Healthy, Hungry, and Happy

Hello everyone! My name is Amy and I’m a 28, recently married to Cliff, and have a serious passion for all things fitness and food. I am a NASM certified personal trainer and love creating butt-kicking workouts. (Always consult your doctor before starting a fitness program…a doctor, I am not..no matter what I tell my husband).

Healthy

I believe living a healthy, balanced life is crucial to attain happiness…at least for me. About three years ago a friend had the idea to sign up for the Chicago Marathon. Having never done a marathon, let alone any race before, I was a little skeptical. Somehow she convinced me to sign up. We agreed we would do our best and worse comes to worst, walk with each other towards the finish line.

Although my expectations were low, I decided to try and train anyway. Living in Phoenix at the time, I ran indoors (as it was summer there) until moving to Chicago a couple months later. A few Saturdays after moving there, I met up with the Team and Training group who were running 18 miles that morning. The farthest distance I had gone at the time was 8 miles. After hearing this, the team leader advised me to maybe try 10 or 12 miles that day…maybe.

Suddenly I found myself at 12 miles and felt okay…next thing I knew I was at 15…at that point I figured, what’s three more? I ended up running the entire marathon and finished in 4:45. I ran it again the year after shaving an hour off my time.

Running the marathon has been a life changing experience for me. I know people always say this and that is because it’s true: If I can do it, you can do it. That experience has given me a great deal of confidence in myself for accomplishing such a huge physical and mental challenge. It has also exposed me to working out and staying fit. Since then I have continued to run and race, as well as lift weights, take fitness classes, etc. Staying active and healthy is a huge part of my life. Next on the list…qualify and run Boston!

Breakfast before Chicago Marathon 2008

Hungry

I love food! I have always been willing to try any kind of food at least once. A piece of advice I learned from my dad. Even if I don’t like something….keep trying it, you might come around one day (still working on asparagus). I enjoy finding new, healthy recipes and putting them to the test. I also like the challenge of cooking. Once an intimidating undertaking, I am feeling more and more comfortable in the kitchen with each recipe I try. Most of the recipes I try are on the healthier side. I believe there are enough ingredients out there to make a delicious, healthy meal that is just as comforting as any “comfort food” out there. I look forward to sharing success stories as well as failures on this blog.

soup night

Happy

I am currently living on cloud 9 which is located in Dallas. I recently married the love of my life and best friend. We’ve been so lucky and have had many great adventures living in places like  San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and now Dallas. We met 6 1/2 years ago in Malibu, California working as camp counselor’s one summer. We’re finally starting to feel settled in Dallas after moving here about 3 months ago. Getting married is definitely a great start to a new life  in a new city!

We love to explore by hiking and visiting the near by cities. We also enjoy traveling, scuba diving, and experimenting with our new Canon camera (lucky you, you get to see some of our experiments on this blog!).

Life’s been good and I have no complaints. I have a great husband, a new, wonderful family, and incredible brothers and parents who have always supported me. Not to mention my amazing friends! I hope you all enjoy the blog and at the very least, it makes you smile once in a while.

perfect ending to a perfect night