Just a typical morning...

What do mornings look like at your house? Are they filled with the smell of homemade waffles, freshly squeezed orange juice and the sound of laughter and the kids playing so nicely together? Yeah, that doesn't sound like my house either!
Usually it is me chasing my 14 month old around trying to wrangle his diaper and clothes on him before he pees on the floor while my 5 year old sits on the couch with his cereal playing Angry Birds on his iPad...completely oblivious to the rest of the world. All while I am attempting to manage to scarf down a lukewarm bowl of oatmeal before we're off to the gym, a playdate, a MRTT Run, the store or one of the many other places we frequent on a day to day basis.
This was a true snapshot of one of our mornings...I think it says it all...

However it is that you get the day started, get it started with a positive attitude. I've found that changes my whole outlook on my crazy, hectic days! 

Free BuluBox!

Have you heard of Bulu Box yet? 

Bulu box is a monthly subscription vitamin and supplement sample pack.  You will receive 4-5 healthy nutritional supplements in your box each month.  Some of the items you may receive are; vitamins, weight loss, energy, protein, digestion, sleep support and more.

There are a lot of monthly subscription boxes popping up everywhere. The thing I like about Bulu Box is that it is only $10 per month and you get access to the newest and best nutritional products on the market. AND they even send out FULL SIZE products sometimes too! 

I know that I have wanted to try several products out there but due to the price tag, I opted not to.  Bulu Box takes that problem away.  You get samples of products and then if you like them, you can go buy a full size version.  That way you know what you are spending your money on.  

HERE IS THE BEST PART!!! 

Bulu Box is giving Running Crazy Mom fans their first box FREE!!!!!  No gimmicks, no tricks.  Just a free box.  Try it out, see if you like it. 

Simply enter code Bulugan691 and click "apply coupon" before entering your information at checkout to receive your free box

Happy Bulu-ing!

30 Before 30

For the longest time, I have spoiled myself with a Birthday Month. Yup, a whole month that's just for me and my birthday. {go ahead and think what you will but I like it and the Hubs goes along with it lol}
As of today there is 1 month until my actual birthday and a little over 2 weeks until birthday month!! And that got me thinking about my actual age and the fact that I'm almost 30!! Well, not really ALMOST my 30th, I still have a few years but still. It will be here before I know it.
There are quite a few things I would like to accomplish in the next 3 years leading up to my 30th birthday. So I've created my 30 before 30 list...
30 before 30 List!

1. Jump out of a plane.
2. Run a Full Marathon - I have my first scheduled for this November!
3. Go a week with absolutely NO TV.
4. Take part in meaningful volunteer work.
5. Go to a karaoke bar and actually get the guts up to sing!!
6. Stick to a budget. Working on this one!
7. Try one new restaurant a month.
8. Create one new recipe a week.
9. Take a self defense class. I think everyone should know what to do just in case!!
10. Take a trip to the mountains and learn how to snow board.
11. Go on a road trip (out of state) with the family.
12. Do a 70.3
13. Join a book club.
14. Cook a five course meal. Maybe I’ll host a dinner party? Or just make an amazing meal for the Hubs? Not sure yet!
15. Stay up and watch the sun rise.
16. Learn to change a tire. I swear I used to know how to do this.
17. Pay it forward in the drive-thru lane
18. See two great museums in NYC (I’ve been to NYC but never done a major museum).
19. Completely rearrange and organize our closet. Like complete overhaul!!
20. Take a trip with my mother. We have such a great time together and I think a mother-daughter trip would be amazing!
21. Do a FULL Ironman.
22. Get my Rock n' Roll Marathon Series Triple Crown.
23. Have a sleepover with the girl friends.
24. Find a church and start going to bible study regularly. I need this badly and just haven't found a good church home yet.
25. Send at least five hand written letters to friends/family.
26. Learn a new language.
27. Run a Disney Race.
28. Go to the Wine Country in California.
29. Compete in a figure competition.
30. Plan an AWESOME 30th birthday party!

Yup, that's my list. Follow me on my journey!

Ahhh Kale!

One of my favorite snacks to get me through the afternoon is a nice bowl of Kale Chips. It seems like lately more and more people are jumping on the Kale Train. Of you're not already on board, you've got to try it. It's so flippin' good!

Here's how I make my Kale Chips:

Ingredients:

1 Bunch of Kale

1 Tbsp olive oil divided for 2 batches

Salt and pepper to taste 

Pre-heat your oven to 350°

Remove the leaves from the stems -- Don't discard the stems! You can make veggie broth with them. 

Wash your leaves thoroughly and pat dry. 

Divide the kale into 2 batches. Drizzle with 1/2 tbsp olive oil. 

Spread kale onto a baking sheet in a single layer. 

Salt and pepper to taste. 

Bake for 15 min. 

Repeat with second batch. 

That's it! Super easy and so good. It's the perfect healthy afternoon snack. 

Feel free to experiment with other seasonings!! 
Happy Baking! 

A Tasty Chocolatey Review!

When I became Gluten-Free I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to enjoy foods anymore. I mean, most everything yummy (cookies, cakes, bread, pretzels, etc etc) has wheat in it. I seriously thought I was going to have to survive on carrot sticks and apple slices. And hummus. Don't forget the hummus.

Soon after, I noticed more and more food companies there developing gluten-free items. I was ecstatic. Especially when I got an email offering me to try out Pillsbury's new line of Gluten-Free items. I immediately said SIGN ME UP!! 

They were brilliant enough to come up with a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Pizza Dough and Pie Crust.

I about jumped for joy when I got this little gem in the mail 😜

I'm always looking for GF items that don't taste dry or chalky so I had high hope for this. 

This afternoon, my baking partner and I got to cooking in the kitchen!

The dough was a little hard at first so we had to let it sit out and soften a bit while the oven was pre-heating. H thought it was the perfect time to try and steal cookie dough to eat! 

The directions say to do 2" cookies for 16 cookies but I did mine a bit smaller and got 20 out of the batch. 

So what's the verdict???? SOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOD!!!! They truly do not taste like they are lacking in anything. They taste just like "regular" chocolate chip cookies. I will for sure be getting more and trying the other items in the Pillsbury GF line. 

...milk mustache!...

Have a Yummy Chocolatey Day!

Cleaning OCD?!

Does anyone else have Cleaning OCD? Like in, you start off only intending on clean XYZ and before you know it you've done the whole dang alphabet! 

Today I was just wanting to vacuum the floors down stairs. Our dog is shedding like CRAZY in the dreadful Texas heat and there is constantly hair everywhere. Anyway, so after I vacuumed I thought to myself, Well since all the toys and chairs and rugs are up I might as well mop the kitchen. Before I knew it everything was vacuumed, mopped and dusted! 

Oh well...less for me to do tomorrow 😉

A Second Half Marathon and a PR!

IIf you've been following me on my running journey then you know I've been plagued by injury after injury this year...a fractured fibula just 3 weeks before the Woodlands Half Marathon (that I ran on anyway) then severe cellulitis right after the MS150. It's been a rough year but I am finally {knock on wood} all healed up!! 

I spent the last month prepping for The Wounded Warrior Half Marathon in Dallas with hopes that I would get a better time than my 2:40 time on my first half with the fracture. 

It was myself and 2 of my MRTT co-leaders from our chapter running it together. These ladies have really become great friends and I was so excited to share this experience with them. It was also a FIRST half for one of them. 

We drove up to Dallas the night before and all had dinner together before heading to bed early. Our race time was set for 6:45am...Little did we know that the skies were going up open up just as we were scheduled to get going. It was POURING down rain along with thunder, lightning and lots of wind. The only plus side was that it kept the temperatures down in the low 70's instead of over 100°. 

They finally cleared us to start an hour after originally planned once the lightning moved out. It was still sprinkling but it felt amazing! 

Along the course there was plenty of water, hills, mud, wind and rain but we kept on chugging and ended up finishing in 2:31:50. I was very happy with that PR considering my shoes were about 5 pounds heavier from running through the river at mile 10. 

All in all it was a great race and one that I would do again next year.