PINK Reminder & Food Galore!

Good afternoon, readers!

It is that time of year...or the countdown to that time of the year! It's Race For the Cure week!

This means a few things for myself and others...

1. I need to get a couple of good runs in this week, or I might be dogging it on Saturday morning. :|
2. An emotional, exciting celebration is about to happen. Not only are we admiring the survivors, but supporting the fighters, and honoring the taken. 
3. I get to get together with the gals on my mom's side of the family. Like I have posted before, I enjoy this so much...we all live in different parts of the state and have busy schedules so it is hard to say [other than this weekend of the year] when we will see each other. **Except my sister and cousin, Jenn, will be heading to Macklemore in a couple of weeks!*

Just a friendly reminder to send me your PINK pictures any time this week and weekend! :)

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Now...my weekend in a few pictures! 

Brown rice with various veggies (carrots, peas, broccoli) and eggs! A much healthier version on a not so healthy food! We sort of cheated and made the rice in the microwave, and then added it to a pan with olive oil and sautéed the veggies! Total win! So not technically a cheat [only because we didn't make it in a rice cooker]? :)

I used to each fried rice like it was my job...let's just say, I was VERY good at "my job." 

I got to go visit a very good friend [and her fam] this weekend in Cedar Falls...they always include me in family activities when I come to visit. This weekend included carving pumpkins! I'll let you guess which one is mine :). ((Meow))

My Sunday consisted of driving, church, and meal prep with Collin. He did a majority of the work, I won't lie. He's good at making food, alright? I'm working on it! It's so nice to just have food ready for the week instead of "winging" it which usually ends up over or under eating for me. We grilled chicken, made rice, cous cous, and veggies!

And my Sunday night? Weeelllllll! A good friend of ours, Angela, had this healthy "pie crust" recipe that she had been talking about. So we created another healthier version of a not so healthy food. PIZZA!

I posted the recipe below the pizza photo. I think we were so excited to eat it when it came out of the oven, that we forgot to snap a finished pic. Or the fact that my side was wimpy compared to the other side which consisted of grilled chicken, peppers, avocados, and tomatoes. 

We used canned tomato [pizza] sauce, mozzarella cheese, and sprinked crushed red pepper over the top. Which I paid for, unfortunately...I'm really sensitive to spice...sooooo I accidentally dumped, literally DUMPED, a mountain on one spot on my side. I tried to fix it...ha...not so much! Still delicious though! Thanks again, Angela, for the recipe! :)

Don't forget to add 1 tsp of Stevia to the raw! :)

And then I got up this morning and lifted. Let me tell ya...life is good. Really good. :)

I hope you had a great weekend and the week to come! 

PINK Challenge!

Happy Wednesday!

No...I will not be referencing the silly camel everyone associates with this day of the week. That's yesterday's news.

Anyways!

I have a CHALLENGE for all of my readers/subscribers! 

Friday, October 25th & (or) October 26th

I encourage you to wear PINK! 

Be creative, fun, WHATEVER! When you do this, snap a pic and send it to me via e-mail, text message, or Facebook message! 

Email: amelia.mcg30@gmail.com

Whether it be of just you, a pet, a group of friends, a sports team, your race team, you eating pink ice cream or a pink cookie...I want to see the PINK! 

With your permission, I want to post all of the photos I receive on my blog. If you have a little story that goes with PINK, you are more than welcome to share it!

I look forward to seeing what you come up with! 

Team Cookie: Year 4.

Welp...here's that post I was talking about yesterday. It's lengthy! :)

October=Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

I mentioned yesterday that my mom, sister, aunt, cousin and second cousin head to DSM for the Susan G. Komen Race For the Cure every October. We are headed into our 4th year celebrating!

A little background...

Our team name, "Team Cookie", came from my grandma (mom and aunts mom). Her nickname was Cookie (Grandma Cookie to some of us). My grandma had been having back pain for sometime before heading to the doctor. When she was there, she told him she felt a lump in her breast and he did a biopsy. It was cancer. After she healed from surgery, she was to start chemo...but they discovered that the pain in her back was actually bone cancer. The breast cancer had spread to the bones. They decided the chemo would not cure her and would be hard on her. From there...my grandma chose not to go through with the chemo. So we call ourselves Team Cookie in her honor. (As well as honoring those who have fought or are fighting.)

Year 1:

Andrea, mom, and I (Sup red/brown hair?!)

My mom and aunt Cindy...these two together = side cramps all around from laughing so hard!

It's so amazing to see all of the people, just in Iowa alone, that come out to support the fight!

Year 2:

**The story between year 2 & 3**

I don't know exactly what to say here...I don't know who to say said or did what. It's such a blur. I remember at RFTC Year 2 that my sister had told my mom that if she went for a mammogram, that my sister would up her 401k. Something along the lines of that. So, like that my mom went, of course. 

I remember barely being able to keep my eyes open while I was at my college internship one Saturday morning, helping set up for an event that afternoon/evening. I was so busy running around I didn't get a chance to look at my phone for along period of time. Shocker I KNOW! I saw that my mom called a couple times. It didn't dawn on me quite yet...I was busy, I could call her later. She had text me, which I somehow found time to text her back. She asked me what I was doing...I explained...she said to call when I had time. Usually, when this happened, it was something about my bank account. 

I snuck away to the executive board room...like one with a big wooden table and huge leather chairs. Got comfortable in one of those magnificent chairs...and dialed my mom. She seemed fine, her normal, calm self. Until she asked what I was doing that night, which I had to work at the restaurant I was employed at—busy day. She was sympathetic to my schedule that day. Not normal. That's when her voice started to get a little shaky and she had said that she was on the phone with my sister when I called her back. She had news. She had breast cancer. 

She went into detail a little bit, but I can't remember much. It was one of those life moments when your brain is stuck on one thing that someone said and you don't continue to listen...everything gets muffled. I contained myself as much as possible while on the phone with her. She was certainly impressed, as was I. 

I went back into my office where my supervisor was busting her butt to get our project done and I sat down and began to sob. I don't know what made me break like that...the fact that if my sister wouldn't have gave my mom the challenge to go to the doctor it may not have been caught as early as it was, the fight I knew my mom had ahead of her, or that I was unsure of what just happened. All three? Probably... 

My mom had her surgery, went through radiation...which about killed me to hear about and see what it did to her skin. And a few months later, it was safe to say that my mom was cancer free. 

When you're someone's kid, I don't think you think about ever being proud of your parents for things they do. You always hear about parents being proud of their kids. That's not the case here...I am so proud of my mom for the obstacles she had to face and overcame. She had much more to go through after being cancer-free. But that, in itself, is something to be proud of. She fought and won. I'm, also, proud of her for her courage. You wouldn't know the gal was going through anything if you talked to her. Even though she was exhausted, I never heard her complain.

My sister and I are so thankful for friends, coworkers, and family—especially aunt Cindy, my mom's sister, for everything they did. The cards, calls, visits were so thoughtful, and I know my mom will be forever grateful for everything. 

And so...

Year 3:

Mom going through the "Survivors Chute" 

You can imagine how hard it was to keep a poker face at this moment for our team!

[Obviously] Someone very important congratulating the survivors.

The family!

Mom and her girls.

And so here we are...about to head into our 4th year of the race. Our theme this year is Think Pink. I will post pictures at the end of October of our fun-filled weekend!

Until then...I encourage you to support the fight and Race for the Cure. 

October?!

Karma. Something I experienced [in full] this weekend. 

I was driving, trying to make it to a destination in a small amount of time. Haha, i'm so good!

Well I entered a zone where there were cop cars upon cop cars pulling people over, I looked down, yes! Going the speed limit...possibly under!

Little did I know there was an airplane in the sky tracking my speed miles back. And well...I sure did some damage. Insert pout face. 

So, yes, mom, I got my 2nd speeding ticket. I should throw that out there before she sees the check go through my account. Unlike last time, when I thought I was being sneaky and forgot the bank scans who my checks are to. DUH! 

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The night before Race For the Cure 2012. A toast to kicking cancer's tush! [My mom, myself, and sister] 

How about we refocus this post to something a little more upbeat? I could probably start in on my October goals since today is the last day of September. Where did this month go?! Goodness.

October, if you didn't know, is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. My reliable source, Wikipedia, states it as: an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure. The campaign also offers information and support to those affected by breast cancer.

Every year, my mom [Carla], aunt [Cindy], cousin [Jenn], sister [Andrea], and I take a trip to the Susan G. Komen Race in Des Moines at the end of October. We began this tradition in remembrance of our family members affected by this disease. Some day during October I will dedicate a post to the entire story. I am so glad we get together to do this. This disease is very near and dear to my family. 

So...with that, every night that I teach a fitness class this month you will find me sporting the color pink. Goal 1.

Goal 2: up my lean body mass. I'm constantly striving for this goal. It'll be tough, especially with another trip out of state in there. But it's totally doable!

Goal 3: Start my Christmas shopping. Insert sigh.

Goal 4: Visit my friend, Alyssa. I never get to see her, and we both have [crazy] busy schedules. She gets married next summer and we have a lot of planning to do!

Goal 5: Increase my flexibility. In other words, attend yoga more often. I'm already [decently] flexible. But nowhere near what I was my senior year of high school. My goal is to get to that level or higher. :)

Lately. And A Realization.

What the heck have I been up to lately? 

Many different things of course...I seem to say yes to anything that is set in front of me. 

Here is a recent freelance project I did for a co-workers daughters birthday. 

How cute! She put the print inside of a folded piece of decorated paper as the envelop and sealed it with pink ribbon, and, of course, a princess wand. :)

 Happy (belated) Birthday, Finley!

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On another note...I'd like to think that my self-confidence has made a lot of progress since May. So here's a shout out to that!

I had a recent encounter this last weekend that would have definitely sent my anger or emotions through the roof...before this awesome confidence came along. Let's just say I crossed paths with someone that I would not go out of my way to see anymore. Referring from a previous post, they were one of those "toxic" things in my life that I got rid of.

Before this person and I had our "falling out" they made it very clear that they thought my goals I wanted to reach, and hard work I was doing to get there was simply a joke.

Pfft.

It's funny, a person's reaction to when someone tells us we can't do something. We either get really discouraged or get a "watch me" mentality. I fall under the bring it on and watch me category. There was a time in my life where I did get discouraged and upset about others' doubt. That doesn't matter now.

I've come to realize that when people have doubt in you, they are either 1. trying to spark something in you so you do do what you say (jeez with the "you's and do's"!) or 2. they are jealous and unhappy with themselves or their lives. (More commonly one than the other...I'll let you decide which.) And not that they really don't believe that you can do something.

So think before you react next time...What's their reasoning for doubting you?

I Dislike Celery.

I can't decide if I want to call this a vent session or not...obviously I don't. But consider yourself warned—this post could possibly offend some people.

But perhaps something I haven't really come across or had to face yet.

I logged onto my Facebook account this morning...and the very first post that I read "happened" to be this...

"Health conscious people bug me.. life's too short to try to live forever."

This was followed by many comments of agreement. 

Insert scowl and hard swallow.

Do I really let myself read this crap?

Yeah. 

Followed by a certain comment some way down was this...

*WARNING: I left the exact words in these comments...there's profanity for anyone that really cares.*

"THANK YOU! Over seeing the "clean eating" bullshit and the "cheat day" fuckery. No one is really that happy eating celery."

Insert laugh.

I dislike celery. A lot. For one.

For two...this person obviously doesn't know clean eating...GRUMPY PANTS!

Read some more. Turning into entertainment.

Then there was this statement...

"Life's also to short to be fat, diabetic, have heart disease, and wheelchair-bound..."

I'm sure these people posted this to get a rise out of a select group of people. I almost let it get me...then I read the last comment that was made. That person is so right...while I'm alive, why would I want to live uncomfortably? I won't lie...I cringe when I see people who don't and didn't take care of themselves and struggle with the consequences. 

I was well on that path, once upon a time. I'm thankful I got a full grasp on myself mentally and physically, before it was too late. 

I guess on a different note, I can't believe there are people out there that look forward to dying. (Somewhere in the posts, someone talked about eating terribly and smoking...ect. ect.) I am not one of them. I exercise, eat healthy, and take care of myself to, potentially, beat the suffering that I could go through should I not. For me, it's a habit, a lifestyle, and sure does put me in a heck of a better mood from day to day. 

Don't get me wrong...I'll eat a candy bar or pizza and drink a beer (or 6...haha) every once in a while. Nothing to stress about! I chose this lifestyle and I'm confident in it. If one feels like they need to point out and put down a healthy lifestyle, then they've got another thing coming. And to them I simply say, "Have fun with that!" 

Need A Good Laugh?

I'm feeling super "giggly" today...are you surprised? You shouldn't be.

If you need a good laugh today, you're in the right place!

Hopefully you laugh at them as much as I did...or more.

(Imagine that—almost all of them are of cats..............................)   :)

How cats see themselves...Beebs especially!

This one made me laugh the most!

I have no words...

A little inappropriate...but it's funny!