Mamavation: Finding Bliss

I had a great time at Blissdom, and I'll post a conference recap tomorrow.  But here's a little vlog to share my "bliss" from meeting so many awesome health and fitness peeps!

A quick recap of last week...

Fitness: Monday - running; Tuesday - #easactive 2 full body workout; Wednesday - travel day; Thursday - no workout other than tons of walking at Blissdom; Friday - running on the dreadmill plus a fitness walk with @MizFitOnline and @Jockey; Saturday - awesome boxing lesson with Carmen; Sunday - short walk in the neighborhood with my girl

My plan for this week is to get back to my fitness plan.  Running on Monday, Wednesday, Saturday.  #Easactive 2 workouts plus resistance training on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday.

Food:  Nutrition was WAY off due to the conference.  I did the best I could with taking my own snacks and avoiding most of the sugary food that was offered.  I loaded up on fruits and veggies whenever I could. 

My plan for this week is to really dial in the nutrition.  Proper fuel for my body.

The Scale: I'm up 3 lbs from PMS and the conference.  I know that will slide right off once I get myself back on track with proper nutrition.

Blogging Carnival: This week's Mamavation blogging carnival is sponsored by Earth Footwear!  The question for this week is: What does "wellness" mean to you?

Wellness, for me, is not just the absence of disease.  Wellness is FEELING good, mentally, physically, and emotionally.  It's about the whole person being in sync.  When one area of my life is "off," the rest of me is off too.  My goal is to be healthy and fit, so I can be the best me!

Thanks, as always, for your continued support & encouragement!  And thank you for sharing in my journey.

Ten Thoughts Before Blissdom

I have the wonderful privilege of attending the Blissdom Conference this week - I am so excited!!!  Here are ten of my thoughts before the conference.  (I'll try to keep the exclamation points to a minimum!)


1. I am so pumped about getting to meet so many of my favorite people face-to-face.

2. I am not *too* worried about what I'm wearing.  Although I am considering taking a bigger suitcase.  Fitness clothes, day wear and evening wear, plus shoes?  That's a lot

3. I am looking forward to connecting with other fitness and healthy living bloggers.

4. I am also looking forward to finding blogging inspiration.

5. I know I'm going to learn so much!

6. I get to hang out with 500 of my new BFFs for two and a half days!

7. Although there are a lot of unknowns and new-to-me stuff, I'm going to (try to) go with the flow.

8. I'm looking forward to hanging out with people who speak my language, blogging, Twitter, social media.

9. I'm looking forward to getting a kiss from Alli and a butt-squeeze from Leah.

10.I'm looking forward to the squeals, giggles, and awesomesauce girlfriend time!


For more Top Ten lists, visit ohamanda.com, one of the fabulous bloggers that I get to hang out with at Blissdom!

Mamavation: I Want Off the Roller Coaster

A week of lots of ups and downs, and I'm worn out emotionally.  Stress, PMS, blah, blah, blah. I tried to take time for self-care, but I had a lot of yucky self-talk.  I am a big believer in the importance of positive self-talk.  I really struggled this week.

Okay, I'll quit whining.  Here's my weekly recap...

Fitness: I did cardio 6 days out of 7, for a total of 219 minutes.  I only did #easactive twice, my goal is three, and to use it for cross training/strength training purposes.  On Friday, Hubs and I got to do the EASActive workout together.  That was a lot of fun.  And it's four weeks until my next 5k race - I'm really looking forward to that.  I love having my running schedule mapped out; it keeps me on track.

Monday: running, 36 minutes
Tuesday: #easactive 2 full body workout, 32 minutes
Wednesday: exercise bike, 30 minutes; upper body resistance workout
Thursday: running, 37 minutes
Friday: #easactive 2 full body workout, 34 minutes
Saturday: running, 50 minutes

Food: My struggling emotions affected my nutrition this week.  I used to be an emotional eater, and I really had to fight to not fall back into those bad habits.  I did some emo-cleaning, which helped.  But it was a less than stellar week.  I'm not going to beat myself up for it.  Time to move forward.

This week will be a challenge in that I'm traveling to the Blissdom Conference.  I'll be taking lots of healthy snacks with me & drinking lots of water.  But I am excited that I get to meet Leah (@bookieboo) and hang out with her!

The Scale:  I did weigh myself, but I think the PMS bloat has started, because it wasn't pretty.  I know my nutrition wasn't spot-on this week, but the numbers were a little depressing, so I'm not recording a weigh in for this week. 

I think a lot of my frustrations are coming from the fact that I feel that I take one step forward and two steps back.  PMS sets me back every month.  I spent several months last year stuck in a plateau, losing and gaining the same 2 lbs.  I feel like I'm back in that plateau.

Blogging Carnival:  This week's Mamavation carnival is sponsored by Fiber Plus - yay!  Y'all know that I'm ALL about the fiber!  This week's question is: How are you getting more fiber in your diet this New Years?

I am trying to maintain the habits that I've learned.  7-8 daily servings of fruits and veggies really helps me get my daily fiber.  Also, five days a week, I usually have oatmeal with flax and fruit for breakfast.  I add ground flax to all of my baking, even biscuits. 

Thanks, y'all, for your continued support & encouragement.  You help me get through rough weeks like this.

I’m writing this post as an entry to a blogging carnival sponsored by Fiber Plus. I will be receiving free product in return.

Mamavation: When the Going Gets Tough

... the tough get going.  The rubber hit the road this week, literally and figuratively. Before I recap this past week, I want to share my very first vlog with you!

Fitness: Rocked.It. 6 days of cardio out 7, for 242 minutes. The cold, icy weather threw me off at the beginning of the week, but I made up for it. I focused on my training plan (oh, how I LOVE having a plan!) and cross-training. My plan kept me on track when the going got tough. (Cardio minutes are noted below; strength training is noted without minutes.)

Monday - exercise bike, 30 minutes
Tuesday - running, 36 minutes; #easactive 2 lower body workout; upper body resistance band workout
Wednesday - exercise bike, 30 minutes; Pilates core workout
Thursday - running, 34 minutes; Pilates core, lower body & upper body workouts
Friday - power walk, 41 minutes; #easactive full body workout, 20 minutes; planks (6x60sec each)
Saturday - running, 47 minutes; squats w/ biceps curls(30x2sets); pushups(25x2sets), tricep dips (20x1set), planks (4x60sec each)
Sunday - well-deserved rest day!

Food: I dialed in my nutrition, ate very few processed foods and sweets, ate 7+ servings of fruits & veggies on 4 days (woot!).  I focused on eating intuitively.  Friday was a rough day with Ladybug (3.5 years old) pushing all of my buttons, which is usually a trigger to emo-eat.  But I talked myself out of making an ice cream run by reminding myself that I wouldn't feel good later and that it wasn't worth it.  A year ago, I would have given in. I've come a long way, baby!

The Scale: Woot! Down 1 lb this week.  Focus and sticking with the plan worked this week. Yes!

Want to see what's in my fridge? Lots of veggies! Also, here's our healthy menu plan for the week.

This Monday is the Mamavation Twitter party!  Lots of great fun and prizes, and we'll find out who the two Mamavation Moms will be for campaign 7!  Join us on Twitter from 8-10pm EST!

Saturday Haiku

Something I do to occupy my mind when I'm running.  Composing a haiku helps me take a mental snapshot of God's beauty that I see around me in the stillness of the morning...

Red sky at the dawn,

As crimson and indigo

Grace the eastern sky.

Photo Credit: stock.xchng (Yeah, I wish I could take credit for that, but I don't carry my carry with me when I run!)

What's In Your Fridge?

Ever wonder what people eat? I mean, REALLY eat?  Looking inside someone's fridge or pantry cupboard gives you a good idea.  Carrie at Family, Fitness, Food posted pics of her fridge and dared me to do the same.  So glad I went to the store yesterday, or it would have looked really pathetic!

I'm not sure if you'll find this fascinating or insanely boring.  Oh well, here goes!

Top shelf: skim milk, yogurt (my plain yogurt is behind the milk), lots of leftovers - rice, whole wheat pasta, steamed carrot, soup; jars in the back - pickles, tomato sauce, wheat germ, salsa

Middle & bottom shelves: in the drawer is cheddar & mozzarella cheese, laughing cow cheese, feta cheese, nitrate-free hot dogs & a piece of ginger root; chicken breast thawing for tonight's dinner, a bag of spinach, unsweetened applesauce, leftover pork loin, and I think Miracle Whip in the back (blame that on my mom, we don't use it but it's there for when she comes to visit); bottom shelf is eggs, a bag of collard greens, a container with cut-up veggies for quick snacks, a bag of romaine lettuce

Produce drawers: left drawer - celery, carrots, broccoli, more spinach; right drawer - lemons & various oranges

Fridge door: butter (yes, REAL butter; I can't stand margarine); jar of minced garlic, sesame oil, ground flax and a jar of yeast; various BBQ sauces, salad dressings, soy sauce, real maple syrup and extra butter; on the bottom is the leftover (flat) champagne from New Year's and lots of coffee!

Freezer: we don't go through enough ice to keep the ice maker on all the time, so currently above the ice is leftover turkey bones (I made stock this week & instead of throwing the bones in the garbage to stink up the place, I leave them in the freezer until garbage day), the green and red bags are frozen veggies, whole wheat English muffins, frozen chicken breasts, leftover turkey, homemade stock in the yogurt container, homemade meatballs, leftover soup

Freezer door: frozen berries for smoothies, frozen okra, OJ concentrate (I sometimes put a spoon of that in smoothies too); more homemade chicken or turkey stock in the yogurt containers

There you have it!  I feel pretty good about all the veggies in our fridge, as well as the homemade extras in the the freezer.  Who wants to play along and post pics of what's in their fridge?  Let me know!

Caption This

Ladybug (3.5 years old) received a wonderful play mailbox from my sister for Christmas.  LB and Grammy had so much fun playing "mail mail" while Grammy was visiting.  After Grammy went home, LB got a little creative (or ornery?) when playing mail mail.  This NEEDS a caption!  Give me your best shot!  (Yes, that is Fox in Socks.)

5 Minutes for Mom

Wordful Wednesday

Mamavation: I Need a Plan

I know this about myself: I need a plan.  If I have a plan, I can follow it.  I can make changes when necessary, but a plan gives me direction and focus.

This week, I had a fitness plan and I followed it.  Yay!  But I did not have a plan/strategy for dealing with food when away from home, and I felt like I was floundering.  I can handle "normal" days.  But throw in get-togethers and kids' birthday parties, and I didn't have a plan.  Ugh.

Here's the nitty-gritty.

Fitness: Cardio 6 days out of 7, for a total of 231 minutes (wow!). I started week 1 of my new running plan.  This was the first time I have run three times in a week since my hip injury.  Greta asked last week if I'm doing anything different to help prevent a re-injury. Yes, I am!  I am spending more time on warm-up exercises before heading out for a run.  Hip circles, windmills, hello morning stretches.  At least 5 minutes, then 5 minutes of walking before starting a slow jog.  This definitely has helped!

Since my focus right now is running, I've joined some of the other Mamavation sistas in the EASActive 2 challenge. My goal is to use the EA2 workouts for cross training at least three times a week. A twenty minute workout on the easy level is still tough for me. I challenged myself on Friday to do 30 minutes of a full body workout. Oh my stars, that was REALLY tough!

Monday - running, 30 minutes
Tuesday - power walk, 48 minutes, Pilates core & lower body workout, plus resistance band workout for upper body
Wednesday - running, 30 minutes
Thursday - power walk, 48 minutes, #easactive 2 core workout
Friday - #easactive 2 full body workout, 30 minutes
Saturday - running 45 minutes
Sunday - rest day

Food: When I was at home, food was not a struggle this week.  I even remembered to take snacks with me when I would be away from home for a while.  But Friday night, we had a dinner party. And birthday parties both on Saturday and Sunday.  I sort of thought about a food strategy, but it wasn't well thought out, and I failed to stick what little plan I did have. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. And I felt like crap physically because of it. I know better.

Time to dial in the nutrition, focus on 7-8 servings daily of fruits and veggies, and little to no sugar.  I hate feeling crappy because of poor choices. Here's our menu plan for this week.

The Scale: Up 1.5 lbs from my last weigh in.  Not happy, but I'll deal with it.  Lots of fruits, veggies and water!

Blogging Carnival: This week's sponsor is Salonpas and the question of the week is: Have you ever been injured starting a new exercise routine? Tell us about it…If not, do you get any aches and pains? Where? 

The above-mentioned hip injury didn't happen at the beginning of a new exercise routine, but when I was trying to increase running speed.  I wasn't warmed up properly, I pushed myself too hard, and my hip flexor let me know it.  Ouch.  


So I had to take three weeks off running and then re-start slowly.  I pay more attention to warming up now.  As much as I want to get faster, I realize that my overweight body is not the prime running machine I would like it to be.  That will come when more weight sheds away.  


Good luck to all the Mamavation Mom finalists!  And thank you, everyone, for your continued support and encouragement!!

Ladybug Says...

A few gems from the mouth of Ladybug (3.5 years old) this week...

___________________________________________

We try to dissuade Ladybug from talking about monsters, but ever since Halloween, she asks us to tell stories about monsters.  We remind her that monsters are just pretend, and if we are scared, we can pray and ask Jesus to keep us safe. 

On the way to preschool the other day, in true 3 year-old random fashion, LB says, "Jesus will kill all the monsters and make them DEAD!"

___________________________________________

Ladybug is (hopefully) a typical 3 year-old in that she enjoys exerting her independence and sharing her opinion.  We often get into word matches (I hesitate to call them "arguments") because she simply doesn't believe that what I say is true.  When this happens, Hubby and I will say, "The sky is blue," because when LB is in a mood like that, she would contradict even that fact.

We were driving home the other night and it was dark out.  LB was being contrary, and under my breath I said, "The sky is blue."  And Ladybug in true form said, "No, it's not. The sky is black because it's night."

Post-Holiday Get-Away at Ocean Isle Inn

I was very pleased to be invited to be the Featured Blogger for December for Ocean Isle Inn.  If you haven't heard of OII before, please take some time to get to know them.  As a social media enthusiast, I appreciate and applaud companies who "get" social media.  Ocean Isle Inn gets it!

Our post holiday get-away to Ocean Isle Inn also coincided with our 8th wedding anniversary.  And since my mom has been in town visiting for the holidays, Hubby and I decided to indulge in some much needed down time.  We left our lovely Ladybug (3.5 years old) in the capable hands of Grammy (the first time both Hubby and I were spending a night away from her!), and drove the hour to Ocean Isle Beach. 

When we arrived at OII to check in, I was very pleased to find the menu to a local restaurant that I had asked about waiting for us.  That's great customer service!

Before heading out to Tomo Japanese Steakhouse for dinner, we took our bags up to our room.  We had a great ocean view!  And I noticed that the floor was tile instead of the usual carpet that you find in hotel rooms.  A very smart idea, in a housekeeping sense.  Beach = sand, which makes a heck-of-a-job vacuuming.  Nice!

Hubby and I enjoyed a nice dinner out and returned to our room.  We settled in for the night and got a great night's sleep.  In the morning, we were treated to a gorgeous sunrise, without leaving the room.

We spent a leisurely morning, enjoying the complimentary continental breakfast and time in the indoor pool and jacuzzi.  While we were at OII, the weather was unusually cold (for coastal North Carolina), so it was great to spend time in the warm water. 

Hubby and I really enjoyed the down time, but he needed to go back to work.  So we drove home and I collected Ladybug and Grammy to return with me and enjoy more time playing tourist.  The cold wind had died down and the temps warmed up enough for us to take a few walks on the beach hunting for sea shells.  Then we spent more time in the indoor pool, which Ladybug LOVED!  She's my little water bug. 

After another great night's sleep, I was very excited to go for a run on the beach.  I live less than 20 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, but don't have the extra time to drive to the beach just for a run.  It was great to be able to step out my door and there it was!  As I ran, the sun began to peek over the horizon.  Running on the beach at sunrise, mark THAT off my bucket list!

Have I mentioned that Ocean Isle Inn understands how to use social media?  They are hosting the NC Mom Bloggers Conference February 24-27, 2011, and there are spaces still available!  They are also hosting a Twitter party this Friday, January 7th at 7pm to spread the word about the conference. 

Thank you, Ocean Isle Inn, for inviting me to be your Featured Blogger for December!  My family and I really enjoyed our stay with you and look forward to coming for another visit soon!

Disclaimer:  As Featured Blogger, Ocean Isle Inn provided me with three nights accommodations.  The opinions expressed are my own. 

Mamavation: Foward Motion

Happy New Year!  As this new year dawns, I want to focus on "Forward Motion," building on the healthy living successes that I discovered in 2010.

One of my main goals is to run more.  In 2010, I learned to run and I learned to LOVE running.  Really love it.  I look forward to each run.  A gimpy hip side-lined me for three weeks, but I'm back and I'm feeling strong.  I have a 5k on February 18th, and want to increase my endurance for bigger and better races in the near future.  I posted my training plan for January/February to keep me focused. 

Here's my recap of this past week.

Exercise: I did cardio 5 days out of 7, for a total of 188 minutes.  We had a nice post-holiday get-away to Ocean Isle Inn at the beginning of the week, so that threw off my usual workout schedule, but I made it work. I didn't get as much strength training in due to the busy schedule, but we'll be back to "normal" this week.

To ring in the New Year, I ran a personal 5k in my neighborhood.  Since I want 2011 to be full of health and fitness vitality, I thought that was a fitting way to begin the year. 

Monday - water jogging, 30 minutes, Pilates core workout
Tuesday - no cardio, resistance band upper body & lower body workout
Wednesday - running (on the beach! at sunrise! gorgeous!), 30 minutes
Thursday - power walking, 49 minutes
Friday - running, 35 minutes
Saturday - running, 44 minutes
Sunday - rest day

Food: I haven't been totally strict with my food intake, but I have tried to watch portions.  I feel like that has been a good strategy for surviving the holidays. This week, I will focus on clean eating and 7-8 servings of fruits and veggies every day.  My veggie drawer is full to over-flowing, and I love it!  I got a salad spinner for Christmas; I know it will get plenty of use. I'm going to continue to limit pasta to once/week for myself.

Here's our healthy menu plan for the week.

The Scale: This is "that" time of the month, so I am avoiding the scale.  As much as I want to step on it, I know it won't give me an accurate picture right now.  But I think I've been able to hold my own through the holidays. 

Blogging Carnival Question: (I so love this idea!) What are ways you can work out without having to leave the house?  I am a big proponent of inexpensive ways to workout at home.  Of course, with running, all you "need" is a good pair of shoes and workout clothes.  But since that technically isn't IN the house, I guess that doesn't count to answer the question.

In the house, I love my Wii and EASActive workout games.  I also love my resistance bands for strength training, my recumbent exercise bike and my Pilates DVDs. These are all things that I've gathered over the course of the past year as I've discovered what exercises I enjoy.  (We actually bought the exercise bike off craigslist the year before.)  I don't believe that fitness has to be expensive.

Thanks to GameStop for being this week's blogging carnival sponsor.  And thanks to my family, friends, and Mamavation sistas for your continued support and encouragement.  2010 was an amazing year, and I know 2011 will be as well!

Running Plan

One of my goals for the beginning of 2011 is to increase my running and endurance.  I will be running my second 5k race on February 18th.  In addition to that, I want to be able to run 5 miles consistently.  As of today, I can run 3 miles in 43 minutes (woot!). 

Thanks to Janice (@fitcheerldr), I found a good training program to help me increase my endurance.  I've tweaked it for me, and I'm sharing it here for reference and accountability.  I will continue to workout 6 days/week, with strength training and cross-training on non-running days.

Week of Jan 3rd: Monday - run 2 miles; Wednesday - run 2 miles; Saturday - run 3 miles
Week of Jan 10th: M- 2.5 miles; W - 2.5 miles; S - 3 miles
Week of Jan 17th: M - 2.5 miles; W - 2.5 miles; S - 3 miles
Week of Jan 24th: M - 2.5 miles; W - 2.5 miles; S - 4 miles

Week of Jan 31st: M - 2.5 miles; W - 2.5 miles; S - 4 miles
Week of Feb 7th: M - 2.5 miles; W - 2.5 miles; S - 5 miles
Week of Feb 14th: M - 2 miles; W - 2 miles; Friday night - 5k race
Week of Feb 21st: M - 2.5 miles; W - 3 miles; S - 5 miles
Week of Feb 28th: M - 2.5 miles; W - 3 miles; S - 5 miles

Photo Credit: stock.xchng