Morning!!!!!! It’s Friday! HAHAHAHAHA! Ok, let me explain why that is so funny to me. My friend Kara and I were talking this morning and we were discussing how on Friday people say, “It’s Friday!” in response to EVEYTHING! It is almost as if you can get away with murder by saying, “Hey, it’s Friday!” I know we are strange…but I know there are a few of you out there who are just as strange as us and totally get the humor in it!!!

Ok, ready for the winners for my Nation Love Your Body Day giveaway? Let me first say, I loved reading your responses…all of you! They were all so different and great! Thanks for having the courage to post about your love for you body! It isn’t easy is it?! That post I wrote was actually really hard for me to write: I went back and forth in my head thinking about how to write it, what to say, what not to say, what do disclose and what not to disclose. In the end, the just put it all out there. I just wrote honestly, and it felt great. So, thanks for participating for those that did!!

Ok, ok….back to winners and free stuff!!!!! I used a random integer calculator to get the numbers, it is the fairest way in my opinion!

The Winners:

1. Sylwia!!!!! She wrote:

I LOVE this post, sad that I missed it yesterday though. But I’m catching up now. Thanks Ali for sharing. Women’s empowerment and self love is so important.

3 Things I love about my body:
1. My smile – I must say, it’s pretty awesome!
2. My boobs – they’re not big nor small, but I always felt peevish about them, but hey, they’re wonderful!
3. My shoulders – I feel sext when I show them off.

3 Things that amaze me about my body…
1. I’m certainly not the best runner or yogi but my body seems to just keep going when my mind wants to stop.
2. I have a rockstar immune system!
3. How it knows more than I do what’s good for me and what’s not. It’s taken trial and error for me to realize what I should or should not eat, or drink for that matter, because of my bodies reaction to it.

3 things i do to show my body i love it.
1. I hydrate it with LOTS and LOTS of H2O.
2. I have a healthy sexual drive, which in turn makes my body happy and makes me a happier more sane… I mean, whole person
3. I try to keep it moving even when I don’t have time to workout, like walking or stretching or sitting when necessary.

2. Kara!!!!! She wrote:

Al, I loved reading what you wrote. You rock!

Things I love about my body:

1. My long legs and arms – they used to make me feel self-conscious, but now I love how they look.
2. The muscular definition on my legs – I worked hard for it!
3. My curly hair. I can wear it straight, wavy, or curly. It’s pretty fun.

Things that amaze me about my body:

1. I am stronger than I realize. Sometimes I’m stunned by how far I can push myself physically, even with a chronic thyroid disorder.
2. The fact that I am the spitting image of my grandmother.
3. I am fascinated by how the human body works. The fact that I wake up each morning is by itself pretty amazing.

Things I do to show my body I love it:

1. Drink tons of water
2. Eat dark chocolate every once in awhile
3. Go to the endocrinologist and listen to my doctors

3. Melissa!!!! She wrote:

Thank you for sharing your story. I’ve gone through similar issues and still struggle to this day.

3 Things I love about my body:
1. My legs are strong and shapely
2. My small boobs don’t get in the way when I run
3. My lower back…I just like it.

3 Things that amaze me about my body…
1. I hardly ever get sick.
2. The fact that I can run and run and run
3. It lets me know when I overdo it with my workouts. It fights back and tells me to slow it down.

3 things i do to show my body i love it.
1. I eat a healthy diet and don’t poison it with artificial crap
2. I pamper it with massages
3. I stopped binging and purging. I stopped before I had any real long lasting bad affects from it.

3. Sarah!!!! She Wrote:

What a great post, I feel like I need someone to give me a giant push to start living healthy and I feel like this might be it.

My 3

Things I love:
My hazel eyes
The mole on my right knee, my doctor always talks about removing it but I can’t stand the thought of it not being there.
My hair.

Things that amaze me:
That no matter how much I weigh or how out of shape I am I have really strong calf muscles.
How fast my body reacts to working out…when I actually do. It doesn’t take long for my body to change if I continue working out.
That for the most part I don’t get sick *knock on wood*

Things I do:
I eat fruits and vegetables all the time
I stopped drinking 1% milk and switched to skim, doesn’t seem like a big deal but if you knew how much milk I drink you would understand!
I wear my seatbelt when I drive, a bike helmet when I ride my bike and I plan on getting a helmet for when I go skiing this year.

5. Allison R!!!!! She Wrote:

Thank you for sharing your story! I have had VERY similar childhood, so it’s always nice to know other people are going through the same things.

3 things you love about your body…

1. My upper body, it stays toned no matter what! I’m pretty lucky
2. My eyes are EXACTLY like my mom’s…and I love it.
3. I have a freckle on the palm of my hand. When I was little my dad would check my hands after I washed them and teased me that “I missed a spot.” Good memories.

3 things that amaze you about your body…

1. That even though I KILL it on the weekends with too many cheap shots and red cups of keg beer, it still loves me!
2. I randomly signed up for a race with my friend, a 10 K, and I had only previously run 2.5 miles. I finished in under an hour. Still amazed.
3. How it stays awake with me for long nights in the library.

3 things you do to show your body you love it…

1. Sweaty cardio sessions…good therapy
2. Eat as fresh as possible.
3. Get messages every-so-often for all of it’s hard work!

YOU GUYS ROCK!!!! E-mail me your address (foodfitnessfashion@gmail.com) and I will get those out to you this weekend!!!

Ok back to our regularly scheduled program!

Breakfast:

Ezekiel cinnamon raisin toast with earth balance, fruit: black berries, raspberries, cantaloupe, and coffee (OBVI).

Ok, I really hate to toot my own horn…but TOOT TOOT, my outfit is cuuuuuuuutttttteeeee today!

Skinny Jeans (Forever 21), Top (Target), Gray Cardigan (Express), Bow Necklace (My Nana), Purple Flats (Nine West).

I looooove skinny jeans lately…super cute! The plaid tops that are in right now are totally rocking my world, and I love the colors on this one (purple and navy)- pretty uncommon, right?! Oh and this little ruffle (and only on one side of the shirt) makes is so fun and different!

This necklace belonged to my Nana, who was such a fashionista well before the term even existed. I think my Nana is to “fashionista” what Janis Dickenson is to “Super Model”. I really love it, and every time I wear people ask me where I got it. I love responding “1969″

Shoe close up! My mom bought these for me a few years ago. She is another one with great taste…it is in my jeans genes!

You guys must think I have the veinist  (is that even a word?!- probably not) feet. Every time I take a picture of my feet in flats I have a huge vein popping out! I swear they don’t really look like that!

Ok…I got a LOT to do…see you soon!

P.S. Vote for me for the Wellsphere People’s HealthBlogger Awards 2009! You can do it by clicking here.