2.5 weeks, TJ’s, Lent

Posted by Nicole

I just took an extremely difficult quiz and want to stop thinking about it….. AKA time to blog! This is going to be a random post mentioning a few things on my mind.

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2.5 weeks… that’s how much is left before the end of dance season! I cannot believe it. I’m in the anticipatory “I miss this already” stage. It’s not often that you find a group of girls that you easily get along with, are able to be silly with, dance in unison with, and basically just loving being around.

bathroom photoshoots are where it’s at… didn’t you know? tres chic.

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Food and foodie finds. I’m still getting food from the sorority house…

Carbs and coffee… all I need. That said, I still like variety and I got a lot of groceries from Trader Joe’s over the weekend. Two new items to me were the Black Bean and Corn Enchiladas and the Spicy Black Bean dip. I really like both! The enchiladas have a lot of veggies in them (not just beans and corn) and the sauce is great (esp. mixed with greek yogurt). The dip is pretty low-cal, but a little too sweet. It’s also weird to eat because I’m used to warm bean dip, not cold. Regardless, I’ve been dipping celery and carrots into it and it’s a good match.

I also bought an old favorite – their kettle corn. I used to bring these as part of my lunch in high school. This popcorn is the perfect mix of sweet and salty and it’s nice that no microwave is required. And, the packaging. Trader Joe’s nails it.

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Lent……… I’ve been brainstorming what I want to do for Lent this year. I’m thinking of giving up a few C’s and D’s (cookies, candy, cake, chips, donuts, desserts, dairy), but also focusing on some more *mental* challenges. These include:

• not being a diva on nights out (yes, sometimes social situations turn me into a drama queen… especially when little things upset me and “throw off” my night)
• trying to practice balance and moderation more often (in terms of diet and exercise… not overdoing or underdoing it)
• treating myself as I would treat a best friend (not beating myself up over the little things, loving myself and my imperfections, less negative self-image comments)

I think it will be a really good Lent season for both my body and mind.

Speaking of balance… time to balance leisure and work. And in this case, it’s time for more work beacuse I have a “progress exam” in 3 hours. I think that’s the professor’s nice way of saying “midterm.” I’m not buying it.

- Nicole

Question: Are you giving yourself a challenge for the next 40 days?

Question: Trader Joe’s favorites?