Five on Friday: Week In Review

1. Big plans, Little progress
Last weekend I had high aspirations of getting all the way unpacked and settled into our town home. We're almost there, but we hit a little road bump last Friday. MOLD Apparently sometime in the past two weeks a rainstorm came and washed into our basement/first floor hybrid place. So that derailed us completely. We cleaned all the visible mold and bought a fan, some Damp Rid, and an air purifier. The cause of the problem was poor drainage which has now been fixed.

2. Furniture Assembly Partnership
I loved building this piece of furniture with Ryan. I watched (and mocked) the assembly process from the kitchen that I was organizing until he had to have two additional hands. I had a friend on hand for additional mocking of the husband as needed!


3. New Furniture
It's amazing how much one piece of furniture can change the feel of the room. I love it because of the place to decorate and the additional storage space it gives us. Ryan loves it because it will get my scrappy supplies out of sight!


4. Tough Workouts
Shaking. Pain. Sore muscles. I kinda got in trouble with my trainer last night (see #5) and paid through a super tough workout. I think the workouts she has put me through recently have been some of the toughest workouts I have ever had. It is worth it! I'm seeing changes in my body and feeling the difference when I run. I have homework for the weekend and cannot cheat with food. I'm on the naughty list!

5. Baking
I am really starting to love cooking and baking (which is counter productive to #4). I love trying new things and cooking for other people. I will share this recipe another day, it was delicious!

Five On Friday: Embracing Wellness

I'm on a new journey. It is not one of weight loss (although that would be a nice benefit) but rather one of overall wellness and a more healthy lifestyle. Ryan has joined me on this journey which is very helpful and inspiring. These are the five things that I have figured out that are helping me the most right now.

1. Control Your Environment
We are trying to be more mindful of the things we bring into the home. Increased organic foods as well as less tempting snacks and goodies. Last week I bought single serving low-fat ice cream tubs. Is it more expensive? Yes. Is it easier to stop at just one serving? Totally. I'm lazy so if I have a craving and it's not in the house, I'm not going out to get it. I'm going to make a better choice or just not snack at all. Yay me!

2. Have REAL Goals
Yes I want to lose weight, but I also want to run another 5k and NOT come in last this time. I think it is an attainable goal. Run a 5k. In under 45 minutes. Don't come in last. I think I can! I think I can! I also have another very important reason to strive for a healthier life- my wonderful husband. I like spending time with him and one of my favorite things to do is make time for gym time together and prepare him healthy meals. Finally, we would like to have a family someday and I want to be a healthy mom and role model. That is my biggest motivation right now.

3. Plan Your Meals
I find it so much simpler to have a game plan for the week and stick to it. We build in splurges like the $5.00 meal box at Earth Fare (1/2 a wrap or sandwich and TWO sides- LOVE!) and low-fat ice cream so we don't have as much temptation to treat.

4. Have a Buddy
Having someone to workout with or talk about healthy choices is essential for me. I have downloaded a ridiculous amount of health/fitness iPhone apps (My Fitness Pal, Daily Mile, Lose It, C25K...you get the picture!) in search of one that will keep me connected to others and motivated. I find that even if I'm not at the gym with someone, being accountable for my workouts and my calorie intake really helps me keep things in check.

5. Get Help
Last year I had a personal trainer through ASU- she was really affordable because she was still a student and I got the student rate on top of that. I signed up for a personal trainer because I wanted to learn how to run. What's that you say? Running is easy? Well, not for me. Not only do I have exercise and allergy induced asthma (undiagnosed until I was 20), and an arthritic big toe on my left foot (diagnosed at 21); I also have a major mental block. My trainer last year was great to push me and teach me proper technique, but didn't help encourage a sense of overall wellness. I recently started working with a new trainer and SHE. IS. AWESOME. This girl pushes me to my limits and keeps me inspired while doing so.

What are you doing to improve your life right now?

I'm thinking about taking some (mostly) before pics- what say the masses? (Ha! Like there are masses of people reading this!)

Five on Friday: My New Town

There have been so many new things happening in my life. At first, I was very resistant to the idea of moving to Tennessee. (I know, I know, Resistance is Futile. I'm well aware.) I started thinking about new possibilities and the chance that Ry and I would have to grow together as a couple by living in a new (to me) place away from family and friends. We are still close enough to family and we have already had a couple of friends over for day visits which makes it feel more like home.

I am starting to really like my new home and the neat things there are to explore and discover around the area. Here are the top 5 reasons I'm loving Northeast Tennessee right now.

Minor League Baseball You cannot swing a bat around here without hitting a minor league baseball team. We have several teams within a short car ride of our home. One ball park is just minutes from our house. Cheap and fun entertainment- what more could sports loving newlyweds ask for?


Lack of traffic, ease of getting around I am a small town girl. I don't like traffic or interstates. I like curvy roads with as little traffic as possible. This is the most populated place I've lived where I have had to drive day in and day out. My commute to work is not that far and I have had a fairly easy time finding my way around. When I have trouble I just call Ry and he talks me through how to find my destination. Some days I make a game out of taking a different route from work just to see if I can find my way home.

Mountains I'm a mountain gal. I love them. I love driving windy roads and find mountain views peaceful and relaxing.


Shopping Options I LOVE that I have so many different options for shopping. I am by no means a shopper, but I am so used to the only store around being a Wal-Mart, that I love being able to go to Michael's or Old Navy or AN ACTUAL MALL to pick up new items as opposed to the local Wally World. I have fallen in love with Earth Fare and their $5.00 meal box. I also love that the Farmer's Market is just minutes from our house.

Our Gym Is it crazy that I'm in love with our gym? I love the staff, the equipment is nice, and there is an outdoor pool for lounging. Yes please.

Five on Friday: Late Night Nostalgia

So I have been following Kayla Aimee's blog for a while now. {Super secret stalker.} I have decided to play along this week and link up my answers. Her answers were inspiring, especially the one about JTT. For reals girl. I'm totally with you on that one!

My favorite childhood toy was this contraption that allowed me to blow up balloons and stuff them full of things. Think confetti, teddy bears, other balloons. What kid doesn't like stuffing things into other things? I think I may have given one away as a gift and used the rest of the balloons as gifts to myself. I will never deny that I was a strange child.

My favorite song from when I was little was Ray Stevens' The Mississippi Squirrel Revival. I have already said that I was a strange child, but this might take the cake. My brother and I used to watch the Ray Stevens video non-stop when we visited our grandparents. The Streak...It's Me Again Margaret...we knew them all.

The day the squirrel went berserk,
In the First Self-Righteous Church
in that sleepy little town of Pascagoula.
It was a fight for survival,
that broke out in revival.
They were jumpin pews and shouting Hallelujah!

In doing research for the exact lyrics I have discovered his music is now political and not nearly as funny. Disappointing.

My favorite childhood memory is sledding in my grandparents back yard. Snow + Big Hill + Water Hose = Super fast sledding track. And my two-handled sled. I'll have to tell the two-handled sled story sometime...it's one of my favorites.

My childhood crush changed daily. I could give a list that included Taylor Hanson, Anton Apolo Ohno, Jonathan Taylor Thomas and most of all- Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I loved Third Rock From The Sun (NERD!!) and he was (and still is) so adorkable.

The thing I was most afraid of as a kid was being left in a public place. Why's that you say? Probably because my mom left me at church one night. Think about it. Before cell phones. She got all the way home to find out my father didn't have me. There was a message on the answering machine from Brother so-and-so at church saying that I was still there with him. Yes, she came to get me. Yes, my mother still feels guilty. Yes, I once had my mother paged in K-Mart when I was a pre-teen because I was separated from her and thought I had been left again.

I hope you all enjoyed my trip down memory lane. Check out Kayla Aimee's post and join us on the journey!