Liebster: Rebooted #Thinkingoutloud

Suzlyfe is going self hosted! Please bear with me and email if you have issues. Thanks friends!

Since things are about to get ait more serious than I typically do for a Thinking out Loud Thursday post, some nonsense first:

• I am trying to create my self hosted blog. Got the site verified, got into wordpress, started setting things up….OH AND MY THINGS WON’T IMPORT THE ONLY WAY THEY TELL YOU HOW TO DO IT. Why does this always happen with me?
• Dealing with that is pretty much all that I did yesterday afternoon. Well, that and yoga. Thank god for yoga. And my plie pants. yesyesyes.

• Spaghetti squash is back. You know what that means…. PAAAANNNNCCCAAAKKKKESSSSSSSS
• It rained for 10 minutes yesterday. And then the sun came back out. Not even a good “Devil beating his wife” rain. Just weird.
• If you don’t come back tomorrow for SUZLYFE’S FIRST EVER GIVEAWAY, well, then, we can’t be friends. That’s just all there is to it.

Ok, that should do for now. Check Instagram and Twitter for more hilarity, I’m sure.

And pictures of Zoe, obviously.

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I had a bit too much fun with last week’s Thursday Post. And you know I like to talk about myself. So the fact that some of my new Girls Gone Sporty #teamstellar co-members are encouraging both of these things make be only so much more happy to oblige! I decided, however, that I would break up their questions into individual posts so that I can give sufficient time to each, and also to spare you all ear-bleeding boredom. So for this week’s Thinking Out Loud Thursday, I am going to cover the questions posed by Christina of BodyRebooted, on Saturday, Ange of Cowgirl Runs will come on Saturday for The Long Run Series, and finally, Lynda of Fitness Mom Wine Country will come next week.

And now…..drumrolllllllllllll please!

1) Who inspires you and why?

I hesitate to say any single person in particular. There are certainly people that I admire beyond consideration, but to say that a person inspires me, that is a far trickier question. And to hold them to being my inspiration is setting myself and them up for failure, and that isn’t fair. But so as to not seem like I am avoiding the question, here would be my answer: I admire and am inspired by the strength in people, their will to persevere. I am someone who considers herself to be a strong and willful person, but I am so in awe of people who honestly don’t take no for an answer and are able to just make things happen. And make it look effortless. I feel like so much of my life and my actions are so effort-ful, and obviously so. Innate talent boggles my mind.

This lady exudes strength. She gave birth to me, after all.

2) What song gets you pumped up to workout?

Depends on the day! I will actually answer this in far greater detail on Saturday, but I love any song that has a great rhythm in tune with whatever I am doing, involves someone belting something out for everything they are worth, and transports me somewhere else. That can be as silly as “Obsessed” by Mariah Carey (it came on my phone a few days ago, was legit dancing in the freeweights), “Get Stoned” by Hinder, “Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line and Nelly, or something by Blackmill.

3) What is on your bucket list?

Having a family. Being a mother. Being proud of who I am as a person throughout the course of my life. Action-wise? Living in my dream house. Taking my children riding. Running my second marathon. Skydiving.  Living without fear but with excitement.

4) What are your goals for 2014?

To get a job–a real job, one that I am proud of and that I feel is representative of ME. I feel like I have never had a job that truly represented me and all of the hard work that I have put in throughout my life. I am tired of feeling like I have to make an excuse for myself. I know that I shouldn’t feel this way, but it is hard having an Ivy League Masters Degree, degrees from 2 other tops schools, be married to a doctor at a top hospital, and answer “…waitress…” or have to explain that I’m still looking. I know how fortunate I am, but it is exhausting feeling inadequate.

5) What is your favorite quote?

I can’t say if it is the be all, end all, favorite quote ever, but it is the one that inspired my approach to my Crohn’s journey. Jonathon Swift “May you live every day of your life.”

6) Name one thing that you can not do without.

My Husband, Alex. In a fire I would grab him. And the ice cream, my pills, and my external hard drive.

Chelsea Patrica Photography

7) Share something we don’t already know about you.

I was born with dark brown hair, and because I had a different blood type from my mom, I got IB jaundice and turned highlighter yellow for a spell. Then my hair turned carrot orange, and then finally peroxide blond. This is my natural haircolor (what it is now) but it gets a little bit of help to be even throughout. I have secretly dreamed of cutting my hair JLaw short before, or dying it super dark, but I would never get it back to where it is.

8) Name one thing you really love about yourself.

My ability to buck up after a good cry/rant. I get it the f out, pick myself up, and move on. Ask Alex.

This is what I have reduced the man to.

9) If you were famous, what would you be famous for?

My freaking awesomeness. I’m not ever going to be number 1 at anything (duh), so I might as well just be freaking awesome. I used to dream about winning the gold medal in show jumping, though.

10) If you could talk to your past self what would you say?

I wouldn’t tell her anything, because that would compromise who I am today.

I’ve said it before, and I will say it again: My name is Susie, and I don’t do quiet.

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Now it is time to pass on the love! Because I am going to have a few more opportunities to Liebster around, I am going nominate a handful of GGS ladies now, a handful later, and throw some questions out there for you fishes to gnaw at. And the either/or’s may seem like quick questions, but I want details, people!

• If you could BE any animal in the world, what would it be?
• What is your favorite essential oil, and why do you like it?
• What are 3 questions that you wish you could answer, on any subject?
• Are you a baker or a cook? Is cooking fun for you, or tiring?
• What is your favorite Disney movie/character/song (answer all)?
• A few either/or questions:
  • Seafood or Land animal? If you are a vegetarian, bean or faux meat?
  • Huge zit or sunburn?
  • Toasted or untoasted?
  • Pen or pencil? Paper calendar or virtual calendar?
  • Ice Bath or Deep tissue massage?

NOM (inations)

• Every Minute of It
• Running on Happy
• Earl-Leigh Designs
• Life Between the Miles
• My Pink Musings
• Getting Fit with Bipolar

Ladies, it is my honor to be #GGS and #teamstellar with you. I hope that you find these fun and engaging!

Now, Answer the questions, fools!

 

You’re gonna need sunglasses and SPF #thinkingoutloud

Again, thoughts for the safety of those in the paths of the crazy storms.

Oh, to think the thoughts that I think. Or, at least, that I think that I think that I think.  Typically, my thoughts on these days run the gamut—from serious to flippant. I thought I would do things a bit differently today, and give my words a bit a structure. I mean, last week, I didn’t even include numbers, for crying out loud. Today, I bring back the numbers. Furthermore, I have TWO enablers this week: our hostess with the mostest, Amanda</strong>, and this time also my #teamstellar #swirlsister #mamasalt Lauren from Run Salt Run. You can blame HER for actually NECESSITATING that I be random by nominating me for the Sunshine Award. Unfortunately for you, I will be a bit more verbose than she with my facts.

A quick digression, also technically a fact but I’m not counting it: I had a great little list of my 10 facts, and then the SOB stole my phone.  I was trying to come up with some gems that you all didn’t know about me, but alas….

1)      I want to start out with where the name “Suzlyfe” came from. It was a term coined in grad school at Columbia in the Historic Preservation studio, and I want to say at about 1:30 in the morning. Lyfe had become a way of humanizing or bastardizing pretty much everything that year—if you were stuck looking through microfiches for hours (literally, your eyes would start to develop a tic from watching as things scrolled by), you were living the fichelyfe. And then we found a building with a giant fish (seriously, giant) on it, and feeeeshlyfe was born.  A group of my classmates and I were working late into the night and had long ago become delirious to the point of laughing at anything and everything, were blasting 90s/00s pop (Destiny’s Child, BSB, Nsync, 98 Deg, and Xtina got us through that semester, I tell ya), and had come to the other side of delirium. This was like the umpteenth night of this, and I had hit the wall. A friend was taking random pictures and said, “HEY SUUZZZ how much do you love you life right now?” To which I responded with a look of death and the bird. Moment captured, printed out, and thumbtacked to the wall. A few days later, “Suzlyfe” was in bold underneath it. Thus Suzlyfe was born.

Be great.

2)      Something completely absurd, but utterly true: my grandmother died of Mad Cow Disease. She died the first day of 3^rd grade spring break. No, I am not kidding. She went from a functioning human being at Christmas (showing some signs, but nothing major), to slipping and falling (beginning to lose motor control) in January, to a wheel chair by the end of January, to not being able to speak with further loss of motor control by the time we brought her home to Atlanta mid Feb, to hospice a week later, and gone a week after that. I didn’t eat red meat for a very, very long time after.

Sorry that was morbid, but it is a very random thing about me. Now for some facts about the Suz.

3)      I may have discussed this before, but I’m going to do it again, and for emphasis. I. Hate. Monkeys. Apes and gorillas are ok, but chimps, spider monkeys, monkeys in Costa Rica, monkeys that sit on your shoulder. NO. I. don’t. do. monkeys.I blame my mother, and the movie Outbreak. I was too young to see it, and I had an overactive imagination. The recent outbreak of the Ebola virus in Africa confirms my suspicions. They can’t be trusted.  Further more, I don’t like things with fewer than 2 legs (naturally, if you lose a leg, you are exempt) or more than 4. Thus bugs, snakes, crabs, etc are out. When I am out and about, bugs are bugs and we are in their zone, so I won’t try to kill them. But if they are in my house, you better believe I will defend its honor.

4)      I am 100% certain that I have that condition where ordinary noises overly irritate me. Especially noises from the clavicle (basically) up—loud chewing, sneezing, snorting, coughing tics, snapping your gum, IF YOU SMACK YOUR GUM I WILL DESTROY YOU.

Legitimately makes my hair stand on end and gets me to the point that I can’t eat around certain people because their habits turn me against them. I’m sorry I promise I’m not a heinous person.

5)      To prove this, my favorite noises on earth are the sounds of a lit match hitting water (ssst) and a tennis ball hitting a tennis racket (that hollow pop). My favorite smells are those of Bounce dryer sheets (specifically the smell of the dryer air that comes out of houses), Lexol leather conditioner and saddle soap, and stargazer lilies. Or any fresh flower, really. For some of my other favorite blooms, check out here.

Take me backkkkk

Now that I have pointed out some of my glaring faults, let’s have some fun.

6)      I am very loyal to things—when I find something I like, I stick with it. I think it is a combination of comfort, liking what I like, and being happy it works for me. I used to have a habit of rewatching a movie on a daily basis. I watched certain parts of The Mummy every day on my laptop (usually before bed) for several months, did the same with Clueless, Ever After, and a few other random ones. In high school, I went through a few awesome stages: neon and crushed velvet Limited Too boatnecks with Wet Seal pants (I didn’t wear jeans before 8^th grade), in high school—polos with jeans (every. Day. Pretty much); now v neck tshirts in bright colors with jeans (lots has changed, can you tell). I have10 pairs of CWX compression pants of various lengths and weights, I am on my 5^th or 6^th pair of Defyances, and I have a drawer of ProCompression socks. I also own like 5 blazers.

Proof

7)      I used to spend HOURS building houses on The Sims. I knew the cheat for unlimited money, so I built the best abodes ever.

8)      I am someone who pursues balance and juxtaposition in all aspects of my life—alone vs. together time, sweet vs. salty, crunchy vs. creamy, classic vs. contemporary, humor vs. seriousness.  Colors, too. If you ask me to pick one or the other in pretty much any situation, you will find it is very very hard for me to decide.

Dancer–Perfection in juxtaposition

9)      I am what I would term a lazy Type A. I have big dreams, demand perfection from myself, and am overall quite competitive (these traits used to be more forward in my personality). Now, I tend to go into things with the notion that I will just take them as they lie, and then once I start I get going and caught up in them.  I prefer endurance running over sprints—give me a pace, let me get going, and then leave me be. Thus why I am not a crossfitter.  But I am lazy as all-balls-get-out when I stop moving. Until I get the itch to move, and then I can’t sit still. SQUIRRELL!

10)   I used to practice talking in a British accent. I will also adopt the accent of whomever I am speaking with. I am terribly sorry, I am not making fun, it is something that just happens out of nowhere and before I realize. If you are British, avoid conversations about libraries and schedules. I also used to be completely obsessed with James Bond. And I like cars.

I hope that you all don’t think I am an awful person now. I swear I’m a guwd gerwl, oi’ am! (Shout out if you know what that is from!) To necessitate that you (or at least a handful of you) stay kinda friendly with me, I am going to nominate 5 of you to also share something random and heartwarming about yourselves in a post. And I am going to try to nominate some people that may not have been already, but I am too lazy to really check. If you aren’t nominated, it isn’t because I don’t love you. It is likely that I already stalk you.

Kate @ Baking in Yoga Pants

Lauren @ I Had a Big Lunch

Sarah @ Absolutely Ridiculous (I want Olaf to answer too)

Irene @ Irene Jean

Cassie @ Almost Getting it Together

I task everyone else with sharing at least 1 random fact about yourself, as well as 1 random thought during the course of this post!

Truly. Truly. Random. #Thinkingoutloud

Goodness gracious, great balls of fire, y’all, have I got some crazy to get out of my gourd. Thankfully, Amanda has provided the perfect vehicle for unloading all of the Suz rambles. Shall I share? Oh, you are too kind.

I don’t even know where to begin. And I’m not going to number this week. Things are too random; there’s just no helping any of it.

Actually, that is a lie, I know exactly where to begin. I want to start today by thanking a very special lady, Mrs. Run Salt Run. I know that I shouldn’t be surprised by generosity exhibited by those who you know to be generous, but I rarely, if ever, expect to be the target of such generosity.

I am mentioning this not to have it be about me, but to make it about her. If you don’t know Salt, then I am sorry. EDUCATE YOURSELF. Now. And then come back and be nonsensical with me. But go see her first.

And now random:go.

• I got CPR certified yesterday, what whhhattttttt. It was easy, it was cheap, it covered things I pretty much already knew. But the importance of it is thus: I can now take my NASM test (well, as soon as I get the card in the mail). ONE> STEP> CLOSER>

• Speaking of NASM, I took my first full practice exam today, and if I were to take that exact exam, I would pass! I have to wait until I get my CPR card to take the test, but now I can feel confident in knowing that I will be ready almost a full month ahead of my own schedule, bringing me that much closer to be a real(ish) person and allowing me to market myself to gyms and other entrepreneurs. THE SUZLYFE WILL BE BONAFIDE.

Also, Earth Day for the win. #youknowyourafitnessfanaticwhen

• I love the fact that you all were drooling so much over the chicken and waffles. Thus why I love you all. I have an amazing recap of Alex’s and my date night at Cantina Laredo (from last Friday)–holy balls what food and what a deal. I will say that the passion fruit margarita came out way more like a pineapple…something, and was WAY too sweet for me, but I had a fantastic drink that was essentially a mojito-margarita lovechild. If the mint had been just a bit more muddled, I would have said it was near perfect. Guess I’ll just have to go back and request that they muddle it. Le siiiigh.

• I love that avocados are plentiful and delicious. I also love that blueberries go with everything, essentially. My latest combinations?
  • Shrimp, spaghetti squash, dry Thai seasoning, liquid aminos, green beans, capers, blueberries, mixy mixy and reheat. Then drizzle all over with honey mustard. HOLY YUM. Spicy. Sweet. Savory. Salty. Umami. ALLTHEAWESOME.
  • Tonight? A mon-star of a salad: Jalapeno Chicken Sausage, avocado (mmmm), cherry tomatoes, sauteed onion, sauteed mushroom, a little garlic powder + salt + pepper, Nature Box Citrus Chipotle Chickpeas, NatureBox Toasted Kettle Kernels, blueberries (frozen, didn’t even heat them and so they gave a great burst of cool as they thawed), Champagne vinaigrette. ERMIGERD. I loved every single bite.

• Speaking of blueberries going with everything, I have a great recipe for you all tomorrow.

• Best nail color maybe ever? Butter London Scallywag. I have missed having color on my nails, and this had to happen. Plus it matches just about everything that I own.

• I want a beer and or a glass of wine so badly I can’t stand it. Sigh. #crohnsproblems #medicinesideeffects

and i want a puppy #thingsicanthave

• Social media is exhausting. And the fact that no one understands Google+ has been confirmed to me. Ah well. I do like the new Twitter though.
• My phone has started fritzing like bananas on me when it gets close to my iPad. So random. It starts going to voice control, then shuts off, then calls people. Apparently my gadgets have sibling rivalry issues?

• So, remember how I said don’t call it a comeback? Well, one of you fools did, I guess, because I may or may not have stress fractured my foot, or something of the like. And I am not being dramatic. I wish I was. On my run Monday, I stepped on some uneven pavement and didn’t think anything of it. 1/4 mi later (I am now realizing), my foot started to hurt (5th metatarsal, towards the ankle, left foot, for those that care), or ache, and hasn’t stopped. the ache seems to have flatlined, for now, and I have been icing, staying off it as best I can, and wearing good shoes. But every step has discomfort. The spin bike doesn’t bother it, so back to the bike. I am seriously cursed thus far. Again #crohnsproblems –you have to be perfect, and there is one aspect in which I haven’t been perfect. I will discuss this soon, but it and my plan to remedy it deserves its own post. Stay tuned. I think that once I get that part dealt with, I will be as good to go as I ever will be. And if this doesn’t work, well then I will go coach people and just do all the yoga. Those who can’t do, teach, I guess.
• My cat. Is out. Of her. Everloving mind.

• 2 amazing new flavors of ice cream this week: I was nervous, but Edy’s Coffee and Cookies is amazing. Just right. And it was time for S’mores to come back. Heaven does exist.

Don’t mind if I do.

I may be snakebit, have a crazy cat, and do-gooder husband,
but at least I can happily live the life of a sinner with my Edy’s.
It will never judge me.

• Laura and I are going to start a blog about us eating jelly beans. Contain yourself. Cuz we certainly won’t be able to.

Tell me something good (Tell me that you like me hahahaha nerd humor)

Are you CPR certified?

Guacamole or salsa? Corn or Flour tortillas? 

Sparkly nails or matte?