Hey everyone,

It's been great time writing for this blog but I have decided to switch my focus. I know there're a billion of different running and recipe blogs out there, and to be honest I'm not the greatest runner or cook. Hence, I thought I'd channel my energy towards something I know more about which is science! I feel like this is my niche within the blogosphere and I think that it will provide valuable content for readers.

At the same time, I have made the decision to go plant-based. Therefore, I felt like keeping my blog as "milk & honey" wasn't appropriate anymore. At the moment I'm working on starting a new blog called plantbasedscientist.wordpress.com so check it out and spread the word. Who wouldn't want to read blog dedicated to cool medical findings, sports physiology, and nutrition in plain English ;)

~Nadiya

Let's talk about commuting- how to bike to work

Commuting is an important issue.

It takes up our time, it's frustrating, it's tiring. I HATE IT!

It's a known fact that those who commute are less happy, more stressed and irritated. I've also read that those who bike to work instead of commuting and then hiding the bike trainer at the gym are more fit and happy.

Most of my life I've never had to do any serious commuting. I biked 15-30 minutes to my high school or to my teenage jobs. In university I lived a short walk away from all my classes. However, in forth year I've decided to live at home and spend good 70 minutes commuting each way. Now I did walk for 25-30 minutes of that time but it was major time sink.

Now I've been spending close to 1.25-1.5 hours each way to get to my lab. The first week I did it, I was in shock! I'd leave the lab feeling fine to arrive home DRAINED of energy. There's just something about being seriously squished between people for a 20 minute part of the subway ride and being in a half asleep state for 40 minutes on the bus. Don't even talk to me about frustration when the bus leaves in front of your face.

Solution?

Bike to the rescue!

The Dutch people now how to get to work by bike ;)
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Currently I bike about 11km to the subway and 13.5km back home. Might seem like short little rides but it added up to around 100km this week (I biked 4 days) and a saving of about 20$. The beauty is that it takes me just as long to bike the 11km then if I was to take the bus! The other beauty is that I don't need to wake up at 6am to exercise that day and have a bit of extra free time in the morning :D

Now big question. How does one prevent getting to work nasty and sweaty?

1) Take a shower before you bike. It sounds weird but it works... The smell comes from the bacteria on your skin (especially armpits) but it you wash them off before biking then there's less smell.

2) Make sure to cool down before coming to work. It's perfect for me because I have a nice subway ride to cool down and have a "recovery" snack :P Then I change at one of the washrooms at the lab into my regular clothing.

3) Carry deodorant and sanitizer with you. Yes, I use sanitizer on my armpits because it kills of bacteria. After they dry I apply deodorant... Never had issues with smelly armpits :P

4) Have a safe biking spot and a good lock. I bike until a station where there aren't a lot of people hanging around the bike racks and I place my bike at different locations around the station. Also, I tend to place my bike close to really nice looking bikes to make mine seem as "the crappy one".

5) Bike with a friend if you can :)

6) Bring extra food and water. All that biking will make you hungry :P

7) Pick roads that are safe to ride on. My city is devoid of biking lanes so I say F*** it and bike on the side walk. No one really walks on the side walks so I claim them! Whenever I pass a police car I smile at the police man and they've never said anything to me other than "bike safe". Not sure if this will always work for male bikers though :P

8) Start slow. Don't bike all 5 days to work on the first week unless it's a really short distance. Start with biking every other day and then build up.

9) Think of the reward. Put the money you save on bus or gas in a piggy bank or some other storage. Those 20$ a week will add up to 240$ over the summer. Put it towards a vacation or something else that you enjoy.

10) Congrats! You worked out before getting to work and you got to sleep in ;)

The Dutch people can do it and so can you! Maybe that's why the air there is so clean (apart from the smell of weed blah)!
Amsterdam, Netherlands

What a Little Rain Can Do... Toronto Flood 2013

We all know that in the healthy living blogger world, "rain" is no excuse for not exercising. Too bad because this week is an exception...

Source

Around 4 pm yesterday I was reading some papers at my lab office when the sky turned black. Literally, it became night in the middle of the day! Then it rained. It rained hard. Harder then it has rained in a long time.

Naive little me though "aah... I have some lab work to do so hopefully it'll stop by then". Stupid! By the time I left around 8pm it was still raining but not as hard.

When I got into the subway I came across a nice surprise to find out that many subway stations were flooded and that I was good 20km away from home (10km away from bike). After about 40 minutes a few subway stations were cleared and I managed to travel another 6ish km :D Yay!

Then I got out of the subway and saw the damage. There was power outage everywhere. The traffic lights weren't working. Car accidents due to absence of traffic lights. People in panic. No one picking up the phone at my house... Random people driving past by me screaming "it's the end of the world"... Just total chaos.

So I walked in what felt like complete darkness. It really felt like one of those apocalypse movies because no one knew what was going on...

My hopes of catching a bus home have perished when I saw scenes such as the one below between Islington and Kipling stations.

Source

Finally I reached my bike and peddled the slowest 10km ever. I was biking in the darkness and over water. The bus just never came...

About 3km away from my home the area was finally lit up and I felt at ease knowing that traffic lights were working again. Thankfully my house had light (but no internet for most of the week) but apparently 70% of my city remained without electricity.

Total travel time- 3 hours

I was lucky, one of the GO (travels between cities) trains got stuck in the way and around 1500 passengers had to be "rescued".

Source

Boy was I happy I had cake that day! Those extra calories totally powered me through the day :P

A part of the subway is still closed but I did have an alternate way to get to the lab (although it took me twice as long).

Apparently the storm will continue tonight and until Thursday. :( 
Stay safe fellow Torontonians ;)

10 Steps to Get Your Workout Done Before Work

I have survived my first week at the lab. The lab itself is good and c'mon what runner doesn't want to do research related to the cardiovascular system :P

My challenge was adjusting from my flexible schedule to a more rigid one. It's been a bit of a shock to the system and will require a bit of adjusting. Hence, I though I'd share some of the tips I'll be using to keep up with  my training.

I'm inflexible with my schedule right now because I'm shadowing people. However, once I start working on my own I hope to leave home earlier to avoid the rush hour traffic. Plus after I move out, the commute time will become extra 3hrs of quality lab time.At the moment my day is sounding something along these lines. 

6:00- Wake up

6:15- Begin workout (damn you elevator for slowing me down)

7:00-7:10- Finish workout

7:10-7:30- Shower, stretch, eat breakfast

7:30-7:45- Dress, pack, and get ready for the lab

7:45-9:00- Commute to the lab

9:00-6:00- Lab (depending on the day as I don't have my own project yet)

6:00-7:30- Commute home

7:30-8:30- Chill with family and have dinner

8:30-10:00- Read science journals at home (sometimes this will be replaced with a swim)

10:00-10:20- Do stretches, foam (wooden pin) roll

10:20-10:30- Nighttime hygiene stuff

10:30-11:30- Read more journals, read blogs, write posts

11:30-6:00- Sleep

Do I really want to wake up at 6am (it will have to be even earlier for yoga)? Not exactly when the alarm clock goes off :P However, after my workout I know it was worth it :D So how do I make sure to get them done?

1) Get yourself excited about your workout!

Remember why you're exercising in the first place or imagine yourself finishing your race. Do that before going to sleep and set yourself to think that you will wake up tomorrow morning and exercise. I find that whenever I do this I wake up before the alarm clock goes off. Yes, I woke up at 5:45 this Wednesday because I was excited to a Brick workout. I may have thought otherwise after getting off the bike and running.

Remember how beautiful the trail that you run is ;)
Alternatively, put a picture of it by your bed.

2) Have your breakfast ready and keep it simple. 

Although I'm not a total foodie, a quick walk to the fridge will be enough to get me out of bed. I like to keep my pre-workout food simple like a glass of OJ, a banana with pb, homemade energy bars or oatmeal balls. Maybe a granola bar hidden beneath the pillow? These are consumed as I take the elevator downstairs or while I'm changing. As for my real breakfast I keep it to something simple like muesli and raw fruits as I don't have time (or don't care enough) to cook.

3) Have your clothing laid out.

I've heard of some people sleeping in their workout gear but I usually just have it hanging on a chair or something. So I just get up and put it on. Who really cares enough to dig through the closet at this hour.

4) Pack for work the night before.

Food prep over the weekend so that at night you just have to grab all your containers and put them in one bag. Try to keep your keys and ID's in one place so you don't have to look for them (or I just always keep them in my backpack). Keep whatever you don't need at home at work.

Source

6) Find a buddy to keep you motivated.

I recently made this fitness related pinky swear with a friend. Lol! I'm competitive, so it'll get done :P Blogging is a great way to stay motivated or going for a job with a friend.

7) Have a fun activity planned for the evening or weekend.

We always like to procrastinate." Mahh... I'll workout when I get home" or on Sunday. Realistically, you might get stuck at work, then you'll be hungry and have dinner right once your get home. Afterwards, you won't want to exercise on a full belly. Instead get your workout out of the way and do something more relaxing after work. Also, if you can get that run done Tuesday morning, you can take that Sunday off and have a full day trip with your bffs. ;) 

8) Go to sleep earlier.

Just turn off the blackberry. As my math teacher used to say "Unless you're making a multimillion dollar deal right now, you can turn off the phone". Just turn off youtube, those shows your streaming off your computer. Beauty sleep is more important ;)

9) Make it a routine.

It might be hard at first but afterwards you'll go into autopilot mode and be waking up before the alarm clock. You'll be surprised by how much you can achieve on a fresh mind before work. ;)

10) Make time to exercise and JUST DO IT!

Budget Planning and Triathlon Gear

Let's face it. Triathlons are uber expensive because of all the gear required. At first I was thinking, mah I can just do with what I have. Then a thought came into my head. So I'll be swimming in my speedo and then how will I change into my biking & running clothing? I have a few choices:

a) Strip in the transition area... Ummm NO!
b) Bike and run in a speedo... I doubt that'll be comfortable
c) Get a tri suit?

What's a Tri Suit? Well it's basically a suit that look like a swim suit plus shorts put together :D

It's made out of fast drying material so you won't be wet for long. It has a special cushion at the crotch which is supposed to make it more comfortable to bike (I never knew that existed). Also, some tri suits have other features like pockets for storing "fuel". Very cool stuff! They're affordable and I've seen some on sale for about 60$. My issue is that my hip to waist ratio is 0.7 and today's clothing isn't designed for that (strange as most women are pear shaped). Hence, my pant size and shirt sizes are different making it hard to buy one-piece items that fit. The other thing with a one-piece tri suit is that you would probably only use it in race situations just because it looks so intense. However, there're two piece tri suits which look pretty much the same but you can wear them on their own. There's also the bonus peeing factor :D

In terms of a wet suit... I'm taking the gamble of not wearing one. On the website it said that Lake Ontario will be somewhere between 16-23C and I used to swim in 20C water as a kid all the time. Also, I shouldn't be in the water for more then 20 minutes and I'm sure I'll be warm from intensive swimming. Maybe I should measure the temperature of my current pool before I say anything :P

Apart from that I'll just stick to my 99$ old mountain bike :P I've got quite a new pair of running shoes and whatever I can just bike in them. I have all the other general stuff like sunglasses, hat, and helmet. I could use a better pair of goggles but I'd need that for general swimming anyways. In terms of "Fuel" I'll make my homemade Gatorade (water, orange juice, honey, salt) and bring raisins. Probably won't be needing to eat much during the event...

Now on the other note, since I will be a graduate student I'll actually be getting paid now. Getting paid to learn- AWESOME! My stipend is 17,000$+ tuition and I can get more money on top of that if I win a scholarship. Just what I love about science lab based graduate school :D I've made the decision to live downtown Toronto because I think the experience will be totally worth it and I can afford it. Everyone I know recommended it (except my grandma) so I'll go with it. All in all after doing some budget planning and accounting paying back my student loans, I actually have money to spend on whatever I want. I'll be able to do races and not worry about costs. When choosing shoes I won't have to hope that the ones that fit me well are on sale or cost less. And... I could potentially save up for a good bike :P

Am I missing anything? Would you go with a one or two piece tri suit?

She wore an itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka-dot bikini...

I came across an interesting video posted by Susannah from Simple Moments Stick. The video talks about the evolution of our swimwear and touches upon the sensitive topic of wearing a bikini. The video is about 9 min but it's an audio so you can listen to it while doing something else :P



Basically, bikinis were invented by a French guy. None of the French models wanted to showcase bikinis so he had to hire strippers, lol! Nowadays, bikini is the norms. However, research has found that when men look at a women in a bikini the areas of the brain associated with objects and tools lights up. Also, the associate these with women with phrases containing "it" vs "she".

Personally I'd say, wear whatever you want. There're nudist beaches out there and if you want you can go to the beach naked. Back in Ukraine, all women wear bikinis and men wear those very right underwear speedos. What you wear is really your choice.

Now for myself. First off, I never go to the beach to begin with and with having done more competitive swimming I'm used to one piece swimsuits. I actually don't own a bikini and the few times I've worn one it has been one of my mom's teenage ones. Yeah... I'm the odd ball.

My reasons for wearing a bikini sometimes when I go to the beach are purely utilitarian. All my one piece swim suits are speedo, meaning they're tight. They're ok to wear in the water but quite uncomfortable when just lying in the sand or during the ride to the beach. Next is PEEING! If you need to pee while still in regular clothing, it means that you have to take all of your clothing off, then take off the swimsuit, pee, and put everything back on. Annoying! When a swimsuit gets wet it's pretty damn hard to put it back on which sucks if you need to a bathroom break. All in all, if it's a day long trip I'll wear a bikini just because it's more comfortable.

On the other hand, I hate all of the "beach body" bullshit. I've gone to the beach once with a somewhat friend with a suspected long eating disorder history and that was a horrible experience. She made such a huge deal out of wearing a bikini and made it sound like she hasn't eaten anything that whole week (the reason why it's hard to be friends with her). The whole trip was very uncomfortable for me because in the group we were the only girls and she just kept talking about her body. Ughh...

Modesty-wise. The way I think about it is that you wouldn't just take off your clothing and walk around in your underwear, so why walk around in a bikini. Like please, bikinis are much more revealing...

For  me I guess what I wear to the beach comes down to a few factors- who am I with and how long will I be there for. In Mexico, I hiked with my parents for 30min to a beach with no one there so at those times I wore a bikini. When I went to Canada's Wonderland waterpark with my labmates I wore a one piece or alternatively for peeing reason I might have worn a bikini with a shirt on-top. That time with my friend, I wore a bikini because I was expected too :S Pretty much all other times I wear a one piece because my body is for my eyes and a few other selected individual's eyes only. It's not for public display!

Anyways my one piece swim suit is awesome! The benefit of doing synchro :P

How do you feel about bikinis?

Enjoying freedom, while it lasts

T'is finalized. I shall be starting at the lab next Monday when my prof gets back from his conference. Super exciting!!! I've been spending hours at home reading through papers and the more I read the more interested I get in the topic. The amount of little details and information is overwhelming but I'm slowly assimilating everything in my brain.

What have I been up to last week?

Well it all started off with me vising Waterloo, Ontario to see my friend. We chilled, skyped with our high school bestie, cooked perogie pasta (kind of like ravioli), and went clubbing. Yeah... just the two of us. Don't worry, I'm the kind of a girl who goes to clubs just for the dancing and makes sure to stay away from all the creepy drunk guys. I actually haven't gone out ever since I moved back home and I forgot what kind of a great workout clubbing is! My legs were totally tired the next day but too bad because we plus another friend went camping!

Frig! I wish it was that easy! Source

Guys! I made a fire! It took the 3 of us good 2 hours to start the fire but it was a great experience. We then cooked a heck a lot of food on that fire and polished it off within two days. Totally went peeing in the bushes (TMI), walked around, went stargazing, bonded over smores, talked about life, and did yoga in the woods. T'was a great experience and preparation for some more serious camping trips.

Then I went to visit another friend at Guelph, Ontario for a sleepover. If you're ever around in Ontario, I suggest checking out Guelph. It's such a cute uber health conscious city. You could see people jogging everywhere and downtown had lots of cute small stores. I also had my first official chocolate tofu cheesecake at one of the vegan restaurants there. It's so good!

Training wise! I'm not quite sure what to do with regards to my shin splits. I've mentioned that my shins were hurting during my half marathon, but they still give me problems now. I can run 5-7km relatively pain free yet I don't want to make the problem worse. So what have I been doing. I don't have a foam roller, however I've discovered that you can use wooden rolling pins instead. Yup, those rolling pins one uses for roll dough... It hurts but it's not unbearable.

My front crawl has improved dramatically and I totally swam 1500m while still having energy left. I guess converting from breaststroke (haha Paul) to front crawl isn't as difficult as I imagined it to be.

Bike wise. I've decided that I'll commute until the subway 3 times per week to start. It's 10km one way so in total it's 60km a week. I'll see how things go and maybe increase it to 5 times per week.

Have you ever used foam rolling again shin spints or have you used a wooden rolling pin?

PS:  Blogger is being weird and my comments keep getting erased. So I'm not ignoring your blogs it just won't let me leave a comment -.-

Cheers to Science :D

After a highly emotional week, I have finally settled for a lab :)

The research itself is pretty sweet which is very much the main reason I picked that lab. Basically, my prof is studying the process of blood vessel formation. I have miserably failed at trying to write something concise about his research so I'll need to devote a whole post to it :D

All in all, the prof is very approachable and easy to talk to. I sense that if I propose a new direction for my project or present a different perspective on things that he will be cool with it (as long as it's reasonable). I feel like he will be a good mentor and because his lab is new he has more time to devote to it instead of administrative duties. Don't worry about it! I thought through my decision rationally, going through all the pro's and con's as usual. I know it's not a "big name" lab and is a very new lab but I think that it will be a great learning environment. Really that's what's important during graduate school. Post-doctorial work is when you go to "big name" labs and go market yourself.

Side note, my new prof is a bicyclist! I'm not sure why I sensed that he'd be a biker... but then my hypothesis was proven true when I noticed a bike helmet in his office! Seriously, I can imagine him being one of those people who eat at Whole Foods and do races. I guess that's what happens when you do cardiovascular research and hear "atherosclerosis" too many times each day. Lol!

Now the crappy part! I have to do all of this safety training stuff before I can start. There is a session on June 12th but apparently it's full and the next one is only July 17th!!! Ughhh! I really don't want to wait a month -.-

Maybe someone will drop out... or I can just be patient and enjoy my time for some TRIathlon Training :D

View from the Toronto Island

I've finally decided to stick to the Toronto Island Sprint Triathlon. Just because it's Toronto Island... I'm being quite irrational with this decision :P So there!

Sunday August 28- 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run. Pretty standard stuff.

Updates in terms of my training!

I finally bought a pair of minimalistic shoes. I know... about time. It's the Nike Free Run Shoes! So far so good. I'd say they're good shoes for someone who is midway in their barefoot transition. There's still some heel but it provides a good level of cushioning for road running.

Oh... I've totally given up on planks. I do about 12 hours of exercise per week and I just started to slack off on the planks. Ugh! It's like another 6 minutes of exercise per day but for some reason I can't bring myself to do it.

Now here's a concern. My Bikram Yoga practice has been quite different since I've started triathlon training. I feel like all my back bends and non leg related stretches have gotten much better. However, the leg related poses have gotten worse for me. It's like all of the triathlon training has made my leg muscles stiff. A few ladies from my studio said that it's my body telling me I need to stretch my legs more. I guess I'll need to up my stretches.

How do you balance working out and stretching your muscles

A little inspiration

Sometimes you just need that little big of inspiration. We've all been there...

Just a quick update of where I'm at. So I've had two interviews this week with both professors having pro's and con's. I emailed one of them and told them I'm interested afterwards but he said he'll make up his decision next week. Ughh. The wait is killing me. On the other hand I've talked to my old professor and he gave me a very nice supportive fatherly speech. Lol!

In terms of training... Let's just say my calves are sore from running, quads from biking, hamstrings from yoga, and shoulders from swimming. Sore and slightly fatigued but nothing is injured ;)

On Thursday, I had posted up Michelle's Fit-inspirational Board Guest Post and have decided to make one myself. Mine's more life focused versus fitness focused though.

1) A Picture of Moi!
What can be more inspirational than you yourself, haha. This picture was taken in London during my month in Europe last year. It was a big splurge, it was my first time abroad without parents, and it was a might good time. Being in Europe has changed me and widened my perception. In a way I felt like it was my turning point from being a teenager to an independent young women. 

2) A Fox
I've taken a personality quiz before and it told me that I'm like a fox. Please don't be alarmed! Foxes are truly misunderstood creatures. They're not these evil tricksters that people always assume they are but are peaceful creatures that avoid conflict. Foxes are small and can't fight against other animals, so they use their cleverness to escape from trouble. In my opinion, foxes are beautiful and are said to take care of their health. They're one of those body-mind-spirit animals that have healthy eating habits, a fit body, and are smart. Lastly, they are independent and very loyal to their families. These are the "fox" aspects that fit in with my characteristics. This picture goes to tell that one should stay true to their character and not let others sway themselves.

3) Wheat and Freedom
In a way this picture represents my Ukrainian roots. Can you see what the Ukrainian flag represents :P Yup the wheat fields. There's something magical about standing in the middle of a wheat field that goes on and on. It's a feeling of freedom, of feeling in peace with the earth, feeling the earth's energy filling you up through the sun. One must remember to savor nature and the energy it provides us with.

4) Nature Journal
Here's the cover of one of Natural Journals. Nature is basically the most reputable scientific journal that there is. It's any scientists dream to publish in Nature or even better have their article appear on the cover. Kind of cool how "born to run" appeared on the cover of Nature and there's more and more research being done on the effects of exercise. Hopefully, one day I can contribute to that field ;)

5) Ironman
It's still a far away goal for me, but one day... One day I'll be an Ironman. Gee I haven't even have run a marathon yet :P

I'd love to share Ellen's acting video :P It's funny how people nowadays stick these labels unto themselves based on what they eat. Also, I feel like nutrition is becoming confused with restriction. Eat this, don't eat them, blah blah blah. Well I say Fuck It! Eat what you enjoy and what is good for YOUR body, and Fuck the labels.

                    

Making an Inspiration Board

Hey everyone :)

I've been contacted by Michelle Pino who works in a spa called Skana in a small town in Upstate NY. She has proposed to write a guest post on how to make a Fitspiration Board, a DIY project to keep you motivated with your fitness goals. 

Personally, I'm in need of some motivation right now so having a personal board like this on your wall or on your desktop would be an excellent idea. The beauty is that, it doesn't have to be about fitness but can be about any aspect of your life.

Without further-ado, here's Michelle's post :D

Finding your Fitness Inspiration

Do you want to live a healthier life but find yourself struggling to begin? It can be quite overwhelming! Maybe all you need is a little inspiration of fitness-fitspiration. A Fitspiration Board will help you find your fitness inspiration!

A Fitspiration Board is a college of items that inspire you in your fitness activities. This is a great way to strategize your health and fitness goals and plan out the details. It helps you stay focused so that you are more likely to accomplish your goals. Fitspiration Boards are a lot of fun to make because that can be anything you want! With a poster board (or any large board) and glue, you can create your Fitspiration Board in three easy steps!

Start by finding things that inspire you to be healthy. This can be anything-a favorite recipe or a meaningful phrase or even a professional athlete that you admire. (Hint-magazines are a great place for pictures.)

Next, look through your images to find a common theme.  What links them together?  What do they have in common?

Finally, design your layout. How do you want your Fitspiration Board to look?  Do not start gluing until you figure out the design. First, choose the image that you want to be the anchor-the center of attention. Arrange the other images around the anchor. Sit with it for a while and make any changes that you feel are necessary until you come up with a layout that you like. Once you decide on your final layout, you are ready to start gluing.

Keep in mind that you may not use all of your items on your first Fitspiration Board. After you decide on your anchor, eliminate anything that does not connect with your current theme. You may want to use them in the future, since the Fitspiration Board is a dynamic tool that changes over time.

One of the most important decisions you need to make about your Fitspiration Board is where to put it!  This wonderful tool you created is going to help you stay connected to your health and fitness goals so you want to put in a place where you can always see it.

Good Luck!



Photos:



1.) I’ve started to golf as a way to spend more time outdoors.  The resort near my work is a great option because I go with a big group, half of us can do 9 holes and then go grab a bite at one of restaurants of the resort, and the rest of the group can golf the full 18 holes.  (Source: NY golf resort)

2.) I’m really inspired by yoga for a number of reasons.  Yoga focuses the mind and body, teaching ourselves to find a spiritual balance.  I also love that yoga can be done anywhere, even the beach! The beach is so relaxing, a great place for yoga or walking. (Source: Beach Yoga)

3.) Since I am not very athletic, simple activities like bike riding are a fun way to stay active without doing anything too strenuous on the body.  I love beach bikes with the big baskets!  (Source: Bike )

4.) Last spring I started learning more about gardening.  I enjoy the being in the garden and watching blooms take life as the warmer weather approached. Lilacs are one of my favorite flowers, plus the smell wonderful! (Source: Lilac Flowers)

5.) What better way to boost motivation than to treat yourself to some fabulous workout gear or a fresh pair of new kicks?  Bright colored apparel, like these Asics from Zappos, is very popular for the warm weather and motivation!  (Source: Sneakers)

With May being the National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, there is no better time than the present to start thinking about how you can begin living a well rounded, happier and healthier life. 

Personally, I think that this is a cool idea and I'll make myself one of these tomorrow. Give it a try if you want :D

Falls, Struggles, and Zebrafish!

Thanx for all the kind and supportive comments guys! <3 <3 <3

This whole week has been a b****. First I got rejected from medicine and then I've understood that I've made a huge mistake. Over the past 2-3 months I have interviewed quite a few profs for graduate positions but I've told them that I won't be able to make a decision until May. Well, they've already managed to take on students :S One of them was like "Oh, I thought you've moved on so I took another student". Grr! I guess they have their own salaries to worry about too :(

There was a professor I've spoken to and he told me that I shouldn't have problems finding a lab and that I'll be one of those who'd have difficulty choosing which lab to go to. Ughh! Well, there I was with no professor secured for my grad position.

And... I had a total breakdown... I just lay in my bed Friday night and cried. It really felt like all the doors have closed on me, like there was nothing left for me. Eventually I cooled off and followed my grandma's advice to contact more professors ASAP. So Saturday morning I've emailed a bunch of professors and landed an interview! Woot!

Yeah... Zebrafish! I got to see hundreds of them today :D



I just think Zebrafish are uber cool and useful for vascularization studies. One of many things that the prof I've interviewed today studies. He has a bit of a broad research topic with looking at the formation of arteries through a developmental biology perspective and epigenetics. Only the uber cool stuff I've learned about in my stem cells course! Like omg! Epigenetics is such a cool topic!

The prof himself seemed very much into his research and he reminded me so much of Brendan Brazier. He just had that same sincerity in his voice and manner of speech... He's also very young for a prof which has its pros and cons, but speaking with his students they all seem to really like him. He does come off as being a very easy to talk to and as an approachable person. All in all, he seems not just as a good lab supervisor but a mentor.

We'll see how things go in that sense... I've also recently found out that I have another interview tomorrow, so we shall see how that goes.

I really just want to settle down...

Let's talk body shapes and structures. Last July upon going to Niagara Falls, my grandma and mom kept on watching and commenting how I have a similar body shape as my dad. Why can't they just keep their mouth shut sometimes about this stuff... My grandma and my mom are pear shaped. It's funny because you can kind of see my mom's ribs but then she's got a big tush and thighs.

I'm not quite sure what's my body type is because people have listed every body type possible. That doesn't help... All I know is that it's where my soul resides and it gets me through whatever I need to do.

Anyways, what annoys me are all those "beauty campaigns". The Victoria Secret one offers tall tiny framed toned blondish girls with a lot of make-up. On the other hand, the Dove campaign offers in my opinion "plumper" women who are probably the average BMI 25-30 American women. No duh! That's the audience they're targeting and it's not necessarily healthy.

Yet, riding the subway today I've seen women of every size and body shape. Beauty is just a matter of perception and really the Dove beauty campaign skews the idea of beauty just as much as the Victoria Secret one.

So you're showing us women who are underweight and those that are overweight. What happened to everyone in between...
Source

Where do I go from here...

I'll start with good news. In this case it was the stationary bike not my legs. I got my bike out of the storage shed and took it out for a spin after maintenance stuff. Well, everything felt fine :) I guess I'm not as horrible in biking as I thought!

Now the bad news! The last few days have been quite horrible for me because I got my rejection letter from University of Toronto Medical School. Bummers :S

I'm a big believer that things happen for a reason, so maybe the universe is telling me something. It's not like I wasn't a competitive applicant. I have great marks, extra curriculars, and I'd like to think a good personality... Maybe the universe has other plans for me or maybe it's just not the right time. At least I'd like to think so...

When one door closes another door opens. Sometimes you don't know which one is better...

Maybe it's the universe's way to tell me that I like science more then medicine. Perhaps that's why I had to apply for MD PhD; I couldn't stand the idea of letting go of research. 

Once again there's even more uncertainty brought into my life. I have no clue how I will pick my lab. At the moment I can either do direct entry PhD at University of Toronto for Laboratory Medicine and Pathology (AKA medical sciences), MSc at University of Toronto for Nutritional Sciences, or go back to McMaster for Biochemistry. I've interviewed a bunch of profs but each lab has something positive to offer.

Source

Really just trying to stay optimistic and I'll keep you guys updated on my future plans ;)

I'm not sure how I never came around this one. I'm quite proud to say that as a teenager I didn't really go through that "oh I hate my body" stage. There was one thing that I've always been ashamed of was being small chested. I actually didn't start wearing a bra until I came to university because I just didn't need one. I guess I have more fat (hopefully in the good places) now then when I was 15 now. My mom is all like "omg, you actually have some boobs now! Thank goodness, you used to be so flat chested!" Gee, thanx mom! Anyways, I prefer having a smaller chest because it's easier when it comes to exercise. It must shake all the time when you run lol! I won't mention skipping rope :P If anything though, there's always Victoria's Secret!

To plan the future, one must know the past

Ok! Triathlon training plan!

Before I start I wanted to give you my background in each of the sports.

Swimming

I grew up beside the Black Sea so I started "swimming" at an early age during which I've had 2 near drowning experiences. 

When I came to Canada, I got free swimming lessons from the government so my parents signed me up. Within 2-3 summers I finished all the levels and did competitive swimming for another 2 summers. I then did all of my lifeguard training and did another season of competitive swimming as part of my school's swim team. I was not exactly a fast swimmer so my time were about 45 sec for front crawl 50m, and about 50 sec for breast stroke 50m (at the age of 16). That's pretty slow but then again I didn't train a lot and I'm horrible at sprints. Then in university I joined my university's synchronized swimming team for two seasons :D 

Swimming something like 2km isn't a big deal for me, but the catch is that I've always been a breast stroker. Now I have to convert more to front crawl because it will beneficial long term as it is a much faster stroke.

Biking

I've done quite a bit of biking when I was younger, but for the sake of commuting. Growing up without a car meant that I got everywhere by bike. Literally, everywhere... 

On that note I've never biked more then 30km in one day and my daily biking distances would be about 10km. When I did bike 30km, I remember my knees hurting like h***. A friend pointed out that it's probably because my seat was too low so my leg was always bent at the knee. I will need to test that out...

Running

I was pretty good at running in gym class so I decided to show up for Cross Country Running team try-outs in grade 12. They told me to run 4km and I ran it non-stop. I couldn't walk the next day but surprisingly I made the team and did a season of running. Within that time I took part of 3x 5km races and the longest I've run was 7km. 

Then I got back into running in February 2012 and have raced a 10km distance in May 2012 and now a half-marathon. I'm quite knew to running and have probably been actively running for 1 year.

So what does this all mean...

Swimming- I need to focus on converting from breast stroke to front crawl. I can breast stroke multiple kilometers but that's not the case for front crawl. Thus, I'll be dedicating 3 workouts for swimming.

1) A full training session devoted to drills along with warm up (150m) and cool down (150m). I'll devote a whole post to the drills I've been doing later.

2) Long distance swims. First I'll start with 2x 500m and bring that up.

3) 100m sprints. Start with a warm up (150m), first start with 4 sprints and then build it up, finish with a cool down (150m)

Biking- I went biking recently and I'm really out of "biking shape". That's what happens when you don't bike for 2 years! Alternatively, it could have just been the crusty bike in the exercise room... For now I'll dedicate 3 workouts for biking which will literally start from 30 min and I'll see how my legs respond.

Running- Still taking it easy from the half. Went for an easy 4km run yesterday but still felt some pain in the shins. I'll do another easy run in the end of the week but for now I'll go easy on the running. Ideally, I'm hoping to do a brick run (5-10km) and a more long run (12-16km). If I'm not exhausted from all the other training I'll add in a speed session. 

Also this will be a great time to make use of the TrainingPeaks workout log program.

Speaking body shapes, I've always thought I didn't fit in with swimming or sports in general. I wasn't broad shouldered and I was just smaller then the ideal female swimmer. In addition, my mom is a classic mesomorph with all her muscle and the ability to dominate me in any form of strength competition. So, I've always been the unathletic weakling in the family. As with running, my mom always tells me but you're not skinny as olympic marathon runners. Well mom, I technically have never run a marathon... I'd probably end up looking like one if I exercised so much! Not sure if that's necessarily health though. One day I was blabbing about triathlons to my mom and showing her pictures, that's when she pointed out that I have the body structure of female triathletes. Not sure exactly what's their body shape is but for some reason it made me feel strong, like I have an athletic bone in me... Finally!

Gasp! Invasion of the exogenous estrogen!

Oh those phytoestrogens, you cause so much controversy!!!

What are you anyways? Well phytoestrogens aka "dietary estrogen" are molecules that have structurally similar to estrogen. This allows for them to bind to the estrogen receptor and hence produce the same response that estrogen would. You can see in the picture below that 17-b-estradiol (estrogen) has that same (cholesterol) ring structure as the phytoestrogens which allows them to have an estrogen-like effects. Now don't worry, phytoestrogens have a mild estrogenic effect... In addition, phytoestrogens can actually have an anti-estrogen effect because they can downregulate estrogen production. Once again phytoestrogens have a mild effect. However, if the exposure to dietary phytoestrogens is very high then there could be a positive or a negative consequence for human health.

Now what are the dietary sources of phytoestrogens?You probably know quite a bit about soy! Soy foods contain isoflavones (type of phytoestrogen) in the quantities of 1.2-3.3mg isoflavones per g of dry weight soy. Apparently in Asia, the average daily intake of isoflavones is 25-40mg while in America it's less than 1 mg. At least that's what the study said :P

What you probably didn't know is that a lot of other foods contain phytoestrogens as well. Lignans are a type of phytoestrogen and are found in flax seeds, sesame seeds, legumes, seaweed, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. However, mainly in flax seeds. 

There're is coumestan which is derived from coumarin or coumestrol. Well this coumestrol is found in soy nuts, mung bean sprouts, white beans, flax seeds, clover sprouts, cabbage and alfalfa. 

Lastly, there's diosgenin that is derived from yams. 

Interestingly, epidemiological studies found that phytoestrogens are protective aggainst postmenopausal symptoms, cardiovascular disease, bone health, breast, prostate, and colon cancers.

There was a lot of talk about soy leading to breast cancer. Now let me explain, some types of breast cancer are estrogen dependent and literally how you treat them is by blocking estrogen. So the logic was, the more estrogen then the more of that type of breast cancer. Well... not quite... The professor I interviewed last week actually found that flax seed extracts combined with current breast cancer therapy or on their own help combat cancer in mice. Cool stuff!

Furthermore, mouse models of chemical induced breast cancer have been used to show that soy proteins containing isoflavones had dose-dependent tumor formation reduction. However, this effect was lost when the mice were given soy proteins without the isoflavones. 

Right now a hot topic for phytoestrogens is to use them for postmenopausal women. The current treatment during postmenopause is hormone replacement therapy (HRP), so literally going on the birth control pill. However, women find that sketchy especially some evidence showing that the birth control pill increases your chance of developing breast cancer. Therefore, using the "natural" phytoestrogens instead of the birth control pill could be a better option for postmenopausal women. 

An issue with lack of menstruation and estrogen is that your bones get weaker as estrogen has a protective effect on bones. It was found that coumestrol from flax seeds can promote bone mineralization and osteoblastic differentiation (osteoblasts are bone forming cells).

A downside of phytoestrogens is that genistein (phytoestrogen metabolite) was found to promotes the process of blood coagulation, meaning that it increases thrombin formation. Thus, maybe it's not that great for those with atherosclerosis as it can lead to heart attacks and strokes. 

What have you heard about soy or phytoestrogens?

Spicy cucumber and black soybean stir fry ;)

Yesterday I've had another interview and this time from a professor from the Nutritional Science Department. YaY! She does research on flaxseeds and other phytoestrogen related foods like sesame seeds and soy beans. There will be a sciency post on that coming up soon. It's very exciting research :D

As for now, I reminisced back to a recipe I first tried when I was 17. It was WEIRD, it was UNIQUE, it was SPICY! Who ever thought of putting cucumbers and black soy beans together, what genius...

So black soy beans! I got them at the bulk section of my nearby Asian grocery store (love these). They have similar nutrition to the regular yellow soy beans and have a similar taste too. Maybe a bit less soy bean-like and more plain bean-like.

Spicy Cucumber and Black Soybean Stir-fry

Adapted from Star Fire, quick and simple recipes Stir-fry

Ingredients (serves 2-4)

*0.5 cups of black soy beans

*1 large English cucumber 

*4 garlic cloves, crushed

*2 tbsp soy sauce

*1 tbsp of parsley

*salt

*chili powder

*oil

 

Directions

*Soak black soy beans overnight

*Cook the black soy beans until edamame like consistency (about 45 min). Make sure to remove the scum that rises to the surface

*Peel the cucumber and cut in half. Rub salt all over and leave for 30 min. Place somewhere where water can drain off

*Remove the excess salt from the cucumbers and pat dry

*Heat up a wok to very high temperature

*Add oil and fry the garlic

*Add in the black soy beans and stir-fry for a minute

*Add in the cucumbers, soy sauce, and chili powder to taste

*Stir-fry for another minute

*Remove from heat and adjust for salt and chili

*Garnish with parsley

Thanx for all the comments about smarts and all. I really don't know what posses my grandma to preach that to me. Now the topic for today are my wrists. I'm really not a fan of people being like "omg, you have such small wrists" and try to wrap their fingers around it. They're just a little over 5 inches and the last time I've bought a watch I had to get it shortened :( My mom sometimes will grab my wrist and wiggle my hand in the air. Really woman!!! She does it as a joke of course, I probably make my family sound horrible lol. You know what there're pro's to having a small wrist. I used to be into beading so making a bracelet for myself meant less work :P Required less beads too :P

BMI- a game of statistics

Now I think back to Z's question for me whether I am good in math. Yes, I liked calculus, algebra, and functions, but couldn't stand statistics. I HATE STATS with passion! I have suffered through my epidemiology and statistics courses in university and that was enough.

One thing that I did take away from statistics is the idea of a normal distribution. Should I say the dreaded bell curve anyone? Many health related things follow the normal distribution where most values lie close to average and more extreme values are less common. Think height, IQ, school grades, race completion times, BMI- these all follow the normal distribution curve.

That's just the truth... Most of us are average and very few lie on the extremes. 

Then comes in the idea of standard deviation which is basically a measure of dispersion of data from the mean. One unit of standard deviation above and below the mean encompasses 68.2% of the data, while two standard deviations encompasses 95%.

When epidemiologists do studies they get a wide array of data but they need to set special cut off points when something is considered normal/abnormal. Hence, they set these confidence intervals which are really quite arbitrary... However, generally confidence intervals take in 95% of the data.

So why is this important?

Oftentimes you find individuals who are overweight or underweight but are still healthy (considering average muscle mass). You know, those naturally fat or skinny people. Well they just didn't fit into the X% of data. 

Statistics is a guessing game and there're errors associated with it. That's why most of the times in statistics you say that this is correlated to this with x percentage confidence level. You can never be 100% confident though :( 

By no means am I saying that being overweight or underweight is healthy for most people, but there're a few individuals that just don't fit into that normal distribution. 

Just something to think about :)

There is something that pisses me off. My family The women in my family keep on telling me not to study too much or "say smart things" especially when it comes to guys. I'm constantly told that men like to feel smarter than "their" women. Like WTF!!! Personally I wouldn't want to date a guy who's dumber then me but someone on my own level. Wouldn't it be the same the other way around! Why do women say all this BS to each other! PS: If you're a guy reading this I'd love to hear your opinion :P

I'm still alive and future steps :D

Thanx for all the congratulatory messages guys :) It really meant a lot :D

After getting a massage from my mom after my half-marathon on Sunday and extensive icing, I woke up feeling better then I expected on Monday. My quads, hamstrings and gluts were sore and I've noticed a bit of bruising at my left knee. However, I survived!!! Lol!

Monday was filled with more icing, a nice walk and some Bikram Yoga. During yoga I took it easy on my legs and didn't push myself as much as I normally would. I did rock the spine series though :P

Today my exercise consisted of a lot of cleaning and going for a nice 40 min swim at my pool. Did some basic flutter kicking, good old front crawl, but I mainly focused on working out my arms. Hence, there was a lot of arms only swimming :D

I've done some research about post-half recovery and most people suggest 1 week of no running. Aaah! Since I was having shin splint issues during the race maybe it is best if I take things easy. My test for shin splints is the Toe Stand Pose and it didn't feel to good last class. I could see how the pose feels over the next few yoga classes and base when I go back to running on that. As for now I'll stick with swimming and add in biking.

I can almost do the pose properly, but I can't balance with my hands at my chest. The pose works like magic to tell you how your shins are feeling ;)

Now next steps... I don't quite feel ready to do a marathon next :S Instead, I'll do the Toronto Scotiabank Half Marathon (that I was supposed to do last year, grr) in October and work on improving my time :D Honestly, I'm 21 so there's no point in rushing things. I'd rather have a solid base before pushing my endurance and getting injuries.

As for right now, I'll carry on with my triathlon plan. I've found a nice Olympic distance training plan (will be posted another time) to keep myself busy with this summer :D Even if I do a Sprint distance I think it's better to be more prepared then under-prepared.\

When I was younger I used to be highly self conscious about my voice. I've had an operation on my lung when I was 1 month old and when I was around 13 my voice got hoarse. My ENT told me that one of my vocal cords is paralyzes and is probably because the surgeons cut my nerve by accident. Bummers! Well I used to get made fun of it before but it managed to get better now. It's nowhere near as hoarse but my vocal cord gets tired out quickly so I lose my voice easily :( Somehow over the years it stopped bugging me as much and the whole experience was a great way for me to learn not to give a **** about the stupid things people said to me.

How do you recover from a half-marathon? Do you have any fitness or life goals for the summer?

Conquering my First Half :)

Dang, it's been dead silent on the blogosphere. Not only did I have to deal with tapering but also not having any posts to read :( I can't blame it, there's been a tonne of races going on and some beautiful weather :D Who'd want to spend these days beside their computer?

Anyways... I ran my first official half-marathon today. YAY!

It all started off with a beautiful morning in Mississauga (greater Toronto area) and perfect weather for some running! Got up around 6:00am, ate my bagel and got ready. Headed over to the start line 7am with my Momsy and made it just on time. There were so many people. Aaah! Somehow I sneaked into the line and just went with it. Off we went...

Yeah :) You can probably tell where I am :) In the light pink shirt and blue pants.

I started off nice and easy but almost right away felt pain in my shins :S I'm not sure what happened because things were ok before the taper. At the moment I'm blaming my walking shoes because I've recently switched them and had some pain last night. Not smart, Nadiya, not smart. The pain wasn't too bad so I just went with it.

After good 4km I passed my Bikram Yoga studio. Time was passing by really fast. Way too fast! Before I knew it we were passing the beautiful Erindale Park and making our way around the University of Toronto Mississauga Campus. Around 6th km I started getting pain in my left knee which was weird because I haven't had knee problems during any of my training runs. Like ever, not even the slightest bit 0.0 I felt like I was heel striking much more and my form was off. A combination of race nerves and wearing shoes? Luckily, my knee pain went away by 10th km :D

Now let me tell you, there were a lot of spectators along the way. There were people with drums and people music and cute little kids giving you high fives. Honestly Mississauga, I couldn't have done it without you :D

Something weird happened around 10th km. My legs just felt like jelly, and heavy, and just very stiff. I had some gatorade at that point and my legs magically felt fine. Was this just in my head?

The next 6kms I was just cruising along. It was getting a little hot because we were directly under the sun and the temperature was probably close to 20C. Then at 16km we turned unto Lakeshore and the breeze from the Lake cooled me off :P

At this point I knew I only had 5kms left so I just kept going. My shin was still hurting and my legs were getting that heavy feeling again. There were a few times where I'd stop and walk for a few seconds. So in my mind I was like "Nadiya, get your a** back to running" and so I did. The second last km was definitely the hardest because you were almost there and you were tired. The last km was ok because there were a lot of people cheering for you including an appearance from one of my friends (Thanx girl! Couldn't do it without you!) Before I could blink I was done my first Half :D It went by sooo fast... way to fast...

Yeah! Medal Time!

Overall, it was a very nice cheery supportive race. There were some issues in the beginning at water stations. Literally had to wait for like 30 seconds to get water at the 6km mark. Overall, I couldn't complain because it was a beautiful course and things went smoothly :)

As for myself, I wasn't too impressed with myself and think I could've done better. I'm not sure why I had the shin pain out of the blue but I'm proud that I raced through. Ok, I'm going to pay for that one tomorrow but it was worth it :P I did not do a negative split but my second half wasn't that much slower then my first. My chip time was 2:08:09.9 which was just a little bit better then average for my gender and age group. I can't stand being average so I was disappointed with myself, yet again this was my first half :) I was aiming for much faster then that but I guess that just means that I have a lot of room for improvement :P

My legs felt so heavy afterwards. I needed an excuse to sit :P

Did you know? + Easy Spring Salad

First off, thanx Z for nominating for the Leibster Award. I've technically already have done it a while back, but because you asked I'll answer your questions :P It's always fun to answer and read them :) I'll put teaser pictures of today's recipe in between too. Uhh sorry this post is a bit long :S

1) Why did you start blogging?

Umm... I wasn't exactly leading a healthy lifestyle before I started my blog. I knew all the nutrition principles but didn't really put them into practice. At the same time I've adopted a lot of the unhealthy habits from my housemates. I was eating a lot of junk food and really just not taking care of myself. Then I found a few healthy living blogs and I thought it was super cool. So I've started a blog to get myself back on track :)

2) How much time do you spend per week on your blog?

I've never actually kept count. It really depends from one week to another. Like if I learn something really cool in school then I don't have much to research for my science posts. Yet, if I know nothing about it then I have to do a lot of background research. Also, with posts sometimes I just get an inspiration and I can write a pretty good one during my bus ride to university. Other times it takes a while. I'm also always trying to learn new things and am currently trying to figure out how Twitter works. So it varies... a lot. 

3) When people ask you "What do you do?" what do you answer, (work/hobby/spiritual)? Why?

I tell them straight up. I'm a health science major hoping to get into the MD/PhD program. Hobby wise I'm a health freak :P

A kohlrabi???

4) What is a food you hate but secretly pretend to like to be cool?

Surprisingly a lot of junk food. Many sweets and cakes are too sweet for my taste but I have them anyways because its rude not to eat cake on someone's birthday. Yeah... I don't like most fast food places.

5) Favorite romantic comedy?

I don't really watch them :S I did like Beauty and the Briefcase though :)

6) Favorite TV soap?

Again I don't really watch soaps much. I watch Grey's Anatomy (what pre-med doesn't), New Girl (sooo funny!), and Game of Thrones at the moment. I did watch Gossip Girl before :P

7) Do you believe in God?

Pssh... why must it always be male? Why not Goddess :P Being in science my religious views are kind of complicated. I believe in a higher power but I don't follow an organized religion.

A Kohlrabi salad?

8) Are you good in math?

Did you really have to ask that haha! Love math :) Used to be part of math club in high school and participated in these contests.

9) Guilty Pleasures?

Ooh :P Turning off all the lights in my room so that my parents think I'm sleeping. Really I'm just watching Game of Thrones (before Gossip Girl) or reading magazines (Cosmo Runner's World) on the computer :P Having the lights off makes me feel like I'm sneaking behind my parents back to do it :P

10) Favorite place to go for vacation?

I've never been to the same place twice but as strange as it sounds I really want to go back to Amsterdam. It's so beautiful :) Madrid is nice too, so is Nice... I liked LA too... and Lucerne... I'll shut up now.

11) Are you practical or emotional?

Generally practical. Most times I do things because I need to get them done but sometimes I go with the moment. 

Now the salad...

Spring Kohlrabi Salad

Ingredients and Directions (serves 3)

• Wash and clean a kohlrabi
• Grate 1/2 of a large or 1 small kohlrabi
• Grate about 200g of white radish
• Add 1/4 cup of raisins, let them soak up in the juices
• Grate 1 apple
• Mix in 3 tbsp of sour creme (I'm sure plain greek yogurt will work)
• Season with salt right before eating or else it'll get way too watery

Enjoy ;)

Lastly...

I've had acne since I was about 15-16. I guess other girls got it much younger and got rid of it while they were younger. I still have it but over the last 2 years it's been disappearing :) In a way I don't regret having it because it was a learning opportunity about skin and different skin products. I'm also proud of myself for not wearing foundation daily to cover it up :)

Do you have any interesting answers to any of those 11 questions?