Getting Back on Track... I think

Starting a habit of waking up earlier- it's going quite well thus far! Don't feel like I've had restful sleep the past few nights, but will work on that. Getting better food in me and more exertion out of me, as I am starting to do, should help. I also think I've gotten comfortable enough in the new room to keep it darker and my music quieter when I go to sleep.

Point being, getting up earlier is allowing me to do more productive things with my mornings. My current checklist items are:

• Eat a nutritious breakfast (generally my version of Vegan Overnight Oats)
• Study French (French homework, listening to French podcast, reading Harry Potter in French, flashcards, etc.)
• Small bit of organizing (wash dishes that soaked overnight, take down trash, make bed, clear desk, etc.)
• Small resistance workout of 10-20 minutes (alternating days of the "6 Weeks to 100 Push-ups" program and Ab-Ripper X from P90X)
• Write (character profiles, outlines, actual scenes)

Update on Food:
    I found the Whole Foods/Trader Joes here- Naturalia. It's really quite tiny, but so very well stocked! I was doing happy dances and trying so hard not to grab everything in sight. Finally found my red lentils, for that Indian Lentil Curry on NoMeatAthlete, some quinoa pasta (!!!), oats and almond milk for my overnight oats, and a few other items. I finally figured out that almond milk doesn't actually have to be refrigerated, and a whole new world of breakfast foods that I can make suddenly opened up. Overnight Oats! Breakfast Quinoa! Healthy pancakes!
    Trying my first week of Meal Planning. Overnight Oats most mornings, and last night I made a wonderful peanut sauce that I had over green lentils and brown rice. Planning on doing that again tonight/soon for lunch, and also a small meal of one of my various healthy pastas with tomato sauce. I have a slight obsession with healthy pastas, it would appear. First, I couldn't find any whole wheat pasta, so I grabbed penne made out of vegetables. Then, I found whole wheat penne. I figured, why not have both! And then, as previously mentioned, I picked up some quinoa penne. At least I could have made one of them a rotini... I'm set to break into my white beans tomorrow.

My Vegan Overnight Oats:

• Approx. 1/3 cup oats
• Approx. 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• Hefty dash of vanilla extract
• Approx. 1 tsp of chia, maybe a tad more
• Shake or two of cinnamon (can you tell I have no measuring instruments?)
• Tiny sprinkle of salt
• Somewhere between 1 tsp and 1 tbsp of brown cane sugar

Mix all dry ingredients except sugar, then pour in milk and vanilla. Stir. Let sit for 30 minutes to overnight. Stir in sugar when almost set, or at least 30 minutes prior to consumption. Enjoy!

Update on Resistance Work:
    The level of effort I go to in order to avoid my common area is both ridiculous and impressive. So, as you can imagine, the P90X is not so much with the happening. I have restarted the Push-Up regimen, however, and while it is difficult as all get out, I'm so much better than I was when I started the first time. The first time around, I could barely eek out 4 good-form girl push-ups and thus started on the absolute base level. This time, I gussied up and tried the second level, and actually managed to complete it, though my breaks between the last few sets were more around the 2-minute mark. And since you are supposed to take days of rest in between for both it and the Ab-Ripper X, I'm alternating them as part of the morning routine. It's something that is actually working for me at my current level of dedication. They say that will-power is like a muscle- it's not a matter of either having it or not, it's a matter of working to build it up. So small, compact things that I can do first thing in the morning, without getting into my workout gear, without having to have a perfectly clear floor or shift furniture (which I had to do to complete P90X in this tiny room), removes pretty much all of my carefully constructed excuses. Once I prove to myself that I can stick with something on my own steam, I can start to build up. At this small of a requirement, I will feel like an absolute idiot for not doing it. Progress!

Update on Running:
    I have read so much about running in the past few days- and done precisely none of it. As I start classes near the Luxembourg Gardens tomorrow, I'm trying to work out some way that I can pack my running gear, then change after classes, go for a loop, and walk back home. My only thorn with this problem is figuring out where I would leave my other clothing, school supplies, and purse. Maybe one of my housemates will have the same time schedule as me, and would be willing to take it back with them?