lots of paint pen (we’re talking a couple hundreds worth), child labor provided by the entire neighborhood, & a couple of hours, resulted in the ultimate ragnar-ian vehicle…

the sparklicious swaggerwaggon

the most sparklicious van on the road from huntington beach to coronado island.

the sparklicious swaggerwaggon was the perfect mode of transportation for our team sparkle UTLRA team.

just like our team sparkle skirts, you could definitely see our van coming. you might even say we were hard to miss.

 images via angry julie

recruiting team members for a two hundred mile ragnar relay running adventure, isn’t exactly easy. but recruiting for an ultra team is even harder.

did i forget to mention that little detail?

generally speaking, most people run the ragnar relay with 12 team members & 2 vans (6 runners in each van).

each team member (of a 12-person team) runs three legs, in rotation. for example… runner 1 runs his leg & then hands off the “baton” to runner 2, who is anxiously waiting for him (or her) at the first exchange. runner 2 takes off, while runner 1 rejoins his teammates in the van. the van then leapfrogs down the road to the next checkpoint, to drop off runner 3 – & so on, & so on… with each runner running every 12 legs. make sense?

but we aren’t most people. that’s why we decided to race the ragnar so cal as an all-women’s ULTRA team…

luckily,  5 of my best friends agreed to run ragnar with me.

we may not be the fastest, & we aren’t exactly what you would call serious runners (most of us have only run 1 marathon, we generally squeeze runs in-between school drop-offs, business meetings and baseball practice, & at least for me, running is more therapy than exercise), but we didn’t care.

ragnar so cal wasn’t about the competition – i wouldn’t even call it a race. from the very beginning, our ragnar was more about the adventure & the “unforgettable stories.” we wanted, no we needed to prove to ourselves, that even casual runners, like ourselves, could survive a 200 mile journey & live to tell the tale.

ready to meet the other members of team sparkle ULTRA?!

linda: runner 1, 7, 13, 19, 25, 31, with a total mileage of 40.2 miles. she’s a mom of 3 who loves to run, bike & swim.

kenna: runner 2, 8, 14, 22, 28, 34, with a total mileage of 37.3 miles. mom of 2, who’s a nurse in her “spare” time.

tamra: runner 4, 10, 16, 22, 28, 34, with a total mileage of 26.7 miles. self-pronounced cat lady, avid mountain biker, talented musician and she’ll beat you at any video game.

carrie: runner 5, 11, 17, 23, 29, 35, with a total mileage of 30.2 miles. mother of 4, with not enough time to sew, run, thrift, DIY, mountain bike & crochet, but she sneaks it in anyway.

elise: runner 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, with a total mileage of 29.9 miles. she’s the cupcake activist: fighting for the cupcake cause. as a triathlete she likes to burn calories so she can eat them.

so there you have it. team sparkle ULTRA edition. linda, kenna, me, tamra, elise & carrie. 6 girls on a mission to run 200 miles.

but a team is only a strong as their “support” staff. & luckily, we had some amazing people working behind the scenes.

julie: photographer, official facebook & twitter updater

mark: driver extraordinaire

images via angry julie.

as you may, or may not know, i recently participated in the ragnar so cal relay.

but before i dive in, & try to re-live our amazing adventure, i thought i might take a moment to explain WHAT exactly the ragnar relay is…

ragnar relay {what is it?}

basically, in their own words “ragnar is an overnight running relay race that makes testing your limits a team sport. a team is made up of either 6 or 12 individuals; each individual running 3 (but sometimes 6) legs. the legs of the race vary in difficulty and distance, from 3-8 miles, allowing elite and novice runners to run together. over 2 days and 1 night, teams run across 200 miles of the country’s most scenic terrain. pair that with crazy costumes, inside jokes, a great finish line party and unforgettable stories. some call it a slumber party without sleep, pillows or deodorant. we call it ragnar.”

so there you have it… ragnar relay in a nutshell. now you are ready to hear our “unforgettable story.”

six days in the second most happiest place on earth was filled with animal adventure safaris, yeti sightings, princess greetings, churros, castle views, fireworks, ghostly visits & so much more.

it was definitely a magical vacation, that won’t ever be forgotten. & in typical kid fashion, the kids are already planning our return.

disclosure: i was invited to attend the Disney Social Media Celebration. although i did pay a conference fee & for travel expenses, as an attendee of the conference i received complimentary items, food, and various park benefits. of course, 100% of the opinions expressed are mine.  

my baby sister is getting married.

which means life has been busy… there’s been lots of wedding talk, but what has been really consuming nearly all of my time? finding the perfect dress (for me).

who knew finding a “pink” dress would become such a quest?

while the perfect pink dress has yet to be secured (i can’t tell you HOW many dresses i’ve bought & then quickly returned), i have received one online order that i definitely won’t be sending back…

my new DKNY tankini. it’s ruched in all the right places, making it my favorite new summer essential. i can pretty much guarantee i’ll be living in this swim suit all summer long.

now if only finding my elusive “pink” dress could be this easy!

disclosure: my sister really is getting married. i must secure said pink dress very, very soon. & macy’s provided me with my new DKNY tankini, which i honestly love & WILL be rocking all summer long!

i have a confession to make…. i’ve been a big-box of powder detergent kind of girl, for practically forever.

my mother has always used a big-box of powder detergent, & probably her’s before her.

so i was definitely a bit skeptical regarding method’s “claim” that their itty-bitty bottle could really clean 50 loads of laundry better than my beloved-big-box of powder detergent.

even though noah, my favorite bearded mountain man/ official spokesinger of method promised it was so… could it really be possible that 4 squirts of method’s laundry detergent could really get my laundry (which is usually filled with grass & mud stains, not to mention all the sweat-soaked work out clothes) clean?

after 30+ hours, and running nearly 45 miles, i realized i had the perfect “test” load of laundry. if method could clean this dirty & smelly load of laundry (who knew a van full of girls could stink so bad?!), it could clean anything…

four squirts & one sweaty, stinky, sparkly load of laundry later – & i’m a believer.

i’m not going to lie, & pretend i wasn’t tempted to add a few extra “pumps” of method laundry detergent, because i was. but i held strong, & am thrilled to be able to report…

i’m done with my big-box of powdered detergent & saying goodbye to jugs!

from now on, i’m a four-pump-fresh-air-scented-method-laundry-detergent kind of girl. what about you? are you brave enough to say no to jugs?!

say no to jugs “chore no more” photo contest

think doing laundry is a chore (i know i do!)?! submit a photo that “documents what makes doing a laundry a chore – such as using heavy jugs that are prone to spilling” to method’s facebook page during the month of may & you might win a year’s supply of method detergent, or be one of 25 people who will receive a a laundry starter kit (two 8-load bottles).

say no to jugs coupon

feeling inspired just say NO! to jugs?! during the month of may, method will be offering a $2.00 off coupon for method detergent, every THURSDAY, on method’s facebook pageunder the “perks” tab.

& don’t worry, canadian residents can feel the method love too. but, instead of printing the physical coupon, canadian residents will be able to get $2 off method products available at http://well.ca using the discount code “WASHME.”

disclosure: this post is brought to you by the people against dirty. however, i was seduced my method cleaning products years ago, & all opinions are 100% my own. feel free to join the campaign to clean happy & clean like a mother on their facebook page.

well i’m happy to report – i survived the weekend. yep! yep! i can now cross “run an insanely long distance, in a absurdly short amount of time” off my bucket list. the amazing thing? how i feel, post-race.

i had no idea of what to expect. but, knowing i was going to be running 40ish mile, i never thought i would feel good. okay, maybe not good. i don’t think i could run a marathon today, but i’m lying in bed, dead to the world.

but maybe that’s because i have something to live for?

i have a little secret to share with you. but, you have to promise not to tell.

i’ve planned an invasion…. today i am taking over the birds eye vegetables facebook page.

we’ll be talking about my favorite subjects – food, family & getting active.

& i’d love to see a friendly face or two today, so feel free to stop by the birds eye vegetables facebook page & say hi. i’d really rather not spend the entire day starting conversations, asking questions with absolutely no response, from anyone – basically just talking to myself.

i can’t handle that kind of rejection! so please, i’m begging you – from the bottom of my heart. come say hi, ask me about the race, or just let me know that i’m not alone.

hopefully, i’ll chat with you soon – maybe you’ll even share one of YOUR favorite quick & easy meal ideas. i definitely need so new ideas.

it’s dark outside, but the birds are chirping. they know that today is a big day.

like me, i’m guessing they could hardly sleep?!

i was up past one, & wide awake at 5am. which is silly, because more than likely i’ll get little to no sleep in the next 36 hours (but at least i was able to get an extra little carbo loading done).

why you ask? well, because i’m racing today, & tonight & all day tomorrow too…

yep! i’m joing the “ragnar nation.” me & 5 of my soon-to-best-will-know-EVERYTHING-about-me-after-spending-36-hours-in-a-van-together friends (including carrie & elise – my usual cohorts in crime), 1 full-time driver, & 1 full-time photographer/ social media rock star are going to be running 200 miles (leap frog style) all the way from huntington beach to san deigo (via the inland empire).

with just six runners, that means we are running approximately 33 miles each in just over a day. (i’m actually responsible for 40!) yikes! hopefully i’m prepared.

i’ve been hydrating day & night for nearly a week (it’s supposed to be HOT), the last couple of nights i’ve been sleeping in my recovery compression tights to make sure my legs fresh (sexy huh?), & last night i carbo loaded (which is always my favorite part of racing).

if you’re feeling a wee bit envious of my upcoming adventure, feel free to follow along. we will be posting updates to the team sparkle face book page, or you can follow us on twitter: @runTeamSparkle, @according2kelly, @thisiscarrie, @cupcakeactivist, & @tamrabbit.

wish us luck!

when you’re carbo loading you want that perfect mixture of carbs, protein – without it being too heavy.

i’ve never been a huge fan of spaghetti (it’s not that it’s not good – it is. spaghetti is just so boring – you know what i mean?).

so when i stumbled upon the recipe for fast food inspired thai noodle salad (that i totally stole borrowed from fresh & easy), i knew it would be the perfect “last meal” before i hit the pavement running the ragnar relay.

& let me tell you, it was the perfect choice. a little bit of thai – in all the right places. it was sweet & had a little crunch (that i loved), not to mention it tasted just as good this morning, if not better.

fast food inspired thai noodle salad

ingredients:
thin spaghetti
broccoli slaw
bean sprouts
cooked chicken
peanut butter
slivered almonds
fresh & easy thai chili lime sauce

directions:
1. boil a pot of water and cook your pasta – the pasta takes just about 5 minutes once the water’s ready.
2. meanwhile, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
3. once the pasta’s ready and drained, add a bit of peanut butter (to suit your taste) & stir through the warm noodles so it melts nicely and distributes evenly. (just be careful not to add too much peanut butter or it thickens up quite a bit. you just want that light peanutty taste.)
4. then, mix in your cut-up chicken and as much (or as little) of the broccoli slaw, bean sprouts & slivered almonds as you choose, and finish by pouring a tablespoon or two of the thai chili lime sauce per serving and dinner is done!

it can be served room temperature, or warm – either way it’s delicious!

rainbow chocolate dipped oreos, rainbow cupcake bites & rainbow slushie

a rainbow ensemble including team sparkle rainbow stripe race legs,
& a tiered team sparkle rainbow skirt

teams sparkle rainbow wings

& a plethora of rainbow tissue poms poms & paper lanterns
is all you need to create a colorful & fun rainbow themed party

somewhere over the rainbow, way up high,
there’s a land that i heard of once in a lullaby.

somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue,
and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.

someday i’ll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops,
that’s where you’ll find me.

somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly.
birds fly over the rainbow. why then, oh why can’t i?