Happy Friday! I have a feeling some of you are enjoying an extra day off, in which case…jealous.

Here are some fun links I stumbled upon this week.

—

Gilmore Girls was and continues to be one of my all-time favorite shows. I was reminded of this fact after reading this: 50 Great Rory-Lorelai Exchanges From ‘Gilmore Girls’

I know I’m probably the 5,623rd person to say this, but this guy? Was amazing, and continues to be despite his passing. Unbelievable.

Thinking about buying this book. And maybe some of these, too. (See a pattern here?)

In need of a drink? Not sure where to go? Let this site f’ing tell you.

The tornado that hit Oklahoma on Monday was horrific, and so is the devastation left behind in its wake. Here is one of many ways we can pitch in and help these people rebuild their lives.

—

Have a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend! I’m having a little belated birthday celebration at a winery tomorrow, dog sitting for my best friend and enjoying my new bike (I’m just a little bit in love, have you seen it?).

I always find stuff on the internet, read it, either laugh/smile/wince at it and then promptly click the “x” and am done with it.

Well, no longer. Starting today and (hopefully) every Friday, I’m going to share a few links from around the web that I enjoy…and hope you do too.

—

What happens when a show featuring Jamie Kennedy is a complete hot mess. I really have no words for this; I thought it was fake. The best (and worst) news is…it’s not.

If you’re a Saved by the Bell fan (and if you’re not, WTF?), you must click this because your day will be infinitely better than it was before you clicked it.

Adding this treasure to my Must Visit Or My Life Won’t Be Complete…list.

25 Things You Should Remember To Do Every Day (Favorites: 1, 9, 14 & 25)

And last but not least, I can finally talk (read: gush) about where I’ve been the past few months (and where my social life went). Coming to a TV near you this summer: The Winner Is!

—

Hope you have a great weekend! I plan on climbing these stairs, buying a bike (and maybe a Vitamix!) and spending quality time with my family.

An alternate title for this post? Word Vomit.

I know myself. I know that if I think about writing a blog post and then don’t actually do it? I’ll fall back into my old pattern; that pattern being telling myself how much I miss blogging and then not actually doing something about it. Doing something about it. That’s one thing that in the past few years I’ve learned is extremely important to me. You don’t like your job? Ok, you’re certainly not alone. Then do something about it. You’re not happy in your relationship? You deserve to be happy, so do something about it. You don’t have a passion and you wish you did? Do something about it. It’s really easy to complain. It’s taking action towards getting what you want that requires effort. All of this to say that I am doing something about this whole wanting to blog thang. So here I am.

I’m currently trying to track down some people in an effort to contact a couple dead celebrities. This is not a joke. This is the business I am in and sometimes, said business has you doing some off-the-wall stuff. And after working on Unsealed for the past year, I’d be lying if I said I don’t believe in the paranormal. So it goes.

This weekend is busy. Busy often stresses me out. (Hello, anticipatory anxiety! Nice to have you back.) But for once, I’m actually really looking forward to everything these upcoming few days are bringing with ‘em. Tomorrow, a friend from Australia is coming to visit. I met him on my Contiki tour a couple years ago and haven’t seen him since. I am dragging him to a pig roast that a former coworker from the south is putting on. No, I won’t touch that thing and yes, I might shed a tear because a pig roast is equivalent to a woman taking her top off in the middle of a bar: you can’t pretend it’s not happening because it’s all just…hanging out.

Saturday I have a seafood boil. It just dawned on me that this weekend pretty much centers around southern cuisine. Fine. Sunday is the Superbowl and I’m sorry, but I’m not about to put on an act and say how excited I am to watch the Ravens play the 49ers. In fact, I just surprised myself by remembering the competing teams’ names. I will say that I can’t wait to see the fierceness that is Beyonce. And that I’m going to a party because what else is there to do on Superbowl Sunday that involves people?

I start a new job on Monday. I always get paranoid about how much is kosher to talk about, so I’ll just say that it’s a show I’m really looking forward to sinking my teeth into.

If you follow me on Instagram, then you’ve probably noticed a recurring theme lately: health. I decided to take Karena and Katrina‘s Love Your Body challenge on the first day of the new year, and I’m absolutely loving it. If Karena and Katrina ever ran for office, I’d vote for them both. I found out about Tone It Up through – shocker! – a blogger, and have been hooked ever since.

My previous post links up to the guidelines of this challenge, so I’m not going to get all repetitive here. But I will tell you that the challenge emphasizes exercise (of course), clean eating and above all, loving the body you (already) have. Checking in and holding yourself accountable are key (why yes, I would love some Victoria’s Secret swag to celebrate myself!), which is the main reason I’ve been posting a lot of nutritious food porn pictures. And I’m having fun with it! This challenge has gotten me into the kitchen, something that – if you know me – is so very, very rare. I’m finding that more often than not these days, my body craves vegetables and plant-based proteins. I love chicken, don’t get me wrong. But without even realizing, I’ve been cutting down on it. I’ll never forget when I rediscovered poultry after being a pescatarian for 3 years. It was more or less a religious experience, and I couldn’t imagine my life without it ever again. Now, a few years later, I’m learning to listen to my body – what it wants, needs and can do without. And right now, I’m loving the plant lifestyle. And I’d be lying if I said Kasey and Heather haven’t (unknowingly) had a bit of an influence on me! Eating mostly clean has also got me tapping into my creative side. Having worked on a food show, I know how important presentation tends to be. And now I’m the one making my meals all pretty and colorful. Who would’ve thought?

I’m a couple weeks into the challenge, and haven’t lost any weight. Normally? That would bug the crap out of me. But this time, it’s different. I am feeling good and knowing that I’m treating my body the way it deserves to be treated. I never thought that could be enough but right now, it is.

In addition to my diet, I’ve been following the workout challenges pretty strictly. I’m the kind of person who is extremely disciplined when given tasks, deadlines and the like. So when I receive my workout schedule for the week, I. Am. On it. People like challenges because they enjoy proving to themselves they can complete them. Well, I’m no different. I think that’s been my favorite part of this entire journey. Well, that…and starting to really, truly love my body.

Here are some of my new favorite meals:

Chocolate protein pudding oats

Warm chickpeas in a Thai peanut sauce

Power Bowls out the wazoo!

Perfect Fit Chocolate Cake

What are some of your favorite workouts and/or healthy recipes? Bring ‘em on!

I don’t remember when, but at some point in the last few years, I was introduced to the idea of assigning a single word to the new year. Being who I am, this just screamed Ali. I’m very goal-oriented, so visualizing a specific word to live by for a year? Super appealing to me. This New Year’s Eve, I was wracking my brain trying to come up with the word. These were the ones that popped into my head before I found it:

• discovery
• growth
• believe
• aspire
• clarity

Then I found my word.

Balance.

I don’t know about you, but when I hear this word, I automatically assume it’s regarding the ever-teetering work/personal life seesaw. And this is definitely something I want to work on leveling out. But for me, the word balance applies to body image, neuroses, finance, nutrition…I could go on.

So there you have it, my word. Balance in 2013.

I decided to kick resolutions to the curb this year and make some goals instead. You know, telling 2013 exactly what it is I’m going for.

That being said, this is what I’m telling 2013 I want out of it.

• Balance between workouts and fueling my body, and giving my body the breaks it needs and deserves. (This reminds me, I’m already taking some steps to make this happen by taking part in an amazing challenge made possible by my favorite trainers, Karena and Katrina. You can learn more about that here.)
• Balance between what I do to make a living and what I do to live.
• Balance between legitimate worries and, well…those stupid, irrational, can’t-change-it-so-why-try? ones.
• Balance between family and friends.
• Balance between self care and self improvement.

I’m already feeling very positive about 2013, and – cliche alert! – ready to make it my best year yet.

Ok, your turn. Resolutions, goals, anything you got. I wanna hear it.