I’ve been packing up my apartment, and I seriously have so much stuff.  A lot of it must go if I want to have an uncluttered space in my new place which is my ultimate goal.  The books that aren’t my favorites are going to be donated or sold to a used book store, some sorority and college memories that I had lying around are going to be packed up and stored at my bedroom in my parent’s house.  All my trinkets and picture frames have been bubble wrapped and boxed up, but I still have so much more to do!

It’s hard to pack when you still need to use things like clothes or pots and pans!  I’ve been trying my best to eat through my kitchen.  My goal is to try and gobble up as much as the fresh and frozen food as I can before I move out on Saturday, then I can pack up the dry goods and take some cold stuff to my parents house where I’ll be having a 2 week layover before my new lease starts. 

Last week was tough, workout wise, for me because I was pretty much busy from 8am – 10pm some days.  This week’s schedule is  bit better and I think I’m going to have time to make it everyday.  I can already tell that it is going to be a juggling act once rotations starts.  I’m planning on trying to get my workouts done in the mornings, especially on days that I have work after rotations.  It’s certainly not realistic to workout at 10:30pm when I’ve been on the run since 7am so hopefully I can manage to get it done early.  On my to-do list….learn how to be a morning person.

Do you ever have times where there is like 5 movies you want to see that are out at the same time?  Because for me, I either want to see a bunch of movies (and never have time to see them all) or there are no good movies out at all.  Since there are so many on my list, we went and saw 5 Year Engagement last night.  It was good, but not as funny as I thought it would be. 

Another thing I’ve been dying to do is read this:

..after my last day of “bootcamp” I downloaded the trilogy to my iPad.  I’m anxious to dive into the new books because I’ve heard they were amazing…I’ll let you know after I start getting into them!

Today I’ve had a nice relaxing morning, but it’s almost time to move move move!  My goal is to pack up my makeup, toiletries, and bathroom, go to the gym, hit up the Bed Bath and Beyond in Delaware with my mom to get some new apartment supplies, work 5-10, more packing, and preparing for my final exam for rotations boot camp tomorrow!  Good thing I got a good night’s sleep last night!!!

…although that is what it’s been feeling like!  This past week and this upcoming week are “rotations boot camp”.  Basically, it’s 2 weeks of days spent on campus assessing what we know as well as getting oriented to the rotations period.  Day 1 was a calculations exam and lectures on the rotation process, followed by working all night at my real job.  Then I was up all night preparing for day 2 which entailed a counseling assessment where I had to counsel a teacher on a medication, “soap” up a patient, and take a fellow students blood pressure (with a teacher listening in with a dual stethoscope so no fabricating blood pressures allowed).  Later in the day was some more lectures and then some more work at the pharmacy.  Day 3 entailed me becoming certified (sort of) to be able to immunize!  This day was much more laid back and I really liked immunizing.  My partner and I gave one another 3 shots each, and I’m excited to be able to immunize patients in the community.  Unfortunately in Pennsylvania, student pharmacists can’t immunize, so I will have to wait until the following flu season to strut my talents.  Day 4 was lectures, and then I worked on Saturday and Sunday in the pharmacy. 

Anyone else tired just reading about my past week???  Now you can see why I haven’t even had a spare second to blog.  Did I also mention I’m moving out in less than a week….oy vey!  I had a jam packed weekend as well in the evenings after work going to some celebrations which was perfect for relieving some stress that had been building all week.

Now…I must get back to writing a journal club write up that is due tomorrow afternoon.  I took a little break to write this post because I missed you all!  Don’t worry, week 2 should be a bit less stressful than week 1 so I’ll be back to regular posting

Here goes week 2!

We ate an amazing meal, and the restaurant was great!  It was kind of upscale and perfect for a night of celebrating.

Lite Filet Mignon and Fleming’s Potatoes – house specialty with cream, jalapeños and cheddar cheese

CHIPOTLE CHEDDAR MACARONI & CHEESE – smoked cheddar and leeks

HALF AND HALF – double-cut shoestring fries and signature onion rings

SAUTÉED FRENCH GREEN BEANS – shiitake mushrooms, porcini essence

SAUTÉED SWEET CORN

BAKED POTATO – with sour cream, butter, green onions, bacon and cheddar cheese

CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKE – rich chocolate cake with a molten chocolate center of Belgian chocolate, served with vanilla ice cream and chopped pistachios

We each got an entrée, I chose the small lite steak, and then split a bunch of sides and the lava cake for dessert.  This meal was definitely a good carb–loading one before Broad Street Run and I think it will continue to keep me full for the next week!

I’m off to the gym for a WeFit, but my legs/knee is still sore from yesterday’s race so I won’t be pushing it too hard!  Then I am hitting the books to prepare for my calculations exam that is tomorrow morning!

This year’s Broad Street Run 10 miler crept up on me.  After running the Philadelphia Half Marathon in November (my first), the Walt Disney World Half Marathon in January (my best), and the Disney Princess Half Marathon in February, I was a little burnt out on running.  I did not properly train, or basically train at all, for today’s race, and I was incredibly nervous about it.  I’ve been doing a ton of strength and WeFit classes (boot camp type workouts), but I haven’t run much at all.  I never thought about not running today, but I was just hoping I was in good enough shape to finish with a smile (hopefully within 2 hours).

My brother Shaun stayed over my apartment last night so that we could easily get up and go to the race start.  From my apartment it’s only a couple block walk to the trolley station.  From there we took the trolley to 15th street, transferred to the Broad Street Line, and then took that to Olney.  Even though the trains were packed, we were able to get seats in the last car.

We went to the start with one of my sorority sister’s Kelly!

My brother considered running with one arm tucked in his shirt for an extra challenge, but he said he might save that for his second race.

Before we knew it, our corrals were moving closer and closer to the start and it was time to start running!  I had the motto in my head one foot in front of the other, and I wasn’t going to stop to walk unless I was in “severe” exhaustion.  Aka grab the ambulance.  I knew my body could physically run this 10 miler because it is flat/down hill and a very easy course.  I was just hoping it wasn’t too hard mentally.

My brother and I stuck together which was really nice.  He could have totally left me in the dust, but it was nice to run with him for his first race.  We didn’t talk much, mainly listening to our own iPods and giving high fives as each miler marker we passed.  We slowed down a bit at each water/Gatorade station which was the perfect pick me up between slowing down a bit and getting a little hydration then we were back at it putting one foot in front of the other.

At mile 5 I saw some Dunkin Donuts coffee cups run by…

And then Shaun and I hit city hall and were excited to see our cheerleaders on the other side!

They were at the same spot as the were for last year’s Broad Street Run which was a perfect area between miles 6 and 7.  We took a minute to say hi, grab some water/Gatorade, and then we were back on the road.  Less than 4 miles left until the finish!

We finished with an unofficial Garmin time of about 1 hour and 57 minutes, and I was definitely pleased with that.  For not training, I felt good, had a great time running with my brother, and finished with a smile on my face.  Our cheer squad met us by the finish line where we took some post-medal pictures and had a little stretch before getting on the shuttle that took us back to the car.

Note: there were 3 cameras going at once, so we probably were not looking at the right one at all. 

Cheer Squad!

Parking this year was a little bit of a situation.  My parents parked in center city, near where they were cheering, then went to a stadium parking lot and took a shuttle to the end after we passed by.  All that didn’t seem to be a problem, but the bus ride back to the parking lots was very slow.  Then once we got to the car, we were in grid-lock traffic that was a combination of race traffic and 76ers traffic since there was a playoff game early this afternoon.  After what seemed like forever, we finally fought through the traffic and went to lunch at Chickie’s and Petes.  Crabby Fries and a cheesesteak!?!?  Yes please!

After lunch I headed back to the apartment and had a glorious nap.  I slept like a rock and woke up very refreshed.  Post-race naps are the best thing in the world!  Please I urge you all to run a race…just for the nap!  Tonight, I am anticipating a low-key Sunday evening while icing my left knee because it’s a little creaky and sore after today’s 10 miler. 

A big thanks to my parents and Joe for cheering for me, and to my brother for being a great racing buddy even though he could have easily left me in the dust!!  Another race in the books!

Who else ran Broad Street Today!?!?  How did it go! 

First there was a cocktail hour with silent and live auctions.  It was a gorgeous night for an outdoor event.  We drank some wine, ate a few hour d’ourves, and took some pictures.  I almost bought a 4 night trip to Africa for a safari at the live auction, but then I remembered I don’t have any money…hmm maybe next year.

After the live auction was over, we all went inside for a performance by the kids in the Rock School.  They are so unbelievably talented.  The girls were beautiful, the dancing was fabulous, and I really enjoyed the show.

After the show, it was time for some dinner and dancing.  It wasn’t too late of a night since I had to get up early today for a full day of work. 

Tomorrow is Broad Street Run!  I’m nervous because I’ve hardly been running lately, but my brother and I are going to be running together, and I’m hoping the adrenaline will get me to the finish line!  Early to bed for me!

Good Luck to my fellow Broad Street Runners!  Don’t be shy and say hi if you see me!

We all took the opportunity to snap some shots before heading up to the restaurant because of the beautiful views.  The fact that hibachi is right on the water overlooking New Jersey and the Ben Franklin Bridge is one of my favorite things about this restaurant.  Totally gorgeous views!

Joe and I went with Adam and Sarah, and it was Sarah’s first time ever at Hibachi!  We had to make sure she saw it all, the flaming volcano, the shrimp catching by mouth, everything!  We went early and placed our orders by 6:15 so it was significantly cheaper.  I think we all got the “Early bird deluxe” which included steak, chicken, and shrimp.  Everyone gets veggies, fried rice, and a delicious salad with their meal as well, and each couple ordered a sushi roll to munch on while our food was being prepared.  It was a lot of food and I was stuffed leaving the restaurant.  Totally worth it…I love Hibachi!  It’s so fun and great for groups.

Today is “reading day” of finals week.  AKA no finals are given today.  It gives people the chance to catch up on studying…and sleep, eating, and showering.  I used my reading day as an opportunity to sleep in a bit, hit the gym for some Wefit and an extra 30 minutes of arm strength training with my better body challenge coach, and then I showered, studied, ate dinner, napped and studied some more.

Breakfast was a shake, un-pictured.  Lunch was eggs with ham, goat cheese, onions, and tomatoes with turkey bacon, snack was too may Ritz cracker chips and hummus, and dinner was tilapia with some fresh corn!

Time to study some more!  I have ONE more final and a jam packed day tomorrow!  Got to hit the books and make an attempt to get a good nights sleep!

Anyone else like hibachi as much as I do? 

It’s like dinner and a show!  And it’s totally delicious!

I am seriously in awe that it is already MAY!  I cannot believe it’s here already.  Where has all the time gone?  It seems to have flown by so quickly.  Let me do a recap of the past few days for you.

Sunday I worked all day, and it was my last shift at my old pharmacy.  I finally bit the bullet last week and ordered “the ugly shoes”.  Every pharmacist has a pair of these ugly Dansko clogs.  Don’t try to tell me they’re not terrible, you’d be lying.  It looks like I have a Franken-foot.  But I decided that I’m going to need to start substituting comfort for style on my longer days of work so I don’t have terrible leg and back pain for the rest of my life.

Like that awkward attempt at a sexy pose?  See the clogs make me look extra dorky.  I then made myself a shake with a scoop of peanut butter, skim milk, and body by vi shake mix.  I put it in this tumbler and couldn’t find the top.  Figured it wouldn’t be a big deal right?  Of to work I go!

WRONG.  I knocked it over at work and it spilled ALL over me, my pants, my lab coat, the carpet flooring, and the table top.  At least I left my mark on this pharmacy.  I had to work the rest of the day soaked and smelling like peanut butter, and I also was hungry since I spilled my meal all over myself.  Great job Shannon, way to start off the week on a great foot.  Oh and did I mention I got shake all over and in my new shoes.  Sweet.  At least they were already ugly.

I was so defeated after work that I didn’t food shop like I had planned.  Subway sammy and side “salad” which was really just subway sandwich toppings.

After work, I studied all night for my last pharmacotherapeautics exam (my hard class) because my final was 3:30 on Monday.  Monday morning was spent enjoying a shake (yes I am already starting to get sick of them), going to WeFit, doing some extra leg work with my 30 day better body challenge coach afterwards, and then taking my exam!  I dropped my soiled lab coat and pants off at the dry cleaners after the exam and then went food shopping for the week.  A rotisserie chicken caught my eye at the grocery store, so for dinner we had that, green beans tossed in pesto Philadelphia cooking cream, and some potatoes on the side.  And let me tell you, I went to town on that chicken.  Zero leftovers.

After a long day of errands, an exam, and a grueling workout, all I wanted to do was go to sleep.  But unfortunately I had another final at 8AM this morning.  So unfortunate actually.  I was up most of the night and then up again at 6 am this morning studying.  When I showed up to the exam, it was 150 QUESTIONS!  I’ve never taken such a long test.  Luckily, I was well prepared, and I think it went well. 

My plan for the day was to take a little nap, go to my usually mid-day WeFit class, come home, shower, and then hit up Hibachi for a double date tonight with Joe and our friends Adam and Sarah.  Well, that nap was more needed than I thought.  I passed out and slept until 2:30.  I don’t even feel bad about it one bit.  I’m a little sorry I missed the workout because I enjoy WeFit classes, but I’m still sore from yesterday and was so physically and mentally drained from the last three days.  Sometimes you just have to listen to your body, and my body wanted me to NAP.  No shake for me today, I actually didn’t even eat until I awoke from my nap.  I had a fresh homemade salad with onions, tomatoes, goat cheese, chicken, and light Caesar vinaigrette dressing on a bed of spring mix.  Some Sabra spinach and artichoke hummus on the side with Ritz toasted cracker chips.

Now I’m off to hop in the shower and get ready for our dinner at Hibachi.  Love going to the one on Penn’s Landing because of the great views of the river.  I’ve got to hurry though because like any group of 23-24 year olds, we are going for the early bird special.  We like to keep it classy.

I have been doing the WeFit workouts every day so far.  The workout for this past week and next week is:

On Friday after class, I did 32 additional minutes of treadmill interval training on the advice of my coach.  He suggested doing 3 minutes at 4,0mph and then a minute at 6.0mph.  It wasn’t too challenging and was nice to get a little bit of an extra burn in.  Saturday morning I did 4 cycles of that interval workout for 16 minutes after class. 

This weekend was not the best, diet-wise, for the challenge, but I couldn’t not go out and celebrate on my last day of classes ever!  We ended up doing dinner and drinks out on the town last night. 

A bunch of us at the table split calamari as an appetizer

Joe and I split two sandwiches for dinner.  The open faced BBQ brisket Reuben and a grilled steak sandwich on a baguette.  I had the sweet potato fries.  They were oh so good.

In my travels I ran into my little sister Ali (in my sorority) and grand little Ingrid having a drink at the local campus bar.

And then I headed downtown to meet up with some other friends and ran into my friends Shannon and Alene from high school.  Such a small world!  It was really great to catch up and now that I know they’re in the area we will have to get together more!

And lastly I caught up with my friend Kait who is dating someone who went to college with Joe!  He moved away, but they are fortunately moving back to the area soon so we will be able to see them more often!

Besides my big night out, I have been replacing one meal a day with these shakes.  They are included with the fee I paid for the 30 day challenge.  I’ve made them with 2 scoops of powder, skim milk, and ice…blended.  Since it was kind of a an indulgent weekend, I only replaced one meal each day with a shake (the plan usually calls for two).  Starting tomorrow I will be replacing two meals, supplementing with healthy snacks during the day, and having moderate dinners.  I am, after all, part of a team for the best body challenge and need to pull my weight (literally…and by pull weight I mean drop weight). 

This morning after WeFit I looked like this…sweaty and happy of course.

And freshened up as much as possible…

and then met some friends for brunch in the graduate hospital area right around the corner from the gym.  Even though we hit up this brunch spot, Side Car, a lot, I decided to branch out and get something new.  I ordered the farmer’s skillet that had sunny side up eggs, bacon, some potatoes, onions, peppers, and cheddar.  It came with a really fresh side salad, and Joe and I split some turkey bacon on the side.  We sat there forever chatting and had a great time.  Unfortunately I had to go because 1) I still had finals to study for and 2) I was out of time on my 2 hour parking.

I studied my booty off all afternoon and for dinner I had a subway sandwich and a bag of chips.  I haven’t been grocery shopping in awhile and since I’m not going until after work tomorrow, I wanted something quick, easy, and healthy.  I tried a new (to me) sandwich, the sweet onion chicken teriyaki on a 6 inch wheat roll, loaded up with veggies.  I would definitely get that sandwich again it was pretty decent.  Side of Sunchips, apple for dessert.

Tomorrow I have my last day of work at my old pharmacy before being an official member of my new store.  My shift doesn’t start until 11 (usually I go in at 9) so I’m pretty excited to use that time to either hit the gym or sleep in a bit.  Tonight has been pretty low-key, and I’ve been studying and hanging in.  The rest of the night is still up in the air!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Good luck to everyone who is studying for finals!

Obligatory with and without jacket poses

P.S. I was obsessed with finding black and white cap-toe pumps after seeing Guiliana Rancic wear them…found them super cheap at 6pm.com the sister site to overstock.com.  I was cozy.

After the awards ceremony, there was a great dinner.  We ate in the planetarium which was a cool experience.  The food was good and the company was even better!

Goat cheese with peppers, asparagus, and a vegetable medley of some sort for an appetizer

Steak and mushrooms, tomatoes, and a cheesy rice dish for our entrees

Apologies on the not so great iphone pictures.  The big camera did not fit in my clutch.  They also had a great assortment of desserts that I wish I had snapped some pictures of, but I forgot.  Oh well.  I’ll get some pictures next year!  The event was really fun and a nice way to celebrate the near-end of school!  Just three more finals, and I’m done with my 5th year of pharmacy school forever! 

More on the past few days coming soon!  I’m off to keep studying for finals! 

When I wanted to join a new gym, I had high hopes to find one that offered Body Pump.  A new gym had opened somewhat near my new apartment that I’m moving to is going to be located, and when I saw that they had Body Pump, it was my number one option on my list.  I am even going to walk by a gym or two on the way to this gym from my apartment, but to me, Body Pump made it worth it.

If you have never taken a class or are thinking of trying it out, here is a little bit about what to expect.

• Walk into the gym, grab a step, matt, bar, and weights.  I typically grab 2.5, 5, and 10 lbs weights.
• Put on your “warm up weight” which for me is 7.5 lbs on each side of the bar.
• The instructor will instruct you throughout the workout how heavy your bar should be.  No worries, you won’t need to blindly guess.
• The first song is a warm-up song where you will do a few weight lifting moves for each set of muscle groups.
• Then, you will do one song per muscle group. 
  • Squats
  • Lunges
  • Triceps
  • Shoulders
  • Back
  • Biceps
  • Triceps
  • Chest
  • Abs/Core
  • Stretch
• These will be in no specific order, but I have found that instructors generally will follow an intense song like squats with an easier (it’s all relative though) song like triceps or chest where you lay on your step.  It’s not “easy” but it gives your fatigued body part a bit of a break.
• The songs are high reps, one class the instructor told us we were be doing over 800 reps. 
• The classes are all pre-choreographed by Les Milles and taught to the instructors.  Every so often there is a “new release” with new songs and moves, but most moves are pretty similar.  I like that they are somewhat similar yet not ALWAYS the same.  It brings together both predictability without being boring or redundant.
• Instructors can mix and match the songs from different releases so that you aren’t bored to dead of the same music all the time.

What I love about it:

• There is no way you could get in more strength reps on your own in 1 hour.  It just isn’t possible.  It’s definitely the most “bang for your buck” when it comes to maximizing your time.
• There is no jumping, dancing, or any skipping around.  I know sometimes adding cardio to a class can improve your fitness, but the reason I take Body Pump is to LIFT, not to dance around in an aerobics-like fashion.

Ironically, I joined the gym for the Body Pump, and even though I do love the class and instructors, I am falling more in love with the gyms WeFit (small group personal training classes) more and more every time I take them. 

Today’s eats:

Breakfast – Eggs with goat cheese and ham, turkey bacon, and a peanut butter milkbite (milk and granola bar)

Snack – Lean Cuisine spinach and artichoke dip with pita

Dinner – A kid’s dream!  Ok…it’s my dream!  Joe made chicken which he coated in panko bread crumbs, Kraft mac and cheese, and green beans.  Kraft mac and cheese will forever be one of my favorite foods.  It just tastes like my childhood!

Dessert – So dessert was kind of a funny story.  I grabbed a few items at a corner store yesterday before dinner, and when I got home this little guy was in my bag.  Not sure if the cashier accidently put it in my bag or it was on the counter and I accidently bought it, but it was a lovely dessert for tonight!  Joe and I went splitzies on it!

I’m so exhausted.  Waking up early so many days in a row is going to take a lot of getting used to!  Please don’t tell me that this is what I have to look forward to for the rest of my life…I don’t know if I’m ready to permanently give up my 10am wake-up call for a 16 oz. Wawa French Vanilla roast and an early bedtime.