New York New York

This is going to jump all over the place, just how you like it right?

First thing’s first. My sister got back from a week-long trip to Peru this past weekend, and I think it might be official that she’s cooler than me.

Bri, in her Bulls jersey, with a baby llama, before hiking Huayna Picchu.

While I haven’t traveled internationally recently (and probably won’t this year) we did go up to New York City this past weekend for my first ever visit! We just stayed the day on Saturday, saw all the touristy sites, and met up with my friend Leslie who was in town for work.

My favorite part of the day was probably seeing the 9/11 Memorial, which was incredibly impactful and so tastefully done. Runner up was our New York-style pizza and some beers. HOWEVER, let me make it clear that Chicago-style pizza will always be my favorite. Always.

the 9/11 Memorial

It’s a busy week over here – on Thursday most of my coworkers and I ship out to Dallas for a work event. I tried my best to get some solid food prep in yesterday for the days that I am here, including this delicious spaghetti squash recipe and then this (paleo) brownie recipe…

I doubled the recipe to make a full pan

Being a compulsive Type A-er, traveling sometimes stresses me out. Seeing that traveling is happening four of the next eight weekends, I’m trying hard to plan ways to set myself up for success – from packing healthy food, to saving all of those obnoxious (yet helpful) no-gym workouts we constantly see all over Pinterest.

Last but not least, I promised an update on oil pulling if I had anything to report. Really… I don’t. I haven’t noticed much, outside of that I kind of enjoyed the process itself (I found it relaxing) and liked the way the coconut oil felt on my lips. Maybe my teeth got whiter? Outside of that, I remained unimpressed. The price of coconut oil probably isn’t worth continuing to oil pull religiously… but I may still do it on occasion, assuming it’s a good oral health ritual. All in all, it was a fun experiment.

That’s all I’ve got. Stay tuned for some Hump Day confessions on Wednesday.

Anyone else have an oil pulling opinion? Got a great travel workout to share? I could use it.

Cheers –

K

Weird Wednesday - Banana Edition

Hold on tight, things are about to get weird.

First, let me quickly recap my workout yesterday evening, when it was – wait for it – 66 degrees. 

Amazing.

Workout = Run 20, circuit workout, bike 20, circuit workout, run 20, circuit workout.

(circuit workout = 10 push-ups, 10 squats, 10 sit-ups, 10 burpees, 2x)

Boom. This warmer weather is such a mood booster, and man did I forget how much I love doing circuit workouts in the park.

In case you are really into banana news (I know my coworker Cort is), Chiquita is going to to buy Ireland’s Fyffes Plc to create the world’s biggest supplier of the fruit for about 403 million euros ($559 million). Cool!

Bathroom squats are back in the picture for this girl. I forgot about them for awhile – I think I mentioned like two years ago that I used to do them – and I’m back on the bandwagon. Pee Use the toilet – 5 squats – wash hands – back to desk.

Does anyone else have moments like this?

(in reference to Steve Jobs)

Last weird fact – I’m trying out oil pulling with coconut oil. You can read a couple good articles/blogs about it – here and here. And here's one on coconut oil in general. In short, you swish oil (I am trying coconut oil, there’s also sesame and sunflower oil) in your mouth for 15-20 minutes, and it’s suppose to pull out toxins, whiten your teeth, and do a lot for your oral care in general. Make sure you spit it out. It’s interesting, weird, and I figured why not try it out?  I prefer to know firsthand my opinion on it, and it just so happens I have 20 minutes to spare every morning on my way to work.

I’ll report back if I find anything worth reporting.

I’ll leave you with this quote, because I love it.

And of course, a couple questions. Has anyone else notice a change in their commute with this Daylight Savings shift? It seems more people are jumping on my 7 AM – 4 PM hours, as traffic was crawling this morning, much more than usual.

Anyone else tried oil pulling? Thoughts?

Cheers to Hump Day – we’re halfway homies.

K8