WCW: Meet Tiffany Henness, a girl who truly pees rainbows (ok, not really…)

This week’s #womancrushwednesday is one of my dear friends and super Sweat Pink’ers, Tiffany Henness. For those of you who already know Tiffany, you know why I’m crushing so hard.

For starters, this woman never has anything less than a smile on her face. I swear she pees rainbows. When she’s around, I can always count on her positive attitude, kind words and smile. Plus, she has the cutest dog (just search #moxietheridge on Instagram). To boot, she’s an ultra runner, fitness maven, and keeps her workout wardrobe lookin’ fresh at all times (just ask her about her favorite In & Out themed running shirt – its a great story).

Ok, let’s let the real crushing begin! Everyone meet Tiffany. Tiffany meet everyone:

1. First tell everyone who you are, where you live and where you blog?

Tiffany: I am The Whasian Wonder Woman of the Enchanted Forest! Wait, Whasian? Yes, it’s what my other half white, half asian friends call ourselves. Well, just the three of us do anyway. And the Enchanted Forest is also known as Oregon. The entire state is enchanted and magical. I’m in the McMinnville area, a land flowing with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. If you read my blog and follow me at ThoroughlyThriving.com, I might give you a guest pass to come visit. 🙂

Editor’s note: did I also mention that she’s funny?

2. Why did you first join the Sweat Pink community?

Tiffany: Why NOT?! To be honest, that was a loooong time ago. Lol. Sweat Pink was JUST starting and it seemed like a female-positive network to jump in to and I loved Jamie’s girl-in-pink trail race story so, done deal.

Editor’s note: awww, thanks Tiffany. We’re all about that #girlpower ’round here. 😉

3. We first met at IDEAWorld three years ago – is that right? Roaming the expo hall floors, I believe?

 Tiffany: Actually, I’m going to challenge that. We FIRST met at FitBloggin 2013. I know because I wrote about it here. Then, like a month later we were at IDEA World together.

Editor’s note: OMG, you’re RIGHT. Good call, my friend. 

4. Be honest, what did you first think of me? I’ll share if you share….:)

Tiffany: “She’s kinda short.” But of course, you were next to Alyse, and who isn’t short next to Alyse? I remember being intimidated by your entrepreneurial and ultra running accomplishments and thought you girls were fun/funny with your plastic SweatPink sunglasses.

Editor’s note: what she meant to say is that she was surprised how tall I really was. She had always imagined that I was much shorter in person… 😉 My first impression…this girl is so amazingly positive and smiling all the time, she must pee rainbows…and we must be friends! Also, she’s straight up GORGEOUS! 

5. A year after we met at IDEAWorld, we reconvened at the fun run at BlogFest. And then shortly after that, we both ended up moving for CA to Portland. How has the move been for you? What’s your favorite thing about Portland? What do you miss most about CA?

Tiffany: The move has been never ending. Since we arrived here last November, we’ve moved 3 times and bought our first home. We’re designing the life we want to have and it’s working out! Which is great. It’s also kind of a LOT for one year. Having grown up in Oregon, I have to say what I love most is the GREEN. Forests and mountains everywhere. I grew up playing in the Tillamook Forest and it feels like home in a way that the Los Angeles National Forest never did. What I miss most about CA is probably our church community and good Mexican food.

Editor’s note: I am so grateful to Tiffany for making my transition that much easier. Like I’ve said before, she’s a force of positivity and has helped me connect with the Portland running community, assuaged my moving fears and has come over for puppy play dates with my spastic 10 week old puppy. 

In Portland we truly bonded over our crazy dog lady-ness. Doggie play dates and all. And the dog lady crazy-ness is understandable, you do have one of the cutest puppies EVER – Moxie the Ridgeback? How does Moxie play a role in your fitness life (if any)?

 

^{Tiffany: Who you callin’ crazy?! We’re perfectly normal furmoms. 😉 Moxie is my “get up and move alarm”. She won’t let me sit at my desk for more than an hour without demanding some play time. She’s also slowly turning in to a running buddy – but her puppy-length attention span still needs some work. We also love to play soccer together, so I get to work on my lateral movement more. Haha!}

^{Editor’s note: I know what not being able to sit stil for more than an hour feels like. Ahem, Abbie. Ahem.}

^{7. Since being in Portland together, I’ve been able to spend more time with you and I’ve come to realize that you are one of those people who are infectiously and amazingly happy all the time. What’s your secret?}

^{Tiffany: HA! Well, hmmm. I’m an introvert. So when I’m with people I have to be INTENTIONAL about focusing on engagement. Some days it’s difficult, but one thing I focus on which always helps me is this: Love everyone, no matter what. It’s part of my personal faith, but it’s also how I remind myself that the most rewarding thing in life is connecting with another human being. Getting to know someone and being genuine and maybe a little vulnerable is amazing and it’s the process itself that fuels my happy. So, while you walk away thinking my happy rubbed off on you, I probably walk away thinking your happy rubbed off on me. 😉}

^{Editor’s note: see what I mean folks? Happy. Happy. And more happy. How can you not love that???!!??!!}

^{8. What is one daily habit, routine or behavior that you can’t live without? ..(I’m guessing it has to do with your infectious happiness and I’m willing to adopt it!)...}

^{Tiffany: There are so many goods answer that should be true here. Something cool, concrete, and meaningful. Buuuuuut…….my only habit is a lack of routine. I could argue that I do have a sort of behavior that propels me forward each day. It’s my trust and belief in the fact that I have a purpose in life. My personal mission statement, as I’ve refined it in the last few years, centers around showing others the relationship between physical, mental, and spiritual health. The fact that I know that is what I’m passionate about and I am slowly living out that plan is energizing. It makes me braver, it gives me peace. Reminding myself of that daily drives me forward and puts everything else in to perspective.}

^{Editor’s note: that’s just plain AWESOME.}

^{9. You recently re-branded your blog. What was that experience like?}

^{Tiffany: WORK. It was work. It was like refining metal; melt down, burn off anything not truly you, and emerge a little lighter and more purely you. I am a perfectionist but I paid a web designer so I couldn’t afford to be too nitpicky. I had to be okay calling it “good” and moving on. The best part of the process was stepping back and envisioning my brand as a whole and narrowing down what I’m about and what I’m not about.}

^{Editor’s note: I’ve also been going through a re-brand of sorts and I would have to agree with Tiffany…its a lot of hard work and patience. If you haven’t checked out her new, beautiful site, get after it! Like NOW. 😉} 

^{10. Why did you rebrand? And what advice do you have for others going through this process?}

^{Tiffany: In the last year and a half I uncovered my personal mission statement andknew what I wanted to be about. I’ve tried a lot of different things with my career, my blog, etc. and once I settled on what I want to focus all my time and attention on, it became clear my blog needed to be about that too. Anything else is a distraction. The only advice I think I can give to a blogger is to focus your energy on knowing yourself, your story, and what you want to accomplish in the bigger picture of life. Then make your blog fall in line with that. Focus less time on tweaking your widgets, checking your page views, and comparing yourself to others.}

^{Editor’s note: AMEN, sister.}

^{11. What do you gain from blogging?}

^{Tiffany: So much. I have loved to connect with people online since the early days of AOL chatrooms and ICQ. It just fascinated me that I could be talking with someone SO FAR away that I’d never have been able to meet in person. Blogging allows me to do that in a bigger way (I still geek out when I see people in Australia are reading my blog), but also gives me something to look back on for personal growth. Reading my old race recap posts from 2010 is SO revealing to me and helpful, actually, if a little humbling.}

^{12. And what do you loathe about blogging (come on, there has to be something…!)?}

^{Tiffany: The personal deadlines I put on myself that cause stress/anxiety. The pressure to follow back, like back, comment reciprocate, and the guilt-feelings when I don’t have time to get to everyone. The constant need to defend the fact that my time and content has value and I can’t afford to work for free. But these are small things compared to the pros.}

^{13. If you could have any  job in the whole world, what would it be? Is it perhaps doing exactly what you’re doing now….?}

^{Tiffany: Oh boy! I’d say it’s like what I’m doing now only MORE! I want to have a mind/body/spirit coaching business that blends workouts, nutrition, meditations, etc to help people achieve their highest potential. Whatever that job is, that’s what I want.}

^{14. In general, what inspires you each day to live a healthy and active life?}

^{Tiffany: At the core, my inspiration is rooted in the belief that God created me to be amazing and do amazing things. Living a healthy and active life is the only way I’m going to reach my potential, to fulfill my purpose, to reach the end of my life and say, “I wouldn’t change a thing.”}

^{And now for the blitz question round….ready, set go!}

^{15. What’s your favorite workout currently?}

^RUNNING!

^{16. Favorite food?}

^{Usually it’s brownies, but right now I’m loving fresh Oregon cherries. DROOL}

^{17. Favorite workout song?}

^{Today I’m feelin “A Light That Never Comes” (Recharged) by Linkin Park & Steve Aok}

^{18. Spirit animal?}

^{The wolf who acts on her instincts, seeks freedom and balances her desires for both solitude and social connection. Mostly because she runs and howls}

^{19. Fitness crush?}

^{Keira Henninger – Ultrarunning phenom and so much more. She’s just one of those women who is a force to be reckoned with and gives so much of herself to her sport, her family, her events, everything.}

^{Thanks Tiffany for being such an inspiration and for being such a huge rock to me here in Portland! I am so blessed to have met you and to be able to call you a friend!}

^{#WomanCrushWednesday #LJInspire}

^{Stay Sweaty friends!}

^XOXO,

^Jamie