Friday, October 18, 2013

Endorphin Junkie has moved!

So I've been having major issues with this website, so I have moved the blog to: www.endorphinjunkie14.wordpress.com Hope to see you all there! ~Kate

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Over Achiever...

Today I had to go back to work (boo).  I work four 10 1/2 hour days so I can get every Friday off, but sometimes it feels like I work 24 hour days and the time goes soooooo sloooooowwwwllllyyyyy. 

But once I got home I saw that Andrew made dinner:



Andrew made the chicken with bacon and avocado, and I (being the hungry monster that I am) cooked up a sweet potato with olive oil and pumpkin pie spice (trust me, it's to die for!). 

After dinner (that included an episode of the new 90210...anyone else into that show?!) this is what the rest of my evening has looked like:


Yup, that's right folks, my lab professor gave us homework due tomorrow (still on break here!) because we had a day off of school due to 'snow'.  It's in quotes because it snowed for like five minutes, then turned to rain...but since it's Maryland the word snow sends people into mass panic.   But I was actually an overachiever and sent the assignment in today :)  Now I can relax and watch more 90210 episodes tomorrow (yay!)

Source

Sorry for the not so interesting post...but I'm off to watch the result show of DWTS and hopefully get to bed early tonight :)

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Please let me live vicariously through you and tell me something interesting you did today!

Predictions on who is going home on DWTS?


Monday, April 1, 2013

I get into way too much trouble....

when I hang out with my mom!  We have a tendency to do this thing where we go into stores and I spent way too much money on very very cute shoes and clothes. 

Mom and I on the way to my wedding...she's my favorite shopping buddy :)

But first we had to have lunch...which is almost always at Panera.  I'm currently in love with their Mediterranean Salmon Salad.  That plus their hazelnut coffee gives us the shopping fuel we need  :)


The yummy salad..can you say nom nom nom nom?!
Source
Additional Shopping Fuel

I came away with two awesome pairs of shoes, a new pair of sunglasses, and a few other little things.  I would call that a productive outing, wouldn't you?

The results of our shopping excursion

After I got home I went back out and did more shopping...but this time it was of the grocery variety.  As much as I love my husband and love spending time with him on our usual dinner/grocery shopping Friday night dates (we're the coolest couple ever...and we rock at grocery shopping together, just sayin' :), he has this thing (that I think most men have) where he thinks we should stick to a list and not walk up and down every aisle and find food that you really don't need but want anyway (like 50% Easter candy...).  So when given the opportunity, I like to go solo on the grocery shopping so I can browse a little bit more :).  I came home with a few goodies in addition to the usual food we get:


His and Hers: Dark chocolate bunny for me, Snickers Eggs for Andrew

I saw this on Pinterest...does anyone else besides me do this?!  It could almost count as strength training, right?:

So funny (Source)

Now I have to write part of my lab report before DWTS comes on (I'm usually in class on Mondays so I'm super excited I get to watch it!).  Hope you're all having a great Monday!

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Do you like to grocery shop with your significant other, or would you prefer to do it solo?
My husband and I usually go together every Friday, but sometimes I like to go by myself... usually with a list in hand...that I may/may not follow :)

Favorite Easter Candy?
Reese's eggs are my absolute favorite, and I guess Starburst jellybeans are my favorite non-chocolate option.

Who do you like on DWTS?  
I LOVE Derek Hough, so I usually root for him and his partner every season, but I think there's some good competition this year.   



Sunday, March 31, 2013

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! We spent Saturday with Andrew's family and Sunday with mine.  Here are a few pictures from the past few days:
Treats from my last day as a Physical Therapy Tech.  I loved the job, but working two jobs plus school was a bit much!
Two of my cousins hanging out :)


Cupcakes I made for Easter Sunday...thank you Pinterest!


Yes...this is random...but who would actually open a store like this?! At least they have MREs!


Since I'm on Spring break from school this week, I plan to relax a little bit, get ahead in my online class, work on a lab report, shop with my Mom, and hopefully hang out with some friends :) Hope you all have a great week!

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

SNOW DAY!!

Complete with hardly any snow! Maryland is silly like that...there is much panic about a 'winter storm' with a funny name like 'Saturn' (who came up with the idea to name all storms anyways?!), so schools, state government, federal government, and other businesses shut down. 


The snow dance worked!!

The amount of snow we currently have...I'm so glad we got our TP and milk to prepare for this mess....::sarcasm::

Not that I'm complaining....I have a trig test tomorrow that I've barely studied for, so this day off as been wonderful!


Ah...parabolas...
But besides studying I hope to venture out into the winter-ness and get my sweat on at our apartment's fitness center...and maybe do some baking too. 

Hope you're all staying warm and safe today!  

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Did you have today off from work or school? Did you do anything fun?

Any good snow day indoor workout routines? Or are you brave and run in all types of weather?

Sunday, March 3, 2013

What my weekends have been looking like lately...

Since I can't run due to mmyyy neuroma (sings to tune of My Sharona)...










So my weekends have consisted of studying and food, with a few adventures thrown in.  We went to Chicago for a wedding (Congrats Sarah and Rich!) and we also went to a Thousand Foot Krutch concert (awesome, awesome, awesome band!!).  Other than that I've been trying my best to catch up on school and sleep while trying to avoid injuring my foot further.  I plan to start swimming tomorrow since I think I have been endorphin deprived for too long.  

Source

Hope you all have a great week!

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What have you been up to lately? 


Saturday, January 26, 2013

Typical Friday night, and a little Saturday

On Fridays I work at a Physical Therapy outpatient facility where I think I walk around five miles once the day is over.  I don't get paid much, but I learn a lot from the physical therapists, it covers the application requirements for PT schools, and most of all...I LOVE IT! It's so much nicer helping other people for 8 1/2 hours than sitting at a desk for 10+ hours. 


Just a little PT humor (it's funny, trust me...haha)
Source 
 

















After work on Fridays, Andrew and I usually go out for dinner.  Since it snowed, and the Baltimore area was in a panic (that usually happens with any form of precipitation), Andrew and I decided to stay close to home and go to a local pizza place.

I got a slice with spinach, mushroom and red peppers, while Andrew got a slice of stuffed pizza with every type of meat you could think of.  We also 'split' a caprese stick (when I say 'split', I mean that I ate 95%...oops!)
Excuse the napkins...I like to 'blot' my pizza to get some of the grease off...but it was yummy!


Andrew's 'man slice' with his side of marinara


Afterward dinner, Andrew was a sweetie and took me to Maggie Moo's to get ice cream.  We were the only ones there, and the girl who made my ice cream creation said I was crazy for getting ice cream when it was this cold...so I told her that was mean (I was kidding, of course), and asked for more cookie dough...and she gave it to me!!! They must have had like one customer that day or something ;)
Maggie Moo's 'cookie dough drizzle' with their dark chocolate ice cream and extra cookie dough...can you say 'NOM NOM NOM'?!

P.S. Andrew didn't get anything because he was 'too full' (I don't get it either...). 

Once we got home, I devoured my ice cream, then watched like 10 episodes of Dance Academy on Netflix (it's a cheesy show about ballet that's set in Australia and makes me wish my Mom would have forced me to stay with dance...but instead she took me out of it since I hated every minute of it...sigh...I guess she's a good Mom ;))


Source

I've been feeling kind of crummy today, so the only thing I've done so far is an Insanity workout (which I probably shouldn't have done due to the gross feeling) and I also got my hair cut and highlighted.  It had been six months since it was last cut, so it was about time.  I think because of my spaced out, cold symptom like feeling, I did the math way wrong in my head and ended up over tipping my stylist, but in my eyes, I guess it's better to over tip than under tip :). 

Me with my new hair...excuse the spaced out look...

I don't know what the rest of the day holds, but it will probably be a lot of laying down and nothing :)

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What are you up to this weekend?

Do you run in the cold/snow? 

Are you a 'pizza blotter' (i.e. do you like the grease on your pizza or do you try to blot some of it off before eating it)?














Monday, January 21, 2013

I'm in a New York state of mind

Part of Andrew's Christmas present this year was a day trip to New York City to see Jersey Boys.  I had seen the show while I was in Chicago, but he had never seen it.

We spent the morning walking around the city and doing the typical tourist stuff:
Taking pictures in front of FAO Schwartz




Hanging out with Cookie Monster and Sherk in Time Square
























The Time Square Tourist Picture




















It was a great time, and the show was amazing! Andrew calculated the miles we walked and it added up to 8 miles...8 MILES!!

Since we didn't get home until 2:00am and we both had today off, Andrew and I took the opportunity to sleep in until 10:00am (Andrew) and 11:00am (me).  Then I spent the day doing school work and actually finishing my online class (yay!). 

Then I finally got time for myself and did an insanity workout...it was crazy hard and I'm super sore!



It was insane...but a great workout!

Now I'm chillin' out watching the Bachelor, not looking forward to work tomorrow...blah!

Setting the World Record for longest kiss....




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Did you have Monday (MLK Day) off? Did you do anything fun?

What are some good cross training workouts? Have you done Insanity or P90X?





Friday, January 18, 2013

Why I'm Back In School...

Comfort food from Trader Joes...

Why yes, those are peanut butter filled pretzels, and yes the bag is open, and yes, it may be half gone already (6 pieces is not a serving...)


 ....that I got after finding out that I got a B on my Psych test (blah).  I don't know why I was so angry about it...there was no way I could have done any better than that given the fact that we didn't really know what the test was going to be on until the night before. 


What my test grade actually feels like...
(source)

......But anyways....enough of my venting (although thanks for listening :)).  You may be wondering why I have been going back to school.  I currently work at a job where I sit at a desk.  I'm very blessed to have this job and to be able to contribute financially.  However, I despise sitting at a desk.  It has never been for me (believe it or not I usually have to get up at least once when writing a blog post), and I never really saw myself in this job setting.

So with the support of my husband, my family and my friends, I have decided to go back to school for Physical Therapy.  I figured that I'm still fairly young (even though I don't get carded anymore...what's up with that?!), and we don't have kids yet, so this would be the best time to make a career change.  

School is cool :)
(source)

I'll have several semesters of crazy schedules where I'll only see my husband when I get home (and he's usually asleep) or when we both wake up in the morning (which isn't a pretty sight), but I hope to get my pre-reqs done by next Fall, which is when I can also apply to schools.  Hopefully those who read this blog can learn how to balance work life with school life with a running life...and still stay sane :)


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Are you in school?  What tips do you have for working and going to school at the same time?




















Thursday, January 17, 2013

Out with the old....

And in with the new...

Orthotics:


















AND

Running Shoes:

















Anddddd.....A neuroma in my left foot that I think I got two days after signing up for the Pittsburgh Marathon.  My running friends said that neuromas are just something I'll have to live with and that I should run through the pain, while the two physical therapists that I work for say to stop running until it stops hurting when I walk.  Even though I miss running terribly and want to listen to my running buddies...I'm thinking I should be smart and listen to the PTs this time around. 

What exactly is a neuroma?, you ask:

Source


According to WebMD:

Morton's neuroma is thickening of the tissue around the nerve between the bases of the toes (usually between the third and fourth toes). Foot pain, odd sensations, or numbness over the ball of the foot are the usual symptoms.  It is more common in women and can be a result of wearing high heels or tight shoes. (source)

Although I do wear high heels every so often (I haven't worn anything but my Uggs and my running shoes since the pain started because they were the only shoes that had enough space to fit my orthotics), I think the neuroma that I have was a result of these:
Ew...





















Yes...those are five year old othotics (see the hole in the left one...that's the spot where my foot pain started...)

So because of this, I'm not certain if the Pittsburgh Marathon is happening or not.  I'll already be a few weeks behind on my training plan, plus I haven't ran in several weeks, so it probably wouldn't be smart for me to train for it since I probably wouldn't be able to run well.  We shall see how things go though!  

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How well do you deal with injuries?  Do you usually not worry or does it give you major depression symptoms when you think of the races you could be running?

What is your favorite thing to do when it comes to cross training?



Sunday, January 6, 2013

100,000 Pages...

...is what I've felt like I've read for my two winter classes this past week.  Granted, the material is interesting, and I like to read, but I just can't sit for hours at a time.


Source

That is kind of funny...


I was able to take a few breaks yesterday.  I did 60 minutes of cross training on the elliptical. I wanted to do more, but the bottom of my left foot was hurting...so I figured I should be smart and stop.  I've been having some shin and knee pain too, so I didn't want to start running long until both felt better. 


I also went out to dinner with my parents and my cousin's family.  Mom and I split a bottle of wine and I also helped Andrew eat some of his steak in addition to my pasta dish (ain't I a wonderful wife!). 


In other news...I officially signed up for the Pittsburgh Marathon so I will be running my first marathon in May....eeeeeekkkkkkkkk.  I'm scared of the longer distance and getting injured, but hopefully I can play it smart and train well.  I'm still trying to figure out what 1/2 marathon I should do to enhance my training...and will probably do one sometime in March. 

Pinned Image
Source


Well...it's back to studying for me. Hope you're all having a great Sunday!

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Do you usually 'help' your significant other eat their food when you're out to eat (i.e. finish everything on your plate and then start eating what's on their plate because it looks good, you're still hungry, etc.)?

Sign up for any good races this weekend?

How many marathons have you run?  If you've only run 1/2's, do you think you would ever run a full?