Three Things Thursday...

1. For my giveaway, I had you guys tell me a diet confession...and I loved your answers! I thought in fairness, I would offer up one of my confessions: When I need to workout in the morning, I sleep in my gym clothes...I would feel guilty taking them off without getting the workout in first :) LOL (I know I am an oddball! :) )

2. Today is mine and Tommy's 4th anniversary! It has been a wonderful four year...and I am so glad Tommy walked into my life when he did. My anniversary is always a bitter sweet time. As most of you know, my Dad passed away a little less that two weeks before my wedding day..his funeral was 8 days before my wedding. I always say that my wedding was the last gift my Dad gave to me, because Tommy and I originally wanted to elope. Dad insisted on a big wedding...and honestly did most of the planning. He wanted so bad to be able to walk me down the aisle. He did get to see me in my wedding dress, and I will never forget him telling me how beautiful I looked. It was during one of short spurts not in the hospital...and we were at my grandmother's house. It was out of the blue, and he said...why don't you go try on your dress for me...at first I didn't want to...I wanted it to be a surprise for him, but I am so glad I did. Physically, I was alone when I walked down the aisle to my future  husband... but I know my Dad's spirit was there with me, and it was in every detail of of our big, beautiful, wedding.

3.  My 30 Day challenge is moving right along...more on that tomorrow :) And I am very excited about Amy's Spring challenge...if you haven't signed up you should!

     
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Give Away

A while back, Shannon at Shannon Under Construction did a give away for the book, Confessions of a Carb Queen by Susan Blech.

I won the give away, and one of the conditions of winning the book was to pass it on to another blogger after reading. (I also passed it on to a couple of friends after I read it and had them return it to me so I could pass it on to you guys.)

This was a fascinating read for me. I laughed and cried.  I thought the book was incredibly honest and raw. During the first few chapters, I literally had to take breaks from the reading because I felt her story was so intense during her binges. I found hope and motivation as she worked hard for her new body and life.

You can visit the author's website and learn more about her and the book here.

And if you want a chance to win this book leave a comment with a "diet confession" of your own. I only ask that you keep with the spirit that Shannon had when she first gave away this book....when you finish reading, pass it on to another blogger :)  I will draw a name from the entries on Friday and post the winner by 10 central time!

Winter Wonderland Warriors Final Update!

This is the final update for WWW! I can't believe how fast this challenge went by...those 3 months flew! Today I will just review my 10 goals!

1. 150 miles on foot (A combo of walking, jogging, and running).  I finished this goal with 94 miles complete. At first I was really disappointed in that number, but then I thought...94 miles is AWESOME!!! I could have gotten in some more miles, but 94 miles is great and I know there were several days that I forgot to log my miles online.

2. 150 miles on Bike (This will be at the gym).  Goal Complete!!! In fact I went beyond the 150 miles, and fell in love with the bike and heart rate program on the gym bike.

3. 2 miles in 24 minutes. I am still not there...but I am close. I can't wait to tell you guys when I achieve this goal! I will not stop! :)

4. Participate in an official 5k. Nope, but I am signed up for one in April. Icy roads canceled the 5k I had planned to do in January, and I was not successful in finding another local 5k.

5. Do 100 minutes of Wii Fitness a week. When I first chose this goal, I thought that I would spread out my 100 minutes throughout the week, but this became my Sunday afternoon activity. And it was alot of fun!

6. Save $100 per month. YES! I saved about $350 dollars....

7. Strength Train 2 days per week. I am very proud of the progress I made with this goal. Strength training has become a consistent part of my weekly workouts...unfortunately...it is mostly upper body...not to focus on total body strength training!

8. Eat 7 fruit/Veggies per day. This was fun, and became second nature by mid February...I didn't even have to think about how to get in the fruits and veggies...they were just a natural part of my daily diet.

9. Drink at least 64oz of water per day. Yep! No problems!!!

10. Do something FUN once a week. What can I say....my life is pretty fun :) And now that Spring is here and Minor League baseball is starting up...there will be lots of fun adventures with the hubby :)

***I think this was a hugely successful winter!

Bike Goal Complete!

Tonight I finished my 150 miles bike goal  for the Winter Warriors Challenge with a nice 13 mile ride :) I am excited to have met this goal, and glad that I have found another form of exercise that I LOVE :)

I also finished Day 8 of the 30 Day 1Mile Challenge! I had a nice 1.25 mile run before hopping on the bike.   I know that I will not meet the 150 miles on foot challenge, but would like to have 100 RECORDED miles finished before the challenge ends on Sunday. We will see if that happens. I say recorded miles, because I know I have some mileage that I forgot to record during the challenge.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! You can find me at the track (or on the treadmill if we get the storms they are calling for this weekend!)

Three Things Thursday

1. Tonight will be Day 7 of my 30 Days of consecutive running. My runs have felt really strong this week! I am really hoping to break the 2 miles in 24 minutes this weekend!

2.  I have been pondering my Spring Goals for Amy's Challenge. I think I have everything narrowed down...and will post those next week :) If you haven't signed up for Amy's Challenge you should!

3. Lori is having a Chobani Greek Yogurt giveaway! YUM YUM! Go sign up and tell her I sent you :)

Winter Wonderland Warriors Update! Week 12 (a little late)

 This week's picture:UGH! I can't get my picture of beautiful spring flowers to load :(

1. What have you done this past week to help achieve your goals? I was sick most of the week, but I did get in three good runs at the end of the week. I also picked up a new Wii Game...the Jillian Micheal's Ultimate 2010. It is a great workout game!

2. With one week left, what is your plan? I WILL finish the biking goal...and will push to get 100/150 foot miles. I also plan to try the 2miles in 24 again this weekend.

3. What was the highlight of your week? I had a great weekend with Tommy. After feeling so bad during the week, we took it pretty easy over the weekend...we ran some errands, did chores around the house, and watched a movie at home.

4. Did you have a down point? If so, how did you push past it? My down point was being SICK on the couch most of the week. I took it easy, took my meds, and now feel better! (But now my throat is bothering me!)
5. Fun Question of the Week: What's your favourite television show from the past? Presently?
Past: Sex and the City! LOVED this show! and have the Series Collection on DVD. Presently...I love Big Love(though I watch it on DVD...we don't have HBO...so I still have one more season ).  I usually try to catch How I Met Your Mother, SVU, and Big Bang during the week. Ooh...and I like Ruby too, when I remember to watch in :) And during the summer I am a Big Brother Fanatic!!! :) I watch more television during the two and a half months of Big Brother than I do the entire rest of the year. :)

Three Things Thursday

1. Today is my first day at work this week after being sick. After writing my post Sunday morning, I went to the doctor. I had a horrible case of sinusitis that had made it to my chest. I got a shot, plus three prescriptions and was sent to bed. I slept from Sunday at 3pm until Tuesday at 10:30 am. all but about two hours. And napped off and on all day Tuesday. Wednesday, I layed around most of the day still not feeling that great. Today I am still not 100%, but felt well enough to get back to work.   I am going to skip the gym again today to give myself a little more time to recuperate, and plan to start the 30 Day challenge again on Saturday.

2.  My food has been crazy this week. I haven't felt like eating much, but what I have had to eat certainly wasn't the best. I usually food shop during the weekend, but since I was sick I never got it done. Tommy has just been picking up whatever each day. I am heading to the grocery after work today, and will be cooking again tonight.

3.  Hope everyone has a wonderful St. Patty's Day :) Hope you have your green on :)

SICK :(

My head cold is sticking around, and moving toward my chest. As much as I hate to, I am going to skip tonight's run. I may have to skip tomorrow, too. But once I am feeling better, I will start back over with Day1 of the 30 Day challenge.  I made it 12 Days! :)

30 Day Challenge Update

I am moving right along with my 30 day challenge of running 1 mile each day for 30 days. Yesterday, I completed Day 10. Overall, each day the run gets a little easier. Yesterday, (and today) I was fighting a head cold/allergies and so my breathing was a little off the entire run. Usually, after completing the run, I walk at least another mile or do walk/run intervals, but yesterday I walked a quarter-mile to cool down and called it a night. My plan was to add another quarter-mile to the run today, but I may wait until this cold clears up. If the cold goes into my chest, I will have to stop the 30 day challenge until I am well and then start over again, but hopefully, it will run its course in a day or so.

I am really excited about heading to the zoo tomorrow! Our weather is suppose to be in the high 60s tomorrow! (WOOHOO) We have been dealing with 40s most of the week. I think part of my cold is the constant change in weather lately. I am ready for it to get warm and stay that way.

Hope everyone has a great safe weekend!

Three Things Thursday...

1. Tuesday morning, I realized that I had lost one of the pink topaz earrings that Tommy got me for Christmas. I was devastated! I had been off on Monday, and had been 1000 places. I always check my earrings first thing in the morning, and so I knew I had on Monday morning and not Tuesday morning. I had spent some time with my grandmother, so I called her and asked her to check around the furniture and whatnot. I called the gym to ask if anyone had turned one in, but no luck. The young guys that work at the gym were so sweet though.. they said they looked all over for it, and even checked the trash can. I had torn apart my bed, and couches thinking maybe it had come off there. By Wednesday night, I had given of up of finding it. I tucked the remaining one in my jewelry box, and even shed a few tears. Late last night, I went out into our laundry room, and happened to spot it on the floor! I WAS ECSTATIC! I squealed so loud that Tommy thought an animal was in the house. LOL So happy to have found it!!!

2. This week has been full of stress other than just losing my earring. My work routine has been no routine at all! It has been crazy, as I have been visiting schools all across my county. Next week, things should be a little more normal.

3. This weekend, Tommy and I, along to two other friends are going to the ZOO! :) I can't wait. My plan is to get up early Saturday morning and get in my mile first thing. Then enjoy a great day with great friends :) I can't wait.

Something to Ponder...

Doctor to patient: “What fits your busy schedule better, exercising one hour a day or being dead 24 hours a day?”
Randy Glasbergen, Cartoonist

Have any of you seen this cartoon? I saw it a few weeks ago, and have tried to make it my exercise motto. Of course, we need days off, but it is so important to get in that exercise. There will always be days when we "just don't want to."   A busy day at work, longer hours that usual, a fight with our spouse, a thousand errands to run.  But on those days, I think we should remember that quote. Maybe we can't block off a full hour, but we can get in a little bit...if we really try!

Thursdays are always my "I don't want to" days. They are always pretty hectic and I am tired at the end of the day and just want to go home. But once I get to the gym I am always glad I went!!!

Winter Wonderland Warriors Update! Week 10 (a little late)

This week's positive picture...

We will have been married 4 years on March 31! He is wonderful!

Week Ten {March 7, 2011}

1. What have you done this past week to help you achieve your goals? This has been a great week for goals. Eating has been on track, workouts are on track, I am really pushing towards that 2 miles in 24 mins...not there yet, but I know I will get there. The 5k I was hoping to do at the end of March has been moved to April. Not sure if I will be able to find another local race to do before the end of this challenge, so I may just do a Virtual 5k :)
2. New month! How are you feeling with the end of the challenge coming up soon? I am proud of the work I have made towards my goals.
3. What would you change differently about this challenge for the Spring Fever Challenge beginning soon? Give me ideas here, goals (open number, specific number, less, more?), picture stays?, day of the week? another element? Questions stay or go? What type of questions would you like to be asked? Because I am late posting, I am going to skip this question...
   
4. What have you learned about yourself during this challenge (or past few months)?  I love a good challenge, and fitness challenges are very motivating to me. I LOVE spinning class.
5. Fun Question of the Week: Do you enter contests? Have you ever won one? Yes! I won a raffle in October and won $200. Last week I won a free breakfast from a super nice place in town :)

30 Day Challenge Update

Yesterday, I completed Day 5 of my 30 Day Challenge. I am 1/6 of the way to my goal! After work tonight, I will get Day 6 into the record books and finish up my Wii Time for the WWW Challenge.  This is what the rest of my workouts looked like this week!

Monday- Spinning class and Upper Body Strength Training
Tuesday- 1 mile run, 1.5 mile walk with treadmill's cardio heart rate program
Wednesday- Rim 1mile, walk 4 miles
Thursday- 1 Mile run, 1.5 mile walk with treadmill's cardio heart rate program & upper body strength training
 Friday- 1 Mile run, 1.5 mile walk with treadmill's cardio heart rate program
Saturday- 1 Mile run, 20 minutes Wii Fit

Three Things Thursday...

1. The weather outside is perfect. I wish I could play hooky from work :) I did meet a friend for lunch and walked over to the little gourmet bistro downtown. Lunch was light and amazing. A Cobb wrap with smoked turkey, avocado, tomatoes, and lettuce with fresh fruit...so good! (Wish I had a picture.)

2. Tomorrow night I am having a girl's night with one of my best friends, Melissa. I actually met her when she started bringing her children to Story Time over 10 years ago. She was my maid of honor and her boys were in my wedding. It is getting harder and harder for us to get together now that two of her boys are in high school. I am not sure what we will be doing...still tossing ideas around, but it will be fun :)

3. I don't know about you guys, but I am ready for the weekend! Last weekend was so productive with house chores (and cleaning out my closet!!) I hope to get most of the house chores done tonight, so I can take it easy...and get in some good runs!

Coconut Oil

Do any of you use coconut oil on a regular basis in cooking? I have found many sources online about the benefits of coconut oil for people with hypothyroidism. But I am not sure about using it with cooking. The only kind I have found in stores is solid. I have read that you can use the solid form as a replacement for butter/margarine, but I don't use much of either.
Just curious and wanted opinions :)