Work it, work it...

I'm back again with the August Healthy Living /Fitness Blogger Writing Challenge. We're talking about our favorite workouts.

I don't really have any favorites. When my legs are in tiptop condition, I just like to get out there and run. I know that strength training and focusing on my core is super important, but I have so much trouble staying motivated!

I've not tried this one yet, but here's a workout I found on Pinterest recently.

Source: theleangreenbean.com via Clarinda on Pinterest

I think it offers enough flexibility and variety to keep it interesting plus it it would nice and quick for those days when you just doing feel like doing anything.

How about you? What's your favorite workout? 
How do you stay motivated to keep active?

Tweet

What's Cooking?

Today's challenge for the August Healthy Living /Fitness Blogger Writing Challenge is our favorite thing to cook. I'm not the greatest cook, and I don't always like to do it, but when I do, I like to try new recipes. I don't often make the same thing over and over again.

All that being said, I'd probably have to go with Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese. It's quick and easy and oh, so, tasty!

Oh, did you know that I have a recipe/cooking blog? Go visit A Tale of Two Sisters and Their Kitchens to see some recipes that I (and my sister) have tried.

In other news, I had a job interview this afternoon. Yay! It was at a professional staffing agency (aka temp agency). I've worked through a staffing agency off-and-on for the past 10 years, so I'm familiar with how it all works.

Here's the story:

I saw an ad online last Friday for 4 admin assistant positions. I immediately sent my resume to the contact name. A few hours later, I got impatient and called the office. A few moments later, I had an interview scheduled.

Then on Tuesday, the guy called me to say he'd reviewed my resume and would like to set up an interview. Obviously, he hadn't checked his calendar to see that I'd already had something scheduled. :-)

This morning, as I was getting ready, I received a call from the agency to see if I could push the interview back a couple hours. No problem.

When I arrived, another woman arrived at the exact same time. She held the elevator for me; I held the suite door open for her. Turns out we both had an interview at the same time with the same interviewer. *awkward*

Well, they found a different interviewer for me. Luck may have been on my side. The original guy didn't close the door, and I heard much more of that interview while I was waiting for my interviewer to come into the office where I was waiting. The other interview was a lot more in-depth than mine.

But, it's all good, because at the end of the interview, the other woman was sent on her way with the promise that they would call while I was asked to fill out paperwork.

I'm taking that as a good sign.
Tweet

10 Random Songs

Today's topic for the August Healthy Living /Fitness Blogger Writing Challenge is to go to your iPod/mp3 player, set it to shuffle, and list the first 10 songs that come up.

The only thing I have is my smartphone - it doesn't have nearly all of my music. Still, I decided to give it a shot.

Here's my list:

1. Walking on Sunshine - Jennifer Lopez
2. Great Expectations - J-Live
3. Why Georgia - John Mayer
4. I Hate Everything About You - Three Days Grace
5. I Want You to Want Me - Cheap Trick
6. B.O.B. - OutKast
7. What It Feels Like for a Girl - Madonna
8. Superman (It's Not Easy) - Five For Fighting
9. Come On Get Higher - Matt Nathanson
10. Over the Rainbow - Harry Connick, Jr.

Now, the weird thing is, I have NO idea where songs 2, 3, 4, or 6 came from. I'm not even sure I know those songs.
Tweet

Do you do this?

I often talk myself out of doing things. I don't know if I get scared or what, but it's something I've often struggled with. I tend to be a quitter. This has actually improved a bit as I've gotten older, but it's still a problem at times.

Yesterday's challenge for the August Healthy Living /Fitness Blogger Writing Challenge was about our favorite quotations. This was one of the first pins I found over on Pinterest, and I still LOVE it.

Source: wanttobehealthynhappy.tumblr.com via Clarinda on Pinterest

I think it really speaks to me and my quitting nature - not just when it comes to fitness/exercise/health, but in all aspects of my life.

I need to stop listening to that little liar in my head.

Today's challenge is about regrets. What is something that you always wonder "what if?" about?

The first thing that comes to mind is my decision to not study abroad at Middlesex University in London. I was accepted into the program and had paid a deposit, but for a variety of reasons, I choose not to go. I doubt that studying abroad would have greatly changed my life or personality much, but who knows?

Perhaps taking that scary leap of going somewhere completely new and different would have helped shape me into a stronger, more confident woman now.
Tweet

How did it get to be Monday night??

It was kind of a rough weekend. It was my birthday on Friday, and I don't know what happened, but it was one of the worst. I was an emotional wreck. I was in tears nearly all day. Even the kindest Facebook birthday wishes from friends and family made me choke up. They weren't always sad tears. Sometimes they were happy, I-feel-so-loved tears. No matter, they were draining. Physically and emotionally.

I had wanted to go to the Strip and go shopping, hang out, grab dinner. BUT when the day came, I could barely bring myself to even get dressed. Like I said, my emotions were all over the place.

I could say it was because I turned 35, but I don't think that's really it. I've always embraced my age and never dreaded any upcoming birthday.

Truth be told, I think it's more likely the fact that neither of us have found any work. Our funds are quickly fading, and soon we'll be in a world of hurt. It's difficult to deal with. Today, I did wake up pretty hopeful, so *fingers crossed*.

Saturday morning, I was determined to have a better day and decided to celebrate my birthday a day late. We walked to the Strip, visited the pool at Caesar's, stopped at H&M didn't buy anything, and went to Grimald's Pizza at the Palazzo for my free large birthday pizza. It was definitely an improvement over Friday, but still not the birthday I deserved.

Sunday was even better! We biked to MGM Grand to hang out at the pool with a fellow blogger - hiker mom. We got there a bit later than anticipated, but it was great fun! We walked through the lazy river. Renting a tube was $16!! We lounged on deck chairs.

We enjoyed great conversation. It was a lot of fun - and really helped boost my birthday weekend! Yay!!

Today flew by. I tackled my job search, exercised, lounged at the pool and hot tub. Same ole, same ole.

It's kind of a whiny post, but not as whiny as I'd thought it might be, so there's that. Ha!

Make it a great week, everyone!! I hope to join back in with the August Healthy Living /Fitness Blogger Writing Challenge tomorrow.
Tweet

Ouch!

I missed putting up a post yesterday. I was too busy doing this.

It looks a lot cuter in person. Plus, I love waking up and not worrying if I have bed head.

Yesterday's topic for the August Healthy Living /Fitness Blogger Writing Challenge was about our worst injuries. At first, I thought I've been so lucky to not have had any major injuries.

While that is true, I did experience a few years when I had shin splints so bad that I could run. It could have been lots worse, it was so frustrating to think that I might never run again. Slowly, but surely, I was able to work my way back into it. Yay!

Today's topic is about body image and the media. I haven't really given this much thought. I like having role models that are skinny, but I think there is too much emphasis, at times, on the super-skinny. I do wish there was more emphasis on FIT and STRONG and HEALTHY - with less emphasis on WEIGHT.
Tweet

Just Keeping On Keeping On

Day 7 of the August Healthy Living / Fitness Blogger Writing Challenge - breaking through plateaus.

Plateaus. They happen to all of us.

But how do you deal with them? How do you break through and start climbing again?

I don't think I really have an answer. I, too often, will give up and take too long of a break that when I return it's actually at a lower level. Booo....

If I had any advice, I guess it would be to incorporate variety. If you get bored, you're more likely to quit. Also, try something new. Or find a new running/workout partner.

I found this on Pinterest and found it to be perfectly fitting for this topic.
Tweet

What a Year!

Day 6 of the August Healthy Living / Fitness Blogger Writing Challenge - your highs and lows of this past year.

Highs:
- Student teaching - it was tough, but totally worth it.
- Graduated with my master's degree in May!

- Set off on a journey of a lifetime in June; it didn't quite turn out as planned, but I'm still counting it as a high.
- Discovered the joys of living in Las Vegas.
- Made some great new friends.

Lows:
- Decided not to run Grandma's marathon in favor of our road trip.
- Slipped from a healthy diet to a McDonald's-heavy one the first few weeks in Vegas
- Difficulty finding a job in Vegas

Honestly, it's been a great year! I had some difficulty thinking of some lows. :-) Now, I'm in the midst of my birthday week and looking forward to a great upcoming year - filled with more highs than lows!
Tweet

5 of the Best Foods. Ever.

Today is Day 5 of the August Healthy Living / Fitness Blogger Writing Challenge, and today we're talking about food, as in the five foods you simply can't live without.

Off the top of my head, I'd definitely have to go with in no particular order...

Bananas

Almond milk

Black beans

rice - not necessarily white, though that's what I usually have 

Bread - almost any variety will do!

Good thing I'm still pretty full from dinner or else I'd be super hungry after writing this post.

In other news, I went on my first Vegas hike this morning. It was a great trail! Just enough of a workout, just enough shade.

Satellite view of our hike

Elevation map

Although I didn't enjoy all of my 5 can't-live-without foods today, it was a pretty great day spent outside with some terrific new friends.

Tweet

Oh my how you've changed!

I'm a few days late to the party, but I just discovered the Fitness Cheerleader. She's hosting a Healthy Living/Fitness Challenge for bloggers in August.

There is a different writing prompt for each day. Since I've been in a bit of a blogging slump, I thought this might be a great way to kick-start myself back into it.

Today's Prompt: How have you changed in the past 2 years?

Hmm... just over two years ago. I ran my first 5K in years, so I guess that's change #1. I've focused, once again, on running. I've still been a bit wishy-washy about it over the past two years, but I've definitely been more consistent than the previous five or so years.

Another change has been my eating habits. It's actually a much more recent change than two years, but I've been trying to eat healthier. Very limited meat and dairy. Lots more fruits and vegetables. Water is still really difficult for me, but I'm trying.

Other changes...

I completed my master's degree.
I embarked on a long road trip.
I moved to Las Vegas.

It's been a great two years. I'm very happy about all my changes and look forward to more! Life is nothing without making positive changes for the future.

Tweet

Time for a Challenge

I'll be the first to admit that I've definitely been lacking in the motivation department lately. I know I need to get active again. I know it will help me with my back pain and give me more energy. I know I will be happier.

But still...

Sometimes it's just so difficult.

In order to hopefully aid me in returning to a more active lifestyle, I'm hoping to join Ali Mc from Running with Spatulas in her Plank It Up August challenge.

Who wants to join me??

Tweet

Today...

I love Mondays! They seem like a new beginning - a chance to start anew. In this vain, I've decided to make some choices.

Today, I will...

• Devote several hours to searching for a job - finding opening, submitting resumes/cover letters
• Create a menu plan.
• Begin a new exercise regimen.
• Clean my apartment.

I think that's a pretty good place to start. Hopefully I'll be successful. I need to get back on the ball. Too many things have slipped away, and I feel myself getting too comfortable.

Lazy.

It's 12 days until my 35th birthday. Here's hoping I have some good news on the job front by then. I'm hoping for a smashing birthday in Vegas, but we need to be responsible, so it needs to be contingent of me finding work first!

Tweet

Book Review: Anasazi Runner

Anasazi Runner: a novel of identity and speed by Jeff Posey
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this book, but there were a few things about it that really didn't jive with me.

Being a runner, it was difficult for me to imagine the paces being described in this book. Granted the author even admits it being a stretch, so I really shouldn't hold that against the book. While lofty running goals are an underlying, recurrent theme of the book, there is a lot more to the story. It's about a runner trying to find himself and his place in the world and his interactions with those closest to him - his girlfriend and running coach.

The story is told through the voice of Sean's running coach. After finishing the story, it makes sense that it is told through the voice of an outsider (that's all I'm going to say about that, so as not to spoil the ending), but it was very difficult for me to get through most of the time. The main characters, Sean and Kira, are of Native American descent, and Coach J is not. Throughout the book, there are many comments made about him being an "old, white guy." I understand that, being white, he probably doesn't understand many native traditions and ways of thinking, but references such as this really did not sit well with me. It seemed distasteful. I suppose it might not be too far from accurate, but I just didn't like it.

I also didn't like the relationship that developed between Coach J and Kira. He eventually comes to think of her as a granddaughter, but there were too many descriptions of their interactions together that made him seem more like just a creepy old man lusting after a young Navajo woman. I felt that their speech and mannerisms just got a bit too intimate for my liking.

If you can get past those few shortcomings (in my opinion), it was kind of a fascinating story. Sean sets forth a goal to win the NY Marathon, seeks the help from a former, now retired, high school track coach. Prior to setting out to accomplish this, he had always come in 11th in all his races. He didn't seem destined to be a winner, but as the story unfolds, we learn more about his journey to not only win but also to find himself.

I think this book had a lot of potential. The overall story was good with just enough complexities to keep you interested, but it could have been developed better. The stories of the characters were interesting, but I wasn't able to fully connect with them. I mostly felt frustration toward them through most of the book instead of the range of emotions you generally want to feel.

View all my reviews

Tweet

Viva Las Vegas!

Note: I began writing this post at the end of June, when it was still fresh in my mind. I'm disappointed with how long it's been since my last post, so I wanted to publish something today when I discovered this in my drafts. Hopefully I can do the rest of the trip some justice - and get back to regular posting.

Fifteen years ago, I graduated from a small two-year college in SW Missouri. Instead of going back for the official reunion, a few of us decided to meet up for a little reunion of our own in Las Vegas.

So, in the midst of Traveling with Liberty, we made a stop in Vegas.

The fun and festivities were supposed to begin on Tuesday June 19th, and they did for my friends, but Jeff and I took a little longer than expected driving from the Portland area. I finally joined my friends by mid-morning on Wednesday.

But before I could settle into enjoying Vegas, we needed to find a place for Jeff and Sallie to stay, which meant we needed to park the van while we searched hotels.com.

Parking the van turned out to be quite an ordeal.

The parking ramp at the Cosmopolitan we didn't actually stay at the Cosmo, but the condo Katie's parents hooked us up with had shared parking in the ramp is actually quite nice. Each spot has a sensor, so when you drive in, you can see just how many spots are available on each level.

One problem: The sensors hang down so low, that the clearance of the garage is greatly decreased. When we drove into the ramp, it clearly said CLEARANCE 8'2". Liberty measures around 7'5", so we figured we were good.

Wrong.

We *may* have hit a few signs/sensors, but I'm totally blaming the Cosmopolitan. I mean, seriously, update your signs!

Once parked, we still had to find a hotel room. A BIG THANK YOU to my friends for hanging out with Sallie while we searched, booked, and noted directions.

So, I kissed Jeff good-bye and settled into my room on the Strip with the girls.

Where I enjoyed this view from our room.

After showering and primping, we hit the Strip and headed north. We found ourselves at the Fashion Show Mall, where we shopped and ate at the food court. Nothing spectacular, but it was very fun.

Once back at the hotel, one of us crashed. Hard.

So, we left her to catch up on some sleep and headed to the Hash House A Go Go. Twisted Farm Food. The portions were ridiculously huge.

Seriously. Who can eat a pancake the size of one's head? Plus scrambled eggs? Plus bacon, sausage, or potatoes? I think the three of us could have *easily* shared one order.

The next day, we took a free shuttle to the Las Vegas Outlet Mall, where we shopped and shopped and shopped some more. I tried on a gorgeous, summertime dress at Banana Republic. It fit perfectly, and was only $40 (60% reduction), and yet I still talked myself out of buying it.

After shopping our little hearts out, Kate found so many amazing deals! we rested a few hours in our hotel room before getting all dolled up to catch a show, grab some dinner, and party at a Vegas night club or two.

We went to see V The Ultimate Variety Show. It was great. Better than I expected. The MC Wally Eastwood was hilarious. Plus, there was something for everyone. Sexy acrobatic men. Sensual female magicians. Lots of comedy. If you're in Vegas, I would definitely recommend this show.

From there we ate at one of the restaurants near to the theater. I can't remember the name now. Dinner was included in the price of the tickets. Sort of. There was a special menu that we could order from or we could order off the regular menu for a discount. The food was good, but the service wasn't the best.

After finishing dinner, we headed over to the Aria. Earlier in the day, we had gotten some tickets to a few different nightclubs and had decided on going to Haze. While in the lobby of the Aria, we were approached by a nicely dressed man. He suckered us into buying tickets to Gold to enjoy that club while we waited for Haze to open. It wasn't exactly the scene for all of us, but we all went. For $20, it was all we could drink, which didn't turn out to be much. Are we getting old?

From there, we finally made it to Haze. It. Was. LOUD! Maybe we really are getting old? Again, not the scene for everyone, but I was determined to drink, dance, and have some fun. My concept of time that night is gone, but at some point, one of the girls headed back to the hotel. The rest of us stumbled back (ok, only two of us were really stumbling) around 2:30, I think. I thought it was a fun enough club - if not for being super crowded and loud.

After sleeping and lounging, we got off to a later-than-usual start Friday morning. After breakfast, one of us really wanted to head to the Cosmopolitan pool and one of us wanted to shop some more, so we split into twos and went on our way. I went with the shopper. Hindsight being what it is, I probably shouldn't have. Or I should have changed into flip flips. I ended up getting huge blisters on my feet. I didn't think I'd ever walk normally again.

I had to relax for a couple hours in the room before I could hobble my way to dinner.

For dinner, we all headed to Beso Steakhouse in Crystals at City Center. Jeff even joined us.

Up to this point, we had collectively been pretty disappointed by the level of service we'd received in Vegas. It either slow or the server wasn't very personable or both. That all changed at Beso. The service was great, but even better, the food was fabulous. So good in fact that I shared the following on twitter the next day.

Just thinking about it again makes my mouth water.

Saturday morning, we started the day off at PBR Rock Bar and Grill at the suggestion of Katie's mom. I was not disappointed! I shared a plate of breakfast potato skins with Katie, and they were very tasty!

Katie's parents picked her up shortly after breakfast. After saying our good-byes, the rest of us checked out of our room and headed back out to the strip to walk through a few other hotels/casinos. It was a low-key, relaxed way to end our trip.

Molly and Dayna hailed a cab and headed to the airport, and Jeff picked me up to take me back to where he'd spent the week.

What a great stop on our travels of course, if you follow me on FB or Twitter, you know that we now call Vegas home! It was so fun to see these lovely ladies again. We walked, we shopped, we talked, we laughed. Great fun - even if I was exhausted and could barely walk by the end of it all.

Hopefully we'll be able to get together again sometime soon!

**I didn't take hardly any pictures, so most of the pictures in this post are from what my friends posted on FB. Thanks for covering me on the picture taking and sharing, ladies!

Tweet

Biking the Strip

I know, I know. I'm way behind in blogging. I've got a few videos to share and some fun pictures, but that takes time for editing and processing. In the meantime, here's a quick update.

I have now run in ND, MT, WA, OR, and CA.

I have driven through some pretty spectacular scenery.

I have been in Las Vegas now since last Wed morning. Wed-Sat afternoon I spent reuniting with a few college roomies.

Since Sat afternoon, I've been chilling with my husband.

My favorite hotel/casino has got to be NY, NY! It made me really nostalgic of my time living there and *almost* made me want to move back.

It's the one hotel I wanted Jeff to be sure to see.

So, we strapped on our bike helmets and headed to the Strip. We're staying in a hotel off the strip about 3 miles. Jeff had already biked it a few times, so he was familiar with the route.

The route was mostly *quiet* side streets, but it would take us onto the Strip for over a mile.

I'll admit it. I was a little apprehensive about biking on the strip. I mean, it is a busy, car-packed, pedestrian-filled street.

Scary.

No, not really.

In fact, it's probably one of the easiest, high congestion roads I've ever biked on. I'd guess it was a little past 7pm when we were biking the strip. There were no horns honking, no evil stares, no cruel gestures.

I never felt in danger.

In fact, it was wonderful and very fun!
Tweet

Book Review: Never Smile at Strangers

Never Smile at Strangers by Jennifer Minar-Jaynes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. It pulled me in right from the very beginning, and I read it start to finish in just three sittings. I didn't want to put it down.

I liked how the author only used the pronoun when describing the killer and yet was able to fully develop the character throughout the story. I found him to be very creepy and felt sorry for him as I learned more and more about his childhood as I moved throughout the story.

Taking place during the summer in a small Louisiana town, I could feel the heat seeping from these pages. It wasn't at all difficult to picture this little town and the difficulties the main character, Haley, was encountering. I enjoyed watching her progression and how she choose to deal with everything going on.

There was definitely some predictability in this story, but I still enjoyed taking the journey the author was describing. There was quite a bit of misdirection, and it was fun getting to the end to see which way the author was going to go.

I might have ended the book a little differently - had I been the author. I'm not sure I really like who ended up being the killer. There were still some questions left at the end of the book, but I think that's a good thing. I feel it was nicely tied up at the end, with just enough left unanswered.

There does tend to be a bit of bad language from some of the characters and there is a little sexual activity, so if that bothers you, you may not want to add this to your shelf. If that doesn't bother you, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick suspense/thriller to read. It flowed well, the characters were well developed, and there weren't very many typos.
Tweet
View all my reviews

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.
Tweet

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.

My Home

Last week was a busy one, and I didn't have a chance to play along with Stasha for Monday Listicles. I really loved last week's easy topic, so I'm going to that one today.

10 Words to Describe My Home

1. Liberating
2. White
3. Cozy
4. Natural light
5. Organized
6. Unorthodox
7. Loud
8. Surprisingly comfortable
9. Gas guzzling
10. Perfect!

Yep, I officially live in our van, Liberty, now! It's been 4 wonderful days.

As we're driving around, we're stopping at least once in every state for me to run for at least 10min. So far, I've run in North Dakota, Montana, and Idaho. Posts and videos describing my runs coming soon...

We're in Washington now, staying with some family, but it's been rainy all day. I'm not sure I'll make it out there today, but no worries, we'll be here for a few days at least.