>Mamadukes!!!

>Hey heyy,

How was your THIRSTY THURSDAY!!! haha, at least we used to call it that in undergrad. Ahhhh I feel soooo old! I guess as long as I’m working on my PhD, I can still call myself a STUDENT, right? Makes me feel better…a liiiittle.. 🙂

I don’t have a ton of pictures to post today because I’ve been spending much of my time here:

^Scienceland aka Experimentland, lab, labski, Sciencetown….

Last night I cooked a perdy good dinner for me my sistah.

[Insert un-pictured salad monster]

Salmon:

^TJ’s Southwestern salmon, cooked on the stove top. I looove my salmon a little undercooked. Tastes less fishy to me.

Wednesday was my REST DAY for the week. These BodyPump classes have been kicking my arse! (In addition to the impromptu kickboxing class I took on Tues). I woke this morning refreshed and ready for a new day, new set of experiments, and new workout. For a workout I did:

BodyPump + 2 mile run = sooooore legs

Some importante WEEKEND NEWS in my wold:

1) Mamadukes is visiting!

2) The Manfriend and I are running a 5K (can’t wait to give details! Hint: costumes and MUD)

3) Mamadukes and I are running a HALF MARATHON on Sunday! How cool is it that she started running at FIFTY and now does half marathons with me??

^Look a little alike?? 🙂

Following in the lovely Jess‘ footsteps I decided to post this questionnaire to share a little bit about myself:

– Where would you be able to spend hours and be happy? Running/sightseeing in DC, the Caribbean, anywhere with Seth or my fam

– What’s your favorite kind of doughnut? Plain (boring, I know)

– Do you have any tattoos or piercings? 1 tattoo, ears pierced (Have had others in the past…)

– What is your favorite movie? Honestly: Legally Blonde, Hocus Pocus, A Mom for Christmas, Babysitters Club, Free Willy

– Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone? Seth

– Are you still friends with the people you knew in middle school or high school? Met Seth in middle school (!) and two of my best friends I met in HS

– What did you want to be when you grew up? An astronaut, marine biologist, or work at the Clinique counter…Hmmm

– Name three things that are close to you: Coffee, computer, Crackberry

– What was your best subject in school? Science!

– What is your favorite restaurant? Neyla (a Lebanese restaurant in DC)

– Any hidden talents? No not really…I always say I’d have nothing to offer in a talent show!

– What is your middle name? Rose

– What is your favorite website? CNN, NPR, Perez Hilton (balance is key, ha)

– How old were you when you had your first kiss? 11 or 12 (early bloomer! haha)

– Chocolate or vanilla? Totally depends. Pure chocolate = dark. Ice cream = vanilla

– What is your favorite girl’s name? Rosa or Lucia

– Favorite store? Banana Republic, Forever21, Target (love their gym clothes!)

– Would you rather be a rock star or a famous athlete? Athlete!

– Favorite food? Sushi

– What are you wearing right now? True Religion jeans, American Apparel T-shirt, cardigan (I think Target?), and Steve Madden flats

– What is your favorite animal? Humpback whale! I think whales are magical and I was one in another lifetime 🙂

– Did you graduate from college? No I just went straight to my PhD. I kiddd

– What does your last text message say? “Yep” (from Manfriend)

– Do you have any nicknames? Laur, L-Rose, Skeff, Lauraina (thanks sis!)

I’D LOVE TO LEARN ABOUT YOU!!!!

– What are your nicknames?
– Any hidden talents?
– Favorite girl’s name

Aiiiight peeps, gotta tend to my experiment. Have a great weekend!!!!

xx,

Laur

>Go green, or go home

>Hiiiii hooo,

Happy humpidy humpy day! It’s a little chilly here in the District. But it’s supposed to be near 90 degrees this weekend 😎 Wooooo!

So I’ve gotta tell ya that I’ve taken my second BodyPump class and 1) I’m obsessed! and 2) I’m soooo sore!!! I took the class Monday afternoon and my triceps are still killlllling me. It.hurts.so.good.

Post-workout breakfast:

^1/4 oats, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 2 tbsp egg white, and 3/4 cup H20 soaked overnight. Then microwaved and added 1/2 diced nanner, 1/2 scoop vanilla SunWarrior protein powder, raisins, stevia, dash sea salt, 1 tsp. Better N’ Peanut Butter. Just as GOOD EVERY TIME.

I mentioned I was taking a spinning class but since my BodyPump class was so hard I decided some lighter cardio would be better and took a Cardio Kickbox class instead….BOY WAS I WRONG!!! The class was unbelievably challenging for a kickbox class! I’m definitely going again. The teacher and music was awesome and the 60 mins flew by!

Would have been a killer even for Billy..

Source

After that grueling sesh I came home and made an AMAZING THAI DISH! Omg, if you have a Trader Joe’s near you try their Red Thai Curry sauce…SO GOOD!

^I boliled 1 diced eggplant until soft then drained and added rest of veggies (edemame, broccoli, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, corn, peas, green beans), frozen shrimp, and Thai sauce. Cooked until veggies and shrimp thawed. So quick & easy…And DELISH!

The mashed eggplant made the sauce supa thick:

Yesterday I woke early and had the same breakfast above….AGAIN. Seriously, can’t get enough. Warms ma soul.

I had a verrrrry busy day in the Land of Science and needed to destress when the day was ova. Remedy: Kick arse 60-min spinning class. Def did the trick.

After class I hurried home and made TACO SALAD and MARGARITAS (duh) for the roomies and my friend Ally:

^Romaine, tomatoes, ground turkey (cooked in TJ’s taco seasoning), beans, corn, salsa, red-fat Mexican cheese blend, and Spicy Flax seed chips. The BEST PART of this meal is the creamy dressing. I make it with FF Greek Yogurt, chipotle salsa, red chili powder, and cumin. So.freakin.good.

And we clearly had to have these:

^Skinny margarita: clear tequila, splash triple sec, splash OJ, fresh lime juice, dash stevia. YEEEE—UMM!

WHY THE dinner and drinks on a TUESDAY??? Well it was the premiere of The HILLS and THE CITY, of course. Honestly, the only thing entertaining about the Hills, in my opinion, was watching Franken-Heidi..



This morning I woke, eyes glued shut, and managed to drag myself out of the apartment. Knowing I’d pick up Cosi coffee and devour the new US Weekly on my commute made my trip a little easier:

^Breakfast blend + steamed soy. Ahhhh.

Nothing like preparing yourself for a full day of Experiments with caffeine and celebrities.

Last night I was reading the lovely Kailey‘s blog and she asked what motivators we surround ourselves with (positive words, quotes, etc.) This morning while getting my morning coffee I came across these mugs from Starbucks:

^Kailey doll, these are for you.

In other more random news, I have been eyeing this bag of Doritos in our vending machine for quite some time now. Not because they look particularly delicious or nutritious, but because I’m curious of the obvious question…


Source

Do they REALLY taste like cheeseburgers? And the verdict….YES. Not in a fresh off the grill kinda way, but a MickyD’s kinda way. It’s weird, I know. One taste was good enough for me.

In older news, MARCH was National Nutrition Month!


Why our lab received these pamphlets today is beyond me, but flipping through they offered some good info:

Some helpful ways to Go “Green”:

– Add frozen spinach to your scrambled eggs
– Start your dinner with a green salad. When preparing it, cut up extra and pack the next day’s lunch
– Serve chili, pasta, or rice in a broiled tomato, a steamed pepper or half a roasted acorn squash
– Add chopped kale to thicken any soup or stew
– Try adding shredded carrots or zucchini to muffins and breads

Aiiiight, I’m getting back to ma Experiment.

Have a lovely day dolls!!

QUESTION: Who else is counting down til the SEX AND THE CITY 2 MOVIE???

xx,

Laur

>Play hard, sleep harder

>Hi y’alll,

How was your weekend?? The weather in DC wasn’t too nice–but I managed to make the best of it I guess. And by that I mean I slept for 23409732094 hours. You think I’m kidding?? Saturday I slept til FOUR then Sunday until TWELVE! haha Guess I needed some R&R 😉

So I was telling you that Friday I took my first BodyPump class. Holy sore booty! My arse was still sore TODAY! That class rocks…I reeeeally want to get into a routine of doing it 2-3X per week. Bathing suit season is coming y’alll 😉

After the killer class and a looooong day in Experimentland, I really needed to clear my head. I heard we were getting rain all weekend so I headed out for a 6-mile run to enjoy the last of the sun. When it’s warm I try to run home from lab about 3-4X per week. It really only takes me 15 mins longer to run home then walk to the metro, wait for metro, 20 min ride, etc…. I used to do this in Boston a lot. Do you do this?? Or bike to/from work???

Feeling much better with Endorphins pumpin, I met some friends in Arlington, VA to celebrate Andrea’s bday:


^Dinner was at Guarapos. It’s a Latin-style hookah bar with the bestttt cocktails I’ve had in a long time!

I started with a Champagne Mojito:

^Rum, champagne, fresh mint (sans sugar, I think it ruins it)

And ordered the grilled salmon accompanied with quinoa tabbouleh and diced avocado:

[Insert 2 glasses of Riesling]

^Me and Kels (sista)

After dinner we headed to Current (in Dupont Circle for you DC-ers) which was AWESOME! Andrea’s bf got a table so we chilled there for a while then danced the night away on their roof deck where a guy was playing his heart out on the saxophone to modern/hip-hop music! It was so fun!!! Must go back in near future…

^I may or may not have changed clothes post dinner. Just wasn’t feelin it, ya know?

Saturday I slept 11 hours, LOL. Woke up, went to Scienceland (did an ELISA and Western Blot for you science geeks like me) and then came home and watched (too many to admit) episodes of 90210.

Seriously, I can’t get enough of that show. What are some shows you can watch for hours??? I can also watch Full House and Forensic Files (ha, like the spectrum?)

Sunday I slept until 12pm (What is going on???). Major improvement from Saturday, ha. I woke with a growling stomach and quickly devoured this super thick berry smoothie:

^Vanilla protein, frozen banana, fr. berries, handful spinach, 1 tsp flax seed oil, 1 tsp xanthan gum, H20, stevia, dash sea salt. Perfecto.

For the rest of the day I played Susie Homemaker: Dishes, cleaned, laundry, and did a MASSIVE trip to Trader Joe’s. Sorry DCers that shop at TJs, pretty much cleared that place out!

Ravishing from the hours spend at TJs, I whipped up this salad with hummut (thank you again, Gabriela!):

^Romaine, tomatoes, diced organic chicken, cucumbers, edemame, and hummut (1:1 ratio of hummus and nutritional yeast and some h20 to moisten).

Amazing! It’s like a creamy, cheesy chickpea sauce! Will become a new staple I’m sure.

I used TJ’s Cilantro and Jalapeno hummus:

Yeeeh-UM! Ps…I totally don’t understand those of you that despise cilantro. My mom is like this. Serrrrriousllly??

[Insert 4 loads of laundry (whoops) and some apartment cleaning]

Ready to freak out from playin’ Homemaker all day I was craving some “ME” time and headed out for a night run. No pics but it twas beauteous. I ran over and back across my favorite bridge then to/from the White House. I clocked 6.1 miles at avg 7:54 min/mile. Not to shabby 🙂

For a late dinner I spiralized a large zucchini and topped it with diced tofu, tomatoes, steamed broccoli, peanuts, and Trader Joe’s Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette:

^This is one of my favorite meals. Quick and easy. Love the hot/cold combo!

[Insert more stretching and possibly an episode of 90210 😉 ]

Still a little hungry I made a protein cake (recipe from Julie!)

^1 scoop vanilla protein, 2 tbsp egg whites, dash stevia, pinch baking powder, dash sea salt, H20 to moisten. Microwave for 1 min and voila!

I topped this with a scoop of Greek yogurt (sweetened with Better N’ Butter and stevia). Julie, you are a genius! Next time I’m going to try chocolate protein and add in some carob or chocolate chips.

Alright kids, I’m outta here. Heading to spinning class since it’s too gross to run outside. Have a great night!!!

Laur

>Everybodys workin for the weekend

>Hiii loves,

How art thou? Hope your having a dandy Friday afternoon. My morning started early…was in Scienceland before 8am! Nuts, I know. It’s a pretty lax day in the lab, I have two experiments running so not too much craziness–which is nice. I always feel so frazzled rushing around like a crazy scientist on Friday. I try to be like that only Monday – Thursday 😉

Yesterday wasn’t one of my best days. I was home sick with a badddd migraine. I took some ibuprofen and made breakfast in an attempt to rid the monster:

^Microwaved egg puff: 1/4 cup egg whites, spinach, pepper, dash sea salt

Delish as it was — twas no help. If you are unfortunate like me to suffer from migraines you will sympathize with my need to sleep the day away. I HATE days like these. But at least this guy was around to cuddle:

Fortunately my migraine only lasted til about 4pm, so I was able to enjoy some of the day. I started with a Green Monster:

^Frozen strawberries, blueberries, nanner, spinach, 1 tsp flax seed oil, almond milk, stevia, dash sea salt

After digesting, I set out for a 7 mile walk/run. I’d say it was 30%/70%. I decided to go easy on myself considering the chance the migraine monster could creep back any second. I snapped some pics of cute-sy Georgetown:

^Pic doesn’t do justice

And my favorite path alongside the Potomac River:

Feeling MUCH better, I spent the rest of the night relaxing with some snacks:


^Strawberry banana smoothie : Frozen strawberries, frozen nanner, scoop vanilla SunWarrior protein, 1 tsp flax seed oil, stevia, h20

^Diced Honeycrisp apple w/ cinnamon + mesquite

^Baked sweet potatoes : EVOO, sea salt, pepper, organic ketchup

And watching REAL HOUSEWIVES (PS. Who else is pumped for NEW JERSEY to start next week???) and tasting a little vino the Manfriend brought home:

^Yum.yum.yum.yum ❤

This morning I woke staaaaavin’ and whipped up my fav chia/oats creation:
^Oats, chia seeds, 1/2 scoop vanilla whey protein, 1/2 smashed nanner, raisins, cinnamon, stevia, dash sea salt and a blog of Cinnamon Raisin Swirl PB

[Insert 5 hours of experiments]

Grabbed lunch from Cosi:

^Was OK. Not the best salad but it’ll do: Spring mix, chicken, grapes, carrots, cucumbers, FF balsamic vinaigrette

[Insert 4 more hours of Experimentland + a few handfulls of trail mix]

And that leads me to the present. I’m about to run home (it’s supposed to rain all weekend so I gotta take advantage of the sun, yo) then meet the sis and some friends for MEXICAN and MARGARITAS!

Happy Friday!!! Have a great weekend!!!!

xx,

Laur

QUESTIONS:

Have you taken a BodyPump class? If so, how many times per week do you typically take the class?

and

What are you most looking froward to this weekend???

I leave you with a pic of Ryan I snapped at CVS today for y’all. Don’t get me wrong I’m TEAM REESE all the way….but the man is looking GOOD!

>Sweet sweet summatime and giveaway winner!

>Hellooo,

Que pasa? I’m just gonna throw it out there — I woke up on the wrongggg side of the bed this morning! Not sure what my deal is, I’m just feeling kinda funk. Perhaps it’s the rain, or the fact it’s only Wednesday, but I know I need to do something to snap myself out of this.

So I thought, what really puts me in a good mood??? The first thing that came to mind was duh… SUMMER! Now I know I’m not in college anymore, and I don’t have three months off to frolic on the beach, lay by the pool, and sleep in until 11:00 every day. Despite that, summer is still pretty awesome.

I’ve decided to dedicate this post to what I love most about summer! What’s your favorite part?

^Skinny margaritas; bet you are shocked by this (recipes here and here)!

Georgetown Waterfront:

Surfside!

^My favorite restaurant for fresh fish tacos!

Smoothies:

^I always crave cold breakfasts when its warm

Green Monsters:

Sangria:

^Recipe here!

Summer salads:

Running/biking around the Potomac River:

Kayaking!!!!

Iced coffee galore:

Bud Light Golden Wheat:

^If you like Blue Moon but prefer light beers this one is great!!!

Grilled kabobs and veggies:


Countryfest!

And (hopefully) some time spent poolside 😎

Well I wanted to say thank you to everyone that helped out with my survey! The Manfriend (a designer) is starting a women’s active apparel line! So when the samples start rolling in, check in for more giveaways (And Seth, I’ll always accept free-bees! ha)

Using a random number generator, the winner is #22 ASHLEY from The Vegster! Ashley, please send me your address (Biochemista@gmail.com) and I’ll send out your surprise package asap! 🙂

Have a nice night and fantastic Thursday!!

xx,
Laur

>Weekend successsss

>Holaaaaa,

How are you??? Hope you had a splendid weekend! Was the weather bueno??

THANK YOU all SO MUCH for helping out with the SURVEY I posted last night! If you haven’t done it yet I’d greatly appreciate it!

What’s in it for you???



1) Its quick (and from the comments I’ve received) it’s kinda fun!

2) By completing and re-posting (or just commenting if you don’t have a blog), you are automatically entered in my SURPRISE GIVEAWAY!

3) If the label launches, I will be giving away plenty of goodies!

Moving on….



My weekend was pretty fantastic. The weather was nice, I went on a few good runs, did some shopping, and we found our NEW APARTMENT!!! It’s only a couple of blocks from our currently place but it’s SOOOO much bigger and nicer! I can’t wait! We’re moving in June 1st so pics will come 😉

In the spirit of a new apartment, we did some apt shopping. Here are two of my fav purchases:



^Book end

^Theme for bathroom

The weekend was also filled with some good eats. Salads seemed to be the theme (or the theme of the meals I felt like snapping pics of!)

^Whole Foods salad bar (Romaine, kale, organic chicken, egg whites, cherry tomatoes, onions, Cuban garbanzo bean salad, olives, wasabi peas, chili powder, cumin, and chipotle salsa. SO GOOD!

^Manfriend’s meal, and obviously stole a few bites: Shrimp and veggie quesadilla from Surfside (amazing restaruant btw)

^Shrimp salad (Grilled shrimp, corn and bean salsa, romaine, pico de gallo, avocado, cilantro

^Amy’s Tuscan bean and rice soup. A new Amy’s favorite!

^Had a few of these throughout the weekend (1 scoop vanilla protein, frozen nanner, cherries, 1 tsp flax seed oil, handful spinach, almond milk, stevia)

Even better than my food was the MUCH needed R&R…

^Rosemont Shriaz. A personal favorite

^Picked these up cause I haven’t had Jelly Beans in 2349873 years. Crazy how only a few satisfies a sweet tooth. Or maybe that’s cause I’d rather have wine??? 😉

And drum roll please….

^Season 9 has arrived!!!! Whooo! Let’s see if we can stretch this out longer than a week! haha

And some much needed cuddle time with my favorite puppy:

Aaaaand what weekend wouldn’t be perfect without some gorgeous runs in the city?? (that sounds a little nast, ha)

Saturday: 7 mi; L2 Shred

Sunday: 5 mi; L3 Shred

Monday: 5 mi (no shred, ma booty hurts!)

And I still stopped to smell the roses:



^Well not really roses…but still perdy.



And some other pleasant things along the way:

^White House (view from Pennsylvania Ave)

^Potomac River

^LOVE this window (Caribou Coffe3 @ Pennsylvania and 17th St). Reminds me of my BFF Alyson (who I miss like crazy and needs to get her act together and move to DC asap!)

Alight I’ve gotta tend to my experiment, I leave you with this hot stud I stalker-ishly captured the other day:

^This style seriously exists in DC (and pretty much only found in Georgetown). Plaid pants (often Seersuckers), pressed and/or popped-collar polo, blue sports jacket with gold buttons, brown leather loafers with NO socks, and these Ray Bans (I also like them better on Jessica Alba).

There are soooo many of them!! Clones I tell ya! haha

And CONGRATULATIONS to all BOSTON MARATHONERS!!!!

I ran my first Boston Marathon six years ago, and my life was never the same…

Have a good evening and fantastic Tuesday!!! ❤

>Foodie meets runner meets GIVEAWAY!

> Source

Source

DEAR FEMALE RUNNERS (Elite, amateur, trail runners, joggers….),

Can you please, please, please do me a HUUUUGE FAVOR and fill out this running survey???



LINK THIS PAGE to your site (COMMENT to let me know you did; if you don’t have a blog just leave a comment) and I’ll SELECT A WINNER on WEDNESDAY to receive a very special SURPRISE FOODIE PACKAGE 🙂 Promise it’s worth it!

I THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart! ❤

Post to come later today 🙂

xx,

Lauren

>Crack caffeine

>Hiii y’allll,

Happy Friday! Hope your weather is as beauuuutiful as it is over hurrr! 😎

As I mentioned yesterday my run put me in kind of a stinker mood. That combined with working late and missing out on some sweet happy hour Indian food. So what’s a gal to do? Move on, get yo productivity on (aka scienceland for me) then meet your Manfriend for a late-night delish and romantic dinna!

And that, I did. We went to Cafe LaRuche, a cute little French restaurant in downtown Georgetown. Food had a very “home cooked” feeling.

^My dish: Grilled chicken seasoned with various herbs, side salad with house dressing.

^His meal (much better than mine): Grilled trout with veggies in a garlic tomato sauce.

Even better than the food, was the ambiance:

^Adorable outdoor patio (picture doesn’t do this place justice)

^music man

And even better than the ambiance….

“At La Ruche, ordering dessert is about as inevitable as death and taxes, and infinitely more satisfying than either.” -Washington Post

SOLD!

His:

^Totally forgot what he had. I assure you it was delicious however.

Hers:

^Chocolate mousse

Mmmm.mmm.mmmm

This morning I woke eyes-glued-shut and warmed up some oats I made (in da jah) the night before:

^Love getting one last meal out of a practically licked clean jar of PB! In the mix: 1/4 cup oats, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1/2 scoop Sun Warrior vanilla protein, 2 tbsp egg whites, 1/2 frozen banana, raisins, cinnamon, stevia, dash sea salt. Perfection.

Eyes stilll glued shut, I made my way to Caffeine Heaven. While waiting for the metro to arrive (about 3 mins) my Venti iced coffee w/ soy went from this:

To this:

^Can’t slow down with that crack. ha.

Well I’m about to analyze today’s experiment and get the heck outta here. Have a great weekend!!!

QUESTION: What are your wake-me-up morning rituals???

xx,

Lauren

>Get a clue

>Helloooo,

How are ya? Pretty stoked it’s almost Friday ova hurrr. The weather has been absolutely GORG so I’m looking to spend a little less time in my air conditioned lab and more time in the SUN (with spf of course)!

Speaking of sun, there was an interesting article posted in the National Cancer Institutes recent bulletin. For anyone interesed in cancer research but doesn’t necessarily have a strong science background, this bulletin is great. And for those with a science background it’s equally great because you can keep up-to-date with cancer research advances in a single manuscript. And the primary papers are always linked through the article.

I know you may be striving to look like Donatella:

Source

But please consider some excerpts from the article:

Did you know that “melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, increased among Caucasian women in the United States aged 15 to 39 by 50 percent between 1980 and 2004″????

“First exposure to sunbeds before 35 years of age significantly increased the risk of melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma showed an increased risk”

The evidence does not support a protective effect of the use of sunbeds against damage to the skin from subsequent sun exposure. Young adults should be discouraged from using indoor tanning equipment and restricted access to sunbeds by minors should be strongly considered. Source

^AKA It is NOT BETTER to go tanning before a vacation to get a “base tan”

Consider the 10% tax on indoor tanning signed by President Obama as part of the health care reform bill. Tanning is taxed so we can use that money to pay for your SKIN CANCER BILLS!!!! Seriously, take a hint!!!

And if that doesn’t scare you, did you know that the survival rate is 5-10% once the cancer spreads???!

Please consider investing in some tan from a can!!! It will save your life and prevent you from looking like a leather bag! 😉

OK, enough rant..

This morning I woke up and took the pup for a walk. Had to snap a pic because he was lookin extra cute:

After our lovely time together I headed out for a 5-mile run. Not gonna lie, it wasn’t the most pleasant run.

Perdy, yes:

Perdy painful, umm yup.

Miles 1-3 felt fine. Then I hit a wall. Not sure why (maybe not enough water???). So I took the last 2 miles easy peasy. I used to get all kinds of pissed off if I had a not so stellar run, but lately I’ve come to realize that the “bad” runs (even though the ability TO run should be good enough in itself) make the really great runs, that much better.

Shortly after returning I made a protein smoothie both me and the Manfriend:

^Adapted from Kristen‘s recipe: 1 cup frozen cherries, 1 scoop chocolate whey protein, 1 tsp flax seed oil, 1 tsp cocoa powder, almond milk

I’ve been craving chia oats during lunch lately so I made these to bring to Experimentland:

^1/4 oats, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1/2 scoop Vanilla protein powder, 1/8 cup nuked frozen berries, stevia, dash sea salt. YUM!

Well I’ve gotta get back to my experiment. Fingers crossed for some positive results!!

QUESTION: Are there any habits/activities people do that are completely uncomprehendable to you and literally drive you up a wall??? LOL For me, it’s tanning beds!!!

Have a good night!!!

-Lauren

>Just another manic monday, tuesday, wednesday, thurs…

>Helllooo,

How was your day?? Why does this week feel so freakin’ long??? Bleh!

I decided after the weekends’ bday celebrations (aka lots-o-margaritas, champagne, Mexican, etc. my bod needed a little detox. Nothing drastic, just a good sweat sesh and looooots of H20 and veggies. And alas, I feel like ma-self again 🙂

I went for a goooorgeous 7-mile run around the District. It was peerdy but a little tooo hot to run, imo. I’m a huge baby when it comes to running in the heat. I’m a nighttime runna ❤

Pics from the morning’s run:

^Start of the route. Still a few Cherry Blossoms left.

Gorg.

Aaaand some eats:

^Monstah salad (romaine, kale, tofu, tomato, cucumber, laughing cow cheese, cranberries, sunflower seeds, balsamic vinegar, Goddess Dressing.

^Diced tomato, sea salt, pepper, Goddess Dressing

^Sweet potato fries (EVOO spray, sea salt, pepper, organic ketchup)

^Apple w/ cinnamon, mesquite, and cinnamon raisin swirl PB

To top of the Monday-ish, I did 234098324024 lbs. of laundry. Exhilarating, I know.

And to get through it all…

^Iced Coffee + soy. Mmmm luuurve iced coffee season.

So my question for youuz all is–have you ever participated in a workout challenge??? I’d love to do a 30-day Bikram Yoga challenge someday but those classes take up so much darn time! Guess that’s part of the ‘challenge’, ha. I’m also trying to incorporate more strength training/core workouts into my daily wkout routine. Problem is, I haaaaate lifting! I’d so much rather run 🙂 So I’m embarking on Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred. I’m aiming to do it 4X week (either L2 or 3) and/or taking a strength training/BodyPump class at my gym.

How many days do you strength train?? And do you do cardio on these days too??

Aiiight peeps, sorry it’s a short one. It’s back to Experimentland for this one.

xx,

Lauren

PS…Snapped this pic at CVS today. Seriously trash mags? C’mon…you can do better.