Stridebox April

I have got to tell you...if you are a runner and you do not subscribe to the StrideBox; you are soooo missing out! I swear this box gets better every month! SERIOUSLY!

Here is the loot I got this month!

It always comes with a cute sticker...

Two packs of these awesome energy gummies...I am planning to try these next weekend for a long pre-half-marathon run! LOL

This will definitely be used within the month - LOL!

Electrolyte drink mix to try out...

A little vegan running gel...I did not even know they made this...

These snack bars usually rock! I cannot wait to try this one! Double Nut Brownie...YUM!

This looks awesome...I love the name too!  Kind of like a powder form of the BodyGlide. I will try this next weekend too!

 And these heel cushions. I tried them last night for a short treadmill run and it did not seem like they fit my running shoes well or at least they did not stay in place well. I am going to try another kind of socks and then I will be trying them again on Wednesday for another run, hopefully on the trail outside, and it they don't work better then...they may quickly become cushions for my shoes to work outside in the yard.

 This is my new favorite saying from Pinterest!!!!!!

And this is how I feel about my life right now!!!

 Things are so good with workouts, work and personal balance! Everything is in sync and it feels so good! 

Happy Tuesday!

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Popeye Tea

I have found a recipe for the WORLD's best tea EVER!!! I swear it is sooo good that I could not to share it with you all!

You can get it at Starbucks!

A friend of my sisters told her about it and I tried it today and it may just get me to go to Starbucks EVEYRDAY! It is refreshing, low-calorie and delish and healthy too!

Ask for a Popeye Tea! For a venti; it is an unsweetened brewed green tea mixed with two scoops of matcha powder. Only 50 calories and majorly yummy!!!!!!

Soooooooo good!

I promise that if you try it, and you like green tea then you will love it!!!

YUMMO!!!

You WILL definitely thank me later!

Let me know if you have ever tried this or any other drink from the "Starbucks Secret Menu"...YUM!

YUM!!!

And...YUM!!!

My new favorite snack on the planet is a Quest Bar! I love the Peanut Butter...and the Chocolate Brownie...and the Lemon Bar, etc.! I have not tried one that I did not like.

HOWEVER!!!!! I have found a new FAVORITE! This is not good...this is amazing!

It is called Cookies & Cream and it is Rockstar Status!!!!

Completely amazing! I like this MORE than eating a handful of Oreos!!! They are truly that amazing!

 

YUM! YUM! YUM! Work snack time is my favorite time of day now!

Seriously, you need to try one of these!!! This is not a paid endorsement but if someone from Quest sees this and chooses to send me a BUNCH of these I will gladly give you my address for shipping!!!  

Get yours quickly as I may or may not have already bought out the entire stock!!!!

Happy eating ya'll!!!

Brody is Four?!?!

What an amazing weekend I had!!!! I ran up to my parents house on the lake on Friday night and noticed that it is finally starting to THAW!! Yea! Spring in definitely on the way!!! Here is a shot of the back yard leading to the lake! Soooo ready for Winter to take a hike!!!

Here is a shot of a lonely swan swimming around fishing! She was in this little melted patch in the ice just swimming around and around ducking her head under and fishing while she swam. It was so calm and peaceful to watch! Love the lake and the its wildlife!! 

Picked up and envelope of a bunch of things my parents saved all these years for me...pictures and report cards, etc. I found this little gem tucked in there -  I think this one was from 3rd grade! LOL!!! This was pretty much like every report card...there was a theme! HA

 I packed up a bunch of healthy snacks on Saturday morning and headed out for a weekend in Columbus! I went to visit family and celebrate two very special people - my niece and nephew both had a birthday this month! Madelyn's party was last weekend (she turned five) and Brody's party was this past weekend (he turned four)! I already had plans for last weekend so I could only make it out this weekend to celebrate both!

Got from Pennsylvania to Ohio and the gas price dropped about 50 cents a gallon!!!!!! Crazy how that works!!!!

This is a picture I sent to boyfriend to let him know I arrived safely at my destination after a three hour drive. I stayed with my brother and his family since their kids were having the birthdays that month.  He messaged back and said I look like I am being held hostage!! HAHA! I am the one in the back - LOL!

We quickly styled my nieces hair in adorable braids and  headed off to meet up with my sisters family so I could see everyone and we could ALL hang out! I love that my family is close and likes to spend time together!!  The kids all love to be around each other so much it is so much fun to see them hang out together too!

Where did we go you ask?!?! Costco - of course!! We love our family Costco trips!!! HA HA

All the kids corralled into the carts and enjoying their samples of jelly beans that day! Such fun! I adore each and every one of these little darlings!!!!!

After all the kids went to bed; my sister and sister-in-law and I ran out for a fun night at Target and Walmart! We are a shopping family in case you cant tell! HA! I found this amazing gem for myself as I LOVE Batman!!! It was $3 on clearance and has a velcro cape so you can wash it!!! LOVE IT!! 

I also found this version for my brother-in-law! AWESOME at its finest! Also only $3! Score!

 




















 
 Here is a selfie from Sunday morning! That was Brody's actual birthday! He woke up and ran into his sisters room and yelled...I am four now! It was so cute! So this is the official first selfie from when he was four-we hopped in the car to go get balloons for the party with my brother!!!

Here is a shot of my nieces and nephews that are from Columbus minus one that came a little later. The one on the far right is the birthday boy!!!

A shot of his awesome cake!!!! The woman standing behind in the cream colored coat is Brody's Grandma (my sister in law's Mother) and she actually created that amazing planes cake!!! It was really cute!

Blowing out the candle...

And the whole group together!!!  What a great day and awesome party!

HERE is a link to a video of the noise level from the party!!!! HA!
 
HERE is a link to the AMAZING-ness that is my niece! She turned five last week and in this video she rides her cousins bike without training wheels for the first time!! Amazing!

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Hott Spot Extreme Wellness

And the jury is in...

Hot Yoga is amazing! 

I wanted to get a lot of pictures to go with this post however, cameras are not allowed in the studio so that idea was nixed quickly.

And, no, this is not me pictured below but it is the amazing studio I went to last night!

We went to The Hott Spot Extreme Wellness last night for a Hot Yoga class! Some friends and I all received a free class pass and went last night to check it out - I am now hooked!! I loved it so much!!!

The classes are 75 to 90 minutes long and up to 95 degrees in the studio. It was so relaxing and felt amazing!

If you plan to attend one and have never gone before here are some tips...

1. Bring your own mat. They rent mats where I went but that is a little gross to imagine once you stay through a class. Your mat will be SOAKED with sweat and just the thought of renting a mat that someone had previously drenched with their own sweat (that has since dried) is a little gross...LOL!

2. Bring a BIG towel. You will use this to lay on your mat to absorb some of the massive amounts of sweat that will pour out of you! HA! And to mop off your face, hair, neck, etc. throughout class. I wear contacts and I had to constantly mop off the extra sweat from my face as it was burning my contacts. Do not wear makeup...a girl I went with did and she regretted it! Her eyes were burning the whole class! It is dark, no-one will see you anyway!

3. Bring lots of water. You will hydrate throughout the entire class...at least we did. Also, drink a lot of water in prep for it too. I drank water all day and then had to get in a 4 mile training run at the gym prior to the class so I ended up chugging about 32 oz of Nuun that day also which may have helped me adjust as a first-timer.

4. Make sure you arrive early to get a good spot. I wanted on an end in the back and class filled up early. People that arrived late then had to squeeze their mats between others - it did not look like fun and they got some shady eyeball looks from those that we there first.

5. Be open-minded. It is very different and very interesting. I walked in and also initially (had I been alone) may have just walked out. It was sooooo hot in there and I was not moving. I thought that I could never have stayed in there, moved around and survived. But, you WILL get used to the heat and it feels amazing! I was much looser than normal and it felt sooo cleansing!

6. Be ready for a good nights sleep. I got home and was TOTALLY wired talking to my mother and boyfriend on the phone about how awesome it was! I was a hige ball of energy. I felt like I had all this energy and an amazing high. I then proceeded to shower and I could not get to the bed fast enough! I was exhausted and I slept like a baby!!!!!!

I will SOOOOOO be going back!!! I actually can not wait until the next time!!! I may even be considering heading back tonight! I think I am in love again!

Check it out - you will not be sorry!!!!

Has anyone participated in hot yoga? Was your experience the same as mine? I would love to hear your comments and if I forgot anything important to mention!


Checking in with Heather and Erin for Weigh In Wednesday!

My Baby Done Left...

Happy Tuesday!

The man is out of town for another week and I am already bored with myself! I ended up at the gym for two hours last night (1 hour of jogging on the treadmill and 1 hour of spin class) and then stopped by tanning to kill more time! HA! I miss my darling! :-(

This week will be a great opportunity to spend lots of time with friends though so I have many fun plans that will hopefully make it into posts this week! Yoga tonight, a mid afternoon tea on Thursday, etc.

I am on Day 14 of the Advocare 24 Day challenge and it is going well.  I had one cheat day where I ate milk chocolate and pizaa. If your going to cheat, do it right, right?!?!?!

Tonight I am trying out hot yoga for the first time ever at this place called The Hott Spot! I may just die! I have a hard enough time doing regular yoga so hot yoga may just put me over the edge! We shall see! I am following instructions and drinking lots of water today so maybe I will be okay -HA! I am more excited than anything because I am meeting a few of the girls I used to work out with at StudioFit (my gym that recently closed). They are great and we have so much fun together!

 I hope everyone has a great week!!!

Anyone else get bored when it is just you? What do you do to entertain yourself?

My 2nd 24 Day Challenge

Wow! It has been a long time since I posted!

I have really just been enjoying the new man and spending as much time wiht him as possible.

We hit the gym together and go to dinners and watch hockey games...Life is Good!!!

I am so happy to report that I am falling in love with someone that has been a very good friend for years and I am lucky to say that he has also become my very BEST friend over the past couple months!

But...along with happiness comes shared desserts after dinner...skipping the gym days....and romantic dinners with lots of yummy food! So, I stopped losing weight AGAIN!!!

It's all good...I did not gain but I was not losing and I am so close to goal that I could just NOT let that happen!! Also, the new man has a house with a pool in Florida and my parents live on a lake which means he is, eventually, going to see me in a suit! Sooooooo...back on track time!!!

I started another round of Advocare 24 Day Challenge.  It really worked well the last time and it is easy to stick to and healthy. It helps you learn portion control and what healthy foods are (You eat healthy and just eliminate coffee, alcohol, sugar, white flour, and processed foods). You can use the link above to purchase or just check it out!

I am on day 8 and am already down 6 pounds. Can't wait to see what the last 16 days bring!!!

So, I will start my weigh in with the weight I was on day one and report that I have lost 6 total so far.

Has anyone else ever tried Advocare? Did you have success?

Hope everyone has a happy hump day!