in! She seems really nice and like a good match for me.
9. Just everything about Cal Poly! PolyPaws, Distance Running Club, Neuroscience Undergraduate Society, Geek Week, Wind Ensemble, Rec Center (trying everything from swimming to Body Pump)-the list is neverending.

10. BBQ next weekend-a bunch of friends are coming over for a back to school/birthday/end of summer get-together. We're gonna have ribs and pasta salad and fruit salad and a dessert bar. It'll be great.
11. This will sound funny, but I'm already looking forward to winter break! I'll have had finals the week before so I won't have to study at all over break. It'll be the first year in a while that I'll truly be able to enjoy and celebrate the holidays-plus I'll be running my first half marathon the second weekend I'm home, earning myself some serious lazy cozy time the rest of the break.

Have a happy Sunday!

Mixin' it up Monday

Some things I tried today on my quest to be more adventurous:

1. First Ever Fartlek Run.
I set my alarm for 5:30 and got out of the house around 6:30-started on my standard 3 mile loop. I am so tired of doing the same thing over and over and not getting particularly good at it, so today I tried to make it a little different than normal. I jogged the first mile to warm up, but for the rest of the run I alternated running fast (not quite a sprint) and jogging slow between each lamp post. It didn't feel too hard but it definitely had me huffing and puffing! It was a very satisfying workout---and I came home, showered, and ate breakfast all before 8am!

2. Sephora Makeup Consultation
I went in for some help with a simple, everyday look to wear in college. The actual consultation was a wonderful experience-it was very personal, lots of collaboration on what works best for my needs, she walked me through application techniques and now I look all pretty for the rest of the day! I should go be social or something before I have to take it all off. But oh my lordie-I didn't even purchase all the items she used on me (who really needs eyebrow color anyway) and just chose what I really wanted and she rang me up and all of a sudden I had just spent $185! So basically I left for a good 20 minutes, met up with my mom, told her the damage, and then marched right back in to return $95 worth of what I had just purchased. Lesson learned. I'm fine with splurging at Sephora for things like BB cream (which is a miracle in a tube) and eye shadow primer but I'll stick to Target for things like mascara and concealer. I feel a little dirty on the inside (some quality buyer's remorse right there) but the products I that I did end up with are worth it. So here's a couple pics of what I look like all done up, and what products I purchased!

I can't seem to smile straight or open both my eyes the same amount. And one cheek is pinker than the other. But man, do I feel good!

Samples on the left, purchases on the right. 

3. Vitality Bowls.

There's a place at the mall that sells Acai bowls, paninis, and smoothies. Here's their website: http://www.vitalitybowls.com. I had a 'Nutty Bowl' and it was delicious! It contained "Açaí, Banana, Strawberries, Peanut Butter, Soy Milk, & Apple Juice topped with Granola, Bananas, Almonds, & Honey". Little pricey-$10 for a small bowl (which actually filled me up for lunch) but then again, "healthy" food tends to sell for more. I would totally recommend this place-totally refreshing on a hot day!

My Nutty Bowl. Now we know why they're not called 'Pretty Bowls'.

Tonight I'm making paella! I'm really excited about that-last time I made some it was fantastic. And gone rather quickly. 

What are your favorite makeup routines/looks/products? Ever tried a Vitality Bowl? Ideas for other ways to make running more exciting? Does anyone even read my blog? 

It's About Time

I've gotten really unmotivated about my running lately. My main reason for running is simply to feel good and stay happy. Well, since school got out I've had nothing to stress about and have been rather content doing really wimpy runs. So what do I naturally plan to do to get back into running?

Yep, I think I'm going to train for a half marathon.  There's a really lovely one down in Palo Alto during my month-long winter break and it's small (250 people). No hills. Great views of the Bay Area. Lots of open space. I figured it might be a nice first half marathon. In 2010 it was an absolute mess due to torrential downpour but last year it was crisp and clear. So we'll see how the weather is this year. But I'm really excited about it!

Training: the make/break-it factor of this whole thing. I've never had a gym membership before, so I've never made an effort to check my pacing or do speedwork or any technical running stuff. But having access to a treadmill at college opens up a world of possibilities! Like maybe actually doing real mile repeats at a 8:25 pace. There's a 10-week plan in one of my old Runners World magazines so I know EXACTLY what I should be doing each day! And it still leaves me time for spinning and yoga classes and swimming (which I don't do now but might try).

Isn't it beautiful? And completely doable too!

So that means thaaaaat I gotta get better at fueling my body. I've finally found my ideal pre-run snack (spoon of peanut butter and half a banana) and post-run breakfast (overnight oats are my new best friend) but my energy levels crash around 4pm on days I run. So my challenge will be finding food that will keep me going later in the day. I'm going to experiment with smoothies because they're ideal for eating in the middle of my afternoon classes without being completely obnoxious and I can make them super duper yummy. Plus, they'll help me incorporate fruits (and some veggies) into my diet continuously. 

I can't wait for mine to arrive sometime next week:

Favorite smoothie? Ever ran a half marathon? 

New Foodstuffs: Edamame Hummus, Oatmeal Medleys, and Chia Seeds, Oh my!

Hi again!

I've gotten particularly bad about spontaneous food purchases lately, so here are my latest (delicious) spoils :)

Edamame Hummus!

I've always loved edamame-plain or otherwise, and this hummus did not disappoint! The taste was definitely different than normal hummus at first, but I nearly finished off the whole thing in one sitting because it was so addictive (the bag of pita chips didn't help either).

Quaker Oatmeal Medleys!

I know, I know.  Oatmeal isn't exactly the most exotic breakfast food, but I haven't had any in a REALLY long time.  My dad makes a batch every Saturday morning and it's more solid than liquid and he puts in.....raisins (not my favorite).  So when we were shopping at Target and they had some Quaker Real Medley cups on sale, peach and almond oatmeal sounded like it would hit the spot.  And it did! It made a fantastic post-run snack and the almond and peach bits made the perfect additions.  You can bet that I'm now looking for ways to incorporate oatmeal into my breakfast repertoire.  Anyone have any ideas? I won't have easy access to a stove in my dorm at Cal Poly, and we're not allowed to have a microwave in our room.

Chia Seeds!

These little beauties are wonderful for adding some extra omega-3 fatty acids, fiber and protein to whatever you're already eating! I didn't really know what to expect with them and they're funny things-if they sit in anything with moisture, they gel up on the outside.  Bizarre, but I've been enjoying them in greek yogurt and plan to try them in other foods like in peanut butter on toast or maybe in a smoothie. The seeds don't have any flavor so they can be added to almost anything-there are SO MANY recipes on the internet for inspiration.  They can even be made into pudding for dessert! Soon... ;)