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Inspiration to Fitness – Week 2

So I need to be honest. This past week will not go down as one of my stellar workout performance weeks, even with the prompts of BlogHer’s Inspiration to Fitness program. However, I did manage to stay motivated to eat right and so I’ll claim that as a partial victory.

And it’s not that I didn’t workout at all. I did. I just wasn’t as consistent as I’d like to be. This is where I could write an entire paragraph about the evils of mountain cedar and allergies and sinus headaches but ultimately those are all just excuses. I know the real reason I got a little off track was because there were a couple of mornings that I told myself I’d go run later in the day and then later in the day never happened for the following reasons:

1. I still had a headache.

2. I really liked my hair that day and didn’t want to mess it up.

3. It was cold.

Yes. I’m a big loser.

But I won’t be the biggest loser if I keep this up.

(Get it? Biggest loser? Like the T.V. show that I never watch?)

The good news is I didn’t totally wimp out and the mornings I worked out were great. I felt better, I had more energy throughout the day, and, most importantly, I didn’t feel guilty for skipping out.

And so that’s why Ashley’s post this week was so good. It’s all about setting goals. So that’s what I’m working on. I’ve set the goal to run three days this week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. And then I’ll do my strength training on Monday and Thursday. I’ll give myself Tuesday off because it helps me stay motivated to have one day that I don’t have to think about it and go straight to Starbucks.

But I’m also keeping my eye on the long term goal which is to be able to run a 5k at the end of eight weeks. This won’t be quite as enjoyable as my goal to get caught up on all seasons of Parenthood by May, but that’s okay.

And to give myself a little extra incentive, I’m giving myself rewards with each goal I meet. If I follow my workout schedule all week? I get a pedicure on Saturday. If I follow them for the next month? A cute new workout outfit.

If I don’t follow it at all and continue to complain about mountain cedar? Despair and shame are all I’ll get.

And that’s enough to make me want to get up and run in the morning.

* If you roll over the Best Buy image at the top of my blog, you can view a
calendar of all the Inspiration to Fitness content.
Inspiration to fitness

I was so excited when BlogHer asked me to be a part of their Inspiration to Fitness program. Mainly because, I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this once or six hundred times already this year, it totally lines up with my goal to make 2012 the year of a healthy lifestyle.

(I also promise that I’ll talk about something else tomorrow.)

And I think y’all know by now that I go through periods of working out. The Couch to 5k thing was going great last year until I got bronchitis and then it was like I’d fallen and couldn’t get back up. I’d rediscovered my first love of staying in my pajamas and lying on the couch watching reality T.V. Which is really so much more fun than getting out in the cold and running. Sadly, it doesn’t really do much for what you look like in a bathing suit or skinny jeans.

Anyway, in addition to eating things made of whole grains and ALL NATURAL ingredients which I’m doing on my own (HELP ME.), I’m going to be following a workout plan designed by Ashley at Healthy Ashley that’s designed to get me running a 5K in the next eight weeks. (HELP ME MORE.)

It’s a combination of doing the right stretches, three days a week of running and two days a week of strength training. The good news is I can do the strength training on the same days I run and I like that because it allows me two free days to catch up on The Bachelor and Real Housewives.

So I began this last week, following Ashley’s track but I’m also combining it with the sprint interval thing I mentioned because I still want to have one-tenth of the muscle tone of Carrie Underwood’s legs. And it’s been good.

The biggest challenge for me is to actually make myself put on my running tights and get out the door in the morning. But I’ve discovered that it really helps if I’ll go ahead and get dressed and walk Caroline to school on the mornings I’m going to work out because then that counts as my five minute warm up and then I can just wind my way around our neighborhood for my twenty minute run/walk/jog/sprint.

As for results? Well, it’s too soon. But I definitely have more energy on the days I work out and I’m already sleeping better at night. I’m a little sore from the strength training, especially my abs because OH MY WORD they were used to laying on the couch which requires nothing of them at all.

But it was time to make a change. So here I go.

I’ll keep you posted on the results.

* If you roll over the Best Buy image at the top of my blog, you can view a
calendar of all the Inspiration to Fitness content.
Bare Minerals Giveaway

BareMinerals Eyeshadow Giveaway

**Please note that this post was originally posted here. All entries via comments here will be pooled with those entries. No duplicate entries, please.**

So, I turned forty in August. I know. But it’s weird, because forty doesn’t feel like I thought it would. Especially when I was in my twenties and believed forty was some ancient age that came with a minivan and elastic waistband pants.

I think part of the reason forty seems okay is because forty looks a lot different than it used to. When I look around at all the women I know, I tend to think the ones that are the most beautiful are the ones in their forties. Maybe it’s because we’ve quit trying so hard and grown comfortable in our own skin. It’s no longer about what pleases others, but about what makes us feel beautiful.

Pretty is a state of mind, but beauty is a force. True beauty is accepting the wrinkles that have come with time and making them work. It’s not focusing on our imperfections, but learning to appreciate what we have and go with it. Even though there are days I don’t like what I see in the mirror or those new lines around my mouth, I’ve come to accept it’s part of who I am, and there’s no point in making myself miserable over things I can’t change.

I mean, technically, I guess I could change those lines with Botox but that seems like it might be painful. So I’ll take the new lines and appreciate them because real beauty is a life filled with a lot of laughter, and that’s why I have those lines in the first place. Well, that and fading collagen production.

But y’all know I am always on the lookout for a great new product. Which is why I was so excited to have the chance to review the new bareMinerals READY^TM Eyeshadow 2.0. They sent me The Epiphany duo and even though the colors are a little more dramatic than I normally wear, I loved the rich texture and the way it lasted all day. It goes on super easy and allows me to create equally good looks for daytime or evening depending on how I blend the colors.

And speaking of blending colors and application, check out these great tutorial videos they’ve put together. I love them.

The best part is you have a chance to win a bareMinerals READY^TM Eyeshadow 2.0 by sharing your thoughts and opinions about how you define a force of beauty, in the comments section of this post.

Here are the rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from October 25 – November 22, 2011.

Be sure to visit the Promotions & Prizes page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggersí reviews and find more chances to win! For even more information, become a fan of Bare Escentuals^Æ on their Facebook page!
The power is out

If you’re reading this, it’s because the power cord for my Mac has decided to quit working. Conveniently, it decided to quit working when the computer was almost out of power. In fact, the red light is blinking as we speak. Or write. Or whatever.

For those of you who keep up with the intricate behind-the-scenes workings here at Big Mama, Inc., you may remember that I just bought a new power cord over Spring Break. And because of that I’d like to tell Steve Jobs congratulations on being able to dominate the world of technology, but how about finding a power cord that lasts longer than two months?

Meanwhile, P is cracking jokes about a government shutdown of Big Mama because I’m too powerful.

He is hilarious.

If you need me, I’ll be at the Apple Store talking to the geniuses.
It’s Monday and I’m exhausted

Listen. I just drove in from Dallas about thirty minutes ago.

I haven’t been home since 7:00 a.m. last Wednesday.

And now I’m going to go unpack and try not to think about all the laundry that awaits.

On the upside, I’ve never been more glad to see my people

And look! A giveaway. Go enter!

To find out how you could win fame and fortune or at least a prize pack valued at over $175 courtesy of the nice people at GoodNites, click here for the details.

I’ll be back with a full report of my travels throughout the continental United States tomorrow.
GoodNites giveaway number one

Today might be your lucky day because there’s more than just the usual blah, blah, blah over here. To find out how you could win fame and fortune or at least a prize pack valued at over $175 courtesy of the nice people at GoodNites, click here for all the details.