Tag: coffee

What’s been going on over here

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

I have been on a serious sweet tooth kick over here. Made my coffee a mocha.

Always fun to study something that no one knows what it does

Salad and something with cheese has been a big lunch time ritual for me lately.

pork roast with veggies and rice. I love using the slow cooker

Artemis and I enjoyed the eclipse by going for a run. It was pretty eerie. People looking at the sun with glasses while it got dark then as a group would turn and look at us run by, very pod people-esque. I kept waiting for zombies to jump out at us.

Smoothies are still a big thing over here.

More salad and cheese.

Mmmmm breakfast sandwich from the coffee shop near work.

Life has been food, running, work and starting to freak out about Europe hahaha. Talk to you soon!!!!!

Ariana’s travel tips

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

 

  1. plan, plan, plan- I know some people like to fly by the seat of their pants and that is great but in some cases you need to plan. If you are not on a budget then you might have a little more room to play with this but if you are on a budget, as I always am, planning is your best friend. Also if you only have a limited amount of time planning ahead can save you hours of wasted time standing in line.
  2. research- Groupon is international if you didn’t know. For most places if you do a little research you can find inexpensive skip the line passes, semi-guided tours, activities and so much more at reduced costs and it definitely saves you on those hours in line.
    1. planning and research also help you squeeze in as much as possible in a short time period. For example we are packing Venice into a day and a half then on our last day in Venice which would have been a 3/4 day anyways we are instead taking the train and spending a few hours each in Verona, Florence and Pisa before laying our heads down in our AirBnB accommodations in Rome.
  3. Think outside the box when it comes to lodging- you don’t have to stay in a nice hotel to feel luxurious when traveling. If you once again research you can find nice places for a lot less expensive. I have stayed in some seriously nice hostels and and used AirBnB several times when I have travelled. If you are traveling with friends AirBnB is a great choice. We have accommodations in the heart of Venice, Rome and Barcelona through AirBnB that are less than $150/night,  whole apartment in each place, split the cost between everyone and you are looking at $20-30/night for each person in a nice place. and having and entire apartment means you have a kitchen so you can hit the market and make a few meals to save some money. You are still eating locally!!!
  4. Do a few things that aren’t overrun by tourists- on my first morning in Venice after some coffee and a pastry I plan on walking the opposite direction of the crowds and will continue to do this. That is how I will explore Venice, going the opposite direction of the crowds (obviously do a little research on places you should avoid and use common sense, if you turn down a street and it feels sketchy, backtrack quickly).
  5. Safety!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!- Be safe, research the places you are going, know the areas to avoid, know the laws and customs. Pay attention to the dress code. If something or someone doesn’t feel right get out of that situation and place ASAP. Think before you act. If you are alone, don’t get so drunk that you are impaired. That movie TAKEN with Liam Neeson is a fun thriller but it is also real, people are kidnapped and murdered every day, enjoy your vacation but be smart and be aware.
  6. common sense should see you through-if you wouldn’t do it at home don’t do it abroad. Again take 10 minutes and learn about the place that your are going, I would sunbath topless in Ibiza, I would cover all tattoos and most skin in the middle east, different place different experience.
  7. Check in. Give someone at least a vague itinerary of where you will be and when you will be there and when you will be home so someone will know if you don’t arrive. Try and check in at least ever 72 hours (I tend to check in at least once every 24 hours) you can find a free or very cheap internet café almost anywhere. And most cell phones have international coverage if you check. It will cost me $.55 every day to send 1 text message to my mom and get one back from her both acknowledging we know I am alive. $.55/day is not much to ensure piece of mind.
  8. Be a dork. Take selfies and make stupid faces and journal and take videos. Who cares what the people around you think, in 5, 10, 15 years you are going to be so glad you can look back on those memories.
  9. Be respectful. It may not be your culture, religion or favorite food but it is theirs. You wouldn’t want someone to bad mouth your way of life so don’t do that to anyone else. You don’t have to believe in it or even accept it but don’t be mean about it. Step to the side, quietly leave the church, discreetly bow out of the ceremony, say thank you and try the tiniest bite you can manage.
  10. lastly HAVE FUN!!!!! You may never be back, you may never experience something like this again so drink it all in. Take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way and truly live this experience.

Day 7 of 28 day cleanse

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle

Today is a prime example of what happens when you don’t prep. I was tired from hiking and didn’t prep anything Friday night and woke up late Saturday morning so I had no time to make anything, I also slept horribly and needed coffee. Insert Starbucks here.

Breakfast was the reduced fat turkey bacon sandwich. I did have leftover pasta and garlic bread for lunch thankfully.

This was snack:

How is it possible that something that should be pretty healthy for you is so many weight watchers points????? All the individual components are good for you.

When I got home this had arrived from Amazon! Can’t wait to start coloring and learning!

This happened, my roommates made butterfinger cream cheesecake kind of think. Holy crap was it rich, that is the actual size piece I took, minus one bite and that was more than enough. Sugar coma totally.

To combat the sugar coma I had a quesadilla I microwaved and a salad then read and went to bed.

And with that I am ready to get back to my 3 days of juicing!!!!!

Overall the last 4 days I feel pretty good about what I ate. The dessert wasn’t great and I had some cookies before the hike on Friday and Red Robin isn’t the healthiest choice but overall I think I did pretty good.

Ready to start week 2?!

Day 2 of 28 day cleanse

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle

Hi!!! Thought I’d start the morning with a quick video

Juice after lemon water

Midafternoon check-in

Who knew salad and soup could taste so amazing!!!


I feel like my stomach might be shrinking too. I am getting full faster which is nice. Leads to less over eating. 

See you tomorrow!!!!

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!!!!!

That is dedication 

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

Howdy!!! How is your day going?

It’s snow all around over here

It started last night I am guessing somewhere around 6:30-7pm. I looked out around 6 and it was raining then I stepped outside at 8:45 to drive to the gym and this was what I saw

Still i had a workout to get to. I drove to the gym with little incident until the street the gym was on I almost got stuck. But I was there and my plan was to watch Bones while I ran……but it was snowing so heavy the TV’s were out, that made me pause. I was there so I busted out a mile on the treadmill then hightailed it out of there because I knew the longer i waited the more difficult it would be to get home. 

I slipped and slid and got stuck once or twice but I kept my cool (thank you Nevada for teaching me how to drive in the snow in a small sedan hahahhaha)

I got home and let her run a bit, she loves the snow until she stops running and she gets cold

Then it was pasta time!

And a relaxing movie before bed

When i woke up, it was STILL SNOWING! 

It was beautiful outside…..until i realized i had no cream for coffee…..how do i study without coffee???!!! The snow had stopped coming down so i walked the 1.5 miles round trip to the store. That was my workout for today lol. I definitely worked up a sweat, walking through inches of snow is a workout. 

It was beautiful 

I made it back and it’s study time

I have taken over the coffee table

You’ve got water, coffee, syllabus, bio book, anatomy flashcards, a yummy smelling candle from my man and of course my personal training book in my lap. 

Artemis romped around in the snow a bit when i got back from the store and now she’s passed out hahaha!!

Dinner tonight is a delicious turkey stew i made a few months ago and threw some extra in the freezer. 

What is on your schedule for today?