Last Night of the Spring Semester

  

   Tonight was my last class of the semester with the One, the Only, Dr. Kiekbusch. Tonight is also the last class I will ever take with Dr. Kiekbusch because I graduate in December of 2014. Next semester I will take my last six hours of coursework with Dr. Hoskin. Class went on as usual with an intense discussion and a great guest speaker. Except that after tonight I won't have to be in class every Monday from 5:30-8:30 pm, no more papers about the chapter, and no more discussions. Also, I won't get to sit next to Ashley Doran anymore because this chick is graduating in May!

   My first M.A. class was held at CEED with Dr. Kiekbusch and that night I met Ashley. She was pretty feisty and outspoken even during that first class. Which is why I immediately liked her and knew that we would raise hell in whatever class we had together. And we did. We always sat next to each other, dominated the class discussion and always had a blast. Ashley is a very driven, kind, intelligent, outgoing, and kickass person. I cannot wait to see where her future will take her. I am so thankful that I met someone who could make me laugh even when I was crying. She always had a shoulder for me when I needed it and a big hug. I am a little sad that next semester I won't see her smiling face when I walk into my classroom, but I could not be more proud of all that she has accomplished. I will also miss her constantly saying "Oh Mylanta", and us sharing whatever food we brought to class to snack on. Thank you for always having my back, sharing my scholastic frustration, making me laugh, and especially for helping me to believe in myself. As we walked out of class tonight, I couldn't help but think back to all the memories we built over the years. I also remembered that my favorite class memories have you in them. CONGRATULATIONS ASHLEY :)!!!! I love you so much!!

I am so happy I met you!

What I Found at the Midland Farmer's Market

   This morning me and the parental units made our way to the downtown Midland Farmer's Market in search of yummy and local food. Unfortunately most of the produce vendors were not there because our weather has been Funky and it might be a little early in the season. After grabbing a dark roast coffee, I made my way from vendor to vendor. Nothing really caught my eye until a sweet black lab hanging out at the Dragonfly Farm stand looked my way. I cannot resist a cute dog. This stand had several boxes of produce and I found a gem amongst the greens. I saw the most strange looking vegetable nestled in a box with beets and radishes. Kohlrabi is a root vegetable that comes in light green to dark purple bulbs with green leaves. Since I had never heard of this thing I had to have it!

Kohlrabi in all its glory!

More of my bounty :).

    Tomorrow I will be experimenting with the kohlrabi in the kitchen. The leaves I will bake in the oven with a little olive oil, black pepper, and shaved Parmesan. The bulb will be cut into smaller pieces and put into a stir fry with just a slight char on the veggie. Let's get cooking, stay tuned!

Strut Your Stuff

   Ladies and gentleman I think we need to take a long look in the mirror and start accepting what we see. For most of my life I have railed against what I saw in the mirror and used a lot of negative self talk. Well, I am done with that bullshit. My body is under construction and I am making better food choices so that my body can perform like a well oiled machine. I am done comparing myself to Hollywood's version of sexy and envying thin models with huge boobs. I am not where I want to be yet but I am closer than I was yesterday. My legs can lift heavy things and walk many miles, my arms can hold me in a handstand pushup, my abs help to balance me as I perform a variety of daily tasks, and that is good enough for me.

   Do I want to be stronger and leaner? Hell Yes! Will I put in the work? Hell Yes! Will I beat myself up if I miss a gym day or drink a milkshake? Fuck No! Loving myself and eating what works for my body is more important than engaging in the latest diet fad. People like to negate the Paleo diet which has saved my guts. These same people think they are nutritionists and that I am slowly killing myself. I have learned to accept that these people don't understand the way I eat and that is OK. They won't stop me on my own personal journey due to their ignorance.

   Don't listen to those who want to bring you down because they are ignorant jerks. I am purchasing ear plugs in many different colors to tune out the naysayers.

This is what I am working with and it ain't too bad. 

 

Eyeliner and confidence help with my swagger.

Finals and Kombucha

I found this at Natural Grocers and it rocked my socks off.

  For many college students across the world now is a magical time in our lives. Who am I kidding?! Its freaking final exams time and we are all prepping for a week of hell with little sleep, too much coffee, and way too much crappy food. Thankfully, Wednesday was my first final exam which was given in the form of a group presentation. My last final is due Saturday and then my semester will come to an end. Hooray!

   Right now I am a little frazzled, and tired but at least I have kombucha. Kombucha is fermented tea that comes in all manner of flavors. I first heard of kombucha while living in Virginia and actually made my own kombucha for awhile. Right now I need to overcome my own laziness in order to make kombucha at home. So I just buy it from Natural Grocers in Midland. This drink is full of probiotics which are great for gut health.

Another great find at Natural Grocers! 

  The semester is nearly over and I am looking forward to reading by the pool, getting off work at 5 and not having to go to class, working out, and cooking way more. The summer is almost here y'all!!

Final Exams Wasted!

Greener Pastures

   I have finally been released from physical therapy! No more having to deal with the insurance company and begging for more visits. Optimus physical therapy allows their discharged patients full use of their gym for free for an entire month, then its only $40 a month. To ensure all my hard work was not in vain I will be making full use of their gym. The physical therapists will still yell at me about my form and tape my kneecap down. I am pretty excited that I won't be put out to pasture and left to my own devices. Can't wait for my next sweat session!!

THE BEST INSPIRATIONAL SPEECH OF OUR TIME (2013)

Dying College Professor Gives Inspiring Speech

Back to the Grind

   I always get a warm fuzzy when my physical therapists give me more exercises and freedom in the gym. The trust instilled in me not to break the machines or myself is scary and appreciated. Last week my husband surprised me with a trip to Colorado for our 3rd wedding anniversary. The steep incline and constant walking proved to be comfortable and enjoyable. My knee was stable and worked like a normal knee should. Challenging my knee in a real world situation proved to be the motivation I needed to work harder in the gym. I can only imagine what I will be capable of with a few more pounds of muscle on my leg.

   Upon learning of my adventure the wonderful people at Optimus Physical Therapy changed my entire protocol, again. More weight, more single leg exercises, and more machines were thrown at me yesterday. I cheerfully skipped over to the leg press machine and added some weight, then a little more weight, and put an extra 12 lbs. on for fun. Total weight was 100 lbs. which much to my surprise my legs could handle. For single leg press I used 50 lbs. for each leg. Single leg deadlifts are one of my favorite exercises to do. They help to strengthen the hamstrings and work on your balance. Weak hamstrings are a hurdle for many ACL patients and thus need to be kept in optimal condition. For the deadlifts I was rather cautious and only used a 5 lb. medicine ball to lift.

   Needless to say, after 3 hours of working out I was a tad bit sore and tired. Since I have roughly 3 weeks left of my school semester, I was holed up in the library for several hours after PT. When my body is physically exhausted, even a looming deadline cannot motivate me to write faster. Today all I need is caffeine and spellcheck, maybe an ice bath for my sore muscles too.

  Thursday should be even more fun because I get to add more machines and agility exercises. Steven needs to have ice and chocolate on standby.