Author Archives: theffkid

About theffkid

I've always wanted a blog. Now I have one.

Day 1,159 Big Magnet Edition

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What do you do when your significant other is busy writing papers?

You write about the things you’ve eaten while listening to a mix of Ben Harper and Christmas songs on Pandora.

Let’s get started, shall we?

Stachetastic Run SponsorHow about a quick Movember update? So I officially have 25 Stachetastic Run Sponsors!!! THAT’S FREAKIN’ AWESOME! So at this point, I’m raising $2.50 for every mile I run in Movember! I’m not mathmagician, but that means I’ve raised $60 so far on this one component of my fundraising! It feels so awesome to contribute to the research of men’s health research! STACHETASTIC! (Psst…if you want in on this awesomeness, comment below or on my FB page!)

Alright, back to food and stuff. For breakfast, I just had a Jimmy Dean Breakfast sandwich. I’m not gonna lie, a part of the reason why I stopped writing food posts was because I was a little embarassed about how I eat pretty much the same thing every day for breakfast and lunch. As a blogger, it didn’t seem like good writing. But this blog isn’t going to always be foodporntastic like this photo from Sunday night (this photo is NSFES…Not Safe For Empty Stomachs). My weekly structure has been my bread and butter in the past. I need that so I don’t just eat out all the time. So bear with my as I try to make Jimmy Dean and his breakfast sandwiches sound interesting. (However, Jimmy Dean did sing an interesting ballad called “Big John” that I has always loved. Enjoy.) 5 points.
MagnetThat time I ate with magnets: So I am a part of the Communicators’ Network at FSU, which is basically a group for every PR/marketing professional within the university. This week, we went on a field trip to the National High Magnetic Field Lab which is a part of the campus at Florida State. They gave us an awesome tour of where some of the world’s strongest magnets are created and used. In lieu of a food photo is a photo of the world’s strongest magnet: the 45 Tesla Hybrid Magnet System! Scientist and other nerds come from around the world to test materials by putting them inside a space of the magnet. What do they test? I’m not really sure, but our tour guide mentioned something about testing the material graphene inside of one of the magnets which is this super awesome material that will change technology in the future (you heard it here first people! From a food blog…from a kid who did pretty horribly in his science classes…) Anyway, the magnet is about three and a half stories high, but only has about an inch and a half of testing space. So that gives you an idea of how intense the magnet’s strength is. The Mag Lab in Tallahassee also has one of the coldest spots on earth…which is created by superconductors and liquid nitrogen and helium. As our awesome tour guide was explaining all of this, the only thing I could think of was Jesse Pinkman… So I said all of that to say this: Florida State University has more than just the best football team in the country, it is a world-class research institution. Basically, we are just awesome. Not much more needs to be said about that. Oh yeah, they also provided a fajita bar for lunch so I ate about 15 points at lunch.

Sorry for nerding out on you there. If you want to read more about my lifelong-love for the best university in the nation, click here and see how it all began.

Coffee

#coffeeselfie

 

COFFEE! It was a frigid 68 degrees today (what can I say? Life is like a hurricane here in Duckburg) so I had myself a skinny caramel macchiato while working outside. (Landis Green is an awesome place to brainstorm.) A venti skinny is only 5 points!

Dinner: After work, we decided to grab some dinner since Megan was going to be locked up working all night. We stopped at Po’Boys and I had gator po’ boy (yes…a po’ boy sandwich with alligator) and fries. It was about 27 points.

Snack: Megan and I found this nifty trick that you can make popcorn in the microwave in a paper bag. We had an air popper which worked for a while, but then was possessed by Ann Coulter and now shoots the kernels everywhere like missiles. This is a much safer (and delicious) way of eating popcorn! Check it out how here! 3 points

So today was random, but good! I got to 55 points which is over, but not by much. I have plenty of flex points and activity points. Hooray for tracking! See ya tomorrow.

Day 1,158 Monday Mania!

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Why Hello! 
So as you may have seen on the interwebs yesterday that I ran 11 miles. It was glorious. I needed a gut check kind of run to really test not just my endurance, but my pain tolerance to see how far I could go. I walked maybe a half mile, but that’s being generous. Overall, I was impressed with my average pace. If I keep this up, I’m on track to beat my 2:11 half marathon PR in Feburary. Pretty stoked to see how it goes! 

Today was a pretty good day foodwise, but I’ll you be the judge of that… (actually, don’t judge. That’s not nice.) 

Breakfast: I started off with a Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwich (we bought what felt like a pallette of them from Sam’s Club this weekend.) They are the perfect supplement for my Starbucks breakfast habit. What’s even better? They are only 5 points! 

At my staff meeting this morning, there were apple fritters out and I had half of one…then a whole one. (Like I said, don’t judge.) Now in the past, I would just not count it, but I stuck to my guns and recorded the 17 points of deliciousness. Totally worth the points. 

Lunch: Last night, we grilled some delicious steaks along with some chicken for the week. We got a thing of a spicy greens salad mix with mustard greens and arugula. I added some of that grilled chicken with a litle olive oil and basalmic vinegar. A pretty filling 7 points.

Exercise: Group fitness class at FSU. A lot of strength training and ab workouts. I’m going to be soooooore tomorrow. 

Dinner: I finished off the day with a footlong ham sub from Subway. It was so filling! Definitely made it worth the 20 points. 

So today I got to 49 points out of my 51 allowance. Huzzah for good habits! See ya tomorrow. 

Day 1,154 Fair and Other Stuff

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Alright, I’ll keep this quick, but I’ll reward you with some awesome photos of the fair!
Here we go:
Breakfast
Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Yogurt 5 points
Everything Bagel with light cream cheese 10 points

Lunch
Pollo Tropical deliciousness. I only ate part of my meal! THAT WAS HUGE! I usually clean my plate like a crazy person. Boom. 13 points I had a skinny caramel maccihato this afternoon too. 4 points

Dinner
Went to the Grain for dinner and had a Quesadilla made with Bradley’s Sausage (this delicious butcher shop in nearby Monticello.)

North Florida Fair!
For the first time since we’ve lived here, we went to the fair! Where there’s a fair, there are cute animals, a hurricane simulator, and yes, fair food. I tried the fried Oreos and Megan had the fried Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. I’m going to go with… 9,000,000 points I also had some Frito Pie in a chip bag just like a Friday night football game. True story: a girl walked by when I was eating it and she talked about how Texan it was and then asked me if she could take a photo of it. Good times.

So today was 80% healthy. A once a year serving of fair food is worth it. Also, my toe is feeling better. I’m planning on running this weekend. Get stoked! See ya tomorrow.

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Day 1,153 That Time I Posted About Food

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Alright, back to the basics. It’s not going to always be interesting and sexy (whatever that means for a blog) but this is what I need right now. Even if I don’t post, or have giant posts, know that I am tracking. Time to REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY get out of the 230’s for good.

Let’s begin, shall we?

SBUX Breakfast SandwichBreakfast: I had a turkey bacon breakfast sandwich from Starbucks. FSU’s President Eric Barron and his sweet wife Molly are usually at the Starbucks on my side of campus. They are usually in workout clothes. Basically, our President is baller. Fun fact: he’s an avid racquetball player. President Barron, if you are reading this, let’s play some time. I’ll even let you win. When I say “let you” I mean you would destroy me no matter what. Anyway, the sandwich was 8 points. 

 

 

 

 

 

OrangeSnack: We bought some satsuma oranges from Trader Joe’s. The are little flavor grenades of deliciousness. NO POINTS! 

 

 

 

 

 

 
CurryLunch: Speaking of Trader Joe’s, I had some chicken tikka masala. It is easily the best frozen meal on the planet (I’ve heard Mars has a pretty killer version of a Hot Pocket, so I’ll go with best meal on our planet.) 8 points. And yes, I look ridiculous. Then I had some TJ’s Greek yogurt for 3 points. 

 

 

 

 

 

skyBy the way, it was a beautiful day in Tallahassee. It was cold and actually felt like fall. I wish it would stay this way….

 

 

 

 

 

 
PhoDinner: After a long day on campus, we were ready for some delicious (and hot) dinner. We ended up at Pho7 for some soup. It was magical as always and roughly 16 points. 

Dessert: We went home for some delicious, low-cal hot chocolate. It was about 4 points with the amount of marshmallows I had.

So today I got to 39 points. Pretty good considering I was full all day! What’s better? I didn’t cheat. At one point, I had my hand in a candy jar and I had the willpower to get my hand out of there! BOOM! Weight loss win. See ya tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

Dead ActiveLink, Bruised Toes & Other Adventures in Weight Loss

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It’s funny when you leave open your blog post in your browser and how what you are planning on writing will be completely different in a matter of hours.

My WISo it’s been a pretty crazy week. In fact it’s been a pretty crazy start to the month. I am in a pretty rotten place when it comes to weight loss. My weight has been fluctuating like crazy, but I physically look smaller. My Start to Fitness cross training class twice a week is getting me ripped. I especially see and feel it in my back, my arms and around my stomach. Between that and my running, I have been getting fit in the gym (and track), but haven’t been losing weight in the kitchen.

As you can see from the graph, I’m struggling. It’s hard not to go a little overboard when your favorite team (i.e. my FSU Seminoles) are going gangbusters for the first time since…well…since we were worrying about Y2K. It shouldn’t be an excuse, but it’s been the reality of the situation. My eating is out of whack in the week and then it’s not much better on the weekends. At this point, I feel like I need to have just one good week of eating right, exercising and drinking all the water, I could kickstart my weight loss into gear!

 

 

 

RIP AL
So what’s standing in my way?
Well, like I said, I have had a couple of crummy weeks and days.
First, my ActiveLink fell off my pants. I run with it on my waistband all the time, but some how it got knocked off my jeans when I was walking to work. Crazy right? Where did it fall? It fell on to a busy intersection without me even realizing it. When I was in a meeting, I realized that it was gone. I thought I had left it at home, so I went and looked for it in an attempt to assuage my fears. It wasn’t at home. After lunch, I came back up to work while retracing my steps. Then, I saw it…in pieces…on a busy intersection of campus. It was pretty sad, and I’m pretty sure I looked crazy picking up the pieces while cars were driving by. Anyway, in a way it was a little comical. It’s just a part of life. It could be worse…someone could have stolen my shoes (oh that’s right, that’s happened before…). I know that not having an ActiveLink doesn’t physically stop my from being active, but it’s awesome to have that gauge to know how much more active I need to be during the week. It was just kind of a bummer.

my foot
Well that sucks, what else is going on, FFK?
Do you have a piece of furniture in your house that loves to destroy your toes? So do we. We have this black chair that has a leg that has bruised many a toes. Yesterday, I slammed my left foot in to the leg of the chair and as you can see, my toe swelled up almost immediately, followed by turning a black/purple/blue/redish color all around. Followed by pain while walking. It wasn’t fun. So today I went to the doctor and got some x-rays done. I usually wouldn’t go for something like this, but I am training for the half AND I have Stachetastic Run Sponsors depending on me! I found out that my toe wasn’t broken, just has a bad contusion. She suggested taping those piggies together (according to the doctor’s sheet, “taping to the buddy toes”) and it should heal in the next two to three weeks. Not awesome.

So what does that mean for your running?
Well…I’m not sure. My toe has felt better since it’s been taped. I’m already a little more mobile and I think I would feel a lot better if I had taken some pain meds today. So I’m going to rest it tomorrow and just listen to my body. That hasn’t failed me yet. What sucks is that I haven’t ran since Thursday because I was resting my body for some long runs this week. For those of you that don’t know, I am raising money in a special way this month. Last week, I challenged my Facebook friends to donate a dime (yes, ten cents) to Movember for every mile I ran this month. So far I have 14 Stachetastic Run Sponsors and have raised $18.20 by running 13 miles. My goal was to run at least 50 miles, but that might be an issue considering my toes. That’s why I need more sponsors, so that every mile counts. If I could get six more sponsors, I will been raising $2 for every mile. If you are willing to help change the face men’s health, this is a motastic way. No if you will excuse me, I’m going to burn a chair to the ground.

Stachetastic Run Sponsor

It’s the Mo Wonderful Time of the Year

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Movember Collage

I have an announcement…
On Friday, November 1st, I started growing a mustache.
(I know, important right?)
While I might try to grow an awesome stache like the illustrious  FSU alum Burt Reynolds any other month, this November I will be growing it for the face of men’s health.

Just a few facts for you:
Men are 35% more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than women are to be diagnosed with breast cancer.
Testicular cancer is the most common cancer for men between the ages of 15 and 35.
Over 6 million men are diagnosed with depression each year.

The purpose of Movember is two fold: to raise awareness for these preventable diseases and to raise money to research them. It is more than growing an awesome mustache.

Today, I am asking for your help. I am currently putting together a team of Mo Bros and Mo Sistas (yes, this is an all-inclusive fundraising campaign) to help raise awareness and to raise funds. If you would like to join my team, go to movember.com and search for the team “Mustaches Are Cool.” Another way you can help is by donating to Movember. You can donate with a card by clicking here or you can bring cash to my office and I will make sure it goes straight to Movember. Your donation will benefit the Movember Foundation and Livestrong in their research. (If you want to learn more about how your donation will be used, click here.)

If you are interested in joining my team (it’s not too late!),  or just have some friends who have an affinity for growing facial hair, let me know. Although Movember officially started on Friday, it actually ends the first week of December. So far, I have already raised $83! Holla! Plenty of time to raise some cash while growing a stache.

I know a lot of posts like these have a personal tie in, why the cause is important to the writer. Well, I have been fortunate even not to have a personal tie in to this cause. The MacDonald and Knote men lived long, healthy lives. I guess you could say that my tie in is that I want to keep it that way. I want to help raise money to keep the research going so we all don’t have to go through the stress and heartache of having a loved one sick. I think the other reason is that when I decided to get healthy by losing weight, I looked at the process on a complete health spectrum. I even started to using moisturize on my face, something that sounded so weird and dainty to me. I guess what I’m trying to say is this is important to me because we need to have these conversations about men’s health. It should anti-mochismo to take of your body. Movember is trying to change the culture of men’s health, one stache at a time.

Let the mo grow commence.

Turkey Two Ways and Other Stuff

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So my ‘Noles are awesome. I really think that’s the best possible way to start this post. I mean, have you seen Jameis Winston???

I know it has been a while since I’ve posted on the old blog. I have been super busy with life, work and other craziness.

Here’s a brief recap:

  • I joined an AWESOME workout training group for faculty and staff at Leach, the gym that started it all (I still want to but a plaque next to the first elliptical I used on the second floor that says “anything is possible.”) It’s mostly circuit training with some TRX and cardio thrown in there. I have only done it for three weeks, but I can already see muscle definition in my arms and my clothes are fitting better even though the scale is still in the same region. (More on that in a moment.)
  • I’ve been training for the Tallahassee Half Marathon in February. I haven’t done as many races this fall because our Weight Watchers meeting is at the same time most races start. I was a little concerned about where I was physically and where my running was. That was until I beast’d out a 6 miler on Thursday at about a 9-10 min/mile pace. Basically the same pace I was running this time last year. I think that I could have ran more pretty easily, but it was getting dark and I had a hot date waiting for me ;). I’m planning on running the 15k (9.32 miles) Turkey Trot again this year and I’m feeling pretty good about it. I still need to get a few more long runs under my belt, but I think I’ll be in good shape thanks to the cross training I’m getting with my workout group. I also think I’m going to just keep training after the half in February and look at possibly running a full in the spring. Maybe in May, but we’ll see!
  • I have been getting ready for Movember. More on that later this week.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, Megan and I have already planned out our healthy Thanksgiving meal. It’s not only going be epically delicious, it’s going to be healthy and point friendly! My first Thanksgiving on Weight Watchers was well planned out and actually lost weight that week. The other Thanksgivings haven’t been like that. Time to get back to that healthy mindset. So in the spirit of the season (which at this point it might as well be Christmas according to the stores in the mall. I even Valentine’s Day stuff out at World Market. What the heck????) we made turkey twice this weekend! 

Smoked TurkeyTurkey Meal No.1 Last night, after the Wolfpack beat down had been complete, we got busy smoking! We took a rub recipe from Cook’s Illustrated and modified it.The night before, we rubbed the 2.5 pound turkey breast with a salt and brown sugar mixture, wrapped it in saran wrap and put it in the fridge. The next day, we added some more brown sugar along with some Cooper’s BBQ seasoning. I light up my lump charcoal in my chimney and made two piles of charcoal in the grill. We added a aluminum foil packet of pecan chips on to one side and then put the bird on the grill skin side up. About an hour of low and slow  later, we had some epic turkey. We also put some gouda sausage from Whole Foods on the grill as well. It felt like Texas BBQ! (But I’m ready for the real thing soon…)

 

 

 

 

 

Turkey Meal No.2 Skinnytaste strikes again. After church, we seared a turkey breast and then put it in a crockpot along with veggies and other deliciousness. We put it on low and ran our 3k race in the All Saints district in town. It was a blast! Anyway, six hours later, we took it out of the crockpot, made a gravy and then roasted some potatoes. It turned out all kinds of amazing! Basically, Skinnytaste is awesome. End of story.

 

So that’s about it. I’ll be posting more soon. Things are kind of normalizing, but until then, thanks for reading! See ya later.

 

 

 

My Top 5 Favorite Things From #FLBlogCon13

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Why hello, dear reader!

I know my posts have been a little random as of late, but I am working on trying to change that. This blog has been kind of a ball of malleable goo ever since I first posted about how weird I thought Taco Bell salsa packets were. (You can read that gem of a post right here!) The FFK blog has gone from obscure to food journal to posts about running to periods of silence to serious posts about issues like binging. I have to admit, I have been in a bit of a funk when it comes to blogging. In fact, my life has been in kind of a funk for a while. I have been frustrated with my lack of progress and frankly I have had really bad body image issues. Thankfully, I have been blessed with a wife who has been there for me through better and worse. Yesterday, I realized that I really have come a long way and I shouldn’t let myself get in the way of my own success. After I came to that realization, I felt free of that burden and frustration that I have been towing around for the past couple of months. I’m ready to make some serious progress with my health and to look to more than the scale for milestones of success. The Kid is back!

So you’re probably wondering what any of that has to do with the title of this post. Well, the impetus of this revelation started when I went to the Florida Blogger & Social Media Conference in late September in Orlando at Full Sail University. I didn’t know much about FLBlogCon before I signed up, but I knew some of my blogging heroes were going to be there and I knew that I wanted to take my blogging to the next level. The one-day conference was absolutely phenomenal and I can’t wait to go back and back and back and…well, you get the idea. So without further adieu, here are my top favorite things about FLBlogCon13!

No. 1 The Surprises
So yeah, I won a trip to the Bahamas in the first 30 minutes of the conference. Not a bad way to get things going.
The #Rumtoberfest WinnersBefore Pat Williams, the opening keynote, took to the stage, Bahama Breeze spoke about their upcoming #Rumtoberfest extravaganza along with their other specials going on. Growing up, Bahama Breeze was always a must-eat wherever we were. My mom was kinda obsessed. Anyway, so then they were giving away three trips to the Breezes Bahamas resort right then and to look under our seat for a lizard. Well look what I found…

Why hello, little lizard!

Why hello, little lizard!

I kind of lost it. I was ridiculously shocked. I tried to take a picture of the audience when I got up there, but I was too shaky for me to even take it. The craziest part about it was that I was sitting a row back before the conference started, but then I thought “I should sit a little closer to the stage.” And I did. And I won a trip to the Bahamas. Megan and I are looking at going in May. I can’t wait. Thanks for the awesome trip, Bahama Breeze!

No. 2 The Friends

Hooray for ridiculously awesome improv photos

Hooray for ridiculously awesome improv photos

Like I said before, there were a few bloggers there that I have been digital friends with for a long time. One of the first blogs I came across when I first started my weight loss journey was Katy Widrick’s blog. For a long time, especially in my formative weight loss years, Katy was the facilitator of Fitblog Chat, an Twitter chat where weight loss/health bloggers like me could talk about everything from eating issues to what kind of running shoes to buy. It got me through some pretty hard times. Anyway, I went to Katy’s session and then I went to talk to her, not 100% sure if she knew who I was. After she was done talking to someone, she turned to me a screamed “AAAAAHHHH YOU’RE HERE!!!” It was pretty awesome. We talked for a while about pretty much everything. It was just awesome to see one of my online buddies in real life!

Then later on, I saw another online buddy!

When I was waiting in line for lunch, I turned back and saw my friend Nanci Cernak from This Crazy Life of Mine! Nanci and I are online running buddies who always like each other’s running pics on Instagram. I ate an awesome lunch of shrimp and grits from Bahama Breeze with her and her husband Mike. It was awesome to catch up with her! It was so exciting to see familiar faces. I’m not sure how I’m going to be able to handle Fitbloggin’ next June in Savannah. I might just pass out from being completely starblogshocked.


No. 3 The Swag
One thing I didn’t was how much swag we were going to get! I came home with two bags full of stuff from a shirt from Ford to a spatula from Florida Dairy Farmers! I paid to get a swanky new head shot from Macbeth Photography! (I know, I know, I should have worn a bow tie…)
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No. 4 The Food
-6Let me tell you about the food!!! IT WAS AWESOME! When I first walked in, there was a yogurt bar provided by the Florida Dairy Farmers (well, I mean they’re weren’t actual farmers there…but you get the idea.) Anyway, I made a serious parfait with chocolate chip and raspberries. It was epic and filling. Later on in the day, they brought out a freezer full of Blue Bell ice cream bars. It was magical.

Then, I went over to the coffee station of deliciousness. They were making coffee about a million different ways. Each one more delicious than the next. I became close friends with them and their Kenya AA blend. They were also giving away they brew to go packs that you just add to water and ice iced coffee packs. I can’t wait to try it out! Thanks Barnie’s for some legend-wait for it-dary coffee!

 

 

 

 

-12-13
Oh yeah, Ford put on an amazing after party in the back lot area of Full Sail. One of the many stations involved mini cupcakes from Gigi’s Cupcakes. After the Banana’s Foster and the S’mores cupcakes, I went in to a sugar coma. They were that awesome.

No. 5 The Sessions
Now for the reason I went: the sessions! I have been blessed that my passions and my job almost completely align with one another. While I did go to this conference for my blog, there were a couple of sessions that bled that applied both to my academic interests and what I do at the Center.

The first session was “Media Kits: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” by my friend Katy! She provided some great examples of how to, and how not to, put together a media kit for your blog, which essential for the business side of blogging. I knew how to do this from my PR classes in undergrad, but it was awesome to see it in action. Katy is also a producer so she has experience from both sides of the process. Can’t wait to put mine together!

The second session was about the communication law side of blogging and the important of being upfront and honest about when you are advertising with a post. If you do that, be sure to use a hashtag like #ad or #sponsored so the reader is aware. This is also important in blog posts too!

After lunch, there was a bonus session. I was planning on yoga outside, but it was ridiculously hot and I was full of delicious food from Bahama Breeze (that was not an ad. It’s just a fact that Bahama Breeze has delicious food.) so I went in to the Google Glass sessions. One of the session leaders actually worked for Disney. He said that he had been on all the rides and had recorded the ride with his Google Glass. I left early, but they evidently let people try them out. Easily the only fail of the day. But I figured one day Google will take over the earth like Skynet and I’ll be forced to wear them at that point anyway since we will all be half cyborg half slave to the almighty Google Master. (I guess that’s one way to look at it…)

-9Anyway, the third session was one that you would usually have to pay a lot of money to go to: “Social Media Tips From A Ford Brand Strategist.” Karen Untereker is the U.S. Social Media Manager from Ford aka the ultimate social media job. She explained Ford’s grassroot/user-content driven campaign for the new Ford Fiesta. Ford gave the Fiesta to about 100 Gen Y’s and had them document their experience socially while completing certain “missions.” She showed some of the user-generated content that, according to here, was better than anything they could have come with on their own. It was amazing that Ford gave the users so much control. But they knew that letting go of control in this realm would have positive outcomes. The one thing that surprised me the most about this case study was that the corporate executives were on board throughout the whole process. They were willing to give this a go and it paid off. I was incredibly impressed with this session and how Ford is such an innovator in the social realm. I guess the only criticism I would have is that I was the target market for this campaign and I didn’t know about it. Now, just because I didn’t know about it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t effective. But it emphasizes the important for the integrated marketing model where different methods and channels are being used to create awareness. An example of this would be an engaging TV ad that encourages me to get online and check out the campaign. Ford has done their research, so they would know that I have multiple screens at my disposal while I’m seeing this TV ad. Anyway, I just completely nerded out on you. All in all, it was a pretty freakin’ awesome session that made me miss my ’73 Ford truck “Ol’ Red” that sounded like the apocalypse. I miss that beast of a thing…

 

Moving on…

-10After a session about how Full Sail University uses their social media, which was applicable to every job I’ve had at FSU, I went to this amazing session called “The Business of Blogging: Building Relationships With Brands” which was presented by three very successful Latina bloggers including Yadira Ambert of El Club de las Divas. They talked about how to reach out to brands by utilizing the strengths of your blog. Their case studies involved International Delights coffee and a blogging event for the Hispanic community for McDonald’s. They went through the process step-by-step. They had some great suggestions that I hadn’t thought of like quantifying your outreach and then creating a presentation to send to the brand. Since my focus in grad school was multicultural marketing and I did a paper analyzing the potential to market to Hispanics through social media, I nerded out again with some questions about Latina bloggers and the use of Spanish, code switching and Spanglish in blogs and how brands react to that. It was a great final session!

 

So this conference pretty much knocked my socks off. Bess Auer and her team put on an amazing conference that completely recharged me. I can’t wait to go back next year. I laid out some personal blogging goals for myself after the conference that I want to achieved before FLBlogCon14.

Also during that trip, I hung out with my awesome sister Brittany and I stayed with my friend Alex! Thanks for an awesome time too!

-15Oh yeah, then I went to Magic Kingdom and acted like a weirdo on Space Mountain.
See ya soon.

 

Dealing With Binging

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I’m going to start this post with a jokes:
How many slices of pizza can you eat from a box while driving from Point A to Point B? The answer: all of them.

(OK, I was never good at telling jokes…)

I know I’ve talked about this before, but I have binging tendencies. It’s something that randomly happens and when it does, I have little control over it. Tonight, it was pizza. And not good pizza, I mean generic, fast food, could be cardboard, pizza. (I won’t mention where it came from, but I will say that roman emperors shouldn’t make their own pizza…pizza.)

Now on any given night, this would be a part of my diet. In fact, I was set to have a pretty awesome day food-wise. However, some nights just don’t go as planned. Tonight, I worked at an event at a residence hall on campus. I was going to a healthy dinner when I got home. When I got there, I saw that there were skyscrapers of pizza boxes stacked ready for consumption. “That pizza doesn’t sound appealing at all,” I thought to myself. Towards the middle of the event, the pizza started to sound more appetizing. “I might eat just a slice if they offer it to me. I have the points…” I said in my head, in a bargaining fashion.

Nice student: “Would you like some pizza?”
Me: “Sure.”
Brain: “WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU? THAT ROMAN EMPEROR MAKES TERRIBLE PIZZA…PIZZA!”
Tastebuds: “We love that crappy pizza. It’s been a while since we’ve had that disgusting deliciousness.”

So…I had two slices of the pizza and I thought that was it. But before I left, I got greedy. I asked for just a slice to go.

Different Nice Student: “Why don’t you take a box home with you!”
Me: “That’s OK. I just want a slice.”
Different Nice Student: “This pizza is delicious as leftovers!!!”
Me: “Yeah…I think I’m good.”
Different Nice Student: “Well here. Just take this box with four slices home!”
Me: “Well…OK sure. Thanks!”

I intentionally left the box in the backseat to avoid any extra eating, but that was until I was at a stop light. I put the car in park and reached around for the box. Then, I binged on all the pizza. It was like my brain shut down except to drive. I really do hate that pizza. We were forced to eat every Friday at the high school I went to my freshman year. But there was a small flavor that my tastebuds just went crazy over so I kept eating.

I’m posting this because I need to document it when it happens in as much detail for myself, but also to shed some light on a topic that doesn’t get talked about.

Now I know I am completely responsible for my own actions and body, but I think we all need to work on being OK when others don’t accept our food. For some people, self control is an incredibly hard thing to deal with and when we are offered a potential trigger food, we’ll eat it no matter what. I didn’t want to look rude to those nice students so I took their food. It’s safe to say that in the US, the cultural norm is to accept the food you’re offered and if you don’t, you’re a jerk or you don’t think the food being offered is acceptable. When a sweet grandmother-like figure offers you a cookie, you eat it because you don’t want to see the sad look on her face when you reject her cookie that actually represents a piece of her soul. (I know this all sounds like a bit of a stretch, but you get what I’m saying.) What I’m trying to say is let our no’s be no’s. For some of us, we can’t help ourselves and we don’t have the control to stop eating even if it hurts. I just want us as a society to reduce the currency we put on food. If I come to your house and don’t eat your block of fried chocolate and cheese, it’s not a reflection on your hosting skills, it’s just something I can’t eat.

Thankfully, unlike a lot of bloggers that I know, binging is a random occurrence for me now. I still have childhood memories of eating seven or eight hot dogs or five plates of spaghetti because I couldn’t stop myself. Some part of my body felt good when I was eating, so I kept going. After all this time, it is the biggest issue I have to face. It’s not something you are ever completely cured of, but it’s something I am working on trying to control. If you have had experiences with it and have any suggestions, I would gladly take them. But for now, I’ll just keep going.