Quotable Friday | Two-fer!

Hello again…two posts in one day! I’m obviously feeling ambitious here! I think it’s that the sun is out, the temps are rising, and I’m looking forward to a fun, active weekend.

So on to our regularly scheduled programming…

Quotable Fridays!

I have actually have two for today. As I was searching through my many Pinterest quote pins, I realized I couldn’t decide on just one. And since both seem to relate this week, I thought, why not?!

Yes, this is common sense. But sometimes I forget this. I binge on sugar (ahem, chocolate) and then wonder why I feel bloated and have a migraine and am exhausted all day. It’s simple, really. The better I eat, the better I feel. The worse I eat, the worse I feel. I understand the concept…now it’s time to actually start practicing what I preach!

(Note: I should have thought of this before I went to Trader Joe’s yesterday and bought Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Salted Caramel Truffles AND Speculoos Cookie Butter. But, can you blame me?! All in moderation, I suppose).

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This has been really applicable this week too. I’ve been in a bit of a workout funk. Outside of walking Charlie every day, I’ve been having a bit of a motivation problem. I get home, walk Charlie, and have the intention of going for a run or popping in a Jillian Michaels DVD…and then I don’t. Why?! Why is it more enticing to sit on my couch and watch TV then take 30 minutes and do something for myself? I’m really hoping that the beautiful weather this weekend will inspire me to get off my butt and get moving!

Food for Thought…

As I was pursuing Pinterest this morning, I saw a pin by Self Magazine to try melted peanut butter (or really any nut butter) as a healthy popcorn topping. Say what?!?!?! As if I don’t already have a ridiculous obsession with nut butter, I now have permission to put it on popcorn? WIN!

I’ll definitely be trying it this weekend…I’ll let you know how it tastes!

Your Turn!

• Any new recipes you want to try out this weekend?
  
• Anyone having trouble with motivation? What are you doing to combat it?

The Liebster Award!

Happy Friday all!

I woke up earlier this week to find a huge surprise waiting for me. Talia over at Fit-And-Busy.com (go check her out!!) nominated me for a Liebster Award. What’s that, you ask? Well, the Liebster Award provides recognition and support to new bloggers. Apparently, Liebster is German for “beloved” and a blog nominated for this award is “worth watching.” Pretty cool, huh? The “rules” are:

1. List 11 Random Facts about myself
2. Answer 11 questions that Talia wrote for me
3. Pass the torch by nominating 11 bloggers
4. Create 11 questions for my nominees
5. Display the Liebster Award logo

So here it goes!

My Random Facts:

1. I am one of the clumsiest people you will ever know. Think multiple sprained ankles, a concussion, constantly tripping over air…you get the picture.
2. I know someone in the Polka Hall of Fame!
3. I am obsessed with nut butters. Like, eat out of the jar, with my finger, and finish within a couple of days obsessed. I may have just went on a nut butter shopping spree at Trader Joe’s yesterday…
4. I love my dog more than I love almost all people.
5. My iPad is probably the best purchase I ever made for myself, but no matter how hard I try, I just cannot read books on it. I will always need to hold an actual book in my hands!
6. Music is my life. There is always music playing in my life and I listen to just about anything (I like variety!).
7. I’m in my mid-twenties and still babysit. I love it and it’s good money!
8. My favorite movies haven’t changed since I was five – the Wizard of Oz and the Little Mermaid.
9. I’m obsessed with chocolate. Like, break it out at 9am because I can, obsessed.
10. If I don’t start my day with coffee, someone will probably get hurt. And no matter how hard I try, I need to have flavored cream in my coffee. It’s a must!
11. No matter how hard I try, I can’t take naps. But I wish I could!

My Nominees! Check them out!

This was awesome and hard at the same time. The rule is to nominate 11 bloggers who have 200 or less followers. Guess what? Most people don’t list this on their blog! So I took a peek at some of the blogs I read, scoped out their Facebook and Twitter accounts in some cases, and tried to pick blogs that met the criteria. So, if I nominated you and you have more than 200 followers, sorry! I totally don’t mean to offend you and I think you’re awesome!

WhatTheEfff.wordpress.com

SnackTherapy.com

MangoesandMiles.com

Fitcupcaker.com

HappyTravelBug.com

MagiaEPasta.com

2FatNerds.com

MyFreckledLife.com

BeautyinStrengthxox.com

ModernMouthful.com

MegansHealthyApproach.wordpress.com

Talia’s Questions for Me:

If you could describe yourself in one word, what would it be?

Smiley. I actually mulled over this for a while, but it’s true. It doesn’t matter if I’m in a good mood or cranky as hell, I always try to have a smile on my face.

What is your favorite healthy snack?

Greek yogurt for sure! I eat a container every day – lately I’ve been stirring in chia seeds for added nutrition. I recently saw a recipe on Pinterest for cookie dough Greek yogurt (plain Greek yogurt, PB2, chocolate chips) that I think I’m going to try sometime soon!

If you could start one new habit, what would it be?

Eating vegetables at every meal, every day. I try. I really, really try but I just have a hard time getting veggies in for more than 1-2 meals a day. Maybe I could try to do this as part of a 30 day challenge. I’ll have to think about it!

If you could quit one habit, what would it be?

SUGAR (also, why are all of my answers food related?)! I’m a sugar addict. I could eat it all day, every day if it were possible. When I stopped eating sugar for about 4 months, I felt awesome…so I’d love to try to cut back on it (maybe not eliminate completely!).

If you could travel anywhere, where and why?

Italy. I’ve been dying to go to Europe, but especially Italy. My dad’s side of the family is Italian and I grew up loving the culture. I even took a couple of semesters of Italian in college so that I would one day be prepared to go! Maybe one day…

If you could MOVE anywhere, where and why?

Milwaukee. This is not an exciting answer at all, but the truth is, I’m not Madison’s biggest fan. I’ve been here too long (try 8 years) and am ready to move back to be closer to my family and friends. Again, maybe one day!

What do you like to do when you have free time?

I hate to say it, but I’m a total TV junkie. Dawson’s Creek, One Tree Hill, Friends, NCIS, Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, Survivor…you  name it, I probably watch it. My TV watching has gotten a little out of control since getting Charlie, but come June, I won’t have cable anymore, so I”ll have to find other ways to entertain myself!

If you could have given one piece of advice to yourself at your high school graduation, what would it be?

Stop listening to what other people think and pay more attention to what you think.

What one goal do you want to achieve this month?

I’d like to create a recipe all on my own!

What one goal do you want to achieve this year?

I want to run a 10K. I’m still thinking about a half marathon, but think I’m going to start with a more modest goal first.

What is your favorite inspirational quote or nugget of wisdom?

“The secret to happiness is to count your blessings while other people are counting their troubles.”

My Questions for the Nominees!

1. What meal or food do you have to make every week?
2. If you had a whole day to yourself to do whatever you wanted, what would you do?
3. Are you a dog or a cat person (or other)?
4. What is your favorite movie?
5. If you had one wish, what would it be?
6. Who inspires and/or motivates you in your daily life?
7. What is your biggest accomplishment?
8. In ten years, what do you think your biggest accomplishment will be?
9. What is your favorite quote?
10. Do you have a guilty pleasure? What is it?
11. What three items would bring if you were on a deserted island?

 

Quotable Fridays | Thursday Recap

Happy Friday! For today’s Quotable Fridays, I’m quoting Lemony Snicket:

“If we wait until we’re ready, we’ll be waiting the rest of our lives.”

(Source)

This quote seems to be particularly fitting this week, especially if you read my Half Marathon Debate post yesterday. I keep going back and forth; can I run a half marathon? Is this something I can do? Is it something I want to do? How will I ever know?

Honestly, there is no way for me to decide whether I’m ready or if I will be ready. All I can do is make the decision to sign up, train, and do my best. Right? If I don’t, then I’ll always wonder.

I haven’t signed up yet, but I’m leaning more towards yes. Maybe this weekend I’ll muss up the courage to register for the Madison Half Marathon!

Thursday Recap:

As you know, Thursday night is usually my fun night out with my good friend, Heidi. Last night was no exception! Since Grey’s Anatomy was not on (sigh), we decided to broaden our horizons and go out to eat. For Christmas, Heidi received this awesome City Tin gift that has gift certificates at area restaurants. Last night we choose to go to Sprecher’s Pub.

You probably know Sprecher as the company that makes delicious beers and root beers, and the pub is their restaurant in Madison. As soon as we were seated, the first thing we did was order drinks! I ordered the Witte, which was a lighter beer that our waiter compared to Blue Moon. It was delicious!

For dinner, I ordered something I’ve NEVER eaten before – a veggie burger! I ordered the Southwest Veggie burger, which was a black bean veggie burger, topped with pepper jack cheese, avocado ranch, lettuce, tomato and onion, served on ciabatta bun. Despite there being too much onion, it was much better than I anticipated. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the “burger” was juicy and has a typical burger consistency. I may have to try making something similar at home!

For a side, I got sweet potato fries. Because, why not?

I’m really looking forward to this weekend – it’s going to be pretty busy and fun-filled. Saturday I’m getting a haircut (woot!) and heading over to babysit EG. It’s Heidi’s birthday next week, so depending on what time I’m done, I may meet her for a drink. On Sunday, Jessi is coming to Madison for a craft and lunch day – I can’t wait to see her!

Hope you have a great weekend! Can’t wait to tell you about mine on Monday!

Breaking the Negativity Cycle (or at least becoming aware it’s there)

Happy Monday!

This week is going to be a hectic one! My students are in the thick of preparing to register for fall classes, which means I have back to back appointments on Friday from 9-2. For those of you working in higher ed, you know that this kind of busy-ness on a Friday is not common.

But on to today’s post…

On Friday, I fell into a funk. A nasty, no good, Facebook-rant kind of funk. It was not pretty. Reflecting on Friday, I *think* this happened because I had no plans for the weekend. My one friend in Madison was out of town and everyone else in my life who is important to me does not live here, or even very close to here. For the most part, my friends and family are based in the Milwaukee area, which is about an hour and a half drive from Madison – this means that I don’t see them as much as I would like (namely, once a month, on a weekend or so). To be honest, I kind of hate it.

I find living in Madison to be completely isolating, for a couple of reasons. First, I don’t have a lot of personal support (family, friends) here. I’m definitely not a huge social butterfly, but it gets lonely being alone most days. Second, I’m over living in Madison. I moved here in 2005 and to be perfectly frank, I’m ready to move on. Although I mostly love my job, I don’t love living in Madison anymore. Maybe it stems from my resentment of kind of being stuck here, but for the past six months or so, everything that makes Madison “Madison” drives me utterly insane (the beltline, anyone?!).

So I spent Friday in a nasty funk, which was only exasperated by getting home from work and discovering that Charlie had peed on the couch. Ugh. Charlie and I then went for our evening walk and he went NUTS at a little boy walking his dog, which was a nasty encounter. Needless to say, Friday was a bust. Big time. I ended up drinking a beer and watching an embarrassing amount of NCIS episodes.

But Saturday, I woke up and tried to put things into perspective. I have the power to make changes in my life. No one is forcing me to live in Madison (though, to be fair, my job is here). It is ultimately my decision how to live my life, and there is no reason for me to get into these nasty funks over something that is in my control. So, I decided that I would start keeping an eye out for higher ed job opportunities in the Milwaukee area. Honestly, I’m not feeling too confident about Milwaukee job prospects, as higher ed jobs are very competitive and I am a newer professional in the field. However, if I don’t try, and if I don’t take an active role in my life, then the only person to blame for being unhappy is myself. There’s no reason to “stew and stress silently” as an article in Self Magazine described. Maybe if I start sharing what worries and bothers me, it will (a) be better for my health and (b) help me recognize that I need to make changes.

 

Funny enough, the weekend overall ended up not being a bust. As you may have read yesterday, my parents surprised me on Saturday (I think they were a little worried about me, to be honest). We went to lunch, got cupcakes, and they brought the steam cleaner to help clean the couch after Charlie’s debacle. They also brought me  a box of chocolates from Fannie May (yum!). It was great to see them and meant a lot to me that they knew I was feeling down and tried to cheer me up. It worked!

On Sunday, I got a frantic call from EG’s parents asking if I could babysit because they sold their house. So I ended up spending the afternoon/evening with my favorite little buddy, which really helped improve my mood and gave me many reasons to laugh, which was much needed. Nothing like an afternoon of hide and go seek, eating popsicles, and snuggling to remind you what is really important in life!

So, I suppose things are working out. I don’t mean to use my blog as a personal journal, but I thought I would share my nasty, no good feeling funk. I’m hoping that writing about it will help me remember that I have control of my life, and if I’m not happy, it’s my responsibility to do something about it, and “break the cycle.” Because who else will?

Trying New Things

Welcome to Racing Bananas – my first true attempt at blogging!

I’ve become an avid blog reader over the past six months, and have finally decided to take the plunge and create my own!

I created Racing Bananas to share my journey to live a healthy life. This includes eating healthy (or at least trying to!), keeping active (I LOVE to run), and being happy. Because what is a healthy life without happiness and laughter?

I’m looking forward to starting this new journey and sharing a bit of myself with you. I hope you enjoy what you read!