celebrations & facing fear

Tonight I am at a resort in town prepping a full menu of delicious food to celebrate my birthday with friends by the pool tonight, so I'm sorry that Fitness Friday came on a Saturday this week, but I featured delicious smoothie recipes for post and pre-workout sessions! So you can't really be too mad at me. 


This week my baby sister also had a birthday and turned 26 years old! (sorry Ash, haha) but not that sorry, because it just means I'm older than that, haha.  

A look back on my 30th Birthday Bash last year. 

I am so proud of this woman and am excited to just celebrate her and all she has become. She is an amazing mom to my beautiful niece, and wonderful wife-to-be, a friend when I've needed her, and just a driven talent. I recently got her hired on to write as part of my staff at the magazine and am so excited to share this relationship with her. We also have another writing project together in the works that we are SUPER stoked about because it involves cooking a lot of food together. As a budding professional make-up artist with a strong English background, I thought who better than to work alongside me on all of these exciting endeavors?

I havn't posted in a minute, I have been working like a crazy woman getting out our Summer Issue, on newsstands Saturday by the way! (plug, plug) #runway #summer2014 

I also havn't been feeling too hot. I know I need to re-evaluate my diet as of late. I've been traveling, for the magazine and for my birthday, so I've been staying in hotels without a full kitchen, but I have been making it work. And though I'm eating a lot of fruits and veggies, grains have crept in and taken over and I am dealing with the inflammatory consequences in my muscles and over-all system. I also think the candida has crept back up and giving me problems too.  So, I've been living on mixed veggies for days. 

I did however have a huge breakthrough, after a little crying and small anxiety attack, I got on a roller coaster I was afraid to go on. I used my relaxation tools from my counselor, prayed, and held on to my darling Mr. Charming for dear life and felt so empowered afterwards. It was on my birthday trip to Disneyland, and I didn't let my fear win.

Because you know what we all need to say to fear? Suck it.

That's right.

Suck it fear. And I KNOW, believe me, I KNOW how hard that is. But that day I did it. I don't always do it. But that day I did it, and it. felt. incredible.

So all of you that deal with anxiety because of diet, health issues, trauma, or just life in general, I feel ya. But fear IS a liar, and we "shall not fear", and we have to do everything in our power, not to only overcome it ourselves, but to look to God and just lay it all out on the line and say...

I need Your strength.

I take Your hand.

I know You're there.

And I trust You.

Its hard, its challenging, and I suffer from A-type control issues, but I'm learning. Hopefully growing.

I guess all that rambling was just to say I'm excited I could look fear in the face, if only for a moment, and say that day "my God is bigger than you are."

And I had fun. And would ride it again. And again.

Now if only I could zipline.

Another day, another deep breath and a prayer.

I end this post with an adorable photo gallery of my sister and I, the birthday girls.