My Site Has Moved!

Hi guys! I decided to switch over to a WordPress hosted site so check it out at runfor-cupcakes.com

I'm still making some changes to look and feel of things so it doesn't look too pretty but it will soon!

:)

Merry (Late) Christmas!

Hello and Merry Christmas!! I know I've been MIA for a while but I really haven't been doing much besides running and spending time with my family. I've also been trying to get my blog switched over to WordPress and it is almost there... almost! So I am here to share some pictures from Christmas and to announce some VERY exciting news. At least I think it's exciting, if you don't think it's exciting sorry for getting you all hyped up for nothing!

Meeko waiting patiently to open his stocking

Me looking very sleepy with my stocking

My cute preggo sister and BIL

Aaaand I did a little photo shoot of my parents... my dad is quite the character! Like father like daughter?

I had just opened up my new Garmin Forerunner 210 watch (you can kind of see it on my lap) and I thought that was my last present because my mom always saves our "big" presents for last. Well much to my surprise I had one more present that came wrapped in a Mickey bag...

I look all puffy and red because I literally started balling. I found out my mom and I are running the Dumbo Double Dare in Disneyland in August and then the Wine and Dine Half in November which means we will finally get our coast to coast medals!!!!

This was the last thing I expected to receive and I feel so incredibly blessed and lucky. I can't even begin to explain my excitement, even though it is 8 months away I already want to start planning my costumes! I'm not going to though I promise... ahhhhhhh!!!! Okay I'm done.

For the next week or so if my blog seems a little crazy it probably has something to do with me switching over so please just ignore it for the time being. I'll get it figured out eventually (hopefully).

I hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Christmas filled with lots of family, food, and fun!

'Twas the Week Before Christmas

'Twas the Week Before Christmas

 An original poem by Running For Cupcakes (aka me)

'Twas the week before Christmas and all through the town,

Not a sidewalk was shoveled, at even one house.

My laces were tied all tight and with care,

So outside to the roads I went running with dare.

Everyone else snuggled warm in their beds,

Were saying "what is that crazy girl doing?!" in their heads.

Running around the neighborhood for three freezing laps,

Had me ready to take a long winter's nap.

I thought it would be fun to run in the snow,

but there is a lot of things I did not know.

I kept hoping for the sun to appear,

So the ice could melt and the paths would be clear.

The low temperatures made me run quick,

I was worried I would get sick!

The miles passed by and the end finally came,

I looked up and saw my street name.

When I got home all my teeth could do was chatter,

I was so cold I was worried I would shatter.

Up to the hot shower I ran in a flash,

To thaw out from my quick winter dash.

Now I'm curled up all warm on the couch,

And I may be acting like a grouch.

Grumpy Courtney is not a pretty sight,

So Happy Holidays to all and to all a Goodnight!

Hashtag Thursday: Home Edition

Happy Thursday Everyone! Here's a little look at what I've been doing since I've been home in hashtag form of course!

 

#TreadmillRunning Ughhh I hate running on the treadmill but I'm scared to run outside in the ice and snow. I'm going to suck it up and go running outside today. Do you like our dinosaur exercise machines? I think some of them are older than me and yes that is a folded up ab lounger leaning against the bike. I begged my dad for one when I was 14 and he caved and bought me one. In case you didn't know using an ab lounger will not give you abs of steel...

 

#ViewFromTheTreadmill Brrrrrrrrrr

 

#TiredFeetFromRunning I ran a quick two miles on the treadmill before I got bored and switched to doing some strength training. 

 

#Annie My sister used to work at a vet and would bring home animals all the time. Most of the time we were able to find homes for them but no one wanted her! She ended up just staying at our house and was named Annie for Annie the orphan.

 

#Zoe A very little and sometimes annoying pup but she's so lovable and fun to talk to after a hard workout :)

 

#CreepyBug I swear this bug is following me around the house but it is always too high for me to catch it! I'm the person who will put a bug on a tissue and carry it outside, I feel too bad killing them!

 

#StuffingStockings Christmas is 6 days away!!!!

 

#Deer They are EVERYWHERE. I'm scared I'm going to accidentally hit one with my car!

 

#GrapesGalore #OmNomNom

And last but not least...

#Anchorman2 I don't have any pictures of this but holy cow this movie was hilarious!!! (If you like Will Ferrel's kind of humor) If you need a good laugh I highly recommend going to see it!

QOTD: 

Have you seen any good movies lately?

Favorite kind of fruit?

Home is Where the Snow is (An explanation of why I hate the snow)

I made it home safe and sound and with no delays Monday night! Yesterday was full of shopping. I finally got a good amount of Christmas shopping done and I have ideas for everyone else on my list- hallelujah! I didn't have time to workout Monday or Tuesday (unless you count walking around the mall as a workout) so I knew I wanted to get in a good workout this morning. I really really wanted to run outside this morning, but when I looked outside it was snowing and I'm kind of a Grinch when it comes to snow- I HATE IT!

I feel like I need to explain my hatred for snow...

When I was little my passion was dance

 

And it remained my passion for 11 years.

 

Unfortunately when I was 12 years old about 9 years into my dancing career I was sledding in my backyard (we live on the top of a very big hill) and I hit a tree. I knew instantly that something was wrong, I had never been in more pain in my entire life. I was with one of my best friends Bre so she ran up to my house and got my dad. He came running down the hill realized there was something wrong with me and ran back up to get the car and take me to the hospital. I later learned that on his way back up the hill my dad tried to jump over a snowbank, but didn't make it and tripped and broke two of his fingers. Even with two broken fingers he picked me up, carried me to the car, and drove me to the hospital. He refused to have his fingers looked at when we got to the hospital and they are now so crooked and messed up because of his stubbornness. On the way to the hospital in between sobs I kept telling my dad that I was positive my leg was broken. I had never broken a bone before, but I just knew it was, he tried to stay optimistic and kept telling me it was just badly bruised but I wasn't buying it. When we pulled up to the hospital and the nurses tried to move me they heard my bone pop and just from that one noise were able to confirm that it was indeed broken. The whole time this was going on my mom and Bre's mom were Christmas shopping together and both of them had their phones turned OFF. Remember the days when everyone's cell phones weren't attached to their hip? By the time they got our messages I had already been x-rayed and received the worst news I had ever gotten in my life so far: My right femur bone was broken straight through and I would not be able to dance for at least 6 months. Up until that time I had been crying from the pain, but when I was told I wouldn't be able to dance I lost it. Dance was my life I was at the studio after school from 3-10 EVERYDAY and I loved it.

Then began the longest 4 days of my life. They put me in a hospital room with no window because they were doing construction on the outside of the building, and I had an IV of morphine put in me against my will. I've always been against medicine and I would rather suffer through the pain, but they didn't give me a choice. I couldn't move for 4 days and I was the unhappiest I have ever been in my entire life. I had volunteers come in and try to make me do crafts or bake cookies with them but I wanted nothing to do with them. I know they were just trying to be nice and make me feel better but I just wanted to be alone. Finally on the fourth day they took me into surgery and I had two titanium rods put in my leg, and then I got to go home!

 

Being in the hospital was a pretty traumatic experience for me. I had no appetite the whole time, but had people constantly trying to force me to eat. (it didn't work) And I didn't see the light of day for 4 days. I actually cried when we pulled into my driveway because I was so happy to be home. Also, when they tried to get me up after surgery to teach me how to use crutches I promptly passed out. I had been laying down for 4 whole days and the nurses thought it would be a good idea to just sit me up super fast- talk about a head rush! Since I passed out I was not allowed to use crutches hence the walker and wheelchair in the above photos. 

I returned to dance the following summer after breaking my leg, but it was not the same. I had lost a lot of my flexibility and movement. Frustrated is an understatement for how I felt. I danced for 2 more years and then made the hard decision to quit. Dancing didn't bring me the same joy it used to and I wanted to have only good memories of my dancing years. I miss dancing everyday of my life, but it was a blessing in disguise because I would have never found my love for running if I hadn't quit dancing.

Since breaking my leg I've gone sledding a couple times, but only because my dad chopped down the tree that I hit. 

 

I even gave skiing a try once. I know I look happy in this picture but I was actually scared to death and cried most of the time I was skiing.  I'm not a crier but I was so terrified the entire time because I was surrounded by trees. I have no desire to ever go skiing again.

I love looking at the snow. I think it is gorgeous, but I hate going out in it. Just yesterday I was walking out to the car and slipped and fell on my knees. The moral of this story is that I am really clumsy and the snow just amplifies my clumsiness. Hence the reason for moving to the beach and never wanting to leave.

So that is the reason for my hatred of snow. Not just because it is cold and wet!

QOTD: Are you a snow lover or hater?

MIMM: GOTR/STRIDE 5K

Hello Hello! Can you believe Christmas is only 9 days away?! I have ZERO shopping done and I am starting to panic. I like to use the excuse that I fly home for the holidays and therefore can't bring a lot of extra "stuff" with me, but the truth is I could've been picking up little things or buying gifts online. I just cannot come up with anything creative to get anyone besides my Brother-in-Law. Super excited about his present btw! More on that later!

I had another Marvelous weekend and this Monday is extra marvelous because I did not have to go to lab or worry about studying for once! Here is a look at my marvelous weekend...

Friday started with an amazing 5 mile run on the beach!

 

It then continued with a party with some awesome friends to celebrate being done with school. It was also a last get-together before a lot of us head home for the holidays!

I may or may not have stayed out much later than I planned... which made for a very hard time waking up for my 5k on Saturday. I think I might have shed a few tears when my alarm went off. But once I got my butt out of bed and started to wake up I was fine and excited! Saturday was the 5k for Girls on the Run and Stride, the last time for my kiddos to strut their stuff and show what they've been working for the whole season. 

Picture from my Instagram

They all did so well and I could not be more proud of them! I'm not going to do an official recap for this race since it was purely for fun so here is a little mini recap: There were 1200 people total and about 550 of those were the boys and girls participating in GOTR or STRIDE. The course was not the best course I have ran on, but also not the worse. I don't think they expected that many people to run. They only had one lane open for everyone to run in and it was VERY crowded. I spent a lot of the race zig-zagging around other runners/walkers and never really got into a steady pace because of this. They let the boys start first and then the girls started in 2 different waves. I was in the last wave with my GOTR team. Around mile 2 a lot of my boys had already reached the turn around so I got to cheer them on as they headed towards the finish! I also caught up to a couple of them and got to run with them for a bit which was so much fun! I also ran with a lot of my girls. Anytime I saw any of my kids I would run over and stay with them for a bit and cheer them on. I've never ran a race with more than about 5 people I know so it was cool seeing a bunch of familiar faces! When I reached the finish 4 of my speedy boys had already finished so they got to give me high fives and cheer for me as I crossed the finish line- the best way to end a race! My official time was 32:40 a 10:34 pace. I then got to wait with my boys for the rest of my kids! Seeing their faces as they crossed the finish line and received their medals was so rewarding. I've said it once and I'll say it again, being a coach for these AMAZING organizations has been such a blessing in my life and I encourage anyone who has time to volunteer to be a coach at least once! I promise it is life changing!

After the race I went straight to work for 7 hours and then went straight home where I watched Netflix and was in bed by about 8! Such a crazy Saturday night!

Sunday started with another 7 hour shift at work woo-hoo! And ended with this amazingness...

Holy crapper snappers! If you guys haven't tried this you need to! It is also life changing (not as life changing as coaching)

I'm heading back to Ohio this afternoon for a couple of weeks of family time! My mom sent me this picture of my cat today. Apparently he's been driving her nuts ruining the Christmas tree! (hehe) For those of you who know me you know I'm more of a dog person than a cat person but I love all animals. One day I went out to buy a new pair of shoes and came home with a kitten. I'm a sucker for the animals in the pet shops and couldn't bear to leave this little guy. I used to have him at school with me, but due to multiple reasons he unfortunately had to go back to Ohio to live and has since bonded with our dog so I would feel too guilty taking him back. For as much as my mom complains about him (her nickname for him is Meeko Monster) I know she would miss him too! His name is Meeko, the Disney lover in me had to pick a name from a Disney movie of course! Anyone know what movie/character? I call him Meeko Bubba, not sure why but it fits!

 

So excited to see this cutie later today! Once again here's to hoping all of my flights are on time and I make it home! Apparently we have a lot of snow! 

I hope your Monday and the rest of the week is just Marvelous!

Questions of the Day

• Are you a cat or dog person?
• Where is your favorite place to run? (road, park, beach, etc)
• Is anyone else as behind on Christmas shopping as me?!

Love Where You Live

I feel like I've been posting so late in the day recently... plans just keep popping up unexpectedly and I've been pretty busy the past few days, but I am not complaining. I'm one of those people who has issues sitting still (I think that's why I like running so much, it gives me an excuse to move!)

I know I've talked about how much I love where I live before, but today is one of those days where I am feeling extra, extra blessed to live where I do. Last night one of my friends asked me to go out to the Beach Bars (another perk of living where I do) with him. I politely declined because I knew I wanted to go running this morning, and that is exactly what I did! But first breakfast because it is the most important meal of the day!

 

Oats with almond butter and cinnamon! After breakfast I got dressed and ready to run! It was 50 degrees today which in my opinion is the perfect running temp! Not too hot and not too cold! I headed to my favorite running spot of course, the Wrightsville Beach Loop and just ran! No apps on my phone to track my pace or anything, just a nice relaxing fun run!

 And after 5 miles I ended up on the beach. It was such a gorgeous day! I feel the need to mention that none of these pictures have filters, it was beautiful. I really don't know if I can live away from the beach again. It's where I go when I need to getaway from everything and clear my head. The quote "The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea" kept going through my head. 

 

After my run I stopped by work to get my paycheck. Woop, woop payday! Some of my friends that I work with were there also eating some lunch and getting ready to go shopping. I work in an outdoor shopping center/mall with lots of fun shops. Below is a bad picture of what it looks like. When they asked me to join them I couldn't say no- I love shopping way too much. We walked around a few stores like Williams and Sonoma and Francesca's. I for once showed self control and didn't buy anything! Mainly because I need to save money to go shopping for Christmas presents, which yes I have not started at all!

 

After running and shopping I was STARVING! I went home and made some whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce and green beans. It was delicious. So delicious that I ate it all before taking a picture- whoops!

Now I am trying to convince myself to get ready for a party I'm supposed to go to tonight. A bunch of people from work are getting together one last time before a lot of us leave for the holidays! It should be a lot of fun!

Question of the Day

Where do you live and why do you love it?

Hashtag Thursday? Random Edition

Today has been a busy but fun-filled day! Here's a few things that have been going on in my life, in hashtag form because I can!

#LastDayofFinals

 #LastDayofStrideandGOTRPractice

#SoBittersweet #LoveThem

#ChilisToCelebrate

#BlackBeanPatty #Salad #Vegetarian #TooMuchFood #SoFullButSoGood

And last but not least...

#MakingChanges

I'm jumping on the WordPress train and slowly, but surely switching over. I regret not doing this from the start because I have sooo much to learn! I'm hoping to have it all done before the new year!

#ThatisAllForNow #Bye!

 

 

WIAW: Vegetarian Life

I've never enjoyed eating meat, I don't know why but I just never liked the taste. I can't even tell you the number of times I tried to cook my own chicken and ended up throwing it away because I was too grossed out to eat it. Don't even get me started on red meat and pork. I haven't eaten either in such a long time and I do not miss it at alllll. The only thing that was stopping me from becoming a full-on vegetarian was the fact that I don't know anyone else who is one and I didn't want to come off as being "high-maintenance" or "stuck-up" when I went out to eat with friends. Well Thanksgiving was the last straw for me. Seeing the raw turkey and even the cooked turkey literally made me gag and lose my appetite. I told my mom about wanting to be a vegetarian and she was very supportive and even told me to find recipes that she can cook for me when I am home for winter break. So it's been almost 3 weeks of Vegetarian eats and I'm still going strong, and I have no desire to eat chicken at all.

So the first thing I did when I got back after Thanksgiving was go grocery shopping for lot's of yummy and nutritious food!

 

A few things I purchased were peas, edamame, spinach, carrots, spaghetti squash, cauliflower, bananas, apples, hummus, oats, and almond butter. 

So now here comes the eats, for breakfast I normally just eat some sort of protein bar like a Luna Bar or Clif bar, and a piece of fruit. 

 

I had extra time one morning so I made a batch of protein powder pancakes. As you can tell from the first picture I made way too many, so I had 2 days worth of breakfast from them! I put almond butter on top of them the second time and it was so delicious! 

 

This is my new favorite lunch! It is a spinach wrap with roasted red pepper hummus, spinach, lettuce, carrots, edamame, and some cheese. I had to take a picture before I actually wrapped it because well I'm really bad at it!

 

I also made sweet potato chips to go on the side one day. Some of them turned out like chips, but some of them turned out like circular sweet potato fries (hence the ketchup).  

Next I tried to conquer the cauliflower crust pizza.

 

It may or may not have conquered me...

  But in the end it turned out fine and I will definitely be making it again. (hopefully with no burns)

 

On nights that I work my new favorite meal is Grilled Cheese and Tomato Basil Soup. Or I'll just make a yummy salad, perks of working around food! I love that I can make almost anything I want out of the ingredients that we have, I'll never get bored!

So that is just some of the food I have been eating. I'm looking forward to trying much more! 

And now I have a recipe for y'all. It's actually really simple and you could probably make it on your own but I'm going to share it anyways!

Almond Butter Oatmeal Cinnamon Shake

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Almond Milk
• 2 Tbs. Almond Butter
• Dash of Cinnamon
• 1/2 cup Oats
• 1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder

So all you have to do is throw all of the ingredients in the blender and wa-la! You have yourself a yummy and filling breakfast shake!

 

For all of you vegetarians/vegans out there please, please, please share recipes with me! Or if I do not follow your blog and you have lot's of yummy recipes on there please say hi :)