Read Eat Sweat

So I have been a bit MIA. Part of this has had to do with jam-packed schedules, celebrating the boy’s birthday and all out craziness at work.

And part of it has been because I have been up to something.

I have decided to start a new blog. You can find me over at What’s Hot and Fabulous.

I haven’t decided if I am going to keep blogging here or not….but I know that my focus is going to be on posts over there. I am aiming for three a week and they are going to be all focused on things that I have tried and think are fabulous: products, fitness workouts, fitness gear, fashion, books, recipes, etc.

Basically, I wanted to take the focus away from my every-day life. This is more fun and creative for me, and with how hectic my life can be, I really need a creative outlet.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to “see” you real soon : )

Hope that you have a wonderful Halloween. I wish I was not working, but at least I have my favorite candy bar (Take 5) to dig into after lunch!

What is your favorite Halloween candy?

Only it’s not even close to Christmas. Yet two days before Halloween, while the month still says October, we have had nothing but snow. It is freezing out, has been snowing and sleeting all day, the snow is actually sticking to the ground, and I needed to pull out my coat and snow boots. So weird. I’m a little nervous what this means our winter is going to be like. With my commute, snow days are NOT my favorite, and my company is not cool with using PTO days because of bad weather. Unfortunately, I have a very light car, and also extreme anxiety about driving in winter weather coniditions. This chick needs an SUV asap!

But the cold weather was a nice excuse to stay in, cuddle, and bake. I have been on the look out for pumpkin cookies that DO NOT turn out cakelike, but instead are like chewy chocolate chip cookies. I made a batch today and was very hopeful, unfortunately they also turned out cake like. But they are delicious, especially with the addition of the browned butter icing. It was my first time browning butter (I’ve melted it a thousand times but never went the step further) and it came out amazing…golden with flecks of brown and a nutty aroma.

If you like cake-like cookies, give this a shot. The Martha Stewart recipe can be found here.

With the cold weather and workout boredom, I have been trying new Exercise TV workouts this week. I’m really liking the ten pound slimdown workouts by Chris Freytag. Today I did the Total Body workout, and it was 40 minutes of circuits. Not the most intense workout I have ever done, but it was just enough and my muscles were shaking by the end of the workout. I like trying new workouts because I always want to finish them to see all the new moves…when I do the same workouts over and over I lose interest very fast.

Okay…time to get back under the covers. Home Alone just started…now it really feels like Christmas!

Is it snowing by you?

Are you dressing up for Halloween?

I have a mild obsession with all things pumpkin. Pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin coffee…the list goes on. There is something about the taste of cinnamon and pumpkin, that is so comforting on a cool, crisp, fall day. I love this time of year!

Scott and I are big fans of “fall festivals.” Every year we pick what festivals we are going to head to and always end up at the festival on Main Street and our favorite festival of the year, the Apple Festival.

It gets crowded and the lines for the vendors are extremely long, but it is so worth it. Our favorite things to get? Jewelry, adorable snowmen to decorate our future house with, apples (duh!), apple cider, kettle corn, apple ice cream, and of course, APPLE CIDER DONUTS! Is there anything better than a hot, fresh apple cider donut, dusted in cinnamon and sugar? LOVE!

The only bummer this year? They had ZERO apples! When I asked where the heck all the apples were, they told me it was a bad season. An apple festival with no apples? It just feels wrong.

At least we had this beautiful view to make up for it!

Even though we have been hitting up all the festivals, we have yet to go pumpkin picking! But all that is going to change this weekend! We are hitting the farm with our niece, picking out our awesome pumpkins, and I’m crossing my fingers for a bag of apples for a homemade crisp! I can hardly contain my excitement ; )

Aside from my pumpkin (and apple) obsession, I also have a new love. Ready for it? Yoga. Holy cow, I never thought those words would be uttered from my mouth. Or typed. Either way, I think maybe my previous yoga attempts weren’t the right kind of yoga for me. I have been doing vinyasa yoga dvds and I am obsessed with the feeling they give me. It’s amazing to feel the blood flowing throughout my body, and to have that utter relaxation by the time my workout is over! Just what my mind and body need!

Do you have any good pumpkin recipes?

Do you practice yoga?

What are your weekend plans?

This weekend was a special one.

My family got together and headed to the beach to celebrate one very amazing lady, and join in the fight against breast cancer. We joined 14,000 other walkers wearing bright pink and walked through the beautiful beach town and on the boardwalk.  It was amazing being outside with family on such a beautiful day, but the most amazing part of the day was celebrating all of the women who were survivors and supporting my grandmom.

My grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer three years ago and it was awful. It was so hard for us because we couldn’t imagine what she was going through. The chemo and radiation was draining. She lost her hair, she spent tons of time in the hospital, she had sores in her mouth, she felt sick all the time, she couldn’t eat. I mean, the list goes on, as any person who has battled cancer will tell you. There are few easy days, and emotionally, you feel that no one understands what you are going through and you can feel very alone. It was so special to be doing our second walk with my Grandmom as she walked as a survivor. It was not easy for her. I know how hard that year was for her, but I am so proud of her for battling so hard and strong and for being such an amazing and beautiful person. It means the world to still have my grandmom here. We love her so much!

While it was a happy and hopeful occasion, it was also a very scary one.

You would not believe the number of walkers in survivor shirts. All ages. My age, 30s, 40s, 70s. All different races, all different sizes.

I am happy that many survivors, but also fearful of what lies ahead. Why do this many women have breast cancer? Why don’t we have a cure yet? Why can’t we prevent it?