Happy Michigan Anniversary to ME!

Holy cannoli --- it is May 5th. This day, last year, I had my Penske loaded up, my boys (pets) drugged and kenneled in the front, and I was making the long trek from Dallas, Texas to Lansing, Michigan. It was such a bittersweet day, saying goodbye to the only state I'd ever lived in, on a new adventure. My sweet parents went out of town, as they didn't want to be around to see me leave (needless to say -- they weren't so much on board). 

My room at home -- all packed and clean.

Little did I know how much of an adventure I was starting :) 

If I knew what I now know, I would probably not be here...which makes me so happy that I took the chance and huge leap of faith by coming here. Did it turn out like I expected? No. But the Lord has provided me wonderful friends, a job that I love with littles I LIVE for, and a school program that I enjoy thoroughly at Michigan State.

 The phrase,"If God brings you to it, He will see you through it" has never resonated like it has this entire last year. Not only was I able to make a choice that I knew was rooted in Gods will, I was able to really flourish and grow here on my own, which is an opportunity not everyone gets. I will forever be grateful for this experience, and I've got a year left :)

That's not to say I haven't had hard times, I mean come on...
I picked up my life and moved to Michigan to go to school and be closer to my then-boyfriend. Well...when that wasn't working, I was so mad at myself.
I'd barely even been here in Michigan.
I mean, it was still summer...yikes. 
I was so embarrassed because I knew everyone saw this happening, and felt like my dirty laundry was being aired for everyone to see. I did feel like a failure. Now it sounds silly, but that's only because I've moved past it. I'm no longer angry, because I made the choice not to be. I decided to stay and continue with grad school and make the most with what I had going for me: school. With that being said...

This year -- I have:
Joined a running group that I thoroughly enjoy and have gotten to know so many great people through a common love of running. And eating afterwards lol I have continued to make fitness and healthy eating a priority, which adds so much to my overall well-being.

 

Showing my parents around my new home! 

 

Explored downtown Chicago and ran my second half marathon solo -- which was such a wonderful experience -- and PR'd at 2:05:something.

Appropriately dressed for a REAL winter -- and survived it, too!

Spent my first birthday without my family and home-friends, and celebrated 25 with some new forever-friends without crying or getting (too) homesick!  

Met this girl -- who happens to be one of my favorites. 

Met this handsome fella, who I love very much. 

I've missed some things too..like my friends and family.
My youngest brother's prom and state competition, seeing my little cousin Brock grow faster than a weed, enjoying family dinners and my home church, having to taking my dog back home because my schedule made it too hard to give him the attention he deserved, etc etc etc.
The list could go on and on and on. But, I can honestly say the good outweighs all the bad, and at the end of the day, what else could we hope for? I have learned to listen to my heart, and trust my gut.

I've also learned that true friends are hard to find, and I'm so blessed to have found some here as well as hold on tightly to the ones at home.

Here's to another year in the mitten :) 

Mix it Up Monday - New Music Tuesday - Running - School

Still on my post-semester high of no school. So, what do I fill my time with? More work, of course -- and running, yoga, and READING BOOKS. Not textbooks...just fun books. Imagine that concept :)  Loving my Kindle -- and reading all of my mom's awesome archived books. Fo free. #awesome.

Hallelujah.

My post-semester "treat" to myself :) 

 Also loving the weather. Now Texas can be jelly of our awesome weather :) 

BEAUTIFUL Michigan weather. Finally.

Trying not to obsess over my grades, because it's really out of my hands. Working on not trying to be "perfect" 24/7 -- and a part of that is not trying to control things I have no say over (i.e., grades post-semester). So, here's to that *cheers* 

Mix it up Monday -- Protein "Cheesecake" 

Ingredients: 

4 oz FF cream cheese

2 tsp milk (I used almond)

4 tsp sugar (I used 3)

1 scoop protein powder (I used vanilla non-GMO soy based protein powder by Body by Vi). 

*Mix it all up and refrigerate. I refrigerated mine overnight. Serve with fruit. Or if you're adventurous with graham crackers or teddy grahams. I don't keep that stuff at my apartment, so I didn't use either, just threw some blackberries and crack (AKA cinnamon...same thing) on it and had a few spoonfuls. YUM. Trying to eat more protein, and since I am a salad queeeen it's kind of hard to do that, other than put chicken and eggs on my salads, which I don't do often. So, this is a sweet treat, that has protein. Double bonus.

DELISH.

Fun fact -- I ran 3 miles at 8:01 per mile -- new consistent pace for me! Speed work Monday worked well for me :) Ready to PR these races Holllaaaaah. 2:00:00 here I comeeee :) Also -- my strengthening exercises are seriously working, along with shortening my stride and trying to stick to the 180bmp. WHATUP NOW, KNEES. 

Look at these muscles popping out. Not complaininggggg.

Fun fact #2 - I have been developing an unhealthy love for chocolate milk, thanks to the bf. YUM. I realize that these may not be fun facts for you guys...but they're fun for me...so, I write about it :) 

New Music Tuesday

1. Will.i.am - #willpower uh yes please.
Love it so far. Listened to it on my quick run Monday and LOVED it. I love it because I don't cringe at the awful language. I have a teeny potty mouth, but frankly I am conservative when it comes to some rap songs. Contradictory I know. Whatevs, I own it :)
2. Alt J - An Awesome Wave. This isn't new this week, but I am officially obsessed with this albummmm.
3. Just discovered Liz McDaniel -- AMAZING voice. Look up For Memories. LOVE LOVE. 

Fun pics from the last week: 

Just my creeper cat admiring me first thing in the morning. Clearly I wasn't awake yet..but I had to capture this moment.

obsessed with eggs these days. And per usual, salads and Sriracha.

Leaving you guys with a #flexbreak. Don't be scared :) 

Catch ya later! Happy graduation week to all those workin' the stageeee this weekend! <3

New Music Lovin (Way Behind!!) - Running - School

HAHA this could NOT be more true, as Natasha and I just had a talk about all the engagements (and several baby announcements lately too) happening all over our newsfeeds :) 

OMG -- New Music? I can tell summer is coming because of all the fabulous tunes I'm hearing these days!

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - love this albummmmm. Subway? Yep. 

Iron and Wine - I've not been in the mood for this type of music, but I do love Iron and Wine, so this will be on reserve for a long drive or something.

Daft Punk (single) - Get Lucky Soooooo fun. Listen to it a few times on my run Sunday.

Kid Cudi - have to be in the mood for it, but I like it. Listened to some songs (with skips) during my rains Wednesday AM run. It's not really a fabulous sign when I'm skipping, but it could have been because I was running and needed some pep. 

Steve Earle - OMG love. That's all I have to say :) 

Jimmy Eat World (single) - I do like their new single. Not a surprise, I love Jimmy Eat World.

Tyga - The ghetto girl inside of me did a little dance and the white girl translation was not pretty. However, this CD is great if you can excuse the vulgarity and the language. Depending on my mood I can or can't.

---

The Flaming Lips - TBD. 

M83- TBD. 

*I haven't had time to listen to these with all the finals and stuff. however, they're pending :) 

Basically, M and I virtually race each other to see who is faster. Unfortunately, he's currently in the lead. 

Wednesday AM rainy/windy run. But still a great time, under my target pace  which was 9:00. 

Some days I wish I were Forest Gump. Just be like....I-WAS-RUNN-INGGGG. Seriously. Plus, that soundtrack is legit. Who wouldn't want to run to that? Well, the point of this is I did feel like Forest this past Sunday when I had my 9 mile run. I felt great, ran from Haslett into EL and the wrapped around back. The weather was *perfect* (mark the calendar, I may not ever say that again) and I made great time and even attempted to pace myself a little bit slower because I tend to go too fast towards the beginning and lose steam. Anywhoooo -- Sunday was a great great run, and I'm hoping to keep those up! I also loved seeing SO many people out running. Friendly runners waves are the best. Especially when you can see someone struggling until you get closer then they perk up and act like they are killing it haha!! Wait....Maybe that's just what I do....? 

 

Some quick pics during my run. See that? It's sunshine. *love it* Also saw a three legged dog, more deer, and some awesome birds (red, blue, finches...). Love seeing deer on my runs, as long as they run AWAY from me :) 

Booked my next trip to see the boy and I am SO EXCITED. Although he's going to put me to work on the house, I went ahead and registered for the Fargo half, so I'm really looking forward to seeing the city that way. Hopefully it's not snowing or flooding or freezing, but I'm not going to hold my breath for that one. I know better. In addition to being a handy-woman, I'm hoping to add another great race time to the list. This will be half marathon #3, and then the next weekend I'll tackle half #4 at the Bayshore. Such a great excuse to travel, and with Kelly B no less <3 EXCITEDDDDD. 

Went to Trivia last night with Natasha...and to quote her, "we maybe didn't win" which means we lost. Bad. But, we had fun :) Post-semester life is so much better!!


It's so fun to have pics of stuff that isn't workout/food sometimes :) I sometimes socialize, y'all!!

Now that school has settled for a while I'll get back to my regular posts!

HAPPY SPRING :)

Boston Marathon

(taken from RunJunkees Facebook page)

Since Monday, I've not been able to run the same. I have tried so very hard to appreciate every run, even when tired or not "feeling it." After the devastation and the photos, and gluing myself to CNN for about two days, I decided to take a different approach...I've kept my TV time to a minimal, and just tried to be mindful in prayer and sending warm wishes towards the runners/their family/the huge community affected by this tragedy. 

Tuesday AM quick run before class. 

One of my FAVORITE quotes about disaster. Great for kiddos, too. 

Tragedy happens. Unfortunately, that is inevitable. The world that we live in is not immune to heartbreak, as much as I wish it was. However, I believe that there is more good than bad, and this is another example of that. The warmth of strangers to other strangers amazes me. Strangers staying with injured victims because they were simply standing beside them...I saw a photo of a girl and a runner applying pressure to a bleeding wound of another...strangers. Another photo of something similar...three runners hugging each other and crying...strangers until that moment. The heroism of all the EMTs, physicians, nurses...people in "civilian" running clothes that could have ran away but just...didn't. Instinctively went towards the chaos. That is what I choose to focus on today.

Strangers providing aid and support.

This man got up and ran across the finish line after the first explosion. 

I've read some awesome quotes, but one struck me from a running group here, Mid Michigan track Club. A runner said this and it was emailed to us, "The only thing I could do yesterday besides pray for all those in Boston was to go for a run. I refuse to let the cowards who did this stop me from running. Today I proudly wore my 2007 Boston jacket to work, to stand in solidarity with those who will never again view a finish line to a race in the same way, and to symbolize the brother and sisterhood of runners. As 9/11 was to firefighters, police, and first responders, the horribleness of yesterday is to runners--we all run stride for stride with anyone who was involved in the marathon." - Sue Strouse

And this:

"Running is a sport of goodwill. It's the only sport in the world where if a competitor falls, the others around will pick him or her up. It's the only sport in the world open to absolutely everyone, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity or any other division you can think of. It's the only occasion when thousands of people assemble, often in a major city, for a reason that is totally peaceful, healthy and well-meaning. It's the only sport in the world where no one ever boos anybody."-Roger Robinson, Runner's World, April 15th, 2013

I loved both of these. Running has helped my life in SO many ways. I never thought of it as a risk or dangerous sport, and I refuse to. This was a horrible horrible act. The Boston Marathon will forever be changed. But it will survive, prevail, and thrive. Next year will be huge. The thing about runners is...we are pretty persistent. 

Ok, my last touching story is here, detailing a runner's experience 1/2 mile before the finish line.

Some cool things going on in support: 

- Playmakers in EL is selling $20 Run for Boston tee's starting this Saturday, April 20th with ALL  proceeds going to http://onefundboston.org/

- many races and events have had moments of silence, many groups have had organized/impromptu runs all over the country. 

- People have been sporting running race tees all week in support

- etc etc etc. 

- RunJunkees is heading a virtual run via Facebook until May 5th. Check it out!

Also -- I'm just learning more about the West, Tx plant explosion. Waco, Tx is all out of blood -- my Texas readers (all two of you, I assume :) ) -- PLEASE go donate blood if you can!

One of the *few* nice days we've had here in Michigan lately. Had to document it! 

My next post will be more positive with running updates, new music finds, etc. I have to get through finals first! :) Adios!

What's Been Up

Hey All!!! 

So, uh, I've kinda been dropping off the planet lately with school being *cray* and starting my new second job, and you know...being awesome. 

So: News? Sure. 

- Almost a month away from my half and I am super excited! It's been FOREVER (well, ok, just September, but that's close to forever), and I have been working hard (for the money) -- kidding...working hard to prevent knee injury/pain that creeps up EVERY training season.

- Tuesday after class I helped SURPRISE my girl Natasha with a fun little birthday bash at her apartment. Not the easiest task, but was totally fun and I loved helping make one of my favorite people celebrate one of my favorite days ever (birthdays). Her roomie is super sweet and planned it all, I just had to help occupy her beforehand. Fun stuff. 

- It seems spring will never get here. And when I say never, I really mean it. It snowed today and yesterday a bit -- snow, you know, what white stuff that's usually here between uh, never in Texas? Yep, NEWSFLASH -- it snows between now and ALWAYS here in Michigan. UGH. So, I was getting all pissy about it and decided to go summer shopping. For running clothes, as if I ever buy normal clothes anymore :) Got 5 things y'all -- (and an awesome hair brush) for $61 bones. WHATTUP! I am *obsessed* with these shorts, Adidas and New Balance. I got two tops --  a long one (because let's face it, I may be in a cold weather state the rest of my lifeeee) and a cute running tank: 

Marshall's -- serious. 

Yeah I model my new running clothes and send pics to my mom/bf/friends/Instagram, what else would I do?!

Also promised I'd show you the Honey Stinger treats I am loving, so there.

ok, I know Lance Armstrong uses them, but there's not any illegal drugs in there, I promise. Love these things.

ALMOST done with the first year of school. 9 days until my semester is over. SPOILER ALERT: There will probably be some super emotional post coming up about this past year, blahblahcryetcetra. Feel free to skip that read if you'd like :)

A few things that made me laugh this week:

so true.

"taxi" service in EL. 

Me trying to use tools and unclog my vacuum. Such a shitshow, but I did it alll by myself. :)


Been back at it with my running group, and I am loving it. I forgot how much easier it is to do my long runs with others. Plus, we usually get coffee, lunch, or booze after, so that's a nice little bonus.  If you are a lazybonessss like I can sometimes be, joining a running group, cycling group, whatevergroup helps hold yourself accountable for physical activity. Plus, putting something on the calendar motivates you to get it done. That's my words of wisdom for the day.

Upcoming Races: Bayshore (5/25), Fargo Half [pending] (5/18), Playmakers Triathlon (8/25)
*hoping to add something else to the list soon!*

Off to meal prep and stuff my face. Adios! 

Injury Clinic, Week in Review, New Hair!!

Hey guys -- hope everyone is having a great week! So, I've been complaining about some knee pain, and I went to the Playmakers Injury Clinic (free and awesome, by the way) this last Wednesday. It's every Wednesday from 6-8, but I'd recommend getting there early. Anyway, I got some new stretches for my runners knee issues, and am excited to start feeling better and back to my full fledged long runs, pain-free! :) 

My friend Kelly gave me some Honey Stingers chews and "waffle" for my birthday, and I really like these little snacks to get me through my longer runs. The chews are TOO chewy like the Cliff or Blocks are, making them easier to chomp on the go. The waffle is good. That's all I have to say about that :) I'll post some pics next time.

Went to see Admission, and it was pretty good. Not as funny as expected -- I hate it when movies advertise it as a comedy and while it's funny, it's not how I'd categorize it. But, worth the matinee price for sure. Plus I LOVE me some Tina Fey and Paul Rudd. Love. :) 

On my movie trip I discovered something awesome and frightful at the same time -- Eastwood now has  FRANCESCA'S!!! 

Oh for the LOVE of clothes, I was SO excited. Seriously. I already have several things on my "want" list, neatly inventoried in my little head. <3 Their stuff is super cute and I feel like it's really affordable. Their clothing isn't made cheaply either, which makes it worth it. I have several dresses/cardigans that I've had for a few years and still look nice. I will probably be hitting it up all summer.

I have work all weekend, which will for sure be an adjustment...so nice to RE-join the weekend workforce not ..... oh well. Something has to afford me these Francesca goods haha!! And running goods. I mean, summer is coming which means I'll actually be doing shit. CANNOT WAIT.

Anywho -- hope everyone is enjoying this warm(er) weather and spending some QT with Mother Nature :) I'm set for an 8 mile trail run tomorrow. I'll take pics :) Oh and PS -- officially pissed at my scale. Next week I am NOT having any cheats, and I'm going to try to eliminate fruit to get these sugar cravings under control :/ I've been doing AWESOME with my workouts (plus extras), so it won't take too much to see some results this next week.

Fun pics from this week:

7 miles DONE!

Rudy: "Stop taking my picture and throw the damn toy, already."

BEFORE AND AFTER: 5 inches gone. Loving my new do! 

Chicken veggie soup = UHMAZE. 

Veggie prep for the week. Good eats! 

Happy Friday <3

Weekend Wrap Up and Easter

Hey guys!! I hope that everyone had a great week and weekend! 

Friday, I worked all day and had some friends over to watch State blow it -- ugh. But but it was fun, and I made these yumm-o asparagus roll ups:

I used ham (you could use turkey instead, but I love ham), low fat cream cheese, and asparagus. You roll it up and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes (or until warm and the cream cheese is soft). They're so tasty, quick, and inexpensive. 

So, on Saturday, I worked on my paper and cleaned my apartment. Getting wild, I know. I also ran 7 miles with NO KNEE PAIN! Woo-hoo. I was so so so excited about it. And the weather was UHMAZING. I love this time of year -- it's like a pre-spring, almost-shorts weather. #awesomesauce. 

See? No snow and sunshine. I've been waiting for this since October haha! I also trained at my new restaurant job (again, the glamour of a grad student) and enjoyed that, too. Minus the sore feet :)

Sunday, I got up and went to church with a good friend of mine. Then I went to lunch/dinner at Kelly's and had a great first Easter away from home. I was worried about it, as I am super close to my family and didn't want to be sad all day -- but I was so pleasantly surprised. Dinner was great, and the company was even better. We even got little Easter baskets that they hid around the house. Cute? Yes :)  God has really blessed me with some wonderful people here in Michigan -- and I couldn't have been more aware of that yesterday. I continue to be amazed at the blessings I've been gifted since moving here, and the lessons I've learned. So so thankful.

Ok, I'm almost done with this paper, and I want to get it done before hot yoga at 6. Gonna run to get some java <3 and knock the rest of this paper out! 

Needed a little help last night working on this paper until 1:00 AM. Ugh. 

Happy Monday, y'all!