January Cara Box Reveal

So, this was my first time participating in the Cara Box Exchange organized by Kaitlyn @ Wifessionals! I had the opportunity to be paired up with two awesome women, Kayla @ A Momma's 15 Minute Time Out and Gayle @ Grace for Gayle!

{One} I had a blast getting to know Kayla and shopping for her! I absolutely love giving gifts. I think I enjoy giving more than receiving!

Want to see what I got her, head on over to Kayla's blog to find out!

{Two} I was looking forward to receiving a box from Gayle! And this weird thing happened...through our emails and blog stalking, we found out that we live in the same city. Crazy, right? So instead of mailing my Cara Box to me, Gayle and I met up for coffee at our local Starbucks! Super cool, right? Who can say that they met their Cara Box Match in person? I can!!!

This month's Cara Box theme was resolutions! If you read my resolutions post, you know that my two focuses for 2013 are spiritual and physical fitness! Gayle did an excellent job buying items that will be great for helping me achieve my 2013 goals!

I had been considering buying weight lifting gloves since I crossed the great divide and moved into weight lifting and not just cardio at the gym. I was so excited when I opened my box and found weight lifting gloves, a water bottle, a tennis ball for rolling out those pesky knots, Gatorade fuel, a scripture-filled journal, and heart-shaped sticky notes! Gayle also wrote a sweet note of encouragement that had me smiling from ear to ear!

Gayle, thanks for not making me feel like a stalker! So glad you wanted to meet in person. I truly enjoyed our two-hour coffee date! Someone sitting near would have thought we'd known each other forever. I am encouraged by your life and the struggles you've overcome. I appreciate you letting me into your life and I am inspired by your love for Jesus! I look forward to keeping in touch!

Kayla, thanks so much for being so open and honest with me. It is so obvious that you strive to live for God in all you do! I am thankful to know you and really enjoyed getting to know you this month and praying for you. Thanks for educating me on the Siesta Scripture Memorization Team, raw eating, and juicing!

Thanks again, Kayla and Gayle for making my first Cara Box Exchange unforgettable! Happy to have two new friends in the blogosphere (and in real life)! I had a great Cara Box experience and will probably participate again in the future. If you want to know more about the Cara Box Exchange and/or want to sign up, head over to Wifessionals!

Want to see more Cara Box Reveals for the month of January? Check out the link-up!

The Cups Song (You're Gonna Miss Me)

So, last night was my first time watching Pitch Perfect. Well, it was my first and second time since I watched the movie twice. I love movies with great music. I wasn't able to find a good clip of one of my favorite parts of the movie, but here is Anna Kendrick on the Letterman Show with a glimpse.

After seeing Anna Kendrick perform this song in the movie several times (not because she performed it several times in the movie, but because I kept rewinding the movie), I was in love with the song and found myself singing it without much effort. I had to know where the song came from.
A simple search in YouTube for "You're Gonna Miss Me" or "The Cups Song" brought up several girls (and guys) covering the song. I soon found the origin of the song. Lulu and the Lampshades (now Landshades) is an English band, but I wasn't able to find much about them. Here is a clip of them performing the song in 2009.

Awesome, right?! Like I said, I found myself singing the song! Then, I couldn't resist trying the cup. Again, a simple search on YouTube for "You're Gonna Miss Me Cups Tutorial" and there are tons of YouTubers eager to teach me. It took about 20 minutes, and I got the beat down solid. Now, there's just putting the words with the beat, which I have not figured out yet. Lots of concentration for a non-musician like me to do both at the same time. I'm off work today, so maybe I'll get it. Or maybe I'll do some work...I don't know!

Love Rebel Wilson in this movie! She is hilarious!

Fitness Friday | Week 3 + Link-Up

It's been quite a week of fitness and healthy eating! I am so motivated right now! I hope I can keep up this momentum! Here's a glimpse at my week + weigh-in + link-up!

Sunday | Couch to 10K Run, Week 4, Day 1 | I am not a runner. In fact, I hate running. But, I love running a 5k for charity. Recently, Melanie (one of my line sisters) and I talked about running more this year. She's is planning to do a half-marathon this year. That is not on my to-do list, but I will run a few 5k races and maybe a 10k as a part of her training. And I shouldn't even say race, because my goal is just to run without stopping...no competition here!

Monday | Jamie Eason LiveFit Program, Week 1, Chest/Triceps | I blogged about my new workout buddies here and how they've given me the confidence to cross the great divide from the cardio equipment to the weights in the gym. I was so pumped that I even did 15 minutes of  cardio afterwards!

Tuesday | Jamie Eason LiveFit Program, Week 1, Back/Biceps | Today was another weight day, but with no cardio. I also learned how to work my JEFIT app better and found out that it recommends the amount of weight you should be lifting based on the amount of time it takes you  to complete a set. 

Wednesday | Stair Climber | I had planned for this to be a rest day since I volunteer at church on Wednesday evenings, but I was so motivated and left work early, so I decided to get in some cardio. I left work on time to get my workout in before going to church. The stair climber made it's appearance this week in my workout because that friend Melanie I referred to earlier...well, she convinced me to sign up for the Big D Climb benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. She may be carrying me up these 52 flights of stairs.

Thursday | Jamie Eason LiveFit Program, Week 1, Legs/Calves

The Plan for Friday | Jamie Eason LiveFit Program, Week 1, Shoulders/Abs

The Plan for Saturday | REST!!!

Side Note: I feel like a total dork trying to take pictures of myself in the gym, but I hate blog posts with no pictures.

Okay, on to the eating...I've been logging everything in MyFitnessPal and I love it! Here's an overview of my last week. I have consistently not hit my calorie intake goal, but I think that is partially due to the fact that I was fasting and partially due to the amount of calories I've burned from working out every day this week. I also see that I need to decrease my carbs. I love the messages I get from MyFitnessPal when I complete my entries for the day.

These little messages give me hope for achieving my weight loss goals! On January 1st, I weighed 177.6 pounds. Today's weight is.....drumroll please....

I'm down 5 pounds from January 1st! Woot! Woot!

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Have you linked up? This is week 3 of Fitness Friday, you guys!This is a fitness, health, weight-loss, and everything related and in between. Link up your weigh-ins, your healthy recipes, your work outs, and any other fitness related posts. Make sure you are a follower of the host(s). A huge thanks to Desirae @ Going with the Flow for organizing Fitness Friday and for allowing myself and Samantha @ In Bloom to co-host with her! 

<a href="http://goingwiththelastingers.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i49.tinypic.com/o5ncw5.jpg" alt="image" /></a>

My New Workout Buddies

I'm sure I'm not the only person who has a gym membership, but has no idea what I should be doing at when I get there. The easy route is to jump on the treadmill, elliptical, or a bike and do some cardio. If I can make it on time, maybe I join in on a group fitness class. But all those machines and weights are intimidating. I know I should take the step and cross into that part of the gym. When I invested time and money into a personal trainer, many of our sessions only included a treadmill as a warm-up, but no cardio. My heart rate was good and sky high with strength training alone. Up until this week, I rarely crossed that line that separated the cardio equipment from the weights.

This week I got some confidence from Jamie Eason and my JEFIT app. I came across Jamie Eason in a Fitness RX magazine that I bought after seeing her perfect 10 routine. It was listed with detailed instructions and pictures.

Doesn't she look amazing?! So, I planned to put this workout into my phone and try it out for myself the next day. Well, I then started doing some online searching and ran across a blog post by Amy at Write This Down that referred to Jamie Eason's Live Fit Training Program. It's a 12 week transformation program complete with workouts for each day, meal plans, and supplements. I was interested in the workout plan. Here's a glimpse at the first day:

Each day tells you exactly what to do and links to a video to demonstrate proper form. The only guess work is the amount of weight you use for each exercise.

So, of course I'm not taking my laptop into the gym with me to follow the workout routine. There is a printable sheet with each workout for you to log it, but I don't plan on carrying around a piece of paper and pen in the gym either. I have a hard enough time carrying my keys, water, phone, and a jacket. Maybe I should invest in a locker...

Anyway, I then started to add all the workout information into a note, but thought "there's got to be an app for that" and there is...it's called JEFIT.

So, I added each exercise along with the number of reps and rest time. The database has a ridiculous amount of exercises categorized by muscle group. So, you pick your muscle group, then find the exercise to add to your workout routine. Here's a picture of my routine based on the Jamie Eason workout above.

It took a while, but when I got in the gym I was so glad I did. With the pictures and videos provided of each exercise in the app, I knew exactly which machine to look for and the proper form for the exercise. In addition, the app will time my sets and record my workouts along with the amount of weight I used.

Want to see how my first week of workouts went with my two new workout buddies? I plan to give you all the details of my week of workouts on {Fitness} Friday!

Until then, let's chat...how do you determine your routine for the gym? Do you cross that great divide between the cardio equipment and the weights?

#TBT and Eggrolls

So, Throwback Thursday and Eggrolls may not really go together, but since I did pair them, I figured I'd focus on some throwback pictures that involved food!

August 2008: Me and the hubby weren't even dating yet, but wouldn't this picture make you want to marry him?!

August 2009: Street tacos in Puerto Vallarta with my girls, Daenna and Cynthia!

And our stop at a tequila factory...with my girl, Jill! (I guess tequila doesn't count as food, but I like this picture.) Do you see those huge agave roots in the background? That's where tequila comes from!

April 2010: Crawfish with my line sisters when we went back to our alma mater for the University of Lousiana at Monroe vs. Grambling football game! Love these girls and we love us some crawfish! I know it's a Louisiana thing!

And speaking of my line sisters, shout out to all my sorors of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated as we prepare for an awesome Centennial celebration! Oo-oop! If you've been following me on instagram, you may have noticed the #DST100Challenge photos!

Okay, on to the eggrolls... I pinned a recipe for Bacon Cheeseburger Eggrolls. The recipe intrigued me and I had all the ingredients except for Eggroll wrappers. My local Kroger has an entire aisle dedicated to international cuisine, so I was sure I'd find it there.

But, nope...they were no where to be found. So, I asked the chef at the sushi counter and she directed me to produce. So, I learned that eggroll wrappers have to be refrigerated and if you want to try this recipe, check the produce section first!

Here is a link to the recipe and some of my tips and changes are as follows:

• To make it a bit healthier, I used ground turkey, turkey bacon, and fat free cheese.
• I'm sure the fried ones were better, but again for health, I baked mine instead. That made it more like a spring roll than an eggroll.
• If baking, make sure to coat the pan with non-stick cooking spray. I had to scrape mine from the pan.

The hubby enjoyed the eggrolls and so did I. Now that I know making these is so easy and where to find the eggroll wrappers, I hope to experiment and make different variations of eggrolls/spring rolls more often!

Linking up:

2013 Resolutions

I know I'm not the only person who absolutely hates making New Year's Resolutions. Ihaven't made resolutions for the past few years. I feel like every single time, I just set myself up to fail. Two questions that have been bugging me lately about making resolutions are:
1. Why do I need to wait until the beginning of the year to make changes?
2. What makes me think that all of a sudden, all the things I've struggled with will magically change?

Even though I feel this way, I know I need to make some changes and the new year is a perfect time for a fresh start. And as I read the #SheReadsTruth devotional this morning, I was encouraged knowing that God makes all things new.

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”  ~ Revelation 21:5 (ESV)

So, my two resolutions are for spiritual and physical fitness. It was not hard at all to narrow down to just two. I feel that from spiritual fitness, all my relationships are enhanced. I considered saying be a better wife, but I know that my interactions with my husband are better when I am in constant communion with God. As far as physical fitness, I think there are two mistakes we make as Christians: not being concerned with it at all or being obsessed with it. I hope to find a balance between the two.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." ~ Ephesians 6:1-12 (ESV)

So, how will I achieve spiritual fitness? I've decided to join my friend, Angela, in her Project 52: Through the Scriptures in 365. Our goal is to read through the entire Bible this year, following a daily reading plan. This is somewhat intimidating, and I feel so bad admitting that it is so hard to spend daily unhurried time with God. I know, though, that my relationship with God has to be a priority.

"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."  ~ 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV)

How will I achieve physical fitness? I've blogged about that here, but in a nutshell...I'm hoping that setting a goal, having some accountability, and working hard at eating healthy and working out will make the difference.

So, what are your New Year's Resolutions?