2 time IM champion!

My lovely snowflakes,

This past Saturday I found myself playing in a tournament of a sport I had literally never heard of before, sitting volleyball. Its a simple idea, take volleyball, make the court smaller, lower the net, and everyone's butt better be on the ground. I spent four hours shuffling 'round on my rear end and accumulating bruises and sore muscles for my legs to bare. If you are still confused here is the lovely USofA in London

Shockingly enough, our makeshift team was good enough to win the rec tournament! At pretty much every university to have ever existed, the IM champion shirts are coveted items, because it truly does take blood sweat and tears to earn them. It was so exciting to be awarded this years IM champion shirt after the adventure of learning a new sport.

Remember to try new things even if you think you might be terrible at it or it ay be a terrible experience, because you may just turn out being good at it and having a blast along the way :)

Wishing you all smiles and happiness,

Victoria 

October Favorites

Hello sweet pumpkins!

This past month of October I was a little more daring with trying new foods. And oh was it worth it. First off we have the greatest thing ever created

You read that correctly. Cookie Butter. Its the texture of peanut butter but made out of the most delicious cookies. I have already gone through a whole jar and an unhealthy amount through another. It's a problem. A delicious problem. But a problem nonetheless. These jars of goodness can be bought at any grocery store, and if you live near a Trader Joe's, they have their own brand with more of a gingerbread taste if that is more your style. Basically, they are completely delicious and worth your time.

Next up I tried a Pluot. Its a plum hybrid if you have never heard of it, which I hadn't. Its the texture of a plum but sweet as an apple. It's so delicious. Definitely really sweet so if you don't have much of a sweet tooth this may not be for you.

These new discoveries will def be favorites for a long long time :)

Wishing you all smiles and happiness,

Victoria

Not So Scary Halloween

Hello sweet ducklings!

If you are anything like me and cannot even handle a trailer for a horror film, Halloween can be a tricky time of year. With all the Halloween Horror Nights and Haunted Houses, endless terrifying films and pots of candy that bite you if you dare take any, the creative costumes and sweet candy don't always outweigh the cons. But alas! I have found a wonderful silver lining to all of our pain. It turns out that a Canadian haunted house (those Canadians, always stepping up their game) snaps pictures of their guests just as they are being terrified by their own will. Enjoy. 

These aren't all of them and I will have the link at the bottom if you would like to truly enjoy all this beautiful opportunity has to offer. I do not own any rights to these pictures so please don't sue me. :)  Hope this helped add some joy to a can-be-scary time of year!

Wishing you all smiles and happiness,
Victoria


click here to see more awesomeness

Kittens inspired by kittens!

Hello cool-cats! 

I hope your weeks are going swimmingly! Monday morning, I received a snapchat from my friend Erin of her holding a tiny kitten. I immediately called her asking if that was her kitten. She proceeded to tell me her friend had found two stray kittens that morning and she was watching them while said friend was in class. She then invited me over to see them. Of course I went! There was two kittens, a boy and a girl. They were two weeks old and had just recently opened their eyes. 

The girl is on the left and the boy on the right. I fell in love with the boy. He was so precious. He was quite the cuddler. When I held him, he fell asleep in my arms. 

So needless to say, my Monday got 1000% better. 

Enjoy the cute kitten photos! 

Meow! 

Makenna

Run, Forrest, Run!

Ciao bellas,

Welcome to October! The month of the pumpkin. 

And for Victoria and myself, the month of running.

As you know, one of my goals for the year is to complete some 5ks. I realized recently that to complete a 5k, you generally need to be able to run for approximately a half hour. So to Pinterest I went searching for a running plan similar to the ' couch to 5K' program. I stumbled upon a plan that seemed very doable with my class schedule. This program involves four days of running a week. Each day increase the amount of running you do. 

Lucky for Victoria, she happened to call me on the day I decided to start the plan. I managed to convince her to join me! And now, even four hours apart I can convince myself to stick with it because I know I'm not doing it alone! Yay for friends! 

As I'm sure most people know, sticking to an exercise regiment can prove difficult, especially with netflix calling your name. Luckily I've found some gems to keep me going!

Have a fantastic week! 

Just keep running!

Love,

Makenna

How I Acquired Dragon Fruit

Welcome chipmunks,

They always say that the answer to the questions that you don't ask will always be 'no' but sometimes I don't think we truly understand how far that truth stretches. 

Way back years ago while I was doing some grocery shopping I discovered a fruit that was bright pink and named 'dragon fruit'. Clearly intrigued I brought it home with me. I cut it open to discover it was white with many black seeds, making for a polka dot affect. I fell in love. Every time I visited the grocery store since then I would scan the produce section looking for my favorite fruit. Never once did I find it. Recently my roommate was required for one of her classes to write an official complaint letter to a company. It got me thinking. So with her help I put together a nice looking letter telling the CEO of Publix (the best grocery store in the South East of the States) how I wish that they would sell dragon fruit again. My highest expectation was for them to tell me that they were sorry for my inconvenience and send me a gift card for max ten dollars. 

A few days later however, I checked the mail to find a letter from Publix that held nothing of that sort. Their letter started with how short the season for dragon fruit is and what few places in the world have the climate to support them and so on about how hard it is to get their hands on these suckers. In complete change of gears the next paragraph told me that the store I shop at is now stocked in dragon fruit and that the produce manager is aware of my request should they not have them by the time I get there. In sheer excitement I rushed to the store and sure enough they had set out a whole bucket full of the little guys. I was so happy. 

I immediately wrote them up a sweet thank you letter and was left with a few thoughts. First and foremost, shopping truly is a pleasure at Publix. Second, if there is something that you want, no matter how impossible it may seem, don't be afraid to ask for it. The worst that could have happened is if they told me that it was not possible, but even then I would at least have the knowledge that I tried. So go chase down all of your dreams tigers, because you may just end up catching a few. ;) 

Wishing you all smiles and happiness,

Victoria 

Drugs for the Sick

Greetings Sunflowers,

This past week I had the misfortune of being sick. Really sick. One of the rough moments of sickness is when you have used up the last of your drug stash and have to venture out into the world. In PJ bottoms and an oversized sweatshirt with a birds nest where my hair usually lies I made my way to the local drug store, only to then find myself in an aisle of products all claiming to be what I need, at the price of my firstborn of course. With that in my fresh memory I will show you which products I love, which I hate, and the ones that don't seem to do much at all, in the hopes that when you are sick and can't think straight you wont spend your money on something you will end up throwing away. 

First up, my best friend over the past few weeks, NyQuil!

NyQuil is one of those drugs that can just knock me out cold and keep me out. Their commercial used to say you'll get the 'best sleep you ever got with a cold' and it's true. This stuff works and it's good. I would buy stock in NyQuil. If you can't take the taste this miracle drug also comes in pill form (but know that the liquid will work quicker, if you are in need of some immediate relief). 

It has always been a no-brainer to me that every household came equipped with a thermometer. However rarely any college students do. The one I found was a simple digital CVS brand. It reads your temp in about 30 seconds (if you have an old-school mercury one those babies take at least 3 minutes) and beeps like it will explode if your temp is high enough to be considered a 'fever'. They have fancy ones that take three seconds and you stick it in your ear but I'm not made of money. Simple will do. 

Next up is the neti pot. My first experience with these was only a few years ago and I was very skeptical at first, but man do they work. If you have never used one the idea is simple, use gravity to rinse out the nose. This will literally clean out everything in your nose. I use this in the morning and literally don't need another tissue the rest of the day, and my nose gets all congested just like the rest. I don't remember how pricey this was, but once you have the pot you only need to buy the little packets from then on out. 

If you have never heard of one before or are feeling skeptical, I don't blame you because I was right there not long ago. Trust me and go out on a limb for this one, you won't regret it.

Chloraseptic. This is not for pansies. Basically this cute little spray bottle that seems so jolly turns into a monster the second you spray it in your mouth.  You will fight for all that is good to keep it in and hopefully even swallow it as it destroys your tongue and whatever is left of your dignity. And then you won't be able to feel a thing anywhere the spray touched for the next few hours. If your throat is taking you to desperate measures, call in the chloraseptic. It's like the marines of the drug world. 

Last and truly not least we have Mucinex. This is what I live by during the day as NyQuil gets me through the night. (I know there is DayQuil; it's not all it's cracked up to be) This sucker has a terrible taste but it is the only thing I trust to clear out my throat. If you can't handle the liquid they also come in pill form. 

The night pills do have the power to keep you asleep as well if you aren't quite on NyQuils level yet. I also feel the need to say that the day time pills will also keep you awake. I took a day pill at seven or so at night thinking it wouldn't keep me up because I wasn't quite ready to call it a day. At half past midnight I was still wide awake and ready to take on a project. Use responsibly and at the appropriate times of day and you'll be fine. 

These are my must haves to conquer a cold/fever/flu. Remember that the best option for you is to go see your doctor and take exactly what he prescribes, because medicine made for you is always better than medicine trying to please the general public. 

Hope this helps and that you all stay healthy forever :) 

Wishing you all smiles and happiness,

Victoria