Summer Goal Setting Time!

Okay… quite side note, I wrote this and about an hour later my friend Heather posted a link to an amazing blogger, Cassie at Backtoherroots. Tomorrow she is launching a HUGE Summer Goal program & I can’t wait to be a part of it. I HAD to share, so far I have 4 facebook friends signing up with me Thoughts would be GREAT! Now on with the post!

ONE month away if you follow the calendar! Crazy, where has this year gone so far? Here are some tips for Goal Setting when thinking about your goals over the next couple of months, or even YEARS if you can plan that far ahead. I can’t, just not one of those people, I need monthly smaller goals to get to a bigger one. This is a great set of tips from the back of my LululemonSummer is poster

- Define Your Values: Powerful goals are built upon your CORE values. What is important to you in the following areas?

* Career 

*Health

* Personal

- Say HELLO to your Future Self; Create who you are going to be. Ask yourself the following questions:

* What does my ideal Life look and feel like?

*What is the quality of my relationships, parents, dating, friends, etc? 

* What I am doing to challenge myself athletically & mentally?

- Writing Powerful Goals. A goal is most powerful when written with the following attributes:

* Affirmative: Articulate what you will create. A goal is what you will do, not what you won’t do! ex: I don’t drive to work vs I ride my bike to work

* Present Tense: Write your goal as though it’s happening! ex: One day I will go to Europe vs I have traveled through Europe

* Measurable: Can you CROSS IT OFF! ex: I read more books about yoga vs I have read 3 books about yoga

* Specific Subject: The more specific you are, the more focused you’ll be. ex: I exercise 2x per week vs I run 2x per week for 45 minutes

* By-When: Always, ALWAYS state the date that you intend to complete our goal! ex: I’ve completed my sailing course by Sept. 2013

Keep in mind: 

* Failing to reach about 50% of your goals is a GOOD indication that you’re motivated and challenged. Failures and disappointments are critical steps toward success. If you haven’t achieved a goal, decide if you should set a new deadline or reconsider the goal- perhaps it’s one you aren’t committed to!

What are your goals for the summer? I am currently working on mine to post around June 1st!! Now with the help of Cassie, it’s going to be AMAZING!!! Please check out her page and get in the group! Having a GREAT support team to help you with your goals is KEY!! At least in my book it is!

Top Tips for moving into your new house!

When we moved into our house in San Antonio almost 4 years ago, it was move in ready. There was NOTHING that had to be done, just things we wanted done which was mostly repainting everything.

Now that we are finally fully moved into the Virginia Beach house we truly learned many new lessons. Our current house was NOWHERE near move in ready, though we kind of thought it was. Here are some tips/tricks that we have learned so far with this house.

Items to Invest in:

1. canvas drop clothes, okay we actually got our when we painted the San Antonio house, but have been reusing them ever since. They work great, last though many projects, and don’t bunch up/make you trip like plastic ones do.

2. Paint covers for your electrical outlets, when Jrod bought these I thought to myself… “Do we really need these? I mean just be careful & it will be fine” Well, I have to say get them! They are a HUGE time saver, takes 2 seconds to put in, and 2 seconds to take off.

3. Micro Gear Polyurethane sponges, I put a picture of these up already but I wanted to talk about them again. These sponges will be the best $2.98 you spend for cleaning! I used them no stop when we were cleaning the house and one pack is still going strong! I will be using these to clean my bathrooms all the time now.

Tips for moving into your new house:

1. Getting help from some of my favorite cleaning bloggers, ( MamaClean, FirstHomeLove, & AskAnna) I basically broke down the top Spring Cleaning To Do List and made it my moving in list. I can’t tell you how GROSS wiping down all the doors & walls. I also wiped out all the cabinets, lined them with contact paper, and then put all of our stuff in.

Here is one that I went off of from FirstHomeLove:

2. Take before & after pictures so you can really see how far you have come in your projects. Doing this also helped us to move rooms around when we just couldn’t figure out exactly what needed to be where.

Here are some more after pictures!

Workout Room complete!

Living Room Pic. 1

Living Room Pic 2. I am SO excited to try out the wood stove next fall!

 

 

What are your top To- Do’s when moving into a new house?

30 Day Healthy Food Photo Challenge!

Do you want to see BIG changes in your weight, health, & energy?

Join me starting May 1st for a 30 Day Healthy Food Picture Challenge on my EatRightLoveLife Health Coaching facebook page.

I will be challenging you ALL to be ACCOUNTABLE for EVERYTHING you eat every day!! You will also be challenging ME to keep me accountable too!

I will look at all pics and suggest any changes to your choices that I feel need to be made.

Take a pic of your meals and share it to the facebook group.

It doesn’t matter what your diet is (vegan, paleo, etc) or what workout program you are doing, just SHARE!!

We all are all going to support each other in this challenge!

At the end of the 30 days, the person that shared the MOST daily pics AND lost the most weight % wise gets a FREE Beachbody gift from your truly!! ♥♥♥

Check out the different Beachbody Programs here!

Restaurant Review: East Side Pizza

We discovered East Side Pizza a couple of weeks ago, due to it being the closest sit down place near our new house. I have to say that it’s a very unique place, very Mom & Pop, and AMAZING!! There food is nothing to joke about, and the garlic bread brought me straight back to being 12 years old sitting at my parent’s kitchen table. We have been back a couple of times and the food never lets us down!

I do have to say that the service is very unique, good but unique. I feel like I am in the middle of My Big Fat Greek Wedding restaurant scenes with the yelling and confusion, but that is part of the charm though some might not like it we don’t mind. Everyone is friendly and helpful, which is great!

This time we ordered off the special’s menu:

Jrod got the blue crab stuffed ravioli, white sauce, and TON of blue crab in the sauce too. Now mind you he is not a fan of Italian food at all, I normally have to drag him kicking and screaming. He basically licked his plate clean, using the garlic bread, I was in complete shock.

I got cheese tortellini, white sauce, with peas. (I forget the name grr….) It was AWESOME!! So rich and creamy, I could only eat half and brought the other half home for lunch the next day.

Both orders came with garlic bread, and a side salad that had homemade Italian dressing on the side.

East Side Pizza is going to be on the top of our list for a while! I can’t wait to try out their pizza’s next!

<a href="“>EastSidePizza

GMO Awareness, Do you Understand GMO’s?

Today we are going to talk about a hot topic in the Health World for the past couple years, but has become front and center in the past couple of months due to the California Election.

GMO & Monsanto

What is a GMO?

Genetically Modified Organism

An organism whose genetic characteristics have been altered using the techniques of genetic engineering.

Who is Monsanto?

Monsanto, headquartered in Missouri, is an American agricultural biotechnology corporation. Leading the industry in producing Genetically Engineered (GE) seed and herbicide, Monsanto is an extraordinarily powerful company that has raised a great deal of attention worldwide in its history as an industry leader. Considering Monsanto’s seed patenting, threat to farmers, and most precarious threat to consumer’s health, it is no wonder this company has caused quite the controversy throughout the world.

“Monsanto’s actions are designed to maximize its corporate profits, not to serve the people. Its entire seed-and-herbicide business model is designed to trap farmers in a system of economic dependence… to turn farmers into indentured servants who can never return to traditional farming after their soil has been destroyed with Roundup” (Adams, 1).

The United States is having HUGE issues with food, it use to be years ago that bulimia and anorexia were EVERYWHERE in the news. Even thought those issues are still with us, the top issues front and center is the Obesity situation. Truth be told it’s not even a problem anymore, it’s more of an outbreak. When living in San Antonio, my husband would go for runs in our neighborhood and get yelled out from people in their cars. They would call him “Fag! Homo! Stick Man!” and more. According to our BMI we are on the edge of being overweight, but in San Antonio we were freaks for being healthy size.

Here is a list of companies that use GMO’s

Does engineered food have something to do with this Obesity way of life that more than HALF of the U.S is living?

I would say personally that it is a part of it, along with the huge leaps & bounds in our daily lives. When was the last time you and your family went for a walk outside, or explored a new biking trail? I can’t tell you how many kids over the years, when it was time to go outside would FREAK out! They HATED it, didn’t want to go, would just sit on a bench and pout not playing with anyone, complaining that they wanted their phones, gameboys, etc. Get moving people and take your families with you!!

Here are a TON of great articles and video about GMO’s, please share the knowledge and help someone you care about live a healthier life.

GMO Awareness Site

At Obtainable Wellness get a FREE 44 page book of information!

What Every Parent Should Know About Monsanto article

A Health Documentary on Genetically Modified Foods in America

John Stewart talks about the Monsanto Protection Act!

What do you think of GMO’s and Monsanto?

I know after doing all this research and reading up about this, I am so glad that I took the Whole Foods money saver tour! I will be doing more shopping in the Organics than ever before!

BIRTHDAY WINNERS RECAP!!!

I have decided that since only 3 people entered this AWESOME giveaway and they ALL wanted the TubroFire Starter Pack that is what YOU ALL shall get!!

Heather, mrSalexzan, and uana: send me an email at Alissa.Braggins@gmail.com with your address and your gifts will be on their way to you ASAP!

Birthday GIVEAWAYS!!

Good Morning! Hope that you are all having a wonderful Friday so far! It just started raining here in Virginia and I am loving it!

Today is my 33rd birthday and I have to say that I LOVE my birthday! Bonus that it is on a Friday this year! Now how to top last year’s birthday… I don’t really know!?!

Last year I worked for the first time in forever, because my rule was that I worked a BILLION hours every holiday and that my birthday was going to be my Holiday for the year! Yes, I am that crazy!

It was a great day, my friends at work got me amazing fun gives and we had a blast! I came home and got ready to got out for pizza (yes I wanted pizza) when Jrod had me sit down and close my eyes. Then he started talking and I opened my eyes to him on one knee asking me to MARRY HIM! WHAT THE WHAT?!? Since then it’s been a crazy whirlwind of finishing school, getting married, quitting my job, and moving half way across the country.

My ALL time BEST birthday is still my 20th! I worked at StarTours at DisneyWorld in the morning, afternoon spent at the Animal Kingdom, went to McDonalds for dinner, had an amazing cake my friend Sandy made me, then had a cake fight in the McDonalds, changed, and finally ended up at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville. A HUGE group of us sat right up next to the stage, and I got picked to go up and sing Brown Eye Girl with the live band while playing a blow up guitar. In the middle of the song, they stopped and the WHOLE place sang me Happy Birthday, then we finished up the song. I will never forget that birthday as long as I live!

This birthday won’t be as crazy, and I plan to enjoy it as much as I can before I have to go to work. (Not looking forward to losing my voice today, like I have been every day) On that note, I wanted to do something special for my AMAZING readers who this year have been WONDERFUL!!

GIVEAWAYS!!! One winner per gift!!

#1: A Lululemon Winter Womens Running Cap in Blue. I feel it’s teal, but the tag says and picture makes it look blue.

#2: Thanks to my MaryKay Rep. Laura, a Microdermabrasion Great Deal Super Offer Mini Kit!

#3: Thanks to me, your every fun-loving BeachBody Coach! My favorite workout of ALL times… TubroFire! This is for the new Starter Kit for those who want to try it out and see how they like it!
From the description: Whether you’re new to intense workouts like TurboFire or want to move like Chalene Johnson, the Fire Starter Pack will help you become a true knockout! Chalene breaks down every move to get you started on the right foot, introduces low impact HIIT workouts, and helps you perfect your form so you feel the burn like never before!

You have three ways to enter:

1) Leave a comment and tell me your favorite birthday memory along with which prizes you would like most!

2) Tweet, “Birthday Gifts are the BEST from @AliSue #Lululemon #MaryKay #TurboFire” and leave an extra comment to let me know you tweeted!

3) Like my Facebook page: EatRightLoveLife Health Coaching

I’ll pick the winners Monday morning, with entries ending: (4/14 at midnight EST).

Ready, set, go!

Restaurant Review: Another Broken Egg Cafe

While we were moving from Texas to Virginia we had a two-day layover stop in Pensacola Fl to visit with my friend Suzie! She took us to an amazing breakfast place (you know that I LOVE me some breakfast!) called Another Broken Egg Cafe.

It was MIND BLOWING good! I was so upset that they don’t have one where we live, but excited that I will need to be visiting Suzie more

Jrod had his go to breakfast pick of normal… anything with hollandaise sauce.

Suzie got her favorite of potatoes fun!

I got an amazing bacon filled happiness omelet!

Jrod and I got some coffee cups, they were just too cute to passed up! Plus they were in our colors!

<a href="“>AnotherBrokenEggCafe

Weekend Adventures… changing plans

On Thursday my great friend was going to come up for a visit for a trip to Washington D.C. As I was just finishing up packing my bag, I get a call from her thinking she was in Atlanta, but really stuff happened with the airline and it was a no go.

It really worked out for the best because on Friday I started to get sick!?! I have been thankfully relaxing around the house doing little projects then taking a nap.

What I have been doing this weekend is:

TableTop’s new episode

Listening to By The Way, In Conversation with Jeff Garlin (What the WHAT!?!) Thank you Heather for recommending it.

Reading the newest Cupcake Lover’s book by Beth Ciotta

Discovering on my new tv that I can watch Amazon videos for free since I am a prime member. They just added Hungry Games, that is how I am spending my afternoon.

I also am loving all the new shows from cartoon network that Netflix added this week. I will be working on the treadmill while watching PowderPuff Girls and loving every moment.

What odd adventures did you have this weekend?

Discovering New Blogs… ie: I need to stop reading them & unpack my house

Good Morning!

After the past couple of days being on the warm side it was hard to get out of bed this morning with it being in the 30′s outside. I pushed myself because we have people working on the house today, otherwise I would have stayed in bed for a couple more hours.

We are currently still working on getting our new house ready, but I am hitting a wall at the moment. I have gotten as far as I can get until my husband gets more of his projects done. I am hoping with my mini vacation to D.C. this weekend he will knock them out so I can finish up. Goal is to move in completely for my birthday weekend!

This morning one of my friends on FaceBook posted a link to an article about how to tie your running shoes depending on your feet issues. After that my morning has taken a turn into finding/ discovering TONS of new blogs! I feel that I am in trouble for the rest of the day Here are the ones that I can’t seem to get enough of!

KatieRunsThis: this is the shoe article from above

RunningRachel: a great post about strength training for runners

Angela at Eat, Spin, Run, Repeat has a great series called Try something new Tuesday!

Alex at Alex Tries It Out has some great healthy snack ideas

Angela at HappyFitMama did a GREAT post about what her and her family ate this past week. I can’t wait to try out some of the recipes!

Heather at ThroughHeathersLookingGlass has a post about why runDisney races are so popular. I personally LOVE Disney races, and am jealous that one of my good friends just signed up for the 10k Tower Run. I will be at Disney the following weekend so close!

Amanda from RunToTheFinish wrote a post that I can SO relate to! Confession Jillian Michaels changed my Life. It’s SO true!!

My newest blogger love is Erica over at EricaHouse she has a great story of how she changed her life around.

What are your newest blogger loves? Do you have some favorites that your MUST read first thing in the morning?

Friday Fives!

My top five fav’s for the week & weekend!

This Saturday (March 30th) is International TableTopDay! If you like boardgames of any kind, join the event! You can host an event at your house, or find one in your local area using the map. We are lucky & have four events happening in our area. We of course will be going to Atlantis Games & Comics for our gaming fun.

Here is a great post from Kristen at Iowa Girl Eats of Better for You Game Day dips/snacks. I know that this was for sporting events, but I feel that you can easily make your Game Day into whatever you would like.

This Sunday a good friend from High School will be posting an amazing podcast about his struggles with child abuse, suicide attempts, personal failure, alcoholism, rehab, and on-going recovery. It’s called the Ear Candy Update, check out his other post for amazing music list too.

This is a great article at AskMen about Les Mills Combat, titled is Les Mills Combat the new Crossfit? I LOVE doing Combat, and have really seen a difference in my body.

There is a post from Becca at Uncaged Life, I just found this site this week & I can’t stop reading everything on it! Don’t Quit Your Day Job Til You Read This, hit home with me.

What are your tops from this week?