Sunday, January 10, 2016

Loving/Not Loving/Winning

I could think of no better way to wrap up what has been a hellacious week than to try to put a humorous spin on things. You know me. Always trying to make light. The only thing I can say about this week is that things can't get much worse, right? Or can they?

You know what? Don't answer that. I do have 2 teenage sons, after all. And none of my grief this week has come from them. For that, I am grateful.

Hopefully, by the time you're reading this, I'm on a beach somewhere exotic, counting my winnings from the $1,000,000,000 Powerball drawing. That's a lot of zeros. Buh-bye.


Oh, wait. I'm still here. Crap! That means it rolled over. I'll win next week.

Sigh.

So hey! I got to ride with this guy, virtually. Let's talk about what I'm loving, not loving, and winning..
Your perky instructor on the GCN.
Loving: riding my trusty Trek bike indoors on the trainer. Thanks to the magic of YouTube, I've been able to enjoy some fun rides in Italy, France, and Australia.
Not loving: The interval/spin class that I did on Saturday was interrupted 3 times by ads. Seriously annoying. Who puts ads in the middle of a workout video? The ads aren't even targeted for this audience. Ads for whiskey? HIV testing? Too bad, because this was a great workout/ride and there are a ton of them on the GCN channel on YouTube. I thought I found my every ride right here. This was GREAT. Except for the damn ads. Even the soundtrack was good. Guess I'll have to suck it up and ride with my phone in hand so I can skip the ads.
Winning: For all of my rides, I wore my heart rate monitor and got myself in my training zone, guaranteeing an effective alternative to running.

Loving: The new look of my blog. I'm sure I'll keep tweaking things. But for now, I'm satisfied.
Not loving: The spam.is.out.of.control.
Winning: Comment moderation has helped keep most of the spam for my eyes only. Some of the comments are so bad, they're entertaining. But most don't even make sense. Some robot out there's got my number.



Loving: Time off my feet and use of my night splint has reduced my PF pain significantly.
Not loving: That I still have some pain.
Winning: I reached out to Align Footwear to see if they would let me trial their orthotics. They came yesterday and I'll be testing them once I'm back on the road. Stay tuned for a review.

#oofos #feeturesPFcompressionsleeve #snoga #wheelpose #thesearenottheofficialhashtags
Loving: SweatPink has started a new daily yoga pose challenge on Instagram for January and February. You know I love me some yoga. I did this last year and it was fun to get creative with the poses. I was also able to hook a couple of friends into doing yoga, and now they've outdone me, continuing on a daily streak going on a year now. So proud. Like a mom.
Not lovingAll the hashtags required to participate for prizes. Seems like I'm always forgetting one of them. I'll never win! #toomanyhashtags #andthehashtagsarecumbersomelikethisone
Winning: I get to do yoga. #yogaeverydamnday #yesthisisoneofthehashtags

Loving: Remember those men's Vans I was sent by mistake instead of the boots I ordered? I finally returned them to the Amazon marketplace vendor. After many painful phone calls to Amazon customer service, shipping was reimbursed by Amazon.
Not loving: The vendor called me to tell me he sent me a prepaid shipping label. I never got it. He asked me to remove my claim on Amazon. I told him I would do that when he refunded my money. Stay tuned...
Winning: I found the boots half price on another website.

Loving: Betabrand. On recommendation from 2 of my colleagues, I bought a pair of these "dress" yoga pants. OMG. Stretchy, comfy, and stylish. The quality is top notch.
Not loving: The price. But there are coupons and discounts if you refer a friend. I reached out to the company and they don't partner with bloggers.
Winning: Wearing yoga pants to work.

So much win! 

How was your week? Any wins you want to share? Keeping it all positive!

I'm linking up with Tricia and Holly for their Weekly Wrap. By now, they are done running the WDW Marathon! Be sure to head over to their pages to link up and/or check out all the posts. And CONGRATULATE them both on completing their first marathons!



89 comments :

  1. I feel like I've been at a standstill for the last several days so my week was pretty "meh" to be honest. Flip flops and snow? WOWSA you ARE a rockstar! Here's to a new week!

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    1. Just trying to keep it interesting!

      Onward and upward. It cannot seriously get worse. Ugh.

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  2. Awesome work with the biking on the trainer. Hmm, my wins this week would be 4 workouts accomplished (not so winning - no running, and swimming kind of hurt my back. dang).

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    1. The bike has always been a great backup plan for me. If only I liked to swim...

      And boo to the back pain! I thought swimming was supposed to be so good...

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  3. OH the spam! I've been getting overloaded with it too since I tweaked my blog for a little better SEO. Some of them are quite flattering, but most of them are just totally bogus!

    Keep on winning!

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  4. Sorry you had a tough week..
    I nailed a 20 mile long run and feeling great today.
    Not loving being back at work, I preferred my vacation week.

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  5. I think your blog looks great! And I've got tons of spam too. My filter is catching it, thankfully. But geez, there has been a TON of it. And with such crappy grammar. You'd think they might try to attempt logical sounding posts if they want to get past the spam filters.

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    1. Even on your new platform? That makes me feel better, at least misery loves company!

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  6. Boo for ads on a spinning workout video! So glad your PF is dying. The spam always cracks me up. Sometimes I read them to my husband for some laughs. Have a great week!

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  7. I wish I could wear yoga pants to work, that is a win! This was a long week! Who designed the 5 day workweek anyway! Not loving it! Loving my new coach and loved my meet up with Tricia! You are next sister!

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    1. You could probably wear these pants-they are really nice! No one would know that they are "yoga pants". There are fake pockets and beltloops!

      I cannot wait for March! Of course there is already family drama happening. Why?

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  8. I am loving your new blog too. Also I love your flip flops. I just got those at a podiatry sports medicine conference

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  9. Dress yoga pants?? That I can wear to work?? I may need to invest in those, I think I would get my money's worth. Or maybe after you will the lottery you can give away a bunch of them to all your readers:)
    I always get SO much spam. I check my spam folder every day because usually real comments get caught in there (it's always the same people!) and yes, those spam comments can be rather entertaining.
    Sorry you are still having some pain, but glad it's feeling so much better!

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    1. Oh, now that's an idea. Yes, if i win the Powerball everyone gets Betabrand dress yoga pants! I feel like Oprah already!

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  10. Sorry it was a tough week. I never really found my groove - I blame it on a holiday hangover. Glad you got some relief to your PF pain. Hope this week is better!

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    1. You and me both! Otherwise PF be damned, I'm heading back outside!

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  11. Oh man, the hashtags! I haven't been keeping up with the pose of the day, I'm not that organized ;)

    I'm trying to embrace getting back in the swing of things (work/running/life) - I can't avoid it, so I might as well just go with it!

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    1. This year has been off to a bumpy start! I'll just keep rolling forward, tho.

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  12. The top search term on my blog for the past several days has been mom in yoga pants. Maybe I need to refer them HERE! Haha! I think this week is going to be a great one to be IN!

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    1. I hope you are right. Send some of that good juju my way. The hits just keep on coming! #nowitsmysisteractingallcrazy

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  13. Wow, I checked out the link and those pants are pricy! They look great though! Great job biking and getting in your training zone!

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    1. I bit the bullet, because really, can you put a price on comfort? :p

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  14. LOL on the hashtags. Stick to your guns on the Amazon Marketplace issue. At least reviews do matter so hopefully they will do the right thing. I may have to check out that GCN channel and be ready for the ads.

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    1. I'm still waiting for my refund. What a creep. As soon as that money is back in my account...oooh.

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  15. I hear you on the hashtags!! So #outofcontrol And horrible ads during rides? Awful. I also hooked up my HR monitor this past week and have a great big mark from chafing to show for it. Ouch!!!

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    1. No chafing, but I had some issues with the monitor picking up my HR when I got in aero position. Then I had to restart the whole thing. No biggie, I'm not tracking anything, just wanting to know my effort.

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  16. You are always winning in my book. Love it: American Airlines helpful special assistance people. Leave it: needing it. Winning: getting to bypass the hour plus long line at border patrol.

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    1. When I read that on your blog, my thought was, "way to work it, Suz!" Why not?

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  17. Glad your pf is starting to feel better. Have you tried Peloton classes-you can get 2 weeks free classes no ads. Looking forward to the book club review.

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  18. Sorry you had a hard week and sorry you are getting spammed -- the price of fame! I do love the new header and it made me think I really ought to update mine (even though I like mine).

    My husband ordered some doggy jerky online, and we only got 1 of the 2 he ordered. They said they'd send the missing package. We got flea powder. Both useful items but hardly interchangeable (which is a MASH line, btw).

    I have heard good things about Betabrand, too.

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    1. I like your header! Your blog is so clean and easy on the eyes. That was my goal with my revamp.

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  19. I am loving your new blog style too!

    I wear leggings and tunics to work all the time. I love it because I feel like I am in my jammies!

    Win: I slept SO WELL this weekend!

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    1. Ah. Sleep. Between my stress level, the dog, and my night splint, I haven't slept through the night for a few weeks. I'm ready to go back to bed as we speak.

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  20. Love your idea of "loving, not loving, winning!" What a great feature!

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    1. The Loving/Not Loving theme I borrowed from my friend Marcia, at Marcia's Healthy Slice. But I added Winning because I'm trying to put a positive spin on everything.

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  21. Love your post! I also love the look of your blog too. Keep up the good fight with Amazon! lol

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    1. Everyone's blogs are white now..I felt like I needed to calm mine down too. But still have a little pizazz!

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  22. I am totally with you on the hashtag thing. It gets to be too much! I don't participate very many campaigns because of it.

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    1. It's just so hard to remember them all! Glad it isn't just me!

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  23. I think you had a winning week for the most part. My blog is a mess. Did you have a professional design yours.

    Yes on the hastags - It's exhausting to fit them all.

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    1. Your blog is great! And no, I didn't have a professional do it, but I'm flattered that you would ask that! Lots of trial and error, but that's why I stick with Blogger. It's easy for me to figure it out.

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  24. I have put those Beta Brand pants in my shopping cart SO MANY TIMES that they probably think I am a robot spammer!

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  25. This was a fun post! I like your new blog design too! I wish I could get involved with the yoga challenges but I just can't figure out how to make selfies doing various poses.

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  26. Yay for wearing yoga pants to work! I love your pics on Instagram! I need to hop on that yoga challenge, it looks fun!

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  27. It's crazy how much spam we bloggers can get!
    I ordered wide calf boot from Amazon, but they came regular calf, so the company I bought them from approved me to send them back for replacements. Well, they did a refund instead, so I will be spending some time today trying to get that figured out.

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    1. I'm still waiting for my refund. Meanwhile, the boots I ordered from another vendor came today!!! Super cute!

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  28. I need to see a pic of a real person in those pants because I think I need some.

    Blog looks great!

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    1. You need those pants. I'll have to post a picture. None of my patients is the wiser.

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  29. I ordered a pair of boots on Amazon from a marketplace vendor and they said they would ship them in 30 days. I waited 45 and they never came. So I called them and said they forgot about my order and by the way, they no longer carried the boots. So, combined with your story, I will now never use amazon marketplace to order footwear again! :)

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    1. Pretty crummy experience, right? I already got the second pair I ordered...but no refund yet for the first pair.

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  30. I love this loving/not loving/winning format! I may have to steal this for a future post of my own. YES on the stupid advertising and spam and hashtags that have gotten out of control. So freaking annoying! But I think your blog looks fantastic! Glad your PF is getting better!!!

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    1. Well, I can't take 100% credit for my new format. Marcia does the loving/not loving thing, but I wanted to make it with a positive finish. I'm trying so hard to stay positive!

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  31. First off, I'm glad to hear your PF is slowing staring to get better - I don't love that you still feel some pain. I'm loving the new look of your blog too!!! I'm trying to figure out how to change my header photo and it's driving me nuts. I'm so not technically adept, ha ha.

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    1. I'm not technically adept either, which is why I keep my Blogger account. Your header is so cute! But I made mine on Canva.

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  32. Ads in the middle of a workout video?!? I completely understand at the beginning, but in the middle?!? Why oh why must people make things difficult?

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  33. I feel like I need to cross the boarder and get a powerball ticket! The US:CAD exchange rate works in my favour haha. I'm loving the new look too. I like the background colour!

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    1. Thank you! I'm really happy with how it looks. But I'm sure I'll get tired of it eventually.

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  34. Love your new blog style! It is so clean and simple and it's faster!
    The ads in your workout video are almost comical - is someone really going to stop their workout to go buy whiskey?
    Robot spammers are the bane of my existence.

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    1. I'm still struggling with the whole ad in the middle of a workout video thing. Tomorrow I need to do 45 minutes and this site was so great. Except for that.

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  35. Totally agree with those challenges and excessive hashtags. #aintnobodygottimeforthat ;)
    @hellyontherun

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  36. The ads in your workout would be so annoying. I don't get it. Do you have to pay to get them ad free? I haven't heard of those yoga pants, I'll have to check them out!

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    1. It's YouTube, so I don't think you pay? I don't know. I'm new to this cycling video thing.

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  37. Love the new blog look!

    All those hashtags can get difficult! I always have to double and triple check mine.

    Glad your pain is doing better!

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    1. It's better but it's still there. I'm planning to run this weekend, so I probably need to call that ART specialist!

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  38. Love the new look of your blog!! All the hashtags are super tricky!! :)
    Thanks for making me laugh today! xo

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  39. OMG what's the deal with the spam. I went months with it not being so bad and them bam. Spam spam and more spam. More and more is getting through the spam blocker. Can you tell I'm not loving? The new look is great.

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  40. Ha we have been watching the powerball and even bought tickets for the Saturday drawing, we had planned on getting some more but when we stopped for the sole purpose of getting tickets, decided to gas up too and well we forgot the damn tickets!! Yea, guess that was our sign not to get them. Oh well! Hey I noticed you had on Oofos! I bought some at the expo! I really didn't want too pay that much but OMG, after wearing them for a few hours I Freaking LOVE them!!! Had it not been 28 degrees I would have wore them to work this morning! I appreciate all the thoughts for both Holly and I this weekend, they were surly felt! I'm so glad to join you in marathon status!

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    1. I love my Oofos! So much. My PF says thank you every time I put them on.

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  41. I'm totally with you on the SP yoga challenge. I love the challenges but I totally forget all the hashtags. #ambassadorfail Haha. Have a great week! Glad your PF is healing up!

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  42. Can you share your cycling youtube picks? That's a good idea for when I can't go to spin and want to spin on my own :) Wish I had my own bike at home!

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    1. I will...I plan on writing a post about it in a week or so! I've really enjoyed my time on the bike. But I'm ready to start to run again.

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  43. Ha. Love all your positives. Those ads would drive me crazy! I need better entertainment on the trainer. The tv in that room is too high and I'm breaking my neck. I've come to appreciate certain yoga poses. But I'm not into the daily poses or hashtags yet. Thanks for all your support and encouragement Wendy. It meant a lot and I believe we will still meet in the days ahead.

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    1. I sure hope so! I feel like we have so much in common! Congrats again on your marathon.

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  44. Wow - you gave your blog a beautiful makeover!
    I love all your Yoga pics, I hope you're in for winning Wendy! I'm sure those expensive Yoga pants look great, though :) On getting that PF under control- my new HOKA shoes have helped me tons! I ran the marathon without pain relief! Couldn't believe it!
    Love seeing your all around the world bike rides on Instagram! Fun posts.

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    1. I may have to try those HOKAs. I've heard such great things about them. We'll see how it goes once I get back on the road.

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