I have a confession. Between the marathon training, trying to be a domestic goddess, and work, Mama is tired. And I’m not sure what to do to get back to feeling like I’m well rested. But I’ve been staying up late working on the blog, running a ton and not really sleeping a ton. I really wish there were more hours in the day, but there aren’t, so I really really need to learn to maximize my time. I’m figuring it out.
But at any rate, here’s what three things I’m obsessed with this week!
Demi Lovato. Bitch is baaad.
This is from Demi’s IG, I obviously didn’t take this photo myself.
I have been a fan for a long time, and I bought tickets for me and my sister to go see her Neon Light’s Tour on Sunday night. Eep! I love the voice, and I especially love her because, 1, she is Mexican and doing it for the women of color, and 2, she’s been really open with her struggles with self-harm, an eating disorder, and her Bipolar Disorder. It’s hard to be open about mental health issues, and she is so cool for doing that.
My Garmin. I’m not getting paid by them (I wish I was) to say this, but I’m still rocking the 610 (now the 620), and I continue to be impressed by all the features I didn’t use until now. Especially the customizable interval feature, which comes in super handy for speed work!
This dog. I’m literally the biggest dog fan in the world, but I only have one because I live in an apartment. But look at who I met today at Starbucks?
This dog is a malti poo, and his name is Picasso. He is so cute, but I’m so torn. I’m a big big fan of rescuing your animals, but how do I acquire a mali-poo like Picacsso in an adoption fashion? Hm.
Happy Friday yawl! What three things are you obsessed with this Friday?
…despite my vegetarianism, there are so many vegetables I hate. I mean, I really hate so many. These include, but are not limited to, mushrooms (and that’s what people always try to offer vegetarians when there is no other option. Kill me). I also hate cauliflower, the gourds, and certain peppers.
…naps like a damn champ. When I was in college, I used to nap multiple times a day, Now I’m an adult and I really almost never get the change to nap. So when I do get the chance to nap, once or twice a month, I nap for like a thousand hours for the day.
…gets a little obsessive about certain things. Lately I have been shampooing my carpets like the world is going to end. Just did it again last night. And I loved it. I may have a disorder, and I’m completely okay with that.
…works out a ton. I didn’t used to be, but I got sick of being annoyed with my body, and I started working out. It’s amazing. I try and do something every day. I run, I yoga, I do Zumba, I lift, I try and do something, or I go crazy.
…gets in weird moods once in a while. My weird moods usually mean I want to just lay on the couch and do nothing, or I want to pick a fight because I feel kind of irritable. Two nights ago, I was in a weird mood, so I took the dog, and sat on the patio at a sushi restaurant. It really did my soul a lot of good.
…is an awesome cook despite the fact that people say skinny girls can’t cook. I love taking comfort foods, like Mac + Cheese or a Grilled Cheese and turning it healthy.
…loves bright colors. Bright, deep, amazing colors. They make me happy!
…is getting married in a little than 6 months, and is surprisingly relaxed about the whole deal. I honestly can’t wait!
Enjoy, and link up with these bloggers, or link up in the comments below!
So remember that incredible dish I had at Pop’s on Sunday? The fusilli pasta with the mozzarella?
I slimmed it down, cut some of the oils, and made my own version, and it turned out awesome? The only downside? I made enough pasts for like 24 people, and now I’m trying to pawn large amounts of pasta off on anyone who will eat food fit for human consumption.
Here’s the side-by-side – Sunday’s meal is on type. Mine is on the bottom.
Mine looks a little “drier” because I skimped on some of those oils that can pack on calories. But it definitely was tasting good! Now who wants pasta?
Moving right along!
The weather was beautiful in North Carolina today, literally like 75 degrees. So I dragged my boss down to the track for a speed workout.
It was nice to run on the track on a pretty day, and I’ve been working out on such hard surfaces recently, I forgot how nice it is to run on a soft, springy surface. My body is totally thanking me today.
Today’s interval was a 1 mi. by 6, with a 400m recovery. It was cool, and I ended up being able to squeeze like 8 miles out of the deal without even realizing! That’s one of the beautiful aspects of speed workouts!
Okay, I usually never do this, but this is actually pretty funny.
Mile 1: 7:46 – hysterical, because I told my boss that the first mile would be a nice and easy one, just for us. I started to feel so crappy during the mile, and I couldn’t figure out why. Yeah, that would be why, I was running at ungodly (for me) speeds.
Mile 2: 7:59
Mile 3: 8:12
Mile 4: 8:09
Mile 5: 8:14
Mile 6: 8:14
The best moment? When a woman who was also working out on the track turned to me as she was leaving, gave me the thumbs up, and told me that I was awesome. I, being hyper-emotional because I was working out, completely burst into tears right there on the track. Whatevs man, working out is beautiful.
And now, it’s time for the reader question!
I got a text a few days ago, from a reader asking about tying running shoes!
I’m forever confused about the different ways to tie running shoes and have just recently learned the tighter you tie isn’t actually the better (I was wondering why my feet were going numb).
So Kim (reader in question) is certainly not the only one. I was beyond shocked when I borrowed my boss’ shoes for a run, and his shoes were snatched down to beyond an inch of their lives, and I’ve seen the same in a lot of folks who come into Fleet Feet. A lot of folks will come in and complain of their feet going numb especially.
So here’s the deal, and the way I would suggest that you tie your shoes in order to be comfortable.
Take a gander at the feets.
So your shoes do not need to be super tight, nor do they need to be flopping off of your feet (something I’ve certainly been guilty of). But if you’re one of those people who love that tight feel, but concerned because your feet go numb every run, I have a fun trick for you. Tie your shoes normally. Don’t squeeze the heck out of your feet.
Then, do this. We’re gonna backlace your shoe (and keep the shoe from sliding around on your ankle).
See that top eyelet on the shoe that you’ve always wondered about? We’re going to use it today. Poke the right lace through the right hole and the left lace through the left hole. So we’re making bunny ears. Now cut straight across the top of your foot and pierce the opposite ear. Same thing, pierce the opposite ear. Then pull both laces straight up, and this will lock the shoe on your ankle without killing the top of your food. Here’s how it’s gonna go in YouTube form.
Do itttttt. Now remember, chill on the laces. Do not get fixated on tying them so tight that you see life flash before your eyes. It’s unnecessary, and the last thing you want to be thinking about is how bad your feet hurt 10 miles in.
Anyhoo, I miss you guys, come visit me in the comments.
Tell me something, what’d you eat for dinner last night? Pictures are welcome!
I talk like Hilary Banks, and I’ve been asked many, many a time, if I’m from California. I can’t help it. But that leads most people to believe I’m too la la la foufy to actually do anything or actually get hurt doing stuff, you’ve not spent enough time with me. So I bring you this – my favorite scar.
So see that line on my thumb? The story behind that scar is so weird.
When I was in 6th grade, after a particularly riveting CCD sesh (points for anyone who knows what that was), I was making a can of Chef Boyardee to eat for a late dinner.
Side note: Despite how hard my parents worked to keep me in church (CCD, etc), I am still a heathen, as well evidenced by my “Jesus Shaves” mug.
Holla!
Anyhoo, so my scar. Back in the day, when I was eating Boyardee, the way you opened the cans was just like a regular thing. There were none of those easy like pop top cans like they have now. So I used one of those old-school can openers, and got to work trying to open that can! I shoved it open with my thumb and it started to open, then got stuck halfway. And that’s when all hell broke loose. The momentum from the shove kept my finger going, and before I knew it, I’d sliced my thumb wide open on this can.
I knew it was bad, so I close my eyes and started wailing. With a kitchen towel sopping up the blood, my mom took me to the hospital where my brother’d been born, and once we got there, they stitched that sucker up. I think a bunch of stitches on the inside, and some more on the outside to seal it up.
Evidently, when I sliced my finger, I got it pretty deep because I have nerve damage in the finger. Even now, if I push on the thumb, I get this horrible sensation like I’ve hit my funny bone, so I just avoid it, and I’ve learned to type so I don’t hit that part in my finger.
And that, my dear friends, is the story of my favorite scar.
So tell me friends, what’s your favorite scar! I want a good story!
So before we get started on all the dramz, lookie at what Mama Chelsie sent me yesterday! I was laying on the couch yesterday, when she sent me a gorgeous pic and a recipe of what she’d made for dinner. Since I had nothing for lunch today, I decided to give her recipe a whirl, put a little more of a spicy twist on it, and pack it for lunch. I hope it’s good, cause it’s all packed up now!
So the way it all works is really easy. One can of seasoned black beans, drained, and I smooshed them all up in a ziplock. I mixed the smoosh up with an egg, some paprika, some garlic, and some hot pepper, added a half-cup of bread crumbs, and I grilled it up with some olive oil. With my refined palate, I added a dab of ketchup to eat it with tomorrow, and I’ll let you know how it turns out. But it smells BALLER. And in case you forgot about Chelsie, she’s the mom who helped out with my post last week. Click to read, it’s super, super good, plus there are pics of my super cute niece on there!
But moving right along.
Yesterday, without any prodding or judgement, I asked you all if you would work out with an overweight personal trainer. The answers ranged from “absolutely not,” to “why not,” to one particularly sweet answer from one of my campers, and here it is.
Considering I’m still considered overweight but I am very healthy and teach Zumba and am becoming a personal trainer I would say I would pay a person who was overweight because the weight doesn’t mean anything. I have a dangerously slow metabolism which makes it extremely hard for me to loose weight consistently unless I’m working out all day basically, but I still know how to help others to be successful, ya know?
God. I tear up when this beautiful girl says this.
Here’s my take.
Would I work out with an overweight personal trainer?
Yes.
I am very fit, and very active now, but if I ever freed up some of my time and got into weightlifting, I would employ the help of a personal trainer. Damn right I would allow an overweight personal trainer to train me, and here’s why.
I’m not perfect, and I don’t have x-ray vision. Can I tell if someone is healthy by the way they look? Can I tell if they know what they’re doing? Can I tell really much about them? Not a ton.
I’m not overweight, nor have I been. I’ve lost weight, gotten fitter, and learned to love my body. If, when I was in my transition period, someone had not given me a chance, I wouldn’t have had the strong Zumba following I have today. I appreciate folks who stuck around while I figured things out, and I would do the same for others, especially given if they know what they’re doing.
I am a counselor. Do I need to have gone through a divorce to counsel a divorced couple?
Does a heart surgeon need to have had a heart attack to successfully operate on patients?
To raise funds for Haitians in the earthquake last year, need I have been a direct victim of its devastation?
I think you know where I’m going here. And I don’t hate or fault anyone for their opinion. But for me, if Bre wants to train me? Bring it on sweet pea. I know you know what you’re doing. 🙂
Okay, but before we get into all of that, look at what I ate for dinner last night.
I met up with Kelly, a good friend from Elon last night, and we met up at this place called Pop’s in Durham. It was a Trattoria, and choc-full of a ton of good wines to choose from, so it was the perfect spot for us. So look what I had.
This delicious thing, which came in its own skillet thingie is a fusilli pasta with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella. It was literally to die for and so huge, that I could only eat like a little bit of it before I packed up the reset for lunch tomorrow. Lunch is gonna be BALLER tomorrow.
But back to the topic at hand. So I was taking to a friend yesterday, and he was describing how is accountant had a lot of bad, outstanding debt.
“It’s like working with a fat personal trainer,” he said. “It just doesn’t make sense!”
And I wasn’t sure what to make of that.
I’d like to think that you can be overweight, and fit, and that I would be okay working with a personal trainer who was overweight, ESPECIALLY if that personal trainer was well-versed in his or her craft, but I’m not sure. I never want to discriminate against someone on the basis of how they look, especially given the fact that you cannot necessarily tell how healthy someone is by looking on the outside. So I’ll pose these questions to you without any judgement, or leading.
Would you work out with an overweight personal trainer? Why or why not?
So I gave you guys the little teaser yesterday. In case you like, forgot or didn’t read it or something I provided that awesome linky for you to review.
But we swapped everything all around Valentine’s Day weekend. Since Lake Street Dive was recently on Colbert Report, and had blown up, the tickets were super sold out, so a lot of my snowy week was spent begging for tickets on the internet, which I found, 4:00 pm the day of the show. So hubby and I headed down to Carrboro, the land of the super-cool and laid back hippies, parked, and headed in for the show.
First, we passed by the Fleet Feet Sports there, and I chatted for a little while with the guy who was closing up the store.
Very pretty store! And we headed in for a sold out show.
We were right up at the front, and it was a super, super sold-out show. Also, side note. It is a CARDINAL SIN to try and push your way to the front of a general admission show when you came in late. Don’t do it or I will say something to you. So serious.
The opening act was awesome, and they were super sweet. Here’s Miss Tess…
Who looked like they stepped right out of the ’50s. Here’s me and the drummer after.
Sweet guy, and we gave him some suggestions on where he could eat in Asheville, where he was headed the next day.
The show was awesome. Rachael Price, lead singer, has a voice that’s like butter, and really really refreshing to hear.
And the best moment of the night?
When me and my Elon University Jazz professor got to meet Lake Street Dive! Can you tell from the photo how excited I am?!
Ugh. I cannot tell you how freaking excited I was.
But the show was awesome, I wish I could have taken you guys out there with me 🙂
And finally, we headed to the Irregardless Café in Raleigh on Saturday for our Valentine’s Day date. I forgot to take a pic for you guys until I’d eaten all the veggies, but this is the vegan shepards pie. Super tasty, and Austin bought us a lot of Prosecco to split. It was really romantic because we got to dance with all the old people to real music. Two nights in a row of good music! How did I get so so lucky?
So I really hope your V-Day weekend was great, and single or taken, I’d love to hear about what you did! How was your Valentine’s Day Weekend?
So the big Lake Street Dive post is coming, but not til tomorrow. Suffice it to say the show was awesome and I got to meet all the band members and tell them how awesome their show was. !!! So pumped about it! But here’s a little taste.
Anyhoo, so back to the story at hand.
So a few years ago, I was at a show at this same venue with my friend Alexa, the one who got married last spring. She is amazing, ps, and has been really helpful with wedding stuff. Anyhoo, so we went to this show, where Breathe Carolina was the headline.
Well Miley Cyrus’ brother was performing with his new band there, and after they performed I really had to go to the ladies room to powder my nose.
Well Trace was standing by the bathrooms, and covered in tattoos and no shirt, we bumped into one another and kind of blinked for a second. Me because of all his tats, and him probably because I was very rudely staring. So finally, he gave me a big hug, and we chatted about his show for a while before I continued to do my bidness, and he went along to do whatever. And that is the time I met Miley Cyrus’ very scary-looking, very nice brother.
What famous people have you met?
And as a side note, that same night, the cutie from the Ready Set hit me in the face with his water bottle when he threw it. I think I might have saved it for a while.
And in case you’re still dumb (jk, jk), my here’s what is my “here’s what three things I’m obsessed with this week,” which I totally stole from Andy Cohen, my American Idol. Andy, please, give me my own show! I need it!!! Okay, here goes though.
Lake Street Dive.
A friend tagged me in this video on the YouTube, and I’ve been obsessed ever since.
Rachael Price is that lead vocalist, and even though the show was totally sold out, I was able to purchase exactly one ticket. I know a few friends are hitting the show too, so I should be able to try to find them, but yes, I love Lake Street Dive enough that I’m just going to go to this show solo dolo.
The weather.
I promise, I’m not lame. Which I have to say because I recognize that it’s pretty lame to be posting about the weather on my blog. But it’s been disgusting, especially by NC standards, and I’ve been forced onto the treadmill more than I’d like this week. Mid next week in good ol’ Raleigh, we will be well into the 70s here. When we had a snow storm and people were abandoning their cars this week. It literally makes no sense. But whatvevs, I’ll take whatever keeps me off the treadmill for a day or two. Raise ya glass for 10 miles on Sunday! Woohoo!
These Minnetonka Boots
I blogged on these a few weeks ago, how I’d been dying for some to add to my collection, so imagine my surprise (delighted surprise), when Austin told me to close my eyes and open a shoe box? They could not be more perfect! Gah, they’re exactly what I needed!
So what three things are you obsessed with this week?
Overactive Blogger 