sNOw Day

I remember when I was younger, I used to LOVE snow days. Really, what kid didn't love any excuse not to go to school? I remember making snow men, sledding, and enjoying a big cup of snow cream. Running around in the cold snow without a care in the world. Those were the days!

Now that I'm a (semi) responsible adult the snow just gets on my nerves. Yeah, sure it is pretty to look at, for about 5 minutes and then I'm concerned about how I won't be able to get my car out of the driveway without running into the side of the house. What I didn't realize as a child is that snow isn't some magical powder that shuts the world down. Nope, the world keeps on turning and the snow just makes it more difficult for me to participate in what's going on.

I live in the southern part of the U.S. and down here people are incapable of operating during snow. An inch of snow will literally shut the city DOWN. So I guess you can tell that I'm currently snowed in :-/ I'm "working from home" so I have lots of stuff to do but when I'm at home it is just hard to concentrate. Not to mention I still have the urge to run outside and roll around in the snow. But since I'm not going to do that I guess I'll just make myself a big cup of hot chocolate and bundle up on the couch :-)

Enjoy the snow day if you're having one!

2011 - New Year, New Goals, More Blogging

2011 sure seemed to arrive quickly! We always say how fast time goes by but I'm starting to think that's just the pace of time. It's quicker than we desire because there are always things we plan to do but never actually do them and the lack of time is an easy excuse.

I guess I should have started the blog by saying HELLO and I'M BACK! I stopped blogging last year because I just wasn't into it. I had a lot going on at work, wasn't really doing the things I needed to be doing fitness/nutrition wise, and who wants to talk about what they aren't doing right?

I'm in a better place now and I've started 2011 with a renewed sense of purpose and new goals. Just like last year I've come up with a theme for the year. That theme is "No Clutter". Over the next few blog posts I'll discuss this in more detail but the goal is to reduce clutter in all facets of my life. Clutter is just mess that gets in the way of the important things. It trips you up and distracts you from your goals. By ridding myself of clutter I will be able to be more effective in achieving my goals.

I'm going to attempt to make the blog a bit more focused but we'll see how that part goes. It will probably still end up being a mixture of my thoughts about life.

I'm excited about the new year and all the things that will happen this year. Are you excited? What things do you have planned for the year?

Water, Water and more Water

Okay I was supposed to give you an update on how the water only challenge is going. I've done very well. I've only slipped up twice. Once was when the husband made some cookies (which I didn't need to eat in the first place); I always have milk with my cookies so I poured a small glass and as I was taking the last gulp I realized..."Oh shoot, I just drank something that wasn't water." The other time was a little more deliberate. It was one of my friend's birthday so I had an alcoholic drink with her. It was a vodka and tonic which is practically the same thing as water. Not really but at least it wasn't something super fancy. I haven't really missed drinking things other than water. The only time I get a craving is when I get cold at work and wish that I could have some hot tea to warm me up. I considered drinking some hot water but that just seemed like it would be nasty.



Speaking of hot. I went for another round of hot yoga yesterday. Today I'm a little more sore than expected, mainly in my hamstrings. I guess I don't strech them as often as I should. We'll see how the next sessions feel.

Hot Yoga and H2O

I've been doing yoga on and off since college and I've always enjoyed it. I'm not well versed on the different types of yoga but I know I prefer the more "power" type yoga verses the meditative type. Recently a friend of mine told me about Hot Yoga. I was a little skeptical at first seeing as I hate being hot. Well this morning I decided to go for it. And you know what?? I loved it!! It was invigorating, relaxing, and an intense workout.

The workout was 90 minutes long, we did 26 different poses in a room where the temperature was about 100 degrees. The poses were a combination of sitting and standing poses. Unlike the majority of the yoga I've done this was mainly focused on flexibility and balance. I was able to do the majority of the poses even if I couldn't move into the advanced form of the pose. The actual workout itself wasn't too hard but the heat made it super intense. I'm pretty sure I was sweating from every pore in my body, I must have lost 5 lbs in sweat. I'm strongly considering added this to my workout routine. The yoga place recommended that you go 3-4 times a week to get the maximum benefit but that's a little to costly for my budget. I'm thinking once a week is the most I'll be able to swing.

Bottom-line: I really enjoyed this new workout..it is always nice to find a new way to exercise.

March Challenge: Water Only

One of my friends and long distance fitness buddies issued a challenge to me and some of our friends. The challenge is to only drink water for the month of March. After some bullying from her side I agreed to accept this challenge. On the surface it seems easy because I generally do only drink water. The thing I didn't take into account was that by doing this I will also be giving up caffeine. Now I'm not some caffeine junkie but I do often have a cup of coffee or green tea in the morning to jolt myself awake help me make it through the day. This just means that I may need to seriously work on getting more sleep so that I won't need the caffeine anyway.

I don't know how much of a difference drinking only water will make but I'm certain that it will at least cut out a couple hundred calories a week that I get from various drinks. I also won't be ingesting any unnecessary chemicals from those diet sodas I like. The one exception I'm making is that I will not include my breakfast smoothies in this "water only" challenge. I don't believe that counts as a drink since it is being used as a meal replacement.

Will I make it? I think so. I've decided that everything comes down to willpower. While that is a simplification I believe it to be true. I'm making the decision to have the willpower I need to accomplish this and other challenges. Wish me luck!

Ski Trip 2010

The last time I went skiing I was 13 years old. When I think back on that ski trip all I remember was how much fun I had. I didn't remember it being particularly difficult or that I fell too many times. Well that was about 15 years ago.....

This past weekend I went on a weekend ski trip to Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia. It was the perfect weekend for skiing. It had snowed a few days earlier and the sun was shining so the snow was nice and powdery and it wasn't terribly cold. Since it had been so long since the last time I'd been skiing I decided to take a 2 hour lesson before hitting the slopes. I'm glad I did! While I picked it back up fairly quickly it was very helpful to learn some new tips. I was mainly familiar with doing to "the wedge" in order to stop but during my lessons I learned how to do the "hockey stop" which is more effective and it just looks cooler. The ski instructor made fun of me because at first I definitely wasn't getting it and he said I was doing the hockey FLOP and not the hockey stop.

I was smart enough to stay on the green (easy) slopes because I wasn't trying to come home with any broken bones. As it was, I fell about 10 times and I'm definitely suffering from that today. My body is SORE. I didn't realize how much of a workout skiing is. Your legs get a heck of a workout trying to control yourself going down the hill. When you're trying to stop yourself from going too fast you get even more of a workout. The crazy part was how sore my arms were. I didn't even think about my arms being involved but when you get to the flat parts and you need to keep moving that is allll arms.

All in all, I really enjoyed myself and I definitely would like to make this at least a yearly thing. Skiing isn't exactly cheap so unless I get a raise I don't think I'll be doing it much more often than that.

Have you ever skied? If so, what's your favorite ski resort?

S.A.D.

I'm starting to think that I have Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) which is also known as "the winter blues". I just don't really feel like doing anything other than sit on the couch and watch TV and honestly I barely feel like doing that. I wish I was a bear and I could just hibernate for the winter. I also wouldn't mind eating a whole bunch of food to prepare for hibernation. Sadly, I'm not a bear so I have to deal with the cold and dreary weather.

I need to come up with a happiness kit, full of items and activities that make me happy so that I can survive this winter. Hmm...maybe I can find a way to bottle up some warmth and sunshine.

Okay, I really just wanted y'all to know that I haven't frozen to death in a block of ice. I'm still here just haven't been in the greatest mood and I didn't want to bring anyone else's mood down with a bunch of depressing posts. So that I don't end this post on a "sad" note, I'll share with you a few things that make me happy and keep me warm.

• A mug of hot chocolate with melted marshmallows on top
• My snuggie
• A large pot of homemade soup
• Fuzzy slippers
• Super soft pajamas
• Hot bath with red velvet scented bubble bath
• The best chili ever
• Cuddling with my hubby

What things help you make it through the winter blues?