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Very Inspiring Blogger Award
I was nominated for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award by Montana over at Pretty Lil Mudder! Thank you so much! :] (Check out her blog for super awesome race info and workout ideas!) We’re also starting up a recipe linkup soon with a few other ladies from Girls Gone Sporty. Stay tuned (Fridayyy)!!!
According to the post, the rules are:
- Thank and link to the person who nominated you
- List the rules and display the award
- Share seven facts about yourself
- Nominate 15 other blogs you enjoy, then comment on their posts to let them know you have nominated them
7 Random Facts About Me
- I get called upon by the guys (HBLers + 1) to help move things [aka furniture] around. I find this very flattering. The last time this happened, my friend’s mom happened to overhear and protested, “Don’t ask her to do that for you!” (M: No, Mom, you don’t understand! She’s really really strong! She does powerlifting and holds a state record for deadlifts! She’ll be fine. And we can’t move it without her.)
- By the time I graduate medical school, I will be in about a quarter of a million dollars in debt. This does not include interest and also depends upon me continuing to live on <$10k/year, so mayhaps you can see why I get a slight bit annoyed when people say that we go into the field of medicine “for the money.” (I really don’t think I’d be picking the least-paying specialty if that were the case.) But one of my life-long goals is to be able to spend my life doing something that I love, so here we are.
- My goals when/if I ever swim out of my student loan debt are to pay off my parents’ house, take them on a cruise, fund no-kill animal shelters (Please Save A Cat + Friends For Life are biggies on my list) and donate to the clinic I used to volunteer at. I’d also eventually like a house with an awesome kitchen, fruit trees + an herb/vegetable garden, and a room with high ceilings that can be a dance studio
- The only time I willingly call people is when I’m driving (relax, I’m using a headset/just one earbud)…but I still usually hate talking on the phone (#25 of 25 Things You Didn’t Know). This is probably why long-distance relationships would be a bad idea for me. (Y’know, other than the fact that I’d only be able to pencil him in once every couple days in probably-10-minute-intervals.
- I can fall asleep anywhere at almost any time, within a matter of minutes. The floor, a couple chairs, standing up…you name it. (Sometimes, I seriously think I have narcolepsy, but it’s more likely just chronic sleep deprivation…?) Symptoms of narcolepsy include:
- Excessive sleepiness or sudden muscle weakness
- Cataplexy
- Sleep paralysis
- Hypnagogic hallucinations
- Automatic behaviors (like driving home and not remembering how you got there)
- Disrupted major sleep episode (disruption of the longest sleep episode that occurs on a daily basis)
…and now that I think about it, my dad can do the same thing. Crud. (Nooo, orexin, stay with me!) Even if I really do have it, I’d like to think that I’m a pretty effing high-functioning narcoleptic. :O
- I’m not very good with improvisation, or being extremely articulate with words (spoken, anyway). Given the opportunity, I plan it all out to excruciating detail before I start talking. More on that on Saturday. :O!
- If food is in front of me, it tends to disappear. Especially if I’m preoccupied with doing something else. I spend most of my day thinking about food, eating, or planning my next meal(s).
Unofficial #8: I’m really, really terrible about nominating people because I always feel like they’ll feel obligated to respond even if they’re super busy (also because all[?] of the people I wanted to nominate have already been nominated already! Go figure. What can I say? We have good taste in people. Can I just…ask you, my dear readers, to share random facts about yourself? :]?
JUST KIDDING. I’m nominating the ladies I’ve been doing Fitness Fridays with because they are awesome and have not in fact been tagged yet (as far as I can tell, anyway)! ;)
I’d also just like to note that Trish is wonderful and awesomely amazing. <3 She went to the farmer’s market over in Ithaca earlier this(? I’ve lost track of dates) month and got me some pepper jelly! 3 homemade blueberry muffins using blueberries she’d picked herself! (Super jealous. I wanna go berry picking!) I’ve been enjoying it with a smoked jalapeno cheese spread and maple chicken sausage patties stuffed with a beet greens scramble (recipe will be up in a couple days) in a pita bread pocket. <3
Liebster Award (x2!)
I’m going to be a terrible person and not pass this on, not because I wouldn’t like to, but because life (namely, school, which really is the basis of my life) has not been going so well lately (understatement of the year) and I need to redirect all my attention and focus to that, as my future is pretty much riding on this upcoming exam. (I know this sounds dramatic, but it’s unfortunately pretty true. :[ ) If anyone would like to answer questions though, feel free! :D They’re at the bottom of this post! (Let me know if you did; I’d love to read em’!)
I’d like to thank Annmarie (fitfoodiemama) and Niki (overwhelmedheart) for nominating me! :] They are fellow GGSA’s from Team Stellar! (I love our team. Everyone’s so incredibly supportive and awesome!) Go check em’ out! :D
Annmarie asked the following:
1. Where is your favorite place to travel and why?
I love going to Hong Kong for the shopping and the food. :D I pretty much save all the shopping I need to do specifically for trips to Asia, although finding my size over there can be difficult at times due to the presence of certain anatomical parts. I’m considered a size “L” or “XL” there, and sometimes, shopkeepers will just take a look at me and go, “We don’t have anything that fits you here; I’m sorry.” It’s hilarious.
2. What is the last good book you read?
I think the last book I read for leisure was over winter break: Divergent, by Veronica Roth. More specifically, I read the whole trilogy. I liked the first two a lot, but very much detested the last one.
3. What did you want to be when you were little?
I think I had a billion interests even then, so I think I fluctuated between wanting to be a vet, a doctor, and a piano teacher. I did actually end up teaching piano for a while and am [hopefully] on track to becoming a doctor somewhere in the future. I couldn’t go through with being a vet because I can’t stand the thought of having to put animals down. :[ I remedy this by volunteering at no-kill shelters (I actually live at one right now, har har) and my compromise to myself is that one day, when I’m done swimming out of my endless student debt, I’ll be able to help fund them.
4. What is your favorite way to be active?
Lifting weights and pole dancing!
5. What is your go-to breakfast?
It varies, but these days, I’ve been cycling through one of the following:
- Ginormous smoothie with kale, frozen fruits, juice or almond milk, and protein powder
- Cottage cheese with half a sliced banana, cinnamon, dried mango + 1 tbsp peanut butter
- Fage 0% Greek yogurt with granola from one of my billions of bags of granola + 1 hardboiled egg
6. If you could eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Salmon sashimi! <3
7. What are your hobbies outside of work/blogging?
Lifting weights, dancing (hula, Tahitian, pole, salsa), BJJ, archery, cooking.
8. Would you ever be able to go a day without your phone?
Yes indeed! I have it on eternal silence these days because I need to focus on studying.
9. Do you prefer to exercise in the morning or at night?
I prefer getting it done in the morning because then I’m already awake and energized. These days, however, I’ve been finding it extremely difficult to wake up early in the morning. :[
10. What is your favorite thing about blogging?
I like that it gives me something to look back on. I’m a huge sentimental packrat and this helps to remedy my having to save anything and everything [kindasorta].
Niki asked the following:
1. What is your favorite way to sweat?
It’s hard to choose just one. :[ Can I go with lifting weights, BJJ, pole, and/or aerial silks? :]
2. What song always gets you going?
Lindsey Stirling’s pieces always make me want to choreograph some kind of super pretty dance for pole. :] I get a kick out of the 90’s pop/boy band songs that the guys like to play in the gym, and I chose Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” as my pump-up song for my Wingate test. (In short, I’m pretty much all over the place.)
3. How do you make it work?
(I’m assuming that “it” is referencing how I’m currently living my life.) These days, I’m really not sure. I still sometimes feel as though the school accepted me by accident and that my being here is a total mistake. I’m working on this whole negative self-talk thing though, because it’s pretty darn destructive.
4. What is your mission in writing a blog?
- Recipe documentation of all the things I’ve made and plan to make
- Record of awesome memories with friends/family + my life in general
- Get more involved in the world of fitness/food-blogging
- Inspire others to live happy + healthier lives
The last two are my newest goals because until recently, this was pretty much a private blog where I dumped all my random thoughts/recipes).
5. Does your faith play a part in any of your fitness/health journey?
In a sense, it does. I’m a Seventh-Day Adventist, so there’s a big emphasis on healthy living/eating, which goes hand in hand with what I want to do with my life, so it works out quite well. :]
6. Morning person or night owl?
I am most definitely a night owl!
7. If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I’m on a tropical kick right now because I’m really jealous of anyone that gets to go out and enjoy the sunlight (while I shut myself into windowless cubicles so as to curb my temptation to frolic in the wilderness), so I’m going to go with Costa Rica. (I’d also love to explore Colorado and Oregon at some point in my life. I hear Crater Lake is absolutely beautiful.)
8. How did you get started on your fitness journey?
I worked in a music library in undergrad and because I’m weird, I would sometimes read the course catalog for fun (if I didn’t feel like studying). Exercise Biology had some of the most interesting classes I’d ever seen, so after some negotiations with the deans from the two colleges I was under, I switched my major in my junior year and got the okay to obliterate my unit cap and take all the classes I wanted (as long as I graduated in 4 years). I loved the courses I took, and I also figured that I should probably stop being a disgrace to my major and actually partake in some form of physical activity.
I did Tahitian and hula and PE classes every now and then (tumbling! <3), but that was only twice a week, so I took up lifting weights. And kickboxing. Eventually, this also expanded to pole dancing, ballroom dancing, salsa, aerial silks, yoga, pilates, BJJ, Muay Thai… Long story long, I loved everything, so what I do now is pretty much governed by what I have around me (e.g. at school, I have weights, BJJ and Muay Thai; at home, I have Twirly Girls and groupon discounts for yoga/pilates/etc.). I’d do it all if I could, but there are only so many hours in a day. :[
9. If you could buy one thing (fitness-related) and money was no object, what would it be?
This is a difficult one. I’d really, really love to have a gymnastics room in my future house decked out in springboard, stallbars, and a bunch of tri-fold mats. I also really want a dance studio with aerial silks (+ all the equipment needed to rig it up and a ceiling high enough for that. And for my poles.).
10. What do you wish you could un-buy?
My 50mm pole, because I have really small hands, so grip is an issue (Platinum Stages’ portable poles are also really, really slippery; I have no idea why), so that money could have gone towards those gymnastics mats instead. le sigh.
Cantaloupe Salsa + Liebster Award!
This was from our post-class (well, for half of us, anyway) potluck feast. :D The recipe is from here and it makes about 2 cups. :] (I portioned each serving as 1/4-cup.)
Cantaloupe Salsa
19 calories, 5g CHO’s, 1g protein, 0g fat, 1g fiber, 87mg sodium per serving!
Ingredients:
-2 cups cantaloupe, diced
-1/4 cup sweet onion, diced
-2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
-1 2-in. fresh green chile, minced
-2 tbsp fresh lime juice
-1/4 tsp salt
Instructions:
1) Mix everything and eat immediately.
This was a sampling of the awesomeness there was to be consumed.
There were also a bunch of other desserts (sadly not pictured :[ )!
Super abrupt change of topics! :O I’ve been nominated for the Liebster award! Thank you to Theresa over at Glitterbombs of Glory (I love that name, haha :D ). I’m not sure I have 10 people to nominate because everyone at GGS seems to have gotten it already, but if anyone’s up for answering 10 questions, lemme know!
Here were the questions I got:
1. What was your first race?
I’m so glad I actually have an answer to this question, hahaha. My first and only race was the 2010 Nike Women’s Marathon. I enjoy lifting weights, pole dancing, hula/Tahitian dancing, BJJ, kickboxing, pilates, yoga…so in short, running kinda falls at the very very bottom of the list. I like sprinting! (I don’t think that counts though. :[ ) Oh, the plight of having crappy type I muscle fibers. :/ I make up for it with my Type II’s though!
2. Why did you start your blog?
I’ve been writing in journals for the past 14 years, but this particular blog was started for two main reasons:
- To keep my closest friends updated on my life after I moved across the country for grad school (and right after that, for med school). I kept it pretty much hidden from the rest of the world for several years since I’m a fairly private person. :o
- To have a place to stockpile all the recipes I’ve tried out :]
3. What is your favorite motivation to keep working out?
In short, I am fueled by two things:
- My vanity and dreams of badassery (I want to set all the state records in powerlifting for my weight class)
- I’d like to be able to lead by example for my future patients. Somehow, I think they’re less likely to listen to me about healthy dietary choices/incorporating exercise into their lives if it’s completely blatant that I’m not practicing what I preach/I know nothing about it.
4. What is your favorite post-race meal?
A sushi buffet with unlimited salmon sashimi. :] If that’s not an option, I would probably go for Amphawa Thai Noodle House in San Francisco, because I’ve pretty much decided that it’s the best Thai restaurant on the planet.
5. If you could run anywhere in the world, where would it be?
All over Hawai’i! (I’d really love to be in a warm/hot, tropical place right now, but alas.)
6. How do you share your trail of glitter and sparkle?
I like making the people around me happy, and even more so for close friends, so I like sending them care packages and/or cooking them foods that I know they’ll like. :] I’m a big believer in karma and the whole, “you reap what you sow” philosophy. I think I’ve been incredibly blessed to have the people that are in my life with me, so I try to do what I can for them whenever I can.
7. What is your favorite fitness activity?
This is a toss-up between powerlifting and pole-dancing. I love em’ both equally. Don’t make me choose!
8. What is the best piece of advice you’ve heard about blogging and/or fitness?
I have issues with the “fitspo” quotes that put down other body types and/or focus solely on looking hot. Yes, looking great is awesome, but if that’s your only source of motivation, it can very quickly and easily lead you down an unhealthy path. As for body-shaming, everyone has to start from somewhere, and there is absolutely no need to bring someone else down in order to make yourself feel better.
Two that I’ve come across recently are…
- “I’m working on a new me, not because the old me is bad, but because the old me can improve.”
- “My goal doesn’t have a finish line; that’s why it’s a lifestyle.” (This goes hand in hand with my EXB t-shirt.)
I’ve always thought of myself as a “work in progress” of sorts, and while I know I’ll never be perfect, that’s fine with me, because I’ll always have something to strive for. :]
9. What is your favorite meal to cook?
Lately, I’ve been on a salmon kick. (When am I ever not on a salmon kick? I’m usually too poor to buy it, but as I’ve been living at my friend’s, this has changed.) The latest was Sweet & Spicy Dijon-Encrusted Salmon (…recipe scheduled to be posted in the beginning-ish of June, because I wrote everything wayyy too far in advance).
10. Any suggestions on a new race to sign up for?
I want to do a Tough Mudder at some point in my life! Or be a zombie in a zombie run. :D
I’m tagging…
- Diana @ HIIT Mom
- Lindsay @ Your Fit Trip
- Montana @ Pretty Lil Mudder
These ladies are part of my team over at Girls Gone Sporty! :] Check their blogs out if you have a chance! :D
1) Describe your favorite workout.
2) What do you like to do to wind down and relax after a long/stressful day?
3) What’s your biggest challenge when it comes to fitness?
4) Do you have a favorite brand of workout clothes?
5) What are some of your favorite songs on your workout playlist? (If you don’t have one, what are some of your favorite songs in general? :] )
6) What never fails to make you happy?
7) Favorite meal to cook (or eat)?
8) What are 3 of your future goals?
9) If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
10) What’s your dream job?
fairyburger 