Weekend Things: Adam Reaches Eagle!

Hello all you beautiful people! Sorry for the lack of posting these past couple of days, my weekend was a whirlwind of activities and, coupled with being sick and upcoming midterms, I haven’t had much time to collect my thoughts and write them down in a coherent fashion.

Anyways, here’s a recap!

On Friday, Kyle and I drove back to our hometown for the Eagle Scout ceremony for Kyle’s little brother, Adam. We stopped at a local shopping center to grab some much needed coffee for Kyle and a delicious red orange smoothie for me. If you have a Blenders in the Grass near you, you really need to try it!

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The drive went by relatively quickly for me since I slept for half of it, and before I knew it, we were pulling up to Kyle’s driveway. He hadn’t told his mom that we were coming up that day and she started crying when she saw him (which of course sets me off crying as well, damn hormones). One thing I really love about Kyle is how family-oriented he is and how close he is to his brother, parents, and grandma. You’ll never find a guy that does more for his friends or family without hesitation or complaining and who never asks for anything in return. He’s a saint.

The ceremony took place on Saturday and I headed over a few hours early to help set up and take some pictures. It’s hard to believe that Adam is only 15, he’s so big!  

pre-ceremony brother pic! Adam!

I had no idea how huge of a deal reaching Eagle Scout status is, and was shocked to learn that only 2/100 boy scouts ever achieve it. It’s equally incredible that Adam is getting his when he’s only 15 years old! Most of the time, boys don’t reach Eagle status till 17 or 18, and he was also president of his middle school, president of his freshman high school class, is the vice president of his sophomore class, and has never gotten anything less than straight As. You can bet that all of us were extremely proud of Adam’s accomplishments. 

The whole shebang was pretty huge and there were over 150 people who had RSVP’d to the event.  

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I started tear-session numero dos when Adam suprised Kyle by giving him the mentorship award, which the new Eagle Scout gives to the person in his life that he looks up to the most and considers his biggest role model. It was such a tender moment between the two of them and I couldn’t help but sniffle! 

DSC_1582 DSC_1519After the ceremony was over, we feasted on delicious pulled-pork sandwiches, baked beans, salad, fruit, and cake. There were tons of leftovers, so Kyle and I were sent home with a mountain of food. No complaints there! 

DSC_1616 DSC_1614Overall, it was a fantastic way to spend the weekend and I feel so blessed to have been able to be a part of such a special occasion! 

Other than that, my time has been spent studying like a madwoman for my upcoming Physics midterm this Thursday and a few more that aren’t till next week.

Wish me luck!

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First Rainy Day

Today started off on a panicked note when I woke up late at 7:35 for an 8 a.m biochemistry class. I swear, sometimes my alarm turns itself off! I rushed to get dressed and decided to throw on workout clothes so I would be able to hit up the gym right after class. 

After a fast-paced lecture, I biked the 1 minute route to my campus gym. I wasn’t in the mood to do too much after a late night of studying, so I stuck to 20 minutes on the elliptical and an ab workout. When I think about it, though, I get a ton of cardio through all the biking I do. Biking is huge at UCSB and I’m usually going at a fast pace for around 35 minutes a day.

After the gym, I had an hour and half before my 3 hour biology lab. I worked on reviewing the lab, showered, and got dressed for my first rainy day in months! The weather in California is awesome, but sometimes a bit of cold is a welcomed change. I love being able to snuggle up in my pjs with a warm cup of cocoa or coffee and spend time reading blogs or my latest book. 

Anyways, while it only rained for a little bit, it completely made my day! I got to wear my new boots that I snagged for only $30. Oh happy day!

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IMG_3415Before I knew it, it was time to get back to campus and start working again. Lab was exhausting and involved a huge amount of concentration (like usual), so I had to refuel my brain with a pumpkin spice donut and coffee. HEAVEN!

IMG_3420I worked  on some organic chemistry reading before heading out to the class at 6 p.m. Right after it ended, I biked straight over to my tutoring class (my school offers free tutoring classes and the teaching assistants usually are MUCH better at explaining material). By the time I got out at 8:30, I was starving! Kyle and I met up at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant and ordered our usual. 

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So that was today in a nutshell! My weekend starts early, though, because I only have one class on Thursday and Friday (hooray!).

I’m looking forward to a good night’s sleep and being able to catchup on all of my work. Hope you got through hump day!

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Weekend Things and “Kyle Kooks”

Hope everyone is enjoying their Saturday, mine is going a little slowly due to a late Friday night, but it was worth it for the fun!

My Friday started off with an early 8-9 a.m Biochemistry lecture, but it wasn’t too difficult waking up for class since it was my only one of the day (woohoo!). The lecture takes place in a building that’s only a 30 second bike ride from the campus gym, so I donned my workout clothes to class as to not give myself any time to talk myself out of a much-needed sweat session.

In the end, I’m glad I got myself up and going because I had a great 35 minute elliptical workout followed by leg day and left feeling energized and ready to take on the day!

 I spent the rest of my morning on my computer reading blogs (I should have been reading class notes) and browsing possible recipes. At around 12:30, Kyle and I headed over to grab some lunch at one of the closer dining commons in relation to our apartments. While some young adults find it harder to eat healthy at college, I’ve always found in much easier. There are plenty of fresh and healthy options, and the salad bars are stocked with anything and everything you could possibly want in life. It’s a beautiful sight to see.

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That afternoon, Tiana and I headed out to play some tennis with two foreign boys who we recently met and also live in our apartment complex. One is English and one is Irish, and I think that all girls can relate when I say accents are the CUTEST thing ever. We didn’t play too seriously and it was a blast getting to know some new friends and talk about the cultural differences they’ve been experiencing! 

DSC_1374 DSC_1376 After coming back home, eating dinner, and getting ready for a fun night out, me and several other friends headed out for a night of dancing! Since we live in a college town, we can easily walk to neighboring parties and party-hop our way to a great time. 

 Like I mentioned before, my Saturday started off slowly and was pretty uneventful. I spent a few hours studying and reviewing notes, but the highlight of my day was curling up with Kyle to watch a movie (we re-watched Temple Grandin- such a fantastic movie) and eat Mud Pie ice cream. I love documentaries and movies based on true stories that make you think, so this film was a winner! 

 Tomorrow’s plans include a workout, Farmer’s Market, and studying/completing school work at Starbucks. Fun stuff! 

Oh, and before I forget, I’m trying to persuade Kyle to start a mini-series of his adventures in learning how to cook. Primarily because I can then make him feed me and we could call it “Kyle Kooks”. Adorbs.

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MIMM: In Pictures!

Marvelous is… church with Kyle!

photoFollowed by extra-marvelous ice-cream. English toffee crunch and chocolate espresso! 

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Marvelous is… starting a Facebook page for Apple of My Eye. It would make my day if you “liked” it!

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Apple of My Eye facebook page!

Marvelous is… getting back into running!Great Beach Runs

Marvelous is… the most delicious homemade pumpkin spice apple butter!

 Recipe coming later today!

DSC_1420Not so marvelous? 8 a.m class. Yikes- I got to get ready!

What’s marvelous in your Monday?

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Back to School We Go!

Hey all you party people! Hope life is treatin’ ya kindly.

My long summer finally came to an end with the start of classes yesterday. I have a pretty killer schedule that leaves me with only one class on Thursday and Friday, so I was eased back in to college. Yesterday, I only had a physics lecture from 12:30-1:45. I spent the morning with my girlfriends, then came back to a delicious leftover macaroni and cheese lunch with Kyle!

Back to School!

The rest of my afternoon was spent making pumpkin spice apple butter. You guys. O EM GEE. It’s SO freakin’ delicious! I gave a bite to my friend Ryan, who promptly ran back to his apartment to make a batch of oatmeal so he could top his with some. He then proceeded to feed everyone around him bites and make almost obscene noises as he ate. I guess I can call the recipe a success!

DSC_1366Later on in the day, my legs were absolutely itching to move, so Kyle and I went on a short walk around our town. We are so lucky to have the beach basically in our backyard! The walk ended with an impromptu trip to the gym to get in a workout before going out to one of our favorite dinner places. I was in one of those weird moods where I actually felt like working out, so it made sense to take advantage of those moments when they come!

IMG_3309I ended up just doing a cardio medley of 30 minutes on the elliptical doing HITT training and 10 minutes of incline walking. I had grand notions of doing some weights as well, but Kyle showed me some new tricep moves a few days ago that have left me incapacitated of even lifting me arms in the air without feeling the soreness haha.

Dinner was at our local Vietnamese restaurant. Last year, we probably ate there at least once a week (usually after getting out from our 6-10 p.m labs, ick), so we were both excited to go back! We chatted with the lady who owned the place, who then came to our table and asked us if we were getting our usual. I love being considered a regular and having the hostess remember our orders, even after three months of not coming in to eat!

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I got the pineapple combo fried rice, which comes with pork, marinated steak (drool), and shrimp. So good! Egg rolls and Thai iced tea were both a must as well.

IMG_3317So that’s my first day back in a nutshell! It’s nice to have more routine in my life and with college starting, I feel like I have so much more to blog about! Tomorrow morning I’ll be doing a massive catchup on blog reading and I’m looking forward to hearing about all of your adventures as well!

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