Author: Ariana Peters

Christian, homeschool mom, runner of 6 half marathons, PR 2:57 so far. Yes I am a slow runner. Small scale homesteading.

Monday Motivation**April 24, 2017

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle, school/studying, training

(Image from google)

Where did April go????!!!!! Are we seriously in the last week of April already? And I am in week 4 of school, only 1.5 more months in this quarter. I have gotten a good routine down but I will admit it includes coffee or an energery drink prettt much every day hahaha! But I limit it to one French press’ worth (generally) which is only about 1 1/4 cup. I don’t think that is too bad.

I am also pretty adjusted to working while going to school again, it is just very fatiguing. I am slowly finding the energy to do it all. 

I got in 2 ‘workouts’ last week. A short run Tuesday morning and an hour+ walk with the BF and the dog on Friday. 

My goal this week is 3 workouts.

I cannot wait for this quarter to be over so I can actually have 1 whole day off.

Enjoy the last full week of April 2017! Make it count because you will never get it back!

Tidbits from the week

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, school/studying, training

Week 3 of spring semester has come and gone. Today is Earth day!!! Get out there and celebrate! If your weather isn’t horrible get out there and walk, run, hike, bike or whatever! Maybe enjoy a picnic outside with someone special? I am at a desk now but I got out in the sun yesterday, today rain is forecast all day.

This week was exhausting, I am not really sure why it was so tiring nothing that different happened.

I had work on Sunday, ran home to see the pup and let her out then I left to go see the BF, Artemis was not too happy with me but we will have all Tuesday morning together. The BF and I made veggie fettuccini that was delicious, it probably would have been even better if I didn’t rush it but I was hungry. We also watched a few episodes of Code Black which is my new obsession.

Image from google

Monday I felt like I was rushing all day. I didn’t get as much sleep as I would like, Artemis had to go out at 6am (probably pay back for leaving her alone all day Sunday). Got out the door 3 minutes late to my first class and barley stayed focused during it. Ran errands on my break between classes and grabbed lunch because i didn’t want to worry about the time it would take to make something

 

But managed to be quick about everything and was able to sit down and home and eat lunch with Artemis and spend about 30 minutes with her,

then packed for work, rushed off to Chem class (I think I fell asleep with my eyes open) then rushed to catch the train and tried not to fall asleep on the train.

I got puppy cuddles on Tuesday morning, she cuddles a lot more when I am gone more than I am home.

We also went out for a little walk/run Tuesday morning.

Wednesday was another day of running around and feeling busy. By Wednesday night I am just wiped out.

Thursday I had dinner and drinks with a friend, girl time is a must!

Friday it was so beautiful out! I got lots of chores done then Artemis, the BF and I went for a walk around the river then relaxed the rest of the night.


And now it is Saturday morning, I am back at work, going to try and get some HW done and grab an energy drink on my break because I did not sleep well last night.

Hope you all had an awesome week!!

What is the most tiring day of your week?

Lasagna…….soup!!!!!

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, school/studying

I was looking on Pinterest for some slow cooker meal prep and came across this, it sounded amazing. Here is the recipe I used from familyfreshmeals.com:

I used veggie crumbles and veggie broth, I also used store bought spaghetti sauce I had in the cupboard to replace the tomato sauce and the v8 juice. I wanted to make the meal as inexpensive as possible so I used everything I already had, all I bought was a can of diced tomatoes and shredded mozzarella cheese to put on top afterwards. I followed the directions and put everything in the slow cooker accept the pasta and cheese and turned it on high. It says to let it cool for 4-5 hours but since my meat is veggie I put the noodles in after about 3 hours then let it cool an additional 45min.

My adorable little crockpot, perfect when meal prepping or cooking for two.

Yum!!!!

The finished product

It is a little blander than I would like but pretty good. I am excited to keep working on it, I know with a few tweaks it’s gonna be awesome!!!!

 

After taking this to work and reheating it, I ended up throwing most of it away, the noodles were sooo mushy when sitting for a few days and reheating them. And instead of the flavor improving it got more bland or something. IDK, it did not work for me, I will stick to making real lasagna because that keeps very well for meal prep.

Monday Motivation**April 17, 2017

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle, school/studying, training

Good Morning!!!!

(Image from google)

Today is going to be a busy day, I am heading out the door to bio, then back home to let the dog out and get ready for work, then back to chemistry class, then rush to the train to work. Then I will be rushing to catch the last train back out at 11:16pm to get home and head to sleep.

My goal this week is 3 workouts. I managed 2 last week.

Week 3 of school and working full time. I still got this! But I will admit I am so tired come Tuesday/Wednesday that my “weekend” aka the two days I don’t work and only have labs in the morning are spent just resting. I need to figure something out because I feel like I am constantly dragging, and am drinking way too many energy drinks. Maybe I will start napping Thursday afternoons before the BF gets here so I am a little more rested so that we can get out and do things instead of just watch TV/movies because I am so tired. I will keep you posted.

What are your goals for the week?

Tidbits from the week

by Ariana Peters, posted in books, food, healthy lifestyle, school/studying, training

Well week two of spring semester is over and here is how it went:

 

I had all my HW for the beginning of the week done by Saturday morning! Score!! Sunday morning I spent a little time studying for the quiz I had on Monday and did a quick refresher Sunday night! Sunday morning I may have forgot to hit the snooze button and instead just turned my alarm off resulting in  an extra 40 minutes of sleep and waking up to the alarm telling me to head out the door, whoops!!!! Normally I make the 6:14am train but I thought there was a 6:29am train that would let me make it JUST in time…….except its the weekend so the next train wasn’t until 6:49! That would not work so I drove to work and parked on the street, meter parking sucks as does driving in Portland and running late meant I had no breakfast and no coffee. I ran down the street to get some coffee on my break and somehow paid more than I would have paid at Starbucks. But I got coffee and that is all that mattered!

Here is what I am currently listening to on my train rides and any walks with the dog. For running it will be this or something a little faster paced, like a murder mystery or thriller.

I got some meals prepped Sunday night but that was my dinner to eat at work, I didn’t get any lunch prepped to scarf down between classes, insert Subway.

I got an 80 on my first bio quiz, not horrible but not great. Just let’s me know what I need to work on.

I have company in the kitchen when packing my dinner for work, she likes to sit on the rug right under my feet, it has led to me tripping many times hahahaha

I have my dad’s old thermos that he used when he was a cop and man this baby is awesome! I fill it with hot coffee before I leave for class, around noon and I get hot coffee at 3, still at 5, still at 8 and it is even still warm the next morning!! It’s amazing!

All loaded up for work. I take my school work with me along with my suit jacket and heels to change into at work and my lunch. I think this thing gets heavier every week.

My one big adventure this week was my relief not showing up on time one night and I missed my train! Which is of course the last train of the night………thanks to data on my phone I was able to pull up the transit system website and plan my trip back to my car on a late bus, of course the bus didn’t arrive for 40 minutes so I got to sit at night at a bus stop for 40 minutes alone. Then I was so tired by the time the bus got there that I was a little in and out of it and dozed on the bus only to miss my stop!!!!! Thankfully someone pulled the stop in front of mine, I woke up and got off. I was home an hour later than normal but I got home safe and that is what matters.


First assignment due next Wednesday that deals with anatomy!!! Love it! But man is this complicated stuff! And its only the basics, but I got it hahahaha.

Hope you had a great week!!!!!

Book Review X2**Roses are Red and Violets are Blue

by Ariana Peters, posted in books

 

 (images are from google)

Howdy!! These two book are from the Alex Cross series by James Patterson. One of these I listened to as a book on tape and one I read the physical book that I found on sale in a little bookshop the weekend the boyfriend and I spent in Long Beach, WA.

I love series books because if you like the character you don’t just get one book then never read about them again, you really get to delve into their lives (yes I know they are fake people). When I find a character I like I love to keep reading their story. These are not difficult or time consuming books, there is no bigger picture to look for or anything that really needs a lot of brain power, which is probably also why I like them. You don’t really have to think, it is a nice break from the classics or books that make you dig deep, hmmm as I say that it doesn’t sound like a compliment to the book but I do mean it as a compliment. In our busy lives this is a great book to be able to read as an escape.

Warning: these books can be graphic, they are books about psycho murderers.

Monday Motivation**April 10, 2017

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle, school/studying, training

How is your Monday going so far??

(Image from google)

I am about to run out the door to Bio class then head home and let the dog out and pack everything for work tonight, then back to school for chemistry class then rush to my car to try and get to the train as early as possible to get to work on time! Woohoo!

It is week 2 of classes and so far so good. It is my 2nd week of school and working full time and I am easing into the schedule.

My goal for working out is to actually work out 3 times , in any form.

I have been looking at the weather and it looks like Tuesday morning it might not be raining and it doesn’t look like it will be freezing! If this holds true the pup and I will be out running!!!

Saturday looks like the afternoon might even have a little sun, we are running again!!

Every other day has rain, but if I can get the pup out 2 days this week for a run I will feel a little better about getting myself to the gym one day without her. Maybe Thursday after lab. Because I am gone so much now with work and school I feel bad leaving her to go to the gym. Which also means if this keeps up I might cancel my gym membership, no point in paying if I end up not going. I’ll keep you posed on that idea.

My sleep schedule is going good, it still needs refinement but I managed to keep most days pretty consistent……mostly.

Tidbits

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, school/studying

Does anyone use It Works! stuff? A friend/coworker started selling it a few months ago and my roommate jumped on board and has been slowly having me try things…..let me tell you samples are how you get me hahahaha!!!! I have been taking their probiotics off and on and TMI warning! It definitely helps get my but back to regular when I have been eating poorly. I tried and now just ordered their Thermofit which speeds up the metabolism and gives you extra energy, which is something I am in desperate need of. I had 3 energy drinks last week, ewwww!!!! I am really excited to get that. And today that friend and coworker dropped off a few samples for me to try.

Below is their much more natural energy drink. The taste is pretty good, it is not as sickly sweet as say Monster and so far I feel good, not jittery or anything like that just like, hmm what else can I get done? Which is exactly what I want and need, nothing crazy just enough energy to keep going until everything I need to do is done.

Below that is the Greens chew, you take two chews a day and it gives you a bunch of fruit and veggie stuff and antioxidants and a prebiotic. Take a look at their website. (I am not being paid to say this, all thoughts are my own)

 

OOOOh I found this at Safeway and am in LOVE with them!!!! They are sooooo tastey! I have limited myself to only packing 3-4 clusters a day and mixing them with a trail mix otherwise the bag would be gone already.

 

We have tulips!!!!! We have several tulips starting to bloom around our house that we planted last fall, so much color, I love it!!!!

Yesterday the power was out at our house from around 7am to 11pm. We had about an hour where the power came back on then nothing. We hit the dollar store and bought lots of cheap candles to light and give off heat….and now the wind and rain just started so hopefully I get home to power today.

That’s all for now!!! Talk to you soon!

Its my Party and I’ll Cry if I Want to!

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle

Hi!!!!! It is my birthday today!!!!! I am 29 years old today!!!! Holy crap. I cannot imagine my life any different…..though more money would be nice but that is because sadly money makes the world go round, but other than that I don’t think I would change anything. Of course I wish my dad were still alive or that I could at least hug him and talk to him one last time but really I can’t wish that things happened any different because I wouldn’t be where I am today if it had.

I am LOVING going back to school and working toward something I really love, I am actually enjoying the job I am doing, it is low stress and allows me a little time to study and lifts a good amount of the financial strain I was feeling.

For really happy news that is fitting for a birthday….I am going to Europe in the fall with my roommate!!!! AHHHHHHH Europe has been one of my dreams for years. We are taking a cruise so I will get to see Venice, Rome, Naples, Sicily, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Corfu, Corsica, Toulouse, and Barcelona. I think I go them all in there.

I will fill you in more as I plan the itinerary. and of course I plan to blog while on it so be prepared!!!!

Hope you have a great day!!!! I have to head off to chemistry class, yep my birthday is not a reason to miss class, and I have work tonight so feel free to comment and keep me company!