Five on Friday – the spam edition

July 25, 2014 by Jennifer

Hello!!

We made it!!

I don’t know about you but this has been a tough week. I’ve been super slammed at work, trying to fit in all of my workouts and still find time to eat and sleep, and I’m still hyped up about Saturday’s bear encounter.

I need a break!

And no bears on my long run tomorrow. Seriously.

So, in the spirit of taking a break, I’m going to let some other people do the talking.

I’m going to share the spam with you.

Not that kind of spam, silly. That’s gross. Do people, besides those who live in Hawai’i, still eat that?

Seriously, we lived in Hawai’i for 6 years. Spam was on the menu. Ugh.

Anyway, these are the top 5 spam comments I got this week on various blog posts.

ONE

This one came on my Hearty Italian Sausage and Potato Skillet post.

“Decorations that you are thru watching tv the primary series, it is evident that the exact survivors are not only seen on it’s own relating to the region however that others in the industry relating to the region may also be probably not browsing help them break free of oh no- lately. The film helps you to treatment general questions or concerns that people face your every day lifetime ever since the scenery connected with life and so the fight to depart the city and be accepted as recovered encourages usa to peer inside of our universe from the mileage. Tips on how straightforward wondering and just how we shouldn’t let deed? Some of pretty much pretty good persons? Specifically what valuable thing are you going to do today your kids? What quantity of are you going to price tag your household?”

Oh. Sure. That totally makes sense and relates to my recipe.

TWO

This one is in response to Wednesday’s Wine Wednesday – the health benefits post.

“You can definitely see your enthusiasm in the article you write.
The arena hopes for even more passionate writers such as
you who are not afraid to mention how they believe. Always go after your heart.”

Well, I’m so glad that spambot sees the enthusiasm in my post and “always go after your heart” is actually pretty decent advice. But, who the heck is “the arena?”

THREE

This awesome comment came on my Savannah recap post.

“Wonderful article! We are linking too this particularly great post on ouur website.
Keep up the good writing.”

Hey, thanks! Now, it’s your turn to try some great writing because I’m pretty sure you failed spelling. Ouur. Really? And don’t get me started on the whole “to, too, two” thing!

FOUR

This one came is in response to my Tapering, Still CrossFitting, and the very best cookie bars in the history of the world. Ever. post.

“When some one searches for his important thing,accordingly he/she wishes to be available that among elaborate,whereupon that thing is maintained over here.”

I don’t even know. Are the cookie bars the important thing?

FIVE

This one is also in response to my Hearty Italian Sausage and Potato Skillet post. Apparently, that post was very popular amongst the spambots! Hopefully, whomever was cooking did a good job. 😉

“Si, comme Marion Cotillard, vous avez les cheveux bruns fonc��s avec les yeux bleus et un teint clair, vous ��tes sans nul doute une fille de l’��t��. Et si vous avez les cheveux chatains avec des reflets dor��s et des yeux bleus ou noisette, ou si vous ��tes m��tisse, vous ��tes de la m��me typologie. C’est probablement vers cette saison qu’il faut aller chercher les teintes dites froides qui vous mettront en valeur.”

Yeah, I can parlez a little Francais but really? Now you want me to translate?

And my hair (cheveux) is not brown (bruns) – it’s red. Get it right, spambot.

Talk to me: Bloggers, what’s the strangest spam comment you’ve ever received? Non-bloggers, what’s the strangest spam e-mail you’ve ever received?

– jennifer

A few things I learned at FitBloggin’

July 1, 2014 by Jennifer

Hello!

Happy Tuesday!

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So, I’ve had a little bit of time to decompress from FitBloggin’ and reflect on some of the things I learned.

Don’t get me wrong – my brain is still a little like Speed Racer on crack but I’ve slowed down a little and am managing to absorb some stuff.

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1. I learned a really awesome and easy way to cut an avocado.

Michelle Dudash from the California Avocado Commission was there to teach us how to use avocados as a fat-replacer and nutritional booster in recipes.

Did you know that you can substitute avocado for the butter in your favorite baked goods?

I know, right?! I’ll give you a minute to pick your jaw up from the floor and wrap your head around that one.

We sampled some California Avocado-Blueberry Muffins that were To. Die. For.

photo credit: Carrie D Photography

I may or may not have sneaked back to the table for more than my fair share.

(and for those of you that are wondering – yes, sneaked really IS the right word. #grammarnerd)

Then, we learned the new nick and peel method for avocado preparation.

I got to be a volunteer to demonstrate how easy it was!

One of the perks was getting to eat the avocado I peeled! #winning

photo credit: Carrie D Photography

They also gave away some avocados and I happily partook of THAT giveaway. 🙂

Got home on Sunday and we grilled burgers for dinner and I promptly demonstrated my new avocado skills for my sailor and Thing 2. Because, a burger + avocado = <3!

2. I learned some very interesting facts about chocolate milk and how to maximize post-exercise recovery.

Dr. Wendy Bazilian was there as part of the Got Chocolate Milk? team and she was really awesome!

Did you know that you sweat out calcium and that rigorous exercise could cause substantial losses of calcium?

I had no idea!!

And that’s why making sure you get enough calcium in your diet is SO important – especially if you’re working out a lot!

Substantial calcium loss can cause bone damage like stress fractures, etc and that’s no bueno. 😦

Did you know that milk, in addition to containing calcium, also contains electrolytes?

Yeah. I learned something new AGAIN!

Basically, after you workout, you should consume carbohydrates, protein, fluids, and electrolytes and chocolate milk has all of the above which makes it the perfect recovery drink!

Have lactose issues? Have no fear! Many recovery drinks on the market today are formulated with the same 3 grams carb : 1 gram protein ratio so you won’t miss out.

Best time to replenish? 30 – 90 minutes after sweat session is the best time for your body to absorb the nutrients.

3. I learned that it’s probably not the best idea to wear black capris for boot camp when said boot camp class is held outside.

My fellow Girls Gone Sporty ambassadors!

photo credit: Erin Kreitz Shirley

Holy muggy south even at 6am!

4. I learned a SH*T TON from Shannyn of frugalbeautiful.com in the DIY Success: The Tech Tools session.

I was seriously too busy taking notes to take any pictures.

She told us about free plugins that were “MUST HAVES,” ways to make money from blogging (not sure how much in that direction I’m going to go but it’s interesting to consider!), how to manage analytics, free tools to help us grow our blogs, etc.

I also managed to scribble an entire page of ideas for my blog during that session.

Seriously, I was writing so fast, I’m surprised I didn’t set my notebook on fire.

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5. I learned that, even though I can generally fake it, I’m definitely an introvert. Okay, wait, I already KNEW I was an introvert but most of the time, I can force myself out of my comfort zone and assimilate into the group of people I’m around.

Except for the first night of FitBloggin’.

Yeah.

Lena had flight delays so she was checking out all the vendors (which I had already scoped) while I was in the room for the mixer, badge decorating party, etc. I grabbed some chips and salsa – um, hello, avocado and blueberry! – and went off to a table. By myself. Where I promptly got avocado on my white t-shirt and dropped a blueberry on the floor.

Sheesh. Can’t take myself anywhere.

Luckily, Emily from Fit and Free with Emily and someone else (darned my nervous brain for forgetting who it was!) came over and rescued me. And, since I had read Emily’s post on What to Pack for FitBloggin, I had something I could really talk about. Otherwise, I had dug myself in such an “introvert hole” that I’m not sure I would have been able to climb out. I was pretty much ready to go up to the room and hide when they came over.

I need to work on not allowing that to happen.

I did fairly well throughout the whole weekend (I think) but there were definitely times when I was glad to have a few minutes to myself, even if that time was in the shower. I was even totally okay with my Saturday morning run alone even though I had attempted a running meet-up that ultimately didn’t pan out.

I was really glad to have Lena there, even if we had really just met, too. She’s an introvert too so we understood each other.

I really enjoyed meeting all of the bloggers that were there. I learned about so many different people and what they’re working towards and what motivates them and what hills they’re trying to climb.

In learning about them, I also learned some new things about myself. Some things I like, some things I want to change.

That’s how life is supposed to be, right? We’re supposed to be open and sharing and caring and learning from each other.

FitBloggin’ 2015? Yeah, I’m in! 🙂

Talk to me: Are you an introvert or extrovert? How do you handle being in new situations with large groups of people you don’t know? Are you planning on attending FitBloggin’ 2015?