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Mother’s Day

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We had a great Mother’s Day! This year, Joanne and I made brunch for our Mom and my Mother-in-law. I think it may be a new tradition! We made a Cinnamon French Toast/Bread pudding and a Crustless Veggie Quiche – the same one my Mother-in-law made for my birthday. We prepped the French toast the evening before, that way we could just pop it into the oven when ready.

Breakfast came together beautifully! We also had mango and orange mimosas. Can’t have a brunch without mimosas!

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 Our brunch was the perfect balance of healthy and indulgent!

My Little Punkin and I!

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 The mom’s opening their gifts…

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 They were excited! Joanne and I visited Barb, our step-mom the next day, and she got her homemade gifts as well. We are blessed to have 3 wonderful Moms in our life!

On another note, my father-in-law made this beautiful entertainment center for our living room. We have a huge wall in our living room, so he took the measurements and designed this amazing piece of furniture. He is an amazing carpenter and far surpassed our expectations! We are super excited. All we need are some nobs and glass for the doors. Then I will need to figure out how to decorate it!

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Operation Giveback 10K Race Recap

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Last Saturday, I ran the Operation Giveback 10K! The race was at UCF. I was happy it was super local for me and was looking forward to it. I was thinking it would be a piece of cake, but it definitely was an effort. Start time was 6:30, but that was really the start of the ceremony. They had a few motivational speakers and a really great singer sang the National Anthem. It was a great start to the morning! The actual race started at 7:00.

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Two ladder trucks and the American flag decorated the start of the race. So patriotic! It really added motivation and excitement to the start.

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I was able to maintain an 8:15 pace for the first 3 miles, then I started to get tired. Between mile 3 and 4 the sun started to come through the clouds with rays that lit everything up and just made me appreciate life. I had a burst of energy at that point and it kept me going strong for a bit longer. The route seemed a bit long from 3.5-5 – it was a straight shot down Lockwood and I felt like I was never going to turn around and head back towards the finish line. Just when I thought the route would never end, I ran right up to the 10K sign and realized the 15K-ers had to continue a little further. I was thanking God at that point that I didn’t sign up for the 15K! My sister, Joanne, came along to support me and snapped some photos of the end of the race.

Sprinting to the finish!

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Almost there!

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Finally done! I was super happy to be finished and felt great! I ran the race with an average pace of 8:45 with a total time of 53:51! It’s kind of a PR, although I haven’t ran a 10K in probably 7 years. At that time I probably did it in a little over an hour. Times have changed!

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Following the race, Joanne and I went Mother’s Day shopping. We wanted to make some homemade treats for our Mom, Step-Mom, and my Mother-in-law. We went to Whole Foods and stocked up on supplies to make a lemon-honey face scrub, coconut-almond butter, and a coconut-citrus body butter.

We enlisted some professional help…

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Zested some fruit

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Body butter in progress…

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The finished product!

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Although we were exhausted at the end of the day, we had a blast! It was a great day!

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Outdoor fun and other Misc.

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Some pics from last weekend…

He’s too cool for school…

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I can’t resist his smile!

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Having a picnic in the backyard

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Little Peanut is super into the “beep beep” (vacuum) and loves to push it around the house

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I was home sick from work Tuesday. I started feeling better in the afternoon and took the opportunity to cook up some of the food in my fridge…

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Mixed the roasted veggies together with some quinoa and roasted chick peas, yum!

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Made some chili for dinner – used white and red beans. Little Peanut gobbled this stuff up in between saying “mmm” throughout the meal.

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My bowl with shredded cheddar and sour cream

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Made some baked oatmeal for breakfast for the rest of the week!

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My breakfast this morning topped with almonds, shredded coconut, and coconut milk – the best! Not such a great pic, though.

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Won this book from doing Run to the Finish’s Spring Bootie Buster Challenge! I am so excited – it is right up my alley. I haven’t heard of this method or author, but I am sooo interested to find out about it!

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I am bummed the challenge (Spring Bootie Buster) is over. This totally motivated me to clean up my diet, eat 7 servings of freggies (fruits and veggies) per day, and make reachable fitness/health goals for myself. I met a great group of women on the forum who really motivated me to do my best and kept me accountable. I am looking forward to the next challenge. When I know about it, I will let you know.

On another note, my sister woke up this morning and worked out with me! We did a workout from Best Body Bootcamp, HIIT, and abs. It was super fun to have a workout partner, especially that early in the morning. It was nice motivation to actually get up as planned!

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Cinco de Mayo food poisoning

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Randy and I got to go out Sunday night! Although it was Cinco de Mayo, we didn’t do the traditional Mexican thing, but went to Oblivion, a really cool taproom. They have what seems like a million different beers to choose from. So fun deciding what to get!

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 I have no idea what the names of my beers were, but my first was a stout. It was dark and creamy, with a hint of coffee, which I totally love. Check out my glass – did you know Gainesville has a brewery? I didn’t!

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They gave out mustaches to get in the Cinco de Mayo spirit.

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 Randy was STARVING so we ordered fried pickles. He had seen them at a restaurant on Bar Rescue and was wanting to try them. They were ok. The pickles were sweet, which was not what we were expecting. They were battered in a beer batter, which tasted great, but they were a little too oily for me. I guess anything fried is.

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 I ordered their veggie burger and sweet potato fries with parmesan garlic seasoning. I had ordered the same thing the week before, and liked it. There isn’t much else to order if you aren’t eating meat except for quesadillas, which looking back I should’ve ordered being that it was Cinco de Mayo.

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 Randy ordered chicken wings and ate a good portion of my sweet potato fries, as I was full after my burger. The sweet potato fries came with an aioli sauce, which go great with the fries. I had 1 more beer, which I can’t remember the name of as well. I just know it was a chipotle beer. Nice and spicy. I haven’t had one like it before.

After leaving Oblivion, we decided to head towards home. We checked out Amigos, which was totally dead. Anyone else remember when they would have part of the parking lot blocked off and it was packed with people?? Not sure what was up this year. We ended up going to Smokey Bones, which was dead as well. I topped off the evening with a water, while Randy had a beer that he couldn’t finish. Yes, I said he couldn’t finished a BEER. He was complaining of being full and kind of having a stomach ache.

Fast forward to the middle of the night, where we were both up being sick. Him more than I. Not pretty. Randy was in bed or being sick the entire next day. I was sick, but not as bad. I was able to take care of the kids, but they spend most of the day in front of the TV. Day 2 is better, but not 100%. I now have no desire to eat out again anytime soon. I will go back to Oblivion, because their beer selection is awesome; however, I will NEVER eat there again. I am thinking what made us sick was the aioli sauce that came with the fries – I am thinking that it is made with mayo and probably sat out or something. I didn’t have any chicken wings, so it couldn’t have been that. The only thing we both ate was the pickles and fries. Ugh!

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Lululemon gift card winner, Dinner out, and my own Chobani “flip”

Hello! I have been slacking in the blogging department lately. After I put the kids to bed, I have been too tired to write. Business first – Jessie is the winner of the $20 Lululemon gift card. Congrats! I hope you get something you really like!

Friday evening, my sister, Joanne, the kids and I, picked up my mom from the airport. Because it was at dinner time, we decided to hit up Red Lobster for dinner. Randy did a call ahead for 6:00. We weren’t seated until 6:50. We don’t go out with the kids very much, just dueto waiting and hunger, not a good mix for them. We figured the call ahead would be the perfect solution. Not the case, and we weren’t happy. Then the hostess proceeded to tell us that the table we waited for wasn’t good for a highchair – seriously? We talked it over with the manager, and he made it right. Our server was awesome, so he made up for it a little, too. But, the evening didn’t make me want to take the kids out again anytime soon.

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JoJo and Punkin

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Little Peanut enjoying his water

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My mom and I

I had grilled shrimp, broccoli, and salad. And more than my share of cheese biscuits. Those things are addicting!! Although stressful, we had a good evening!

Chobani graciously sent me 2 pretty exciting packages! I had been in contact with the company and they said they were sending me some plain 0% to make my own tasty combinations with.

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Look at all of those!!

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They also sent me some of my favorite little yogurts – the bites!!

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In the package, there were a few flavors I haven’t seen in stores before. I have tried the raspberry and chocolate one, which I love, but I hadn’t tried the coffee and chocolate that I have seen. I just like the raspberry so much, that I kept buying that one instead of trying the coffee.

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I love the exciting new flavors! Caramel with pineapple chunks and fig and orange zest! The flavors are great! Didn’t love the fig and orange zest – just didn’t like the chunks of fig. By didn’t like, I mean I will still be eating all of them, but I just wouldn’t choose to purchase that particular one.

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My Punkin especially liked the caramel and pineapple. Go Chobani!

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As promised, I made my own combination, similar to their Coco Loco flip. I mixed coconut milk with the plain yogurt, added almond butter, shredded coconut, and chocolate chips. Delicious!! It’s my new favorite go-to snack. Protein packed, filling, a little sweetness – just what I like!!

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Aside Homemade self care, protein snack , , 3 Comments

Homemade hummus, body scrub, and baked oatmeal

 Before I get to business, I wanted you to know that I haven’t forgotten about the Lululemon gift card giveaway I posted about last week. I wanted to extend the time to give more people a chance to enter, but forgot to mention it. Sorry! Go to this post to enter to win a $20 gift card to spend on whatever you would like. I promise I will pick a winner this weekend.

I recently cooked up some garbanzo beans in my crock pot. How easy! Beans don’t take but a few hours, so it isn’t a big deal to just throw them in with some water and salt. After mine were finished, I made some hummus. I put in 4 cloves of garlic, 2 cups of beans, 1/3 cup of tahini, 2 tbps. of water, and 1 tsp. of salt. It is so easy and yummy! Mine came out a tad thick, so next time I think I will add more water. Oh – I also added juice from 1/2 a lemon, as that is all that I had, but next time I want to add more. 

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 Little Peanut thought it was yummy enough to eat straight from the spoon! (The green on his face was from his smoothie).

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For breakfast this week, the kids helped me make a fruit-filled baked oatmeal. It was so delicious! It is made with oatmeal, frozen berries, chocolate chips, eggs, vanilla, maple syrup, etc. I topped mine with plain greek yogurt for extra protein and staying power. I loved the chocolate chips – it gave it that extra something. Here is the recipe if you are interested! 

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 I have been enjoying making beauty products! I know there have been pins all over pinterest with different things to try. I always pin them, but never make them. I decided to make a body scrub from brown sugar (it’s what I had) and coconut oil. I added 1/2 cup of packed sugar and 1/4 cup of oil. I ended up adding more oil, because I like mine a little goopy vs. dry. It smells heavenly! A little vanilla essence would be awesome in it too! This mixture leaves some oil behind, so if you don’t like that oily feeling, then you could always soap up afterwards. I find that the oil soaks in and leaves me nice and moisturized, so I don’t mind it. It is so fun to scrub with what seems like dessert!

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Question:

Have you made any cleansing products? Did you like using them? Would you do it again?

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Aside Birthday , Leave a comment

My Birthday Weekend

I am so excited that I turned 30 something 21 last week!

I had a great birthday weekend! Friday night, my mom and sister came over and we celebrated my birthday with yummy pizza and my mom’s famous homemade cheesecake! I specifically requested it, because it is awesome and she doesn’t make it often. It was definately a treat! I think the secret is the sour cream topping she makes for the top. Delicious!

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 My piece, after a bite was taken…

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Sunday, I took the kids over to my Dad’s and spent time with my dad, stepmom, and 2 brothers. We had a fun day swimming in the pool and hanging out (no pictures, boo!!)

Monday we went over to my in-laws to celebrate. My mother-in-law made the best all organic garden vegetable egg-white crustless quiche. It was delicious! My favorite part (besides all of the yummy veggies) was the gruyere cheese. Such great flavor!

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 She also made a great bean salad to go on the side with a balsalmic dressing. I love beans and fun stuff mixed together!

My first serving…

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Then we had one of my favorite cakes for dessert – chocolate cheese delight!! It is a cake from Too Jay’s that has a layer of cheesecake in between 2 layers of chocolate cake. (Can you tell I like cheesecake??). I have leftovers of both cakes, so I will definately be enjoying them this week.

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I had the best birthday! I loved spending time with the kiddos and each family member this weekend. I feel very blessed to have such great people in my life!! I received some generous and great gifts, but they are the best gifts of all!

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Homemade self care , , Leave a comment

Crunchy-Crunch

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So, I’m turning granola. And I’m totally fine with it. Last night, I made my own toothpaste, face wash, and body wash.

To make the toothpaste, I loosely followed this recipe. I mixed 6 tbsp. of baking soda, 1 tsp. of fine sea salt, 3 heaping tbsp. of coconut oil, 2 tsp. of vegetable glycerin, and about 20 drops of peppermint essential oil. I stirred it all up until it became a paste, and scooped it into a small plastic container. I love it! To put it on my toothbrush, I scooped some out with my (clean) finger and plopped it on. It works great – just as well as store bought, but I know what is in this one. It left my mouth feeling fresh and clean!

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Making the toothpaste took no time at all, so I decided to make the face wash as well. I followed this recipe, for the most part. I ended up 1/2ing it, being that I only had a small bottle to fill. I used 2 oz. of almond liquid castile soap, 2 oz. of water, 1 oz. of olive oil, and 5 drops of tea tree oil. It’s a little thinner than I am used to, but VERY sudsy! It may also be fun to make an exfoliating wash as well.

Because I had everything out and we were totally out of body wash, I decided to make that too! I used this as a guide. I mixed 1 cup of castile soap, 3 tbsp. of coconut oil, and about 7 drops of tea tree oil. I really enjoyed the almond sent from the Castile soap. It felt great on my skin, but was just a tad bit oily on the shower floor. I am overall very happy with it, but may play around with the recipe next time.

I didn’t have any “pretty” or “plain” containers on hand, so I just reused my old bottles (cleaned out, of course!). Here is my tribute to Earth Day!

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I have been doing some reading on cosmetics and bathroom products, and have learned that there are many chemicals put into our lotions, soaps, shampoos, and conditioners, etc. that are absorbed through the skin and could be harmful. Apparently it’s not really regulated. It seems that anything can be put in and it’s ok. To check your products for safety, go to this website and enter them in. You will be surprised at what you find!

I have started with face and body wash, but I plan to expand to other areas of the house. Not only do I want to use things that are safe, but they will also be cost effective! That just sweetens the deal for me!

For me, living a healthy life isn’t just about eating the right foods and exercising. I am thinking big picture – overall wellness. Managing stress, getting enough sleep, having a balanced life (kids, husband, family, spiritually, work, fun, etc.), and being conscious of what I put on my body and expose myself to. It seems like a lot to think about and handle, but I just take it one day at a time. Doing these things makes me feel healthy and strong, so it’s really not that difficult!

What homemade products have you made/do you want to make?

Giveaways, Work out/ running gear , , 2 Comments

Lululemon Gift Card Giveaway

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A while back, I purchased the best pair of underwear that I have ever found for running/working out!

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I had been on a search for a long time, never finding that pair that doesn’t bunch or cause chaffing, as NO ONE likes chaffing in their nether-regions. With all of the running I do, I have struggled to find a comfortable pair, until visiting Lululemon. That place is amazing, but expensive. I almost didn’t want to spend the $16 for one pair, but went for it, and do not regret it. My search is over! The Mula Bandwear Thong is lightweight and stays in place, and I don’t feel it for my entire run (or after it for that matter). They are seamless and have moisture wicking, hence the no chaffe. They are made with Lululemon’s MicroModal material, so they won’t grow bacteria like normal workout wear.

I love them so much, that I want you to have a pair! I am giving away a $20 gift card, so you can purchase your own. To enter, leave me a comment telling about your favorite running/workout gear. Earn an extra entry by following me on twitter (@nversionofme) or sharing this post on your facebook page and leaving a second comment letting me know you have done either one. I will randomly pick a winner this weekend.

Good luck!

 

dinner, Family time, Meal plan, Work outs , , Leave a comment

Good Eats, Somewhat of a Meal and Workout Plan

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Hi!

I ate well this weekend! For breakfast, Saturday, I had a waffle, onion-spinach eggs, and coffee. I make my eggs with coconut oil, and I LOVE the flavor. It really hit the spot and lasted me until about 2:30, when all of a sudden, I was STARVING. It seems this happens a lot, I’ll be going along just fine, and then BAM! I need food immediately.

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For lunch, I mixed up leftover quinoa, leftover marinated kale, mozzerella cheese, kalamata olives, tomatoes, lime juice, and olive oil. It was really good! I only had enough stuff to make this serving, but I think I will make it again on a larger scale so I can share it and have some leftovers for work.

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Saturday night, after church, we took the kids out for mexican, at Margarita’s. We rarely take them out to eat, as it can get pretty crazy, but decided to go for it. Randy and I got the shrimp tacos, and thought they were really good.

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The kids ate the refried beans and some rice, and skipped thier quesadillas. Randy ended up eating them the next day for lunch. The food came out nice and fast, so we were in and out in no time. The kids were good! No real stressful moments, which is good.

I don’t really have a menu plan for this week as of yet. I am going grocery shopping after my hair appointment today, so I will decide when I get home what were are having. Probably some of the basics – salads, spaghetti (still havent’ used the butternut squash sauce I bought), roasted veggies and tofu, beans ( I made a big pot of Northern beans yesterday).

Workouts this week will be from Best Body Bootcamp. They are the same workouts as last week, just on a bigger scale. Tina incorporated a lot of pulse sets this week and they kept me sore all week. Looking forward to it! I am also hoping to get in a couple runs and some yoga.

Questions:

Do you take the kids out to eat?

Did you have any good food over the weekend?

Any yummy meals planned for the week?