Where's the Beach?

Happy Friday! Anyone else think short weeks somehow feel longer? And to top it off, it's been rainy and dreary all week long. I've forgotten what the sun looks like at this point. I guess the upside is that we don't have to water the garden. I'll admit that this weather has left me in a bit of a snit. I know, I know ... look for the positives. And I am. For example, running in the rain means you're not dying of a heat stroke. But as the rain continues to pour down, the streets flood, my feet get soaked, I'm a bit miffed and that's my theme for Fun for Friday ;-) I'm Miffed Because ... My Garmin Died My little jaunt in the rain yesterday cost me $99. Apparently my Garmin 610 is not actually waterproof as suggested. I have run in the rain many many times before, but yesterday was apparently the last straw for this costly piece of equipment. It's been freezing up lately, not charging, loosing charge and frustrating the heck out of me. At mil...

Do you  ever have those moments when you think, "I must be flat out crazy." ? This morning was one of those moments. I had planned on running 6-7 miles. I watched the weather, I'm a runner and that's what we do after all right? The forecast was for 30% chance of rain around the time I was planning on heading out.  When I got out of bed, however, it was pouring. Not just a little bit of rain, but absolute downpour. I decided to go check the radar in hopes that it would be passing quickly. But it was coming down in buckets and the radar wasn't showing me what I wanted to see.  I decided I'd just get on the bike trainer, reluctantly of course as this was not my plan. I ran out of free Amazon Prime episodes of Parenthood and started trying to watch Friday Night LIghts. Totally not doing the job for distracting me by the way. So, changed into bike shorts, my cycling shoes and tried to pull up the show. Annnddddd cue internet outage.  There was no Plan ...

The premise for this dish was inspired by Jason's mint plant. We have it, but I rarely cook with mint. I always think of it as something that will be too over-powering for a dish. But, I was wanting to try something different and use up at least a small portion of the copious amounts of mint we have taking over a particular spot in my flower beds. I decided to pair the mint with lemon for a bright freshness. It just sounded summery, bright and cheery. I had some leftover grilled veggies on hand and decided to go with an Israeli couscous, again, mostly just trying to do something a little different. I love the texture of the Israeli couscous, and it can really take on so many flavor variations. Part of me was torn between the idea of going more towards the Indian spices, but I wasn't sure the Indian flavors would pair well with the lemon and mint I had planned out for the tofu. Because I felt like the tofu was going to have stronger flavors, I wanted a hint of sweetness w...

Let's talk dreams , and not the hopes and wishes for the future type, but those you have when sleeping. I mean, it's Fun for Friday after all right? Do you have those weird dreams that keep reoccurring? Maybe not nightly, but often enough that you remember having them. They tend to be mostly the same, only slight variations perhaps. Contact too large. As in it's like the size of my hand and I'm trying to squish it into my eye. One leg longer than the other. Which is much different than one leg being shorter right? Falling with stomach drop sensation. I hate hate hate that feeling. Horror novel ideas. I have always had very horror-movie like dreams. Jason thinks I should write them down. Racing a full-marathon dream. In this dream, I am getting lost on the course that becomes more like trail running and rock climbing or starting a race too late. Late to a race. Short distance racing where I'm running late to the start and miss the start comple...

Lindsay (AKA The Lean Green Bean ) is hosting another Pin it Party. Here’s what you do: Round up 5 blog posts you’ve written that you would like to see on  Pinterest . Make sure there is a nice, pinable image or photo included in each post. Write a short post featuring the posts you chose - Put 5 nice images & links to the posts all in one place, along with a short description of each post. On first Thursday of each month, publish your post, then visit The  Lindsay’s Lean Green Bean  and add your post to the linkup! The linkup is open for about a week! 1. Vacation Workout - Full-Body Resistance Band & Cardio Workout Typically when I'm on vacation, I don't have access to weights. Resistance bands are fantastic for travel and allowing you to get in a good resistance workout even when you don't have dumbbells, barbells or machines. Plus, sometimes it's just fun to mix it up with something new. 2. Don't Apologize for Living This post is ...

I had meant to do a Tasty Tuesday recipe today. But I was lazy over the weekend and didn't edit the photos. I was thinking about that on my morning run. I was thinking a lot actually. I'm certain that most runners tend to have a million and one thoughts flitting around during any given run. If you're like me, they come in spurts and rarely string together. SQUIRREL. Just for fun, I thought I'd share some of the random, flitting thoughts from this morning. How is it already 65 degrees, we didn't even make it to 65 degrees Thursday through Saturday.  Thank goodness for the wind. Ok, that's enough wind.  I think I'll stick to 6 miles today. Definitely no more than 7.  It might be a really pretty sunrise. Maybe I should have headed north first.  I can't believe how light it is already.  Why are there so many people out driving around at this ungodly hour? Shouldn't they be sleeping? Only runners should be out this early.  I h...

Happy Happy Friday! This has been one heck of a week trying to readjust after vacation. Is it possible to have a vacation hangover? I think that's been my affliction this week. I've been utterly exhausted feeling. Of course, waking up early to get in my workouts hasn't helped. Then there's the whole having to go to work thing. Actually, the biggest post-beach-vacation shock is having to actually get ready each day. Real shoes, real clothes, hair and makeup??? But, it's finally here, Fun for Friday! I had a few ideas for a post, but then I found some inspiration from my friend Lindsay. She had a  post today that was talking about summer camps, more specifically Camp Spark . She asked everyone for their favorite summer camp memories. I don't have one. I never went to summer camp. I barely went to Vacation Bible School because I was so painfully, incredibly painfully shy. Seriously, the thought of having to have gone to camp would have sent me into a comp...

Do you ever feel like you can be too strict with yourself, your routine, your "healthy" habits? I think that sometimes, in all our efforts to be the healthiest selves we can be, we forget to relax. (And I will admit, ahead of time, that I wrote this post and almost deleted it.) Last week, while in Perdido Key, FL , I let myself relax. Not only relax all day sitting on the beach, but also letting myself not get caught up in being super strict with my eating habits, not stressing out about missing my strength training or even core work for that matter. Let me first say that I try to eat clean, whole foods because it makes me feel better. Plain and simple. I don't log my food, I don't count macros, I just try to avoid processed junk (not to say I don't indulge in pizza or nachos), and eat clean 80% of the time. Ok, moving onward ...  On vacation, I relaxed (as already stated). I ate more Almond M&M's than one person should be allowed to eat, I dug into p...

May 11-17 is National Women's Health Week . It's a great reminder for women to stop and think about our health, ourselves. So often women, especially mothers, become so involved in taking care of others that they forget to do the same for themselves.  There are many things that we can do to take care of ourselves to become happier and healthier.  Be active Being active is more than trying to lose or maintain a certain weight. Exercise (both cardio and resistance training) has amazing benefits for your body and mind. Exercise can help ease the effects of stress, elevate your mood, reduce your chances of many health conditions and disease such as heart disease and high cholesterol.  In a busy world filled with taking care of the family, household chores, demanding jobs, it's so easy to say, "I don't have time to workout." You don't have to work out for hours on end to reap the benefits. As a personal trainer , I strive to make sure that my cl...

It's amazing how quickly a vacation flies by isn't it? Last Friday we hit the road and drove halfway to our destination, Perdido Key, FL. Perdido Key is to the east of Gulf Shores. We love the area because it's far quieter than the hustle and touristy bustle of Gulf Shores or Orange Beach. We finished our drive Saturday morning arriving with plenty of time to enjoy the beach and ocean views and our first dinner of the week on the balcony watching the sun set. Sunday morning I woke up around 6:45 ready to run. The only complaint about the area is in regards to running. The sun starts to rise around 5:30, so by 7 it's already fairly high in the sky. It's humid, I mean, it's near the beach after all. The temperatures were hovering around 68, which wouldn't be too bad if there was any shade to be found. There is none. It's just over a mile on the main, very busy road to get to a neighborhood. The most dreaded parts of my run are on that main thoroug...

Have you ever had a workout mishap, like taking a spill during a run, then you hear repeatedly, "Exercise will kill ya!" And it's often said with a beaming, know it all, told ya so smile right?  Well, maybe they're right? Exercise is dangerous! GASP  Ok, I didn't fall and hit my noggin' this morning if that's what you're concerned about. I'm most certainly not saying that we shouldn't exercise. But face it, sometimes the things we do can hurt us, especially if you're a super klutz like me.  I thought it'd be fun to share just a few of my exercise mishaps over the years: Falling off a stability ball - this has happened many times, thankfully never in the gym where others were there to witness the scene. Hitting myself with a resistance band - those suckers can pack a wallop by the way! Scraping my shins with a barbell - hello deadlift battle wounds Hitting myself with a dumbbell - I've had more ...