Why I’ve Been Missing and Card Swap Reminder

Wow…

So I’ve been missing AGAIN from blogworld… but I’m not going to apologize…

I just wanted to check in real quick to let you all know that I’m doing ok…I’ve just been super busy!!

60+ hour work weeks, still working out 2-4 times a week, getting sick (thank you preschoolers), spending a couple hours a week with hubby, oh… and I happened to join 4… FOUR… yoga challenges on Instagram! lol… What was I thinking?!

I’ll share a couple pictures of some of the poses I did for the challenges so far (if you want to see all of them then you can go follow me on instagram here):

I really have grown fond of yoga! :)  I believe it’s a really important role in my overall fitness!!  I want to try to find some classes but I think the closest might be 45 minutes away…

How far have you driven to join a fitness class??

Well… there’s a quick excuse of why I’ve been missing… Keep an eye out for some reviews coming up (that are way past due) ..whoops! Also, a knee update and perhaps a blog giveaway hop!

ALSO… Go sign up for the 2013 Christmas Card Swap!!! Sign ups close December 5th, so signup before you forget about it!! :)

Have you ever taken fitness classes?
Do you practice yoga?
How far have you driven to take a fitness class?
When you’re busy do you try to make blogging a priority?

2013 Christmas Card Swap… 4th Annual!!

I honestly can’t believe it’s that time of year again… time for the 4th annual Christmas Card Swap!!!  Aren’t you all excited?!  Ok… for those of you who have no idea what in the world I’m talking about… 4 years ago, in 2010, I came up with the idea of a card swap.  I absolutely LOVE the Christmas season and thought it would be fun to put something together so that we could have a partay with our friends here in social media land!!  I wasn’t sure how well it would be received, but we had quite a few people sign up!! I guess it was such a great idea that there are even a few people copying the idea on their blogs (almost word for word and exact formatting)… You saw it here first folks! lol ;) This is a fantastically fun way to meet new fitness fanatics of all levels and receive Christmas cards! So how does it work and how do you sign up for the best Christmas Card Swap Evah?? :

Depending on how many people sign up, I will divide you all into groups of 5 or more people.  You will send a Christmas card to all the people in your group, and will be receiving cards from the people in your group.  Let’s say you are put in a group with X,Y,Z…  You will send cards to X, Y, and Z and will receive a card from X, Y, and Z.  Make sense?! Good! :)

Your cards can be store bought or handmade and you can feel free to add a little something to the card like your favorite fitness quote, advice, candy, a little ornament, a sticker, a note of encouragement or a funny note, or you can just send the card… Whatever you want to do is PERFECT!  Just don’t be sending pairs of running shoes, yoga pants, a garmin, or a free entry to Boston (unless you’re sending it to me)  We want to keep this cheap so everyone can join and doesn’t feel bad for just sending a card!   :)

After everyone is put into their groups I will be sending out an email including YOUR group members ONLY with their blog links (so you can get to know them if you don’t already) and addresses so that there’s still a bit of privacy and everyone’s addresses aren’t out there floating around on the internet somewhere!  Safety people!!  :D   The groups will be picked by Random.org so we keep things mixed up!  I will say that if you participated last year, I will try my best to pair you with different people this year so that you meet even more interesting people. :)

I will be adding people to a list at the bottom of this page as they sign up…  So, if you sign up and for some reason, do not see your name on the list after a couple days… just shoot me an email and we’ll get it taken care of!

Let’s get this PARTY STARTED!!!  You are welcome to invite your friends!  All are welcome! :)  Feel free to put the logo on your blog and link it back to this page as an invite to other bloggers! AND YES, international bloggers are welcome to join as well as those without blogs… Instagramers, Facebookers, Dailymilers or Twitterers can join too!!!  ;)

How to sign up:

Send an email to runners.luck@hotmail.com with the subject “2013 Christmas Card Swap” and include the following (copy and paste the below into your email to make it easier):

Name:
Mailing Address:
Email Address:  (This makes it easier for me to contact you if I have a question :)
Blog Title and URL: (or link to your Instagram, twitter, dailymile, or facebook if you dont have a blog)
Introduce yourself in a couple sentences:  (so that others in your group can get to know you.. maybe what you do to stay active, a deep dark secret, or how you started your fitness journey.. whatever you want))
Additional Information:  (if you feel you can only send to 1, 2, or 3 people instead of 5 or let me know if you’re willing to send to more, its totally cool!! OR if you are willing to send a card internationally or not!  Just let me know!)

**Come back to this page and just post a quick comment stating that you’re in so that I can cross reference and double check entrants. That’s it…  
So easy a caveman could do it!   ;)

SIGN UPS WILL CLOSE ON DECEMBER 5TH @ 11:59PM 
(Basically if you sign up before I wake up December 6th , you’re golden!

 

Sign ups OPEN November 15 – December 5
Sign ups Close December 5th @ 11:59 pm
Partners Emailed December 6-8th
Cards need to be sent by December 16th

 

People who are IN LIKE FLYNN!

Zaneta from Runner’s Luck
Whitney from Running With Whit
Julie from ROJ Running
Sandra from Facebook
Charlotta from Instagram
Kim from Barking Mad About Running
Darlene from My First 5k and More
Lisa from Chasin’ Bunnies
Jessica from Instagram
Kristy from Runaway Bridal Planner
Johanna from The Woolen Runner
Tiina from One Crazy Penguin
Kiley from DVF Fitness
Sherri from Instagram
Erica from Life as a Running Mom
Ruby from I'm a Runners Mom
Bobbie from Journey in Running
Suzanne from Cows and Lasers and Everything In Between
Debe from Facebook
Robin from Twitter
Andrea from Age Group Rocks
Karen from Facebook
Brianne from Instagram
Elizabeth from Instagram
Danielle from Ooh Breathe, Just Breathe

OMG… I Ran!!!!

OMG guys!!!! I totally ran!!! ok ok… before you get all excited, I must be honest and tell you that It wasn’t a lot…

Ok… I’ll be totally honest… it probably can’t even constitute as running…

Friday I went out for my usual walk outside and decided that my knee has been feeling great lately! Why not go for a run right?  I just needed it!  You know that itch that you get when you don’t run in forever!?  I has it! ;)

The picture below is why it really doesn’t count as running-running… just sort-of-running:

BUT… guess what?… I’m counting it!! :)  About 2 minutes total… but it’s more than 0!

My knee is feeling well still, but I’m kinda nervous to run more than a 10:1 minute walk/run ratio…

we shall see…

I’m totally excited though! :)  I can’t wait to get back to actually Running-Running… I’ve missed it! :)

 

Has an injury ever held you back from running?
How’d you get back to running?
What’s your best advice to running injury-free?

Wordless Wednesday: The Cranky Train

BTW, thanks for making me feel better about almost chopping off my fingers in my last post! ;)

Were you riding the cranky train today?

How’d you turn your frown upside down today?

Are you a morning or evening workout person?

Whoops, I Did it Again… (and Apple Chip Recipe)

There are just some days when your brain just isn’t working properly and you end up doing stupid stuff… Come on, you all can admit it… I know I’m not the only one!! ;)  Things that just don’t make sense and it makes you think “Gee, what in the world was I thinking?”  The answer to that question is usually “Apparently, you weren’t” (At least that’s how the conversation goes in my head)  lol ;) If I’m being honest, I have to admit that I happen to have quite a bit of those days/moments!

Things like…

- making a special trip into town (20 minutes away) to buy gas and a specific item only to get there and realize you forgot your wallet

- coming home from the grocery store to make that special meal for your better half only to find out that you forgot the main ingredient

- finishing a really good book and getting all excited to start the next book in the series and dig through the pile of books you got from the library finding that you have every other book in the series except that one

Or, how about…

- Almost slicing off your fingers on a mandolin slicer because you’re too stubborn and think it works better without the hand protector/food grip?

Yep… we’ve all been there… and if you tell me you haven’t been, you’re lying!! OR you really are that good at thinking things through and I need you to bottle some of that up and send it to me!! ;) Your turn to be honest!! What stupid stuff have you done or “shoulda thought that one through” moments have you had lately?

So… the reason I sliced my finger was because I was baking apple chips!! These things are so good that I kept going after I got injured! lol.. not to mention they make your whole house smell like apple goodness… perfect for a fall day! :)

So for your benefit and a little snack to curb your sweet cravings… Here’s the recipe:

~ Set the oven to 200*

~ Slice your apple or apples… Using a mandolin slicer is the easiest way to get thin even slices. I’ve cut them with a knife by hand before and it doesn’t work as well.  (Just make sure you use the food grip on the mandolin slicer!)  ;)  I have an OXO good grip slicer and I put it on setting 3. I got about 20 slices per apple.

~ Line a pan with parchment paper and put your apple slices side-by-side on the pan.  Make sure you don’t overlap them or stack them on top of each other because they wont dry out evenly.

~ (Optional) Mix about 1 tsp sugar and 1/8 tsp cinnamon and sprinkle on top of your apple slices before putting the pan in the oven.  You could also skip this step if your apple is of the sweeter variety or only use cinnamon and no sugar for a little healthier version.

~ Bake at 200* for an hour then, using tongs, flip the apples over and bake for another hour.  Make sure to watch that they don’t burn!

~ Take them out of the oven and let them cool. They will crisp up a little more while they cool down.

~ (Optional) Repeat entire process for more apple chips.

~ Chow down and enjoy!!