That time I fell in love with Zola

“Did you just chew your water.”  Yes, co-worker, Yes. I. Did. and I loved it.

All these years I’ve been buying my orange juice pulp free.  YUCK.  Pulp in orange juice is disgusting.  Pulp in Coconut Water – HEAVEN.  Go on, chew your water!

Zola sent me three of their products to review, The Coconut Water with Pulp, 100% Natural Coconut Water and the Original Açaí juice.  I would have to rank them with pulp, the açaí juice, then without pulp. I would not turn down any of them again and on our next grocery run will pick up more of the Coconut Water with pulp FOR SURE.

Each of the products are listed as being

• USDA Organic & Kosher certified
• Sustainably harvested
• Gluten and GMO free
• 100% Vegan
• The cans are BPA free

Over the past eighteen months or so while I’ve been tracking my diet I realized that I was drinking  a lot of my calories and it really adds up in your diet.  Each of the Zola Coconut Water with Pulp cans is 2 servings and each serving is 13 grams of sugar.  Compared to the 14 grams in Gatorade, the 19 in a Lipton Green Tea or the 31 in a Starbucks Frappuccino… I think this Zola Coconut Water is pretty great!

The açaí had 22 grams of sugar per serving, so I had to cut those servings in half and I watered them down.  The taste was perfect for me once I prepared it as 4 oz of water and 4 oz of the açaí juice.  I do this with all of my juice now, I really don’t like how sweet juice is anymore, so I won’t hold it against Zola, it’s not you, it’s me.   If you like sweet juices, you’ll like the açaí juice from Zola straight from the bottle.  If not, mix it with water and you’ll fall in love, like I did.

Have you found that you like things now that you didn’t before?  FYI, I still don’t like lima beans.  NOPE.  Some things will never change.  I’m just glad that I’ve changed my stance on both coconut water AND pulp.  Try something new this week – you  just might  like it! Not you, lima beans, you had your chance.

What You Learn When you Volunteer in Schools

Sometimes I put my hand over my mouth and mind my own business.  Really.  I DO!  Why don’t you all believe me?  But when I just can’t anymore, it gets scary.  Yep, I get ideas.

I am so thankful that my job allows me the time to volunteer at our kids school.  I work long hours, I travel, I am away from the family several nights a month and in exchange I get to spend time with the kids at their schools.    So. Stinking. Blessed.  With that comes the fact that I can’t say no when the teacher emails that she needs me.  DOC says, “you know you can say no, right?” And of course I respond “of course, I know that I can’t say no. If she needs me, she needs me.” So I pray it rains and the field trip is cancelled go and volunteer.

Really, I love these kids.  They are so funny and kind and I love watching them learn.  On Friday I went on a  field trip to the local nature trail is always wonderful.  The volunteer guides are so fantastic, teaching the kids, teaching me, helping to explore a world that most of the kids that live in the city don’t really ever get to see.  It is a great field trip.

What I learn is, there are kids out there that need a hug.  And a healthy meal.  And parents who make sure they go to sleep on time.  And a whole lot more time outdoors.  And for someone to look at the weather before a field trip starts.   I am not putting this all on the adults, kids in the second grade can take on a lot of responsibility themselves, like The Boy is the one who told me the night before the trip “mum, you have to wear jeans and not sandals tomorrow.”   But MAN alive, did I witness some behavior from second graders that has me scared for their futures.

One of the things I learned is that through my own work in trying to make healthier choices for myself and our family over the past year or so that I have become passionate about helping all families find healthier choices.  This field trip was a glaring reminder for me that I’m helping the Boy and the Diva, but I need to and have the ability to help their classmates.   The bad part for me is, when I get an idea like this I tend to go crazy.  I’m working hard at formulating a plan of action and figuring out how hard I can push this idea.    Baby steps.  I’m not Michelle Obama, I’m not Miss America, but I think I may be building a platform.  Oh dear.

 

Packing for a Mud Run

As I prepare for the Foam Fest next weekend I have two things on my mind, after, I’m probably not ready for a 3 story free fall:

1.) What to wear

2.) What to pack

I learned so much after our first run last year that I wanted to be sure that all my fellow newbie mud runners know what to do before they get there.

If you scroll all the way down in this blog post, Courtney at Journey of a Dreamer,  gives some of the best advice I’ve seen.

I want to highlight some of the areas Courtney suggests and add a few of my own.

Wear your oldest shoes. Some races will have a donation box at the finish, they’ll get them cleaned up and recycle them for you.

Wear your tightest clothes, not sweatpants or anything. I have seen lots of pictures of people in cute big tutus.  Those costumes are great and fun, just remember, you’ll be dragging all that extra material through the mud.  Not so much fun. Don’t wear your favorite pair of running pants, wear your least favorite, lightest and tightest fitting pair.

Bring lots of plastic trash bags to throw in anything you want to keep and protect your car.

Towels (one to stand on after your shoes are off and clean, a big beach towel to cover you while you undress if there aren’t shower facilities, and another to clean yourself)

Baby wipes to get as clean as possible, q-tips for your ears and nose

Comfy clothes to change into and FLIP FLOPS. You will not want to put your feet back into a pair of shoes.

If you want to keep your “bib” and swag, bring a ziplock or two to keep your muddy items separate from your new t-shirts and other swag.

Don’t take your phone or anything else that will get ruined in water or mud with you.  Take a disposable camera to take pictures along the route, but don’t be sad if you lose it.

A brush, a hat, and extra cash to buy some extra beers and swag.

A great attitude. If you go into a mud race or a color race – expect to have a blast and expect to help your fellow-man along the way.  This isn’t the Olympics.  Don’t be trying to PR.  Be trying to have the time of your life.

Have a blast and I hope to see you in the mud – or the foam – along the way!

Sparkle on,

Aimee

The 5K Foam Fest on the Horizon

WHEW!  About 70 days ago I posted that it was 80 days until the 5K Foam Fest.  I’m not so good with the math but I think that means I only have TEN DAYS LEFT.  Oh Dear Lord.  Ten Days until I run THIS event: a 5k trail run with 13 obstacles like a mud trench, a 45 foot death drop slide, and a 50 foot slip in slide.  WHEW.  Yeah.  I’m ready.  Kinda.

I laid out a training program back 80 days ago and I really have to thank the “No Girly Push ups” for helping me with my upper body strength.  I’ve been using two apps to help me: the Pushups 100+ Lite – free and through that I found the 200+ Lite Free Squats.  Yesterday I did 135 squats.  I will not tell you how bad my hamstrings hurt today, but they do.

I fully admit I have not stuck very well to the training programs I laid out for myself, but I’m had a Best Running Friend along the way to keep me motivated, or at least to laugh at me enough to know she will laugh her butt off at me if I don’t run this 5K better than the last one we did together.  We’ve even put it out into the world that we’re doing this through the Another Mother Runner‘s blog which has featured us three times this spring as we did our training.  You can find us here: 

The 5K Foam Fest is a good chance for me to see where I’ll need to work harder for the Pretty Muddy in Richmond in September.  I’ve recruited a fairly large group of Bad Ass chicks to run this one with us so I can’t embarrass myself at that one so I will need to keep up the training.

All the while remembering my motivation.  I need to show my little girl what a healthy lifestyle is.

What’s your motivation this week?  What are you working towards?

Sparkle On, Spice Girls (and guys), and Be Kind.

Thanks to the Lean Green Bean’s Blog for the Pin It Party today to remind me to go back and check out my most pinned posts from the past few months.  If you’re addicted to Pinterest like I am, go over and check out some great pins today at http://www.theleangreenbean.com/pin-it-party/.

Well, aren’t you special

Last spring I posted about some friends and family that have what I like to call Habitual Thoughtlessness, folks who seem to be clueless or self-absorbed to the point that they might not realize how rude they are actually being.  Well, that post was mostly about how I can handle myself when I’ve ended up in toxic relationships. This post is more about, how do I tell an acquaintance that they’re being rude to it becoming the point of being around them is intolerable.

A couple of  instances this week have made me want to jump like a jungle cat at a friends throat for just being down right rude to another person.  Ever feel like that?  Most of the time I chalk it up to not being aware of the other person’s life story or to a moment of sticking your foot in your own mouth (HECK, who hasn’t stuck their foot in their own mouth? I mean, I may be the reigning queen of foot into mouth sticking!)  In these instances,  I have seen that this is a pattern of thoughtlessness and self-absorption. Of immaturity?  Of social anxiety?  I don’t know what it is, but honey, that look is just not good on you.

I’m just not sure what to do about it.

So, well, I’m just going to blog about it and ask my Spice Girls, what would you do?

Some people in this world are just down right rude and choose to put their own needs in front of others.  Not like the  hiding behind an internet profile and making rude comments on new stories rude, that’s a special kind of person that gets their kicks from being an internet troll.  I mean the “didn’t your momma ever teach you if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” kind of rude.  It seems to me that there is a whole generation of people who think it’s ok to say whatever it is that pops into their pretty little heads.

Just stop.  Think.  Choose your words and put yourself in the person you’re about to say it to’s position.  And in case your momma, in fact, didn’t teach you, you’re about to be taught -

Your feelings matter just as much as the person you’re getting ready to speak so rudely to.  So zip it.  Lock it up.  Don’t type it in a facebook message.  Don’t text it.  It does not need to be said/shared/written if in any way you think it’s going to come across as rude or uncaring.  It will.

By the way, you, my friend, are not the center of the universe.

Because, honey, you are, in fact, NOT the center of the Universe.  You are not Queen Tina and the wittiest woman alive.  What you are, is downright rude.

Think before you speak.  Please.

April Foodie Pen Pal

Guess what?  I didn’t get kicked out of Foodie Pen Pal for being such a slacker last month!  HOORAY!

I am so thankful!  I got to share more treats from Charlottesville and Little Dippers with the world. And I got to eat the best damn chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had. At least since last month.  Or my moms.

I’d love to introduce my Central Virginia Friends to Thinking of You Creations based in Richmond, VA.  Sheila Johnson was my foodie pal and she totally delivered.  I was, at first, a little bummed because I wanted my foodie pal to be from some far off land, not less than an hours drive from me.  But NOW I’m thankful that I can find her at local farmer’s markets or pick up on my travels to Richmond.  Her chocolate chip cookies and granola are THE BEST I’ve had that I can buy.

I didn’t even know I liked granola!  Really.  I have always thought granola to be a little bleh.  But Thinking of You Creation’s version is FANTASTIC.  Some had peanut butter, some had cherries, dates or raisins, all of them had flavor.  WHO KNEW?  Not this girl.  Sheila, you’ve made me a convert.  Thank you so much!

I hope you’ll sign up as a Foodie Pen Pal for May.  It’s a lot of fun and a way to get some new treats in your life!

Slacker

I’ve been a big old blogging slacker this week.  Please, forgive me!

 

It’s just a little crazy at work and at home and in life in general, but there’s big stuff brewing for us Four Carters including selling our home, lots of races to be run, vacations being planned and this here momma actually writing reviews for some products.  WHEW.  April has been cray cray and it’s about to get crayier.  Yeah.  I went there.  

Sparkle on, Spice Girls.  Sparkle on.  

 

and my new favorite