Last Thursday kicked off the 2015-2016 NFL season. I am competing in fantasy football for the first time ever, and I'm actually doing two leagues -- one with my family, and one with my buddies from work. I'm doing surprisingly well considering I have no idea what I'm doing! In preparation for watching my first Sunday football games yesterday, my brother agreed to come over and watch some football with me while I made us some vegetarian snacks. Unfortunately, I am a slow cook, so I was unable to finish prepping all of the different dips I made before he had to jet. Nevertheless, I knew I would be meeting up with him and my parents later in the evening to watch some more football and Fear The Walking Dead , so I knew I still had some time to work it out. ...

In May, I completed my very first relay race . I loved the physical challenge of the relay, and I also loved getting the opportunity to bond with 5 other women in a van over 24 hours. Because I loved it so much, when I learned about running Ragnar DC for Girls On the Run of Montgomery County, Maryland, I jumped at it! I gathered up a group of friends, and we've really taken on this challenge! We will be running Ragnar DC from Cumberland, MD to Washington, DC (approximately 200 miles) as Team #LikeAGirl. Because Girls On the Run is a charity to which Ragnar donates, we were given the chance to run the race for free, in exchange for fundraising for this wonderful organization. My fundraising goal is $500 , and I am slowly  chipping away at my goal. To date, I have raised enough to provide running shoes for 4 girls. My $500 goal will be enough to support full-season scholarships for two girls. If you're interested in making a  tax-deductible donation  to Girls On the Run, I...

As you may have read in my last post, I absolutely love grains! Not only that, but I fell in love with freekeh after giving it a try this summer. One of my favorite ways to eat grains is by taking chicken and vegetables, creating a sauce, and pouring these ingredients on top of the grain. Freekeh is no different for me. When I got to thinking about flavors that would go well with freekeh, I decided that stir fry definitely had to be at the top of the list. I learned how to make stir fry -- mostly through trial and error -- when I was a kid, and I've modified my recipe a bunch over the years. Fortunately for you, I actually wrote down the ingredients as I went along, that way I could share a quick, easy, and delicious meal with all of you! ...

Flecks of Lex Fun Fact: I have always been a grain-eating fool. Give me some chicken and vegetables in some kind of sauce, and I will use it to smother some grains like nobody's business. When I was a kid, I used to eat rice and soy sauce as a snack, religiously. When I learned about rice cookers in high school, it changed my life! I had a friend from Liberia who used to always have rice at her house, and she would make sure she had a bottle of soy sauce to go with it when I was coming over. Like I said: I have always been a grain-eating fool! When I found out that Sweat Pink Ambassadors were being given the opportunity to try out a grain with an amazing name, and that I had never heard of, I jumped at the opportunity! ...

My Friday evenings... they're pretty lame. Usually, I just do a little Netflix and chill, or OnDemand and chill. It's pretty lame. If I want to mix it up, I might get something for dinner, or drink a glass of wine. It's seriously unimaginative. A couple of weeks ago, my coworker Bertha told me about a yoga class she's been attending on Fridays after work. She told me that the classes were great, but, perhaps most importantly, they only cost $5. That's right, people! A $5 YOGA CLASS! Who knew they existed? I decided to do a little research online before making up my mind on whether to break my super exciting Friday tradition for yoga. The studio is called  Extend Yoga , and they have a great website, which made it pretty simple to conduct some preliminary research on their Friday classes. ...

The past week, I have had a couple of opportunities to do things I loved as a kid, and never thought I'd get a chance to do as an adult. I am really just a gigantic child at heart. I can't help myself, and I don't want to! Yesterday afternoon, I got to play in a ball pit in the middle of a museum, in the middle of DC. A BALL PIT! Can you believe that? It was freakin' awesome! On Friday, I had my own Carrie Bradshaw moment during perhaps the greatest yoga class I've ever taken. On Thursday evening, I got a chance to participate in a scavenger hunt called The Adventure Run. It's hosted by Road Runner Sports , and my local store hosts one on the first Thursday of every month in the summer. I ran with a group of friends, got my sweat on, and got to try all kinds of goodies in the process. I'd call that a win-win-win! ...

I did it! I did it! I finally built up the courage to apply to be a FitFluential Ambassador! And... I was accepted! WOOHOO! Runs up and down the street, cheering loudly, and banging on a portable gong.  (That's a thing, right?) I know what you're thinking, because it's like I have ESPN or something.  What the heck is a FitFluential Ambassador?  FitFluential Ambassadors are people like me: We love promoting health and fitness, and sharing that love with all of you beautiful, wonderful people out there! We also connect with different fitness-related brands to keep you up to date with what's going on in the world of fitness. There are two main reasons why I'm super excited about this news: ...