Wear. And. Fare. Wednesday.

Aaah yes! Clearly I'm back in the swing of things! Imagine that...a Wednesday post on Wednesday!! 

I have a lovely little dish for you guys today and a cute little new outfit I put together! Enjoy!

WEAR

I had all of these pieces for this outfit, minus the shirt which I just picked up on my first day of vacation. It caught my eye when I was also in search for some biking shorts for a yoga class.  Love this top!

Hey look! I grew wings! 

Top: Target

Jacket: Heartbreakers

Jeans: Old Navy - (Sweethearts mid-rise)

Boots: Steve Madden

Locket: Gift from mommy!

FARE

During vacation, I can't promise that I was the best model of clean eating. I gave myself room to slack off during vacation but now I'm back on track. During my fantastic time out with my friend, Sarah, we went to brunch in the morning. We stopped at this restaurant that neither of us had been to and I ordered an egg scramble breakfast. Oh my gosh, was it good! It had potatoes and peppers and it just had this nice little kick to it. I was hooked! After that day, I was still craving it again! I decided to try and make my own clean version of this so I can enjoy it time and time again.  

How I did it!

I took one clove of garlic and minced it finely. Then, I chopped up onions and red peppers. I began to saute these all in a pan with some olive oil. Meanwhile, in the microwave I cooked at sweet potato. When it was finished, I diced it up into square pieces (skins on). I then added the chunks of potato into the pan with the vegetables. I added several spices to give this a kick - 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/4 cumin, 1/2 tsp paprika and chili powder to taste. I thought I put maybe too much chili powder in but when I ate it, I thought it could use more, it didn't have the kick that I expected but it was still SOOOO good! I sauteed the veggies, spices and potatoes together till the potatoes had a bit of a crunch. I took out the vegetables then in the same pan cooked 3 egg whites with one whole egg. I also think in the future I will try just scrambling the egg into the mixture. I still have some experimentation to do with this but it still was just what the doctor ordered! Hope you all enjoy it too!

Have a happy Wednesday!

Mission. Vacation. Accomplished.

I'm back everyone - a full week of vacation and no work! So great! I had a wonderful time during my staycation and I am feeling more charged and ready to take on life again! I met with the wonderful Mary during my staycation and we talked about how sometimes when you've been SO busy, the simplest of tasks seems SO difficult! Even just sending an email! We both agreed that it was great that we aren't the ONLY ones who get burnt out and feel that way. I thought I would update you all on how my wonderful staycation went! Here's the recap:

The first day of my break I had a wonderful time celebrating with family! We celebrated my grandfather's 92nd birthday with a small party and then we had a surprise baby shower for my cousin! Super fun and I was so happy to be able to catch up with my family!

Me and Gramps!

The following day I spoiled myself to death!

In the AM I went to a Bikram yoga class! It was so cool! I have a few more classes left that I am for sure going to hit up! It's the 105 degree heated room yoga and you sweat like crazy - but it feels so good! I was so tired after though that I slept like a baby for 2 hours!

Next I hit up the local nail shop for a pedicure! The tootsies felt so good!

                                   Before                                                         After

The following day I pampered myself even more! A spa day! So worth it! I didn't even have to pay for it as I used my credit card points to purchase a certificate! Yea!

In my lovely spa getup! 

Now that I was pampered it was time to get down and dirty! Yes, my inner-adventurer was broken out again (with some encouragement from friends) and I was taken on an urban exploring adventure. 

Sometimes I'm a rebel and I do rebellious things (whispers: I could have gotten caught!!) ;)

At top of building.

One of my fave pics I took.

To top the night off, nothing could have been better than a night out with my friend since 3rd grade, Sarah! (Note: About this time, Sarah also left me stranded on the playground with a broken ankle. Just sayin', Sarah!) 

We also rented a hotel room for a change of scenery. We got out and about and also played in the snow!

Testing the bed.

Sarah and I.

We also visited Foshay Tower in Minneapolis!

At the top of the Foshay!

The next couple of days were filled with fun stuff! Rock climbing, coffee dates with friends I've been meaning to catch up with and just chilling out. I got out to dinner with my family and Saturday I caught up with a new friend for brunch and a fun local event!

Finally, Sunday I sat down and picked up a book I've been trying to read for over a year! Yes - I said over a year! I started reading and got so into it I couldn't put it down! It was so great to feel sucked in again and relaxed enough to just to sit down and read! I finished it too! Soon I'll trade it in for some credit at the local bookstore! Yea!

Finally, I finished off my vacation with a great dodgeball game night were we took all 3 games!

THEN?!

A no brainer! A DAMY Health Quinoa Brownie with  Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Frosting. YUM!

Check out the blog for the recipe!

I'm sure there was much more that I didn't talk about here, but overall, I just wanted to say I had a great rest and I'm ready to get back at things with my full effort! 

Woohoo!

Wrenching. Time.

On my new goal board this year, (which I have yet to post up here), one of the things that I wanted to push myself to learn was more bike mechanics. It will be useful during tours in case something happens that I know more about the actual bike and how to fix it. I already knew, of course, how to change a tire and some basic things, but I think this will be a nice added boost.

I've been spending some time at Recovery Bike Shop (who also supplies me all of my equipment - check them out - they are in Northeast) and doing some volunteer wrenching. I mainly just watch the bike mechanics and learn from them but sometimes I get to help and change tires, etc. I've really been enjoying it because I get to learn and practice. I've missed the last couple weekends but I hope this weekend I can get back and put in some more time.

Me with bike tire I changed. 

This is Joram, on of the bike mechanics. We pretty much just spend our time picking on him all day. :)

A bike being built.

This is Janneke. She lets me help out and really shows me the ropes!

On this front, I know that I've mentioned that I have vacation coming up next week. However, after vacation I'm going to get into high gear with my business-related stuff. I am using this week to recharge my batteries, have a little enjoyment and then I will be back in business! I can't wait for this vacation! Today is my last work day for a week! Woo hoo!

I'll be off on vacation now and I hope to bring a big update on everything I did! :)

Blogger. Burnout.

I told you all I would be making a new post about my blog. I know that I haven't been posting a lot lately, but to be honest, I'm just burnt out! I'm not burnt out on accomplishing my goals and working on the things that I would like to achieve, however I am burnt out on blogging about it.

I was thinking the other day about how over this past year, I haven't really had any vacations. I had one small vacation to visit my sister and her family. During that time of vacation, I was also spent a lot of time working on my business. Thus, leaving me with the feeling that I haven't actually had a REAL vacation and taken any time for myself.

While I'm not very into comparing myself with others - that really gets you nowhere, generally I'd like to think I'm only in competition with myself - I have made notice of many of my awesomely accomplished friends and that they have at least taken a couple, if not a few, vacations to recharge. I have most definitely lacked that this year.

I recently had this conversation with my friend, Pierre, who was back visiting from Germany where he is currently living, but is originally from France. We were talking about vacations and I was discussing my present lack of the financial ability to go on a vacation because much of my money is spent on bills (for my business and schooling). I was talking about how I banked 13 hours of vacation and carried over 2 weeks of vacation into this year. Pierre expressed that he didn't understand why Americans didn't take vacation. I stated that I just didn't have the money to go anywhere, so I figured why take it off? Pierre said that even if you go nowhere, you have that time, why not take it off? I admit, Pierre has a point. Now with the feeling of being completely burnt out, I'm taking your advice, Pierre...I'm taking some time off! Not only am I going to take some time off, but I'm going to try and do the things that I've been wanting to do here but just can't seem to find the time. I also have one goal for this vacation: no work! That's right, none! Just pure enjoyment and relaxation. My very own STAYcation!

I recently ran into THIS blog online. It really resonated with me and I'm really happy that I've made the choices in life that I have and am pursuing my passions. I am happy that I AM living a life that is true to myself. However as I scroll down these items, one item stands out to me, "I wish I hadn't worked so hard." I don't think that this statement COMPLETELY applies to me because yes, I do work hard...but I'm happy about my work because it fulfills me and it's working on my passions, not just a job that I am complacent at. However, it is a reminder that I sometimes need to slow down and just take a breather and enjoy life.

The reason that I write this is that I wanted to firstly, apologize that I haven't been more diligent in blogging. I really enjoy blogging and it keeps me on track and I hope that you all enjoy it as well! I also wanted to explain my lack of recent blogging and let you all know that I'm STILL working diligently on my goals, I just need a mini-break from writing about them. I hope, however, after my vacation the week of the 20th, I can come back fully renewed and refreshed and I'll be back to my old diligently blogging self!

Who else has had burn out? 

How did you recharge?

Wear. And. Fare. DAY!

Since I haven't been able to get my Wednesday posts up regularly, I can't really call this Wear and Fare Wednesday anymore. It's official. Until I can get back to a regular schedule, it's just Wear and Fare Day!

WEAR

Today for work I tried to put together somethig a little bit different. I know you all have seen this skirt before. I love it. I put it together with an all gray base (gray tights and long sleeved tee) and then added a pop of color on top. Put this together quick. I think I did a great job for no planning and it being a quick morning decision!

Long-sleeved tee: Old Navy

Sweater: Express

Skirt: Buffalo Exchange

Boots: Steve Madden

FARE

Another great treat from DAMY Health! It seems lately this is where all of my new ones are coming from! Probably because DAMY keeps posting fantastic recipes all week! Here are some new treats by DAMY Health. These are the "Clean Peanut Butter Eatmore Bars". Go to this link HERE and click on the blog. This is where you will find the recipe for these bars. They are SO good! I have a box in my freezer right now. A great treat for the week!

Hope you all have had an excellent week thus far!
Look for an important post from me this week! I'll be updating you guys on a little bit about my life! :)



Lessons. From. "The. Art. Of. Manliness."

I just ran across this article from the blog, "The Art of Manliness." Although this is directed towards men, I love this blog. The posts are really interesting and I learn so much too! This post today really struck a chord with me! Reminds me so much of my journey! For such a long time, I couldn't figure out why when I was doing what I "SHOULD" do, go to school, get a degree, find a job - just wasn't making me happy! I felt like I had tried the traditional route and it wasn't working for me. In the back of my mind, I had always wanted to pursue my biking business! I'm so grateful I stopped "shoulding" and started choosing! I've chose to follow my passion. I hope you all do too!

I hope you all check out this article...

HERE!

Better. Late. Than. Never

As you may have noticed, my regular Wednesday post didn't come through. I'm running a bit behind. I did, however, make myself a new outfit and a new goodie this week! Scroll down to see! :)

WEAR

This is a nice new skirt that I got from Everyday People, a thrift store in Uptown. I LOVE this skirt! It is originally from H&M and it's perfect for my body shape! A nice full skirt with polka dots! I love it! I also like that I could wear this one in the winter or the summer! Score!

Skirt: Everyday People by H&M
Shirt: Target
Jacket: SES (A clothing store in Australia)
Shoes: ALDO
Locket: Gift from mommy! :)

FARE

DAMY Health Protein Cookies!
If you follow me on my Facebook page, you may have noticed a little post about these. These cookies are probably one of the best creations I've ever had in my life!!! SO yummy and SO healthy! You can't go wrong! It's now turned into one of my favorites from DAMY Health. You should try this recipe and then if you're impressed, you should join DAMY Health, get some new healthy eating habits and enjoy many more recipes just like this! I made these chocolate chip style the first time, as indicated in her link. Find this recipe HERE! Click on the "BLOG" Section and then type in "Protein Cookies."

I did however, make a fun modification the second time. Clean eating oatmeal raisin cookies!
Here were my adjustments: Instead of 19oz of garbanzo beans, I used a can of 15 oz. I then added 1/4 of gluten free oats. I added a lot more cinnamon and a small sprinkling of nutmeg. Before making the batter into the cookie shapes, mix in the raisins. Not too much. I figured about 6 per cookie or so. If you just put them on top, they will burn or get crunchy. Also, in both the chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookes, I used only 1/4 of agave. I don't like to use Stevia personally. Enjoy! These things are GREAT!

Behind. The. Scenes.

I haven't been blogging much lately because I have been doing quite a bit of stuff,  however it's mainly been work pertaining to my business.  I have accomplished some things for this upcoming season that I am excited about. Firstly, I have found a storefront space with a biking business in Uptown! Yea! I think it will be great to have a meeting location and a place to store some things so that I don't have to carry everything with me! It will be a magnificent AND needed change!

My next order of business that I am hoping to start this week is to start doing volunteer work at the bike shop I work with Recovery Bike Shop. It's a great shop, with great people running it and I can't wait to get some more hands on work done and learn some more about wrenching! :) It will be great skills to learn and that will also be beneficial for my business.

I have also been doing a lot of work these past couple of weeks on accounting. I had a major accounting fail. When I began my business, I took some free Quickbooks classes to learn the ways of accounting and bookkeeping. Every time that I was in a class, I would think I understood but then would return home and end up just staring blankly at the screen. I am more of a hands-on learner, so I really needed to be DOING it while learning. That's where this great organization called Fiscal Foundations came into play. They also do the free Quickbooks seminars, but I paid for some consulting with them so that I could learn the ways of Quickbooks. It was a bit of an investment but one that was worthwhile as I will carry these skills with me throughout the duration of my business. I am finally getting all caught up on entering my business expenses and I hope that I will be able to meet with them once more to get my tax information in order and then I will be sending into my accountant! Yea! I am really not good at the accounting stuff but I am working hard so that I can learn it and keep up with it!

I did do one really great thing the other day, that I wanted to blog about. I met with the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition to do some surveying of the Uptown area so that bike racks could be added to parking meter. Some new funds were acquired and they needed people to help count the meters in the area. It was a cold and blustery day to do it, but I was really glad that I could and did help. I can't wait till more bike parking comes to Uptown!

So, I'm going to keep on working on these things, even though not SO interesting to blog about and I hope I see some great results for my business in the spring! Can't wait!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

New. Wear. And. Fare. Wednesday.

It's time again for another Wear and Fare Wednesday! Yea! I am super excited about this one! This New Year's Eve, I took it upon myself to dress up! I have never ever ever dressed up for a New Year's Eve so this was something new and special to me! I wasn't even going any place fancy, just to my close friends' house, James and Kenna. It was a casual affair but I didn't care that no one else was going to be dressed up or not, I simply wanted to dress up, to dress up and feel good being me! And I did just that! I went out and found a cute new outfit to wear and I enjoyed being out and wearing it! Here it is!

WEAR

A new lace dress with navy blue underlay - Heartbreakers

Nave blue blazer: - Heartbreakers

Navy blue nylons: Ragstock

Shoes: ALDO

A pic of the dress on it's own. The back was longer than the front and rounded. It gave it that "gentleman's tux" feel. I liked it! Plus, you never have to worry about bending over! ;)

I also paired it with some lacy earrings from Nordstrom.  I got these a few years back.

FARE

Clean eating biscuits! I had the biggest craving for a biscuit this weekend! I couldn't handle it anymore, so I broke down and had one...but a CLEAN one, so it didn't seem so naughty after all! I found the recipe HERE.

I made some simple modifications to this: I used melted coconut oil for the oil and unsweetened almond milk.

I made my own oat flour by blending it in the food processor. The recipe says it makes 6-10. I made 6 and I found them to be rather small. I think you could easily make 3 regular sized biscuits with this. I think that is what I'll do next time!  This was such a great treat! I popped the others in the freezer to have at a later date!

Best. Body. Ever. Challenge. With. DAMY Health.

Remember that "Best Body Ever Challenge" with DAMY Health that I told you guys about not too long ago and I was working on a six pack? Well, it's finished! :) Unfortunately, I did not score my six pack...just yet! BUT I did learn a lot of lessons and I had some other amazing results that weren't a six pack! You'll have to see the video below to find out what! 

I did not WIN the challenge, but you know what? I know that I am a WINNER! I definitely feel like I've won for myself! Another part of my goal was to maintain where I was at with weight and I have done so and that makes me really happy! I had a few bad weeks during this program where there was a lot of stress and also I had a pretty bad cold for a couple of weeks and I sometimes lost sight of my goal. However, I kept it together for the most part and was dedicated to my workouts! I know I can continue doing better on my own and get that six pack someday soon!

I created a video for the competition. It is a bit long, but it documents my progress throughout the challenge as well as my lifelong struggle with weight loss. I also talk a lot about DAMY and their wonderful programs! I sure hope that you all check them out and perhaps you even purchase one?! No better time to reach for a new goal than TODAY! 

These are the pictures from very beginning, to after the Bikini Body Program to after the BBEC. 

Before DAMY Health programs

After the Bikini Body Program

After BBEC (now)

After BBEC (now)

And now for the video...

I hope that you all had wonderful success with your goals in 2011! 

If you are looking towards a goal of weight loss and health, I highly recommend DAMY Health! 

Goal. Board. 2012.

Ladies and Gents, the new 2012 goal board is here! As indicated on my last post, I created my new goal board on Sunday! No better way to start the new year than to assess and reassess my goals and make some new ones too! This year however, I decided to take a different approach to creating my goal board. I wanted to make one electronically this year versus cutting and pasting. I wasn't sure if I would like it as much as I like something tangible to have, keep and hang. I did find a great compromise though and I'm really happy with my results!

I first set out to find an app or free site where I could create a goal board that satisfied what I wanted. At first, I thought that I had found one. Later, I realized that the apps I found only worked for iPhones and iPads, neither of which I have. Nonetheless, HERE is a good page that I found where it reviews a lot of these types of apps, for those of you that have an iPhone or iPad.

I also found this funny clip about vision boards from the show, "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia." Not exactly how it works, but entertaining nonetheless. :)

What I ended up finding, AND really liked, was the goal board or "vision board" on Oprah's website. It is called the "O Dream Board". To check it out for yourself, click here. There were a lot of things that I really liked about this site. 

Firstly, it allowed you to choose what SIZE dream board you wanted to make, you could have a 16X9, 8X10 and 4X3. I think that is awesome that you can choose a size. I chose a standard 8X10 this year so I could print it right here but after I thought about it for a while I could have just as easily made a 16X9 and printed it at the Kinkos down the street. I'm quite happy with what I got though. :) 

Another positive about this site is you can upload your own pictures - great for a personal touch to your goal board and a personal reflection - and you can also use free Getty images, hundreds of which are there for you to browse through. You can also rotate your images and enlarge and shrink them. They don't have to be your standard straight on photos.

Additional ways to personalize include the ability to type your own text onto your board - so you could add quotes that you enjoy or simply type the actual goal. They also have a feature that allows you to add text into each picture. Like this!

Finally, there are some great things that you can do with this site when you are finished. You can export this to an image format. I did this and then set this as my wallpaper so my goals are continuously present to me as I'm in front of my computer a lot anyways.

On my laptop.

You can also print this document so that you CAN  have a tangible piece to hang as a goal board. I mounted mine onto some foam board like my last year's board.

Ooooh, tangible!

I also added a new addition this year. A sheet on back too where I actually write out the specific items! I thought it could be good for reassessing these next year when I can actually cross them off!

List!

Out with 2011 and in with 2012! 

I'm glad that I tried something new this year. I really liked the O Dream Board site on on Oprah's page and I highly recommend it to you all! Plus, Oprah is one rockin' woman! Who knows? I may just use it again next year!

I hope this helps you all get a start on your 2012 goal boards! 

Good luck!

Make. No. Resolutions.

It would seem odd that a girl who is all about goals and life accomplishments would suggest that you don't make New Year's resolutions. However, I am, in fact, suggesting just that. Don't make New Year's resolutions. I always wonder why people wait till January 1st to make a significant change in their life. Why put off what is important to you today, till January 1st?

Resolutions generally indicate that you state, decide, perhaps share with friends/family an objective that you are trying to reach in this new year to come. Why do I think this is a bad idea? A resolution is merely a goal, isn't it? Well, yes and no.

By definition, according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, a resolution is, "a formal expression of opinion, will, or intent voted by an official body or assembled group." While a goal is, "the end toward which effort is directed : aim" AND aim is, "the directing of effort toward a goal."

When we look closely at the definitions, we can see there is a clear distinction. A formal expression of an opinon OR the end toward which effort is directed. These are two very different things. The main difference between goals and resolutions, in my opinion, lie in these differences:

A goal has clearly delineated, small steps that one needs to take to accomplish said goal.

These small steps are noted down/made visual and checked/marked off when one accomplishes a step to mark progress towards said goal.

A goal is an objective that people have a burning desire to accomplish and will stop at nothing to fulfill.

A goal requires significant action toward change, devotion and willingness to make that change.

Before the New Year is complete, I challenge you to stop and think about whether or not you've made a resolution or a goal? Did you simply make a resolution because everyone else is doing it or are you doing it for you? If you've made a resolution, I challenge to you reevaluate this resolution. Decide if your resolution can be made a goal - are you completely dedicated, are you willing to sacrifice and make change, are you able to say you will dedicate yourself 100%?

If you are in fact making a goal, I propose that you write down your goal and note small steps you will take to accomplish that goal. Put down dates by which you would like to complete these small steps.  Finally, and most importantly, put this in a place that you will see it DAILY to remind yourself of what you are working towards! Make it a checklist if you like so that you can SEE what you've accomplished.  Give yourself a little treat when you've accomplished each step!

And for next year, PLEASE don't make your goal a New Year's resolution. When you have a goal, start it right away. Life is too short to not be working towards your goals. Every day is a gift, use them wisely. 

What will I be doing this long weekend? Looking at my old goal board, seeing what I have done and still have yet to accomplish and making a new one. I will be making a list of new goals and I certainly already have small steps noted. I will be talking more about this in an upcoming post.

I wish everyone a very happy and safe New Year! 

May you make big goals and achieve them all!