This is absolutely 100% me. No joke. I packed anywhere between 30 and 130 outfits for this trip. I can’t make decision about what I will wear without knowing where I will be going or what we will be doing!
Happy Friday! I am especially happy on this particular Friday because it is vacation time!!! We head out to Oregon later this afternoon and I am SO excited. Donny & I normally go on quick weekend-long trips to places, but this trip is a week long! I had a really busy week at work, so it makes me even more ready for some time off.
Time for Anything & Everything Friday where I share five random topics with you of my choosing. I try to keep them health and fitness related, but sometimes it is not. In fact, a couple of the topics below are not health-related, but oh well.
Kate Morton:
I have been reading The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton and it is really good! In book club, we read The Secret Keeper, which was also really good. I really enjoy her style of writing! She writes mysteries, but they aren’t scary thrillers or anything. She writes from different characters perspectives, but also writes from different time periods. For example, in The Forgotten Garden one storyline is from the early 1900s, another from 1975, and one more in 2005. They are all intertwined to tell the full story, but in a nonconventional way. Some of the gals in book club didn’t like that, because they thought it was confusing. I LOVE that part. It really helps add to the mystery! Her books are fairly long (some 500+), but they are easy reads that will keep you interested. I definitely recommend them. Have you read any books by Kate Morton?
Wellness Retreat:
If you know me very well or have followed my blog for very long, then you know that I am all about being healthy. I love eating healthy and I love fitness. No surprise there, but I have always been intrigued by a wellness retreat. A vacation that is relaxing, but has exercise classes available, healthy eating options and people that share the same interests as me in terms of health. I think that would be so cool!
I haven’t looked into actually going on one before, but Erin Magner with Well & Good rounded up The 11 Best Wellness Retreats For Fall And Winter 2016. The Wanderlust Sunshine Coast in October looks amazing. Or anyone down to go to Cuba for a wellness retreat? I wouldn’t mind seeing Cuba, but not 100% sure a wellness retreat is what I want to do there. Have you been on a wellness retreat? Want to go with me?!?!?
Speed or Incline?:
Which is better when running on a treadmill: speed or incline? Well Amber Eisinger at Greatist.com has the answer for us. Turns out, it is a bit more complicated than that (shocker) because it depends on what your goal is. Check out Which Is Better On A Treadmill: Incline or Speed Intervals?. She has advice for new runners, those looking to lose weight, others looking to build muscle, etc. I personally prefer to mix it up. I do not have aspirations to run miles upon miles, but I like to occasionally do intervals on the treadmill. If you are like me in that aspect, then do both. One day do HIIT intervals that change speed, then another day do intervals that change the incline. Click the link above to read more about which is better for your particular goals.
Like Mother Like Daughter:
My mom has told me that before she had my sister and I she wanted two boys with blue eyes that looked alike. My sister and I DO NOT look alike and neither one of us has blue eyes. Nice try mom! In fact, none of us really look that similar. There are similarities, yes, but a lot of people don’t even know we are related until we tell them.
My grandma was going through her photo albums the other day and found a school picture of my mom from when she lived in Kansas. Holy cow, I look just like her back then! The picture was from 1988. I decided to take a selfie with it because I was shocked at how much we look alike. What do you think?!?!
Oregon:
We are off to Oregon. Eugene first, then McMinneville and finally Portland for a few days! My cousin is getting married on Saturday (congrats Jamie & Tarin!) then not much of an itinerary after that. Donny & I don’t plan TOO much when we vacation. We have ideas of what we want to do and book important things ahead of time. This trip is going to be pretty low key, but will involve plenty of coffee, beer and FOOD! Donny’s friend Dante is taking us all over the city to spoil us with good eats. I cannot wait. Oregon…here we come!
Have a great weekend and I won’t be back all of next week! Try to eat clean as much as possible, exercise when you can, but make sure to PLAY along the way.
