Lessons from kids: Gratitude

Recently, I've been traveling a lot for work. In fact, over the course of two weeks, I visited 15 college campuses in Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana, driving nearly 2000 miles along the way. They were an incredible two weeks, filled with inspiring moments, incredible student leaders, and impacting chapters of our organization (the number of "i" words in that last sentence? Totally unintentional.).

But that's not what this post is about.

This post is about gratitude, and how you can learn it from kids. These kids, in particular:

Because as amazing as my two weeks were, they took me away from a group of 20 elementary schoolers who I love very much for four whole practices.

When I arrived for practice on Tuesday of this week, I was met with screams of "Coach Jen!," hugs, and even a "You better not ever do that to me again."

I like working with kids for a lot of reasons. Obviously, first and foremost, because they like to do things that I like to do. Things like: make silly faces, dance like fools, eat bagels and candy, and laugh a whole lot. I like that they are funny without meaning to be, can't really hold grudges, and are accepting of each other - quirks and all. But one of the things I love the most about working with kids is that they are experts at showing appreciation. Not because they shower you with praise or tell you "thank you" every time they see you, but because their actions are genuine, and they speak so loudly that they don't have to tell you anything at all.

We can learn a lot about gratitude from kids.

Thank yous are great, of course, but gratitude can come in all forms: hugs, buttercups, friendship bracelets, smiles. From my girls, gratitude is being included in a game, having my hair painted neon yellow, and even "You better not ever do that to me again."

Because when gratitude is genuine, the intention is obvious, no matter what the action.

How have you shown gratitude today? 

Goal (re)setting

I've said it a lot, but competing in Miss Virginia was a goal that I never thought I'd be able to have. Up until I competed at (and won) Miss Greater Springfield, I didn't think that it would be possible for me to succeed within the Miss America Organization because I thought that I didn't have the talent. I wasn't a singer or a dancer, and people always said that girls did monologues when they didn't have any other talent.

And so, as someone whose greatest gifts include public speaking, throwing a football, and running long distances not very fast, I didn't really look at Miss Virginia as something that was even within the realm of possibility for me to achieve.

Until I won Miss Greater Springfield. And watched Miss America 1968, where Miss America that year won with a monologue.

Anyways, I prefaced with all that to say: Competing at Miss Virginia was a Big, Fat, Obnoxiously Crazy Goal (all caps because it deserves that much respect). As in, I never dreamed in a million years I would have a shot at it, and then I did. And it was awesome.

But how do you bounce back from the goal achievement hangover? As in, what happens after you achieve  what was your biggest goal to date?

Obviously, by setting more goals.

YOLO (or something like that).

Yesterday, I signed up for the Ragnar Relay in October of this year. I'll be running for Girls on the Run and raising money for scholarships for deserving girls to take part in this awesome, inspiring, and life changing program. I am beyond excited, and (to be honest), a little scared (in an awesome way!).

Me and 11 other amazing women are going to be running nearly 200 miles of trails from Cumberland, Maryland to Washington, D.C. Each of us will have three legs, totaling anywhere from 13 to 25 miles over the course of two days. October is going to be my month of running -- Ragnar in the beginning, Marine Corps at the end.

My goal for the rest of 2013 is to concentrate on, as Thoreau put it, "living the life I have imagined." Adding more of what makes me come alive, and minimizing that which does the opposite. So I've signed up for Ragnar, I'm training for the MCM, and I even bought a domain and am going to focus on building my blog. I'm planning a baseball trip to Ohio to run a half marathon and knock two more baseball stadiums off my list.

Life is supposed to be about action: you're never going to find happiness, joy, excellence, or whatever it is you're searching for if you are passively living your life.

So here's to setting more goals. How are you being awesome today?

Kids and new foods (plus a breakfast quinoa recipe)

This morning, I got elementary school girls to try quinoa. And it wasn't even that difficult.

Most of you probably know that I coach a Girls on the Run Team. A couple weeks ago, we were talking about nutrition and discussing what they eat for breakfast.

Kids eat a lot of Pop Tarts these days as it turns out. So, in an effort to expand their palates (and teach them that there are more options than Pop Tarts) I volunteered to cook and bring them quinoa... as long as they ate it.

They promised they would, so last night, I cooked up some breakfast quinoa in my kitchen. First, this happened:

Yep... Victim of putting too much liquid in the pot at once. Whoops.

But then... this happened, and I was able to bring a big bowl of breakfast quinoa for my girls to try. We talked about what quinoa was, and I explained to them how I prepared it (one of my girls even asked me for the ingredients!), and then, I invited them to dig in....

 On top of bringing the quinoa, I also brought a variety of healthy toppings -- chopped apple, pecans, crunchy natural peanut butter, Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter, honey, and cinnamon -- and invited them to top the base however they wanted. I think that's the key with kids. When you're teaching them about new foods, it's so important to let them play a part in deciding what they try. That way, they take ownership of what they're eating.. and they learn that healthy can be delicious!

Every single one of my girls tried the quinoa. One thought it was disgusting, but the rest were pretty excited about it, with a couple even going back for seconds.

I'm not saying we should never give kids Gushers or Pop Tarts. What I am saying is that I think we should teach kids about healthy foods and give them the opportunity to experiment and try them. Are they going to love everything they try? Absolutely not. I personally hate olives. By encouraging them to try, they're going to find healthy foods that they DO like, and I think that's the approach we need to take. Praise them when they try something new, and let them throw it away if they don't like it. Let them know that they have a choice. The worst thing that's going to happen is that they don't like something -- so what? Who cares? The best thing that can happen is that they find a new favorite food, and either way, you're encouraging them to experiment and rewarding them for having opinions and preferences. It's always going to be a win-win.

Here's my kid-approved breakfast quinoa. Just make sure you have a big enough pot!

Kid-approved Breakfast Quinoa (gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free) (makes 10 servings):

2 cups quinoa

2 cups unsweetened vanilla soy milk

2 cups water

4 tbsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp cinnamon

1/4 cup honey

1. Combine quinoa, soy milk, water, and vanilla in a large pot. Bring it to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until quinoa is light and fluffy.
2. Once cooked, take off of heat and add cinnamon and honey.
3. Top with chopped apples, pecans, peanut butter, more cinnamon, honey, or whatever healthy toppings you want! Encourage kids to go crazy!



Commitment Day/Preparing for Miss Virginia with Integrity

I follow FitFluential on Twitter, and they host regular health and fitness chats. Tonight's was about Commitment Day 2012, which is a nationwide movement to make January 1, 2013 a day to make a commitment to yourself. The final question of the chat was:

Fill in the blank: I commit to ________ in 2013.

I thought about it before I added my two cents to the conversation. And then it hit me -- I commit to prepare to compete in swimsuit for Miss Virginia in a way that I would want the girls I coach to emulate.

I'll make my first and only trip to Miss Virginia next June, where I will be at the top of the age group and at the bottom of the experience ladder. I want to give it the best I've got.

Like every girl competing, I really want to be Miss Virginia. I want to travel the state, impacting young women, being a role model.

But I only want to be Miss Virginia -- heck, I only deserve to be Miss Virginia -- if I can get there in a healthy way that I would want my 3rd through 5th graders to look up to. And that means no crazy dieting.

Today, as we are six months away from Miss Virginia, I want to commit to preparing myself for every area of competition with integrity -- I want to be true to myself, my platform, the girls I work with.

I'm also committing to blogging more - sharing the how of my preparation: workouts, recipes, motivation tips, so that you can get in swimsuit competition shape too. Okay, maybe not, but you'll probably be sporting a swimsuit in June too, even if it's not on a stage. And besides, exercise gives you endorphins, and endorphins make you happy... at least that's what Legally Blonde taught me :)

Excitement.

This photo graced the front of the Fairfax Connection today:

First of all, this was a total surprise, because I thought there was just going to be an article. Instead, I somehow found my way onto the cover of both the Springfield and Fairfax Connection, with an article and some pictures inside of both.

And I'm going to be honest, I felt a little bit like I felt in the picture above when I found my face folded up in the driveway. Pretty cool stuff, I think.

I love this picture (by MacCabe Jamrosz of the Connection Newspapers) because it captures the excitement and the joy of the moment.

I've been feeling excited a lot lately. It just feels like there's a lot of new opportunities happening in my life, and it's exciting to think of all of the new experiences I'm going to get to have this year.

Like working with Girls on the Run.

Today I had my first meeting with the head coach for the Girls on the Run team I'll be working with as an assistant coach over the next few months. Starting next Tuesday, we'll have a group of 18 elementary school girls who we'll coach to run a 5k as well as talk about all sorts of things, from fueling for a run to making friends. I'm excited to help young girls find a passion for running and being active, and I'm sure I'll be posting about all I learn on here.

I also found myself back in the gym, lifting weights for the first time in a while. I always forget how much I love lifting weights until I'm back in the gym. I'm pretty sure I'm going to feel my shoulders in a whole new way tomorrow, but I'm kind of looking forward to it.

PS - Did anyone else see Simon Cowell throw the double thumbs up on X-Factor last night? If only he knew it was my signature move...