For in thy light we see thy light.

In order to save face and avoid being annoying, I'm writing here. Today was a day to be thankful for. It was ordinary, but not in the same sense. I felt instantly energized when I saw the sun peak its head out. I went for a run. 34 minutes without stopping. The sunshine said, you are light. You are love. Be love. Live love. Live.

<3

Sunday, my only day off!

I just thought about something...

Sunday is my only day "off" of work and school. I go to a meeting, but that is something that I enjoy, and I usually spend the rest of the day doing whatever fun stuff I can jam in to the waking hours.

Here is a recap of a typical Sunday for me:

Early morning, wake up and go see "Gampa" in MC, and then once the baby is settled, go to a meeting with my lovely friends.

Head back around 1pm and put the baby down for a nap.

*Insert random fun thing here.* Sometimes I bake, read, shower, do hw (yes, it's fun to me), cook, plan...etc

Today, that fun thing was going for a run in the FREEZING cold. It was so cold, my toes began to feel numb! It was bad. But, I made it three miles in 40 minutes, which is pretty good for me. I really wanted to go for a run out on the Nature Trail on Lake Michigan, but it was snowing by the lake so I opted out. My run was just as nice.


After my run, I came in, made a protein shake and warmed up. Telepathically, my son woke up to the sound of me walking up the stairs. I got him up, and then we snuggled for a while until he wanted to play.  He's so sweet. Carressing my face, hugging me and kissing me, saying, "Mama". I don't want him to get any bigger!!!! Just too cute.


The boys (my son and my "nephew" Clay--both too cute for words) wanted shrimpies for linner, so I made them that with an awesome raspberry kiwi fruit salad. Doesn't this look da'bomb? Yeah, and both fruits were ripe and juicy, so it was super fresh and sweet.

They ate together. Alexzander usually eats in his highchair and normally the TV is off during meals, but I was feeling nice on this weekend day. Here they are eating lunch together. Yes, my son is not wearing any pants, with knee high tube socks and some retro looking tennis shoes form "Gampa". He wouldn't take them off, nor would he put pants on. He was happy, so I let him be.

 I cleaned up and then started a batch of lentils and grains for supper. Such a funny word that is, but I like using it. It turned out delicious, especially after Alexzander and I went  swimming at the pool. I wish I could take pics of him swimming because he is SUCH a good swimmer. He is not afraid one bit!! He scoots around the entire edge of the pool, jumps in by himself, kicks and moves his legs and arms to swim, and doesn't mind going under water. He is amazing. I am so proud that he loves the water, because as a child, I HATED the water. My brother threw me into the deep end all of the time until I got used to it. That was a dreadful experience. I hope that by taking him early, and having him swim 3-4x per week, I can get him swimming by 2 or 3 years old and I won't have a problem teaching him later on. 

After dinner, we played and then watched a Disney movie before bed. It was so relaxing. He went down around 8:30,and then I went and prepared my weekly snacks and my breakfast smoothie for tomorrow. I would much rather lose 30 minutes the night before than wasting time frantically doing things in the morning, half asleep.

My smoothies have been awesome lately, and the one I have prepped for tomorrow is spinach, raspberries, and blueberries, with hemp, C, Glutamine, coconut water, acai juice, carrot juice and 3 scoops of true vitality protein powder. I always blend it extra long, and it is smooth and creamy. SO yum.


 OH, I almost forgot!!!! The best part about prepping now is being able to WEIGH things on my new KITCHEN SCALE!!! Found it for 15$ at COSTCO!!! Talk about deal, baby!!!!! The labels for food always give portion sizes in oz, g, or cups so I wanted to be able to track exactly what calories I was consuming. It REALLY helps!!! I bagged up 5 dried fruit and nut baggies for this weeks shuffle (school, work, nannying...etc). Each one is for my midday snack ~ 300 calories.


For each mini meal I try to consume no more than 300 calories, 5x per day. That equals 1500 calories, and with the mild to moderate workouts I do each day, I am sure that I can slenderize the last few areas on my list.





What are YOUR days off like??? Do you do fun stuff or do you prepare for the rest of the work week? Do you relax or do you run and get things done?? I'd love to hear!

PVbody Review!

Hi there!!!

Okay, so I am a fitness freak--or at least my wardrobe is. I love to wear work out clothes all the time, warm/cold, active/lazy, casual/work...I find some way to always fit them into my outfit, whether you can see them or not.

Well, I guess Facebook is becoming quite the stalker, because I started getting ads about this company called PVBody.  Basically, they send you a workout/fitness outfit every month for 50$ or something. Honestly, I didn't know it was 50$, and I didn't pay that much (I got a coupon and paid 27.50$ for the first month.) But, for the price I paid, and for what I got, I am really happy.

The idea is genius. A new outfit each month for a relatively cheap price? CHYEA!!Yeah, that is why i signed up, at least for the first month.

So here is what I got!!!!!! Plus, they send it in this SUPER CUTE magenta pink bubble package, which made me feel super awesome!!

So, it's a GREEN racer back cami, with this super cute back detail. It fits me perfectly. Like a glove. Seamless. Super soft. Sweat-wicking material. MMM. Love it!!!

The pants are a "mountain" blue, which I would've NEVER picked for myself, and I was even a bit pissed when I first saw them.

My actual words were, "What the fuck?!"

But, after I tried them on, the anger immediately subsided, because--Dude--check out my booty!! It looks awesome!! Plus, they are a perfect fit, and make moving around so comfortable! MMM. Love it!!! 

Okay, so I pretty much love this outfit, and they do actually look really cute together, I think.

***Sorry for the bathroom pics, people. I know it's not the most professional.***

This is the view from the front. I love the fun pattern. The fit, like I said above, is amazing. You guys at PVBody really rocked it out.

I am not particularly fond of the way my thighs look, but I read in a magazine once that the only way to motivate yourself to look better is to put on tighter clothing so that you are forced to see yourself that way. Then it's like, okay, wow--do I really want to look like this forever? NO! Well, then, get off your A$$ and move!!!

Yeah, so this is how I feel about these pants.

I didn't get a great pic of the whole length of the pants, but they are mid calf, tight capris. They are super thick, too, which might be surprising, but it's like the thickness you want to wear so they don't fall down.

Anyways, I really do like the outfit, even though it's a bit untraditional and I definitely wouldn't have picked it out myself. Needless to say, change is good!

~ ~ ~

The ONLY thing that really bothered me was the fact that they took a month to get this to me. I know I am being picky and childish, but it said that it was shipped the same day, which must have been a lie, because it doesn't take ground packaging 4 weeks to arrive. I did read somewhere else that they have been BUSY because they are now booming with business.

Guess FB is doing it's job!! PVBody, go pay them!! Bahaha, just joking. Pay me to wear more of your clothes and review them!! I'D LOVE TO!!!!!! I will have to see how my budget is next month, and then I might sign up again. (I cancelled, and was about to call the BBB if I didn't get my package by the 16th--I was getting FREAKED that they were FAKE!!!)

But, alas, my faith is restored, and these girls really know what us fitness (clothes) freaks will LOVE!!!! Thanks again, and I am sorry for ever doubting! Because I got my clothes today, I went on a RUN for the first time in two months!!!!! Way to motivate me, yo!!! GOOD LUCK with the biz, and let me know if you need any more testers ;)

<3 Amelia

FITNESS: A beginner runner with one goal.

I am Amelia and I am a beginner runner. My goal is to become LEAN!!

 9 months ago, I had a baby, and I came out of the hospital weighing 174lbs, a sight I hope to never see again in my entire life. I was overjoyed with my son, yet dismayed how my body had handled the pregnancy (or rather, how I handled the pregnancy....oreos are not my friend anymore.)

Saggy boobs, stretch marks and 50lbs of extra fat made looking in the mirror a night mare and finding clothes to fit and make me feel good a chore. So, for the past 9 months I have been working my ass off (literally) to get back into my bangin' body that I had when I was 20. Honestly, it was about 3 months ago that I really honed in on my diet, physical fitness, and lifestyle, so I wasn't completely honest, but due to stress and other things in life, I couldn't devote my time to being healthy until now.

Currently, I weigh a nice and healthy 132-138lbs...I always get different answers on different scales, so I think I am going to stick with the heavier weight to make the weight loss that much more amazing! This pic was taken last weekend, and honestly, I feel HOTT, but now all I can think about is LEAN!!!

I started reading about running and how it has so many wonderful benefits, not to mention it's 100% free, which is nice cuz I'm a broke college kid. My mom always warned me that running kills your knees...blah blah blah, but it finally hit me that I have to try it out myself to see if I like it.

In my youth,  i hated running because I was bad at it and mostly because I never thought I could do it. I was overweight, teased by my gym teacher and made to look like a lazy fat kid. Now, as a 22yo getting ready to embark on an adult life, I want to embrace my body as a temple and never say "can't" again.

Bart Yasso is kinda like my go to running guru. He is the CEO of Runner's World Magazine and he tweets so often about how to improve your running skills, that I just couldn't not try it any longer!!

The thing that really kick started my training was a pic of my big brother, Paul and his friends and wife running in a 5k, without even training. Now, he did play soccer for his entire youth, but come on! No training at all??? My sister-in-law invited me to a health fair at their community village and one thing was a 5k, so I decided to commit to doing it and get motivated.

I found a plan to help train for a 5k in 1 month, even though I have about 5 weeks until the event, but it gave me an extra week to start even slower and see where I was on a fitness scale. Turns out I can run a mile under 11 minutes, which knocked my socks off, to be honest!!

So, here is my training schedule for this week:

pre week:
Monday: walk 3, run 7, walk 1 run 7 walk 3 @ a pace of 5 on the treadmill
Tuesday: fluidity bar work out  intermediate (cross training)
Wednesday: walk 3, run 10, walk 3 run 10 walk 3
Thursday: fluidity bar work out intermediate or swimming (cross training)
Friday: walk 3 run 10 walk 1 run 10 walk 3
Saturday: fluidity bar work out intermediate (cross train) or maybe a rest day
Sunday: rest day

I will do everything in my power to stick to this schedule, if not, i will come back and cross the things out I didn't do.

So, all of you out there who do not think you can start a running schedule....Shut up and just do it...

Oh, and go by yourself a pair of Nike free 2+. Seriously the best running shoe ever. EVER.

<3