Meet Me

Hi all!

My name is Lauren and this is my blog. I thought I would take a moment and introduce myself and the purpose of my blog.
From the beginning....

LIFE:
Well to begin my introduction I guess I should start with the basics. I am 24 and live in PA. I am a newlywed (since August 16, 2008) and fully enjoying every moment of my new role in life as a "wife." I married my high school sweet-heart, Toly (short for Anatoly) and have experienced and continue to experience all of life's most fulfilling endeavours. Throughout the years we have been with each other through high school graduation, college, the start of our careers, buying our first home, graduating college, and now living out our first year of marriage. We have a wonderful little Chiuaiua named Sammy who we truly feel makes our family complete. (Well for now at least)I graduated from PSU in May of 2008 with a Humanities degree in English and currently work for a financial institution in the Marketing department as the Financial Education Coordinator. I love to cook and I consider myself a definite "foodie" always wanting to dive into the world of gourmet cuisine. I love to try new recipes and try them out on my hubby, family and friends. I am also a firm believer in living a healthy, well-balanced lifestyle and stand firm on this foundation.

HEALTH: 
I consider myself a "Quasi-tarian"- no red meat, minimual amounts of chicken or poultry, but I do eat fish and dairy. ALL of my food choices are derived purely from my own dietary needs.  For the past 7 years, I've battled with incredible dietary intolerances and nutritional defects and was just recently diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis.  After years of "testing" diets and foods, I've finally found a balance as to what works best for me and my body.  I've been in remission for almost a year with the help of my thoughtful eating and treatment plan.

I incorporate daily exercise and recently discovered my interest and enjoyment in running. I run just about everyday, have completed 6 5K's, 1 10k, a 10 mile race, 1 1/2 marathon and am training for my 2 1/2 marathons this fall. I so many different forms of exercise and also have recently got into group fitness in the past few years. I am AAAI/ISMA certified in Personal Fitness Instruction and plan on using this to teach my own classes in the near future.

Being healthy and happy go hand-in-hand for me and I feel as though I have finally achieved the balance between the two. You see, my whole philosophy is that a healthy lifestyle is ultimately found when one stops trying to be healthy and just lives healthy. Eventually, you will not feel as though it is a struggle to obtain but rather a way of life that you subconsciously live by.I love my life! I am blessed with great friends, a remarkably loving family and a wonderful husband to share every day with. I feel fulfilled and entirely grateful for everything I have been given. I continue to grow in my faith, wellness and identity each day.I hope to shed a little inspiration with this blog by providing healthful insights, tips, and ideas on how live my everyday life. I am no expert and I don't believe in any way of telling others how to live, I just do the things that make me happy and if in doing so, I am able to provide any inspiration to others, than I truly feel as though I've made a difference.Enjoy and feel free to leave comments/questions anytime.