Another snow day means I can finally update you!

Today marks snow day #17 in my county… 

Yes, you read that right, 17 SNOW DAYS! This winter has been crazy. 

You would think with all these snow days, I would have been able to blog more. But these snow days have been a blessing! If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw that I had surgery on my knee back in January. 

After Christmas, Ben and I flew to Colorado to spend the week in Breckenridge with his family. We had a GREAT trip the first 3 days! 

The resort was beautiful! And the restaurants we went to were  great!

On our 3rd day there, we were on our of our first runs of the morning when Ben's mom got hit by a snowboarder who didn't see her. She landed on her right shoulder. Ben's dad waited for ski patrol with her and we went on down the mountain. A few phone calls later, we found out her shoulder popped out of socket. She left the hospital in a sling and was told not to move it. 

So we went on with our day, a few runs down the mountain, some delicious lunch, and back on the mountain to finish the day. We were on one of our last runs of the day (of course), not to mention almost at the bottom of the mountain.

(a pic of at the top of the mountain, right before my accident) 

I was minding my own and just making my way down the mountain when I hear this little kid screaming behind me and all of a sudden flew right in front of me, just barely missing me. I turned to my right to miss running over the little kid, and when I did, I hit the back of his mom's skis and flew in the air. 

The next thing I know, my head is down the mountain and my skis were tangled in front of me and I couldn't move my darn legs. I was more in shock than anything and just wanted someone to come get my ski's off! Ben's sister came to my rescue and got my ski's off. I still couldn't move my left leg. I tried to sit up and couldn't really do that, so I laid back down and waited for ski patrol. The accident itself didn't really hurt, but I think that was from my adrenaline pumping. (It was nothing like Nerlens Noel's accident here) 

Ski patrol came and put my in the little sled to ski down the mountain. After a quick examination at the triage at the bottom of the mountain, they insisted I head over to the ER. Poor Ben had to ski over to the ER and meet me there. After a quick x-ray, they confirmed no broken bones! But after 3 examinations by two doctors and the PT, they confirmed they couldn't find my ACL. I would have to wait until I was back in Lexington to schedule an MRI to find out for sure. (But the MRI on January 3 confirmed their findings).

A few hours later, I left in a full leg brace and some crutches. Crutching around a city you aren't familiar with to find your hotel's shuttle was anything but amusing at this point. 

The rest of the trip wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either!! We went down to the gym to work on our PT exercises each morning, visited the spa, did a little shopping and celebrated my birthday! 

Despite my accident, it was a fun trip!! 

I had surgery on January 17th to reconstruct my ACL and have been recovering since then.

My leg was soooo swollen. I couldn't even lift it myself. I think my leg was numb for 4 days after my surgery from the nerve block. Thankfully, my mom was here to help out! Perry enjoyed having a friend to hang out with while I slept!

The day of my surgery and the whole week after, we had snow days! I ended up only using 5 sick days for my surgery, and that was because I took an extra week off school. I still haven't worked a full week because we've had a snow day or day off every week! 

PT has been going well, and I am finally able to walk around without my huge brace!! I am 6 weeks out from surgery and my doctor said I can start to do more activities with lots of modifications, such as barre workouts!! I can't wait to start going to class again. I am hoping to go later in the week when all this snow and ice melts! I go back to the doctor in April and should be cleared to start jogging.  At that point, I will be 12 weeks post surgery. 

It's been a slow process and has been hard for me to takes things slow, but I am so blessed everything has been going ok and I am recovering well in the eyes of my doctor and PT! I appreciate all the thoughts and prayers you all sent over IG! 

Hope everyone is staying warm out there! Hopefully, I will be back to update the bloggy again this week :) 

Protein Pancakes - My favorite TIU recipe

So on Monday I talked about some of my dietary restrictions. One of my favorite breakfast items is a protein pancake on the weekends! It feels like i'm cheating on my "diet" with this delicious meal!!! 

You can find more information about their pancakes and other recipes here! 

Recipe for Protein Pancakes:

Ingredients:

-1/4 cup egg whites

-1 scoop Protein

2 tbs vanilla almond milk ( I use Almond Breeze unsweetened vanilla)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp ground flaxseed ( I use Trader Joe's brand)

1/2 banana mashed up 

Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and mix together. Pour into a pan sprayed with olive oil or coconut oil on MEDIUM HEAT. Cook for about 3 minutes on a side or until you see little bubbles. 

I usually top mine with fresh fruit or raw agave syrup. Just make sure it's 100% raw agave and nothing artificial ;) 

I think you should make these pancakes Saturday morning and enjoy with a nice hot cup of coffee. Let me know what you think if you do try them!!

Next up on my recipes to try from TIU, the No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies.  Oh. Em. Gee. These sound amazing!!!

Recipe can be found here :) Somebody make these bad boys and send them my way! 

Yeast Free With Me

So I was catching up on blogs last week, and saw on Stephanie's blog that she was promoting Yeast Free With Me for 30 days! 

I realize I haven't talked much about my "issues" or diet restrictions on here, but this plan is essentially what I try to follow 90% of the time. I guarantee you will feel 100x better if you follow this plan. Even if it's just for a week, you will feel the effects pretty quickly!! 

I strongly encourage you to sign up and try a Yeast Free diet for 30 days!!!! It really will amaze you how your body changes with what you eat on a daily basis. 

A little background on my diet restrictions: 

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In June 2012, I was put on a gluten free diet due to flare ups in my small and large intestine. After a few months on a strict gluten free diet, I felt SO much better. I had more energy, I didn't feel bloated or gross all the time, and I felt like I was actually full from nutritional food after a meal. 

Over the summer, I tried to journal what I had for each meal. Slowly, I was starting to notice my stomach hurting again. All those little belly ache, bloating, yucky feelings were starting to creep back. After talking with my primary care physician, she referred me to an Internist for a full evaluation.  

In October, I saw an internist and sat with her for over an hour going over my health issues and family history. AN HOUR!!! This was one of the most thorough and involved doctor appointments I have ever had. She was amazing and listened and took notes to every little detail I said!!

After lots of allergy testing and looking over food journals, my doctor told me I would have to cut out all processed foods, and had to completely eliminate Dairy and Soy on top of my already Gluten Free diet for the next two months. 

UHMMM EXCUSE ME?!?!?! 

This was a major shock to me. I loved dairy!!! Ice cream was my favorite treat!!! Soy wasn't as hard to cut out for me, but I'll tell you, that little devil is in a lot of food I was eating and didn't even realize. This is why it's so important to read labels of everything!!!

After a week into my elimination diet, I felt much better. On top of feeling better, my skin was clear and looked brighter. I felt hydrated and nourished. All those little aches were starting to disappear. I was drinking more water and watching my natural sugar intake with fruit. It really is amazing how your diet can affect so much!!! 

I go back to my doctor this week for a follow up. I have slowly started to introduce small amounts of dairy into my diet since the middle of December. I have noticed some side effects, but it's nothing like the reactions or symptoms I have had before. I am so eager to see what my doctor says when I go back! 

Needless to say, I'm a big advocate for watching what you eat!!! We are lucky enough to have amazing farms around town, and have our meat and veggies delivered twice a month. This has definitely helped with my diet restrictions and meal planning. For you Lexington friends, I strongly encourage you to look into Elmwood Farms CSA!!! You can find more information about their farm here. They are out of Georgetown and have delivery sites in Lexington!

I hope you will join me with Yeast Free for 30 days and make the change to your diet!! I'd love to hear what everyone thinks about it and how it has helped you! 

I am hoping to review some of the GF, Dairy and Soy items I have loved over the past few months. If you have any great products you'd love to share, send them my way!!! 

If you made it through this whole post, you deserve a GF-Dairy-Soy Free Cookie ;)  

Polar Vortex - Snow Day Edition

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone is having a great 2014 so far!! 

Mine has been filled with lots of couch days, Netflix, and watching the Today Show every morning. 

And making sure Perry has been warm while we nap ;) 

We are officially on our 5th "snow" day in a row. First it was the snow, then the below zero temps, and now pipes bursting in the schools. All of that together equals 5 days off school. On top of our 2 week winter break. 

I enjoyed the first two snow days last Thursday and Friday! I got to spend an extra day in Columbus with my family after returning from Colorado. The only problem was, I had to drive straight through the snow storm on my way back to Lexington Thursday morning!!

The snow come much earlier than expected. I got on the road about 9 am and drove in it for the next 4 1/2 hours. It usually takes me less than 3 hours to make it from Columbus to Lexington! But, I'm just glad we made it home safely. There were lots of cars that swerved into the median. 

I have enjoyed the extra time to clean up from Christmas, have people over for the National Championship game on Monday, run errands, etc. But I can honestly say, I'm ready to be back at school and back to a set routine!!! 

Here's to hoping I get to see my sweet little kiddos tomorrow. And that it's finally warm enough for them to walk to school in the morning. 

Also, I am hoping to do a recap on our Christmas and Breckenridge trip this week. Lots of stories there ;) 

Happy Wednesday!!!

H54F - I'm Back!!

Wow.... I sure have missed reading all of your bloggies!!! And I've definitely missed posting! 

How in the world has it been since the end of July since my last post?! Back to work plus another semester of grad school plus lots of craziness here and there equals no time to blog!!! Or even read blogs! 

I spent Thanksgiving break catching up on your all's blogs!!! I am almost caught up! Finally!

I figured what better way to jump back in than a High Five for Friday post!!!

Here are five of my favorite things from this week: 

1- The Sound of Music Live last night. Seriously. The BEST ever! I just love that movie. Add my fav, Carrie Underwood, and it was just great!! Did you all watch it?!

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2-It's my favorite time of the year!!! I'm loving all the Christmas decorations around town. I love listening to the Christmas music! And I love seeing all the smiling faces out Christmas shopping. 

3-My sister introduced me to the wonderful world of turning your local library card into an online resource!!! I'm loving the Zinio Magazine Collection! I can check-out all the current magazines directly to my iPad? For free??? YES please!

4 - I'm so thankful I was able to see most of my family and Ben's family for Thanksgiving. And I can't wait to see everyone again for Christmas! We had a great time in Gatlinburg. 

It was beautiful with the snow!!! As long as I didn't have to drive the hills with snow and ice in the dark. Shew, thank goodness for Ben driving! 

5- Finally, I'm loving the Skinny Taste website and all of their wonderful recipes!!! My favorite is still the Skinny Taco Chili. This time, I threw in a can of pumpkin with it :) delicious! Next up on my list, Skinny Cranberry Bliss Bars! 

Hope you all have a great weekend! 

H54F

This week FLEW by. Probably because it was my last offical week of summer :( I have meetings Monday through Friday next week. Then the student's first day back is Tuesday, August 6th. Where did summer break go?!?!!

Here are my highlights from the past week:

1. I am LOVING the weather we have been having this week. It has been in the 70's and low 80's, which is just perfect. Perry's loving that we can go for longer walks in the morning with the cooler temps!!!

2. We celebrated Ben's birthday last weekend. His birthday was last Friday, but it was a weekend-long party, of course! We had a great time celebrating his birthday with friends! 

3. The juicer we ordered from Bed, Bath and Beyond FINALLY came in!!!!! I put it to use right away with a watermelon, peach and apple juice. It was very pink and quite delicious. The watermelon was very strong! Can't wait to try more juices!! If you know any good recipes, send them my way :) 

4. We have been getting our weekly CSA share from Elmwood Farms. This week included blackberries, which were absolutely delicious! We just got our share on Wednesday and the blackberries are already gone. 

5. Finally, I'm loving that I got my hands on the Aquage Uplifting Foam that Kate always talks about. It is amazing! I tried it yesterday and it worked wonders. So happy I finally bought some! 

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I hope to spend mine outside as much as possible before meetings and school starts back up!!! 

Don't forget to link up with Lauren for H54F!! 

H54F

I'm trying to make time for blogging, so I decided to start back with a High Five for Friday post!!!

1. I'm loving the beautiful weather we have been having this week! It's been sunny and warm, which is a nice break from all the rain we've had!

2. We had perfect weather for Thursday Night Live last night. And I had a great time catching up with some old girlfriends. 

3. Ben and I are doing the Tone It Up slimdown this week and hopefully next week to detox our body from all of the July 4th weekend cookouts, drinking and what not :)  I actually love eating clean like this because I feel SO much better! 

4. Even though we're doing the slimdown, we had a little cheat meal last night. I had a GF pizza at a local favorite, Joe Bolognas. Best GF pizza in Lexington! It was so good I forgot to snap a picture before we devoured it. Oops. 

5. I'm loving my new suit from Victoria's Secret. And I'm loving the sale on all the swim suits right now! If only I could look like this when I wear the suit.... 

What are you loving this week? Link up with Lauren for H54F!!

Sunday Social - Summer!

I'm linking up with Neely for Sunday Social!

This Weeks Questions:

Best Summer memory as a kid?

Riding bikes all over town and spending countless hours at the pool with friends!!!

Favorite summer drink?

In the morning, Iced Coffee

If I'm going out at night, skinny margarita 

Favorite Summer TV show?

I don't really have a favorite summer TV show, but I am excited for the Bachelorette to start tomorrow!! I love Des and can't wait to watch this season!

Best outdoor summer activity? 

Going to the pool, going out on the lake or going on vacation to the beach. I also love Thursday Night Live here in Lexington, and getting dinner and drinks with friends on the patio.  

Summer vacation essentials?

Swim suit, summer dresses, my Lilly pool bag, lots of sunscreen, a hat, and a tumbler!

I hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day weekend! We're off to the lake for day 2!

Kentucky Oaks

So I may be a few weeks late, but here is my recap from the Kentucky Oaks!

Ben and I went to the Oaks with his family. For those who don't know, the Oaks is the fillies race the day before the Derby at Churchill Downs.  

We had amazing weather! We got there early enough to see everything before it got crowded. Luckily, we had seats inside the Derby Museum, which made it much easier to eat, get drinks and bet without having to fight a crowd!!!

Our seats outside were great too!

My drink of choice was the Lilly. So delicious!!!

And Ben's was the Mint Julep

We had a great time! I can't wait to go back next year. 

Girls On The Run 5K Recap

This past spring, we started Girls On The Run at my school. This has been the most rewarding experience! I am so proud of all the girl's hard work and dedication!!!!

Girls On The Run is a program for girls in grades 3 to 5 to help inspire girls to be healthy and confident. The program focuses on self-esteem, health education, life skills development, mentoring relationships and physical training. The program was 12 weeks long and the girls ran a 5K at the end of the season to celebrate their accomplishments.

Here are some pictures from our wonderful season!

I can't wait to coach again next year!!

If you want more information about GOTR, check out their website here.  Or feel free to email me and I can share my experience! It is an awesome program for these girls!!

Where Has April Gone?! Half Marathon Recap from MARCH!

Why is it that spring is always the busiest season!?!

I cannot believe it's already the end of April. Sheesh!

I just realized I never posted about my second half marathon!!!

On March 30, we ran the RunTheBluegrass half marathon again for the second year in a row. Here is my recap from last year, my FIRST half marathon!!! 

This race continues to get better and better as the years go on! We did the race the first year when it was at the Kentucky Horse Park, but opted for the 5K as we were not 13.1 miles ready yet :) 

The course is now at Keeneland and it was the same hilly, sharp curves and hills at mile 9 course that I remembered last year! I didn't train on the course like I did last year, but I don't regret it. I almost think training on the course made me dread the hills because I knew exactly when they were coming!

Ben and I before the race. It was a beautiful morning and we couldn't have asked for better running weather!! Cold morning at the start line and cool during the race!

Ben and I both beat our time from last year, and that was our only goal!! I finished in 2:28:47 and Ben finished in 2:07:06. 

We're already talking about doing another half in the fall. I would love to be able to do RunTheBluegrass every year. I love supporting a local race! We even recruited a few friends....

I really do love and enjoy running. I just wish I had more time to run during the week when I'm not training for a race. Let's be honest, I have not been very good about waking up when my alarm clock goes off at 5am to hit the treadmill or run outside. 

 I'm so exhausted with work and grad school and everything else, the extra 30-45 minutes of sleep sound so much better. And if I don't run in the morning, it seems impossible to get a run in at night because there are a bazillion other things going on. If only I could schedule a certain running time and keep it... 

 We finally have a "free" weekend with minimal commitments so I will have a chance to run errands, do homework, catch up on laundry and go for a run. 

Hoping I can drag this little guy with me on all of the above :)

Have a great weekend!

HR Monitor

I have been debating whether or not to purchase a HR monitor for a while now. 

My sister has had one for years and was always encouraging me to get one. I already had one to use with my Garmin Forerunner, but I couldn't figure out how to use it if I wasn't running outside. 

I finally find the pink Polar FT4 on Amazon for $60 and decided to go for it. 

It's safe to say I am now obsessed with it! 

I love seeing how much I'm burning when I workout. 

Whether it's a quick 5K on the treadmill and stretching....

Or a 9 mile run burning over a thousand calories!!

I LOVE seeing my maximum and average HR during my workout. 

I've also used it during Pure Barre and online Barre3 workouts. I love seeing how different each class intensity and burn can be! 

Best purchase in a while :) 

Do you have a HR monitor? Do you use during every workout? 

What I Ate Wednesday

Today, I'm linking up for "What I Ate Wednesday" hosted by Peas and Crayons.

I didn't make anything in the crock pot this week, but I did grab some pre cooked chicken at Trader Joes to throw on my salads.

Love this chicken!!!

We've also been having protein pancakes for breakfast. Seriously, these things are delic!!! They are from Tone It Up and they are the perfect breakfast item. They really do keep you full in the morning because its full of protein and fruit and such, and its gluten free :) the recipe can be found on their website here.

I love to top mine with Raw Agave Syrup. Much better for you than maple syrup (according to TIU at least!).

I can't finish this post without admitting I've had dessert lately. Like almost every day. Fro yo with a friend Friday..... Ice Dream cup from Chick Fil A last night.... Yikes! If I wasn't running so much it would sneak up.

I didn't post last Friday for Lose 5 lbs in February, but as of Monday, I am down 2 lbs and currently at 123.5. I have to remember to take a snapshot this week (although it may be ugly with all my sweets!!!!).

Anything new you are eating this week or recipes to share?!! Link up!

Lululemon Fail

Any other Lululemon lovers out there?! 

I could live in their clothes. I wear them to barre class, to run, when I run errands, whenever I get home.  If only I could wear them to work.... (Although I have to a few trainings when I'm feeling extra lazy with my buddy, Tracy by my side). 

I've only been on the Lululemon train for about 2 years, but I've seen them gradually go down in terms of quality.  I read all about this on the website but had yet to experience it myself. 

Well I got a new pair of groove pants, and boy oh boy can I tell the difference!!!! And not to mention, they feel see through, especially in the behind area!!!!! I am so bummed. I wore them to Girls On The Run practice (another post for another day, but I'm loving it!!!) and the seams started to unravel. So mad!!!! 

Anyone else experiencing this?! I wonder if I should take them to the Lululemon store.... Any suggestions?! I'm not ready to give up on my beloved Lulu's, but I can't have see through pants during downward dog......

What I Ate Wednesday.... One day late

Ok, so i'm one day late posting but here it is anyway :)

I am linking up for "What I Ate Wednesday" hosted by Peas and Crayons 

I am loving Gina's Skinny Taste recipes!

I made the Santa Fe Chicken in the Crockpot on Sunday night to have for lunches and dinners this week. 

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It is delic!

I made some Quinoa to have with it, and it's the perfect combo!

On Tuesday, my friend, Britney and I got Chipotle take-out to eat while watching the UK game. 

I got a burrito bowl for only 470 calories!!! Deal!

(I had brown rice, chicken, black beans, corn and tomato salsa and fajita veggies - NO CHIPS!)

Anyone have a recipe they are loving that you want to share! Please let me know :) 

Have a great Valentine's day!!!