Thursday, March 31, 2011

Suck. It. Up.

I don't know about you guys, but going to the gym sometimes is a bitch. I mean, really. I don't get high all day just craving the gym time (ok sometimes I do, but it's definitely not every single day). Some other days, your couch looks appealing, the computer is tempting, the bag of chocolate calls you, you decide to study (?), clean up the house, organize your books... you just find every single excuse that's in the book to not go to the gym. Well, yesterday was one of those days. First, I started talking myself into not going "ok Lyvia, so if you take today off, you can run long runs on Saturday AND Sunday, isn't it much greater?". Then I realize "Sunday?, c'mon who am I kidding, not even I am that stupid". So I said to myself "fine I'll go, damn it". Then I realized I didn't have any clean clothes to go to the gym. Maybe I did, but I didn't have any of the ones I wanted at the moment; talking about making things hard hun. So coincidentally, I had dropped my dirty clothes at the laundry place earlier on, but I was sure they wouldn't have it done like on the same day. So I went there to pick it up, already knowing that they would tell me "sorry gal, tomorrow". When I got there, I saw my pile of clothes all clean and folded. Sigh. So I got them and came back home. I sat on the computer and my sister logged in, so I took the time to talk to her and said "oh well I don't have much time to talk to her, so I might as well take today off so we can have some girl time" and she said, like reading my mind "gotta go, I'm going to the mall". Darn it. I looked around, looking for any other excuse... didn't find it. So I sucked it up and went to the gym. I tried running (1K ha!), but every single step of it was painful. So I went to the stairmaster. Didn't last 5min. So I just went to do what I was supposed to do: lower body training. The very first set of exercise I have to confess it was like "oh God, why am I doing this again?, will I have to do this once a week for the rest of my life?, I can't live like this yadda yadda", you know the drill. So I started thinking about ya all, little bloggers, and how much I love reading your stories and how much I would much rather post about my great kick-ass workout than posting something lame about how I couldn't do it. So I did it. And you know what?, after the 2nd exercise, I was all in the groove of it. It lasted 1h and 55min of pure sweatiness. :)

I'll just share 2 meals I had yesterday because they were so darn good.

Pizza bread with cheese, tomato and oregano, plus a salad with spinach, ricotta cheese and oysters. 

Tortilla with unsalted cheese, banana, cinnamon and honey. Is never anything better than the smell of cinnamon while is cooking?

I've just got home from school... I had an Embryology class and the teacher is a Neurologist... it was so freaking awesome... the afternoon classes aren't obligatory (they're seminars) and there were SO much people... the room is gigantic, it's like a theater... and there were people sitting on the stairs, on the floor, standing up for 2 freaking hours just for this class that. isn't. obligatory. When I left I was so blown away... it reminded me how great you can be at anything you want if you really want it. :) 

Sadly I didn't have time to eat lunch, so I ate something quick and by the time I got home I was starving out of my mind. I cooked. Ate. Still hungry. Thank God the bread and the peanut butter are always here for me. I'm sorry, my dear stomach, that I didn't feed you well today. I promise you that it won't never happen again, k? :) Since yesterday I kicked ass with my lower body training, you can imagine how my ass is feeling today, right? And my legs are screaming... so I decided to switch up my rest day from Sunday to today... thank God I did that or I would end up wasting what could be a great workout day with a so-so one. So looking forward for a long run Sunday all the way to Chinatown to grab my sushi :) 

How often do you talk yourself out of things you're supposed to do?
Pretty often. This little head of mine has a life of its own and sometimes we need to have a talk moment between us. 

Aerobic or weight training?
I'm pretty into running at this point of my life (despite the fact that I'm a lame runner), but I must say... the weights and I are just all love. They kick my ass, they made me hurt, but they get me sweaty and high... isn't that what all girls want in the end? It reminds me of how much we put up with the crap that dudes sometimes have because of the chemistry... I guess it's the same thing here. (meaning: I'm a masochist). 

It's late, you're hungry, too tired to cook. What's that food that's always there for you at these moment?
PB sandwiches. <3

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Small things.

Hey good cyber people! Long time! Sorry about my delay, school has been hectic and also my router somehow decided not to work. It took me 2 days to realize that I could just take the connection cable out of it and put it on my laptop. I know, lame.

So let's back up a little. Sunday, I took it easy with books and went to my favorite place in this whole city:

Chinatown. Get used peeps with me talking about this place. When I like something, I get hold of it hard time. 

And why is it so awesome there?

Raw salmon with avocado and cream cheese for $17 pesos. This would be... $4.20 dollars. Yup. 

And this is a happy girl with her roll of sushi trying to make it not look too compromising in the picture.

Ok it doesn't matter how you hold something penis-shaped, it's always gonna look bad. Sigh.

Another great excuse to go there (besides doing all my groceries and getting to see 99% of the costumers being old people who has to eat healthy for medical orders) is to buy something called alfajor.

It's made with chia flour, chia seeds and it has sugar-free dulce de leche in the middle. 

Talking about a happy Sunday :) And also I'm not giving you guys the middle finger, my movements are usually awkward like that.

So Monday I didn't have classes but I went to check an extra class and see how it was. Lame. I stayed for 20min and left. There's a really good doctor teaching on Thursday, so I'm up to try him instead. This classes are called seminars and you aren't obligated to go to them. We have the classes during the morning and those seminars spread throughout the week. I had some good recommendations for 3 of them, so I'm checking them out later this week. 

And my Monday lunch looked a little like this

Spinach, tomato, broccoli (again?) and chicken with a whole onion in it. 'Cause just about everything is great with onions and I'll never understand how people come to not like them.

So Sunday is my day off at the gym and Monday I was feeling a good vibe. I did 9 sets of sprints, 1min each. Fast, Faster, Fastest. 7.15mph, 7.35mph, 7.45mph (sorry guys I'm really lame with the mile/minute thing). When I got home, I was a dead body and decided to go with an easy dinner.

Spinach, tomato, tuna and ricotta cheese on a tortilla. The cheapest and quickest meal you'll ever find.

It was so satisfying that I just used the leftover for lunch yesterday on one tortilla and scrambled eggs with cheese on another tortilla. Life's good. 

Yesterday, I did 10.5K on a treadmill. First time in my life. The pace was lame (9.20 and I just know it because it showed on the dailymile.com lol) but I'm still proud of myself. I felt such a sense of accomplishment! So great to feel like you can push further and further if you only try (not to mention that I got to watch 3 episodes of 6teen and that everybody walking behind me was wondering why a grown up gal kept watching teenager cartoons and laughing out loud like there was no tomorrow). 

Ok you guys know that Simon left American Idol 'cause he's bringing X-factor to the US right? So Cheryl Cole is supposed to be one of the judges but Fox doesn't want to air the program if she's judging because "if viewers in the U.S. can't understand what she's saying, the show will be in breach of strict U.S. TV regulations."  Sometimes I can't help it but feel really sorry for north-americans and their perception of the world. 

What is something you currently need to work on?
My pace. I'm gonna try to stick with the 10K and get to a 8.3 (?) pace... or should I improve the distance as well at the same time? What you guys all elite runners think?

Have you ever left a class in the middle?
Always do. I mean, not always, but very often. If they're not obligated and if I feel that I could be learning much more if I was at home studying on my own, then I'm so outty. d:

Sunday, March 27, 2011

What are YOUR priorities?

I was wondering today how I manage to do things with my time that I see other people don't seem able to. I tell anyone I go to Med School and they look at me like "why are you here, shouldn't you be studying?" Well, yes, studying is never too much, specially in this area, but I do manage my time pretty well I guess. I have other activities like gym, karate, spinning... but I still have time to study... so why is it that none of my classmates seem to have time to do anything other than study? I truly believe it's only a matter of priority. For me, becoming a doctor is obviously by far the biggest priority I have in life. But I also believe that exercising and running help me big time to accomplish this goal. First, because it keeps me sane. Second, it gives me energy... lots of it. Yes, I lose 2h at the gym every day when I could be studying but the other hours while I do study I'm able to concentrate and learn much more then if I was just potato-couching the whole time. Third, at least for me, brain and body go hand to hand. The healthier I am, the easier it seems for me to learn. Today, I was studying muscles and cardiovascular system. And it was so much fun to study the muscles and imagine how to they work when I'm running, or doing weights... it's awesome and I couldn't be happier. I know I have lots to learn and that's what keep me going. Exercising is and should be everyone's priority... by priority, I don't mean that it's more important than your family or loved ones. I just mean that it's something you're doing for YOU, to help YOU to love yourself more every day... and if you love yourself and are happy about it, it becomes much easier to give this love to your loved ones as well. Vicious cycle, hun?

Today, something awesome happened at the gym. I was doing upper body weight training and there was this guy by my side doing some heavy stuff. I mean, the weights he was lifting were probably far heavier than me... and I was there, doing my thing, singing (yeah I sing out loud while working out), he came up to me and asked what was I training for. And I was like "excuse me?" And he said "you for sure are from some team, right? Voley? Runner? It's a really specific training you're doing, it kinda looks like you really know your stuff". Ok if he was trying to hit on me he truly knew where to go heh. I told him I wasn't training for anything specifically, I just liked to do weights... and he asked me who made my exercise list, and I said I do them myself, that I do research and write them down so I can change the routine always...Anyway, the point is the guy is a personal trainer and hearing that from him truly left me stoke. I'm serious business with my workout ha! Wait until I become a sports physician and you'll see.

As for my training, it looks like this:

*Warming up - 20min elliptical, level 15,


Upper Body Training.
*Cable Bent Over Triceps Extension: weight - 22lbs / reps: 12 (2 sets).
*Dumbbell Hang Clean: weight - 26.4lbs / reps: 8 (2 sets).
*Lying Dumbbell Triceps Extension: weight - 17.6lbs / reps: 8 (2 sets).
*Thruster: weight - 17.6lbs / reps: 10 (2 sets).
*Barbell Upright Row: weight - 11lbs / reps: 12 (2 sets).
*Lat Mach: weight - 55.1lbs / reps: 12 (2 sets).
*Barbell Bent Over Row Plus: weight - 22lbs / reps: 12 (2 sets).
*Low Row - weight - 66.1lbs / reps: 12 (2 sets).
*Cable Face Pull: weight - 27.5lbs / reps: 12 (2 sets).
*Dumbbell Cuban Press: weight - 17.6lbs / reps: 12 (2 sets).



*Cool Down - 25min jog.


ps here: I've been doing this for quite a bit and it's been awesome. Weight training is great for releasing fat from the cells but not really to use this fat afterward. What you should do is an aerobic exercise after training, so this fatty acids previously released can be used for energy. :)

Let's talk business, right? So it's been a while since my last post... sorry guys, for that I didn't make an extra effort at all. So here is Friday's lunch.

Oysters with onions, tomato and ricotta cheese, and my broccoli obsession continues...

So I mentioned it's a holiday here in Buenos Aires since last Thursday... gym didn't open on Friday, so I woke up at 7am, took the subway to where I used to live and came running from there. Best decision ever. It has tons of parks one next the other and I was able to fit in a 8K. So proud. I might be doing this all weekends now to improve my distance run... :)

Friday night went over my friend's house to hang out a bit...

Opening a wine with a knife is not just talent. It's art.

As for Saturday, my lunch was so so good... 

This would be tuna, spinach, tomato, onions and ricotta cheese on a whole wheat 984393 grain bread and broccoli. Spread those babies on the toast and it's sex in the mouth.

I came back from the gym and ended up talking to my roomie about guys and all that... so when I realized it was almost 1am and I still needed to shower! So no mood for cooking, I used the leftovers from lunch and did a bread-pizza.

I spread the tuna mix on the bottom, covered it with unsalted cheese (I know I'm weird) and put it in the oven. Quick and yummy. It might have been followed by more almonds than people have in their lifetime. 

How do you guys manage your time? How do you keep your mind set with your priorities? I would love to know so I can be awesome like you! 

Have you ever opened and wine with a knife?
Tons of times... hey, it's wine and there ain't nothing that can keep me from drinking it.

Really random, but did you guys watched American Idol last Thursday?
Holy lord, I cried big time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought Casey was going to have a heart attack... it was beautiful. (Steven Tyler style).

pps. I STILL CAN'T FEEL MY %SS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Ouch!

So great to be getting back on track with my life! Summer vacation is FINALLY over (and I've never thought I would be happy to say that and here I am... I know, weird, right?). My new roommate and I are getting along reaaally great. My things are finally fitting into the apartment. School is 4 blocks away. Gym is 3. Big supermarket is half. Can life get any better? 

The best part of it is actually having something to wake up for. I really hate having nothing planned to do the whole day because I feel extremely unmotivated. I'm one of those people that need to always be doing something. I was finally able to get back on track again with my food after the long week enjoying tourist food with my mom. So lunch yesterday looked like this:

Spinach, broccoli, tuna and a 495804 grains homemade bread (not by me though, obviously, I'm probably a few generations away of being able to do that. Sorry future unknown husband). 

So my gym pass here allows me to go to any of their gyms I want (kinda like it used to be with New York Sports Club). Yesterday, I finally went to the gym that's close by. It's gigantic. I used to love my other gym, but it's really far away from where I'm living now. This one is sick. I'm so stoked! So yesterday is was lower-body weight training. If you know how it would feel if a horse was stepping on your butt and legs for 1h then you might have an idea of how I'm feeling right now. It's insane how much I'm able to kick my own butt during weight training. I just love it. I love it so much that yesterday I planned on doing it for 1h and when I realized it has passed 2h and the gym was almost closing. I decided I would list the workout I did yesterday so you guys know for sure I'm not lying... (not that I think that you would even consider the idea of doubting my super strength).

*Cable Reverse Lunge - weight: 33lbs / reps: 12 (2x).
*Leg Extension - weight: 44lbs / reps: 10 (2x). - one leg at a time.
*Good Morning - weight: (heavy barbell, no weights) / reps: 12 (2x).
*Leg Press - weight: 220lbs / reps: 12 (2x).
*Stability Ball Leg Curl - weight: (no weights) / reps: 12 (2x).
*Let Press (horizontal) - weight: 176lbs / reps: 12 (2x). - one leg at a time.
*Dumbbell Sumo Squat - weight: 44lbs / reps: 12 (2x).
*Dumbbell Forward Lunge - weight: 44lbs (each) / reps: 12 (2x).
*Barbell Romanian Deadlift - weight: heavy barbell, no weights) / reps: 12 (2x).
*Jumping trampoline - weight: 26lbs (each) / reps: 12 (2x).

Based on that, how about 2 horses? Ouch. Let me stand up while I type 'cause... you know. 

I think I forgot to have a snack yesterday afternoon... so I ate that awesome tuna for lunch, went to the gym and came back around 10pm starving out of my mind. I ate a whole plate filled with the legumes mix I bought yesterday. I'm pretty sure I got 398439493 grams of protein and that my muscles were happily being rebuilt, thank you. And of course there's no picture because we all know that I become a monster when I'm hungry and thinking is out of question.

Today's lunch was so yummy! I was really proud of myself (please note that it really doesn't take me much to be proud of myself in the kitchen, so don't get your hopes high). 

Spinach unsalted cheese omelet, broccoli and tomato. I really love unsalted cheese, I don't know why... and I'm not sure what's up with me and broccoli those days, but my body keeps craving large quantities of it for some reason, so we shall go green then.

For some unfamiliar reason, today and tomorrow is holiday in Buenos Aires, which means NO GYM. I mean, really? So I got Tino (my awesome new dog - sorry roommate) and went for a run. My legs were aching and each step was so painful that I could almost hear my muscles screaming. So I took it easy and just went with 6.8K. Tino is the best running partner ever! When I start to go slower he pulls me right back on track :) 

Don't mind the hair, really, I'm still those kinda kids who think that if they don't run they don't need to wash their hair. 

So we were like running without destination when we came up with a gigantic festival that was going right in the middle of downtown... not sure what it was, never heard of anything... but how would I? I don't ever watch TV and spend half of my time working out and the other half trying to understand how the cells do the miracle of life. No kidding. 

I think there was like 12 big screens showing whatever was going on all the way down there. 

Since I've just got home, I was in no mood for cooking anything at all, so dinner is being served right at this moment:

Really guys it can't get any better than this :)  Besides this bread has some compound extremely addicting, I'm telling you. One bite and it's over... it has oats, flaxseed, chia seeds, walnuts and some other stuff I have no idea what they are.

So it's passed 10pm and I still have tons to study. And my classes haven't even started... talking about wanting to get rich in the future... :)

What usually your body craves the most?
Right now broccoli. But sushi is a constant crave for like forever.

Do you do weight training? If you do, do you feel your muscles sore the day after? If not, what makes you feel soreness?
Running doesn't make me sore, but training... it doesn't matter for how long I've been religiously lifting... every single week I will still feel like someone bounced me forever.

Are you a big tv fan kind of person?
Gosh no. I do watch lots of shows (House, How I Met Your Mother, American Idol, Skins (UK, of course; sorry Skins US, you suck) etc), but I download everything and watch it on my computer, usually during some meal (only time I have, like... now d:). 

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Change of blog's name.

If you noticed, I've changed the blog's name. My mom was bugging me that she could never understand the old name... also, chasing endorphin pretty much represents what the blog is all about :)  So don't forget to follow me or link me to your blog again, 'cause I think the old link won't work :)

Anyway, yesterday, my mom went back home... sad. Yesterday, it was all about unpacking things in the new place, trying to fit in all the space and such. Also, time to buy goodies heh. 

Bye bye moms! ):

A little part of the goodies I got. Brown rice, black, brown and white beans, lentils and flaxseed mix. It has 44g of protein per serving ha! 

Yesterday, I planned on finally getting my run going. I went downstairs, walked for a bit to warm up and, as long as I started running, my cramps decided to stop me. First, I tried pushing through it, but it was really strong. I turned around and came back home crying while I was still jogging through the pain. Usually, I would have just sat around the house feeling bad for myself and probably doing some sort of self-sabotage. Not. This. Time.  As soon as I walked in, Tino (my new puppy! Ok, maybe he's my new roomie's puppy, but hey I spend more time with him then her so now he's officially mine) came running to me... so I got his leash and came back down. I was determined to run either if I have to run the slower run of my life. I ended up doing almost 7K... came back feeling much better, cramps-free and aware that I can do anything I set my mind to do, right? :) This includes all those babies waiting for me:

Think of that as a nice way of spending the entire day.

Have you ever had the feeling that you have so much to do that you don't even dare to start? That's this.

My plan for today: wake up together with my roommate, go to the gym, come back and finally getting started with those babies. Reality: my rommie's alarm went on, it was raining out of control. I somehow managed to the living room and kept sleeping on the couch (?). Now it's 11:30am and I just woke up. Damn.

Have you guys ever conquered a pain by working out through it?
I'm usually pretty good with that. Yesterday, it was the strongest pain I've ever felt while working out. 

Do you also feel like the more you have to do the easier it gets to not get anything done at all?
Always. And I never learn to not let it accumulate next time. Sigh. 

Monday, March 21, 2011

4 days off.

Only one more day as a tourist and tomorrow... bye bye moms. Better enjoy it as much as possible! :)

So of you're wondering where did my workout out, let me just say that after lots of time spent self-analyzing the situation, I came up with this: 4 days off. Ok don't scream, I convinced myself of that so I wouldn't freak out. First of all, my mom's here and she is not a big fan of working out. Second of all, I'm moving to a new place, so I have tons of things to buy. Third, I go to the Medical building this year so I have to apply some papers, buy new books... Forth, to do all that, we start walking around 11am 'till 7pm, NO STOP, so I kinda convinced myself that this was a great workout after all, right? So instead of stressing myself about waking up before my mom, leaving for a run, coming back in a hurry to get the hotel breakfast, have to leave with a full stomach to walk around looking for places I have no idea where, I realize it would be much wiser to just concentrate on what it's priority right now. I mean, it's only 4 days, right? And also it's not like I'm sitting around and being lazy. Sometimes, we just have to be wise towards our routine. I used to get extremely freaked out whenever I couldn't get in any endorphin fix throughout the day. Now I'm learning that there are plenty of other things to get me stoked out there. It's a matter of being open-minded, right? :)

Okay, so, that said... yesterday, we went to the famous San Telmo Fair. It happens every Sunday and it's always full of tourists... they sell basically homemade and really reaaally old stuff. It's rather interesting...

Puppet show.

Natives.

Overall view of the street fair.

Let's talk food... yesterday, I think I had the most delicious lasagna I've ever had in my whole life... I swear, it was heaven. We stop at a place called Galerias Pacifico

Veggie lasagna (carrots, pumpkin, peppers and lots of cheese) with veggies on the side (broccoli, eggplant, green beans, pumpkin). 

Still not convinced? Try again.

Okay, now I got you hooked. 

If you add those...

Wine + bread and people still don't believe in the bible? 

... and you have... 

A really happy tummy, thanks :)

I even convinced my mom I eat healthy... I rocked. 

Salmon and rice with veggies. 

Afterward, my brain convinced me to get this:

I haven't had ice cream in AGES. I don't even remember the name of the flavors, I just got the ones with the most chocolate in it. 

It wasn't a very smart move. I felt extremely sick and couldn't eat anything else the whole day... I don't know if this happens with you guys too, but have you realized that the healthier you eat, the more you suffer when you eat junk food? It happens to me a lot. Yesterday was really bad though. And because of that, I missed this:

Mozzarella with tomato sauce and basil. 

Just looking at it yesterday made me wanna puke (sorry guys too much information, I know). But then I brought it all back to the hotel, squeezed it somehow inside the mini refrigerator and I'm having it for lunch now as we speak. Pizza is just sooo much better when it's cold! (at least that's what I tell to myself every time I have leftovers). 

Do you usually bring leftovers home after eating out?
Always do. Don't forget I go to med school and I have to save up as much money as I can so I can afford all the sushi I eat throughout the week. 

Do you get sick after eating some kind of junk food you haven't had for a while?
Always do as well. My body gets spoiled pretty easily and, after trying the awesomeness of healthy stuff, it punishes me for not giving it what it wants.

Do you allow yourself more days off then usual if you are suddenly out of your routine and something really important comes up?
I wouldn't do it before, but now I'm learning that a couple days won't make me fat or make me lose my endurance. It's just about being smart with out choices. If I know that I won't be running around the whole day during stuff, I might try to sneak in a little run by the end of the day, but If I do spend the whole day walking around solving problems, I try to not stress myself about the fact that I didn't hit the gym. It's not easy, but I'm still learning :)

Sunday, March 20, 2011

You've got to keep your mind wide open.

Two posts in a day means that I rock, right? :)  Today, I went to my gf's house to get my winter stuff I left there before going to Brazil so I could start moving... and after we HAD to celebrate with sushi, for the old times...

Ok don't look so surprise. It's like a to-go sushi... why do I need to cut my sushi anyway, if I can grab it and eat it while walking right? It's def that, not that we're broke or anything like that.

Suellen... don't know what would be of be without her! She was my rommie last year for like a month but I feel like I've known her for AGES.

So we walked around Chinatown in Buenos Aires (our fav spot ever), chat and had a bit of girlie time (aka talked about men; maybe she did that more than me... she has 3 men fighting over her, and I'm single by option. It's not like I don't have time to go out and meet anyone). 

After that, came home and crashed. Woke up with my mom walking in. She decided to spend the day touristing instead of helping me move to my new apartment. Smarty pants. So we went for dinner. Besides wine, of course, we had:

Mom's choice. She has to have red meat with anything she's eating. Sigh.

I went with the veggie sandwich... carrots, eggs, hearts of palm, tomato, lettuce, asparagus, olives. No sauce. 'Cause salad is delicious the way it is. Ended up leaving both breads on the plate... 

Tomorrow, gonna wake up and go to Puerto Madero for a run. I think I'm gonna get my subway card with me so I can just run straight up without getting worried about coming back and trying to track the miles while looking for a way to get back. If you don't know it, I always change the route. I get bored pretty easily, it takes a lot of effort to keep this mind of mine busy... so what I do it I look up on google maps some interesting place and see more or less how many miles I would run to get there and back... and from that I try to trace a way on my mind and just go with the flow. Maybe, while running, I find a more interesting place and just take a different turn. Because of that, I always get lost... but that also made me find out about awesome cool places I had no idea existed and now are my favorites. For example... last year, I used to live really close to the Hippodrome here. And I knew it was close by and I new that it was huge... what I didn't know was that they had this gigantic park right in the middle of it but you can't see it from the front. Like this:

I used to live right on the A stop. While running, I would follow this blue like but right by the Av. Del Libertador I would turn left. Always. I don't know why... 'till one day, I decided to go straight and I found all this amazing parks right by my house... it blew me away...

So what I'm saying is don't be afraid of changes! It doesn't matter if what you have is great, always have an open-mind for new things... new foods, new cultures, new languages, new ways, new routes, new experiences, new hobbies... have baggage to talk about things you've tried, things you still wanna do. You might feel amazed about what the world out there has to offer you. :)  I've lived in 3 different countries and I can say that it still is one of the best things I've ever done up to date. Meeting new people means learning more about yourself. I always say that is in the contrast, in the differences that you start to find out your truly being... it's hard to define the "you" you are while everybody else around you speaks the same language, likes the same kind of movies, grew up doing the same things! Once you start to meet people who have had a whole different way of living for their whole life is that you're gonna start to finally realize who you are. Let the new begins!

You're moving to a new country right now. Where is it?
Japan!

Do you consider yourself an open-minded person?
I think I do! :) 

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Wine + the rest.

Ok, I promise you guys that the fotolog section will be over by Tuesday when my mom leaves... then ya all will have the old-self blog filled with random boring posts about struggling daily normal stuff :D

Yesterday and the day before we walked lots. I mean lots. I thought about going for a run in the morning, but I just couldn't feel my legs... so I thought, since my mom's here and all that, I would save some legs for here. It wasn't an easy decision, the weather was screaming my name, but I sucked it up. So we walked.

Argentina's version of the Obelisk.

A closer look.

An old theater that now it's a bookstore.

Then it was lunch. We stop at this restaurant that you just pay to get in and they have TONS of food and you can eat whatever you want. I love this place because they have a huge variety of seafood... 

I could def live out of this stuff. No kidding. Broccoli, green beans, squids, lobsters, oysters, cherry  tomatoes = an extremely happy tummy. 

Bye lobster.

Eggplants are a must <3

The famous "dulce de leche", homemade chocolate and cantaloupe. 

Yesterday was filled with more walking. I had to go to school to get some papers and then we headed for lunch. The place is called Broccolino. I totally recommend it. It's an italian restaurant and you're gonna have the very best homemade pasta and sauce you'll ever taste in your life! And besides, they have some killer bread. (what's up with me and bread?).

Bread and wine are almost anything I need to keep on living.

Homemade "tallarines" with squid's ink with seafood sauce. 

How all seafood should be eaten heh.

So leaving now to my old place to get some winter stuff I left there before going on vacation so I can take them to my new place. I've met my new roommate and she's awesome. Really excited :)
I also renewed my membership at the gym and the lady gave me 2 months free. That could have been the best thing that has happen to me this year. (so you would think that either my life is extremely boring or that I get excited way too easily). 

Can't wait to settle down and get my life on track again... :) 

Do you have any trips planned for this year?
If I can hold myself with the expenses, I'm planning on going backpacking around Europe by January... maybe I can use this as a motivation to finally save some money... (I always say that but then winter comes and with it comes all the cute boots and outfits that have me totally sold up). 

Do you give yourself some kind of excuse when you can't workout?
I have to, otherwise I would probably go insane. So if I can't at all, I will sit down with the little brain of mine and have a one on one kind of talk. Like today "look, you could run, you definitely could... but your mom is here just because of you so it would be much wiser to just hang out with her so you won't feel like your legs are exploding while she decides to walk for 5 hours straight, right? Right, k thanks, nice talking to ya."

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Pretending to be a tourist.

Hey guys! How ya all doing? Sorry for the delay, I barely stay in one place... yesterday, we walked for like forever to buy the tons of books I'm gonna need for this year and then walk back carrying them all! Thank God my mom came with me, otherwise I would be lost out of my mind!


Today, woke up and ran light 3mi around Puerto Madero... I was quickly out of breath and I realize I need to get used to the humidity again... but it was amazing.

So, nothing like start the day with whole wheat french bread, white cheese and tons of fruits!

Ok I swear there was a lot of fruit a couple minutes before I realized I had to take a picture :)

Isn't it great to get to hang out with your mom when she's a tourist and want to get fancy every day and include you in all her plans? :D So that was lunch!

Breadland... heavenly. 

After that amount of meat my mom MADE me eat yesterday, I MADE her go with a little fish and veggies.

Hake fish and steamed veggies.

I went with breaded baked eggplant, mashed potatoes and mashed pumpkin and tomatoes skins. 

After lunch, we stopped in a health food store and got some dried fruits 'cause my mom was really into trying them out...

Dried papayas.

Dried plums.

At night, we went to the cutest coffee shop I have ever been in my entire life! It's called Artentino, it's on Avenida de Mayo, close to 9 de Julio... I took tons of pics, so get ready :)

It's an art and coffee shop

Pop art - best art ever. (Roy Lichtenstein).

I wish my room was like this...

I wish I could live there!

Ok, now you're probably bored, sorry.

Just one more of moi :) 

Dinner was served :)  I actually couldn't finish what I had for lunch, so I packed it and had the other half of it for dinner :) 

My mom got pizza.

Then lemon pie for dessert (for her, I hate any fruity pie - except banana pie, of course heh).

This post is more of a fotobook than a blog but oh well, it's worth it more than 1.000 words. Hope you guys are enjoying the awesome weather :) 

If you guys could have only one fruit for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Definitely bananas for me... I would never ever ever get to understand a person who doesn't like bananas or anything banana-related :)

What is the food you can't never get enough of? 
Sushi. :)

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