What I'm Loving Wednesday!

It's Hump Day and I thought I would link up and share all that I am loving on this BEAUUUTIFUL  and HOTT Wednesday. So...

I'm loving...

The results from my 2nd 24 Day Challenge. 

it is ONLY Day 3 and I checked my weight for an update, and I am happy to say I am down 4.5lbs! Yeah, three days...

If you are thinking about joining... you should. 

 that football starts today. For real football. They have practice in the evening, so we all got to sleep in today. A little too much. Oops. 

that I when I ask a question, Coach asks, "Is this a joke or for real?" I guess he is catching on to my funny jokes I have been busting him on. 

that good things are going to happen for my family! I just know it. 

that I made the investment in Rehydrate. It is hot here! 

that Amazon has great books for free. 

that yesterday I had a great long catch up conversation with one of the greatest women I know. Thanks Mrs. Massey! 

that the Olympics are coming! 

That is all for today! I hope you are having a WONDERFUL Wednesday! 

love love, 

C^2

 

If You REALLY Know Me!

Recently I have become more obsessed with blogging. Well, actually reading blogs. I sometimes forget to actually blog. Funny how that works. Daily conversations with Coach often include, "This lady I follow..." He doesn't quite understand that I really don't know these ladies, but I feel like I do. Anyway, I have seen that I have many frequent readers, and new followers. So, I decided to copy a post that I recently saw, and thought it was a good idea to tell folks about me. So... 

If you REALLY know me, then you know... 

I am married to the best man on Earth. I love everything he stands for. He loves me when I find it impossible to love myself. I bless the broken road that brought us to where we are! 

We moved far from "home" and I miss my family so much! 

Speaking of that... we live in the smallest town ever. I'm ok with it. 

We bleed Red and Black. My living room is red and black, and every accent I have in my house is usually a UGA piece. Love it!  I also took my wedding pictures at UGA...

Together we have the BEST pup ever. He is a weimaraner. He is crazy  special. His name is Dub. 

I LOVE football, basketball, baseball, and love a good softball game.

I will quickly have to learn to love wrestling. (Coach's new sport)

I love to run. I am not good, but I can run. The greatest things come to my mind when I am running. 

I love to read. The best invention to me was the Ipad. I have a Nook, Kindle, and Ibooks. Ahhh... Heaven. 

I have a strange addiction to The Young and the Restless. (It stands for nothing I believe in, but gah... so much drama!) I record it daily, and watch them while Coach takes his afternoon nap. 

I love to cook. I am not GREAT, but ehhh.... Coach doesn't complain. 

 I LOVE going to the movies, and eating popcorn. 

I gave up soda this past New Year. I will NEVER drink a Coke again. Yuck. 

I worry about EVERRRYTHING. 

I say 'amazing' too much. 

I sleep without a pillow. Which... was a sign that God made Brandon and I perfect for each other. He sleeps with 10. Literally. 

I adore Target, JCrew, and Aldi. However, Publix is still in my heart. 

I have WAYYY TOO many shoes. I also leave them laying around the house. 

I love The Church at Southside. I miss it... so we are figuring out how to listen to Jeff online. 

I have a place in my heart for children. All children. I want 10 or so. (Coach says no.)

I have way too much energy. I am pretty much like a hyper 5 year old. 

I lived near Augusta for 3 years, I made the best of friends. I miss them. 

That's pretty much everything... 

Happy Tuesday! 

Love love, 

C^2

Half-Marathon & the Marathon Called Life

Well hello darling readers! I hope everyone is having a marvelous Monday! We are having a JAM UP Monday here in the Cain house. Actually, nothing particularly special is going on here, but I am determined to be happy and wear a smile. 

Football is in FULL swing starting this week. (Yeah, it really has been "unofficial" all summer.) Coach is gone now, he had practice this morning, then came home for lunch, then left us all alone for the afternoon and night while he goes 2 hours away for a scrimmage. That means... Lifetime movies, blogging, and reading all night for me! Wahhooo. Football practice starts Wednesday for the real deal. I met with the HC's wife tonight to hammer our meal plans. The time is upon us. CANNOT WAIT! 

Today on the glorious Monday I also started my SECOND 24 Day Challenge. Ummmm.... let me start off by saying that Coach never experienced the citrus cleanse. I gave him the peaches and cream. So, this time I am having P& C as well. Ummmm... so much better! If you are struggling with citrus, try the Peaches and Cream. So good! My goal is to kick a few pounds before Christmas. I know the challenge is the solution. I am so excited! Plus, there is a new flavor meal shake. "Chocolate Mocha." I am ordering some tonight. Pumped about that. Is it strange that I am pumped about meal shakes? Nah.

Today is also the beginning of the 12 week count down until the half marathon that I am registered for. It is kinda funny that it was my "Rest" day. Did I rest? No. I ran this morning, and walked tonight. I have blisters from my WALK. Wahhhhhhh..... I HATE blisters, and I HATE blisters from walking. I am soaking before my 3 mile tomorrow. I would also like to report that Dub will NOT be training with me. He has become the WORST running partner. He acts like I am killing him. We run first thing in the AM, so it isn't THAT hot. So, he will be chilling at home in the AM. Sorry partner. You are keeping me down. 

I hope everyone is having a WONDERFUL Monday. Always remember... 

(These few little quotes have gotten me outta the FUNK and kept me going...)

Love love, 

C^2

Thankful Thursday! Find the Positive.

Happy Thursday! I have been thinking about this post all week. Really and truly, I have been finding little things to be thankful for since I have so much attacking me at once. I am a REALLY positive person. I just "beebop" around all the time, go go go... but really I worry about every.single.little.thing. Right now I am worrying about my husband driving the bus to Macon tonight for passing league. I am also worrying about my family and me being so far away from them. Truth be known: I am homesick. I love this town, I love this community, and I love that God sent us here. I just miss the 30549! So, to keep my mind straight, here are a few things that I am thankful for on this glorious Thursday in July. 

I'm 100% thankful for...

... These two books that sit on our coffee table. I am LOVING my new Devotional Bible, and Coach is always talking about Tony's Devotion Challenge. I am so thankful we have this in common, and that my husband had found this new passion to read. 

... What Happens When Women Walk in Faith. This book is so amazing. I found myself highlighting every sentence. From the first sentence, "God has a plan for every woman." Ummmm... I needed that! I need that each day. I have actually been saying that in my head about 10 times a day! God has a plan for me. I need to relax... Love this book. Check it out. 

 ...my Ipad. Do I NEED this little tablet of goodness? No. Do I LLLLLOOOOVEEE it? Oh yes. I love it for several reasons. Coach goes to bed and HATES a lamp on when he sleeps. (But he can't sleep without the TV on? Yeah, he is a loon.) With my Ipad, I can read all night. It has a screen that lights up. I read - he sleeps. I also love that I can buy books in a matter of minutes. I can face time my friends and family. I can organize our bills and financial information. You name it, I can do it with my Ipad. I love it. I am so thankful that I have it. 

...Advocare and everrr.ryyy.thinggg. that they have to offer. With vitamins, and shakes, and hard work, those pesky pounds that I found in Jefferson are gone. I am pleased to say that I am back where I was on the scale before the holiday. :) 

...This man. He is perfect. He loves me, even when I am hard to love. I can admit that. 

...This dog child. Although he is sucking it up on the running these past few days. I mean, he acts like it is 100+* outside or something. I love him. 

...this book. Clean eating is super. fab. Seriously. This book breaks it down. Clean eating is so wonderful, and I love how informative this book it. I made clean pizza yesterday for lunch. It was so good! Plus, so healthy! 

So, what are YOU thankful for on this bea.you.tiful Thursday?

Love love, 

C^2

Mean and Clean

Oh Monday... Monday... Monday...

Today I am feeling pretty much like a rock star! Ha! Let me just start off by saying we made a trip to Jefferson for "Dead Week." This means that Coach can't have ANY practice. No football. No wrestling. So, I decided to take a week off as well. Being a holiday week... this meant cookouts, and eating out. Lots of eating out. I also ran once. ONCE. When I say I ran, I mean a mile. Ha. One mile. So, on this glorious Monday, I suffered from dead week by almost passing out on the only hill in McRae, and then almost crying from emotions when I heard my GPS say that I was running a 13 min mile. (Yeah... I cry when I run... if that little lady would say I was maintaining a 7 minute mile I'd probably cry then too.)  I also may or may not have listened to lil Kenny sing "You Save Me." Now that I reflect on my running playlist... I was probably crying because I was listening to sappiness. However in all reality, it may just have been my eyeballs sweating. Yeah. That was it for sure.

Now, since I am detoxing from a week of bliss, today I began my regaining of the rock star status. :)

I am currently obsessed with 3 things. This blog's purpose is to proclaim my current love for:
1. Advocare's meal replacement shakes
2. Clean eating.
3. myfitnesspal

Let's start with #1: Advocare Meal Replacement Shakes

Breakfast is where it is at. I'm one of those kids that wakes up and does not want anything to eat, but I know my body NEEDS it. This shake is giving my body exactly what I need. Packed with 24 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber, 26 other vital vitamins and minerals, and only costing me 220 calories. This is all just extra "icing" because the real reason I drink it is because it is a chocolaty treat and fills that sweet desire that so often lingers in my mind.  Coach even drinks these and LOVES them. He kicked his poptart/ coco crispies love to the curb and now enjoys a shake with his morning devotion. (Makes my heart smile!)  When you think of meal shakes... I know you are all questioning. No, don't. They are really good! You have my word! If Coach can drink them... you can.

#2: Clean Eating

I know the facts are black and white. Our bodies need "clean" fuel. We absolutely do NOT need the crap we eat. The best advice I have ever gotten/read/gave/can give is to shop only on the outside of the grocery store aisles. Think about it: produce, meats, dairy. The center aisles have crap that you really don't need. Coach and I could spend an hour picking out cereal. Last summer the cashier asked me how many kids I had! I mean, I did have a box of coco crispies, captain crunch, lucky charms, and frosted flakes.. but it's just us! No more. I now only buy a box of cheerios for Coach and his strange addiction to eating dry cereal while drinking a glass of milk. (Strange, yes.)

Tonight I went to my beloved Wal-Mart. (Sike.) I decided that if I was going to kick crap eating to the curb, I needed to start taking all the advice I had been reading. I am pleased to say that it really is possible to shop and only buy clean items. I planned my trip by reading a list of clean groceries found here. I planned each of this week's meals by reading clean eating blogs. Let's be honest, Pinterest is just heavenly for this stuff. Then I set off. I did have to go down 2 aisles. One, I needed some Liquid Plumber. (Dang bathtub drain.) Two, I bought a jar of organic pizza sauce for our clean pizzas and a box of whole grain pasta for our spinach lasagna rolls. (Both clean.) I came home with enough food for the week. That's lunch and dinner for two. I stocked up on frozen fish, chicken, eggs, yogurt, fruit, and lots of veggies. Tomorrow I plan to make lots of salsa. It is only clean when you make it. Plus, it really just tastes better!

I also recently bought some books on clean eating. They should be here this week. I'll be sure to post my findings.

#3 MyFitnessPal

I first used this app in a college weight lifting class. Yeah. I took weight lifting and advanced jogging as my 2 P.E. classes. I grew up on rec sports, and hate bowling... :) It really is SO EASY! You put in your stats, then log what you eat, and how much you exercise. At first I thought I wouldn't want to take the time to calculate every food I ate. Well, no worries. Some little genius out there already did it! I seriously have not found a food that I eat that isn't already on there. Next excuse, please!?!

Here is my favorite part: You eat, you enter, your calories allowed go down. :( You exercise, you enter, your calories allowed go UP! :) Really, duh! I knew this, you know this, yada yada yada. But, I needed to see it! I needed to know that my body needed food. Which then carried me back to clean eating. I can eat more when I eat well. Good food, more food. Carley Cain loves to eat!

Really these things are not new findings. I am not inventing anything new. I am doing the REAL things that work. I also cannot take any of the credit for this stuff. Danielle is the girl with the brains. She blogs, I follow. Seriously. Slightly obsessed. There I said it. :) Read about her passion here! 

I DO however deserve credit for actually doing these things. So many folks want results, but then forget about them when they pass a DQ. I plan to eat clean and have abs by Christmas. Ok, maybe Easter.

These shoes have 0 to do with anything... but I want them. :0

You wanna join me on eating clean and such?! Send me a message and we can start a group to motivate each other... already have 3 ladies on board!

Love love,
C^2