Shannon's Weekly Chase

~Core Foods Review~

I feel like I am always on the go! From the time my feet hit the floor at 5:30 am until late at night when everyone is in bed it seems I am go, go, go! Getting a chance to have a sit down meal is few and far between most of the time. So, I was excited when I was given the opportunity to try CORE Foods.  

I was sent 3 different flavors to try: Raw Walnut Banana, Raw Cashew Cacao, and Raw Almond Raisin. 

CORE foods Defender Meals are FRESH with no preservatives. They arrived packed with an ice pack and instructions to store them in the freezer if they were not going to be eaten right away. Notice that the package says how long it will last in the refrigerator or the freezer. If stored in the freezer the instructions are to let it thaw for 10 minutes and then it is ready to eat. 

Defender meals are vegan and organic. The ingredients list is short and everything is easy to pronounce. :) 

I ate mine after my early morning run or after my spin/tabata classes. The instructions say to eat them with 2 glasses of water and you definitely do want to do that. It's supposed to be like a bowl of oatmeal and it does take like a bowl of raw oatmeal. The bars are not hard like other bars I have had. I found them very filling and I was satisfied for several hours. 

My favorite bar was the Raw Walnut Banana. If you like organic, raw foods then you will love these. Overall, I really liked these bars and will be purchasing some in the future. 

Be sure and check out CORE Foods on their website, Twitter, and Facebook.

What are some of your On the go meal options? 

**I received this product free to review through FitApproach and CORE Foods. I received no other compensation. All opinions in the above post are mine and mine alone!!**

Shannon's Weekly Chase #9

Yes, I know its Thursday and the week is over halfway done but better late than never...right? I arrived home to find my oldest son had received several letters of interest from colleges and we have been busy filling out forms and getting information to them. 

A little recap of last week's goals: 


1. Hydrate!! I'm am going to have to make myself do this! Done!! I added in coconut water and my MILA Chia seeds and accomplished this goal! 


2. Reach out to a few friends who I don't see often and let them know how special they are. (Challenge Goal) Have the letters written and envelopes addressed... didn't get mailed though. :( 

3. My husband has his post surgery followup this week so I will have an opportunity to leave a few notes behind for operation beautiful in that office while I wait. DONE!! And then on Thursday my youngest son came down with strep so I took the opportunity to leave more notes at his doctor's office. 

4. Finish my marathon shirt!! I have another option if I can't get the original idea to work. DONE!! And I loved it!! Shout out to Katie Futch for her help!! 


5. Plank-a-day...even when I am in Nola! If only I had to nerve to actually plank on Bourbon Street lol. I did this everyday except Saturday and Sunday...didn't get my plank on Bourbon.  

So for this week my goals are (were since its so late): 

1. Rest (which means walking and not running) for a couple of days then back to the gym and running. 

2. Catch up on much needed sleep! Due to staying with a friend whose dog is deathly afraid of storms and the fact that my nerves were already on edge because of the marathon there wasn't a lot of sleep to be had last weekend. 

3. Finish a product review and get that posted. 

4. Continue with Operation Beautiful. I have lots of magazines to donate to my gym so I think I'll include a few notes to be found. 

I hope everyone is having a great week!! We have a busy weekend planned of high school baseball and a monster truck show!  

~S

Shannon's Weekly Chase #8

Last week was a little overwhelming with my husband's surgery and my oldest son having strep so I didn't get everything accomplished that I wanted too...

1. Continue with my plank-a-day...I think I will go back to posting on Instagram/Twitter and hold myself more accountable that way. Success!!! Posting on Instagram helped!! 

2. Continue to work on my 100oz of water daily. I generally only drink water since I have cut soda's etc out so you would think it would be easy... Not as successful as hoped but I was close to 100oz on several days. 

3. Put my ideas for the blog on the blog this week including our Double Bridge Run and a product that I am testing. I have my ideas ready to put on the blog but with taking care of my husband I haven't had time to sit long enough and put them on the blog. 

4. Challenge Goal - Same goal just another family member. :) Success!! I even managed to sneak in a Valentine's note in my oldest son's lunch box. 

5. Challenge Goal - this should be easy since I'll be at the hospital for quite awhile...I am starting my notes now to leave behind. Success!! I was also able to leave notes at the dentist's office and the pediatrician's office since my oldest son came down with strep the day before my husband's surgery.

6. I almost forgot my biggest goal...finish our shirts for the RnR Full Marathon!! Partial Success! I was able to finish my friend's shirt but wasn't as careful with mine and made a mistake...hope to have it finished by Wednesday. 

So...this week is marathon week and my nerves are starting to go crazy!! I wasn't able to go to the gym or run last week after my husband's surgery so that didn't help release some of my nervous energy.

My goals for this week are: 


1. Hydrate!! I'm am going to have to make myself do this! 


2. Reach out to a few friends who I don't see often and let them know how special they are. (Challenge Goal)

3. My husband has his post surgery followup this week so I will have an opportunity to leave a few notes behind for operation beautiful in that office while I wait.

4. Finish my marathon shirt!! I have another option if I can't get the original idea to work.

5. Plank-a-day...even when I am in Nola! If only I had to nerve to actually plank on Bourbon Street lol. 


I hope everyone has a great week!! ~S

Stef's Weekly Chase #8

We should just call this Stef's Weekly Chase #7 redo....  After a clumsy injury on Monday left me with a bruised rib(s) I did not do anything all week but work and then home to lay down...  So my week 8 will be to do week 7... to recap my goals:

1). Clean/reorganize another room in house (y'all probably think I'm a messy person but I'm not...haha!!! Just trying to declutter my life)

2). Run 15 miles and add strength training.

3). Do taxes - see what the man is taking from me

4). Challenge goal - surprise another somebody

5). Finish what I started with last week goals.

Pensacola Double Bridge Run - A MUST DO!!!

February 2nd was the 16th annual Double Bridge Run in Pensacola - also the first time the 15k was sold out!!  We had the Crazy Train Run group from Baton Rouge there and met up with my fellow flamingoz runner, Shannon.

We got to the Expo at the Hilton Pensacola Gulf Front... it was very quick and organized.  Stopped at the Pensacola Runners Association table and met some real nice guys.. who found out we were from Baton Rouge and said they need to come here to run a race.  They will be hearing from me soon :)
After the expo we walked to the Portofino boardwalk for our free pasta dinner at Hemingway's - very nice touch :)  There we had met up with the rest of the crew from Baton Rouge, Florida and Alabama:

Larisa (Alabama), Shannon (Florida) and Me (Louisiana)

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Saturday morning we woke up to freezing temperatures and headed to the finish line.  From there they had lines of school buses to take us to the start of the 15k.  This was well organized and went smoothly - except for the wind chill of what seemed to be -10 while waiting!!!

The run started on time and was wonderful... We went through downtown Pensacola then crossed over the first bridge and met up with the 5k start and then over the dreaded second bridge and then we were close to the finish after that.

The weather was gorgeous and so was the view.  I found myself running and just staring out at the water with the sun reflecting on it.  On top of both bridges there was a DJ playing music which was nice and a mood booster after running up that incline.

After the run, the group gathered and went for the free beer (YAY) and also Hemingway's provided free food for after.

Overall it was a fantastic run!  It is a definitely one to do again and a must do for those who haven't.  Next year it is on February 1, 2014 so go ahead and mark your calendars!! Double Bridge Run

The Crazy Train Run Group

The Awesome Finisher Medal

Me claiming the dreaded second bridge!!

The next run coming up is the New Orleans Rock n Roll Marathon.  I will be doing the half and Shannon will be doing her first full (you go girl)!!  Unfortunately, I had to miss the Mardi Gras Mambo 10k that was yesterday so no blog there :(

Weekly Chase #7 ~ Shannon

I feel like Stef...my first weekly chase was not as successful as I had hoped...


1. Be more consistent with my plank-a-day and at the end of the week post my times. I think I did okay with this...while I didn't plank every day I did plank 5 out of seven days. My best time was 2:40 on Tuesday and 2:30 on Wednesday. 

2. Drink 100 ounces of water daily. Not so successful with this one....only reached 100 ounces one day... I do so well in the mornings and mid day but by afternoon and evening I have to force myself to drink anything. 

3. Organize my planner to include a section for our new blog to jot down ideas instead of on scratch paper that I tend to misplace. Success!! Now if I could just take the time to actually put them on the blog!

4. Challenge Goal----I will choose a family member and send them a message or tell them how much they mean to me and how appreciative I am of having them in my life. Success on this one as well!! 

5. Challenge Goal - join in on the operationbeautiful.com. Success on this but didn't leave as many notes as I had hoped. 

So... week 7 will be a definite challenge for me. My husband is having surgery on Wednesday but I'm still going to try and reach a few goals.


1. Continue with my plank-a-day...I think I will go back to posting on Instagram/Twitter and hold myself more accountable that way.

2. Continue to work on my 100oz of water daily. I generally only drink water since I have cut soda's etc out so you would think it would be easy...

3. Put my ideas for the blog on the blog this week including our Double Bridge Run and a product that I am testing.

4. Challenge Goal - Same goal just another family member. :)

5. Challenge Goal - this should be easy since I'll be at the hospital for quite awhile...I am starting my notes now to leave behind.

6. I almost forgot my biggest goal...finish our shirts for the RnR Full Marathon!!


Please keep my hubby in your prayers!!

What are your goals for the week?

Stef's Weekly Chase #7

Ok... My first weekly chase was kind of a failure it seems...lol!!
Here is the breakdown:
The Weekly Chase

1. Clean and reorganize bedroom and bathroom. - 99% done!!

2. Do weight training twice a week. - did one day of weight training

3. Run 26 miles this week. - Complete and utter failure!!! I don't even want to say how many I did (9-10, ugh)

4. Start on my race book scrapbook I got for Christmas. www.racedaybooks.com. - if getting my bibs in order means start than yes :)

5. All you need is love challenge... This is secret in case someone reads this post... Will post after done :) - mailed my friend a card

Ok.... So ill try to do better on week 7

1). Clean/reorganize another room in house (y'all probably think I'm a messy person but I'm not...haha!!! Just trying to declutter my life)

2). Run 15 miles and add strength training.

3). Do taxes - see what the man is taking from me

4). Challenge goal - surprise another somebody

5). Finish what I started with last week goals.