hello may and helloooo dr. burke

happy may 1st!

move over april showers (although we didn't see a single one), and make way for may flowers! i don't really know where that came from, but i'll go with it. ;)

this is my second week linking up with amanda! i enjoyed it so much last week, that i had to return for seconds.

1. them goals - end of month check in

at the beginning of april, i set three specific goals. how did i do? well . . .

books: i certainly did stand behind my word to make more time for reading. there was rarely a day where i did not pick something up to read, whether it be a news or fitness-related article, or book. i did a lot of fitness-releated reading, but finished st. lucy's home for girls raised by wolves, a series of short stories written by karen russell. i am planning to write a short review and share my thoughts on this, so we will leave it at that for now. 

booze: if you have read my half month check-in post, you know that was a big one for me, and a huge focus throughout april. reduce social drinking. stop the "yes" habit in social situations by practicing mindfulness. i am scoring myself with a 93%. admittedly, i had exactly 1.5 drinks in 30 days. both times i was fully aware and chose to have a drink out of want, and not because i was offered one. the 1/2 a drink is due to the fact that i wanted to try this import beer, but lost the desire half way in. so i stopped. as i should have. the pre-april me would have finished it out of guilt at wasting it. not this me though. i feel much stronger in my decisiveness. and although it wasn't a perfect no alcohol month, i am still proud of myself.

sweats: i am once again fully incorporating cardio into my weekly routines. my pain levels have been low all month! all except for the week i had to take off because i was sick, i have enjoyed a month of glorious sweats. cheers to more! and cheers to hopefully continuing this near pain-free streak!

2. stream of conscious writing

i sat in on a stream of conscious writing workshop tuesday afternoon. can't say i cared for the class all that much. the session was blocked out for a full hour. time to get my write on! or so i thought. the presenter essentially talked for the first 40 minutes about her thoughts and feeling about this form of writing. we were then given 10 minutes to write whatever came to mind, uninhibited by spelling, grammar, etc . . . the last 10 minutes were spent sharing our piece. hmmm . . . 1. i came in with expectations on how this could improve my skills as a writer. little did i know, it was structured towards non-writers, and angled as a means of stress release. not that the intention was bad, just not what i had hoped for. 2. i find stream of conscious writing to be highly personal, and did not appreciate being broken up into groups of three, where there was no real way of getting out of reading my piece aloud . . .  

3. noshes

i am really satisfied with my menu this week. it is amazing how good it feels to eat healthy, wholesome, good eats. prepped meals equals a happy tummy and even happier wallet. no having to spend unnecessary money on lunch (although i will say the make-your-own gourmet salad bar at work is not too shabby). here's what i have been noshing on this week.

breakfast: overnight oats. surprised? haha. i mixed this up a bit, and instead of going with my usual vanilla pb oats, went with pina colada oats! in leu of rum extract, i was a bit heavy handed with the vanilla extract, which did lend it that rich dark note.

1/2 cup old fashion oats
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
2 tsp fiber supplement
1/4 cup frozen pineapple
1 tbs coconut shavings
1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

mix all ingredients well and pop it in the fridge overnight. enjoy right out of the fridge or warmed up, in the morning.

lunch: healthy stir "fry." this flavorful dish includes a delightful assortment of: cremini mushrooms, green beans, baby bok choy, and red bell pepper. i chose brown jasmine rice over white, and shrimp as my protein. added 3 tbs of GF low sodium soy sauce, 1 tbs sesame oil, garlic powder and pepper to taste. and topped with a bit of sriracha.

snack: chocolate oatmeal protein bites topped with better'n peanut butter. still need to make a few tweaks. made these on a whim, sans recipe. good consistency and texture. needs a bit more richness in taste before i am satisfied. will need to play around with this for a bit.

dinner: chili flavored, pan seared tilapia with a side of sweet & savory sweet potatoes. i could not get the tilapia to cooperate the first two days i made this. made a few adjustments to the pan prep and heat setting. perfectly cooked tilapia these past two days.

4. #burkeisback

oh. my. gosh!! am i the ONLY one who didn't read (or know about for that matter) all the spoilers that were apparently littered across all social feeds??? i had absolutely no clue burke was making an appearance tonight (or ever). none. holy ish. i am pretty sure my heart stopped when burke uttered his first words . . . to be honest, i wasn't really paying all that much attention during the beginning of tonight's episode. this season has been so up and down, and up and down some more. with cristina's eminent departure, i have been waiting oh, so impatiently for the big, dramatic plot twist. i expected it to come into play a lot sooner (which in hindsight, everything that has happened this season has culminated towards that exact thing!), and have been really impatient and flat out bored with the lack of action/drama/emotion during the last few episodes. i think my subconscious finally decided that i should not get my hopes up, so i was haphazardly watching tonight when burke happened. #colormesurprised

source & EW's article on grey's here.

and seeing as i have stayed up waaaaayyy beyond my typical bedtime, a bad habit that has reared its head all week, i am going to wish you a good night.

peace. love. :)
yay