Healthful Bites

I was recently tagged by my pal Sam to participate in the Lucky Number 11 Survey going around the blogosphere! I shared the basics about myself last spring, but this is the perfect excuse to open up about a few more lesser-known fun facts about yours truly.

The rules of play:

• Each person must post 11 things about themselves on their blog.
• Answer the questions the tagger set for you (Sam had some awesome ones!).
• Create 11 new questions for others and tag 11 more people.

As you’ll see at the end, I’m going to bend the rules a bit…But it’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to! ;) Away we go…

1. At any given time, I probably have about five games of Scrabble on Facebook going. It’s a bit of a problem, but I’m OK with it. There are worse addictions out there and I chalk it up as good for my mental health!
2. In other game news, I find that there is little in life more fun than crowding around a board game with family and friends. A new favorite: Ticket to Ride.
3. My only broken bone came when I was one year old, about as big as I was in the picture above. (What can I say? I was multitasking from a young age.) I was trying to help my mom pick fruit from our cherry tree and fell off the mini-step ladder and crack! A cast isn’t going to slow me down though. I motored around so much that I wore a hole in the bottom of it before my doctor took it off.
4. Whenever I could use some cheering up, I visit Aaron Rodgers Photobombs. I dare you not to laugh!
   
5. While I am nowhere near getting married and find most wedding-related TV shows boring, I cannot get enough of My Fair Wedding with David Tutera. A guilty pleasure!
6. I received a teddy bear for Easter when I was one or two which Mom had so aptly named Jelly Bear (get it: jelly bean/Jelly Bear)? I would like to believe that was when my lifelong love of puns began.
   
7. If I had to diagnose myself, I’d say that I’m practically blind. My Mom always says that she married the only person she ever met who had worse eyesight than she did…so that means I have two sets of awesome vision genes! I recently went for a new prescription and, without any contacts or glasses, struggled to read one letter—really, just one—that was about 14 inches tall on a wall 10 feet away. See? Blind. Thank goodness for contacts!
8. To make my commutes and errands feel quicker, I mow through several podcasts on a weekly (and sometimes daily) basis. Some top picks include Fresh Air, Freakonomics, Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me.
9. After catching the first episode of Smash on iTunes (free sneak peeks are the best!), I’m more than a little excited for the rest of the season. Anyone else get chills with Katherine McPhee puts her own twist on Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful?”
10. I’m often told how much I look like my Mom. We have similar smiles—and similar personalities. Even though we live hundreds of miles apart, we still find each other saying just what the other person was thinking while chatting on the phone. Crazy!
11. I’m having a ton of fun with the #FebPhotoADay project that my friend Jenn introduced my too. Here are a couple of my favorite snapshots so far:

And now for the 11 questions from Sam:

What’s your lucky number?

I guess I’ve never given this much thought, but I’ll go with seven.   

How many siblings do you have?

Two awesome older (and they might say wiser) sisters: Amy, an E.R. doctor, and Sarah, an occupational therapist. Their life-saving work inspires me! 

What was your favorite school subject and why?

It was math in my early years, since I rocked those times tables and Around the World (anyone else remember that game?). But somewhere around junior high, my number-related skills didn’t seem to be quite as strong as my verbal/written skills. So English took over! 

What’s your biggest gym pet peeve?

Please, please don’t chat on your cell phone while using the equipment. I know that a strong social life is good for your health, but it’s really distracting. Plus, you’re probably not focused much on the intensity of your workout if your lost in conversation, so leave it in your locker if you don’t mind. :) 

What’s a healthy food that you really can’t stand?

I may be inviting a bunch of gasps from food bloggers out there (and I really wish I could say that I love this!) but I have yet to convince myself to like plain oatmeal. I know, I know! It’s SO wholesome and good for you, but something about the texture is just not my favorite.

A close runner-up: seafood, but I’m not 100 percent sure if I want to love it because of the smell.

What’s your favorite cereal?

Cascadian Farms Honey Nut O’s are pretty delish. 

Where’s the farthest you’ve traveled from home?

I visited Tanzania with my Mom and uncle when I was in college while my sister was in the country doing medical volunteer work. It was a life-changing experience to see how different the world is without refrigeration, endless clean water and many paved roads.

*NSYNC or Backstreet Boys?

*NSYNC hands-down. Anyone who knew me in junior high could vouch for the fact that I had a touch of Justin Timberlake fever. But really, who doesn’t? ;) 

What’s one career you find fascinating?

I know I could never do it—I think I would take other people’s problems home with me—but helping people with the inner workings of their brains, like a psychologist, would be so, so interesting.

How do you feel about Pinterest?

Love! The Type A in me adores how easy it is to organize awesome ideas and to-dos in one place. By the way, you can check out or follow my boards here!

What’s the biggest fear you’ve conquered?

I’m pretty proud of the fact that I gave up control and jumped off a cliff with a stranger to enjoy an amazing paragliding experience in Colorado!

Phew! Well after that novel, I don’t think there’s room for much else. I’m going to skip the tagging, as nearly every blogger I know has either participated or has been tagged already. Plus, it’s a holiday weekend, so everyone deserves a break! I’m going to take a little hiatus, but will see you back here next week. Happy President’s Day, everyone!

One last thing: I’d be fascinated to hear any of your responses to Sam’s questions. Spill in the comments!

I know time’s at a premium for you too these days with the holidays (amazingly!) right around the corner, so let’s get right to it. Here are your three quick tips for a healthy week!

1. Drink a glass of H2O. Whether you’re looking to avoid a parched mouth or want to simply stay hydrated from the inside out, sipping on plenty of water is a great idea. And new research reported in The New York Times says that the old advice is true: Dieters lose more weight when they drink a glass of water before a meal.

2. Take a look at some meat?! If you’re feeling anxious or nervous, you may be wise to get yourself near some meat. Researchers from McGill University in Montreal found that simply the sight of a carnivorous dish is calming. Apparently, meat meals remind us of happy family meals and gatherings in the past. I wonder if the same holds true for vegetarians and vegans?

 (Image from Esquire)

Tastes like family!

3. Recover actively. After an endurance event or super-challenging workout, most athletes give themselves free reign to lounge around for a few days to rest and recover. It’s crucial not to pile on a hardcore workout right away, but the lactate (a chemical released during strenuous exercise that makes you “feel the burn”) will be released from your muscles more efficiently if you cool down with a walk and stretch a few hours later.

What does your post-workout routine entail?

After a whirlwind weekend donning my gown, flipping my tassel to the right and walking across the stage, I’m going to let pictures do most of the talking on this post! I had a wonderful time celebrating my graduation, Mother’s Day and the next step in my life with family. I’m so lucky to have such a supportive and loving group of people alongside me and inspiring me!

Including my beautiful and accomplished sisters…

And my generous-beyond-words parents…

And all of my other great supporters. You know who you are!

We had wonderful conversation and lots of delicious food—since this is a “good for you eats” post. I took my Mom and aunt on their first Jason’s Deli trip, dined on whole wheat “Herbivore” pizza at Great Plains and celebrated with family at Lucullan’s after all of the festivities. My parents called it a “done paying tuition party” since I am the youngest of their three daughters and finally am going to be off their payroll ( :) for them, : { for me ).  Anyways, our crew noshed on fresh and tasty Italian fare family style.

As you can tell, we thought the salad was terrible. Just kidding! 

Among other traditional Italian dishes (pizza, chicken parmesan), we ordered lasagna…

And my favorite: a vegan dish the restaurant calls roasted vegetable pasta! 

Here’s my plate, plus I had a salad and a piece of bread. The roasted vegetables (zucchini, garlic, tomatoes, squash) were seasoned to perfection and not overly oily, so I was sure to scoop us a good-sized portion! There may have been a dish mysteriously left with almost all plain noodles after I had a go at it :D On the top portion of my plate is linguine with marinara from the chicken parmesan dish. Also lycopene-packed and quite tasty.

So there you have it! I am no longer a “student” for the first time in 18 years. It’s a very strange feeling, but I’m looking ahead to bigger and better things. I’ll be sure to keep eating, studying, video taping and writing my way through the real world! Caps off to all the other graduates out there.

P.S.: Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing Moms out there—especially mine!

Well folks, I’m taking today off from the regular “Good for you news” post, as I am going to soon be en route to school to get my diploma! How strange is that? College seemed to fly by in retrospect.

 (Image from Campus Solutions, Inc.)

I’m excited yet nervous, happy yet a tiny bit hesitant. I feel very fortunate to have a job that begins in early June (not to mention it’s my dream job…) so that’s very positive news! But moving halfway across the country and starting life as a “grown up” is a bit scary.

Did you know that new college graduates occasionally struggle with depression-like symptoms? Hopefully I can sidestep those with a good amount of physical activity and plenty of fun and relaxation time!

Wishing you all a great few days. I’ll be back on Sunday for the regularly scheduled “Good for you eats” post!