Fat-Free Friends and Nice Surprises

One of the reasons I love blogging so much is that it enables me to connect with other people who are interested in eating well, having fun through fitness, and sharing their experiences…  LIVING WELL, is what I like to call it.

Like Chalene Johnson says in her PUSH Challenge…  Find yourself some Fat-Free Friends.  

And I have found so very many of them through blogging, and also through my association with FitFluential as well.

One of those people is Margo Donahue who writes Brooklyn Fit Chick.
 
Yesterday The Captain brought the mail to me and there was a nice big puffy envelope from Margo – what a lovely surprise… one of her cute, bright pink tee shirts, and a copy of GI JAYNE’s Kickboxing Workout.  I was very happily surprised, and quite giddy with excitement because I have been wanting to try this particular workout!  And who doesn't love a nice bright pink tee?

This morning, the water in our building is going to be turned off at 8:30 a.m., and will likely not be turned back on until around 4:00 p.m…. so to make sure I got my shower in before then, I got up at 6:30., drank a couple of sips of coffee, ate one of my Frozen Protein ‘Bites’, and put that DVD into the player.

It is a half hour of sweaty kicks, jumps, punches and squats with lots of core work involved.  I loved every second of it and will definitely add it to my routine.  It’s not a glitzy production – I took a screen shot so you could see what the set looks like… it is not fancy, but it is well done and is a worthwhile, fun, sweaty workout.

So now I am finishing my cool down with the rest of my coffee and then it will be time to hit that shower!

What was your best surprise lately?

Are you a kickboxing fan?

CLIF/BUILDER's/LUNA bars Giveaway

I love to get surprises in the mail.  And I love them even MORE when they come with an invitation to share them with my friends.  Don’t you?

Recently I opened the door to a wonderful surprise delivery of CLIF bars, CRUNCH bars, and BUILDER’s bars…

I have long been a fan of CLIF bars but had never tried the CRUNCH bars… which are very similar to a granola bar… or the BUILDER’s bars which are very high in protein and taste like candy!

And then, a short time later, another package arrived, containing more BUILDER’s bars and  LUNA bars.  Awesome. Truly.

CLIF offers a full line to help power you through your workouts and your playtime.  We make great use of CLIF Shot Bloks when doing longer runs, and we often have CLIF bars in our pockets or bags when heading out for the day… and you know we have been re-fuelling after our tennis sessions with BUILDER’s bars…. The Captain is particularly enjoying the CRUNCH and LUNA bars. The flavors are mouthwatering and quite delicious, too.  They have a nice texture, and no chemically taste at all…. cause they are made with wholesome ingredients. 

And the best part is that I have been invited to share the CANADIAN assortment with my CANADIAN friends.  This giveaway prize consists of a lovely group of:

• 1 Builder's Chocolate Mint
• 1 Builder's Chocolate
• 1 Builder's Chocolate Peanut Butter
• 1 LUNA Lemon Zest
• 1 LUNA S'Mores
• 1 LUNA Nutz Over Chocolate
• 1 LUNA White Chocolate Macadamia Nut
• 1 LUNA Peppermint
• And, 1 each of our favorite CLIF flavors which are: White Chocolate Macadamia Nut, Coconut Chocolate Chip, and Chocolate Almond Fudge (but honestly we love them ALL)

This giveaway is only open to Canadian residents or those of you who would like the prize sent to one of your Canadian friends…. gotta love that option!  And you will receive your package directly from the sponsor.

Here is how to enter:

Leave a comment telling me your favorite item in the giveaway lineup.

That’s all there is to it… I will select a winner next Monday, and make an attempt to get in touch that day by email so if you want to win, make sure to leave me your email address. If I cannot find you easily, I will select an alternate winner. 

After  I contact a winner, I will come back and publish the name, here, on this post.

Good Luck!

UPDATE!  The giveaway is closed and the winner has been notified.  

It is Jenny @simply be me

Congratulations!  And thanks for all the entries and comments.

The bars and giveaway booty were provided by the sponsor, but all the drooling and lip-smacking is ours alone!

Add More Hours to Your Day

I love Day 18 of the PUSH Challenge...

It’s all about getting up and at ‘em and getting your day off to a great start.  That’s me and I love it!

Making sure you are getting the important things done and not getting side-tracked by the fluff!

How about you?  How do you get your day started?

You Are My Sunshine, Too

When I was a little girl my Daddy sang and old fashioned song to me called You Are My Sunshine to me quite often.  I can still hear his voice when I think of the the words to the opening few bars…

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

You make me happy when skies are grey

My 3rd birthday!

I was very honored to be almong the 10 bloggers selected to receive the Sunshine Award by Joanna  at Sports Bras and Sippy Cups very recently.  I read Joanna’s blog posts daily and am genuinely inspired by her hard work and her dedication to her family. And let’s face it, I love the pictures she posts, too.  She is a generous spirit and I am happy to take part in the fun.




The award is circulated to those bloggers to let them know that their posts brighten your day.


The Rules:

1.  Include award logo in a post or on your blog
2.  Link to the person who nominated you
3.  Answer 10 questions about yourself.
4.  Nominate 10 bloggers to receive the award. Link your nominees to the post and comment on their blogs letting them know they’ve been nominated.

Here are the questions Joanna asked, and my answers to them:

1. What made you start blogging?
 
I recall wanting to connect with some other runners.  And I started my food blog to showcase recipes for my Weight Watchers buddies.

2. What is one of your favorite kid movies? 
 
BAMBI is my favorite kid movie.  But BRAVE takes a close second.   I do love Merida.

3. If you could live in any State, where and why?
 
That’s a toughie as I do live in Canada. But I lived temporarily and seasonally in WA, and I do love OR., CA, and FLA.  I would love to visit Colorado and Alaska one day, as well as the East Coast.  I love the mountains and mountain lakes.

4. Do you prefer hot or cold weather?

As long as I can enjoy being outside, either is fine with me.  I love Winter sports as much as Summer ones.  I spent many happy times on ski slopes and skating rinks.

5. What is one of your favorite indulgent treats?

Almond butter.

6. If you get a week’s vacation, all paid, where are you going?
 
I would be happy exploring any new place… I have always wanted to visit Greece and Ireland so one of them, I think.

7. Who has been your biggest life inspiration?
 
My Father comes immediately to mind.  He was honest; he worked hard, loved and protected his family, had a wonderful sense of humor and a generous heart. And he was a bit of a rascal...

8. Name one thing that terrifies you.
 
Caves.  Small spaces.  Not being able to see the sky.

9.  Do you have any nicknames, if so, what are they?
 
My Father called me Bimbo as a child.  My husband calls me Squirrel.

10. If you won the lottery and was to donate part of your winnings, who would you choose to donate to?

I am a big fan of animal rescue/relief agencies. 

I am going to nominate these 10 bloggers to receive this Sunshine Award - they are all blogs that I have been reading for some time and try to look at them daily:

1. Marcia – Marcia’s Healthy Slice
2. Rachelle – Livin’ the Sweat Life
3. Christy – My Dirt Road Anthem
4. Katrin – Go Goggy Go
5. Jill – Lipstick and Plimsolls
6. Carrie – Family Fitness Food
7. Sara – Words to Run By
8. Marissa – Let’s Move It Mommas
9. Kyria - Travel Spot
10. Lisa - Miss Rainstorm

Here are my 10 questions:

1. Best childhood memory?
2. Nicest time of year?
3. Favorite flower?
4. Scary food you would never ever even taste?
5. Zodiac sign?
6. What spice would describe you?
7. Snooze button or jump out of bed?
8. Morning drink?
9. Song that means something special to you?
10. Secret crush?

 I would love to know what YOUR best childhood memory is.

Clean Eats –> Great Sleep = Tons of Energy

How CAN it be Thursday already?  I just looked and I haven’t published a post since  Monday … the week has just flown by and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.  It started with an arms/core workout and a walk to the tennis court... an hour of running after balls there, and a walk home.

On Tuesday morning we usually go for a run, but headed to the golf course instead.  I walk and carry my clubs too, so it is a bit of a workout, albeit a very fun and enjoyable one.  I did score one Birdie, too, on a par 3 hole.

I guess golf is more of a PLAYout really.    Then we ate the picnic lunch I packed before we spent some time on the putting green in practice and a few games, too.  I came home quite tired but happy. It was such a beautiful day and with all the kids back in school, and on a weekday morning, we practically had the course to ourselves.  Gotta love that!

Wednesday morning  found us heading out for a run before breakfast. We did a fairly speedy little 5 km around the neighborhood… then ate and went for a walk to the village centre to buy some groceries.  After putting them away we changed into our swimsuits and headed out to the pool. I put in about 15 minutes of real swimming  before some play and splash time. 

I was ravenous for my lunch… and spent the afternoon doing some paperwork and getting ready to head to a 2 hour staff gathering in the evening.  There were lots of people there that I hadn't met before I came home quite energized and it was quite late before I was able to relax enough to turn in for the  night.

This morning we went for a half hour walk along the Strait before The Captain cooked me breakfast and I got ready for work.  Right now I am home, between meetings… will be heading out again for a second shift in a bout an hour that will last till about 7 p.m.

I keep expecting to CRASH… for all the activity to catch up with me…  but I seem to have boundless energy and I have been thinking about why.  What is the reason for it?

And I have come to the conclusion it is because I have been eating so clean lately… and watching my portion sizes.  No snacking here and there, just real meals.  And lots and lots of water.

When I don’t eat grains, or dairy (other than whey protein powder) or added sugars, or drink alcohol, I sleep like a LOG.  And I am sure that the clean eats and the fabulous restful and restorative sleep that I have been getting, is giving me all the pep.

And I have to say I am feeling great… guess I should keep it up for a while!

I am still working through Chalene Johnson’s PUSH book, and today am looking at SUCCESSORIZING for weight loss.  I have lots of opinions about this topic…  perhaps I will  write about it soon.

Do you think your diet has an impact on the quality of your sleep?

Do you think your diets has a direct affect on your energy level?