With the last day of classes comes a mixture of excitement and nervousness. Excited to be finished and watch this semester’s hard work come to an end. Nervous to see finals just around the corner.
In an attempt to keep myself calm, cool and collected over the whole ordeal (finals tend to throw me into a studying panic,) I try to keep my eating, sleeping and exercise habits teetering around normal. That means:
- Be in bed by 10 and up at 6.
- Eat normal (aka, eat when hungry, stop when full…keep focused on veggies, fruits and wholegrains. 😀 )
- Keep Active!
Eat Normal? Check! I made a super quick breakfast for time sake.
- 6-oz. plain yogurt
- 1-1/2 c. kashi heart to heart
- 1 banana, sliced
- scoop of peanut butter
Simple + Yummy + Filling = Perfect.
Several hours later, with a homemade raisin bran muffin and a glass of milk sitting in my belly, I headed out for a 4-mile walk with mom. Walking was the perfect energizer, and gave me some serious oomph for another few hours of studying.
Plenty of veggies found their way into my lunch, as I first made a salad of the remaining odds and ends in the refrigerator. A piece of leftover cucumber, a couple chunks of tomato, the rest of the greens, etc. I love clearing things out and seeing the fridge become empty before shopping day. 
There were also some roasted brussels sprouts as an accompaniment (favorite. veggie. ever!) and 1/2 of a huge sweet potato with some homemade white bean dip.
White beans are lovely as a dip and perfect for spreading over crackers (or sweet potatoes! ) I simply processed a can of rinsed white beans, added a bit of red wine vinegar to taste (about 1-2 T.) and some crushed, dried rosemary. Simple but very tasty. 😀
+ an apple for some sweetness
Somehow I managed to plop myself right back down into my chair in order to sneak in some more study time. I started to worry that my brain would explode but it never actually happened. 😉 Where does all that extra information go, anyways? I hate feeling as if I want to remember everything and then realizing how much I actually forgot by looking back over my past exams and quizzes. There’s just too much knowledge that I want to keep locked in my head, but there’s never enough room for anything. *Sigh*
This afternoon I decided to test out the new coffee/latte making machine by brewing up an espresso and frothing some milk. I added a small tsp of sugar to the espresso, followed by the milk which frothed really nicely on top. I can’t wait to test out soymilk on this machine. 😀
+ an afternoon snack of kashi’s and cashew butter
I was starting to cramp up from sitting down and studying all day, and decided to take advantage of the sunshine in the form of a long bike ride. My legs felt nice and fresh and neither my IT band or my knees were bothering me at all. Biking is such a wonderful thing during injuries. My dad and I were talking about how biking can really show you the world with less chances of injury (vs. running, for example.) I would love to travel through different states with nothing but my backpack and bike…and maybe a friend or two. Add that to my bucket list. 😉
When I came home from the bikeride, I was hungry for some fuel and found mom outside cooking up some Buffalo Style Al Fresco Chicken Sausages . I quickly threw together some asparagus to include on the side (simply snap off the tough ends of the asparagus bunch, drizzle on a tsp or two of olive oil, and sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.) Together, they only take about 7 minutes to cook.
I topped my chicken sausage with sauteed onions and ketchup for that perfect bite. The asparagus came out lovely, along with the oven roasted potato fries (sprinkled with cajun and garlic.)
+ sweetness of course 😀
Eat Normal? Check.
Stay Active? Check.
In bed by 10 and up at 6 this morning? Check, check.
One day of studying like a mad woman down…5 to go!
Question: Do you try to keep things as normal as possible during busy (or stressful times?) How? And does it seem to help? For the most part, I do try to keep things normal. I find that a lack of sleep is the worst thing for me, and eating every 3-4 hours or so keeps me energized throughout the day. And—I think it’s ironic—but staying active even when I’m mentally exhausted gives me a boost of energy as well. 😀
Running To Slow Things Down 