Uncategorized – Page 4 – Laur’s Truly

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The Liebster Award

Posted on September 10, 2013 by lmpicard16@gmail.com

So… I have some good news to share!

I was fortunate enough to be nominated for a blog award!

It’s called the “Liebster Award”, which I was nominated for by Kim from the blog, Busy Bod!

‘Liebster’ means “dearest” in German. This award is “a way for up-and-coming bloggers to demonstrate each others’ appreciation for what we do”.

The Rules:

Thank the person who nominated you and link back up to his/her blog. Answer the 10 questions which are given to you by the nominator.
Nominate 10 other bloggers for the award who have less than 200 followers.
Create 10 questions for your nominees to answer.
Let the nominees know that they have been nominated by going to their blog and notifying them.

Pretty cool, no?

So here I go with the questions that Kim asked!

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My answers to Kim’s questions:

1. Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging because I was obsessed with the ‘blog world’ and read blogs every single day. I knew that ‘someday’ I would start my own, but I just never knew when that ‘someday’ would be. One day I woke up and decided ‘today was the day’. I sat down that night and created this ol’ thang. I’ve been in love since day one.

2. What has surprised you most about being a blogger?

It takes a lot of hard work for the idea in your head to come to fruition. And even longer to get followers. Something else that surprised me was how quickly you fall in love with it.

3. If you were going to blog about anything other than what you actually blog about, what would it be and why?

Probably ‘celeb gossip’ and more about ‘beauty’ (tips, products, trends, etc). I’m pretty obsessed with this stuff, just not as much as fitness, fashion, and food.

4. List 2-3 blogs that inspire you the most, and why.

It’s hard for me to just choose a few, but I would have to say Peanut Butter Fingers, The Fitnessista, and Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life. Their blogs were the first ones I found and started following regularly, and I absolutely love their styles of blogging, and more importantly their outlooks on health, fitness, food, and life in general.

5. What are your fav songs on your workout playlist right now?

Atlas by Coldplay, Little Bit of Everything by Keith Urban, Who You Love by John Mayer, Roar by Katy Perry, Royals by Lorde, Pretty Brown Eyes by Cody Simpson, Wake Me Up by Avicii, the list goes on and on…

6. Have you made any real life friendships through blogging?

I haven’t met any blogging buds in person yet, but I have definitely felt welcomed into the community and am looking forward to forming more relationships through it!

7. If you could blog full time, would you?

Hmmm. Maybe if I was a stay at home mom! I would love to be able to do that one day. I’m sure I would love to blab all about my future kids 🙂

8. Do you have a guilty pleasure food (that you feel zero guilt eating of course )?

Ice cream (that includes froyo). Period.

9. What is your favorite way to workout? Least favorite?

I love running obviously, but I also love spinning workouts, cardio machines, HIIT and circuit workouts, barre, and more! I love basically any workout that’s fast paced and on the more ‘intense’ side. Yoga is nice for relaxation, but probably my least favorite ‘workout’.

10. What about your blog are you most proud of?

I’m most proud of the fact that it’s me. I write exactly what comes to mind, and don’t edit it to fit a mold or to meet others’ expectations. I write in a way that is honest to who I am. My blog represents me and what I value most in life. I’m very proud that others actually seem to enjoy what I have to say and can relate to the things I write about. It makes me so happy to connect to other people while remaining 100% true to myself.

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My 10 nominees are:

1. Fit, Strong and Sexy

2. Daily Moves and Grooves

3. Dulce Vie

4. Story of a Girl

5. Running 4 Beer

6. The Little Honey Bee

7. In Shape Cupcake

8. Sprinklez N Stuff

9. Life of a Bama Girl

10. E’Claire

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10 Questions for my nominees:

Why do you blog?
Who are three of your favorite bloggers and why?
What’s your favorite healthy snack?
What’s your favorite way to work out?
What’s your favorite thing to do when you have free time?
If you could have any job in the world, what would it be and why?
What’s one thing on your bucket list?
What’s one accomplishment you are most proud of?
What’s one goal you hope to accomplish in the next year?
What does ‘being happy’ mean to you?

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Thanks again to Kim for nominating me!

Looking forward to seeing what my nominees have to say!!

The Liebster Award

Posted on September 10, 2013 by lmpicard16@gmail.com

So… I have some good news to share!

I was fortunate enough to be nominated for a blog award!

It’s called the “Liebster Award”, which I was nominated for by Kim from the blog, Busy Bod!

‘Liebster’ means “dearest” in German. This award is “a way for up-and-coming bloggers to demonstrate each others’ appreciation for what we do”.

The Rules:

Thank the person who nominated you and link back up to his/her blog. Answer the 10 questions which are given to you by the nominator.
Nominate 10 other bloggers for the award who have less than 200 followers.
Create 10 questions for your nominees to answer.
Let the nominees know that they have been nominated by going to their blog and notifying them.

Pretty cool, no?

So here I go with the questions that Kim asked!

~~~~~~~~~~

My answers to Kim’s questions:

1. Why did you start blogging?

2. What has surprised you most about being a blogger?

It takes a lot of hard work for the idea in your head to come to fruition. And even longer to get followers. Something else that surprised me was how quickly you fall in love with it.

3. If you were going to blog about anything other than what you actually blog about, what would it be and why?

Probably ‘celeb gossip’ and more about ‘beauty’ (tips, products, trends, etc). I’m pretty obsessed with this stuff, just not as much as fitness, fashion, and food.

4. List 2-3 blogs that inspire you the most, and why.

5. What are your fav songs on your workout playlist right now?

6. Have you made any real life friendships through blogging?

I haven’t met any blogging buds in person yet, but I have definitely felt welcomed into the community and am looking forward to forming more relationships through it!

7. If you could blog full time, would you?

Hmmm. Maybe if I was a stay at home mom! I would love to be able to do that one day. I’m sure I would love to blab all about my future kids 🙂

8. Do you have a guilty pleasure food (that you feel zero guilt eating of course )?

Ice cream (that includes froyo). Period.

9. What is your favorite way to workout? Least favorite?

10. What about your blog are you most proud of?

~~~~~~~~~~

My 10 nominees are:

1. Fit, Strong and Sexy

2. Daily Moves and Grooves

3. Dulce Vie

4. Story of a Girl

5. Running 4 Beer

6. The Little Honey Bee

7. In Shape Cupcake

8. Sprinklez N Stuff

9. Life of a Bama Girl

10. E’Claire

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10 Questions for my nominees:

Why do you blog?
Who are three of your favorite bloggers and why?
What’s your favorite healthy snack?
What’s your favorite way to work out?
What’s your favorite thing to do when you have free time?
If you could have any job in the world, what would it be and why?
What’s one thing on your bucket list?
What’s one accomplishment you are most proud of?
What’s one goal you hope to accomplish in the next year?
What does ‘being happy’ mean to you?

~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks again to Kim for nominating me!

Looking forward to seeing what my nominees have to say!!

Summer Smoothie Recipe

Posted on September 6, 2013 by lmpicard16@gmail.com

Hello there strangers!

Well, I survived the first week of classes! Woohoooo.

Too bad this was the ‘easiest’ week of classes… And the work is already beginning to pile up. YAY! (I’m just complaining…it’s really okay, it feels good to be back in the swing of things).

I don’t have much time (per usual) because there’s a football game tonight (!!!), but I wanted to drop in with a recipe that was requested a little while back!

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Almost every morning this past summer I started my day with a couple scrambled eggs and a cold, refreshing smoothie.

Besides being portable (great for on-the-go breakfasts and snacks), smoothies are the perfect way to sneak tons of nutrients into your daily diet – and they’re absolutely delicious (especially on a hot summer day)!

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This is just one of my million smoothie recipes! You can literally add (or subtract) anything you want to create your own go-to smoothie.

You can amp up the protein by adding whey protein powder or any nut butter you like.
You can make it ‘thinner’ (I personally prefer a thick, ‘ice cream’ texture ;)) by adding any type of milk (dairy, soy, rice, almond, coconut), water, or fruit juice.
To make it thicker, you can add more yogurt (feel free to use flavors!) or xanthan gum.

As you can see, the possibilities are endless.

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Summer Smoothie

Ingredients

(makes 1 serving – a small snack or part of a complete breakfast)

1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
1/4 cup vanilla almond milk
1 slice watermelon
1/2 frozen banana
handful frozen strawberries
1/4 cup frozen blueberries
handful fresh or frozen spinach
2 to 3 ice cubes

Directions:

Simply toss all the ingredients in a blender, blend away, pour into a cup, and slurp through a straw or, my favorite way, eat with a spoon!!

*The best order to add ingredients: liquids, frozen fruit, powders, ice, and then fresh fruit.

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I’m hoping to be back on here soon(ish) with a “Lately” post, and possibly some workouts for ya!

In the meantime, I’m off to shower (I ran over three hours ago…yikes) and get ready for the football game tonight! So happy it’s Friday 🙂

Have a great weekend!

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Questions of the day:

What’s your favorite smoothie recipe?
Got any fun plans this weekend?
Is there anything you want me to post about (food pics, workouts, life, recipes, etc…)?

New and Exciting

Posted on August 30, 2013 by lmpicard16@gmail.com

Hey hey! I’m so excited to finally have a few free minutes to check in with you all.

My days have been crazy between moving in Tuesday and full days of Health Coach training Wednesday, Thursday, and today.

But, training is finally over and…

I’m officially a CERTIFIED HEALTH COACH!!

Woohoooooo!

Now that the long days of training are behind me, I can give presentations to my peers about nutrition, and do iHP’s (aka individual health plans aka one-on-one meetings with students).

Talk about new and exciting! 🙂

Speaking of exciting, I’ve now got a three day weekend to relax, hang out with my roommates and friends, go to the first football game, head into the city, and enjoy my last few days of freedom before classes begin on Tuesday (womp womp…).

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Since I was so busy I wasn’t able to take many (or really any) pics, but I do have a few of the lunches we ate during training.

Portobello mushroom and veggie sammy with fruit and more veggies. Tasted good but I was starving about 20 minutes later…so I dove into the bag of almonds and walnuts I had packed.

Margarita pizza on whole grain crust with sun dried tomato and cranberry salad. Actually really good. I love me some sun dried tomatoes.

Last night I was starved after a sweaty workout in the gym (which was well needed after sitting for a full 8 hours), and my friends and I didn’t want to wait in line for hot food, so we grabbed some sandwiches and soup. Boy did that turkey and cheese sammy and vegetarian bean chili hit the spot.

An hour or so after dinner we grabbed a bit of froyo which was amazing after not having any sweets since I left home… (the dining halls had limited menus the first few days since most people hadn’t moved in yet, and I made sure all the meals and snacks that I ate would fill me up and offer me the key nutrients I needed to keep me running through the long days I had. But oh my gosh did I miss my daily treat(s) ;)).

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One thing that got me through the hectic days was taking 45 minutes to workout when I got back from training. As tired as I was mentally, my body just wanted to move! So I went on a 6 mile run one day, hit the gym for a spinning workout followed by some plank/core work, and then a little over 6 mile run today. Man did it feel good to sweat it out!

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I gotta run to dinner soon but I did want to quickly mention something about my new internship! I’m actually not working as an intern for GalTime.com right now just because I needed some time to get adjusted to school and health coaching, and wanted to try some other things. It was an awesome opportunity and I learned SO much.

A little over a week ago I was hired as an intern for Amanda Russell, the fabulous fitness guru and creator of FitStrongandSexy.com.

If you’re at all interested in fitness, healthy eating, fashion, and just living an overall happy, healthy life – check this website out! She has a gazillion workout videos on the website and on her YouTube channel, plus easy recipes and a bunch of other good stuff.

I have the honor to work with Amanda, and I am absolutely loving it. It’s definitely a lot of work to take on, especially right now with a whole new school year about to begin and becoming a health coach, but it was an opportunity that I just could not pass up.

Some of my duties include working on the weekly newsletter, working on blogs, adding recipes, and other back-end and social media work.

I’m super excited (do I say that too much…?) because I’m finding that the things I learned in my old internship, all my new health coach knowledge, my own blogging, and my new internship are overlapping and teaching me more that I ever thought possible.

If you couldn’t tell I’m super passionate about all things health/fitness/food/fashion related, and writing is one of my absolute favorite things to do.

All the work I did this summer and will continue to do (on top of all my work for my classes…yikes!) brings me so much joy. I know it sounds cheesy and sappy, but it’s true!

Let’s hope I can enjoy alllll my school work as much as I enjoy all of this. (Or maybe even just half as much…….?). 😉

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Alright, time to head out. Not sure when I’ll be able to get on here next but in the mean time, enjoy your long weekend!!

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Questions of the day:

What’s something ‘work related’ that brings you joy?
Do you have any fun plans for the long weekend?!

I’d love to hear from ya!

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PS – A big thank you to all of you who commented on my posts and started following me on WordPress and Bloglovin‘ (as well as Pinterest and Twitter)! It means so much to me.

You guys rock. 🙂

One More Thing!

Posted on August 26, 2013 by lmpicard16@gmail.com

Oh, just one more thing…

Tomorrow morning (at precisely 11:30 AM, not that I’m counting down or anything…) my guest post will go up on Courtney’s blog, Sweet Tooth Sweet Life!!!

Be sure to check it out, and follow her blog if you don’t already.

I don’t know about you, but I’m seriously freaking out over here… 😀

Okay, anyway, time to go. Have a great day!

Goodbye Summah

Posted on August 26, 2013 by lmpicard16@gmail.com

It’s sure been a while, hasn’t it?

I’ve been incredibly busy in the past few weeks with saying bye to my friends, packing, working on my internship, writing a guest post, and figuring out a whole new internship (more on that later).

I don’t have much time today but I wanted to get on here for a little summer wrap up post. I have tons of pics from lately that I want to share, and I want to let you know that even though I want to keep blogging, my priorities will have to change for a little while. My classes, health coaching, the new internship, and my friends will be my focus. Ugh, I hate even saying this because I made this blog this summer and it has become something that I absolutely love to do.

But of course, I will continue working out, eating fun foods, snapping photos and thinking of post ideas – with the hope I will find some time to get on here and share it all with you :).

I move back to school tomorrow and have full day Health Coach training for the rest of the week! And then classes begin next Tuesday…

Back to the old grind. Mehhhhh, not sure how I feel about that. It just feels like one day it was that super relaxed, not-knowing-or-caring-what-day-it-is, and the next it was time to pack up and start a new school year. Oh well, I suppose it’s pretty exciting. I just want to be all settled in and back in a routine. Soon enough!

Alright, that’s all the blabbing I have time for today.

Here are some pics from the end of the sum-sum-summah time.

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Cosi Smart Fit Salad. And bread. Gotta have the bread.

More drumsticks. Someone’s obsessed.

A sleepover with some high school track buddies means ~~at least four~~ Funfetti Cookies… Zero craps given.

The night before the John Mayer concert means trying on outfits and taking awkward mirror selfies.

Guilty as charged… but in my defense my friends and I were figuring out what to wear and sending pics back and forth.

I went with the shirt (from Nordstrom), but different shorts.

Perfectly wrapped hummus avocado veggie and grilled chicken wraps. (The first was takeout and the second was when my family and I went to the restaurant a couple weeks later. Can you tell I kinda sorta might like it?)

A summertime classic.

And of course that became this.

Breakfast almost everyday – smoothie and eggs with salsa.

Not too pretty.

Little prettier.

I’ll have to post the recipe for this awesome summer smoothie because it is heavenly.

Pizza. Enough Said.

Pulled pork sammies with way more un-photographed pop chips than I guess I initially thought I could handle when I took this pic. (Seriously, who was I kidding?)

Mint oreo Carvelanches before saying bye to friends. Makes a goodbye much more sweet than bitter.

Really ugly mini protein pancakes and smoothies.

Drizzled with protein powder ‘icing’ and sprinkled with cinnamon, of course.

Attempt #2 – not much better looking. Tasted awesome, though.

Fiber-ful chicken stir fry.

Tried a new salad. *Note to self: Don’t get the “Watermelon, Arugula and Feta Salad with Grilled Shrimp” when you hate feta and ask for it to be held. Leaves and watermelon aren’t that exciting.

Slightly more exciting bubba burgers and summery salads at a ‘Goodbye Summer’ BBQ.

Actually exciting – the new TCBY Silk Chocolate Almond Froyo. I may or may not be obsessed.

Aw, the final froyo date of the summer.

But let’s be honest here, who only eats ice cream in the summer? Not this girl ;).

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On that note, I’m out (for now)!

Hope you have a wonderful end of your summer! Soak up those last few rays of glorious sun, enjoy a couple more barbecues, and spend quality time with your family and friends while ya can!

Catch ya (hopefully sooner rather than) later 🙂

The Rainbow After the Rainstorm

Posted on August 16, 2013 by lmpicard16@gmail.com

My last post was a little emotional, so I thought I would check in with a more fun, upbeat photo post!

Over the past week or so I’ve been enjoying some much needed fun in the sun and oh soo many delicious eats…

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Like…

Soft serve with toasted coconut.

DROOL.

Girl’s night out = Counter Burger!! The usual – veggie burger with roasted red peppers, mixed greens, tomato, and corn & black bean salsa!

After that awesome dinner date with some of my girls, I was reminded that the most amazing things can come even after a terrible storm… or as Dolly Parton once said, “if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain”.

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*Little update on my ‘situation’ – Let’s just say the torrential rain has slowed to a light sprinkle, and the sky is beginning to clear up in the distance. I’m still patiently waiting for the sun to come out and reveal a rainbow, but I’m staying positive and trying to enjoy the change in weather that happened a few weeks ago.

Okay, enough of the metaphorical talk…let’s get back to some pics.

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Homemade flatbreads topped with fresh un-photographed salsa.

Classic summer barbecue (plus tons of BBQ pop chips!)

Is anyone else as obsessed with Drumsticks as I am? Holy YUM.

Fresh beets, carrots, and way more steak than what’s in this picture… (plus of course, dinner wouldn’t be complete without my fave roll!)

More ice cream…this time a twist with rainbow sprinkles. Probably my favorite way to eat soft serve. Seriously, who doesn’t like sprinkles? They make everything better. And it’s hard to make the best food (ice cream) taste better.

Babysitting means easy meals…aka frozen pizza. This was not exactly my favorite…I’m more of a thin crust veggie pizza girl, but I mean, it’s not like any pizza is bad. It was actually pretty good for a change and it brought me right back to my childhood.

Or maybe it was the terrible Disney movie we watched that did that…

(let’s just say that channel is not what it used to be :()

(multiply what’s on that plate times two)

Slightly more sophisticated fresh tomato, basil, and mozzarella so gorgeously prepared by yours truly…

…paired with BBQ meatloaf, sweet potato with cinnamon, and rolls.

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This past weekend my parents wanted a vacation, so they let me bring along one of my best friends for a nice little getaway with them.

Not too shabby, eh?

The first night, I had salmon with some sort of spinach and fruit risotto. Fancy-shmancy.

Followed up by raspberry chip gelato.

I’m obsessed with the tiny spoons they give with gelato. It forces you to take teeny bites aka eat way slower aka the deliciousness lasts so much longer.

We also indulged in some super fine dining every morning…

…not.

(But actually, the Dunkin’ Donuts Egg White Veggie Flatbread is pretty good!)

For lunch, I ~~spilled hummus all over myself~~ had a hummus veggie wrap on the beach.

For dinner the second night I had a killer sweet potato and black bean veggie burger smothered in horseradish aioli with a side of kale and leeks. Oh my gosh. SO. GOOD.

Then, obviously, we had to get gelato (it’s a given that ice cream is consumed every night of vacation). This time I had mint stracciatella. Perfection in a cute little bowl.

Lunch on the last day was a veggie wrap with goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette. I wish I could have bought the goat cheese spread. It was so light and creamy and really complimented the roasted zucchini, onion, tomato, and other veggies.

We also snacked a lot in between meals, but that all went undocumented, clearly ;).

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Believe it or not, I have even more foodie and fun snapshots from the past few weeks, but I think I’ve bored you enough for one day. Plus, I don’t want to post all my pics at once!

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On the fitness side of things, I’ve been running a lot more lately than I was earlier in the summer. I ran with my friend during our mini vacation which was fun since we were XC buddies back in high school. I’ve also just been loving the alone/thinking time that running provides, so since I’m still enjoying and not dreading runs in the summer sun, I’ll stick with it for now! I’ve also been alternating between some core work and arm/back/hip(PT)/leg strengthening on days when my runs are 5 miles or under. On days when I run 6+, I just leave it at that (plus my stretching/rolling routine, of course)!

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Hope you’ve been enjoying yummy food, awesome workouts, and lots of fun with family and friends! Summer’s almost over… gotta live it up while we still can! 🙂

I get by with a little help from…

Posted on August 6, 2013 by lmpicard16@gmail.com

I’ve taken quite the lengthy break from blogging, but I have to say I really missed it. I had it on my mind all the time, thinking of things to post about, taking pictures, and keeping up with my fellow bloggers.

Even though I wanted to get back on here, I also really needed the time away – time to put the pieces of my life back together.

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I am definitely still figuring things out, adjusting to some changes, and becoming whole again. Despite all the shock, anger, pain, and sadness, I have really been able to reflect and become a stronger person. I feel like I know who I am better than I did just a few weeks ago, and for that, I can only be grateful.

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Besides the amazing support and love from my friends and family, I’ve really turned to running, music, and the inspirational words of others.

Long runs are the perfect way to be alone, feel my emotions, and sort through all my racing thoughts.

Even more so than normal, I’ve been blasting music. While I exercise, work, drive, and just relax, it’s not only my escape, it’s my way to not feel so alone in what I’ve been going through. There are so many songs with lyrics that speak the exact words I want to say, in ways I never would have thought to say them.

I have to admit, my girl Tay Swift has finally come in handy ;).

Being someone that is moved by the power of words, I’ve always been obsessed with motivational quotes. Recently, I’ve spent more time than ever looking through quotes and pinning on my beloved Pinterest.

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Here are some of the inspirational quotes that really stuck out to me and have stuck with me. These wise words have helped me to make sense of my situation and begin the journey that will lead me to a place that is even better than where I was before all of this.

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So, that’s kind of where I’m at.

I’m certainly not going to say I’m all better, or that I’ve been able to fully let go of the past and move on completely.

But I’m getting there, and I’ve learned a lot along the way.

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I learned that it’s okay to be fragile and fall to the ground and cry.

It’s okay to let it all out and scream and be angry.

It’s okay to close yourself off and really feel your emotions.

It’s okay to be broken and vent and ask for help.

It’s okay to not always be strong.

…For a little while.

And then I learned that after a few days (for me, it was three) of allowing yourself to do and feel everything you need to, there comes a day when it’s time to start s l o w l y putting the pieces back together again. That day should not feel forced. It should come naturally and feel right. Yes, it will be extremely hard and there will be plenty of moments when you find yourself breaking down again – and that’s okay. But you should feel ready to begin again.

Most importantly, I learned that just like a wound doesn’t heal instantly, neither do you.

It takes time to feel 100% again, and that’s okay.

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With time and a positive attitude…

I can, and I will, find happiness again.

I’m already starting to 🙂

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Truly Blessed

Posted on July 28, 2013 by lmpicard16@gmail.com

I wish I had a better reason to say why I haven’t been blogging this past week, like – “I was on a super awesome vacation in the Bahamas”, or “I’ve been backpacking around Europe”, or “I got a job making a ton of money for the rest of the summer”. That would not only be amazing, but it would also be a billion times better than the real reason I haven’t been too in tune with the blog world.

This week, a lot has happened in my life, and sadly I can’t even try and find some way to word it that will make it sound even remotely okay. I will say things could be a lot worse, and it fortunately has nothing to do with death or illness, and I am so thankful for that. I know nothing else could even compare to something as horrible as that, so I really cannot complain.

However, I have been dealing with a lot the past few days due to some shocking, devastating news. I’m not comfortable revealing any more than that right now, but I’m trying my best to keep a smile on my face and a positive outlook because life is good, and I know things will get better in time.

My thoughts and emotions are so mixed up right now, so as much as I want to get on here and let my fingers type every single one of my feelings (because, after all, writing is one of the main ways I release and deal with my emotions), it’s all too fresh right now. The emotions are too raw, and to be honest, it’s just too painful.

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Through it all, though, I thankfully have still been able to sweat it out, eat very well, and most importantly, enjoy quality time with family and friends.

I’m actually getting choked up thinking about what an incredible support system my friends have been through such a difficult time. I always try to count my blessings, but, I’m human and will admit I do take the most important things for granted sometimes. It’s sad that it takes something terrible to make you realize how lucky you truly are. My family and friends mean the world to me. I would be nowhere without their love, their shoulders to cry on, their advice, their trust, their support, and their ability to make me laugh when I think there’s no way I could even smile. They are literally everything to me.

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As I said, even when I thought I had no appetite, I’ve somehow been able to eat every meal, and some of them have been pretty fantastic.

Here are a few ‘highlights’ from this past week –

Mint oreo Carvelanche:

Chicken, salsa, apple, and veggie tacos:

Fruit and almond milk smoothies:

Mom’s shrimp, spinach and roasted red pepper whole wheat pasta:

Classic vanilla soft serve with rainbow sprinkles:

Salmon with mango salsa, my fave rolls, beets, and sweet potato with cinnamon:

New (at least to me) Emerald Vanilla Bean Almonds (and apple slices):

Panera Strawberry Poppyseed & Chicken Salad:

Packed pb banana pitas and snacks for days on the shore:

Meals enjoyed while looking out at this:

And ice cream stops on the way home from a relaxing day with amazing friends:

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No matter what happens in life, I will never forget how truly blessed I am.

Weekend Workouts

Posted on July 22, 2013 by lmpicard16@gmail.com

I can’t believe another weekend has come and gone! I hope yours was filled with family, friends, food, fun and maybe even a good workout or two!

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On Saturday morning, I woke up early and got a good running workout in.

I had planned to run outside, but even at the early hour that it was, it was already approaching 90 by the time I was ready to run… So, I decided to hop on the treadmill and pound out a 5 miler. To make the time go by quickly, I did the following workout:

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This morning, I had plans to hit the beach bright and early!

I didn’t want to wake up at the crack of dawn to get a whole workout done before we left, but I knew I would not be able to bring myself to do a full workout after a long day in the sun…

I decided to do a 20 minute, sweaty room workout before I left that went a little something like this:

Then, I washed up a bit and headed to the beach!!

It looks as if it was a cloudy day in this pic, but it was actually gorgeous! Every now and then some clouds rolled by, but the sun was shining down all day long. The heatwave is now over, and I am loving the feeling of the low 80s after this past week’s crazy high temps/humidity!

Once I got back home, I did a 15 minute no-equipment-needed workout that I discovered on Shape.com. It’s an awesome full body workout that I swear by when I just have time for a super quick cardio burst!

(source)

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Time to go enjoy the rest of my Sunday!

Have a great start to your week 🙂