These past couple of months I have come to realize so much about myself and about this crazy beautiful thing called life you truely have to embrace who you are, and never ever be afraid to show people what a great person you are.

I have recently started meditating for the first time with my gay best friend David Baker, and have already seen dramatic results in my own life. Some amazing words of encouragement that I have taken to heart are from Meditations for Women by Jane Powell:

-”When you use others as your measuring stick, you come up short. You convince yourself you’re not as clever, beautiful, thin or talented. Lasting satisfaction and confidence comes from appreciating yourself with all you have to offer. Equating yourself with others eats away at your confidence and leaves you feeling inferior. Remind yourself of these simple truths. You’re a unique and special person, exactly as you are”- Btw, I have to give credit to my rockstar blogger bestfriend Katie Emmenegger for introducing me to these powerful words.

Through meditation I have learned that you have to put all positive words in to your mind. I use to be the girl who would say I am going to do bad on this test, or Courtney is way smarter than me, so she will definitely get the better grade. At work I would have the mindset that it was going to be a bad day, or that I would never get a raise or promoted. Guess what all of that negativity surrounded me. However, recently I have changed my mindset, and have put all positive thoughts into my head. It is just as simple as saying “I am a beautiful girl who has opportunities for sucess around me everyday.” It’s kind of crazy to me, but one morning I said to myself money will come into your life freely, and opportunity will surround you today. Believe it or not, that day I ended up getting two tips at work, and the job opportunity to transfer to an Einstein Bagels down the road from my store to work with my old general manager who I loved. There at that store they want to promote me to a shift leader where I would make the money that I am worth to this job that I have been busting my butt at for two years to prove myself.

Lately I have been alot more health conscious of what I am sticking into my body, and have been taking the whole eating organic to a whole other level. I have come to the conclusion that the $60-$75 I spend a week at Whole Foods or Sprouts Famers market is worth the splurge to get a ton of healthy meals for the week, rather than spending all that money on eating out and putting unhealthy harmful things into my body.

Some products that yours truely Whit has come to love lately are:

 Svelte Natural Energy Drinks

Court and I have been drinking these up on alot of mornings as an alternative to Coffee. Our two faves are the Spiced Chai and French Vanilla, delicious, and you have sustained energy for a longer period of time.

                                                  Raw Revolution Bars

These bars are awesome on your digestive system, and keep you really energized through a long 10-12 hour long work day.

 Currently Courtney and I have the next couple of days off from everything due to getting our wisdom teeth out, so we are looking like little Chubby Chipmunk faces right now. LOL! Court should be on a little bit later today to share some words with you all as well.

Have a Fabulous and Relaxing Sunday All!!

Hello Lovelies

If there is one thing I have learned this summer, it has been how to balance a relationship with my boyfriend, myself, and Whit of course. At first the summer started off with Michael and me time 24/7….but then I began to lose myself and miss my bff time with Whit. Since I was ALWAYS hanging out with Michael then I was not really working out anymore and we were constantly spending money. I initially thought the solution to this problem would be for all three of us to hang out everyday, but yet again that only work temporarily. So I then decided I needed a break from both the boyfriend and my BFF for some “me time”. For a while all I would do was come home from work and then work out, read some magazines or watch a show I wanted and go to bed. Then as I started to feel like I had more freedom to do what I wanted again, then I started balancing my week with everybody including myself.

Now I make sure that I am not giving up anything such as working out. That is what has always been my groove in life and has kept me sane. So to save money then Michael and I have been exploring different parks Colorado has to offer. After a long stressful day of work, there is nothing like taking a long walk right as it is cooling off. I am still able to get in a good sweat, do something that is free, and hang out with my boyfriend.

On days that I am hanging out with Whit then we will usually work out, then go window shopping at the mall. Also like Whit said above, she has been introducing me to meditation. I never knew how powerful it was until this summer. It has opened up a whole new world to me. It is crazy but your spiritual health is just as important to your overall well-being.

<3 Court     

Hey lovely readers!

Our family has decided to enter our little nephew into the Gerber Generation Photo Search As we all know college only gets more and more expensive every year. Now that I am entering my college years…it is opening up my eyes to all of the expenses that come with college. And well now days a Master’s degree is the new Bachelors’s degree. So with that said I am asking you all to please help my nephew out and vote for him everyday. The grand prize is a $50,000 scholarship! I love this little guy sooo much and all I want to see is for him to have a successful future.

Click here to vote! You can vote once everyday so vote often!!!

Thanks!

<3 Court

I had a lot of emotions that day… but basically here is the jist of how I was feeling that morning via my facebook.

•  Courtney Maughan

  I cannot believe this day had finally arrived! Today I am graduating with my best friend. We have been together since the very beginning. She has helped me through every bump in the road… and has ultimately taught me how to be happy Today is our day Whit! I love you and I cannot wait to begin my college years with you I see an amazing future ahead for both of us…and it begins today! Congrats class of 2011.

Whit and I both decided to wear simple summer dresses under our gowns. And as far as shoes go, we bought the exact same pair. We both loved these gold wedges from Target so we just decided to match

 It is weird to know that my nephew Tyler saw his twin aunties graduate, and that one day we will be there to watch him graduate as well!

Michael came over to our house early and took me and Whit out to lunch before the big ceremony. Pictures ended up taking a lot longer than anticipated, so we had to make a quick run through the Starbuck’s drive-thru instead. Michael ended up ordering a venti double chocolate chip frappe…which needless to say you can probably see where this is going. You guessed it! His drink leaked chocolate all over his white button up. Whoops!

The ceremony took place at the Richie Center in Denver and was about 2 1/2 hours long. Most of the ceremony was mostly boring because we had to sit there and wait for our names to be called in a class filled with a little over 500 students, but it was definitely a day I will always remember. There were four diploma groups and Whit and I were in diploma group three.

Whit and I were seated in two different sections so when it was finally our diplomas group to stand then I just looked over at her and smiled. It was in those few minutes before I received my diploma that I reflected on how far I had come thus far. I never thought this day would come… but the second I received my diploma it his me that I am finally an adult entering the real world!

After the ceremony Whit and I picked up our carnations. You were supposed to give them to somebody that helped you get to this day. So with out a doubt we gave them to each other We have been with each other since day one and she is the only one that kept me going all of these years.

Then… it was time to take pictures with all of those who have also been there for us all along. First up was the parentals of course.

Then our guys! 

,

 And finally the siblings… I <3 them all!

I am proud to say I am a high school graduate… and now beginning my sophomore year of college!

Graduation weekend was filled with a party, horse races, smores, laughs, and family.

Our campfire marshmallows from Wal-Mart were ginormous!!! And they made quite a sticky mess if you cannot tell hehe. 

It is time to begin the next chapter of our lives and our blog. Teens Eat has graduated and will continue on as Eat N’ Groove. We are taking this blog into a whole new direction. Instead of showing everyday’s eats, we will focus more on how we continue to create a healthy balance. Essentially it will be how we “groove” to through life. Of course we will still feature some of our amazing healthy eats from time to time, just not everyday  We are excited to begin this new chapter and I cannot wait to show you guys what we have in store! 

-Court

So basically, there is 2 1/2 weeks left of highschool for us, and we are uber’ psyched!!! lol. It has been a journey filled with laughter, memories, and most importantly growing up. We are so proud of everything we have accomplished these past four years. The other night we were talking about it at the dinner table with our dad, and we all were just in amazement of just how much we have done. High School started out awkward, and Courtney and I were beyond confused with who we were suppose to be, or how to fit in. Then, by the end of our Junior year is when I truly think we found who the real Court and Whit are, and what we want to do with our life’s. This year (Senior year)  is probably the year we have grown up the most though. We have matured into beautiful young ladies with a lot of confidence, happiness, and passion to live life.

This morning, while Court and I were driving to school we were listening to our ipod and “Brighten up” by Mozella came on. It is a really fun song if you have not heard it, and the lyrics are all about brightening up someone’s day. As we were jamming out to this song trying to get pumped for class, Courtney stopped and said “Whit I really love this song, because it reminds me of you.” I laughed and asked her why. She told me that she used to be an unhappy person with low confidence, and I showed her what happiness is. She has always looked up to me, and I am such a person with high self-esteem who knows how to rub off my happiness onto others. Hearing this all put a smile on my face, and just made me think that is what I love to do. Changing people’s life’s is what I am meant to do. With that said, as I was cleaning my room today I found an old journal where I had written a great message I would like to share with you all:

“Do you ever feel like you just want to change the world? Something has inspired you so much that you just want to try it. Everyone in your surroundings looks the same, but you want to stand out. You have finally realized what you have been missing for all those years. And maybe just caught in the moment you realize what living life to the fullest really means. Everything feels right, and your quenched to try new things. You want to  create something or do something like no one’s ever done it before. You’re at the point, where trying is actually working. Where you can move on, and not even regret the past. We only have this one life to live, so we shouldn’t waste time not living it. Remember the moments, and brighten up someone else’s day. The future only holds what we make it. Take a different route, and meet someone who could change your life. Smile, because it is only you who can create happiness for yourself.”-Whit ♥

So wanna play catch up guys??

• Courtney just had her one month anniversary with her boyfriend Michael yesterday. Me on the other hand, fell for an amazing older guy, who ended up having to move away for family reasons. It is sad, because I have never felt  as happy with anyone as what I did with him. That whole situation I am still trying to get over, and attempting to move on.
• I got a second job at Panera bread, because I thought I was leaving Einstein bagels, until they offered me a raise I could not refuse. I worked two jobs for a little over month, and it was the hardest thing I had ever done, especially days when I had to go to school, and then work a double of like 15 Hours!! It made me tired and cranky, but the extra money made my bank account extra happy. lol
• Court and I purchased our second car. She’s a black 2000 rx300, and costed us $8,300. Colorado snow is terrible, and so we decided we wanted to have one car that is good on gas, and one with 4WD for Colorado Winter’s. Also, with separate social life’s, etc a second car was becoming a necessity.
• We are down to two classes now, one each block schedule day.

Prom

Davey poo and me

 I just love the little guy, and he is at our house all day three times a week for when my mom babysits.

 Here’s our new ride

Word to the wise, and some great advice my hubby Dave shared with me lately that really stuck: “why do you keep doing this to yourself but why continue down a path with no positive outcome. We as humans always justify a means to no end. Although we may not be able to predict the outcome of said events or… best action is to release the negative energy built up around our problems. Your potential is always much greater than you realize and when you do understand you were meant for something much greater only at that point will you walk into your desired path.”

XOXO-Court&Whit♥

P.S. Jillian Michael’s new book “Unlimited” is a phenomenal read, that just came out.

It has been a busy few weeks that have included a lot of changes. You may have noticed that our blog was down for a while, and that was just a misunderstanding with wordpress. So we are back up and running smoothly again. We have missed you, and have some fun things to share.

First up, meet Dave!

 This cutie is not only my work husband, but he is also an awesome friend who happens to share the same interest in healthy eating/living. As of recently, Dave has actually started his own blog called Balanced Earth, where he discusses a ” variety of subjects including: organic foods, environmental impacts of our decisions, why money is no longer needed, corporations and their need to control the world and finally how we can become balanced human beings in our daily life.”

It has been a while since we have done a food review, so instead of doing a product, this time we decided to take you guys on a fun adventure to a locally owned A.M. Eatery called Snooze. This was our first time going there, and my work hubby Dave made a great date to join Courtney and I.

As soon as we walked in, the place was hoppin’. Every table and bar stool was taken. There was even a line of people just waiting to put their name on the list. The whole restaurant was decorated with fun colors and designs. There were round booths everywhere, including the one we sat at in the middle of the restaurant. Everyone was very friendly, and the workers all had their own unique style to their uniform.

Everything on the menu sounded mouth-watering! Sometimes I think Court, Dave, and I are triplets, because instantly we all wanted to get the Snooze Continental. (Pictured Below)

So that we could try more than one thing, Court got this, and I decided to get the Red Velvet Pancakes.

 Snooze Continental: “Our housemade granola, local Noosa yogurt, and an agave nectar drizzle, alongside a grapefruit brulée with your choice of toast. So European, yet Coloradoan.”~Verdict: *****This dish deserved 5 stars. First off, if you ever are in Colorado, you must try Noosa yogurt. It is luscious, and is probably some of the best yogurt I have ever had. Then, the grapefruit brulee tasted like a decadent dessert.

Red Velvet Pancakes!!!! WHAT!?*&$

“ Red Velvet Pancakes Dive into our red velvet buttermilk pancakes, with a touch of cream cheese frosting, praline syrup and chopped pecans.” Verdict- All I can say is hello YUMMY. Red Velvet anything is delicious, and these were insanely good. When they brought it out, I started laughing, because seriously one of the pancakes was bigger than my head.

It would not be a day for these Chicka’s without some Coffee in out life, so you know what we ordered. Caramel Lattes.

 If you’re looking for a fun delicious place to go have breakfast or brunch, check out Snooze. It is 100% Court&Whit approved.

 Some of our other eats as of lately have looked like a healthy “Kid style” Lunches

 The sweet and savory combo of a homemade French Toast Bagel Egg Sandwich. Agave Nectar, and egg beaters were the frosting on this creation. And just like we do at work, we grilled it up on the Panini Press.

Have you guys tried the new Pumpkin Spice flavor Vita-Tops?  We did! For all you pumpkin pie lovers out there, you must try them. Guilt Free, and so many possibilities.

Keeping it short and sweet.

QOD-What are some of your favorite Healthy Creations as of lately? (Recipes, Products, etc)

♥Whit