Clean(er) Eating

I am in love with food, and just want to taste anything and everything I can. I'm constantly watching the Food Network, and am in love with reading food blogs. After going off the meal plan on campus two years ago, I decided I wanted to cook as much as I could- while still maintaining school and other life obligations. And I've succeeded for the most part on those counts, by perfecting certain dishes and working on newer and more exciting palettes.

However, there's a discrepancy in what I eat, and how I lead my life. As someone who isn't the most active person, I tend to eat tons of junk food. If I can put cheese in a meal, I probably will. Pasta dishes are a weekly- even daily- occurrence. And we won't discuss cookies. (I'm practically the cookie monster.) It's definitely difficult to eat healthier, especially when a lot of the things I enjoy eating are more appealing to my really unhealthy eating habits.

(This is an all too common occurrence...)

I've never been a big fan of going on diets. While I say I can live off of salad, I really truly can't, and find myself reaching for a bag of potato chips maybe an hour after a salad. This being said, I think I've slowly started to transition to healthier/cleaner eating habits. Incorporating salads as a side to a meal, cutting back on baking cookies, and simply having more fruit has helped a ton.

However, I feel that since I'm training for a small run, and will soon be incorporating more running into my daily life, eating like I have been will not be suitable. (I mean, how many runners do you know will douse their cheesecake in whipped cream?) So while this change will be difficult, it'll be for the good in the long run.

Ideally, I would definitely follow a clean eating model, where you eat a ton of fresh and non-processed food, that lifestyle is too intense for me. I need my chocolate cookies, and Ben and Jerry's ice cream for those nights where I put off writing a history paper. I want to be able to eat healthier, without sacrificing too much of what I already eat. I've decided to work with portioning, and resizing meals. So if I'm going to make a pasta dish, I will make sure that I have double the size of salad I eat than the amount of pasta I eat. I won't eat chips and dip while marathoning How I Met Your Mother. (The struggle will be very real.) Small changes in my life will help me get into a healthier state. So naturally I typed them up, and signed my name (and made my roommate do it too).

(Framed in neon pink tape, and posted on Instagram for more serious guidance?) 

Let's see how long this lasts right? (It'll last I'm sure.)
Sheilly

Senior Year Dorm!

Many of my family friends have asked me how I manage to stay away from my home for so many months, and I will admit, it's incredibly hard. A lot of things that really bothered me my first year here really had to deal with how my environment wasn't really as warm as it could have been. While it's still difficult to spend so many months away from home at school, I've found my dorm to be a little spot of my own in this giant campus.

I've lived in my dorm suite for three years, going on my fourth. The last two years, I've been in the same room, lovingly referred to as the Annex by my roommate and I. My room is separated from the other rooms in our suite because we're right next to the elevator. It has its perks... kind of.

This year, the room is wonderfully decorated-- at least by my standards. It's been a cross between how I had it the last few years, and something completely new.

So to start with the bed:

Every room in Stony Brook comes with a desk, a bed, a small drawer set, and a big one. This is the first year where I didn't have a drawer thing in the closet, but we'll get to that later. 

Unfortunately my room doesn't have an AC, so I can't really keep a comfy big comforter on my bed because I can never use it. (Because even during the winter, the heat is turned up so much, that it's still too hot!) So I opted for a light quilt for the past two years. I sleep in a pillow fort so I have a bunch of pillows near the head of my bed. 

The main wall has 58 pictures of myself with my friends who I love the most. It's so eye-catching because it's the first thing you see when you come into the room. The pictures were put up using poster putty, and I highly recommend using that! Sometimes the pictures will come up if you didn't use enough of the putty, but none of them have fallen down. My whiteboard is also there on the side so I can work out my mechanical engineering class homework and calculus problems. 

Next is the desk: 

I upgraded to the big tv that I had in my bedroom at home. It's definitely better than my old tv from last year because now we can utilize the whole room! I have my desk supplies and books on the side, and my schedule pinned up. I obviously have a dalek, a stem cell, and an AIDS microbe chilling near my fan for fun and my arsenal of body scents and perfume for fun? I find keeping my desk with minimal stuff on it really helps keep it clean, but we'll see if it'll last! 

This is the side view of the desk. As you notice the drawer set is below my desk, which has cleared up so much space in the closet! The best thing is the drawers open so nicely there, and it keeps things so much more organized. I have all my school supplies in my drawers so I don't have to have it stored anywhere else. There's also my emergency flannel for late night fire alarms, which are sadly very common. 

One of my favorite things is I have my fridge out in a more prominent location. Instead of leaving it empty, I filled it up with more photos, and fun magnets. The letter magnets are actually elements from the periodic table, which definitely fit in my alley of science-y geek. 

Closets are always the hardest part of the room to keep clean. This year I have so much space in there, it's going to be tough to just throw a million things in there and keep the door closed. I invested in some hanging closet shelves for my shoes and clothes and extra bed sheets.

And there it is, that's my side of the Annex. 

If you're a college student reading this, here's some things that I definitely recommend. 

1. If you're living in a dorm without an air conditioner, make sure you get a box fan! Since the Annex is in this weird alcove where the there are two walls blocking air flow, my room gets incredibly hot. Having a box fan helped so much to keep the air circulating and room feeling immensely cooler. Box fans are not too expensive, and it's definitely something you will be using year round. 
2. For laundry, I really recommend Tide pods. They don't take up too much space, and they work amazingly. 
3. Regardless of whether you live in a room with access to a kitchen or not, a water filter is a must. While it's easy to buy water bottles, a water filter is going so much better. If you ever feel like making ramen, you won't have to use sketchy dorm water to make it if you have filtered water instead!
4. Lighting in dorms are horrible. I hardly use the dorm lights because the florescent light often gives me a headache. For lighting, I've used a desk lamp and tilted the head back so it illuminates the whole room. It gives the room an ambience that is perfect for watching some tv and relaxing. 
5. Play around with your furniture. You might be surprised with how you can make things work!
6. You can use over the door hooks for other things in your room. I used one in my closet for my towel, and another is hanging off of my desk for my bag. They're pretty sturdy for things that a command hook can't handle. 

Best of luck to any people in college this semester! 

What I've Been Up To...

This semester needed a bit of getting used to. While I complained about taking six classes last semester and the amount of stress I subjected myself to, this semester has been just as rough. Here's a small conglomeration of (mostly instagram-ed) pictures.

Orgo Studying

German Studying

Starbucks addiction drinking

Biology Lab...ing? 

Luckily, some things are looking up! Spring break is in... a week? (YAY!) Although I still have to get through this week, which includes group projects for BME, a town hall meeting in the works at work, and more studying as always. (Which means a lot of Starbucks in the near future as well!) 

Hope your March has been going well! 

-Sheilly

The Best of: 365 Challenge Part 1

Remember I mentioned how I wanted to do the 365 photo challenge? At first I thought of posting a picture a day here on this blog, but sometimes I felt like I didn't have anything to share with that image, and it seemed like a waste of space. But then there were a couple of pictures that I just wanted to share so badly, but I felt that they needed a bit more form than just "Here's a cool picture I took! Toodle--loo!" Thus, this post was born. I'll try to make a "Best of" post for my favorite 365 pictures and post them here together. It'll be fun, and my photos won't feel as lonely. (Do photos feel lonely?)

More to come soon, I'm sure! 

--Sheilly

My Parents are literally the Best.

I took a small hiatus from blogging these past two weeks mainly because I'm getting adjusted to campus life again! A lot of it was getting used to my schedule and my classes, but this semester I've also started a job, which has been hard to get used to.
Currently my schedule looks like this:

It doesn't look horrific right?
The funny story about this picture is that my schedule is so big that it can't actually fit in the screen shot. Hah.
But I am not here to complain about that!
Last week, I just had a bunch of series of misfortunes starting from forgetting my lab notebook at home for my biology lab to ending with my beloved bag from freshmen year breaking. The first things didn't phase me, but towards the end of the week, after misfortune after misfortune started piling up, I started getting annoyed and a bit down.
But I am not here to complain about that either!
My mom and dad have always been super supportive of me, from every decision I've ever made to just listening as I ranted about a really tough orgo question on my homework. They're level headed and calm, and I appreciate everything they do so much.
This week, after I mentioned my beloved bags unfortunate demise, my dad forwarded me a receipt of a replacement bag that my mom chose out. It's perfect, and basically everything I needed in a bag. Here's a picture:

The craziest thing about it is that I didn't even ask about getting a replacement bag, they just went ahead and ordered me one.
I usually gush about my parents all the time to my friends, but I think it's not enough.
My parents are literally the best. <3
--Sheilly

Friday Lists

My window currently looks like... well, I guess the best way to describe it is by showing a picture of it.

As you may have guessed, I'm currently in the middle of battling "Superstorm Nemo." Not to fret, as a true New Englander, and former Midwester (Grew up in Nebraska, holla... yeah that felt weird, and I will never do that again!), I'm quite used to intense snow storms and somewhat enjoy them.
To combat being snowed into my dorm room, quite literally, I've found a couple of ways to stay sane these past few years, and this Friday list is all about that.
Because I love sharing that kind of stuff.
Also because I really need to stop going online shopping. Like really.

1. Edward Scissorhands is a must for a snow day. Why? The ending of the movie. That's really it. I realize that it could be a Christmas movie too, but I think it's a snowy day movie. 
2. Fuzzy blankets are also necessary. Just wrap it around you like a cloak, and wear it all day long, it's the best. 
3. Hot chocolate is everyone's go to on a snow day. If you're over 21, might I suggest a shot of Bailey's in it?  Makes it taste even better. :) 
4. Cupcakes, cookies, whatever you can find that's sugary goodness. Personally I love baking my own, but if it's store bought, that's okay too. 
5. Flannel pajamas and fuzzy boots are the best for keeping warm and cozy. I think being surrounded by the coldness makes us want to turn to something like flannel.. or maybe that's just me. 
6. Yarn or crafting stuff, because being left indoors for hours does get boring at times. Might as well do something somewhat creative right? 
7. Textbooks, books, etc. You might as well be somewhat productive as well right? 
8. Painting your nails is always an option all the time. (Also, the color shown there is Snow Globe by China Glaze. If you love glitters, I would highly suggest it because it makes your nails look like snow globes! It really does!) 
9. Always go sledding on snow days, but make sure you have your winter gear! 
10. And by winter gear, I am including lip balm. Because as much as I love the snow and cold, I hate the dryness of the air, and eventual chapped lips. I love the Badger Balm company quite a bit, because they smell good, and they don't have harsh chemicals like some other chapsticks. If you're going for long lasting power, go with the cocoa butter lip balm because it's amazing! 

If you're dealing with Nemo, stay safe out there! 

-- Sheilly

Fresh Guacamole

This is by far the tastiest guacamole I've ever had.
And the best part? I made it myself!
I'm not sure why I never thought to make my own guacamole ever because it's really so simple. An avocado, two jalapenos, some chili powder... seriously why I have I never tried to make my own guacamole before?
Next stop, salsa? I do have a big bag of chips to devour... -- Sheilly

The Story of the Name

Photo Credit

Something that I've been questioned about is why I called this blog "Iced Peppermint Mocha." So, in order to answer that question, I will give you two stories. Choose which ever one you want... and then read the long story.
Short story:
I was walking back from Starbucks late one evening with my roommate, and I was drinking my favorite drink: a tall iced peppermint mocha. As I was guzzling down my drink, I was pondering what to name this blog. Suddenly, the name popped to my head: Iced Peppermint Mocha! And viola! The End.
The long story may be a bit more... interesting.
Long story:
For my writing class, I was writing about lifestyle blogs and researching them, when I realized the best way to understand the genre was to actually write for it. So I went about researching how to create a blog, what I needed, how to plan it, etc. The research I did for my paper really helped out with designing and getting the look just right.
The only thing missing was a clever name.
So I knew how to design, post, maintain and create this blog, that didn't have a name. Obviously I had a little panic dance, and started to think of everything I could. Some names I came up with that got scrapped were:

• Your November-- named after one of my favorite Joshua Radin songs
• The Smell of Petrichor-- because just 'Petrichor' had been taken.
• The Smell of Dust after Rain-- See above reason
• Smug Life-- Let's be glad this really wasn't a choice... (but it was)
• Sheilly Problems-- A popular hashtag for my twitter
• Defying Imagination-- which was an allusion to a lyric from the song Panic Station by Muse

The problem with most of these names were they were too silly or referenced something that could detour people from reading. It took a couple of days, before that fateful trip to Starbucks and honestly I couldn't have been any more grateful. 

For me, my drink of choice is an Iced Peppermint Mocha. Ask any of my friends on campus, and they'll tell you stories of how fast I can drink them, or how I sometimes will want to order something different and end up with an iced peppermint mocha instead. It's become that defining quirk of mine, that I can't help but be a little proud of. And since this blog is essentially about me and the things I enjoy, I couldn't think of a better thing to name it after. 

-- Sheilly

My Baby is Back

I'm happy to announce that my trusty camera is back!  As much as I love my iPhone, and the various apps I have on it, nothing beats a real camera. I love the good quality shots, and the feel of the camera there.

 

I lent him to my mom and dad when they went to India, were they took a lot of good pictures! I have this strange connection with this one because it's the very first thing I bought with my own money. (Over four years ago now!) This camera has been to Germany, India, and so many other places now! 

So here's hoping to more pictures, more fun, more posts, and more love for my camera! :)

--Sheilly

Going Home

I'm heading home today, after a long two months away. I love New York for many reasons, like my university, my friends here, and my room. But come November, I can't help but count down the days til I get home.
I don't do much when I get home. I bum around all day in my sweat pants, cook food with my mom, watch endless hours of the Science Channel with my dad, and pull pranks on my dear brother. Thanksgiving isn't really a big occasion in my household, but we find our own ways to celebrate and have fun.  This year we'll  be seeing Skyfall in theaters Thursday afternoon, and by Friday we'll be making a huge list of food to bring back with us on Sunday.
It isn't much, but I love it.
-- Sheilly

Orgo

Tonight I have my last midterm for the first part of my organic chemistry course. While I love what I study, and I'm so grateful to be able to learn, I forget that the struggles that I have are only momentary. I know they will pass, but during an exam it seems like it's far too much to handle. This is why, on every note card for my Orgo exams I've always written the quote 'Keep Calm and Carry On." It's like a note from my past self remindng me to take things easy, and to relax. This of course, was not my idea, but rather my clever roommate's idea. I still have yet to take my test, but I'm confident that I will do my very best.

To anyone else reading this who has midterms coming that they're dreading, or anything else, good luck! 

-- Sheilly