Fitness Friday - Dealing With the Heat

This heat...ugh. I've about had enough! Here in the south, we've been experiencing ridiculous heat indexes and crazy humidity over the past few weeks. Fall can't come soon enough!  Although I do own a treadmill, I much rather run outside...so I've had to do a little improvisation here over the past few weeks in order to keep up my regular training schedule. Thankfully, Jeff Galloway has a few tips to share for dealing with the heat! Enjoy!

Training through the summer can not only be grueling, but down right dangerous. 

Here are some tips to train safely and as comfortable as possible in the hot summer months:

• Slow down by 30 sec/mile (20 sec/km) for every 5F temperature increase above 55-60F ( every 2.5C above 14C)

•  When the temperature is over 70F (21C) you may take a 5 minute “cold shower break” every 25-30 minutes to keep cool.
  
  
• Try to complete your run before the sun rises above the horizon.

•  More frequent walk breaks during hot weather can lower body temperature increase.  If you used to run 3 minutes between walk breaks, run only 90 seconds (walk 30 seconds) at 70F (21C) and at 80F (26C) drop to 60 sec run/30 sec walk or 30/30

•  When you start to heat up more than normal, take a longer walk in a mall or indoor AC building

•  Pick shady courses on hot days

•  Don’t wear a hat!  Pour water over your head

•  Have an indoor alternative—treadmill, etc
  
  
• Run in the deep end of the pool, using a flotation belt

Of course, hydration is ALWAYS key!  I've really upped my fluid intake over the past week and I've noticed a difference! 

Thanks for the tips, Jeff! 

What's your favorite way to beat the heat with running during the summer months?


Disclaimer: As a Jeff Galloway blogger, I received these tips to share with you - no compensation was exchanged.

Showtime!

It's showtime!

One of my favorite things about Disney is their stage shows. From Hollywood Studios to Animal Kingdom, Disney Cruise Line, and Broadway, Disney definitely knows how to do it right! I love the Lion King in Animal Kingdom and Beauty and the Beast in Hollywood Studios. On the Disney Cruise Line, Disney Dreams is hands down my absolute favorite overall. Today though, I'm sharing photos from our visit to Beauty and the Beast during Princess Half Marathon Weekend of 2012! 

Today’s Wordless Wednesday theme is:
Showtime!
Host: Deb at Focused on the Magic

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Do you have a favorite Disney stage show?

2015 Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Weekend

This past weekend, my family and I spent time in Cooperstown, New York for 2015's Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Weekend.

Our goal for attending the weekend was to cheer on one of Houston's greatest baseball players, Craig Biggio. I knew the weekend would be filled with excitement, but what I didn't know was that I would experience a weekend that would touch my heart in so many ways.

Getting to the Baseball Hall of Fame is NOT easy...especially if you're from down south. It required a flight that included a layover, a car rental at the airport, then a 2 hour drive to Cooperstown. Would I do it all over again? ABSOLUTELY. In a heart beat...

What I also didn't know is that 80% of the population of Houston, Texas would be in attendance, too! Ok, I exaggerate a bit, but seriously....there were 45,000 fans in attendance and at least 60% of them were in Orange and Blue. CRAZY!

Spending the weekend with my family was so special. It brought back many wonderful memories of my childhood attending baseball games, card trading, and cheering for "The Killer B's"!

As far as the Baseball Hall of Fame itself goes, I just couldn't get enough. We spent about 6 hours total over the course of the weekend inside and I know I still missed stuff.

I know it sounds cliche, but two players stories really touched my heart in a way that no one else's could. Babe Ruth was the first -  he loved the sport and passed away from cancer. Sadly, cancer doesn't discriminate - it affects even the greatest of legends.

Another story was that of the great Hank Aaron. After reading a few samples of hate mail he received as an African American ballplayer (y'all...people can be SO hateful), I also read a letter that was written to him in 2001 from someone who's life was touched by Hank's. It spoke of the legacy that Hank gave to him and his family - they even named their son Aaron Henry (partially a family name and partially after Hank Aaron). The tears flowed freely as I read that letter - I can only imagine how it make Hank feel. I love it when someone else's life is touched by something another person does, just for simply doing what they love and doing it well.

Biggio's plate to be added to the wall of the greatest baseball players in history!

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony was hands down one of the most incredible experiences of my life (it definitely makes the "top 5 list")! The chant of "B-G-O" was heard throughout the weekend over and over again and I LOVED IT!

During Biggio's acceptance speech, the tears flowed freely again. Here is a man who gave the sport all he had and was richly rewarded in doing so. Such an incredible honor for a many who gave the city of Houston and surrounding areas something to look forward to every baseball season for almost 20 years.

Perhaps the thing that struck me the most was the fact that there were Astros fans, Braves fans, and Red Sox fans all together in one location - and there was no rivalry at all - we were all just there for the love of the sport and the excitement to see our favorites elected into the Hall of Fame! As a non-Braves fan growing up (sorry, I loved the Astros)...even my heart swelled with pride for Smoltz and was excited for other braves fans I saw there....and they were excited for us as Astros fans, too!  The comradery was seriously nothing I've ever experienced before!

(Insert stupid note here: There was ONE Red Sox fan who kinda made me angry but I got over it. As we were walking down the street in our Astros red (old school uniforms), he put his hand in the air to give us a high five. He quickly realized we were Astros fans, so he put his hand down really fast and said "OH, Never mind...y'all are Astros fans. Astros suck." The weekend wasn't about who is a better team...it was about a love of baseball and its fans. For future HOF weekend visitors, DON'T BE THAT GUY. Just don't.) Thankfully, the amount of gracious Red Sox fans made up for this one poo-head in the bunch!

If you're a sports fan and had a childhood favorite growing up, then you'll understand where I'm coming from. My heart and head are so full right now of all of the incredible experiences we had during our trip. I'll be back later with more on the various events throughout the weekend and share more of what's on my heart with all of you!

Are you a sports fan? Did you grow up cheering for a certain team/athlete?

Crazy Cups Coffee

Crazy Cups - sounds like a fun way to start a morning or liven up an afternoon, doesn't it? As a matter of fact, I'm doing the latter right now - the rich aroma of "Death by Chocolate" is greeting me as I type this post!

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by the lovely folks over at Crazy Cups to try a sample of their coffee. Not one to say no to anything chocolate, especially flavored coffee (hello, who would?) I immediately agreed!

Just a few days later, my sample arrived in the mail in this adorable gift box! 

As I opened the box, I could already smell the sweet aroma of chocolate and knew a fresh brewed cup of brew would smell even better!

A few facts about Crazy Cups:

• You can choose how many cups you want to purchase at one time
•  Keurig 2.0 compatible (YAY!)
• Decaf, Hot Chocolate, and Apple Cider are also available for purchasing
• Cups are recyclable

Crazy Cups truly stands by this statement - their variety of tantalizing flavors sound amazing! Bananas Foster Flambe, Italian Chocolate Cheesecake, Cinnamon Churro...the list goes on and on!

Just as predicted, my kitchen was filled with the amazing aroma of warm, sweet chocolate as the coffee brewed.

The best part? "Death by Chocolate" lived up to its name...well, almost. (I'm still alive, aren't I?) I'm definitely a fan!

Crazy Cups can be found throughout social media - check them out on:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Pinterest 

Are you a coffee fan? What's your favorite flavor of coffee? 

Disclaimer: As a Crazy Cups Ambassador, I was sent a package of coffee to review. and no compensation was exchanged. All opinions stated are my own.

Baseball Hall of Fame

In-case you haven't noticed from my social media accounts, today I'm traveling to Cooperstown New York for the Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Weekend!!

 

This has been a "dream" item for my dad and I for years and I'm excited to experience this weekend together! I seriously cannot believe this is actually happening!

Our favorite former Astro (Craig Biggio) is being inducted this weekend and we couldn't be more excited! When Biggio retired in 2007, we said we would attend his induction ceremony and...well...here we are! Aaah!

We plan to spend the weekend taking in all of the Hall of Fame activities including the Parade of Legends, the Induction Ceremony, and the Hall of Fame itself!

It's going to be an amazing weekend! Stay tuned to instagram and facebook for the latest and greatest! :)

Before leaving yesterday, I watched Field of Dreams, The Sandlot, and A League of Their Own. I might have also blubbered like an idiot during various parts of each movie, but that's ok! :) A League of Their Own ALWAYS gets me at the end!

I am excited to step foot in a place that honors so many legends of this great sport! It's. Going. To. Be. Epic.

This is one of my favorites from Minute Maid Park (although it IS superimposed)!

Hope you have an amazing weekend...I know I will!  :)

Wonderland Themed Bridal Shower

This past weekend, we threw a friend of mine a Wonderland/Mad-Hatter themed Bridal Shower and it was adorable! So much so in fact, I had to share with you here! :)

Let me also start off by saying that this bridal party was incredibly creative and had a lot of input on this shower...so everything you see here was a collaborative effort!  

The bride's wedding colors are green with bright Gerber daisy flowers...so that's where we started our planning process. The themed colors for this shower ranged from hot pink, teal blue, and lime green to orange and yellow. As a Disney fan and lover of all things bright and colorful, this shower was right up the bride's alley! 

The room we utilized for the shower was the Glass Foyer of my church. It's a large room that fits plenty of people and has a ton of space. The only downfall - it has a ton of space which means we had to be creative with the decor.

We gathered all of our ideas from Pinterest and decided on two table centerpieces:

The clock centerpieces were set to the time of the shower and the time of the actual wedding. I liked that touch!

I also loved the added detail!

Instead of the traditional guestbook alone, we also added a teapot for everyone to sign.

The favors were bags of tea!

A friend of one of the bridesmaids had an Alice in Wonderland themed birthday party for her child and let us borrow some of her extra decorations! See...the roses are red and we didn't even have to paint them that way! :)

My BRF also let me borrow some of the decor from parties she's thrown in the past...lucky for us, it all worked!

This was probably my favorite area of the entire room!

Loved this sign! 

The bride and groom have dated for four years and were engaged at WDW, so these pictures represent their relationship over the course of time. There's also one picture of each bridesmaid with the bride in there as well! (A few hidden Mickeys are scattered throughout the tree as well, but you can't see them from this picture!)

 Another fun touch was the photo booth!

Guests of the shower had a great time taking pictures here!

One of our games was the ring game...and some women were out for blood! It was hysterical!

We had a wide assortment of food, but these were my favorite...

The ideas here were also found on Pinterest, by the way! 

This hostess was incredible! I asked her to make sandwiches and we would arrange them at the shower. She asked what I was thinking so I sent her a picture and she made it happen!!  Thank goodness for creative people! :)

This was a super delicious sandwich "cake"...it had chicken salad inside which I'm not usually a fan of, but it was good!

Last but not least, the cake....oh the cake!

My friend (and fellow bridesmaid) Mackenzie made the cake and did an INCREDIBLE job! This was her first topsy turvy cake and it was adorable!  

The bride loved it!

After the bride broke a bow, I informed her of the old joke...the amount of bows you break is the amount of kids you'll have...

She took extra care from then on! Teehee!

I was laughing at her here because she was carefully ripping the paper around the bow so she wouldn't break it!

Overall, the shower went off without any issues and we all had a great time! This shower was completely different from anything I've ever helped with in the past and I loved it!!

Have you ever helped to host a shower? Do you enjoy throwing parties for people?