Since I had a rather wordy post earlier – feel free to add to the discussion on the “health persona” of blogging – I shall share the weekend update links now. In case you missed it:

• I Didn’t Like It – my first negative review of a product
• What Are You Doing To Me?! – 8 mile run to jump back into workouts
• Body Love Song – the duet my body and mind created to an Adam Lambert song
• FFF Features of the Week – included a Baby B laughing video!
• Self-Love Reflection: People CAN Change – overcoming binging through pregnancy and fitness

Now back to regularly scheduled blogging…

Bloggers, quite frankly, rock. Whenever I meet up with a great group of blog friends, it never fails to transform into the highlight of my day. I had the pleasure of dining with an amazing group of twelve Atlanta bloggers this past weekend. Our group just keeps getting bigger and bigger! Which only means it gets better and better as well. Yep. Bloggers rock!

 
From left to right front row: Carol, Katy, Laura, me, Katy. From left to right back row: Lauren, Alayna, Lee, Lindsay, Laura, Kristy, and Brooke.

When making lunch plans, they don’t suggest the general standbys of Chilis or Taco Mac. They seek out little gems such as R Thomas Grill – a kitschy restaurant serving a wide variety of healthy (and amazingly delicious!) options.

Their eyes don’t bug out when you say you spent your morning running 8 miles. In fact, they have their own race stories or workout adventures to share.

 
taken from Lindsay @ The Atlanta Running Mom

They have no problems opening up and chatting away too. It feels so natural!

They are right there with you when whipping out cameras for food…

…and relate all too well to the trying dilemma of figuring out what to order.

It took me 47 years, but I finally landed on the portabella melt sandwich with lots of grilled veggies and a side of cinnamon sweet potatoes. It delighted me!

And for the record – you know a restaurant has a lot of good sounding options if a blogger crew shows up and nearly everyone orders something different because there are that many eye-catching items on the menu.

Bloggers also rock because they get just as excited as you do over things like Love Grown Foods granola.

Thanks to the Love Grown team for providing me with some samples so I could spread the love with my friends. I hope you all like them! 🙂

And finally, they have husbands who totally understand the need for a plethora of pictures and happily oblige with a mid-summer-day-way-too-hot-out photo shoot. Thank you Brooke’s husband!

And don’t blink an eye when the photo shoot includes us holding up bags of granola.

Yep. Bloggers rock. I can’t wait for our next get together!! Perhaps it will be bigger and better again. The Atlanta blogging scene just keeps expanding. My last count had us at almost 25 and it wouldn’t surprise me if others lurk in the shadows. Let me know if you’re in the area and want to get in on future meet-up action!

• Complete the sentence: Bloggers rock because ____________ .
• Have your friends, family, significant others gotten used to the picture taking, blog talk, and everything else that goes along with blogging?

Want to do a little good today with just the click of a button? LOVE GROWN FOODS is donating a FULL BAG of their granola to a hungry child for every new fan they receive on Facebook and Twitter. Please help! 🙂

After pushing through my workout last night (and envisioning flash mobs of “Can’t Touch This”), I happily welcomed a rest day this morning. I had time to leisurely start my day, including a shower in peace. I forgot what that feels like since I normally must shower in 2 minutes flat to avoid the breaking point where Makenzie decides seeing how high Braedon’s bouncer will bounce is more fun than reading a book. Ah, motherhood.

I reveled in my hot shower. Although I hate then having to wait a bazillion years to cool off so I can put on my lotion without it just sliding right back off me. 

I want that extra sun protection to stick, after all. A few years ago I had a handful of moles removed and biopsied that looked questionable and ever since then I have taken a lot more precaution with my skin. I stopped using tanning beds ever. I stopped baking in the sun at the pool and when we went to the beach. I loaded up on SPF when I would be outdoors all day for hikes. I did kind of lack on the daily SPF though. Oops!

A few weeks ago I received the Eucerin Everday Protection face and body lotion for review and have used it every single day since. I like the lotions because they aren’t thick piles of goop like standard sunscreen, yet still contain SPF 15 (body) and SPF 30 (face).

They blend in lightly and smoothly without leaving a greasy feeling at all. The face lotion hasn’t caused breakouts – a side effect I feared with using a face lotion with SPF every day. My only complaint is the lotion has a slight sunscreeny smell. Regardless, sun protection, a non-greasy lotion, and a fresh face? I’m game!

Me, my fresh face, and I took advantage of the rest day to also get some errands done. I have a baby shower I’m helping with this weekend, so I had to pick up some things for the shower – including a gift. I’m really bad about putting off gift purchases! Luckily, the registry (and having my own kids to know what is actually worth having) makes it easy. I quickly bought my necessary items and moved on to more important things. Like lunch with a friend!

My friend and I made plans for lunch, but didn’t know where to visit. I Urbanspoon’d it and discovered a cute little sandwich shop called Wildflour.

We got there shortly after it opened at 11 and at first were unsure if it would live up to the reviews since it was so empty. But not 15 minutes later the place became PACKED! I’m glad we got there when we did!

So, did it live up to its wildly popular status on UrbanSpoon?

Do you see that beauty? Portabella mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, fresh basil, provolone cheese, and a sage sauce on their daily fresh baked bread.

My stomach will tell you that, yes, yes it did live up to its reviews. Wildflour now takes the cake, er, sandwich as my favorite deli/cafe/lunch spot in my local area. And that’s a big claim from someone who proclaims sandwiches as one of her favorite foods. Ooey gooey cheese. Perfectly cooked mushrooms. Flavorful sauce. Crispy yet soft, pillowy bread. I could eat you all day. But – I won’t. Only because I have some peanut butter graham truffles to whip up and inevitably taste test 20. You’ll just have to hold your horses to hear more about those though. 🙂

• Do you wear daily SPF lotions?
• What is your favorite way to find new restaurants to try?

**I received the Eucerin products free for review. All opinions expressed are my own.