Thanks for all the well-wishes about exams – I think the last one went fairly well, and I’m really glad it’s over!
I woke up on Tuesday morning with no real plans whatsoever for the first time in many, many months. It felt weird, but also amazing. Since I lack the ability to sleep in, I was still up by 6:30 and out the door for an easy 5.4 miles shortly after. During my run I thought about what I wanted to do for the rest of the day and came up with a list:
1. A visit to my neighborhood branch of the NYPL – I haven’t read a non-school book since September! I’m a big reader, so this has been painful. I had to limit myself to four or else I would have thrown my back out trying to carry them all.
And I totally finished the James Patterson book in about 3 hours. I think my brain was excited to not read about enzymes and vitamin deficiencies.
2. Bake cookies for people I like, such as Dr. Levine and the super for the building next door named Charlie (i.e., the nicest man alive and my third grandpa), while listening to the Pandora Christmas station.
I made Dr. Levine some Orange Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies, which turned out pretty delicious. I used my usual oatmeal cookie recipe and threw in orange flavored cranberries from Trader Joe’s.
Orange Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients:
- 5 tbsp Earth Balance vegan butter
- 1/3 cup applesauce
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup agave nectar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1.5 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups uncooked oats
- 1 cup orange flavored dried cranberries (or regular cranberries)
Directions:
Heat oven to 350F. Beat butter, sugar and agave nectar until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Combine flour, soda, salt and cinnamon and add to egg mixture. Stir in applesauce and oats, and then add cranberries until mixed well. If you only have regular cranberries but still want an orangey flavor, throw in some orange zest.
Drop spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown (my oven is wonky, so I suggest checking them at 10 minutes). Let sit on cookie sheet for 1 minute an then cool on wire rack. Enjoy!
I also made more Nutella Cookies with Sea Salt Sprinkles, which I have to admit are kind of addicting.
3. Shop – I still had to get my sister a gift! I cannot disclose the location as to where I got the gift because it may give it away (muhahahaha).
4. Wander around aimlessly downtown – I had some other random errands and things to do, so I literally just wandered around until I was ready to go home. It was so weird feeling like I didn’t have to be anywhere to do anything and could take my time. I didn’t even try to run through crosswalks to beat the light (this is actually a hard thing not to do!).
This is from Monday after my exam. Look at the teeny red and green Empire State Building in the background.
It was a fantastic day, and almost made me want to look for a sugar daddy so I don’t have to work ever again (kidding! sort of...).
Maybe it’s the cheeriness of the holidays, but I’ve been feeling really lucky lately and I hope I don’t jinx myself in mentioning it. I’m feeling positive about my current job, am exactly where I want to be in regards to my future career in dietetics, am able to run again and have great friends and family that I’ve been enjoying (and will enjoy) the holidays with.
Whenever I feel this content, something usually goes wrong…
But so far I’m in the clear. I ended my night with a movie – Friends with Benefits – and loved it. I’m all for a cheesy romantic comedy, and this one had some added raunch which I kind of enjoyed.
So to recap: I love being on vacation.
Question: What would you do if you had a whole day to do whatever you wanted?
