Tim's Count

I'm at 3 out of 7.. just saying. (I've won 2 coffees and a donut) I hope this luck continues! lol

Homework, homework, and wait more HOMEWORK!

SUNDAY FUNDAY! Except for me it really isn't going to be.. I will be studying the day away! Which is really my own fault because I literally have done no homework all week, so this upcoming week is going to be a long nightmare. Tomorrow I have my first midterm in MIT 1200 (which I haven't started studying for and have no motivation to start.. blah) on Tuesday I have a text analysis due in History (but I have bootcamp so it balances out!), Wednesday is a Classics midterm, and Thursday is an English test.. that is just the beginning of all of the school work I have to get done! This month is going to be CRAZY, so I'm sorry if this blog gets neglected for a little bit - although I'm sure my procrastination will get the better of me and I'll blog all of my frustration; YAY for  blogs! 

Now for a little bit of an update of what I've been doing for the past couple of days. For starters I'm proud to announce that I've won two Roll Up the Rims! Woooo - that takes my Tim's count to 2 out of 5. :) Soo far I've won a coffee and a donut - I cashed in my coffee already (for my new favourite apple cinnamon tea..) and I'm gonna give my donut away to someone to enjoy - any takers?

My winning cup!

This reading week has been full of delicious meals, and definitely some things that I normally wouldn't eat, so next week I have to buckle down and get back to my normal (healthier) eating habits! Yesterday was one of those days where I splurged.. For breakfast we made Breakfast Carrot Cake - a recipe that I found on Pinterest! It was super easy to make the best part about it was the cooking time, 1 1/2 - 2 minutes in the microwave! The cake was small but filling and to top it off was a 'banana ice cream' that sweetened and made the cake a little more moistened.

Breakfast Carrot Cake pre-baked 

My addiction for pumpkin is also growing. For dinner one night I had a pumpkin puree mix that I just threw together. It included: pumpkin puree with a little bit of almond milk and a splash of plain yogurt, cinnamon, an apple, stevia, raisins, and a granola crumble! YUM - it was delish.

Pumpkin mixture

Yesterday was also a fun day because I got to see the Vow with some of my family in London! It also wasn't just a normal movie theater experience - we went VIP! Which I've never done before, and I loved it. It was a group of about 15 girls, which makes it so much more fun. There were even waiters that brought us drinks etc.! I went out of character and had a mango Bellini (I don't drink alcohol all that often..), but it was soooo good! The only part of the experience that I didn't like was the actual movie. Don't get me wrong Rachel McAdams is one of my favourite actresses and Channing Tatum is pretty nice to look at, but the ending was horrible! I won't ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but let's just say that I was disappointed and it left me a little depressed. (Ps how much does my sister look like Rachel McAdams!? Even all of the mannerisms are alike - it's freaky..)

Rachel and I in the VIP lounge right before "The Vow"

Mango Bellini 

I ALSO went to Hana for lunch with Rachel and Rah (my grandma). I told you that this week has been  pretty food related. Other than having a new obsession with pumpkin, I have an obsession with sushi as well. Mm so good! Check it out if you're ever in Sarnia - I'm gonna invite myself.. :)

Sushi anyone?

That's pretty much everything! Now that I've taken like 45 minutes to write this post I better get studying.. wish me luck, I'm gonna need it.

AliwS

Finding a Balance

It's that time of year again! Yes, can't you hear all of Canada rejoicing? It's Roll Uuuup the Rim! I am a little ashamed of this, but I can say that I do get caught up in it all - I've already had two, and lost both.. I'm sure the lineups at Western U Tim Horton's are going to be extra long when reading week is over - and I'll probably be standing among the madness!

Tim Horton's Roll Up the Rim! One of my 'loser' cups

Other than having Tim Horton's on the brain (lol just kidding) I haven't been doing much! Which is starting to stress me out.. I need to start doing some homework on this reading week but it's just too hard when I want to spend time with family and friends and just relax! It's such a hard thing to balance school work and home life - I'm starting to get a little overwhelmed. In the upcoming month I have 4 midterms to study for, 2 novels to read, and an 8 page essay to write, and I'm starting to freak out. I just need to take a few deep breathes and start somewhere I guess..

Reading week has been good to me so far (except for the stress level rising daily). Yesterday I went to go see the movie "This Means War" staring Reese Witherspoon - who I love! It was a good movie, a little unrealistic, but that's why it's a movie! I went with my sister, Rachel, and Katie. It's so nice to be home to see everyone again! I also have been having my fair share of overnight oats! I've tried a few different flavours so far (including the pumpkin from the earlier post). Today I had peanut butter banana oats and the morning before that I had applesauce oats! The base for the applesauce oats was fat free vanilla yogurt and unsweetened applesauce, plus some cinnamon. In the morning I added an apple and a little more cinnamon (I'm a little crazy with my use of cinnamon!). For the peanut butter and banana oats I used the same fat free vanilla yogurt and some almond milk. In the morning I added half a banana and melted some peanut butter so I could mix it through! Both were delicious and I would definitely make them again! I still have a few more mornings at home so I think I'll try another flavour before I have to go back to school - any suggestions?!    

Applesauce Oats

Peanut Butter Banana Oats

I also got to workout again today, which felt great after having a rest day yesterday! I didn't get to workout as long as I would have liked, but it's reading week so I'm not gonna be too upset about it. I'm also getting excited to start swimming when I get back to Western U - I went out to find a bathing suit today with no luck, but I'm determined to find one so I can try out the pool next week (hopefully I have time). That's another thing about all this school work - hardly anytime to workout, but I have to set my priorities straight I guess.  

I think that's the key to all of this stress, I just need to find balance with everything. I hope I can discover it soon before everything is due all at once! This post is getting long so I'll sign off and leave you with this picture of the squash I decided to make the other night! Half of an acorn squash filled with grilled mushrooms and red/green peppers, spaghetti sauce, and sprinkled with some crackers for some crunch!

Experimenting with Acorn Squash 

AliwS