Category: food

Monday Motivation **January 29, 2017

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

(Image from google)

Monday- after work I came home and studied. I was still feeling really down so I went back and forth between studying and watching Castle episodes on Amazon.

Tuesday- After work I went straight to school to get in some last minute studying before my midterm. I tried for healthy food choices and I did ok. I packed an apple, peanut butter, cheese and crackers…..and of course an energy drink.

Wednesday- After work I had a meet and greet kind of thing with a therapist, I want to make sure I get on track and stay on track through all this stress and depression. After that I went home, cuddled in bed with my puppy and went to sleep early.

Thursday- Had lab after work. I went straight to school after work to do all my pre-lab work……had healthy snacks again, though an energy drink as well. Then the bf brought a big pizza after lab hahahaha

Friday- I had looked up and planned a trail run/hike for today but we ended up sleeping in and not really getting up and going until after noon and the hike was an hour away. I had planned to make a roast chicken for dinner so I didn’t want to bet back at 8pm and not eat until 10pm. So we ended up laying around the house for most of the day. We got out and went grocery shopping and looked for some nick-nacks for the house and ended up not getting back until 6:30 anyways so we ended up eating around 9 lol. But it turned out soooo good!!! It probably clogged our arties with the amount of butter I used but it was gooooood!!!

Saturday- We slept in again then headed out to Brandon’s grandparents house. I just love it out there!!! We relaxed and talked with them, fed the cows, had some great dinner. Then headed home around 8pm.

Sunday- I brought everything to go to the gym after work then couldn’t find my key card to actually get in the gym. Really need to find that. Hopefully that means I’ll be able to hit the gym Monday after work!

Mastering the Art of French Cooking/ Julie and Julia

by Ariana Peters, posted in books, food, House/dating/life

Hello,

As I mentioned on Monday over the weekend Brandon and I watched the movie “Julie and Julia” which I have already seen more than once and have read the book probably twice hahaha. Now that we have a house on the way to us, 7 weeks and counting!!!!! I am starting to dream about all the cooking I get to do!!!!! One of the cookbooks I really want is Mastering the Art of French cooking by Julia Child.

Since I read Julie and Julia several years I ago I have fantasized about also cooking my way through her book (except the aspics and the pates, ewww) hopefully now I will be able to do that. Look forward to some great meals in the future.

 

I am starting to get so flipping excited about planting food and cooking and eating!!!

Monday Motivation ** January 22, 2017

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

(Image from google)

Monday- was a no go day in all ways. Sunday night it hit me that I had to go back to “normal” life and that was so hard. Brandon held me while I cried and I didn’t fall asleep until 1:30-2am which made getting up at 5:40am pretty rough. Coffee was needed. I felt sick to my stomach most of the day and was holding back tears. After work I went home and just crawled into bed. I watched 5 hours of Smallville, took some melatonin and cuddled with my puppy.

Tuesday- I felt a little better and started the day off right with some carrot, celery, apple juice. Had canned soup for lunch (not the best choice but better than a lot of other choices) I had a Slimfast and a protein bar for snacks since I wouldn’t be home until almost 10pm with school but since I didn’t do anything on Monday I didn’t prep a good dinner to take to school so I ate out (Panda Express; mushroom chicken, kung pao chicken and beef and broccoli, I avoided the carbs). I tried to use moderation and the best choices possible while not breaking the bank or taking too much time away from studying.

Wednesday – I should have gone to the gym but I had no energy

Thursday – I had lab, I got McDonalds in between work and school and remembered that depression makes everything so much more difficult. We were looking at tissue samples in lab (I’ll cover that more on Friday’s post) and I am not great with the microscope and knowing what I am or should be looking at, add in that depression increases stress and I almost started crying in my lab.

Friday- I stayed in bed or on the couch most of the day. I managed to get up and go for a 1.5 mile walk with Artemis and Brandon but I know if Brandon hadn’t been there and going stir-crazy even that would not have happened. I was so tired and lethargic and just depressed all day.

Saturday was mostly a lot better. We got up and did a little day trip I had planned for us during the week. We drove out to Cape lookout and did a just under 5 mile trail run/hike. We were probably only able to run a little less than half of this because the other half was crazy muddy, had large boulders to climb over and giant tree roots to climb over. I may have fallen on my butt in the mud lol. But it was still fun and good to get out and do something. After the run/hike we hit the Tillamook cheese factory for lunch and bought a few goodies.

We got home, cleaned up and watched the movie “Julie and Julia”. I can’t wait to have a whole kitchen all to myself!!!!! I am going to cook so much!!!

Saturday night was another story, I don’t know what it is, maybe because on the weekend I don’t have to deal with it, I can turn the TV and numb the world out as long as I need but knowing I have to go back to work and face the world just seems to be breaking me each week. Once again I got into bed and all my thoughts and stresses of the coming week came forward and I cried for almost 2 hours while Brandon held me. So of course I was a Zombie on Sunday and yet I need to study for my Midterm, yes I already have a MIDTERM!!!!! How am I supposed to learn everything I need to know when I don’t want to think and when I do think I break down.

Now I remember how the thought of going to class after my dad died was so daunting. Not surprised it took me 4 years to do 2 years of classes back then.

I do not want that to happened again and certainly cannot afford to need to repeat classes so I have started looking for a therapist and/or bereavement group. I can’t fall down the black hole I did after my dad died. I am just hoping I can find some energy and motivation to get through this midterm and not bomb it.

At the end of this week I will have drank more energy drinks in 1 week than I normally drink it a year and that is just to function on a basic level.

Monday Motivation **January 15, 2017

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, training

(Image from google)

I managed 3 runs this week for a grand total of 7 miles. Given the circumstances I am thrilled with a that.

I managed 2 miles last Monday morning while we were in Reno. This was a really good run for me, not because it felt amazing (running at 5000ft when you are used to sea level isn’t super fun hahaha) but because I was sad and depressed and we had been eating crap for days which just added to it so this was absolutely needed for my mental well being as well as physical.

Brandon came over for the weekend once I was back and got me out for 2 runs. Both were a major combination of walking and running.

We actually saw some sun in Portland this weekend so we managed both these runs outside!

Other than this my life has been a lot of small things here and there just taking it day by day.

I am back at work this morning and I am just numb. It was so hard to go to sleep last night my brain wouldn’t shut off, I got maybe 4 hours of sleep and balled my eyes out before being able to go to sleep last night. Just thinking about the terrible turn life took the last time I was sitting at this desk is really hard.

That is my life right now. I hope yours is going a little better.

Here we come a-wassailing…..

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle

As I have mentioned once or twice (hahahaha) a farm (or a city girls version of a farm) is one of my end goals for my future so I love to look back at old traditions and think about what I would want to do on my farm. I do plan on having some fruit trees so Wassailing will be a thing in my life. You may have heard the Christmas carol but do you know the story behind it?

According to Wikipedia there are 2 types of wassailing, one that is basically caroling though you would take a big bowl of wassail around to your neighbors and sing for them and offer them a cup of wassail. The 2nd type, and one I want to do, is to drink to the health of the trees on Twelfth night. You make a big pot of basically spiced cider and add pieces of toast to it, then you head out while singing and banging pots and pans (if you wish) out to the orchard and stick pieces of this wassail soaked toast on the branches of the orchard trees and pour a little wassail at the base and toast to the health of the trees. This is supposed to appease the universe and help ensure you have a plentiful harvest the next year. There are still many places in England that carry on this tradition and I read a book about a farm on the East coast side of the US that does and I just love it. It sounds so fun and I am all about embracing old traditions like this. So hopefully in a few years at most you will see some awesome posts about us Wassailing our fruit trees!!!!

 

New Years Eve!!!!

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle

Be safe, have fun, spend the night the way you want to spend it! Live it up and let the stress, drama and crap of the last 365 days go away, tomorrow you start fresh. Enjoy!!!

 

I will probably be watching the ball drop on the east coast at 9pm my time on the internet lol. I have to be up tomorrow morning at 5:40am to get to work by 7am. The boyfriend is going to keep me company. This will probably be the first year, since I can remember, that I will not stay up until midnight and ring in the new year…….I guess I am getting old, or maybe just responsible. Who wants to work on 5 hours sleep?

Week 1 marathon training.

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, training

Monday- 4 miles and an attack dog when I got home. She attacks with kisses.

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Delicious chicken tacos for dinner.

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Tuesday- Some mild strength training in the house. Dinner was the last of my chicken tacos. 3 sets of 10 of the following (using 3lbs weights cause that’s all I had at home):

Single leg deadlifts, bicep curls, shoulder presses, chest flys, and walking lunges.

Wednesday- I am actually sore from that tiny little workout yesterday! 5 miles at the gym. 3 regular miles and 2 miles of sprints. .25 miles sprinting, .15 miles recovery. I wanted to die a little bit.

Thursday- walk with the dog and relax. I needed rest.

Friday- 3 miles with core work. I had sushi for lunch, which I love and is delicious but I tend to overeat so I was still bloated 4 hours later when we went to the gym. It took a little while to get these 3 miles done.

Saturday- Rest day

Sunday- Rest day

Total miles this week: 12! Nice improvement over last week, slowly inching those miles up!

 

 

Monday Motivation **December 18, 2017

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, training

(Image from google)

Happy Monday!

Here is how last weeks workouts went for me.

Monday: 

Tuesday: drove out to the BF’s house, we had planned on running when I got there but it was super cold, pitch black and I was bloated so that didn’t happen hahaha. Just means I gotta kick but on Wednesday.

Wednesday: 

Thursday: Ran 1.3 miles, my stomach was not my friend and I was tired from Wednesday but I got there a did something so I am happy with that.

Friday-no workout. I got 5000 steps but otherwise sat on my butt all day

Saturday- even worse hahahahahaha, I layed on the couch most of the day and watched TV while Brandon looked up other loan options and housing options and so on and so forth.

Sunday-The plan was to go to the gym after work and knock out 3 miles but around 2 ‘o’ clock painful bloating started. I tend not to get relieved for lunch until almost 1 sometimes a little later. I am going to have to start eating my lunch either in 2 smaller amounts (probably better for me anyways) or eat lunch on my break earlier in the day.

Total mileage for the week: 5.3 miles (not great but its something)

Layout of the blog.

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

I hate being inconsistent. I really want to get to a consistent place with this blog where you can count on posts certain days and on certain subjects. I think I have come up with a schedule that works for me.

Mondays– Monday motivation- All things fitness centered, checking in on workouts and races, pics of food, hiking and all that good stuff.

Wednesdays– House stuff- house hunting, hopefully after we a house fixing it up and gardening and planting and all that jazz

Fridays– school stuff- everything related to school, studying, classes, frustrations, nursing school stuff, fun facts and so much more

Those will be the main weekly points, then above that my goal will be to post a book review at least every OTHER week (if I can get through a non-school book a week that would be awesome but I am not going to over stretch myself)

Other above and beyond things will be any traveling posts or fun things that happen. These will not be on any regular basis (unfortunately, I don’t get to set a traveling schedule hahahahaha it will be as time and budget allow.)

Is there anything else you want to hear about or talk about?

Let me know!

Monday Motivation ** December 11, 2017

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, training

(Image from google)

Happy Monday!!! Though in my week it is Tuesday (I work Sunday-Thursday currently)

Thanks to Groupon I am back in the gym!!!!! I really wanted to join a gym and looked at the various $10/month ones a few weeks ago but between start up fees, annual fees and driving time it just wasn’t worth it to stretch my budget; especially since I don’t know where I will be living in just a few short months so I don’t want to pay all those fees to just have to pay them again if I need to switch gyms.

I tried to let it go but it is getting colder and colder here and we are getting less and less sun. Today the sun sets at 4:27pm. I don’t usually get home until about 4:10 (on a good no traffic kind of day) even running my fastest (after getting home and changing close and getting Artemis’ collar on her I wouldn’t even be able to get 2 miles in.

So I looked for another solution because the sun won’t really come back for a good 2 months (at least not a time that works for me hahahaha) and once it does we might have snow and black ice for another month so I went to Groupon and found a gym that is about a 10-15 min drive from my house and somewhat in between work and home (and had good reviews) and they had a 1 month membership for $13!!!!! SOLD!!! and I am pleased to say it is a NICE gym. I did have to put down a $25 deposit on the key card but that is ok.

With that I got in 4 workouts this week. I signed up on Wednesday after work and ran 2 miles and did 5 min of strength training.

Thursday- I ran 2 miles on the treadmill (but hit the walking button instead of running so my bf lucked out with that in our challenge or it would have put him even more behind hahaha) and did 7 min of strength training

Friday-Rest (we looked at houses)

Saturday-because the price was so good the bf bought the Groupon too!!! Though his was $14 lol, I got an extra dollar savings. Ran 2.17 miles, did 8 min of strength training and 20 mins of the elliptical. WHEW! We then took a 2 hour nap.

We then enjoyed salad and totinos pizza to which i added stuff to make it awesome

Sunday- ran 2.15 miles then went home and stuffed my face with pasta.

I leave you with this awesomeness that has nothing to do with fitness