raleigh north carolina

Valentine’s Day Plans!

| cheriarmour

First up, I know I’ve talked about this place, Happy & Hale here before on the blog, but I have to sing its praises once again.

Lots of changes going round in the Samples household, and as a result, I’ve had to work really really hard to stay on track with a decent diet and stuff.  More on that later.

But I was really in a rush on Tuesday to get a good lunch in that didn’t involve anything gross, anything friend, and was quick, and the first thought was Happy & Hale.

I did my usual, a quinoa bowl (without the onions) and here was the finished product.

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I’ve seen Katherine, the nutritionist here, a few times, and she is highly encouraging of incorporating lots and lots of color in each meal. This meal TOTALLY has it. I mean, it’s gorgeous to look at.  Unfortunately for me, this was a lot of fiber, so I had to watch the fiber at dinner and do something that was a little less psyllium-y.  TMI.

Valentine’s Day Plans. 

I think this is the first V-Day that we don’t have something special planned, but I really think I’m okay with that.

In years past, we’ve always done dinner around Valentine’s, and given little gifts, but nothing super major.  This year, despite my efforts to get to bed much, much earlier than I have, I still am battling some fatigue as I adjust to earlier start times, and we’re looking forward to dinner in and making our way around Lake Johnson that day.  It’s boring, but it works for us.

One thing I will ask my hubby really really nicely for is a mani/pedi.  That’s still one of my favorite treats in the world.  I’ll happily oblige with his favorite treats (probably a trip to Harbor Freight to buy more things to put in the shed).

What are your plans for Valentine’s Day?

Snow Day(s)!

| cheriarmour

One really neat thing about North Carolina and southward.  When it snows (or ices) here, everyone (rightfully) freaks out, and sometimes, we get a snow day!

Let me back up.  If you’re one of those super obnoxious people who’s like “I live in New York and we don’t freak out over a few inches of ice/snow, I want to say this to you.

Congratulations.  You are better than people in the South.  You are smarter, and more wonderful, and your handling of snow and ice is absolutely more appropriate, making you superior to our kind.  Feel good?  Okay.  Annnd before you cuss me out in the comments, I’m a native New Yorker who very much enjoys my snow days.  I’ll take ’em!

Throughout last week, we got reports of a weather event by the end of the week, but we weren’t really sure what it was.   Every since Snowpocalypse ’14, where we actually did handle significant snowfall pretty poorly, resulting in folks be stranded on the roads for 6+ hours, I think we’ve done a better job of heeding predictions, and dismissing folks from school/work in a fashion that doesn’t put folks at risk for accidents and being stuck on the road on account of work or school.

So as the reports came in, we listened, and finally, on Thursday evening, I got up with my boss’s boss (boss was pushing off to go on vacation), and we agreed that she would contact us after the branch closed with some updates.  But by about 8pm, the area’s public school system had already called school, so that was a decent sign to us that we needed to assess for the morning.  We decided to close for at least the early morning.

When we woke up on Friday, there was a light dusting with a layer of ice over it, and it was pretty clear that it made no sense to, at least from my end, require instructors to come in when we could be putting them at risk.  We decided to close on Friday based on deteriorating conditions.

Wanna know what I did all day?

  • Sent a few emails.
  • Slept.
  • Showered.
  • Went to Food Lion to pick up a few things that we could eat for dinner.
  • Watched Bob’s Burgers on Netflix.
  • Did not run 😦 (which I was kind of bummed about)

Saturday was very much of the same except the ice layer was thicker. We had a few guests since power was out at my brother’s and we sort of hunkered down while the lights and heat flickered.

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Some freeze on a bush in front of our house.  Very pretty, but a little scary once ice gets high up, weighs down trees, and shuts down power.  

Again, I didn’t get a chance to work out, and I’m really bummed about that. I’m hoping to sneak into the gym for a little while for a short run followed by some time on the bike so my body doesn’t forget what fitness is, and I don’t die when I teach my classes next week. Eesh!

So, what’s the weather at your house like?  Let me know if it’s warm, cold, freezing, and tell me if you’re enjoying any time off of work!

Really? Me?

| cheriarmour

You really never know where teaching and fitness is going to take you, right?  I was a total slob kabob in college, and I blink, it’s like 5 years later, and I’m in love with what I do.

Which brings me to this.

A few months back, I was invited to speak at St. Mary’s School, an all-girls boarding school here in Raleigh.  It’s so interesting.  The woman who invited me to speak has taken a lot of my pump classes, and felt like I would be great to speak to the girls as a “woman in fitness”.  What she didn’t know asking me is that, one, that I love working with that age group (high schoolers), and I really gravitated toward this group at camp.  I still get Seventeen Magazine, am obsessed with Katy Perry and Justin Bieber, and am routinely mistaken for about 10 years younger than I am.  I hope that is a compliment to my skin, and NOT evident of what people think of my maturity level.  Ugh.

But anyways, all that is to say, I relate to this group really really well, and I’m so, so excited to speak to them, but I’m also 100% freaked out at the fact that someone would want me to speak to their kids.

I’m not sure what to say.  I drink.  I shower as little as society will allow.  I would prefer to spend all my time in a bikini if it is over 80 degrees.  I swear.  Like a lot.  And I’m not sure exactly why Caroline thought of me to speak to the girls.  But I’m honored.  And I hope I say the right things, the things that high school girls need to hear.

What DO high school girls need to hear?

What would I have wanted to hear in high school?

  • Always bring a sweater.  You will always be cold.
  • Start taking care of your body NOW.  Don’t let things creep up on you.  When you get to college, your mom will not be there to remind you to balance your meals.  BALANCE YOUR MEALS.  That means eat something not fried for breakfast.  Eat something sensible for lunch.  Sushi or a salad works.  Same goes for dinner.  Do at least 20-30 minutes of activity today.  You start that shit early, and you will be set.
  • Watch the news when you get ready for school/work.  You don’t want to be that idiot that knows nothing when folks are talking.  Don’t just rely on fake Facebook articles to keep yourself informed.
  • Do something that makes you laugh every single day.
  • I struggle with this one.  Get up early and do something.  Get to bed at a reasonable time.  Again, I struggle with this one but I have never ever regretted getting up early to get stuff done.
  • If you’re interested in it, go for it.  Just do it.  Don’t let your boyfriend, or your mom, or your friends talk you out of anything you have in your mind!

**So update alert.  I wrote this post prior to going out to school.  I went to school to speak to the girls on Tuesday, and it was an absolutely amazing, incredible experience, and I definitely, definitely would LOVE to do it again.

The engagement started with me getting a chance to see St. Mary’s School, a girls boarding AND day school here in Raleigh, NC.  The campus was really pretty, and reminded me of college.  Caroline, who had arranged for us to be there met me along with some students who were enjoying lunch.  I grabbed lunch in their dining hall, which was really nice, and included a painted portrait of Kylie Jenner, which I totally appreciated.

Caroline set me, and the three other women on the panel up in the performance hall, and we got started by introducing ourselves, what we did, and a little reason why we were sitting on the panel.  The women were great.  One was a career counselor.  Another, a director of a non-profit that paired horses with kids who had faced trauma, and still another directed at a local art gallery here in Raleigh.

And then there was me.

When it came my turn to introduce myself, I did what I do best, and I had everyone spread out and lead them through a movement and breathing exercise.

The girls, extremely impressive girls, asked wonderful questions, ans were highly engaged.  They were poised, beautiful, and confident, and I felt absolutely honored to be in their presence.  After the session, I got a chance to hug some of the girls and talk to them, and I was, and still am blown away by what they did.

I would love to guest speak once again, and hope I brought to the girls, a fraction of the joy they brought me on Tuesday.

Happy Friday, y’all 🙂

xoxo ❤

Shania Twain Weekend

| cheriarmour

Hi!

It’s Wednesday.

And I feel like I haven’t gotten a single friggin productive thing done all week.  I keep thinking that if I pray hard enough, that God will magically grant me an extra like 8 or 9 hours and that I will be able to catch up on all the shit that I keep meaning to get to, but still manage to get pushed to the next day.

17 Moments Every Gay Man With Straight Friends Has Experienced

But I digress.

So I started off last weekend actually managing to squeeze a really short 3-miler in before I headed in to Fleet Feet to help them out for a shift.  That’s always really nice to do because you sort of get to socialize and still keep on top of new shoe trends and stuff, and it’s only occasional.  The extra little surprise paycheck also doesn’t hurt 🙂

Saturday night, I put in work on the August schedule for the Y, and I worked for a really good chunk of time since I knew that I would be in late on Monday  While I worked, my husband also worked on some stuff, so it was a relatively quiet Saturday night.

Sunday morning, I woke up early for 6 trail miles for a group I’m starting to get friendly with.  I tested a Hoka.  I’ve been curious about that brand since my knee started acting up, and I know the brand has really grown with trail and ultra runners.  Overall, the shoe felt good, but I’m still having a really hard time with the way the shoe looks, so I’m not sure if I’m quite ready to make a jump.  I do know, however, that though I’ve been a Brooks girl for a good while here, I’m not sure I’m in love with the Glycerin as much as I have been the past few years, and that means that I may have to find something as Chicago gets closer and closer.

So the run was 6 hilly miles in the state park.  It started off well enough.  I was keeping up, not feeling terribly pain in my knee, and enjoying some conversation with some of the folks in the group, as we wound our way on single-track trail.  And then, BAM.  I ran smack-dab into a bee that stung me on the thigh.

“SHIT!”

Amy, who was cruising right in front of me, was really worried, but I assured her I was fine and that we should keep cruising.  There wasn’t a whole lot we could do anyways, since we were a few miles out already, so I just focused on taking care of it later.  Toward 5 miles, when I felt that our direction was shifting back up toward civilization, I was feeling food, caboosing our group, and suddenly, I missed have kicked a rock or something, and down, down I went. And hard.

“SOMEONE FELL, SOMEONE FULL, RUNNER DOWN!”

I was embarrassed, and simultaneously on the ground, and I didn’t want to hold the group up.  So I hopped up, and kept moving, and shook off the pain in my left knee, willing the adrenaline to take care of it.

HokaA few days out, and the knee is sore, and I keep having to scratch my thigh, which makes me look like I’m scratching my crotch.  I’m just a mess.

Shania Twain + Gavin DeGraw

So after the run, and after I was able to convince my husband to take me to Waffle House for a disgustingly awesome post-run breakfast, I made a quick run to Charlotte because Shania Twain was playing, and Gavin DeGraw was opening for her.

Now in review, you’ve got to know that Gavin DeGraw is up there as one of my favorite singers in the entire world.  He’s ridiculously talented and he told me I was pretty like 5 years ago.  Which is really saying something, because I wasn’t really like, in peak condition 5 years ago.

Gavin DeGrawI also tried to convince him, via Twitter, to come up to our box, but he did not oblige.  I’m still a fan though.  He opened with Soldier, and at one point, hopped the security barrier, and just sort of meandered about the area.

IMG_2561[1]Shania, now.  She was a total peach.  I’m not a huge country fan, but she was awesome.  She sounded good, she was very pretty, and seemed very personable.  But to be fair, she’s Canadian, and I’ve never met a Canadian that I was like, “hey, you’re just an asshole.” Not even Justin Bieber.  He, at the very least, has provided me with a lot of years of entertainment.

That was me.

What did you do this weekend?

How my sober June is going.

| cheriarmour

I talked about my reasoning for a sober June here.

I’ve been the Annie in the airplane scene plenty of times.  I’m just really over it.

But, as fate would have it, no sooner did I utter the words Sober June, did the universe decide to hand me a present in the form or strep throat.  From Tuesday morning on, there wasn’t a single ounce of desire for me drink anything really, because it really made my throat hurt, but much less a vodka or something.  And I really love vodka.

So my first week hasn’t been bad at all, even though when I was reading comments online, folks who had done no drinking had remarked that social situations were really tough.

So I approached the situation like you would if you were trying to lose weight, and I made a plan for when I knew we’d be out at a bottle shop to see a friend’s band on Friday night.  It was a bottle shop, so no liquor, right?  Beer.  What could I keep in a glass that looked like something so I could avoid the awkward stare at my belly and having to answer questions about my road to recovery?  I bought some O’Doul’s, gave it to the bartender, and asked him to keep my glass full.

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And no one was anymore the wiser!  I was able to socialize, without downing beer after beer, and it was really really nice to wake up on Saturday morning without too much trouble, or without a slight thirsty hangover.  A friend also pointed out that I avoided unwanted calories (no drunk eating), which is also a win.

I’m enjoying this – putting myself in slightly uncomfortable situations, and still trying to maintain sobriety is sort of a fun challenge.

How’s your June going so far? 

Pho Pho Pho

| cheriarmour

Hi lovers!  I know it has been a few days, but it was a few well-needed days of rest that I spent with my dad between DC and New Jersey.  More on that later.

But I wanted to touch base about something I talked about after last weekend, when my quest to find pho, a Vietnamese soup, was finally somewhat resolved.  Also ramen.

So about two years ago, when I was training for my first marathon, I swear (and barely anyone remembers this, so it’s almost unbelievable), that Whole Foods, in their sushi section, had bowls of real ramen, with an egg and everything in it.  I ate it religiously as “second lunch” as I was ridiculously hungry during the training cycle, and seemed to do well with the sodium.

Soon after, WF set up a pho station, complete with fresh jalapenos, and I went on the quest to find a bowl of pho and real ramen somewhere in the Triangle.

Saturday morning, after we’d worked at the expo, some of the folks posted some pics from a spot called Pho Pho Pho on Facebook, and the decision was made then, especially after one of the folks there told me that the Sake Sangria was on point.  I mean, duh.

So after a short convincing period, Austin and I headed out to Pho Pho Pho on Glenwood, that was so new (about 4 weeks old), that it didn’t really have a sign out front, and I had to rely on an old episode of bar rescue to find it. Totally not joking about that, but that place was a total creepy dump before.

Anyhoo, so we got there, immediately ordered a few drinks, and got to ordering on the menu from this adorable server who had a smile permanently on!

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This is what I ended up with – a pho ramen mashup that only cost about $10, but came out in a bowl that was without a doubt large enough for two meals. I ate as much as I could, then poured the rest away for lunch the next day.

My verdict after waiting for like a year or two for some legit pho is that this place is legit. Good soup, good noodles, and great drinks, and I can’t wait to go again. (Seriously, I asked Austin to take me again tomorrow.)

Now, since pho is such an awesome sore throat/replenish your sodium food….what’s your favorite sick food?

Dealing with allergies.

| cheriarmour

I live in a city where allergies are really prevalent.  We’ve got Loblolly Pines, we’ve got oaks, we’ve got all this green stuff that just makes your life really mis in the spring.  And there’s not a whole lot you can do about it…

via wakemedvoices.orgOr is there?!  ::plays mysterious music::

So, I’m no doctor, but I’ve been dealing with allergies for long enough that I’ve found ways to effectively deal with the issue.

1.  Just because you’re outside all the time (especially my walkers/runners), doesn’t mean you have to shut yourself inside.  But after you come it, make a beeline (GET IT?! Bees?! Pollen!) for the shower, and rinse any of that stuff off of yourself.

2.  Wear contacts?  Change them OFTEN.  I wear those dailies, and I (admittedly) do not always change them as often as I should.  But this is the season for you (and me!) to be taking those contacts out at the recommended intervals.  If you are a glasses wearer, it’s a good time to flush your eyes (and the glass) with a drop.  I’ve used both OTC, and something my eye doctor prescribed to me.

3.  It’s time to get your neti pot out.  I know it seems disgusting, but it feels great for a few reasons.

  • For one, you kind of rinse the physical dust, dirt, and pollen from your sinuses.
  • For two, I feel like it helps reduce some of the inflammation in your sinuses.
  • And for three, it feels AMAZING on a sore throat if you can get the angle right and get some of the warm water to come through the throat.

via DealSeekingMom.com

4.  Figure out an allergy medication that works for you.  For me, it’s Zyrtec.  Which is expensive, but it doesn’t make me drowsy, and it handles my itchy eyeballs, sore throat, sinus swelling, and general foggy feeling.  Start taking those meds EARLY.  BEFORE you notice everything blooming.

5.  It’s warm.  It’s tempting to drive around with the windows open and leave all the windows in the house open.  But if you’re suffering, it’s time to seal those suckers shut until the stuff stops blooming.

Those are my tippies for a more comfortable spring experience.

How do you combat allergies?

V-Day Weekend

| cheriarmour

I have an admission to make.

After last week, I was completely overwhelmed, and I was a mess to deal with this weekend.  Between a really big week at work, trying to deal with my car issues, I’m sort of dealing with these feelings that I absolutely suck at life.  As I sit here, I’m looking around at my couch covered in pet hair, and dealing with the fact that the beagle managed to act up enough so that the woman who adopted her is bringing her back (not kidding) I’m wondering how people with kids do this, and have cleaner houses and seem to have their shit together better than I do.

But I digress.

Here are a few snaps from the weekend.

Friday, I hosted a Zumba/Dance Fitness Party at my Y, and we actually had a really really good turnout, which had me nervous all week.  It can be really really tricky to get folks to commit to anything on a Friday night, and I was terrified that no one would show, and I would look like a butt in front of my bosses.

Three hours before the party, I was testing the playlist out on my iPod, when every single solitary song on my device disappeared, and I watched my life flash before my eyes.

“I’m the boss. I’m in charge of this party.  And I just screwed up all the music.”

I raced home, managed to update the software on my husband’s laptop, and load the entire playlist onto Austin’s iPad, literally with 15 minutes to spare before the party.  The party went off without a hitch, our attendance was huge, and I was so proud of my team!

Zumba Party
Zumba Party

Immediately following, I raced-raced to Ruthschris to meet my husband, and I ate everything in sight, including this little cheesecake for dessert that I told the server I would only take a bite of.  Then I ate the whole thing.

Then this girl…

Alyssa Edwards via imgkid.com
Alyssa Edwards via imgkid.com

I met my girls, and hit Legends in Raleigh to see Alyssa Edwards, a contestant/favorite from RuPaul’s Drag Race from a few seasons ago. When I say that she was fantastic, I mean FANTASTIC. Her makeup was on point, her wig was on point, and she had a better body than most people.  She actually was inspiring – I think a lot of times we see drag queens as funny, but in reality, it really can be an art, and what she did was an art.

Saturday, I hit class early, and taught an 8:30 toning, and ran over to our branch to teach an 11:15 Zumba to a packed house.

Sunday, I went to work, caught up on some work, and then hit drag brunch, benefiting a foundation here that hat encourages and promotes the development of services for persons living with AIDS and/or HIV infection. I got brunch and got champagne, AND managed to benefit a sweet nonprofit?  I’ll take it.

This week, we are gearing up for some sort of winter event here in Raleigh and my goal, my only goal, is to keep my head on straight despite life’s…things.

How was your weekend?  What did you do?

What are your goals this week?

LucetteGrace

| cheriarmour

I like sweet things.  A lot.  I adopted a pretty wicked sweet tooth from my mother, made only worst by my copious consumption of artificial sugar.  Which blah blah, I know it’s not good for me, but my dad is diabetic, and I got into a Splenda and Stevia habit sorta early.  One thing I don’t do – aspartame.  That’s a teeny bit before my time, and to me, it kinda taste like shit.

^^

All this to say, that my copious consumption of artificial sweeteners in the past, especially during the summers at camp when I’d road trip a lot (diet sodas) has increased my sweet tooth by a ton (the crap in artificial sweeteners tends to do that), and I’m pretty discerning in my sweets.

Enter LucetteGrace.

So, about a week ago (cue Bobby Schmurda dance) a friend mentioned offhand that she’d gone to this bakery/pastry shop.  She didn’t understand how serious I was about the shop, and as soon as I left her, I hunted around downtown Raleigh to find the shop.  I found it, pulled in, and started to ogle everything behind the glass case, but sadly, I’d forgotten my camera.

The owner came out (his name is Daniel and he has a beard, btws), and saw that I was drooling, and was kind enough to chat with me and help me pick a few treats, and even slipped a few extra in the bag for me to take up and nosh on later.  So I grabbed a friend, and headed back just a few days later for a coffee date.

Lucette 4

Lucette 3

Lucette 5

Lucette 2

Lucette Grace

Lucette 6To me, there is almost nothing more therapeutic than coffee, a sweet, and some time with a friend.  I left feeling like I had filled up my belly (for one), and filled up my love tank for two.  Sweets, words, coffee, and a very golden afternoon with a good friend was so healing.

So technically, LucetteGrace, named for the owner’s daughters, is a patisserie, which a bakery that exclusively serves french cakes and pastries. Located at 235 S Salisbury St, the sweets are sweet, but in a different way than American sweet. You have to try it to understand, but the treats go perfectly with a locally-brewed cup of Larry’s Beans (919 better stand up!), and an afternoon with friends.  What’s really cool about the patisserie, in addition to the taste, is the ambiance and decor of LucetteGrace – the space is clean and decked out in yellows and grays and seems like a good space to sit for an afternoon with your laptop for a productive dessert sesh.  It’s a nice alternative to a Starbucks; no shade to them of course, I’ve been hanging out there and have gotten a lot of work done at these places for years.  Bottom line – it’s difficult to mass-produce shit that tastes good, and Daniel at LucetteGrace has captured something special here.

Where’s your favorite place to get work done?