Weekly Reader: Trying to Find Inspiration

April 17, 2013 · by Debbie · 9 Comments

It has been a while since I’ve posted my Weekly Reader, but something about the events in Boston on Monday sent me searching for inspiration. Believe it or not, there is a lot to be found, right there on Boylston Street. I heard stories of runners, who after finishing running 26.2 miles, continued to run another two or so to the hospital where they offered to donate blood. As I watched a video replay (for like the 100th time), I couldn’t help but notice that along with the people who were running away from the explosion, there were many running toward it, to help. A Google doc was started, where people offered anything from a place to stay, to a ride, food, water, blankets and more. Restaurants offered to feed people whether or not they could pay. A doctor who ran the marathon, then came back to offer help. Story after story of regular people helping. That’s inspiring.

Source: AP

Many people are running, lifting, and blogging for Boston this week, including me. I want to share two posts, which I thought were very eloquent. Frankly, I couldn’t read more than a couple of the Boston posts. It was just too hard and made me too angry.

No Meat Athlete, What it Means to Be a Runner.

Fit and Feminist, The Spirit of the Marathon Lives on in Boston.

Here are a few of the non-Boston posts that I want to share, that have made me laugh, cry, angry, or just hungry.

Running Inspiration

Miss Zippy, Challenge Conventional Wisdom. Amanda loves to push the envelope in her running and is always open to learning new things about training. She even makes this old runner think.

rUnladylike, Injury Prevention: Yoga for Runners. As you know, I really have ~~failed~~ tried to incorporate yoga into my training. Jesica gives me even more reasons to do so.

Blogging Inspiration

Pushing Social, How I Turned a Part-Time Blog into a Full-Time Business. If this is a goal of yours, Sanford has some great tips on goal setting, planning, and finding your niche.

Social Mouths, Grow Your Social Media Relationships with Storytelling. Guest poster Monica has great tips for creating content in social media, telling you how to make your point through emotionally charged stories.

Vegan Inspiration

Fragrant Vanilla Cake, Raw Banana Split Cake. As always, Amy creates an amazing, decadent treat that is as beautiful to look at as it is to eat.

Oh She Glows, Warm Spring Salad. I can’t wait to make this salad with its delicious sounding combination of asparagus, strawberries, quinoa, and peas with a simple lemon olive oil dressing.

Food for Thought

Fitknitchick, Are You an Urban Gardener? 8 Reasons to Grow Your Own Greens. I really, really need to do this. Tamara has great reasons and tips to grow your own garden.

MizFitOnline, Take What You Need Day Follow Up. Carla learned a little more than she expected, thanks to a 7-year-old, on her Take What You Need Day.

Weighty Matters, Should we be Banning the Marketing of Insane Meals? Yoni is in Canada, but the question applies to the US as well. At what point do we just say no to the misleading marketing of unhealthy food?

Cranky Fitness, The Little Mermaid and Breast Implants. Guest poster Gaye is about my age (okay, four years younger), but I relate to many of the issues she dealt with as an, um, smaller chested woman.

Cadry’s Kitchen, Are Vegans Privileged and Out of Touch? I love this post. Chances are, just like Cadry’s readers, most of the readers of this blog are “privileged” too (vegan or not). Out of touch? No, I don’t think so.

RunWiki, The Day I Aged Up…What Life Has Taught Me. In case you’re not a runner, “aging up” means moving into a new age group category. Typically, a time for reflection from everyone who is turning 30 or 40 or another big number, for runners it is also a time of celebration, because we are now the “babies” in our age group. Lisa took the opportunity on her birthday to reflect on what she has learned from life.

I hope that if you read or wrote a post about the Boston Marathon tragedy, or any other post that you loved or are proud of, that you will share it in the comments below.

Please, my friends, have a safe and wonderful week. Hug your family close and be grateful for those that you love.

Filed Under: La Quinta, Weekly Reader · Tagged: blogs, boston, Boston Marathon, Fitness, inspiration, running, Vegan, vegan recipes, weekly reader, writing

Weekly Reader: Linking to Inspiration

February 27, 2013 · by Debbie · 19 Comments

Have you ever read a great book, seen an inspiring movie, or heard a great joke, and thought, “I’ve got to share that!” Of course you have! Here are a few things from my Reader in the last week that inspired and motivated me, made me happy, sad, and angry, made my stomach growl, and made me laugh.

When I’m running my tempo runs, trying to catch my breath, seeing this beautiful sculpture, highlighted by the sunrise behind it, inspires me.

Running and Fitness Inspiration

Tri-ing to Be Athletic, Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot in Bikram Yoga. Whatever your thoughts on hot yoga (mine are why bother, I have enough hot flashes), you’ll laugh at Julie’s first Bikram class.

Run to the Finish, Perfection is the Ultimate Illusion. Amanda’s wonderful post starts with a simple question, why, when you don’t expect your partner, parents, or teachers to be perfect do you hold such expectations for yourself?

The Great Fitness Experiment, From Boob Floss to Swimsuit Shoehorns, Fitness Products Women Really Need. Or Not! I’m so glad I finally found Charlotte’s blog (she wrote the piece on Alan and me for Shape.com). I laughed until I cried.

MizFitOnline, Fitness-Mission-Statements. Carla’s post struck a chord with me. Not only will I create a mission statement for myself, I plan to make my clients at least think about it.

Fitblogger, Guest Post: 10 Things First Time Marathoners Should Know. If you are training for your first marathon, here are 10 useful things to know, all the way from basic training to race day prep.

FitKnitChick, The Benefits of Lifting Weights Slowly. Do you rush through your workout? Then you’d better rush on over and read Tamara’s post on why you need to slow down.

Blogging Inspiration

The SITS Girls, Media Kit Example: How to Strut Your Stuff as a Small Blogger. This post was written by Katy Widrick a few months ago, but I know many bloggers who are planning on creating their media kit (myself included). Great tips for bloggers who have less traffic.

Pushing Social, 7 Insights I Wish I Knew Before I Started Blogging. Whether you’ve just started blogging or have been doing it for a few years, Stanford always has useful ideas to make your blog more successful.

Pink When, Turn Instagram into Followers for Your Blog. Jennifer has some great suggestions in how to use instagram to drive traffic to your blog.

Vegan Inspiration

SpaBettie, Avocado Shiitake Spring Rolls. I love spring rolls, and if you add avocado, I adore spring rolls. Kristina has created a recipe that I adore.

Healthy. Happy. Life., Creamy Cashew Veggie Pot Pie. Flaky Biscuit Crust. Comfort Food. I love pot pie. Seriously, I do. Kathy’s recipe sounds a little complicated (that is probably just me, Miss Simple), but so delicious.

Sexy Vegan Mama, Vegan “Cheese” Stuffed Shells. This is one of those dishes that vegans don’t get to enjoy very often..stuffed shells. Not anymore! Christina-Marie’s recipe sounds rich and wonderful.

The Naked Kitchen, Springtime Tofu Scramble. You know I love me a good tofu scramble. Kristy’s fresh and fabulous springtime version sounds awesome.

Fragrant Vanilla Cake, Raw Banana Caramel Crepes with Pistachios and Banana Lime Ice Cream. I was finishing up this post when I realized I didn’t have some awesome sweetness from Amy to share. No fear, she has so many wonderful recipes that I just had to take a quick look back at my Reader to find this one. It’s a winner.

Food for Thought

Fit, Feminist, and (almost) Fifty, What’s So Bad About Pink Anyway? Does pink mean feminine, weak, man-pleasing, pretty, and girly, or is it just a pretty color? Tracy and Sam’s blog is new in my reader and I’m loving it!

Weighty Matters, Guest Post: More Facts on Fats. Yoni follows up on his link to Consumer Reports recent article on the most recent thoughts on dietary fat with this guest post from one of the authors of the CR piece. Interesting stuff.

Arena Fitness, The Fitness Struggle is Real. A very personal story by Madeleine on her emotional struggle with injury, motivation, and stress, which made working out and going to the gym a stressful battle with herself.

There were so many great posts to choose from this week that I had a hard time stopping! Man, you guys are awesome writers! If I missed something you think was special, I hope you’ll link it up in the comments. And if you wrote something that you’re proud of, share!

Filed Under: La Quinta, Weekly Reader · Tagged: blogging, blogging tips, Fitness, inspiration, reader, running, Vegan, vegan recipes, weekly reader

Weekly Reader: Inspiration for a New Year. And the h.h. gregg Gift Card Winner!

January 8, 2013 · by Debbie · 30 Comments

Okay, I won’t keep you waiting until the end of the post (but I hope you stick around until the end). The winner of the $100 h.h. gregg Gift Card is…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations Kenny! I’ll be mailing you your gift card right away.

Now, onto our regularly scheduled programming.

Have you ever read a great book, seen an inspiring movie, or heard a great joke, and thought, “I’ve got to share that!” Of course you have! Here are a few things from my Reader in the last ~~week~~ few weeks that inspired and motivated me, made me happy, sad, and angry, made my stomach growl, and made me laugh.

My grandson, at three weeks. What could be more inspirational than that?

Go Vegan!

If one of your resolutions (or goals, intentions, plans) for 2013 is to reduce or eliminate animal products from your diet, here are a few helpful posts.

Angela from Oh She Glows has a series on going vegan. Her posts include Vegan How To: Part 1 (How to Make the Transition, Most Popular Vegan Recipes of 2012, Vegan How-To: Replacing Dairy Milk, which she followed up with, Carrageenan in our Food (vegan or not, be sure to check it out).

If you want to stock your vegan cupboard, Cadry from Cadry’s Kitchen has got you covered. Her post My 25 Kitchen Essentials will get you started (be sure to read the comment for even more ideas).

Looking for the best recipes? Try Spabettie Recipes – Best of 2012, Better with Veggies’ Best of 2012: Top 10 Recipes, Choosing Raw’s Best of 2012: My Favorite Vegan and Raw Recipes, Cadry’s My 20 Favorite Posts of 2012, and Healthy. Happy. Life’s Top 30 Posts of 2012.

Get Fit!

Whether you’re looking for a workout or looking for some motivation, these posts have you covered:

Heather from Better with Veggies has listed her Best of 2012: Top 5 Workouts. Tamara, from FitKnitChick, has so many awesome workouts that I can’t pick one. Instead, check out her Youtube channel for a bunch of great video workouts.

As you know, I made fitness goals for 2013, as I’m sure many of you did as well. But the post I loved the most was from Kierston, from CandyFit. Her post A Lifetime Resolution says so much about the lifestyle change that she made a few years ago.

Some bloggers chose one word to define their goals and vision for 2013. Heather chose Balance, Lindsay picked Nurture, Amanda selected Purpose, Jesica picked Discipline, and Danielle decided not to limit herself to one word and instead chose three, Success, Joy, Balance. I found it hard to pick just one word too, but Balance feels right to me. What word would you choose?

Nora Tobin has been writing the Fit Vegan Challenge series on the Fitfluential blog for many months. Her post always includes a vegan meal suggestion, vegan recipe, a calorie burning exercise, and a lot of motivation. To get you going in 2013, her latest post is The Fit Vegan Challenge: Back on Track 2013. Check it out.

If you’re feeling a little down on yourself, lacking motivation, or worried that you can’t achieve your goals, check out Amanda from Run to the Finish’s post, How to Use Affirmations and 67 Free Examples. I guarantee you’ll feel better about yourself.

Get Writing

Because so many of my readers are also writers themselves, I like to share a few posts that can help bloggers achieve their goals. I know I certainly made goals for my blog this year!

Stanford, over at Pushing Social, always has great information to make your blog better and more successful. His 10 Blogging Commandments for a Successful Year will help you make your own plan. And since you really can’t look forward and plan without looking back and reviewing, be sure to read 12 Ways to End Your Blogging Year with a Bang.

When you write, how much do you reveal? How much should you reveal? I’ve read a few interesting posts on the topic lately. Tessa, from Amazing Asset, wrote a piece for the Healthy Living Blogs Blog Tip Thursday series, Honesty in Blogging, that I really enjoyed.

Well, that should get you reading for a while. What have you read lately that inspired you? Did you write something that you’re proud of and would like to share? Please do!