Yup, food repeats. They’ve been happening a lot up in here for the latter half of this week since returning from Little Rock (where wine was on repeat, above all else, hah). And it’s not because I don’t have plenty of food options to choose from,  I’ve just been gravitating towards certain foods this week. I think it’s mainly because I’m back on the traveling bandwagon next week for work so I’m trying like hell to fit in as many of my favorite healthy foods as possible before I’m back in un-routine mode again.

So what types of food repeats are going on over here? Well, why don’t I show you? ;-P

Coffee — homemade and lots of it. (working from home has saved me a bundle due to lack of Starbucks runs! I now reserve those for “venti Friday” for the most part, hehe).  This pic is actually from the cute little diner we found in the Baltimore airport en route to Little Rock last Saturday. I couldn’t help myself – there is just *something* about diner coffee (it’s gotta be the mugs!) that does it for me…

Flatout wraps filled with yummy goodness. My body must be craving iron because I’ve been stealing the deli roast beef from Scott’s stash for my own sandwiches this week. With a laughing cow herb-flavored cheese, lots of baby romaine and a side of fresh-cut cantaloupe, strawberries and blackberries. In a word: drool.

Bananas. Perfectly ripe. Bright yellow with a hint of green at the stem. Perfect. On their own. Paired with peanut butter (shocker). Or sliced into my oatmeal. <3

Other items in heavy rotation? Salads at dinner. I eat one with every dinner for the most part, come to think of it. And Chobani – with some chia seeds on top to keep me full. Annnnd oatmeal, obviously. That’s a daily occurrence around here – I even got to enjoy Heather‘s version of oatmeal while in Little Rock, twas lovely.

Even though I love variety in the foods that I eat, there’s also something to be said for certain food repeats, the good ‘ol standbys, if you will. Can be so very comforting and nourishing all at once. Exactly why I’ll miss it SO MUCH next week while in Cali for work. At least we all know by now that I come prepared for situations such as this – got my plain instant oatmeal, mini-packs of peanut butter, protein bars for in-a-pinch quick meals, and apples, all practically packed already in my carry-on, why yes, indeed!

…but I digress…((un-routine)) right??

Happy foodie friday friends – eat up! ;-P

I could not quiet my mind.

There were a ton of reasons for all that chatter going on in my head, but mostly — my mind kept going back to those dreams of mine I’ve been chasing. My mind was gravitating towards fear. Not exactly an emotion you’d typically equate with dream catching, right?

And then it dawned on me (with a little help from the hubs – he gives the best ‘tough love’ pep talks, I swear): why let fear hold me back from reaching my true potential? Why is my immediate reaction to get scared and want to step back, far away from my dreams instead of racing towards them?

…because chasing dreams is hard. It goes back to getting outside comfort zones, getting way outside of your cozy little life and putting yourself out there. Like really out there.

But then, isn’t that what dreams are made of? Your dreams are little bits and pieces of all the things you’ve always hoped your life could be and making them a reality. Your reality.

So rather than fear that new reality, why not embrace it with joy and excitement and enthusiasm? Versus letting fear steal away the joy that chasing and catching a dream should be all about?

Afterall…not many people get the chance to make their dreams a reality. If ever.

So this is me – banishing fear in favor of joy and making those dreams of mine a reality. My reality.

*****This post brought to you by one of the most mind-quieting runs I’ve ever had. Seven solid miles. 40 degree temps at 7am in February in Boston. My favorite running partner by my side. The cool air rushing past my face. My mind quieting with every step I took. An incredibly quiet, but amazing runner’s high. One my mind needed even more than my body.*****

Because let’s be honest – the first thing you’d think of when envisioning an entire weekend together as bloggers is lots of blogging, tweeting, facebooking, etc. Uber-connectivity, to say the least.

But that was not what this weekend was about. Instead, it was about re-connecting, being present…jamming as much fun into four days as possible.

While Heather did a much better job detailing our weekend in her weekend recap post (which I LOVED reading when I landed last night in Boston!), I’m here to share sights and sounds (yes, sounds!) from our weekend in Little Rock.

Sights and sounds – Little Rock blogger meet-up style:

…there was laughter, most often shared over a glass (or two, or three, or, er…) of wine.

(Zin Wine Bar – in a word: awesome)

(post-shoe shopping glass ‘o wine – genius idea, really)

…there were lots of new experiences, including a visit to the horse track where Scott made out like a bandit and where I finally got to meet Heather’s sis, Sarah (who is awesome btw); and new foods to try like Heather’s enchiladas (Scott loved them which is huge for my meat-loving husband!). But oops, no pics of our dinner – see? We weren’t true bloggers this weekend, snapping food pics left and right. I wasn’t kidding – disconnecting all over the place!

(wine in a plastic cup – keeping it classy!)

…there was sight-seeing thanks to Heather’s husband who made a fabulous tour guide. My favorite was seeing the Two Rivers and Big Dam bridges as well as the River Market, two areas that Heather likes to go running. It was so cool to see where she spends lots of time!

….there were lots of puppy snuggles with Maddie and Heath, seriously the cutest dogs ever. We won them over pretty quickly, especially Heath – who loves to give hugs and I *love* to receive them!

…and there was one very bloggy thing to do — our first-ever vlog. Done together since it scared the sh*t out of us intimidated us to do solo and it was done over wine since well, wine makes everything better, no? This was our attempt at a blogger PSA – if you haven’t seen it yet, I’d urge you to give it a quick viewing, but more importantly – I’d urge you to attempt a weekend like this. Of disconnecting, staying present, and truly re-connecting.

I could go on and on and ON about this weekend – it was that much fun. But most of all? It gave us all a much-needed break from routine, from our own little realities, giving us a chance to experience life together in a new way which I totally dig.

And might I add? Heather and Jason are phenomenal hosts! The bar is set awfully high for their visit up here at some point this summer. My wheels are already spinning like crazy — there’s so much I want to show them, they may as well come up for an entire month.

Oh! And she just started blogging as she prepares for her final year of acupuncture school – she’s going to be an incredible acupuncturist one day soon, this much I know. So give her a little love today, will ya? She’s blogging for me here while I’m off hanging with the super-fab Heather in Little Rock. Thank you, Steph!! <3

**********

Finding your healthy (happy) place

I absolutely LOVE living a healthy life.

This is something fairly new for me. For the last 8 years I have been striving for a healthy life. Working out most days, eating well during the week, then too much on the weekends. I thought I was doing everything right, I mean how could I work out so much, be careful about what I ate most days and not look the way I wanted?? It made me so frustrated. I would see people who NEVER worked out, always went out to dinner, or ate what they wanted, and granted they were more overweight than I was at the time, but they didn’t seem to be gaining any weight. So why was I doing so much work just to stay the same??

It went on like this for a while…then I found my happy (healthy) place.

With the help of Jessica and Jolene of course!

Over May, June and July of last year, I learned all about their barre n9ne challenge. At first I couldn’t figure out why they were so obsessed with this place. What could be so great about it??

…then I took my first class.

Bliss.

I loved the format of the class, the people in the class, the instructors, the music, the intensity….everything.

I signed up for the 60-day Challenge and started on August 1^st and never stopped.

I lost weight and inches, but even more than that? I gained so much confidence, a love for my body and I finally found my own happy, healthy place. And for that I will be forever grateful.

Barre n9ne has become such a wonderful place for some major “me” time. Of course I love the barre dates I share with Jess and Jo, but for the hour or two that I am there, it’s really all about me. I’ve worked towards that mind-body connection that barre n9ne is built on – it’s about really being able to focus on which muscle I am squeezing (which is harder than it sounds). Finally connecting to my body.

And now, I look at myself in the mirror — I mean really look at my whole body — and am completely amazed at how much I LOVE it. It’s not perfect, nor will it ever be, but it’s strong, it’s healthy, it’s beautiful, and it’s mine.

Barre n9ne is my happy place, but it’s really so much more than that.

My real happy (healthy) place isn’t really a place, but this lifestyle I have made my own. This healthy lifestyle that I love so much — it doesn’t feel like work, it just feels like me.

A happy, healthy me.

And you know what the best thing is?
…anyone can do this! You don’t have to go to barre n9ne. You don’t have to be a runner or a biker. You just have to find what you love! You have to find your own happy (healthy) place. Find a healthy lifestyle that works for you, that you enjoy. That you are downright passionate about.

When people tell me they hate working out, or they can’t do it, I tell them to try something new. Maybe it’s walking and chatting with a friend a few times a week, or trying a new class. Because once you find what makes you happy it will make you healthy too!

It’s so important to get into a habit of being active, and continually working to become stronger and healthier. Adopting an active lifestyle that you look forward to instead of dread makes all the difference. If you hate going to the gym and are just waiting for your workout to be over, instead of enjoying and connecting, is it really even worth it?

If someone tells me they can’t diet because they love to eat, I urge them to try a food log. It’s worked wonders for me, taking responsibility for what I put in mouth, without losing my love for food. Without feeling restricted – like I can’t have certain foods that I love. With the food log, I can have ice cream if I want (I <3 ice cream). Of course, there are days when it’s frustrating to log but those days are few and far between and honestly, it's not meant to be perfect, just like we aren't meant to be perfect all the time. But the food log works for me, it takes away the stress of dieting and the wondering if I'm eating the right amounts of food for what my body needs. It really is an amazing tool for me.

Bottom line: Find your own happy (healthy) place. And embrace it.

…my happy (healthy) place is enjoying classes at barre n9ne, running, using my food log to keep myself in check while learning what my body really needs.

…my happy place is zipping up a pair of size 0 pants and not believing that I was a size 6 just months ago.

…it’s loving what I see in the mirror, and honestly appreciating and loving the strength and beauty (and hotness!) of my own body. Finally.

…it’s knowing that I’m doing good for me. Yes, me. And knowing that this is a lifestyle I will keep because it’s not a diet, it’s not me trying to lose weight, it’s me living. It’s me.

Find a healthy lifestyle that makes you happy and rock it. Find your happy (healthy) place. Find yourself.

When my sis asked me to guest post for her while she’s away, my mind was actually pretty blank, to be honest. But today, it hit me. As I stood at mile 11, waiting for our fabulous bloggy friend Samantha to pass us (meeting up with Meaghan, who is supremely awesome!) as she ran the Hampton Half Marathon, it hit me. As I saw the runners whizzing past, at all paces, and seeing some faces scrunched up in struggle, while others had their eye on the prize, I just saw something in their faces: they were running for themselves…above all else, they were running for them, and nobody else. Sure, some were intent on finishing first, or PRing or breaking an old PR, but the common thread was that it was for them. The run. 

And that is something I have very much struggled with over the last year. Why I run. For awhile, I lost sight of that, and ran because I thought I should. And trained for two half marathons because I thought I should, because my sister and my friend Steph were running them, but after a second half marathon that just didn’t go nearly as planned, I knew I needed to throw that book out the window and start clean.

Thus, I proclaimed that I love to run, but I do not love to race. And born from that was my 6-month run challenge (read up on it here) that I built for myself to sustain some distance during the cold winter months (complete with challenging myself to run outside in the cold, something I’d never really done in seasons past) and to maybe even build up my pace a bit from my usual 10mm that I can’t seem to break.

What I didn’t expect to gain from this challenge, now, 3 months in, was this: it has helped me re-inspire and re-capture why I run and more importantly, why I like to run. I’m conquering the breathing problems that have plagued me, I am gaining some speed, I am running consistently, and I have even embraced my aforementioned abhorrence for intervals.

And in the process? I’ve learned to love running again and to ultimately run for me, and only me. In this bloggy world filled with runners of all varieties, it’s so easy for me to get caught up in what everyone else is doing…but for the first time in a long time, I’m really just focused on what I am doing, and nothing else. The way it should be.

And that, my friends, is how I’ve taught myself to run…for me. 

For anyone out there that is struggling with this very thing – running for you and not letting anything else affect that…take it from me, it can be done. I am proof and I am thrilled with how far I’ve come, moreso mentally even, than physically.

So, take that gamble, get your head in the game and figure out why you run, and then just go for it. You’ll probably surprise yourself with what you’re actually capable of when you’re focusing on just you, just running.

Sooooo – about Foodie Friday today. Let’s just say this girl found herself just a wee bit distracted by a pretty big event coming up this weekend and did NOT get her post together on her *other* favorite topic (other than sweat!) — food.

What could that “big event” possibly be?

Welllllll — as I mentioned to you at the start of the month, this month includes a fair bit of travel. Some for work. Some for pleasure.

The fun trip? I am FINALLY going to visit my blog bestie Heather who I have not seen in almost two years. She is a kindred spirit – I swear we share a brain 99.9999% of the time. We leave on Saturday (at the wee early hour of 6:30 am at an airport that’s almost an hour from us, great planning on my part *yawn*) — which means last night was all about packing for the trip.

…now a word about packing. It gives me GREAT anxiety. As in it keeps me awake at night. Literally. Let me give you a case in point. This is my brain whilst in packing mode, while laying in bed the other night trying, very unsuccessfully, to fall asleep:

…I can’t forget to bring a hoodie to wear to that spin class Heather wants to go to on Monday.

…oh! speaking of workouts, I better not wear that new pair of Victoria’s Secret knockout crops to the studio tomorrow. I want to wear them to that spinning class.

…I think I’ll bring that cardigan and tank that I wore on Christmas Eve. I haven’t worn that in awhile.

…or maybe I’ll bring that black and white polka-dot top I wore the day after Christmas instead. I’ve only worn that one once and I love that top.

…crap. Shoes. I need options. Hm.

…hm, what about jeans. I’ll wear skinnies and boots on the flight, easier to wear vs. packing, but what do I want to wear home. Jeans? An old pair of lulu pants I used to wear when I taught Kick? Ohh, my I Heart Sweat shirt would be great on the plane, I won’t get hot.

…repeat this little monologue for no less than an hour, and you’d be in my brain the other night.

So what’s a needlessly anxiety-ridden girl to do when faced with packing for a wicked fun trip? Well — she does what any rationale human being would do. She drinks a glass of wine *while* packing.

It’s genius, really.

My husband was all about that idea — he’ll do anything to get me to chill the f*ck out relax when it comes to picking out outfits and packing them for a trip. So we happily cheers’d before the packing commenced.

And honestly (surprisingly)? It wasn’t nearly as bad as I envisioned. I think it’s probably because I had spent so much time packing and re-packing in my head that when it came to actually DOING it? I was ready to go. Or maybe the glass of wine did the trick.

Either way — we’re packed and ready to GO, as you can see from Exhibit A:

So after tonight’s barre n9ne teacher training practice run, I’ll be forcing myself to bed as early as I can so that 3:45am wake-up call stings slightly less. Expect some updates from me (and Heather) at some point during this trip.  Lots of tweets. And maybe a vlog. Yup, I said it, a vlog. <—Heather, now we’re on the hook, it’s in writing!

Happy weekend friends!! And Heather – SEE you soon!!! Wheee!!!

…pushing past boundaries. Boundaries you’ve set. Maybe without realizing it. Or maybe you have. Or maybe those boundaries were set by someone or something else. And you push past. That is strength.

…choosing to challenge yourself. With intention. And purpose. Not going halfway and stopping. But taking it all the way. Not just completing a challenge, but crushing it. That is strength.

…embracing discomfort. Stepping way outside of your safe little world and into a world of unknowns. And charging forward. With courage. Even if that means ‘faking it until you make it.’ Because getting uncomfortable enacts change, evolutions. That is strength.

…Dream. Dream. Dream. And then turn those dreams into your reality. That is strength. 

Strength is…

<Editor’s Note: This post came to me after a really solid day at my new job, where I found myself stepping outside of my world and embracing the discomfort. And it was followed by a particularly intention-filled barre n9ne class. Where I felt focused. Sure of myself. And most of all? I felt strong.

…I must say, this ‘year of no limits’ is off to a damn good start. Rock. On. >

But rather than talk about why I (love to) run – which I’ve covered a couple of times already here and there (though I feel like I could answer that question differently any day of the week!), I thought I’d take a slightly different slant.

Why I love to run – the winter and summer edition.
(mainly because, up until this winter, I used to despise winter running. And now I don’t (so much). But I digress. Let’s carry on, shall we?)

Winter:

It’s freezing.
…which makes you run faster. As in holy-hell-there-must-be-crazy-angry-polar-bears-chasing-me fast. <—this was how Sunday's run went, thanks to 15 degree temps and mad wind.

…being freezing means two things.
1 – you’re alive and ought to be pretty darn excited about that fact.
2 – you get to pick out wicked cute (and warm) running tights, running hoodies, headbands, etc. And lust after a few items over at Lululemon, wistfully hoping for them to magically appear on the “we made too much” section. Like this:

(I WANT.)

And, winter running means be-friending the dreadmill which for me translates into interval training and hill work. Both equally puketastic. Both equally needed if I want to kill my half marathon in May…and to set me up nicely for Chicago Marathon training which begins in June (um, puke…that’s coming up pretty quick…)

Summer:

You sweat. A LOT. I dig that.
(recycled post-rundate pic from this summer)

You get to run much, much earlier in the AM and outside, not on the treadmill. Which means – birds chirping, bunny sightings, warm summer air and ridiculous runner’s highs. I have such fond memories of summertime rundates with my running buddies Steph and Jo, and many long rundates with Scott. Come to think of it, summertime is actually where most of my half marathon training has taken place, to date. So I guess you can say I’m a big-time summer runner, high heat and muggies, be damned.

…which from what I hear is a good thing given the weather for the Chicago Marathon can be fairly unpredictable (but usually pretty warm). <–so choosing this as my first full marathon was a wicked smaht move, who knew?!

And – it takes far less time to “gear up” for a summertime run than a wintertime run. Don’t get me wrong, I dig all the cute winter running gear I’ve accumulated (or lusted after) this season, but nothing compares to running in nothing but Lululemon run shorts and a tank top.

(after the YuKanRun half marathon with Isabel – she’s so little here!)

…which reminds me of a little goal or “bet” that Jo, Steph and I have. That this summer will be the summer we will throw caution to the wind and run in just shorts and a sports bra. Something none of us has ever been brave enough to do (in public) before. Eek. We promised we’d make it happen this year, that we’d let go of insecurity and own that run. Call it a running bucket list item if you want, but dammit – we’re making it happen this year. Right, ladies??

So, this post turned into a bit of a rambly mess, I hope you don’t mind. Sometimes my mind wanders all over the place when I’m blogging, especially when it comes to running. It’s on my mind a LOT lately. That and barre n9ne, barre n9ne, barre n9ne. Not much room in my brain these days for much else.

…which I don’t consider a bad thing. Not. At. All.

Rather than simply relay how this spectacle went down on Saturday morning, I figured I’d get my husband’s take on the whole experience. I’ll say this — I’m pretty sure I’ve gained a whole new level of respect from him as a result. That – and it was pretty frickin’ funny seeing him struggle through the upper body work with those teeny tiny 3 lb hand weights (4 lbs for him)!

So here we go – boy at the barre (n9ne), he said/she said style:

He said: Little nervous, not gonna lie. A little intimidated by the 4 lb weights, who would’ve thought. But let’s get this party started. I’m a Sutera, I never turn down a challenge.

She said: It was SO weird seeing a bunch of boys in the studio, all refusing to take their socks off, so as not to appear anything less than the macho guys that they were trying so hard to be. (kinda hard to do in a studio, but they pulled it off, kinda…)

He said: How many times are we gonna lift these stupid weights over our head? Seriously? Can we put them down yet? Ok, this burns, I’m not kidding. She keeps counting to “8.” How many “8′s” are we gonna do??

She said: This was the part of the workout that I knew the boys would be most surprised by. So of course, I had to go balls-out during the upper body work, I couldn’t let them know that even after 8 months of these workouts, that upper body work still kills me, too! It was hard to focus though, I kept giggling at Scott as he’d scrunch his face up in pain, trying so hard not to drop those weights.

He said: Triceps. I got this. Ok, maybe not. Tricep dips – where’s my bench?? On the floor, you want my hips up where? And I’m supposed to lean back into my triceps and *then* bend my elbows? Um hi, I can’t move.  All that’s moving is my butt, why aren’t my elbows bending?? I look over at Jess – she’s rocking killer form over there. What the hell! Yup, gotta work on this one at home (I said this out loud, Tanya LOL’d at me)

She said: This might’ve been my proudest moment ever in the studio. Scott legit looked over at me and said “Holy crap, good form babe!” which made me crack up and got me to look at his form – or attempt at form – still not really sure what he was working there but it definitely wasn’t his triceps. mwahahaha

He said: At the barre. Oh boy. Make a piece of my pie with your feet. What?? They kept coming around to get me to tuck my hips all the while laughing at me because my legs were trembling in agony. Screw the tuck! My legs are on fire over here! Holy sh*t – now you want me to put a ball between my legs and then keep going, and then figure out this tuck thing, with my feet in a pie. This isn’t working. I mean it is, my legs won’t stop trembling, but really – a blue ball??

She said: Scott made me pretty proud here. He never gave up at that barre. Even if he couldn’t tuck his butt to save his life, he at least kept moving, kept trembling, never dropped. High five, babe!

(so much to say about this pic – mostly the look on M’s face (in the middle with the gray shirt on) – that would be Jo‘s bf if you were wondering. And Scott over in the corner ready to take a knee. tee hee…That and just the sheer sight of a bunch of boys at the barre!! <3)

He said: Thigh dancing. Forget it. I couldn’t even feel my legs, they sure as hell weren’t “dancing” after all that stuff at the barre.

She said: I don’t think Scott knows he has hips. He couldn’t move them. At. All. Like really couldn’t. So he ended up watching me thigh dance instead. Which was another part of class where I went balls-out so as not to look like a wuss next to my husband. And I kinda wanted to impress him. Again.

(ohh thigh dancing – probably the highlight of the whole class – and see? Scott (red shirt next to me at the end) can NOT tuck his hips — and there I am being all “tuck babe, tuck!” as if that’s really helping the situation…)

He said: Julianna said, “men, look at your strong women! you’ll gain a whole new level of respect after this!” To which I yelled “already did!” (I think this earned me major brownie points) But seriously, I had a lot of fun, it was a really good workout — and now, I know exactly what Jess does all those hours she spends at the studio. Highly recommended (but I’m not sure I’ll be back…at least not until next Valentine’s Day).

She said: It gave me such pride to have Scott by my side at the barre, to finally show him this “thing” I am so ridiculously passionate about. *And* to totally whoop his ass at the barre was kinda badass too. And, he was such a good sport — all the guys were! Highly recommend it

****HUGE thank you to Julianna for taking these action shots *and* sharing them with me in time to include in my post today!! You’re the best!!

So anyway, this Sunday we watched an episode that was about staying grateful as the key to being happy. A few snippets from his sermon:

“We can either complain or praise…I’d urge you to choose praise.”

“Make a list of things that you are grateful for in life — stop focusing on the things that are upsetting to you and flip those thoughts around. Use that list to gain (or re-gain) perspective.”

“Next time that alarm clock goes off – be thankful for it. It means you’re still alive.”

He used one particularly poignant example of his brother (a doctor) who went through a period of struggle. He was working a million hours a day, he had a newborn at home that meant lots of sleep-less nights and was generally not in a very happy place. One of his patients had just passed on, and his wife was still at the hospital. She noticed that Joel’s brother seemed very anxious and stressed so she asked him how he was doing. He explained his situation, how tired he was, how much stress he was under, how hard it was to juggle a 60+ hour work week with a newborn at home. The newly-widowed woman responded, with tears in her eyes, as follows: “I’d give anything to go back to those days. To caring for my children. Cuddling them back to sleep at night. Feeding them each morning and watching them grow and prosper.” Joel’s brother sat back, stunned. His perspective was way off. This woman, who had just lost her husband, had incredible perspective. He’d been missing out. He was simply enduring vs. enjoying. You better believe he went home that night, overjoyed to change a diaper, get up in the night for the 3am feeding, and to kiss his wife before leaving for another long day at the hospital.

That was a long story but I had to share it — that message, “enduring vs. enjoying” is incredible to me. How often do we each find ourselves enduring the days, missing out on the things that make our worlds go ’round? We have just one life to live, ONE. Yet we’re often just enduring that life, not enjoying it.

(I legit opened this Dove chocolate on Sunday night, *how* these little messages just appear at just the right moment in time, I’ll never understand it…)

So today – and everyday – I’m going to make an even bigger effort to enjoy my day, and not endure it. I’ll use Sunday’s run as an example. It was freezing cold. It would’ve been so easy to phone it in, calling it off in favor of unscheduled rest. But instead of that – we enjoyed that run. Frozen faces and all. Because we were able to run, to move those legs, to feel that icy cold air against our skin, to hear the birds chirping around us, to see the sun shining in our faces. To be alive. Freezing. But alive.

Enjoying vs. enduring.
…don’t miss out.