Ultimate Coffee Date - January 2015

I'm super excited about the Ultimate Coffee Date in 2015! Mostly because I've decided to do these coffee dates on YouTube.

So, if you want to join me for some catching up and chatting, you can check out my vlog.

Or you can read on, if video isn't your thing.

If we were having coffee today... I'd tell you that I was actually drinking tea this morning. Celestial Seasoning Candy Cane Lane tea that I received complimentary from Influenster in my #FrostyVoxBox. Verdict? It's really tasty! Kind of a subtle flavor - not too overpowering. I also used a coupon I received to buy some Caramel Apple Dream tea, which I am super excited to try out. I'd ask if you ever drink tea and what your favorite variety is.

If we were having coffee today... I'd tell you complain a little about the DOMS I'm experiencing from yesterday's workout. One of my January goals is to do strength training 2x a week. Yesterday was my first workout. It focused on arms and core, and man, am I ever feeling it today. AND IT FEELS GREAT! I'd ask if you secretly love the DOMS as much as I do.

If we were having coffee today... I'd tell you how much I'm in love with makeup and nail art right now. I went a little overboard with new makeup last month, and my makeup drawer was getting a little out of control.

So, we bought a makeup organizer.

I love it, but there isn't really room for it in either of our bathrooms. Hopefully we'll find a house that we love that will accommodate this organizer. :-)

There still isn't enough room for all my nail polishes and art, so we might get another organizer as well. If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw my Christmas trees, Peppermint Swirls, Gold gradient, and NYE nails.

So much fun! And the best part is that a couple days ago, Jeff mentioned how impressed he was that I was getting into nail art. He seemed really sincere, too. Whoo hoo.

If we were having coffee today... I'd tell you about all the fun things I'm looking forward to in 2015. Buying a house. A huge road trip this summer. Ragnar Zion. Trails of Fury. I'd ask you what you were looking forward to in the year ahead.

If we were having coffee today... I'd invite you to join me for #RaceShirtFriday. Just share a pic and tag me on Twitter (EnjoytheCourse) or IG (Enjoyingthecourse). I'd love to see all your different race shirts. And hear your stories.

Well, that's all I've got this month! If you want to hear me ramble on a bit more about all of these things, be sure to pop over to my YouTube video.

And don't forget to stop by all the others who linked up for the Ultimate Coffee Date over at Confessions of a Mother Runner.

If we were having coffee today, what would you tell me?
What are you most looking forward to in 2015?
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Diet-to-Go Really Delivers

I was recently given the opportunity to review Diet-to-Go, an amazing diet meal delivery service. I was beyond impressed with my 3-day trial, and I thought I'd be able to express that better with a video.

I apologize, but I got a little rambly and the video is around 9 min. Still, I hope you'll take the time to watch it.



What I loved

• Super delicious and convenient
• 3 different menu types with lots of variety
• Customizable menu plan to fit your needs
• Delivered right to your door
• Very little prep time and clean-up is a breeze

What I didn't care for

• Packaging is annoying (but unsure if that was just my sampling)
• An a la carte options would be nice
• Kind of spendy (but not really compared to other similar services)

I would absolutely recommend this for anyone looking for a diet meal delivery service, or anyone wanting to take control of their portions and to eat a bit healthier.

I'm excited to share with you an opportunity to try this for 20% off any meal plan. Just visit Diet-to-Go and use the coupon code: fitfluential.

Have you tried Diet-to-Go?
How do you feel about diets, in general?
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Disclosure: FitFluential LLC compensated me for this Campaign. All opinions are my own.

Hello, 2013!

I'm super excited for 2013. Are YOU?

In honor of goal making and accountability, I created a short video that explains some of my goals.



I do hope to include more video in 2013. They'll get better. I promise.

To sum up my goals, I'd like to:

• Run faster, conquering a sub 25:00 5K
• Eat healthier, trying at least two new recipes a month
  (check them out at Tale of Two Sisters and Their Kitchens)
• Train harder, achieving strong, beautiful arms
• Read more, finishing at least 12 books
• Serve more, including CharityMiles and community service with my husband

What are your goals for 2013?
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Crossing the Time Zone

In my last post, I shared a video of my run in ND, but I didn't do any write-up about it. I think it deserves a little more than that, so here it is again.

When looking at the map to decide where to stop in North Dakota for my run, I found that the Central/Mountain Time Zone Line would cross our path. What a great story that would make!!

Well, I knew we'd need to get off the freeway in order for me to run, and the map seemed to indicate that it would be an easy little detour. Easy-peasy.

Except it had gotten very dark by the time we got there. The road was tiny at least it was paved and we drove and drove without seeing any sign about crossing time zones. I guess the locals just know.

Finally, we decided to just pull over. I strapped on my running shoes, headlamp, and reflective vest, leashed up my girl, and ...

10-minutes later called it a run.

Running Ragnar last summer really helped prepare me for this run. I ran this mile+ like it was nothing!

Ok, it was a little scary.

Much less so with Jeff driving Liberty right behind me.

Sallie and I ran right down the middle of the lane. It was chilly, but when I got back in the van, I was surprisingly very sweaty!! It was an exhilarating run.

Kind of a fun story, right? And a great memory for me.

Turns out, we stopped for the night before leaving ND. When we awoke in the morning, I discovered there was a very nice bike trail right at the parking lot. It would have been a perfect place for a morning run before hitting the road again.

However, we were anxious to get moving - as we knew we'd have a full day of driving ahead of us.
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3 Things Thursday

1. Apparently, I'm incapable of getting dressed if I don't have work, school, or if I don't go for a run. It's 4:30pm now. Should I don those running clothes after all?

2. I finally posted my North Dakota (state #1) run to Facebook.

3. My Sallie girl is incredibly cute. She's discovered the bin of dog toys. Randomly throughout the day, she'll pounce on one of them. It makes me laugh. Every. single. time.

But she has been a very bad girl here in WA. If she isn't chasing one of the cats, she's running off all over town. She is no longer allowed outside without her leash, because if we take our eyes off her for 1/2 a second, she. is. gone. Being an inside dog all her life, she doesn't really understand the dangers of cars, so we worry.

Happy National Running Day!

If you haven't yet, I hope you're able to get out there today and go for a little run.

My runs lately have been in the 1 to 3 mile range, so today I thought I'd run a little further. I've been wanting to run out to the Chief Joseph Dam since we arrived in Bridgeport, so I figured this would be a great day to do it. I knew I'd want to take some pictures, so I put a waterproof I thought it might rain camera in my Camelback and headed out.

I ran from the city of Bridgeport across a long bridge and over to the Bridgeport State Park.

At the entrance to the dam, there was a very cool little maze with a unique legend about salmon and mourning doves.

I ran along some beautiful trails with some gorgeous viewpoints of Chief Joseph Dam.

I got a little camera-happy while running and while my run time was less than 60 min 59:31, to be exact, I was gone for over 1 1/2 hours.

In addition to these photos and more, I also shot some video and edited together. You can also view this on my Facebook page.

The Power of Words

Day 5

I'm not sure what I can really say to add to this video. It choked me all up when I watched it. Our words and outlook really can make a huge difference.

24 - Unaired Pilot back from 1994

Even if you've never watched the show 24 (I've never even seen one episode), I'm sure you'll still find this hilarious! My boss was cracking up watching it at work a few weeks ago, so she sent me the link.

It's always good to laugh at work.