February 2011 - Page 2 of 10 - My Healthy, Happier Life

As most of you all know, tomorrow night is the biggest night of the year for Hollywood. The night is filled with gorgeous dresses, witty jokes, and lots of good looking guys in tuxedos.

I’m excited for the night and have even convinced Bo to watch it with me. I am so excited for this year’s hosts, James Franco and Anne Hathaway. While their humor will probably be far different than Steve Martin, Billy Crystal, and Alex Baldwin I expect it will be very entertaining!

If you want to watch but depend on your computer for television shows, I found out online that you can live stream the show on the Associated Press AP Live Site.

Normally, we do our best to see as many of the Oscar films as possible before the big night but this year we’ve only seen a few: Black Swan, The Kids are Alright, Inception (Bo only), Toy Story 3, and The Social Network (me only).

While we aren’t hosting a party this year, I received some great tips from the folks at Yoplait for a perfect Oscar Evening.

How to Get Your Home In Oscar Shape

Set up a photo area in your home – it could simply be a corner of your living room – where each guest can take their own ‘red carpet’ photo.
·Pick a signature cocktail for the evening for something extra special.
·Play a game with your guests and vote on who you think will win each award.

How to Make Yourself Red Carpet Ready

How to Get Ready for a Big Event – Fashion Tips from Jeannie Mai

Celebrity stylist, host of the Style Network’s “How Do I Look?” and Yoplait Light Two Week Tune Up spokesperson Jeannie Mai tells us how to get red-carpet ready:

The Dress: When picking a dress for your Oscar party, pick styles that show off your best assets. If you have great arms, show them off with a sleeveless look or try something like a wrap-dress to accentuate your curves. An added bonus of a cocktail dress is that it can be transformed from casual to formal with a little help from accessories – so you could wear your dress to work, add accessories and hit a party.
Adding Glamour: You don’t have to spend a fortune to add a little flare to your outfit. Try adding a broach, a statement necklace or fabulous earrings and colorful scarf to add some glamour to your dress.
Feeling Confident: Looking your best is also about feeling your best. With only a few days left before the Oscars, try a quick tune-up to give you that extra boost of confidence.
Shoes: Shoes are also an important part of your overall look. A pair of high heel shoes can give you added height making you look not only taller, but slimmer. Your shoes can instantly transform from casual to formal as well. Wear a classic pair of black or solid color pumps for day. Then to jazz them up for night – take a pair of pretty clip-on earrings and clip them onto the front of your shoes. It’s a great way to add some glitz to polish off your look.

Now comes the fun part! I have an Academy Award sized giveaway (worth over $250) for readers. It includes the following:

Yoplait Food Journal and coupons
MultiGrain Cheerios workout pack including a gym bag, Cheerios, water bottle, and cereal holder
LightLife sampler package
A few samples of my favorite beauty products and scents from Lanvin, Fekkai, and more
An at home spa set

There are 3 ways to enter:

Add A Healthy, Happier Bear to your blog’s blogroll and let me know
Like and become friends with me at A Healthy, Happier Bear on Facebook and let me know
Let me know what your favorite Oscar nominated movie was and why.

The giveaway ends tomorrow night when the Academy Awards end!

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Today was not the 10 miles it was supposed to be.

I was excited to run with Theodora, Melissa, and possibly Ali today while we caught up on all the week’s events. I enjoyed my favorite four mushroom thin crust pizza from Vezzo last night while relaxing. I cleaned out my Camelbak which hadn’t been used since the marathon. I even enjoyed 8 hours of sleep AND put my clothes out last night before bed.

This morning I tried to eat a banana, peanut butter sandwich but I couldn’t finish it for some reason. Regardless, I was excited and ready to chat my way through 10 miles with Theodora, as Melissa ended up postponing her run. It felt like marathon training season all over again! Though we were both in great spirits and the weather was gorgeous, the run was rough for miles 3 through 8. As we were weaving through the outskirts of Chinatown, making our way towards the East River path, Theodora found one of the only ice patches left in the city. Her fall sent both of us flying while knocking a huge city trash can into the middle of the street. Instead of helping, the bystanders just snickered. For a split second, I thought I’d lost my running buddy. Thankful that neither of us were injured more than a scrape and a bruise, we continued running; vowing to finish the mileage together. But, the wind coming off the water today made it feel like we were moving in place. Our splits went from around a 9:45 to a 10:15 for these middle miles.

As you can see, we had enough fun to smile, continue chatting, and snap a few pictures.

Are we done yet? This wind is about to blow me over!

Yay, we finally see buildings near Theodora’s; that must mean we’re close!

I took a rest break at Theodora’s apartment which allowed for plenty of Bailey time!

All too soon, it was time for me to head back into the cold ready to sprint home. Since Theodora had sprinted 1.5 miles to my house this morning we ended at her apartment when my Garmin only read 8.75 miles. Therefore, in order to have the “same” run, I needed to run home to finish my 10.5 miles.

I kissed her views and Bailey goodbye one last time before heading out into the wind.

IMG_0615 (800x598) The break did my body good as the last mile and half home were two of my fastest miles of the day, around a 9:13 pace. IMG_0613 (640x480)

One sweaty and windburn face later, I remembered why I love running with friends.

They keep you going when you want to stop, they make you laugh during the worst miles, the constant conversation makes even the toughest miles fly, their apartments are perfect bathroom breaks, they are there to help you up when you go flying on ice or over a trash can, and they get really upset when random Chinatown people snicker at you!

Now, if you don’t mind I have a long lovely bath to enjoy and a huge bowl of post run cereal and milk.

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So if Heather thought she was late to the ABC Game party, I guess I’m even later! 🙂 But, I thought it would be a fun way to let my readers, new and old alike, learn some new facts about me!

A. Age: 27

B. Bed size: Queen since our small NYC apartment doesn’t allow for a king but it is the first thing I’m buying when we have a larger place! My favorite thing to do is sleep on a diagonal, which doesn’t go over well now that I live with Bo. I blame this habit on my parents who bought me a queen size bed when I was 7 years old!

C. Chore you hate: Putting away laundry. I don’t know why the act of hanging up clothes or putting the tshirts away annoys me so much but it is always the last chore I complete.

D. Dogs: Growing up, I always wanted a dog because we couldn’t have one but now all I want is an adorable kitten as a dog just isn’t realistic in New York City. But, when the time comes, this lil Rufus is definitely towards the top of our list.

E. Essential start to your day: I always brush my teeth and wash my face before doing anything whether that means going to the gym, eating breakfast, checking emails, or even kissing Bo good morning.

F. Favorite color: I love navy blue, especially fun dresses like this and this. It’s fresher and brighter than black, screams summer has arrived, and reminds me of my mom.

G. Gold or silver: I prefer silver, platinum, or white gold. In fact, I only have 1 or 2 pieces of gold jewelry.

H. Height: 5’9 and a half (Can you tell I’ve always wanted to be 5’10?)

I. Instruments you play: I play absolutely nothing. I have no musical or vocal talents, in fact even humming is a challenge.

J. Job title: Market, Strategy, and Planning Category Account Executive for Dolce&Gabbana Fragrance and Makeup, North America

K. Kids: Yes please, but in 4 years. 🙂 I know, we have a plan, now let’s just hope that plan works and we can get to Asia and Australia before that! 🙂

L. Live: We’re living in New York City but our hearts are still in the South and more specifically Savannah, Georgia.

M. Mom’s name: Deborah

N. Nicknames: Ash the Dash, Pumpkin, Bear, and Matilda

O. Overnight hospital stays: I’ve had surgery twice but I don’t think I’ve actually ever stayed the night.

P. Pet peeve: Husbands who don’t understand why hampers were invented. 🙂 Outside of husband pet peeves, I think my other one would be people who are constantly late. But, I can’t moan too much about this as every now and then I’m also late.

Q. Quote from a movie: Frank: “Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we’re going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don’t know, I don’t know if we’ll have enough time.” This is the first quote that came to mind though I can’t promise that it’s my favorite. 🙂

R. Right or left handed: Right.

S. Siblings: One awesome older brother, Ryan, who I become closer and closer with each day!

T. Time you wake up: Monday through Friday I wake up at 5:45 in order to make it to the gym by 6am. My goal on the weekend is to sleep until I wake up though lots of Saturdays mean early long runs.

U. Underwear: comfortable!

V. Vegetables you dislike: I can’t handle mushy asparagus and creamed spinach.

W. What makes you run late: Not my beauty routine as I’m a five minute gal. 🙂 I think the only thing that makes me run late is all the stuff I carry to work each morning including my gym bag filled with clothes, breakfast and lunch, and change of shoes.

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth, back, and hand.

Y. Yummy food you make: My salted chocolate chunk cookies are my family’s new favorite treat. Needless to say they are amazing and you should make them IMMEDIATELY!

Z. Zoo- favorite animal: Bears 🙂