I haven’t written in forever! I should probably take that last post down, but I’m not gonna. It helps me to write about things and that’s how I was feeling at the time, so it shall stay posted

Oh- I’m feeling a lot better about the whole situation (by the way). Jason and I had a long talk the other night, and afterward I felt truly lucky to have someone support me as much as he does. He supports everything I do without question, he is my personal cheerleader and believes in me 100%, that’s why I love him I know that there are opportunities out there that are just waiting for me, so I’m not going to give up!

And that’s that.

Last weekend, I took a much-needed vacation so that I could go see my best friend in GA! The drive down there was full of beautiful fall trees….

Yummy food and the best coffee on Earth..

*Seriously Dunkin Donuts- let’s get together and make some great things happen..mkay? Mkay!*

(So I stopped twice! What of it?? )

I spy with my little eye…

A giant butt-crack! Oh wait. It’s just the SC peach tower

There were hugs to be had once I arrived!

Heather and I have been friends since we were 9 years old and now we’re all grown up! She is now married with 2 adorable little boys. It seems like it was just yesterday that we were playing out dramatic scenes with our Barbie dolls on her bedroom floor

The weekend away was just what I needed. Her little boy is such a charmer….

and her husband? Well he is certainly…interesting…to say the least Haha!

We went shopping, out to dinner and had some girl talk late in the night (just like old times!) and on Sunday it was time for me to go back home. I hit the road (passed the giant butt-crack once again) and arrived home 3.5 hours later to find a small package awaiting me in the mailbox!

I love surprise packages

Remember my Deodorant 101 post? No? Well, I’ll do a small recap:

I have yet to find a deodorant that can hold up during a tough, sweaty workout. I’ve tried every women’s deodorant out there, none of them have been able to pass my no-stink, no-sweat test. In the post, I expressed my desire to find a deodorant that will not stain my shirt, will not leave me stinking and will not leave me with sweaty pit stains after an intense cardio session. Trips to the gym have been skipped because I’ve been so embarrassed about all of these things!

The folks over at Secret deodorant saw the post and offered me a chance to try one of their Clinical Strength products. This is one of the deodorants I have never tried, and I figure: What have I got to lose? What I’m using right now is not working, so why not give it a shot?

I opened up the package and not only found a sample of the deodorant but a ITunes gift card too! How nice

Also with it was a nice letter that said: “….these two things used together, and we think you will have the perfect run!” Awww, they are so sweet. And yes, I am hoping to have a great run!

Jason and I have scheduled a trip to the gym once he comes home from work. Will Secret keep me sweat/stink-free during my 5 mile run tonight? We shall see! (I’ve already stuck my nose up to the top of the deodorant and it smells amazing! (It’s the “Marathon Fresh” scent <–love that name!)

As for right now – my insomnia has been a little bad this week ( 10 hours of sleep total for the past three days) so I think I may try to take a cat nap before Jason gets home in an hour! Check back Friday if you want to know whether Secret is a winner…or if I ran out of the gym because everyone was yelling “Stinky Stacey!” at me

Hope you guys are having a great week, it’s almost the weekend! Hang in there! See ya later taters

I literally just rolled outta bed (in case you can’t tell from the pic )…

It’s time for me to recap the wonderful Blend party that Lululemon hosted for Charlotte bloggers!

There were some bloggers I’d met before, and some I hadn’t! It was really fun to mingle and look at Lululemons awesome clothing collection (though it’s a little out of my price range ) I took a ton of pics, so I will let them speak for themselves!

(Pic above borrowed from Lindsay )

Lululemon asked us if we would be so kind to try on some of their clothes just so they could see what kind of styles and colors we would put together…UMMM YESSSS PLEASE! I chose this outfit:

(Pic borrowed from Lululemon Athletica Facebook page!) Whatcha think? I loved the way the pants fit! They were snug without being constricting, but the top…ohmylanta…I had to squeeze the girls in if ya know what I mean

After everyone tried on an outfit and had their picture taken it was time for yoga! Taught by the lovely Elizabeth Upchurch

(Borrowed from Lindsay)

(Borrowed from Elizabeth)

Class was great! Elizabeth just started teaching yoga and she is already a great teacher Her class flows easily and she has a very soothing voice! I hope to have a class with her again!

Once class was over, it was time to go but not before taking a group pic

Lululemon is a very goal-oriented place. They love for their customers and employees to set goals in their lives, no matter how small or how big. We were asked to write down one of our personal goals, here is mine:

I’ve been working on my side crow’s pose for about 3 months now. At first I couldn’t even get myself into the position and hold myself up! But since I’ve been practicing, I am now able to get myself into the pose and hold it for about 2-3 seconds before face-planting into the floor My goal is to be able to do (and hold!) the pose by December (without breaking any bones in my face)

That leaves me wanting to ask you what goals you have for yourself! It can be today, tomorrow, or 5 years from now Just tell me!

I’d like to set a goal for today:

Today I will try to relax and not rush everywhere. I will laugh and not sweat the small stuff

Your turn! Today I will___________________.

Did you guys have a good weekend? Mine went by way too fast as usual but it was a fun weekend nonetheless.

Saturday morning I woke up craving MUFFINS. Sweet, savory muffins. And Emily’s Maple Cinnamon French Toast muffins were the first thing to come to mind!

Side note: I wish that I were coordinated enough to be able to take pics of ingredients while I’m mixing them, but I’m just not Sorry! You still get the before-the-oven and out-of-the-oven pics though!

Jason walked into the kitchen all sleepy-eyed (it was 10 a.m. btw) and took alarm at the fact that I was cutting up half a loaf of bread into little cubes.

Him: “What are you DOING?!” (Bread is his life. The boy can eat a whole loaf of bread in about 4 days.)

Me: “It’s for our breakfast! You’ll like it, I promise.”

Him: *Grumble* “Mkay babe.” And then he proceeds to mourn the slaying of his bread on the couch.

Twenty minutes later the concoction was ready to go into the oven!

The end result:

Pure deliciousness In the middle of eating our yummy breakfast, Jason mentioned that these muffins would be perfect for dipping in maple syrup. My reaction: “Go get it!” I poured a little pool of syrup on the side of my plate for dipping, and I have to admit: he was right! The syrup brings out the cinnamon-y flavor a lot more We will definitely be making these again (and there are enough leftovers to last us for at least a few days!).

After breakfast it was on to Krewe. The YMCA - the one I intern for - was holding a fundraiser that allows children that can’t afford to attend summer camp, the chance to go. This was my first time attending Krewe and it was really fun!

There was oldies music (is it bad that I knew all of the songs?!):

Games and swings for the kids:

Tours through the old Woodside Plantation:

..and the best part: Desserts!

(and that was after everyone had been through once!) My pumpkin spice cake eaten up with none to spare! Yay!

I was holding down the ticket booth for the first part of the night…

..and then it was on to tea-pouring at the drink station!

(FYI: Jason and I did a quick 3 mile run before I had to leave for my volunteer job. Under my jeans are running shorts and KT Tape…no time to shower or fix my bed-head! ) Also: Make sure to check out my Exercise Log to see what I’m doing! I may not write about it, but I have been updating it everyday!)

Pouring tea was my favorite part. Can you guess why? I’ll give you some hints:

The drink station was set up right next to a field that fenced miniature donkeys! There were about 3 babies and 2 grown ups running around :D I went up to pet one of them and he tried to eat the drawstring off of my jacket. Then he tried to eat my camera. Then the little bugger tried to eat an apron that was lying on the ground near the fence! HAHA! One of the cooks allowed me to feed him a hamburger bun

Munch. Munch. Munch. I almost lost a finger trying to feed this donkey, but it was worth it

Ahhhhhh I love a nice day in the countryside.

We started our day with leftover muffins (even better the second time around!). I cleaned up a little bit while he finished homework and then we set out for the gym! A few days ago Paige shared an exercise routine on her blog that really caught my eye. You guys know that I love to run, but I also really, really love to strength train! Her sharing her exercise routine with us is almost like having a free session with a personal trainer, and that I cannot resist

I did a quick ten minute warm up on the elliptical and then started the first set. Jason and I had to do a few modifications because we were taking turns on the machines. (Our gym does not have a 20 lb. barbell, so we had to work with what we had!) Here are the modifications:

• 1a. Military chest press, sitting upright. 3 sets of 10 with 20 lbs.
• 1b. Hammer curls. 3 sets of 10 with 10 lb. weights
• 1c. no modification
• 2a. Seated rowing machine, 3 sets of 10 using 40 lbs.
• 2b. No modification
• 2c. No modification <–first time doing these, and they were surprisingly harder than I thought they would be!
• 3a. Tricep extention machine, 3 sets of 10 with 30 lbs.
• 3b. Lat pulldown machine, 3 sets of 10 using 55 lbs.
• 3c. No modification <–these were hard too!
• Planks: no modification. <–doing them while trying to balance on the medicine ball works your core a lot more! Sometimes my feet would move and I’d have to give it all the concentration I had not to let them go off of it.
• Back extensions: the hardest move out of all of these exercises! I didn’t even know those muscles were back there!
• I also added on 50 finger-to-toe ab crunches on here while waiting for Jason to do his planks

Wooo–weeee! This workout gave me so much energy! Go ahead and put me in the ring with a UFC fighter, I might just win Haha, just kidding! But that’s really how I felt afterwards

 Is there security at the door? Because these guns are loaded! Hehe

 Once we were home, I ran inside to smooth me up a smoothie

2 handfuls of spinach, 1 banana, 1/3 cup of frozen mango and a 1/2 cup almond milk went into this yummy Green Monster. Slurp, slurp, slurp. Along with a peanut butter covered english muffin for some chew, chew, chewiness.

The rest of the day was spent lounging on the couch with my fur-babies and playing a game of Scrabble with Jason.

* I wonder if he is trying to tell me something??* Okay, I admit it. I am a total game nerd. I love games of all kinds, but especially the ones that make you use your noodle! Jason won (of course!). You know what his winning word was? Dragqueen. I realise that the two aren’t supposed to be put together as one word, but I let him slide by with it. So, there ya go folks.

There are other recipes that I tried this weekend - two, to be exact - but I’ve got to get off of here so that I can go finish up “Half-Broke Horses” by Jeanette Walls!

My next two reads:

annnddd…

I’m excited to start reading them! I’ve read ‘In Defense of Food’ and really liked it, so I thought I might like this one too! Have a happy Monday!

Have you read “The Omnivore’s Dilemma? What do you think of it?

It’s been a laid back weekend here in N.C.! I think Jason and I have left the house maybe twice the whole weekend?? That’s ok though. Sometimes I need a weekend like that, ya know what I mean?  

Saturday went by wayyyy to quickly! The only thing I remember about Saturday is that we went for a 4 mile run on the greenway and almost wound up losing our cookies in the heat! :/ We started out just fine, but I think we may have underestimated the sun a bit. I (stupidly) did not wear sunscreen on my face and now I have a sunburn   

We chose to run in 93 degree weather in the middle of the afternoon. The last mile left us feeling sick and dehydrated. Cold chills crept up and then the dizziness came, so that’s when our run ended. We spent the rest of the day recovering in the A.C. and watching the rest of LOST on Netflix   

Sooooo, this morning we woke up to clouds and 70 degree weather!! Yay! It finally feels like fall! And looking at the weather for the rest of the week, I would say it is   

Jason and I wanted to take advantage of the cool weather by having breakfast and coffee on our new outdoor furniture! It was a $20 steal from a moving sale down the road. That’s not bad for a glass table and 3 iron chairs!! The chairs have a few spots of rust on them but they will do until we can afford newer items   

For breakfast:  

Smashed banana nut muffins with pb & j and a sliced naner on top! Nom nom nom.  

We sat out there for an hour or so just chatting and enjoying nature.. then rain drops started to fall so we hustled back inside.  

Once inside, I couldn’t figure out what to do with my day! Jason had homework (I didn’t have any), the house was spotless and there were no chores to  be done. Hmmmm…what to do? What to do?  

Oh! I know: Bake! And wouldn’t ya know that I had all of the ingredients on hand to make a pineapple upside down cake??  

It’s really easy to make and one of Jason’s favorites. He’s been requesting it for weeks so I finally gave in and made it. Good thing that I like all things chocolate or this sucker would already be gone! The recipe is the “healthy” version of course. I don’t like to keep full-fat desserts in the house (my sweet tooth is wayyyy to strong) but I don’t mind ordering them when out at restaurants or other places like that .  

Pineapple Upside Down Cake (Recipe from Cooking Light magazine)  

Ingredients  

• 1  (20-ounce) can pineapple slices in juice, drained
• Cooking spray
• 1/3  cup  fat-free caramel topping
• 9  maraschino cherries, drained
• 5  tablespoons  butter
• 2/3  cup  sugar
• 2  large eggs
• 1/2  cup fat-free buttermilk
• 1  teaspoon  baking powder
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1 1/4  cups  all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350°.  

Press 9 pineapple slices between paper towels until barely moist; set aside. Reserve the remaining pineapple for another use.  

Coat a 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray; drizzle caramel topping over bottom of pan. Arrange prepared pineapple slices in a single layer over caramel; place 1 cherry in the center of each slice.  

Place the butter in a large microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave at high 1 minute or until the butter melts. Add sugar, stirring with a whisk. Add eggs, and stir well. Stir in low-fat buttermilk and next 4 ingredients (buttermilk through baking soda). Lightly spoon 1 1/4 cups flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Add flour, stirring just until blended (do not over stir). Pour the batter into prepared pan.  

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 1 minute in pan on a wire rack. Place a plate upside down on top of the cake, and invert onto plate. Cool completely. Cut cake into squares.  

So purdy I almost didn’t let Jason eat it!  

_______________________________________________________________________________________________  

Sadly, this only took up an hour of my morning. *I’m the type of person that always has to be doing something.* Even if there is nothing to do (like on this day!) I will find something to do!  

I finally decided on taking a trip down Memory Lane.  

While fumbling through old boxes of letters, pictures and newspaper clippings..I stumbled upon my very first food journal!   

I would’ve sworn that I threw that thing away after the pages were full, but apparently not. The first page dates back to January 26th, 2008!  

Out of curiosity, I opened it up and  skimmed through it. I had recorded everything I ate, every craving I had, every workout I accomplished and everything I hated about my imperfect body.   

Yep. The negative talk was just a’flowin back in those days   

Page 8: “…feeling bloated and fat. Blegh”  

Page 12: “..my arms are so fat and jiggly. Hope this strength training is working!”  

Page 13: “..HATE MY BODY. Bloated and fat. UGhhhhhhh”  

Page 16: “…I really wanna lose 15 pounds. Gut is sticking out and is so disgusting. Never going to eat another carb again.”  

On page 24, I start to label my immense cravings for sweets and fast food as “The Everything”. As in: “The Everything is back again. All I want to do is eat and eat.” I know it’s sort of weird to do this, but personifying my cravings really helped me to say ‘No’ to them. It’s just like you would say ‘No’ to a person.  

And it goes on and on. Who is this girl?! This girl who thought she was fat and ugly. This girl who ate a granola bar for dinner and then felt guilty about it. This girl who thought being healthy meant being perfect? I’m so glad that I don’t know her anymore. I can’t believe I said those things about my body. My body that I cherish day in and day out. My body that carries me through 16 miles of running. My body that allows me to live and breathe in this world.   

Having a food journal did help me with my eating habits. Immensely.   

If it wasn’t for that journal, I would have never recognized when I “emotionally eat”. Or I wouldn’t have recognized the fact that soda makes me crave sweet things. It was helpful in so many ways. On the last page, I write:  

“Looking back through this book , I realise at first that I didn’t really know how to balance a meal. I have learned a lot and now have a healthy relationship with food.”   

Hooray for a happy ending! — And of course it took another year or so to get to where I am now, but this was a great starting point for me! –  

After reading all of that negative talk, I wanted to do something that would allow me to give thanks to my body. And what better way to do that than with an hour of power vinyasa yoga in the living room??   

Ahhh…that’s better. This felt really great, especially after that tough run we had on Saturday. Every muscle felt relaxed and charged at the same time. Just how I like it   

Then it was dinner time! Guess what I found at the grocery store last week!  

Whole wheat gnocchi!! Woohoo!  

I knew just what to do with these guys   

Gnocchi with Spinach and Sweet Potatoes (this recipe is under the recipe tab at the top, but I altered it a bit this time!)  

• 1 package of gnocchi
• 1 tsp.salt 
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 2 cups raw spinach
• 1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 8 oz. package sliced baby bella mushrooms
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 large sweet potatoes

Directions:  

Cut up potatoes into cubes, boil them in a pot of water until tender. Drain, set aside. Bring a second pot of salted water to boil. Drop 15-20 gnocchi into the pot at a time, turn the heat down to med-low. Stir every few minutes to prevent gnocchi from sticking together. Once they float to the top of water, they are finished. Remove from water with a slotted spoon, and add in second batch of gnocchi.   

Heat 2 Tbs. of olive oil in a large skillet. Add chopped onion, garlic and mushrooms to skillet. Cook until onions are fragrant and mushrooms are tender. Add gnocchi, spinach, salt, pepper, butter and vegetable broth to the skillet. Cook until spinach wilts. Add sweet potatoes to skillet and allow them to simmer in the vegetable broth mixture for about 5 minutes.   

[I decided to not get rid of the broth this time, Jason says it's the best part and I have to agree! It definitely gives the other ingredients an added kick. Just remember to have breath mints nearby because it is quite garlic-y! ]  

Sometimes celebrating your body means having a small glass of wine with dinner Am I right??  

My bowl with a sprinkle of parmesan on top. It was yummy and just what the body needed on this wet and rainy day   

I’d like to think I’ve made up for all of the wrong I’ve done to my body in the past. This has been my healthiest year yet and I still have so much to learn about health and the human body.  

So:  

Dear Body,  

I am very lucky to have you. I’m sorry that I’ve called you names and made you feel down in the past. That was the old me. The new me loves you very much and is so thankful that you are mine. You allow me to run 16 miles at one time without giving up. You tell me when you are hungry and when you need rest. You don’t get mad at me if I feed you onion rings every now and then and you don’t hate me for life if I give you a beer once or twice a week. And I love you for that. You let the good in with the bad. You tell me when enough is enough and I appreciate that fully. Thank you for carrying me around all these years I know that I haven’t been that great to you in the past, but I vow to keep living a healthy lifestyle for both of us. You will be fed fruits and veggies on a daily basis, and given plenty of water to keep you hydrated. You will continue to be challenged physically and mentally. I hope that we can continue this great relationship we have. Until next time,  

Me  

What do you want to tell your body?

In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Kerry Walsh was seen wearing a mysterious, bright-colored tape on her shoulders while competing in the volleyball division.

What is that tape? It’s KT Tape! And its wonderful

This weekend I had a chat with my friend (whom is a personal trainer and in school working on her Masters in Clinical Exercise Physiology <–in other words: She has credibility!) about my knee injury and how down I was about not being able to run more than 3 miles at a time. When I was finished complaining,  she mentioned that she had the same injury and that she used KT Tape on it and Poof! It was gone! No pain, no swelling..she could run again, just like that!

Ohmygah. Get me some KT tape and get it to me NOW! Right after “work” I went into Sports Authority and found it in the middle of an aisle. Oh the colors! Pinks, greens, blacks, browns, reds, blues…I chose pink, of course

Now, I’m a bit skeptical when it comes to “miracle cures” and what-not. But since my friend is a marathoner (3 times over, I think?), runs avidly and is in school for the stuff, then I chose to give it a try. Coming from anyone else, I probably wouldn’t have run off and bought it an hour after hearing about it

But what does it do, you ask. How does it work?

According to the website:

• KT Tape is a revolutionary sports medicine solution for treating and preventing common sports injuries such as ITBS, shin splints, plantar fasciitis, knee pain and more. Ultra-light, elastic, and strong, KT Tape is highly effective at providing pain relief, stability & support, & faster recovery for injured or sore muscles and joints-without sacrificing comfort or freedom of movement.

How does it work?

• KT Tape is applied along muscles, ligaments, and tendons (soft tissue) to provide a lightweight, strong, external support that helps to prevent injury and speed recovery. KT Tape works differently for different injuries. KT Tape can lift and support the knee cap, holding it in place for Runner’s Knee. KT Tape can support sagging muscles along the arch of the foot, relieving the connective tissues for Plantar’s Fasciitis. And KT Tape can lift the stress off of shin splints to allow pain release and give the body a better opportunity to recover. Depending on how it is applied, KT Tape supports, enables, or restricts soft tissue and its movement. By stretching and recoiling like a rubber band, KT Tape augments tissue function and distributes loads away from inflamed or damaged muscles and tendons, thereby protecting tissues from further injury.

• By applying KT Tape over affected tissue, athletes experience an external support which helps to prevent further injury and allows the body’s damaged tissue to rest and heal naturally despite continued activity. KT Tape also reduces inflammation and increases circulation which prevents muscle cramping and lactic acid buildup.

• Kinesiology tape, treatments, and application techniques have been used by healthcare professionals such as orthopedics, chiropractors, physical therapists, and athletic trainers for over thirty years. KT Tape is the first brand of kinesiology tape ever to be offered to consumers through local sporting goods retailers, and to be widely adopted by healthcare professionals and teams. The development of KT Tape was a highly collaborative effort that included Healthcare Professionals, our Medical Advisory Board, elite and everyday athletes, and our product design engineers. Together they developed the most advanced sports tape ever offered.

Um, SOLD! 

I at least had to give it a try. These 3 mile runs aren’t cutting it for me anymore. I want to train. I want to race.  The website provides instructional videos on how to place the KT tape on your leg (or wherever your injury may be). I lay on the floor of our office and patched myself up

Fashionable? I think so! I could not wait to try it out!

There is a 4 mile route in Cramerton I used to do that is packed with hills, so I thought it would be best to try it out there.

You guys…I felt no pain the entire run. No comfort issues. It felt totally normal, like it used to! There was no knee pain at all!!!! I was so happy I wanted to cry. You know what this means: races, look out, because here I come!!! I’m slowly going to start increasing my speed and endurance, and maybe…just maybe shoot for a marathon in December A little crazy? Yes! A lot of fun? YES!

I was so excited about my run that I came home and did ninja moves in our front yard:

Hiiii-yahhhh! Take that knee pain Oh, and I also made up a song too *sung to the tune of “I’m a Believer” by Smashmouth*

“Oh KT Tape/I’m a believer/Not a doubt of pain/ In my kne-ee/I’m in love/I’m a believer/I couldn’t run without you if I tried/”

Hehe Okay! Enough about my love affair with KT Tape! Let’s talk about the rest of my weekend, shall we?

Apple Festival 2010

My mom, Jason and I went to the apple festival in Lincoln County this Saturday! It was our first time going and we were amazed at all of the vendors that were there! And the people! (They estimated 4-5,000!)

We started the festival off by sharing a caramel covered apple with nuts!

Actually, Jason hogged it all. I only got about 2 bites and it was gone! What a meanie!

Gosh I look so attractive when I’m eating things that are bigger than my face.

After the apple, it was time for some veggies!

Yay for local produce! We picked out a few items and then headed over to the crafts section of the festival. I was a little disappointed to see that most of the crafts were quilts and woodwork Not that those things are great, it’s just not what I was looking for. Oh well, maybe next time. We did, however, come home with a painting of the waterfront Park in Charleston It reminded us of our trip!

Around 2 o’clock we started to get a little hungry so we headed over to a diner that was in the vicinity of the festival. The Capital Grille offered a few vegetarian items, and I chose the unhealthiest one -I’m sure you are finding out that this day was definitely a foodie splurge day! It doesn’t happen often but when it does, it’s oh-so-sweet -

The veggie pita consisted of sautéed onions, peppers and mushrooms under a bed of shredded lettuce and tomato. This pita was dripping butter and oil all over the place! It was really tasty, but when paired with the fried onion rings, caused a terrible stomach-ache later in the day It was very tasty at the time though!

There was only an hour left in the festival after we finished with lunch, so we all headed to the other streets that we hadn’t been down before. There were a lot more antiques on the last two streets, and that was pleasing I love looking at antique things! Too bad there was no money left in the budget after buying the painting!

My stomach was so full I felt like I needed to be wheeled around in a wheelchair…ugh. But then I saw a chocolate dipped frozen banana stand..and just had to have one. Hey, it’s fruit, right?!  My mom offered to get me one even though there was no room in my tummy for it anywhere!!

*Hard time keeping a straight face while taking this picture!*

I ate every bite. The buttons on my pants were threatening to pop off and take someone’s eye if I didn’t stop eating, so I obeyed and finally stopped eating for a while

The festival came to an end. Stuffed with food and satisfied with our finds, we found our way back to the car and headed home. Well, once I got home I realized I had a ton of energy. Perhaps it was the onion rings, the bites of caramel apple, or the entire chocolate-covered banana that I just ate..but I was wanting to burn some energy! I hopped on the bike and did 40 minutes of my own spin session :D

Switching the levels back and forth between hard and medium every 5 minutes. (Tomato face!)

It felt so good to sweat. My stomach ache went away for a little bit too. The bike ride + the 3 hours of walking we did really tired me out. When dinnertime came around, Jason and I realised that we weren’t that hungry. I was craving vegetables like a madwoman and he wanted something light, so we both decided on making Mediterranean Couscous with Grilled Vegetables.

And we used our produce from the festival!

This recipe is really easy to make. Jason and I usually grill the vegetables, but we didn’t feel like fiddling around with the grill, so I sautéed them in a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Here is what you need:

• 1 zucchini, 1 squash
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 3/4 lb. grape tomatoes halved (or in this case, 1 medium tomato, chopped)
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup couscous
• 1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce
• 1/4 tsp. salt, pepper
• 1/4 tsp. cumin
• dash of cinnamon
• 3 Tbs. lemon juice
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 can chickpeas
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (we used goat cheese!)

Saute veggies in a pan. Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in different pot. Add couscous and next 5 ingredients (through cinnamon). Cover and remove from heat, let sit for about 5-8 minutes. Stir in veggies and remaining ingredients.

That’s it! This whole meal probably takes 20 minutes to cook, and then it’s done!

My serving, along with a side of ‘book’ By the way, the veggies that we got from the festival tasted amazing. Not at all like what you would get at a grocery store, the flavors and colors were wonderful! Oh, and I’m really liking “Ape House” as well! “Water for Elephants” is one of my favorite books, so I was pretty sure I would like this one too.

*Sigh* There is more to discuss, but I should go for now! Jason will be here any minute to commandeer the computer for homework!  Two things before I go:

• Is it too early to have my sights set on a marathon in December?
• I’d Rather Be Running is going to have some changes this week! Anything you want to see on the website?

Okay loves, I’m outtie. See ya later in the week!

I’ve missed you these past few days! My to-do list seems to keep getting bigger and bigger but I am determined to take a little time for myself every day.

How was your long weekend? Here is how I spent mine:

• Rolling in the grass with my dog (and becoming very itchy afterwards!)
• Playing with my nephew and niece at the park
• Eating at an outside cafe with Jason (<–and having eggplant for the first time! Wowza )
• Running 4 miles
• Trying out a new mexican recipe
• Watching “Man on Wire” on instant Netflix (BTW, if you haven’t seen it…go see it NOW. Philippe Petit is such an inspiring, lively man.)
• Oh, and buying carpet for our house. <–Fun stuff, I tell ya.
• OH, and I also indulged myself in a serving (medium, being a serving) of french fries from a fast food place

So what did you do? Tell me! Tell me!

Today has been a long day and I feel like posting, but not about food or anything like that. Today, I want to post about my most memorable exercise moments. Nope, not just running, but exercise in general (though a lot of it will be running related  ). There will not be photos for some of the moments-obviously!-but I’ll do my best to create the picture for you

Let’s get started! BTW–I’m all about bullets today for some reason, so I’m going to be boring and use them again

My Most Memorable Exercise Moments

•  Eating a huge bowl of bean chili and tortilla chips the night before my first (ever) 5k. Jason and I spent the first 30 minutes before the race  in the Port-A-Jons that were lined up along starting line. Definitely not my best race. Lesson learned: Bean chili is not the best pre-race meal!

• The first time I was able to do 30 consecutive push-ups, and the feeling of strength and accomplishment that washed over me afterwards! (This was actually only a few weeks ago!)
•  When I was coaching a Girls on the Run team last spring, we were running our first race. Some of the girls were having a hard time, so I stopped to walk with them or help encourage them. As we rounded a corner that led to the finish line, there was a boy (probably about 10 years old) out on his lawn with an electric guitar playing “More Than a Feelin” by Boston! He had these huge speakers set up next to him! The music made us want to finish strong, plus, he was extremely talented. Wish you guys could’ve seen him playing! It looked sort of like this:

Except the kid wasn’t that skinny, and he also had a little more color to him as well

• The first time I tried out Jillian Michael’s 30-Day Shred–I quit. My muscles were aching, every part of my body was screaming and it just wasn’t what I had expected! But, the week after that episode, I popped the DVD back in and decided to just do it. Change is never comfortable…just get it over with! (I was sore for 3 days after doing Level 1) I can now do Level 3 without crying or cussing out Jillian under my breath

• During my first half-marathon, I ran beside a woman who had been diagnosed with brain cancer a few weeks earlier. She is in her 30′s and a mother of two. Her friends formed a team that would run the race, in order to raise money to help with her medical bills. And I ask you: How freaking awesome is that? It almost brings tears to my eyes! She was such a nice lady. She chit-chatted with Jason and I for a few miles before speeding up to find her friends, but I think I’ll be forever touched by her story. To have brain cancer and be running a half-marathon is just amazing. You go girl.

I also admired her for wearing pink and white tube socks to the race Not only is she a strong woman, but she is fashion-forward too!

•  My second half-marathon (oh where to being with this one!) was a trail race. We were basically put in the woods and told to look for pink and black flags, or “markers”-as they called them- that would tell us if we were going the right way. Yep, I wasn’t going the right way. In fact, I ended up running 16 miles instead of 13.1 because I got lost about 5 dozen times. I ran out of fuel (food), but luckily, I did not run out of water. It was the most confusing race of my life. I managed to win 3rd place in my age group, but I’m thinking that’s because there weren’t a lot of people in my age group to being with! Oh well, I’m not complainin’

• Also, in said race, around mile 3..a girl was running behind me and she stopped for a second. Naturally, I turn around to make sure she’s okay. She says “Yeah, I think I just need to stop for a sec.” And then she proceeds to puke everywhere. Lovely. Hopefully it wasn’t because she ate a bowl of chili for breakfast that morning!  I felt so bad for the girl, but her friend was coming up behind her, so I kept on going. (Yeah, I’m thinking a pic is not needed for this memory–>moving on)
• I also remember how muddy I got during that race too! My shoes, legs and arms were covered in dirt. My running shoes were also soaking wet There was a part of the race that required us to jump over a pond, and of course, instead of jumping over it, I ended up jumping into it. Booo. Stupid water. Running the rest of race with wet socks and shoes totally sucked–and the blisters that came afterward weren’t that great either!

• Jason is big into cycling so in 2009 he decided to buy me a bike so that he could share his passion with me

Our first ride was a hilly 20 miles through Kings Mountain State Park. When we got home, I crashed on the couch, next to the space heater, and slept for 3 hours straight

• I finished my first 10k trail race winning second place in my age group! It was definitely a surprise when they called out my name because I hadn’t been trying to place at all! I also won a watch in one of their raffles

(Again with the tomato-face!) The part that I would like to forget happened when I was about to cross the finish line! I was about 30 feet away and this guy that comes running up from behind me accidentally spits on my leg!!!!!! EWWWWWWWW. I had to finish the race with it making its way down my leg. It was disgusting!  Once I crossed the finish line, I found a bathroom so that I could wash it off. Major yuck-o

• Not all of my memories come from running.  A lot of them come from hikes that I have been on. Specifically, the 7 mile hike that Jason and I went on when we were camping last month! The scenery was so beautiful! The air was crisp and fresh, like only mountain air can be

Ahhh, I love it.

• Experiencing FitBloggin! ‘Nuf said
• Being able to hold side Crow’s Pose for about 5 seconds last week! Woo hoo! That’s five seconds longer than usual, haha. I’m still working on it!

Now I want to know your most memorable exercise moments   Time to get cookin’ in the kitchen. Have a wonderful week you guys!

I kinda didn’t want to be back, but I missed my doggie too much to stay gone any longer.

We had tons of fun out in the ol’ country…surrounded by nothing but trees, abandoned barns and tons and tons of hiking trails! It felt more like home to me than anywhere else I’ve ever been.

Our trip started with a 2.5 hour drive towards the northern part of North Carolina. The campsite was near the town of Sparta, which (I think) is semi-close to the VA border.

When we finally found the campsite, we went into the office to check in, only to find that the office actually doubled as the owner’s home! There was an older man in the kitchen canning green beans and a woman puttering around saying “You should be staying off that knee Daddy!” They were such nice people! They even let us pick out our own spot…

…and so we got to setting up our tent

After setting up, Jason and I decided to walk around a little bit and check out the area. That’s when we realized that we were the youngest people staying there! Most of the other campers were a lot older and camping in their RV’s. There was only one other tent besides ours. That’s ok! A lot of the folks were very friendly. They would smile and wave, or say ‘Hello’ when we walked by, I loved it

Dinner time was next! We were starving <–that’s an understatement.

I’d brought spaghetti, a jar of pasta sauce and zucchini and squash along with us…just to make sure we get in some kind of veggie. And as I was taking a picture of this, I started to think: How many people actually take spaghetti with sauce to cook on a camping trip?? My guess would be not many. That’s how you can tell that I have no idea how to camp. The girl brings spaghetti.

Two bowls later my tummy was satisfied.

Jason started a fire and we sat around and talked for a bit while our food settled. Then it was time for s’mores!

Oops. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Guess I got it a little too close to that fire…let’s try that again….

..maybe having a worried look on my face helped me concentrate better..because soon, that marshmellow turned into this:

Nom nom nom..I’ve died and gone to heaven Times this pic by 2 please.

The sweet stuff was good, but oh my…that mixed with the two bowls of spaghetti gave me a tummy ache I was done for the night.

That evening the rain started and it didn’t let up until 4 a.m.–yep, we were awake until then because the rain hitting the tarp over our tent was mucho loudo. And I had to pee about 50 times during the night as well. And the aerobed that we were sleeping on decided to deflate on us in the middle of the night! Bummer. Good stuff for story telling though

At 7 a.m. I turned towards Jason and he was wide awake too. Let’s go ahead and get our day started, I said. And so we did!

Well, the planned breakfast was eggs with grits, raisin toast and a naner…but, um…the eggs..I will spare you the picture of those. They ended up getting water in them and turned bad and it ’twas pretty disgusting. The grits, toast and banana was still good though, not very filling. (Can’t find pic!)

We took showers and headed to Stone Mountain for a day of hiking I was so excited to be hiking! I haven’t had any knee pain for 1-2 weeks and I had a good feeling that I would be able to hike without pain as well.

The trail starts at the bottom of Stone Mtn and goes in a 4.5 mile loop…and I must say, the scenery was amazing, just simply amazing.

There are at least 100 more photos that I could post but I’d rather talk about “The Hike”.

Jason and I hiked a total of 7.5 miles on Saturday, no pain in my leg, no hot sun beating down on us..the air in the mountains is soooo clean. This trip caused me to do some serious thinking (what else can a girl do when there are no electronics around?!) about my life and how far I’ve come from the girl I used to be. 

I used to be in school for Psychology.

I used to sit in my living room on weekends with a pint of Ben & Jerrys in my lap, and a remote in one hand…and that would be my fun.

I used to stay up drinking with my best friend, only to sleep the entire day after.

I used to think: Why would anyone run 13 miles??

I used to be content on doing things alone.

I used to never see past myself being a waitress at O’Charleys.

I used to never think I could make a difference in anyone’s life.

Well, guess what?

That girl is gone. And sometimes when I look back on her, it’s like she is a stranger. Like she’s someone that I can’t even believe exsisted. No, that can’t be me…could it? Nah, never.

I’m now about to graduate from school and be one step closer to becoming the person that I really want to be. I want to be a dietician. I want to expand my knowledge in exercise science.

I want to help change lives, help reshape and cleanse bodies from the inside-out.

I want to be a great girlfriend, and maybe even wife, one day.

I want to spread my knowledge of living a healthy lifestyle (and WHY it matters) to other people.

I want to constantly challenge myself in new ways.

They say ‘better late than never’. They are so right (whoever “they” are!). The old me would’ve pushed these thoughts to the side and said “Yeah, that’d be nice to do that one day.”

The new me: Let’s do this.

And I’m glad I’m having this revelation when I’m 25. The world is still in front of me and I can just reach out and grasp it if I so choose too (And I do)

I guess what I’m trying to say is: Being out of society for a few days has caused me to really think about the kind of person that I am and the kind of person that I want to be.

For the first time, in my life, I know exactly what I want to do and exactly where I want to go.

And it feels really great

Tomorrow: I go vegan for a day! (Oh, and speaking of ‘new me’..I have my internship interview tomorrow at the YMCA, wish me luck!)

And about that giveaway: It’s coming, just tying up a few loose ends/details! Stay tuned                                                                          

You guys, these past two days have been the most emotional days ever..and if you are in a good mood, don’t read! Because I would hate to rain on anyone’s parade. Lot’s of stuff going on in the world of Stacey and I need to write.

Let me back up to yestereday:

I started my morning with 2 smooshed blueberry muffins with jam:

and a semi green smoothie that consisted of: 1/2 cup frozen strawberries, one HUGE naner, almond milk, pb and 2 handfuls of spinach. I only drank 3/4 and gave the rest to Jason, who had been eyeballin’ it ever since he stumbled out of bed.

On my way to school I stopped and got a water and a half-caf iced coffee:

In class, we are working on management formulas for a dietary staff in a kitchen, and I’m so lost. That’s when all of the emotional upheavel started. My nerves were torn up after trying to understand budget analysis and blah blah blah, we had a speaker coming so we were alloted 15 minutes to inhale our lunches.

[I seem to have misplaced the pic of my lunch. 'Twas leftover sweet potato casserole and a veggie salad with goat cheese. ] My teacher actually found us after only 10 minutes and told us the speaker was early and to come back to class. Good thing I had a small lunch

After class, it was off to coach Girls on the Run. Before going in, I had half of a Cliff Carrot Cake bar:

Practice went very well. They ran better than they have all semester. Perhaps it’s because their first 5k is this weekend?!

When leaving, things took a turn for the worse. I was on my way to go to the gym to do a 5-miler and while driving there I see a cat get hit by a car The jerkoff driver didn’t even stop! He just kept driving and the cat was still alive, so I turned my car around and found a place to park.

I jumped out and ran over to it. I’m not gonna go into detail because it was pretty horrible…I didn’t want to touch it and scare it, it kept trying to pick itself up and then just collapsing…I was freakin hysterical. How can you hit an animal and not stop?! After trying to get itself out of the road, it just kind of gave up It was dead when I left.

I could not stop crying. For some reason, I’m super sensitive to things like that. I drove to the gym thinking maybe I could stop blubbering enough to do something to get my mind off of what I just saw, but I never even made it out of the car.

I spent the rest of the night crying out of nowhere. I cried because dinner was brown. I cried because I was tired, I cried when the rice didn’t boil all the way..every little things was setting me off…when really, I was just crying because of humanity. I don’t understand how the world can be so thoughtless sometimes.

I gobbled down a plate of veggie/bean spicy stir-fry and called it a night.

_______________________________________________________

And what happened this morning before work just threw me into a whole other heart-wrenching day.

I woke up at 5:30 and sat down at the computer to look at the weather..Trixie did her usual routine of following me, but when she stood up to come to me she convulsed and fell back down to the floor.

My first thought: That’s odd. What are you doing, Trixer?

Then she did it again….and again…the poor thing couldn’t even stand up without convulsing terribly and then having her body go stiff, and just lay back down.

Jason heard me get upset and came in there and suggested we take her to the vet. We spent an hour in an emergency clinic. Apparantly, my dog was having seizures. They said it’s either because of poisoning (which is highly unlikely) or because of her age (12).

I know she isn’t as young as she used to be, but I never thought I’d have to deal with this sort of thing. I was naive in thinking she’d always be around. I just feel so sad.

He says if the seizures are starting, then it’s likely to expect more, but there is no telling when…could be later on today, next year, or month or whenever. I’ve had all of the emotions I can handle in a 48 hour period..no more..please, no more.

I know I promised two giveaways and they are coming. Perhaps even this weekend? We will see how things go. Sorry to be such a downer, but writing typing helps, so that’s what I shall do. See ya in a few days!

I’ve had such a fun weekend, so I thought I’d hop on and tell ya bout it.  

My college was hosting a health fair on Saturday and I was in charge of running the metabolic testing room!  

We were extremely slow when the fair first started, but after an hour of standing around, I finally got some takers! And the list kept growing from there on out :) Allow me to demonstrate what exactly metabolic testing is….  

You lie back on a chair in a relaxed, comfy position. You then place a breathing tube in your mouth and seal off your nose with a very uncomfortable nose clamp. At first, your body sort of goes into this “OH NO! I can’t breathe!” -mode but you just have to try and relax and regulate your breathing through your mouth.  

Next, the opposite end of the breathing tube is hooked to the metabolic testing machine (as seen below). The person doing the testing starts the machine, turns on zen-like music, turns off the lights and leaves you in there breathing into the machine for about 10 minutes (for women, that is. It takes a longer amount of time for men!)  

The machine will beep when it is done. The test administrator keys in the persons age, height, weight and gender and then like magic, it prints out a ton of information, including:  

• Whether or not the person has a slow, normal or fast metabolism
• How many calories a day the person burns just sitting and doing nothing (otherwise known as your Resting Energy Expenditure)
• How many calories a day the person can burn with 30 minutes of exercise
• How many calories a day the person can burn with normal daily activities
• What calorie range to stay in if the person wishes to maintain their weight
• What calorie range to stay in if the person wants to lose weight
• What calorie range to stay in if the person wants to gain weight
• BMI
• Factors that can increase the persons metabolism

I’d have to say, it’s freakin’ awesome!  Every person I tested responded with: “I can’t believe my body burns that much when I’m not doing anything!” or “This is so useful!!”. And I probably tested about 12 people, and even 1 man! The first ever to do the metabolic testing   

Men typically have higher metabolisms (and higher calorie expenditure), which is why, I’m assuming,  the machine takes longer to calculate their statistics. If you have a metabolic testing site near you, seriously, GO DO IT. I’ve done the test twice: once last year and then again on Saturday.  

I learned that I have a fast metabolism, I burn around 1900 kcals a day without physical activity or daily activity added in, I have a healthy BMI and that I also need to be consuming over 2,000 calories a day. Compared to last year when I had a slightly above normal metabolism, was burning around 1400 a day and needed to be consuming 1900 kcals a day. I guess all this exercise and training is making a difference!  

After my last “customer” I headed back into my classroom and stole a couple of cookies for a snack before heading home ;)  

 Jas and I ended up at the gym a bit later for an 30 minute strength training session. I was pooped after that! After all, I had gotten up at 6:30 for the health fair and my body was really feeling tired and worn out. I took the rest of the day easy…and spent my Sunday like this: 

Not one of my prettiest moments as you can see. I literally spent all day in my pj’s, vegging out on the couch and mumbling under my breath at the Food Network cooks Sometimes a girl just needs a day like that! There was a run that had been planned but I gave up all hope as soon as I saw the dark, stormy sky. Didn’t try to fight it. It was meant for me to spend all day in my pj’s  

It was up-an-at’em Monday morning for school! I knew I’d be working all morning in the kitchen at the hospital so I cooked up a mean breakfast that would keep me full: 

 Eggs in a basket is that the name?? with hotsauce, and grapes on the side. Along with coffee of course. Then it was off to school for me! I spent the next four hours up to my elbows in meat. We prepared all kinds of meat including meatloaf, pureed chicken, hamburger steaks and fried chicken.

As I was coating the chicken with a crunchy topping, I made a pouty face and said “Poor chicken.”

The cook replied: “What are you? A vegetarian?”

Me: “Yep.”

Him: “Those poor soybeans.” HA. Very funny

After school it was time to go home for a quick lunch before coaching Girls on the Run. I heated leftover chili in the microwave, topped it with cheese and sour cream and dipped a few blue corn tortilla chips in there for a little crunch.

Time to leave again! (I stay busy on Monday and Wednesdays!) Girls on the Run practice went great! I can’t wait to see them accomplish their first 5k

When practice was over, I drove home, gave Trixie a quick walk, worked on some homework and waited on Jas to get home so we could go for a 5 mile run. The sky was kinda dark and thunder-y but we still went. I’m glad we did because my body felt totally re-energized after a weekend of rest!

The run went great! We chit-chatted and once home, I made a quick dinner because there was a math test that needed to be completed before 12 AM and I take forever on a math test.

We feasted on spicy roasted red potatoes, roasted garlic asparagus and black bean burgers. Nom nom nom. There may have been a beer in there at some point too

Like my smileys?? Twas good and filling.

Before testing, I decided to take a few moments to enjoy my latest dessert fetish:  

  PB&Co. the Bee’s Knee’s with dark chocolate for dipping..mmmm…sooo good. It’s just the bee’s knees, I tell ya what <—HAR HAR

Then it was test time! It took me 3.5 hours to take a 30 question test told you that I take forever!! but I made a 95 on it!!! Woot woot! I think it’s funny that Jason was getting impatient with my computer-hogging lol. What a nerd

 Now, seeing as how it is Tuesday..and we’ve gotten through the case of Mondays already..why not do a little daydreaming to get you through today?? The question is: What would you do with a million dollars?

I’ll go first!

If I had a million dollars I would first pay off my car and school expenses.

Then I would donate money to the NC school physical education to help fund them and keep the programs going! I would also donate money to a local treasure, Holy Angels. They are an awesome, awesome establishment in our community.

I’d save a lot of it for a house.

And treat myself (and Jason and Trixie) to a much needed getaway, probably somewhere tropical  That’s what I would do!

What would you do?

It was so much fun

I think I am officially in lurve with the city of Baltimore and all of the bloggies that I met too. All of the girls were great, all of the sponsors were beyond great and the experience was just amazing. Let’s start with Friday night:

After a successful (<—successful meaning I didn’t manage to puke) airplane ride, Whit and I got our baggage and boarded the shuttle that would take us to the hotel. Guess who was on there?! Ali :D (Just so ya know, Whit let out a loud, girlie scream when she saw Ali that scared the bee-Jesus out of me) We all decided to get checked and in and get some food before we starved to death.

There was a swanky little Mexican eatery around the corner from our hotel called Talara’s. Ali and I ordered Negro Modelo’s to start out with:

Yum. Cold beer makes Stacey a happy girl They ended up splitting the $5 tapas that were on special, I ended up ordering a vegetarian panini with fries It was either that or some sort of rice and bean mixture, so the veggies won!

I ate all of the sandwich and half of the fries…it was pretty yummy, kind of oily though.

After lunch we went back to the hotel to get ready for the night! POM was hosting a cocktail party for everyone upstairs so this was our chance to get all dressed up! Here is the dress:

(Sorry for the bluriness!) Ok. You guys, I am totally not used to wearing a dress. You can find me in workout clothes probably 5 out of the 7 days that are in a week. High heels? Not my thing. Skin tight hooker dresses? Not my thing. Despite the dress being adorable (because it is!), I was so uncomfortable all night!! It only took me an hour and I was back in jeans Oh well, I guess they aren’t meant for everyone.

Upstairs was jam packed with ladies lining up for cocktails, so the girls and I decided to go down into the bar on the first floor for some drink action. I casually ordered a screwdriver:

‘Twas gone in about 3 minutes flat. I spent some time mingling at the party and joined Whit and a few others for a bar crawl. We didn’t really end up staying in one place long enough to have a drink, everywhere was so crowded! I decided to head back to the hotel, get into my jammies and call it a night.

________________

Saturday mornin’ we were up-and-at-it for the FitBloggin 5k! The folks from New Balance were beyond generous in giving us a free pair of shoes to review! 

I figured, why not run in them?? Just to test them out? So I threw on some running clothes, my new shoes and headed out the door with my roomies:

The weather was gorgeous, even at 6:30 AM!! I’m pretty sure I talked Whit and Katy’s heads off about how pretty the scenery was. The run was right by the water and it was fabulous. And guess what?! I even beat a PR time on this 5k!!!!! We finished in 28:20 A little over a minute faster than old PR time! I think it helps to run with friends

As for the shoes, they were very comfy but they didn’t have the high-arch support like the ones that I usually run in. I’m not really sure I would run in these again, but I am definitely going to use them for walking/hiking shoes (ahem, wearing them right now).

Everyone congratulated everyone else on doing an awesome run, then it was shower—>breakfast—>seminar time.

Breakfast was provided by Quaker oats

The only thing that was missing was the peanut butter!

There were several great seminars throughout the day:

….including: Junk Science: How to Critically Evaluate Research….

…From Blog to Book: How to get Published…

…and Using Social Media to Reach Goals. Then it was lunchtime!

Another vegetarian panini (!) with a delicious cup of mushroom soup with pumpernickel croutons…the soup was to die for. So good. Dessert consisted of a fruit plate with a small Jell-O shot, minus the liquor

A bunch of us decided to head out for an after-lunch walk to soak up the atmosphere of Baltimore (and some vitamin D as well )

Picture courtesy of Anne!

We walked for about 30 minutes then it was time to head back for the last 2 seminars and a closing session from David Grotto. I skipped the post conference reception and the book signing. Instead, I went back to the room took my shoes off, lay on the bed and called my mom and boyfriend . A girl starts to miss familiar voices after a while, know what I mean??

After chillaxing for an hour or so, I realized how bad I wanted to be outside!! <—Seriously in love with Baltimore. I decided to venture out to find some take-out for dinner. I came upon a Lebonese place two blocks from our hotel, it held the promise of vegetarian food! I ordered the Vegetarian Mezza, and since I can’t pronounce anything that was in it, I took a pic for you guys  

I sat by the river while I waited for my food:

How beautiful is that sunset?! Very beautiful, I would say As weird as it sounds, sunsets are kind of a spiritual experience for me..especially when I see a sunset over water.

Once I was back at the hotel I eagerly opened up my dinner!

Where to start?! I’ve never had Lebonese food before…but I quickly learned that it is amazing! I ate EVERYTHING off of the plate…and the fried/breaded things were the most delicious of course

Ugh. I was stuffed. Like pop-a-button-on-my-pants stuffed. But not too stuffed for a blondie from the cafe in the hotel lobby

It was the perfect ending to a perfect day

The sun was setting and it was time for me to relax and get myself ready for Day 2 of FitBloggin!

Stay tuned to find out what I did on my favorite day of the whole trip