98. Smoothies

Ok, ok so yes I said I was going to get deeper. And I did. But I just have to have to say how much I have fallen in love with smoothies. Which is something I never thought I would say.

Do not be alarmed. This tastes AMAZING.

I love these first of all, for the taste. But it's such a good way to get lots of healthy stuff in early in the day. And I like these it's a breakfast that's not carb-based. I love carbs, but this way I can feel less bad about eating a ton of them the rest of the day, ya know?

Here is my favorite smoothie recipe. Nutritious, filling, delicious and beautiful :)

Layer the following in a blender and blend away:
- a frozen banana
-1 -- 1 and 1/2 cups soy milk (depends on how creamy you want it) (I'm sure cow's or almond milk is just as good) (Also I think vanilla soy milk makes it taste fab but plain is just as good) (what's up with all the parentheses?)
- ~tbsp peanut butter
- a sprinkle of cinnamon
- lots and lots of spinach (If you blend it up enough you cannot even taste it. Promise.)

Green Monster with a side of the Hills - my favorite way to start the day

I also like to switch it up and add some blueberries in. Beware though - that version tastes yummy but looks like sludge.

97. My Dad

Dad (aka Dabbles):

I love watching Seinfeld and laughing with you.

You're the best for taking me to get frozen yogurt (even if you only get samples).

Thank you for giving me the best education possible. Thank you for always supporting me and giving me help when I need it.

Love you Daddy :)

96. Getting It

As I get closer and closer to No. 100 I need to get a bit deeper. I could go on and on about my love of colored denim and cupcakes and many more things that are wonderful but albeit somewhat superficial. So let's chat about Getting It.

I love that good feeling when that lightbulb goes off and I can say "So that's it!" When everything starts to fall into place, the dust settles and everything makes sense. Or, at least a little more sense than it did before.

In yoga a few weeks ago, all of a sudden I realized how to go from chaturanga to upward facing dog. I've only been taking yoga classes for almost ten years now, but all of a sudden I knew what to do.  Now if only I could do the same with crow pose ...

OK, so figuring out a yoga pose isn't the most mindblowing realization, but for me it was. It can be as simple as that, or as finally understanding something I've been struggling with all semester in law school and finally makes sense.

I truly believe that life is about the journey, not the destination. A bunch of Getting It moments all strung together.

95. Coffee

I just had to run a quick search through the blog because I could not believe that I hadn't written about coffee yet!

Soooo ... I have a coffee problem. I guess it's somewhat under control right now but no one will ever know how much I drank per day in the weeks leading up to finals.

I drink my coffee black, and usually with a sprinkle of cinnamon! One time an acquaintance saw me drinking black coffee in the dining hall at college and she said, "Wow, how mature of you!" Truth.

And I LOVE iced coffee. Incomplete without soy milk and this:

True love

It's a necessity. Just do it. Best sipped from a Tervis tumbler but a glass from the Bulldog works as well.

I chose not to document the other side. This is the famous "I Heart Farts" glass - a classic!

Related is also my love of coffee shops. (Throwback to the fabulous ladies of the Facebook group 'I Live Life at Coffee Shops'). Now most of the time I go to coffee shops is to hit the books when I get sick of the library (and my brain is throbbing from lack of caffeine) but man I miss the days when we, well, we lived life at coffee shops! PJ's back patio was the place to hang on Fridays after school, and studying for math tests at CC's with my calculus partner in crime and pal, Hannah, were basically the best ever.

I feel like I read an article about yet another study every week on the health benefits of coffee. But it isn't the lowered risks of strokes Alzheimer's and increased levels of concentration* that reels me in. It's the smoky aroma and the strong taste and yes, the fact that I am not fully awake without it.

Coffee rules!

*Can't remember if these are true. But coffee DOES have a ton of health benefits. Coffee. Not grande whip mochas. Just fyi.

94. Sunglasses

I think about 60 percent of the reason I got bangs again after they'd all but grown out is how effortlessly cool I think I look when I use my sunglasses as a headband.

Whether I actually look cool or not is still to be decided but let's just play pretend here.

Top reasons I love sunglasses:
1. Their aforementioned use as a headband. Using an actual headband just isn't the same.
2. Keeping the sun out of my eyes - aka what they're actually designed for. It is seriously painful to be without them sometimes and also driving can be somewhat dangerous.
3. The cool factor. OK so maybe I'm wrong and I look like a dork with the whole headband thing but you cannot deny that the general public looks a lot cooler wearing sunglasses.

And the final reason I love wearing sunglasses:
I don't have to worry about making my squinty fasian eyes look acceptable to the rest of the world. Way too much effort in my opinion.

I wear cheapie ones from Target but I am afraid they're about to bite the dust. Every new pair of sunglasses I swear up and down I'll keep them in their case when I'm not wearing them and every time my laziness wins over about a week later and I just shove 'em in my purse. Oopie.

Quasi-upside down smile. But aren't the sunglasses purty? 

93. Statement Necklaces

LuAnn, the Countess, from the Real Housewives of NYC, confesses to wearing large jewelry when she's feeling moody.

Sing it, sister. I've warded off plenty a blue mood with big baubles. But I wear loud jewelry when I'm happy! And just so-so. Heck, nine days out of ten call for a lil' sumthin-sumthin 'round my neck.

I'm a convert. I've gone from believing that all necklaces looked weird on me to feeling incomplete without one.

I think I may have an addiction. Just a slight one. 

Also, they never fail to earn me a compliment or three, but that's just a bonus to the awesome- and glam-ness that is the statement necklace.