adventuring.

It seems to be easy to get overwhelmed by the everyday stress of school, work, exercising, and focusing on eating well.. I know this has been the case for me here lately. Sometimes,  a day of fun with a great friend is exactly what you need. Saturday was exactly that for me!

Admittedly it was not at all a "good day" for me as far as watching calorie and fat intake - but who cares? I have made great progress so far, and everyone needs a break sometimes. Saturday was a day for fun, not feeling bad about the extra calories I was eating. And while I did not go for a run or hit the gym, the day did involve a lot walking in the Nulu district downtown.

Mine and Jessica's day started with some antiquing and brunch in the Nulu district of Louisville. We ate at Toast on Market. This was such a cute place with some of the best customer service I've ever had - not to mention their heavenly coffee. The atmosphere was adorable.. I can't wait to make a return visit.  After brunch, we were surprised to find the Nulu Festival going on just down the block. We Spent the next couple of hours walking around and browsing the booths of local vendors.

Next we ventured to Mellwood Art Center for a Therapeutic Painting class. It was so much fun to express myself in a new way. Big thanks to Jessica for such a great Birthday present!

Overall, the day was a great way to unwind after a particularly challenging week - and there's no way that does not promote healthiness. Saturday was filled with good company, adventure, and a lot of laughter. Doris Lessing says it best - 

"Laughter is by definition healthy." 

As always, thanks for stopping by!

- Melody

out of the office.

Hello! Today I totally felt the pull to get outside, but that isn't always as easy as it sounds. While juggling 15 credit hours and 25+ hours a week at my internship, getting outside during the week sometimes is restricted to the time I spend walking to and from my car. 

I work in a central part of the city downtown. This means I have many tempting restaurant choices for lunch all within a short walk. There is even a food court full of all the fast food I love to hate in the same building I work in. Days like today, when the weather is so great and the office seems so dreary,the pull I feel to go out to lunch is even stronger. 

Don't worry, there is a solution. This desire to eat out is caused in majority by my desire to get outside. Today, to get the best of both worlds, I took my packed lunch outside. 

Obviously, this was much healthier than the various options I had to eat out. Even when eating somewhere like Subway, it is better to have complete control of the foods you are eating than to assume what is in the things being served to you. That being said, I'm not saying you should never eat out - I sure do.. However, do so sparingly. Don't just waste it on a day you're tired of being at work. 

Hope you are having a good start to your week!

-Melody

welcoming fall.

Hello, again! Tomorrow is the first day of fall! This is particularly exciting for me because fall is my favorite season. I can't wait to break out my scarves, boots, and  pumpkin everything. Tonight I am getting together with a group of friends to celebrate the beginning of such a great season. It's a good excuse to hang out with some good company, don't ya think? 

Our hosts are generous enough to be providing us with white chili for dinner tonight - a perfect fall dish. The rest of us were asked to bring a side or dessert. I personally believe it isn't smart to try to completely skip out on eating what everyone else is at events just to "be healthy." It's all about moderation. 

Desserts are a weak spot for me.. To make sure I didn't go completely overboard  on the delicious, sugary treats that will no doubt be there, I decided to make a dessert of my own that was a little less fattening. In honor of tonight's theme, I am making Skinny Pumpkin Fluff Dip. It was my first time making this, but it did not disappoint. 

I used a recipe I found on Pinterest and adapted it to be the "skinny" version. The original recipe came from allrecipes.com. 

1. 16 oz fat free whipped topping
2. 1 box cheesecake pudding mix
3. 15 oz can pure pumpkin
4. 1 tsp pumpkin spice

Simply mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl!

The finished product is pretty good - not gonna lie. I am serving mine with reduced fat graham crackers and apples I picked up at the farmers market today. 

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Fall!

-Melody

enjoying the sun.

Hello! Today marks the end of my school week - hooray! Thursdays are my "short" days and I actually get out of class while the sun is still out.. what a treat! That mixed with the awesome weather we are having made it impossible not to get outside today. I decided to jog in a different part of the city than I normally do. This  made for a nice change of scenery, which in turn made my jog a little more interesting. 

I also found a new app that I thought was awesome! I normally hate jogging new routes because I am horrible at judging how far I actually jogged.  RunKeeper for the iPhone not only used GPS to track my distance, but also kept a log of my speed. I absolutely loved this app! I was able to play music directly from my music library through the app and simply touch the screen to hear an updated distance and time at any point during my workout. It then stored my finished exercise within the app so I could track my progress. What more could I ask for? Did I mention it was free? Can't get much better than that!

As you can see, I am not the most athletic person. The fact that it took me 15 minutes to jog/walk a mile is not something to be proud of exactly, but it's a start - and that's all that matters! Fifteen minutes may not seem like much of a workout, but with such a small amount of free time I have to take what I can get. Fifteen minutes is better than nothing after all. 

Thanks for stopping by!

-Melody

creating a healthy lifestyle.

Hello! My name is Melody and I am a Junior in college. This blog is dedicated to finding ways to create a healthy lifestyle for a college student. College is a period that time and money are both hard to come by - which makes a healthy lifestyle that much harder to achieve. My goal is to find ways to make this an attainable way of life for not only me, but other students. Join me as I take this journey and learn what will and will not work for me!