Foodie Pen Pal - July

Today is Foodie Pen Pal: July reveal day - the day we can post about all of our goodies!  I haven't received my package yet, but my mom did (her first month as a Foodie Pen Pal!).  You can read all about my Foodie Pen Pal: June here until I get my July package.  Check out her post below:

This is a big thank you to my Foodie Pen Pal, Rose, a nursing student from New Haven, Connecticut. Rose described her gift to me as "random," but, in fact, each item has something in common--it's something she enjoys. She sent a Sprout's Farmers Market Roasted Seaweed Snack pack, Wolfgang Puck corn chowder, Stretch Island Food Company fruit strips, Annie's Goddess dressing, and Spry green tea gum. Yum! Rose also included a "first time try" for her, too--white chocolate nutmeg almonds from Sprout's Farmer's Market. And yes, Rose, they DO taste like Christmas! Thanks again--especially taking the time out during your trip to California to think of me!

Do you participate in The Lean Green Bean's Foodie Pen Pals?  If so, link your posts below!  If not, you can sign up here if you would like to join.  You don't have to be a blogger - you just need an e-mail and home address!  If you have any questions, feel free to ask me in the comments below.

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Weekly Recap (7/23-7/29)

This week has been even more insane than the last ones, but it has been a great last week in Atlanta!  As you know, my niece and nephew were in town, so we went on a bunch of fun adventures around town.  I got to see my friends one last time and watch the opening ceremony of the Olympics (Kate looked gorgeous as usual!) - an all around good week!

Posts:

Monday - Fuel For Your Marathon

Tuesday - Room Tour Vlog

Wednesday - Cellairis - Review, Giveaway and Q&A

Thursday - Robsten Bomb Dropped!

Friday - I'm Ready For The Fall TV Line Up!

Adventures:

We visited Stone Mountain - completed the ropes course + climbed the mountain + watched the laser show (a fabulous GA send off!)
We went to SkyZone to jump around. Everybody jump, jump, jump!
I had dinner with my grad school  cohort - we are all off on fun, new adventures!
I had a fabulous time being in episode 402 of The Vampire Diaires! (Check it out Oct 18 on The CW @ 8pm!)
Steven McQueen and I had a major movie moment  on set - highlight of my week.
I gave Lily to my friend Brandi until I can find a pet friendly apartment in the city. #heartbreaking
At 3am before my Big Move, I was hit by a "wake up, break up" incident.  It was like he was trying to outshine Kristen Stewart for most hated person in America or something. #imjustsaying
Dinner with my besties - Jessica and Donna!
Sounds like RPatz and I are both single and moving...we have so much in common now that we should probably date ;o)

Workouts:

Monday - did a three story ropes course + hiked up Stone Mt.

Tuesday - jumped around an indoor trampoline park for 1.5 hours

Wednesday - walked 4.2 miles...to get ice cream

Thursday - none

Friday - none

Saturday - none

Sunday - none

Weekly Goals:

I'm all about making weekly contracts to help me achieve my goals now. You can read about my process to organize my life and my main goals here. Feel free to join in with me! This week was a weird week in regards to my goals because it was my final week in Atlanta and my niece and nephew were in town, so those are the two main things I focused on.

See my Atlanta friends as much as possible this week.  had dinner with my grad school classmates + saw my college friends + had GNO (girls night out) with Donna and Jessica

Make better food choices - even if we go out to eat with the kiddies a lot. two words - craft services.  how do celebrities stay so thin with such good food?!

Clean out my room - including clothes. the bags I'm taking to Goodwill look like they could be what I'm packing to take with me...so much stuff!

Donate items to the Goodwill immediately.

Try to save as much as possible while still visiting with my friends this week.  I don't know the exact number, but I don't think I spent much.

Complete the full training schedule this week - with adjustments for my move on the weekend. Make those days up on the rest days. I didn't do my training schedule runs, but I completed other fun exercises with my niece and nephew!

Do at least one workout from the Beach Babe DVD 5 days next week. nada - its packed!

I don't know what my weekly goals will be for next week yet, but I will put them in Monday's post.

What do you think about my blog makeover? Let me know in the comments below! Also, be sure to enter this week's blogversary contest - I'm giving away five Cellairis phone covers for the iPhone 4/4s.

Please follow me on Twitter and "like" my blog's Facebook page if you enjoy what you read. Thanks!

I'm Ready For The Fall TV Line Up!

Yesterday was my final day being an extra for The Vampire Diaries!  I'm sad to part ways with this amazing opportunity.  I've gotten to be a part of seasons 2-4 and I've loved every minute of it.   How can you not love hanging out with this extremely good looking awesome bunch?!  The best part?!  Nina, Ian, Zach, Steven, Michael, Paul, and Candice were all there yesterday.  What a great send off before my new adventure up north!

Minus Candice - but still a great photo, no?!
Photo from here.

Yesterday was one of my top 2 experiences of being an extra with this show - hands down. I can't go into details yet because I don't want to give any of the new season away, but I will say this season is going to rock your socks off from the very beginning! Season 3 was like a season finale every week with all of the shockers and excitement it brought each episode, so it will be interesting to watch Season 4 -- Elena is now a vampire.  Also, she finally made her decision between the Salvatore brothers - Stefan. Klaus has transferred into Tyler's body, so I'm assuming Tyler is now dead in Klaus' body...but you never know with these writers!  All of Jeremy's loved ones are dead - basically all thanks to his sister. And lastly, poor Matt is the only non-supernatural being on this show.  I can't wait for its return!  October 11 is soooo far away, but on the bright side - Beauty and the Beast premieres right after it on The CW.  Double yay!

Here is my list of returning shows I am most excited about:

Gossip Girl (final season) - October 8 @ 9pm

90210 - October 8 @ 8pm

The Vampire Diaries - October 11 @ 8pm

Revenge (moves to Sundays) - September 30 @ 9pm 

Criminal Minds - September 26 @ 9pm

How I Met Your Mother - September 24 @ 8pm

Modern Family - September 26 @ 9pm

CSI: NY - September 28 @ 8pm

Once Upon A Time - September 30 @ 8pm

Which shows are killing you with suspense from this spring?  Let me know in the comments below!

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Robsten Bomb Dropped!

There are so many insane stories coming out this week in the world of pop culture from The Dark Knight Rises to Mary Poppins supposedly dominating Lord Voldemort at the Summer Olympics.  I just can't contain myself, but the one story that completely and totally blows my mind is this one:

Photo from here.

I haven't been this shocked by a celeb story since Heath Ledger died.  At first, I didn't believe it since obviously entertainment journalists aren't always right.  But, I'll never forget when Us Weekly reported that Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson were on the brink of divorce, yet Nick and Jessica denied it/still showed up to events together.  Then, a few weeks later they filed for divorce.  Sometimes these magazines are just too good at getting info.  They should put their talents to better use like working for the FBI or something!

Some deny this is Kristen, but I can spot her dirty, unwashed/uncombed hair from a mile away...
Photos from here.

Turns out Us Weekly was right this time too!  Kristen Stewart was caught on  film digital camera making out with her director from Snow White and the Huntsman, Rupert Sanders.  The terrible part?  He is married and has two kids.  Plus, Kristen has been dating her Twilight co-star, Robert Pattinson, for years.  (You must admit he can sometimes be dreamy, no?  Personally I love him in Remember Me and Water for Elephants.) 

Photo from here.

I was double shocked when KStew released a statement - apologizing to everyone involved including Rob (by name).  She is usually a very private person.  The sad part?  She has never even openly admitted to dating him in the first place...until she admitted to cheating on him.  My heart breaks for all involved.  Especially since this (photo below) took place just this Sunday!:

Teen Choice Awards 2012
Photo from here.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.  I'm so surprised by this whole thing!  1.  Kristen is the highest paid actress this year according to Forbes, you think she could afford a room! 2.  It seems like Kristen and Rob avoid PDA at all costs so to be caught making out in public with someone else is just weird.  3.  There is the whole aspect of Kristen and Rupert being in relationships... 4.  I hope poor Rob didn't find out with the rest of us via Us Weekly!  5. I wonder if Robsten will break up after this.  Has anything similar ever happened publically before in the celeb-world?  I can't think of anything...

On the bright side, you can enter to win 5 Cellairis phone cases on my blog this week! :o)

Please follow me on Twitter and "like" my blog on Facebook if you enjoy what you read.  Thanks!

 

Cellairis - Review, Giveaway, Q&A

***Carissa at Fit2Flex is the winner of the copy of The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin!  Please e-mail your address to PopFitLife [at] gmail [dot] com.  Congrats!***

Happy Hump Day, everyone!  Continuing on with my blogversary celebration, I have a fun post for you today.  Cellairis has given my five iPhone 4/4s cases to giveaway to some lucky readers!  I picked these cases out myself, so you know I love them.  I tried to pick out a variety, so I hope you like them too. 

Case/Photo from here.

I've been rocking the Summer Glow case by Elle & Blair on my Blackberry (shown above).  It has taken quite the beating since I always forget to change out the cover when I go running, but it has held up really well.  Check out my vlog about the cases and the giveaway:

You can win these!:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/381f884/ http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/381f885/ http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/381f886/ http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/381f887/ http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/381f888/

__________________________________________________

Q and A with Ashlyn Remillard, Cellairis' PR and Social Media Director

PopFitLife:  I've said on my blog that Cellairis has one of the best social media teams I've ever seen.  The company is very involved with its customers.  How has social media affected your business?

Ashlyn:  We love talking to our customers & work very hard every day to make sure that our customers are happy and have a great experience with Cellairis - whether it be on a local franchise or corporate level.  It's actually the best part of our jobs!  We have very social fans...our Elle & Blair fans have been amazing!  They have helped shape the 'fashion forward' focus that we have with our new designs.  And our Justin Bieber fans?  Well, they are simply amazing as well!  All of these fans have helped us shape our future lines - whether it be the styles we create or the phone models we make the cases for - we absolutely appreciate all of the constructive feedback we receieve from our fans and followers & we strive to take into consideration as many of these comments as possible!

PopFitLife:  The technology industry is always changing. Is it hard to keep up?

Ashlyn:  Yes, it's hard to keep up, but we are fortunate that the owners of the company have been doing this for over 12 years - they have worked very hard to develop relationships with industry experts to always be at the forefront of technology advancements, etc. 

PopFitLife:  Cellairis seems to be rubbing elbows with many celebrities these days. You just held a contest with Kaley Cuoco. You now have Justin Bieber cell phone cases. How does Cellairis work with these big names? I'm sure the ladies want to know - Have you met Justin Bieber?

Ashlyn:  Well, some of us have actually met Justin Bieber - and it was wonderful to see first hand that he is as gracious in person as he seems to be on air. We love working with our celebrity partners …. in the case of Kaley Cuoco, we were fortunate to be co-sponsoring an event for Zoey Magazine and she happened to be the Cover Girl that month …. she ended up liking some of our cases & was seen wearing them around LA when we caught her at the Lakers Game - Courtside - with our Gorgeous Case! Relationships like these are so important, because as key influencers and fashion icons, it's always nice to see that we've struck a chord with Hollywood!

PopFitLife:  Cellairis has grown tremendously in the last decade. How tough has it been to keep up with this growth? What have been some speed bumps the company has faced (if any)? What have been some perks? 

Ashlyn:  The perks? Easy. We work in a great environment with amazing people who don't consider coming to work each day, a job. Yes - with growth comes growing pains. But we are a very tight nit group of people who appreciate and support each other. 

PopFitLife:  In your opinion, what is the best part about working for Cellairis?

Ashlyn:  Hands down.  The people.  (And unlimited access to thousands of cases!  After all, we have to practice what we preach!  Yes, many of us change our cases out daily to match our outfits!)

PopFitLife:  Cellairis' headquarters is right outside of Atlanta, Georgia instead of in a city such as LA or NYC. How has this impacted the company negatively or positively (if at all)?  Ashlyn:  Atlanta is where the company's first location was - the owner's families are from the area and Atlanta is a booming marketplace. We love the intimacy of the south and wouldn't trade it for NY or LA …. however, we certainly don't mind visiting LA & NY!

PopFitLife:  Many fans are probably wondering - any plans for more Elle & Blair Meet and Greets? 

Ashlyn:  We hope! We loved meeting everyone in LA and Atlanta! The Elle & Blair Fans were so much fun! It was such a wonderful way for Cellairis and Elle and Blair to get to meet fans on both coasts! Elle and Blair are so approachable and easy to be around! We actually have an AMAZING summer contest in the works that should be announced in the next few weeks! We can't tell you exactly what it is, but let's just say for someone, it's gonna be better than a meet & greet! 

PopFitLife:  Can you give me any details of Cellairis' next big project? 

Ashlyn:  Expect new lines from Elle & Blair and Justin Bieber … in addition, we're working on a few new collaborations that we are pretty excited about …. but like everyone else, until the ink is dry - our lips are sealed!

_______________________________________ 

I hope you like this interview and giveaway as much as I do.  Cellairis is a wonderful company and I've never had a bad experience with them - from their Elle & Blair meet and greet to their phone cases!  Check back next Wednesday when I announce the winners!

Room Tour Vlog!

A popular tag on Youtube is the "Room Tour Vlog" - people just do a quick video of whatever is in their bedroom, dorm, bathroom, closet, etc.  Since I'm in the process of moving out of the bedroom I've had since I moved to Atlanta in sixth grade, I wanted to do a quick video of my home for the last 14 years!  (Forgive the mess since I'm in the process of moving/cleaning/packing.)  Check it out:

I think I might do quick tours like this of all of my places from now on.  I think it would be fun to have a video/blog diary of my life, no?  Hope you enjoyed this vlog and now I'm off to enjoy my last few days in my childhood bedroom.  :o)

Stay fit and fabulous,

A

Fuel For Your Marathon

Photo from here.

Happy Monday, everyone!  As you know, I've been slacking in the health and fitness department of my life this past month.  Except for walks on the beach and paddleboarding, I haven't really stuck to a workout routine - especially my 2013 Walt Disney World Marathon training schedule (I'm using the Hal Higdon 30 week program).  As David pointed out - I've only successfully completed the rest days (with a few runs in between).  Oops!  Well, that ended yesterday!

As I mentioned in my Organize Your Life: Post #1, my friend Donna asked if I wanted to start making vlogs of training progress.  I thought this was a great idea.  Not only will I have a diary of my training for my first FULL marathon, but I will also be held accountable for my training.  Perfect!  Be sure to check out my vlogs on my Youtube channel.

Not only is training important for successfully finishing a 26.2 mile race, but the fuel you use to train is just as important.  Thankfully, while attending the Fitness and Health Bloggers Conference in June, I was able to have a consultation with food/nutrition expert and marathon runner, Rebecca Scritchfield.  She gave me a ton of great advice on fueling for a marathon, so I thought I would share it with you!

~  Fuel your body during training as well as during the actual race.

~  Do not do anything new on race day.

~  Treat your 18 or 20 mile training run as if it were the real deal (i.e. wake up at the same time, eat the same foods, drink the beverages handed out at the race, etc.)

~  On race morning, eat immediately (having a water bottle and banana by your bed is not a bad idea)

~  Eat something high in carbs (75-90 grams) and low in fiber (ex: cinnamon raisin bagel with peanut butter) 2 hours pre-race.

~  Drink 10 ounces of tart cherry juice pre-race.

~  Bring extra food for pre-race if desired (Rebecca suggested cold pizza!)

~  Wear a hydration belt + fill up with tomato juice/veggie broth for around mile 18/20.  (This is when most people "hit the wall" - salt will help you not cramp up!)

~  Eat carbs every day of training (7g per kg in body weight)

~  Listen to your body.  (swimming and cycling are great substitutes if you can't run one day)

I hope these tips are helpful to you during your training.  I was really surprised by some of the things Rebecca had to say especially the tomato juice tip.  Do you have any advice for marathon first timers?  Post it in the comments below!

Please follow me on Twitter and "like" my blog on Facebook if you enjoy what you read.  Thanks!

Weekly Update (7/16-7/22)

This week has been busy.  I was supposed to move up to Connecticut this weekend, but an emergency came up.  Instead, I had a last minute five day trip to Connecticut.  This trip just added to the craziness that has been my life recently - travels, life changes, new goals, etc.  After The Big Move, I should be good to go.  I'm so ready to get back into my normal groove.  I feel like I haven't been eating healthy or exercising much since I got back from Colorado at all - it's starting to take its toll!  That is all about to change!

Posts:

Monday - Siesta Key Vacay Recap

Tuesday - I Heart My Friends!

Wednesday - The Happiness Project Giveaway

Thursday - Girl Crush: Taylor Swift + Blog Makeover!

Friday - Organizing Your Life: Post #1
Saturday - The Dark Knight Definitely Rises!

Adventures:

My friends threw me a super fun going away party this past weekend.

I'm proud of myself - 1) I had a couple hours from the time I learned about my trip to the time I had to leave my house, and I successfully packed and got ready for my party 2) the GPS wasn't working in Connecticut, but I still made my way around successfully! #jetsetter

I'm glad I'm back on schedule with my blog posts.

I completed a blog makeover - welcome to PopFitLife!

I saw The Dark Knight Rises - amazing!
I won tickets to see the Temptations and Four Tops Saturday night...but then I couldn't find a single person to come with me.  Sad!

My niece and nephew are in town - I haven't seen them in a year and a half!  Let the fun begin!

Tomorrow begins my last week in Atlanta...for a while anyway!

Workouts:

Monday - none

Tuesday - none

Wednesday - none

Thursday - none

Friday - none

Saturday - none

Sunday - 1.88 mile walk
(Unless you call a lot of house cleaning exercise...)

Weekly Goals:

I'm all about making weekly contracts to help me achieve my goals now.  You can read about my process to organize my life and my main goals here.  Feel free to join in with me!  This week will be a weird week in regards to my goals because it is my final week in Atlanta and my niece and nephew are in town, so those are the two main things I'm focusing on.

See my Atlanta friends as much as possible this week.

Make better food choices - even if we go out to eat with the kiddies a lot.

Clean out my room - including clothes.

Donate items to the Goodwill immediately.

Try to save as much as possible while still visiting with my friends this week.

Complete the full training schedule this week - with adjustments for my move on the weekend.  Make those days up on the rest days.

Do at least one workout from the Beach Babe DVD 5 days next week.

What do you think about my blog makeover?  Let me know in the comments below!  Also, be sure to enter this week's blogversary contest - a signed copy of The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.

Please follow me on Twitter and "like" my blog's Facebook page if you enjoy what you read.  Thanks!

The Dark Knight Definitely Rises!

I saw a showing for The Dark Knight Rises last night and I must say that it does not disappoint at all.  I've been obsessed with the Batman movies since I was little.  I loved the George Clooney-as-Batman version for the longest time.  I wanted to be Batgirl like crazy - even had a notebook with all of the characters on it.  To be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of Batman Begins - maybe because Katie Holmes was in it and that was about the time she got together with Tom Cruise, but that's a different story for a different day.  I LOVED The Dark Knight of course and wasn't really sure how they would top it especially with the whole Heath Ledger thing.  Even so, I had yesterday's premiere date marked on my calendar since 2010 when Warner Brothers randomly released the date two years in advance.  Nerd?  Maybe.  As usual, I'd like to share some thoughts with you all.  Forgive me for the weird things that come to my mind during movies:

Photo from here.

Surprisingly, Anne Hathaway rocked Catwoman.

I wasn't really sure what Christopher Nolan was thinking when it was first announced that Anne Hathaway would play Catwoman, but she did an amazing job!  Guys worldwide are going to have huge crushes on this girl now if they didn't already.  Plus, there are about 40 seconds in the movie where Anne's character is acting, and it really made me notice that Anne isn't that bad of an actress herself.  She has come a long way from The Princess Diaries.

Photo from here.

The main players of Inception decided to show up.  (Personally, I missed Leo.)

The third installment of this franchise included Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Caine, Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy and, of course, Christoper Nolan - all had roles in Inception as well. 

I loved seeing familiar faces pop up.

There were so many great cameos in this movie.  These actors might have only been on screen for a brief amount of time, but I loved thinking "Oh, I know him. And him!"  Seeing Will Estes on screen was probably my favorite guest appearance because I've been in love with him since 1999 when he played Andrew Nayloss on 7th Heaven.  I have an autographed photo of him framed in my bedroom. #middleschoolmemories

Photo from here.

I have a major crush on JGL...what's new?! #boycrazy

While he wasn't in his dressy suits a la Inception (which I love), he was definitely still a scene stealer in this movie.  I love how he is still cute and nerdy a la his 10 Things I Hate About You Days, but that he can still kick butt on screen.  I would have loved to see him on screen with his 10 Things... co-star, Heath Ledger.  They would have been awesome together!

I swear Joseph Gordon Levitt and Ryan Gosling are one in the same.

If their GQ covers don't make you a believer, hear me out.  Exhibit A:  They both got their start via Disney (JGL was in Angels in the Outfield and RG was a member of The All New MMC).  Exhibit B:  Both look great in suits.  Exhibit C:  Both can sing and I love it!

Which would you pick?!  I can't decide! PS.  I wouldn't mind if either of these guys played Christian Grey by the way.

 

 

As far as story lines go, this was the best Batman movie so far.

I won't go into details so as not to give anything away, but this movie was great from start to finish - the cast, the visuals, the action scenes, the plot - perfect!

 

 

Photo fom here.

I was strangely attracted to Christian Bale's muscles.

I'm not one to ever ooh and aah over muscles, but I really liked Christian Bale's arm muscles in this movie for some reason.  I could watch him do push-ups all day.  Thankfully I found this little number from Tumblr, so I can! PS.  Does anyone else love CB the most in his Newsies?

Tom Hardy was excellent and unrecognizable as Bain.

I don't know how someone so handsome could transform into Bain, but Tom Hardy dominated this role.  I read that he worked out a ton, gained 30 pounds, and changed his voice, but I'm still shocked by the finished product.  Even during the movie, I couldn't believe it was him.  Bain was huge and his voice was so unusual.  I can't even explain it - you will just have to see for yourself.

Accents, accents everywhere.

This is really random, but there were so many accents in this film.  At first I thought Christopher Nolan did this so that Gotham could be located anywhere, but then they sang the USA national anthem.  I know the United States is filled with people from all over the world as well, but it was just so unusual.  I really liked it though.  Good job, Mr. Nolan!

Have you seen The Dark Knight Rises yet?  What are your thoughts and opinions?  Let me know in the comments below!

Please follow me on Twitter and "like" my blog on Facebook if you enjoy what you read.  Thanks!

Organizing Your Life: Post #1

Photo from here.

My life has been a little cray, cray since I got back from Colorado at the end of June.  It has been nonstop travels, life changes, and full on craziness in my opinion!  I'm waiting to get settled in Connecticut, so I can start to calm down and figure everything out.  To help with this process, I bought a few books the other day.  I'm currently reading The Complete Idiot's Guide to Organizing Your Life by Georgene Lockwood.  While some might look at this book and think it's a joke, I actually find it very interesting and I'm only on Chapter 5. 

Photo from here.

Since a lot of my readers said they are going through the same situation that I am at the moment in the comments section of my The Happiness Project Giveaway post, I thought I might do some posts on this topic.  This book is the perfect place to start.  While I won't give the book away (Go buy it!), I will discuss some of its points and how I am using these to organize my own life. 

Photo from here.

This is Organizing Your Life Post #1 and the first/most important step to organizing your life is to jot down your goals.  The book gives you some categories.  I added an extra one to fit my life, so feel free to do the same.  I came up with 12 life goals that I want to accomplish under the 8 topics the book suggests.

Life Topics:

People

Work

Food

Clothing

Home

Money

Fun

Fitness (I added this one.)

My Goals:

Make new friends.

But, keep the old ones.

Find a job...with benefits.

Eat cleaner...with carbs for marathon training.

Donate unworn clothes.

Purchase timeless closet items.

Decide on a style and work toward it.

Find a dog-friendly apartment.

Save my money, honey!

Get enough sleep but have a social life as well.

Stay on track with marathon training.

Gain muscle.

Once you make your list of goals, post them somewhere you will see them daily.  Next, the book suggests to make a weekly contract with yourself on how you will move toward achieving these goals.  I haven't done this step yet, but it is a great idea.  Anything that keeps you focused on goals with a clear path of how to achieve them plus a reward at the end is a fabulous idea in my book.  One tip I thought of - Don't give yourself a reward that goes against your goals.  For example, one of my main goals is to save money, so I shouldn't have a reward be to buy myself an expensive purse, you know?

Photo from here.

I might start posting my weekly goals as part of my Weekly Recaps posts that I write on Sundays.  What do you think?  Posting things on a blog is always a great way to be held accountable.  Speaking of accountability - my friend Donna is holding herself accountable by doing more training recap videos.  She asked if I wanted to join and I think I will.  Races are a way for us to stay in touch after I move many states away, so I think this is a great idea.  runDisney WDW Marathon and Princess Half, here we come!  In addition, it will help me work toward one of my goals - "Stay on track with marathon training."

Photo from here.

Check back on Sunday for my list of weekly goals.  Also, let me know in the comments what your main goals are and what you are going to do weekly to achieve these things.  I love hearing people's resolutions!  Also, don't forget to enter my giveaway for a copy of The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.  This is another amazing book to help you refocus and organize your life.  Good luck!

Stay fit and fabulous,

A

Please follow me on Twitter and "like" my blog on Facebook if you enjoy that you read.  Thanks!

Blog Makeover!

Hey everyone!  I just wanted to make a quick announcement because I'm too excited to sleep!  As I've mentioned before, I've wanted to do a blog makeover since the Fitness and Health Bloggers Conference in Colorado.  I got great ideas from all of the speakers and my roommate, Carissa.  So, without further adieu...

My new blog is now called PopFitLife.  You can get to it from either www.adventureswithalexandra.blogspot.com or www.PopFitLife.com.  If you follow it via e-mail or have it bookmarked, nothing should be different.  There should be no extra work on your part, so please let me know if you come across any issues. 

I love the new name because it is short and catchy.  It stands for my loves - pop culture, fitness, and life.  Huge thanks to Carissa for that one because she helped me think of a good name - I just switched it up a bit to include everything I write about.  The part that I am most excited about is that all of my social media sites now have the same name to make it easier for everyone.  Before Adventures with Alexandra was way to long for Twitter, but PopFitLife is juuuuust right!  (I will miss you old Twitter handle - @lil_ms_lovely.  You served me well...)

Most of my social media sites should be the same - I just changed their names.  Just to make sure you are following the right person, check them out here:

Twitter.com/PopFitLife

Facebook.com/PopFitLife

Youtube.com/user/PopFitLife

Pinterest.com/PopFitLife

DailyMile.com/people/PopFitLife

Thanks for bearing with me during this transition!  I hope you like everything and that it makes it easier for you to follow along with me on my many adventures.  Let me know in the comments below what you think - the good, the bad, and the ugly.  I'd love any suggestions you might have for me as well.  Thanks!

Stay fit and fabulous,

A

Girl Crush: Taylor Swift

I can't believe I've had this blog for a little over a year and I have yet to do a Girl Crush post on my bestie, Taylor Swift.  We go way back to 2007, see?

Okay - we aren't really friends, but we should be!  This amazing photo opp was taken in college after she opened up for Brad Paisley.  Being the wonderful person that she is, she told the crowd that she would stick around after Brad performed to meet anyone that wanted to meet her.  And, she did it!  What a gal!

Even though she is a couple years younger than me, I still look up to her.  Not only did she go after her dreams at a really young age, she didn't let fame swallow her whole like so many other young child stars do.  So far, so good.  I hope I would be like her if I were famous.

Photo from here.

It is also obvious that Tay writes some crazy catchy songs that any girl can relate to.  I will admit that "...so let me strike a match on all my wasted time. As far as I'm concerned you're just another picture to burn..." became my Facebook status immediately after my college boyfriend broke up with me.  Yeah, he wasn't too happy about that one.  Thank you very much, Taylor! ;o)

Photo from here.

I think Taylor's celeb persona is the real deal.  If she was being this nice and it was actually fake I think that would come across eventually, but she is as real as they come.  Exhibit A: check out her friends - Selena Gomez and Ashley Greene - some of Hollywood's sweetest ladies.  I love these girls!

Photo from here.

Exhibit B:  Taylor holds T-Parties after all of her concerts for some lucky fans.  Her mom goes through the crowd and randomly picks a few of Taylor's biggest fans to come have some fun with her backstage.  The room is completely transformed and much fun is to be had:

Photo from here.

Exhibit C:  Once, Taylor held a 13+ hour meet & greet for her fans.  While the event was only supposed to last 13 hours (her lucky number) she extended it to be sure she met everyone.  No words can describe this, so watch this quick video instead:

See!  How can you not have a Girl Crush on Taylor?  She is basically amazing.  Have you ever seen her in concert?  I haven't seen her when she has been the main act, but my sister said her concerts are fabulous.  Check out Logan's recap of her Taylor Swift concert experience.  Let me know in the comments below why you LOVE Taylor...or not, I guess... (do those people exist?!)

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