Happy Birthday!!!

Did you know you can get all kinds of great things for free when it's your birthday? Well... I'm experiencing it this week. My birthday is officially not until Monday (yes, you still have time to get me something) but a lot of things you can sign up and receive the coupon in your e-mail. Most of the coupons can be used anytime near your birthday--it doesn't have to be redeemed on your birthday. That would just be too much. Wait, what am I saying?! That would be crazy fun if you have the time and appetite for it.

Now you are probably thinking, I don't want to sign up and get a bunch of junk in my inbox. Personally, I don't mind. I sign up, get my coupons, and then unsubscribe from everything. But if that is too much work for you, would it be easier to just set up a free e-mail account specifically for things like that? Go for it.

So what are some things you can get for free for your birthday? Just let me tell you some of my favorites!

• Red Robin - free gourmet burger, plus they give you a free ice cream sundae if you let them sing to you while you have balloons on your ears. I did this yesterday, so let me demonstrate with a photo:
• Cold Stone - free Like It size creation (ice cream with one mix-in) in a dish.
• Famous Dave's BBQ - anything from a free dessert to a free All-American feast. Sign up for their P.I.G. club and take your e-mail with prize code to redeem. My code was for a full slab of ribs, $22.99 value. It is 12 bones and comes with cornbread, corn-on-the-cob, and your choice of two sides. Eric and I split this tonight and we both were filled to the brim.



I can't believe this was all FREE!

• Jack in the Box - free dessert, but it is only valid on your birthday.
• Denny's - free Grand Slam.
• Dairy Queen - free blizzard. This one isn't quite as sweet a deal as the others because it really is just a BOGO coupon, but I happen to have a soft spot for the Georgia Mud Fudge Blizzard (Oreos instead of pecans, of course).
• Baskin Robbins - one free scoop. Yes, you can never have too much free ice cream on your birthday.

Well, I think that's all I signed up for. I'm making my 24th birthday one to remember. After all, I will only be a child for so much longer. Eric's birthday is only a few weeks away and we will do this all over again! But he's turning the big 2-5 (not so much a child, but still a little bit). Birthdays are so thrilling. Cheers to all!

Celebrate!

So I just have to follow up that post about Value Village with an exciting announcement. I have been dying to get a running skirt at a good price and I found one last week! I was too excited and I wanted it too badly to wait for it to get even cheaper and/or risk being snatched up by someone else. So I bought it for $4.99. Not bad for Nike, right? Woohoo! I love it! Wanna hear the best part? You know you do. The tag labeled it as a size 3/4. Fits great. Yippee!

What Can You Get for 99¢?

I don't know about you, but I can get the following awesome things for 99¢

These sweet-o black heels that look brand new and fit me perfectly! They are super comfy and allowed me to donate two old pairs of black heels that I was tired of wearing. Incredible find, right? But still not as great as the next one...

First I have to mention that this shirt was FREE from the world's sweetest neighbor. Remember her? She works at Nike and got me samples--this summery t-shirt that is actually nice and long AND a pair of running shoes that I am in love with! Now these gorgeous jeans here are what I found for 99¢. I adore the fit. They show off my trimmed down physique and make me feel super skinny. I had to hike up the Nike shirt just to show off the jeans. ;)

Where do I find these cheap treasures? Value Village. On Mondays they do the 99¢ deal. Just find items with the right color tag!

World's Sweetest Neighbor

In my amazing little duplex world I have the best neighbor ever. Wonder why? Well, she is great for lots of reasons. Not only is she a single mother of a son with Asberger's Syndrome, but she is also an author. She's working on getting her first book published this summer. Another great quality about her is that she works at Nike and has offered to snag me some samples of running shoes (they happen to come in my size). And finally, the one thing that makes her the SWEETEST neighbor is that she has an excellent strawberry patch in her backyard and has offered that I can come pick to my heart's content and enjoy the strawberry season to the fullest extent. So she is someone to appreciate for sure. Brook, you rock!

Race Results

For those of you who would like to know about my race, head on over to The Skinny and check out my latest post (or just CLICK HERE).

My Latest Endeavor

I've been so caught up in training and writing about running and working that I haven't posted in far too long. So I just want to update everyone that my most recent endeavor is the Helvetia Half Marathon in Hillsboro, OR. It is on June 12th, so about 3 weeks away. I'm looking forward to it for the challenge of the hills, but I also intend to run it faster than I ran my half marathon last year. I am quite positive that if I get a running skirt to wear for the race then I am guaranteed to succeed! :P hehehe. Silly, but fun.

Poor Little Neglected Blog

Yes, I have been giving more attention to the other blog. It keeps me accountable. It demands more of me. This sweet little blog asks nothing of me. It just says, "Hello, I'm still here if you ever feel the need to update people about your life. No rush. I'll just keep waiting and hoping." And then I feel bad, but not bad enough to think of something worth writing. But here I am. I have something worth writing. Two things. Number one, I really like my little blog here with just a handful of followers. It's all cute and simple, and just me. Number two, I am really happy with life. Our business keeps getting better. We are figuring things out and reaching our goals and setting new ones. Eric is my best friend. He is there for me through everything. The weather is gorgeous and probably will be for the next several months. I get to exercise a lot and enjoy food. I feel good about myself and I'm surrounded by people I love. Could I really ask for anything more? Not really.

Laughing at Myself

So remember that post a little while ago about the happy weight calculator? (That there is a link, my friends! Just in case you didn't know.) Haha... it said my happy weight is 122. Well, let me tell ya that just thinking about getting to 122 totally stressed me out. I was excited at first, but then I just got too hard on myself. Yesterday I posted a message on The Skinny (another link) about all the things going on in my head. I just have to laugh at myself and the silly things I have let myself get hooked on. A new thought that came to my mind today was about BMI. My BMI is in the normal range, but for some reason I thought that I needed to get closer to the lower end of the normal range. Does that make any sense, though? Why would being closer to the Underweight category be any better than being closer to the Overweight category?! Crazy American thinking, I suppose. If I'm in the Normal range that is considered healthy, can't I just be happy with that? Certainly. That's my epiphany of the day.

Give Blood!

So, I donated blood on Monday and fell in love with it again. It wasn't the easiest experience, but it reminded me that it is so important. I usually have zero issues, but for some reason this time my blood just wasn't getting through the needle very fast. The phlebotomist guy said something about the bevel of the needle pushing against the wall of my vein. Whatever. It's just one way I can give of myself... literally. Besides tingly fingers for a moment at the end, it was no big deal. PLUS... the Red Cross just started this sweet rewards program!!! I logged on and found out that I had accumulated a grand total of 1150 points, which allowed me to order this excellent long-sleeve t-shirt for free! Woohoo! I am excited. It's a great program because it shows you all your previous donations and keeps track of your points and lets you shop the online prize store. FUN! I already recommend donating blood, but now there is even more incentive to do it. So donate blood, give the gift of life!

A Happy Weight

Call me a slacker because I haven't posted in over a week, but honestly I am sick. It's difficult to sit at the public library computer and write out a coherent post when you are hacking out your lungs. This morning I had a cough drop and bundled myself up to get down here to the library and JUST DO IT. :) I have not run in 4 days... a long stretch for me, but I am down another pound. And I just found out from this happy weight calculator that my happy weight is still 12 pounds away! Wow! Gotta keep working at it. Check it out and tell me what you think about the calculator. What I can tell you from my own experience is that I'm very happy with my weight right now and I wouldn't be surprised if I get happier the lower my actual weight is... as long as it is still healthy, of course.

In Your Face, Fat!

Ha! Despite the abundance of Valentine's treats, I achieved my goal weight today! That's right, my drivers license states the correct weight and I didn't just go get a new one. I am officially 135 lbs. Now I will just keep doing what I have been doing and see how low I can go. I'm really excited and proud of myself.

Things That Made my Heart Happy

     Yesterday was one of the best Valentine's Days I have had in a long time. As an adult, it seems like I receive less candy. I remember loving Valentine's Day because of the candy, though. This year there was an abundance of sweets and yet it is the first year I've actually cared about what I consume! But it's all okay because I can control my portions and exercise more.

     Eric started it all by giving me a box of chocolates. Then at church, the choir director gave us little goodie bags for coming to practice. When I went into Primary I knew more goodies were on the way. I finished singing time and then received a giant sugar cookie and a mini cupcake. Yum! Then Relief Society had to continue the trend by passing around bowls of chocolates. I felt loaded down by calories already, even though I had only eaten a couple pieces of chocolate. Later, Letia invited me over for lemon bars. You might be thinking this would be easy to turn down, but it wasn't. She and I had been talking about lemon bars earlier in the week, so she knew I wanted them. Plus, she really needed a cup of flour in order to complete the recipe. So I indulged in one lemon bar.

     Besides the wealth of treats this was an excellent holiday because I gave out some valentines to friends at church. This was really fun to spread the love and let people know how great I think they are. It was one of those really simple little things that probably made me feel even better than the people who received the valentines. To top that off, another friend at church paid me a very sweet compliment. It was such a great day at church!

     Then Eric and I got home from church and he was the sweetest. We snuggled on the couch watching the Olympics. When Letia had invited us over for lemon bars, he said he would rather just be at home with me. So cute... I only visited at Letia's for about an hour. I hope he felt the holiday was as fun as I did!

A Reason to Smile

Yesterday I weighed myself and it made my day! My current weight is now 137... getting ever closer to my goal weight of 135! ...I'm light and alive at 135! I'm light and alive at 135... I firmly believe in the power of positive thinking. It also helps that I have been doing 6 workouts a week. :)

XLIV

Now, I'm no football expert, but I have a few thoughts about how the game went on Sunday. Not that I'm a big fan of the Colts (except I did notice that Collie went to BYU--woot!woot!), but I thought they should have won. I mean, the cheap shot by the Saints right after half-time was pretty pathetic. Seriously, most people save that for the 4th quarter. Add to that a bunch of arguable calls by the refs. Things were headed downhill for the Colts. So it's hard to stop that momentum, especially when you pass the ball to the other team and let them run it all the way back for a touchdown. Goodness, that was a disappointment! And I don't even care much about football. It's just lame to see what is supposed to be the biggest game of the year turn out to be nothing special. I have definitely seen better football games than that one. Heck, I've seen more interesting chess matches than that! (Okay.. that might be a bluff. Unless you count wizard's chess on Harry Potter. Still, I'd rather watch Harry Potter for the gillionth time than watch another football game so weak as that one.)

New Post!

Today was my day to post on The Skinny. I write for the first and third Mondays each month. Head on over and check out my tips for stretching! Also, check out Polly's awesome recipe for something useful to do with powdered milk.

A Moment for Thanks

     You know how sometimes it just seems like time flies by too quickly? That's been happening to me recently. I barely blink and a week has gone by since I posted here on my little blog. Yes, I've been busy with my new job, but I've also been loving the regularity of life. Sometimes it just feels great to have a routine. I do my daytime things (including running about every other day), then make some dinner and eat it with Eric, and then we just chill out together to some TV or a movie--most recently we have been working our way through the Harry Potter movies (for the who-knows-what-number-th time). Last night we began The Goblet of Fire. Then we hunker down for sleep and I look forward to another regular day filled with similar things.
     I've been reading My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult and it really makes me appreciate how boring my life is sometimes. That seems strange, but it is a real comfort to not have emergencies and heartbreaking situations surrounding me. I realize things like this are sometimes exaggerated in books, but I also know that lots of families (including my own) go through challenging times that really do seem that bad. The peace comes in knowing that we get through it and the troubles eventually pass. So what I'm really trying to say today is that I am grateful for this peaceful time in my life. I appreciate it now especially because it has not always been so peaceful and because I know that there are inevitable obstacles in my future. However, more than any of these things I know that along with family and friends surrounding me, my Father in Heaven is always helping me. And it is always the right time to stop and thank God for all His blessings.

One Hour at a Time

Today was an endurance test of its own. I started the day at 6:30am with a 2-mile run. Then I cleaned myself up for my first day of a special babysitting job. I get to watch a sweet little 3 month-old baby girl in my home three times a week. I know the family from church and they are wonderful to let me have this opportunity to learn more about caring for a baby. She's a doll. Yes, she cries sometimes and there were a couple times today that I wondered what I was supposed to do to make her happy. Overall, I liked it. I didn't love it quite like I loved my run this morning, but I still really look forward to having my own baby one day. When her daddy picked her up this afternoon, I was ready for my own nap. Whew! Now I'm at the office helping Eric get ready for our guest meeting. It's been a long and exciting day. Tomorrow will be a much needed (since I'm still sore from a Pilates workout I did on Monday night) rest day from running. But I will be back on the track Friday!

My name is Emily and I am a runner.

This morning I ran 3 miles with my friend Aubrie. She has to run early in the mornings while her husband is still home with the kiddos. I usually run whenever I happen to roll out of bed... and that is usually not at 6:30am. However, that is when we met to walk up to the track and get in our miles today. Despite the early hour, the weather was perfect and we had a great run! I love having a good conversation to distract from the work. She helped me think of running tips to write about for The Skinny (you know, that blog full of really intelligent and inspiring people who are reaching for greater heights with their fitness and eating habits). The last two laps we decided to run faster to really make it worth it, though. Great workout. It was wonderful to return home and be ready for the day. It reminded me of all the beautiful summer mornings that we spent running together just months ago. Running helps me to feel energized and ready to conquer whatever comes. I get excited just thinking about it and sometimes I dream about it at night. That's how I know I've become a runner, and that's why I just updated my "About Me" section of my profile.

On a somewhat related note, I want to say hello and welcome to my new followers. I am very excited to become more acquainted with you through my posts and your comments.

A Tiny Step

I have felt so inspired by my great friends at The Skinny that today my lunch contains a banana, carrot sticks, a miniature orange, and a very small bag of Cheez-Its. Plus a lot of water to drink.

I also ran about a mile today, which is sometimes hard to get the motivation to do when it is raining outside.

Feeling so good! I can't wait to try adding fresh lemon juice and cinnamon to more foods. Thanks to Marae for the tips!

Does anybody know of other helpful things to boost metabolism? I am a firm believer that plenty of water (as in about half your body weight # of ounces daily) is a major helper. So what else works?