Please vote for my business for Best Hair and Makeup!!:)

hey Friends!!

I NEVER ask for votes for anything but this would mean a lot to me...just 2 clicks!!

Powder Inc-best hair/makeup for Portland OR:)

http://www.weddingindustryexperts.com/votes/9CZ9ykwrG.html


If you feel so inclined please share on your blog, I am ETERNALLY grateful!!!

Nicole

www.powderincbeauty.com
www.facebook.com/powderinc

How do You prepare for Hood to Coast??? All the NON-ESSENTIALS.....

well..if you're ME....it involves a lot of "non-essentials" :):) like posing in your Hood to Coast T-shirt for starters......

THEN.....You start  by working on your tan....bc who wants to run the funnest relay of their life when they're pasty white? right? 

not me. 

I have been working for like 6 days straight so I spent 4hrs by the pool yesterday:):)

THEN, you stop at Lulu Lemon  for a new pair of shorts and accidentally buy 3 new outfits instead.. OBVIOUSLY b/c you have THREE legs to run in the relay, right? 

AND cute clothes make you run faster. 

I'm pretty sure that's a Scientific fact in the science of "running faster":) 

 I am not usually a pink girl, but I couldn't resist this. Admit it, Pink can be HOT!

 so stoked to have 3 pairs of Lulu's speed short. The BEST running short to ever come into existence.

(long sleeve for the 2nd leg at 3am that might be quite cool up in the mountains)

and THEN you get a new pair of your favorite Saucony Rides b/c they are BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL and irresistable:)
I am PRETTY sure these will increase my pace by at least 10 seconds per mile.....

I THINK WE'RE READY NOW!!!!

BRING IT!

Team: "We paid for This?"

Nicole: Leg 7

Steve: Leg 10

start time: 12:45

good luck to everyone and see ya out there!!

Hood to Coast, summer closing, the value of good friends in hard times....

SUMMER CLOSING:
I sit her at 11pm...husband and kids sleeping and I have peace and Quiet. Something i don't feel i've had for almost a week. it's been so busy with weddings and back to back trial runs, photo shoots etc this week that I couldn't honestly even tell you what is in my fridge right now or the last time my carpet was vacuumed. Oh, how I can't wait for fall. It won't be til October that weddings slow down for me and only b/c I chose not to book them...for my girls who work for me, they will keep going. busy busy busy. but for this I am grateful. i have 3 new potential girls I am hiring for next year. i am so blessed that my business has to effortlessly grown.
but I miss spending time with my kids, I miss talking to my friends and I feel so neglectful of so many things. it makes me ask the question again and again " is it all worth it?". We are trying  so hard to get our chiropractic clinic paid off so we can buy a house so I keep working but my goal, my BIG GOAL is to not work so much next  year! to let me girls do it and sit back and manage more and work less. I look forward to having some saturdays in my life....for the first time in 7yrs:)

HOOD TO COAST is this week and I'm so excited. it's been about 3yrs that i've been wanting to run H2C...but every year I am working and every year someone contacts me about subing in and I have to say no...but NOT THIS YEAR!!! I planned ahead last year and booked this weekend off and i'm SO excited!! I love people, I love relays and I'm excited for the memories that will be made:)
Me and Soggy Runner Girl  will be in  a van with our Anti-Runner Husbands and two other friends of hers:)

Our team name is called "We paid for this?" lol...I like it. it's funny and I think epitomizes how our husbands will feel about 12hrs into it:) I am Leg 7.
what team are you on? what leg? who can I plan to see out there???:)


GOOD FRIENDS:
I have so much other stuff to process and talk about..I've sort of mentioned it here before but again I can't bring myself to blog about it. it has to do with my religion, my marriage...changing ideas and thoughts...it's all very complicated and confusing. it weighs on my heart heavily. day in day out. when I fall asleep at night and when I wake in the morning.
A man once said "if you assume that every person  you meet is dealing with some serious problem in their life, 99% of the time you will be right" and it makes me think.....and think....
I know i'm not the only one dealing with HARD, Heavy things....you probably are too.

I am grateful for the few friends I have talked to about it lately that have been so kind, unjudgemental and supportive. it makes me feel the goodness of the human soul. I am in a place that would be SO easy for others to judge me right now. to tell me that I should be feeling or thinking differently about things, but instead  my loving and trusting friends have reassured me that they love me no matter what and that brings a certain amount of comfort.

God has been good to me throughout my life. I had  a hard up bringing (who doesn't?) but some especially hard challenges in my family with drug and alcohol abuse, poverty, sexual abuse, massive insecurity, depression etc......but when I found Him at age 18, it changed everything for me.I feel like I owe Him so much....but I have been SO neglectful the past year...I have virtually stopped praying..due to circumstances that have caused me to lose/question my faith. I haven't read my scriptures in I don't know how long and I find myself questioning so many of the things I thought I always knew.
This is NEVER a place I thought I would find myself in a million years...
it has taught me to NEVER JUDGE OTHERS and to NEVER SAY NEVER.
I feel the need to be more compassionate and patient with others. To bite my tongue more often and to just withold judgement....

I am hoping I will find my way back to where I am supposed to be....wherever that is. I am trying to be patient with myself and my life at this time and understand that life doesn't always pan out the way we thought it would....but I guess these are things that can make us stronger if we let them .

I am looking foward to my 2nd leg on hood to coast. In the hills, alone, in the dark....wee hours of the morning...to just think.

Guest Blog Post: Christie's experience with RESET

My friend Christie wrote this about her recent experience with the RESET. She is such a great writer too...for anyone still wondering if they want to do it, here is someone other than ME, raving about it. actually there are LOTS of "others" but only a few have had time to write about it so far:)

Review # 1: Christie....

Usana Reset, Round 2

As I write this post, I have a delicious vanilla shake and a half grapefruit on the table next to me.  It’s day 1 of my 5 day Usana Reset, and I couldn’t be more excited.  If this were my first time, I would be terrified of what starvation felt like (as that’s what I would have assumed was coming), but for me this is Round 2.  And I don’t have a single apprehension about the process or the results.

Let me start off by saying that I am the definition of a carb junkie.  And I’m not talking about whole wheat bread, whole-grain oatmeal, and brown rice.  Yes, I have each of those on a consistent basis, but I also like to add in a generous dose of tortilla chips, candy, processed cereals, coffee-shop scones, and candy (did I already say that?).  In other words, complete and total junk.  I know all the “right” things to eat and do for my health: I studied nutrition in college and was a personal trainer and group fitness instructor before having kids.  But once I start eating this stuff, my cravings just become so strong, like a force of nature with which I can’t possibly compete.  I try to walk past the bag of jelly beans that is supposed to be for helping to potty train my daughter, but somehow my hand reaches into that bag.  Twice.  Every time.  And my daughter is still in diapers.

Enter Nicole Wagner’s Facebook post on Usana’s 5-day Reset.  Have healthy, balanced, delicious shakes and bars every day for 5 days, and lose the junk cravings?  Actually begin to crave the healthy food my body really wants and needs?  And maybe lose 5 pounds or so in the process?  Sign me up!

Before starting, I was so worried about the unknown: would I be ravenous by noon on the first day?  Would I be able to cook for and feed my family without doing so for myself?  Would I have energy to get through my long work days?  Would I lose a few pounds and gain it all back 2 days later because it was just water weight?  I knew I needed to do something, as this current rut I was in wasn’t helping anyone, so I grabbed my blender and put it to work.

Here are the things I remember most from those 5 days:

-The first two days were hard, not because of hunger, but because of the headaches that come with breaking a caffeine addiction.  O. M. G.  Honestly, I feel SO much more awake when I am not drinking coffee, but it’s SUCH a hard habit to break.  I took Aleve to get through the pain, and by day 3, I was over the addiction.  (*Note: I loooove my lattes…the taste and experience more than the caffeine, and I still have it occasionally.  But I’m not a slave to it anymore, and when I wake up I actually feel awake.  What a concept!).

-The shakes and bars got better with each day.  They were good right from the start, but by Day 5 they were delicious!  I think this is just part of getting over the cravings for the bad things and turning them into cravings for the good.

-I was drinking water.  Anyone who knows me knows this is a miracle statement.  I hate water.  I have never enjoyed drinking water.  It tastes like the ground in a cup. I know that’s weird, but it’s the truth.  Even in high school sports when we were required to bring water bottles, the coaches finally gave up and let me have Gatorade in mine so I would actually drink the darn thing and not pass out from dehydration.  By the end of the Reset, I had pitchers of lemon water in my fridge and was taking it with me everywhere I went.  And I LOVED it.  Pure miracle, I’m telling you.

-It was easy to work into my lifestyle and gave me the energy I needed to maintain it.  I am a wedding planner, and I did my first Reset in early July: the busiest part of my year.  Over the course of the 5 days, I had multiple client and vendor meetings, lengthy wedding days, and late nights.  I was very impressed to find how portable everything was…I took bars with me in my bags and even shook up my shake in my Starbucks tumbler on one occasion.   And I had all the energy I needed to get through it all.  Plus, keeping busy actually really helped me to keep my mind off of the fact that I wasn’t eating actual food.

-I never, ever felt hungry.  Not even once.  This was the most amazing part of all.  Don’t get me wrong…I couldn’t wait to eat.  I missed the act of eating food so much.  I fantasized about the first breakfast on Day 6 many, many times.  But as much as I wanted to complain to my husband about how my insides were eating themselves and I was so strong to be able to withstand the pain and suffering, I never got that chance.  Knowing that I could eat all the fruits and vegetables I wanted definitely helped, but even when I got around to them, I could only eat a little bit because I was genuinely full.  And OH what a treat they were.  Strawberries, cantaloupe, bananas, and carrots became pure dessert in my mind.  I looked forward to eating them every day, but never felt the physical feeling of hunger throughout the entire process.

-I remember Day 6.  Not just the weight loss (6 pounds in 5 days?!?!!!), but also how crazy delicious that whole grain bread with crunchy natural peanut butter tasted.  I actually took a picture of it, I loved it that much.  I remember opening my fridge and craving those carrot sticks in my vegetable drawer and that water in my travel cup.  I remember going out to dinner with my family and ordering a salad and water, not out of reluctance or necessity, but because it actually sounded divine and the thought of messing up my entirely clean and pure body with processed crap actually disgusted me.  I was a new woman.

Now, 6 weeks later, the old woman has resurfaced just a bit.  It’s totally my own fault.  I have all the typical excuses to spout off: I got super busy at work; I didn’t have time to go to the store and buy what I really needed; I had dinners with friends and wanted to indulge a bit, etc etc etc.  Bottom line, somehow in the past few weeks I’ve gotten back into the habit of eating my daughter’s positive-reinforcement potty training treats.  My stomach is upset, my energy is lagging, and I’ve gained back a couple of those 6 pounds.  I am ready to reset my body again.  
I woke up excited this morning, not apprehensive.  This time I’m not wondering if it will work for me.  I know it will.  And I have yet to hear of someone for whom it didn’t.  It’s an amazing, perfectly crafted formula.  My breakfast shake is now only 2/3 of the way gone and I’m already full.  That grapefruit dessert may have to wait until lunch (or dinner?).  

Let the reset begin!!

Thank you, Nicole!! ☺ ☺ ☺

sitting in my bed once again ATTEMPTING to process my thoughts....

Every time I sit down to write a blog post it's the same commentary that goes through my head...." i'm not a good writer, I don't know how to put my thoughts in writing...what do I have to write about? "....BUT I am so inspired by many of my talented blogging friends that it makes me sit down and TRY to write.
certainly NOT a gift of mine, but I'm trying and hoping I can get better b/c I can see the value in me sitting down and trying to process my thoughts and recent experiences....even if no one read them I think it is GOOD for my crazy chaotic mind to take a rest and go over some stuff. I'm SO not good at this!

Well....on the running front.... I am READY to be back in shape...but I was quite disappointed with myself recently when I looked at the calendar and realized two things:
1. it's only 3wks til Hood to Coast Relay
2. I still hadn't run over 25 miles in a week (this week I hit 28.5 whoop tee doo!:/)

What the HELL have I been doing the last 3mos'? no seriously....I wanted to smack myself in the face when i realized this...I feel like i've been such a slacker...
there are 2 reasons I can think of for my slower than necessary progress back into running after my stress fracure:
1. it's Summer...and those who know me that I barely have time to eat breath or sleep during the summer b/c of my business so running is hard to keep a priority during these summer months.
2. I have lost ALL and I mean ALL motivation to run alone.

I joined team Athena last month and so far it is going good. Tiffany and I are still in the early stage where we are not quite sure we feel part of the "team" yet. There are a few women of course who try hard to make themselves available and there  are many who don't even acknowledge we are there.
I am confident though that it will resolve in time and hopefully find many good friends there.
I have done 3 track workouts with Team Athena and all have been good.....it's always humbling to realize how much fitness i've lost though but I guess that's normal.

So with 3 wks til hood to coast my goal is to hit 32 miles this week, 35 miles next week and then keep it easy and relaxed the week of the relay. after that though I really need to stop the laziness and get back in the game. I am just Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo behind and it is aggravating me.


In my personal life I am learning alot about myself. I'm not sure if I mentioned here but I started seeing a counsellor...oh yes of course I did...remembering now that I posted about the diagnosis for ADD. yes...hmmm.welll how is that going you ask? okay, I guess. I'm not so grumpy about it anymore..just more and more AWARE of all the annoying things I do..trying to be a better listener, stay off my phone when I'm out with steve or with friends etc. I am definitely a WORK.IN.PROGRESS.

I've learned some other things about myself lately too....like how I have a hard time opening up to friends.
on the surface no one who knows me would think this is a true statement. I am very "open" and will blabb away about pretty much anything....but those deep..really vulnerable parts, I hold back. I suppose everyone does....but I don't know. I have friends who are shy, reserved etc and it's normal for them b/c they don't really open up about anything...but for me it's a weird realization b/c I am the opposite...I'm sort of like an open book. I don't hold back, or so I thought, and I will talk about pretty much anything but recently I discovered about myself that I really do have a challenge trusting people and I think this has deprived me of deeper more intimate friendships. I am not really sure how to rectify this but It is on my mind often these days.
I have been going through some really deep challenging struggles with my husband and our faith the last 18mos and I feel like I'm craving those relationships to help me through this time but I have such a hard time opening up and being vulnerable enough to allow those relationships to happen.
I thought about opening up here and talking about whats going on...hoping to find advice and answers but i'm not quite ready for that yet.  we'll see how I feel down the road...


Tomorrow I get to run with Soggy Runner Girl and I'm so excited. when i was training for Boston we ran at least 2 x a week together but it's been almost 4.5 mos since we could run together b/c of my injury so i'm greatly looking forward to it:)....speaking of Boston....it's strange to me to think that I am not going back....unless something miraculous happens I am just too afraid to train for another marathon and end up with another stress fracture. I don't really know what is in store for me yet with my running but I know I need to hold to my new motto "less is more" and stick to about 40 miles a week and add in cross training to ensure I stay injury free for at least a year or two......no idea what level I will be able to race at but we'll see.


anyway..this dang laptop is about to overheat on my LEGS so I better hit the sack!

I promise I'll catch up on blogs once my crazy summer is over:)