Updates on my Life

Hey hey everyone. How's your life going? I know my life has been quite busy.

Just this past week, I had two exams! So much studying...One exam was for my US History class (for my GE requirement) and the other one was for my Methods of Psychology class (for my minor).

For history, I had to write two essays and respond to 5 terms (one paragraph each), all in one class period (1 hr and 15 minutes). We weren't allowed any notes. I got hand cramps (not good). It's a good thing I studied a lot before the exam. We were given the prompts ahead of time so that we could prepare. But, no notes.

For my psychology exam, it wasn't that bad. It was all multiple choice and we just had to apply the concepts we learned.

Now, I'm not sure if I told you guys this before, but I started lifting weights when school started. That was January 28th or so. I want to gain muscle and be stronger. I've been lifting hand weights and I have to say, I am getting stronger. I went from lifting 7.5 lb dumbbells to 12.5 dumbbells. I know that for some of you guys, 12.5 lbs is nothing, but for me, it's an accomplishment! I also leg press 160 lbs, though I started with 120. I'm so happy that I'm getting stronger. I hope it's worth it.

I also indulged a bit this week. At my school's bookstore, there is a cafe where they sell coffee and organic baked goods. I bought an organic blueberry scone. Here's how it looks:

I ate it with a cup of coffee. I know, it doesn't like that appetizing but trust me, it was delicious! There's an icing that contributed to the flavor and texture of the scone and I loved it. It wasn't too sweet but you could definitely tell butter was used (but not too much!).

I also had my 3 hour long night class yesterday and I got hungry. So, during the break, I went with a friend to Gorditos Burritos and ordered a shrimp burrito. It came with black beans, rice, lettuce, chiptole cream sauce, chips and salsa. It was alright. The description of the burrito they gave sounded better than how it actually tasted. It was decent though. I ordered the rice on the side since I didn't want it in the burrito. I ate the chips by itself during class, without the salsa. Maybe I should have ordered the burrito as a burrito bowl, without the tortilla. Oh well. It still tasted pretty good!

As you see, it's okay to indulge once in a while. Remember, everything in moderation.

I also bought trail mix at school to snack on since I'd be at school for 12 hours.

It's Planter's Sweet & Nutty Trail Mix and I really liked it. The nuts were crisp and fresh. I also loved the chocolate covered dried fruit!

I also finally ate my Apple Turnover Uber Bar (by LaraBar).

I have to say, I was disappointed with this bar. I love apple turnovers and apple pies but I just didn't like this. The texture was weird and there was barely any flavor with it.

Another update is that yesterday, I finally got my Polar FT40 Women's Heart Rate Monitor Watch. I'm wearing it right now to see how many calories I burn in a day without exercise. I'm taking today a rest day (a much needed one) to calculate how many calories I burn without exercise. Here's how it looks: 

Also, today, I went grocery shopping and spent a total of $16.17. Whenever I go shopping, I always buy stuff mainly for myself. My parents do their own grocery shopping and I buy things that they won't buy (since I love buying "expensive" health food).

• The Agave was $2.95
• The Organic Chocolate Koala Crisp was $2.28
• All the bars (LaraBar Peanut Butter Cookie, Chocolate Almond Fudge Clif Bar and the ProMax lower sugar Peanut Butter Chocolate) were 98 cents each ($0.98)
• The Blue Diamond Habanero BBQ almonds was 78 cents ($0.78)
• The Garbanzo Beans and Lower Sodium Black Beans were 68 cents each ($0.68)
• The Amy's Organic Lentil Vegetable Soup was $2.53 (a bit pricey, but it's okay)
• The Diet Shasta Cola was 35 cents ($0.35)
• And, the Chocolate Cream cookies were $2.30 (they're for my siblings, not me, even though I might eat some with almond milk)

This buy was actually unplanned but I have to say, most of it is healthy (a few indulgences, which is okay). What I normally buy is Kashi cereal but I noticed that the Chocolate Koala Crisps were on sale, so I bought that instead. I also always buy Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk, which I eat with cereal. I sometimes buy greek yogurt but not all the time. Quinoa and Costco's Multigrain Rounds are a staple too. My parents always buy the fruits, vegetables and protein. 

My life has been quite busy and sometimes fun. I'm really enjoying this semester. I'm meeting great people this semester and I'm really enjoying my classes

Another thing is that I signed up for Lindsay's Foodie Penpals. I'm so excited. Here's the link to Lindsay's Foodie Penpal page. She created the program and you can sign up for it on her blog. It's a great way to try new foods from different parts of the country. Go to Lindsay's blog for more information. 

So, how's life?

Do you have anything planned for the weekend?

           I plan on going out this weekend. The weather's going to be great here. Going to the park, shopping, it's going to be spontaneous. 

Day 1 Health Challenge Update (first vlog!)

Hi everyone. For my day 1 Health Challenge update, I decided to do a vlog. It's my first one and I was a little nervous. Hopefully, I don't look or sound too bad in it.

To sum it up, I mainly stuck to my meal plan but I consumed too many calories. I snacked on a lot of things because I got hungry. Almonds, cashew clusters, another Clif Bar, and I added almond butter to my Greek yogurt. 

Thank you guys for the support.