Orchestra Trip to Spain!

Purdue's Spring Break is next week, and this year I am going to Spain! The Purdue orchestra made the decision to take this trip last Fall, and I immediately knew that I wanted to go with them (it's optional since we have to pay for it ourselves). When I was an undergrad, the orchestra had taken a trip to Turkey, and I decided not to go because it was expensive and I thought I could go by myself and have a better time. Looking back, although it was expensive, I wish I would have gone because although you can always travel on your own, you don't get many chances to perform in a foregin country. That's part of why I'm so excited for this Spain trip!

I have been to Spain once before--I took 4 years of Spanish in high school, and our Spanish teacher took our class to Spain immediately after graduation. We went to Madrid, Seville, Toledo, Cordova, and Malaga. It was a blast, but it was almost 8 years ago (what!), so I'm definitely ready for a refresher. :) Here are some pictures from my first trip to Spain:

Three of the four students who went to Spain, and our Spanish teacher. Yes my shirt has a monkey on it--it was my favorite shirt! :)

The four students in front of...something! I can't remember what. :-|

Pretty winding street

This trip we are going to Madrid and Barcelona--I'm very excited because I've never been to Barcelona and I've heard it's amazing. We have one performance in Madrid at this beautiful church:

 After three days in Madrid, we head to Barcelona. This city looks amazing! I can't wait to have picture of my own like this.

Our last performance is here in Barcelona in another church.

Ok enough pictures for now. :) I will definitely create some posts while we are there (free wi-fi at both hotels, woo!), sharing what we are doing and seeing. I am also going to try to get some runs in while I'm there, although that may prove to be difficult--we will see!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Springtime!

I have lived in Indiana for my whole life, so going through the four seasons is definitely something I'm used to, but the start of a new season is always exciting to me! The first snow makes me light up like a little kid, but after months (and months and months...) of winter, I welcome the sound of birds chirping, and warmer temps. I guess after the time changes it always feels like Spring is actually coming, because the sun stays up past 6 pm. :) This weekend was absolutely beautiful, with temps feeling positively balmy (I heard it was only 45, but it sure felt warm and wonderful compared to the past few months with highs of 10 degrees!). I was super busy all weekend, so I didn't get a chance to do any outdoor runs or bike rides, but I will be making up for that this week. I have lots to do, but I see a dramatic improvement in my outlook on life, and my general happiness when I spend time exercising outside. This morning I took Nova for a walk and then played with her in the backyard for a few minutes--I love that it's getting warm enough to venture outside without wearing 10 layers.

The Spring feeling in the air has me thinking about my garden. I didn't have a garden last year, but the year before that, I rented a plot at a local community garden, and grew some delicious vegetables. It was really great, and I enjoyed it a lot, but it was about a mile from our apartment, so I definitely didn't get over there as much as I should have, and I didn't get as much out of it as I could. Now that we have a house, I can have a garden in our backyard! So exciting! I have been looking into raised garden beds, because otherwise Nova may decide that the garden would be the most fun place to play in the yard. :) I also have been looking into local CSAs, community supported agriculture. These programs let you invest some money into a local farm, and then they deliver a crop to you each week. I have had lots of friends who participate in this, and they like it because 1) you get local, yummy fruits and vegetables every week, 2) you get a variety of crops that you might not grow/buy on your own, which forces you to try new things, and 3) you are supporting local business. I'm still trying to decide if it is wasteful to try to do my own garden AND be part of a CSA--it might make more sense to have my own garden and just supplement with things from the farmer's market. Anyway, happy Spring everyone! :)

Normal Functionality and Stress

I wanted to talk a little bit about stress today and how dramatically it can affect our lives. I was so stressed out for a little over two months while preparing for my qualifying exams. I think that I am just now getting back to my normal self--it's scary how high levels of stress can alter your personality! I didn't want to do things that I normally would want to do, because I felt like all I was allowed to do was study. What is "funny" about that is that exercising or taking a purposeful break often helps to improve your outlook and ability to focus.

According to the National Institute on Mental Health, people have a variety of reactions to stress:

"For example, some people experience mainly digestive symptoms, while others may have headaches, sleeplessness, depressed mood, anger and irritability. People under chronic stress are prone to more frequent and severe viral infections, such as the flu or common cold, and vaccines, such as the flu shot, are less effective for them."

I definitely felt the sleeplessness (very hard time falling asleep when usually I'm out the second my head hits the pillow) and irritability. I'm sure my husband thought I was very fun to be around during that time. :) Here are suggestions (also from the NIMH) to help combat stress:

• Stay in touch with people who can provide emotional and other support. Ask for help from friends, family, and community or religious organizations to reduce stress due to work burdens or family issues, such as caring for a loved one.
• Recognize signs of your body's response to stress, such as difficulty sleeping, increased alcohol and other substance use, being easily angered, feeling depressed, and having low energy.
• Set priorities-decide what must get done and what can wait, and learn to say no to new tasks if they are putting you into overload.
• Note what you have accomplished at the end of the day, not what you have been unable to do.
• Avoid dwelling on problems. If you can't do this on your own, seek help from a qualified mental health professional who can guide you.
• Exercise regularly-just 30 minutes per day of gentle walking can help boost mood and reduce stress.
• Schedule regular times for healthy and relaxing activities.
• Explore stress coping programs, which may incorporate meditation, yoga, tai chi, or other gentle exercises.

These seem like great suggestions, and I'll definitely be trying to employ them throughout the semester as I go through the normal ebbs and flows of stress. I just wanted to bring it up to remind people to learn what events cause a lot of stress, and what methods are effective for lowering stress levels to an acceptable level. I sometimes think that being stressed out is looked at as a badge of honor in our society--everyone is stressed out, and you often hear people trying to "out do" one another with how much they have to do, how little they've slept, etc. It's easy to get caught in this trap, but it's definitely not healthy, and it's important to remind ourselves that we need to keep a healthy balance in our lives to be truly happy.

Lent 2015!

Lent starts today for those of you who participate. I am not really that religious, but I always recognized Lent growing up, so I guess it's just out of habit that I still do it. When I was a kid, I would usually give up either french fries or chocolate (which would still be hard for me today!). As most of you know, I eat a vegetarian diet semi-frequently, but usually am not very strict and don't keep it up for too long. I have decided that I will go vegetarian for lent. I like how it makes me plan my meals in advance and really focus on what I'm eating; plus, I believe there are a ton of ethical and environmental advantages to being vegetarian. I'm pumped to commit to it at least until Easter!

Last week Nova turned 1 year old! Here are her birthday glamour shots. :)

I'm excited about this because now I feel like I can start to run with her--although for larger dogs like her, they often recommend waiting until they are a year and a half. This means that I am going to only bring her on runs that are less than 1 mile for at least the next 3 months or so. Yesterday I took her with me for the first .65 miles of my run, which she seemed to like. I did notice that she was getting tired towards the end, but that's probably because I let her push the pace at the beginning (< 7:00/mile for the first half mile...way too fast for me). She must have been semi-worn out afterwards though because she was sitting next to me on the couch like a weirdo.

Hope everyone has a fabulous day! :)

I'm back to life in the real world...

Sorry for the long hibernation I went into there at the beginning of the year. As I'm sure I've mentioned, I'm a PhD student, and we had our qualifying exams from February 2nd-14th. They are very intimidating exams because not only are they super hard (most of them cover everything you were supposed to learn in undergrad, some even expect you to know information beyond that), but you also only get two chances to take them---if you don't pass then you get kicked out of the program :-o I get stressed out very easily, so as you can imagine, these exams weren't ideal for me. I actually enjoyed studying intensely and learning/reviewing a lot of material, but when it comes time to take the exam, I become a bundle of nerves. They felt like they went alright though, so we will see. Oh yeah, that's the other frustrating thing--they take about a month and a half to grade them, so you are just left wondering for weeks if you passed or not. Ahh, well I'm trying to just put it behind me and think about other things until I get the results.

In other news, I have been attempting to train for both a 10k (April 4th), and a sprint triathlon (April 18th), but I have pretty much been failing. I did well with my runs for about 5 days, then I got overwhelmed with exams, and for the past few days I have been trying to catch up on sleep. SO today I am starting anew with my plans to rock both this 10k and the tri. I have done both events before, so I should mostly know what to expect. I have basically combined an intermediate 10k plan and an intermediate tri plan to make my schedule. It includes running 5 days a week (I may cut that to 4, we will see how I feel after a couple weeks), swimming twice a week, and cycling twice a week. One complete rest day, which means that there are several days where I'll be doubling up on activities. I think it will be a fun challenge to train for two events at once (they really aren't THAT different, there is a run as part of the tri, and all of the training will be building up my cardio, which never hurts).

That's all I have for now. I am going to be updating more regularly now that I don't have the scary exam cloud hanging over my head. I'll leave you with a picture of this sad looking doggie.

We gave it to Nova (it was 90% off yesterday since Valentine's Day is over), and within 1 minute she ripped off its nose. I thought the pillow seemed very appropriate for the poor little dog ha!

Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015!

Alright I know I haven't written in awhile...and I know that I'm a little late with the "out with the old, in with the new [year]" post, but it is what it is. :)

Wrap-Up of 2014:

I'd say that 2014 was a pretty great year. D and I kicked off the New Year with my parents which sounds somewhat lame, but was actually really fun and saved us a ton of money (we were initially planning on doing something in Chicago which would have been about $100 each). We spent a lot of time with friends in January and February, nothing super exciting. For Spring Break we went to visit my sister and her adorable kids in Atlanta. In April I did a 10k in Chicago with my friend Bethany (PR!), and during that trip we got to eat at my favorite pizza place--Piece Pizza. It is a pizza place/microbrewery in Chicago that is DELICIOUS!

In May we finished up our classes, and then in June...Ragnar! So much fun (well, the majority of the time!). Our van was full of  great people, and it is definitely something I won't forgot!

Our Van with our driver (D) in the middle :)

Our whole team after we finished

The rest of June and all of July were very busy! I went to a conference at Michigan State and gave a talk (my first one ever!), and a conference in Boston. During this time Dustin and I were both scurrying to finish our theses, which we did (!). After we defended, we officially graduated with our Master's Degrees in August.

The fall semester was our first official semester in the PhD program, so it was an exciting time. I took a great class about mechanical vibrations (I realize that sounds super nerdy...), and D was busy TAing for a new class, which was a lot of work! In September, we got our sweet doggie, Nova, who has been an amazing addition to our little family. :)

D and I ran the Monumental Half Marathon at the beginning of November, which was his first big race. My sister and her kids came to visit for Thanksgiving, so we spend some time with them, including a water park visit, a movie, Steak n' Shake, and lots of coloring. :) After Thanksgiving, we started getting prepared for our PhD qualifying exams, which are at the beginning of February. We took a few days off around Christmas to visit both of our families, but then we really got focused on studying. We stayed home for New Years, ate delicious food (chicken enchiladas), and shot off a small rocket. Low key, but definitely enjoyable. I'm happy with how 2014 turned out!

Goals for 2015:

I do not usually make any strict New Year's Resolutions, but I do try to think about things that I would like to improve, and goals that I have. Here are some of my big goals for this year:

• Pass Qualifying Exams: This is a big one! These exams are very intimidating, and if you don't pass (you do get 2 tries), then you kicked out of the program. I'd like to get them out of the way on the first try so that I don't have to go through the stress of studying for them all over again.
• Practice Spanish: I am making two trips to Spain this year (woo!). One with the orchestra, and one for a conference. I was getting very comfortable with Spanish by the end of college (I minored in it), but I haven't spoke it much since, and I'd like to be able to speak it while I'm in Spain.
• Run 800 miles: I forgot to say in my 2014 recap, but I just passed 600 miles in 2014. I think I can up that to 800 for this year (although with this extreme cold, I haven't been making a very good start). I want to be more consistent with my running and I definitely want to do some runs in Spain while I'm there!
• Break some PRs: I want to break 55 minutes in the 10k, and 25 minutes in the 5k. I would also really like to get my half time under 2 hours. Besides running, I want to do at least one sprint tri, and I hope to crush my previous time. Don't know if all of that is possible this year, but I'm definitely going to work towards it.
• Be more consistent with blogging: I like blogging because it helps me lay out my thoughts. It also acts as a journal that I can look back on and see how I was feeling, what I was thinking, and what I was doing. That is pretty neat! I'd like to be posting at least twice a week (hopefully more, but I will set that as a minimum). 
• Travel: 2014 was a low travel year for us (I did get to travel a little due to conferences, but I was alone and mostly just doing a lot of work) since we were finishing our Master's and then studying for qualifying exams. In addition to my Spain trips, D and I want to do a US trip in May, and an international trip in December. Not sure where we will go yet, but we always have a great time together!
• Enjoy the year!: I think we often get caught up in trying to "do" lots of things, but we don't really live in the moment and appreciate what is going on around us. This year I am going to be very focused on living life to the fullest.

That's it for now! Hope everyone is having a great start to 2015!

Four things Survey!

I haven't been tagged to do this survey (since I don't really have any online friends, ha), but I'm going to do it anyway. :)

Four names that people call me other than my real name:

1. I don't really have any nicknames! I always say when I have kids I'm going to give them names that lend themselves easily to nicknames.

2. 

3. 

4. 

Four jobs I’ve had:

1.  Lifeguard

2.  Zoo Keeper (I volunteered so not technically a job, but it was for a summer)

3.  Teaching Assistant

4.  Medical Device Tester (neat!) 

Four movies I’ve watched more than once:

1.  How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days

2.  10 Things I Hate About You

3.  Love Actually

4.  Two Weeks Notice

Four books I’d recommend:

1.  Eat and Run

2.  Ender's Game

3.  1984

4.  Perks of Being a Wallflower

Four places I’ve lived:

1. Morocco, Indiana (people often think I'm about to say I'm from Africa when I say I'm from Morocco)

2. West Lafayette, Indiana (Purdue!)

3. Chicago, IL

4. 

Four places I’ve visited:

1. Beijing, China. Went on a trip with the marching band--tons of fun!

2. Tuscany region of Italy. We went here for our honeymoon. :)

3. Manila, Philippines. Went here for 2 weeks for work. Awesome trip.

4. I went to Spain after I graduated high school--and I'm going back next summer!

Four places I’d rather be right now:

1.  Definitely back in Yosemite--what an incredible trip!

2. Somewhere where it is more than 30 degrees!

3. With my cute nieces

4.

Four things I prefer not to eat:

1. Black olives--they are the most disgusting thing I have ever eaten in my entire life.

2. Pickles! Even when I was a kid I'd hate if the pickle juice got on my sandwich--I still feel the same way about it. Gross.

3. Oysters. I've never actually eaten them, but the thought makes me want to puke.

4. Cheesecake. This one doesn't disgust me, but I put it on because people are usually shocked. I just don't think it's very good.

Four of my favorite foods:

1.  Veggie burrito

2.  Brownie with ice cream on top

3.  Mashed Potatoes

4.  Homemade bread

Four TV shows I watch

1.  Parenthood

2.  New Girl 

3.  The Mindy Project

4.  Everybody Loves Raymond (I haven't watched it in awhile, but I think I've seen every episode)

Four things I’m looking forward to this year:

1.  D's sister having her baby girl! :)

2.  A sprint tri in Spring

3.  Getting my big qualifying exams out of the way (and hopefully passing them!)

4.  A Spain trip with the orchestra for Spring Break and a trip to Spain for a conference in summer!

Four things I’m always saying:

1.  I am freezing! 

2.  I better go for a run.

3.  What do we have to eat?

4.  Nova, stop! (Always chewing on stuff or getting into things she's not supposed to, ha!)