Happy weekend, my friends! Wow. Just wow. I am infinitely grateful and extremely surprised by how encouraging you guys can be. Time and again you guys are used by God to make me smile, and I want you to know that you are making a difference in my life (and this world)! Even when I feel most “inadequate” in certain life skills, I think that you all push me to become better and try harder in the things that I love.
Yes, I may love to write poems, but I obviously don’t write them often enough, nor do I have enough confidence because of the limitations that I impose on myself. That’s just like anything in life. When I put limitations to my spiritual and mental growth, I also put God in a nicely embellished box in which He can still work and do miracles, but not as much as He wants to because He respects my heart’s wishes. My friends, He is a gentleman waiting for me to make the next move because He has already done everything for me. But that’s a whole different topic for a different post. 
Where was I going with this?
Oh yes, the topic that’s relevant to the title above. This isn’t much of a smooth transition now, is it?
I’m not sure if any of you caught wind of my love for coffee, or more like caffeine addiction (I love tea too), because I certainly don’t talk about it on the blog as much as I do in real life. You think you know me, but you don’t. 
I am often found checking into Yelp’s reviews on my Android, simply because it’s fun and I find the reviews to be accurate 95% of the time. The other 5% is—well, just ask Greg about that since he’s had his fair share of bad experiences. I also think I rubbed off on Greg as I catch him Yelping more often than I do. Muhaha!
After reading the reviews on Old Torrance Coffee & Tea, as I’ve been ultra curious to know what this little place was all about, I was convinced that it would be “my spot” for doing some work on the computer while getting my caffeine fix for the afternoon. And so it was!
I have to admit that the moment I walked into this cafe, I had a hard time breathing because of the stuffy and warm air coming from their machinery. Perhaps they need to invest in some air conditioning? But no need to worry. Because you know—cute little decorations pasted all over the walls plus terrific java makes up for everything else. Yep, the old cliche that says, “the glass is half-way full” totally applies here.
As you can see in the photo, they are all about the vintage and old-time feel. They even had a Tibetan Singing Bowl. How cool is that?! Okay so, I have no idea what a Tibetan Singing Bowl is…but it looked really cool, so maybe it’s about time that I Google this Tibetan Bowl. (Ah, so that’s what it is!)
I was dying to try their baked goods as they had a wide variety of bars and coffee cakes. The ones that stood out to me were the lemon bar and mocha bread, but since dinner time was nearing, I decided to leave that for another day. I’m also pretty excited to try their peanut butter latte the next time I go in. Yes, you read that right. Some sweet and fatty goodness in a cup! Mmmm…
Old Torrance Coffee & Tea serves some terrific brew! I got their regular iced coffee with a splash of soymilk, and all I can say is that it exceeded my expectations. It tasted really nutty, bold, yet not too strong to the point where it burns up my tongue with its ashy flavor. I do love Starbucks for many reasons, but oftentimes their coffee tastes so burnt that I need to add milk until it overflows. Anyone else have this experience with Starbucks?
And now…it is time…for…a GIVEAWAY!!!!
Slimkicker Heart Rate & Calorie Monitor Giveaway
I was recently contacted by the cool people at SlimKicker, which is a site that helps ordinary folks like you and me to keep track of our health and fitness goals. This site offers a variety of nutrition and health advice, and they pride themselves in helping people reach their health goals by providing fun and creative challenges. For example, one can challenge him or herself to stop drinking soda for a week, or something as simple as taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
In this giveaway, they want to give one blessed participant the chance to win an awesome heart rate and calorie monitor!
Isn’t she lovely?! Maybe you can win it and then mail it to me, hehe.
To enter this giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment about a challenge that you or anyone else could partake in, in order to reach his/her fitness goals.
Additional but optional: You can tweet something along the lines of, “Give one creative fitness/dietary challenge & win a heart rate & calorie monitor at http://www.fitforthesoul.com/2012/07/27/coffee-bliss-and-a-giveaway/”. Make sure to leave a comment saying that you tweeted about it!
This giveaway will close within a week, which is Friday, July 3rd. Best of wishes to you all!
Love,
Ellie <33
{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
One of the things that one can do is go out for a walk every night. It would be a great start for people who haven’t exercised in such a long time. Me and my family used to do that and my dad lost a lot of weight. That was a long time ago. After stopping the night walks, the pounds starting packing on again. It would be a good thing for my dad to start doing again.
Oh yea. By the way, I’m also a tea and coffee lover. I don’t yelp much though. Everyone just has their own opinions, basically.
Peanut butter latte?! Oh wow. That sounds like an amazing cafe!
As a challenge? I like to dance in the kitchen while the kettle is boiling
I do it for fun, but using those sorts of ‘dead times’ (ad breaks, kettle boiling breaks, microwave breaks…) can really add up if you’re active in them!
I’m with ya, Ellie! I’m a coffee lover as well
If we ever meet in person, I think we know what we’ll have to drink together! haha
And as for the challenge, I would sayyyyyyy… eliminating added sweeteners! Those can be a major tricky area!
And I tweeted
i think a daily walk (at least 15 mins), or adding an extra serving of fruits / veggies is a very easy challenge that can really add up later on!
I think going for a 20 minute run 3 times a week is a great start for someone just starting out in fitness!
Try to wake up 25 minutes early every day for a week to get in a light and rejuvenating work out, like some morning yoga, a walk around the block, or simply just stretching!
Im all about morning workouts, especially for those who work all day! Even on my days off Im up by 630am and out the door by 730 to get my workout done!
And I tweeted!
the coffee place looks and sounds fantastic, so many interesting combos to try. I’ve been hiatus with coffee with several months now, but I guess once the baby arrives, my craving for coffee will come back.
awesome giveaway too. I enjoy the most working out in the morning. my current challenge is to wokout until I go to the delivery room!!!
pd. the smoked tofu I mentioned i buy it in Chinese supermarket.
I am new to your blog, but loving it already! Taking the stairs when possible is a great way to get fit without even really thinking about it. Opting for the stairs instead of the elevator is such a simple swap but can really make a difference in the long run!
I just tweeted about this too
I need to give up sugar BADLY. I have gained 15 pounds in the past month from eating sugar NONSTOP. I think I can challenge my boyfriend and I to eat only natural sweeteners and sweets for the rest of the year (including the holidays!)
I tweeted at https://twitter.com/misssarah888/status/229319856103751680
I think a great way to reach fitness goals would be to have a fitness buddy – working out with someone else is so much more motivating and fun!
A peanut butter latte sounds amazing! That coffee place looks great, girl!
I am trying to fast from refined foods or white foods. Hard to do but i think not taking everything on at once helps!
My challenge right now is to eat less right before bedtime and more during the day – I’m going to start planning my snacks better so I have food available that I like when I need it!
HI ellie! One of my challenges is to be able to do pull-ups without the assist bar
I tweeted!
A challenge would be to go one week without soda or coffee!
My challenge idea: Do mini workouts while watching TV such as doing burpees or pushups when there are commercial breaks.
I think the best fitness challenge is to get out of your normal routine! Take a different gym class, run a different route, try a new machine/move at the gym. Sometimes just breaking out of your comfort zone can really make a huge difference!
I have a FitBit and my challenge is to reach (or try to anyway) 10,000 steps every day. Sometimes I get more sometimes less. But it’s something to strive for and it helps me stay accountable and motivated
tweeted: https://twitter.com/xokammie/status/230133423753269248
I hope I win! I’ve been wanting a heart rate monitor for EVER now! <3
hahaaha ahhh I wish all of you could win
I knoow I hear a heart rate monitor is really useful for getting into that zone.
A challenge that I once did partake in was to eliminate added sugar for just ONE day. Then, try to make it two days! Then three! (I made it two weeks, then caved
)
hahaa thanks for sharing Alex! That’s a good challenge though…something most people need to consider.
Walk 30min a day and drink at least 5 glasses of water!
Hi Ellie! I discovered your site a few days ago and really enjoy your posts and recipes — thank you for creating this blog!
Here is my fun challenge to energize anyone and kickstart the day in less than 5 minutes!
Use either a regular clock with a second hand (or an interval timer) and do as much as you can of the following exercises for 30 seconds each:
- Light stretching (or a slow, walking downward dog)
- Push-up (on knees if need to modify)
- Plank
- Standing lunges
- Side lunge left side
- Side lunge right side
- Bridge-ups
- Bicycle crunches
- Head stand (for modification, do against a wall or door)
Do this first thing every morning for two weeks and feel invigorated and empowered as you head into the day! xo
Hii Amanda! Thank you so much for the awesome comment! I’m glad you enjoy it. And that’s a great set of exercises! Quick but enough to wake those muscles up.
i can challenge myself to do 30 minutes of cardio 4x per week!
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