My SATurday

Hello my loves! How is everyone's weekend going so far? 

I hope it's been AMAZING. My weekend started with something a little different. 

Yuppo, this girl had to take the SATs this morning. And let's just say it wasn't an activity I was excited about doing.

The test started promptly at 8:30 AM and went on until 1:15 and it was probably the longest 4 hours I ever had in my life! But I'm very proud that I was able to fit one test in before the new year. I can now kick off the year knowing what I can work on to get better :) 

I made sure to pack in my protein in the morning to wake my body up for the big day! 

Delish<3 

During the breaks, I snacked on some grapes and persimmon to give me some energy and also so I don't go home wanting to chew my arm off! 

Lunch was scrumptious as always. My brain was a bit fried at this point and food seemed to help so much.

Spicy Korean Pork

Romaine lettuce for "wrappage", roasted seaweed, kimchee

Sautéed spinach with garlic and sesame seeds

Special stew made from mom's veggies from her garden! 

Just call me Ms.Veggie Head! ;) 

This is the part all productive things came to an end. I decided that my brain needed from rest from the rigorous work I did this morning! Just like listening to my body, I never reject rest when it comes to my studies. 

After some blog surfing, kabocha roasting (LOVE times infinity), and Instagraming, I fit in an awesome workout!

Workout

• Six Pack Abs with Jillian 
• ZWOW #45 (Kicked my butt!) 
• VS Arms with Cassey<3 

Today was toning day so I focused on the different muscle groups. 

Who knew lifting some weights can make you this sweaty? 

I showered up and prepared dinner! Let me tell you right now, it was quite a unusual one...

Kabocha is my main obsession as of late and the craving hit as I was rummaging in the fridge. 

I pulled out all the guns to build this beautiful bowl of yums. 

Kabocha, egg whites, sautéed spinach and cucumbers all topped with pan fried salmon! 

Sriracha drizzle for a bit of a kick! 

Wow, where has the time gone?! 

Sorry for such a short post but that test made me pooped! 

Goodnight everyone :) 

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Question of the Day

What are some weird combinations that you create? 

I {Heart} Burpees

Happy Saturday! What better way to kick off a three day weekend with some sweat? I'll get to that later! 

I don't know about you guys, but the weather has been amazing! I can definitely feel the cold weather slowly drifting to Florida. About time too :)

The wind loves me! 

But even though the weather has been changing, my cravings for salad beasts has been going strong. Got to love the greens<3

I have free cookie coupons for Jason's Deli so I decided to get one for dessert. 

Little fact about me! My favorite cookie are oatmeal raisin walnut. This was spot on in flavor, texture and sweetness! YUMMMM~

In Biology class yesterday, I was busy working on a experiment and ended up being the last one finished. Figures since I tend to take light years when it come to ANY project! 

Luckily, my friends kept me company and even brought over some furry cutie pies. 

My teacher keeps her hamsters in the classroom for us to play with. 

We IB kids tend to get bored pretty quickly so these little guys help the time go by :) 

When I got home, it was time to slap on my running shorts and go for a run! 

I ended up running over 2 miles and coming back to my house for M100s. I then rounded off my workout with ZWOWs and Blogilates!

• Flatter My Abs
• Fab Abs
• Bikini Contest Kickoff workout

Last but not least...ZWOW #23. 

It's called burpee torture for a reason! This workout incorporate 100 competition burpees. 

Cray. Zee. 

After doing the first 25, I was going pretty fast. But when I reached 50, my heart rate was soaring! 

When I learned what burpees were a year ago, I could only do 10 at a time. I absolutely dreaded it when HIIT workouts had them. But now, I can do 40 without stopping and I love it. It makes you use your whole body and the cardio is insane! 

Learn to love them guys!

After getting my sweat on, dinner was no brainer because Mama Smile had it already cookin'. As I walked in my house, I could tell from the delicious smell what was up! 

California rolls! 

Nutritious spread of veggies to wrap the nori with! Carrots, cucumber, crab meat, avocado, and fish eggs<3

Fish eggs won the show :)

We needed something warm so Mama Smile made miso soup to go on the side. 

Man oh man, I couldn't stop myself from saying "mmMMMMmm" every 10 seconds! 

After dinner, I looked in my fridge and saw pumpkin I had to use up because I was sure it was on its last legs. Enter Pumpkin Banana Bread! 

I adapted this recipe from Courtney's Pumpkin Banana Bread and switched out a few ingredients.

I couldn't help but listen to Christmas music! 

What? Don't act like you don't do this too ;)

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This morning was a "sweet breakfast" kind of day! 

I had a egg white omelete stuffed with Barney Butter and bananas, topped with whipped cream my beloved Fage. Honeydew on the side for a punch of vitamin C! 

I have to hurry and get ready for the hospital! 

Have an amazing day everyone<3 

Food Favorites and Fall Fitness!

And it feels soooooo good :) 

I'm sorry for the lack of posts this week everyone. I've been moving from school work to working out to volunteering, back to back! 

I'm excited to share some of my favorite things and how I've been moving this past week. 

Since Fall is in full swing now, I am eating pumpkin everything. 

Get in my tummy<3

One of my favorite ways of enjoying this Fall gem in is my beloved yogurt messes!

 Naughtiest way of eating pumpkin? 

Can I get a loud YUUUUUUUM?

I'm telling you, it's ridic. 

Weirdest thing I've been craving lately? 

Salads, salads, salads!

For some peculiar reason, I've been loving my salads and veggies so much. I actually look forward to them and let the hummus do the talking ;) 

I'm super proud of myself for eating only home cooked meals this week! Sometimes it's difficult to prepare food at home, but honestly, it's much healthier and its nice on your wallet. 

I used some of my foodie skills and whipped up this delicious and nutritious dinner! My parents raved about it. 

I took a Cooking Light recipe (my favorite website for healthy eats!) and swapped out some things to make it my own. I used shrimp instead of sausage and used a crap load ton of different veggies to bulk it up! I sprinkled some feta cheese to finish and it went from amazing to hello Chef Alina :) 

I did I tell you? I'm digging my greens! 

On the exercise front, I've been trying to up my running a bit since I haven't been able to concentrate on my speed for a while. You would think that the weather would be getting nicer but it seems like every time I step outside, this happens...

Grrrr. 

Thankfully, my girl Zuzana got me covered! 

I had an awesome rest day yesterday and busted out a sweaty workout today. 

• 30 minute abs 
• ZWOW #37 (Side hops kill me) 
• ZWOW #31 (Basic moves but definitely efficient!) 

I enjoy her workouts so much because it's fast, intense and I don't have to think about the time. Since the moves change constantly, my body is being challenged everyday. 

Usually, at the end of my workouts, I top it off with the #plankchallenge! 

I went from this.

 To this.

To finally this!

Seriously, I can't believe I got this far! It isn't hard anymore to hold myself up for this long and I owe it to my core exercises. 

Whew, that was a mouthful of a post. 

I hope you stayed awake through it ;) 

I just want to say that always remember that we all have struggles and hardships. Everyday!

Not everything in the Smile house is picture perfect but I strive to become a better daughter, sister and friend through these experiences. Live to love and love to live, my friends<3

"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;" 2 Corinthians 4:8-9