Friday Confessions 1.11.13

Well, first of all, I need to confess that it's been quite some time since I did this. I feel a bit rusty.
Here goes!
I confess that I am soooo glad December is over! That is my hardest month of the year. It is my busiest month at work, and add to that the personal stress of Christmas and all that holiday stuff, it just gets downright crazy.
I confess that my diet slid away for a couple of weeks, but I'm getting back into a nice groove and hope to stay there.
I confess that I was able to keep up with some exercise - at least once or twice a week at least, more sometimes. So that was an improvement, and a sign that I am actually making life changes.
I confess that I'm ready for a new year. A clean slate to fill up with new goals and achievements. I've set up some 2013 goals and I'm excited about what this year will bring. You can read about that here.
I confess that I haven't signed up for a 2013 race yet, and feel I need to in order to get serious about my running schedule. I have a couple of options, and just need to sign up. Two of my goals for the year are to PR (get a personal record) a 10K (6 miles) and to run my first Half Marathon  The 10k is in April and the Half will be in November.
Well, that's it for me this week. What are YOU confessing? Head over to High Heeled Love to join the confessions!
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New Year, Fresh Start - 30 Day Push Challenge

Now, I am moving on to another challenge of sorts. Chalene Johnson (of Chalean Extreme, Turbo Fire & Turbo Jam) has a free 30 day challenge to master organization and achieve goals. Chalene is absolutely awesome. She is upbeat, energetic and the most positive person I have every encountered. Granted, what I see of her is recorded, probably scripted, and may not be the whole picture. But compared with other popular female fitness gurus, she is head and shoulders above the others.(And I have a bit of a girl crush on her too).

You can check out the program here: Thirty Day Push. Like I said it's free and you will receive a daily email for 30 days. Each email will contain a short video clip as well as daily "homework assignments", but most will not take more than 10 minutes.I did get stuck on Day 2 for a few days. That was the most thoughtful one for me, so far.  The first few days, for me, were thought provoking, and while I am over-thinking some of the exercises, I am certainly thinking about things that have not been on my mind in years. 

I told my group that this process feels like I am pulling pieces of myself back to me, like putting together a puzzle of myself/life where all the pieces had been scattered to and fro before, and are finally finding their rightful place. I find this liberating and frustrating. Liberating because I feel my life coming back together. Frustrating because this stuff takes time and emotion to figure out. Nailing my top 3 priorities has helped me align myself to future goals and endeavors. 

Here's a quick rundown of the some of the first days of the program:

Day One was about naming my life priorities. It was basically a brainstorming exercise to figure out how we want to be remembered, by naming what is important in our lives.

Day 1: Values

My values:Family
Friends/relationships
Physical, emotional and spiritual health
Faith

I want to remembered as a loving wife, caring sister and the funnest aunt/grandmother. I want to be remembered as being a loyal friend, and someone who was willing to help when needed. I hope to leave a legacy as being one who reached out to others with compassion and who encouraged others to be their best in all things.

Day Two was figuring out the top three priorities and writing mini-mission statements for them.

Day 2: My Priorities:

My priorities are my family, maintaining peace in my life and home, and doing the best job I can at work.

My husband is the most important person in my life. To honor him and my relationship with him I will spend quality time with him. To do this I need to use better time management to get my workouts completed in the mornings. I also need to really be present when I am with him, not thinking about all the other things I think I need to do. Eating well also plays a part because not eating well causes mood swings and crankiness. Taking care of myself with clean eating and healthy exercise also honors my husband. I will also spend less mindless activity on the computer in the evenings.

He deserves my best, which includes all my love, respect and support.

Day Three was fun - ten goals for the year.

Day 3: Goals:

1 & Push Goal: I will PR a 10K - April 2013
2. I will lose 20 pounds - November 2013
3. I will run my first Half Marathon - November 2013
4. I will increase weekly running mileage to 15 miles or more. June 2013
5. I will get stronger - 75 push ups - June 2013
6. I will get super cool stuff for "Swag Bags" for PAC Run (I'm race director) - May 2013
7. I will have a couple Bible Devotion/prayer w/ Dave once weekly - starting Jan 2013 and continue.
8. I will plan/cook dinner 3x weekly (at least) to share meal with Dave - Feb 2013
9. I will pay down credit card debt - Dec 2013
10. I will buy a sleep number bed with cash - December 2013

Days 6, 7 and 8 were interesting. Charlene asks us to put our "To Do" lists on a smart phone. This was kind of overwhelming for me. I tend to over-research things. So I looked at several different apps. Did Google searches for the best kinds of apps and then searched for reviews of the top apps that I found. One thing I really wanted was a program that I could also access on my computer that would sync with my iPhone  And I found "Orchestra". So far so good - but I've only been using it about 3 days. I've committed to it for 2 weeks and will then give my group a review of the Pros & Cons.

I love always having my list with me. I've had things scattered all over my house, my office, my purse. Now it's all in one spot. I can look at it anytime (either on my phone, ipod or computer) and update it anytime. The bulky notebook I kept in my purse is gone, the notebook I kept in my day-timer is gone as well. I'll still use pen/paper for quick notes, but can quickly add things to Orchestra. One of the neatest things so far is that it has a voice option. I can press a button and dictate a new task. How freakin' cool is that?

If you have set New Year's resolutions this year, but haven't put any plans in place to meet those goals you may want to check out the 30 Day Push Program. It's free and will help you make positive changes in your life. Goals are great, but there absolutely must be a plan so you can reach the goal! 

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Holiday Hotties Recap

Thank God the month of December is behind us. It's a hard month for most, with the temptation to eat more, move less, not to mention the added stress of buying gifts in a short amount of time, with money we may not have. It's stressful to say the least!

Where I work, my co-workers and I are surrounded by food from Thanksgiving to New Years. We get a small taste of temptation around Halloween, but then it hits hard at Thanksgiving. I work in a Retirement Community that has a strict "no-tipping or gifts" policy. The exception to this rule is "if we can eat it, we can take it." Sooooo, since the residents and their families know this rule as well, we are given food, food and more food as gifts of appreciation and friendship. This keeps us in sweets for years if we were to keep it all for ourselves. I dropped most everything that made a stop in my office in the staff room. Out of site, out of mind. Almost. Good in theory. Okay, I had about 2 really bad weeks between the food at work and the cookies I baked at home.

But, I did jump a major hurdle for myself this year. I only baked 5 types of cookies, and only enough for immediate family and one neighbor. This is huge, huge. In years past I have baked up to 20 different kinds of cookies, hundreds of dozens and dozens. Pre-rental property days we gave them away to customers of husband's business. Then we gave them away to all our renters (about 22 of them), friends, family, co-workers, the dentist, the vet - you name it - we gave them cookies.

This year I went to mini quick breads. I can bake more of them at a time, and they are not tempting to me at all. At. All. Really. That is a true statement. Next year I plan to scale back even more and bake only 3 kinds of cookies. Get it all done in 2 days, and then it's done and safe in the freezer.

So, all of the above was to lead into the results of the Holiday Hottie Challenge I was in with my Beach Body Facebook group. You can check out the guidelines of the challenge here.

My sister got a big head start at the beginning, and try as I might I was never able to catch her. But I came very close, and came in second. Our coach, Lindsay, came out with some super awesome prizes.

The top 3 finishers (Me!) will receive: Clean Eating's Meal Plans Made Easy..."the Clean Eating Meal Plans Made Easy" bookazine, 16 weeks of easy, slimming dishes.

The top 2 finishers (Me!) will receive: 2 year subscription (16 issues) to Clean Eating Magazine.

And the top finisher(My sister) will receive: a $50 gift card to either Lululemon, Underarmour, or Nike
(She chose Lululemon.)

So, awesome prizes, dontcha think? I was impressed and glad I kept up with the contest!

Now we are on to something new - more about the Push 30 challenge in my next post. Stay tuned! Pin It Now!

Friday Confessions 11.30.12

Time to confess....I've missed a few weeks. This is a crazy time of year where I work!!
I confess that all the Christmas decorations are up at work. It took 2 days and several volunteers, but everything is up and residents are happy. Now we can enjoy the month of December. I confess that I absolutely dread having to take it all down after New Years day.
I confess that the Holiday Hottie Challenge I am doing is helping me stay focused. I normally just let my diet and exercise go basically from Halloween to New Year's, but not this year. I've worked too hard to let some Christmas cookies and eggnog get the best of me. I also confess that I'm very proud of the push-up video in my Holiday Hottie Challenge post. Very, very proud.
I confess that in year's past I have spent days baking Christmas cookies to give away to friends, family & neighbors. This year I am scaling back and switching to quick breads. They are much less tempting for me. I will still bake some cookies, but not the several 100 dozen that I roll out.
I confess that a good friend and co-worker is at the hospital right now, as her 3 year old son is having major surgery. I have been praying for them and confess that I am anxious to hear that all is well with the little one. Not having children, I can only imagine how hard and emotional this would be.
If you want to go into your weekend pure and clean, consider heading over to see Aubrey at High Heeled Love to join the confessions. I promise you will feel better.
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Holiday Hotties December Challenge

With my job as an activity director in a retirement community, the time between Halloween and New Year's Day is wrought with awful and wonderful temptations, on an almost daily basis.

I honestly admit to using bribery to get my residents out of their rooms, and into my activities. Most of the time, the bribes include food. Usually sweets. The last taste buds left on our tongues, as we age, are the sweet ones. This is why many older people will use lots and lots of salt, when the food is already well seasoned. They simply can't taste it. But the sweet buds linger on, and I use it to my advantage. And to my disadvantage. Sugar is one of my greatest weaknesses. I simply adore it, in all is forms. But especially in cookies, cakes and chocolate.

Resident family members leave us food at the nurse's station, they send us food in the mail. They leave it on our desks. Vendors give us food, doctors send us cakes and donuts. There are parties for staff, parties for residents. Then a few more parties for staff. We just love to party and to eat. 

It's no secret that most Americans experience a 3-9 pound weight gain during the holiday season. Exercise routines slack off and eating plans slip beyond recognition of healthy.

Thankfully I have two accountability groups to keep me honest and mostly on track during this food-filled season.

My running girlfriends started a Healthy Challenge Facebook group to keep us accountable with eating and exercise. We post our food & exercise daily. Share recipes and tips as well. These girls are great - I also run with them almost weekly and enjoy their camaraderie and friendship.

My Ninety day challenge group coach Lindsay Phillips started a Holiday Hottie challenge. It could not have come at a better time. And those who know me have seen a bit of my competitive nature. Well, seriously, no one LIKES to lose, right?

Our Hottie challenge started the Monday after Thanksgiving. We were given a grid of ways to earn points. Whoever earns the most points by Dec 31 wins a prize.

I've printed off a copy at home and work, so I can remember what will earn me which points. Some things are easy - we almost all post our daily menu & workout. Now I just need to remember to snap a picture of my sweaty self, and get some pictures of my healthy meals. Well, I need to get back to some healthier meals before I start taking those pictures.

My sister, Mary, who has been doing the 90 day challenge with me has had some amazing results. See for yourself:

I am so proud of her! And because I am a chicken, I am showing her before/after pictures, instead of mine. When I get a little farther along, maybe I'll be brave enough to show you those. Maybe.

I will show you this nice little video Mary took of me doing push-ups. I have always struggled with upper body strength, and the only way I could do push ups was on my knees. On of my "crazy, awesome" goals is to be able to do 25 toe push ups  I'm not quite there yet, but, check this out!!  If you can hear the sound, that is Mary and my parents cheering me on in the background.

Push ups

I've never met any of the girls in my Hottie challenge face to face. We do not even live in the same states. We post daily, encourage each other and are forming connections that are strong and lasting. We are all working on becoming better versions of ourselves.

My sister Mary is racking up major points in our challenge. She is creating cheers for all of us. Here is the one she came up with for me (think: Liar, liar - pants on fire).

If you are interested in this kind of challenge, just find Lindsay Harrish Phillips on facebook, and friend her. Tell her I sent you (and it might earn me some extra points!!). Pin It Now!

My Happiest 5K - Charlotte Color Run!

I found out about the The Color Run last year when someone in our running club put a link on Facebook. It looked like so much fun - an un-timed 5K with lots of powdered color. It is touted as being the Happiest 5K on the Planet. And now that I've experienced one, I can honestly agree. It was 100% happiness.

My sisters and I decided to do it together, in Charlotte, NC. And in the end, two of my nephews also joined us. Along with 12,000 other Color Runners. Yes, Twelve Thousand!

The event was held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway:

Originally, the advertised date was set for October 2012. When registration opened, the date had been changed to Nov. 17, 2012.  Ah, the same date as my Tryon Running Club's first 1/2 Marathon. Bummer.

Well, next year will be my year for the 1/2. I'll be 45 next year, and will celebrate with 13.1 miles of movement.

Most of the Color Run was delightfully flat. There were two hills, the last one on the long side just before the finish. One of my nephews (he is 11) was a little upset at the fact that no one would actually win this race. He wanted to run the whole thing, so I told him I would run with him. Thank God we reached the first Kilometer and first Color Station. My nephew was a little bullet. Weaving in and out of the crowd, sprinting and glancing back to make sure I was still there. I ended up getting much more of a workout than I expected, but was running much faster than I really can while still being able to breathe.

At the first color stop I told him we had to wait for the others since this was supposed to be a family event, much to his utter dismay. "You mean we have to stop and WAIT? We just wasted all that time running??" He was none too pleased. But honestly, I needed to catch my breath!

We all went through the Blue together. The volunteers had buckets and bottles full of the blue powder (cornstarch) and threw it at us as we jogged on. There were clouds of blue everywhere, the path was covered in blue. Some of the volunteers wore masks and hats, but they were also completely covered. Some got in my mouth and it was chalky and dry. With no water to rinse out, we just spit it out the best we could. Then my nephew was back at it, wanting to run. So he and I took off again. I slowed to a walk on the first hill, and he jogged back to me. I told him to go ahead and wait for me at the bottom of the hill. After I met him there he said "Aunt Caroline, since you've had time to walk, do you think you can keep up with me now?"

"No, baby. I can't keep up with you, you've already worn me out!" I replied. So on we went - he sprinting off, then jogging back to where I was, then running at a nice, even pace. We went through the next 3 color stations together - leaving the others to come on along.

At the finish line my sister Mary, of Forty By Forty, and I were greeted by our blogger friend Aubrey, of High Heeled Love. What fun to finally meet in person!

At the finish line - before Color Bombs

They threw out color packets to the crowd

In everyone's swag bag was a packet of color to throw at the finish line. Every 10 or 15 minutes there would be a color explosion and everyone would throw their packets up in the air. 

I was completely bombed with a green one. It landed on my head and then exploded. I slightly resembled a happy looking Grinch ..and I had to wash my hair 4 times. I gave my packet to one of my nephews so I could take pictures of the sight:

Going up in colored smoke!

After Color Bombs - a green packet exploded on my head.

There was loud, fast music everywhere - at the start, at the color stations, and at the end. The kind of music that has you swaying, then dancing and loving life. You know - the kind of music you run with!

It was a super fun day. The Color Run was great, and benefited Habitat for Humanity. The exercise was wonderful but doing it with my family was priceless.

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Friday Confessions 11.9.12

It's that time again! 'Fess up before the weekend!
I confess that I've missed a few weeks of confessing. One Friday was a travel day. I was coming home from here:

Okaloosa Island, Ft. Walton Beach FL

It was a lovely, stress free week on white sand beaches. It was off season, so we pretty much had the beach to ourselves, as you can see. We stayed right on the beach and were treated to dolphin sitings in the ocean every day and gorgeous sunsets every night.
It was hard getting a good picture of the dolphins, but if you can see the black thing in the middle of this photo, that's a dolphin. We saw them playing and jumping, usually in groups of 15-20. Very, very cool!

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

We rented bikes the last 2 days, and next time we'll do that the very first day. It was so much fun! I confess it's been a long, long time since I've ridden a bike without any gears. But it's really, really flat down there, so no hills to worry about.

I confess that I can't wait to go back!!
Last week in our baking group, I had a request for coconut-something. So I found an easy recipe for Coconut Macaroons. Oh. My. Goodness. I confess I ate more of them than I should have. I found these at C'est Si Bon - they are easy and delicious!

I confess that I've only run twice this week. Six miles on Sunday and one on Monday. It was cold and rainy two days, and I just fell out of my groove. The Color Run is coming up on the 17th, so I need to get some more miles in this week!

What are YOU confessing this week?? Thanks to Aubrey at High-Heeled Love for hosting this month! Hit the button to join the party!
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