20 Kitchen Tips & Tricks

I've recently been using my kitchen more for cooking and baking than the routine meal prep and packing my lunch everyday. Recipes I've tried out this past week have included  Italian Turkey Burgers, Carrot Cake Protein Bars, and Cinnamon Vanilla Sweet Potato Fries. How'd I score, you ask? I went 3 for 3 as I give 2 thumbs up to all! I will say that the Turkey Burgers were a smidge on the dry side but were the perfect addition on top of a salad or spaghetti squash. 

Julie, at Peanut Butter Fingers, has her own series called "Things I'm Loving Friday" where, you guessed it, shares with her readers things in her life that she loves! There was one thing today on her list that I thoroughly enjoyed and I'm sharing it with you as I think you will enjoy it, too. 

On the list was "20 Kitchen Tips & Tricks" by Lindsey at The Lean Green Bean. While you may have heard or used some of these, there may be others that you find interesting and useful like cutting your pancakes with a pizza cutter? M I N D  B L O W N. 

P.S. Do you have any tips or tricks to add to this list? Comment below!

Piece of Work

The message that was taught at church this morning was what my ears and my heart needed to hear. It struck chords within my dwelling that have been doing nothing except collecting dust. It’s days like this that I find myself looking at things in a new light and with new thoughts. Let's get talking, shall we?

- - -

We are all guilty of walking into a room and inevitabley we begin to measure ourselves up with the people we share it with.

I’m dressed nicer than her…

When was the last time she went to the salon because her roots are like whoa!…

I can see her wedding ring shining like a disco ball from over here so I better just stay on this side of the room...

It’s as though we were auto-programmed, re-wired and structured to slip into this mindset of “I’m not good enough” or “I am good if…”. It's the thought behind if we just keep climbing the ladder and getting ahead of our peers and earning that promotion than finally, we are good enough.

But for who?

God is so overflowing with love that He made us very, very good. He weaved our inner threads exactly how he wanted them to be and for that, we matter and have purpose and mean something with every beat of our heart.

“If God is satisfied with the work, the work may be satisfied with itself.”

Today I am telling myself that...

I AM LOVED

I AM GOOD

I MATTER

I’M HERE ON PURPOSE

Because once I know these things, I AM FREE!

Health Hero

An e-mail ended up in my inbox that was unlike all the rest. It wasn’t a Facebook notification or a payment reminder for my upcoming credit card bill, but this piece of mail was from Andrea, the Outreach Coordinator for Oscar Insurance. Having never heard of this company, I did some research a.k.a type 'Oscar Insurance' into Google, and stumbled upon an article written about them in Forbes Magazine. If your company has an article in Forbes Magazine, you must be doing something everything right.

Oscar Insurance serves and provides insurance to those in New York and New Jersey. If you would like to learn more about this up and coming company, please visit there website for more information!

Andrea’s request was simple:

“We know firsthand the importance of having the proper tools, motivation and support to make healthy choices, so we're asking a group of influential bloggers like yourself to tell us about a person in your life that helps you do just that -- who is your #HealthHero? Whether it's your running partner who keeps you going, your mom who still reminds you to eat your veggies, or even your dog, Tommy, who's always there to put a smile on your face. We want to hear about the people (or pets!) in your life that help keep you healthy and happy.”

My #HealthHero is a person who continually goes “up to bat” for me time and time again. Whether it is planned, at the drop of a pin, or when I don’t even expect it, she’s there cheering me on through the ups and downs that everyday events bring.

She walks next to me when my own path is dimly lit.

No matter the circumstance I'm under, she is the light to keep me moving forward and reminding me that "this too shall pass". 

She encourages me to be better, get stronger, push farther.

I am inspired by her to continue to seek out the things I love and do them wonderfully. 

She is selfless and patient when I am stressed and frazzled.

I tend to run my engine pretty hot and she is the one that tells me to turn it off and take a break. 

She reminds me to love myself (and not just the outfit I’m wearing that day). To really love ME – how I treat my body, the way I perceive myself, and practicing positive self-talk instead of negative.

Being a woman is hard work. There are standards we all try to live up to yet I am always feeling like they are never within reach. I can always count on her to send me random texts of motivation, compliments, and ones that say "just eat the damn dessert - you deserve it!"

She is next to me on the running trails, the chairs at church, and at the dinner table.

Running with her is similar to a comedy show which makes the time go by faster as well as my pace. She helps me to break down the walls that I build for myself and is my sister in Christ. We fill our tummies with healthy dinners on the weekends because we know that McDonald's won't allow us to live next door to each other at 100 years old. 

Being healthy is more than just exercising; it's the teamwork of our minds and bodies working together to live a life that is full of positivity and balance. Let's continue to spread the word about the importance of healthy living by celebrating the people in our lives who help us take care of ourselves! With that said…T H A N K S  M E L !

P.S. Who is your Health Hero? Comment below!

Series of Fortunate Events

There is nothing I love more than when friends come to visit and I get to show off where I live. I take them to coffee shops other than Starbucks, watch them take pictures of mountains instead of plains, and listen to them rave over sights downtown and the neighborhood bar that was the setting for a night of karaoke and belly laughs.

Pat and I have known each other since Elementary School and when he asked if he could come visit for a weekend, I immediately started scoping out things for us to do. Looking back at the last few days, I think I did an ok job of hosting! 

Friday Night

We went to the corner bar for dinner, drinks, and karaoke. After 18 weeks of marathon training, it felt SO GOOD to let loose and act like I was in college again. Although unlike college, we didn't even make it until bar close and were home by 12:30. #old 

Wing-women.

Leave it to a guy from MN and a girl from TN to kill it singing "Gangsta's Paradise" - crowd pleasers for sure. 

Saturday 

The weather couldn't have been more perfect all weekend. Pat and I went for a run in the morning and stopped to walk through the Farmer's Market on the way back home. The perks of living in the city just keep adding up! 

Next was a little road trip to Mount Evans in Idaho Springs, CO. Lately, my Facebook has been flooded with pictures of beautiful mountains covered in trees whose leaves are sprinkled with oranges and yellows, so I couldn't wait to see all the beauty for myself.

Oh Colorado, you never disappoint me! 

 My two worlds coming together - a lake and mountains. #bliss

Sunday 

We had planned to go to the Avalanche hockey game only to get downtown and find out the tickets that we thought were $20…were $50. We both decided that it wasn't worth it (being pre-season and all), so we walked around Union Station and ended the night at a Sports Bar to watch…wait for it…sports! Our friend Nick, from home, joined us and it was a fun night with "the boys"!

Had to have some proof that we attempted to go to the game!

P.S. Who are my next visitors? 

Omaha Marathon Summary

Monday - lift (legs)

Tuesday - 3 mile run, lift (back & biceps)

Wednesday - 4 mile run, lift (chest & triceps)

Thursday - rest

Friday - lift (shoulder & abs)

Saturday - walking at the zoo

Sunday - MARATHON

HOORAY! My marathon is over! I feel like I have so much to write about other than my race like, oh I don't know, my mom and sister-in-law surprising me, our family outing to the zoo, or the night I fell even more in love with Eric Church - but I will keep this post all things race related and post later this week about all those other details.

I woke up two hours before the race started to allow enough time to let my nerves settle as well as my breakfast.  I fueled with a banana, english muffin, and peanut butter. Heck of a trio in my book!

By the time I was done with breakfast it was 5:15am so I crawled under the sheets for a little while longer. The race started within a block of the hotel my family was staying at which helped my stress level tremendously! If you have ever ran a race, you know that getting to the START line can be a little hectic (what time should I leave? If I get there too early I'm going to be standing in the cold! What if I get stuck in traffic and get there late? Etc.). Look who I ran into on my way down to the race...

…miss Kendall Rae! She told me to "win the race Auntie Carrie!"

I was more than ok arriving with 2 minutes to spare as it left me no time to get nervous and quite honestly, I couldn't wait to start! The gun went off, signalizing to the runners that it was go-time! I was told by many to start off slow so I began the race with a pacer that was set to finish at 4 hours 15 minutes. I never put much thought into what time I wanted to get (I really just wanted to cross the finish line) but knew that I wanted to finish under 4 hours 30 minutes so felt that staying with Greg (the pacer) would help me do just that.

The first 10 miles went so great! We passed spectators, bands playing every couple miles, and the kids at the water stations were totally making my day with their spunky attitudes. My legs were feeling good so I broke off from the pacer group as I knew I could go a little faster than what they were doing. With that said, starting with them was probably the smartest thing I did all day. The rest of the race was spent running alongside Michelle, a random stranger who quickly turned into my motivator, encourager, listener, and friend. 

We talked the entire way and I really don't think I would have done as well as I did without having her beside me. When one of us noticed the other pulling back and struggling, the other one spoke words of encouragement and started a new topic of conversation. I had heard that after mile 20 was when the majority of people "hit a wall" so we knew that we just had to get over that hump and push through. 

My family cheer team helped, too! They showed their faces every couple miles which gave both Michelle and I something to look forward to. At mile 21, we had hit the wall. I kept looking down at my legs and feet to see if they were on fire because that's what it felt like. Michelle was feeling the burn, too. The rest of the race we took it mile by mile. "Ok, let's get to mile 22", "I see the sign for mile 24!", "One more mile and we are done!". 

The last half mile was downhill (hallelujah!) and the last .2 miles was inside the T.D. Ameritrade Stadium. I was a flood of emotions while running the outfield and tried my hardest not to be a sobbing mess while crossing the finish line. 

The lady herself, Michelle. Again, such a lifesaver! 

I can't thank my family enough for making the trip to Omaha!

 Never say never because I just did something I said I would never do.