ashleyd /

What Has Your Blog Done For You?

Today was a long day. The last eight days have been a bit of a nightmare for many reasons. It’s been a bit of an emotional roller coaster, work is going to be crazy between now and the National Sales Meeting (May 23-28 in Vegas), and I haven’t run since Sunday. This week my workout schedule looks like this:

Monday: Spin

Tuesday: Oversleep for morning spin but do evening body pump (holy squats!)

Wednesday: Spin (The Wednesday night Lululemon Run Club was cancelled due to the random thunderstorm)

Thursday: NONE Woke up and my quads were still so sore from the squats in Body Pump on Tuesday that I decided 12 more hours of rest would make them feel better.  I planned on a great six mile run tonight after work but alas, I just left the office and it’s 8:45 and Bo and I have a TON of packing to do.

My body is missing running. I feel like some of this funk that i’m in may be related. I wish there was a way to run and spin on the same day. Maybe, since our new apartment is 3 blocks from the gym versus a subway and walk, we’ll be able to run before spin. I think i’d feel better even putting in 2 miles before each spin class. We haven’t decided if we’ll continue going to 44th and Lex for Dave’s classes or only go to one of his classes per week and enjoy our closer more convenient Equinox locations the rest of the week. I’m excited about this locations class schedule and one of their spin instructors- Eric. His mom was one of my mentors while I was at UGA! How random?! I love small world coincidences like this!

After the stress of this weekend’s move is over I think it’s time for a good ol’ fashion challenge. Stress and Ashley seem to equal an evil cycle. Stress leads to worse eating, more processed foods, less grocery shopping, less productivity due to low energy, less evening workouts, worse sleep, which leads to less effective morning workouts…which all leads to the feeling of blek. 🙂 I feel like my stress is getting the best of me right now which I don’t like at all! I have too many great things coming up:

April 30th or May 1st: Housewarming Party (NYC blogger meetup at my new casa?)

May 7th-9th: Impromptu Rudolph family reunion in South Bend due to recent events (I have to find some silver lining in this whole situation)

May 11-13th: Cincinnati for business and a chance to catch up with my maid of honor Amy

May 22nd: Brooklyn Half Marathon (The NYC runners are dropping like flies out there due to injuries! Let me know if you’re doing it as I’d love to meet up with some folks)

May 23-28th: National Meeting in Las Vegas

May 28th-June 1st: Ryan and Amy (MOH) in NYC for Memorial Day weekend along with Bo’s parents

Like I said, I have too many fun things coming up to let stress get the best of me. In order to start smiling a bit more and overcoming this stress, I thought i’d take a page from Quinn’s book and focus on the positive things in life including

What my blog has done for me lately…

I typed my first blog entry almost a year ago  Um, okay somehow I totally missed my “blogiversary” which was on April 1st. Oops! I think this happened since I don’t feel like i’ve been blogging for a full year since I took a hiatus July through December.

But, blogging has lead me to the following beliefs:

Oranges and almond butter are the perfect pre-run fuel!

Granola is best when baked in applesauce not oil!

Calcium in the form of chocolate is the perfect daily treat!

NYC is filled with friendly people and blogging/Foodbuzz has helped me meet many of them! Thanks!

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Group Shot Gridiron 4 Mile

Running with others is more fun than running alone. (Jesse, Meghann, me, and Dori!)

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The NYC food scene is AS incredible as critics make it seem.

Even the most meat loving guys love a vegan restaurant as long as the food is delicious and flavorful!

My daily posts, while not as witty or creative as some other bloggers, is the perfect outlet for my writing bug.

I can run a distance longer than 13 miles!

With proper training and a support system, training for a marathon isn’t scary or impossibly but EXCITING! I’m so blessed that Bo will be that training partner and support system for me this year..even if he looks goofy as heck with his Bondi Band headband! 🙂

Due to the amazing amount we tent to have in common, fellow food and fitness bloggers make great friends! You will even plan trips and races just to ensure you get to see each other.  Meghan, Leslie, and I all decided we had to see each other and therefore decided the North Face Endurance Challenge in DC was the perfect venue!

Green monsters are the most delicious way to get in some of  your daily greens and vitamins!

All I can say is thank you. Thank you for reading. Thank you for commenting. Thank you for coming back after my hiatus. Thank you for the support. Thank you for helping me live a happy, healthier life!

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ashleyd /

What I’m Wearing Today

My friend Grace features this daily on her blog and thought it would make a fun addition! 🙂 Enjoy! I primarily wear Banana Republic and JCrew pieces to work each day as they pair perfectly, are functional, and have really improved their style ante over the past few years. If you’re looking for a deal JCrew has one of the best outlets I’ve visited, outside of Kate Spade and Theory. Don’t forget to enter my Yoplait giveaway! I’ll pick a winner tomorrow morning!

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Yoplait Greek Review and Goddess Giveaway

Are you ready to appreciate and nourish your inner goddess? Don’t we all deserve an at home spa treatment after hours of stress, hard work, and exercise? Yoplait agrees!


I discovered this fact when the friendly folks at Yoplait and Myblogspark sent me the Yoplait Greek Goddess pack. This pack is in honor of their new Greek yogurt which encourages women to nourish their inner goddess. The prize pack included 2 coupons towards the yogurt, comfy slippers, a full size white towel wrap, and a home spa kit including a loofah and other goodies.

I was most excited about the yogurt coupons and the wrap. I had a DG wrap all through college that I loved due to it’s convenience. I’ve already taken this wrap to the gym so my hands free blow drying days can return. I’m tired of holding the towel with one hand and the blow dryer with the other!

I’m not going to lie, it took me a while to find the Yoplait Greek Yogurt in NYC which was a bit annoying. As a health and food blogger I didn’t mind but I know the average person wouldn’t go out of their way to find a product when there are multiple similar products available in wider distribution. The new yogurt comes in four flavors: honey, plain, blueberry, and strawberry. I wasn’t able to find the honey in my stores. Once I found the new product, I first checked out the nutritional information which was pretty good but still had more sugar than I normally like in my yogurt. The plain flavor has lower sugar and calories than the flavored ones and all pack a whopping 30% of recommended daily calcium!
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I bought the blueberry and strawberry to sample since these tend to be my favorite Oikos or Chobani flavors. This morning I used this in my “morning mess” in place of my Dannon Light n Fit or Chobani. Unlike Chobani, there weren’t any chunks or separation in this yogurt. It was very thick, creamy, and smooth while also having a tasty not too sweet flavor.
Yoplait has some great resources on their website including recipes, coupons, and more information about their wonderful breast cancer initiative. I was impressed by the number of recipes they already have posted for this new product. My favorite is the lemon blueberry muffins. I have a soft spot in my heart for all things blueberry. These would make a great spring treat especially since the price of blueberries is decreasing daily in NYC!

Lemon-Blueberry MuffinsPrep Time: 15 min
Start to Finish: 30 min

Ingredients

1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 container (6 oz) Yoplait® Greek Fat Free honey vanilla yogurt
1 egg
1 3/4 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup fresh or frozen (do not thaw) blueberries
1. Heat oven to 400ºF. Grease bottoms only of 12 regular-size muffins cups, or line with paper baking cups.
2. In large bowl, beat milk, oil, yogurt and egg using wire whisk or fork. Stir in remaining ingredients except blueberries, until flour is moistened. Gently stir in blueberries. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
3. Bake 16 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan.

If you click here you can print a $0.30 coupon.

Now, I want to ensure one of you has the opportunity to rest and relax goddess style! Yoplait will send an identical prize pack to one lucky reader. All you have to do is enter! Here’s the how:

1) Which flavor of Yoplait Greek yogurt would you most like to try?

For extra entries feel free to do the following:
-Tweet about the giveaway: “@healthyhappier wants you to win the Yoplait Greek Goddess prize pack and nourish your inner goddess http://alturl.com/u5f4” and let me know via comment

-Blog about this giveaway linking to this post and let me know via comment.



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