Reflections & Ponderings

If there is one thing I have learned more than anything this weekend, it is the power of God's unconditional love.

This past weekend, I was blessed enough to attend my final Discipleship Weekend with the Navigators. Although I only attended two of the past four, it has always been, by far, my favorite retreat the Navigators puts together. Fall Conference is wonderful and it is always exciting to compete against other campuses in the Navs Olympics, but Discipleship Weekend has a special place in my heart. Let me tell you why.

I joined Navigators at the very end of my freshman year in college. I didn't really do much with them, but I knew I wanted to be more involved the next year. As a sophomore, I was asked to do the comedic announcements at NavNite with Nikhil, a man who has now become one of my closest brothers in Christ. This minor involvement led to me becoming extremely involved and, at the end of the fall semester, I was asked to go through New Leader Training to become a small group leader the following fall. The selected few were asked to come to a secret meeting, where we were given roses and letters upon arrival by the two current leaders (Stephanie and Cristin) and the Navs staff member, Mark Bruner. The whole thing was beautiful. That night, I left NavNite in tears. I was filled with joy, and I knew God had chosen this path for me for a reason.

Discipleship Weekend (Key Laborers) 2011

In the midst of training, I attended my first Discipleship Weekend retreat (which was then called the Key Laborers Conference). We are paired up with another member from our group, and that is our "spiritual buddy" for the weekend. This retreat, my buddies were Miranda Gerber and Elizabeth Krach (I was in a triple because Elizabeth had to leave for part of the retreat). This was the beginning of getting to know each other very well, and both of them have proceeded to become two more of my closest friends and sisters in Christ.

Discipleship Weekend 2013 - look how much we've grown!

The reason I came to love this retreat was the reflection portion at the end of the weekend. This is a Navigators tradition, where everyone meets with their school and all reflect on their experience over the weekend. This is usually everyone's favorite part of the weekend. However, this session was especially intense for me because I had just gone through a rather large emotional struggle with my now ex-boyfriend. I broke down in tears. This was followed by one of the leaders, Cristin, breaking down about law school school applications and her struggles. Everyone in our community pulled together to comfort one another, share tissues, and hand out hugs. The reflection was ended with some hilarious comments by Nikhil to lighten the mood ("Nikhil, what would you do if your wife was on her period and needed tampons?" "I'd give her cotton balls and sticks."). Later, I had a hysterical breakdown in the car with Liz Bruner, the wife of Mark (Navs Staff). This breakdown was the beginning of a very long (few year) road to recovery from brokenheartedness (for reasons I won't get into). Although emotionally challenging, this retreat showed me the love and community that Navigators brings to its members, and I felt the love of God shining in my life.

Save me from the walls that I build

From the broken heart inside of me

That just will not heal

Save me, when it's hard to believe

And the faith I need

Is so far from the world that I see

Won't you save me from myself

"Save Me," Nate Sallie

Fast forward two years, and I'm now a senior on that same retreat. This time, the retreat takes place at my own church, Faith Church. I'm surrounded by a community I have spent the past 3+ years with, with new friendships and new experiences. I am a leader of a women's Bible study with some pretty amazing women. Watching how much Navigators has grown over the past few years has been such a blessing. I'm preparing for graduation, terrified and unsure of what I should be doing with my life. My best friends are still the people I met in Navs my sophomore year - Sean, Jack, Nikhil, Miranda, & Elizabeth - and we are all on the retreat again (minus Elizabeth). It's clear the weekend is emotionally charged for everyone and many of us are going through some big personal struggles. The seniors - myself, Becki, Jamie, and Alex - are graduating soon. Jack is transferring to Cincinnati State//eventually UC to become a biomedical engineer, so this is his last retreat. Many members are struggling to overcome broken relationships from highschool and college. Others are struggling with intimacy and self-esteem issues, and others have broken relationships with their parents. Some of us fit into all of those categories. Whatever the problem, this retreat is needed for the entire Xavier Navigators community.

The four of us - me (top), Nikhil (middle right), and Jack and Sean (bottom left and middle) in 2011

A few things happened on this retreat that simply blew my mind. First, I was given incredible amounts of hope and blown away by the manifestation of God's love in some of the members of our community. On the first night of retreat, while the men were having fun wrestling each other in their free time, Mark dislocated his shoulder and was rushed to the hospital. Of course, when we all heard the news we prayed for him and hoped he would get better. I thought that was as far as things would go, but I was wrong.

The four of us at Discipleship Weekend in 2013

The next day, we are called together for a meeting by Nikhil and Reid, a sophomore Navs leader whom I was fortunate to watch grow as one of the leaders of his freshmen Bible study last year. The two announced that we would be heading into a time of worship and prayer for Mark, and they would be collecting donations from everyone to help pay for Mark's medical bills. Because Mark has been such an influence in all of our lives, especially the lives of the leaders, we felt compelled to help him and surround him with love and care in his time of need. No one was required to donate, and many of us still have yet to decide on an amount to donate. All donations are anonymous. I discovered later that the total raised in that half hour alone was huge. I won't share the exact amount, but it was enough to leave me standing in awe. I am speechless. This impromptu meeting really showed me a glimpse of God's unconditional love for all of us. This community of college Christians was willing to sacrifice a significant amount of money, that we could be saving or using to pay for school, to help ease the burden of the man so many of us admire. This left me speechless and thankful that I have been blessed as a member of this community.

All around

Hope is springing up from this old ground

Out of chaos life is being found in you

You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of the dust

You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of us

"Beautiful Things," Gungor

I also appreciated getting to know Kathleen, my former resident (I was her RA last year in Husman Hall), a lot better. She was my spiritual buddy this weekend, and we had some conversations I never expected to have this weekend (but really enjoyed!). She helped me begin to process through one of my current struggles, and she opened up to me about her personal struggles. It was a blessing to talk with her.

During my person time of listening prayer, God confronted me about some issues I don't want to face.

I am currently considering applying for EdgeCorps, which is essentially a one to two year internship with the Navigators. I would most likely return to Xavier in the fall and work as a staff member to help lead and further student's relationships with God. The thing that worries me is fundraising - I'm not allowed to work, and I have to fundraise my entire salary for the year before returning to campus. 75% of this needs to be fundraised over the summer, or I won't be allowed to come on staff. 75% of my salary is around $27,000.
This is an outrageous number, and it worries me. However, I still want to take that leap of faith, trust God, and apply for the position.

Won't You lead me?

To lead them with strong hands

To stand up when they can't

Don't want to leave them hungry for love

Chasing things that I could give up

I'll show them I'm willing to fight

And give them the best of my life

So we can call this our home

Lead me 'cause I can't do this alone

"Lead Me," Sanctus Real 

During listening prayer, God urged me to tell my story to certain people before I go around fundraising. This makes me nervous, because I don't want to tell my story to them. However, I know that doing so will give me peace. Yet there are so many reason why I don't want to share, and fear is only the beginning. How can I tell someone when I'm too afraid I'll be rejected?

God also brought to my mind the idea of taking a six-month break from dating anyone to simply pursue Him. A girl in my small group, Daniela, is doing this and is currently at the halfway mark. I bought the book she suggested and have begun to read it, and so far, I am enjoying it. But, really? Take a six-month break from thinking about guys, having a crush, or pursing someone? This is challenging for me because I've always wanted to date someone (not anyone specifically, just in general) from Xavier and within Navigators - someone who loves my school and God as much as I do. With only a few months left at Xavier, that doesn't exactly put me in a place to go on a six-month dating hiatus. However, it's been on my heart the past few days, and I think it could be good for me. It's something I have to pray about a lot more, but I'm starting to grow into the idea.

Finally, we reach reflection time - something always extremely touching and powerful for me. As usual, the girls are clutching toilet paper, ready for the massive amounts of crying that is about to happen. Landen makes his usual speech - he doesn't talk much, except for at reflection times, when what he says is always profound and has some deeper meaning we all love to hear. Some of the men share about their personal struggles, and the seniors reflect on how much they will miss NAVs when we all graduate. One of my closest friends this year, a freshman named Tyler, and I cried on each others shoulders. Without sharing too much of what people revealed, I will simply say that it was a reflection that left me contemplative and very sad about my impending departure from the Navigators community.

So, there you go - a really, really wordy story about why I love Discipleship Weekend. Thank you to everyone who made it so memorable - I love you more than you know. I pray God will be able to use me in your lives throughout the rest of this semester. Thank you for always being there for me!

Beauty Beneath It All

Today, I will be sharing the essay I submitted as part of my application to Xavier University, now almost 4 years ago. To this day, I am still proud of this essay - and the memory is as vivid in my mind as it was so many years ago. 

b

Snap. Snap. Snap. My camera flashed constantly, capturing every beam of light that flickered through the worn out windows and onto the bare, uneven floor. The closet next to the crumpled heap of what used to be a fireplace was left slightly ajar, revealing a sole hanger sitting on the rusty rod suspended inside. Snap. I soon discovered a red, leather, rocking chair sitting in the middle of a deserted attic; it was torn, and the padding inside was falling all over the floor. Snap. My fingers raced across the border of a broken window. The roof was within my reach, so I climbed outside to grace the cool, red metal with my presence. Snap. It was peaceful here, despite the cobwebs and miscellaneous families of spiders that seemed to hide in the most unlikely of places. I closed my eyes, trying to soak in the serenity of this old, dilapidated place, but I knew there was more to be seen. A surprise was waiting for me.

The Victorian farmhouse that my friend and I had discovered seemed to possess a certain presence about it. I could feel the family who once lived there; I could envision them walking about and doing their daily chores in my mind. As I entered the basement, an old television, an open refrigerator, and a rusty medical gurney welcomed me. To the left, there was a room filled with crushed Mason jars that gleamed with light from more broken windows. Snap. The house was a collection of ordinary hidden treasures, yet I still felt that there was something more. I wanted to find something that would relate in my life; something that would give me a sense of purpose. I glanced once again at the medical gurney on my right. I wonder what happened here? I thought. A family member must have been ill not long before the house became deserted. Did they believe in life after death? Heaven? God? I could feel a presence in the house…but where was it coming from?

I trudged along behind my friend Megan, still intent on finding some unexpected surprise. I carefully set my foot on a rotten step, making sure it wouldn’t give out on me, and began the journey back upstairs. No sooner had I begun climbing when Megan exclaimed, “It’s a cross made out of sticks!” I looked down at the step and saw two small sticks creating a cross. Snap. This was exactly what I had been looking for, and it was where I felt the “presence” was coming from. I stared at the figure before me for a short moment, and then looked up at Megan and smiled.

On the way back to our car, I glanced once more at the broken house. It was then I realized that God exists everywhere, and that even when everything is falling apart, a glimmer of truth can still be discovered underneath the rotting soil. All I have to do is look for Him.

Recent Life Lessons

Hello, friends.

It has been entirely too long since I have updated. That seems to be a trend for me recently, doesn't it? I'll try to close the gap between posts. I miss it (and hopefully you miss me!).

Let's see, what's new with me...well, I've been successfully keeping up with reading for my English senior seminar, which is an accomplishment in itself. Usually by now I've Sparknoted nearly everything we are reading, because I simply don't have the time to do the reading. However, I've been really good about it this semester. That might have something to do with the fact that the novels are all post-apocalyptic fiction, which I love reading. For some reason, books set in a post-apocalyptic, dystopian, or utopian world are my favorite. I find them absolutely fascinating. I'm currently reading Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, which I love. I highly recommend this book, as well was Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, if you need something to read. They are fabulous books.

My internship with Cincinnati Magazine has also been going extremely well. I can't believe I've been there for a month already, and that my boss is leaving within the next couple weeks. That will be rough when we lose Jonah. Such a great guy, and such a great boss.

I've also learned a couple things recently.

Number one: there is power in prayer. I don't know what it is, but I've been praying a lot more, and I feel a lot happier and relaxed. I woke up today feeling amazing and everything just seemed beautiful and peaceful. Life was great. Is great, I mean. Life is great.

Number two: God will bring the right guy into my life in His timing. I'm really impatient, and it doesn't help that I also really like someone right now. But I know better than to rush and make the first move. I just have to wait and enjoy the single life until the right now. Because, to quote a friend's Twitter, "The greatest relationships are the ones you never expected to be in. The ones that swept you off your feet." Couldn't agree more. 

Number three: I love the fall. Summer used to be my favorite season, so this change is kind of funny to me. But I absolutely love fall and everything that goes with it - sweaters, jackets, boots, scarves, blankets, hay ride, pumpkin patches, hot apple cider, pie.... it's all wonderful. I can't wait until Halloween, either - my friend is having a Halloween party, and it's the talk of my friend group. We are all pretty stoked about it. 

Number four: People come into your life for a reason, and when they are out of your life, it is not something to be sad about. You have to be happy and realize that you learned something while they were in your life, appreciate what you learned, and move on. It's not easy, but it's manageable. Too often I think about how I wish multiple people were still in my life, but it's just not possible. The friends who have stuck with me over the years are the friends that matter. 

Anyways, that's all I have for you today. I missed posting the Daring Bakers challenge for this month (it was empanadas - I made them, I didn't like them, I forgot to post about them. Oops). I also missed posting about my Foodie Pen Pal box, but the box was amazing and I absolutely loved it.

Keep me posted on your lives. Let me know what you want to see next from me <3

Much love,

Product Review: Seeds 4 Peace

Hey guys! 

I apologize for my rather depressing post a few days ago. I'm all better now - we're both really happy with our decision to break up and we are staying good friends. In fact, we are even getting Yagoot (frozen yogurt) on Sunday. I call that pretty good, right? 

Other news - I'm in love with my internship. I know I mentioned that before, but seriously - I love it, and I would be ecstatic if it turned into a job after I graduate. Which - isn't that scary? The thought of college graduation? These four years have flown by. I had no idea they would go so quickly! What the heck am I going to do after I graduate!? Scary. 

Fun things I did this week: 

Wine & movie night with the roomies. I <3 Bradley Cooper! 

Made hot chocolate peanut butter pancakes with my bestie, Blake

Made peach & plum crumble

Ate free cupcakes at work 

Enjoyed the view in Downtown Cincinnati where I work

Clearly, it's been a fun week. And did I mention that Tess and I (the other intern at work) are going to an Ingrid Michaelson concert. How cool is that?! I'm so excited!

Alright, I have another product review for you guys. This is the last one for a while, promise!

Let's talk about Seeds 4 Peace. I met this company while in Washington D.C. at the Fancy Food Show with my last internship, and I loved their product. The company was really friendly, and they sent me some samples of their product. It's a brand spanking new company, and they got rave reviews about their product at the food show. Pretty neat, hm? THey sent me three tubes of each of their flavors - 3 each of the sunflower seeds, and 3 each of the pumpkin seeds. Here are the flavors: 

Sunflower Seeds

Sea Salt & Black Pepper

Chile Lime

Habanero BBQ

Pumpkin Seeds

Honey Mustard

Wasabi Soy

Cinnamon and Sugar

Honestly, I loved all of the flavors, but my favorites were the honey mustard pumpkin seeds and the chili lime sunflower seeds. Both are only 180 calories for the entire tube, which I think is pretty good for seeds.

I also really like that the tubes make the seeds easily portable. I throw them in my backpack and eat them in the middle of class when I need a snack and have been in class all day. My classmates always comment on how cute the package design is, which I totally agree. The package design is super fun! I highly recommend this company - since they are new, give them some love and order some for yourself!

Okay friends, I have to get up early for work tomorrow and I still need to shower, so I'm off. I love you all. See you soon! <3

Much love, 

HAIRSPRAY & Skinny Pop Popcorn

Guess who's auditioning for HAIRSPRAY?! 

This girl!

I'm so, so excited. I've already been through the dance auditions, which were so much fun. Later today I do my individual audition - nervous and excited! I'm singing "I Know The Truth" from AIDA and doing a one minute monologue - hopefully, I won't forget the words to the monologue. Uhg. I wanna be in the cast so bad! Over 80 people auditioned and only 36 are getting cast. Wish me luck!

Also, I'm only TWO MORE PEOPLE away from having 100 followers! How awesome is that? Please get your friends to visit the site and become a follower! That would make me so happy to finally hit the triple digits! 

School has been off to a busy but good start so far. I start working at Cincinnati Magazine on September 7, and Newswire has hit the ground running. I'm trying really hard to think of more to talk about, but it's all slipping my mind at the moment (okay, I'm writing this at 1AM, give me a break), so let's get some more product reviews in - shall we? 

Skinny Pop Popcorn. 

I love this stuff. And not only because the company sent me an entire case of popcorn to review, either. 

This popcorn is not without salt, which I like. I really, really like salty foods (which are terrible for you...), and this popcorn is only lightly salted. It has just enough salt to give it flavor, but not too much. The perfect amount of salty goodness. 

There is also only 39 calories per cup, no trans fats, and cholesterol free. Pretty nice, right? This is a great low calorie snack to munch on. 

Even my dog liked it, as you can clearly see from the picture.  :)

Overall, I love this popcorn. It's easy to eat the entire bag in one sitting because its so delicious and low in calories. I've already given away some bags to friends and been through nearly two bags myself. This is a great company and a good snack to check out!

Thank you, Skinny Pop, for making me a very happy girl with your delicious product! 

Okay, I'm off to bed - actually, I'm off to do more homework, I think. I really should be sleeping instead, though. Oh well. 

See you soon!

Much love, 

Product Review: Journey Bars

Hey guys! Just as a reminder, the following people need to contact me because they won the Hot Pants giveaway! AWESOME!!

Zagorra Hot Pants Winners

Moonsword

Tweetyscute

Times for updates on life. Have I been working out? Nope, definitely not. So far I have actually read everything I'm supposed to have read (shocker - I'm usually on Sparknotes by now), I've had a beer at Currito while listening to a live band on the greenspace at school, made a modified version of this banana bread (yum!), slept a lot, ate a lot, published the student newspaper, and watched The Hunger Games with the boyfriend (Stuart). Overall, a pretty good week - especially since my Cincinnati Magazine internship hasn't started yet, so I have nothing to do on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Awesome, right? I also made a bucket list of things to accomplish in my final year of college. 

I will be auditioning for Hairspray the musical at school next week! Pretty excited. I'm interested to see what part I get!

Okay. Again, I am crazy behind on product reviews. When is this new to anyone?! Let's learn about Journey Bars today!

Journey Bars are my new favorite protein bars. Let's be real - all protein bars on the market are sweet! Right? What if you want something savory? 

Well then, you're in luck, because Journey Bars are a line of all savory protein & nutrition bars. They have five awesome flavors: Pizza Marinara, Coconut Curry, Hickory Barbecue, Rosemary, and Parmesan Romano. 

All of the bars are made with an organic whole grain blend of oats, millet, flax, amaranth and buckwheat. That's a crazy amount of goodness! Texture-wise, they all sort of remind me of cornbread. I loved them. My all-time favorite was the Coconut Curry flavor! 

Curry flavored anything is automatically a win in my book. This tasted like curry cornbread. It was amazing and I loved every single moment of it. I wish I had another one to chow down on! 

The other great thing about these bars are that they taste exactly like the flavors. Pizza Marinara tasted just like a pizza, the curry tasted like curry, and so on. My least favorite was the Hickory Barbecue, but that's only because I have to be in the mood for bbq to begin with. These are also soy-free and GMO-free. Seriously the greatest bars ever. Search for them in your local natural foods market and try them for yourself!

Much love, 

My New Apron

Why yes, that IS a child's size apron.

And yes, it was given to me when all of the RAs in Husman Hall exchanged gifts!

Clearly JJ knew what he was doing when he got this!

What do you guys think? 

Much love, 

Staying Healthy in College

I have decided that I have a serious problem with eating junk food in college. I love going to the cafeteria and eating salads every day, but when in club meetings or on duty in the RA office, snacks are EVERYWHERE. Especially snacks that are full of hydrogenated, trans-fatty oils. It's hard to avoid, especially when they look so good! Here are the tips I've compiled to help you stay healthy in college - or wherever you are, for that matter.

(Source)

Tip #1: Find a workout buddy.
This is CRUCIAL. Especially if you are working out in the early mornings before class, like I do! I have NO motivation WHATSOEVER to get out of bed unless I know someone else will be waiting on me. Ask around; I'm sure there will be other people who work out in the mornings as well (or whatever time you choose to work out). Personally, I like to work out in the morning because that means the rest of my day is free to think about other things besides getting sweaty and smelly. Get it over and done with. Plus, having someone to go with helps keep you on track. I have a buddy for EVERY weekday, so I'm less likely to slack off and skip a day. It really helps! Try to work out at least 3 times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes each.

(Source)

Tip #2: Eat as many fresh, plant-based foods as possible.
Seriously. A lot of colleges nowadays are becoming more vegan-friendly, especially because being vegan is kinda hip to college kids. Kinda. Not totally. But its catching on! Last year, my campus was NOT vegan friendly at all. This year, we have a WHOLE NEW cafeteria, and it ever has it's own vegan/gluten free station! It's great - it has different types of hummus and salsa, and usually some sort of lentil or bean dish for protein. During RA training, I ate large salads almost every day for lunch. Salads are low in calories and can keep you pretty full. If you make plant based foods the focus of your meals, you'll fill up quickly and be able to eat more for fewer calories. More food, less calories? Come on. This is a no brainer!

(Source)

Tip #3: Drink LOTS of water.
The new cafeteria recently got a new pop machine where you can add different flavored syrups to your pop and has like 160 different possible flavor combinations. It's ridiculous. Its so cool, yet so bad for you! AVOID THE POP!!! Drink water instead. It keeps you hydrated and doesn't have like 10 teaspoons of sugar in each glass (yucky).

Tip #4: If you're gonna be tempted, don't go near it.
I just don't even walk by the french fry station anymore. I know if I do, I'll grab a big pile of them with lots of ketchup. I don't need those fatty fried foods. They are tasty, but not good you. Since I give in to temptation, I've just chosen to avoid that area at all costs. It's worked so far!

Tip #5: Talk about your lifestyle choices to others.
I've been shocked by the number of people who are really open to the vegan diet and lifestyle in college. I've even found people who tried to go vegan for a while. People really respect those who stick with a vegan diet because they don't have the willpower to do it themselves. Hearing this boosts your self-esteem, ladies (and gentlemen)! You feel good knowing that YOU are doing good, so you keep up with your healthy life decisions. Yeah!

(Source)

Tip #6: Surround yourself with other healthy people. 
Is there a vegan/vegetarian group on your campus? Join it! Have friends who like to run? Go running with them in the morning! You are influenced by the people who are around you, so if you are surrounded by people who constantly eat junk food, you'll eat it too.

Back to college: Pictures!

The year has been great so far. It's unfortunate I haven't been able to upload these photos sooner! But here we go... pictures of my life at Xavier University! <3

Myself - looking pretty for the first week of school!

Xavier Navigator's Luau event!

Some of the Husman residents at our Speed Dating program!

The Husman RA Staff! <3

Some of the Husman staff on Freshmen move in day!

The Husman staff at dinner at Maggianos

My room

My room again!

My fishy (Aristotle) enjoying his new home in my dorm

My desk area

My bathroom!

So there are quite a few pictures from my year so far. More to come in the future, I hope! It's been amazing so far. I'm loving every single moment of it :)

So busy. Again!

Life has been CRAZY! (As mentioned in a previous post).

I am so so SO sorry for my lack of updating. RA training has been packed full of information, food, and fun, so I've been busy learning and preparing for my residents to move in (Thursday night and Friday morning!). I promise soon I'll post my recipe for gluten free and vegan Banana Nut Muffins! They were pretty tasty, even though I read the directions wrong and added a teaspoon extra cinnamon! (You can never have too much cinnamon, right?

Look for a post soon to come as a review for the FoodBuzz Tastemaker program. When I applied to be a part of it, I thought the items were vegan... guess how surprised I was when my mom called to me they arrived and they WEREN'T vegan! So my parents are eating them and reviewing them, and I will be posting what they have to say on here. But don't worry... I didn't eat any! :)

I know I asked this earlier, but I still REALLY want to know. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE ON THE WEBSITE?

I really want this site to grow. To have many followers. To became a big deal, full of great nutritional information and healthy recipes. So PLEASE give me ideas! I have been told during my giveaway that there is a want for a post all about eating vegan when out with friends/traveling/etc. I mean, it definitely sucks when you always have to bring your own food, right? So I'll cover that topic for sure.

Tomorrow is the closing banquet for the two weeks of training I've had as an RA. I CANNOT believe it has flown by so fast! I love everyone on my staff and all the RAs in general. It's been a challenging and great experience so far. I can't wait for the school year to get rolling (AND I can finally have a set schedule!! Thank goodness.) I'm wondering what I will be able to eat at the banquet?

Today at lunch, I had a conversation with another RA about being vegan/gluten free, but this time, the conversation was directed more at the gluten free aspect. We talked about celiac disease, quinoa, and how much it must suck that I cant eat what everyone else is eating at training (it doesn't suck! I dont mind at all. I've eaten more salads this week than I probably have all my life). It was really cool to see that she even KNEW what quinoa was, and had a recipe using it that she wants to give me! Pretty sweet, huh?

Again, I apologize for the lack of updates. Please just give me ideas for things you want me to write about... And I'll write them up! :)

Much love,