Poor Form & Loving Yourself Regardless :)

So I received my very FIRST blog award from Whitney!! I was obviously sooo excited since I've never gotten one of these before!

Thanks girl, that just made my day! You're awesome :)

Soooo the deal is I have to answer the following using only ONE word... let's see if I can haha:

1.Where is your cell phone? purse
2.Your hair? braided
3. Your mother? loveable
4. Your father? unavailable
5. Your favorite food? oatmeal
6. Your dream last night? running!
7. Your favorite drink? water
8. Your dream/goal? restaurant
9. What room are you in? living
10. Your hobby? laughing
11. Your fear? bees!
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? house
13. Where were you last night? benefit
14. Something you aren’t? unhappy
15. Muffins? gimme.
16. Wish list item? car
17. Where did you grow up? connecticut
18. Last thing you did? stretched
19. What are you wearing? shorts
20. Your TV? nada
21. Your pets? adorable :)
22. Your friends? buttons
23. Your life? FUN
24. Your mood? tired
25. Missing someone? boyfriend
27. Something you’re not wearing? makeup
28. Your favorite store? legourmetchef. haha
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When was the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? awhile
33. One place that I go over and over? gym
34. One person who emails me regularly? jillybean :)
35. Favorite place to eat? kawasaki


And now to pass on the award to 6 others! I wish I could give it to everyone because it's fun to see everyone's answers :)

1. Sarah at THE FOODIE DIARIES

2. Bri at the optimalist

3. Tyler at Raspberry Runner

4. Lara at Thinspired

5. Missy at Missy Mantains

6. Whitney at Whit's Getting Fit

I love ALL of your blogs! They're so fun to read and you girls are all gaw-geous & such good examples of how healthy eating & exercise can help you lead a happy, fulfilling life! :)

Sooo moving onto yesterday.. I was in rare form last night... or, really... most of the day in fact. Obviously something I'm not too proud of! But I don't beat myself up over "bad" days when it comes to eating, exercising, whatever... Instead, I recognize that I made some mistakes and fix them in the healthiest way I know. I Move On.

Yes... I for sure 1.) drank a good amount of beer (3 Magic Hats is alot to a post graduate who's lost her drinking mojo!)...

2.) I ate our flatbread pizza at the benefit (the money went to a good cause, can ya blame me?)...

3.) And even enjoyed half of a reallyyy delicious dessert split with my older brother (can you say brownie sundae with graham cracker ice cream?? Cause I can...)

4.) Haven't ran in TWO days... (dun dun dunnn!)

Oh, not to mention coming home to 5.) A bowl (or 1-1/2 bowls) of cereal post benefit... oops! And some other not-so-pretty eats such as a delectable blueberry scone from Starbucks... AFTER already having breakfast... oops once again!

But would it really be beneficial to hate myself all day over something so insignificant??? The answer is NO. It is simply food. It's whatever. I'm a healthy eater 95% of the time, I love to run, I actually enjoy exercise, and I like to every once in a while LIVE A LITTLE.

Of course... I will be having a much better day today when it comes to both eating & exercising and may have to skip on Cookie Friday this week... MAY have to, not WILL have to.... but I don't feel I'm punishing myself by doing so. One essential thing to remember is that all of us make "mistakes"... none of us are perfect eaters or exercise machines & if you think you are, you are sorely mistaken.

This isn't meant to say ANYTHING to ANYONE except... give yourself a break once in a while... you're all beautiful, intelligent, healthy women !!!! (I should put that on a Post-It today in the gym now that I think of it... *cough* Operation Beautiful *cough*) because I do remember a time when I would "punish" myself for what I considered "bad days". I don't remember the last time I did that & I intend to keep it that way....

So.... I:

1.) WILL have a good workout today, but WILL NOT overexercise due to guilt of any way, shape, or form.

2.) WILL eat good, healthful meals that are balanced throughout the day, but WILL NOT restrict myself from my usual healthy "between meal snacks" or consume less calories than usual.

3.) WILL still enjoy my one drink tonight as usual because two of my favorite friends are coming home to visit & we have a fun night planned, but WILL NOT be angry or disappointed in myself if I decide to make that two drinks instead.

I hope I haven't offended anyone without my ramblings... I am telling you right now THAT IS NOT MY INTENTION WHAT-SO-EVER... because I KNOW it can be hard to forgive yourself after one too many brownies or drinks or days that go exercise-free... This was just meant to be my outlet for expressing how I think, from one girl to any other who happen to read this post today. We all struggle with stress, tasks & appointments, work, and busy schedules everyday... this is one thing that we have to continue to be mindful of, but NEVER beat ourselves up over. It is unhealthy & negative. Love yourself! That's pretty much the moral of my rambling in the first place... :)

Anyway.... the benefit went well!! We raised alot of money, enjoyed some great bands, happily sipped some great drinks & ate amazing food, and gave out some awesome prizes & gifts through the raffles and silent auction. All in all... it was a great time and I was so happy to be a part of it. I'm really excited for the Walk for Breast Cancer next weekend too!! It can't come soon enough! :) Thank you for leaving the sweetest comments about the benefit... we did very well!

Breakfast this morning was just what it should be...

Yummyyyy! Banana-Coconut oatmeal... I'm hooked on this stuff!
If you haven't tried it yet, please do. It's phenom and keeps you full for a great workout (which I'm about to go have....!)


Hope you all have a wonderful Friday ... HOW great is it that another weekend has arrived!? I'm really excited for my best friend to come home tonight from Worcester... he's been a work-a-holic and hasn't had a minute to come home in soooo long! And one of my best girlfriends will be home from NYC where she's attending art school and it will just be so fun to reunite with those two :)


What do you all have planned for this Columbus Day weekend??