She was Stronger than She Knew...

Today I had the pleasure of briefly working with a woman whose walk in life I would never want.
Her presence evoked the question "what has happened to you, who has done you wrong?"
Her reactions to normal everyday occurrences confirmed, she had been severely done wrong.
This woman was traumatized and perhaps even a bit brainwashed into thinking the worse of herself.
Someone had held captive all her dreams and wants, someone had stomped her spirit.
Trapping her in a process of feeling undeserving and incapable.
That someone or someones had done worse than just emotional damage to her.
And, it showed when approached by even a gentle strangers touch.

The steps taken to admit she needed our help had already exhausted her. But together, we worked through some strict anxiety and accomplished the clinical pieces necessary to her appointment. And, surprisingly by appointments end she seemed to carry confidence in the resolute to fix herself.

This woman is battered. Her children are battered. They have survived recent years through the help of a shelter and countless strangers. Prior to this her outlook on life was dim, her faith and strength challenged and broken by ways not even mentionable. Some people would give up or become hardened souls but not her. In everything she is given she proclaims graciousness. She takes nothing for granted. She gives with all she can which is simply an expression.

Receiving her thankfulness was quite moving. Her perception on what is guaranteed or promised in life is vastly different than most. Like the perpetual apologizer she gave thanks repeatedly for what is simply my job. what comes naturally to me. and requires no real skill. Feeling her gratitude was eye opening.

While she may have been struggling with the idea of being "worthy" of someones help, she left me struggling with the notion that I don't give thanks enough.

I want to take the time to be more thankful. More thankful of even the smallest of things.
You never know ones walk in life. You never know when an outreached hand can light up a soul or a simple "thank you" can move a mountain.

I had to share this with you all. The thoughts on that woman and the difference she made in my life are just too good to keep to myself. As much as she felt I had done her good, she has no idea the impression she is leaving on the people she meets. It's a sad story to hear of a battered woman and home. It's heartbreaking the defeat they feel and the potential for that cycle to continue. As weak as she thinks she is people like us know better. We know that she broke free and because of her relentless ways in showing appreciation for even tiniest of matters, she is undoubtedly affecting lives in ways she'll never know.

It's good for us to share stories like this and spread good!
Speaking of good, here's a little fun you can get in on!

The FAB Ms. Shanna rallied up her sponsors this month for another awesome giveaway!
Check out all the beauties participating and enter for a chance to win over $200 worth of goodies!
And don't forget to link up your goals for the month! We're all here for each other :)




Linking with Just Because, Tell Me Tuesday, Tea on Tuesdays, On Your Heart

You know you're a RUNNER when...

How do you know you're a runner? 

Is it the fancy decal proudly rubbed onto your back windshield? Or the magnet clinging to your bumper that declares you a runner? Perhaps it's the tread on your well traveled running shoes....
Wonder what makes a runner and how to be one?

Here's how...
Find the nearest exit...open the door and walk out. When it slams shut, take a deep breath and start your run. Run as far as you can. Run at your pace. Stop when you want. Then, look back to where you came from and smile. Pat yourself on the back and own that new title. You are now a runner.

Tips for running...

Create playlist. Music will keep you moving. Music will motivate you. It will renew you, better your pace and help set time limits on your run.

Practice intervals. Running doesn't always mean a consistent pace of jogging. If you're training for distance don't just assume long runs will get you there. There's power in intervals. Sprint straightaways and jog curves. Sprint every other light post, mail box, street sign, mile. Make running fun for you.

Learn to breathe. Find your rhythm. Inhale through nose, exhale through mouth. Continue this method through the entire run. Slowing down your pace when needed. This will prevent and calm cramps.

Dress right. Choose layers for colder temps and wrap them at waist when you warm up. Invest in arm bands for iPods, keys, Chapstick. Find a water bottle (similar to mine). Choose breathable, dry-fit styled clothing. Pull hair back. And, of course, pamper your feetsies with proper soles.

Stretch. Every runner knows that function means speed. Every runner also knows that some runs will lead to more soreness and stiffness than others. It is of utmost importance to warm-up/cool-down and include stretches. Stretching at the end of your run will ensure that you maintain correct posture and form, enabling speed and light-footed grace. View this video for one of my favorite stretches and more tips.

Find accountability. If running alone, track your progress privately or through social media apps, tell others your story or find a training team and/or run with buddies. Talking about what you're doing will give you the upper hand and reinforce all that you've accomplished.

Pride yourself. Whether you ran one mile or five, one street or an endless country road....you ran. No one can argue "a body in motion". Praise yourself and commit to doing it again.
Find a decal and rock it. Sign up for a race, I do! All runners will agree that the feeling during a race and at its finish line is so very liberating. Being a part of a running crowd does wonders for your soul and future runs.

Do it again. Your first run may seem like a fail. It's not. Re-read this if you still think it is. Give yourself time. It takes time to feel your own rhythm. Stick it out. There's nothing bad about your first run. Well...only if you make it your last run.

Remember when you're on that open road...it's your road, your run. Create your course and wear blinders. Give no worries to passer-by's - they have no clue how far you've gone or how fast/slow you're going. The same applies to treadmill runners. If you're in the gym, surrounded by other runners...keep on, getting on. Incline, decline, speed up, slow down. You are in control of your run. And, if you fear the gym, read this.

So there. That's how you know you're a runner. If you haven't yet, give it a try. Each of us respond differently to exercise. You may love every minute of your second and third mile but hate the first. You may love the first mile but feel like death on the second. Try new things as you experiment with what kind of runner you are. The one and only thing we all have in common is the want to start and really, never finish.


My healthy living goals are simple  !be better than the day before! I really believe in the simplicity is this goal.


Tag! You're it! Any of these tips helpful? What other tips can you add to this list?

also linking with Brittany and Misty for Getting Fit Friday
AND Fitness Friday hosted by Kelly at Honor, Courage and Commitment
YOLO Mondays, GFC Monday Hop, Monday Meetup, Tell Me About It Tuesday!

Desire to Inspire - & Whatsonyoursalad

Desire to Inspire.
Being an inspiration and motivation is the best gift you can give to each other.
It is the primary focus of my blog.

I always hope for my post to flow effortlessly in a tone that inspires and motivates all of you.
I am the same way in real life. I treat everyone with the respect that all is possible because where there's a will, there's a way. And I never count anyone short on their capabilities. I believe this to be the best of me. And being this way makes me believe in the best of you.

I teach my oldest to befriend everyone at his school. I tell him stories of when I was school age and noticed certain people being rejected...those were the people I made a point to talk with, to smile at, to wave to. He has witnessed many a time that an outcast was entertained by me or comforted by me. I try my hardest to always be open minded and always remember that I know no ones true struggles. My senior quote was 'never take shortcuts, transgressing the rights of others, for personal gain'. I still do my best to live by that some 15 years later.

This past week I have felt a need to organize my thoughts and funnel them into a direction that would better serve my blog (you), better present myself to my readers and centralize my inspiration behind blogging.

Organizing these thoughts has been uber hard. In the quiet moments I get to sit at the screen and type, I am often times distracted by Google reader, or text, or my twitter pop ups. Tonight, I was grateful for one of those interruptions. It helped me reel it all in. It helped me present one idea and lead to a pretty cool linky. The purpose of it is way cool and the projection expands into a focus I share. It's simple name is Desire to Inspire. Created by Amanda at A Royal Daughter. It's background info is here. And it's current link up is here.

When I choose to sponsor blogs...it's been by long thought and/or sheer impulse from being enlightened by a specific post. Upon choosing to click on that little Passionfruit buy now link....I then fill out a generic form asking what the purpose is behind my blog....every.single.time....I write to motivate and inspire.

I thought I'd post within Friday's H54F a suggestion to help me with #whatsonyoursalad. I think it's cool. We could all use a little motivation and inspiration in the healthy eating area of life. This one idea could go in so many different directions or could be short lived?! I love salads but bore with them quickly if my toppings are limited. I get insanely distracted on Pinterest and veer far away from salads, practically forgetting why I opened the app in the first place. Originally, I thought show on H54F, Start on Monday but after reading Desire to Inspire, I figure why wait?

So...I motivate you to to get creative with your healthy eating. 
And...I hope all my posts and this first salad pic inspire you!

We all know salads are a go-to meal for lunch or dinner. Shoooot, some Paleo chompers eat salad for breakfast. Today I'll post my picture of my lunch salad with quick 'script and next week around this time I will post a collection of all the past days salad creations. If you follow me on twitter you'll see what salad I create each day with the hashtag #whatsonyoursalad.

Join me?

Snap a picture of your salad creations and share them with us next week! You don't have to eat a salad everyday, but girls it wouldn't hurt. Your pictures don't have to be fancy. In fact, the post itself should serve as the main inspiration for us to have more healthy options//creative salads!

Life's a lot easier when we have choices....diets and healthy living styles are no different.
You seriously can't fail at this #whatsonmysalad idea :)

So get your salad spinning on and your thinking caps pulled tight. Show us your collage of salads next week!

Here's Wednesdays salad, I mentioned. It was yummy. I wanted seconds.

Crab Cake and Sunflower Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing.
(crabcake pre-made at local grocery store and Poppy Seed Dressing from Costco)

Who gets this excited about salads? Obv's...I do! And, I hope you will too!!!

Comment away! 
Tell me what you think?!!

P.S. I'm not creating a linky within a linky. Please, no confusion here. I truly hope to inspire you to join me in this idea of creative healthy eating. I welcome any other ideas you may have to help this grow. Again, the biggest fulfillment and reason behind blogging is...growing together!

Also linked with Favorite Things at Katherine's Corner