Few of My Favorite Things

As the song goes.....

~Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens;

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens;
Brown paper packages tied up with strings;
These are a few of my favorite things.
Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels;
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles;
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings;
These are a few of my favorite things.~

My Girlfriends Christmas Wish List


I’ve found a sure fire path to happiness for any fitness enthusiast on your list this Christmas. Follow along with me as we go shopping for that special someone, for that fab diehard friend of yours who hangs through thick and thin, or even your diva sista. One other quick thought; send this list to your fam making their Christmas shopping for you easier this year.

Let’s get started. Man I love this, I get sooo excited. Shopping online is sick. Umm for those of you not in the know....that means “cool” way back in the day, although the younger sort claim it as their own.


Off To The Gym

Check out this Vera Bradley Duffel in Buttercup. (My names-sake) Looking like a doll toting your gear and post work out drinks to the gym.  For the Sportier types, check out these design your own bags from Nike.

Found inside many a-gym bags, an essential for the gadget freak workout junkie, these heart rate monitors from Polar give feedback tracking fitness progress and are sure to please any of those more inquisitive types on your list. Don't forget about fitness gloves.  Take a peek at these fun gloves, great to keep those delicate hands callous free and killer cute to boot.  Ladies, please do not forget to pack your power. Your bible to training for women is by Rachel Cosgrove, The Female Body Breakthrough. Finally, always always always remember to throw in your Blender Bottle, the perfect shaker for that much needed post workout drink.

We all know how important supportive footwear is to fitness, but every fitness diva knows her shoes are what it’s all about. I love shoes and these Puma’s are on my hit list.  (As soon as my husband releases me from my shoe ban). And why not these as well, two for good measure baby! Speaking of shoes, if you live in the tundra of Minnesota, these Sorels are a must have any Joan of Artic gal.

Gotta Look the Part

It all starts with support, right? Nothing goes right when the undies are too tight. Check out these bras and panties from Under Armour. Looking cool in the gym, who knew?? Well we have to protect the girls and hold mad maxx up too. These will do the job with matching boys shorts to boot, sick!  Look no further, check out these top picks in womens sports bras compliments of Womens Health.  

How About The Threads

Here is where it's all at. Give me a great pair of workout pants and I am ready to rock and roll. Did I tell you I love Lucy? I am not Desi Arnaz Jr, but Lucy is a kick when it comes to pants for the gym. The Vinyasa Power Pant or the Hatha Power Pant rule. For comfort while running errands post workout, check these out. The Pow Pow Cargo Pant from Athleta that have never let me down. Another Athleta must have: The Skinny Dipper Pant paired with Lucy’s super fun and comfy T’s makes for a very happy lady.

Sweet!

Never let them know you sweat. Smell fresh and clean with Philosophy's wonderful line up of lightly scented moisturizing and firming lotions. Grace is a personal favorite of mine, sure to please even the most sensitive noses.

Putting on the Glitz

Finally, who could forget the glitz and glam, well not I. Pick up one or both of these great makeup samplers cause Ho Ho Ho is, well, on his way. Bat those little pretties, glam girl, and melt his heart.

That's all I got for you today friends. Happy online shopping  but get-er-done before shipping /delivery time runs out. Wishing you and yours a blessed Christmas. Enjoy your loved ones. Please don’t forget the mistletoe, I'm just saying cause you pick up lots of hugs and kisses and 'tis the season. A girl can never get enough of those.


Be Well

PeeWee's Big Adventure

PeeWee's Big Adventure at Velocity 


I deliver on my promises ...so here it goes.


...I wanted to fit another day of kickboxing into my schedule.  For some reason I got it into my thick skull that I needed more combat training with Velocity Team Eraser.  So following my adult fitness workout and challenge I headed straight to the locker room to guzzle some yummy sugar and protein, aka pwo drink, before heading over to the mats. The adult class deemed to be core was cardio plus full body.  What does that matter?  I know, to mad women such as myself, an exra hour of torture ..err....workout really isn't such big deal.  Right? Right!! Can you say puke baby girls? Buttercups?


Wrapping my hands, donning my mitts...opps...gloves, I joined the already in motion crew. The Bod Squad, Killer Wanna-be's, or any other pet name I randomly feel is appropriate. Otherwise known as Angie, Mandy, Pastor Ray and the Eraser himself.  It was pre-conceived by Eraser to be conditioning night.  Well let me tell ya, multiple three minute drills of jabs, hooks, crosses, uppercuts, knees, kicks seem like an eternity when you have sponge bob arms and legs like mine.  


The best part of the night , besides the long three minutes of air boxing with footwork and push ups (dude push ups ladies, no knees OK?) was when Mandy levitated me with her knees; 3 minutes of throwing five right knees, five left knees into my belly which was somewhat protected by the super giant maxi pads (for lack of a better visual) I was holding as a target.


On a sidebar:  If Eraser reads this, he will probably discipline me with burpees and pushups for an hour, so pray on my behalf he doesn't get a hold of my blog. Did you know he is in the witness protection program of sorts, you have to pay royalties to see his face. Much like my hubby Lee, never take a pic...man these guys are NO fun.  Where do I find these guys?!


All kidding aside, cross training is the greatest. Kickboxing is great fun for all exercise enthusiasts and a fab workout (more like killer, but in a good way...).


Here lies my fitness ethics: Take your lift days with the mentality of "go heavy or go home".  Eat like a champ. Cross train with yoga, functional training, running, HIIT, and the likes. The deal is find your passion, learn it, do it, feel it, own it, master it, and love it.  Seek and destroy baby and live life to the fullest. 


I am glad I found Velocity Sports.  Next to my awesome virtual trainer Jodi, Velocity is the bomb. 


Be Well. 

T-day

Memories, like the corners of my mind,
blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blaaaah, blahhhh...
of the way we were.


At Holiday time, I always get a warm, fuzzy, yummy feeling.  Do you? Or do you get sick down deep in your tummy because of the stress of it all? Looking back at it, I believe for me it's all about the smiles, hugs, kisses and special memories of loved ones.


The softly falling snow in the still, crisp, cold night,
Star lit midnight blue skies,
Twinkling Christmas lights dancing in the distance,
Music, telling of our Savior's birth,
The smell of pine, cinnamon, cloves
The warmth of a fire.


So we are on a journey to a fitter, healthier you. Does this all stop cause the holidays are upon us. No way I say. There are strategies we can employ to enjoy the holidays without putting extra junk in the trunk.


We talked last time about journaling. Are you?  Just say yes or start now, friends. News Alert: next week is Thanksgiving. All 3000 calories of your turkey dinner are staring you square in the face.  Yikes, run for your lives... run for your junk-less trunks!


Hey I think we are onto something here...uhmmm did you hear me say RUN?  How about hitting the gym for some high intensity intervals the night before and the day after?  Now is the time for consistency. Keep up the good work, keep moving and we'll make it through.

Now comes the sticky part. Yes, the drumsticks, you turkeys.  What will be our food strategy? 

I have a question....What is so bad about mashed potatoes, gravy, turkey and the fixings?  Not so much really, because we all get a cheat meal here and there (remember the 90% rule).  But this holiday let's focus on portion sizes.  This year, cut the portions down. I mean down, way down baby.  If you need to have it all, then sample it all. Sliver of this, teaspoon of that, you know what I mean. No porky pigs allowed. No gorging till you are sick.

OK? Got it?

Our Black Friday strategy will be to get back to clean eating. Got leftovers? Freeze them immediately or feed them to the dog. Maybe you're the lucky one being invited out for Thanksgiving.  No worries then, your kitchen will be leftover free, Yeah!

Let's take this full circle. The holidays are a special time so let's make the most of them.  Enjoy those special treats that only come around this time of year, practice portion control, keep moving and keep journaling. Love those closest to you and make some sweet memories. That's what the holidays really are about. 

Anyone seen my mistletoe? Sweet!

Be well
Happy Thanksgiving

The Fire Inside Her

Does this motivate you? What are you doing to make yourself proud? I say let's work it baby, find your passion and fly with it!

Check this link out and decide for yourself the fire inside you.
Make Yourself 
Be Well

Are You Willing to Own Up?

The Art of Journaling 

A while back I mentioned keeping a fitness / weight loss journal.  Today I wanted to dive a little deeper into the art of journaling and how it can help you on your journey to a fitter, more fab you.

What do we journal? Anything your heart desires, really. Your workouts, your emotions, your food, drink, and your sleep (aka rest).

If you are looking to take down your body fat % or make a change in your weight,  a well kept, brutally honest journal will help decipher what changes you need to make to meet your goals.  Without your journal, we are left with no idea of what needs to change. Are you willing to own up? Are you willing to jot it ALL down?

You eat healthy right? You work out 3 to 5 times a week. But you still find you are stuck in this place you don't want to be.  Insert your journal here.  Turning back page by page in your journal you may find you are working out too hard, not getting enough carbs and protein, and really not getting enough rest or sleep.  Hmmmmm....

Journals allow you to see just what you are up to, the little things we tend to forget about tomorrow. Journals don't forget! You write lists for the grocery store, so why not jot down your workouts and meals? Are you having a light bulb moment yet? 

We can start.  That is what our homework a week ago was....journal everything. Tracking honestly may be the only thing you need to change.  Some find if they have to write down everything they put into their mouth, they get serious and the weight starts to drop. Yeah!! Or some of us may find we track and we see 80% effort, by missing workouts, or eating stuff  "off" the plan. (More on the plan to come in a future post.) The journal shows us what we simply don't remember happening. Tip: As you enter brutally honest posts into your journal, simply put a big X by the items that are "off" plan.  This offers a great visual to easily see at a quick glance when you have missed.  The fewer X's in your journal, the tighter you are to the "plan".

My story:
Back in late 2008 I took a long hard look at myself.  What I saw was an athlete who got lazy. Motherhood hit and family obligations prohibited maintenance of my fit physique, one I'd had since childhood.  For two weeks I went to Everyday Health online and entered everything I ate.  What I learned quickly was that my diet was lacking good fuel and I was taking in processed junk.  I learned I didn't eat a lot of calories and that I didn't eat often enough. I worked out 3 to 5 times a week on the elliptical, working my way up to 60 minutes straight.  I was the endurance queen but I still fought softness all down my backside and legs. My upper arm circumference was growing and not in a good way, flabby and soft. The arm skin flaps that wave back at you when you wave to your friends. I used to joke about them.  I picked up a book on weight training for women and got off the elliptical. I started lifting weights and eating clean.  My metabolism skyrocketed again, with my growing muscle base and the good fuel I fed my body every 3 hours.  I hired trainers to help, and whaa-la! Here I am, stronger than I think I ever have been, and wearing skinny jeans in sizes I never dreamed I'd get into. 
I have since joined forces with Jodi at Modelper4mance to help me fine tune my physique with proper nutrient timing and workouts designed to build my muscle mass.  I continue to journal everyday, my workouts, my meals, my rest, my weight, my emotions.  I have learned to plan ahead a week with my meals and my cheat snacks, so those too don't take me off course. Staying on track also means giving a little. I allow myself one "fun" meal a week of my choice. As Jodi puts it, what I want right now! One other little rule I now follow is: If I have a bad day, or one of those days meant to celebrate, a special occasion, etc. That's OK, but never two days in a row. Or in other words, do not take the whole weekend off from your "plan".

If you struggle to get the results you want, journal. If you are short on time, journal.  If you are working hard but not seeing results, journal. Journal to see all that you are forgetting.

Be Well

Without You We Are Nothing

Courageous and Strong,
We Honor You.
Devoted and Sacrificial,
We Thank You.


A tribute to my dad, my brother Bob, my sister Janeen, my nephews Nathan & Craig, my niece Jen, my friends Steph and Derrick, and many others.  You are my pride and joy.  Love you for giving your everything cause without you we are nothing.

Rev Up Your Engine - what do you say?

Monday equals: do over day, back in the saddle cookie, start over, think again.

This is a offshoot of my previous posting Rev Up Your Engine. Uh, actually, it's an assignment. Time to get busy and pick your madness. 

What am I ranting about?

I want you to pick one thing from the list. What list?  Take your little mouse and hover over Rev Up Your Engine above to see.  Pick the item from the list you can stick to, I mean stick to like glue! for 2 weeks. I am asking you for two weeks of 90% compliance. ( Ok, now I'm sounding like I am at my day job - on Bug Patrol.)

Seriously , what's it gonna be? Don't go for two, only one. If you can only give me 70 to 80% effort on this one, stop reading now and go back to your couch. 

I will post more about my favs in the weight room another day. Today it is all about making a new habit.  So what did you choose.  You are beautiful and strong, invincible...so get to work on fine tuning your life one step at a time.  Hey, you don't believe me, head over to Model Per4mance and check out one of my other favs in this world, my trainer Jodi and her wise side kicks. 

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh...I almost forgot, along with your one habit change, please considering doing two, no... three other things for me.

Grab a notebook and start journaling your nutrition (everything you eat a day, and I mean everything right down to the 3 mini snickers you stole from your kids Halloween stash....opps, that was me!), your exercise, your emotions, your day. Do this for 2 weeks, and I promise in return I will post some little tidbits about why.

Take a multivitamin every day and throw in an Omega-3 fish oil supplement too.

Want a recap?

1.  Pick one habit you will stick to for two weeks and just do it.

2. Start a journal, nothing fancy, any notebook will work.

3. Take a multivitamin and fish oil daily.

Be well.