A Very Sweaty Giveaway

Hey there friends!

Today is the first of quite a few fun giveaways that I've lined up for you this summer.

You see, I want you motivated to get moving while the weather is nice so that it's a habit by the time the weather turns all crappy again.  So, I'll give you fun stuff.  Sound good?

By the way, all the giveaways will also be announced in an e-mail.  So, if you want to be sure that you don't miss anything exciting, sign up for the mailing list.  Don't be left out! :)

The first item up for grabs today is a Sweaty Band.  I got my models to show them off for you since I was informed that I look like a dork when I wear a headband with my short hair.

It's a tough crowd over here.

Katie likes the thicker band...

Mandy is all about the sparkle...

The nice people at Sweaty Bands gave me one more band just for one of you!

Katie & Mandy like these headbands because they stay put without all the sliding around that some annoying headbands do. (seriously, that's what the models said.)

These headbands are made for girls who want to get sweaty while looking cool.

But that's not all!  You may have noticed the Sweatpink Ambassador button in my sidebar.  I love being a part of this group of women put together by the ladies at Fit Approach.

Today I'm giving away 5 pairs of their signature SweatPink laces!

Don't you think these would motivate you to run faster?

Entering is simple... leave a comment here.  Bam- you're entered.

Say whatever you want.  Tell me how you're going to get sweaty this summer, tell me what your favorite running shoes look like, or you can even tell me about your breakfast
(you know I love food talk).  Doesn't matter at all- I love hearing what you have to say.

And if you're feeling generous, you could share these giveaways with your friends.
I promise, there is more good stuff on the way so there's no need to be selfish.

Winners announced on Monday May 27th.

Have a great day!

Happy Saturday! Here's the Week in Review.

Happy Saturday friends!

I hope the sun is shining on you wherever you are- 

I am loving the look of it coming through my windows.

I think today looks like a great day to work on my little garden a bit.  I can't wait for that period of summer when I get to walk out my door and find veggies & herbs waiting for me.  

This year I'm trying snow peas for the first time because they are Katie's favorite green thing and she specifically requested them.

When I started The Ultimate Yogi, I wasn't sure that I really wanted to do the 108 day program.  I thought it might be a good supplement to my slightly-haphazard fitness regimen.

The thing about The Ultimate Yogi is that it sort of sneaks up on you.  I did the first DVD and felt great.  So then I did the second one the next day.  I kept going and before I knew it, I was on the plan.

Here's the fitness week in review.  It was a pretty productive week full of running & yoga. 

(my 2 favorite ways to get moving)

Sunday

The Ultimate Yogi- Crosstrain

Mother's Day 5K with Katie & Mandy

Monday

30 minute run on my new treadmill!

The Ultimate Yogi- Cardio

Tuesday

The Ultimate Yogi- Strength

Wednesday

The Ultimate Yogi- Yin

Thursday

The Ultimate Yogi- Detox

Friday

The Ultimate Yogi- Vitality
Well, sort of... this post tells you how it went.

Saturday
5 mile run & The Ultimate Yogi- HardCORE
I did the first 3 miles by myself and then circled back to pick up Ruger for the last two.
He must be feeling a little lazy today because he was sort of pooping out on the last mile.
This beagle needs to pick it up a little.

I hope you had a great week!

What would you request I grow in my garden?

(y'know, if you lived here)

Not Feeling Ultimate OR The Day Yoga Kicked My Butt

I wasn't going to blog today.

But, since I just rolled up my yoga mat in defeat I thought I'd tell you about it.

I've been following The Ultimate Yogi 108 day yoga program.  I was fortunate enough to receive the DVD set for review.  At the time, I thought they would be a nice supplement to my current (disorganized) fitness routine but I wasn't considering following the whole program.

The thing about The Ultimate Yogi is that it sort of sneaks up on you.  I did the first DVD and felt great.  So then I did the second one the next day.  I kept going and before I knew it, I was on the plan.

At this point I'm nearing the end of week 3.  Today I did the DVD entitled "Vitality".

Despite stepping onto the mat with resolve, I could not get my head in the game.  My mind was all over the place.  The neighbor was mowing his grass, the phone rang, someone's dog barked (was it mine? who knows)... it didn't really matter, I was easily distracted.

Then the DVD paused itself.  I'm not even kidding.  It just stopped.  I think there was a speck of dust on it or something.  I'd been on the mat for about 40 minutes and I gave up.  I rolled up the mat and quit.

I ate some lunch and while I ate I wondered what the heck my problem is today.

I'm not in a bad mood, physically I'm fine and the sun is even blazing through my windows
and showing me all of spring's beauty.

Then it occurred to me- sometimes I'm just off.  There doesn't have to be a reason.  Sometimes we're all just off.  It doesn't need to be judged or too deeply considered.  I just need to do what I do on the yoga mat... move through the hard parts.  It's the only way to get to the easy part.

Travis Elliot (teacher on The Ultimate Yogi DVDs) quotes Albert Einstein in one of the videos.
He says, "Life is like riding a bicycle.  To keep your balance, you must keep moving."

So I'll keep moving forward.  I'll leave "Vitality" behind me (until next time)

and move on to whatever challenge tomorrow brings.

Ultimate Yogi-Dog, Angelina Jolie & WIAW

Hey there friends!

Just a little drive-by blogging today so you don't think I got lost.

I've been working on some cool stuff that will be appearing here over the summer months- goodies for you guys!  Sign up for the e-mail list so that you don't miss a thing!

I'm still doing The Ultimate Yogi.  I am seriously loving this program.  Each day brings a different challenge.  Today's video was called Strength and it was very well-named.  At one point my quads were shaking & Travis Elliot (the yoga teacher) says very calmly, "This part is about your lower body."

Really Travis?  I kind of knew that by the way I'm wobbling all around over here.

Apparently, Ruger wants to be a yogi-dog.

I give him a new bone when I want him to leave me alone on the yoga mat.  For the last few days he chews on his bone while inching closer to me until his hairy butt is laying on the mat.  Today I had to shove him off because there wasn't enough room for me.  Lovely.

As I sit here writing, I can hear the TV report about Angelina Jolie's double mastectomy.
What do I think about her decision?  I think that her boobs & her health are her business- not mine.

Let's do a little food talk, shall we?
I'm back on The Fast Metabolism Diet this week.

So, breakfast has been strawberry french toast.  I made some for Mandy this morning but she says I use too much cinnamon.  What?

At lunchtime I've been enjoying turkey chili.
I can't tell you how much I enjoy the smell of it coming from my crockpot
when I get home in the afternoon.

Tomorrow I go to Phase 2 which means I'm eating lots of lean protein & veggies
for Wednesday & Thursday. I find this phase a little tricky because the food choices are limited,
but on the other hand I'm not terribly hungry so no big deal.
It's only 2 days and then fruits & grains & healthy fats come back in force.

I'm determined to get to my goal weight!

What are you eating this week?
Do you think a person can actually 
use too much cinnamon?
(I don't think so.)

Best Mom's Day Weekend EVER

Hello friends!  I sincerely hope that you all had a great weekend.

The winner of this giveaway is at the bottom of this post-
you can skip straight to it if you really want to, but you'll miss all the fun.

I believe I can safely say that this was the best mother's day I've had since becoming a mother.  

I got to spend it with the people who call me Mom.

But first, let's back up a little.

Saturday began with a run with my BRF/sister-in-law Kristina.  We did the Another Mother Runner virtual 5K for our own Mom's Day celebration.  There was a light drizzle most of the time so we came back inside to take our picture.

We sent these pics to Sarah & Dimity, authors of Run Like a Mother & Train Like a Mother so that we will be included in their list of BAMRs. (Bad-Ass Mother Runners).

Then Ken surprised me by buying me a new treadmill for Mother's Day!

(You might recall the time that my other one died)

I can't fully describe how happy this scene made me when I went to the basement...

Sunday morning arrived and I got up early to do my Ultimate Yogi video.

Then Katie, Mandy & I headed out to run the Mother's Day 5K.

It was pretty cold & windy at the start, but we found several friends to talk to 

and took some pictures.

Mandy took this one of me with the first girl to call me Mom. 

You can tell by the angle that Mando is a shrimp.

Then Katie took one of me & my littlest girl.

We headed out on the course and Katie & I knew that we needed to motivate Mandy.  She usually walks with Grandma Glo and today was the first time that she would try to run any part of the 5K.  We knew she could do it, but Mandy wasn't so sure.

We did some running & some walking.  Our time would not be anything to write home about, but today was a real accomplishment for Mandy.  I think she pushed her own limits and we're so proud of her.

But, there was more excitement to come!  I've said it before and I'll say it again- my local runner's club ROCKS!  We got chocolate bars at the finish line from a local chocolatier! How cool is that?

At home we put on our race shirts & spent some time relaxing.  

Ruger relaxed too even though he didn't run.

I hope your weekend included enough fun to set you up for a great week!

The winner of Jennifer Graham's book Honey, Do You Need a Ride? Confessions of a Fat Runner is...

Rachel Bowser Rerko

Congratulations Rachel!  Please send your mailing address to me at krwblog@gmail.com and I'll make sure you get your book asap!

Thanks again to Jennifer Graham for stopping by at Kids Running Wild.

If you didn't win, stay tuned.  I have a few more giveaways lined up for you this summer.  

Be sure to sign up for the mailing list so that you don't miss any!

Have a great day!

Mother's Day, 28 Fast Metabolism Days Done, Grilling Oranges & Sunday Meal Planning

Happy Mother's Day!

I'm pretty excited to be spending this morning running a Mother's Day 5K with Katie & Mandy.  This really sounds like the perfect Mother's Day morning to me.  Stop by tomorrow and I'll have a full report for you along with the winner from THIS GIVEAWAY!

I finished 28-Days of The Fast Metabolism Diet.

Total weight lost- 8 pounds.

The month also included some non-scale victories:

In the fall I bought a pair of capri pants on the sale rack at Dick's. They didn't button, but they were a great deal so I bought them anyway.  I wore them to work on Monday.  They now fit comfortably.

I can sleep now.  I used to wake up around 1 AM and stare at the ceiling until 3 AM.

I have made a habit of consuming loads of veggies & fruits throughout the day.  I can't even imagine making a meal without plants in it.

I have given up caffeine & artificial sweeteners.  I am done with depending on chemicals.

I have also made a habit of consuming massive amounts of water each day!

Once I finished the 28 Days I strayed 
from the structured program.  

On Tuesday it was really warm & sunny & the girls asked for blizzards after school.  So we went through the drive-thru at Dairy Queen and enjoyed some mini-blizzards.

Then we had some pizza to celebrate Ken's birthday.

Other than that, I've continued to eat fairly clean.  Here's what my latest splurge meal looked like:

Grilled chicken stuffed with proscuitto, fontina cheese & sage.  

I also made a sage sauce to pour onto them.  And we grilled the oranges. 

Have you ever grilled oranges?

Oh my goodness- they're so good.

All you need to do is rub some vegetable oil onto the orange flesh and then put it on the grill. (flesh-side down) Once the grill marks begin to appear- you're done!  Get it in your mouth!

The orange gets juicier and sweeter.  Amazing.

This Monday I'm starting over with the Fast Metabolism phases.  I re-read part of the books this week and one statement struck me.  Haylie Pomroy says that if you're not at your goal weight yet, you should turn around and do the program again.  Otherwise, 5 years from now you'll still be complaining about those last 5 or 10 lbs.  She's probably right.  I'm going to deal with them now.

So, I'm sitting down tonight and planning out all of my meals and snacks.  If you see me around town, I'll have my little blue cooler with me.  Tomorrow is Phase 1- it includes carbs in the form of grains & fruits plus lean protein.  I'm ready to go again!

My Fit Week in Review- It's All About Running & Yoga!

Happy Saturday everyone!
Before I get started, don't forget to check out this post and enter to win a copy of Jennifer Graham's book, "Honey Do You Need a Ride? Confessions of a Fat Runner".

The Spring Bootie Buster Challenge has ended, but I thought I'd continue to give you a little
re-cap of the week.  I feel like it's good be accountable since I don't want to have to come here and tell you guys that I was lazy all week.

Amanda sent me these great gifts at the end of the SBBC!
It was such a fun surprise.

I love that shirt! It has my summer to-do list right on it! :)

I didn't get to post last Saturday because our stupid internet was not working at the house.  Now Verizon seems to have solved their problem and my tech-support guy (Ken) has things up & running.  He deserves a raise or something.

Since last week and this week looked pretty much the same I'll just sum them both up 

at the same time for  you here.  Here you go...

Sunday

The Ultimate Yogi- Cardio

Monday

The Ultimate Yogi- Strength

Ran a track workout with my friend Heather and her way-too-fast-for-me friends.

Mostly I chased them- they didn't worry about getting caught. 

And we're not going to discuss that time when Heather's husband Dan lapped me.

I wore my new Asics with my lock laces.
(The laces also came from the Spring Bootie Buster Challenge!)
I like them both a lot even if they didn't make me any faster.

Tuesday

3 mile run with the beagle

The Ultimate Yogi- Yin Yoga

This one involves holding poses for a long time.  

Most for 3 minutes... this might actually loosen my hips. I'll let you know.

Wednesday

The Ultimate Yogi- Detox

There was a whole lot of twisting going on in this one!

Thursday

The Ultimate Yogi- Vitality

Friday

The Ultimate Yogi- Mountain Pose Series

3 mile run/walk at the beach with the beagle.

Saturday

Morning run with my BRF, Kristina... we took a break when the snow was flying 

and it's so good to be back running with her again!

The Ultimate Yogi- Cross Training

(I think this one is my favorite so far)

Fitness goals for the coming week:
I will run the Mother's Day 5K with Katie & Mandy and we will have a ball!
(full report on that after we cross the finish line)

I will incorporate the Yoga HardCORE workout into my schedule 3 times.
(this is recommended in the program but I didn't do very well with that this week)

How active were you this week?
What are your fit goals for the coming week?