Holy heck, it's almost the end of January!!! What the hell have I been doing all month long?! Seriously though, I've found the beginning of 2015 to be pretty productive so far, and I'm just now getting started. I have BIG plans for this year. I hope you do too!
I just wanted to put this in here gratuitously because my daughter made it and it makes me happy.
First thing, I just volunteered to be head coach for our local Girls on the Run chapter, and I can't wait to get started! GOTR is a really fantastic program for your elementary and middle school girls to help build inner and outer strength. It generally runs in most schools in the spring (some schools do fall as well) for 10-12 weeks, culminating in a GOTR public 5k that the girls will complete as a team. So basically, I will be working with them to not only teach them how to push through a 5k physically, but also to gain self-confidence, build teamworking skills, and learn that they can reach any goal they set out to achieve. I'm so stoked! Plus to make it even better, my daughter gets to do the program with us and I can be with her as she achieves her goals. Happy mommy moments!
If you would like to learn more about GOTR or if it's offered in your local area (and how to start a chapter if it isn't), or if you want to volunteer as a coach or as a runner for the 5k, click on the image below and search for your region:
Another fun new journey for me this year is being accepted as a Girls Gone Sporty Ambassador! GGS is a wonderful website dedicated to helping women of all ages, shapes, and lifestyles to become fitter and healthier. The page creator Laura hosts weekly YouTube live workouts, as well as sends out FREE newsletters with healthy eating tips, recipes, exercises, and even special offers and fitness gear reviews/giveaways. Plus, she has a whole army of awesome ambassadors that you can search through to find fantastic blogs with everything from vegan diets to bodybuilding journeys and all places in-between. I'm honored to be part of this wonderfully strong group of women!
So, now I will move on to my recipe. I'm a big-time hummus addict, I use it on tons of stuff. It works beautifully in place of cheese on a sandwich or wrap, it is an excellent veggie/pita dip, and I even like it a black bean veggie bowl in place of (or on top of) rice. Well, I also love avocados, and we happened to have a few extra that were wasting away since we forgot to make guacamole with our dinner the other night. Throw them together with some choice ingredients, and bam--a wonderfully easy and healthy guaca-hummus that doesn't get that nasty brown look after a few days!
After two days--looks just like hummus without the brown guac grossness, mmmmm!
Guaca-hummus Recipe:
1 15oz can chickpeas (save the juice for later!)
1 avocado, nice and soft
1 roasted red pepper
Half handful of chopped cilantro
Juice of 1 lemon and 1 lime
3 cloves of garlic
1 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Add all ingredients into your food processor or heavy-duty blender, and add your chickpea juice to desired consistency. Then, eat it all!
See, easy peasy. That's my type of recipe!
Now, let's all go forth and have a fabulous rest of our week. My week will be full of classes, including my Cupid's Burn Bootcamp that I've previously mentioned. For those in the snow tundras, please be safe out there!! Find some fun home workouts on YouTube (see the Girls Gone Sporty page above for a few!), hunker down, and enjoy the downtime. For the rest of us, let me know how you plan to get out there and sweat for the rest of this week!!
Wow, I have some pretty awesome things happening right now that I just HAVE to brag about for a moment! So please, bear with me. I don't feel braggish often and need to get it out of my system. :P
Anyway, the first thing is that I'm super pumped about having moved my personal fitness studio from my murky garage to our awesome bonus room! It was previously a huge playroom, but the kids didn't utilize it much since it was all the way in the back of the house. I decided that I was tired of dealing with the nasty cold and all the sawdust from my husband's workspace in the garage, so I relocated the kid stuff to a smaller room and got my room set up right away! I'm slowly building up my equipment inventory, but I still have plenty to give a butt-kicker of a workout for sure. I tested it out for myself last night, and I trained a few people there yesterday morning. Plus the kids love the mats for their TaeKwonDo form and kicking practice. My daughter even led us in a "family workout" last night, and I'll admit that I was impressed by her moves. So far the room is a hit!!
Chalkboard wall to the left, and soon I'll add in a wall-mounted pull-up bar with TRX!
She moves too fast for my crappy iPhone camera. :P
My second exciting brag news is that I will be hosting a fun bootcamp workout at a popular local bar in Uptown Charlotte, as a fundraising effort for Cupid's Undie Run. The workout will be donation-based, and I hope to have a really awesome turnout. And to add to that, I'll be going on a little news segment along with the race director on the local Fox station this Wednesday!!! Eeek! I've never been on live TV before, and I'm more than just a little nervous! I get to get up suuuuuper early and make myself presentable enough to haul my tired ass Uptown and talk about the run, my bootcamp workout, and fitness in general. And because I'm me, I'll more than likely be doing burpees on television. :P
If you're interested in donating to the Undie Run and helping to fund research for Neurofibromatosis, please feel free to visit my fundraising page and/or join us at the bootcamp! Click the image below for details!
So there you go, that's all my excitement for now! I'll hope to have a recording or at least a link up of the interview after the fact. Unless I suck. Then you're never gonna see it EVER.
Holy cow, it's been a LONG time since I've blogged!!! Like, over a freaking year! Well, let me recap please:
I got injured before the NY Marathon, but I ran it anyway. It hurt. A lot. I'm better now.
I lost my little sister almost a year ago. That basically took away all drive to blog or do a lot of other things. I'm (kind of) better now.
I started working more, and then more, and then a little more. I'm teaching three times more than I was at first, and I LOVE it. It's my release from sadness, stress, frustration, and general day-to-day blahs. It makes my heart very happy. And I'm really good at it, if I say so myself.
My family is doing great, the kids are growing and becoming more awesome and yet more insane by the day. With age comes attitude, but I still know that they are some of the coolest kids around. My daughter is advancing quickly in TaeKwonDo and is due to get her black belt this coming August! We're blown away by that, and also super grateful that she'll be prepping for it during summer break when she doesn't have homework. The boy is also doing well, and is enjoying his preschool immensely. He's becoming a gamer a little more than we'd like to see, but we make him go out for exercise as much as possible. The second he gets outside he's happy as a lark, so I know we're doing alright. He's also in TaeKwonDo, and his favorite part is the loud yelling. Of course.
Christmas kiddos
My husband is also doing well,,working hard, and training with me for a faster half marathon. He'll also hopefully be a new contributor on the blog! He is becoming a better cook as we speak, and I'm trying to convince him to audition for Master Chef. He'll be adding some wonderful healthy recipes to the page as I request (aka beg and plead) of him. Please, if you know him, pester the living crap out of him to help me with this. Seriously, your mouths will thank you later!!
So that's it. It's been a busy year, a painful year, and it's now a new and MUCH more awesome year. I personally plan to grab life by the balls and kick as much ass as humanly possible this year. I hope to start offering some fun new workouts, monthly challenges, healthy recipes, daily tips, and general healthy family fun-ness. Game on!!
So, as always, a lot has been happening! My husband had to travel for work last week, and it just so happened to be within an hour of my sweet cousin's wedding. Score! We spent the last half of the week visiting family and staying insanely busy. BUT I managed to fit in all of my training runs and do pretty well. My long run in particular was fantastic!! I set out with my incredibly supportive husband at 5am on Sunday in his hometown, and we went to the Riverwalk area to get in our miles. He's training for his first half, and he's way ahead of schedule already. He got in the first eight miles with me, and we did a great job of gradually increasing our pace throughout. When he finished his portion, I was afraid that my motivation would lull a bit. Fortunately, I'm very good at make-believe and I just pretended he was still there. I didn't actually speak out loud (I'm not THAT crazy!), but I did constantly tell myself in my head that he would be saying not to give up. It was working wonders, and as I was getting tired at mile 13.5 of 16, he showed up on a rental bike to finish the run with me! How sweet is that?! He pushed me through the last little bit, and I managed to hit my goal pace and finish strong. Tired as shit, but strong. He had even run my previous tempo run with me a few days earlier and had hit up the local YMCA (if you have a membership at one, most others will give you a few free visits/month while traveling!) for an upper body weight session the day before. You know you're jealous.
At my cousin's wedding. Man, we're a good-looking family!
On another note, we're getting ready for the oldest to start back to school, eeek!!! She'll be in the first grade, and we have our Meet the Teacher night tonight. I'm more than nervous to meet her, and I'm hoping she's as fantastic as the teacher we had last year. If so, we're all good. My daughter will also be testing very soon for her blue belt in TaeKwonDo, which is super badass in my opinion. The kid is so pretty, we need her to be tough so she can help me fight the boys that come around! I'm also seeing about getting her into her school's Girls on the Run program a year early since I MAY be coaching it this year. It appears they're in major need of more help, and I was planning on doing it once she was old enough anyway. Let's hope they make an exception for the coach's kid, I think it'll be a blast! If you have an elementary-aged daughter, you may want to see if you have the program at your school. It trains the girls on not only running but also self-esteem and healthy living, culminating in a fun little 5k at the end of the year. I adore the program, and it's spreading like wildfire. Look into it, you'll be glad you did!
As for my youngest, we're getting him started in soccer soon. Because we're apparently not busy enough. But the poor little guy just sits and watches sister's activities so much that it's time he has his own now that he's old enough. He's over the moon that he'll be on a soccer team, and I think he'll kick some major butt at it. He's already better at dribbling than big sister! I also plan on getting in some good mini hikes in with him and the pup during the lovely fall school days. If I didn't keep him active, he would be content to play video games all day long. He's already in nerd-boy training, but at least he'll be a healthy nerd like the rest of the family!
I've been working a bit and studying when time allows. I think I'll be able to test for my Group Fitness Instructor certification by early October, and then once my marathon is over I can really dive into teaching. I'm trying to get a small bootcamp class together at my studio presently (PT's can teach classes of 6 or fewer) and it'll give me some great practice for the future. I'm stoked! Now I just need to make my schedule allow for me to remember everything I have going on and allow for house-cleaning time!
How is your school prep and/or race training going? I'd love to hear what this Fall has in store for you!
I have been pretty bad about updating everyone on my training progress....fortunately, I've been MUCH better about training! So far it is going quite well. I did, however, miss my long run this past weekend. Between Air Force drill and traveling, it was just too much to get a 17 miler in! I did have a short run with some friends at drill though, and that's always nice. And yesterday I made up for the loss of the run by doing absolute lower body destruction after my interval training run. Lunges and squats and dead lifts, oh my! My booty is killing me, and I love it. The only runs I've struggled with so far would be my mid-length tempo runs. They're still a little under my goal times each week, but I'm trying not to get too distressed about it. I've been mostly blaming it on the heat in hopes that cooler weather will fix everything. It will...right.....right?
In awesome news, I'm now officially studying to become a Group Exercise instructor! I've been all talk for a while but I'm ready to dig in now. I'll be doing most of my studying at the gym after workouts and while the boy is still in childcare. No better motivation to study fitness than a good workout ahead of time!
I'm also seeing some fantastic improvements on my strength, just like I was hoping. I've added in a lot of strength training, mostly for upper body since my legs are taking a beating anyway. I do two days each of shoulders/back and arms/chest. Sometimes the week gets hectic and I spend an extra long time pushing them all into one workout. But I'm trying to make sure that no matter what the order, I always do at least twice/week for each muscle group. I've also greatly increased my protein intake (and my everything else intake, due to added miles, hehe) and can really see some new muscle definition. I'm so stoked!! After my big race is over, I think I'll work even harder on focusing on the strength aspect. But I'll never give up my cardio.
Speaking of food--in an attempt to have a cheaper and super easy way to pack in more protein right after my workouts, I set out on an adventure to make no-bake protein bars. I see them being boasted about everywhere, and I wanted to just make something out of what I already have. I just ate my first one, and they are SO delicious!!! I don't have a recipe because I'm more of a "just throw shit in there" sorta girl, but here are all of the ingredients I used for you to decipher as you will:
almond butter
protein powder (I use Raw Protein in vanilla by Garden of Life)
flax seed
maca powder
shredded coconut, pecans, and goji berries I put into the food processor
a dab of unsweetened cocoa powder
a few drops of vanilla extract
water as needed
I simply mixed everything together until the consistency looked like something that would harden well. I got a brownie pan (8x8) and covered the bottom with parchment paper. I dropped it all in there, smoothed it out, and put it in the fridge. A few hours later I cut off a chunk and it was delicious!!! I'm still working on how to get it less soft (I'm worried it'll loosen too much when I travel with it), but I'm guessing it won't ever happen since it's a no-bake recipe. That's okay though, I think that if I wrap a chunk in parchment paper and put it in a container or baggie, it should be totally fine as long as it's stored indoors. But it's honestly so much cheaper and tastier than any of the crap from the stores. Other ingredients that could go great in there include oatmeal, PB2 powder, any sort of nut, and raisins. Mmm!
And on one last note--if you live in the Charlotte area and want to do a 5k for FREE, check out a giveaway put on by one of the lovely coordinators of the Friends of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Rock & Read 5k. She's giving away TWO free race entries, and her blog is just too cute. Check out Arden's giveaway on Lipstick Makes Everything Better, and then check back here in the next week or so for another set of entries! And if you don't get one of the free entries, register anyway. The race is for a great cause, it'll be a blast, there are tons of activities for the entire family, and if anything the coordinators are awesome. ;)
Training begins this week! I have taken a 16-week training schedule and added four weeks on to the front. Basically because I know that A) I'll get thrown off at least twice in the process because of illness/travel/etc and B) I'm not a fan of track work and I need the four weeks of prep time to get in gear for it. Plus, I'm leaving for Active Duty with my Air Force National Guard Band on Wednesday, and the next two weeks may just be ridiculous. Here's what I have on schedule for this week:
Monday--Cardio Strength class
Tuesday--Track workout 4x400's w/200 rest intervals. 1mi warmup and cooldown. Then upper body destruction!
Wednesday--5mi, 3 at 8:40 pace. This was supposed to be Thursday, but Friday is our PT test. We'll see how well I hold up for this after the track workout.
Thursday--Rest
Friday--PT test. This will include sit ups, push ups, and a 1.5 mile run. I'm hoping to max out on each, but we'll see. I'm a distance runner, not a speed runner!
Saturday--If I can get into the base gym, I'd like to do upper body again.
Sunday--10mi @9:15
So yeah, we'll see how much of that actually happens. I found a Y with a decent track, though it's a bit of a drive. We'll try it out in the morning before the heat sets in, but the earliest I can start is 8am. Which will already be brutal. Good times.
On a completely random and cute side note, we had an awesome little (gigantic) birthday party for my newly 6-year-old this past Saturday! We got a huge bouncy water slide and put it in our front yard. We ate burgers, smoked turkey, and pasta salad. Then we tie dyed shirts and ate a delicious ice cream cake. Aside from the cake (and the large amount of beer I drank after), it was a pretty healthy deal. And we all had such a blast! Once the kids all left, hubby and I hopped on the water slide with the kids. Naturally.
Ridiculously huge slide
Singing with good friends
I hope you all had a happy weekend, and I'd love to hear what your training plans are for the week!
I have been wanting to write this post for a while now. I kept putting it off, but now that we've been given a challenge at work to identify and track one fitness goal, I've decided to pair the two together.
I am not completely satisfied with my body. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy with a lot of aspects and I feel stronger than I've ever felt before. I love many aspects of my body, and I am extremely happy with the results of all of my hard work. But there is more work to be done, and what I want to do is take myself to the next level.
I've lost all of my "baby weight". I'm actually trimmer than I was before getting pregnant, and I weigh the same as I did in the beginning of college. Not something easily done, let me tell you! I've literally worked my ass off. When I look in the mirror, I see a tiny, lean little person without much muscle mass. I've begun doing a few strictly strength workouts, and it has helped already in that I can see more definition in my arms and legs. But I want more! I don't want to just be the skinny trainer, I want to be the STRONG trainer. So, here is my starting point right now:
It's hard to see from this selfie (I tried to get my oldest to take a photo, but she's a bit too bouncy for it, hehe), but I have a lot of very loose skin around my belly. I grew out a lot in both pregnancies, and it left me with not only the "mommy pouch", but also a deep abdominal connective tissue separation. Basically, my "guts" are unprotected. I also have an umbilical hernia because of it. So far, the only difficulties it has caused me is the occasional bellybutton pain and a lack of being able to use upper and lower abdominal muscles together well. I can do it, but it's not as simple as it used to be! What else it has given me is a very large complex about showing my stomach to anyone. I can count the people on one hand who have seen my stomach since my pre-baby bikini days.
Now, I know that I cannot fix this without surgery, but there are other things that I CAN do and WILL do for my body in the coming months. As I said before, I've been accepted into the NYC Marathon and my training will begin soon. So here are my two major goals for the next few months: 1. Complete the NYC Marathon in under 4 hours (but not-so-secretly I'll be happy with 4:15)
2. Lose no weight and actually GAIN muscle mass in the process.
The two don't sound like they go hand in hand, but they can if you go about it the proper way. And I will make it happen! Here's how I plan to do this:
--Incorporate a "run less, run faster" approach, with only three days of running and two other cardio workouts per week. My other cardio will be a "cardio strength" combo, either a class or HIIT.
--Strength train hard 3-4x/week--2-3x upper body, 1x lower body, abs every time. No cardio involved in these workouts, strictly weight training of 3 sets, 8-10 reps. When 10 reps gets easy, I move up in weight. Towards the end, I hope to be doing a much higher weight with 3 sets of 6-8 reps. This will push my muscle mass up, and the leg work should increase my power (ie speed) also.
--Eat, eat, eat! Marathon training makes people eat like maniacs anyway, but I really want to make sure that I'm not burning calories that I don't have to spend. I plan on greatly increasing my lean proteins, doing an extra protein shake a day, cutting back on the "bad" carbs that slow me down, and allowing myself one cheat day/week. That cheat day will be for my sanity, basically. :P
--Document it all here as much as possible. I need a way to stay accountable, because these are some lofty goals. But I know that I can do it if I put my mind to it! I'm tired of being "skinny", I want to be strong. I want to be powerful.
So that's where I am. Even as a trainer, I am always and will always be striving towards something. Life is more fun if we dream bigger, right!? What are your goals right now, and how do you plan on reaching them?
I've had all kinds of exciting things coming my way lately. As I mentioned before, I've got a great new job at a small personal training studio, and I'm loving it. I'm gathering a few clients now and gaining more confidence in leading them. Yesterday I met a new client, and her eagerness to learn and feel better was SO inspiring! When someone has been unhealthy and uncomfortable for a long time, it takes some major courage and motivation to make a change. That first step is always the hardest! But I'm so excited to see her transformation and that of the other awesome women I have the pleasure of working with now. On top of that, we have a fun group class that we've put together a few evenings a week, where I basically get to kick people's butts for 30 minutes. I got told on Tuesday that I was "the meanest one", hehe. I also just got the go on designing a Family Health/Fitness seminar to teach people how to instill good childhood eating and fitness habits and work together towards becoming a healthier family! I seriously love my job.
My next bit of exciting news is this:
Yes, I got accepted to the NY Marathon! This was my third year applying, and I was honestly just hoping to get my name automatically put in next year (it's the last year they give automatic entry to someone who applies and doesn't get drawn for three years in a row). But apparently third time's a charm, and I'll be going a year sooner than planned! I'm so excited to go back up to NYC, visit friends in the area, see where we used to live, and run through the streets of my absolute favorite city in the world. We're still not sure yet whether the entire family can come with me or not, considering that would require time off from school and money we may or may not have. But we have time to plan and are already getting offers for places to stay, and I'm super duper stoked! I'm working on my training plan now, and hope to share my weekly progress here. It'll keep me accountable and give me a great outlet if I get frustrated. I have 21 weeks, and plan to start my official training as of next week! It will pair well with a challenge we're doing at work called the Trainer Trim Down. I personally do not have a goal of trimming, but I'd like to build strength, muscle, and endurance. I look forward to the next few months to come!
And as per usual, I'll be running for Endure to Cure. It's my favorite cause to run for, and I like it because it's not like most pediatric cancer foundations. It is amazing how much money people raise towards cancer research and treatments, I'm in NO WAY knocking that. But I also think that these sweet sick children need some extra hope and a little bit of fun, just to get them through those hard times with a few awesome new memories. Endure to Cure provides "miracles" to the kids via special gifts and experiences. With all the amazing donations for my first marathon (thanks SO much to my awesome friends and family!), we were able to give a very special birthday party to a sweet little girl with brain cancer. For one day, she was on top of the world! I can't wait to find out what we can do for such a major race like this one!!! Visit my personal page to find out how you can help.
And on top of all of this, I'm strongly considering getting my Group Fitness Certification and teaching a few classes at the YWCA. Because I love them all there and apparently I don't have enough to do. Right?! Wish me luck over the next few months, they will by far be the most physically demanding months I've ever been through. I can come out rocking it, or I can crash and burn on a few things. Time will tell. Thanks so much for all the support, and I can't wait to share this difficult but hopefully awesome journey with you all!
Now I leave you with some gratuitous cuteness. Because it's been a while.
Yes, they're eating ice cream. No, it isn't healthy. We all have our naughty moments!
But I haven't totally disappeared! I would sit down to blog and then not be able to even formulate what I wanted to say. For a short bit, it was because of a burnout. Then it became because there were SO many crazy happenings and changes in my life that I didn't really wish to share them with the world. So I decided to take a break and come back when I felt that I was in a good place to write again. I think I'm finally there!
The past few months have had many negative points. I was sick for an entire month and basically did nothing but whine. The gym that I was set to teach in suddenly closed down. A close relative had a very serious health scare (but is totally fine now). And by far the worst event was the loss of my father last month. We had a very strained relationship for years, but we had finally fixed it and then I got the news that he wasn't going to make it. Fortunately my sister and I were able to be with him during his final moments, we reunited with our brother, and I got to say all the things to my father that I'd always wished I'd said to him before. I've been beating myself up for not getting closer to him earlier, but I know that he passed away surrounded by love and knowing exactly how much he was cared about. That's all one can ever really ask for in life.
My dad with my sweet stepmom
For him, I dedicated a special run and a beach walk with my sister
I've also had many great moments in the past few months. We finished building our house and moved in a week ago! It's beautiful and big and comfortable and OURS. We've never owned a home before, and it's really a great feeling! I also rejoined the Air Force National Guard Band of the Smokey Mountains as an oboe player. I originally joined it in 1997 as I was graduating high school. It was great, but had to leave after 11 years when I moved overseas. Now that I'm within driving distance again, I've gone back and am loving it. I've also started up my own business as a Mary Kay beauty consultant, since I'm basically obsessed with their products anyway. I started a running group at the local YWCA and have fallen in love with their gym, my fun little group, and the outreach efforts of the organization. I ran my first sub-2hr half marathon and also got an AG award, my first ever. And just this week, I began my first real gig as a personal trainer! I'm at a fun little Christian-based training studio with just the functional training-based fitness approach that I love. I have shadowed the owner a few times, and just yesterday I worked with a few other trainers on a fabulous new class that we just started. Seeing the sense of accomplishment on the faces of all the clients is so rewarding! I think I'm going to really love it there.
At the Kings Mountain HM, I felt and ran strong!
So yeah, that's why I haven't been around. Life has hit me pretty hard, in good ways and really tough ones. My spirit has grown more in the past few months than over the past few years put together. I've gained strength and confidence I didn't know that I had, and I'm learning to let go of bitterness, stand up for myself, speak my mind more freely, become more organized and directed, and just be ME better. I fail sometimes, but I'm winning so much more often. It feels good!
So now, prepare to hear about my many gigs, read even more healthy eating and family fitness tips, and of course be bombarded by pictures of my cute kids. Just like before!
Warning, part of this is going to be rant-y. You may get mad at me. I may not care. But it will be productive in the end, I promise!
So, we always here people say "let kids be kids", but it can mean a lot of different things. When I say it, it means that kids should be able to express themselves physically, verbally, and emotionally. If they want to wear a Godzilla costume to Target, I don't care. It hurts no one, and it encourages imagination. Most of the time when people say it, it's aimed at letting kids play more, be louder, and be sillier. Right on! Today I heard it MULTIPLE times for something that just pissed me off. It was in regards to a certain race series' Facebook picture of a young boy (maybe 6?) doing a crapton of burpees. I'm not going to post the photo out of respect for the parents. But it set. Me. Off. And this is why.
The boy was doing the standard shirtless "showing off the guns" sort of photo, and he was obviously very healthy. He has a little kid six pack and strong arms. And for every "way to go, kid!" comment, I read two or three comments on how UNHEALTHY and UNNATURAL he was being. WTF? There was everything from "This is terrible parenting" to "This is going to ruin his body forever". Um, no. Neither of those are true at all. And comments like these are the reasons that we have so many obese children in our country! I'll expand.
First off, I honestly doubt that his parents forced him to do it, they weren't holding him back from "being a kid". Just because he has muscles doesn't mean he's been overtrained, muscles are more visible on skinnier children. I have two very skinny children. I feed them well, but they're just built that way, as was I as a child. I CANNOT find clothes for these kids! I have to either buy pants with those elastic adjustments and pull them all the way tight (giving them massive bubble butt) or go to H&M and buy them European-sized clothing. In fact, when we lived in Europe both kids were in the 50th percentile for height/weight. Here? They're around 5-10th percentile. Why the huge difference? Because they put their kids outside and keep them out there until the kids are tired. Because they don't let them play x-box all day and instead make them walk/run to a playground. Because there are very few fast food restaurants and most people actually COOK for their kids. Amazing! But nooooo, that's not good enough for our country! We need more fast food, more nasty bags of frozen meals, and more video games/tv shows to stare at all day. All this gets us is a country full of people who don't like to move, and it shows.
Most people don't know this, but the health recommendation for school-aged children is to get a MINIMUM of one hour/day exercise, EVERY SINGLE DAY. Not the 30mins/5 days per week that adults should get, but seven hours/week. Sound like too much? No way!! It doesn't mean that they should be in the gym, but instead just doing kid-play like going to the playground and participating in sports. And they should do it until they're adults! I know that most schools don't give a recess longer than 30 minutes, and PE isn't offered every day anymore, so this means that children need to be getting that extra exercise at home. As responsible parents, we should be giving our kids time to play hard and doing it daily. The stimulation that exercise provides to the bones promotes healthy growth and will lead to stronger, sturdier bones for life, not to mention the disposition to eat healthier and maintain a certain level of fitness into adulthood. It's "letting kids be kids"! The only things that are not good for young children are lifting HEAVY weights and running LONG distances. And they probably won't want to do that stuff anyway, because it hurts.
So, the question is now--How do we get our children more active, especially in the colder months? Well, I have multiple suggestions:
1. Take them outside anyway. If it's not raining and the wind won't knock them over, they'll play in it. Yes, that means lots of layers and parents having to sit in the cold with them. But it's going to make them happier and healthier, so I think it's an worthy sacrifice.
2. If you just can't bear to do that and you have the extra money, put them in a sport. Martial arts are year-round and are amazing for not only health but teaching respect and responsibility. Swim and dance classes are also offered year-round and give excellent fitness benefits. Also, most local rec centers and YMCA/YWCA's will have basic fitness classes offered year-round. Our local club just started a free youth class for children to learn aspects of yoga, pilates, zumba, and martial arts, as well as do group activities. Look into it, they're out there!
3. Let them play active video games on the really nasty days. Kinect especially has some awesome kid games that will teach them dances with their favorite cartoon characters. It gives them their video game time, but it makes them work for it. And for older children, Zumba and Dance, Dance, Revolution are excellent options.
4. Dance party! We have a kiddo dance party almost daily in our house. I put them in a room with a CD player and let them go nutty, usually with some dancing on my part too. Yes, my ears are usually bleeding from Kidz Bop and Fresh Beat Band afterwards, but again--worth it.
5. Family walks. Walking IS considered an intense enough exercise for a child. And it's wonderful bonding time. Bring the bikes and scooters, and circle the neighborhood for thirty minutes. Everyone will love it.
6. Let THEM lead an at-home workout! This won't work every day, but it will get you at least 10 minutes of activities from them. Stand facing them and have them show you what they've learned in PE or other classes. They love to show off, you get a bit of exercise time too, and you will probably be giggling by the end.
7. Buy a few cute kid yoga/fitness DVD's and rotate them as the kids like. It won't hurt to try different things out, and it's the perfect way to pump up a rainy day. We've even done kid yoga on playdates before, so it can be fun any time!
8. Lastly (and probably most importantly)--let them hear about and see YOU exercise and eat healthy too! They'll learn that it's simply a part of daily life, and it'll never seem like a chore. I can't tell you how many times my kids just ask to exercise so they can "stay healthy". It's just like teaching any other value--it's best learned from emulating!
Now, I know that most people reading this probably already do a lot of this stuff, or you wouldn't be reading a family health blog. I do get that, so I'm not as much preaching to you but asking you to preach it to others. Please, please, please--PREACH this stuff. If your child has a friend that you suspect doesn't get enough exercise, invite them over for an active playdate. Show them how fun it is to move! Show their parents how easy it is to get them to move with the right outlook! Get them to go to a local race or on a hiking trip and bring friends. Share videos like these:
Doesn't that look like "kids being kids"!?! Effing awesome!! Help me to help kids around this country get off the couch and playing hard. Our future generations will be so healthy AND grateful for it!
I skipped the weekend long runs for a while due to travel, illness, weather, and hanging out with family. Now I'm back into my marathon training and I'm being reminded of all the random crap that goes through one's head when she runs alone for over two hours in the cold. Here are some snippets:
"Ooh, deer! I need a picture! Hmm, I'm only on mile 2, maybe they'll be there when I come back..."
"Note to self--don't sing aloud to Tenacious D. That old lady didn't look like she enjoyed hearing me say the word chode."
"I hope the kids aren't being insane right now."
"Do I smell a cigarette? At 8am? On a trail?? I think I may hurl..."
"That dude totally didn't wave back. Remember his face, he's getting the stink-eye on my next lap!"
"Lap one done. No one would ever know if I left now and went to Starbucks....."
"Dammit, I should've gone to Starbucks."
"Man, I really think the kids are being insane right now. Lucky me!"
"Am I chaffing? It's hard to tell. My shower may suck later."
"Ooh, the deer are back! Now my fingers can't bend. Deer are stupid anyway."
"I'm getting tired. Omg, that chick is wearing a cotton tank and Vibrams, and she's avoiding the mud. Got. To. Pass. Her."
"I seriously think I may be chaffing."
"Poor husband, those kids must be driving him batty. Maybe I should run farther."
"Stop looking at my Garmin, stop looking at my Garmin, stop looking at my Garmin..."
"I'm so glad I'm reforming these calluses before sandal season!"
"That squirrel totally just tried to attack me. Where are the damn deer now!?"
"I love seeing all these walkers out! They're so much friendlier than the runners."
"Seriously, my hand is dead now. Can't. Bend. Fingers."
"I'm so glad that I didn't go to Starbucks, that run was awesome!! I hope the family wants to keep sitting around when I get home!"
Any you'd like to add?? Enjoy your Monday! This is what we're up to today:
No, not certifiable. Though some would disagree. I'm actually certified--as of yesterday, I'm an ACE-Certified Personal Trainer! This has been my dream for a while, and I'm over the moon that it's finally coming to fruition!
Last year as I prepared to send my oldest to kindergarten, I started to wonder what I was going to do with myself once they were in school. I never finished my degree in music because I realized pretty late in the game that it was just wrong for me. For a few years I worked in retail, and I was really good at it. But I didn't really LOVE it. As a part-time extra job, I worked mornings at a local all-women's gym. It. Was. Awesome! I loved everything about it--the healthfulness, the camaraderie, the ability to help women feel wonderful about themselves. I quit my higher paying retail management job and started working at the gym full-time. I had daydreams of becoming a trainer one day.....and then we moved to Germany. Everything was put on hold for a while, and my fitness fell in the gutter as two kids came along. Which was fine. I still walked for groceries more than most people walk for fitness. But upon our move back, I knew I needed more. After getting in the best shape of my life last year, I started to think about it all again. And becoming a personal trainer just made sense. I could work part-time if I wanted to, possibly in the evenings without having to use childcare, I could maybe work at a gym WITH childcare, I could work from home, there were so many options! So I ordered my training materials and got started.
I didn't tell anyone other than my husband about my test yesterday. I was scared of failure. I've been studying, but it hasn't come as easily as it used to. It's been quite a while since college, and I just wasn't in the groove anymore. It was hard! But I registered for my test and knew I needed to be ready by that date. Having a date for something is always a key for my success, I'm too lazy otherwise. I've been a mess for the past week, and during the test I almost vomited from nerves. Turns out, I aced it!!
So now, on to my next step--a job! I'm still unsure of where to start. My ultimate goal is to run a small training facility for women. Even if it's just out of my home. But I want to work with pre-/post-natal, and even post-post-natal women who would benefit from not only fitness but a healthier lifestyle with much higher self-esteem for themselves and their families. I would love to be a beacon of healthy change for so many women who are scared of being the best SHE she can be!
So where do I start? Presently, I have a little thing lined up (as of a few days ago) to organize group running at the local YWCA. It's not a paying job, just something to get the program off the ground and hopefully turn into something permanent and paying. Which is fine with me. I'll be getting childcare for the boy while I'm there, I'll be getting mileage in with other people (always more fun!), I'll be helping others meet new goals, and I'll be getting my foot in the door at an awesome pro-women's establishment. I know I can't wait around there forever for a PT job to turn up, but I will try to make my mark. I will also push the PiYo Strength idea since I don't see it on their class schedule, muahaha!
So yeah, that's what I've got right now. I know what I want, I'm getting started, and I just have to make a path to get there. But I'm on my way! And I have even MORE reason to work out in the meantime, woohoo!!
I've gotten to run three days in a row this week, and I feel gooooooooood! I have the "runner's high" that I was missing during that terrible stint of illnesses. I ate fairly well for most of our Christmas trip (aka didn't go to restaurants but still had fudge at my family's house), and now I'm back on my game. Next stop--two or maybe three Spring marathons! I also have my Spartan Sprint in March, which wouldn't be as huge of a deal if it weren't paired with the Hurricane Heat. Which means that I need a good bit of strength training put in with all that running. Since I need to stay quite strict with my training right now I'll share with you my schedule, minus exact mileage, at present:
Monday--PiYo Strength home workout
Tuesday--Short run, HIIT
Wednesday--Mid-length run
Thursday--Short run, yoga class
Friday--2-miler (when I need the added mileage), weights
Saturday--absolutely jack squat!
Sunday--Long run
I have it all on paper and printed out, and that means it's real and happening and I can't get out of it now. It feels fantastic! If you have a fitness goal and you haven't done this already--PUT IT ON PAPER. Post it to your fridge, hang it up at work, put the workouts into your phone, and tell people about it. The more accountable you make yourself, the more likely it will happen! Because if you don't do it, you'll feel like an ass. And that's a great motivator at least for me.
This Sunday will be my 11-miler, and I'm already stoked. It's been a while since I've hit the greenway, and my body is already anticipating the pavement-pounding. What do you all have going on in your fitness training right now? Weekend plans? Happy Friday!
First off, I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays!!! We had an absolute blast! I'm going to attempt to tell you how it all went down, how we got a new family member, and what my plans for 2013 are. (Wow, that sentence sounded like a high school English essay example. Nerd alert.)
1. We started our Christmas break here at our house, as the calm before the storm. We spent a few days out and about at times, but mostly finishing last-minute gifts and just enjoying each other. We attempted to eat healthy, but it's hard when you know you're going away for a week. But we stuck with fixing things we could take with us. On Christmas, the kids went nutty getting all of their awesome new stuff! Then on the 26th we set out with a car full of clothes, presents, and leftover homemade pizza (our Christmas Eve tradition--made with homemade honey wheat crust and super good homemade sauce!) and headed to my mother's house. After a few awesome days with my family, we went to my husband's family (1.5 hours south of there) and spent the last few days. Then we ended the chaos on the 1st and headed back to our comfy condo. Now we're just trying to readjust to the kids not being spoiled and the adults not being able to sleep in! Oh, and there's another major (super adorable) adjustment we've had to make too.....
Snuggling with his new friend since the cats hate him
2. We got a puppy!!!!! We have been wanting a dog for a while, but we've not gotten one because of our impending move. We knew it would be easier to move with one less wild body, and it would be less stress on this already messy condo. But sweet little Murray had different plans. We were driving to a cave in the middle of the country with my mother, when the little guy ran right in front of her car. She stopped in the road, and from our car behind her, we could see him going under and just playing with her tires, begging for attention. We picked him up and fell in love instantly. Of course, we knew there was a chance that someone was missing the little guy, so we asked all the neighborhood people. It's a very rural (ahem, redneck) community, and they all seemed to know each other. But no one had any puppies. So we figured he was dumped there, probably a Christmas puppy that didn't instantly learn potty training and got ditched. He was cold and scared, his fur was in awful condition, and his swollen belly looked like he had worms, so we snatched him up and rescued him. There were no promises to the kids that we'd keep him, we wanted to wait to check on microchipping and his health. But considering we'd already named him (we found him on Murrayville Road on the way to Murrayville Cave, so Murray was perfect!), we figured he was becoming family already. He took a full day to start acting energetic, and he was thrown into so many different homes over the few days, but he's been incredibly sweet and loving through it all. He's been checked out, given medicine, and now he's already grown into his harness, has soft lovely fur, and is happy as a lark. He's presently sleeping on our couch getting snuggled by my daughter. We're over the moon about having him in our family! The cats still aren't sure though.
3. On a completely different note (this is where I'd get docked points on my English essay for lack of flow), I'd like to mention my resolutions for the year. Last year, I didn't set many specific goals and I didn't pressure myself too much on any of them. I think I'll stick with the same this year, as it kept me from feeling disappointed at year's end. Here's what I plan on doing in 2013:
Drink less of everything except water
Eat healthier
Spend more time teaching the boy preschool stuff
Run 100 miles/month (Yes, this is specific. But I won't beat myself up if life happens)
Finish my Spartan Trifecta
Get my personal training certification
Have more sex
Yell less
Make more friends
Get the entire family exercising together more
If I can accomplish half of those, I'll feel pretty dang good! Some will be easy, some will be fun, and some will be very difficult. But they're all going to be totally worth it!
So, tell me what you've had going on in life! Any awesome holiday happenings? Great gifts you got? Resolutions you're looking forward to (or dreading)? I wanna know!
Congrats ladies, and thanks for following my sometimes odd but always fun journey!
So now my fun and exciting news of the week--my daughter passed her TaeKwonDo belt test yesterday with flying colors! I could tell she was nervous about it, and in class on Monday she completely fell apart. She wasn't able to do the form to save her life, and she was getting openly frustrated. We unfortunately had a very full evening, so we couldn't just go home to practice in quiet and private. So I gave her a little pep talk in the car and we saved the practicing for Tuesday after school.
She got home, and in her usual style got majorly pissy because she was hungry. There are only ever two reasons that my kids (and most kids I think) are in a bad mood--they're tired or they're hungry. And when both happen, you might as well give up for the day! But fortunately she was wide awake and excited, so after a few struggled crying attempts at pushing through her form, I gave her a sandwich and sat her down for a talk.
I went about it all a different way this time. I told her exactly what I wasn't supposed to tell her but exactly what the actual truth was--no one fails these tests. When she was given her final "tip" in class, that was showing that she was proficient enough to test and move on to the next belt. The test is a formality, a way for us to get pictures and them to get more money. So there was no need at all to be nervous, she simply needed to go out there confident in her abilities and ready to have fun and kick butt. Then we ran through her forms again, this time with me telling her to smile the whole time. And it was PERFECT! She did an amazing job, we yelled some cheers about kicking butt (the neighbors were probably very confused), we laughed, and we didn't practice it again. I wanted to end it on a good note and just let her relax.
When it was her turn to test, she was with four other children but in front of an entire room full of parents and cameras and other belt levels. And you know what? She didn't care in the least. They did their forms, with the boys next to her rushing through like bats out of hell, just as boys do. It threw her off at first, and she got out of step with them, and then at her own, slightly slower pace she did the entire form correctly. The Master even talked about her at the end, bragging on her level of concentration and ability to go her own pace and recover so well from the beginning hiccup. He said that's what the test was really about--how they performed under pressure. And she aced it! She was beaming with pride by the end, and we celebrated with a trip to McDonald's. Don't judge, when my kid kicks ass I oblige her with what she wants!
She's the only kid I've ever seen who skips in TaeKwonDo
iPhones--good for keeping little boys busy in quiet moments!
"I want that belt!"
Happiness
Let's hope this motivation pushes her into some awesome hard work in her new belt, because the next belt is green. And green belt means sparring and alllllll sorts of fun! If I can hold myself back from slapping the kid who kicks her first, that is.... :P
1. The good is about my daughter! For the past few months since she's
moved up a level in TaeKwonDo, she's been quite unhappy/discouraged with
class. She's by far the smallest, one of the youngest, and one of the
few girls in there. She's a tough kid, but it automatically intimidated her. Plus, the class
moves at a much faster pace, and what was always somewhat simple for her
suddenly became challenging. We went through WEEKS of her flipping out
when we'd get there, refusing to do anything but sit on the side of the
mat and make rude faces. So totally unlike her! But we knew it was because she's never actually been challenged in her life, and we worked with the amazing instructors to show patience and understanding. BUT we didn't stop taking her. We were finally about to give up, though. We had all been sick, our contract runs out in a month, and we were fairly sure she'd be happy to just let it go. Until last Monday. She showed up to class for the first time in a week, and she was renewed! She improved so much over the past week and a half, that she's actually testing for her next belt next week!! And not only that, she LOVES it again. She got over the hurdles that were challenging her, and she said that she plans on continuing to do so for every new belt. She knows that it will get harder with each test, and she seems to understand now. I'm hoping that she'll keep this sort of perseverance into the new challenges, but there's only one way to find out!
2. So after that happy lot, here's the bad. Back story--in September when my father got sick, I went to visit him. It was really stressful and fairly hot out there in SoCal. So I needed lots of caffeine, and I couldn't stand drinking those ultra-fattening frappucinos or hot coffee. My confession is that I went back to drinking diet soda. And I never stopped. I know that I detoxed from it in the summer and was doing really well, but this bit of stress hit me hard and I don't have a lot of vices. So I took the one really bad thing that I do to myself, and I went with it out of frustration. I've recently started working pretty hard to wean back off of it again. I've been back on my morning protein shakes with some espresso in them, and in the afternoon I try to have either an almond milk latte or a hot tea, or skip the caffeine all together. It's actually going fairly well, but don't be surprised if I get a tad bit bitchy at times. (On a happier note, my father is still in the hospital but making forward steps daily!)
3. The ugly is my yoga practice, fo sho'. I finally went back to my Power Yoga class today, after a long time off. When I was going regularly, I felt so balanced and strong. But since we've all had a major case of the grossness, I've not only missed that class but most of my other workouts too. It's left me feeling quite off-centered and weak. The class started off rough, as I rushed in late because the boy threw an insane fit this morning. I got ready messily but quietly and tried to focus. I never set my "intention" for the practice, I unfortunately missed that part. And I could tell. She focused on balance today with tons of one-legged poses. It was an eye opener to how imbalanced I've become! I was all over the place, and it was so hard to focus and not just give up in embarrassment. But I made it through, and I felt better by the end. I almost walked out of the class twice, and nearly cried once. But dammit, I'll be back next week and hopefully a bit stronger physically and emotionally by every class. If my daughter can persevere, so can I! Now, off to practice some Warrior III and Dancer poses....
Don't forget, go to enter my Pay It Forward Giveaways! You can enter through next Tuesday, and I'll draw FOUR lucky winners on Wednesday morning. Go win something!!!
So, I know I've mentioned in the past that I have an odd luck for winning things, right? Well, it's not seemed to go away. Recently I entered in a few giveaways from the Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway Day, just for the heck of it. I only entered a couple giveaways, the ones I really REALLY liked. The reason being that I tend to win the stuff I try for, and I didn't want to make it unfair. I know, it's a snotty assumption, but it proves itself every time. And it did again! I managed to win an absolutely gorgeous necklace from Fab handmade:
I chose the one on the left, but aren't they all gorgeous!?!
And it just so happens that she has another super adorable giveaway going on right now through tomorrow! Go to her winter giveaway here and enter to win some super adorable earrings, all you have to do is follow her blog.
And just today, I woke up to find out that I won my absolute favorite of the giveaways, this beautifully happy purse from Hey Fish Studio:
Eeek, isn't it gorgeous?!?!
She doesn't presently have another giveaway going right now, but she does have an Etsy shop here with some pretty adorable little bags that you know you (or someone you love) totally should have. Go there now!
So that brings me to the next part--If I'm winning all this awesome shit, I should be giving something away too, right? Right???? So, here you go, I have a few things for you!!!
Giveaway One
First up for you, I'll give one lucky person an awesome pair of black Pro Compression knee socks in S/M:
I have a pair of these in hot pink, and they've been a Godsend for tough recovery runs. I wore them directly after my Spartan Beast, and I think the only thing that DIDN'T hurt the next day was my calves, because of these socks.
Giveaway Two
The next thing up for grabs is very cool for the traveling type. It's a bar of JR Liggett's Shampoo with a travel case and face cloth:
Isn't the model adorable? :P
This shampoo is all natural with no harsh additives and you shouldn't need a conditioner with it, plus the carrying case is made of recycled plastic. Everything in the package is 100% biodegradable!
Giveaway Three
This giveaway is something that I made this morning just for the occasion! It is an insulated cloth coffee sleeve:
The outer layers are one of my favorite designer fabrics, and the inner layer is a heat-resistant insulation. Keep this in your purse, and every time you buy a coffee while you're on-the-go, you won't have to waste the extra trash by using one of their sleeves. Plus, this is way cuter. And it'll fit every size, since it's got a button/elastic closure. Win!
Giveaway Four
It wouldn't be a HipFitFam giveaway if I didn't give someone some headbands, right? Well, here you go. One lucky person will get two headbands of their choice of fabric, from the options below:
So there you go! Four fun prizes for four lucky winners! I'll do a random drawing via random.org on next Wednesday December 19th when I wake up. All you have to do to enter is live in the continental US and then do one (or both) of these things:
1. Follow this blog.My following is a bit low right now on Blogger, and I'd love to show up on your blogroll. It would make me happy! Leave me a comment here that you're a follower, and you get one entry.
2. Go read this post and tell me HERE about one way in which you've bettered yourself over the past one/five/whatever years. I love to hear success stories!
REMEMBER: If your blogger profile is set to private, make sure you leave me a way to get in touch with you, such as your email address written like this: name at email dot com. Thanks!!!
And if I DOUBLE my followership on the blog (I'm presently at 43), I'll give away a second set of headbands. Woohoo!
That's it, easy peasy. Go win something from me, and be sure to tell your friends!!!
If I were less lazy, I'd get up at 5am to work out before getting the kiddo ready for school.
If I were less lazy, I'd be doing pushups, planks, and crunches while sitting on the floor with the kids.
If I were less lazy, I would make my own protein bars instead of getting the store-bought kind.
If I were less lazy, I would read a lot more and study a lot harder.
If I were less lazy, I'd watch less tv with the husband at night and do productive stuff instead.
If I were less lazy, I'd have that kick-ass bedroom quilt finished by now.
And a quilt for each kid.
If I were less lazy, I'd be able to do twice as many pullups at this point. Which would be two. Haha.
But you know what, I'm not less lazy. And I'm a damn fine leap ahead of the previous me.
So I'll suck it up and be happy with how far I've come. I used to never work out. Like, never.
I used to think running was a punishment and that pushups would just make your arms bulky.
I used to eat candy bars instead of store-bought protein bars.
I used to only read beauty magazines and wish I looked like them. And studying wasn't in my wild college girl vocabulary.
I used to sit and watch tv during the day also, instead of saving for decompression time at night.
I used to think that sewing was for grandmas. I didn't know the beauty of something handmade.
I used to say I'd never even do one pullup.
So I guess it's not that bad, huh?
In a world where we're constantly reminded of our shortcomings, look at yourself today and remember how far you've come. And feel proud. You deserve it!
First off, let me apologize for my lack of blogging lately. I just haven't really been up to the task, quite honestly. It's been a bit messy around here, and I've had a really hard time trying to motivate others to be healthy and fit when I can't even get my own house in order. Basically, this is the past month:
Daughter has ear infection
Daughter has nasty cold
Son has nasty cold Both get better, I get nasty cold
Husband has nasty cold
I get fever and son gets another cold I get really bad strep throat
Daughter gets fever
Son gets stomach virus I get stomach virus
Husband gets strep throat
Son gets strep throat and double ear infection
And that's where we are now. The poor boy is feverish and covered in hives. Fortunately for him, he doesn't have any actual pain in his ears. They simply look like they're on fire inside. He does fairly well through the day, only whining a bit about the itching. But the night is when it hits the hardest. I'm personally not a huge fan of overprescribed antibiotics, but in this instance I feel it's absolutely necessary. In fact, they've both had their first rounds of antibiotics EVER this season. I guess it's because of kindergarten and the introduction of all the new germs, but it's still completely depressing. They've been sicker the past month than ever before in their lives. And I've been persistent with the vitamins, Emergen-C, probiotics, and allllll sorts of healthy foods. Hopefully it will all pass soon and we'll all be well for longer than one day at a time.
And of course with a month like that, it's kind of hard to maintain a decent workout schedule. I've spent most nights dealing with coughing, vomiting, or crying. So my weekend long runs have been replaced by sleeping. And my weekday workouts haven't happened because I can't take a sick kid (or my sick self) to the gym. I've lost a lot of endurance and strength, but I'm determined to get it back. Once everyone is healthy, of course.
I've gotten a little done in the past few weeks, craft-wise. I've managed to get our house fairly cleaned and decorated for the holidays. I made a brand new Advent Calendar this season, because my old one was three years old and looking a bit shabby. This new one is made from free designer wallpaper samples. I rolled them, sealed the bottom, and put numbered ornament stickers on them. Then I simply hung them from twine above the fireplace, and voila! Every day has a different activity, like "bake peppermint brownies" or "learn about Winter Solstice". Today we'll be making snowflakes from yarn and popsicle sticks! It's an excellent way to count down to Christmas, and it can be done relatively cheaply with a little thought (or some Pinterest inspiration)!
Each little "cup" has a cute family activity, easy peasy!
I've also made my first ever Christmas wreath, which I'm quite proud of. And this weekend I was tired of sitting around and felt the need to have new clothes, so I even sewed myself a cute little jersey knit mini skirt! The boy also has a new stocking made from a sweater I accidentally shrunk and didn't want to give up. Being cheap can sometimes be SO fun!
So now, I move on to my next phase--getting back into shape for the Spring race season. I have my next Spartan Race in March, which will complete my Trifecta. I'll also be doing the Hurricane Heat before my race, which will be about 4+ hours of grueling pain with a team of other crazy bastards. I can't wait! I have a few local marathons that I'm doing as well. I'm working on finding fewer races, closer to home. And the cheaper, the better. I don't need a lot of bells and whistles, just a start line and a finish line. Although a medal is really appealing! On my list as of now is this for next season:
And if I have the money/energy, I'd love to run my first marathon again, the New River Marathon on May 4. It would put me as a qualifier for Marathon Maniacs, which would be super duper cool. But then again, that just costs more money. So we'll see. The only ones I'm officially signed up for now are the Spartan and the TSFB, and that's a good start!
I'm hoping that although the end of the year is usually a time of overeating and being too busy to work out, that I'll be able to do exactly the opposite. It's been a long time coming, and I need it. I need it bad.
How has the season of sickness been treating all of you? Did you also fall off the wagon, or were you able to stay on? If you did--tell me your secret!!
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