Self-Care Summer

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Summer is a time for relaxation, fun, great summer fruits, popsicles (bomb pops of course) vacays (or staycays).  I’ve been enjoying a variety of these activities as well as catching up on some much needed zzzzzzzzzzzzs.

I also schedule many of my yearly appointments during the summer to ensure that I am healthy before the start of the school year.  So, my days are filled with various appointments such as dental, medical, vision, hair, etc.  It’s just easier to knock them out over the summer because I have so much downtime.

Don’t neglect your yearly check-ups.  They are like your car maintenance service appointments.  A regular tune-up will keep your body, mind and soul healthy over the long haul.

Peace and Love xoxoxo

Summer’s Here and I’m Back to Blogging!

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I haven’t written a post since 2016? What!?  That’s so tragic.  I really need to prioritize my time better.  Well, updates are due, of course.  I’m now in a great new position in education.  This takes up the majority of my time.  The other time is sleeping. Phew! I have to really do better about blocking out time for myself.  I’ve received so much advice on self-care and have been reluctant to heed any words of wisdom.  So, my summer Bucket List is as follows:

Go to the beach for some long walks

Cook some new healthy recipes

Blog more (of course)

Visit a spa or two

If you have an ideas for me please leave a comment below!

Enjoy Your Summer!

 

 

New Challenge to Improve Your Health!

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Each day I’d like to incorporate more fresh fruits and vegetables into one or more meals that I prepare each day.  My goal is to increase my energy level, make better food choices and improve my overall diet.  I plan to include some new recipes that I will share with you throughout the challenge.  I hope that you enjoy joining me on this journey and have fun making some great choices to improve your overall health.

Make a list of some of your favorite fruits or vegetables and pick them up at your local grocery store.  Try to plan a trip to a local farmer’s market to pick up a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Here are a few pics of my recent visit to a local farmer’s market.  I kept passing by this market week after week and never stopped.  I really enjoyed my trip and wanted to share some of the fresh fruits and veggies that I spotted.

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I love to juice kale for a great green juice.

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I have a great sweet potato pie smoothie recipe that will make you think that you’ve just taken a bite of a fresh baked sweet potato pie.

I found some of the best tasting Fuji apples (not pictured) that I had ever tasted.  You could never find apples like these in the grocery store.  They were just pulled off of the tree and were exquisite.

As you shop it’s always fun to pick one fruit or vegetable that you’ve never tried before.

I hope you take on this challenge.  Next ideas will be posted soon.

Peace and Love Pink Running Kicks.

(Habakkuk 2:2) Then the Lord said to me, “Write the vision and make it plain” ……

I’m Back and Happy to Blog!

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Happy summer everyone!  I’ve been gone for entirely too long.  Just working and as I mentioned on a recent Facebook post I’ve been blessed to acquire my first home.  What a blessing!  I just want to take a few moments to update you on my fitness and health journey.  I’m no longer vegan! I tip my hat to those who can embrace that lifestyle, but I just couldn’t go without the dairy.  In fact, I’m eating too much ice cream this summer.

I did start incorporating seafood into my diet.  This is on and off for the most part.  I’m now trudging up the 30 minutes a day of exercise mountain.  And it is steep!  I just started back at the gym.  Can’t we find every excuse to not exercise?  Well, I pray that God gives me sustainability.  Can everyone just say commitment? LOL

Well, I will be blogging more, so I will be back.  If anyone has any topics that they would like me to discuss I will definitely research it and give my thoughts.

Peace and Love xoxoxox Pink Running Kicks

Pink Running Kicks Vegan Journey Post #1

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Well, I’ve finally decided to follow a vegan diet and I’m super excited to journal my new journey.  I started this journey on April 1, 2015 and I’ve since started making new recipes.  Here are a few of my meals.

Nicecream = fruit and ice blended to a creamy “ice-cream”like consistency.  Here I blended strawberries, bananas, vanilla powder and coconut nectar (sweetener).  I love to add flax seeds, chia seeds and extra fruit.

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Vegan Tacos are a special treat.  I either fill them with vegan crumbles, black beans, brown rice or mushrooms.

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There are so many products available to help any one beginning a vegan diet.  I enjoy searching Facebook, Instagram and other social media to find recipes and others on this journey.

My transition was fairly easy since I was a vegetarian for 2 1/2 years.  Get ready for new posts on this new lifestyle adventure.

Peace and Love,

Pink Running Kicks

Checkout my other social media sites:

Facebook:  Pink Running Kicks

Instagram:  pinkrunningkicks

Twitter:  Copperlady2009

Photo 101: Day 2- Street

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This photo was taken on a street in the city of Avalon located on Catalina Island.  A quaint little restaurant that caught my eye.  The vivid colors, floral arrangements and delicious menu displayed all over the front entrance lures in hungry tourists.  If you take a look in the windows you can see the reflection of the boats on the waterfront.

New Title: Pink Running Kicks and Tagline: Quitters Never Win and Winners Never Quit

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I just edited my blog title and changed it to read, “Pink Running Kicks”.  I also added the new tagline for my blog, “Quitters Never Win and Winners Never Quit”.  Now this definitely sheds new light into who and what Pink Running Kicks is all about.

There are times when I give up on an idea or activity.  Either out of boredom or not being able to spend enough time to develop or complete it.  But, I’m not a quitter.  I eventually pick it right back up and carry it out to fruition.

My tagline came from the words of Lisa Nichols, Life Coach, who authored the delightfully wonderful book, Chicken Soup for the African American Woman’s Soul.  

I watched one of her workshops on YouTube where she spoke about how she was thrown into a situation where she initially felt defeated and intimidated.  Ms. Nichols, however, developed a mindset that she could win and went on to have victory over her situation.

Quitters Never Win and Winners Never Quit is a mindset that will guide me on my journey through life.

Peace and Love

Pink Running Kicks

About Pink Running Kicks

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I remember the enthusiasm I had when I created my blog back in 2012.  It didn’t take me long to write my “About” page.  I wanted something short and sweet, maybe 3 sentences at the most.  I tried to capture who I was in this brief statement in hopes that readers would find me interesting enough to follow.  I think I wrote that I was a newbie runner who loved health and fitness.  My “About” statement later went on to include that I was a beauty enthusiast as well.

Well my descriptor of who I am has not changed very much.  I’m Pink Running Kicks.  My name developed from my love of the most awesome color in the world, pink, of course.  I love to run and I always have a touch of pink in my running shoes a.k.a. “kicks”.

I created my blog to document my journey in the world of health, fitness and beauty.  I mostly write about my likes and dislikes, struggles and accomplishments and special events in my life.  I guess my blog is my journal that I want to share with others who have my same interests.

My blog has also created a new goal for me career wise.  I want to earn a Nutritional Specialist and Weight-Loss Management certification.  I don’t know when this will occur,  but I’m pretty sure it will happen in the near future.

I will continue to discuss my workout plans, races and upload pictures of my nutritional plans.  Oh yes, I forgot to mention that I LOVE TO COOK.  I just purchased a new camera so you’ll see loads of pictures.

I’ve gained a few new followers so I hope this gives you a little insight into who I am.

Peace and Love

I’ve Been Selected To Be A Girls Gone Sporty Ambassador

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I am so excited to join the Girls Gone Sporty Ambassador Team.  Their motto for 2015 is all about #PYBCYE – Pushing Your Boundaries, Challenging Your Expectations. This means that I will continue to embrace and publicize that there are “no limits or boundaries” to what  can be achieved in the areas of health and fitness.   I will be challenging myself to return to school to become a certified nutritional specialist this year.  I’m enthusiastic about meeting new people through my blog and hopefully traveling around the world to find new information to share.

Peace and Love

Pink Running Kicks

Check out my social media info:

Instagram:  http://www.instragram.com/pinkrunningkicks

Facebook page:  http://www.facebook.com/pinkrunnningkicks

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/copperlady2009

The FitExpo – Los Angeles

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I had a blast attending the Los Angeles FitExpo this past week, Feb. 7-8, 2015.  I was able to meet a lot of fun and exciting fitness experts who shared some of their top secrets to success.

I spent the first day, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015, improving my culinary skills.  I participated in cooking classes taught by celebrity chefs, athletes and fitness experts/models.  They took me step-by-step through some tasty and healthy recipes.  Their main focus was “how to include 50+ grams of protein in a meal.  It smelled delightful in this chef’s kitchen and the samples tasted outstanding.

Chef Patrick Stark 

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Chef Stark prepared a delicious Vegan Curried Vegetable meal that contained 50+ grams of protein.  His secret to adding 50+ grams of protein involved adding vanilla whey protein to his curry milk sauce  and pouring it over his veggies and brown rice.  This was a spicy and delightfully seasoned vegan/vegetarian meal.
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Dymatize Protein Athletes were hosting and preparing delicious 50+grams of protein meals as well.  They prepared a curry chicken meal and protein pancakes.

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What a delight to see handsome and fit men cooking in the kitchen ;).

I also received a ton of free samples to try out.  All were very good. One of my favs was Oxygen magazine.  The fitness models of Oxygen were handing out free issues (Score!).   I received lots of backpacks and T-shirts as well.

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On Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015, I had the pleasure of meeting the beautiful and oh so sweet Follow the Lita!  Lita is a Physical and Spiritual Motivator Ambassador/fitness expert/trainer/fitness model and my daily inspiration.  She is such a happy and friendly person.  She prepared Turkey Burger Patties.  She included olives and sun dried tomatoes.  I’ll have to try that with my TVP mix (texturized vegetable protein) the next time I make homemade veggie patties.

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I’m such a fan of Lita! Isn’t she gorgeous? Her figure is to die for as well.

I also attended an amazing presentation by Dr. Levi Harrison, M.D.  I cannot begin to tell you how much I learned from this man.  I will be dedicating an entire blog to review his book, “The Art of Fitness” and his DVD, “The Art of Fitness (Cardio Core Workout).  So look out for this blog post because the book and DVD are phenomenal!  He is a dynamic speaker, caring motivator and incredibly cute!

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I so enjoyed my time at the LA FitExpo.  I will be attending another in August 2015.  I’m so excited.

Peace and Love

 

Check out and follow my other social media:

Instagram:  http://www.instagram.com/pinkrunningkicks

Facebook Page:  http://www.facebook.com/pinkrunningkicks

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/copperlady2009

8 Exercises Every Woman Should Do

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Sculpting for 2015

Zuna Sports Indonesia

If these eight body sculpting moves aren’t in your current training program, they need to be. Like, right now.

Are there certain exercises specifically for men and others specifically for women ? Absolutely not, though it sometimes seems so. Men make up the vast majority of gym-goers who do heavy bench presses and barbell curls, and women currently have the market cornered on the inner/outer thigh machine and plié squats. But ladies, there’s no reason you have to limit yourselves to such “girl-ified” moves. By all means, keep hitting your thighs and glutes hard, but heavy lifting and intense upper-body training aren’t just for guys. There’s a whole host of exercises that are underused by women but shouldn’t be. So we asked three experienced trainers and physique competitors (who just happen to be women) what some of these exercises might be. What we came up with are the following eight…

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Creative Bloggers Award

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Much love and gratitude to The Beautified Blogger for nominating me for the Creative Bloggers Award.  She always delivers a wealth of blog posts on beauty from retro chic to present fab!  I love her weekly nail polish choices which always deliver the most lush and glamorous colors!  She is such a sweet heart and her nails are always on fleek.

 

The Rules:

Nominate 20 other blogs and their links.

Thank and post the link of the blog that nominated you (very important).

Share 5 facts about yourself to your readers.

Notify all nominees via their social media/blogs.

Pass these rules on to them.

Five facts about me:

l.  I love blogging about health, fitness and beauty!

2.  My passport just arrived so I’m planning to travel the world.

3.  I love meeting people!

4.  I’m creating my Bucket List and will be blogging about it in the near future.

5.  I love to walk and jog along the beach it’s so relaxing!

I will be nominating several bloggers and posting soon!!!!!

 

Peace and Love,

Pink Running Kicks

 

Check out and follow my other social media:

Instagram:  http://www.instagram.com/pinkrunningkicks

Facebook Page:  http://www.facebook.com/pinkrunningkicks

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/copperlady2009

 

 

Making Your Grocery Shopping Fun!

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To make grocery shopping for healthy meals fun, easy  and motivational you should give a designed shopping list a try. I created a shopping list for myself to help me stay focused in picking up items that are necessary for my “clean eating” meal plan.  My first grocery list was something that I made with a notepad and my label maker.  It was a little time consuming to create, but it really kept me focused.

 

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In order to cut down on prep time, I then decided to go to Vistaprint and design my own shopping list. The notepads that I designed only cost about $5 each and you get 50 sheets/notepad.   This really motivates me to pick up my items on time (every 3-5 days)  so that I can meal prep and bring my healthy lunch and snacks to work on a daily basis.

 

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So, now I just clip my grocery list to my agenda and go!  I check off items as I pick them up.  This keeps me away from any aisle with items that can sabotage my grocery trip (e.g. pastries, candy, chips, soda, etc.).

 

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Question:

How do you plan for shopping?

 

Peace and Love

 

Check out my other social media sites:

Instagram:  pinkrunningkicks

Facebook Page:  Pink Running Kicks

 

 

PACt Cranberry Extract Water- A Delicious New Hydrating Drink

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I’ve been searching for a drink that would instantly hydrate me after a long day at work or through the night.  As I was flipping through SHAPE magazine, I ran across an ad for Ocean Spray PACt Cranberry Extract Water and decided to give it a try.  I normally enjoy all flavors of Ocean Spray Cranberry Juices so I decided to get all of the PACt flavors:  Cranberry Blood Orange, Cranberry Pomegranate, Cranberry Raspberry and Cranberry Mango Passion Fruit

I enjoyed every flavor that I purchased.  Each were mildly sweet and definitely flavorful.  There was no weird after taste and  they were not too watered down like other flavored waters I’ve tasted in the past.

Ocean spray has also created a fabulous PACt Cranberry Extract Water website (www.pact.oceanspray.com) that details all of the nutritional benefits.  I’m especially grateful for the many health benefits described on the website including the following:

  • Only 10 calories per serving
  • No genetically engineered ingredients
  • Color straight from cranberries

I really enjoyed all of the information provided by the website.  There is a section called #evenbetter that features motivational quotes, articles, lifestyle and health tips.  There are also numerous recipes for preparing healthy meals.  I’ll definitely be creating the Wild Rice with Cranberries and Caramelized Onions this weekend.

Overall, I really enjoyed the new PACt Cranberry Extract Waters.   I think that this would be a nice drink to enjoy before, during, or after a workout.  You could even enjoy it with lunch, dinner or to supplement a snack. Drinking it before you go to bed would aid in restoring your body’s nutrients and muscle regeneration throughout the night.  I will definitely be purchasing more PACt waters in the future.

Peace and Love ♥

Pink Running Kicks

Check out my other social media sites:

Instagram:  pinkrunningkicks

Facebook:  Pink Running Kicks