I was so excited to have Thursday-Saturday off so that I could go down the shore!  Even though I won’t be here the whole weekend because I have to work Sunday and Monday, I am going to try and get in as much fun as possible.  Plus I think I’ll be getting paid time and a half for working the holiday…so that is icing on the cake.

Last night we had dinner with Adam and Sarah and then went out for a drink before Joe and I headed down the shore for the holiday weekend.  After dinner, we had a few more things that I had to do to my apartment before officially saying goodbye. 

We had to relocate my beloved fish to Joes house where he will be watched for the next two weeks.

Then I vacuumed the place up and wiped up the surfaces, moved the last few items out, and returned my keys.  It was definitely sad and the end of an era.  I’ve spent the last three years in that apartment.  A first apartment is definitely a right of passage.  I moved in there after my second year of college was finished.  It had belonged to a sorority sister who was moving out before her 6th year of rotations (the reason I am now moving out) so it was the only one I even looked at.  It had a nice big bedroom, two closets, and I was sold.  It’s funny now that after living there for three years how much I considered when getting my new place.  I wanted more closet space, a place for a kitchen table, bigger living area, easy access to washer and dryer, etc.  I think it takes living in your first apartment to know what you want/need in your next one.

I’ve never taken any pictures of my house or outside my house for safety reasons, but I don’t live there anymore so here are some shots.  I had an apartment on the second floor of this big brick house.  It was the perfect place for me.  The building has about 9 units in it so it’s fairly private.  My apartment was in the back so it was pretty quiet too.  The doors were secure and visitors had to be buzzed up which was definitely a big plus living in this area of town.

My bedroom was huge and I fit a lot of stuff in there.  See the definition of hoarding.  Both closets (there is one directly opposite of the one shown) were packed to the brim and I also had many drawers all over and a desk filled with binders and text books.  Oh an a king bed.  See…I am a bit of a hoarder…

The living area was really small, but I made the most of the space by putting up book shelves on either side of the window (where the TV was in front of), putting in a couch long ways against the right wall, a chair, and a coffee table.  There wasn’t room for a kitchen table which was ok…but it was definitely on my wish list for the next place.  Having dinner on your couch for 3 years is not always easy or fun.

My kitchen was tinnnnyyy and I hated that about it.  There was virtually no room to prepare anything especially when my toaster oven and coffee maker were on the counter.  If Joe and I were trying to both get in there together, forget about it.  There was also hardly any cabinet space and the refrigerator was hard to get into since it was crammed in the corner.  I will not be sad to see this kitchen go off to a new tenant.  The bathroom on the other hand was just right, it had a tub, which is a must have for me, and I liked it.

I tried to find some pictures of it furnished but not a lot of luck.  Here are a few with me in the way…

I am sad to close that chapter and turn in my keys, but I am moving on to bigger and better things.  One of those being a bigger kitchen and some more closet space…woohoo!  I will always remember apartment 208, the memories I made there, and all the growing up I did between 20 and 23. 

Onto the next chapter…

Do you guys remember your first apartments?  What did you love/hate about them???

Friday was pack, pack, pack, scramble to try and sell furniture, pack, go on a date, pack, pack, sleep.  Even though I was trying to pack over the past few weeks, I had to leave a lot of things until the last day because I needed them.  I didn’t want to pack up my books or notes because I might have needed them for the rotations boot camp.  I couldn’t pack up my pots and pans because I needed them to cook, etc.  So Friday was a long day.  It also didn’t help that I kept procrastinating selling some of my furniture that I didn’t want to move into my new place.  I had a dresser, night stand, coffee table, couch, and arm chair up for grabs.  I was able to sell the dresser to some neighbors for $25, and then I gave everything but the couch to a friend of Joe’s.  The couch unfortunately went to the curb where a homeless man (we think…) took the cushions off and stowed them away somewhere.  Hmm…

The date was dinner with Joe at GiGi’s where I had a groupon that was about to expire.  We ordered a bunch of food to split and had to take a lot home.  It was delicious though. 

You know it’s summer when your pink drink matches your pink sunglasses

After dinner we saw a movie on an impulse which made for a fun date, but we were regretting that when the packing was still dragging on at 1am.  I was up at 7, quickly showered, packed up the last minute odds and ends before the mover arrived to take everything I own out of my super tiny apartment for good.  I still have to go back and clean the empty apartment and move my fishie out (hope he doesn’t think I abandoned him!), so I’ll haven’t said goodbye to it yet. 

After the move I ran an errand with my Dad down the shore, had lunch with him at my friends restaurant in Ocean City, NJ, drove back home, got a quick mani (packing and moving is not good for the nails – chip city), and then got ready to head out again.  First, I went with my parents to see my brother off to a prom he was going to with some friends.

The next stop for this crazy day was the Xfinity Live (a big complex near the Philadelphia stadiums with lots of bars and restaurants) for dinner and some drinks followed by a Phillies game!  My parents hadn’t been to Xfinity Live yet so while we waited for a table at Broad Street Bullies (a restaurant) and walked around the venue.  Once seated, I had a few pre-game beers and my Mom and I split two entrees, a crab cake sandwich and the chicken pot pie.  Both excellent…we would definitely eat there again.

Needless to say it was a long but great day, and then today was a long day of work.  I stopped by Wawa for a sandwich and coffee before work and was impressed by a recent improvement in the ordering system.  They had an option to order sandwiches that were less than 7 grams of fat…subway-style!  All the options for add ons would keep your sandwich under 7 grams of fat…aka no cheese basically or fatty spreads…I went with turkey, spinach, onions, and honey mustard on a whole grain roll. 

It was delicious and I got to at the pace of a bite every 15 minutes because work was fairly busy, but not too crazy.  Now I am enjoying a nice quiet night at my parents house where I had a two week layover between leases in the city.  Lots of shows on DVR and reading on my iPad.  I am already done 50 Shades of Gray and I’m onto 50 Shades Darker.  Clearly the book is great since I just started it 24 hours ago…full review to come later.

Now that all the craziness is settling down a bit, I’m planning on more regular posts.  Thanks for bearing with me during the chaos!

Wishing you all Happy Mondays!

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!