Five Things Friday: Things I Want To Try

Welcome to this week’s edition of Five Things Friday.  I’m talking about the things I want to to try.  There’s nothing really outlandish going on here, but there is some interesting stuff on this list…well at least to me. I don’t know what has stopped me from trying these things, but something has.  Maybe I should get to the root of the problem or just skip that part and just start trying stuff. I won’t waste any more of your time, so I’ll just get to the list.

Things I want to try1. A zumba class.

Technically, I’ve gone to a Zumba class BUT I was in a much different place.  I was uncomfortable and on my weight loss journey.  It was crowded and I was more focused on burning the calories instead of having fun.  I see people in Zumba class and they look like they are having fun.  As time has progressed, I’ve have learned that it’s VERY important to smile during your workout, even if it’s the toughest thing you’ve ever done.  If you don’t have that moment at least once, then maybe it’s time to try something new.  People in Zumba look happy and I think I would like to give it a try to see if it will put a smile on my face.

2. Rock climbing…wall

I’ve always dreamed of having amazing upper body strength, but I just don’t have it.  The rock climbing wall just seems like something that would be lots of fun and a challenge.  I’m not sure if I would actually want to take it outdoors to actually rocks but I would be willing to try it.  It just seems like an activity that would really challenge and push me to new levels.  It would definitely be something out of my comfort zone.  I wanted to take Willie for his birthday, but the place had weird hours that wouldn’t work for us.  Hopefully it will be something we can do soon.

3. Ride a roller coaster.

Ok, I may be cheating on this “ride a roller coaster” thing because I have rode a roller coaster before.  BUT I’ve never rode one since I’ve lost the weight.  I can’t imagine riding without the worry of fitting in the seat or having to be squished to the point of not being able to breathe.  It would be a nice feeling to ride without having that anxiety.  A few months before we started our weight loss journey, I took my niece and nephew to the fair.  They wanted me to ride rides with them but I couldn’t get into most of them with them.  One operator even told me, you’re too big to ride this so it may not function properly.  I won’t lie; that made me feel very bad about myself.

4. Avoid the chaos.

My life has always been chaotic for various reasons and that’s another reason why I’ve been off the past few weeks.  I’m sure you’ve noticed a little bit of change on the blog.  I just need to learn to avoid the chaos.  Everything doesn’t have to be chaotic and just because someone else brings chaos into my life that doesn’t mean that I need to entertain or welcome chaos.

5. Make dumplings at home. Untitled

Remember when Willie and I went to China?  We took this amazing cooking class and learned how to make dumplings.  But guess what?  We haven’t made them at home.  While in China I also purchased a wok and dumpling rolling pin and while got a knife and all that stuff is still boxed up.  We said we would make dumplings at home because it was pretty easy but a little time consuming for the newbie.  We never did.  It might be time for us to try something new and make these things at home. These things could be a total dumpster fire, but at least we tried it, right?

What are some things you want to try? What has stopped you from trying them?

Beijing Highlights

Beijing Highlights

Alrighty folks, it’s my last Beijing post!  I just wanted to hit some hot spots about our trip that I didn’t cover before.  Yes, the race was amazing and we ate some of the best food ever, but there were definitely some things I’ll never forget. The trip to Temple of Confucius was a definite highlight for me. Willie wasn’t interested in doing many tourists things and neither was I to be honest. Visiting this place was a must for me. It was so serene and pretty. We really were getting wiser by the moment just by being there. This…

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Eating our way through Beijing

Eating our way through Beijing

To be honest, we were in Beijing and we weren’t really worried about eating clean.  It’s really hard to be picky about what you’re eating when you don’t speak the language and have no idea what to be asking for when it comes to food preparation.  Most meals were a victory because we navigated the system! Some places had English translations on the menu.  Others had pictures from us to choose from.  A lot of places just had menus in Chinese which meant we couldn’t eat there at all.  99% of the people didn’t speak a lick of English and…

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Race Recap: Great Wall of China Marathon

Race Recap: Great Wall of China Marathon

Willie and I made two rules for this race: 1. No one gets left behind. 2. Enjoy the amazing experience. Leading up to this race, I was worried about finishing in the time limit. When we went to the course meeting and found out only 20 people out of the 110 people signed up last year finished the marathon, I was really worried about finishing the race. That wasn’t going to stop me from doing it though. Race morning was a bit hard on us. I woke up at 11:30 pm to make sure we had all our stuff together.…

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Happy Saturday morning from Beijing

Happy Saturday morning from Beijing

Good morning my friends but I’m pretty sure it’s Friday evening where most of you are.  I wanted to give a little update on our trip from Beijing. First off, The Great Wall of China conquered us unfortunately. It was pretty brutal. The race was very challenging and very different from a road race. This was essentially a climbing challenge because I can honestly tell you we really only ran MAYBE a mile of the entire thing and we didn’t even make it all the way through. Officially, we made it 11 miles! Those were the hardest 11 miles of…

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Hello from Beijing!

Hello from Beijing!

I’m clearly having problems with the time difference because I woke up at midnight and I was ready to go.  Willie has no problems with it though.  It’s 5:40 am right now and he’s sound asleep.  I was praying not to get out of bed before 5AM and that was hard. We arrived yesterday morning at 3:30 am.  Our flight was an hour and half early which was great.  Willie was ready to get off the plane.  I don’t know if he could have taken the full time.  It took us a long time to get our baggage event though…

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It can happen to you

It can happen to you

By the time most of you are reading this post we’ll be halfway to China!  We haven’t even left the airport and we’re already having an adventure.  Let’s just say some Chinese people are looking at us with envy because we have an extension cord at to charge our phone and we don’t have to huddle around the charging station. But it’s 10:35 pm on Sunday and we’re tired.  I would have been in bed already!  We still have 2.5 hours before our flight leaves.  Willie does selfie better than me. It’s Monday so I just wanted to send a…

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Happy Friday! China, meals, munchies, workout gear and …

Happy Friday! China, meals, munchies, workout gear and weight loss

Happy Friday everyone! I’m feeling a little bit under the weather which means I’ve over medicating myself before we leave for China. It’s a bummer but things will get better. I will definitely sleep it off until it’s time to leave. I can’t think about anything but going to China which has made my blogging suffer. I don’t really have anything to talk about or maybe the problem is I do have something to blog about I just don’t want to. That being said, I’m answering your questions today to free my mind a little! Question from Jackie: How many…

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The China trip is upon us

The China trip is upon us

Excuse me, but I have nothing exciting to talk about except going to China.  It’s kept me really busy trying to get things together.  I’m trying to get everything together so we don’t have to buy much when we are there.  I’m looking forward to spending the time with Willie and just exploring the city of Beijing and maybe Shanghai.  I’ve allowed myself to get excited for the trip but that doesn’t mean I’m not worried about some things. I’m super worried about the language barrier I’m going to experience. The first couple of days we’ll be with race people…

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At the bachelorette party

At the bachelorette party

My dear friend Mel is getting married when I’m in China so I won’t be able to attend but I was able to go to her bachelorette party last night.  Well at least half of it. Since you only really hear about me working out and such I thought this was the perfect opportunity to show that I do in have a regular fun life. It’s nice to put on regular clothes with people who only see you in running gear! We all clean up very nicely. Any opportunity to put on real clothes I’m going to put it on.…

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Happy Friday and a good workout!

Happy Friday and a good workout!

Happy Friday everyone!  I hope this week has been kind to you because it’s been a pretty good week for me.  I’m feeling a little off my game because there has been no running and definitely no running in my weekend plans.  It’s just kind of odd for me since it’s something I’ve been doing a lot of for the past 8 months.  I’m taking the self-imposed zero week because I really just think I needed it.  I’ve run 5 marathons and several half marathons this year already.  My medal rack is overloaded, but I wouldn’t have it any other…

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