favorites from last week

i was exhausted last week.
literally EXHAUSTED.
so much so that i found myself going to bed immediately after work or class every single night (and i have no doubts that i will likely do the same tonight!).
anyway, i have a hair post in the works for wednesday, but i decided to take time in between comas to whip up and share a few of my favorites from last week!

^ mastering the squatting toilet in the beijing airport without peeing on my shoes!
^ winning $44 in my dietbet game and making my way back into the 150s on saturday!
^ accepting a summer job offer in hong kong!
^ finding a wealth of recipe blogs for the autoimmune paleo lifestyle (AIP), which i will be following for life once this anti-candida diet ends. i am satisfied with the amount of chocolate i will be able to eat.
^ pretty much everything that was posted on everyday feminism.
^ freaks and geeks on netflix. why had no one told me about this show???? judd appatow is the man.
^ the unbreakable kimmy schmidt on netflix. yes, that's two series i watched on netflix either on the plane or in between comas. i'm not ashamed.
^ and speaking of tina fey, i finally finished bossypants!

solid life choices all around!
what were some of last week's highlights for you?

photo dump | minneapolis, minnesota

soooooooo...  i went to minnesota with a few of my students two weeks ago for a conference, and i was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the city is! the weather, though?

1 degree.
ONE degree.
how is that a thing?
and that was on one of the WARMER days!
it was -20 when we arrived, and it felt like i was being punished for some mistake i made in my past life.

we bundled up and braved the city (though there were lots of skywalk things that connected buildings which kept us warm and made us feel like hamsters) and went to see the creators of cyanide and happiness at the century theater (if you haven't heard of it and you like ridiculous humor, thank me later)...

... and we played around in the mall of america (which is humungous and full of roller coaster rides that made me squeal with happiness).

the food was REALLY good...


... and we got to see some cool acts like matt nathanson and make new friends (who only want your picture for some weird human scavenger hunt thing).
we almost missed the tram thingy, but had wayyyyyy too much fun for public transportation...

... and when we finally got used to the tundra that is minneapolis, we went out for a few hurried minutes to enjoy its beauty.

minneapolis is a pretty cool place with lots of nice people, and though it was REALLY cold, it made coming back to blacksburg's ridiculous weather feel like child's play. i count that as a win.

ever been to minneapolis or minnesota?

make a habit, break a habit link-up #6

excuse me, february, but how are you here?
2015 is over 1/12 done already. i just cannot.
last month wasn't THE best in terms of my habits, but i did make progress on everything i set out to do.
this month is all about prepping my body for china next month. with a permanent foot injury, i need to make sure i really get back into the groove with stretching and rebuilding my strength. we're going to be doing A LOT of walking and no great wall is going to conquer me!

last month

make a habit: complete a fast!

this didn't happen :(. i will try this again another time.

make a habit: yoga every week!

i missed a week.

break a habit: cussing/cursing/swearing.

much, much better. i have gone FULL days without doing it at all, and when i do, it's 3-4 words. this makes me sound like a heathen basking in mediocrity but this is amazing progress for me!

this month
make a habit: take the bus less!
i am only giving myself a pass to take the bus twice per week. i want to build up my walking strength, especially because i now have the orthotics i need!

make a habit: yoga everyday!
i'm kicking it up and making it a permanent part of my morning or evening routine. the longest i've done it daily is two weeks, and i want it to last forever!

break a habit: cussing/cursing/swearing.
would love to end february having broken this!

what habits are you making and breaking this month?
link up below with lauren and i between now and february 7 at 11:55 pm.
the link-up will go live on the first monday of every month to share goals and progress!

how it works: 1) link up your post on what habits you want to make or break and progress you've made towards last month's. (link directly to your habit post! that means no homepages or unrelated posts - please and thank you!) 2) make new friends! visit at least two other Habit Makers and Breakers and give them some love! 3) include our snazzy button below or link back to your hosts in your post so other people can join in on the fun. (don't forget to follow us as well so you don't miss out on any new and exciting habit making or breaking news!)

<div align="center">
<a href="http://thepinnacleproject.blogspot.com" title="The Pinnacle Project"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRlOFr5Z0z2Oh9Z_3uOjF8BBrlWoMGFpQoPahl2Cq482qeTJH9XDEXI1ICUw10smbG2qPRlA0zpzzY_5zSeYYZSU4AfWSUUSCLN3ZyRxkP3ZSzJyk-PiovZTzxCxJZORMLnopLERu3Z5Dh/s250/makeahabitbutton.png" alt="The Pinnacle Project" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

how i'm preparing for my trip to china!

it's official - cefion and i are headed to china this march!

we found a killer groupon for a 10-day trek into beijing and shanghai, and we are so excited to finally head to asia - it's one place we both have always wanted to visit but never had the chance to do so.

since i'm a china/asia newb, i'm doing all the typical newb things:
+ pinning away on our #china2015 board (because pinterest knows all... duh. don't tell google...)
+ voraciously reading any china- and asia-related blogs and sites for cool little enclaves off the beaten path, avoiding tourist traps, and, of course, for yummy food!
+ looking up cool tutorials to make my iPhone pictures better since i won't be taking my obsolete dslr but still want enviable snaps for the 'gram
+ stockpiling orthotic-friendly hiking gear like these cool boots i picked up and some thick socks to conquer the great wall. plantar fasciitis, you shall not pass.
+ wishing everyday was departure day

i'm also stuck doing some of the not-so-fun stuff like applying for a visa which, as far as i'm concerned, is an overpriced admission ticket. it's like paying to get into disney world but with none of the disney. i fully expect to see daily fireworks and large stuffed animal-human hybrids. the associated costs and fees are just ridic for this grad student, but i am learning!
i can't wait to go and share my experiences with you!

any big trips coming up for you?
have you been to beijing and/or shanghai? do you have any suggestions???

in pursuit of:

scratching three destinations off of my travel list

recap: naca south regional conference | myrtle beach, sc

i'm back from my unplanned blog break!
things just got so busy around here, and though i knew it was coming, when the time actually arrived, i could NOT handle it and blogging and all of the other curveballs i was thrown as well.

two weekends ago, my coworker and i headed down to myrtle beach with six of our students for a student activities conference and i could tell you about the utter ridiculousness that surrounded both getting there and coming back, but i'll spare you (although i will share with you that delta airlines is likely in cahoots with satan).

i love the beach, and even though there was so much travel drama, i still felt a good amount of peace as soon as we arrived. i don't know what it is about beach air (and sand and water!), but it's like a salve.


we had lunch on the beach at bummz cafe, and they have THE BEST fries. like seriously... the fries were amazing. i had jerk chicken tacos and every bite (and tequila sunrise sip) was magical.

later, we walked around the expo and got to meet a bunch of magicians, hypnotists, artists, and other performers vying for a chance to book a gig at our school.

one booth had this really cool device that illustrates your brain's ability to focus:

the darker the paint splots, the more focused you are. clearly, i range from zen master to chihuahua.
and one artist was really concerned about our overall health:

and while i was busily working on a huge paper that was due last thursday in my hotel room (and pouting)...


...one of my students was highly impressed with one of the musicians at the artist showcase:


before leaving, we headed to the beach, where i got a chance to get a cliche feet in the sand pic...



... and then the tsunami hit:



but my favorite part of the trip was spending time with my students in downtown myrtle beach, talking on the ferris wheel...



...and questioning the life choices of some locals who were randomly walking around in spiderman costumes and punching street signs.
no pic of that.
that was concerning.