Well, this weekend is the final hurrah of my eight-week classes. Tomorrow I have to drive out to Garden Grove to take my Final Exam for Econ. (UGH!) I’m SO nervous, mostly because I’ve been teetering on the edge of a good grade and a MEH grade. I just want to pass and graduate already!!! It’ll all be over quickly, just like ripping a band-aid off. (Except band-aids don’t leave your brain feeling like MUSH!)

I think I’m going to do some juicing this weekend, just to clear my system of all the junk I’ve eaten this week. It’s been really hard to focus on “what’s for breakfast/lunch/dinner?” When I’ve been on the absolute, nonstop go for the past three weeks. I’m jumping back on the ball this weekend, so watch out world!

NOW, I have to get back to studying, but I’ll be back!

<3 Hojo

Hello again!

So I’m out of class early tonight, and was able to spend some time catching the latest episode of Substitute Princess.

The new job is still taking up a lot of my time and energy, I’m working SO hard to find balance between work, relaxation, school, this blog and my workouts. My 8-week classes end this week, and I only have 3 (?) more weeks left of my full term classes. Balance. Balance. Balance.

I am doing my absolute best to stay HEALTY on top of it all. This includes making my lunches ahead of time, and trying to fit in meal planning for the week. The last couple of weeks have been a free-for-all when it comes to eating out/dinners and snacks. Mostly because I’ve spent so much time out of the house, it’s been tough squeezing in anything else.

I promised myself this would be my last semester of full-time school, full-time work. I’m SO close to getting my Associates Degree, I can taste it! (I’m sure it tastes like paper…) I’m extremely excited to finally see some sort of result from school, especially with how I’ve had to struggle and adapt over the years. Cal State system, watch out!

Anyway, I wanted to update for this week, even though I’m running a little off schedule. Last weekend was an impromptu Disneyland trip. It’s become our go-to answer to “What do you want to do this weekend?” question. So we drove out there (it was packed!), went on a couple rides, and went home. It was an absolutely gorgeous day! I know it’s been super hot in Southern California lately, but we picked the perfect day to go!

I finally got to go on the Mark Twain riverboat. I’ve never been!
(Actually, I take that back, I’ve been on the real Mark Twain steamboat in Missouri, but I digress).

Aaaand then we walked around in all the shops, being silly. I tried on a silly hat, and ended up really liking it! Ha!

I was able to snack on some filling mango, with tajin, that kept me away from all the greasy snacks. While I admit, I occasionally indulge in a pretzel with cheese, or some sugar-coated popcorn, or fudge, or…you get my point…we go to D-land quite a bit, and I can’t always pack on the goodies when we go. Balance, right?

And then I came back with an awesome new coffee cup! (This made my week, and continued to make me chuckle as it sat on my desk at work…)

I’m seriously going back for this sweatshirt. I’m not even kidding.

So that’s been my week so far. Nothing more than beating the Tuesday blues. Tomorrow morning BRIGHT AND EARLY I’m waking up to go running. I did okay this morning when doing my ab workouts, so I might just wake up and get moving, before I realize what I’m doing.

Working out is part psychological warfare.

I’ll let you know how that goes…goodnight all!

<3 Hojo

Still working to find balance between worlds here, so welcome back to my odd blog!

The semester for Coastline ends next week, and I’ll just be left with my one Mt. Sac class, so things will lighten up, and I’ll have a lot more free time once all that settles down. It’s been crazy, figuring out how to maintain that balance in my life.

I have to say, I miss the free time, but I’m a lot better off than I was, so it’s a fair trade.

I have a lot more free time in the afternoons now, and it’s getting adjusted to a completely different schedule than what I’ve been pulling for the last 4-5 years.

Anyway, we’ve got a busy weekend planned. As soon as we get moving, we’re headed off to Disneyland.

Breakfast!

Workouts:
Like everything else, I’ve been figuring out a way to incorporate my workouts into my daily routine. While I admit, it’s hectic, it’s becoming easier to set aside that dedicated half hour each day in order to relieve my excess stress. I’ve also been finding time in the early morning hours, since Kurt wakes up an hour before I do, and there’s no way I’m getting back to sleep. (ME??? A morning person??? No way!)

Not without coffee…

Last weekend:
As you all know, last weekend was Mother’s day, and I spent some time with my mom by taking her out to a surprise lunch at Coco Palm!

I’m not sure who was more impressed, me or my mom. I made reservations weeks ahead of time, and wow, did they cater to our every need! It was like being a VIP, doors held open for us, a special table waiting with the best view, bypassing the hour-plus wait. I expected nice, but I didn’t expect it to be this nice! I’m glad I was able to do something so special for my mom! P.S: the brunch buffet was fantastic!

On Sunday, Kurt and I barbecued Memphis-Style ribs.

They were delicious, but SO spicy! We also grilled some corn. (My favorite way!)

We’ve been slowly experimenting with grilling over the past couple years, and perfecting the art of charcoal grilling. Kurt is turning into a master of the grill, and we’ve done everything from chicken breasts and hot dogs, to duck and fish on a plank. Summer is just around the corner, and I have a feeling these pictures will become more frequent.

I also made a trip to the Japanese market on Monday, right after my (very postponed) midterm. Not sure how I did, since my instructor hasn’t graded it yet, (but let’s hope I can keep stay in the A/B range).

Anyway, Japanese goodies!

Top left: Inari (bean curd), Right: Takoyaki (deep fried octopus balls) and Bottom: Mackerel sushi. I also picked up some rice balls (Onigiri) that I inhaled before being able to take a picture. I also picked up these:

Just for the fun of the packaging. No, I didn’t eat the entire package, and I noticed that the Japanese portions are significantly smaller than the American packaging. I think this says something about American eating habits, right?

So from here on, I’m going to really try to post more, it’s been a tough couple of weeks to get things back into organization, but once things start to calm down, I’m sure I’ll be able to start posting on a regular basis.

Stay safe, everyone! Have a good Saturday!

<3Hojo

So what happens, when, I get home from school early and am faced with this:

I end up putting on my running shoes…and the face changes to this:

(sorry about the blur, wiggly puppies don’t necessarily make for easy shots).

Anyway, I ended up going on a 30 minute walk/run almost immediately after I got home from work then school.

I am superwoman.

Anywhoo, (anywhoo?) Our class had a “field trip” to Ikea today, in which we all wandered around taking pictures of furniture/placement of furniture. This is the reason class let out early.

As usual, I wandered off in my artsy daze, and ended up spending so long in a section, I started to make the area attendant wonder why I just spent 25 minutes in couches taking pictures of each and every one…I will spare everyone my chair pictures. Here’s a nice bedroom instead.

Tonight, we barbecued some chicken. Or Kurt is. He has a gift with the grill, I’m not making this stuff up. I am content!

Now I’m going to collapse into a heavenly bed of down comforters and fluffy, fluffy pillows.
Goodnight everyone!

<3Hojo

So I’ve been asking myself a lot of questions lately, because I’ve felt kind of stuck. It’s coming up time to fill out my transfer applications for universities, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not quite sure what direction I’m going to be taking next. It’s one of those limbo periods, where, I know I want a bachelor’s degree, but I’m questioning on what would really make me happy.

As you all know, I’ve recently backed away from my position in the hospital. It wasn’t really by choice, but now that I’m away, I’m really starting to think I wasn’t completely happy there. I love working with people, I like being able to think on my feet, however, I was more stressed out than I ever was in my life. Nursing school was a nightmare, and I’m not really sure if that’s where I want to go back and spend the next two years of my life. I’m also not sure if I want to chance the risk of changing my major and taking more time to finish school. I’m just really stuck.

Social work? Food and Nutrition? Design? Architecture? Anthropology? I feel like I’m back to freshman year of college, and completely lost as to what to do with my life. Everyone says “do what makes you happy,” however, that doesn’t necessarily mean it would be a sustainable lifestyle.

This is the first time in six years that I’ve been unsure of where my life is going.

For now, I have a stable job, a stable relationship, and an idea of where the next five years is going with my personal life. I thought I loved nursing, but with the competition for school, the wait lists, the threat of Obamacare, and the cutthroat coworkers, I don’t know if I want to deal with the residuals. I’m not going to go into the pros and cons of the nursing field, but I have a lot of thinking to do. I’ve been in the healthcare field since I was 21, it was my first choice of career, I’ve advised people on navigating the same path I took. Now that I’m vying away from it, I feel kind of lost.
It’s like looking down the edge of a cliff, and wondering what it’s like at the bottom.

It’s an exiting feeling. Exhilarating. But it’s terrifying at the same time.

I needed to get that off my chest. 

<3Hojo

Today, I actually got up for an early morning jog. (Right?) It was an awesome feeling being part of that crowd. You know, the early-morning, busy-busy Los Angeles type? I almost want to start taking an early morning yoga class on Saturday mornings, just to start my weekends off with that kind of energy.

Basically, my week has been a blur. I’m not kidding. I still managed to get back on track with my workouts and life more towards the end of the week. That said, this weekend will be spent recovering from the stress of the work/school combination. (Last weekend was spent finishing projects and midterms *gag*)

Girl on the go.

Lunches
Last week, I promised I would post my easy lunch method here, so here it is!
As I’ve already mentioned, this week has been so busy, I’ve barely had time to do normal things, like budget, cook dinner, read and oh yeah, SLEEP! But with a little bit of planning ahead, I’ve found ways to make my work lunches healthy and easy!

This took me a lot of trial and error, but on Sundays I go grocery shopping and pick up the following:
2 bags of salad mix (Pictured here is the “herb” mix)
2 cucumbers (I prefer the English type)
1 red bell pepper, one green bell pepper, one yellow bell pepper
2-3 tomatoes
Apples, Celery, Artichoke hearts, (And whatever other veggies I want to throw in for the week)
Chunky salsa
2-3 Chicken breasts

This usually doesn’t cost me more than $20-25, and I basically have the fixings for (big!) salads for almost two weeks.
Sunday night, I pre-cook all of my chicken and I spend some time chopping up my veggies and putting them in freezer bags/containers. I also open the salad bags and put them in freezer bags. The freezer bags do a much better job than sandwich bags or the packaging the salad comes in from the store, because they’re thicker and they keep the air out.

I put the chopped bell peppers in the freezer bags as well, because they don’t’ fit in the reusable containers.
Everything else goes in the reusable containers.
From there, everything goes into a cute ($5) basket I got at Target, so I can pull it out of the fridge without having to make multiple trips.
Basically, my trick is to get everything from the store and prepare it right when I get home, before I put it away, saving me valuable time during the week. There are those nights where I just don’t feel like doing anything, let alone make my lunch for the next day. This system I’ve come up with makes it super easy to pull out the basket and throw together a pretty salad for the next day, with minimal effort. I keep about four (small-ish) bottles of salad dressing in the fridge just to add variety. Honestly, with all the vegetables added in the salad, though, I barely use the salad dressing (probably about a  teaspoon or two).

So, that’s my healthy tip of the week, hope it helps!

P.S.>Sasquatch hat!

<3Hojo

Hellooooooooo!

It looks like I’m back into a (sort of?) routine, now that midterms are over and projects are turned in. What can I say? It’s been a whirlwind experience of the past two weeks, and finding time to fit in even a half hour of running has been difficult. (No seriously, guys, I’ve been up until midnight just about every night this week just trying to catch up!) I’m also getting over a pretty severe sinus infection that attacked me Friday night, so things have been absolutely exhausting on top of being sick.Pretty sure I’m going to be having nightmares of foam board and drafting tables.

Tonight, I ran 2.7 miles in 29 minutes! Not bad for being off for a while. I did feel a little out of shape, but that was expected. I’m hoping to fit in some relaxing yoga and a massage this weekend. To be honest, I’ve put the 30-day shred on the backburner for the time being, I’m starting back up with running, and we’ll see where that goes. (You know, considering I actually work full time now!)

Not a whole lot to explain about the new job, except I love the view from my office, and I seriously can sit and watch bunnies play in the grass across the street. I’m not kidding. I’m absolutely obsessed with the view.

I’m also adjusting to the new Starbucks around the corner. My sixth sense found that one.

I have been making some amazing lunches/salads/etc. that I’m going to start sharing. I came up with a super easy way of making my lunch the night before, and it’s saved me a ton of money and grief on over-eating. I’m really excited about being able to share my recipes and photos on a simplified way of beating the lunchtime blues.

Dinner, on the other hand, has been improvised. Healthy, but improvised. Think Fresh and Easy meals that you throw in the oven.

I did, however, manage to stay up and watch my episodes of Substitute Princess. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a Mandarin Drama (with subtitles) on DramaFever. I feel about this show the way some of you feel about the Bachelor, or the Walking Dead. I’m not kidding. I wait until 8pm on Monday night for them to upload it, and I get so absorbed! (I’m cheesy, I know!) Check it out, I promise you won’t be disappointed!

So that’s it for tonight. I’m going to log off and KNOCK OUT! I want my sleep!

Also, there is mischief afoot!

Night everyone.

<3Hojo

Hello everyone!

I’m still here! Just a quick update: everything has been put on hold this week due to starting a new job, studying for midterms, going to class, adjusting my sleep schedule…blah blah blah, I’m busy. (hehe!)

I’ve got to balance things out this week and next week (or over the much-anticipated weekend) things will be back to normal, and my blog will be back up and running. (grrr to you, Midterms!)

See you all next week! 
(Honestly, I can’t wait to start running again!!!)

<3 Hojo

Happy Monday Everyone!!!!
(Okay, Holly, time to tone down the excitement.)
I’m camped out in Panera for another 45 minutes or so, because I carpooled this morning and it left me about an hour early for my morning shift. Note: the first shift of my brand new job. Heck yeah, I’m excited. So in that span of 45 minutes, I brought my books and laptop, hoping to catch up on some biology homework, but I’m super distracted by pastries and coffee and the ten other college students hanging out in here. (Who knew they wake up before 10am and function?)

I’m only awake because I’m used to extremely early mornings (think 4-5am). Although, I have to admit, my commute is about the same as it was before.

So here I sit, blogging over an open biology book as a pretense to studying. (Did I mention I’m taking a last-minute biology class? Didn’t I swear those off for another semester?)

This looks productive, but it’s really not.

Tonight, I’m going to be starting a new segment of my blog called Monday Night Baking. I love baking, and when you want one cookie, and live in a house full of people willing to consume the rest of the calories for you, it turns into a fun event. I thought I would take the edge off of the typical start of the week. For the record, Mondays were not one of the days I worked at the hospital (my old job), and I joked that I never had to deal with them. Well, here’s a welcome to my new 8-5, Monday-Friday job.

I’m not going to get any studying done, am I?

Cofffeeeeeeeeee

Oh well, Happy Monday.
<3 Hojo

Okay, so I’m secretly taking a break from the insane amount of work assigned to me by my professors. It’s mid-term week at one school, and at the other, my eight-week classes are in full swing with numerous chapters needing to be read before the end of the week. *Brain slides out of ear.*

I just have to focus and keep it together, and get ahead before work starts next week! Aaaah!

Anyway, getting things organized in the food and home management areas is really helping! Yesterday, I went grocery shopping and really focused on eating that’s cheap and easy. That doesn’t necessarily mean unhealthy!
When I got home from the grocery store yesterday, I immediately took all the produce out of the bags and chopped/sliced/washed/prepared it all for the week. I put all the salad mixes in ziploc bags (because salad does NOT last in the bag it comes in!) and put all of my chopped vegetables/fruits into containers to make them last.

This afternoon, it took me less than 5 minutes to assemble a gorgeous salad.

Spring mix, bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, mango salsa and 2 tbsp cheddar.
Soooo good!

Anyway, there’s my yummy lunch for today. Ready for my afternoon workout!

<3Hojo

Any recommendations for some easy salads?
What keeps you healthy during the work week?