Philly Marathon 2013!

Yesterday I ran my 2nd marathon and PR'ed by almost an hour!

I am so thrilled. Last year I wanted to just be happy that I finished but truthfully I was not. I just wasn't happy with my time last year (4:55) and really wanted to do better this time around.

I ran it in 3:57 yesterday! 

I enjoyed yesterday's race so much better than last year-obviously I am bias-but it was such a nice day and I felt confident going into the race. 

I NEVER thought I would be running a marathon, let alone more than one.

I signed up for Philly last year as a deal to myself. I wanted to prove to myself that I am strong and not to listen to voices in my head that told me I wasn't. I didn't want to feel bad for myself about the breakup anymore. I said if I finished it I would stop thinking about it.

Honestly, that didn't really happen but I'm getting there.

It's hard when you are still single to not be hard on yourself when it is your fault. 

Running has become a part of me and I truly do love it-I wouldn't have ever been able to say that before. My advice to anyone who is struggling with heartbreak of any kind is to do something that makes you feel strong. Reminding yourself that you are in charge and that you can do something will make a huge difference in your life!

NEDA walk 2013

This weekend some friends and I participated in a local NEDA walk.

It was such an inspiring morning and I am glad they chose to spend it with me, supporting a cause near and dear to my heart.

If you have never been to a NEDA walk before, go!!!

NYC Food Tour

This weekend flew by.

On Saturday I went with Student Dietetics Association to NYC for an ethnic food tour!

It was a lot of fun and although I forgot to take pictures until the end, it was a great way to try different restaurants in the city.

We went with City Food Tours and had a blast!

Here are a few of the places that we went (I missed pictures at the first 5 places-whoops!)

How many kinds of olive oil does a person need?!

This was at Puro Chile where we tried a couple different spreads, all equally delicious!

Oh yeah, and on our way to Puro Chile we passed Mark Ruffalo. #nbd.

My favorite thing we tried was a tomato and basil quiche at ORO bakery. 

Our last stop was at papabubble which was so unique.

They are based in Australia and only hire artists to make their hand-made candy! 

Each piece has a design in the middle. 

It was a great day in NYC and a fun way to see a different part of the city.

sneaking in your vegetables

This week I started interning with an RD who has a radio show and teaches cooking classes.

I am loving it! It is so cool to see a different kind of dietetics other than a clinical setting.

Last night's class was "Vegetarian Sides for Thanksgiving" and it was awesome.

We made some delicious dishes (sadly, I don't have pictures): quinoa stuffing, pumpkin hummus, bourbon sweet potatoes and my favorite: Ruby Red Pie.

Ruby Red Pie is made of pureed beets, walnuts and raisins.

OH MY GOSH. It was amazing! 

Honestly, I don't think that I ever tried beets before, but putting them in a pie crust was definitely the way to try them first. Amazing. I will definitely be making this for Thanksgiving!

(not my picture)

This is a great way to sneak in some vegetables! I love sneaky foods like this. Black bean brownies or a kale smoothie are great ideas too.

I think I need to re-read this book

it's a good one!

say no to stress

Being a Nutrition major is draining.

I love it, but man is it killing me.

Knowing that I have to do x,y and z to get an internship when I graduate just stresses.me.out. 

All of these great opportunities have come my way within the past few weeks and I have said yes to them all. I genuinely want to do them, and boosting my resume doesn't hurt either.

The down-side is...this week is craziness. Everything coincided within this week and I feel like I have been running on empty. Running. Volunteering. Interning. Babysitting. Oh yeah, and I am in school too. 

I have learned this lesson time and time again but I am really feeling it this week- IT'S OKAY TO SAY NO! People aren't going to hate you for it. Next semester will be a test of this. I am going to say no if I don't have time for it or if I just want a day to relax.

I really love my major and am so excited to one day be working in the field of Nutrition, I just want to make sure that I get an internship! 

Can anyone relate? I am not seeing the light out of this college tunnel just yet.

turtle love

Finally Halloween is over!

My girlfriends and I spent the better part of last week working on our prize-winning costumes...the Ninja turtles. We used roasting pans for the shells and they turned out pretty cute, dontcha think?

I will admit to having a few pieces of candy this weekend but hey....I ran TWENTY miles on Saturday!! Race day is approaching rapidly-ahhhh!!!

This week is another crazy one. Seriously, I think by the end of this semester I will have aged 10 years. 

5 on Friday

And it's November!

October was a crazy month everything-wise.

School work piled up, volunteering became stressful and the change in seasons always makes me a little weary. It seems that November will be a reward: my race/training will soon be over, a fun trip to NYC and Thanksgiving break.

I am feeling so thankful today, fitting for the first of November.

Here's what I am looking forward to:

1. Skinny Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

from here

2. Seeing my nanny-girls

from last Halloween. 

I miss them so much!

3. Catching up on BL!

It's the first season that I have gotten behind on and I plan on catching up after my LAST LONG RUN tomorrow.

4. Tonight's Halloween costume

My friends and I made our costumes together and they turned out too cute.

Can't wait to see them all together!

5. Thanksgiving

I don't want to rush the season, but Thanksgiving is my favorite.

There is nothing like cooking all morning with your mama!

I hope everyone has a fun & safe weekend!