30 Day Challenge: 30 Looks Under $500

I'd like to start by admitting I have always been a little fashion-challenged. It's not that I can't put together a cute outfit, because I can and have done so on more than one occasion. However, my style is pretty boring. On any given day, you can catch me in blacks and greys with a splash of pink if I'm feeling daring. If I had my way, I'd wear yoga pants and t-shirts every day. Unfortunately I'm not able to do that; fortunately, I have an amazing job as circulation & marketing manager for San Antonio Magazine-- I've decided it's time to start dressing the part.

Recently I've been spending a lot of time on Pinterest, mostly for food recipes; but while perusing the site I noticed some really cute trendy outfits. There were so many different color combos, types of shoes, chunky jewelry and while I never thought I'd be able to pull them off, I decided to challenge myself to at least try.

I rummaged through my closet and threw out all of outdated and "what was I thinking" pieces. Before I knew it, half my wardrobe was gone. It was time to go shopping! I usually dread shopping. I am probably the only girl in the entire universe who hates shopping. However, this time was a bit different. I would be shopping with purpose. I created a list from my Pinterest board where I pinned a lot of the looks I wanted to achieve and then found a lot of the items were already in my closet. I just needed to accessorize and put in a pop of color. I made a list and a budget of how I was going to obtain the look and thus began my 30 Day Challenge: 30 Looks Under $500.

I took all my unwanted clothes to a resale shop, Clothes Mentor. Surprisingly, they gave me nearly $200 for my treasures! I turned around and bought a few Pinterest inspired pieces. Next I visited my favorite store New York and Company. I may not know fashion, but I do know how to bargain shop. I found some more great pieces and even better prices. The damage here was about $250 (saved $300 in sale/coupons, BOGO pants, rewards certificate!). My final stop was at Express. I only found a couple items here, but I'm sure I'll be able to make great use of them.

I can't wait to show you all the outfits I am going to be able to put together. By accepting this challenge, my hope is that I'll learn to venture outside of my blacks and greys. If I'm lucky, by the end of the challenge I'll be able to use my creativity and pin some original looks that maybe someone else would aspire to.

Thanks for following. Enjoy.

another AWESOME giveaway!

These selfless ladies are amazing, check out another awesome giveaway here:
http://longlegsontheloose.com/raffle-2/

The Tinkerbell Package

Who's going to Disneyland? I am!
Check out my Virtual Team in Training teammate's virtual raffle and support her in her fundraising efforts for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society:

http://www.runfastermommy.com/2011/08/pixie-dust-for-cure-raffle.html

100 Hour Fundraising Challenge Winner

Because I LOVE a challenge, I challenged my TNT teammates to a 100 Hour Fundraising Challenge! They were to challenge each other (to challenge their friends) to see who could raise the most funds in 100 hours and they surpassed all my expectations! I am so proud to announce that in 100 short hours we all raised $4472.94 in support of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! What an amazing group of people I had the opportunity to lead. We are all winners, but as in every challenge a winner must be named, here are the results of the money we raised in 100 hours:

1st place Melissa Buentello $878.44
2nd place Laurile Higgins $855
3rd place Stacie Sanderson $475
4th place Joshua Hodgkins $455
5th place Celeste Lushkins $380
6th place Victor Chevalier $285
7th place Heather Miller $175
8th place Debi Cone $144
9th place Beth Loftis $120
10th place Allyson Maldonado $111.50
11th place Tracy Higgins $25
12th place Courtney Franson $10

Melissa will be receiving a check for $100 made payable to LLS.

These are amazing totals and we certainly could not have done this without the help of our AMAZING friends! Thank you all so much for contributing to this successful event! We hope you will join us next time! :)

And, in case any one is wondering, I was able to raise $559! If you were unable to make a donation, don't worry- I am still accepting! Make an online donation here: http://pages.teamintraining.org/sctx/nikesf11/gmontalvo13I truly hope you will donate today, either in honor of someone fighting cancer, in memory of someone who has been lost to cancer, or in appreciation of yourself or others you love not affected by cancer. Until there is a cure, there is no guarantee that our lives will go untouched by cancer.


For the Cure,
Grace Montalvo

valentine day swap

so, i have joined Melissa's Valentine Swap and these are the questions i have been asked to answer:

1. Handmade gifts? Love or hate?
i love handmade gifts! gifts given from the heart that have lots of thought put into them are the best!

2. Gift cards? Love or tacky?
impartial.

3. What type of theater do you frequent (like Cinemark, etc)?
regal cinema.

4. Coffee? addict, like, can't stand? Starbucks, home, other?
love, love coffee! starbucks is great as any other...

5. Do you read? Books you've been wanting to read? Type of books you like?
love books! wish i had more time to read them. love self-help, audio is best! :) ebay & amazon are my friends for great deals!

6. 3 Favorite running accessories:
bondi bands, drifit socks are always nice, anything sparkly :)

7. Kids? Ages?
no kids

8. Pets?
2 dogs, german shepherd named justice (right) and rescue dog named rusty (left)


9. 3 things you can't leave home without:
blackberry, laptop & purse

10. 3 Favorite magazines. Current subscription?
runner's world, women's health, people...currently subscribed to all

11. When you are in a running slump, what motivates you?
self-talk

12. Complete the sentence, "My favorite thing about running/exercise is __________"
not feeling guilty for the good eats!

13. Shoe size/t shirt size?
shoe size 7, shirt S or M

14. 3 Favorite Valentine's candies?
anything chocolate

winner, winner, winner

i want to thank you all for participating in my fundraiser benefiting the leukemia and lymphoma society; together we raised $310! thanks so much to my sponsors:

Bondi Band

Lift your Sole

Laura Elaine Designs

Allied Medal Displays

this could not have been possible without your support! and now, drum roll please.....

TMB Endurance Band (green)- Allyson Maldonado
(black/pink)- Katye of Long Legs on the Loose

Bondi Band (pink 'put your big girl panties...')- Rose of Eat, Drink, and Be Meiri
(black & purple TNT)- Katye of Long Legs on the Loose (yes, again!)
(blue flowered pattern)- Katye of Long Legs on the Loose (i swear i shook them real well)

TNT Necklace- Katye of Long Legs on the Loose (she is one lucky girl!)

Race Bib Book- Kelley Callanen

Allied Medal Display (1)- Allyson Maldonado
(2) Julie Arts of Adventure is out There

$100 Flemings Gift Card- Anna Rando


i wish i had prizes for you all as i am so grateful for your donations! congratulations to the lucky winners! please send me the address you would like me to send your prizes to. i will be emailing you shortly as well.

thanks again for joining the fight against blood cancers!

race recap

i did it! i finished my first half marathon of the year and PR'ed!! finished in 2:32:11. it really was my best race ever! the majority of my races are done with TNT as a part of the leadership team which usually requires helping the participants do their best. while i try to do my best, i usually find myself just enjoying the race and the company-- not really pushing through. but this race, i gave my all! i ran when i wanted to walk and i sprinted when i thought i couldn't run anymore--it was awesome!

race was in houston; went with my boyfriend, 2 of my TNT teammates who ran & our cheer squad (TNT alumni). i wish i had pictures to share, but the boyfriend stayed w/my camera :( will post soon!

race began at 7am, my friend scott and i started together as we were running the half and our other friend vincent ran the full (with an awesome time of 4:20). the course was congested the first 3 miles so we ran a pretty comfortable pace-- i was able to do these without intervals. after that my buddy was going a little too fast for me to hang on so i told him he was free to leave me. :)

behind him was the 5 hour pacer for the full marathon, so that meant 2:30 for the half which conveniently was my goal! i held on as long as i could, ran to catch up, passed her a few times, then lost her completely. the miles seemed to just peel away as the spectators and the course were awesome!

i met my boyfriend and cheer squad at mile 8.5, i didn't know exactly where they were but knew they would be around there so i did not stop to do intervals again- i knew they'd be watching! they were awesome and just the motivation i needed to run the rest! i felt myself running a little faster and saw buddy scott in the distance, i caught up to him but still could not hang on.

i met him again around mile 10 or so, he was now hurt with a pulled hamstring so was running slower. we kept going back and forth for the rest of the miles and with one mile to go we were at 2:20, i told him my goal is 2:30 i'm not sure i can do it but i'm sure as hell going to try! this would mean running a 10 minute mile, i would have to solely rely on prayer to do this! :)

i ran as hard as i could, then had to walk a bit, then ran hard again, then walked again all the while scott was behind me keeping me in the distance running hard when i walked and trying to catch up to me then said i was going too fast so i was pretty confident i was going to beat him running a comfortable speed the last half mile. that was my new goal since i wasn't sure if i was going to make it at 2:30. well, that sucker snuck up on me out of nowhere and flew by me. i was not having it, i sprint the fastest i had ever run in my life! he came in prob just a half second before me, i really hope they got that on video of photo because that was truly a moment i would like to see! for the first time at a race i was not concerned with my photo finish, all i wanted to do was meet my goals! half a second short of one goal and 2 minutes short of another, i still call that pretty darn good! :)

oh, did i mention it rained the entire time too? real bummer but it was still awesome!

*********************************************************
LAST DAY TO ENTER MY DRAWING IS TODAY! ENTER HERE

I GOT SOME GREAT ITEMS DONATING INCLUDING 2 ALLIED RUNNING MEDAL HANGERS, A RACE BIB BOOK, BONDI BANDS & TMB ENDURANCE BANDS, $100 TO FLEMINGS! AND BEST OF ALL, BEING PART OF SAVING LIVES AS THIS DRAWING BENEFITS THE LEUKEMIA & LYMPHOMA SOCIETY!

I hope you will donate today either in honor of someone fighting cancer, in memory of someone who has been lost to cancer, or in appreciation of yourself or others you love not affected by cancer. Until there is cure, there is no guarantee that our lives will go untouched by cancer.
THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE DONATED THUS FAR! COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOUR HELP! **also, there is a change in the time, the drawing will end 8pm central time instead of midnight***

THANKS A BUNCH!

time is running out!

it's friday! boy, i really hate when people state the obvious but i could not help myself- i am so excited it's finally friday! do you know what this means? it means you have 4 days left to enter my drawing benefiting the leukemia & lymphoma society! if you don't know what's being raffled off, let me share with you once again:

2 TMB Endurance Bands courtesy of TMB.

3 Bondi Band Headbands courtesy of Bondi Band .

TNT Earth Angel Necklace
courtesy of Lift your Sole .

Race Bib Book courtesy of Laura Elaine Designs .

(2)Your choice of any Allied Medal Displays courtesy of Allied Medal Displays.

A $100 Gift Card to Flemings They are Nationwide, check out the locations here. .

ENTER HERE

thanks to those who have already donated! hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
i will be running my first half marathon of the year! see ya real soon!

time flies when you're having fun

wow, where did the week go? i can't believe tomorrow is friday! great week so far! school is going good, i have to admit i can spend some more time practicing- but that will be next week! my first ACTS meeting was amazing, met some wonderful faith-filled women that i will be meeting once a month for the next 13 weeks. our TNT spring season is underway, all our info meetings are coming to a close and we have kickoff this weekend, woohoo! and sunday, i will be running my first half marathon for the year! yay, me! this is truly going to be a great year!

don't forget just a few days left to enter MY DRAWING!

fabulous items have been donated to include 2 allied medal displays, a race bib book, TNT necklace, $100 gift certificate to flemings, bondi bands & endurance bands! enter today!

spit happens

the bug is gone and i am finally feeling better! thanks again so much for the well wishes! i'm not 100% but i can run! got my first run in 7 days yesterday...it felt great! yesterday i was able to call myself a "real runner."

you're not a "real runner" until you......spit while you're running! ha! i've always thought it was pretty gross when people do that but noticed many runners do that, it must be a "fast" runner thing because i was going pretty fast! :)
i'm a little ashamed to admit it...but mostly proud! i've always been very lady-like and it was very out of character, but you gotta do what you gotta do! :)
when did you realize you were a "real runner"??

also, don't forget, today is the last week to enter my awesome drawing benefitting the leukemia & lymphoma society! ENTER HERE

blogworld=love

thank you all so much for your kind words and well wishes. i left work early yesterday and spent the day in bed and taking your advice! you really are too kind, it's like someone took all the nice people in the world and put them in the blogworld! with the exception of those "anonymous" people who write mean comments...looks like we need a super hero to zap them! i am willing to take one for the team, put on my cape and zap them!


while i am feeling better today i am not 100%. i decided to call in and get some more rest. i need that energy to go to the spurs game tonight! :)
i won box seats to the spurs game awhile back and i invited my mom, she is super excited and i can't let her down. i also need my energy for my run tomorrow, yup, i'm going to try it! 6 miles isn't much and lord knows i need the practice! wish me luck!

and one last plug in before i'm off for the weekend, ENTER HERE

for some awesome prizes benefiting the leukemia & lymphoma society! thanks to all who have already donated, it is MUCH appreciated!

wanna win an allied running medal hanger??

do you need somewhere to hang your precious medals?

be sure to enter my drawing where i am raffling off 2 hangers! thank you so much to allied for donating these gorgeous items!
ENTER HERE

in other news, i have not worked out in 5 days! yes, this is day 5 of not working out for me! :( i am still very sick and what hurts the most is not being able to run or cross train! i have a half marathon in 11 days, this bug really needs to fly away! i hate to be so negative but i can't think of one positive thing about being sick...oh wait, i have no appetite and may lose a pound or two? that's always a plus, right? well, if you can think of any thing else, please let me know because it's no fun being in my position and i really need to be cheered up!

here we go!

i'm overwhelmed with joy today! i had such a great response to the drawing yesterday; it was awesome hearing the notification on my phone almost all day! i have the best bloggy friends!

remember it's not too late to enter! :) ENTER HERE

also, i won shut up and run's giveaway!

she asked the following questions:

What is your health-related New Year’s resolution this year?
How do you plan to stick to your resolution this year?
What are the best tips you’ve heard to start off right this year, maintaining a healthy, balanced lifestyle?

and my answers were:
♥ my resolution this year was not lose X amount of weight. it was to loose weight and be healthy by working out daily and eating right. this year i have been cooking most of my breakfast, lunch and dinners!
♥ to keep track i am keeping a calendar with my goals for the month and highlighting them once they've been accomplished. i will also be running at least one race each month for the rest of the year. i have list and am going to cross them off as completed!
♥ to start of the year, i joined John Bingham's 100 day challenge. Its 100 days of at least 30 minutes of movement. After i reach 100 days, I am going to do 100 more and then 156 more to complete a whole year! 356 days sounds like so much, but by breaking it up--it sounds so easy!

so, let me brief you in on the last couple of days! i have lost 3 lbs since the beginning of the year (7 if you want to count holiday weight). i have been cooking most of my meals with the exception of the weekends...i've got to find a way around that!

calendar is still up and running but had to count myself out of john bingham's challenge. after 13 days of working out/training it was becoming a little much. very disappointing at first, but i'm still proud of what i accomplished. on the 14th i had every intention on going to zumba, but a friend invited me to the spurs game. hmmm, workout or spurs game?? that was an easy one for me, i rewarded myself for doing so good by going to the spurs game!

saturday, i hopped back on the train and did 9.5 miles! in 2 hours flat!

sunday, my honey & i went to church (another resolution of mine) & watched football all day. then toward the end of the night felt like i was coming down w/something, so needless to say, no working out then or on monday because i was extremely ill and did not get out of bed all day! that is not how i intended to spend my day off! :(

tuesday, it was back to the grind here at work. although i wasn't 100% i still came & skipped another workout. :(
i did however start school yesterday! very excited about that! i took a year off of court reporting school and i felt it was time to go back and get it done.

i will be carrying a heavy load this semester with school, prepping for a church retreat and training/fundraising for a half marathon but i am ready to take on this challenge!

A drawing benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

As most of you know, I am entering my 7th season with Team in Training. We train to run marathons while raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This season I am raising money to run the Zooma Austin Half Marathon on April 16th (my birthday weekend)and my goal is to raise $2000! Won't you please enter my drawing to help fight against blood cancers?

Here's how it works, make a donation to my TNT website HERE.

3 Entries for $5.00
5 Entries for $10.00
(this is mandatory to be elgible for the following extra entries)

EXTRA ENTRIES

1. Become a follower of my blog or already be one. Leave a comment.
2. Put a link to this giveaway on your blog and/or facebook page. Leave a comment.
3. Have a blog post specifically mentioning this giveaway. Leave a comment.

2 TMB Endurance Bands courtesy of TMB.

3 Bondi Band Headbands courtesy of Bondi Band .

TNT Earth Angel Necklace
courtesy of Lift your Sole .

Race Bib Book courtesy of Laura Elaine Designs .

(2)Your choice of any Allied Medal Displays courtesy of Allied Medal Displays.

A $100 Gift Card to Flemings They are Nationwide, check out the locations here. .

Drawing will close on January 31st at 8:00pm (central time) and winners will be announced February 1. Prizes will be drawn in order. Help me spread the word, and raise tons of money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!!!

Thank you so much to our wonderful sponsors for donating these fabulous prizes! Also, many thanks to Rose and Ronda for entering the sneak preview, each get 1 additional entry!

(we'll return to our regular scheduled blog tomorrow) :)

feeling a little crummy...and not the cake kind :)

left work early today because i wasn't feeling well. turns out i just needed rest...rest, what a concept! i was just thankful that i had a morning workout because you could not pay me to do anything! rest is just what i needed, felt so good to be curled up snuggled in between blankets! i truly love this weather!

day 13 of 100: 1 hour of zumba & 45 minutes of spin! well, it's no wonder i was tired...woke up at 4am to make a 5:30 class!

don't forget to check out my giveaway HERE

crumbs don't have calories

so let me just start off by saying, i've been a very bad girl! my coworker decided to bake cookies and brought them in on monday. i resisted the first day, but by day two, i had three --maybe four. then today, i finished them off in addition to cake! lots of cake! had it for breakfast, after lunch and some after that! ...after eating a yummy lunch at paesanos! but, it was the judge's birthday and i just had to have it! isn't it darling? i know, still bad, bad, bad! luckily, my coworker assured me that "crumbs don't have calories." yes, she did catch me eating crumbs of the delicious cake! ugh! i sure hope i don't gain too many pounds for that! that is definitely the last time i do that!

day 12 of 100: awesome 4 mile run on the riverwalk! it was 31 degrees out and it was perfect running weather for me! absolutely loved it! most people in the SOUTH would say i'm crazy, but i would take cold of hot and sunny ANY day!

don't forget to check out my giveaway HERE

that workout totally counts!

i am so overwhelmed! so much to do and so little time! i've made an executive decision and will be posting a "thank you letter update" every friday rather than every day. i may even write all the letters on friday, not sure yet. the problem is, i have 3 letters written and ready to go-- i just haven't made time to mail them. i need be more prepared next week! i will buy stationary and pre-stamp envelopes and will be ready to go next week! who knows, maybe then you'll get a daily update :)

speaking of thank yous, i have yet to finish the book '365 thank yous.' the book i am basing this idea off of.:( i stayed late again at work and did not pack my gym clothes. i decided i would eat, workout (i intended to do my dallas cowboy cheerleader bootcamp video since i would not be going to the gym), wash 5 loads of laundry since i am way overdo and relax & read! the only thing i did was eat and slept! :( i was so angry when i woke up at midnight and realized that i had ruined my 100 day challenge. i thought, if only it were 11:30 i would totally get up and workout! then i thought, NO! this can't be right, i've worked so hard these last 10 days and i will not accept this. today i made a delivery to 2 different buildings and it took me exactly 30 minutes! the rules say 'at least 30 minutes of movement' and that my friends, was 30 minutes of movement! please help me justify this! and an added bonus is, my pedometer read 18,605 steps! that totally counts! right? right!


day 11 of 100: 30 minute walk!

i met a dixie chick!

highlight of my day: meeting emily robison from the dixie chicks!

dixie chicks are my absolute favorite and i was thrilled to be meeting her!
she was on our jury panel and sadly not selected to be a part of our jury...i'm just glad i got a picture with her! she was so down to earth and humble; very sweet! one chick down, two more to go! :)

day 10 of 100: 30 minutes on crossramp. i stayed late after work because of this jury trial and i was extremly exhausted. it was 31 degrees out and i did not want to go to the gym! my great friend kelley gave me motivation and thankfully i made it to the gym!

needless to say, kelley gets thank you letter no. 10!

weekend recap/SNEAK PREVIEW GIVEAWAY

weekends are always fun, but this one i particulary was looking forward to because it was the first friday of the month which means, PUB RUN! different running groups get together and take a 3 mile run to 4 different bars in downtown san antonio. our group really goes all out, this time our theme was 'super heroes' (made up ones anyway)




day 7 of 100: 3 mile run
day 8 of 100: 8 mile run! yeah go me!
day 9 of 100: 30 minute swim
day 10 of 100: 30 minute crossramp

thank you letter no. 7 & 8: i recieved the spurs tickets and flemings giftcard that i previously won, so obviously, the thank you letters went out to them!
thank you letter no. 9: i wrote it to one of my very good friends, kelley! yesterday was 30 degrees out, i stayed late after work and was very tired and did not want to go to they gym, she was a great motivator! and she's always a great friend!
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SNEAK PREVIEW BLOG GIVEAWAY

yes! you are the lucky few who will get first dibs on these awesome giveaways/raffle. as most of you know, i am entering my 7th season with Team in Training. We train to run marathons while raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This season I am raising money to run the Zooma Austin Half Marathon on April 16th (my birthday weekend)and my goal is to raise $2000!

here's how it works, make a donation to my TNT website HERE. since this is a sneak preview, YOU chose the amount you donate! a set requirement will be made once all the prizes are announced next monday. after making a donation, leave a comment here and you are in!(this is mandatory to be elgible for the following extra entries)

EXTRA ENTRIES

1. Become a follower of my blog or already be one. Leave a comment.
2. Put a link to this giveaway on your blog. Leave a comment.
3. Have a blog post specifically mentioning/advertising this giveaway. Leave a comment.

3 Bondi Band Headbands courtesy of Bondi Band .

Race Bib Book (similar to the ones pictured)
courtesy of Laura Elaine Designs .

TNT Earth Angel Necklace
(circle charm stamped with the words "TNT Earth Angel," a wing charm, and a purple crystal (similar to the ones pictured)
courtesy of Lift your Sole .

A $100 Gift Card to Flemings They are Nationwide, check out the locations here. .

You have until January 30th(midnight central time) to donate/enter and I'll announce the winners and their prizes on the 31st. Prizes will be drawn in order. I hope you'll enter, help me spread the word, and help me raise tons of money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!!! :)

just for the bling of it

hey! who stopped following me? i went down to 49...oh well, it gives me time to think of an awesome giveaway! :)

so, just joined this awesome challenge run for the bling of it.

i heard about people doing this last year and thought it would be cool to try in 2011, when i found out about this challenge i just couldn't pass it!

my first race will be january 30th, the aramco houston half marathon! it came to my attention that i only have 3 weeks left to train! yikes! good thing i started bingham's 100 day challenge :) they gave a sneak peak of the medal today, featured above :) do you love it? i do!

thank you letter no.6: i wrote this letter to a person i recently met last year running a race who was a part of another TNT running group, stacey. she constantly posts positive messages on facebook bright and early in the morning. she REALLY makes my day. some people post negative stuff and its such a breath of fresh air getting her take on the morning, puts me in a good mood. one morning i found myself asking, 'how would stacey turn this negative situation into a positive one? :)


day 6 of 100: went running w/some favorite girlfriends, 3.9 miles. funny how i have a half marathon in just 3 weeks and that is the highest mileage i have reached! i don't have a time for you because i forgot my watch
it was a fun run w/the gals! afterwards we worked on our running capes! yes, we are going to do our monthly pub run tomorrow and our theme is super heroes! stayed tuned, tomorrow i will post pics of the fab event!