Sweaty Wednesday Debut

Today I am so excited to be featured on Blue Collar Catwalk’s Sweaty Wednesday post! The Blue Collar Catwalk’s author Kyla does daily outfit posts that showcase her great style and affordable outfits. She even posts the prices of her vintage or thrifted finds! I’ve followed the Blue Collar Catwalk for about a year or so because I love the idea that you don’t have to spend a ton to look like a million dollars. When I read that Kyla was looking for people to chime in on their inspiring fitness stories, I jumped at the chance to talk about my story of becoming a runner!

I spent this Sweaty Wednesday with a 6 mile morning run, and the rest of the day has been centered around the good ol’ thesis. I was pleased to find that my copy of Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy came in the mail today. If you’re interested in reading about the impact of forced labor on the average American consumer, the author of Nobodies, John Bowe has a blog you can check out here.

 

Conquer the Beast

Last night I decided the nicest Valentines Day gift I could give myself (and my husband) is to finish my freaking thesis. So this is what my life is going to look like for the next two weeks. I stayed up late and managed to get 10 pages out of yesterday. If I can keep up that kind of momentum, well – then there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

Oh and just a little nugget of advice for those of you considering pursuing a Masters Degree. If I could do it over again I’d make damn sure that I chose a program that had a non-thesis option. Lucky for me I had to pass comprehensive exams and write a thesis. It sounded simple enough when I started.

Dear Candace of 2007,

I need a little bit of your passion for life. I need a lot bit of your confidence and independence. I need some of your determination and also a little bit of that tendency to not care what other people think of you. If you could do me a favor and give me a little bit of an ass kicking – a get out of your funky slump and make something happen for your self – type talk, I could really use it. Cause you aren’t a housewife (not that being a housewife is a bad thing, it’s just not for you) and you didn’t go to school for 8 years and counting to make excuses and fade into the background. You are blessed to have an amazing husband and family that support you and they’re waiting on you to get out there and do something great. SO DO IT.

Love,

Candace 2011

The Jeans Don’t Lie

I had a little reality check yesterday.

Since the holiday’s and the move and all the fantastic new restaurants to try…I’ve noticed a few pair of jeans that aren’t quite fitting super great. I’ve got one pair of no stretch jeans and they are basically what I rely on to keep my weight in check. If they fit, I usually feel pretty good.

It’s a careful dynamic, watching my weight and training for a marathon. I know that I need to maintain a good caloric intake to keep my energy up on days I go for long runs, but as of lately I’ve been using running as a bit of an excuse to overindulge.

I still eat very healthy most of the time, but I think I need to keep the amount of food I’m eating in check along with being more mindful when we go out to eat.

On that note, I’ve also discovered some great new weight/cross training videos on youtube.

I found the JillFit blog yesterday when I was searching for a healthy banana bread recipe, and it turns out she’s got a really cool training plan and some great workout resources on her youtube channel. After my run this morning I did this quick leg circuit. It was just challenging enough, and I love that you can do it anywhere.

I actually worked on my thesis yesterday so I’m going to try and stay on track and set a goal of 10 new pages by Sunday.

Let’s try this again…

It’s yet again the start of a new semester. I have got to get this thesis situation out of the way.

Or I could just continue to take pictures and blog about it and maybe, just maybe it’ll all go away.

Kidding.

But honestly I can’t stop neglecting it. I’ll feel 100% relieved when it’s finished & I’m sure I’ll be a much less anxious person.

On a lighter note, I experimented with some Asian foods this week and attempted a Miso Salmon that turned out pretty good.

Lemongrass & Daikon. Fresh lemongrass smells soooo good.

I don’t have an exact recipe for the entire meal, but for the Miso Salmon you need:

1/2 lb salmon, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce, and 3 tbsp of miso paste.

Preheat Broiler. Wisk the sugar, soy & miso paste and let the salmon soak in the mixture for about 10 min. Place salmon in a shallow pan, coated with cooking spray and cover with miso sauce. Broil about 10-12 min.

Sorry there aren’t any pictures of the final result – but we were hungry & had pretty much devoured dinner before realizing there was no final pic!

For now we are off to the Honolulu Aquarium so I’m sure that I’ll have pics to follow.