Leibster Award

I've seen this circulating the interwebs for a while and imagine my surprise when I was nominated not once but twice for a Liebster Award. Shucks folks, I'm super flattered! A huge thanks to Sneakers and Sequins and That's for me to Know for nominating me! Head over and give those ladies some love, they're pretty awesome.

The idea is for smaller bloggers to get some exposure and for people to learn a little more about us. Yes, I am a smaller blogger right now. But you know, I'm pretty happy with the progress of only 2 short months. Next up, world domination. insert evil laugh.

Mkay, first of all, I need to give  random facts about myself, then answer the  questions I was given, then nominate some other people and give them 11 questions to answer.

Here's my 11 random facts:

 - I hate mushy food. That includes pudding, yogurt, mashed potatoes
 - I didn't eat mashed potatoes for the first time until I was a junior in college. Note the previous fact.
 - This isn't a surprise to the people who know me in real life but I'm a proud member of Kappa Delta sorority.
 - I also currently chair the Chapter Advisory board for the KDs at NC State.
 - I have a fish tank and I hate it. I wish the fish would die but they won't. It's going on 6 years now and they just won't die.
 - I love Skittles, they're hands down my favorite candy.
 - After I lost weight, my cravings changed. I don't usually want sweets, instead I want salty, like chips and fries. Especially fries..
 - I have a sensitivity to soy, which is in literally everything. Vegetable oil is made of nothing but soybeans. Hence, fries give me a raging stomach ache. Sometimes it's worth it though.
 - A Grey Goose Cosmo is my absolute favorite beverage of choice. They have to be made with Cointreau
 instead of Triple Sec. Triple Sec is gross.
 - I hate it when they put a fruit garnish in my Cosmo. I don't need your fruit getting in the way of my booze.
 - Several years ago I had a craft blog where I showcased handmade cards. Then I stopped. After I lost weight I couldn't get back into the card making. For some reason I associate with an activity that fat, unhealthy Lara did. When I sit down, that's all I can think of. So I have craft room full of supplies that's currently sitting unused. (Anyone wanna buy some craft supplies?)

A hybrid of the 2 sets of questions I was given:

1 - Why did you start blogging?
Like I mentioned before, this isn't my first blog, or my second. It's the 3rd. My first one I had for a while and it was all craft based. I was in a few challenge groups and after a while it stopped being fun and I stopped blogging. I think 3 years ago I started up again but didn't really have a clear focus and it was really difficult to find my mojo. Ever since then I've been reading running and healthy living blogs and I felt like documenting my progress and life again. The good news is this time I'm not at a loss for words and topics. It's also MUCH easier to link pictures and posts than it was 5 years ago. No more plugging the camera into the PC and adjusting everything. Of course my iphone pictures are awful but you know what? I love my awful pictures (and I know you do too)

2 - Am I the only person who actually likes Nickeback or do you too?
Ahhhhhhhh.... sorry, it's just you. Then again I still like Creed, which is just as bad, if not worse than Nickelback. I even listened "Higher" on my run today. (hangs head in shame)

3 - What's your favorite movie and why? 
ROCKY 4. Why? BECAUSE IT'S AWESOME! A classic 80s cold war tale. Two worlds collide, rival nations... It's a primitive clash, venting years of frustration. There are 4 music videos, like 3 montages, a fight and Stallone. I love it all, so much.

4 - Comfort or style?
I might be in the minority here but I'll always choose style. I'd rather take the extra 5 minutes, do my hair and put on something that matches. It's odd here in Raleigh but people never leave the house looking like a hot mess. Everyone is either dressed nicely or in work out clothes, all the time. You'll never see someone in a ratty t-shirt and pajama pants out in public.

5 - If you could time travel to any time period, what would it be?
That's a tough one. There are so many times I'd love to see, but just for a little bit. I'm not a fan of all the disease and dirt of the past. So I think I agree with Kev, I'd like to go to the future. I want to see how everything turns out and hope we haven't messed things up irrevocably.

6 - What decade do you really think you should have been raised in? Explanations are necessary. 
I think I'm actually pretty close, I think I would have been a kid in the 70s and in my early 20s in the 80s. I love all of the big hair, music and excess. Love it. Even though I was just a kid, I thought all was awesome.

7 - Of all the places you've traveled, what's your favorite?
NYC. I love NYC. There's so much to see and do and eat and the personalities. There are parts of the North I definitely miss and the big personalities are one of them.

8 - What's your favorite accessory?
How can it not be my engagement ring and wedding band? It's blingy and fantastic. I gotta tell you though, neither Kevin or I are people who wear their rings 24/7. Why? Because too many years working in the jewelry industry. Most rings aren't meant to be worn all the time and never cleaned or serviced. I wear them when I leave the house and only rarely while excising. The rest of the time they're off. I've seen too many people lose stones and ruin their jewelry from wearing it every day.

9 - What season do you enjoy most?
I'm with the 95% of people who love fall. There's always something exciting about the start of football, the new school season, cooler weather, jackets, boots and scarves. I just want it to be 80 degrees so I can run outside again.

10 - What's one of your favorite quotes?
"I will no longer toil in obscurity" - Kevin Badanes. Kev pulled that one out the other day and I nearly lost it. It's fantastic. I'm going to make it into some sort of wall hanging.

11 - Do you have any blogging advice?
Find your niche. If you don't have a focus it will be really difficult to find a community. And keep it up. Even if you think no one reads your blog, someone does. Just keep going because you never know who you might be impacting!

My questions:
1. If you were 18 and in college again, and know what you know now, what would you major in?
2. Which football team are you cheering on this fall?
3. What's you favorite beverage?
4. Dogs or cats? Why?
5. What's your guilty pleasure? Don't sugar coat it, do you love your Real Housewives?
6. What's your favorite music era?
7. If you had 0 obstacles, would you ever run a full marathon? If everything about your body was capable of running 26.2 miles, would you do it? Why or why not?
8. Favorite childhood cartoon?
9. Perms, did you ever have one?
10. Coffee or tea? What do you put in it?
11. What makes you laugh? Are you more mainstream or do naughty things make you want to pee your pants?

Alright, I reached out to the nominees and I'll update as they accept.

Happy Monday everyone!

Linking up with

Spotlight Sunday - T25

Happy Sunday everyone! I know I've mentioned a few times my frustration with my current gym situation. The only classes offered when I can make it there are spin, which I have been attending more often but, there's only so much of it I can take. I can't go to spin 5 days a week, 1 because I would lose my mind and 2, spin class is what aggravated my sciatic joint in the first place and kept me from running almost all of last year. My gym also replaced all of the 6pm classes with either Boot Camp or Insanity, which is nice but it's either $100 for 6 weeks or $49 a month forever. No.

After auditioning a multitude of gyms in the area, I decided to take it old school and go back to ye olde DVD player.  After a lot of research, I decided to go with the T-25 series. I'm planning on incorporating it with my other work-outs and really, who can't find 25 minutes out of their day?

There are 11 DVDs that you work through over the course of 10 weeks. You start with the Alpha cycle for the first 25 days, then switch over to Beta which incorporates resistance bands.

Saturday morning, Kev hooked up the DVD player to the upstairs TV and I broke out the first disk, Cardio. Initial impression? It was MUCH more intense than I expected. I consider myself to be in pretty decent cardio shape and this definitely had me huffing and puffing. Kev was sitting at the computer watching me and couldn't believe that I didn't stop once. 

The results?

I was pleasantly surprised! I generally burn 100ish calories per 10 minutes of hard exercise and this was a little more which was nice.

Workout # 1 completed and in the books! I'm going to start "officially" on Monday. So, who wants to join me? There's a new challenge group starting on August 18th, which is a perfect way to get you on track and lose a few pesky pounds before the holidays start. Best part, you'll have an amazing community who's there to support you throughout the journey. Message me for more details!

WHAT??? I'm a Featured Runner??

Hey all! I can't believe it but I'm today's featured runner over at Love For Running! I barely think of myself as a runner, let alone one that would be featured somewhere.

A HUGE thanks to Erin for featuring me! Please head on over and check it out!!

Random pix of me and Cleo before the Monster Dash. I ran, she sulked in her costume.

Wednesday Hop and Confessions

Wednesday already??? OMG, the week is flying by. It's really concerning because I have a new hire starting Monday and literally have nothing ready for her. I mean she has a desk and a chair, so that's a plus. I'll throw a pen at her and she should be good to go. :)

Well, It's tine for 2 of my favorite hops! Shoot on over to say heeeeeyyyy to Fitness Blondie and Vodka and Soda

 

 

I really love the Wednesday confessions so I'm gonna roll with it. I thought I would run out of things to confess, but apparently not. I keep a little list on my phone as I think of things. The list is long....

 

 

1. My dog doesn't like you. I think this is my PSA to the world. Not all dogs like everyone. It's not an innate dog trait that they come up to you for love and affection. If you're new, don't run up and pet my dog. Now, once she knows you, and sees you aren't trying to kill us, she loves you. Cleo also doesn't like men, she just doesn't. We got her from the SPCA when she was 7 months old and have had her for 2 years. I don't know what happened before she came to she shelter but it's apparently stuck with her.

Please, when you meet a new dog, don't run up and try to pet them. And please don't let your kids run up to dogs they haven't met before.



 

She's really cute though,
 

2. Well, that was a downer... OK, on to something a little more lighthearted. This weekend we went to a beer, bourbon and BBQ festival. There I learned that I'm not really a fan of Bourbon. It's OK, but I wasn't in love. But you know what I did love? MOONSHINE. Is it any surprise that this former WV gal loved her moonshine? Not really.

 

I thought it would be like the grain alcohol of days gone by, but it wasn't. It was so, so good.The Sugarlands Butterscotch Moonshine was AMAZING. I had many, many samples. Now I have to go to the ABC store and harass them to carry it.

3. I'm a sweaty gal at the gym. In real live I'm not one of those people who are constantly mopping themselves off or looking for a fan. I'm actually pretty cold most of the time. People around me are sweating like crazy and I'm perfectly happy. Now, at the gym, all that changes. I sweat, a lot. I always have a headband because without it I'm constantly wiping sweat from my eyes. I just don't understand the people who can walk out of a 60 minute spin class completely dry.

 

This one from lululemon is my absolute favorite and I also live these Biondi Bands. I have an enormous head and these ones don't squeeze my brain and they're super wicking.

4. I'm terrible with my right and my left. If you ask me which way to turn, I have to look at my hands and think about it. I always have. You'd think I'd get it right 50% of the time but I don't. It's more like 15%. I'm sure this is a sign of genius.

Or, Milk hand and cookie hand. 

 

5. I won't remember your name. I'm TERRIBLE with names, just awful. When I was a trainer, I would have people in class for 4 weeks, 4 WEEKS, every single day. They'd leave for a week, come back and I'd forgotten their names. I've seen like 4 people here at my new job that I KNOW I worked with at Wachovia. Heck, at least 2 of them reported to me and I can't for the life of me remember their names. Thankfully I was fat back then and I look different enough now that they wouldn't recognize me. This is also why I accept any and all LinkedIn requests. I figure you probably know me even if I don't know you. As long as your profile pix isn't a big penis, we can be buds.

 

 

 

 

That's all for me! Have a great Wednesday!

 

What do you have to confess?

 

Ever Had Moonshine? What'd you think?

 

 



Monday Awesomeness

Happy Monday!

It's the first of the month and that means it's time for the Secret Blogger Club! Thanks to The Blonder Side and Welcome to the Nuthouse for hosting! Don't forget to say hi to Kendall for co-hosting too!

This month's topic is "What makes you awesome?" This is actually a tough one for me. Not because I don't think I'm awesome. I think I'm pretty flipping amazing. I just need to figure out a way to type it up without it sounding bad. LOL, I might not be starting on the right foot here.

I was thinking about some traits that makes me, and other awesome people, pretty darn fantastic and this is what I came up with.

Don't take any passive aggressive BS. There's nothing I hate more than passive aggressive people. I'm a confronter. If I think there's a problem, I'm going to ask why. It's not going to be in an aggressive way but sniping behind each other's backs isn't any way to live. If after we talk it out you still don't like me or want to be friends, that's cool. Don't get me wrong, I can have my own bouts of passive aggressive behavior but it usually passes in a few days. Anything that lingers longer than that, I'll confront. Just say no!

Believe in yourself! I firmly believe that with the right information, I can solve any problem. I'm not going to find a cure for cancer or perform brain surgery but if there's an obstacle, I truly believe it can be solved. If I can't, it just means I haven't figured out a way. I think sometimes people can get really comfortable and small issues bloom into insurmountable problems. Stop it and change your way of thinking!

You're responsible for your own destiny. Stop waiting for things to happen and MAKE THEM HAPPEN. The status quo is easy. It's easy to be fat. Yes, easy. It's easy to eat whatever you want and spend more time on the couch than up and moving. You know what's hard? Finding the time to fit in a workout when everything else is vying for your attention. It's hard to be "that person" who won't eat what's being served because it isn't on you meal plan. You have exactly one live to live. Live it in a body that will let you experience life to the fullest.

Love yourself and love others. Don't hold grudges, it isn't worth it. Kev likes to say that I'm an anti-girl because I never remember fights. I'm not the person who'll bring up some dumb issue from 12 years ago. First of all, I've already forgotten about it and it's just not important. Do yourself a favor, reach out to someone who you've had an issue with. Even of they don't respond, tell them that you're thinking of them and the past is in the past.

Except Guy Fieri. I'm holding what might now be a 4 year grudge against him. We were in Atlantic City and stopped at White House Subs, which are famous and amazing. The wait is always long and that's fine. But Guy Fieri and his entourage were in there and people were losing their minds. It took almost 45 minutes to get our subs and after we left town, discovered they were wrong. That's not like them at all and I blame Guy. I was waiting all trip for that sub and the Guy Fieri distraction made it bad. If you can't tell, I take my food very seriously. While we were there, JJ Walker came in as well and no one cared. His sub was probably wrong too.

Words to live by Guy, words to live by.

What makes you awesome?

Guy Fieri, keep up the grudge or let it go?

Sunday Spotlight - The Best Protein Powder

Happy Sunday!

I know I missed last week's Spotlight Sunday. Sorry about that. That's what happens when you put off cleaning for company until the very last minute. But hey, it was clean!

Today's spotlight is on my very most favorite protein powder, Plant Fusion. Plant Fusion has no idea that I exist, I don't get anything for this but it's just too good not to share.

I have tried a lot, seriously, over 25 different kinds of protein powder and I've haven't found one that I like nearly as much as Plant Fusion. I want a protein powder that has at least 20 grams of protein, isn't full of junk, no HFCS, no soy, mixes well and can be used in baking. Yes, I have a lot of requirements and Plant Fusion meets all of these.

The nutritional stats are pretty good too. Being that it's plant based, the protein comes from peas, artichokes and non-GMO quinoa and amaranth. I am by no means a vegetarian or trying to eat a plant based diet, this just happens to be and it's delicious. On a side note, I saw a beef based protein powder at the store and it really freaked me out. Ewwww.... powdered beef.

One of my favorite things about this powder is that it bakes really well. Protein muffins, pancakes, you name it. The vanilla can be used in just about everything.

I made this Banana Protein Muffin recipe a few weeks ago using Plant Fusion and it was fantastic. Only 66 calories per muffin and 6 grams of protein apiece. I ate these for breakfast with a tablespoon of peanut butter smeared between the two. It kept me full for quite a while which is always a plus in my book. 

I'd share a picture but I ate them all. 

I get my Plant Fusion at Vitamin World but I'm sure you can order it on-line. If you're looking for a new protein powder, definitely check out Plant Fusion!

Mid-Week Beach Trip

I'll be honest, my workouts haven't been the greatest lately. I've still been maintaining 3 times a week but I'm usually at 4 or 5. I don't think it's lack of motivation, I'm just bored with my options. I really want to run and by the time I get finished at work it's humid and nasty. Thankfully we only have a few more weeks of this weather. Which is good because I'm  eyeing a fall half marathon. I'm thinking of doing City of Oaks. Mainly because it's in November and my long runs won't be awful. And EVERYONE around here has shirts from racing it. All that training should hopefully put me in a good place to finally break my 5k PR. There are 2 fall 5ks that I love, the Monster Dash and Jingle Bell Run. Two years ago I PR'd at one and then the other a few weeks later. 30:13, so damn close to breaking sub 30. This is the year.

So, this week, we took a mid-week side trip to the beach. My sister in law and her family were down here for a visit and we took a side trip to the beach.This week had been a little crazy so I wanted to get up early and get in a beach run. Why? Backus the beach FLAT. Gloriously flat.

 I ran to the pancake restaurant where I met Kev. We had breakfast while everyone slept. :) I seriously love running somewhere and not having to run back. I'm sure it's all mental but there's something awesome about getting there and being done.

Then this happened.

Britt's Donuts, on the boardwalk at Carolina Beach. Go there and eat them. Thank me later. 

After breakfast and donuts it was time for the beach!

Ah glorious sun and sand. I have a confession. I don't care about being in the ocean. I really don't like being wet. I might stick my toes in the water but I don't  need to be in it. I think the ocean is a giant toilet. Just full of fish and people peeing in it. 

After a few hours it was time to pack up the house. Before we headed back to Raleigh, we stopped at the NC Aquarium. All I wanted this summer was to see a dang octopus. The invertebrate room was closed in DC due to lack of funds (which sucks). I figured at an actual aquarium I could see a one, right????? Nope.

We saw some really cool jelly fish.

These ones were my favorites. All the little jellyfish cruising through the tank. awesome. At least I finally saw some sort of invertebrate.

I also loved this stoned looking fish.

I think he just wants some Cheetos.

And like that, the day was over and we were heading back to Raleigh. It was a great way to break up the week, we should do that more often.

Octopus, yay or nae?

Ever run at the beach?