RunnerBox May 2015

YES!!!  I got my RunnerBox for May 2015 so I thought I would share with you what I got.  I have already eaten/traded some things so I had to steal a few pictures from the website but hey that's life!

There's my box! 

First up some products from a company called Hydrate!  They sent 4 different flavors of drink mixes.  These are basically liked a powdered sports drink you mix with water. They also sent 2 different gels that can be used before, during, or after a run. I did try the orange flavor of the drink mix and it was pretty good!

Next up is a "buttered oats shooter"  from a brand called Rani's. It looks like granola to me so I'll be anxious to try that on some yogurt.  Also pictured is a Fruigees fruit snack.  This reminds me of the kids applesauce or toddler snacks. I haven't eaten that either but it seems like something I will put in my purse for emergencies. And last but NOT least is the bumble bar! They sent two and I already ate one.  It was AMAZING!  It's not like any other bar I've ever had.  It was actually made of sesame seeds.  It was a little crunchy, a little chewy, & a lot delicious!  I can't wait to eat the other one!

These are two of the most interesting items to me. First up the IPS Egg white chips! The card says they are made with healthy egg white protein for 6 grams of protein per serving and half the fat of fried chips! I haven't tried these yet (as I'm a little afraid to) but I'll let you know! Something I did try and didn't care for (maybe the flavor) was the Run gum.  This is a gum developed by an Olympian to help give you a boost.  It says it's zero calorie, sugar free and gives you 50mg of caffeine, 20gm of Taurine & B-Vitamins! I tried the fruit flavor and was not impressed.  I will try the mint especially on a long run as I like to chew gum to keep me focused. I will report on that one also! 

Udderly smooth is a body cream to use on areas prone to chafing prior to running. I'm a huge fan of body glide so maybe I'll give udderly smooth a try next time! Lasting smiles chap stick is a pretty run of mill chap stick but it does give back.  With every 1000 balms sold it funds one cleft lip surgery.  So that's a great reason to check them out! And a bottle opener for your keys!  Who doesn't need one of those?! (People who drink wine!  That's who!  Where's my bottle stopper? or wine glass? hmm?!)

Go Tap is a kinesiology tape used to help with join and muscle pain.  I have use something similar in the past when my knee was acting up. I may just save this! The ICE3 (Ice-Cubed) is a body cooling towelette. Basically after (or during) a long run you can wipe yourself down with this and it will cool you down. I tend to use baby wipes but will give this a try! 

The Body Armor super drink . . . I drank! I needed some hydration so I tried it.  I got the strawberry banana flavor and it was pretty good.  Again not something I would normally drink or buy but it was good to try! 

And this product I traded away!  I know I'm horrible I didn't even try it but K wanted it and I took her gum so hey! But I've tried things like this and they were ok.  Again things like this tend to get stuck in my purse for emergencies! 

So there it is!  The May Runner Box.  I'm always amazed at how much stuff you get for $20!!  I love trying the new products and seeing what is out there that I haven't even thought of (cooling towelettes!).  If you want to get your own runnerbox you can click HERE and sign up! They also have CycleBox and TriBox if you or someone you know are interested in one of those! You can do a subscription (every other month) or just a one time box as a gift!  It's really a great company!  Go check them out!

Love, Lacey 

DISCLAIMER . I am not sponsored by RunnerBox.  I pay for the subscription myself and all views and opinions are my own!

Post Workout Routine

I thought I would take you through my post workout routine. It can be a bit different depending on the time of way I workout and what I have going on. But for the most part this is how my post workouts go!

First thing I do post workout is be thankful that it's over! After that I take my selfie! I gotta prove that worked out.  Did I mention that it usually takes me 10 pictures to get the "perfect" selfie? Yep!  I take some funny ones, serious ones, and all different angles.  Here is the "my booty is on FIRE" selfie. 

Next up is my post workout shake/smoothie. I like to get protein & water in my system ASAP!  So here is what I use!  First I start with about a half a cup of this berry blend from Costco.  I would highly recommend it if you haven't tried it before.  It is great for snacks or shakes or anything else you want to use it for.  The kids ask to have bowls of it, frozen, for snack and I've often done the same.  But I mostly use it in shakes and I love it!

Then I put in a scoop of protein powder.  This is the one I prefer.  It is a plant based protein shake.  I am by no means a vegetarian but I love the way this tastes and how it treats my body.  I would definitely recommend it!  They also have a vanilla chai flavor if you are just going to drink it with water that is AMAZING!  You can find it HERE or at a local health food store.  I actually get mine at Earth Fare. 

I have to blend mine in two batches because I use the little ninja chopper.  I also throw in a banana as you can see.  So I throw all of those things in with some water and blend away. 

I pour my mixture into a quart jar and put on a lid. I also need a straw so I throw one of those in.  It's not hard to make or rocket science.  That's just how I make mine. After I make my shake I take my shower and get on with life! That's pretty much how my post workout routine goes.  How about you?  Do you do the same thing each time? Do you have things that you HAVE to do post workout?

Love, Lacey

3 Words a picture - 3/20/15

I have been super sick this week and busy with work so I thought I would do the ol' 3 words a picture post.  Hope you enjoy!!

Drink this cider!

Seriously!  If you can find Vandermill "Totally Roasted" . . . BUY IT!!  It's not cheap I'll warn you now but it's like buying a cheaper bottle of wine.  It has a light crisp flavor and this one has a hint of sweetness and almost cinnamon. I told Mr. J it reminds me a bit of the German roasted almonds you buy.  Definitely worth the money!

Not my birthday!

I ran into a local store to grab a gluten free beer for a recipe and she didn't ask for my id.  I was really kind of upset at first but then I looked at my receipt! That is not even close to the year of my birth. That made my whole night!

Corned Beef Dinner

Like a good Irish girl I made Corned beef and cabbage! This is what I needed the gluten free beer for. I did taste it, it was ok. I used to be a dark beer drinker (see Guinness or New Castle) so this beer I chose was light like a miller lite. Not exactly my cup of tea but it was ok. The corned beef on the other hand . . . YUM!

St. Paddy's Fun

I also took this crazy picture on St. Paddy's day.  I was subbing that day and wore this adorable headband.  

First of Spring

As you can obviously tell by the snow, today was the first day of spring!  THANKFULLY we only got a dusting and it melted quickly!  I'm SO ready for warmer weather!

Running store danger

I ended up at our local running store and was talking to a friend who works there about trail shoes.  The more we talked and I tried on that more excited I got about running trails again.  Well lucky me, all trail shoes were on sale, I got a frequent buyer discount, & I had a gift card.  I walked out with new trail shoes for not much at all and $0 out of my pocket!  It was an all around good day!

January RunnerBox 2015

I'm so excited to be sharing a new subscription box with you!  If you follow me on Instagram (which you should! LoveLacey365) you will have already seen the box and know how excited I am about sharing this with you! While I loved Ipsy it was time to part ways but I wanted to keep bringing you something exciting! I also LOVE LOVE LOVE getting things in the mail so I didn't want that to end.  I was introduced to RunnerBox awhile ago and actually got to meet 2 of the ladies that run this company at the Wine'n'Dine Expo.  SUPER sweet ladies with LOTS of info and have done their research.  I was a big fan from the beginning but meeting them and other conversations I have had with one of the girls have put me over the top to subscribe to this box.  

So what is RunnerBox?  It is a bimonthly (every other month) subscription box.  They have different boxes you can choose from also.  They have a runnerbox, a cyclebox, and a tribox.  They also have the option to gift a box!  The box I chose is $20 but I think you will find it is WELL worth the money! They also include coupon codes for all the products if you want to order more!  If you are interested HERE is the link! Let's dive in and you can judge for yourself!

So first things first!  The packaging is really clean looking.  It's not flashy or anything but I really liked it.  It's really minimal and just nice.  So the box has a nice quote in the lid and then you open the nice lime green tissue paper and it was jammed packed with goodies!!

There were so many things in this box I had to do collage pictures otherwise we would be here all day! Up first is the Honey pattie in the Chocolate mint flavor.  I was excited for this because I love York peppermint patties and this seemed similar.  But you know what?  It was BETTER!!!  It was mint flavored honey on the inside and dark chocolate on the outside.  I died and went to heaven! Next was a really awesome runnerbox buff, some CongniTea that I have been wanting to try for awhile so I was SUPER excited about this and then something that made me stop . . . Pickle Ade.  Yes you read that right PICKLE Ade.  Apparently a lot of sports people drink pickle juice to keep from having muscle cramps and aid in recovery.  I must have missed that memo but I am happy to try it since I have been a pickle-holic for the longest time. I'm going to save it for a good long run and then chug it down! 

Next up is a Honey Stinger in the gingersnap flavor.  Excitingly this was the only thing in the box not gluten free!  So I will be sharing this with someone else but it was SO good to have so many yummy things that I could eat!  The Detour Smart bar in blueberry looks good and so does the Skout bar! I think both of these will make their way to my purse for my "emergency" snacks!  There was also a cold wrap & performance towel to aid in recovery.  And last but not least they included some delicious Nuun all day hydration.  These are like Gatorade but without the sugar and junk.  I LOVE nuun!  It's must easier on my tummy and does a great job of re-hydrating and just generally making you feel better!  They also included some Gu and two  instaboost.  I'm unfamiliar with instaboost but apparently it's nutritional crystals that you eat without water.  I'm excited to try these.  I'm envisioning poprocks. LOL


So what did you think?  I'm BEYOND excited to try all these things out!  And I can't wait for the next box!

I am NOT sponsored or affiliated with RunnerBox in anyway.  I just really do love this subscription.

11th Anniversary Vacation - Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of our anniversary weekend vacation.  READY?!  Let's GO!

Day 2 starts off with that amazing breakfast at the Real Food Cafe.  After that Mr. J and I headed into town. He had decided to take a brewery tour and the brewery that he chose only did 2 tours on Saturdays and it was limited to how many people could go. Well by the time he found out and looked online they only had 1 opening. I told him to go anyways and that I would find my way into the city and have some alone time! We parked at the brewery and it was less than half a mile to town so I had a nice walk.  We didn't realize that there was a bike race in town that weekend. A lot of the streets were blocked off and it was a little hard to get around but that also meant there were a lot of people around so I never felt lonely or unsafe. 

Since we had visited the GRBC the night before we had asked out waitress about where to go in town. She mentioned that they had a $4 bloody mary bar on Saturdays. Well I knew how to get to GRBC so back there I went for my alone time and a little drink!

So the premise is that you get to pick your spirits then they send you over to the bar to doctor up your cup of ice & liquor. There were 2 kinds of bloody mary mix (spicy & regular) and then about 20 different things to put in it! This one I choose jalapeno clilanto vodka, a spicy bloody mix, and then started in with the toppings. Blue cheese olives, a pickle, chunks of cheese, a stalk of celery, a strip of bacon, and a splash of olive juice! Sounds crazy but it was DELICIOUS!

I sat right near the window and enjoyed watching the cyclists go by. The bartender was an awesome girl and we chatted about life and kids several times. I also enjoyed being alone and taking thoughtful selfies. 

After our afternoon in town we went back to our hotel to rest and take a soak in the hot tub. We also called and made a reservation for dinner for 8 pm.  Yes I said 8 PM! We got real wild and crazy! We decided to go to a very nice restaurant as a treat since we didn't do presents other than the trip. We chose Ruth's Chris because Jason had heard good things and we knew we would love it. We got there early and decided to sit at the bar to have a drink until our table was ready. I had a wonderful gin martini and we took a few selfies.

For dinner I had the filet mignon with shrimp and we shared some garlic mashed potatoes. Both were VERY good.  I also had a Cesar salad that I am STILL dreaming about! It was insanely good salad! Our waiter, Kyle, was very nice and very helpful in choosing our dinner. I have to give Ruth's Chris a big thank you because they had an entire page of gf options, including dessert, in their menu!  That was very very helpful in knowing what I could & couldn't have. 

After our meal they brought us out this gorgeous dessert plate!  It was a great night to talk and reminisce and just appreciate how far we have come in 11 years and how thankful we are to God for bringing us together and keeping us that way! 

On Sunday it was time to check out and head home but not before breakfast.  Here is where my story is going to get a bit crazy.  I am not gluten free because it's trendy or fun or will help you lose weight.  I'm gf because I have an intolerance and will get sick if I eat it. But I have found a digestive aid pill that you can take when you are going to knowingly eat gluten or after you accidentally eaten gluten that will help your body digest it better.  I keep these pills in purse for the times that I get accidentally glutened.  I don't usually take them before and knowingly eat gluten. BUT on this day I took 4 (yes it takes my body 4 pills to feel ok) and ate most of this cinnamon roll.  Yes we went to Real Food Cafe two days in row.  And Yes we waited nearly an hour on Sunday because the place was packed! And yes it was worth it because the food was AMAZING! So while I don't condone taking pills so you can eat gluten because it still isn't good for my belly, on the rare occasion that I find something I'm going to eat it! We left Real Food cafe so stuffed we could barely walk!  It's a MUST for anyone living or visiting Grand Rapids!

On the way home we also stopped at Cabela's and they had these creepy looking wolves right inside the front door.  These were right about my eye level and it creeps me out to think about being that close to a real wolf. After we walked around Cabela's we headed towards home. 

We had a REALLY awesome weekend away.  It's so nice to get away just the two of us and recharge our batteries. It's important to make our marriage a priority and this is a great way to do that.  A HUGE thank you to everyone who watched our kids so we could do this.  It was a GREAT weekend!

Love, Lacey

11th Anniversary Vacation - Part 1

Have you ever noticed that when I go on vacation my recaps are multiple parts?  I take a TON of pictures and don't want to overload you! 

A few weeks ago Mr. J and I went on a long weekend. We decided to go up to Grand Rapids, Michigan. I had read that it was a great location to go for breweries. When we got our guide it said "A great place for a beercation"  We loved that.  So we loaded up the truck & set out after my morning run.  We didn't really have an agenda other than we knew where we were staying on Friday night. We decided just to head towards our hotel and see what we found.  We found a great little western wear shop just off the highway in the middle of nowhere. I don't remember what it was called or where it was located (blog fail!) but we had a really fun time! 

Mr. J & the big letter J!

He probably won't appreciate that I posted this BUT he was having fun trying on boots and this is the pose I got when I told him I wanted to take a picture.  I love this man!!

Our first stop was the Grand Rapids Brewing Company (or GRBC if you are a local). We weren't very hungry but thought we would grab a drink and sit down and relax while.  Since I'm gf (gluten free) drinking beer is out of the question but most places have either cider or wine and I will gladly drink either! I got a wonderful blueberry cider from a local company and Mr. J got a flight of assorted beers. It went from light to dark and even a couple were fruity.  It was a nice way for him to try a little bit of what they offered without ordering an entire beer.  And the wood carrier was too cute! He enjoyed almost all their beers (he isn't a fruity beer fan) and even said how nice the brown ale was! 

Next we went down the road to HopCat Brewery and decided to have dinner. I unfortunately didn't take pictures of our food?! I don't know how that happened other than I was just SUPER hungry.  Our waitress was AWESOME!!  I asked her about the gf drink options and not only did she drink me out an entire different drink menu (with TONS of cider!) but she also pointed me away from the things on the food menu that were NOT gluten free.  That is really helpful because I didn't want to spend my vacation sick! I also wasn't sure which cider to order, as I had already tried the blueberry I didn't want that or just a plain apple again, she pointed me towards this "Totally Roasted" cider by Vandermill Ciders. She described it tasting like candied pecans with a hint of cinnamon & vanilla.  I said "You had me at candied pecans!". I thanked her several times for the information.  This was an AMAZING cider! It reminded me of the German roasted almonds that you get at the fair.  YUM! It was awesome!  I also ate an olive burger with Swiss and blue cheese (thankfully the blue cheese didn't bother me). Obviously I ordered it without the bun and with a salad on the side since their fries were beer battered. It was AWESOME! Mr. J had a bacon cheese burger & the fries and said both were lovely. I don't remember what he had to drink but I'm guess some kind of beer! They actually run a special that is beer & a burger for $7! What a great deal for a giant burger and tasty beer!

The next morning we needed a good hearty breakfast because we were going to be busy during lunch. Before we left home we looked on Yelp to find a good local eatery.  We searched our hometown first to make sure that it would pull up a good one and the top restaurant was one of our favorite local breakfast places so we decided to trust it when it told us to go to the Real Food Cafe.  It was in a very residential area about 10 min from our hotel. And from the outside it didn't look like much so we weren't sure what to expect.  Let me tell you! This place is AMAZING!!  They make everything from scratch! The bread was fresh from a local bakery, they had fresh local baked goods including cinnamon rolls the size of your head (a post about that coming soon!). I ordered a southwest scrambler.  It had eggs, onions, tomatoes, and fresh made chorizo. This was the best chorizo I've EVER had!  It was super fresh and the taste was not harsh or too hot.  Just delicious.  This plate was empty when I left!

So far out vacation was off to a great start! Especially after I saw this Michigan sculpture! It was made of wood & metal and was just beautiful.  I asked Mr. J if he could get one for our house but he didn't seem too excited. Oh well.  Up next is day 2 & 3 of our vacation.  Stayed tuned because we get a little crazy! Ok, we don't, we are old but we did make a dinner reservation for 8 pm!  YEP!  We stayed out LATE! 

Love, Lacey

Running Recap 7/14 - 7/19

Hello!!  It's time for my running recap of the week!  I'll share some pictures and maybe a few stories!  Here's how my week running went!

I always run 4 miles on Monday with Kellie! Unless someone is sick or one of us is out of town we will run together!  It's a standing date and I love it.  It started raining as I was pulling into her driveway this week so you know what we did?  We got wet!  We set out for 4 miles and it rained for about the first 2.  And it actually felt pretty good! 

On Wednesday I asked Mr. J to come home from work on time, since he has been working late on a job, so that I could run.  I set out for between 4 and 5 miles and around mile 4 I felt really good so I just kept going and finished 5 miles right as I passed our house! I ran a little path through our subdivision and saw about 10 rabbits.  One was the cutest baby bunny EVER!! 

Have I ever mentioned how I am NOT a morning person?! I literally had to drag myself out of bed this morning for my run.  I made some gf waffles and ended up burning them.  Thank goodness not bad enough for the smoke alarm to go off, which happens regularly in our house, but they had a nice char on them. At least I had coffee! You can tell by my face how excited I was to get out there.

But then I got there! The first mile wasn't great! I kind of drug myself through it.  But then I found my groove and started to really settle in and get the miles done.  Before I knew it I was at the turn around to head back towards home. I had such a great morning of praying and just checking out the beauty around me.  One house I ran by had a rooster out in the driveway telling everyone to wake up.  I wanted to take a picture but I was worried he would try to chase me. If you don't know roosters can be very mean! But he was really pretty and it was fun to hear him crow as I ran. I have to give God the glory for giving me the ability to run.  And the ability to see the beautiful earth around me. 

I hope you got out there this week!  Did you run?  How many miles did you get?!

Love, Lacey 

My 5K PR 07/12/14

For the last few months I have been working my booty off (literally) trying to train to run a sub 30 min 5K (3.1miles).  For some people this is easy.  For some people this is hard.  I am in the later group. I have been running off and on for 5 years. Running does NOT come easy to me. I'm not very tall (around 5'4") and have short legs. I struggle with mental toughness.  I can talk myself out of a run faster than you can sneeze!  Mental strength is something that I have really focused on.  I have used visualizing and positive self talk and just basically tried to keep telling myself that I AM strong and CAN do it!

Saturday the 12th was race day.  It was a nice and early start time of 8 am! My last race (which you can read about HERE) I ended up eating a gf cupcake & drinking a coffee on the way since we had to drive about 45 min. Well guess what?! I had a great race! So I thought you know it was a good breakfast last time so I'm going to try it again.  On Friday afternoon I went to a local bakery that always keeps gf cupcakes in stock (HALLELUJAH!!!). They had cherry, vanilla, and chocolate. I bought a cherry & a chocolate (I figured I'd better eat one the night before, you know, carb loading!) and went on home.  In the morning I got up early, made my coffee, and left the house. On the way to the race I ate my cupcake, listened to Fancy by Iggy Azalea (warning it has naughty words!) and got myself pumped up to race. 

Kellie and I took a couple selfies cause that's what you do before a race! We walked to the starting area and talked to some awesome runner friends of ours.  I think that is one of my favorite things about running. The running community is amazing! Everyone encourages each other and pumps each other up! So Kellie and I talked to a few of our friends and just got ready to run! I kept telling myself, I CAN do this! They had the elites and FAST runners (under 24 min for Women and 21 min for Men) lineup up front and then the rest of us.  We lined up, I closed my eyes, and said out loud "I CAN DO THIS" and off we went!

I found a great girl to pace with for the first mile and half or so.  She had a great pace and so I just kept up. I haven't been listening to music this year and so I have been praying my way through my runs.  It's a great time of quiet and time for me to just pray for people I love, other runners, and just talk to God about what is going on in life. That is me in the middle (pink shirt) looking like a hot mess! I swear I look like death when I run.  I love to run but I look like I'm in agony! HA HA HA  Oh well.  That's me coming down the straight away to the finish line! 

And there ya go! Those are my results! I finished in 29:02!!!!  Not only that but I finished in the top 20 in my age group!! I'm really happy and really proud of myself.  I haven't run a 9:22 mile in a race EVER! It gives me more confidence in my half marathon training (which starts soon!).

Work Hard!  Believe in yourself! Dream Big & Pray Hard!

Love, Lacey