Random Rambling 006 - Fitness Editions

01::  So, I have these diamond studs that I wear during my runs.  It's my little way of trying to look cute while running {Trust me, I am not cute when I run, I'm a hot mess}.  Somehow, I have managed to loose them this week, and I'm so sad. {I'll be headed to Charming Charlie to buy another pair - and maybe a few more things - soon!!}

02::  On Wednesday, hubs practically dragged me out the door to go for our run.  Seriously, I did NOT want to go and had all of my excuses lined up.  I'm tired.  The house is messy.  I just want to be home - we haven't been home all week.  Ten minutes into the run, I was so thankful that man made me do it.  It was one of the best runs we've had recently - even with the speed work.

03:: Success really is just doing it. It doesn't matter if it's only for ten minutes, or if it's slow, or if you look like a hot mess.  I'm thankful for the small successes.

 

04:: Last week when we ran our intervals, this man cheered us on from his front porch.  His encouragement surprised me at first, and I wondered if he was making fun of me.  But, he wasn't.  It was exactly what I needed to keep sprinting through that first set.

05::  I am so humbled and honored by friends who have recently said my ridiculous instagram pictures have inspired them.  Your words keep me motivated and mean the world to me.  Thank you!

{P.S. Don't forget about the make-up offer my friend Laura Sue is offering us!}

Guest Post: Laura Sue & MK

Hi Friends!  I have some exciting news!  My long-time, very sweet friend Laura Sue is guest posting today on my blog.  She is a Mary Kay consultant and offering all of you lovely readers a 25% discount from her shop!  Whoo-hoo!!  I love, love, love their lip-glosses!!!  Earlier this year I went super-bold and picked up a tube of the Rock 'n' Red lip gloss, but I can't wait to get my hands on the Cafe Au Lait color.  They are not sticky or tacky, but light and make your lips feel so fresh!   My mom always says you look better with a little color on your lips.  :)  Take a look around her shop {the link is below} and think about taking advantage of the 25% discount.

Let me tell you, I've got my wishlist - face wash, moisturizer {well, the whole Miracle Set}, the microdermabrasion set.  I really love MK's skin care.

I'll let Laura Sue tell you more of her story.

Hello, lovelies!  This is so fun. I’ve never done a guest post on a blog, so this is exciting!

A little history - LeAnne and I have been friends for-ev-er.  There’s something so special about growing up with someone.  You know her in such a different way, you know?  You can’t lie to someone who loved you through your NKOTB phase.  And when you’ve shared as many coffee dates and chick flick dates as we have through the years, there’s no denying that we’re kindred spirits!

Well, LeAnne asked me to drop by and share a little about what I do.  I have one of the coolest jobs on the planet - seriously!  I spend time with women of all ages, and my number one goal every time I sit down with someone is to help her feel a little bit better than she did before we met.  Sound weird?  Maybe.  You see, I teach skincare and color cosmetics with Mary Kay.  I know what you’re probably thinking two things:  

1. How on earth does someone make a living out of selling lipstick?
2.   Do you have your pink Cadillac?

Ha!  Well, first of all, I don't sell that much lipstick compared to our other products (although Midnight Red is my favorite shade of all time!).  I joke with my customers that this isn't your grandma's Mary Kay!  You see, even though I’m technically in sales I don’t think of myself as a sales person.  In fact, I don’t really care for sales people.  Shocking, I know.  My focus is always on serving.  You never know when someone’s having a rough day and just needs to feel a little better about herself.  If you’re anything like me, I sit a little taller, smile a little wider, and laugh a little louder when I feel good about how I look.  When we, as women, feel good about ourselves it makes us better wives, mothers, friends, etc.  For my customers - whether  they just want clear skin or a fun, new eye shadow - my goal is always to help them find what they need.  The majority of my services are actually free, so it’s fun to sit down with someone, pressure-free, and just play with products!

One of my favorite things about Mary Kay as a company is that it has a deep heart.  The Mary Kay Foundation is dedicated to donating money to women’s shelters as well as research for cancers directly affecting women.  Click here to read about their most recent donations.

As a former high school teacher, I’ve seen a lot of kids who come from homes that are clearly unsafe.  I love knowing that in sharing Mary Kay products with others, I’m also helping families find a safe place of refuge when things get rough.  

Right now, $1 will be donated to The Mary Kay Foundation^SM from each sale of limited-edition^† Beauty That Counts® Mary Kay® NouriShine Plus® Lip Gloss in “Inspiring” and “Possibilities.  As a thank you for ordering one or both of these shades, I’m offering all readers of LeAnne’s blog 25% off your ENTIRE order through Sunday, September 30th.  Just enter the code RAMBLING along with your payment info when you order, and I’ll add your discount when I process.  Oh, and shipping is always free :)

Thanks for letting me share with you today.  If you don’t currently have a Mary Kay Consultant, I would love to take care of you.  Also, feel free to visit my blog over at Love, Laura Sue!  Have a beautiful day!

P.S.  I’m working on that Cadillac! :)

Tasty Tuesday: Baked Couscous

When Mom and Dad were visiting a couple of weeks ago, Mom cooked dinner a couple of nights.  She's been trying to get me to try this dish for almost a year since I mentioned that hubs and I have been eating less meat.  It's been on my radar, but I just haven't gotten around to it.  Well, let me say it's delish!  {Sorry, I don't have any cool, step-by-step pictures to go along with the recipe}

Disclaimer: This recipe does not have specific measurements, so I apologize.  I'm usually a strict recipe follower {at least the first time around}.

Baked Couscous
1 cup Israeli couscous {this is the larger pearlized kind}
Broccoli chopped
Carrots chopped
Spoonful of mayonnaise
1 teaspoon garlic
1 cup grated parmesan 

Step 1:
Cook couscous according to the directions.

Step 2:
Chop broccoli and carrots and steam together for 3 minutes.  You still want your veggies to have some crunch to them as they are going to be baked.   I usually eyeball the amount of vegetables {well, the one time I made this dish} to use in this dish.  Special note: you can choose whatever veggie combination you like.  I happen to like broccoli and carrots together.  Plus, my mom said it's the best combo.

Step 3:
Mix together couscous, vegetables and remaining ingredients in a casserole dish {maybe an 8x8 pan}.  You want just enough mayo to wet ingredients.  I would rather skip the mayo bit but I haven't made this recipe enough to figure out what else to use.  Sprinkle top with parmesan.  

Step 4: 
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Fill in the Blank Friday

 

1. Something I am very proud of is    running this week and choosing to live a no excuses life {one step at a time, my friends}    .

 

2. My favorite thing about myself is   my Southern-ness - that I care about cooking good food, being hospitabe, welcoming people into my home, being opinionated, {or stubborn}, saying yes ma'am {even as an adult}, being a story-teller, loving college football {and tailgating}, our Bible-beltness, our loyalty, our screen porches     .

3. My favorite color for fall is    mustard yellow, but I don't have anything that color right now.  Hmm, maybe I need a little shopping trip  :) .

4. Something I've been learning lately is how important good, true, authentic community is and how to better at intentionally being part of that kind of community      .

5. A book I am reading now/have read recently is   The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman.  This is the third or fourth time I've read this book {this time around it's for the class mentioned below} I like it because of its focus on Jesus' ministry and the uncomplicated strategy of how he did {does} things .

6. My favorite Pandora Station is   Ingrid Michaelson. I just started listening to Pandora again so I can't really remember all of my favs.  What do you suggest? .

 

7. This weekend I will   be going to a retreat for a discipleship/spiritual formation course at our church this year and it's the kickoff event.  I'm pretty excited about getting started, getting to know the folks in the class, and being intentional about my own spiritual formation  .

 

{P.S. I'm linking up to The Little Things We Do}  

Working It OUT

Alright, here's where I post about how awesome my run was yesterday and how I killed it.  Ugh, let me be honest, I did not kill it.  I survived it.  It was a tough run. 

1.  First off, I was sore from Monday's run, which left my pace a little slower. {Sidenote, Monday's run was awesome - I pushed myself on speed and to pick up my feet instead of my usual shuffle}.

2.  Work was a little rough yesterday because I wasn't nearly as productive as I had hoped to be, which made me less motivated to exercise when I got home.

3.  I wore shorts for intervals - that was a BAD idea.  My shorts kept riding up, which in and of itself is pretty uncomfortable.  The bigger issue is that I'm embarrassed of how I look in said shorts while running, especially when they creep on up to.  Not to mention the thighs rubbing together thing.  Altogether uncomfortable.  I will not  be wearing shorts on a run anytime soon.  Anybody feel me on this one?

4.  Most importantly, somewhere in my mind I think that because I've decided to start exercising that running should be easy.  It's just not easy.  It's not supposed to be easy. This expectation is where there is a break-down.   I compare myself to some of my friends who seem to be able to run several miles with MUCH greater ease than me.   Why can't I be like them?  Then, I get down on myself for my supposed lack of success.   Yesterday, I wanted to quit my run before I even started the intervals. 

Usually I feel pretty good after a run but not yesterday.  Hubs had to remind me of the success.  My thinking has to change so that I can see finishing the run {or even getting out there in the first place?} makes it a worthwhile workout. I'm hoping that one day soon these runs get a little easier.

Weighty Goals

Today I realized that I started this blog almost three years ago to document my weight-loss journey.  I had just joined a Biggest Loser Competition with some of my friends and was attempting to lose 15% of my body fat.  Since that first competition, this blog morphed into more of my ramblings besides my weight-loss adventures, and I'm good with that.  Now, I'm back on my weight-loss, exercise more, be healthy and happy about it journey. 

This time I'm not in a competition.  This time I have more manageable goals.  This time I'm planning to share at least once a week about the journey here.  My goal is to lose 20 pounds - 5 pounds each month.  August was awesome.  I met my goal and lost the five pounds - equivalent to a bag of sugar.  I counted my calories and exercised.  I'm thinking the Olympics help inspire me.

Then, September arrived.  I have not lost weight but instead have seen the scale go up and down and back up {I'm up three of the five pounds I lost}.  I'm frustrated.  The honest truth is that I haven't been as disciplined as I should have been.  I cheated.  Thankfully, today is a new day, and all I can do it move forward.  I'm not sure if it's possible to lose 8 pounds in the next 13 days healthfully, but I'm back on the train, folks.

I'll be jogging 2-3 miles tonight after work.  Hubs and I are mapping out a 5K training plan tonight.  There is talk among friends of starting p90x in the next couple of weeks... 

I'd love your comments and encouragements along the way {yes, I'm even shamelessly soliciting them}.  I'd love for any of you to join me in this journey. 

Mom & Dad's Visit - The Small Things

Mom and Dad came to visit.  Have I mentioned this seventeen times already?   Well, it was pretty exciting and fun to have them here.  Really, it was just so great.  My favorite part of their trip were the little things - when we didn't do much of anything special.  

Each morning Dad drove me to work so that he and Mom could use the car to sight-see while hubs and I were at work.  It was my favorite part of the day.  Even though the ride was super short {I only work one mile from home}, it was quality time with him.  It felt like schooldays all over again, except the car was a little less embarrassing than his two tone Crown Vic.  One morning he was a trooper and helped me pick up breakfast for a work-meeting - I rushed him all over the store.  So thankful!

We played this game Dominion a couple of nights.  Mom was hoping that we'd play Settlers of Catan.  We never got around to it.  Maybe next time.  

Mom cooked a couple of our suppers.  And, Dad was the amazing, superstar dishwasher all week long. And, he mopped my floors.  Mom bought me a little plant.  They went grocery shopping.  Thanks so much.  

Hanging out on our porch after it rained for 10 minutes.  

On Saturday morning, we went on a walk at the Rose Bowl. Well, hubs ran a lap while the three of us walked it.  Mom and Dad set the pace, and it was pretty challenging keeping up with them. 

We tried {some of} our favorite restaurants: the taco truck, In N Out, Porto's {for their delish cheese rolls and potato balls}, and Yogurtland.

Mom & Dad with their burgers.  Dad wasn't that impressed, but Mom liked her's.

Our time together was one of my favorite visits with them.  I loved, loved, loved having them here in Pasadena.

An Unforgettable Day

I will never forget.  I was in Dr. Wasley's eight am Modern Poetry class where we were  ironically discussing Eliot's The Wasteland.  Someone walked into class and asked if we had heard the news.  We hadn't.  We couldn't believe it was really true.  

It was the beginning of my junior year at the University of Georgia - one of the first cool mornings of Fall.  A Tuesday.  Same as this year.  By lunchtime UGA had become practically deserted.  That afternoon, my roommate and I invited all of our friends over for dinner.  We just wanted to be near to people we loved.  Is it strange that I remember exactly what we ate {jumbalaya, green beans, and fruit salad}?

{Source}

I remember wondering, "what's next?  Are we going to war?  Is {more} war coming to us?"  Someone hung a flag from the arches on campus and students lit candles as a memorial.  It is a day so many of us won't forget.  That day {and maybe week?} time stood still for so many of us.  And, for so many of us our lives have been changed forever.  

Book Club

Mom and Dad flew home earlier today.  It was such a fantastic visit with them - probably one of the best {their first to Los Angeles}.  Hubs is suggesting that I stay busy this next week to distract me from missing them.  Luckily for me, my book club met tonight.

Earlier this summer a few friends and I started a book club.  This month, we read A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.  It was an interesting read about a futuristic dystopia told by Offred, the Handmaid.  We never learn her real name - only that she is the Handmaid of a Commander whose first name is Fred.  This is how all the handmaids are named as part of their Commanders' identities.  Her voice was compelling and I was so drawn into her story.  I loved the way she flipped from present to flashbacks.  While I can't say I loved the book, I have to say that I couldn't put it down.  I finished it in less than a week and gave it four stars on Goodreads.

What are y'all reading now?  Any friends in Pasadena want to join us next month?