My First Award!

***Sorry about the weird Friday/Saturday confusion and double post….I WAS EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES!!!!

Hello Saturday everyone!

After a very successful and fun wedding night I was surprised to actually feel not too tired or hungover when I woke up this morning.  My friend, Erin, got married yesterday and everything about the wedding was beautiful, fun, and perfect…I will post an update with pictures soon!

I purposely scheduled a 10am appointment today for an oil change to get me up and moving early, but not too early, so that I could make today a productive day.

Before heading out to the car place, I made myself a little smoothie bowl….

I topped it with half of a baked oatmeal and a tablespoon of almond butter.  It was so refreshing, considering the 100 degree weather outside!

I was very excited to make my smoothie because I received my protein powder in the mail on Thursday!!

For the past month, I have been trying to stomach a plant based protein powder that I absolutely HATE but couldn’t stand the thought of just pitching….well I had had enough of it and went in for the good stuff.  As of right now, Sunwarrior is by far my favorite!

My First Award!

On the 4th of July, I was surprised by a little message from one of my friends who has a blog too!  She nominated me for an award! But not just any award, my very first ever blogging award.  I am just tickled 🙂

I have been nominated by Andrea, author of the blog A Doctor in the House,  as a recipient of the Very Inspiring Blogger Award.

This award requires a few things:

  1. Display the award logo somewhere on the blog.
  2. Link back to the blog of the person who nominated you.
  3. State 7 things about yourself.
  4. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award and provide links to their blogs.
  5. Notify those bloggers that they have been nominated and of the award’s requirements.

Seven Things About Me

This is always the hard part!

1.  My favorite food is ice cream, although I don’t eat it nearly, as often as I like so that it stays in the “special treat” category and I never get sick of it!

2.  The only time in my life that I was abroad was when I went to work on a cruise line as the Fitness Director.
can you spot the cruise ship??

3.  I was never considered “athletic” or into sports in high school.  I was into show choir and cheerleading….we were required to wear fun outfits, be high energy, and act super happy…count me in!

4.  I am very directionally challenged…basically that is an understatement, I can’t get anywhere without Gabby my Garmin.

5.  Before working on the cruise line, I had only taught two group fitness classes and had never used my personal trainer certification.  I actually got  certified as a personal trainer AFTER I was hired for the position!  Now, I have trained many clients and am comfortable teaching yoga, pilates, any strength and conditioning class, cardio focused classes, indoor cycling, Body Pump, core classes, and stretching classes.

6.  I broke my arm in 7th grade while riding a motor scooter at my friends house….I never have been a good driver.

7.  Since last October, I have decided to follow more of a pescatarian diet.  I eat fish, eggs, dairy, and plant based protein supplements to obtain my protein.  It may be a permanent change, it may not.  I am just experimenting with my body and trying to figure out what makes it function best!

Blogs I Find Inspiring
 1.  Kath Eats Real Food–  I started reading this blog  the summer before my senior year of college while interning in Washington D.C.  The very first blog I read! She is from Virginia, very close to D.C. which made the things she did every day and the places she went very relatable at the time.  I also loved that she was studying to be a Registered Dietician (something I hope to do someday!) And her food looks really tasty!
2.  Peanut Butter Fingers-I found her blog through Kath Eats and loved it from the start.  I too have a love for peanut butter, and love following her every day life.
3.  Fitting It All In-I think Clare is the blogger I feel that I relate to the most.  We are both similar in age, and the topics she writes about I swear…she pulls the thoughts right out of my head sometimes!  She recently obtained her certification as a Holistic Health Coach and is paving her way in the health and wellness scene day by day.
4.  Hungry Runner Girl-I LOVE reading about her funny life, and she is about to have a baby.  Her obsession with fro-yo and running makes me smile.  She has continued to run long distances all the way through her pregnancy!! (I think she is due in August!)
5.  Peanut Butter Runner-This is one of the newest-to-me blogs that I have started reading.  She is the general manager of a cross fit studio, a yoga instructor, and just completely awesome!  She inspires me because of the decision that she made not too long ago to completely trade her career in the business world for a career in the fitness and health world.
6.  Sweet Tooth Sweet Life-She is another blogger that recently made the career change into the fitness world.  She has great cupcake recipes (probably my favorite thing about her blog!) and recently started online personal training.
7.  The Identity Project-Kristen was one of my first friends at Butler.  She transferred schools after Freshman year and we lost touch, but I always remember chatting about food and fitness with her before class.  She started the identity project as a way for women to connect with each other and find their identities through faith.  A very inspiring blog indeed!
8.  Fitnessista-I love Gina’s style.  She posts about her new baby, the group fitness classes she teaches, and delicious recipes.  She does it all!
9.  Fit for my Fork-Sam is just great!  I have just recently started reading her blog, and one of my favorite things that she is currently doing on her blog is a Fit Body Fit Mind segment where bloggers guest post about their favorite health or self-help books…if you are looking for a good summer read, check it out!!
10. Daily Garnish-She is a vegetarian culinary school graduate with a brand new baby (who is adorable!) I love reading her delicious vegetarian recipes and about her day-to-day life in Seattle, Washington
11.  J’s Everyday Fashion-Whenever I am at a loss of what to wear, I turn to J.  She has great outfits, inspiration for more outfits, and tips about how to fit awesome clothes into your budget.
12.  Cotter Crunch-Lindsay is just great!  Her husband is a pro triathlon racer, and she is a nutrition manager and fitness consultant.  They are constantly traveling and racing…yet she somehow finds time to fuel their bodies well, and tell us all about it!
13.  Chocolate Covered Katie-I have always had a sweet tooth, and one of the things I love doing is healthifying a decadent treat.  Well, that is what CCK is all about!  She has found ways to make peanut butter cups healthier, ice cream healthier, and cupcakes healthier…check her out to have your sweet tooth craving satisfied!
14.  Lunchbox Diaries-Her comments are witty as she takes you through her daily life of trying to stay healthy while enjoy life.  This one really makes me laugh 🙂
15.  Steph’s Bit by Bite-Steph posts great how-to’s for various workouts and delicious and pretty meals and recipes.  Gotta love it!
Ok!  And with that friends, it is time to knock things off of that to-do list 😉  Happy Saturday!
PS My computer has been extremely slow, and I know I need to “clean” off my hard drive and put it onto an external hard drive…but I am not sure how to do that.  Any tech savvy peeps know what to do to help me out!! If so, shoot me an e-mail at [email protected].  Thanks!

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  1. oh it’s so great to “meet” you and hear all about you Tara! thank you for such an amazing award. I’m more excited that i found you! and what a cool job, cruise ship fitness director. I bet you have some cool stories.
    Cheers!