"First day of school!! Wake up!" - Finding Nemo.
Yay, I'm actually excited for the start of my senior year! I will be graduating in May!

Finished my Biochemistry class! Hurrah!
Jogged 3.1 miles in 32 min, averaging about a 10:32 mile.
Jogged 3.05 miles in 33 min, averaging about a 10:40 mile.
And last night, Ryan and I jogged, and I jogged 2.5 miles and walked the other .5 mile because my heartbeat was racing - but still finished that 3 miles in 33 minutes. So I need to increase my speed now.
Lost weight at a steady 1.5 lbs per week. Yay!
Spent a lot of time with family this summer: spent several weekends with Mom and Dad and my nephew Donovan came to stay with us one weekend. Got to see my father-in-law and brother-in-law at the beginning of the summer.
Going on a cruise next week!
Starting classes again on the 19th!

Busy, happy, productive - and making the most of it!

I jogged another 1.5 miles with Ryan yesterday, and tonight I jogged 2 miles, flat out, with a good sprint past that.
I can't wait to hit 3 miles, and I need to start increasing my speed.
Lifting weights tomorrow, jogging Tuesday. Feels great! :)

Just have to post: I jogged 1.5 miles straight tonight with Ryan! He helped push me all the way, and I feel amazing.
I made my goal, kept going when I felt like stopping, and I broke several limits I thought were there. :D

Finished out another semester! Taking Biochemistry over the summer starting July 1st, and I have 2 semesters left until my B.S. Seriously considering grad school, especially since if accepted into the USM internship, the internship hours go toward half of my grad hours. So I would only need to take 18 graduate hours instead of 36!

Studying for the G.R.E this summer for said graduate school application, but I'm taking a well-earned break from studying right now. I'm thoroughly enjoying reading The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind and not feeling pressured to put my casual book down to study my college material.

Just got back from a Gal's weekend in New Orleans! We had lots of fun, and stayed up until nearly the crack of dawn. I think it's funny that we walked 20 odd blocks in our cute, short heels and strappy dresses - and then switched to flip flops! http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2388/3544793708_c70b2c3caa.jpg?v=0
And my flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/78368539@N00/

Still lifting weights 4x/week and some kind of cardio the other days. Ryan and I are both making great progress and have healthy habits in place. I will be in the 130's by September (my birthday!), and I know it's a possible, reasonable goal.

Three cheers for summertime, because the warm weather makes for contagious happiness! As always, I intend on spending plenty of time outside this summer. We're going on a cruise in 12 weeks, in August, and I can't wait!! :)

http://vimeo.com/3057473

This is a loris, a member of this primate family: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorisidae
Soooo cute!

I made two batches of Raisin Oat Muffins tonight for a bake sale that SDA is having this week from this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Oat-Bran-Muffins/Detail.aspx , with a few alterations:

Raisin Oat Muffins
Ingredients:

1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups cooking oats
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup wheat flour
1/4 cup granola
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup chilled applesauce
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup soaked raisins with 2 Tbsp water

Topping:
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup butter, room temp. (not melted)
1/4 cup brown sugar
cinnamon to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Line 12 muffin cups in muffin pan.

2. Blend together brown sugar, oats, granola, flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add eggs, chilled applesauce, and olive oil. Mix until well-blended. Spoon batter into muffin cups. Let stand 10 minutes.

3. In another bowl, coarsely mix together the flour, oats, butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon with a fork for the topping until clumpy and dry ingredients are well mixed. Spoon clumps onto each of the muffin cups.

4. Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

5. Variation: Add 1 cup plumped raisins, with a little bit of raisin water (approximately 2 tablespoons).

They turned out perfectly and smelled so good! :) Off to bed now, I need sleep.

I'm definitely in a steady, unflinching workout routine, and I'm really excited. I've lost about 10 lbs since February, which is slow but good progress. :)
I ride my bike to class when reasonable weather permits (no rain), and I lift weights 4x/week with Ryan. My weight training has been increasing in the amount I can lift each new week, and I'm achy the next day, so I know I'm making progress with that.

Jogged/walked a 5K race at USM last Saturday with Ryan, Rob, Aaron, and Rory. I tried to enter in the Runners division, but they put me in the Walking division, since I couldn't jog the entire thing straight. No worries, though! That landed me 1st place in the Women's Walking Division, haha, I didn't expect that at all. It was also $20.00 toward a good cause.

Jogged/walked 2 miles today with Ryan, and we're great motivators for each other. I would like to push hard to get up to jogging 1 mile, then 2 miles, and more.
And of course, lifted weights tonight! Going to do some homework, then bed.

Boo! It's supposed to rain tomorrow all day, so I'll be driving my car to class. The rain just might motivate me to buy a poncho for the lightly rainy days, so I can ride my bike! I really enjoy it.

Otherwise, the rain will be good in that it will wash a layer of pollen away...to be followed by more pollen. :)

5 more weeks, including finals, and summer break will be here! Hurrah!

Updates:
Worked out lifting weights 4 days last week and rode the bike several times to school and around the neighborhood.
Weight loss has been consistent at 1.5 lbs/week.
I'm getting excited about the summertime, and endless hours of fun in the sun.
Miss Kitty is still our precious purrbox. :)

I chose a different route with less traffic today to bike ride to school. I maps.google'd my path to school from home, and it's 2.1 miles one way.
So yesterday was as follows:
Bike ride to school: 2.1 miles
Bike ride back home: 2.1 miles

Today:
Bike ride to school morning: 2.1 miles
Bike ride home for lunch: 2.1 miles
Bike ride to school for class again: 2.1 miles
Bike ride home: 2.1 miles

Sweet! And my thighs feel like jelly! So this coupled with weight lifting every week should yield some great results.
I can't bike to school tomorrow, because my class is meeting off campus on a field trip, but I really think I'll be keeping this up. It's especially nice riding in such lovely weather, though I think it's supposed to rain this weekend.
Also, it's neat to note that other people who bike to school will nod at you and smile as you pass each other. 'Sup! :)

I rode my bicycle to school yesterday, and I'm going to do so again today. :) It was fun, and I was honestly a little nervous getting in traffic. But it wasn't too bad. I stopped at Starbucks parking lot and looked around before crossing the intersection there, so that was a little weird being the first one in line to go across when the light turned green.

I got to my classroom in less than 15 minutes, so it's definitely faster than my car commute. When I drive my car, I have to find a parking space, then walk across campus, and that usually takes most of 30 minutes.

I always feel better after a good exercise! And what better day to go walking/jogging than a warm, pretty day such as this. April and I went walking for 35 minutes, and it's refreshing being outside. I'm going to sweep the back porch and clean up outside in a little bit.

A few random goals:
I want to upgrade my computer.
I want to thoroughly know how to break down and build back up said computer.
Make good grades this semester. 8 weeks left!! Yay!
Continue to eat well and exercise consistently.
New workout clothes!

I did planks tonight (up to 40 seconds on the first one!), but that's it for exercise. I'm just not feeling it today, so I'll get back onto it tomorrow. I ate very cleanly and feel positive about that, but I know that exercise is equally important.

Going to hop in bed to read more of The Bourne Identity before sleepy time. It's so good! :)

Tonight's dinner was......MmmmMmm Good!

Tuna Quinoa Casserole
Ingredients:
1 lb frozen sweet peas
1 can sliced carrots, drained
4 cans tuna, drained
1/2 onion, chopped
1 and 1/2 cup quinoa
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup cheese
seasonings included basil, Mrs. Dash, and Zataran's to taste

Boil sweet peas, carrots, quinoa, basil, and Mrs. Dash seasoning in a pot with about 3 cups of water on high for 15 - 20 minutes, or until quinoa is done. Preheat oven to 350º F. Drain carefully (to not lose any quinoa), and mix well with tuna, onion, cream of mushroom soup, 1/2 cup of cheese, and the rest of the seasonings in a large bowl. Smooth tuna mixture into a large casserole dish and sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
Bake at 350ºF for 15 minutes, then broil on high for a few minutes to brown the cheese!

I've been frequently referring back to this site Ryan showed me: http://exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

Tonight's workout:
Planks to start:
1st set = 38 seconds
2nd set = 32 seconds
3rd set = 32 seconds again

3 sets x 10 reps of each of the following, using dumbbells:
Bicep curls = 15 lbs each arm
Arnold Press = 10 lbs 1st set, 12.5 lbs for 2nd and 3rd sets. Whew! See http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/DeltoidAnterior/DBArnoldPress.html
Inclined Chest Fly = 10 lbs each arm
Bent-over rows = 15 lbs first set, 20 lbs for 2nd and 3rd sets
Squats, free-standing = 15 lb each arm


Note: My left arm has always been weaker than my right, as is typical; but I am doing a few extra reps on the left arm hoping to build it up.

Ryan and I went bicycling for about 45 minutes through the neighborhoods, so that was fun and good exercise! :)
It's been a great week for exercise having worked out every day, starting with Sunday and ending with today - with the exception of yesterday! Woo! :)

I've been losing about 1.5 lbs every week which is slow progress, but steady progress, so I'm happy. Ryan's been doing great, too, he's down to 197 this morning. :)

Went walking/jogging with Karen on the track tonight for 30 minutes, woo!

We jogged at one point for 3 minutes, and I felt like we both could've gone farther....
Doing good, getting closer to healthy hotness! ;)

Did weights, abs, and planks tonight! woo! :)

Preacher curls, 40 lbs
Shoulder press, 45 lbs
Back extensions, standing and holding 2 (10 lb) dumbbells to chest and bending over at the waist
Squats, free-standing and holding 2 (10 lb) dumbbells
Abwork: Strong crunches and leg raises, 3rd day in a row for Abs, so it's getting better!

Planks:
1st set = 14 seconds
2nd set = 17 seconds
3rd set = 28 seconds! So close to 30, but I know I can push harder

Planks are neat in that they are a compound workout by hitting up the abs all over (upper, lower, obliques), hips, and back muscles. You will feel it, or at least you will the next day for sure!




And now, sleepy time! Nighto!

I walked for 30 minutes right after work with Karen, Ryan, and Rob, and I jogged for a little of it. And tomorrow I will be riding the bike and definitely weight-lifting.

P.S. I love Miss Kitters, her "Mrrrrrreow!" when I open the front door and she darts in is adorable. :) She is currently kneading kitty biscuits on the comforter and purring contentedly.