Happy New Years Eve/ Happy Birthday!!!

Happy New Years Eve everyone!!!

Know what that means!?

That means I get to go out and pretend everyone is celebrating me!!!
Because it's my birthday!

Wooo!!

Be safe & have fun!!

Reasons To Be Fit: Weekly Workouts

I get a lot of comments from my other lovely bloggers stating to come how give them motivations for their workouts or to get them to the gym.

Well these are my motivators, so hopefully they can motivate you all!!

Monday:

Double work out this past Monday. 

Miles: 3:23 & 3.10

Time: 30 minutes for both

Pace: 9.17 & 9.40/ mile

Both really good runs. Was going to take it easy for the second time I went to the gym but decided after the first mile that I was just going to go big or go home. Felt pretty good during both runs though. No cramps, no pains. Would have kept going if it wasn't for people signed up for me after me.

First round did a nice arm work out, second time to the gym did some crunches left feeling pretty sore and loving it!!

Tuesday:

Miles: 3.17

Time: 30 minutes

Pace: 9:27/ a mile

Made the stupid mistake of wearing pants to the gym. I was like dying of heat exhaustion! It was awful, so I can imaging that if I had shorts on the run would have gone a bit better. The beginning started off really well though. 

Worked out some legs after this.

Wednesday: 

Miles: 3.34

Time: 30 minutes

Pace: 8:58/ a mile

Wooo!! Sub 9!! Hardly made it under 9 but made it none the less!! Learned my lesson with the pants so wore shorts and really felt pretty good the entire time. The last 5 minutes were a little hard breathing which is a first for me. Not really sure what was going on with that.

Did a nice arm/back workout after that.

Total Miles: 12.84

Was hoping to work out just as much but unfortunately I have a dentist appointment right after work tomorrow. Hoping to get in 3 times if I can get myself to wake up at 5:30 am to get my butt to the gym!1

Convince Me

So I am sitting here on my amazing corduroy-ish couch completely energyless, and absolutely unmotivated to go to the gym watching mindless TV until I can spot enough skinny girls to get my tush motivate enough to go run.

As I was flipping through the channels, I happened across Hoarders on AE.

Now this is not my first time watching this show, but as I sat there watching the tons of useless junk that these people have piled up, I couldn't help but think about how unbelievable powerful and intimidating the human mind can be.  

It it unbelievably crazy that our brains can convince us of such powerful things. 

It can make us feel so uncomfortable with throwing things away that it can actually convince us to keep them incase we need them later. 

I'm not going to lie, I am sure everyone has experienced some maladaptive symptoms. 

I have kept a shirt in the closet that I have only worn once thinking well what if i really want to wear it another time. 

I have triple checked to make sure my hair straightener was off, or the my door was locked. 

Everyone has a few of these tendencies, but for those who are not so lucky, they can become full blown slaves to these symptoms and I find it one of the most interesting things ever. 

Maybe it's because I work in a hospital.

A human mind can convince a person to check over and over things or make people so uncomfortable that they have to count and turn things on and off until it feels right. It can convince people that germs are so grotesque that they have to wash their hands in routine abandoning their other responsibilities like their children. 

It can convince people to experience symptoms of pregnancy and actually just appear to be pregnant all because their minds think they are. 

Our minds can cause us to hear and see things that are not there. 

It just astonishes me. 

With that being said: Cue my Mother-In-Law-To-Be.

You all may know the MIL despises me. Like totally avoids my texts, and is not even coming to our wedding hates me. 

Now Cue her House.

She is the epitome of Hoarder. 

Like junk pilled up the walls can only walk through a path to get to where ever you are going. Now I have only been in her house like twice, so I don't think she is to the point where she is keeping garbage, but she is hardly able to pay her mortgage because she wastes so much money buying useless things that no one needs. 

Watching her do this hurts so much inside because I see so clearly that she needs help.
It's only a matter of time until she does get to the garbage phase, but I don't know what to do.
She won't even talk to me so I can't help her & my fiances twin is so brainwashed by her that he really doesn't see it & has become so much like her that he is miserable and bitter all the time. 

I guess mostly I just need to vent.

But if anyone has ANY idea on how to deal with a hoarding mother in law who won't even talk to you I would LOVE to hear it!!

xoxo. 

Monday Rundays

Well I accidently took off from working out for a week in a half from Thanksgiving. 

My bad.

 I really like these to be fit picture. 

They motivate me quite a bit & I hope they are hoping some of you find some motivation as well!!

Wasn't able to get to the gym too often this past week & since it was raining or snowing so I wasn't able to get out side much for further runs. 

Tuesday: 

Miles: 3.15

Times: 30 minutes

Pace: 9:31/mile

I am not very good at running long distances on treadmills. I find them very boring and I get eager to get off. However, I am trying to increase my speed since some of my runs with my running partner were on the slower side. So I decided to try and run 30 minutes for each time that I run to be able to get down to a faster and further time with each run. Wasn't a bad run at all. I felt pretty decent the whole way, no pains, nothing. Good overall.

Wednesday: 

Miles: 2.18

Time: 20 minutes

Pace: 9:15/mile

Ugh, when I got to the gym all of the treadmills were filled and I had to do 10 minutes on a step machine before I was able to get on a treadmill. Well I only had an hour at the gym so I had to cut it down to 20 minutes because I am trying to incorporate weights into my gym nights to tone up the other parts of my body as well. My friend was running next to me and I was trying to increase my speed to catch up to her where she started 10 minutes before me. Almost had it to!!!

Total Miles: 5.32

♥

Hopefully this next week I will be able to get to the gym at least 3-4 times if not be able to run outside at least once or twice. I have also been trying to do a lot of planks since my abs are my target area. Ugh. 
Also, I am on 1 weeks without soda!!

But hey 5.32 miles is better than no miles that is for sure!!

xoxo

How To: Do Your Part To Save Our Earth: Take Two

SO I was watching the discovery channel today for no reason other:

than to completely and utterly terrify myself, there was a show called 2100 on. It discussed what our planet will be like over the next century and let me tell you that it is not pretty. 
Basically the entire west coast is non existent due to huge forest fires and droughts. Las Vegas was a baron wasteland & people become even meaner than they are now. It made me want to cry!!As I mentioned in my post before the idea of 2012 terrifies me, I do not believe that this will be the end of the world.

I don't exactly think anyone will know when the world is going to end or how and the bible affirms this. 

However, I do believe however, day by day we are slow destroying our earth.

Earth, our home, our beloved planet. The only place that we have to live our lives out and exist.

With all of the knowledge that we as humans have, one would think that we would take a more active stance in fixing our home so that we can live safely, and provide a more conducive home for our future children and animals.

With this being said, I thought I would re-share my ideas on how we can all do our part to help save the Earth. 

1) Reducing the Amount of Electricity Used:

 I mentioned this in a previous post on being frugal, and it is probably one of the most common sense ideas that there are. It is very simple to reduce the amount of electricity you use just by turning off lights when your not in the room, turning down the heat or air conditioner when your not home or when your sleeping , and probably one that a lot of people don't consider but unplugging items when your not using them. Ya know those little red, blue or white dots on things when your not using them? That takes energy, and more energy then most  people think. Also that little amount of energy adds up just like pennies and nickles add up. So please, turn off lights, laptops, tvs, turn down your heat/ air conditioner and unplug those items that your not using like cellphones, laptops, stereos etc.

2) Reduce the Amount of Driving You Do:

 Another no brainer I'm sure but still not enough people do it. As societies who are in a sense, spoiled and lazy, we drive for a large majority of our lives. Not only do we drive 500, 200, or 50 miles we also drive 2 miles, 1 mile or even 1/2 a mile. Ya know that gas station down the street  that you drive to, to get milk. Yep that all wasting gas. Or ya know that cafe thats right by your work that you drive to to get lunch. Wasting gas. If we could all just walk a little more, run a little more, ride bikes a little more, or even roller blade a little more we can save so much gas, so much pollution and so much obesity. Yeah it takes a little while longer to walk, but its healthier not only for you, but also our planet if you just take that extra step and walk down the street. What makes me laugh the most are those who drive a mere couple miles to the gym.. Really? Just run there or bike there!!!!

  

3) By a Reusable Water Bottle and a Brita:

Personally, I think one of the worst things that we are doing to our Planet is ruining it with our filth. The fact that a significant majority of the world is obese, over weight, or food/product wasters we add so much garbage to our beautiful world. A huge majority of this trash comes from water bottles. I see this especially in college, but as a society we waste so many water bottles and even worse we only recycle some of what we use. Here are some facts: 
Of the 50 billion plastic water bottles used by Americans in 2006, 38 billion of them were thrown away, unrecycled. The 1.5 million barrels of oil it takes to produce 50 billion bottles could fuel 100,000 cars for a year. And that does not even include the oil used for transportation.

Last year, the average American used 167 water bottles, but only recycled 38.
More than 60 million plastic water bottles are thrown away every day in the United States. This is a growing problem—it takes up to 1,000 years for disposable water bottles to decompose.

So please spend 40 dollars buy a Brita and a plastic or metal reusable water bottle and help do your part. 

4) REDUCE, REUSE, & RECYCLE:

It really is that simple. Reduce the amount of waste you use, the amount of energy you use, the amount of gas you use.  Reuse what you have: that pair of jeans you wore for 5 hours, really don't need to be washed every single time. We wash things so easily and waste so much water its horrible. Or how about when you wash dishes. Try turning off the tap when you scrubbing a dish. Yes, it takes more time, but saving the Earth does take more time. You would be so surprised the amount of water you save by just doing that! Reuse plastic bags that you get from the grocery store. Plastic shopping bags can either be used as garbage bags or reused for more groceries. Did you know that if you bring your own bags to price chopper you get .03 cents taking off your bill for every bag you would use.  Who doesn't love saving money!! Lastly recycle, if you do use water bottles, atleast bring them to be recycled. Many things now a days are able to be made out of plastic bottles, things such as pens, notebooks, and table cloths. 

5) Take a Stance:

Do your part and help educate others on how important it is to save our Earth. We are ruining the most precious thing we have in our lives. Without our Planet we wouldn't be alive and to me that makes it beyond important and irreplaceable. Write to your local congressmen and women, your mayors, your governors, your senators and your president, your king or queen or you prime ministers. Reach out.  Spread the word. Tweet, post a facebook status, BLOG! Am I as one person going to help change the world? You bet I am!!! I am going to do everything I can to help make our home inhabitable for my future children and their future children, and all the little animals that have just as much of a right to be here as me. Am I a huge impact? No, not really but I am one more person who cares, and hopefully this reaches out to all of my lovely 71 followers & hopefully you all blog about this or link back as well. 

I am pledging to do my part to clean up Earth. Will you!? 

So tell me bloggers, which of these do you do, and what do you need to work on more!? 
xoxo.
[photos from: weheartit] 

Book Club Friday!!

Yay!! Book Club Friday!!!

One of my favorite things to blog about. 

What do you do?

Grab the button and then link up here!

This weeks book review:

The Alchemist

"A fable about following your dreams"

Excerpt from the book

"Paulo Coelho's enchanting novel has inspired a devoted following around the world, and this tenth anniversary edition, with a new introduction from the author, will only increase that following. This story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and inspiring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles along the way. But what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a discovery of the treasures found within. Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts."

Uhm, Hi!! I love love loved this book. 

There are such powerful sections in this book that just make you think wow!!

It was inspiring, romantic, adorable and a page turner!!

I seriously could not get enough.

Let me give you some of my favorite quotes!!

"When each day is the sameasthe next, its because people fail to recongize the good things that happen in their lives everyday that the sun rises." Pg. 27

"Because, when you know that language, it's easy to understand that someone in the world awaits you, whether it's in the middle of the desert or in some great city. And when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun had been written by one hand only. It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world. Without such love, one's dream would have no meaning." Pg. 93

& last but not least, my fave!

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams" Pg. 130.

Love the book 10/10 & I strongly encourage you all pick up a copy of this book!!

xoxo