A public holiday well spent
I love public holidays that fall in the middle of the week. I spent the entire day yesterday in a park in the centre of town with happy endorphins from my workout, the sunshine, and clear blue skies pulsating through my body. We popped into Vurma for lunch, and then went back to rolling around on the grass enjoying the sun. My cheeks were pretty warm by the end of the day.
Dinner with J was postponed to next week, so I whipped up a dinner for one and then got the urge to go for a run. Said and done, I went for a nice 8km run as the sun set in front, behind, and above me. I even bumped into a little deer that was so calm I probably could have reached out and touched it.
Right, back to work now!
Breakfast bowl
A delicious breakfast bowl of oatmeal topped with raspberries,
cinnamon, chia seeds, and roasted coconut flakes.
I met mom after work on Wednesday for a quick catch up over some shopping and dinner, and she spoiled me with some early birthday presents. One of my big interests is health and exercise, I love browsing health food stores full of interesting organic products, so I had fun picking out some stuff at a health food store with mom. I got organic roasted coconut flakes, and organic cacao nibs (ground up cocoa beans).
I topped my oatmeal the other day with the coconut flakes, and yesterday morning I added some cacao nibs too, it was delish! If you can get your hands on this stuff – try it!
Feeling under the weather
So much for my long list of plans this weekend. By noon on Saturday my energy levels hit rock bottom and I each time I swallowed I felt like I had a mouthful of needles going down my throat. I’ve spent the weekend curled up in bed, cradling cup after cup of hot water with fresh ginger and honey. All this down time has given me time to ponder the most random things…
Where do the expressions “under the weather” and “sick like a dog” come from?
It seems the expression “under the weather” (meaning you feel unwell) has its origin in passengers onboard ships feeling seasick during stormy weather. They were sent below deck where they had shelter from the weather and could recover. [source] The expression “sick as a dog” is one of many sayings involving animals to emphasize feeling ill. “Sick as a dog” happens to be the oldest of the expressions, dating back to 1705. Generally dogs have, through the years, had a bad reputation and have therefore been linked to things of an unpleasant nature. [source]
People always say to drink ginger with lemon and honey when you’re sick, but why is it good?
In a nutshell: lemons are full of vitamin C and phytochemicals which boost the immune system. Ginger and honey are also both known to aid the immune system. Ginger is also known to help all kinds of nausea, from morning sickness to travel sickness. [source]
Why is it dangerous to do strenuous workouts when you’ve got a sore throat?
High intensity exercise could interrupt the immune system. Strenuous exercise when you have a fever is a bad idea as it’ll raise your body temperature and risk you getting even more ill than you already are. Bottom line is, listen to your body. If you’re feeling “under the weather” or “sick like a dog” you’re likely not feeling like going for a run, the body has a way of telling us what’s appropriate and not. [source]
Did we learn something new today?
How do you start your day?
My friend Anna is following a week-by-week question series called Let’s Write (created by blogger Mumma in Heels) intended as a way for your readers to get to know you a little bit better. I thought I’d hop on the bandwagon (at least for this week).
This weeks question is: How do you start your day?
I get up early every day, even on my days off. My alarm usually goes off around 6.30 or 7am and because I always place my cell phone (i.e. my alarm clock) at a distance, I have to get out of bed to turn it off. Once I’m up I either throw on my workout clothes and go out for a walk for 30-45 minutes before coming home and making breakfast, or (on the days when I’m feeling particularly unmotivated or tired) I get straight to making breakfast.
As far as breakfast goes, I get into a routine with a certain breakfast and then I eat the exact same thing every day for months on end (I think it’s only natural since my brain can’t handle coming up with a new breakfast every morning at that hour). Right now I eat oatmeal with berries for breakfast, with an apple and a cup of coffee on the side, and it tastes just as heavenly every single morning. Following breakfast I usually spend some time catching up on blogs, Facebook and the like and then get going with the rest of my routine (makeup, get dressed for school or the gym, etc.) depending on what’s on the agenda for the day.
Not your average Monday
Yesterday I started a new course in school and had two long lectures. My plan for the afternoon was to exercise, grocery shop and probably take a power nap because I was feeling exhausted.
Those plans suddenly changed when I bumped into a classmate on my way home who spontaneously offered to show me this beautiful area not far from where I live. We popped into the grocery store and got a little afternoon snack and something to drink and then headed off on our walk.
He took me to this area where there’s a little farm with goats, pigs, and horses! Ironically, I was just thinking the past weekend about how I haven’t touched a horse (or been horseback riding) in so many years, and how much I miss it (it was my LIFE growing up). It made my day that I got to pet a horse, and to know there’s three of them a short walk from where I live is just fantastic.
We continued our walk and my classmate showed me a great picnic and swimming spot right by the water, and tons of nature and great areas for runs and walks. We sat on the cliffs by the water and ate our snack and then headed back. When I got home I realized we’d been out walking for nearly two hours!
I’m so happy to know of these new areas now, it’s the perfect place to hang out this summer!
I study hard to get good results, and good results motivate me to study hard.
Check out the weather that has been this week! I love that the trees are blossoming, I just wish my allergies wouldn’t make me sneeze so much. I’ve enjoyed power walks all week and found some new paths around my area.
I had my final presentation on a group project yesterday, it went well. I think. I also got another assignment back the other day with a comment that made me smile from ear to ear, the teacher was no doubt pleased with my work. I study hard to get good results, and good results motivate me to study hard.
I started this day with a killer workout (yes, I’m a gym junkie, and proud of it!). I’m hoping to meet my brother for a cup of coffee this afternoon, and I want to go and check out a farmer’s market I found out is happening not far from where I live. I’ve also got baking on my agenda.
What are you doing today?
The past week
I bought new kicks! They’re super comfy and I love the color too. They’re the Nike Free Wmns 3.0 V3. They accompanied me to personal training and many gym sessions this week.
My friend Jenny came over for dinner on Tuesday and I made a lemon creme with candied nuts, strawberries, raspberries and passionfruit for dessert. It was a hit! The evening was nice and we chatted for hours, it’s nice doing something special on a regular boring weekday.
Jenny brought me this big moving in gift: a recipe book full of exciting cakes and tarts, pink champagne, two champagne glasses filled with colorful jimmies/sprinkles and some pretty spring napkins.
I went for a jog and saw tons of spring flowers, they’re finally coming alive after the long winter! I also stocked up on some makeup essentials and got super lucky – the store I happened to stop into was newly opened and were running a campaign that gave me 20% off each product. Ah, it’s the little things in life, right?
In school I’ve been busy with group work and on Thursday I had a fun class where we manually programmed Kinect and played tetris, some classes are just better than others. I also went and picked up a pop-exam type of thing we had last week and to my utter surprise I’d got the maximum score! “G” was the highest grade you could get, but my teacher wrote G++, he also drew a smiley. That pretty much made my day.
On Saturday I met my sister for coffee, and in the evening I went out for dinner with a couple of girls from my class to celebrate one of the girl’s birthday (my outfit for the evening above left). It was a nice evening but I headed home at a decent hour because I was working all day Sunday. Both Saturday and Sunday were beautiful sunny days and today seems to be the same, I’ve been starving for some sunshine!
Shoes!
I can obsess about running and training shoes as much as a pair of Jeffrey Campbells.
These are like pieces of candy and I want every one of them! I’ve been obsessing over the Nike free Run+ 2 and the Nike Free 3.0 V3 for a long time, but I love the Nike Wmns Free Trainer Fit 2 also… and the new Nike Lunareclipse +2 are such a fun and bold color.
What training shoes do you have? Which of the above would you like?
Sweat it out
Judging by the amount of posts on here the past week, you wouldn’t have guessed that I’ve spent the week drowned in notes, cramming for my exam that I had this morning (here’s a little secret: most of the posts were scheduled).
Studying around the clock has unfortunately meant less time spent at the gym, and I’m feeling irritable because of it. I snuck off to the gym a couple of times the past week but not nearly as many as usual and not enough to fill my cravings for a good work out. The fact that I have the weekend off (and don’t have to study!) feels awesome. Guess what I’ll be doing?
Wish I had this running outfit to wear tomorrow: Shoes/Nike Free Run+ 2W, T-shirt/Reebok, Sweater/Nike W Epic Crew, Gloves/Nike lightweight, Tights/Nike Swift Power, Jacket/Reebok, Bag/Nike Varsity Girl 2.0 Duffel
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