Hot child in the city

So today was a hot one in the Boston area, temps topped out in the mid-90’s where I live, and tomorrow is SEPTEMBER 1ST!!! Something’s just not right when you’re seeing kids board school buses and there’s a heat wave like you read about going on; poor little guys.

My day started early because, per usual, I booked up my day off with appointments (and yes, there were 4 of them!). I hoped to get out for my 3 mile run between 7:30 and 8, so the heat wouldn’t be too bad. I was feeling a little off this morning but gave myself a full hour to wake up and get going. I ran the first 1/4 mile but completely hit a wall. I knew that running just wasn’t going to happen today but I didn’t let that through me totally off. I ended up walking the 3+ mile route in under 45 minutes which was a good way to start my day. I came home, showered, and got some oats in me before heading to appointment #1, hair cut! I’ve said it before, getting my hair done is one of my favorite things; it always feel like a luxery to me 🙂

Between hair and my next appointment I vacuumed my car and cleaned it out AND cleaned and organized my room. I am trying to get my life a little more orderly and organized so that when classes begin next week I won’t be a crazy person. If you’re new to my blog, I am a grad student working towards my Masters in Counseling Psychology; aspiring to someday work in private counseling with either young adults (college aged) or in some holistic/health-wellness type setting.

To hold me over for lunch but not be too heavy I decided I need a little green in my life…Green Monster that is 🙂 This one looked purple, but I assure you, it had a good amount of green in it!

It was cold and filling; not my favorite recipe so far, but definitely did the trick. Check out the thermometer reading on my porch:

Yeah, that’s reading about 106 F, absolutely frightening if you ask me. So what went into this green monster?

Purple and Blue Green Monster

1 cup baby spinach

1/2 small banana

4-5 frozen mango chunks

1/2 c frozen raspberries

1/2 c frozen blueberries

1 heaping T Nutribiotic Vanilla Rice Protein

Directions: Blend away and serve in a super tall glass!

Unfortunately, I didn’t like the taste of the rice protein at all. It’s vanilla flavored but unsweetened it ended up just leaving that gritty protein powder taste in my smoothie. As for the other ingredients, I think I would have liked it better if I had skipped the protein powder and used soy milk (or any other dairy-free milk) instead. It was just missing a little something. So far my  favorite GM recipe is Angela’s Blueberry-Banana Green Monster. I think I added a T of almond butter to that one when I made it and it was heavenly.

The good thing was that the GM left me sufficiently chilled:

Haha sorry if that’s frightening/disturbing to anyone, I get the craziest goose bumps, I hate being cold!

Fall Goals and Self-Love

So the rest of my day focused on self-care and self-love. As the beginning of the fall/semester/end of summer approach, I was start to get a little stressed and somewhat down. I really do love summer so much, and as much as I enjoy many of the beautiful and delicious aspects of fall, it just reminds me that winter is on its way (and if you know anything about winters in New England, you will KNOW what I am talking about).

This year I really want things to be different. I want to have a love and appreciation for my life and the person that I am despite the crazy schedule and hectic lifestyle. I want to be able to stop and enjoy life, even if I am a grad student (we can have fun, too)!  I want to keep up with my fitness goals but make sure I seriously incorporate yoga into my weekly routine, even daily with a few minutes of yoga stretching in the morning. I truly want to be able to find the fun and joy even in the mundane; isn’t that what being mindful is all about!?

As a reminder to myself, I wrote an Operation Beautiful post-it and stuck it right on my mirror:

I submitted it to Caitlin because I think we should all remember to give ourselves kindness and love each day. In that spirit, I am joining with Tina at Faith, Fitness, Fun in her 30 Days of Self-Love challenge. All that you have to do to join is visit her blog each day and take 5 minutes to reflect on what she has posted, or even on your own, just reflect on your mini-triumphs each day. We can be so busy critiquing ourselves and thinking of the negative, that we often forget all the great and wonderful things about ourselves! I know that I am not perfect that there is really no such thing as flawless, but sometimes my type-A personality leads me to believe that perfect and flawless are achievable. It’s time I stop that and start living for today and being happy and content with who I am at this present moment; enough worrying about what could be or what may happen.

So won’t you join me? Show yourself a little self-love; feel free to comment on any times or any thoughts of self-love that you’ve had in your life that have made a difference.

Goodnight everyone!

-Em

p.s. A little musical inspiration to get you movin’ and shakin’ into a more positive mood 🙂