Weekend Recap

Well there's not much to "recap" as I did one thing and one thing alone all weekend long. That's right day and night paper writing. I know you're jealous. I did have a slight mental break and totally started crying while talking to Brittany. You know one of those days where you just get so overwhelmed by the amount of work you still have to finish and you've been working so hard and sacrificing everything fun you've wanted to do and it feels like despite all the work you've gotten no where? Yea, one of those moments. But after the tears and exasperation were exclaimed the nonsensical laughter and jokes rolled out. (Thank God for amazing friends!) And I finally finished my term paper and turned it in this morning at 3:30!  

Happy Friday!

And a happy Friday it truly is! I felt awful today but when I got home this was waiting for me:

Insert celebratory dance now.

I can't describe how ridiculously excited I am. My friend Tiffanie and I have been planning parts of our trip every day and now it feels real.

So let's rewind a bit:

This morning I made baked eggs, it's my new favorite way to make eggs on weekday mornings. I can just pop them in the oven while I get ready. Why didn't I try this sooner?

I spent my lunch break at the Salmon Creek Plastic Surgery. I had my very first laser hair removal experience. Today was the first of six treatments that will be six weeks apart. So pretty much in the span of a pregnancy I will have my unwanted hair removed. And let me tell you, this is not a painless experience! I'm not sure why but I envisioned the technician rubbing a laser over my skin like an ultra sound with no feeling. I was right about the ultrasound like wand but it's coupled with a pulsing light that feels like a bunch of needles being stuck in the skin for a micro second. It stung and tickled at the same time. It's wasn't the worst thing in the world but it certainly was not pleasant. (I have a very low pain threshold.) I'm just glad I decided to do a bikini treatment only as a starting point.

And because I've felt sick all day, dinner was homemade alphabet chicken noodle soup. :)

Let The End Begin

I've slept about 10 hours so far this week... exhausted doesn't describe my feelings but it's the end of the semester so pushing on is the only option. Finals week what a silly thing... I'm not a fan of the American school system: cramming so much busy work and tests into the semester that all the students can do is try to survive. It teaches students to study and forget instead of learn. I personally prefer Socratic learning. It frustrates me that everything is based on a grade and getting a GPA instead of actual retention of material, creating new ideas, or exploring topics in ways beyond the classroom walls... I mean just because a student can cram and remember the material for the test does not mean that they know it. I have so many friends who openly admit they remember little to nothing from many of their college classes. I feel like this spills into other areas of student's lives... Ok. Steps off of soap box, puts it away. Eh, back to my paper.

Sanity Reward

I am a big supporter of the idea of rewarding yourself after accomplishing things. So after my 38 hour work-study-work-school marathon I headed to New Seasons for a little indulgence food shopping trip.

Left to right: The best apple I've had in a while, Kombucha - an apple cider spiced fermented tea, Cow's Milk fruit topped yogurt (so far my favorite is their maple flavor), Mahon DO Mitica cow's milk cheese - it has a slight softness and nutty flavor certainly a new favorite, and of course the real "treat' Theo's chocolate. As I mentioned in this post their coconut curry is a unique flavor (one that I find exceptional) so I decided to check out their other unique flavors: a fennel and fig bar and a hazelnut crunch bar. 

Little miss V wanted to cuddle on her mom's lap for a while - totally ok with that.

Hello 24

12 days ago I posted about a second snow day and how that was crazy for the NW. Well I repeated the all night study ritual with Brittany and low and behold snow started falling at precisely the same time as 12 days ago. It was a bizarre Groundhog's Day feeling. I have now been up for 26.50 hours and am exhausted, only 11.50 hours left to go before I can go to bed. Ugh. Luckily I have some surprises that are getting me through the day. 

This flower that adorns my office desk that I received yesterday as a belated birthday present.

Starbucks. Or more accurately caffeine. I had a blonde roast at 9:00 and then an Americano (a first!) at 11:00 last night and when I got to work my co-worker had a cup of chai waiting for me. :)

Weekend Recap

 Friday afternoon I went to We've Got Your Back to meet my new chiropractor Dr. Trenner. Her evaluation was that my left shoulder and my mid back had a slight elevation to the left (damn office chair) but my hips had a slight elevation to the right (can't explain that one). She also examined my ankle and then confirmed my fear: that little sprain in November wasn't really a sprain. She believes I tore some of my muscles and fractured the ankle. That explains why 4 months later it's still swollen.... and will be for another 6-9 months. So now I get to sport Kinesiology tape everyday. What? All the cool kids are doing it.

Friday night I spent the evening playing Settlers of Catan and Texas Hold'em at a pizza joint in Portland with some friends. Which turned into something along the lines of going out dancing with strangers. "So how do you know Paige?" "I just met her tonight." "Oh then how do you know Leif?" "I just met him as well." "So you don't know any of us?" "No..." "That's awesome." *high five*

 Saturday was a different story, I spent the day at home. However, my travel companion and I did purchase our plane tickets for Coachella! We're flying Virgin Air which has blue and pink track lighting, what a great way to get into music festival mode!

Sunday I ran around all day doing errands. Some of my favorite purchases:

St. Ive's Invigorating Apricot Scrub

I needed a new exfoliate scrub and after a bit of research was happy to support St. Ives. Their philosophies are to use ingredients from nature, to not add parabens or phthalates (preservatives and plastic additives used in many hygiene products), use environmentally sustainable vendors, no animal testing, eco-friendly packaging, and reducing waste through using PCR material and having a recycling return program. And you can't beat a $3.00 price tag.

I headed to my local Target after weeks of reading about their colored  skinny jeans on Nat The Fat Rat's page and I purchased their teal skinnies. They are skin tight but really bright and fantastic, this photo doesn't do them justice. Plus their daily deal was 15% off of women's jeans, score.

I also splurged on this sheer top which is a lot brighter and cuter in person.

Target also has coupons for $75-$1 off a 3-pack of gum and being a gum addict I couldn't miss that opportunity. I picked up Orbit's new Wildberry Remix flavor. I am in love. It's the perfect grape-like flavor. I've already gone through a pack and a half...

After Target I headed to the mall and bought half of Forever 21, serious shopping spree.

1. The static faux fur jacket which doesn't look that great online but in person it's plush, super soft and looks ridiculously expensive. 

2. The shawl lapel blazer which also doesn't look overly fabulous online but in person it's shiny and fitted. 

3. I also bought two of the long sleeve button up shirts.(They totally reminded me of JoAnn from A Cup of Joe.) They're light and bright, perfect for the office or a relaxed night with friends. 

4. This stripped top with tie. I can't wait for weather nice enough to wear this!

5. A dark green high-low skirt that I've been lusting after for ages.

6. An elbow patch sweater, better late than never right?

7. Today the weather is crappy so I decided to wear my new raglan sleeve sweater ($10.99). It's the perfect dark green and super comfy.

Photo Credits: Virgin Air Lights, St Ives, Skinnies, Boxy Shirt

Happy Saturday - Banana Flapjacks

It's finally the weekend again! I'm looking forward to some studying but more importantly I'm hoping to hit a trail or two with the pups. I haven't had time to surf the web this week (finals are approaching) so I thought I'd share a recipe for Banana Flapjacks in case you're craving a hearty Sunday breakfast. This recipe is originally vegan, I just didn't have all the ingredients for the Vegan version.

Banana Flapjacks

(Recipe from Vegan Brunch, all vegan substitutes will be in parenthesis.)

2 very ripe bananas
2T canola oil
1/2c milk (almond or rice)
1/2c water
2t  apple cider vinegar
1T honey (pure maple syrup)
1c all-purpose flour
2.25t baking powder
.25t salt
.25t ground cinnamon
.25t nutmeg
.25t allspice

Gather your ingredients, my dad swears by the measure before you start method and I use it when I've never tried the recipe before. 

Mash your bananas in a large mixing bowl.

Add in the oil, milk, water, vinegar and honey (maple syrup). Then add in the flour, baking powder, salt and spices, continue breaking down the bananas until there are little to no lumps.

Add in your extras - we (Brittany and I) used chocolate chips but both agreed that we used too much. When I make these again I'll only use 1/4 of a bag. Preheat a large skillet or pan over medium heat. "You'll know the pan is hot enough by adding a drop of water - the water should dance around the pan, but the pan should not be smoking." Spray the pan with non-sticking spray then add 1/4-1/2c batter to the pan. 1/4c will give you pancake stacks size and 1/2c will give you flapjack size.

Because of the banana base you'll want to cook them for 3-6 minutes on each side. 

While your pancakes are cooking, take this chance to cut up your favorite fruit.

And prepare your favorite side dish.

Cover your finished pancakes with foil to keep them warm while your cook the remaining batter.

Enjoy!