Ladies, today we celebrate the beauty that a little sweat brings.  Generally, I don’t like to leave the darn house without some eyeliner on, but some time spent on the elliptical has a way of perking you up even better than some liquid liner and a kohl pot.

First up?

Whitney is a camp friend, and if you’ve worked at camp, or you’ve been a camper, you know you never forget or lose touch with a camp friend.  Whitney inspired the whole thing with this stunning photo she posted of herself last week.

Hey look who it is! We know her! It’s the super famous Carly Swanson! Carly’s still kicking some butt, and has signed up for yet another half marathon this weekend, so we’ll be expecting for her to share some prize monies with us.

This cutie is an NFL Widow with me. No, our husbands don’t play, but each Sunday last year during NFL season, Jess would knit or read a book, and I would do my nails, while the boys stared intently at the television in general silence for hours. Also, I think Jess is running her first 5k soon, so we may have to go out there and hoot and holler while she crosses that finish line!

Ugh. Kimmy is one of those irritating freaks of nature who has good skin and looks like she has makeup on, even when she doesn’t. Now if you’ll remember correctly, Kimmy is my sister, and has made a few appearances on the blog. Kimmy is wrapping up her senior year at Auburn, and has lost a few lbs eating healthy, and heading down to Campus Rec to take classes a few times a week.

Mollie attended Elon with me for a year, and she rocks. I mean, total package, and we get each other. Mollie love doing nails, she’s hysterical (like comedian hysterical), and has perfect skin. I hope she doesn’t murder me for this, but one of my favorite Mollie moments was when Mollie was dancing in the hallway outside of our rooms, and she attempted to do a split. It didn’t work out and she goes, “Dammit, I forgot how un-flexible I am!”

Jenny is like my work sister. We run together, we complain about it, and we have a blast doing it. We’re also polar opposites but we sort of get each other. Jenny’s moving to San Antonio this summer, so the blog may be going on tour next year for a bit 😉

Erica is a peach. She’s also a camp friend, and she’s just a sweet girl, through and through. I think we took this photo after a Zumba class, and as you can see, the air conditioning was in tip-top shape that day 🙂

This chick needs no intro. She’s beautiful, she’s sweet, she’s got this tiny little speaking voice, and then she sings like Aretha. She’s cool, and guess what? I’m gonna be in her wedding! Here’s Alexa after a little yoga therapy last week!

And finally, this beauty hails from my living room. This is actually challenging for me. I’m one of those folks who like to throw on a teeny bit of eyeliner, some gloss, and mascara for a race, so to be photographed without it is nuts to me! I look about 12, but you know what, that’s what I look like darn it!

So if you’re one of those ladies like me who doesn’t like to go to the gym with at least something of a mask on, next time, skip the extra step, and just hit it fresh-faced. There’s nothing offensive about a bare face, and quite honestly, it doesn’t make a whole lotta sense to be hitting the treadmill with Amy Winenouse (<3) eyeliner and Baby Lips on. Celebrate the beauty that we were born with!