"I'll Be The One You Won't Forget."

Wow, y'all, I'm just ready to be done with this week. 

It was a long one. I think I've officially reached that point in the semester where I am just done. With errythang. So apologies in advance to my roommates who now get to deal with the full-on real me. It's a comin'. 

So Monday was boring. And so was pretty much all of Tuesday except when I got home and my lovely roommates informed me I had mail, which just happened to be the most adorable valentine from an equally adorable missionary. Like, what a sweetheart. 

(What do you know - I got a valentine after all! All the way from Alaska.)

Anyway, so that made my day and I basically smiled for hours. Super, super thoughtful. And because I'm the doll-face that I am, I wrote him a real-life letter back. Yeah, I know. I'm pretty much a peach. 

Wednesday was lab out at the livestock  center, but all we did was cattle performance data evaluation, so it wasn't anything super exciting. 

Thursday was meh. 

Friday morning I went out to the livestock center in the morning and did some work - got my farmer on. Then I hitched a ride with the foreman and two others over to Blackfoot for the Friday stock auction!

That was actually a really good time. We got six head, cows and heifers, for the school and got to check out the bulls which was my favorite part. I've decided that whatever area of animal science that I end up going into, it must involve bulls. They get me so excited, you don't even know. Still waiting for the day I get to ride one. Soon, so soon. 

After that, we drove back home, unloaded the cows, and then I had a date that night, which was a good time. But I'm gonna call as a one and only, then leave it at that. 

Saturday I literally just did math homework, hung out around the apartment, then went grocery shopping with my ladies, 'cause we called it as a much needed girls' night. 

This was the product of the grocery shopping spree. Needless to say, we'll all be fat before long. But ya know what? Psh, ain't nobody caring about that 'round here. Also, I've decided that in a perfect world, I would just live off of fruit snacks. They're like crack, but better. 

Saturday night we watched Pitch Perfect and dreamed about beautiful men with perfect cheekbones. 

Today was church and such. Also I decided to be brave and practice my cooking, so I made dinner for my little fam fam here. 

It didn't turn out too bad and it was healthy-ish too! I'm pretty proud of myself. No big deal. But I did cut myself, which was just unfortunate. 

Mm, but in general this week was just a little confusing. Like you know how there'll be that one guy that you'll be like, "Hey, you're chill and attractive and I'd be into you." And he seems to be all like, "Hey, ditto." And then it goes back and forth for awhile and like, he texts you, and y'all hang out, and you're like, "Okay, he's actually pretty cute in general." And then he's like, "Oh wait, JK." And you're like, "Well, that's awkward." And then you just end up a little turned around and sitting on your couch eating ice-cream 'cause I mean really, what else can you do in this situation? 

It happens, folks. I guess that's why Ben and Jerry were born. 

But hey, whatever works, ya know! I mean, after all, cows are forever.

Goodnight, you good-looking people, you.

"No More Counting Dollars, We'll Be Counting Stars."

Alright y'all- blog time!

So there was this thing this week called Thanksgiving break. And it was a wonderful thing. No classes and I didn't have to set my alarm. Not even once. It was heavenly. 

Monday and Tuesday were technically not included in break 'cause I still had classes, so they were nothing special.

Wednesday it began and honestly, I think we were a little unsure about what to do with all of the freedom. So we didn't really do anything that day. Well, except we went to the gym, of course. Kenzie has started coming with me. We don't work out together really (except for when we do squats because safety first), but we go together and that's all that matters. Then Wednesday night I made my first pie ever. It's a new skill of mine, apparently. No big deal or anything.

Also on Wednesday I was forced to go buy a new computer, due to the fact that mine decided to give up on me. Rude. 

Thursday was Thanksgiving of course! Can I just say - I was so proud of us for making our own little dinner. It all turned out so well... I'm pretty sure we are going to make excellent wives. Boys, take a note of this. 

(Our Thanksgiving dinner! That would be my pecan pie in the back... yup. It was wonderful.)

So Friday we did homework in the morning and then went to see Catching Fire that afternoon. Gosh dang was it good. A million times better than the first one. Not like that's saying much, but still. Finnick was picture perfect, which was a good thing considering he was my favorite character in the book and had he been less than perfect I would have been not happy. So yeah.

Got some grocery shopping done this weekend, wrote up an actual budget because I realized it was probably about time, and somehow got pulled into that TV show Game of Thrones. I'm only on episode four and I've got three full seasons to watch. This is no small task. I've also gotten started on this "My Fitness Pal" thing... it's like dieting, but fun. Trust me. 

Alright, well that's about all that I've got for you. The lost roommates (Brooke and Scar) should be home in a couple hours and thank goodness for that because the place just isn't the same without them. Okay, well, I'm going to go eat a protein bar and watch my show... Bu-bye!

(It ain't gonna watch itself!)

Protein Power - Word.

As an exercise phys major, I've had to take a good look at my highschool fitness routine and I realized pretty quick that there were some important aspects I had been neglecting. The big one for me: eating after every work out. Basically, I wasn't doing it.

Now, I know how it is. You get home from the gym - you're sweaty, sore, and feeling pretty kick-butt (because let's be honest, you are). With all of those endorphins running through your body, you're probably feeling pretty confident and the last thing you want to do is eat back those calories that you just burned.

Truth is, if you're working out every day, it's absolutely essential to concentrate on that post-workout recovery time. These first 15-30 minutes after a workout are the most crucial, so get something in your stomach. Preferably, something rich in protein.

In lay-man's terms, protein helps provide amino acids which are important for rebuilding muscle tissue. This means if you lift (do you even lift, bro?), then this is exceptionally important. Trust me, you just spent two hours in physical pain in the name of staying healthy, fit, and sexy - you want to get everything out of your workout that you possibly can.

So anyway, enough of that. Basically, you need to eat something pretty much ASAP after stepping off that treadmill. Not a meal, but something small with lotsa protein. Thus, I introduce to you my post-workout savior.

Prep-time: 5-10 minutes (What do ya know, perfect for hitting that 15 minute recovery time.)
The Good Stuff:
- 1/3ish cup Greek yogurt (I use about half a 6oz container of Chobani Greek yogurt. Pineapple's the bomb.com, just saying.)
- 1 serving protein powder (My brand is MLO Super High Protein Powder because it's not flavored and doesn't have any added sweetener. Each brand/type will have a different recommended serving size - I usually aim for around 25grams for this shake.)
- 1/4 cup frozen banana
- 1/4 cup frozen berries (I generally go with raspberries, but blueberries are an awesome source of antioxidants. Feel free to mix it up.)
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter (We're loading up on the protein, remember? Plus, peanut butter makes everything better.)
- 1/2ish cup of milk (I use 2%, in case you were wondering. And the measurement here can vary on how thick or thin you like your shake. Experiment... go for it. YOLO.)
Now What: Throw all that crap in a blender, blend it real good, then down it immediately. If you're looking for an extra health boost, toss in some fresh spinach or kale. Puts hair on your chest.