Wednesday, September 25, 2013

I need to stay awake!

Behold, my messy kitchen.



 Currently I'm in the process of studying for my government test tomorrow morning. I've heard rumors that it's hard, so I'm stressin' a little. Oh, and I still have to write an entire essay for the same class about the views of philosophers that influenced the Constitution. Haven't even touched that yet! Did I mention that it's past 10:00?

To keep me awake, I have to do something that keeps me moving. I've figured out that it does not work for me to sit down cross-legged on my bed with my textbook and hope to stay awake. So I decided to do some food prep! I'm steaming some carrots, which may or may not end up being eaten before I go to bed tonight, and I'm cooking some chicken to go with my breakfast and lunch tomorrow. I might do some sort of a tabata workout within the hour to further keep me awake. Who knows what time that essay is going to be finished!



Why does life have to be so crazy all the time? Je ne sais pas. Oh yeah, I have a French assignment due tomorrow too...

Monday, September 23, 2013

Motivation Monday?

Happy Monday, everyone!

My apologies for being missing in action the past few weeks. Starting back with school kind of knocked me off my feet and I'm just now starting to get into a normal routine.

Today's post is just going to be some general tidbits and items of randomness that have been floating around in my head the past few weeks. Maybe you'll find some motivation in it?

You can't always fit everything in!
When I'm not doing much (during the summer months, for example), I fill my time by pursuing slight obsessions that aren't quite so productive. Think Pinterest, YouTube makeup videos, lots of reading, etc. On the more productive side, exercising most days of the week was essential this summer, and blogging became a part of my schedule as well. When my life gets busier (when school starts again!), I want to keep doing everything I was doing during the non-busy time, along with fulfilling my school-related obligations. Social media and books are fun, right? Yeah, I tried that for about a week this time around before realizing that there's no way I can fit it all in and still go to bed at a decent hour each night. Prioritizing has been key lately. Although I wish it were otherwise, school has priority over running or reading or even blogging. I've realized that I just need to chill out and stop trying to be a super lady. That just leads to stress, and stress is definitely not healthy!

Life works better if you relax.
This is kind of similar to the last tidbit, but can still stand independently. If you're stressed out every second of the day, it's hard to really enjoy life. And we're supposed to enjoy life, right? I definitely think so! Life is a happy place! If you need to drop one or two things off of your schedule in order to take care of the stress, do it, and don't look back! I've figured out that I'm so much happier on a day-to-day basis if I keep my schedule on the simple side, and if I don't stress out when I happen to have a busier day here and there.

Savor the run.
Running is a privilege. Having been injured and out of commission for part of the summer, and now being too busy to fit in a run sometimes, I have a greater appreciation for the opportunity to run. Don't discount even the smallest run. I'm grateful for the time and ability I have to get my little "easy runs" done during the week. If you don't have time to do your preferred hour-long workout on a weeknight, try for ten minutes. Even the littlest effort is better than none.

It's all mental.
You have control over yourself. If you want to start - or continue - eating healthy, you're the one who ultimately has the power to make that happen. Find some good motivation, stay motivated, and keep your mind on track. You have the power to choose how you take care of yourself.

Those are the general, main ideas that have been floating around in my head lately. I've been trying to focus on the most important things, and add in the less-important, more-enjoyable things as I go. Hopefully blogging will be one of those add-ins! I've missed it ! Hopefully I'm back to blogging on a regular basis! Let me know if there is anything specific you want me to blog about! Motivation, tips, workouts, recipes...? Tweet me (@tessabrynnk) or leave a comment on this post!

Thanks, as always, for reading! Have a lovely day! 

Question of the Day:
How do you transition best between less-busy and more-busy times of the year? Any tips?

Monday, September 2, 2013

Portable Lunches

The start of the new school year means going back to packing a lunch every day. It's not my favorite arrangement; I'd rather spend my lunchtime at home everyday, but that's not quite an option.

This week I set off with a running start, but who knows how long my lunch creativity will last. By the end of the year, I'm usually just throwing things in a brown bag, but for now I'm enjoying making my lunches unique.

I picked up the tupperware container (it's Ziplock brand) at Fred Meyer for about three dollars a week or so ago. It makes it a lot easier to portion-control what I pack, which is nice. I put together my lunch at night, then stick it in the fridge until the morning.

Hopefully you'll find some inspiration in what I packed!

 -Wrap (Flat Out bread, hummus, lettuce, 1 roma tomato, 1 slice ham, cheese)
-1 apple 
-1/4 C blueberries
 
-carrots (they have frost on them because I stuck this container on the top shelf of the refrigerator overnight, and they froze)
-hummus mixed with salsa (to dip the carrots in)

*I had some camera malfunctions, so the picture got cut off on the bottom!
 -quesadilla (black beans, cheese, Flat Out wrap)
-salsa
-pluot

-fruit salad (blueberries, 1 orange, 1 apple, grapes)
-carrots
-Cheerios and peanuts