Crazy Love

This weekend I was in the car with my best friend Nikki. She was excited to play me this new CD mix she recently made.... and on it was the song, "Crazy for You" by Griffin House. Just to give you a taste, read the chorus...

There’s something about you
I just can’t put my finger on
And when the love starts
There’s a sweetness running wild, it lights up the room
Hold on honey, I think I’m falling for you
I think you know
I’m crazy for you
Crazy for you
Crazy for you

After it was over and I caught my breath (literally-this song will take it out of you), we started talking about how we can't wait to have that kind of crazy love. I turned to Nikki and said,

"Nikki, I'm excited..... I'm excited that I have the opportunity to love again. I have the opportunity to love someone and to love them as hard as I possibly can and to experience all those fresh emotions all over again one day. I have the opportunity to invest in someone and live life's experiences with that person."

She grabbed my hand and said, "I'm so proud of you, boo."

Then of course we burst into tears.

Do you show crazy love? Not only to that special person in your life, but also to your friends and family?

Scattered Post: Weekend, Fitness, Products

Due to my scattered blogging habits lately, please forgive this scattered post ahead of time! I feel like bloggers take a break here and there throughout the summer months. For me, I know I always blog heavily in the fall and spring, but I have been a busy bee so far this summer and can hardly believe it is July next week. There are other reasons contributing to my lack of blogging, for which I cannot share right now... but, it may all make sense to you in the next month or two. Lord-willing.

I had a fun weekend with friends! Got to catch up with old friends and even got to meet new ones. One of my best friends, Ellie, moved into my apartment complex Friday -- like 7 doors down. We laughed because it feels like college all over again. Saturday I went to a fantastic BBQ and Sunday was filled with church and a lazy afternoon of watching movies with my girlfriends. Everyone is moving around this summer and re-arranging their lives.... it's been such a transition for us all and can tend to keep us busy, so it was so great to get a chance to chill and catch up.

Nikki and I went for a drive Sunday afternoon with coffees in hand and music blaring... we decided to drop by our old house. I have not been by since we all moved out in November, and it was so fun to drive by! I only lived here for 11 months, but God brought my best friends into my life and I am so thankful! The polo I am wearing is courtesy of Danielle at Florida Brides -- she has tweet sales often, so make sure to follower her on Twitter!

I forgot to upload this picture last post. This is my youngest cousin, Carson, and he is just the cutest thing. This picture was taken the day before all the oil splashed onto shore. I am glad we got to enjoy the water while we could.

Me and Ellie after church this morning-- love my girl!

Okay... go ahead and get a good laugh.... I know I may look like a punk biker chick (as my friends proceeded to laugh at me), but this is a BondiBand and I swear by them. It is dry-wicking and soaks up all the sweat on the hairline before it drips down your face and also serves as a headband! Check them out!

If you have issues with modesty, then stop reading this post. I discuss Fitness so much on my blog and it really is a huge part of my life. You truly must make it a lifestyle if you want success in that area. I am in a constant state of improving or tweaking something pertaining to fitness. People often ask me what I think the toughest area is to tone.... I think most of us would agree that it's the stomach! ABS! I have been religiously working on mine since December and from what I understand, it is a slow process and you have to stick with it! I took this picture in February (excuse the ring, tried to crop it, but alas, I cannot) and though I may not have the Perfect 10 6-pack, I am still pleased with my progress. I probably will post another picture at the end of the year to document a before and after Abs of 2010. Again, I am shocked at myself for being so open about this, but, why not? I've really got nothing to hide.

I have been concentrating lately on increasing my protein intake by 50% a day. I am striving for approximately 80-100 grams a day. I make amazing protein shakes for snacks or sometimes late dinners and thought I would share what protein ingredients I use! I eat a lot of protein bars (Pure Protein and CLIF Builder's are favorites), protein shakes, as well as lean protein - chicken daily. Yogurt, too.

My new obsession -- RUNNING SKIRTS!! I have been running a lot in a skort and it feels fantastic. I do end up wearing it into the weight room after a run, and sometimes I do get funny looks. I want to yell, "Yes, there are shorts under here! Hello?!" I recommend RunningSkirts.com . Target has the one I have on below. It was only $16.99! Once you try the skirt, you won't go back. Promise!

Alrighty, that's a wrap! Thank you for reading through my jumbled post! I am off to Atlanta next weekend for the July 4th holiday! Gah.... so much traveling this summer!

Beach Vacation

I had a great time in Gulf Shores! It was quite desolate due to everyone being scared off by the oil, but we saw very minimal tar and it was actually quite pleasantly uncrowded! I flew down for just four nights, but it was such a nice get-away. More pictures to come, but these are just a few we took last night. These three people are my world and have stood by me through and through. I love them with all my heart!

Red Flag

Begin Rant:

If your boyfriend does not ask for your father's permission and blessing for your hand in marriage before he proposes, let that be a huge red flag!

Close Rant.

Y'all have a good week. I'm flying down to the beach this weekend for four nights. I couldn't be more excited!

Birthday Weekend

This weekend was my birthday and I had a great time! It was pretty low-key, with the obvious exception of Friday night (dressing up with my friend Nikki). Thanks to my family, friends and Twitter friends for the messages and cards. Love to you all! My hope for this year of my life is that is a heck of a lot better than my last year! Amen!

The Scale is my Frenemy

6:30 a.m. alarm clock goes off....I shuffle to the shower after pressing snooze a few times and I step on my scale. I know I should not do this every morning, but I just cannot help myself. I know weight fluctuates on a daily basis due to digestion and water retention, etc., but am I the only one who freaks out if the number goes up 1 lb?!

I have not written about fitness lately and it hit me this morning that I need to! It's what I am passionate about! Some days, the scale is my friend and others, it's the enemy. It's my friend on days when I have been eating right and exercising hard, but it's my enemy when I have been slacking (maybe by visiting our local cupcake shop a few too many times!). Though the enemy at times, it serves as a constant reminder where I stand and where I need to be. With that said, it really is indeed my friend because it keeps me accountable -- and that's what friends do (or should at least).

Do you have a scale in your bathroom? I hope so. It is very important to have. My opinion is that some do not keep scales in their homes because they either a.) Don't want to waste their money on one, or b.) They just avoid it like the plague because they just don't want to 'know'. I would assume B is the most common reason. Without weekly check-in dates with the scale, one's weight could sneak up without even realizing it -- and then it may be 5 lbs too late!

Please visit this link at WeightWatchers to assess what a healthy weight is for your height. This range is particularly broad, so it is important to realize that a lot of factors go into your weight number: The amount of muscle you build, your height, body/bone structure, etc. I am not going to go into all that because that would take many posts that I just don't have time to post. At the end of the day just know that it's not rocket science -- we all have that ideal number in mind that we know we are most comfortable at and it's important to identify that for your own self. For me, my number is 120. Stop the presses - I just spilled my weight on public internet! Through the years, I have fluctuated from as low as 115 to 135. My happy weight is 120-124.

If you are not in a weekly habit of weighing in, I encourage you to do so. It will help monitor your progress or help you stay on track for weight-loss or assist you at maintaining your current weight. I would recommend a Monday morning weekly weigh-in. It can help get you in the right mindset for the week ahead!

ZOOMA Annapolis

I spent the weekend as a vendor in Annapolis, Maryland at the ZOOMA race series introducing a new women's running safety accessory line at the Expo. I had such a fun time and fell in love with the marathon scene. I enjoy running, but I want to get to a point where I run on a daily basis. I want it to become a second-nature activity. I realize this does not occur overnight and that I also cannot skip days. I already love fitness... but I feel that I get a better workout running than being on the elliptical trainer.

A few thousand women were present at ZOOMA and there was many friends that ran together. I thought to myself, I want to do that too, so I decided that I will be running in the ZOOMA Atlanta Half Marathon this November! It should be plenty of time to train and I am super excited! I've had people tell me I should start small and just do the 5K, but I feel like that is a little run for such a big weekend trip, considering I don't even live in Atlanta. Half-marathon for me it will be. Any training tips you have would be greatly appreciated!

I also thought it would be so much fun to have a blogger meet-up while there since Atlanta seems to be a good, central location. I have a few friends from VA who will be coming with me to run and I would love to meet some of you who live in the Atlanta area who plan to run in the race, too. How fun would that be?!

Okay... going to bed... meeting my friend at the track at 6 am. I will blog about the neat products I came across while there at some point this week!

Also, I thought I would just throw it out there, that Friday is my Birthday!

Memorial Day Weekend

There is one word that would sum up this long weekend: ALL-GIRL. Well, I guess that hyphenated word can serve as the one word. We had an absolute blast and the weekend seemed to keep going and going. Late nights, fun dinners and a day at the lake contributed to many outfit changes! I love my girls -- they are the best!