i'm val.

I lost 45 lbs. I gained a little back. Now I'm getting serious. Zumba instructor. novice runner. Fitness & health enthusiast.

[c-r-e-a-t-i-v-i-t-y]

[thecrazyfilipinaaa]

TEA-SHIRTS

[sp4-ce]

OHMYGOD THE INTELLIGENCE

[findinganewweigh-blog]

free bagels in the lunch room? don't mind if I do.

[findinganewweigh-blog]

lunch.. + an apple and a granola bar. and an episode of glee.

[simplytaralynnblog]

14 Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes For The Table This Year!

I put a list together of some of my favorite fall recipes. These would be perfect for the Thanksgiving table! 

Banana Pumpkin Bread

Sweet Potato Hash

Pumpkin Cake Batter Dip

Sweet Snapped Green Beans

Cauliflower Mash

Rhubarb Sweet Potato Mash

Cinnamon Apple Pie

Cherry Meringue Pie

Banana Bread Dip

Creamy Garlic Butternut Squash Soup

Sweet Turkey Salad

Cinnamon Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Crescent Rolls

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Add Collage To Pinterest Here

[sadlilbug-deactivated20140618]

the only bad thing about mashed potatoes is absolutely nothing

[supermarks]

How To Make A Bikini Tanned Turkey

Why does this exist?

[findinganewweigh-blog]

Yes.

[prettybalanced-deactivated20160]

Black Bean, Black Barley and Blue Corn Posole Soup

[reachyourpeak]

I made the best dinner last night.Buffalo Chicken Meatloaf. Literally took 5 min to prep, and just threw it in the over for 30 min. Talk about an easy healthy recipe! My fam and boyfriend loved it.

Here’s the full recipe!

Let me know if you decide to try it…I just had it for lunch again, yummmmm

[gettonedandfit]

[findinganewweigh-blog]

waiting to hear back from Aflac for a possible final interview is not fun.. I want need this job. okay, not need. but it'd be really awesome. fingers crossed.. I should hear something by the end of the week!

[findinganewweigh-blog]

GAH, I just typed out this nice summary of my run, only for tumblr to time out and erase everything.  here's hoping the second time's the charm...

very easy run today -- my feet/ankles were feeling especially sore after pushing myself harder than usual on Saturday.  having the day off of work + the beautiful weather outside meant that I had absolutely NO excuse not to get outside and do something, so I did exactly that.  my town's not really notable for much, but I do have to say, I love the amount of lakes in the immediate area.  makes for some really enjoyable running.

2.37 miles: check.

vacuum the entire house: check.

next up on the to-do list: shower, nom on some scrambled eggs + hot tea, go food shopping. then some quality R&R later, sending out my resume to a few places, and cooking up a chicken & potato casserole for dinner.

Happy Monday! :)

[fitness4running-deactivated2013]

[findinganewweigh-blog]

post-run, pre-shopping noms.

[findinganewweigh-blog]

Ran 3 miles today. [the 2.87mi summary doesn't include my warm-up, so it was a little over 3mi all together].  After warming up, I ran the first mile to try and determine a realistic 5k pace for myself as of right now. This made my splits rather ridiculous to look at.. when I finished the first mile, I had a massive cramp in my right side and was super dizzy. GAH. I knew right away that I started off too fast, which made the rest of the mile a pain in the ass. =/ The second mile was essentially an attempt to un-dizzy myself. I ran 2.0-2.5mi, and then jogged/walked the rest back home.

split    time               distance     pace (avg)

1        00:10:42        1.0 mi         12:46

2        00:16:52        1.0 mi         22:23

3        00:12:20        0.9 mi         17:25

          00:40:01        2.9 mi        13:57

Overall, a 10:42 mile is good for me, so I'm satisfied with that. I timed my mile 2 weeks ago and it was something right around 11:30 or 11:40, so WOO for that! In the left-hand photo above you can see some of my workouts I logged from last year, and my pace from today is significantly lower than those, so that makes me happy. :)  I'll consider today a success, because despite being warm & cozy in my pajamas this morning, I went out, pushed myself as hard as I could stand it, and I left everything I had to give out on the road.  I may not be the fastest runner and I may not look pretty while I'm doing it, but I get out there and I run.  And that's what it all boils down to.

[findinganewweigh-blog]

today is shaping up to be pretty wonderful.

why? - woke up to my husband bringing me breakfast in bed. breakfast in bed. two of my very favorite things in the world - combined. (+ my husband makes three.) ;) - we have electricity! ..and our home, our awesome kittens, and our health - after Sandy, we are reminded not to take these things for granted - I'm currently drinking tea and getting ready to go running - today's high temperature will be 56* (followed by 65* tomorrow!!!) which is a great improvement from the hurricane and snow storm - after my run, going shopping with my mom - woo new shoes! - relaxing with brendan and my parents tonight.. homemade pizzas and drinks will be had. - oh, and today kicks off a very much needed 3-day weekend. so, yeah. life is looking pretty great right about now.

[chibird]

[findinganewweigh-blog]

will this workday ever end?

it feels like my life is buffering.