Challenge Ahead

Well I've been pretty damn lazy for no good reason, so when the owner of the company I work for opened up a weight loss challenge, I accepted. It's not a long one, just three and a half weeks. The winnings? $500 and a 6 month gym membership. Along with that, he will be buying healthy lunches for everyone that is participating three days a week and I get a free one month membership to a gym less than half a mile from work. How could I say no? So here goes nothing!!! Yesterday (first day of the challenge) I biked 13 miles in 45 minutes and did the elliptical for 15 minutes :) Today I went on an hour and a half walk with my friend and tomorrow I'm going to become even closer friends with the bike when I try for 16 miles in 45 minutes (mind you this ranges from 6-10 difficulty level on the machine). Hoooooray for a challenge!

I'm About to Make Myself My Bitch

This is happening. The next three days of workout clothes, set out and ready. Recently someone that I love was almost lost to me. Luckily this person had the sense to fight back at her attacker. It made me realize how short life can be and how important it is to keep ourselves healthy and strong. It also made me realize that no matter how safe you think you are, you aren't. I will no longer go running alone without having mace. I will take my dog with me if possible and I will never go at night. I would love to be able to go running with a partner every day, but that isn't feasible and you can't just stop living life. I will never let fear keep me from having a good life, but I will always be cautious of my surroundings.

It's disgusting to think about the horrible things people are capable of. The greed, selfishness and hate that consume them. Absolutely disgusting.

Please keep my friend in your thoughts/prayers. 

Photo time

This is more of a post for myself to keep me going and to remind myself of who I am and who is there for me. My boyfriend has been the most amazing, supportive person in my life (aside from my rents, of course:) ) for over a year now. Every little downfall, he's by my side telling me I can. Every huge mistake in my life, every ounce of pain that I'm dealt, he is by my side. I love him with all of my heart and I don't know where I would be without him. Love you Tim <3

It's no fun being serious all of the time!

The love of my life, the one that keeps me going <3

Giving is the reason for ANY season.

Or at least it should be. Have you ever stopped to think about it? We tend to give all we have during that one short month, but as soon as we've unwrapped our gifts and the After-Christmas sales have started, we're right back out there. And what does it get us? More shit in our storage and a very brief feeling of happiness. So, here is my challenge to everyone:

Donate.

Donate your time to a good cause.

Last night I was at the store and the first thing I saw was a display of clearanced out winter hats, scarves and mittens. One of the hats stood out and it was the last one and only $3. I thought "HOLY LUCKY ME! I have to have that!!!" I picked it up, looked at it and thought... but why? I have a winter hat. I have multiple hats. I can only wear so much. So what did I do? I bought it.

Actually, I bought $45 worth of clearance winter items. See, every Saturday of the month a group of people congregates in a little corner lot in Detroit. They do this so that they can feed the homeless. I try to go to the one on the third Saturday of each month and I need to try harder. There is no excuse for that, although I often tell myself there is. Along with doing a BBQ for them, people bring in clothes to donate. One of the most needed items is winter apparel. So as I was standing there over that hat I thought, I may not need this, but I know someone that does.

Even if you don't have the money, you can find time. These people do need food and warmth, but sometimes more than that what they need is an open ear and a warm heart.


Donate your money to a charity.

Think about how easy it would be if we all just gave $5 a month to a cause. $5 dollars. That's it. And it can make a HUGE difference to someone. So think about it. Give up one drink on bar night. Cut back on your smoking (healthier for you, too!) Skip the desert on date night or the popcorn at the movies. Chances are you don't need it anyhow! And that money that you save can make the life of someone else that much better.

This year for Christmas my dad requested that the family make donations in his name. That rocks! Here are a few of my tops :)

K.I.N.D

To Write Love on Her Arms


Donate your ears to someone in need

Could be your friend. Could be a complete stranger. But put yourself second for a change. Trust me, it can be hard, but it feels good in the end. The next time some strange lady approaches you at Starbucks when you are CLEARLY just getting to the good part in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (come on, we all know you've read it twice by now...), put that book down and listen. You may find that her story is even better.


So I guess what I'm getting at is... don't you think the world would be a better place if we all just helped each other out a little bit? :) Have a great week everyone!!!

My DailyMile

So when my friend told me about http://www.dailymile.com I thought, eh. It will probably be one of those things that I join for a hot second and drop just as fast. You know the ones. Where the only people you talk to end up being the person that invited you and one of their really odd beat friends that you are nice to, but secretly you think "What the hell is wrong with that person?" Well, less than a week in and I'm hooked!

Already I've found myself with 20 "friends" on the site. It's amazing. I never thought that there would be such an overwhelming response and outreach! I have comments and messages galore from people that I don't even know all because we are there for one thing! Sooooo amazing. So tonight, I leave you with this. My post from my DailyMile. And I invite you to join the site, too!!! (Make sure to friend me while you are there ;) )

Well, here you go--

Penguin Steps

Wow. I started off this morning thinking "How in the world am I going to motivate myself for a run tonight? It's cold and ugly out, my day at work was blah, I'm tired, I'm hungry..." Good lord can I come up with excuses!!! But then I jumped on here to see how everyone was doing and BAM! Look at all of the friends I have now! I didn't expect this kind of a response, I thought maybe one or two people. And the awesome words of encouragement??? I couldn't be more happy about this site. So glad my darling friend Tessie had me join :)

So, you all motivated me. I planned on doing 3 miles, and I can't remember the last time I went out for a run and didn't take a break to walk thinking "Well this hurts or that hurts" But tonight I pushed out 5 miles with NO walk break.

Parts of my route were so icy that I had to slow down and do penguin steps (at least that's what I call them. little itty bitty steps because every time you step down you slide back a bit lol) The wind was blowing, I looked disgusting with sweat frozen to my eyelashes and I'm sure my nose was a little less than adorable. But you know what I love most about running? That it doesn't even matter to me how I look because at the end of my run, I feel amazing.

A huge thanks to all of you for being my stellar motivation and support! Tonight was great!

Bowling, Beer and Babes

What a wonderful weekend!!!! Friday started out great with a 3 hour nap after work! Who doesn't love that??? I then proceeded on to the bowling alley with my handsome man, his mother and her boyfriend, and two other friends. You may laugh at what I'm about to tell you, but keep in mind I'm a terrible bowler. Not only did I beat everyone the first round, but I also got my highest score to date! Hell yeah 117!!!!! Hahaha :)

Ah, but wait! The weekend gets better. I had the chance to go down to my friends house in Yspi and then spend the day with her in Ann Arbor <3 I didn't really know how it would go because I hadn't seen her in about three years, but I figured hey, I've known her since third grade so I'm sure everything will fall back into place within seconds. And, it did :) 

Beautiful Babes drinking some beer <3

She is such an inspiration to me. She is out running nearly every day, which I really need to get started on. But more than that, she rocks at having a house!!!!! She has chickens, real live chickens in her backyard so that she can have fresh eggs. Who does that??? My friend does that.

Also, she and her husband brew their own beer, make their own ginger ale, can all of their foods and cook like champs. She spins her own wool, makes the cutest things out of it AND she has a little suit feeder next to where she does all of her knitting so she can get the little scrap pieces together for spring nesting time. Cute! How does she do it all? I don't know. I can only hope to be half as awesome.

Anywho, enough bragging because my friend is better than yours (and me, for that matter), on to the day. We had lunch at the Jolly Pumpkin and it was delicious! Pizza with bacon and candied pineapple among other things, mmmmm. They had the most amazing fries with mushroom flavor...er... sorry, have to keep it classy, with Truffle salt. If anyone is in the Ann Arbor area or will be visiting the area, I would highly suggest this restaurant. The food was phenominal, the staff was friendly, the beer was cold and like nothing I had ever tried before. Really, this place was love at first bite and if you are a beer drinker or even a wine drinker, I would suggest La Roja- An artisan amber ale brewed in the Flanders tradition. Deep amber with earthy caramel, spice, and sour fruit notes developed through natural barrel aging.  Unfiltered, unpasteurized and blended from barrels ranging in age from two to ten months. <-- Their words, not mine. So really, go check it out!

I realized while I was down there that I need to seriously consider moving. My area has nothing like this. There is no downtown that you can walk and go shopping. There aren't tons of trails to bike and run. No memorable restaurants to have a nice dinner at. My town is lacking. I'll have to have the man go down with me so that he can see what he's missing out on. Maybe there is a move in my future! Who doesn't want to live in a town with carrot bike racks? Yup, that's what I said. Carrot bike racks. 

 

And delicious, too!

So all in all I had a wonderful time catching up with old friends and hanging out with family. I hope everyone reading had a great weekend, too! I apologize for how much of a cluster frak this post is, but I just have too much going through my head to organize clearly right now! Off to go running! Enjoy the rest of your day!

Cheers! If only all beer came in such a classy glass!

Strangers, starting out on a journey

Well, you may not be on a journey, but I am. Here's the DL, if you know what I mean, and I think you do...

It has recently been brought to my attention that I am a fan of alcohol. Now, let's not think drunk or lush. Come on now, we're all classier than that... right? No, you're right. We're not. I find it enjoyable to go to dinner and pair wines and beers with my meal. (Think of it as a game!)   I like to test out the newest ales and martinis, and I've never been one to turn down a fru fru shot. Wine tastings are a gift from above (fact) and vodka should be prepared with water and lemon. Last year, at the age of 26, I shotgunned my first beer thanks to my wonderful boyfriend. I'm sure my mother would be proud! Ha!


Also brought to my attention, I'm overweight. I believe the realization really set in when my doctor said something along the lines of "Lana, you need to lose weight. Some people have good genes and high metabolism. You don't. Work out."

So, what to do? Easy. I'm going to document life. Of course getting healthy involves working out, but I think it should also be about having fun and realizing what makes you happy in life. This blog is going to be about my life. Simple as that. There will be posts about workouts, drink recipes, random facts, quotes, and pictures that I find entertaining. Whatever I'm in the mood for. This blog is to inspire me to be a better person, and to keep me on track. If it helps you along the way, that's fantastic! Maybe we can inspire each other :o)