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Archive for January, 2012

Random Hotel Workout

Posted in Blog, Fitness Tips, tagged , , , , on January 31, 2012 | 2 Comments »

I made it back from skiing in one piece! I am extremely sore today. My shins are killing me, but overall I am very impressed with my skiing ability considering I haven’t skied in probably about 10 years. The snow was great for skiing and the resort was packed. The thing that amazed me most was the large number of children skiing on a Monday. Looks like everyone was skipping school, but I guess families who are hard-core into skiing probably do take a considerable amount of ski trips during the winter. So it is probably no different than when my parents pulled me out of school for a week at Disney when I was a child.

The ski trip started with a trip to the Flight 93 Memorial, which was about 20 minutes from the ski resort in Stoystown, PA, although most people will tell you Somerset or Shanksville, PA. The last time I had seen the Flight 93 site was the year after it happened. The memorial, at this point, was just a wall with flowers, notes, hats, stuffed animals, etc. While they still have more to add, the Flight 93 Memorial has come a long ways.

 

We then made a trip to a country pie shop. My dad had specifically requested that I bring him some pie home. I now have three pies chilling in my fridge until I see my parent’s later today. Three very tempting pies! We then stopped in purchased a couple of six packs. I was personally extremely excited that I could create my own six pack with any Mike’s or Smirnoff malted beverage I wanted. On the other hand, I found it off that I wasn’t carded. Most places card if you look under 30 right? This lovely small town carded only if you looked under 21 interesting!

Then it was off to check-in, check out the ski resort and time for a drink at the resort’s pub. There was a great view of the ski slopes from here. I’m not going to lie, the slopes looked very intimating from here!

There is not much to do in a mountain town on a Sunday night. We found a buffet (or as they called it — a smorgasboard) and ate a lot. The restaurant was extremely quiet, but the food was great plus a whole table of desserts. At this point it was only about 7pm. With not much else to do, we decided to take advantage of the fitness center, our ski package had given us access to.

The gym wasn’t bad, although most of the machines didn’t work right…for instance, the elliptical wouldn’t register the time or distance gone. Or it could be that I just couldn’t work all their equipment. Since I didn’t bring sneakers, I was playing around in a gym with Uggs on. Here’s my unique Ugg workout.

  • 5 minute walking on treadmill
  • 5 minute elliptical machines
  • 5 minute recumbent bike
  • 5 minute rowing machine
  • 2 minute crunches on stability ball

 

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Kindle Fire is Great for Baking

Posted in Blog, Food, tagged , , , , , , on January 30, 2012 | 1 Comment »

I’m coming to you from the ski slopes…okay, not really. I don’t have the coordination to blog and ski…that is just a recipe for disaster! I wrote this post and scheduled it to go live while I am in the mountains. I’m probably still sleeping when this post goes live. A one night trip is like a mini-vacation, which entitles me to sleep in right? Let’s hope that I don’t break a leg or anything, because it is not secret that I am extremely accident prone! I’ll be sticking with the trails, no black diamond hills for this girl!

The Kindle Fire is seriously the best way in the world to read recipes in the kitchen; provided you keep it away from any ingredients that may get it sticky, wet or in any way ruin it. It’s better than printing recipes for dragging my laptop into the computer. I have limited counter space as it is, so the Kindle Fire is awesome.

Here’s my latest baking adventure..Funfetti Cookie Dough Balls. I tripled the recipe from what you see here and I also used cinnamon instead of brown sugar. What can I say? I was feeling creative and well, the cinnamon fell on me while I was reaching for the colored sprinkles. Inspiration literally just came to me!

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I Strongly Dislike Packing

Posted in Blog, tagged , , , on January 29, 2012 | 3 Comments »

I’m going skiing today and tomorrow. For a one night trip, you’d think packing would be extremely easy. I thought it would be too until I realized that winter clothes take up a lot of space and I have all of my larger duffle bags and all of my luggage at my parent’s house. I’ve been living in house for over a year and somehow my bags and luggage never made the trip to my house. Had I had packed last night, I would have known that I don’t own a bag big enough to put winter weather gear plus toiletries in.

I will now be resorting to multiple Vera Bradley bags that are perfect for summer overnight trips when the packing is much, much lighter. A white bag and plenty of flowers, I’m thinking spring while I freeze my butt off!

Speaking of skiing, I haven’t been skiing in years. The last time I hit the slopes was probably in high school, but Hidden Valley at such an awesome deal it was hard to say no to. Lodging, skiing, ski rentals, lessons and breakfast for two for just $99. I’m a sucker for a good deal.

If I’ve got ski goggles, I can’t be half bad right?

Are you a fan of skiing?

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I’ve Got the Moves Like Jagger

Posted in Blog, Fitness Tips, tagged , , on January 28, 2012 | 4 Comments »

Project get back to running (without injuring myself) is coming along quite nicely. The one thing I have found to help me through runs is that I pretty much need my iPod. I seem to move so much quicker and I am so much more motivated to run when I have some good and sometimes crazy music to listen to. My mentality is just keeping running until the song is over. With this mindset, I feel like I can go a lot further. Sometimes I want to keep going to see what the next song on my list is.

Pinned Image

Here is my current playlist. It’s fun, current, old and maybe even a little bit off the wall.

  1. “Life is a Highway” Rascal Flatts
  2. “Walk This Way” Aerosmith
  3. “Harder to Breath” Maroon 5
  4. “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” Michael Jackson
  5. “It’s Tricky” Run DMC
  6. “Moves Like Jagger” Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera
  7. “Just the Way You Are” Bruno Mars
  8. “Born This Way” Lady GaGa
  9. “Too Close” Next
  10. “All For You” Sister Hazel

What’s the most random song on your playlist?

What do you do to keep yourself motivated to run — or whatever it is that you do to stay in shape?

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Health and Fitness Fridays

Posted in Food, tagged , , , , , , , on January 27, 2012 | 4 Comments »

Fat-Burning Super Foods:

The saying usually goes you are what you eat. However, some foods may just turn you into a fat burning machine. While eating fat burning foods is not a substitute for a healthy diet and regular exercise, there are plenty of foods available that can help to speed up your metabolism – which means you’ll burn more calories throughout the day. Here are some fat burning foods you may want to consider picking up next time you step foot inside of a grocery store.

  • Avocados. Avocados normally get a bad rep as being a fatty food. However, avocados are great for helping you to lose weight because of their healthy fats. Avocados are packed with mono-unsaturated fats, vitamins, antioxidants, minerals and micro-nutrients, which can lead to a healthier you.
  • Apples. Apples can do more than just keep the doctor away. According to a study at the University of Pennsylvania, individuals who consumed an apple before lunch consume fewer calories during lunch than those who opt for other, often less healthy, snacks. The antioxidant components of apples can also help to speed up your metabolism.
  • Beans. Beans are a super-food when it comes to the fat burning department. Beans contain the perfect balance of ingredients to help fight fat. The fiber, iron, carbohydrates and protein found in beans can help break down fats.
  • Vegetables. Eating your vegetables is more important than ever if you are looking to lose weight. This is largely because your body burns calories trying to break vegetables down. Vegetables are often high in fiber, which can be difficult for your body to breakdown.
  • Oatmeal. Oatmeal is a super strong fat burner. Oatmeal can be eaten alone or added to a protein shake. Why is oatmeal so great? The carbohydrates found in oatmeal are released overtime. As a result, you won’t experience insulin spikes throughout the day that can have a negative effect on the fat burning properties found within simple carbohydrates.

baked oatmeal

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One Hour In Line at the Grocery Store

Posted in Blog, Food, tagged , , on January 26, 2012 | 2 Comments »

Yes, you read that right. I spent one hour in line at a grocery store this morning with my mom and my sister. A new grocery store chain in the area and being the shoppers we are…we just had to check it out. Plus the fact that the store is called Bottom Dollar and we had coupons for $10 off a $20 purchase, we figured we’d be getting some pretty good deals. We did get good deals, but spent almost two hours in a grocery store at 10am! It should be sign that when you cannot find a parking spot at a grocery store….you should just say no way and drive away. Lesson learned! Between the three of us (I had a coupon and so did my mom) we spent $30 and got a cart full of stuff. I’d go back…but I’ll wait until after the craziness has died down (plus I have more coupons!). This is just a reminder of how much I enjoy shopping in my parent’s pantry!

Other than insanity and the fact that I neglected my work until 3pm — today was a good day. I was offered a part-time job opportunity (which I am excited about the potential to work outside of my house some)! I will be working as a biometric screener with a health company. I’ll be working at health fairs and with corporate wellness programs. This is an exciting opportunity to use my M.S. in Exercise Science and Health Promotion that I am almost done with. It may also involve some traveling — all expenses paid which is awesome. It’s a good paying gig and I believe it has the potential be fun and a learning experience. I will still be freelancing writing as much as possible though, but I’ll have to scale back a little.

Grocery stores should never be this crowded in the middle of January! It looked like a holiday or the hours leading up to a major snow storm!

Lots of goodies!

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Finding Work

Posted in Freelance Journalism, tagged , , , , , on January 25, 2012 | 4 Comments »

Good morning! Yesterday’s run was my longest one since surgery and I am definitely feeling it. Although, I’m feeling it in my hamstrings with absolutely zero pain in these wonderful feet of mine (I’ve had surgery on both in the past year and a half). I guess I will be resorting to my favorite piece of paper in the world…my PT exercises. I should probably just have these exercises memorized by now, but I don’t!

I went to go get started on What I Ate Wednesday until I realized I had absolutely no pictures of anything I’ve eaten recently, so I’m thinking we will be skipping that one this week. Upon a few comments and requests, I’ve had individuals ask me where I find my freelance work.

The first thing I did was create a resume specific to freelance writing (I currently have two resumes- one for when I look for freelance work and the other for when I get the urge to apply for a 9-5 job). Be sure to make the objective of your resume specific to freelance writing. For me, a majority of my writing is in health/fitness/nutrition, which coincides great with the 2nd master’s degree I am almost finished with (M.S. in Exercise Science and Health Promotion).

Now that you have a fancy, freelance-specific resume, where do you send it? You have some options.

  • Pitch your favorite magazines (national or local) or online publications. Just a warning, you may send out a lot of pitches and never hear anything back. Just another warning, start local or online if you are new to the industry. Build up your clips before pitching national magazines.
  • Use Craigslist. I’ve found a number of local freelance writing jobs on Craigslist. The best part about local work is that you can actually meet with your client face-to-face.
  • Try online job boards specifically designed for freelancing. Freelancewritinggigs.com, ProBlogger, BloggingPro, JournalismJobs.com all have job listings for freelance/part-time/full-time writing/editing gigs. Again, you may do a lot of applying with few responses, but honestly that is just the name of the game.
  • Consider a site like Elance.com. Warning: many of the employers on this site are looking to get dirt cheap work as a result they hire individuals from 3rd world countries to completed work at a rate that wouldn’t even feed an American at a fast food restaurant. If you are willing to do some searching, you can find some decent paying jobs. My advice to you is to work with North American employers only. I’ve found gigs that pay $50/hr and even one that landed my $500 for an hours work (that was extremely rare, so don’t get too excited!).
  • Include a hire me page on your blog (although, I’m still waiting for this to work for me!).

Once you start writing for one company, chances are they will turn to you again if they enjoy your work. They may even refer you to friends, who own other businesses. If not, you’ll start developing a collection of writing samples that can be used to secure future freelance journalism opportunities.

Once you land a freelance gig, make sure to sign a contract. This way you won’t have to worry about a client disappearing after you hand over the completed work. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for a portion of your payment up front.

Happy writing! :)

 

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Why I Choose Freelance Journalism Edition 3

Posted in Freelance Journalism, tagged , , , , on January 24, 2012 | 6 Comments »

If any of you out there are freelance journalists, want to be freelance journalists or get to work from home, you’ll probably understand where I am coming from when I say it is sometimes hard to get people to take you seriously. For some reason, I have seem to spend a lot of time convincing people that I have a “real job.” In the eyes of some, you don’t have a real job unless you get up in the morning, get ready, sit in rush hour traffic and do the whole 9-to-5 thing. I get a paycheck, I have clients and I don’t sit in rush hour traffic. In my eyes, I have a very real job.

Here are some of my favorite parts about working from home:

  • I make my own hours. If I have a doctor’s appointment, need to run errands or just have something fun to do, I can work my schedule around it. For example, if I want to take Wednesday off and work Saturday for whatever reason, I am free to do so. As long as I meet my deadlines.
  • I wear whatever it is that I want. Right now, I am dressed ready for a run. Sometimes I wear my pajamas and don’t even shower until afternoon — yes, I just admitted that.
  • I don’t sit in rush hour traffic. I used to spend nearly 2.5 hours a day commuting between traffic and shuttle rides. That’s 2.5 hours of work I get down now.
  • I don’t deal with office gossip/drama.
  • When it is snowy outside, I don’t have to worry about wrecking my car trying to get to work.
  • I work where ever I want. I’ve worked at my desk, in my bed, on my couch, from my dining room table, on the patio, in a doctor’s office waiting room, in Panera, at the beach, etc…I could go on and on and on!

I want to freelance.

I highly recommend this ready for anyone who wants to freelance!

Now it’s off to see if I can’t comfortably hit two miles of running and then to tackle my freelance to-do list.

Enjoy your Tuesday!

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Only Cool People Go to the Zoo in the Snow!

Posted in Blog, Food, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on January 23, 2012 | 6 Comments »

Yes, that’s right. Only cool people go to the zoo when there is snow on the ground and the was registering a whopping 27 degrees, when we got out of the car. Thankfully, it was really sunny and ended up being around 40 degrees by the time we left. The zoo was a pretty happening place considering the weather — I was just eager to use the two Google Offers I had purchased months go for half off the price of regular zoo admission. Google Offers, Groupon, Living Social are all very addicting habits for me. They are a great way to explore (and eat) in your own city at a very, very reasonable cost! I seriously check them daily!

Lactose Free Lizzie Award:

In other news, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Julia from Girl with a Stethoscope has nominated me for the Lactose Free Lizzie Award! (If you don’t already read Julia’s blog, you need to!)

” The blogger that is tagged must host an award thing-ama-gig about FOOD. Yes, food (it’s the food awards). Anything related to it. A food blogger, a company, a favorite meal, or even whatever you like to sprinkle on your popcorn. After you are finished you tag 3 other bloggers to host a Food  Award ceremony (aka a post). “

A Healthy Superbowl Party:

A majority of individuals will watch the Superbowl whether their favorite team is playing or not. Others will watch the Superbowl merely for the purpose of catching a glimpse of the commercials, which will often be the topic of conversation at the water cooler on Monday morning.  No matter what your reason is for watching the Superbowl, there is always a good chance you will spend this Superbowl at a party. Superbowl parties are often one of the worst places for those watching their weight or looking to eat healthy. Here are some tips for a healthier Superbowl Sunday:

  • Create a game plan. The best way to ensure that you have a healthy Superbowl Sunday is to plan in advance. This is one of the easiest ways to avoid temptation and prevent overeating. If you are going to a party, bring a dish or two along that is healthy, yet tasty for all guests to enjoy. If you are the party host, there is no shame in preparing healthy food items.
  • Read the portion sizes. Before you dive into your favorite bag of potato chips, find out what the portion size is. Place one serving size on a plate and stick to it.
  • Go easy on the dipping sauces. Calories can quickly add up when you consume dips and sauces. If you are making a sauce, remember that sugar can easily be replaced with a zero-calorie sweetener to help reduce the amount of sugar in your sauce or dip.
  • Opt for low-calorie beverages instead of a traditional beer or soda with your meal. Diet drinks, juice or water can prevent you from consuming empty calories. You can also make it a point to make your Superbowl Sunday an alcohol free one.
  • Get moving during halftime. Go outside for a walk or offer to help the party host clean up the kitchen some.

 

And, now for my three nominees!  (I apologize if you have already done this!)

  1. Tracy @ Tracy’s Treats
  2. Claire @ Live and Love to Eat
  3. Allie @ Allie’s Life

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Oh Snow!

Posted in Blog, tagged , , on January 21, 2012 | 5 Comments »

Shovel Snow

It’s that the truth! I woke up to about 4-5 inches of snow and a little ice…this made snow shoveling less than enjoyable (then again, it is very enjoyable?).  At about 10am, I had shoveled my walk way, driveway and two cars. Please keep in mind that my car was dry and nestled safely in my garage with not a drop of snow on it. It seemed as if all of the females in my neighborhood were out shoveling.

The guy, who drives the plow around my townhouse community to clear the main streets, stopped to talk to me. His first question was why don’t you have a guy out here shoveling snow for you. My response: he doesn’t live here, yet this is “his spot” but the fact that my driveway and his car are covered in snow is my problem. I’m still trying to figure that one out! The plow driver got a good laugh out of that one. Since I was already covered in snow and looking ridiculous, I opted to clean off my sister’s car too. I did my good deeds for the day!

I was frozen and my arm’s felt like jello by the time I came back inside. Snow shoveling is an awesome cardio and upper body workout that’s for sure!  I wish I had a picture of how ridiculous I looked. Blue scrub bottoms (that were practically falling off of me), uggs, a north face jacket, red glasses and hair that had not been brushed since yesterday. I looked like I literally rolled out of bed — well, I actually did.

Now it’s time to celebrate my mom’s birthday with a little casino action and dinner. I swear it always, always snows at least a little bit on her birthday! Happy Birthday, Mom!

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