Trufit Pilates

Author: The Pilates Blonde

  • College Tips: Studying 101

    Yesterday I spent the ENTIRE day in bed with a heating pad. During our flight home our plane hit an air pocket and turned completely on its side and then quickly flipped all the way to the other side…like a complete 180 in a plane…that was flying. The rest of the flight I was SOOO tense …my neck is all sorts of messed up as a result. I have a massage at 11am and I am PUMPED to get theses knots out before spin tonight. With school starting in just a few weeks I wanted to share with you some of my studying tips.

    Nursing school is hard…really hard. If you aren’t a good student, nursing school will chew you up and spit you out in the first semester. Here is the thing with nursing, yes you are studying to pass the class but more importantly you are studying for a patient you will meet seven years from now. Everything builds on another so you can forget ANYTHING. Cramming just will not work.

    Most of my tips will be geared towards nursing students but they will work for any major.

    • Get a planner. As you know my favorite is The Purposeful Planner by Corie Clark, but I have also used Lilly and Kate Spade in the past. Come up with a system…I like washi tape…a different color for each class because if your professor changes exam dates you can just move the tape. You could use gel pens or highlighters if that floats your boat. The second you are handed your syllabus you need to go through your planner and add in due dates. Im tell you this is KEY! I swear that all my exams fall in the same week every semester…but I know that ahead of time so I can plan accordingly. GET A PLANNER.
    • Pay attention in class. Take notes. Ask questions. You are paying for education so appreciate it. Record your lectures and listen to them…you will be surprised at the amount of information you missed while taking notes or while going to the bathroom or in the ‘two seconds’ you zoned out.
    • Re-read your notes after class. You will forget what that little cartoon was about the next day. Clarify while the information is fresh.
    • Find out the way you study best. Once you master a technique don’t challenge it or change it because something else works for your roommate. Do you boo.
    • Get an old school kitchen timer…like the kind you physically have to turn…not digital. Time your studying/homework/shower/free time. I give myself 40 minutes on, 20 minutes off when I study. For those 40 minutes I have ZERO distractions…my phone is on airplane mode, my computer is off. Before I set the timer I make sure I have a warm cup of coffee, three bottles of water, a green juice and gum. During those 40 minutes I make sure to focus on rewriting my notes, making an outline or doing practice questions. For me, I need to hand write everything…It doesn’t sink in unless I write it out…and surprise each outline is a done with a different color combination and washi tape.
    • Find a stress reliever. I need to go to the gym or the studio everyday. Find something that calms you and make you happy…trust me this might be the most important. If you aren’t doing something that is just for you at least 4 days a week you are going to be miserable and your grades are going to show it. Don’t be afraid to have fun. You won’t learn anything if you are a total basket case 24/7. Can you tell I’m very particular about my study set up? It helps me stay focused and waste less time. How did you figure out how you learn best… You know that I WANT to know. Leave me a love note, kay?

    xoxo,

     

    K

  • College Tips: Outside the Classroom

    With everyone going back to school and the tribe of kids I used to babysit starting their freshman year of college (does that make me old? Unclear.) I wanted to share my tips and tricks for a successful year outside the classroom. Plus I have been in bed alllllll day and I am vvvvvvv bored. I have all my study tips ready for another day, but I think this is way more fun.

    Tip 1: Be friends with everyone. Going into college I only knew TWO people, one of my three roommates (pictured above) and a guy from my brother’s lacrosse team. I left with dozens of friends and I didnt play sports and I wasn’t in clubs. How did I meet so many people? I put myself out there. The things that are weird in high school…aka liking to cook…made me different and helped me stand out in college.

    Are you ready for a slightly (totally) embarrassing story? I met most of my friends from sliding into the DMs of two guys down the hall….and no it’s not what you’re thinking. I heard they had a lax tournament coming up and I (like my mother) believe the dinner you have the night before a game makes all the difference. I sent John and Al a message asking if they wanted a home cooked meal the night before their game. Friday I delivered them chicken parm, baked ziti and killer some garlic bread. The next they texted me saying they won all three games…John (the goalie) didn’t let anyone score on them all day! Next thing I knew we were all friends and they introduced me to soooooo many people. Sure looking back it may have been a tad weird asking to make someone dinner, but hey I met most of my favorite people on planet earth because of it so who is the real winner?

     Trick 2: Make your room feel like home. I was the cook, but my roommate Shannon was the Queen when it came to decorating. Our room was very cozy and I LOVED coming home from a stressful day to a comfy place. We moved our furniture around the first day and spent a lot of time decorating. I had wallpaper and pictures everywhere. I made sure my bedding was glam and not too busy. We both covered our furniture with contact paper to brighten it up a bit. Shan had an American Flag tapestry and her decor was more bohemian. Some how they blended nicely. We also had a big rug, faux candles, christmas lights which were so much better than the harsh overhead lighting that was in our room.

    Tip 3: SMILE on campus. Resting Bitch Face is real and people don’t typically talk to girls with RBF. Be friendly and nice..people like a welcoming smile.

    Trick 4: Always always ALWAYS drink your own alcohol. If you are going to a party, bring a cup with a lid. Roofies are real. I have never experienced it, but I have close friends who have.

    Trick 5: Always have a plan to get home if you are drinking. If you are the sober sister don’t drink. Call the uber early on and make sure someone knows you are leaving the party. One thing I can say about my friends is we were ALWAYS safe about getting home or sleeping where we were drinking. It helped that our best friends were the guys throwing the parties but even if we were going home they always made sure we were safe and walked us to our uber.

    How  low quality are these images….I wasn’t planning on being a blogger when I took them haha…But they are some of my favorites. Do you have any additional tips? Are you a freshman with questions about college? LET ME KNOW FAM. Leave me a love note in the comment section or slide in my DMs.

    xoxo,

    K

  • Asparagus

    Oh my gosh…I missed you guys! Yes, I loved being on vacation but I hated feeling disconnected from you. My pictures and videos wouldn’t upload because the wifi in the house was less than stellar. Sooooo I used the time I blocked out in the day for blogging to write you guys posts so there would be plenty now that I’m home. Im currently laid up in bed with the most intense spasm in my neck…we had some insane turbulence flying home yesterday and I was super tense the entire flight.

    Anyway, I feel like you need a recipe and I cant believe I haven’t shared this one with you yet. Before, I get into the cooking let’s talk about why asparagus needs to be in a staple in your diet. According to Eating Well, asparagus is a very good source of fiber, folate, vitamins A, C, E and K, as well as chromium, a trace mineral that enhances the ability of insulin to transport glucose from the bloodstream into cells. I mean HELLO…you need to be eating asparagus. I eat it six ( maybe seven ) days a week. I LOVE IT. Asparagus also has some major detoxing and diuretic effects…what more could you want?

    So what do you need?

    Asparagus (duh )
    Purple onion
    Basting Oil
    himalayan pink salt
    pepper
    Garlic

    Are you ready for the prettiest and most delish dish ever? Okay so chop up your asparagus into equal sized pieces…I like mine about an inch…and throw them in a pan. Next chop up your onion and add in with the asparagus. Drizzle on some basting oil and turn your stove on medium heat. Add your salt and peppa to taste. Stir that bad boy around to mix in all the flavors.

    Have a dance party or catch up on the Real Housewives or read my other posts while occasionally stirring. When you can leave an indent in a few pieces of asparagus you can add your garlic to taste. Keep your masterpiece on the heat for other two-ish minutes. Then you are all set to eat it!!

    I am telling you veggies have never tasted so good! I sometimes have this as an entire meal.

    PS: Yes those super chic pink glasses are onion goggles…yes, I actually wear them and they do in fact work.

    Try it and tell me what you think!!

    xoxo,

    K

  • Life Update!!

    Hey guys! Long time no talk…If you follow me on snapchat you probably know we took a spur of the moment trip to Vermont to pick up Matt from military camp. (You know it is an emergent situation if the Dudley family takes a 9 hour road trip…we typically fly everywhere) To make a very long story short, Matt had a sore throat and a fever of 102 that sent him to the doctors on Friday. Saturday morning at 3am his throat was so swollen it was in the ER because he couldn’t breathe at that time his fever shot up to 104. NO ONE from the camp called to say Matt was in the ER and they left him all day in him dorm with no air conditioning and no medication. We called every single person of contact on the papers the camp gave and no one was helpful in the least. Luckily they were kind enough to give Mattt his phone back (you know, just in case he has to call 911 while he was alone). After half a dozen voicemails we did get to talk to someone from the camp and Momma told him we were on our way. Fast forward 9ish hours to us pulling into campus and the Navy Seal in charge of the camp explaining that he didn’t know we were coming or why Matt was leaving. TOTAL shit show. Anyway, they opened the gates so we could drive up to his dorm where he was walked out by ten or so kids carrying his stuff.

    After our first hugs we took out a flash light and looked in his throat (which no one at the camp did by the way…they were going to make him participate the next day) and it was like nothing I have ever seen. It looked like there were half a dozen blisters and only HUGE (golfball sized maybe bigger) white spot…it looked almost like a cotton ball in the back of this poor kids throat. Needless to say, we packed up his stuff and got him the hell out of there.

    We drove the whole 10 minutes to our favorite hotel where our friend Valerie works the front desk…she is SERIOUSLY the sweetest. She greats us like we are family. She is totally getting added to the Christmas Card list. LOVE HER. Anyway we get up to our rooms and get settled..Mom and Dad come down to the room Matt and I are sharing and we order room service which is the same menu as the amazing restaurant down stairs. We order our favorites (mine is their Mediterranean Chicken Pasta…sun dried tomatoes, artichoke, olives, feta…it is AMAZING). After we scarfed down dinner Matt wanted to walk around town so that is what we did. We walked and talked. Matt told us stories from camp…we only got to talk a few minutes a day so there was a lot we didnt know. We walked the entire town stopped for iceceam and walk some more. When we got back to the hotel, I set alarms on my phone to wake matt up to take his medications in the middle of the night. We each crawled into our cozy beds and watched Impractical Jokers until we couldn’t keep our eyes open.

    The next morning we were up with the birds to pack up and get back on the road. The Dudley family getting ready for a long car ride is a sight to see. I can only think of two other times we have driven for a long distance and neither one was pretty…Thank God for frequent flyer miles.  Before we left Vermont for the very last time we grabbed and a little breakfast from a themed coffee shop…I think the theme was Vermont/Bernie Sanders. When we walked in Matt said, “It smells like weed and coffee in here.” That is definitely the most accurate description ever…regardless the food and coffee were amazing.

    We then piled in the car for the nine hour journey. As we drove Matt’s fever started to spike again and you could tell, even with the medication, he was so sick. We went right to CHOPs urgent care where he was see and treated with steroids. He is feeling much better now but he has a lot of resting to do before Saturday because we are headed to my FAVORITE place on earth and I am taking you guys with me!

    Expect a bunch of vlogs in the next week and a half! PS with classes starting again in the next couple of weeks I plan to give you content at least three days a week. Some week (when I don’t have exams) you may get more but I will always give you at least three new things to read//watch during the semester. I haven’t figured out what days I will be posting yet…The first few weeks I am going to play it by ear to see when I have the most free time.

    Anyway, it was GREAT catching up with you!! Since I have been home I have started a new project. I am helping my friend Meghan organize her house! Her project includes the basement, her office//party room, and 5ish closets. Today we are on day three and we have made MAJOR progress. The basement is pretty much all done. I cant wait to show you before and afters. Here is a sneak peak.

     

    Well I’m off to make some protein pancakes before TRX and more work on the organization project!! Can you believe it is Wednesday already!?! I feel like this week is FLYING

    xoxo,

    K