Small Girl in the Big Apple: Move-In Day #2 Has Finally Arrived!

It seems like there's too much to do and too little time! After hours of heavy-lifting, unpacking, and organizing, I successfully conquered the room. Here's the layout:

The bed view

The desk view:

The desk, itself (all organized and set!):

I am rooming with my suitemate from last year and we have a quad with two upperclassmen. We all share these...

A cute, little kitchen (with an ancient stove that never lights. Typical.):

A CLEAN bathroom:

Yesterday was a good day.

Roomie and I were craving Mickey Mouse banana pancakes when we woke up. (Yes, we were craving the "Mickey Mouse" design too...it's an essential to the pancake-making process! I usually buy Hodgson Mill's Instabake (because it's sooo versatile and the pancakes come out nice and fluffy). Buuuut, since we're college students, who are always in need of a quick meal, we invested in Fiber One's Complete Pancake Mix instead. Can't argue with this box. The pancakes are easy and simple to make--just add water to the mix and voila. Despite the lack of prep time needed, they still tasted yummy. Suitemate J (for short) even woke up to something "good-smelling." She wanted to join in on our pancake-making festivities. More please!

Unfortunately, we forgot the maple syrup. Roomie drizzled honey over her pancakes and I spread 3 oz. of Blueberry Chobani Yogurt over mine. So satisfying! I would have taken pictures if we didn't wolf them down in 2 seconds. ;)

We decided to make it a "Pancake/Trashy-TV" morning. And the line-up: Maury and Jerry Springer! LOL. We...err alright, alright I (I'll leave roomie and suitemate out of this) even called in to win free tickets to Jerry Springer!!

Most of my day was spent running errands. Around 6 PM, roomie and I motivated each other to drag ourselves out of the room and go to the gym! Pre-workout fuel included: 1/2 Crunchy Peanut Butter Clif Bar and a square of Dove Dark Chocolate. (OK OK, I was tired and needed a little bit of sugar-rush.) I ran the day before and felt like a stationary bicycle workout would be the best choice for me to get the cardio up.

Here are the results: (The bike's brand is "LifeFitness")

Duration: 40 minutes
Distance: 10.5 miles
Resistance: 9
Heart rate: 145 bpm

...while the roomie stuck to her trusty elliptical workout. By the time it was over, I worked up a sweat! I headed over to the mats and did:

50 bicycle crunches
50 crunches with knees locked, legs touch mat
50 crunches with knees bent 90 degrees
50 crunches with knees locked, legs form 90 degree angle with body
Side core (one arm, face sideways): 75 seconds on each side
Regular core (two arms, face forwards) (x2): 90 seconds

I really feel like I get the best core workouts when I remember to tense up my body. Once you're in the core position, contract your tummy and butt muscles. You'll feel like you get so much more out of it.

Also for some more advanced (regular) core work, extend one arm out and balance with the three supports (your other arm and legs). Now try extending out a leg. Once you mastered rotating through and lifting all of your supports, try one arm and one leg at one. Buuuut, use opposite arms and legs (or else you'll find yourself either 1. toppling over OR 2. in a side crunch...?)

I tried to incorporate 15-second lifting intervals of advanced core into my regular core workout! Roomie and I were soo hungry. Luckily, wraps that we ordered from Cafe Mocha earlier that day were just sitting in our fridge, just waiting to be eaten by two hungry gym-goers. Wait, did somebody say us???

We cut to the chase and ate them right away. Reaching for the plates did not even seem like a rational option. Too time-consuming! I ordered smoked salmon, capers and avocado in a whole wheat wrap. I was hesitant to order fish (since i didn't know whether it would be fresh) but, after my cravings wrestling with rationality, I decided to take my chances and order it.

It. was. HUGE...and delicious. I ended up eating about 3/4 of it. There was so much juicy salmon stuffed in it. I was impressed. I would definitely order and recommend meals from Cafe Mocha. Roomie had the Veggie wrap and agreed.

Best part about these meals: they cost us $0. Yes, no lie. We hit the jackpot (not really, just $20) through the game Food Friendzy, a Facebook application for college students. The game has tiles that can either add/detract points from your total point accumulation. The more points earned, the higher $$ coupon you can receive. This coupon that roomie and I won was redeemable for orders over $20 to any of the participating food locations. (The list can be found on campusfood.com). The only part we had to pay for was a $4 tip. YAY for free food. I am seriously addicted to this game. Good thing it limits me to 3 plays a day; I'd be such a couch potato if it didn't!

Okay, okay. As for today...this morning I woke up at 7:30 AM and was REALLY sore. (On a side note, does anyone else find it weird that I have been waking up a half-hour before my alarm clock since I have been at school? Has this ever happened to you?) Anyway: I had a big day planned. I had scheduled an interview to be Chief Copy Editor of Washington Square News (WSN), NYU's Student Newspaper. I did a quick review of AP format while eating a PB and banana sammie for breakfast. (I used about 2 slices of toast, a glob of PB and a small banana.) I wasn't in the mood for "putting together" an oatmeal or yogurt and cereal bowl. I just felt munchy this morning and opted for this.

Anyway, I think the fact-checking test that they put me up to and the interview went well! They'll be letting me know this weekend. I hope there weren't tons of applicants for the position.

Two hours later, I was out and about. I had some free time to spend in the city so I walked through the Union Square Farmer's Market for a bit and made my way across to Whole Foods. I wanted to make my shopping trips more efficient by getting used to what they have and seeing where everything is. (I'm a bit of a neat-freak when it comes to being organized.) I managed to make it out of the store with less than $10 worth of goods. It was a steal...Shhh. not really. Here are the goods:

Almond butter. ($6.99) I honestly never tried it before and am curious to pop this baby open! (Tomorrow...perhaps?)

"Whole Wheat" Bread Crumbs. ($2.49) I feel duped. I didn't bother to check the ingredient until I got home...more like NOT-Whole-Wheat-Bread-Crumbs. They're made from enriched wheat flour. Oh well...there's always next time.

The highlight of my trip: two boxes of FREE Indian food. A man who works for the company TastyBite was handing out vendor coupons as part of the company's marketing plan. Free food...I'm sold!