Friday Favorites!

Some of my absolute favorite things lately:

1.  Brooke has noticed that I have been wearing a fitness tracker and the other day she went and found bracelets to put on so that we could be twinners.  My heart almost exploded.  Actually, I think it did a little bit.  

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2.  I am in love with my new shoes.  I got them on sale at Nordstrom HERE and I just saw a similar pair at Target HERE!

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3.  I have been using a clarisonic for a few weeks and I have definitely noticed improvements in my skin.  Plus, it just feels so so so good to use it… my face now craves it.   I switch off between these two cleansers.  

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4.  My absolute favorite flowers in the world.  Thank you Costco for carrying them.

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5.  I bought these nuggets for Brooke but I eat them more often than she does.  I even use her plates to heat them up on.  

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6. From her birthday… she took a break from opening presents and came over and gave me a big ol’ kiss.  Usually she kisses my cheek:)

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7.  This trailer for a new running documentary!  I love movies about running and this trailer makes me want to run in every race and place that they show in the clip.  Let’s all go to see this movie together.

8.  Banana bread (with chocolate chips).  I purposely don’t eat my bananas just so that they get really ripe so that I can make banana bread.  Made this  Healthier Banana Bread.

Carb-loading.  I like doing that.  

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9.   Ummmmm Runner’s World must have seen this on my blog before posting this;)  Barre classes made the list too and it made me really want to try it… anyone recommend Barre classes?

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10.  Staying up with my sister and Brooke talking until way too late last night.

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This is going to hurt.  But getting my long run done before Brooke wakes up will feel really good.  

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Tell me THREE of your favorite things lately!?!?

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95 comments

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That running movie looks awesome! Running movies and books really inspire me to be a better runner.

As always, Brooke is adorable!

I’m loving this quote I blurted out while running with a friend who was nervous about their pace the other day… “I’d rather run slow with you than fast by myself.”

Have a great weekend :)

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I have pretty bad skin. You found that stuff to work well? I’m pretty much open to try anything at this point LOL. I’m glad you are really getting into rollar blading Janae. It probably makes you so strong for the full!

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Kisses from the kiddos are the best thing in the world!!! And I tend to always eat my son’s food too – like his gummy fruits. I think I like them more than he does.

Three of my favorite things right now:

1) Three day weekends!!! This weekend is particularly special because today is my last day at my job (after 7 years) and Tuesday is my first day of nursing school. Yikes!

2) My PiYo videos – they are getting me to stretch more and do more strength work.

3) The chocolate goodies my co-workers gave me as part of my party favors. Chocolate while eating my breakfast never fails to make me feel decadent!

Happy 3-Day Weekend!!!

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Cute shoes!!

May latest favs are:
1. Blueberry vinegar!
2. Fresh peaches and peach pie!
3. The idea of getting a new computer!!

Have a killer weekend, 4 am is EARLY!!!

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4AM is so early for a long run! I got up to knock one out that early a couple weeks ago and I think my eyes were barely open the first couple of miles, haha. Hope you had a great one!!!

My latest faves: football season being back, UTMB starting today, my cat loving his birthday gift of a new cat tree lol. The simple things in life make me happy, haha.

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Brooke laughing is seriously so cute! She is growing up!! That running documentary looks so good. And so does that banana bread!! Happy Friday!

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Cookie Cake
Cookie Cake and
Cookie Cake
Oh wait, that’s the same 3 isn’t it? Oh well. :)

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The shoes are so cute! Barre is one of my favorite cross training activities. It also helps with the Glute issues I have is well, so I definitely recommend! When I went to physical therapy for Glute problems, my therapist had me do all the same exercises as I do in Barre. I stopped going to PT, went to Barre more often, and the problems went away!

Best of luck with your run this morning! I always label my alarm silly things to make the morning not as painful. My favorite one is my “late” alarm – “Whelp, now you’re late…”

Three favorites: My new dress for my trip to London/Paris (I leave today!), my Brooks Ghost 7s (they’re awesome), my cat? hehe

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My favorites: Mornings feeling like fall (finally!), long weekends, Ghirardelli chocolate chips I bought yesterday. Yum!

I keep hearing good things about Barre classes, but none near where I live! I need to move to a bigger city.

4:40 is when my alarm went off earlier this week. It was no fun, but nice to have the run completed early!!

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My three favourite things at the moment:

– Cinnamon bagels with nutella. Can’t. Stop. Eating!
– Radiohead. I’m about 16 years behind the times.
– 30 Rock. We just watched the finale last night and I’m so sad there are no more episodes…

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I teach a barre class every week, and besides it being so much fun, I really love it because it’s been awesome cross training. It’s helped balance out some muscle weakness.

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Favorite things lately: pumpkin mini muffins, pita chips, and apples!

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Banana bread muffins, cool mornings and YouTube.

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get it girl — anything in the 4am hour always looks painful.

I’m loving:
1. Hard Knocks — this is one of the only shows that both my fiancé and I like. It’s like a fusion of reality tv (my guilty pleasure) and NFL (his obsession).
2. Finally getting to go on a run this week!
3. The thought of sitting on the beach with a cocktail in hand this upcoming Monday.

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That video makes me want to go out and run like a million miles, right now! Three things I’m loving right now are toddler running shoes (because little shoes are much more fun than big ones!), homemade pumpkin spice lattes, and all the pre made gluten free foods out there!

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4am wake up calls are rough…but always worth it. I love my morning miles.

Also you’re really making me want to try roller blading. I would need some sparkly wheels.

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Three of my favorites.
1. My book I’m reading, No Meat Athlete. Super good. I recommend it if your a runner or a vegetarian.
2. Football season finally starting.
3. And this long weekend we are about to have.
Yay.

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Stop mentioning carb loading…you’re making me hungry!! :D

Pizza and cake look fantastic.

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Hmm…I my have to invest in a Clarisonic — I’m tired of breaking out!

I love white hydrangeas — we had them as our wedding centrepieces, so they always remind me of that day :)

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Brooke is just so sweet! 4:40 is a rough time to get up, but you are right that it will be worth it! I hope your long run goes great!

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Barre class is awesome! You’d love it.
Have a happy long weekend!

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I’m loving labor day long weekends off.
The blueberry muffins I just made with my son.
And getting to go for some runs this weekend!

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i loveeee my clarisonic too. also, brooke’s fitness tracker is amazing.

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I’ve taken a few pure barre classes. They kicked my butt but I lost interest pretty quickly. If you love pride and prejudice (who doesn’t?!) you have to watch Austenland. Its hilarious and amazing. You’ll love it, I promise!

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1. Cinnamon crunch bagels at Panera Bread

2. Sleeping until 7:00

3. My Polar Loop activity tracker

That movie looks great!!!

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Barre is the absolute best and a terrific compliment to running! I love Pure Barre and even bought the DVD’s so I can do it at home! Totally recommend it.

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1) Prepping for my first Half marathon in a week.
2) The cool mornings here in Wisconsin.
3) Coffee houses!

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I have been doing barre for the past few weeks and really like it! I don’t think I’ve ever worked my muscles like this before and it really shows you the areas you’re weak in. Although the price isn’t exactly my favorite :(

My favorite is that it’s a 3 day weekend!

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Banana bread is one of the best things about fall! That movie looks great, was such a huge fan of SOTM movies, and I’ve been wanting another running movie to come out!

Heck yes for a 3 day weekend!!

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Those flowers are beautiful!

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I teach barre classes! Go! You’ll be amazed.

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I got up at 4:40 today too!! Only to run 6 miles though… GOOD LUCK today!

1. It’s Labor Day Weekend in about 7 hours. YES

2. CRABS – I’m going to MD this weekend and will eat approx. 50lbs of crabs

3. My foot rubz rolley ball thingee. I have been using it on my arches and sitting on it to hit my piriformis. It is a life saver.

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I LOVE barre classes! They are so great and different from running. I love feeling all the little tiny muscles getting a great workout. You should definitely try it! It’s intense and so fun!

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1. My little nephew starting school. I think he may be my favourite person ever.
2. M&S chocolate chip shortbread cookies. Oh my wow.
3. Dublin in summertime. I just love it!

Love Brooke’s attempt to be twinners, she is too cute! You guys <3

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My alarm was set for 4:45am this morning and I cranked out 11 miles before 7am…nothing like it! Good luck this morning!

I think it’s time I upgrade from at home YouTube videos to real fitness classes to cross train. Barre and body pump are on the top of list to try.

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1. carb loading
2. gel nail polish
3. shrimp burritos

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My self esteem has been above par lately. I’m totally going with this as my first favorite since it is quite unusual :)
My subaru forester! Loving it!
Mini ice cream sandwiches from trader joes. Naturally I had three since they were mini! :)

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My favorites:
1. Early morning prayer and running before my son wakes up! (Though 4:40 is pretty rough! I prefer 5…)
2. Coffee.
3. Playing piano!

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My three favorite things… Today! :)
1. French Roast Starbucks coffee
2. My clean and organized (students come Wednesday!) classroom
3. New running shoes are arriving TODAY! :)

Any idea when that movie will be released? I love the message it seems to send.
Happy Friday!

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1. Hippie Crack from Baked and Wired
2. Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate for post-run recovery
3. Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies from Whole Foods

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I loved Barre class, but it aggravated my plantar fasciitis so I had to give it up. I am in love with cool morning runs, Nutella on toast, and searching for items for my Halloween costume. Have a great weekend!

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That running documentary was filmed in Oregon! I recognize almost all of those places. Guess you will have to come and run in my neck of the woods. :)

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YES I love my Clarisonic too I’m glad you have been liking it so far! And those shoes are too cute!

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1. Donettes: chocolate ones.
2. Pedicures
3. Zin, a perfect resturant for a girls dinner.

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I LOVE hydrangeas too!! I want to get some fake ones so I can have them around ALL the time and not spend a fortune on fresh ones all the time.

Cute shoes too! Perfect for fall. It was an early morning for me too – taught a BodyPump class. Thank goodness tomorrow is Saturday and we get to SLEEP IN! Good luck on your long run! I’m sure you’ll rock it!

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I have that skin thing. My Mom bought it for me last Christmas & I have yet to use it. Guess I should give it a whirl! I’m really loving Nordstrpm Rack. Found tons of workout clothes there cheap. Also peanut butter filled pretzels from TJ’s. Yum!

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Hi! Just found your blog recently and can’t stop reading. I am training for my first marathon and your posts are great motivation! Thanks!

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Hey Stephanie!!! GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR FIRST MARATHON and let me know how it goes!

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I have the clarisonic too and I loveee how fresh my face feels after I use it. My routine is philosophy purity gel cleanser + clinique liquid exfoliator + aveeno moisturizer, kinda random but it works.

I’m pumped this weekend because I signed up for CIM, Penn State football is starting, and I got some FLASH TATS that I can’t wait to wear to the beach.

By the time you read this, your 20 miler will be OVER and you’ll have all weekend to relax + refuel :)

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Def recommend barre classes! Makes muscles sore that I didn’t even know I had! They do a lot of hip work which I think helps my running.

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The running movie looks awesome! They were running around Portland, Mt. Hood, and the Oregon Coast – my old stomping grounds. I love Oregon.

My favorite things? Chocolate, sleep, and the nice weather as of late.

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I have an almost 2.5 yo son so I am REALLY curious how your long run mornings go. I’d love to get up on Saturdays and knock out my long runs before he wakes up. How does 20 miles play out? I am guessing you run this under 3 hours….so you get home by 8 am-ish? I’m not sure my son would still be sleeping then, but I guess if he’s awake that would be a great motivator to get home quicker :-)

Anyways, I would love to know/read a typically day in the life of kinda post highlighting a long run morning if you’re up for it and want to share.

Thanks!

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I would love to! Great idea! Thanks Randi!

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Yay! I look forward to reading it and good luck on that 20 miler!

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Oh those shoes super adorbs! And they’d totally cover my black toenails I discovered. I SO need to watch a running documentary to get motivated all I wanna do is carb load and not run.

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I do love those shoes, they look comfy AND cute! I’m going to check them out at target today when I go!!

Twinning with Brooke is the most adorable thing ever! My stepdaughter likes us to match all the time!

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ooh, what fitness tracker do you use?

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and never mind. oopsie! trying to catch up by reading backwards isn’t the best idea. jawbone was what i was looking at too.

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You have the cutest little twinsie ever :)

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AWWW that is so sweet that Brooke wanted to match you! You’re raising a super sweet little girl :)

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Yes to the movie!!! And YES to barre!!! I like Barre3 online (there aren’t any studios near where I live). If you like yoga and Pilates, you’ll love barre. In fact, I started teaching barre-ish classes (blending yoga, Pilates and some barre moves) two times a week last year and I cut 30 sec. off my pace and haven’t had any of the knee pain that usually bothers me. So, yeah, I guess I’m kinda a fan.

Fave thing right now: my Contigo water bottle with the snap-off lid I just got at Target. Awesome!

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Fun project you can try with the flowers…put a couple drops of food coloring in the water and the flowers will change to that color.

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Soooo cool! Thank you!!!!

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Barre classes are amazing! I tried one recently and choose to do the hour long class because I was like its not going to be that hard but IT WAS SO HARD! ha in a good awesome workout way but try it! They are magic!

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Awww that kissing picture is too sweet! And I have been wanting a Clarisonic for so long now! Some day! ;) 3 of my favorite things: 1. yoga! I’ve been lovingggg it lately! 2. It’s FRIDAY! :D 3. I’ve gotten into cooking recently, and have been having so much fun experimenting in the kitchen!

xo

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Hmm. Three favorite things:

My weight training classes (at Lifetime) – they’ve really helped me reduce injury and my IT band hurts a lot less now.

Sleeping in. Which isn’t happening much lately.

The kids being at school!!!

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Running that early? Ugh you go girl!
I do the same thing with bananas, haha!

My 3 fave things
1) almond butter! Can’t get enough!
2) baking healthy protein bars from recipes I find on Pinterest!
3) buying running shoes, can’t stop!

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Hi Janae!
I wanted to give you another running documentary recommendation! It is called 100:Head/Heart/Feet. It follows a guy training for and running the Vermont 100 miler. He had tried and not finished the two years prior. The people who made it are local to me so I was lucky enough to see the premier. It was sooo inspiring to see the commitment and mental strength that goes into it! I think you would just love it!
Here’s the link to the trailer:

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My husband and I eat those nuggets at least twice a week for dinner. Barre classes are great, Pure Barre is where I go.

1. pB2 powder
2. Farm to table restaurants (so many in Kentucky!)
3. Cold brew coffee

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I’m looking forward to that documentary too! I’ve seen it posted a lot on Facebook. Cute shoes! I wish I could wear heals! They kill me after a couple of hours so I basically live in my runners. :) What are the pictures on the side of your site??? Is it you? tee hee . 3 of my favorite things are, my iPhone, my running shoes and cupcakes. :)

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1. My students–they are all really sweet and nice so far.
2. “Chicago Mix” popcorn at Trader Joe’s
3. Working-out every day. I promised myself if I stayed committed to working-out each day during this first week back at teaching high school…. then I could go shopping for more workout clothes (and maybe teaching clothes too).. and I made it! So I will definitely be shopping this weekend!

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This warmed my heart! I love that you listed your students as a favorite. You must be a good egg.

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I love barre! Actually, I hate barre classes (they get kind of old after a while) but I have never noticed such a difference in my body so fast. The classes really sculpt everything perfectly, and it’s insane how much those tiny movements burn!

Three things I am loving lately:

1. Boom Clap by Charli XCX. Can NOT stop jamming out to that song.

2. Mango everything. Fresh mangoes, mango margaritas, dried mangoes, mango smoothies…I don’t know why but I get on these kicks and can’t get enough. They’re just sooooo tasty!

3. The fact that we have a 3 day weekend this weekend! Yayyyy to Sunday night NOT being depressing! Man long weekends are just the absolute jam. Of course ours is completely packed with plans but I am looking forward to all of them!

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Hi Janae! I found your blog several months ago, wished I’d found it sooner as I live in Morgan Hill (close to your old stomping grounds:)

I love barre classes, I’ve been taking classes at Dailey Method for two years and as others have commented have never seen my body tone up so fast (I’m sure if I cut out sugar, it would be even more visible!) You’ve inspired me to try roller blading again, I’m signed up for a half marathon in November, and since getting a stress fracture two years ago really need cross training to prevent injuries. Thanks for writing such a positive blog, I look forward to reading it daily:)

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Hey!… Just curious how many days a week do you run?… What would a typical training week look like for you?
BTW…. You may have inspired me to roller blade!… we used to make up dances like ice skaters when we were kids! haha!

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Barre method is amazing!! Everyone must try it. It is wonderful for toning and just feeling really good!

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My mom sent me to school with some zucchini bread and that’s definitely one of my current favorites! I’m also loving my morning playlist and spinning classes :)

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That documentary looks so good! Can’t wait to watch it when it’s released.
Three things I’m loving:
1.) Doing long runs again as I seem to be recovering from my injury
2.) Mango and lychee green tea, it’s so lush!
3.) Binge watching Mad Men on netflix

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My favorite thing right this second is you carb-loading in your fancy new shoes. Awesome.

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My favorites:
1. Salted dark chocolate squares
2. My hilarious 7th grade class
3. Running pain free!

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I saw that trailer a few days ago! It was awesome because that scene of the race starting on the mountain is at the start of Hood to Coast which I had just run this past weekend! Very cool :)
I got up at 4:45 this morning too ugh

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1. Snuggling with my kiddo. (always)
2. Protein Cheerios. I haven’t been really into cereal for a long time but suddenly I’ve rediscovered my love for it.
3. Target Cartwheel and Red Card.

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love Brooke….she melts my heart

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I love reading your blog!

Brooke is sooo adorable in her bracelets and tiny gold sandals! I also love your new shoes,, I see you still had them on in the banana bread/pizza pic….(I LOVE carb loading too!)

The running movie looks awesome! Any idea when it’s coming out?

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YES to barre! I love Bar Method- it makes you stronger and really helps flexibility. My hamstrings love barre after a run. :)

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Those are my favorite flowers, too! I had them at my wedding and they came from Trader Joe’s (it was a very DIY wedding). And, I LOVE barre classes. They destroy me.

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Oh my – that 4:40 wake up call looks exciting ;) I guess by now you have already run it, but I hope it went well :) Your shoes are fabulous by the way!

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You have got to try the Bar Method (I saw there is one in SLC). It is absolutely the best! The thing that makes Bar Method different from anything else is that the whole class is designed for safety. Every move is developed by/reviewed by physical therapists. You can know you are building strong muscles in a very safe way. I think it is the perfect cross training for running. I used to pronate pretty badly and after a couple of years at Bar Method, my muscles have all gotten stronger and more balanced and I don’t pronate at all anymore. Check it out. http://blog.barmethod.com/the-bar-method-is-in-a-class-by-itself/

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Let me know what movie theater we are going to rent out to see “What moves you?”

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I love that vase, I bought it for a house warming gift. Great flower choice!

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This is a nice selection!

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That movie looks like it was all filmed in Oregon. I live in Utah now, but Portland is where I grew up. That trailer makes me want to go back to the PNW and let my legs carry everywhere!

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I don’t know if you’re a fan of Living Social deals, but I just bought this for my daughter for her acne. Haven’t got it/used it yet so I can’t give you any feedback, but it got really good reviews. https://www.livingsocial.com/deals/1245352-led-facial-treatment-lights?preferred_city=1938?cvosrc=email.blast.digest_dailyus&utm_campaign=digest_dailyus&utm_content=520&utm_medium=email&utm_source=blast

I LOVE that pic of Brooke with her bracelets. She looks so proud of herself.

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I saw that trailer a few days ago! It was awesome because that scene of the race starting on the mountain is at the start of Hood to Coast which I had just run this past weekend!

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Barre method is amazing!! Everyone must try it. It is wonderful for toning and just feeling really good!

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