If you remember last Tuesday, I wrote about how I have a bad tendency of getting too comfortable around the same group of people and have trouble breaking free and meeting new people.  Well, I wanted to ameliorate that unhealthy habit and decided to challenge myself to ‘meeting’ five new bloggers every week during the month of December.  I’m going to list each of the five bloggers here on my blog, leave a comment on at least one of their blog posts and tell you a little bit about them.  Last week was my first try at this challenge and to say the least, it was exhilarating! I had so much fun finding new and exciting bloggers to befriend and I quite enjoyed learning something new about each and every one.  Apparently, I’m not the only one who liked this idea because a number of you emailed me saying how much you identified with me and how excited you were to participate in this challenge.  Awesome!  That makes this challenge even more inspiring!

Hi there!

Image Credit – yanda.com

Without further ado, here are the five new bloggers I had the chance to introduce myself to this week…

Week 2 of Healthy Chow’s-a-Makin’-Some-New-Friends

• Cara’s Cravings – Cara is such an amazing person!  She just moved back to Canada, but has spent the past year living in South Korea with her husband, Adrian, teaching English.  She loves yoga (can’t blame her), cooking and most importantly, baking.  Just check out her delicious recipe for blueberry oat muffins – they look scrumptious!  And, Cara has just been commissioned to make the goodie bags for her sister’s wedding that’s coming up in the next two weeks.  Cara’s making gingerbread snowflakes – a wonderful idea, wouldn’t you say?  She’s a creative cook and baker with a zest for travel and life!

• The Healthy Everythingtarian – I love the name of this blog!  Holly is the healthy everythingtarian and is a Midwestern gal with a passion for food.  She calls herself this because she doesn’t want to restrict herself to just one type of eating – some days she eats vegetarian, some days she eats vegan and she eats meat on occasion.  Holly loves yoga (woo-hoo!  More yogis!  And she got into scissors pose – crazy!) and has even run a half-marathon.  This lady is funny, upbeat and has some fab recipes.  Check out the one for tahini cookies – so cool!  I have a feeling we might just see this girl on tv some day soon…

• Just Flourishing – Janna is doing more than ‘just flourishing’.  She is in full bloom!  When I stumbled upon her blog, I couldn’t help but be drawn to its vibrancy and energy.  Janna is visiting New York City until the end of December, but is originally from Winnipeg, Canada.  She aspires to become a registered dietitian.  While Janna’s been in New York, she’s taken advantage of the sights – check out her post on the tree lighting ceremony.  And, if you’re looking for some great holiday gift ideas, Janna has that covered.  Take a look – she has some creative and helpful suggestions.  Thanks Janna!

• Graze with Me – I’d like to graze with Jessie.  Just check out her fantastic banana burrito, post-workout protein shake and baked tofu – she had all these fabulous eats in one day!  ‘Mama Grazer’ is what Jessie has nicknamed herself, but I might call her ‘Mama Baker’.  Check out her amazing recipes for cranberry nut bread and pumpkin plum nut bread.  Like me, Jessie’s not big on running.  She rides the stationary bike, speed walks on an incline, is a Jillian Michaels fan and does her own strength training moves (who needs running?).  And also like me, she hearts her bowl of oats in the morning and likes her clif bars (they’re great snacks to keep in your handbag).

• Inner Wellness – I feel as though I’ve met Haleigh before?  I think when I first started blogging, she may have left a comment on my blog.  Nevertheless, when I saw Haleigh’s smiling face on her blog, I just had to introduce myself.  Haleigh loves to travel and explore other cultures.  In 2006, she met her Swedish husband and then moved to Sweden in 2007 after they got engaged.  Now, she’s living in Charlotte, NC and will be studying communications and journalism in the near future.  What really resonated with me is Haleigh’s definition of inner wellness – it’s profound and something to which I can totally relate.  And another thing I can relate to?  Haleigh’s gooey peanut butter nutella brownies!

Wow.  I think I’m actually getting pretty good at this.  It’s so liberating to be able to just ‘walk’ up to someone and just introduce myself and to get to know another person.  Even if I am doing this via my blog, it’s a good exercise in breaking free from my comfort zone and in breaking a bad habit.  If you haven’t already tried it, I highly suggest you give my challenge a chance.  Shall I say, “shaww-llonjje“?!  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please see the clip below…

It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ladies!

I’m watching Howie Mandel right now on tv and he’s talking about germs.  I tend to be a bit of a germaphobe (not as bad as Howie). What about you?  Do you carry hand sanitizer with you at all times and are leery about touching doorknobs and elevator buttons?  Or, does this type of thing not bother you?

Namasté,
Nicole