I have been promising this post for a month now and here I am finally posting! I am 13 weeks out from my first postpartum race and it’s time to start training. I am running the Hippie Chick Quarter Marathon (6.55 miles) and this is actually the first postpartum race that I ran after having Edith so it only seemed fitting to do it again. I have been struggling to commit to a race plan but finally I have settled into a plan and I am excited for it.
Since I have lost a little bit of my running stamina and am basically starting at the bottom again I am going with a run/walk plan. In the past I have done Couch to 5K and when I trained for this race back in 2013 I did a plan on my RunKeeper app. While I liked both this time I decided to spend the $3.99 and download the Jeff Galloway 10K plan app. While my race is a little longer than 10K the training plan will work because my longest training run is actually 7 miles.
I started the plan a few weeks ago but decided after a week of missing two of my runs that I would start it over again. So I am not a week in and have 12 more weeks of the training app to go which means I’ll just end up adding two of the regular short runs the week of my race to finish off the week. So here is the plan:
I am hoping to fit in at least one 5k race but I haven’t come across ones that fit my plan yet- if you live in the Portland area and can suggest any that are coming up in March/April let me know.
I have to say I am loving the 10K app because it allows you to customize your run/walk intervals and Jeff Galloway talks to you the entire time. It’s a little weird to hear his voice but he shares some tips, some words of motivation and tells you when “it’s time to run”. So far I am loving it and I am doing a 30sec/45sec interval with hopes of running a 6min/1min interval by race time.
So there it is, my plan! I’ll update you throughout the upcoming weeks.
Who else is training for a race? What is your favorite race plan?
35 Weeks pregnant with Edith and self care routine in place.
I have always loved makeover shows especially What Not To Wear. I would sit there and think oh how I would love to do that but at the same time how embarrassing it would be to actually be picked for the show. I promised myself that I would never get myself to a point where my friends and family or random people would see me on the street and say that lady needs to go on a makeover show. However after becoming a mother I feel like that is exactly what I need.
As a mother I have really fallen into the stereotype of that women who puts her family first and herself last the majority of the time. Until recently I hadn’t put any effort into my clothes, my hair, my skincare, make up or anything. The only thing I have been doing for myself, and even with this I slack at times, is getting in my workouts and attempting to eat healthfully.
8 months postpartum and …yeah.
I would say a big part of this was a result of postpartum body the first time around (you can read about that here). It is really a challenge to wrap your head around a postpartum body because it’s so foreign and such a huge shock. I mean as women we spend nine months growing a human being and then all of a sudden the baby Earth side and we are left with this foreign body. We don’t know how to dress this new body and on top of that we are dealing with swollen, leaky boobs, a baby who needs our attention, a lack of sleep and basically we are trying to figure out how to navigate our new life.
I wore maternity clothes until I was basically a year postpartum and even then I only bought clothes that were as cheap as I could find and then when I was ready to actually invest in new clothes I found myself back in maternity ones. I rarely took a shower that was longer than 10 minutes. I had no skincare routine and makeup ….what’s that? Oh and hair? I have had my haircut a total of three times in the past two years. I basically did nothing that made me feel good. I spent my days in yoga pants, sans make up (not that I think you need make up to feel/look good), I couldn’t even be bothered to wash my face and doing anything more than throwing my hair up in a pony tail was considered fancy. Basically I didn’t do anything to make me feel mentally or physically beautiful. Until now.
I’ll end this post here and next week I’ll return with the now.
What does self care mean to you?
For mamas or anyone who has experienced big changes in body image or even just lifestyle how have you focused on your self care? What challenges have you faced and how have your/are you working to over come them?
This year one of my goals is to read at least 12 books. In order to help myself reach this goal I decided to join a group of bloggers in SarahOhm.com’s Blogger Book Club 2015. This month we were to choose a motivational book to read and Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time* by Brigid Schulte per recommendation of a good friend of mine. I’m going to start off by saying I haven’t finished the book. I’m actually only a quarter of the way through so I can’t do a full review BUT in my defense I already started Gone Girl and I just couldn’t put it down and start a new book.
So far I am just loving Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Timebut as I sit here writing this I know I can’t do it justice and do a full review for your because simply I need to read the entire book. This sums it up well based I what I have read so far though:
“Every parent, every caregiver, every person who feels besieged by permanent busyness, must read this book. A new wave of research, experience, and insight is challenging deep assumptions about why we have to live and work the way we do. Overwhelmed is a wake-up call and an exhilarating prescription for change.” – Anne-Marie Slaughter, president and CEO of the New America Foundation and author of “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All”
So my plan is to finish my motivational book by the 10th of February so I can move on to my book for February which is a love story. I haven’t fully committed but I am thinking Eleanor & Park* by Rainbow Rowell but I’m open to suggestions so leave them in the comments. Side note if you would like a review of Gone Girland what I thought of the book versus the movie let me know in the comments below.
What are you reading right now? Any other book suggestions?
This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds. For more Game Changing Snacks, visit Blue Diamond Almonds on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
While I tend to not be too interested in the game, I am all about the party and the snacks that go along with it. However, I feel like whenever I go to these types of gatherings there are tons of savory snacks but not too many sweets. And, certainly no salty sweets. I decided to change all of that this year and came up with this AMAZING (toot, toot) smokehouse caramel cup.
If I’m being completely honest, this recipe came from a failed attempt at making smokehouse almond brittle. I don’t know if it was the temperature, the use of coconut sugar or my fear of setting the stove on fire again (er… yeah It’s happened before while making brittle) but my sugar didn’t get to the right temperature so instead I made it into a yummy caramel instead. Since I recorded exactly what I was doing, I figured I’d try to rescue my failed brittle. I threw the caramel nuts into a blender, whizzed it together until it was smooth and then tasted. OMG. Amazing. Keep reading to see how to make these for yourself.
Grease all sides of heavy bottom bottom pot with coconut oil or coconut oil spray. Place coconut sugar and water in the pot and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes stirring occasionally - you must stay with this so it doesn't boil over. reduce heat to medium for 2 more minutes and then stir in the nuts and allow to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Once cooled place in a food processor or high speed blender and blend until smooth.
To make the cups: Lay out 9-12 cup cake liners. Heat 1.5 cups of chocolate chips over a double boiler or in the microwave until melted. Quickly stir in the coconut oil and the remaining chocolate chips and stir until smooth. Add a large spoonful to the bottom of each of the cups. Spoon in a heaping teaspoon of the smokehouse almond caramel and then top with another layer of chocolate. Place in the fridge to set.
You'll likely have extra caramel and I suggest eating it with pretzels, celery, apples or simply by the spoonful.
We made it for our first hike of 2015 this past weekend. We took advantage of the mild weather and headed to the Columbia River Gorge to do a little hiking at Elowah Falls. This has been on my hiking bucket list for awhile and the falls did not disappoint. Edith insisted on hiking for a good portion of it and she just couldn’t get enough. It is so fun to take our workout outside as a family and really take in the beautiful sites so close to us.
I know I am a little late on the subscription box train but I just have really been getting into them lately. I love having the opportunity to try new products I have never heard of or products that I have been interested in but maybe would have never tried if they didn’t come in my box. This whole subscription box love really started when I decided to start focusing on myself and putting a little more time and energy into my skincare (or rather start having a skincare routine) and beauty routine. I am going to do a more in-depth post on this so if you have any questions please leave them in the comments.
Anyways on to Goodebox! Goodebox is a Portland based subscription box company that curates boxes filled with healthy beauty products, non-toxic cosmetics, natural cosmetics and personal care products with the occasional natural and organic health and wellness products. Their membership plan includes monthly, bi-monthly and multi-month subscription plans. The cost per box is $19/month and the cost can go as low as $17/month if you do a multi-month subscription. You fill out a personalized profile and then you receive your box filled with 4-6 trial sizes. But first you should probably decide if Goodebox is right for you –> see here.
I was thrilled when I had the opportunity to check the December and January Boxes (January unboxing to come). This Goodebox is the perfect fit for me because I am passionate about (trying) to clean up my beauty products and I am excited to receive not only makeup products but skincare and haircare products, supplements and other sustainable living goods. So as you can see a perfect fit for me.
Okay so let’s (finally) get on to the unboxing. I am going to share with you what I received in my box, the value of each item, what I thought of it and after sharing January’s box I’ll tell you my overall impression and whether I would purchase the box. So let’s get to it!
Au Naturale Organic Creme Eyeshadow in Palma – Trial Size -$3 Value
This sample also came with a promo code for 25% off and a free sample of the creme concealer that I was disappointedly was not able to take advantage of because code expired before I received my box. If you did order something from the Au Naturale and used the promo code you also received a free sample of their creme concealer. I have to say I love this eyeshadow and have been using it regularly. It goes on smooth, is pretty highly pigmented and build-able- oh and it’s 100% vegan and natural. I have to say the one thing I am disappointed about is that it didn’t come with the concealer sample because I know at least one other subscription box that had the same sample package from Au Naturale that included both.
Aila Nail polish in #LIKEABOSS – Full Size – $17 Value
If you have been following me on Instagram then you know how much I love this nail polish from Aila and BeauTeaBar.com. I have to say I just love the formula, the color and the name – – on that note Neil was like it’s not like you to #LIKEABOSS on Instagram and I had to explain to him it’s the name of this beautiful nail polish. I have to say I would love to own a few more colors from Aila; they make a really great nail polish.
Balanced Guru Scrub Me Crazy -Trial Size- $4.40 value
I have to say I am kind of sad to talk about this product from Balanced Guru. While it was a good sized sample and the company is a fantastic company I just didn’t love the smell of this body scrub. It wasn’t that it didn’t work but the smell was just not right for me. I can’t even explain it but one use left my skin feeling smooth (a good thing) but I was too turned off by the smell to use it again (whomp).
Ecojot Mini Notebook -Trial Size – $4.25 Value
This little notebook from Ecojot is so cute and I really love it. If you know me you know how much I LOVE notebooks so I was excited to find this in my box. However the thing is I think my love of notebooks has rubbed off on Edith and she decided that since it was just her size that she was going to take over the notebook.
SheaTerra Organics- Extreme Body Cre’me in Bourbon Vanilla -Trial Size – $2 value
I was as little unsure of this SheaTerra lotion at first because it is just so thick but once you take a little out and work it between your hands it starts to warm up and goes on to the skin super smooth. It is really hydrating and the smell is so good, not too sweet and not too overpowering but still really nice. I carry this around in the diaper bag with me so I always have some nourishing lotion on hand.
Total Value: $30.65
I would say that the total value is pretty good considering the box costs $19. The nail polish alone basically made this box worth it not only because it’s a full sized product retailing for $17 but because it is simple amazing. Overall I really liked everything in this box with the exception of the scrub. I actually am adding Au Naturale to my list of brands to check out when I am in need of new makeup products and Aila when I am in the mood for a new nail color.
What do you think of subscription boxes? Have you tried Goodebox? Do you think you’d like to?
I received this box from Goodebox as a sample in exchange for my honest review. No other compensation was provided.
DISCLAIMER: THIS POST IS NOT SPONSORED. I PURCHASE THIS BOX WEEKLY WITH MY OWN MONEY.
In my meal planning post this week I talked about our Organics to You box. For those of you who aren’t from the Portland area you may not have any idea what I am talking about so before I get into the contents of this weeks box let me first tell you about the box. The box is filled with 100% Organic produce with much of this produce coming from local farmers.
The box is delivered right to your door so as a busy mom of two this is FANTASTIC. You can customize your box based on the size you’d like and you can do add on’s for additional produce such as ingredients for salads or Asian dishes or maybe you have little one’s in the house. Not only can you add on extra produce you can also add on lots of grocery items such as pantry items, milk (dairy and non-dairy), coffee, tea and even chocolate among other things.
This week we went with the small bin with a baby add-on (see here for details on bin sizes). The cost was $51 for the box plus add-on.
Fruits:
8 Anjou Pears
3 Fuji Apples
4 Gala Apples
4 Kiwi
10 Bananas
4 Navel Oranges
2 Mangos
Veggies:
1 Butterkin Squash
4 Russet Potatoes
4 Sweet Potatoes
1 Celery
1 Bunch Lacinato Kale
2 Bunches of Carrots
1 bag Shitaki Mushrooms
1 Celeriac
2 Onions
I have to say everything looks fantastic and based on what I would normally spend on the same produce at the grocery store it ends up being less expensive. Bonus I don’t have to leave the house! We will continue our order and I might bump our box up to large bin and no baby bin.
Have you ever used a produce or grocery delivery service?
Since I have lost a little bit of my running stamina and am basically starting at the bottom again I am going with a run/walk plan. In the past I have done Couch to 5K and when I trained for this race back in 2013 I did a plan on my RunKeeper app. While I liked both this time I decided to spend the $3.99 and download the Jeff Galloway 10K plan app. While my race is a little longer than 10K the training plan will work because my longest training run is actually 7 miles. 
