Charlotte North Carolina

Clean eating + the weekend.

| cheriarmour

The weekend was full of a lot of joy.

And a lot of food that was just horrible for me.

Saturday afternoon, after I taught a killer Zumba class, I attended the graduation party of a friend, where there were some amazing sides (life of a vegetarian), and what I ate was not limited to:

  • Two types of macaroni and cheese.
  • Potato salad
  • Guacamole + Chips
  • Pasta salad
  • Deviled eggs
  • Baked beans
  • Diet Sierra Mist

Followed by…

  • A lovely thick slice of cheesecake made by my boss’s boss.

I ate disgustingly – and I kind of want to try something to kind of get rid of the nasty I ingested this weekend.

Before that!

Let’s review my weekend!

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Because I am so beautiful and gorgeous, I did another photoshoot for Headbands of Hope.  Okay, I kid, I kid, but I did another, and don’t worry, I will share those photos with you as soon as they are edited and ready to go!  But I did get this sweet buff that made me feel like a fun hippie all weekend.  I think I’m gonna buy a ton of these, because these are randomly really absorbent too!

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WARK!

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I ran home to my parents’ in Charlotte, and got to see my newly-engaged younger sister.  Everyone thinks that I’m younger because I’m only 5’8″ and she’s like 5’10-5′-11″.  I look SO short compared to her!

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My brother kind of impressed me with his burrito making/folding skills and he made one for a ton of folks.  I told him he needs to open something up and that he could give Moe’s a run for their money.  He’s showing promise in the cooking arena.  Between him, my dad, me, and my sister Kimmy (who cooks like a pro), we could have an excellent little family restaurant situation.

photo 5And my mom is liable to murder me, but there she is, feeling much much better.  Not sure if you remember, but my mom suffered a stroke last year, and this time last year, she was not smiling.  Good to see it this year 🙂 🙂

Onto the gross stuff that I ate this weekend and what I’m going to do about it.  

I’ve been reading this week about clean eating, and to be 100%, I feel like I’m kind of fumbling around blindly with the idea.

I don’t believe in fads, and I don’t believe in cleanses, but I totally believe it eating good stuff, and prepackaged foods like my yogurt and my Fiber 1 bars are making me feel like crap.  For a week, I’m prepping my foods, avoiding alcohol and coffee, and staying away from anything that comes in a wrapper.

My only hope is to alleviate some tummy troubles, and to get rid of this gross stuff that I spent this weekend eating and drinking.

Now….with all of that….what did you do this weekend?  

 

The worst date ever. [Reader Discretion Advised]

| cheriarmour

So this post is part of a link-up with Life of Bon – and I love love love this idea!

Granted, I have not been on a date in some time, as I’ve been with the same guy for a while, and I didn’t date a whole whole bunch before that.

But, even without a ton of experience with bad dates, when my close close friend, we’ll call her Tina, called me 20 minutes after this truly awful date, I knew that this had to be, hands down, the worst date in history.  Shall we?

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So Tina was spotted by Creeper one day in her building.  He informed her that she was the most beautiful women he’d ever laid eyes on and that he’d like to take her out to dinner.

Her reaction.

So, that Friday, he sent a box of bagels to her office and told her something to the effect that he was so so excited to go on this date with her.

Date night.  They go close to work, to a local Mellow Mushroom to have dinner.  And within 10 minutes, he tells her that he’s into feet.

As in, feet are something that turn him all the way on.

45 Ridiculous And Amazing GIFs Of Nene Leakes For Her Birthday

Tina told me at this point, she was really perplexed, and asked him a few questions out of ignorance about the topic.

“So like, in the spring time, when everyone is wearing flip-flops, what do you do?  Are you just going crazy with all the feet?”

He explained to her that it didn’t work that way, and continued on to explain that additionally, he was into some more interesting stuff. 

And finally, as if she wasn’t looking horrified enough, he explained, on the first date, at the dinner table, without any prompting, that he was into something called breath play, where he fashioned for the lady in question a suit made out of pantyhose, and asphyxiated them while they got down.

Tina, obviously horrified at the very definition of oversharing on a first date uttered, “Isn’t that dangerous?  Like can’t you pass out from that?”

“Well, yeah, it happened to my last girlfriend and it really turned me on.”

So all of that said, after the date was over and Tina was safely stowed at home, the texts began.  And Tina didn’t answer a single one.  He wanted to explain, that he wasn’t a monster, and that she should give him and his plastic grocery bags a chance.  He begged her for 5 more minutes of her time.  He sent her his rap music in hopes that this too, would win her over, and finally Tina asked that he never contact her again.

And that, my friends, was the worst date in history.

[Now a little disclaimer, what everyone does in their personal time is really their own business, however, within the first 10 minutes of a date at Mellow Mushroom is not the time to share your deviance.]

What was your worst date ever? 

Mommy judgement.

| cheriarmour

So, after the memorial service on Sunday, we were close enough to the Whole Foods in Charlotte to grab some lunch/dinner, and chat before we all had to go our separate ways that evening. 

If you haven’t been to the Whole Foods in Charlotte, it’s time to go, PS.

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Photo via Kelly Davis/Creative Loafing

Deb made fun of me and said that I always force her go go when I come up.  But whatever, it’s awesome, and I need my hot bar every now and again.

So here’s where the mommy judgement came in. 

As we were about to check out, I noticed a mom with a slice of pizza in one hand, and a screaming child hanging off of the other.  I might have imagined this, but I think she was wearing workout clothes, and she was practically begging this child to use her own feet and stop flipping out.  As she wove her way to the workout, one mom after another caught my eye and gave their best judgmental looks as if to say, “my child would NEVER!” I was embarrassed that these women thought I was in their same club, and I didn’t want them to think that their judgment was okay, like their kids had never flipped out.  

As all three of us, Mom, baby, and me approached the check-out line, I did the best thing I knew to do. 

Y’all knew I was a baby whisperer, right?  

“Would it help if I picked her up?”

Mom wearily mumbled something, which I took as a yes, and I reached down, scooped up little miss cranky-because-she-just-woke-up, and we chatted for a second while mom could pay for something.   When mom was done, I handed her back, and all was right, plus the cashier gave me my sparkling water for free.  

So what was easier?  Making faces at a struggling mom?  Or getting to snuggle with a really cute kid while the mama pays? 

 

Happy Belated Christmas, folks!

| cheriarmour

I think it’s the law that the WiFi in your childhood home has to, has to, be incredibly horrid, so I’m blogging a little late from the McDonald’s a few minutes from the border of South Carolina.

I’m avoiding eye contact with like 4 youths who’ve taken an interest in me, and seem to be trying to catch my attention.  I’m wearing my headphones and pretending I can’t hear them – but nothing is really playing.

But I digress.

I hope your Christmas, or whatever you celebrate, was wonderful.  Mine was really really nice.

I started with some Redbox action with my brother upon my arrival.  We watched that Melissa McCarthy/Sandra Bullock cop movie, ‘The Heat’, which I was totally sure was gonna be hysterical, but it was honestly a little off-putting.  There wasn’t a minute in the movie that you didn’t hear the f-word.  Now don’t get me wrong, I totally live for some some dirty language, but it was really too much for my delicate sensibilities.

Christmas Day, I woke up, and once we got everyone up, we started opening presents.  The fan fave?  This:

Soda Stream

The Soda Stream!  My pops, like me, is a huge fan of some seltzer, and we got into making a few glasses before we even started breakfast.  My dad kept looking at his glass and saying, “This is amazing!”

So I’m pretty sure I went with the right choice.

So knowing that I’d be probably indulging in a few more cookies than I usually do, I made sure to hit the run in some way, shape, or form a few times while here at home.  So when I was sent out for our Christmas dinner, some key Chinese dishes (veggie lo mein, sesame chicken for my brother, and general tso’s chicken for my dad), I put in the order, and left the restaurant on foot to make sure that I wouldn’t make an excuse to skip my run.  I ran around the back of the building….and right onto a golf course.

Golf 1

Seriously.  I ran, and found myself on a golf course, and it almost looked like another planet, with the amount of balls (hee hee) that were back there.

Golf 2

Like, doesn’t that look just like Mars or something?  So my quick run turned into one that was a little longer, around a local golf course as the sun went down.

Golf 3As predicted, I ate a few more cookies than I planned to before I went to bed last night and watched some Sherlock Holmes with my brother, so this morning, I hit it again, with some time on the treadmill, followed by some time spent with weights.

Some of today’s highlights?

  • I got to be lazy, aside from my workout, which was fabulous.
  • I used the Starbucks gift card that my mom got me!
  • I went to the Whole Foods in Charlotte, and they have a wine bar there.  A glass was on special for like $3.00, so of freaking course I indulged!  I also walked around, picked some produce with my mom, ate lunch from the hot bar, and got some handmade soap, which is super spensive, but awesome.
  • And I found my wedding dress today!  I’m keeping it super secret, otherwise, I’d post a little pictorial evidence for you.

So onword and upword!  Next up!  New Years!

What are your New Years plans?  Any running related ones?

Merry Christmas Eve!

| cheriarmour

A quick check-in with you all.

Hope everyone is having a great holiday.  I’m finally tucked in in Charlotte with most of the family, but not before I put in a full day in Raleigh.

I started with a plan to leave the homestead for my parents’ around 12 noon, but that was not to be.

Thankfully, I don’t think my mom will be reading this before she gets her gift tomorrow morning, but my dad asked me to stop by the Best Buy to pick up something called the Google Chromecast.  Little did I know that this was such a hot item in Raleigh, North Carolina.

I hit the Best Buy on Capital.  Nope.

I hit the Best Buy near my home. No way.

Wal-Mart told me they had them.  I drove there.  They did not.

I hit Tiger Direct.  They didn’t even stock the item.

I tried the AT&T store.

And finally, I had to call my sister in Charlotte to run to the Best Buy near my parents’, hours after I’d embarked on my journey.

Cooked a little tofu, banged out a nap, and stole away for a few miles before I had to get into the Lancer (which someone hit in the parking lot of Best Buy while I was trying to make my way back home, at this point, almost with tears in my eyes).

Greenway
A swollen Crabtree Creek after a night full of rain.

And…

Greenway 2
Some chilly greenway – if nothing else, Raleigh is hilly!

Anyhoo, I made it. Have a Happy Holiday! I will check in with you guys soon!

Ya missed me? This post is so jam-packed with goodies, I can’t even stand it!

| cheriarmour

I took a few days off from writing, and it drove me peanuts.   But I logged the events of Thanksgiving break in my head so I could keep everyone filled in on the events, which were events a-plenty.

Wednesday, before the holiday, I skipped the run (I know, shame on me,) because I went in for an endoscopy after work to figure out what was going on with my stomach, which you’ll remember has been acting really nuts since my bout with a stomach bug in September.  It was an upper endoscopy, so as far as prep, it just required that I fasted for a bunch of hours.  Rude.

I went in, stripped down to a sexy gown, and they started me on an IV.  The whole process was fairly non-dramatic.  I was wheeled into a room, laid on my side, given oxygen and the process began.  First the Lidocaine to numb my veins, and then the Propofol, and next thing I knew, I was out.  I woke up a really short time later – apparently, while I was under and they tried to shove the camera down my esophagus, I started flailing, pulled my IV out, and they had to pull me out of my sleep to reset the IV.  It was no big deal, and next thing I knew, I was out, and Austin was ready to take me home.  But not before in a haze, I told the nurse that “I looooove him,” and “did you know we were getting married?”

The final verdict? Gastritis.  The lining of my stomach was inflamed and has kicked acid up into my esophagus, which was burnt up too.  The morning of Greensboro, nerves and something I ate the day before probably aggravated my already-raw stomach, causing me to throw up.  Which burnt my esophagus even more.  Yumz. They did a biospy and I should know what’s causing it and what I need to do in the next 10 days or so.  I’ll keep you posted.

Hospital

Thanksgiving Day.  It was awesome.  I woke up, went for a slow and steady 4 miler (I’m streaking til New Years Day), cleaned up my house, and headed down to my parents’ for the holiday.  I cooked, and it was so lovely to spend the time with my family.  That evening, I was able to trick my brother into watching Pitch Perfect with me.  Score.

BroFriday morning, me and little Derek suited up for a run – and I will be gosh darned – the kid can run!  He’s a cross country star, and 18, so truthfully, the run consisted of me chasing him around Waxhaw, NC, which he regarded more as a casual jog.  My hamstrings were mad at me afterward, and I will definitely have to utilize him more for those speed workouts.

DressWe went wedding dress shopping.  That is all I can say, and this is all I will show you because I’m keeping dress negotiations top secret.  But my mom and I had a blast shopping for dresses.  She did try to negotiate a tiara and a set of silky gloves out of me, but I’m not budging, much to her chagrin.

CarAnd in the single greatest moment of the holiday, possibly of the year, my brother offered to drive us to Harris Teeter to buy my dad seltzer, and we needed to, since I drink up all his seltzer every time I go home.  Anyhoo, my brother drives a Benz.

Fancy?

Well, it’s an ’87, and when he started it, he had to pump the gas like a madman before we could get moving.  Then, when we arrived to the Teet, we had to leave it running while we ran inside.  Hood.

Brosky

And finally, I finished out the weekend by enjoying a dinner where I spent my 16th birthday, Kristopher’s in Matthews, NC, with Austin, the husband-to-be, and Derek, my brother.  It was so fun, so delicious, and an excellent way to wrap up the weekend.

Thanksgiving was awesome.  It was a lovely visit, and I finished out the weekend by running, running a little more, and working at the running store, which always puts a smile on my face.

How was your Thanksgiving Holiday?

Hi sexies!

| cheriarmour

I’m here in Charlotte, taking care of Mom.  That’s right folks, I’m domesticated.  I cook and clean.  It’s been kinda cool too, because my family isn’t really veg, so I’m able to introduce a lot of cool healthy foods to the fam, and the more I learn, the tastier the recipes are.

So I’m here, you know, the weather kind of blows, plus I didn’t want to leave my mom alone while I went for a run.  What to do, what to do?  I packed my workout clothes, and I didn’t want to lose all my fitness while I was here at home.  Lucky for me, my Dad, who requested that he have a man room when he bought this house, put a treadmill in the man room.  So on it I went.  Among the Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada posters, the dartboards, and the pile of Sports Illustrated in the corner.

(PS, my Dad actually watched like 3 hours of The Real Housewives of Atlanta last time I was home because I left the television on Bravo.  It’s actually a good show, y’all, Nene Leakes speaks the truth).

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This is me, mid-stride, running.  I haven’t been able to get rid of that bra that the hook broke on, so it’s still going.  Notice the Derek Jeter poster behind me? I was able to get 5 miles in while The Bodyguard blared.  Whitney bettah werq!  I know we all complain like someone is stealing our firstborn when we have to get on the “dreadmill” but it really wasn’t so bad. And, if it turns out I need to take a leave and move to Charlotte while my mom heals, I need to make this treadmill and these yoga DVDs out to be the most fun thing since Amanda Bynes starting tweeting weird stuff.