Game Day Dip

Every time Jon and I head to a party we take a huge batch of buffalo chicken dip. It's so easy to make and you are guaranteed to go home without leftovers. A win-win in my book.

We were planning on taking our infamous buffalo chicken dip to this year's Super Bowl party until we heard that another guest already claimed the dish! While there is no such thing as too much buffalo chicken dip, I figured I would whip up something a little different.

I knew I couldn't go wrong with a cheesy, bacon and ranch dip!

It was actually easier and quicker to make than buffalo chicken dip because I didn't have to cook the chicken first. All I did was throw all of the ingredients into a big bowl, mix, pour into a dish, top with a little extra cheese (because a little extra cheese never hurt anybody!), and bake!

I am a huge fan of this measuring cup! It's perfect for measuring out creamy ingredients because it gets every last bit.  I highly suggest it for any recipe that uses sour cream, peanut butter, honey, etc. 

After mixing your ingredients, pour them into a baking dish, top with a little more cheese and bake.

I'm taking a huge bowl of wavy potato chips with us to the party tonight but any tortilla chip or veggie would be amazing too!

Game Day Dip Recipe

Ingredients:

1 block cream cheese, softened (8 oz)

2 cups sour cream (16 oz)

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

3 ounces bacon bits

1 packet ranch mix

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Put all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly.

3. Pour the mixture into a 1.5-2 quart baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes

4. Serve with potato chips, tortilla chips or veggies and enjoy! 

Question of the Day

What are you taking to your Super Bowl party?

Surfers for Autism

The Surfers for Autism mission is to unlock the potential of people with developmental delays, support advocacy for autism issues and scientific research. Our focus is to eliminate stigma through public awareness and education and to unite communities through volunteerism (from their website). 

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the Surfers for Autism event in Flagler Beach with a few girls from work. As I work with individuals with autism, I figured this would be an awesome experience and a great way to network and meet new people. 

The entire day was so special. I watched a little girl that was terrified of the surf board gradually work her way to sitting on the board when it was laying in the sand. The joy on her parent's faces was so exciting to see and had to have been so rewarding to the surf instructor working with the girl.

Other children were out in the water swimming, floating on the surf boards, and some were even standing on the boards and riding the waves in! It was awesome to watch the surfers interact with the kids and to see how much fun everyone was having. I am definitely going to register to volunteer next year when it's in the area!

If you are in the Florida area or want more information on Surfers for Autism, visit their site!

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Surfers for Autism. I just think it's an awesome organization! As always, all opinions are entirely my own.

Warrior Dash Race Recap - Rockin' Refuel Team

I am so glad that when Rockin' Refuel reached out to me a few weeks ago about the possibility of running in the Warrior Dash that I said YES!

Talk about a fun and muddy race!

If you've never heard of the Warrior Dash before, you need to check it out. And if the thought of signing up for a mud run has ever crossed your mind, even if just for a split second, then you need to sign up for one right now. Seriously, go find one and sign up now! 

The Warrior Dash is a 5k filled with obstacles and mud. Lots of mud. 

The day of the race the entire team met at my place so we could carpool to Crawfordsville, IN which is about an hour away from us. When we arrived we were able to quickly find parking, pick up our race packets and bib numbers, put away our stuff, and head on over to the Rockin' Refuel booth for our pre-race photos! 

After that we headed over to the start line and waited for our heat to start. We were the only people at the starting line along with a couple of other runners so we weren't sure if we arrived late. After the race announcer made us all do burpees, we were off and on our way to be covered in mud!

The first mile of the race was nothing but hiking through the woods. This sounds easy but it was almost impossible to run because it rained the night before and everything was so slippery, muddy, and uneven. 

Most of the obstacles on the course were totally doable - climbing over mud mounds, crawling through trenches, running (mostly walking) through the super muddy woods, and sliding into a pool of mud. And others were a bit harder - climbing ropes, climbing over walls, and completing obstacles in heavy rain. 

I think my favorite obstacle had to have been "Goliath" which was a huge slide that went straight into a pool of mud! My friend and I went down hand in hand and figured that it wasn't going to be that deep. We were wrong! We went all the way under and came up muddier than we were before, if that was even possible.

Once we crossed the finish line we headed over to the Rockin' Refuel booth to refuel! We chose to drink a delicious ice cold Muscle Recovery Chocolate drink that tasted exactly like chocolate milk! (click here to see all of the other tasty products and flavors)

After we refueled, we hit the showers, met up with our team, and hung out at the after party. 

Thanks again for an awesome day, Rockin' Refuel!

Disclaimer: My team and this blog post are sponsored by Rockin' Refuel. As always, all opinions are entirely my own.  

Free Fall Fair

Wednesday night one of the small country towns near our city had their annual Free Fall Fair. My mom and step-dad asked Jon and I if we wanted to drive up from school and go to it with them. Naturally we said yes as country music is our favorite. And who passes up a free concert?

A smaller band performed first and then Cole Swindell performed. He was a songwriter before he became a singer so he sang a lot of songs that he wrote for other big name artists. It was neat to hear him sing the songs he wrote for others and the songs he wrote for himself.

Being a free concert in a small town you couldn't expect too much from it. We sat on some old wooden bleachers surrounded by a lot of locals. There were a few verbal fights going on between some crazies and we couldn't see much due to all of the people who felt it was appropriate to stand right in front of us! But overall, it was definitely a fun time with some of my favorite people!

Question of the Day

Country music - love it or hate it? 

Chase Charlie 5K

Each year on family weekend the university hosts a 5k race called Chase Charlie. Charlie Cardinal is our school's mascot and he always begins the run! He doesn't finish it though, just runs a few yards. I mean, I can't blame him - I would never be able to run in that costume, especially with those huge feet!

Before the race I met up with a guy from the running club so we could run it together. I only ran twice the week before the race so I wasn't sure how I was going to feel while running but I did feel pretty good, despite going to bed after 1 a.m. the night before and having to wake up at 7! (bad idea)

I finished the race in 27:20 (Garmin time) for a pace of 8:49. Since I hadn't ran in so long, my goal for the race was to have a sub 9 mile pace and I did it!

After the race we rushed back to my apartment so I could shower and get all cleaned up for a Dean's List Recognition Ceremony. My mom (who also came to the race, hence the awesome pics!), my dad, and my dad's girlfriend, Liz, all came to the ceremony. My sister came and ate the cookies that were served before hand and then headed out.

(mom & dad)

(dad & Liz)

(Stephanie & I)

I'm really glad they were all able to make it, especially because they all had over an hour drive. I really don't know why I always schedule races the days that I have something else to go to immediately after. After my half-marathon, I had to go home and shower and go straight to a wedding! Talk about craziness. Hopefully after my next half nothing important pops up!

Question

Do you ever make plans after a big race or do you like to relax the rest of the day?

Ten on Tuesday

First I have some exciting news! Over the weekend my younger brothers graduated from high school! I was able to spend the entire weekend at home and go to their graduation and party.

Their party was a lot of fun and it is always good to see friends and family you haven't seen in awhile. And let's not forget the food. My mom made 50 pounds of shredded BBQ chicken and it was delicious!

I was told about these fun surveys and thought I would give them a try! A way for you guys to get to know me better and to have some fun here on the blog.

Ten on Tuesday

1. What is your favorite Pixar movie? Have you seen all of them?
I don't think I have seen every Pixar movie but I have seen a lot of them which makes it hard to choose a favorite. Some of my favorite ones are Lion King, Toy Story, and A Bug's Life.


2. Do you enjoy soccer?
I used to play soccer for a few years when I was younger and in middle school. I also played on a team with my two brothers and sister and my mom was the coach. I think I would have loved it more if I was good at doing all the fun tricks. I could run to the ball and kick it but wasn't very good at dribbling the ball down the field.

3. Are you musical?
No. I played the recorder in elementary school but everyone had to. My grandpa used to try and teach me some things on the piano but none of it every stuck.


4. How many push-ups can you do?
I haven't done any in awhile but a couple of months ago I was able to do 15 regular push-ups!

5. Did you have braces when you were younger?
Yes. Braces, expanders, rubber bands, retainers, I had it all.

6. Summer or winter? Coffee or tea? Wedges or flats?
Summer. I hate being cold.
I like coffee and tea but if I had to choose I would pick coffee with lots of flavoring, sugar, and cream.
My mom always tells me because I'm short that I should wear heels more and when I dress up I love wearing heels and wedges but on a day-to-day basis I am definitely a flats kind of girl.

7. Do you buy new or used cars?
Used. Brand new cars don't really fit into the full-time college student, part-time worker budget.

8. Are you afraid of needles?
Nope.

9. Do you get cranky when you’re tired or hungry?
Cranky when I'm really tired.

10. Write your newest favorite recipe.

• Italian Chicken:
• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 packet zesty Italian dressing
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 2 cans cream of chicken
• Mix it all together and throw it in the crockpot for 4 hours.  I love it over noodles.

Indy 500 Race

Over the weekend I had the chance to go to the Indy 500 Race with a few friends. My dad gets free tickets each year and wasn't going so he gave them to us!

I'm normally not the type to want to sit around and watch racing but going with good friends makes it 10x more enjoyable. And not to mention the crazy people behind us who love racing a little too much!

The forecast showed a chance of rain all day but luckily for us it held out until we got back to our car after the race. It was an overcast day too, which is unusual because I feel like every time I go to a car race I get fried because it's so hot out!

Alex was able to come down for the holiday weekend too. He had to go back home for the summer to work so I don't get to see him very often now. Having him here all weekend was definitely a blast and he loves racing so it was a win-win for both of us :)

 

I hope you all had a fun Memorial Day weekend!

P.S. If you haven't done so yet, enter Kim's giveaway to win one of my non-slip and ouch-free headbands by clicking HERE! She's choosing a winner on Thursday!

Question

How did you spend your holiday weekend? Do you enjoy going to car races?
 

Hard Work Pays Off

If you remember back to when I started this blog, the sole reason I began blogging was to raise ovarian cancer awareness while training for my first half marathon in honor of my aunt.

This weekend I had the chance to present the money that was raised to my aunt, Hala, in front of family and friends.

Through fundraising, a bake sale, a t-shirt sale, and lots of hard work, together we were able to raise $2,149.39! My initial goal was to raise $1,300 and with the help of family and friends I was able to surpass that goal! 

It was wonderful to see how happy my aunt and uncle were when I presented them with the check. It meant so much to see all of the hard work really pay off. They are going to use this money to help pay off some of their medical expenses.

Another fun thing that my uncle did for the celebration was mow a cancer ribbon in his front yard! So awesome!

This whole experience was really life changing. It was amazing to see yourself make an impact in someone's life, no matter how big or small the deed you do is. It's hard to believe that just a few months ago the idea of raising awareness and training for a half-marathon in honor of Hala was just an idea floating around in my head. Seeing it come true was amazing and I hope to keep on running the mini-marathon race and raise awareness!

Question

Have you ever raised awareness to an important cause/charity/foundation before?

Prayers for Boston

I don't know how to explain how I felt when I found out the news about the explosions at the Boston Marathon today. Because I am a runner I felt like it touched me a little bit more. And the fact that I had just finished a run without any injuries, pain, or suffering made me feel guilty.

For some people the race is a tradition and they run it every year, for others their dream of running in such an amazing race came true and this was their first time participating. I cannot imagine what those running today felt when they were so close to finishing a race they have been training for for months, some even years, all to be over with just like that.

I cannot imagine being able to celebrate after completing the race when some families are now without their loved ones. Knowing that most of the people who were injured or killed were spectators saddens me. They were there to support and cheer on their loved ones. As a runner I know that my support group is so crucial to my training and without them I don't know if I could push myself as much as I do. Knowing that a member of my family was hurt cheering me on would break my heart. I cannot imagine why someone would want to do such cruel things to a group of people.

All I do know is that as runners, we have to stand up. We can't stop running just because of the acts of one person. We have to keep doing what we love for those we love and for those who lost their lives at the Boston Marathon today. We need to take a second to pray and send our thoughts to the families who are suffering.

2012 Recap

2012 was filled with many great memories, many more than I can recap in one blog post. I wanted to recap some of my favorites to share with you all. 

 I received a grant from the AUSA to put towards my schooling. My dad and his girlfriend went with me to receive it at a special luncheon that was held for the recipients.

 I met my best friend/boyfriend Alex early in 2012 at school

My sister graduated from high school. My twin brothers also turned 18.. I feel so old!

 Jessica, one of my best friends turned 21 and we went out to dinner to celebrate.

 

 
We went to South Carolina for a vacation to visit my aunt and uncle. We visited Myrtle Beach and a plantation while we were there!

I joined the Ball State Runner's Association and ran at Regional's

 Life in Color came to Ball State for a fun night of music, dancing, and paint!

 

All of the cousins were together for Thanksgiving. This doesn't happen often as some of them live out of state.

 

I ran in the Galloping Gobbler 4 mile race with my brother

We enjoyed the Festival of Lights downtown with family

2012 was filled with some fun memories and I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store. I hope everyone has a safe and fun New Years Eve and wish you all the best in the new year!

Also, for everyone who has a New Years Resolution to become more fit, active, and/or live a healthier lifestyle, check on the blog often for a fun New Years Resolutions Giveaway that will be taking place with some fun giveaways from our favorite health food and fitness brands!

Do you have any resolutions for 2013?