Good Shabbos!

Oh my gosh I'm so sorry! I can't believe how long it's taken me to finally get a chance to finish this post! Despite what the time stamp may say I'm actually only just now at 4:05 getting a chance to sit down and blog.

Uh oh, guess who went to Student Health this morning?? Yeah, I woke up feeling pretty icky so I just decided that I may as well go before it gets really bad. I got set up with some new allergy meds and got a referral to a local allergist. Hopefully I can get retested and start allergy shots soon! The nurse who saw me warned me that the meds may make me a little wired. I didn't really believe it and I figured anything is better than the Benadryl knock out but man, I'm all cracked out! I was such a busy bee at work and I'm still sort of buzzin!

Because I was on the go this morning I decided to make a breakfast smoothie. Sorry to my roomies who were sleeping while I used the blender! :/

In the blend:

• 1 cup frozen berries
• 1/3 cup coconut milk Kefir
• 3/4-1 cup soy milk
• 1 Tbsp almond butter
• 1 tsp. light agave syrup

This was the first bottle of Kefir I ever tried and I can only describe it as something in between yogurt and milk. By itself it isn't the most delicious but it's awesome when mixed with fruit and stuff. Kefir is actually a grain that is mixed with fermented milk and constantly stirred. The product is a yogurt-like liquid chalked full of probiotics. An awesome addition to a dairy free diet since us vegans don't consume probiotic dairy yogurt.
I've never done this before but I thought I would give PB&J Pita a try. I toasted half a pita bread on low and smothered the inside with peanut butter and apple butter. It was sooo tasty! Definitely a new staple of mine and by the way, toasting it made it that much better.
Lunch today is a spinach salad with the last of the roasted brussel sprouts, bean sprouts, cherry tomatoes, yellow onion, and some of that super tasty Annie's Naturals Lite Italian Dressing. Sliced mangos and a Peanut Butter Pretzel Mojo bar to round things out.
The breakfast smoothie in all it's glory, so yummy! The almond butter is the secret ingredient.
The Dynamic Breakfast Duo.
After my doctor's visit I still had a good 30 minutes before class so I decided to treat myself to some Fair Trade Hazelnut brew with a splash of soy.
I think this is the way to go from now on with coffee. Not only is it cheaper to just get brewed coffee, I can control exactly how much soy goes in my drink and I know it's soy! Sometimes I get super paranoid that the baristas used regular milk. Of course every now and then I'll have to switch back to my classic cappuccino with soy cause I love me some foam. But this really hit the spot this morning.
Another beautiful day at UCSB.
There's me putting on my happy face and being a good sport even though I feel lousy.
But I'm still a gangsta!

I can't believe what a good flow I've been having since I made the trip to Student Health. And to think, I was considering not coming to classes today when I woke up super drowsy and feeling like a sicky. The main reason I knew I had to come was because I had studio and work today.

Studio is a class that is connected to voice lessons and is an opportunity for all the students of one teacher to meet and sing for each other. It's a time where we get some performance setting practice with an accompanist, give and receive constructive criticism, and hear each other's progress. I really enjoy studio because performance setting practice would be hard to come by without it. I'm so glad I decided to stick it though today because I had an awesome studio. I got to run through the songs I'm performing tomorrow and my teacher was getting really nit picky. I feel really solid with the songs and today we got even more into the mood behind the words and the relationship to the music. It was just awesome and I'm really confident for tomorrow. The performance is at 11:30AM and I'm ready to get up there and do my thang!

So last night I mentioned that I had an important announcement and I do! I haven't talked much about it yet but I've recently been getting more into my Jewish heritage. This winter break I had the amazing opportunity to be a part of a two and a half week trip to Israel through a group called Jewish Awareness Movement, JAM. I was so lucky to be able to go with my brother Eric whose very presence made the trip that much more of an awesome experience. We learned so much about Judaism and Israel and came back with a definite sense of pride in our heritage. (My profile picture is of the two of us it Tzfat!) One important lesson I learned about embracing this new part of life is that you must take it in baby steps. Doing too much all at once can have a backfire effect. One of the things I've decided to try and take on is Shabbat. Shabbat is a traditional meal (or meals) that commemorate the day of rest during creation and begin at sundown on Friday night and end at sundown on Saturday night. During that time the concept of rest is taken to the extent that no electricity is turned on or off, no writing is done, no cooking, no driving, no television, etc... I'm far from an expert on all this but like I said: baby steps. I just want to give everyone a heads up that I will not be posting on Friday nights or Saturday during the day. I have to break Shabbos this weekend unfortunately because I have a performance but at least tonight I can do whatever I can to stay in the spirit of Shabbos.

The ideas behind Shabbos are really beautiful and I look forward to dinner at the Shushan's all week! I also think this will be a good way for me to take a break from blogging so that I don't come to resent having to blog. I really enjoy keeping this little online journal and it's something that I get to do!

Anyways, the plan now is to make some more progress on the ominous motet paper so that I can enjoy my weekend. There Shusan's are hosting a BBQ this sunday for their son's first haircut (which may sound like a silly reason to celebrate but in orthodox Judaism, little boys are not supposed to cut their hair until age three). I really want to go chill with them without stressing about the paper.

I wish you all a relaxing (or productive depending on your goals) weekend and you will be hearing from me again soon!

Voice Lesson Day, Beating the Afternoon Slump

Guten Morgen alles! Ich habe gut geschlaft aber habe ich noch Allergie!

Just kidding! I'll try to avoid posting in German for now haha. What I said was: Good morning everyone! I slept well but I still have allergies! I decided to add Flonase to the picture so hopefully I'll start feeling better soon. Also, I know that I can trick myself into feeling good (despite allergies and ominous music history paper) if I dress cute and comfy.

This is my outfit today. Those shadows make me look sort of funny (that's my story and I'm sticking to it) but I wanted to show what a beautiful morning it is. I must have looked like such a weirdo balancing my camera on the end of a jeep and posing for 10 seconds waiting for the auto timer. I'm sure this little college town has seen weirder.
This shot is a tribute to my friend Denielle whose fashion blog Sassy Little Frassy had a post about vintage accessories. Though this ring is not vintage at all, when I decided to wear it today it made me think of her. She moved to L.A. last quarter and I miss her so much!

On to breakfast! Today I decided to make Apple Cinnamon Blueberry Oats. In the mix is:

• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 large Fuji apple
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• ~ 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/16 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp. milled flax seed
• 1 tsp light agave
• 1 Tbsp. peanut butter

This is a step I thought I should make a special reminder of because it was Tina of Carrots 'N' Cake who reminded me! When making apple oats, it's important to let the apples cook in the liquid for a few minutes (I usually do 2-3) so that they get nice and soft.
Blueberries!! Obsessed.
Remember that guy I met while taking pictures of the music building? He told me that natural light is the best for food pictures so I brought my breakfast outside! I'm no photography buff and I know those shadows aren't so great but natural light really does the trick.
I measured out my peanut better this time to just one tablespoon because I think I was being a little too generous :/
The best vitamins ever!

Today is a voice lesson day which means I have an hour to work with my amazing voice teacher. On V.L. days I allow myself to only be concerned with that one thing until it's over (otherwise I know I would just get overwhelmed). Voice lessons only happen once a week and they are really important so I try to make them the focus of my day. As a third year I am required to have a junior recital at the end of spring quarter which is a formal performance consisting of 30 minutes of me!! Ahh! Right now I'm working on getting all of my music "off the page", or from memory, so we can start really getting into the musicality. I also have a little performance on Saturday so we'll probably run through the pieces again as a refresher.

After my voice lesson I really need to start getting serious about this paper. That's why I wore my Uggs today. Ugg is how I feel about my paper so I may as well be warm and toasty while I do it! All of the sources are given, it's only 4-5 pages, I have until Tuesday... totally do-able.

Lately I've been getting a bit of an afternoon slump which is really annoying. I'm such a morning person and before 12 I'm go go go. As soon as I slow down and sit in class it's like I can't focus and I can feel my energy sagging. Question of the day: Does afternoon energy sag happen to you? How to you get over the midday slump?

I'm going to pack some good snacks for myself that will hopefully help and I'm scheduled for a little coffee date on campus with my girls Savannah and Amanda! Perfect time for a caffeine boost.

Bipolar Weather = Allergies?

I keep forgetting to mention these new gummy snacks I mean Vitamins I'm taking. They are so good! Sweet fun gummy candy + vitamins = perfect for me!

You only get to take two everyday :( I would eat at least ten if it were up to me.
Sorry I couldn't get a very clear shot but I thought it may be of interest what exactly is in these suckers. I got them at Costco also.

Vegan Report! So these deli slices by smart deli are actually pretty good as far as faux meat goes. I packed strips from two slices for my pita today and I could really taste the roasted flavor. Quite nice indeed.

Here's to better planning! The idea here is to be slightly over packed in order to avoid another starvation incident like yesterday. On the menu from left to right we have a cup or two of left over creamy hearty veggie soup, a Fuji, all the fixings for a delicious pita sandwich: cherry tomatoes, slices of fake meat, sprouts, hummus avocado, roasted butternut squash, and mustard. Half a pita bread, a Naked Superfood juice, slices of mango, and for dessert a Clif Mojo Bar Dipped Chocolate Peanut flavor.
This little tangerine had been rolling around in my bag for some time now so I decided a little snack in Anthropology would be good. It was all dried out and not very tasty though so I only ate about three slices of it before deciding to toss it. Sad.
Instead I ate this raspberry fruit strip which was also living in my purse waiting for a moment just like this one.
Yesterday was such a rainy, gray day and today was totally gorgeous! The weather here is seriously bipolar. This is a shot of the music building a.k.a. my home away from home away from home. I was on my way towards work after anthro when I took this shot and met a man who was also taking photos. He had a much better camera than me and clearly knew more about photography. He showed me the shots he'd just been taking of a puddle next to the bike path and in the reflection you could see bikers riding by! It was pretty cool and he suggested that when I update I go with Sony. My little camera has just about given all it's got. It just about has a seizure when it focuses and all the buttons are kind of messed up.
I took a lunch break around 2 while at work and I sat and had lunch in Storke Plaza. You can see the sign in the upper left of the art museum on campus and that ledge in the foreground is actually a big pond with coy fish in it.

I think I mentioned this morning that I was having some allergies when I woke up. Well, they didn't get better even though I took a Zyrtek and I have been sneezing and sniffling all day. Finally around 1:30 I took Benadryl which I was avoiding because it makes me drousy. I needed it though I couldn't concentrate on anything.
This is a little bit of Storke Tower on the right. What a sky!
I have to admit, I built a pretty tasty looking pita!
Love this juice. It's such a treat now that I'm not much of a juice drinker anymore. I try to only drink juice I make myself.
I had just a few tastes of the soup and saved the rest for later, before choir. Turns out this soup is good cold too.
Mango mango.
Alright, dessert time. Actually I was really full but I was so curious as to what this thing looked like I thought I would just take a taste.

It was really good. Less chocolaty than I expected but still, works as dessert for me. I took about three bites and saved the rest. I'm thinking I'll finish it off after dinner as a little treat!

After lunch I went back into work and the Benadryl hit me like a ton of bricks. I was struggling just to keep my eyes open and I was cold... but at least I wasn't sneezing as much. I don't know what's going on with me right now but I can only hope it's just allergies. Two of my roomies are sick with flu-like-colds or something and I really hope this isn't the beginning of it for me. It sure feels like allergies (miserable) but who knows. I think that's one aspect of college life that just sucks. You're in such close contact with people on a daily basis who are, for the most part, less than considerate of spreading germs. I'm a germaphobe for good reason! After work I went back to the same bench area and actually fell asleep in the sun. That's something I never do! I have this weird thing about sleeping in public when I'm alone. I guess I was too tired to care this time.

After choir and making a bazillion copies at the library for a paper I'm consciously avoiding thinking about, I finally made it home and began creating the salad I had been imagining all during choir!
I've never tried this brand of salsa before. Drew's is generally pretty good but this was mostly a college budget inspired purchase.
Spinach, wild rice and pinto beans, roasted butternut squash, sprouts, creamed spinach, roasted brussel sprouts, hummus, salsa, salt and pepper. The salsa was pretty good! I'm into roasted salsas and this one could have stood to be a little roastier tasting but it was still chunky and tasty. I was totally feeling the butternut squash today in my pita so it needed to make a reappearance.

I really don't know what to do about these allergies. It's really miserable to have to go through the day always with the feeling like you're just about to sneeze. Even when I sneeze a bunch of times in a row it only feels better for a few seconds! Argh!! I think I'm going to use the Neti Pot tonight just to be sure I can't help clear out whatever is making my face explode. What's a Neti Pot you ask? Well it's descriptive name would be nasal douching but don't let that name put you off. My fellow soprano roomie bestie bootch soulmate Savannah is the one who introduced me to this magic lamp looking device. You mix a warm saline solution of non-iodized salt and water in the little pot, position the spout in one nostril and tilt your head slightly over a sink and like magic the water goes into your sinuses, clears out congestion, and comes out the other nostril. I'm sure that sounds really uncomfortable and bizarre but it's actually not. Check it out on youtube if you don't believe me! Savannah and I swear by it as the way to prevent from getting sick, or doing it whenever something just feels off. Apparently it's a really big thing with singers.

I'm going to go enjoy the rest of my Mojo Dipped Chocolate Peanut bar and attempt to do a little reading. Maybe going to bed early will help my allergies or at least prevent me from having to suffer through them any longer. Plus I'm going to try try try to get up early and get some work done on that paper I'm avoiding.

Gute Nacht!

Yoga Morning

Good Morning! I set my alarm for 6:30 and 6:35 and eventually my eyes opened at 6:46 but I was just draggin my wagon. It took a lot of self convincing to actually get out of bed. By the time I was dressed in my workout clothes it was already 6 minutes to the start of my cycling class. I haven't been on time once so far and I felt like stressing out about it so early in the morning is not the way to go. Instead, I decided to do better next week and be perfectly on time and do something that I've been wanting to do for a while. iTunes Yoga Podcasts! Is it amazing to anyone else that there are zillions of freeeeee workout podcasts just waiting to be conquered? I chose a podcast called YOGAmazing by Chaz Rough titled "Yoga for College Students". I thought that was appropriate. It was pretty good, nice and light, and definitely relaxing. The only problem I was having is that I'm having some kind of allergies this morning. When I was in child's pose with my forehead on the ground it felt like little weights that had been floating around in my head were coming to settle behind my face.

I even busted out my snazzy yoga mat! Purple is my favorite color :D

Finally it was time to fill my grumbling stomach. In the mix:

• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 Large Fuji Apple
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 tsp. light agave
• 1 Tbsp. milled flax seed
• 1/4 cup raisins
• scoop of peanut butter

And a mug o' green tea with a little soy milk. I'm beginning to learn that a little soy milk goes a long way. I'm pretty impressed with the Costco brand Kirkland. They seems to have quite a few quality products!

Ahh, apartment decor. I love it when you can see the steam coming off the food.

Well today is another looooong day:

1. Music 160B- 20th Century Analysis
2. Anthro 131- Native American Indians
3. Work at the Music Library (best job ever!)- 3 hr. shift
4. Meet with Greg about Music History Paper
5. Chamber Choir- 2 hr. rehearsal (which is better than 3. trust me!)

I won't be home again until after 7 so I'm going to try to plan a little better than yesterday and get a tasty lunch plus snacks packed up. But right now it's shower time! Gotta have my head on straight today, it's gunna be a busy one!