Movie Reviews and Gym Frustrations

The 31 miles in 31 days challenge is going well and is almost over! Be sure and update your mileage on the spreadsheet. Click here! Prizes include a cool bumper sticker for all participants, itunes gift cards, and bondi bands.

The bumper stickers came from Build A Sign. I was approached by Megan at Build A Sign to try a product and give a review. I was given bumper stickers for each of the participants in my 31 Miles in 31 Days challenge. **Disclaimer** I was not paid for this review. These thoughts are all my own.

Build A Sign is a great and VERY user friendly website. It was easy to design the bumper stickers and they look awesome! I will post a pic once the challenge is completed (I want to keep them a surprise until then!) Check out build a sign for personalized magnets, window clings, bumper stickers, signs, etc.

I will begin emailing out the swap buddies tomorrow and I will email a questionnaire for you guys to fill out to help your swap partner pick you out something fabulous!

This weekend I rented lots of movies with the kids and we watched movies until we dropped! We watched Alpha and Omega, which was really cute (LittleMan has watched it 4 times since). I highly recommend this. I read a recommendation from Tall Mom and she was right on!

We also watched Ramona and Beezus. It was fantastic. I loved this movie! If you, like me, have the "good kid" and "strong willed child" you will totally relate.

Another movie we watched was Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I was totally disappointed in this movie. I found the main character to be rude, self-centered, a horrible friend, and he had some terrible misplaced values. I give this a giant thumbs down. Has anyone watched this movie and liked it?? Hated it???

And finally, the gym has been going well, but has been interesting. First of all, there is the older man with one lung (seriously...he told me) who picks the nicest treadmill (there are only 4...only 2 you can run on) and walks slowly while reading the paper. He's very nice, but it annoys me. Especially when he takes a break to go outside and smoke a cigarette. UGH!

Then, Friday, there was a woman to got on that same treadmill in jeans and a hoodie. Seriously??? You could get that kind of workout on one of the not-so-fancy treadmills. There was a guy on the other running treadmill walking also. I was so frustrated!

I know I should be glad that they are getting out there, and I really am. But, it frustrates me!! I am trying my best to get a better attitude. : )

I hope you are all having a great week!!

Healthy Living Blogger Valentine's Day Swap!

I love Valentine's Day. I think it's all the hearts and pink! I had mentioned a Valentine's Day swap and some of you sounded interested, so here is the info!

• You will get one person as your match and you send them a gift
• There is a $10 minimum (not including shipping)
• I will have a fun questionnaire for you to get to know your buddy better
• Sign ups end on January 25th at midnight
• Matches will be assigned by February 1st
• Email me (littlemp at gmail dot com) with your name, blog, and address to sign up

This will be a fun way to make a new blog buddy or get to know an old one better. Have fun!!!!!

If you are part of the 31 miles in 31 days, keep updating your mileage. Y'all are all doing so well!!

I have been hitting the gym lately in a renewed committment to vary my workouts. Today was 1.75 on the treadmill, 0.70 (with lots of resistance and hills) on the elliptical, and 50 crunches on this device of torture in the corner of the gym.

Tonight I hope to get in some Ab Glider and arms workout. If I do, I do, if not, oh well.

Today has been pretty productive and I have gotten quite a few things crossed off of my To Do list, which is awesome. :)

I hope you are all having a great Tuesday! (which is Monday for me....even better!)

How was your weekend???

It was a great three day weekend here. We had tons going on and I feel like I got in some fantastic quality time with the family.

We went to an agricultural expo that had lots of animals to pet, foods to try, and information about local products. I tried some ready made sweet potato biscuit/muffin dough. Man! It was great! I bought two packages. Here is the link to the site if you want to see if they have it in your local area. LittleGirl is in LOVE!! 1 serving is 2 biscuits (I recommend weighing on the scale) and is 4 Weight Watchers Points Plus. Add a little sprinkle of cinnamon and it's even better!

I also spent some quality TV watching time with the kids. Gotta love some Oliva and Blues Clues!

I also got an Ab Glider this weekend. I am really liking it so far. I totally have the side to side (like the Ab Circle) stuff down and can feel where it has worked, but the gliding motion is a little harder for me to master. I feel like I am working my arms way harder than my abs :( If anyone has any tips or suggestions, PLEASE let me know. The bonus? LittleMan is in love with this thing and has probably put in over an hour on it in the last couple of days!

I hope y'all are all doing well with the 31 miles in 31 days. I know that it has been surprisingly motivating for me to keep up with mileage in addition to the cross training and variety that I have introduced into my routine!

Excited, Invigorated, and other super wonderful Adjectives

I am first of all, super excited to be posting at the dinner table, having already gotten a hot bath and in my pjs and eating some yummy whole wheat pasta with mushroom/tomato sauce and roasted brussel sprouts. In addition, two kids are fed, bathed, in pjs, and settled in with blankets catching up on cartoons. Big Smiles here!



I had pictures to accompany this post; however, my camera is in my car. Which is outside. Where it is 20 something degrees. Did I mention that I am already in my pjs? So...no pics.



Organization and Balance:

Today I finished semi-organizing and cleaning up my office. That is, best I could considering the office is over 50 years old (maybe older...who knows!) and has wood paneling. It feels so much better. I cleaned up my emails (personal and work), organized my files, and got my To Do list all lined out, and even have my planner all organized!



I have to say that this has made me feel so much better! I just feel more prepared and ready to tackle that huge To Do list!



I also got my workout schedule for the next few weeks lined out. I have been in the gym most of the week and working out at home also. I have even lost 1.5 percent body fat in the last 2 weeks!

31 Miles in 31 Days:
I am so excited that so many of you are joining my challenge! Just keep updating the spreadsheet. All finishers will get a prize...well, the first 35 will. I ordered them yesterday based on participation at that point. However, if you are not in the first 35, then you will still be entered to win some of the other prizes available. So far I have:

• an itunes gift card
• 5 really cute calendars that you could use to track workouts or whatever you want
• some cute Valentine's Day themed things
• Subway gift card

I hope you are all having a great day! Stay tuned. I'm considering hosting a Valentine's exchange. How many of you would be interested? Would you be interested in just cards or gifts too? $10 limit? $20 limit? I need your feedback!!

SIGN UP!!!!

Don't forget to sign up for my challenge! If you sign up by around 10 am CST tomorrow (Tuesday), you will be guaranteed a prize.


31 miles in 31 days. You can do this with running, walking, elliptical, or biking. Join me!!! More info here!


Now, for a recap of my workout today. I was soooo pumped to get into the gym. I do this on my lunch break, so when you factor in the drive to and from and changing clothes before and after, that leaves about 40-45 minutes for working out.

I started out on the treadmill and got in 2 miles and then did another mile barefoot. I am really starting to like running barefoot. So, yes, I am considering some Vibrams. So, give me your experiences/reviews. After that, I had a few minutes, so I decided to end with 10 minutes on the stairstepper. I am really really bad at the stairstepper, but I got in 27 flights of stairs. Now I really have no idea if that's good, bad, or in-between, but I felt good about it.

I also got in my arms workout last night before bedtime. I got in 40 pushups, 40 (now this is my name for it..lol) water pumps, 40 shoulder raises (for both sides), 40 sledghammers (for both sides), and 40 curls on each side. I did all of these with a 10 pound kettlebell, with the exception of the Perfect Pushups for my (man!) pushups.

Tomorrow I have a vendor meeting at lunch, which means no gym, and they provide the food. Since I work with men who remind me of 15 year olds, I'm pretty sure the only woman in the room (me) will be downing sodas (diet!) and pizza. Don't worry, they do order veggie for their favorite chick!

And finally, stop by and see Katye and tell her how awesome she is for completing a half marathon and a full marathon in one weekend. Congrats!!!

I hope you are all off to a great week!

31 Miles in 31 Days CHALLENGE

Thanks to everyone who signed up for the 31 miles in 31 days Challenge!!!!!! I'm so excited about this. Even cooler? The first person who signed up was someone I went to high school with! (Hi Sarah! Get a blog!)

I have a spreadsheet to keep up with your mileage. Click here! Add your information and keep up with your weekly mileage on the sheet. Feel free to highlight your line to make it easy to find and edit it however you want. Visit the blogs of the others and encourage. This will be fun! :) The miles can be walking, running, biking, or elliptical. However you want to get them!

There will be prizes. Everyone who signs up by Tuesday morning at around 10 am when I can get to my computer at work will receive a prize. Everyone! There will most definitely be some random prize winners as well. I know I will have a bondi band up for grabs and some other fun prizes.

If you want to sign up, you can email me so that I have your email address to get your mailing address when the challenge is over, but please click the spreadsheet and add yourself.

Now, on to other things....

My friend Donny ran his first marathon yesterday. He was shooting for under 4:30 and he was perfectly capable of that, but it was a bad race and he finished around 5:40. I don't know any details, but I am sick for him! He put so much into that training! But, he finished. I told him that was the most important part.

One of my resolutions last year that I carried on to this year as well was to try new things. Caitlin blogged about veggie sushi the other day and when we went out last night I decided to give it a try. It was awesome. This is from someone that until two years ago HATED veggies. Now it's all I can think about. It was so so so good. So, do yourself a favor and branch out. You might surprise yourself.

And, finally, the LittleMan and I went to the gym yesterday. He had fun. We tried a bunch of different machines. Now he wants to go every Saturday with me. I'm so glad and he's so excited.

Hope the rest of your weekend is great!!!

Who Moved My Cheese?

How many of you have ever read the book, Who Moved My Cheese? I really love this book and I thought about it yesterday at the gym. Yep, at the gym. Why? Because here is what my goofy self did yesterday. I was about 15-20 minutes late, but I made it to the gym after trying for about an hour to talk myself out of it. I paid my $5 (walk in fee...if you are not a member you pay as you go.), went into the bathroom to change and got dressed and reached for my shoes. Hmmm...no shoes. CRAP! I really had plans on running.

So, rather than sit and wait for everything to be in place, I adjusted and ran barefoot (well, with socks) on the treadmill. Lessons learned are as follows:

• Treadmills get hot, as in burning hot, once that belt has went around for quite a while.
• Take the advice of others. I had heard that you should start off slowly because you will be sore the next day. I did 1.75 miles (time constraints due to being late) and I am a little sore today.
• Running barefoot is much more effortless!
• Be willing to change at the drop of a hat. DON'T be that mouse that sits there and waits for everything to be perfect (i.e.-cheese where it has always been)
• Don't be scared to try something new.

In other, not frazzled-brained forgetful news, my son and I found a new food we like. Parsnips. We cut them in fry form and roasted with olive oil and kosher salt. They are very much like french fries, but better for you. I allowed him to cut them, with supervision, so I think that helped him to embrace a new food because he helped to prepare them. I also let him cut up the broccoli that we roasted and the sweet potatoes. He was much more enthusiastic about veggies than he normally is.

With the new year, lots of people find "their word". One word that sums up what they want 2011 to be. I found mine. BALANCE. I want to balance kids with work and with healthy living. Sometimes it's hard to find time to run and go to the gym when you have kids. I'm going to work to find that balance. Maybe that includes bringing them along?

I also want balance in my workouts. I got a little burned out on running at the end of last year. I think it was because that was the only form of activity that I did. I want to alternate with videos and strength training. I even joined the gym after my barefoot run yesterday. Why? Because I know that the fact that I had already paid is why I went ahead and ran. So, now the gym is paid for and I know I will feel bad if I don't go.

I am loving the new Weight Watchers plan! I have shed 6 of the 8 holiday pounds and decided to try to shed 2-4 more. :) My friend shed 7.6 pounds her first week on the new plan!

And finally, I'm issuing a challenge. 31 miles in 31 days. That's my goal for January. I'm hoping that in combination with my varied workouts will help me re-ignite that spark I had for running. Who wants to join me in the challenge? (walk or run!)

To make it interesting, email me at littlemp at gmail dot com if you want to sign up. Sign ups will be open until midnight Monday, January 12th. I'll create an accountability system and then I will have prizes for those who complete 31 miles in 31 days! I know I'll give away Bondi Bands, but give me a few days and I'll have a complete list of prizes when I have a complete list of participants.

Hope you have a great weekend!!!!

Turn that From Upside Down

Well, sometimes you have to make the best of a bad situation. Said bad situation is that all I wanted to do this morning was to go to the gym. I had a bag packed and the plan was to take LittleMan to school, stop by the mill and approve time cards, and then Little Girl and I would be off to the gym. I even had her toys packed and a snack!

However, the hubby has been sick and he was needing some stuff from the store, and Little Girl fell asleep in my lap as I was approving time. So, the gym was out. :(

I got mad. Seriously, I was angry about the situation. I had really wanted to get on a treadmill. (I know....shock and awe, etc.) But, I tried to get a better attitude. I tried to think of something that I could do at the house and ended up doing a killer kettlebell arm workout and finishing off with some Perfect Push-Ups.

I'm soooo glad I decided to do that workout. My arms are sore and they feel great. Maybe I can make my next scheduled date with the gym on Wednesday.

Happy 2011 and a small giveaway!

Well, HELLO 2011!! I hope you all had a blast ringing in the new year and did so safely!! We really had a good time. Family bonfire with tons of food at my father-in-law's house. He got back great test results on Thursday from his "cancer doctor" so that was even more reason for celebration!!

I made some appetizers for the party. These are stuffed jalapenos from Pioneer Woman. Sinful! I don't really like things like this, so they weren't even remotely a temptation for me!

The "sweet" (yeah, right!) little girlie LOVED the fireworks and just hanging out outside. The weather was great! 70 degrees during the day and around 50-55 last night.

Little Man (who really is turning into a Little Man *sniff, sniff*) was all about some sparklers! He never stopped the whole night! (check out his 5K shirt...lol)

Now, onto resolutions. I looked back at what I accomplished from my resolutions last year and what I didn't. In short, I didn't run the half marathon that I wanted to (due to work conflicts) and didn't get the mileage I had hoped for (500 miles, I got just a couple miles shy of 300), but I did do some things I am proud of.

We have tried foods that I would have never dreamed and my kids like them. We love roasted broccoli, parsnips, asparagus, and whole grain crackers/breads. I got re-elected to the school board with no opposition, and made a few new friends along the way.

All in all, 2010 was pretty successful.

However, I really wanted to achieve some of those resolutions, so some of them I am recycling. Some of them I am so happy to have done, that I listed them again.

So....here they are. They are divided into categories, because that's how I roll.

Physical:

• Maintain my Weight Watchers goal weight (which I did in 2010!!)
• Train for a half marathon and complete it in under 2:30
• Do the Big Dog 10 mile race in November (trail run)
• More variety in my workouts
• 5K in under 28 minutes (which may be slow to some, but would be a PR for me!)
• 10K in under 58 minutes (I did the same one last year in 1 hour 4 seconds)
• Try new things (both food and athletically)

Mental:

• Learn to say "no" more often. I sign up and take on WAY too much
• More consistent blogging...work has been nuts and I have missed consistent blogging lately
• Family time-more quantity and quality
• Friend time - make more time for friends
• Church-find a new church home.
• Read 1 book per month

Professional:

• Get organized!!
• Get started wearing my "new hat" at work - doing some industrial hygiene work.

I'm sure I will think of more in the next week and I'll add them in as well. Notice the absence of a mileage goal. I will probably add one later.

I do somewhat have a plan in mind to achieve these goals. Check out what I bought today.....

Those two pieces of paper are 2 14-day free passes to Gold's Gym. If you want one, let me know. First two commenters claiming them will get them! Be sure and give me an email address to contact you for your address!!

I also bought a new ipod nano (I've been without for 2 months!) Maybe that's why I haven't wanted to run????

So, today, the kids and I piled up in my bed and watched cartoons in our pjs. LittleMan and I went for a short 1.5 mile run/walk and I worked with him on riding with no training wheels. (man oh man is that going to be rough!). I think that's a good start, right?