Five Randoms For Friday

First of all… You may notice that my blog has changed and is in disorder… I’m going through a phase where I want to change my blog… I don’t know how long this phase will last but I’ll let you know when I’m finished and my blog is finite! ;)

Also this blog post is a part of the Running Bloggers Fitness Friday Linkup.  You can find their badge on my left sidebar… Now on with my Five for Friday…
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1. It’s been nice out and now that I don’t have homework keeping me inside I get to play outside in the sun! :)  Which means I get to start  “Plankin’ it up outside”

OMG! Look at that skill!! ;)  Don’t ever listen to anyone who tells you I can’t multi-task! 
I’m planking and taking a picture at the same time!! ;)  #PROOF 

2. I’ve won a couple giveaways in the past couple months:  A Nathan Handheld with Nuun, a Twetebird Headband, a Color Me Rad 5k Entry, and KT Tape… I’m one LUCKY Runner ;) tehe!

3. Speaking of headbands… I got my Boston Strong BicBand headband and it rocks… These were sold to raise money for the One Fund, the official Boston Charity (you can read more HERE) … Guess how much money was raised up til I got mine in the mail … OVER $16,000!!

Runners are a special breed… for more than one reason! ;) This looks like a mug shot…
also, I spy with my little eye.. a bottle of NUUN! ;)

4. Does anyone have any Memorial Day race recaps you’d like to share?  Apparently everyone is super busy this week because no one has joined the Race Recap Roundup #linkup Par-TAY!  Get going and linkup your race reports already!!  jeesh! ;)  (It doesn’t have to be a Memorial Day race… just sayin’)

5. LAST but certainly not least… Don’t forget to enter for the chance to win a 1-month subscription to Bestowed! The box is full of wonderful goodies!  CLICK HERE (or the image)
to enter!! Ends 6/8!

 

When’s the last time you changed your blog?
   - Currently ;)

Have you planked anywhere other than a gym/your house?
   - Outside :)

Did you buy a Boston Strong Bic Band?
   - yeppers!

What are your plans for the weekend?

Bestowed Box Review & Giveaway

Before I tell you all about Bestowed… the Reebok Spartan Race Entry winner is….

Congratulations!  I will be emailing you shortly with your prize! :)

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Now… on to Bestowed!! It seems like every time you head to the grocery store, there’s a new healthy food on the shelf that you’ve never heard of before!  Well, Bestowed gives you the opportunity to discover healthy food you’ll love! That’s why when they contacted me to do a review I immediately replied! :)

Bestowed is the creation of nationally recognized nutritionist and author Heather Bauer and is the answer to all those that have ever stood in the health food section of their local grocery store and said to themselves..."which one of these is really the best??"

Each month, Heather and her team of health and diet experts carefully curate 5 product samples that have caught their attention. Items like nutrition bars, snacks, breakfast cereals, and supplements are just a few of the categories considered. (Source)

When I received my Bestowed Box I was so excited to see what samples where in it… such mystery and anticipation I couldn’t contain myself!!  By the way, every box comes with a paper that explains each sample and has tips on how to use it.

My box came with:

• Teechia Super Seed Cereal
• Good Eating Salads book
• Sun Cups Dark Chocolate Sunflower Butter Cups
• Navitas Coconut Water Powder
• Way Better Snacks Sweet Chili Tortilla chips
• Larabar Uber
• Everyday Califorinia EVOO

A couple of my favorite samples from this box were the Way Better Snacks Sweet Chili Chips, the Teechia Super Seed Cereal, and the Good Eating Salads book!  I have a couple of the salad recipes dog-eared already because let’s face it… my salads tend to be the same thing over and over again! 

The best part about Bestowed is that it contains different samples each month and you can join and subscribe to Bestowed HERE for $19/month or $209/year!  I think that’s a great deal and I LOVE the concept of Bestowed! 

The BESTEST part is that Bestowed is giving my readers $5 off if you use the following discount promo code:  5OFFBESTOWED01

And the ABSOLUTE bestest is that they are offering one of my readers the chance to win a 1-month subscription to Bestowed (1 box).  Right now they can only ship in the US so to enter you need to be a US resident.  To enter, just fill out the rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

* Giveaway Rules:    ~ Giveaway will run from 5/29/13 through 6/8/13
                               ~ A winner will be chosen through Rafflecopter and will be notified via email by 6/10/13
                               ~ The winner must respond 72 hours after they are notified or winnings will be forfeited 
                               ~ Must be 18 years of age or older to enter or meet requirements of your state
                               ~ Must be a resident within the US
                               ~ I was given a free Bestowed Box for my review; I was not paid and all opinions are my own

Weekly Roundup: May 20 – 26

Monday: BBC Day #1; Basketball with hubby (45min)
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: BBC Day #2; 30 Day Fast Start – Upper Body (3)
Thursday: Rest
Friday: BBC Day #3;  30 Day Fast Start – Upper & Lower (3)
Saturday: .5mi in 5:51; BBC Day #4; 30 Day Fast Start – Upper & Lower (3); .5mi in 5:50; Foam Roll/Stretch/Stick
Sunday: Rest

Total for Week = 1 mile 
Total for Month =  1 mile 
Total for Year =  70.57 miles

*** @=outside run (refers to pace) in=treadmill run (refers to minutes)

January 11.57 miles                                                       2011 329.45 miles
February 16.55 miles                                                      2012 178.67 miles
March 15.52 miles
April  25.93 miles
May  1 mile

Last Week's Roundup (I haven’t done one since April)

 

Reminders

- You have 2 hours left to enter my giveaway for a free entry into a Reebok Spartan Obstacle Race:

- The Race Recap Roundup #linkup is reset and ready for all your new race recaps! :)

  

Blog Posts From The Week

What Do You Run For?
Reebok Spartan Race Entry Giveaway
Throwback Thursday - High School Senior Edition
#Anywhere5k and #Runchat Team up...

Registered Races

Unfortunately I have no plans to race at all this year… we shall see towards the second half, but I am just trying to get back into shape and figure out my knee pain!

#Anywhere5k and #Runchat Team Up…

Just last month I stumbled upon a website called #Anywhere5k.  Their philosophy straight from their website:

The #Anywhere5K philosophy is simple. Instead of enduring the hassles of organized road races (registration fees, waking up before the rooster crows, or getting lost on your way to the start line) just roll out of bed and go run a 5K race from wherever you are. (source)

I wanted to tell you all about a virtual race they are hosting.  They are partnering up with #Runchat to host a virtual Run for OKC #anywhere5k!  It will be open for a week (May 29th – June 1st) and it’s free!  It’s highly encouraged to donate to help the victims of the tornado and they list a few ways to do that on the run’s website!

Go sign up! :)

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Throwback Thursday – High School Senior Edition

Ok, so this is not too long ago (about 8 years ago),
but a throwback none-the-less…

How long ago did you graduate from high school? 

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A few Reminders:

~ Don’t forget to enter my Spartan Race Entry Giveaway

 

~ Don’t forget to linkup your race recaps! 

Reebok Spartan Race Entry Giveaway

Reebok Spartan Race:  Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Youtube

 

How many of you have run a mud run or obstacle course run and LOVED it?! I have not, but you better believe me it is on my bucket list!!  If you really want to find out if you have what it takes, the Reebok Spartan Race is for you!!! They don’t mess around!!  The Reebok Spartan Race was awarded the Best Obstacle Race by Outside Magazine in 2012.

 

So what exactly is the Reebok Spartan Race?  Glad you asked! ;) Directly from the website:

Simply, Spartan Race is the world’s leading obstacle race series. It’s an event of pure primitive craziness that you’ll never forget!
Spartan Race has:

• Races all over the globe!
• Different distances for different levels and styles of racing.
• A unique culture and community of athletes striving together to overcome any and everything

Spartan Race is on a mission to get you active, healthy, excited about change, and return to our ancient roots where running through woods, getting dirty, and facing adversity was part of everyday life. Our events are all about challenging today’s perception of normal. (source)

As stated above, they have different levels and styles of racing:

    
     The Spartan Sprint challenges a Spartan’s Agility
     with a muddy 3+ MILES / 15+ OBSTACLES race

 

    
     The Super Spartan tests a Spartan’s Endurance
     with an 8+ MILES / 20+ OBSTACLES battlefield

 

    
     The Spartan Beast is the ultimate Spartan’s race
     distance with 12+ MILES / 25+ OBSTACLES

 

    
     The Death Race is the ultimate challenge… so much so
     they needed a different webpage for this +48 hour adventure

Where can you run a Reebok Spartan Race? (click here to find a race near you!)

 

 

Why should you run a Reebok Spartan Race? (click here to find out)

 

What will you get for running the Reebok Spartan Race?

• Spartan Race T-Shirt
• Spartan Race Finisher Medal 
• Top 3 Male/Female finishers receive free entry into the next level of Spartan Race
• Bragging Rights!
• Click here to see more!
  

 

Think you have what it takes to be a Spartan?!  To enter the giveaway for a free Reebok Spartan Race entry to any race in the continental US
that is not already sold out, simply use the Rafflecopter form!  If you are
just so excited to run the Reebok Spartan Race now and want to go ahead and sign up for a race, you can click the picture below or this link here to get a personal promo coupon code for 15% off your race entry!

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway * Giveaway Rules:  ~ Giveaway will run from 5/21/13 through 5/29/13
                               ~ A winner will be chosen through Rafflecopter 5/30/13 and will be notified via email by 5/31/13
                               ~ The winner must respond 72 hours after they are notified or winnings will be forfeited
                               ~ Must be 14 years of age or older to enter
                               ~ The giveaway and promo coupon codes are only good for a race within the continental US
                               ~ The free race entry was provided by Reebok Spartan Race; I was not paid for this post

What Do You Run For?

Do you run for fitness?  Do you run for “me time”? How about as a stress reliever?

Do you run for fun?  For that “runner high”?   OR do you run for something more?

I don’t watch a whole lot of TV, but I am spending a relaxing evening surfing the web and watching baseball and I just saw a Dick’s Sporting Goods commercial on ESPN that made me look it up and want to share with you all… even though you guys are much more on top of things and in the know than I am, so I’m sure you’ve already seen it! ;)

Here is the Dick’s Sporting Goods webpage where they have real people’s stories on why they run or what they run for… truly inspiring!  Please Go check it out!  Here is just one of the many great videos:

 

Every runner has a reason… What’s yours?

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Don’t forget to #linkup your Race Recaps! :)

Graduation – May 10, 2013

It’s been a week since I graduated from the Interpreting Education Program!  The 2 years and 2 quarters that I was in the program just flew by!  2 years of great teachers, hard work, tears, laughter, a lot of stress and a lot of lessons learned... I am finally an interpreter graduate!! I am so excited for this next chapter in my life and cannot thank my teachers or my peers enough for encouraging me and believing in me!!

                    

  

What’s next?  Well, I have sent my resume to a couple places and have an interview set up. I’m extremely nervous but also excited for what’s next.  I think I may be afraid of change! lol… I’ve spent 7 years in college to earn 2 degrees and now I’m finally growing up! ;) Here we go!!

Goals Update: April 2013

Remember my very first post of the year?  WAYYY back in January?!  Of course you don’t … ok, for those of you who can’t even remember what you ate last night for dinner (including me)  Let’s recap.   I talked about how 2012 wasn’t the best of years especially running/staying in shape-wise and set 3 attainable goals for 2013. 

Goal #1:  Run at least 1 mile every month!
Goal #2:  Graduate in May and land at least a part time interpreting job by mid-June!
Goal #3:  Finish all the WIPs (works in progress) I have on my knitting needles/crochet hooks and make something for myself this year! :)  (currently sitting at 5 WIPs)

In my March Recap, I changed my first goal to :  Run at least 1 mile every week.

Well… I’m changing it again to “At the end of each month, average 1 mile per week AND get rid of knee pain”  This means that I don’t necessarily have to run 1 mile every week, as long as I average the 1 mile per week (or 4/5 miles a month) … certainly attainable right?  My first priority is my knee though and not mileage…

GOAL #1:  Run at least 1 mile every month week!  At the end of each month, average 1 mile per week AND get rid of knee pain

                ~By the end of April I had run at least 2 miles every week (Except the first week 
                  in January when I was sick) with a total of 69.57 miles for the year.  Which means 
                  on average I ran 4.09 miles per week.   - GOOD SO FAR

GOAL #2:  Graduate in May and land at least a part time interpreting job by mid-June!

                ~So far so good… I’m taking the last 2 classes I need and am at my last 
                  internship required.  Currently I have A’s in both classes (trying to keep it that 
                  way).  As far as the job part I am attending a job fair before graduation and have 
                  started networking through my internship.  - IN PROGRESS 

GOAL #3:  Finish all the WIPs (Works in Progress) I have on my knitting needles/crochet hooks (5 WIPS) and make something for myself this year! :)  - 4/6 COMPLETE

~Make something for myself this year “Honey Cowl” – COMPLETE 2/11/13

 

~ WIP #1:  “What a Hoot Scarf” – COMPLETE 1/5/13

~ WIP #2:  “Owl Vest for Bryce” – COMPLETE 3/8/13

~ WIP #3:  “Snowmen Ornaments” – COMPLETE 3/31/13

*These have been sitting around for a while (2008), they were my first crochet projects ever lol… since then I’ve crocheted at least 14 other things before finishing these lol… whoops!

~ WIP #4:  “Hannah’s Flower Power Rug” – IN PROGRESS

~WIP #5:  “Valentine Doily”

 

What are your goals for 2013?

What are your goals for this this month?

Sayin’ a Quick Hello and a Reminder…

Hey guys!  I just want to say a quick hello!! :)

I GRADUATED FRIDAY!!! 

Despite popular belief, after you graduate, you are still super busy!!  At least I am!! lol

I will definitely post about it sometime this week!!  I also have some other things to catch you all up on, but I don’t have time as I’m already 1 1/2 hours past my bedtime! ;)

REMINDER:  Race Recap Roundup #linkup is now reset!  If you posted your recap Friday, Saturday, or Sunday… I reposted them for you! :)  Get to linkin up!! :)  Feel free to share the pic or post it on your blog! :)

I hope you all had a very lovely Monday! :)  Chat at y’all soon!  *hugs!*

A Little Trouble In Paradise…

Thank you for letting me know your links weren’t showing up on the Race Recap Roundup #linkup Page!!!

I have found the source of the issue and it is all fixed!! :)

Link Away!!

Oh My Goodness… 2 More Days!!!

AHH!! I have 2 days left til graduation!! 

Which of course is why I have not been keeping up with my blogging the past couple weeks!  So much going on and so much to do!! :)

I had my last class and final project yesterday

Thursday I have dinner with my practicum seminar class

Friday is graduation!!! woohoo!!!  :)

PS – the Race Recap Roundup #linkup page has been refreshed as of Monday and you can post your race reports!! :)  If you posted race reports on Saturday and Sunday please feel free to link that up again as well! :)

Three Things Thursday: RRR, Unexpected Job Offer, and Graduation … Oh My!!

1.  You still have time to linkup your race recaps from this week on the Race Recap Roundup.  Reminder:  the linkup will be reset every Monday! :)

 

2.  Yesterday I got a long-term sub offer for all of May and it was exactly what I needed but wasn’t expecting at all!  It may even turn into a job for all of next school year too, but right now I am taking one day at a time!  With graduation coming up in 8 days, this is one less thing to stress about!! God is so good and knows exactly what we need and when we need it!  I am so blessed! :)

 

3.  Speaking of graduation…  Right now, I am at my last day of my internship and my last day of actual class!  (I wrote this last night before bed!)  ;)  I have one final project next week, but I’m not counting that!  I honestly just can’t believe I am graduating from the American Sign Language Interpreting program already!! Remember when I was all excited because I was starting the program? ;)  *squee!!*  Lots of exciting things going on!!

 

    3b.  I will confess that with all the excitement/stress of graduation being soon, I have not
          been keeping up on my working out or my leg & hip exercises the past week… whoops!

 

 

I hope you all have a great day and find something to be thankful for! :)

Wordless Wednesday: #runhappyis

 

 

What is your #runhappyis?