TOO ESSITED TO SWEEP

Okay, this might be my FAVORITE commercial EVER!

Flying back to Michigan this morning, I think I was TOO ESSITED TO SWEEP (or it might have just been my fibromyalgia and sleep issues) because I was up before 4am rearing to go :)

The blogging will probably be lagging while we are back in the Mitten, but I am sure I will have TONS to share once we return!

Have a TERRIFIC Thanksgiving!! 

BEAUTIFUL Libraries

The University of Michigan's Law Library was just put on a list of the 10 most beautiful libraries IN THE WORLD!! I couldn't agree more [but hey, I might be a little partial :)].

Check out the rest of the list here.

Have you been to any of these libraries? 

FREE Nursing Pillow

Amazing Deal for Thanksgiving! Promo Code for a Free Nursing Pillow! Use Promo Code "TURKEY2013" at NursingPillow.com TODAY! It's as easy as 1-2-3! Go to www.nursingpillow.com. Click on "Shop Now" and select the Nursing Pillow of your choice in any of our 9 prints! Once you have made your selection, you'll automatically be directed to the shopping bag. Enter the promo code "TURKEY2013" and we will deduct 100% off the cost of your selected Nursing Pillow - all you pay are the SP & S fees! Remember: the promo code is "TURKEY2013" and you can use it more than once, just open a new browser window each time you do. For a limited time you can upgrade to a super soft Minky Nursing Pillow for only $5! These nursing pillows make great gifts. Selections dwindle quickly, so get yours today!

Pinterest Picks

I started a new themed post a few weeks ago called PINTEREST PICKS - the idea is simple - you pick your favorite Pinterest pins and post them :) Pretty self-explanatory, right?!

Let's see if "PINTEREST PICKS" will catch on :)

Adventure Mobile:

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Fuzzy Friends:

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Great Lakes Proud:

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Health-tastic:

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Quotes & Sayings:

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Skin Art:

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So Cute:

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Yummies:

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What are your PINTEREST PICKS for the week?

Weather

Oh crap... I think my blood may be too thin for this...

The weather forecast for Temperance, MI for the next few days:

The weather forecast for Oceanside, CA for those same few days:

And people ask why I moved to SUNNY San Diego :) NOT A HARD CHOICE WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE WEATHER LATE-NOVEMBER! I mean the LOWEST LOW in Oceanside is HIGHER than the HIGHEST HIGH in Temperance.

MICHIGAN (and WINTER) HERE WE COME (at least for a few days)! 

REVIEW: 1:Face Watch

I have to start off by saying - this was probably the company I was most excited to hear back from when I was reaching out to folks about potentially reviewing their products.

I started following 1:Face Watch on Instagram and was PSYCHED on what they were doing. If you have followed my blog for any period of time you know I LOVE giving back and I get SUPER STOKED when companies do the same!

I had been working with Sophia (SUPER SWEET by the way) and she asked me which cause I wanted to support. Man, I think this was the hardest part of the process. I finally decided on HUNGER (seeing as one of the main reasons behind my decision to become vegetarian was the effect meat and its industry has on world hunger).

The WHITE watch goes to feed 16 children in the Horn of Africa through 1:Face Watch’s charity partner One Day’s Wages. [[Although I called it a 'watch' - it is SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST A WATCH - it is helping CHANGE LIVES.]]

I love that 1:Face Watch decided to quantify the donation that accompanies the watch – this way folks can know exactly what portion what their purchase is going towards as far as charity and giving back. For example, if you purchase one of the WATER watches, it will go towards building a well in Rwanda (one well takes 625 watches) or if you purchase one of the AIDS watches, it will go towards one month of treatment (1 month of treatment takes 5 watches).

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I can't wait to start wearing this all around and taking pictures of my new #WristCandy. I mean who doesn't love an #ArmParty?!

Dating ABCs: G

Ryan and I had a couple of ideas for our G date. First, we were thinking we would go to a San Diego GULLS game, but unfortunately they were out of town this weekend. [DON'T WORRY, I AM SURE WE WILL MAKE IT TO PLENTY OF GAMES THIS SEASON.] Next, it had been a while since we had been geo caching, so we figured it would be a PERFECT opportunity.

"What is Geo Caching?" you may ask... Well, thankfully for you I posted a blog about it OVER 5 YEARS AGO. Check it out, with many of the FAQs here. [But the main idea is going 'treasure hunting' using latitude and longitude coordinates. Most of the time you are just signing a log book or swapping little trinkets, but the fun is in the 'hunt'.]

We actually got engaged while geo caching on February 16th, 2008. Check out my original blog post announcing our engagement here. 

We went down to the Crossings in Carlsbad because we saw that there were trails around the golf course that were open for hiking and biking AND there were 8 caches on the loops. 

Don't worry, we didn't see any snakes

The smiley faces were the ones we found

There were some AMAZING views from where we were at (and with the rain that we had earlier in the week it was extremely clear).

Walt even helped out trying to find a couple for us.

And some of the cache containers were AMAZING (don't worry, it was NOT live).

It was GREAT to GET out and GEO cache. We even found some 'art' that went along with our G date :)

We are now up to 427 found caches - isn't that crazy?! We were also able to replace one of ours that had been 'stolen'. 

Yes, our name is "RC Pirates".

One quick story before I close. So it has been raining the past week or so here in Southern California. I guess I assumed that since the paths were near a golf course that they would be paved paths. Little did I know they would be wet, hilly, and extremely muddy. We had been doing a good job at avoiding the large mud puddles, but we came up to a section that there was no way around the mud. We decided we would just have to cross our fingers and make our way through. Well, the mud was STICKY! I went first and about two steps in realized this was a BAD idea. I was actually wearing flip flops and with each step I was sinking further and further into the mud. I actually thought that I would have to leave a sandal behind because they were so deep and stuck, but thankfully we made it through. We ended up walking back with probably an extra 4 pounds of mud on our shoes/ feet. Walt did NOT like it. It reminded me of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs where Flint makes shoes that you spray on your feet. Walt's paws had a muddy sock on them. [I WISH I would have taken a picture of our feet or shoes or even the path we trudged through, but I didn't. It did keep us laughing for the rest of the afternoon though.]

Just in case you have missed some of the recent Dating ABC Posts, make sure to check them out:

A = Apples

B = Beach

C = Carrillo Ranch

D = Disneyland

E = Elfin Forest 

F = Fancy Friday Feast

Now on to H!

Workout Recap - Week 47

Sunday, November 17th – Easy pace 5 miles with the hubby,  120 second Plank (part of the Plank Challenge I am participating in), Foam Rolled & Stretched

Monday, November 18th – Elliptical for 60 minutes, 150 second Plank (part of the Plank Challenge I am participating in), Foam Rolled & Stretched

Tuesday, November 19th –   Strength Training (abs, back, arms and legs), Foam Rolled & Stretched

Wednesday, November 20th –  Stationary bike for 60 minutes (17.05 miles), 150 second Plank (part of the Plank Challenge I am participating in), Foam Rolled & Stretched

Thursday, November 21st –  Rest day, 150 second Plank (part of the Plank Challenge I am participating in)

Friday, November 22nd – 5 miles, 180 second Plank (part of the Plank Challenge I am participating in), Foam Rolled & Stretched

Saturday, November 23rd – Geocaching/ Hiked 3 miles with the hubby and pup, 180 second Plank (part of the Plank Challenge I am participating in), Foam Rolled & Stretched

I was stoked with my Friday run. It was cold and rainy, so had long sleeves covering my Garmin. Figured I was probably running about 10 minute miles, since it felt 'easy', but when I finished I saw that I had finished in under 9 minute miles. You can see from the picture THE WINTER IS COMING [even in Southern California]. 

I took an extra 'rest' day this week (Thursday was my standard rest day, but Saturday my foot was a little painful, so instead of working out Ryan and I did our DATING THROUGH THE ALPHABET G date and went geocaching. 

The Plank Challenge  is getting harder and harder. How is everyone else doing on it?! It seems like I have been able to hit 1:30 fairly easily, but man those extra 30 seconds to 2 minutes is KILLER! I have NO IDEA how I will get to 5 minutes in less than 2 weeks... 

How were your workouts this past week? 

Pickles

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE PICKLES! But this song came on my Christmas radio station that I was listening to and I was a little thrown off... HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THIS BEFORE?!

Song Description

People either really love this song or just can't stand it because its sung by a child. In the 60's & 70's this would have been called a "novelty song" a la "I'm Gettin' Nuttin' for Christmas." It's about a nutty kid leaving pickles out for Santa, making Christmas cards with pickles, etc.etc.

Story Behind the Song

One day at Christmas time I was at a fast food restaurant with my family when my youngest was about 18 months old. There was a tray of sliced pickles on the table, and she discovered that they stick to windows. My other daughter and I made up the song right there on the spot.

Lyrics
I'm puttin' pickles on the window,
I'm puttin' pickles on the window,
I'm puttin' pickles on the window
For Santa Claus to see;
I'm baking pickle cookies,
I'm baking pickle cookies,
I'm baking pickle cookies
For Santa clause to eat!

I'm puttin' out pickle ornaments,
I'm puttin' out pickle ornaments,
I'm puttin' out pickle ornaments
For Santa Claus to hang!

chorus
Of all the things I like to eat,
Pickles are my favorite treat
I love to taste their tangy slime,
Especially at Christmas-time!

I'm hangin' pickles on the mantle,
I'm hangin' pickles on the mantle,
I'm hangin' pickles on the mantle
For Santa Claus to fill!

Puttin' out pickles for the reindeer,
I'm puttin' out pickles for the reindeer,
I'm puttin' out pickles for the reindeer,
For Rudolph and his pals.
I'm painting pickle Christmas cards,
I'm painting pickle Christmas cards,
I'm painting pickle Christmas cards
To send to all my pals!
repeat chorus

I'm puttin' pickles on the window,
I'm puttin' pickles on the window,
I'm puttin' pickles on the window,
For Santa Claus, for Santa Claus
For Santa Claus to see! YUM!

RunnerBox Ambassador

Did you notice it?! Over there on the right-hand side of my blog?! The button showing me as a RUNNERBOX AMBASSADOR?!

To say I am excited is QUITE an understatement!

If you have been following my blog or reading many of my reviews then you have probably noticed I have been getting quite a bit of product through RunnerBox to test out. I am BEYOND BLESSED by how gracious they have been.

And NOW, to top it off, THEY ASKED ME TO BE AN AMBASSADOR! [I was even featured as their first ambassador on their blog yesterday - check out my "interview" here.]

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So what does being an ambassador really mean? The main thing it means is A DISCOUNT FOR YOU - MY FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND FOLLOWERS!! Yup, you read it right! Since I am an ambassador, YOU get the reward! If you use my coupon code you will receive 10% off your purchase of any product INCLUDING subscriptions!

And in case you use Twitter and you haven't seen my reminders - THERE IS A #RunnerBox TWITTER PARTY TONIGHT AT 9PM EST! You should DEFINITELY join in the chat if you have time. There are PLENTY OF PRIZES and even a chance to win a 6-month subscription!