1 down 1 to go

Chugging along. 1 down, 1 to go. Then tests are over for the week !

Test Day

Today I've got 2 huge exams.  Wish me good luck everybody!!  I've studied and studied and now it's up to performance and staying calm.  Breakfast was a brain & body fueling 2 slices of Ezekiel bread with peanut butter and jam with 2 coffees of course!  Pre-1st exam, I'll have a bag of almonds.  Lunch will be a turkey veggie wrap.  In the afternoon, I'll indulge myself to nonfat latte.  And dinner, pre-2nd exam will be another veggie wrap with coffee.  I'm just looking forward to this day being successfully in the books!

Fashion gone bananas

What the...??

September-October Goals & Accomplishments

I'm loving the theme of September accomplishments and new goals for October, seen around the blogosphere so here's my first stab at that:

September stellar & less-stellar accomplishments:

• Got started on a New Semester
• Received Scores & Handled the well 
• Ate less healthily than I would like
• Got behind on work
• Slept well
• Handled social crises/conflicts well
• Made too many Itunes Purchases
• Got the ball rolling on this blog
• Didn't workout as much as I would like

Now, for October goals:

• Get caught up on work
• Stay ahead on work
• Eat healthier
• Exercise at least 3x/week
• Keep sleeping regularly
• Keep an eye on healthily social relationships
• Limit myself to 5 Itunes purchases/week
• Keep blogging!

Crazy Sexy Cool Studying

This is what I've been up to for the past few hours.  Oh yea, you know it's Hawtness up in here.

I'm pretty ready to call it a night but my work is not yet finished.  Whatever it takes, right? Shower break then pushing on yet again.

Random House craving

One day I want to have a slide in my loft

Coffee Making Danger

When I woke up this morning, I stumbled into the kitchen to boil water and make my french press coffee per usual.  Except this time, as I pressed down on the piston, the pressure must have been too much because the coffee-to-be-liquid exploded out all over the kitchen, but first my forearms.  I'm a righty so my left hand was more out of the way but my right arm got the brunt of the action.

It's blistering, stinging and inflamed   No fun at all!  Not the best way to start off the week but I'm glad it's not on Wednesday, my test day!  I'm gona ice this baby until I have to leave and then apply so topical creams to it.  Insanity!  Watch out for your coffee bombs people!

Popeye-ing Pellegrino

Before and after study spot shots. Hawt, right? :P

Doing whatever it takes when it's worth it.. while drinking water!

For those of you who don't know, I work and I attend school.  It's a heavy load on both ends, especially at school, but I only have 80 days left. That's right, 80 days until I have a degree that's been a long time coming.  It'll be a fight to the end, and there will be a lot of lost sleep, excessive amounts of coffee and peptalks, venting, and stress.. but it is worth it.  I'll do my best to keep my sanity through exercise and sprinkles of self-indulgence, but my priority is finishing with flying colors!  This week, on top of regular work, I have 2 exams coming up so I naturally forgot everything else on my schedule.  Last night I got a reminder email for a facial today that was too late to cancel, so I went today instead of getting in a workout.  It was so worth it!  50 minutes of relaxing recuperation and now I feel rejuvenated.  The aesthetician said my skin was very dehydrated and that I need to work on drinking more water and using a more intense moisturizer.  I'll be switching moisturizers very soon, as well as working on the H2O intake, and report soon!  It is even possible that my recent headaches are due to dehydration as well, so I gotta get on that.  It's not as easy to twist open a tall bottle of water on a chilly autumn day; I'd rather pour myself a tall mug of coffee!  But there are some serious reasons to fight that urge, including (but not limited to):

• improved digestion & metabolism
• healthier skin, hair and nails 
• detoxification of the body
• joint protection
• improved organ function
• body temperature regulation
• improved brain function

Hard workout Headaches

Happy weekend everyone!  So many holidays today- it's Korean thanksgiving and International Coffee day!  Unfortunately, I have 2 huge exams coming up this week so I'm stuck indoors studying for most of it.  I did get in a hard workout this morning and I have a cold-like headache now.  Tried caffeine just a minute ago, so hopefully that'll help.  It occurred to me however that this isn't just a fluke.  I've noticed regular headaches after hard workouts, so I did a little research.

As it turns out, exercise should alleviate, not trigger headaches.  Most headaches occur due to the inflammation of blood vessels surrounding the brain, which then stretch out the underlying nerves and sends waves of pain.  While regular exercise can diminish this response through endorphin boosts and by improving blood flow to the brain (which minimizes blood vessel inflammation), some people do experience effort-induced migraine headaches which are triggered by intense exercise.  These exertion-related headaches can last anywhere between 5 minutes to 48 hours, but if they persist, you should see your doctor (I will be doing that!).  The majority of headaches post your sweat session can be prevented and alleviated with the following tips:

• better hydration before, during and after your workout
• warming up slowly and cooling down gradually after your workout
• sufficient sleep
• proper breathing during your workout
• cold packs to your head or neck to alleviate head pain
• less caffeine and no alcohol before or after exercise
• temperature accommodations and apparel to prevent overheating