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September 9, 2014

Life Update

Hey y’all! Let’s do some catching up since I haven’t blogged in over a week! {yikes}

LABOR DAY WEEKEND

Nick and I went to Florida again to help his brother & sister-in-law move into their new house! It turned into quite an adventure of a weekend though when Nick’s dad ended up in the hospital. Thankfully, the doctors/nurses took great care of him and worked hard to get him out as soon as possible so we could all drive back to Mississippi. He’s doing good (per my latest update), but has some health issues to take care of now that we’re back home. Prayers would be greatly appreciated! Nick and I decided to stick around a little later than anticipated so we could drive back with them in case something happened. That left me behind for the rest of the week which is why I didn’t get much blogging done. Even though it was an up & down kind of weekend, we made the most of it and thoroughly enjoyed some quality family time! Nick and I still managed a very short trip down to Disney World once everything settled. It was good to see my friend David and we visited Hollywood Studios, Epcot, and Magic Kingdom while we were there. I’m pretty sure I had more than my fair share of Starbucks throughout the trip and managed to take zero pictures. Oh well, there will definitely be a next time! Nick and I will probably be back down in October for the birth of his nephew – now that will be a short trip because I don’t think we’re taking off or missing school for it, so we’ll be down Friday night and back up Sunday night, but it will be well worth it to experience the joy that his brother & sister-in-law have been praying about for the past few years! We won’t get much baby time, but we want to be there for any errand running necessary while the parents & grandmothers soak it all in! **Don’t worry about the Starbucks, Trey! I’ll have us both well caffeinated!**

ROAD TRIP

It’s no surprise to any of you who have been reading for… well a minute (see above) that Nick and I are no strangers to traveling and road trips. We love them! I kind of think they’re our “thing”! Well folks, we’re about to embark on the ultimate road trip and I could NOT be more excited!!

4 Days.

16 States.

5 Friends.

1 Wedding.

45 Hours on the Road.

It all started with a wedding invitation… from my sweet, amazing, wonderful blog friend & Bliss Co-host, Meg! I was originally going to fly out there because there was no way I was taking the Alero up to Massachusetts! I went back and forth on the decision because it was going to be a costly short trip and I’d only be in town for a day and a half, plus I didn’t want to go by myself so Nick would have had to pay for a flight as well. Then my Alero broke. Then I was practically forced to get a new car. Well, because of our love to travel & road trip, we decided that a Prius would be a good investment for me since it gets 50mpg! Then the debate was whether or not we should spend the money driving up there when I ended up with so many unexpected expenses in August. I felt so torn between what we should do, but we ultimately decided that the trip was not in our best interest…. then…. THEN…. I filled out the RSVP card with a big fat NO and a sad face, then sent a picture of the saddest note I’ve ever had to send to Nick and expressed my deepest sadness about not going and well…. we went back to the drawing board to really figure out if we could make this work. We realized that we could visit a lot of people on our way up and back down, with us splitting all costs, it really won’t be that much money in the end for an epic road trip such as this! We’ll get to see my best friend Lacy in Virginia and shower & stay with her, we’ll get to have Breakfast with our friends, Adam & Tiffany who recently moved to New Jersey, and we’ll get to have lunch in D.C. with one of Nick’s good friends from high school who recently got engaged and we’re excited about meeting her fiance!

It boiled down to this…. we purchased this car for road trips and we finally had the opportunity and availability to make one heck of a road trip up the East Coast and we can manage it within our budget, so we’ll be off next Thursday to Virginia for our first pit stop! I’ll be heavily documenting the entire thing and hope to have some pointers for you wanna-be road trippers out there! I’m so excited about this new adventure, it’s something we’ve never done before, but I have no doubt that it’s going to be an awesome good time! I’m so stoked to see my sweet friend Meg and to also meet another blog friend (she no longer blogs though), Amanda!

WORK UPDATE

I mentioned in my last post that I passed my Series 6 test for Investments, but now it’s on to my Series 63 test. I scheduled the test for Friday, September 26th at 3:30pm. Prayers are greatly appreciated! I shouldn’t have any tests for a couple of months after this one. We have a new girl working in our office, so I’m spending a good bit of time training her, but I love management & I love working with people! This also gives me the opportunity to learn even more because if I don’t know the answer, I want to find it out so I’ll know for future use as well. I really do love who I work with and where I work, which is such a huge blessing!

LIFE UPDATE

I completed the 28 Day Challenge and loved just about every minute of it. I thought it would change the way I lived, but sure enough… I’ve reverted back to some old ways. There were so many things that I missed while on the challenge that it was difficult to resist once the challenge was over. I think I got it out of my system though and I’m slowly finding my balance. I haven’t been working out as much lately either, but I’m finally on track for this week. I went to the gym last night and then today I attended my favorite HIIT class – which… holy moly! I’m going to be sore tomorrow! I’m not a fan when she decides to take us across the room and that’s practically what we did for the entire 30 minutes! Tomorrow morning, I’m joining a running group and depending on how that goes, I may be taking a rest day on Thursday, but I have a Kickboxing class planned for Friday! This week has proven to be a good one and I’m excited about what else I have planned.

So tell me….

What’s the biggest road trip you’ve been on?
What’s going on in your life? Share some posts from the past week because I haven’t done any blog reading either!
How are your eating habits & workouts going?

August 29, 2014

Health Starts Here Graduation

Good Morning and Happy Friday!!

I took my Series 6 test last night and PASSED!!!! I really thought I failed… I barely breathed the 5 minutes leading up to getting my score. My face was hot and I was so stressed out, I was just certain I had failed. Then I saw a whopping PASS grade and freaked out! I’m so thankful that test is behind me so now I can celebrate this weekend and then next week start studying for the test that comes immediately after, the 63! yay!

I’ll be heading to Florida with Nick to help his brother move, so we’ll be enjoying Florida weather and Disney World, much like we did for the Fourth of July! I love road trips with Nick, so I can’t wait to get out of work tomorrow and get started! What a celebration it will be!

HEALTH STARTS HERE GRADUATION

I’ve been looking forward to this post all week. Monday night was absolutely wonderful and I’m so thankful for the Health Starts Here Challenge and what it has done for me in just a month! We arrived on Monday night for a graduation dinner. Mary Lindsey cooked Pad Thai, Pineapple Lettuce Wraps, and Hummingbird Cake. Nick was probably really annoyed with my texts because all I wanted to do was tell him how AMAZING this meal was and I couldn’t wait to make it for him so he could try it.

The Pad Thai was absolutely amazing! There were so many extra additives on the side so you could create your own flavor. I loved the red pepper flakes and fresh squeezed time on mine! I enjoyed 2 servings! Mary Lindsey was so sweet because she almost put shrimp in it, but remembered that I’m a vegetarian and opted not too! I’m so thankful she did (although I probably would have tried it anyways) because it was delicious and I’m definitely making this soon!

The Pineapple Lettuce Wraps were so refreshing! I added some nuts to mine and the flavor was outstanding! This was practically gone when I went for seconds so I didn’t worry about it. I can’t wait to make this dish too. It’s so simple and perfect for this Southern heat.

The picture of this Hummingbird Cake does not do it justice! I’m pretty sure I’ve found my favorite dessert! We had a Vanilla Cashew Icing to put on top and I most definitely served myself up two servings of this. The texture was awesome, the flavor was awesome, it was all awesome! There was even some left over when I was getting ready to leave and Mary Lindsey let me take it home. I’m not too ashamed to say that it was my breakfast because it still fell within the Health Starts Here parameters. Again… cannot wait to make my own!

That was one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time and it gave me so much hope for our community and healthy eating. Healthy eating does not have to be dull and flavorless… it does not have to be salad and cardboard… it can be delicious Pad Thai that feels like it should be unhealthy, but truly isn’t, it can be flavorful lettuce wraps that create a unique spin on a regular salad, and it can be a decadent dessert that doesn’t lack in sweetness but doesn’t expand your waist line either! Although I’m still learning and I haven’t been as creative in the kitchen as I would like, this meal gave me hope that we’re heading in the right direction and we have the necessary resources to enjoy what we eat and enjoy how what we eat makes us feel.

While we finished up dinner, we shared some of the things that we learned throughout the challenge or the improvements we saw in our own body. I shared about my mental clarity and how my work life in July and my work life in August were completely opposite in my opinion! That brought up a good point about healthy eating not only affecting how we look physically or how we feel physically, but it’s also tied to our mental health. Another lady mentioned how she dropped 12 pounds and reduced her bad cholesterol by something crazy like 50 points! She was planning on doing another 28 days to keep up the good streak! Another girl shared about the influence she had on co-workers and she noticed that one of her co-workers usually eats cookies & sweets, but she brought celery sticks and carrots one day instead based on seeing her eat healthy throughout the work week. So many success stories!

Another thing I gained throughout the challenge were new friendships! I adored getting to know Mary Lindsey throughout the whole process and that’s no surprise because I have constantly raved about her from the beginning. I also found someone who wants to run together and do a 5k training together. She also encouraged me to join her for a Wednesday morning run with free coffee afterwards. Everyone I met throughout the challenge was so sweet, so inviting and I really hope I get to stay in touch with them in some way!

The next Healthy Eating Challenge will be around February and I’m already excited about doing it again! Maybe next time I can stay 100% committed for the 28 days! Hopefully our participation won’t drop near the end and people will stay encouraged to not give up even if they have a bad day (or weekend, like myself!) The great thing is, it’s only for 28 days and Whole Foods provides you with the support you need and knowledge to succeed without feeling like you’re missing out on nutrients. I’m proud of myself for sticking with it and participating in everything they offered. It was definitely a challenge, but it was entirely worth it!

I hope you’ll consider the Health Starts Here Challenge at your local Whole Foods so you can see the amazing benefits of a plant-strong diet without the added oils, sugars, and dairy! What I love about being an advocate for a healthy lifestyle that involves healthy eating and exercise is that it’s not some miracle pill or quick fix wrap, it’s not just a temporary fix… it’s THE fix! If you’re taking care of your body, then your body will take care of you!

Hope y’all have a great Labor Day Weekend, I probably won’t be back to the blog until Tuesday with all of my traveling and I’m in need of a new light weight laptop. I’m tired of lugging mine around, so it’s not going with me this time! Everyone be safe!

July 30, 2014

July Bliss

I really do love the last Wednesday of every month! I look forward to remembering all the things that brought me Bliss! In case you’re new here, Meg and I host this #bloggerbliss link-up every month to highlight your favorite things from the past month! There are NO limitations – products, moments, bloggers, posts! We enjoy seeing what y’all love and trying some of those things out for ourselves! Be sure to use the hashtag #bloggerbliss throughout the month when you find something you love or you’re having a Blissful moment!

TRAVEL

I’ve been lucky enough to visit Nick’s brother & sister-in-law in Florida at the beginning of July and my cousin and her family near the end of the July. I have some amazing memories from both occasions and I can’t imagine how the trips could have gone any better! I’m so thankful for the quality time I was able to spend with them as well as Nick and my friends, Lacy & Noelle.

You can see those recaps here:

2048

This is a new game Nick got me hooked on. He always finds the most random apps and then I begrudgingly try them and then end up loving them!! This game is SO FUN – at least for the nerdy part of me. You get doubles to grow into larger numbers and the highest you can get is a 2048. You try to not run out of tile. Seriously, try it out, let me know what you think. In the meantime, I’ll be over here playing. Nick just informed me that once you beat the game, it unlocks the next level – 4096! oh my goodness.. I just can’t wait!

BARE COCONUT CHIPS

I had originally heard about Dang Coconut Chips when Julie mentioned them in her “Things I’m Loving Friday” post. Then when I attended Veg Fest Houston, they had a booth set up and I was really excited to try their coconut chips. Lo and Behold, they were delicious! The girls at the booth were super fun and I enjoyed talking with them! I still need to re-cap my Veg Fest Houston experience! For once in my blogging life, I feel like I have an abundance of posts that need to be written! Back on topic… so when I made my way back to small town Mississippi, I tried to find Dang Coconut Chips in our local Whole Foods – no such luck! I went with the only option we had, Bare Coconut Chips. They ended up being really good and will have to be my go-to coconut chip in Mississippi. Since I really enjoyed the girls at Veg Fest though and want to support Dang as well, I’ll be on watch when I’m out of town!

BEING OUTSIDE

I’ve been making my way to our local walking trail lately to get some runs in. I’ve enjoyed the alone time and the nature. It’s always calming & beautiful while I’m there (Yet another post I need to publish). My workouts at the gym have been great, but there is nothing like fresh outdoor air!

PERSONALIZED COKES

This is by far my favorite marketing strategy in the history of the world! I think the idea of personalizing cokes was a brilliant idea and I guarantee they saw an increase in sales. I came across this one while I was waiting on my oil change. It was the first one I saw that didn’t have a name which I thought was cool! I picked it up because I like to believe that I really am a go-getter and that this diet coke was meant for me!

BIG BROTHER

Do y’all watch this show? Me and my sisters have watched it for years. We’re determined to get picked one year and be the major “twist” of the season as sisters in the house where no one knows that we’re related. Clever, right? I am loving Nicole & Christine this season. I think they really understand the game and they’re playing smart – plus, they’re cute as can be! Frankie is just fun to watch, he’s so animated. Donnie is basically the nicest person who ever walked into the house, but he hasn’t exactly been the best player and I got really frustrated with him the week that Nicole was HOH and she tried to get advice from him and then he went and spilled it all to the house and played dumb as if she didn’t ask him to keep it to himself (she totally did) plus because they’re both such great people, I would have enjoyed them working together. I also really like Derek, I think he’s playing a smart game and he’s probably one of the most level headed people in the game. Who’s your favorite Big Brother player?

5 PICTURES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL BEAUTIFUL

Meg had a great idea to include this in our Bliss post for the month. I’m sure we’ve all seen this 5 picture challenge floating around facebook and we definitely feel that Bliss and Beauty go hand-in-hand! Here are 5 pictures that make me feel beautiful!

Left // Me & Nick at Animal Kingdom.

Top Right // Me with and his siblings at his graduation. Wearing my Stitch Fix Cardigan & Fuchsia Top!

Bottom Right // Me & my Disney Roomies at House of Blues during our CP days. They were loving, kind, and non-judgmental. I always felt beautiful with them!

Left // Me & Meg at Disney Wine & Dine.

Right // Me ready to go at Disney Princess. I went by myself and raced by myself, but I felt beautiful throughout even with my sleepy eyes!

What is bringing you Bliss this month!? Link-up Below.

NEXT MONTH BLISS LINK-UP: AUGUST 27TH!

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