noBOLOGNA

Wonderful FABuary!

Hi there!  My blog posts continue to be few & far between, but I’m excited about what February has to offer!  I have a few different “challenges” going on with myself this month that I believe are going to tremendously improve my quality of life, my discipline, and my mental/physical health.

  • NO TV

I have committed to watching ZERO television this month.  I realized in January that I was getting very addicted to Netflix (mostly Criminal Minds – which I’ve already seen!)  I felt like a lot of time was being wasted with Netflix playing in the background, distracting me from what I should be doing, or I would stay up late to continue watching it, allowing it play in the background as I fell asleep.  We all know that’s not the medicine for a good night’s rest.  I believe that cutting out television will allow more time for blogging (yippee!), more time for reading and self development, more time for fitness, more time for cooking, more time with Nick, and more time working my Arbonne business.

  • DISNEY PRINCESS HALF MARATHON

My half-marathon is this month and I haven’t done a great job of blogging about training, etc. so my guess is that most of you don’t even have a clue that I’m running a half marathon this month!  But surprise, I am!  I’m actually really excited because it’ll be another opportunity to see my sweet and dearly loved blog friend, Meg!  Training has been a lot better this time around than most.  I’m up to about 9.5 miles, should be at around 11 or 13, but my knee has still been giving me trouble.  I have finally accepted the fact that it’s my IT band and I’ve been doing a lot of stretching and foam rolling to work it out.  It has proven to help tremendously with pain during a run.  I just completed 5 miles this evening after work and didn’t stop to walk once.  That’s a huge accomplishment for me!  I’ve been getting miles in, but they haven’t been great miles.  They’re either painful, or I have to take a lot of walking breaks to get through it.  I seriously wanted to take a nap instead of go for a run today, but I pushed my butt out the door and completely surprised myself!

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**(left) Disney Wine & Dine with Meg (right) Me before the 2012 Disney Princess when I was in the College Program**

  • 30 DAYS TO HEALTHY LIVING

I’m doing Arbonne’s 30 Days to Healthy Living Program this month.  I was supposed to do it in January, but that fell apart pretty quickly.  Nothing like next month, I guess!  I started it today and for the most part I’ve done really well so far.  We had donuts brought in for our staff meeting this morning and I said NO even though I had been craving donuts the day before.  Later in the day, someone dropped by some cookies for me.  I would love to say that I 100% refrained, but that’s not the case.  I ate half a cookie.  I wasn’t proud of myself, in fact I was disappointed, but tomorrow is another day and I get another chance to say no to temptation.  Also, the rest of my day was great, food wise!  I get in a really bad habit of consuming sugar & sweets so I needed something to help combat that before race day.  I love all the Arbonne products and the protein shakes are delicious!

 

I can already tell that my month of no tv is going to change my life!  Tonight, I got home, went for my 5 mile run, came home and showered, finished a book that I’ve been reading for far too long, made dinner, started a load of laundry, and now I’m about to head off to bed.  I’ll be in bed by 10pm tonight!  I definitely think I’ll be well rested by the end of the month, my Arbonne business will be strong, my training would have been successful, my quality time with Nick will be more interactive and fun, you’ll see more than just this blog post, and I my self-development will be off the charts!

Cheers to a wonderful FABuary!

Have no Fear

#NewYearNoFear #ThisYearNoFear

It seems like my motto this year will be “Have no Fear.”  Me and my sisters attended the Bash in Nashville, which is an Arbonne Training Event.   We made so many great memories in Nashville and it was nice to spend the whole weekend with each other!  In addition to our sisterly bonding, we also got to spend time with sweet friends while making new ones.  I absolutely LOVE the culture of Arbonne – it 100% hands down, cannot be beat!  The weekend was filled with lots of training, lots of personal stories/experiences, lots and lots of laughs, and lots of gifts.  Seriously, I cannot go to an Arbonne event without receiving a gift (or many gifts)!!

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I wanted to share some of the points that truly stuck out to me at the training.  I love that the majority of what we learn with Arbonne is all about self-development and growth which means that it extends way past our Arbonne business and can be shared with others on a relevant level.  I do know that I have a fear of “asking” others to help me out by hosting a small get together and fear about many other aspects of my business, so this training really did wonders for me.

  • Come from a place of contribution.  Fill a Need!
  • Personal Growth will happen if you let it.
  • Know your vision, it has to be so strong that you face the fears.  It must carry you through the hard times.
  • You must be OTHERS focused.
  • See obstacles as a challenge, it’s an area for growth.
  • When you step out of your comfort zone, it doesn’t matter what the outcome is, you still stepped out.
  • Turn around & go, people will follow.
  • We have belief in so many others, but we have to have it within
  • Your vibe attracts your tribe
  • God made you just as you are and he has equipped us with all we need to be successful.
  • Giving up on your goals because of one set back is like slashing your tires because you had one flat.
  • Stop letting fear get in your way.
  • It’s never too early or too late.
  • You’re not doing something TO someone, you’re doing something FOR someone.
  • LIGHTEN UP!

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Those were just a few of the nuggets I took away from the training.  The thing that stuck out most to me was anything related to FEAR.  I certainly have a fear of rejection, which keeps me from sharing this amazing opportunity and these amazing products.  I don’t want fear to keep me from reaching my goals.  One of the speakers gave herself a hashtag for the year: #NewYearNoFear and I thought that was brilliant!!  Then I read a post from one of my beautiful mentors and she talked about how she noticed a “theme” for our team this year and it seems to be fear, so instead of #NewYearNoFear she came up with #ThisYearNoFear because come March & April, it won’t be a “New Year” anymore and clearly this is something we will be tackling all year long because it’s made such a huge impact on our lives.  I’m so excited to implement the goal of No Fear in my life & in my business!

To wrap up today’s post about Fear, I found a ton of inspiration.

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I have decided that over the next 30 days, I’m going to pray over and read through these verses about fear & anxiety.  I saw a commonality between the women who spoke at this event.  They were not your typical “sales” person which means that you don’t have to be “salesy” to be in Arbonne.  I don’t consider myself a sales person one bit!  A sales person to me is someone who could sale you a piece of dirt because they could convince you that you need it whether or not that’s true.  These women were good at following up with people though.  These women had a huge huge heart for others!  These women were soft spoken and caring.  These women were Christian leaders who loved the Lord and prayed over their business and their team.  These women had developed into beautiful confident leaders.  I know for a fact that not every single one of the women who spoke were natural born leaders and they certainly did not have complete confidence in themselves when they started.  They continued to believe in the products, in the business, and in God to get them where they are today.

#ThisYearNoFear

Veg Fest Houston

When I went to visit my cousin in Houston, I was going with my 2 vegetarian friends, Lacy & Noelle.  We decided we would attend Veg Fest Houston on that Saturday.

The trip down there was extremely stressful because of the construction, but we finally arrived.  All I kept saying was, “This better be worth the drive!” and it most certainly was!  Luckily the drive back was not as frustrating and my cousin handed me a mimosa the second I walked in the door.

The only session we were able to make it to because of our tardiness, was the Fresh Vegan Cuisine Cooking Demonstration.  Stephanie Hoban is the founder of Ripe Healthy Seasonal Cuisine and this fall she’s launching a food truck in Houston!  I’m excited to visit Houston again and try that out!  While we waited for the demonstration to begin, I enjoyed seeing all the different sources of protein because that is always the first question asked when someone finds out you’re a vegetarian or a vegan.

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For those who worry about vegetarians getting enough protein, just don’t because we’re fine!

Stephanie chose to make a Tempeh Mushroom Bolognese.  The recipe used simple ingredients and had lots of flavor!  I wasn’t able to find the exact recipe on her site, but here are some recipes I’m eager to try from Stephanie:

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After the demonstration, I had a chance to ask her some questions and get a picture.  She was super sweet and shared how she became a vegan.  She was a pleasure to meet and I look forward to following her blog and visiting her food truck in Houston when I visit!

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We then took our time strolling through the booths set up.  We met some great people and learned about some new products!  I was most excited to see a representative from Arbonne.  Y’all know that I’ve been interested in Arbonne for a while now.  I still haven’t made the plunge to sell it (a lot of reasons are keeping me from doing so right now) but I got a few more sample products and I enjoyed talking with the ladies at the booth.  Amber has her own website where she shares nutrition and fitness advice, Get Plant Fit.  Everyone has their journey to becoming a vegetarian or vegan and we also have our own reasoning behind the decision.  I enjoyed hearing them share why they do this.

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One last thing I’m going to share is Veg Voyages because I think it’s the coolest thing ever!  This company sets up vegan voyages in India, Malaysia, Laos, Thailand, and Bali, Indonesia.  They cover the majority of your expenses in the price of the package.  Based on all the great things Michelle said about Thailand when she went to travel the world, I thought Thailand would be a great place to go!  I’ve wanted to travel internationally in some capacity.  At one point, I wanted nothing more than to sell my things and travel like Michelle did.  I’m a little more stable now, so I’m not exactly jumping off the ends of the Earth anytime soon, but this opportunity sounds amazing.  I’m seriously considering the journey!  The voyage to Thailand is October 12, 2015-October 25, 2015 and the cost is $2395.00.  This includes 13 nights accommodation, 38 meals, and tons of activities such as yoga classes, cooking classes, massages, cultural experiences, over night train journey, entry fee to the Grand Palace, and a domestic flight on Day 14.  I assume I’ll have to get there myself, but it sounds like an unbelievable experience!  I’m not sure I could get off for 2 weeks straight and I’d have to start saving, but I’m going to consider it!  I’ve always wanted to do something like this!

I had such a great time at Veg Fest Houston and I hope to attend another one next year.  I’d like to make it to more sessions because there were a lot of them I knew I’d enjoy!

  • Have you attended a Veg Fest?  Where?  What did you take-away?
  • Would you want to travel for 2 weeks on a Vegan Voyage experiencing a unique culture?

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The views and statements expressed on No Bologna are my own. You are reading No Bologna at your own risk and I am not providing any type of professional advice. Unless otherwise noted, all material on No Bologna may not be used, reprinted, or published without my consent. I do occasionally have affiliated links on my blog - this does not raise the price of the product, I simply get a very small commission from the regular retail price if something is purchased using an affiliated link on my site. I appreciate any support by you in regards to affiliated links.