Relaxed Mind and Soul

I took a day off from work. I needed it. I have been on the road for too long. I was so stressed on Tuesday evening that I ended up at urgent care to get a "super duper pain shot" (according to the nurse). I was having a hard time allowing other people to have control on things that have been impacting my life greatly this past month. The shoe finally dropped and now I am home.

I met my sister at the gym for a late morning workout. She is a school bus driver and has a long break in the morning. She usually hits the gym at this time. I left her a message and Voila, we met at the gym for a quick workout. I needed to make sure that I got out of the house early otherwise I could stay inside all day. I don't want that.

This weekend will be packed with fun things between Mary Kay trainings/events, my date with Matt and the "Now and Zen" concert on Sunday. Today, I am spending the time shopping, cleaning and chillin'.

Oooohhh...It Feels SOOOO Good!

Get your mind out of the gutter. :D I am so very happy to report that I have been hitting the gym at 5:30 in the morning to get my workout done. It is amazing how much easier it is for me to stay on course with my workouts when they happen first thing in my day. I have been meeting my friend to do our cardio and strength training workouts. I am totally accountable to her, so I will not NOT show up.

I watched the first episode of the Biggest Loser last night. I love that show. It's not because of the crazy workouts, but because I love to see people be transformed by a process. I love how quickly these people can shed fat and build muscle at the same time!

Jillian is back and brought some 'alternative' training methods with her. The contestants were flipping tires, snatching sandbags, using Iron Woody bands and pulling/dragging large objects with the rope. I thought that it was great to see 'new' methods being used to whip people into shape. That's what I like about Jillian and her workouts. She continues to utilize new methods to keep things fresh for the contestants and shows the viewers options for their workouts.

I am following my Weight Watchers program and enjoying the flexibility. I have been obtaining wonderful results when I am consistent. Isn't that always the key. My goal is to be done 15 pounds by my 30th birthday and to be at goal before I reach 31!

The last few weeks I was in a funk. I didn't know how to break it. The more that I tried to get out of my crappy mood, the more that I wanted to stay there. It was terrible. I am hoping that I can call it "hormones" or "PMS". It was scary to be there. I didn't recognize myself. I was afraid that I would become a nasty person. Yes, it was bad.

I am reading "Return to Love" by Marianne Williamson. From this book came some beautiful passages that had filtered the troubled thoughts that had been residing in my mind. It feels great to be out of that negativity now.

I know that it is unlikely that I will always be positive, but I know that I can choose to stay as positive as possible. I like giving energy to others, not taking it. That's how I felt the last few weeks. My poor boyfriend has been utterly patient with me and will be getting a wonderful "Thank You" from me. LOL

Ahhh, it feels like I can breathe again. I know that making a decision for my weight loss and workouts has brought clarity to me. I am so grateful!

Happy September

I am writing to you from my office. It is a place that I haven't visited in a while as I have been working on an investigation for the last three weeks. Talk about not having a schedule. Wow! It's amazing. I am only here today and will back out and traveling tomorrow.

The past weekend was a beautiful experience. On Saturday, I celebrated my friend's 30th birthday with her family and friends. What an occasion! There was so much food, beverage and fun. They had a mariachi band midway through the festivities and it was incredible. I have never heard "Happy Birthday" sung so loudly than that night. I wanted to record it to play it at my birthday party.

I got reacquainted with a high school friend and her husband. The amazing thing is that as her husband and I were talking, he realized that he knew Matt. They were in a certification class this past spring. I expect that we will all get together to have some fun soon.

I met Matt's dad this weekend. It was nice to finally meet him. What made it more special was that my family got to meet him as well. We both have really small families.

Some huge happenings: my sister and niece will be moving in with me for a few months. I haven't lived with someone in about four years. It was a quick decision and I hope to gain some huge benefits from having my sister with me. My sister is an avid fitness freak. Yes, she was responsible for me getting my gym membership in 2001 and loving it. I hope that having her around will lead me to consistency with my workouts and possibly and new workout buddy.

Autumn is a time for shedding the older to get ready for the new. I hope that this season brings much renewal and awakening to my family. We definitely need it.

It's been a while

The last few weeks have been a bit sad for me. I realize that I am not getting any closer to anything at the rate that I am 'moving'. I am at a stand still with my weight loss. I am still experiencing pain with my neck and shoulders despite the therapy. There is so much family stuff going on it's ridiculous. Business is okay, but definitely not moving in a huge way. I feel like I am swirling in a drain. I feel like I am waffling. If I could make a decision on something and move headlong in that direction, I will get somewhere. Yet, I hold on to both sides of the fence and my ass is taking a beating. I was driving last night and thought, "This is how people become crazy." I wonder how much longer I will subject myself to such craziness.

I did get to my step class on Saturday. That was a refreshing experience. Something that I needed for my body and my mind. I have an incredible need to get things "right". It was perfect that I didn't get every move through the class and even looked silly at times. Some things came easy, others, not so. This is part of my growth. I have a huge fear of being "embarrassed". I needed to "survive" my mess-ups. LOL

I need to create a schedule to help move me through this period in my life. Something with each area of focus and allotted times to do the things that are important to me. When I learn that discipline will bring my desired freedom, I will no longer have so much waffling in my days.

PASSION

I realized that my life is missing something...PASSION. I feel that I am missing something that gets me so juiced up that I am so excited to get my day going and only lay my head down out of pure exhaustion. I remember days where I was creating and working on art projects. I would spend my whole day alone, with little food/beverage and would work for hours in peace and fulfillment.

I want some "juice". I want some vigor. I want to jump out of bed in the morning to meet my passion again.

What were previous passions in my life?

• Creativity: calligraphy, bookmaking, papermaking
• Makeup artistry
• Sculpting my physique
• Health/Weight Loss
• My business

Looking at this short list, and knowing that there are more that I didn't include, I know that I still have love for each of these things. I think that I need to spend some time practicing each of these to see if I can reclaim the passion.

Do you know where my passion is? Do you know where I can find some? Share your thoughts with me.

WENG WENG RAP

So much to learn, so little time

Do you ever feel this way? I often feel that there is so much that I still need to learn, but there simply isn't enough time to get it all done. This leaves me feeling less than grand and the cycle of frustration continues. I have been realizing lately that I, Tamikka, information junkie, need not continue to cycle of frustration. What am I going to do with all of the information that I think is so necessary to leading the ultimate life? Really. How much information does it take to lead the life that I want? I have to say that I am still trying to figure it out, but I am also realizing that it is not quite as much as I once thought. I don't need to know everything that is going on in the world. I don't need to know what Lindsay, Britney or Paris is doing to live out their existence. I don't need to know what star is about to explode. I don't need to know the latest discovery in science. The funny thing that I realized (thanks Tim Ferriss) is that I will find out the information that is important through other people. There is always someone available to us that will give us the knowledge that they feel is imporatnt to our lives. I'll let them spend their brain units on it. :)

If I don't need to know that stuff, what do I need to know to live the life that excites me? This is a better question. Instead of wasting hours clicking, reading and gathering unnecessary but fun information, where do I need to spend my time? In developing my relationships, my career and my health. This feels like I could actually have enough time to do the things that will ultimately bring me to my desired life. I will be applying the information that I have spent so much time gathering and put it to wonderful use. Then, I will not feel that the time already spent was in vain.

This leads me to another point: Why am I an information junkie? I think that this is the easier question. I never wanted to look "dumb/ignorant/stupid". When someone says, "I'd die of embarassment" that would be me. I have always had a problem with feeling embarassed, "called out", ridiculed for something that I didn't know. I don't know where or why I picked this up. One possible answer is that I tend to be an observer of life. I see where/why people are ridiculed and I never wanted to feel that way. I was always highly empathetic. I took on what I THOUGHT others felt and were thinking. Did I truly know? Nope, but I THOUGHT that I did.

Well, I feel like I am making some headway and I like that idea. I'll be keeping track of my progress with my "low-information diet".

The Tears of Deeksha

Today, I had an incredible experience. I met with my Power Team that meets monthly. We are a team of people brought together by a common experience: an Anthony Robbins event. We are a group of go-getters, do-gooders, and everything in between. We met today to experience deeksha (blessing) facilitated by members of the Oneness Movement.

There was about 40 people in a relatively small room. We sat on the floor, on mats, on furniture, any place that we could find. I knew that I was going that my back was going to get tired either way, so I chose to sit on the furniture for at least my legs would be okay.

The session began with a little background on deeksha and the Oneness University. We watched about 15 minutes of a video program that was presented by a journalist and ended with a message from Lindsay Wagner. She shared the effect of deeksha in her life. It was simple, yet profound. She was transformed to 'see' again and found new appreciation in her familiar surroundings.

We began our process of receiving deeksha by closing our eyes, focusing on our breath and the opening ourselves to the divine power (God, Buddha, Christ, Supreme Being, etc.) There was soft, beautiful music in the background. We were just to remain open to our divine power and breathe. Each facilitator would come around the round and bless the participants by placing their hands on our heads.

I closed my eyes and opened myself up to God. I breathed and worked to focus only on my breath as my mind is always racing. I found that as I tried to concentrate, my thoughts would turn to the facilitators walking about the room. I knew that trust and removal of resistance were available to keep me from fully experiencing the process. There was not much sound so I didn't know what to expect. I began to get nervous when I realized that there was someone next to me receiving the blessing. "Uh oh, stay calm, don't shake...wait, quiet your mind, focus on your breath, don't worry about them..." This is the kind of torture that I was placing on myself before I had my first experience. Then, it happened. The person moved nearer to me. I could sense them and the lighting changed in front of my eyes. I began to breathe more conscientiously. I began to relax and then, I felt warm hands on my head. It was amazing. The heat penetrated my scalp and began to coat my body. The image in my mind began to change. I didn't see much except organic shapes. I was able to relax and focus. This lasted for about 30 seconds before the person gently removed their hands.

I experienced 3 more people laying their hands on me. Each person had a unique touch which resulted in a unique experience.

We ended the first session by sharing some personal experiences. Some people had some amazing occurrences, others had something more ordinary. I was pleased that I was soon able to quiet myself and relax into myself.

What I noticed was that I had little expectation for the outcome which left me happy in the fact that I was able to enjoy the quiet. I also realized that it felt as if my soul had peeled away from my internal body. It was as if I was swirling around inside myself.

We took a short break and began again. This time, we were to receive an experience of gratitude. I just kept picturing moments with my nieces. It caused me to smile. They always bring the most joyous moments in my life. I was now eager to receive new "hands". This time, I was relaxed and calm immediately.

I received a deeksha where the person touched my head and then moved to my face. It made me smile. That touch provokes such love in my heart. The next person actually touched my heart first and provided such a rush that I began to cry. I wasn't sure if it was due to joy or sadness. I had one single tear trickle down my face. It was powerful. I felt more open than before. I was calm. I was present. A dog began to bark. Normally, I would have wanted to dog to be quiet so that I could concentrate. This time, I just was able to 'be' with the dog barking and still stay focused. It was a new moment of experience for me. Wonderful!

So, I found out that there is deeksha each Friday in my city. I am excited to be able to continue the work to provide more moments of peace within myself. I look forward to developing more knowledge with deeksha and spending time with the wonderful facilitators.

Japanese Treadmill Challenge

This will get you in shape real fast!

Faster Goal Achievement

I love Steve Pavlina. He has a website named "Personal Development for Smart People". He has about 500,000 visitors to his site each month. I'm lucky if I have 5. LOL I digress. Anyway, what I love about his site, messages and podcasts is that he uses all of the methods that he presents on his site BEFORE he writes about them. Having a personal testimony is always a bonus in my book. He also writes on many different topics and introduces many people to new ideas. It's great.

One of my favorite tools that I got from Steve's site is a "30-day practice". Did you know that it takes about 28 days to make a new habit? Most of us usually are gung-ho during the first week or two and then fizzle out by the end of the third week. Hmm, if we could just stretch it out for a few more days, we might have made it a habit. What I also love about the 30-day practice is that he gives us permission to 'trash' it if it doesn't prove to be something that benefits our lives. How silly of me to think that I, an adult, needed permission to say, "No thanks." to a personal goal? Yes, it's true and I am sure that I am not the only one.

Another topic that he shares is faster goal achievement. He shares that it is easier to achieve a goal if we already identify ourselves as the person who has achieved the goal. He encourages people to brainstorm the 'side effects' of being that person.
What will be different about my life when I reach my goal? Identify the side effects.
Then, he suggests that one starts closing the distance between the side effects and where you are now.

I thought about this. When I am at my healthy weight, my persona is different, my actions are different. I hold my body differently. I exercises daily without it being a chore. I look forward to it. I crave better options. It's who I AM, not what I struggle to do. Hmm...

So, WW has been going great. I have lost almost 7 pounds since re-starting 2.5 weeks ago. I have an official weekly WI, so that's what I use as my weight. I was proud of myself for having a loss even with it being TOM. This week has been a little strange since it has been TOM. I have wanted to eat more throughout the day. Luckily, I have stayed within my points regardless of what I have eaten. That is a great feeling. That's what I love about the WW Flex Program. It allows for the flexibility that I might need during these times of the month.

My training for my half-marathon has being going okay. I am having a hard time doing my 'during-the-week' training, but my long days are no problem at all. I wonder if it has anything to do with having a clear mind and no competing priorities (free from work, commute, etc.) It's also done at my favorite time of day, mid-morning. So, my remedy has been to just do what I want during the week and get my long training in on Sunday. It is my only "MUST". It is so much more enjoyable to me. This weekend, I have a six-mile training session.

Financially, things have not been the best. Thank goodness for having my Mary Kay business otherwise I wonder if I would make it through the month. I definitely am experiencing "more month than money" syndrome. I have scaled back on all the unnecessary things in my life. I don't have satellite and haven't had it in a year. I don't eat out often. I stopped all magazine subscriptions. I just can't seem to get on top of it all. I also don't want to work just to pay bills either. I need to enjoy life too! Ugh! I am trying to figure out how I can increase my income is a smart way, pay down the bills and add to my savings/investments. That is one good thing that I am financially proud of, I do have investments that are doing well. I'll make it. I just needed to vent. I'll have to utilize Steve's faster goal achievement method to change this experience of my life. Now, what are the side effects of being financially free...?

Titles are back!

My last post doesn't have a title. It's not because I didn't have one. It's because it wouldn't let me give it one. How strange. But, I see that the title function in up and running just fine.

So, I am still enjoying my WW and points program. I did find myself looking for something to graze on these last few days. What I realized is that I am about to start TOM. I was SO hungry yesterday after I got home from work, but dinner for my sister's birthday wasn't until 6 (1 hour), so I ate three random things: 1 dried mango slice, 2 crackers from a 100 cal pack and a bite of fruit. Then, I dove head first into laundry and dishes. It did the trick. Instead of blowing a whole bunch of points on snacks, feeling guilty, then missing out on a wonderful dinner, I gave myself some quick snacks and got into action. This is definitely something that I would not have done if I was not following a program. I would have snacked on large quantities of all three things and STILL had dinner. Yep. It's true. I like this tactic better and it only cost me 1 point.

At dinner at my mom's house was delicious. I planned to have ribs, rice, beans and salad. I neglected to think about birthday cake. So, I used some WPAs. I ate 11 extra points, but I had them available to me. Dinner was a success, I was satisfied and was NOT stuffed. Another meal conquered with pleasure.

On Tuesday, I was only craving ice cream and something salty and crunchy for dinner. Fortunately, I have WW Smart Ones Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough portion-out desserts available in my freezer for 3 points. I had one of those and a portion of Ritz Chips for 3 points as well. I was hungry after my Mary Kay meeting, so I enjoyed 1 point of honeydew melon. Gosh, the melon is SO good right now.

I am very proud of the fact that I have journaled all of my food intake using the WW e-tools program. I know that when I journal, I am successful in weight loss. I have been planning my day ahead of time the night before and packing my lunch. It creates for ease in my morning and allows me to stay on track. I love when I pack more food than needed for the day and end up leaving it at the office or taking it home for another day. I know that my eyes are still bigger than my stomach. LOL

I am already feeling "thinner" than just a week and a half ago when I started the program. I pulled out a pair of jeans that I haven't worn in a month to wear today. They are still snug, but I wanted to remind myself of the mental success that is necessary to win the physical battle. My head is in the right place and I am enjoying it. I am looking forward to more 'releasing' on the scale.

Four is a magic number...this weekend at least. I am very happy to report that I lost 4.6 lbs during my first week on Weight Watchers. I have been journaling my food intake and finding that my choices are leaving me satisfied AND experiencing weight loss.


During the WW meeting, the discussion was about plateaus and what truly constitutes a plateau. A weight loss plateau is when you are doing everything "right" and the scale is not moving. I have been here. It was miserable. I actually had a plateau that lasted six months. I finally realized that I was going at my weight loss "too hard" and found that by easing up, the weight started coming off again.


Some of the suggestions for breaking the plateau in WW are:

• Switch from Flex to Core (or vice versa)--this allows your mind and body to get different types of foods and gives your brain the ability to experience the "new"
• Increase your activity--Some people do the same thing day in and out. Your body adapts and makes it more difficult to experience a loss. That's why I love programs like TTMembers where you continue to grow your program as you grow in strength and ability.
• Try new foods
• Chill out!

The leader, Linda, shared this funny and insightfully quote on advice

"Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't." --Erica Jong

I also did 4 miles on Sunday during our 'long' run. We really did a walk/run session. The time to complete was 56 minutes. I really wanted to maintain a 4.0 mph average time. Mission Accomplished. Last night, I was pretty sore so I had Matt give me a massage. He ended with some chi work. It felt like I had Icy Hot on my back. It was incredible. He had to "remove" some energy because it was too warm. I told him that I have a "magician" for a boyfriend. He laughed.

Ooooohhm...

Sitting at my desk, enjoy some cantaloupe (I love melon.), looking forward to lunch with my friend/co-worker at my favorite Vietnamese restaurant. It is hot here, but as I always say, "It's never too hot for soup...It's never too cold for ice cream." It was hot here yesterday. 100 degrees hot and I enjoyed a bowl of Taco soup with a Smart Ones chicken quesadilla and a small bowl of salad for dinner. It was yummy.

I have an appointment with a Mary Kay client after work.

I am dropping off her re-order and showing her the new goodies. One of the new goodies is our body collections. I am wearing our lotus and bamboo collection today. Here is what the advertising says: The blue lotus flower and majestic bamboo inspire this collection. Breathe in the clean, crisp scent. Each of the products contains antioxidant-rich extracts of blue lotus and passion flower to help shield skin from damaging free radicals. And carefully selected ingredients nurture your skin to help keep it healthy-looking and beautiful.

Let me just say that it smells so clean and FRESH. It is so light and understated. Matt didn't know that I had it on and said, "Wow! You smell great." I love scents and often wear my favorite Chanel Coco Mademoiselle (which he loves), but never gave me the same reaction.
I have a couple of models that I will be working with this weekend. It will be a lot of fun.

This weekend is my first official weigh-in (WI) for Weight Watchers (WW). If I WI tomorrow, it will be for 5 days, so not a full week. I plan on being a regular Saturday morning attendee unless my schedule does not allow for it. I am excited to see my progress. I took a sneak peek at it showed a 3 pound loss and put me in a new "decade".

Last night, I just started reading "Time Traps" by Todd Duncan. Within the first few pages, I had a feeling that this book was different. It is about how much time we waste doing unnecessary things. I'll let you know what I think after I am done. It looks like a quick read. Hopefully, I can get through it this weekend.

This weekend, I have my long run/walk for my half-marathon training. Matt already did his regular workout today, but still has his long training on Sunday. I hope that we can do it together. I am going to squeeze my training in before meeting with my client.

It's good to be here today.

Proud as A Peacock

I am so proud of myself for checking off some major items from my "to-do" list. I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting and completed my e-tools information. I purchased my shoes for my half-marathon training and performed my first scheduled workout (3 miles). I am in the process of getting the last major item completed: my home office. Yikes it was terrible. Now, it feels decent. Soon, it will be perfect!

I have a closet in the office that needs to be purged. There are old sweaters, pullovers and jackets. I probably only wear one or 2 items, the rest I will donate. Freed-up space!!

So, going back to WW was great for me. I know that success is mine as long as I stay mindful of my actions. I weighed in and it was not good. At least I didn't gain it ALL back. LOL

The past day and a half have been full of food shopping and planning. It is still fun for me to do all this stuff. I can't wait for my first weigh-in. I know that it will be much better than yesterday!

Off to complete my list...

Decisive

It feels great to be decisive. To decide means to literally "cut off". Once I have "cut off" from my former ways and am committed to something, it flourishes.

I was speaking to my co-worker today and she said, "Tamikka, when you decide on something, you make it happen. You remind me of my daughter who does the same thing." Well, I know her daughter to be a major go-getter. I definitely took this as a compliment.

More often than not, I've had friends tell me the same thing. Some even call it stubborn. Of course, I like to think of it as "driven". The sad thing is that when I am not driven in something, I tend to flounder. I tend to dabble. I tend to "tweak". Tweaking, floundering, and dabbling all lead to the same conclusion for me: frustration. Someone said, "When what you want does not equate to what you are willing to do, all you get is a whole lot of frustration." Ha! Are they so right.

I know that when I am committed to doing "whatever it takes" and not just the "best I can do", I can move mountains in any area of my life.

Well, I've DECIDED to return to Weight Watchers on Monday. I actually looked at meetings that are local to my office so that I had NO excuse of being able to weigh-in and attend a meeting no matter where I am. I still am considering if I will make it my "home base". Either way, it's a done deal. I even invited one of my male co-workers to join me. Fortunately, I am one to do what I wish regardless of having someone go with me. I enjoy that quality in myself.

I know that leaving the place of a decision without taking action is the quickest way to ensure that you are NOT moving towards your goal, I have already pulled out my paper food journal and begun to record my food intake. Returning to WW provides the accountability and support factor that I enjoy so much. Read any material on long-term weight loss and you will find that having a supportive team is a way to increase success in reaching any goal.

I am excited and driven right now. I just need to make sure that I am in love with the journey and not just the results in order to maintain consistency in my life.

Laughter and Friends

My friend, Dana, was in a Ladies Only comedy competition in SF last night. Matt and I met up after I got off of work to have dinner and see her perform. We had a great time at dinner (pesto pizza and salad). The show was fantastic. There were a couple of performers out of the nine total that were not very strong. The rest were quite good. Dana took third for the entire competition (there were over 30 competitors that started the competition). I am so glad that we were able to cheer her on, get some great laughs and enjoy great company.

I am a natural-born networker. I love to bring people together and have them make incredible connections. Dana and I were talking about this. She is great on stage but feels she needs assistance in this area. Without even thinking, I began networking for her BEFORE the show started. When she came to the table (we were seated in front of the stage), I made sure to have her talk to the people around us that I had met in line. I think that when you are in a business such as entertainment, a lot of times it is WHO you know. She said that I need to be her "makeup artist agent". I agree. LOL

Matt looked absolutely adorable last night. He normally wears his hair "dry", but last night, I could tell that he added a little gel. OMG! I was so in love with the look. I made sure to let him know how I felt. He definitely enjoyed the feedback.

So, I talked to him about my weight loss goals and plan. He is so sweet and said, "I think that you are beautiful and sexy now." I appreciate his feelings so much. I have a healthy, supportive environment that will allow me to have success. I just need to keep myself focused on the journey.

On A Quest

I am on a quest...a quest to build my "perfect" weight loss/fitness/lifestyle plan. As I wrote before here, there are specific behaviors that equate to long-term weight loss and maintenance. I am tired of dilly-dallying with different programs, methods and approaches. I realized that I have the tools, knowledge and ability to be successful in long-term weight loss. I just have to execute the methods that work for ME. There are 1000's of ways to do it. I know of the one way that worked fantastically for me until I got blinded by the shiny penny and lost focus.

Here's what worked for me:

• Weight Watchers Points Program--specifically the 123 Success Plan where all fiber counted and not just up to 4 grams.
• Daily exercise focusing on multiple forms of cardio (HIIT; moderate cardio workouts up to 60 minutes); strength training: heavy-split, 3-4 exercises, 3-4 sets per exercise.
• Listening to my body.
• Enjoying the occasional treat and making it a TREAT.
• Keeping food variety up when in control, taking it down when not.
• Pre-planning my food for the next day. (I think this is where most of my success stemmed from.)
• Recording it ALL in a food diary.
• Tweaking things when it wasn't working.
• Having fun!

I think that I will give this program another shot. This means returning to WW meetings EVERY week. I will give myself 3 months to work it. By then, I will know if this program still works for me.

Small, consistent activities make for big, powerful results.

On a different front, Matt and I are going to go shoe shopping to begin training for the San Jose Half-Marathon. I am excited to find out what gear I will need to have a successful (injury-free) training period and run. Matt surprised me by sharing his desire to run with me for my birthday celebration. Woo Hoo!! This will be great for us. I love that we enjoy physical activities. (hubba hubba :D) LOL I can't wait to start running together.

This weekend, we are going up to Napa to celebrate his friend's birthday. It will be a fun, semi-romantic weekend for Matt and I. I hope that we can get away from the group for a little time for ourselves. That would be wonderful.

More Workout Fun

I received this in my "junk email" account. I use an old account to keep from getting bombarded with announcements, sales, tips, and other crap that can fill an email inbox within 2 minutes. Occasionally, I will find interesting messages in the mix. I might have to register with my actual address for Scott Colby information...Nah, he still tends to send some unnecessary material. His contact information is listed under his article.

"This is how we play baseball, fitness camp
style. : )
You can do this by yourself, with a friend
or a whole group of people.
(If you are with a group of people, divide
the group in half so you have 2 teams).
Set up 4 cones in a diamond representing
home plate, first base, second base, and
third base.
At each base, you have to do a bodyweight
exercise.
So here is an example:
Run to first base and do 10 pushups; Run to second base and do 10 jumping lunges each leg
Run to third base and do 15 crunches; Run to home plate and do 15 squats
After you do the squats at home plate, that
counts as one run. Continue on for
10 minutes and try and score as many runs
as possible.
If you are on a team or going against a friend,
try to score the most runs.
If you are by yourself, you can challenge
yourself by doing this workout for
4 weeks and trying to score more runs
at the end of the 4th week than you did
during the first week.
This will show you how much your fitness
level has improved.
Have fun!"

And again, if you are interested in joining our
Women's Fitness Camp, please visit:
http://www.womensfitnesscamp.com/classes.html

Vegas-Style Training

Cool, Outdoor Workout--Vegas Style

Scott Colby--http://www.womensfitnesscamp.com/index3.html


Making Exercise Fun
Here is something that we do in camp to get the
camp members to work together as a team
and have fun at the same time.
We'll divide the camp into teams of 3 or 4 and
each team gets a deck of cards (we take out the
two's, three's and four's).
Each of the 4 suits represents a different exercise.
For example, diamonds = push-ups, spades = squats
clubs = crunches and hearts = jumping jacks.

Whatever suit you draw is the exercise you do, and the
number on the card equals the number of reps that you do (jacks, queens and kings = 10 reps and Aces = 11 reps).
Each person on a team draws a different card, does their exercise and then goes to the next card.
So you are working individually on the exercises
but together as a team, you are working your
way through the entire deck. Try to complete the
deck as quickly as you can.

What a fun way to get outdoors and get a new workout style into your program. This would be a fun family activity as well.

If you didn't get the "Vegas Style" comment, it's because he's using playing cards. :D

Enjoy!!

Model Search--Model of Beauty Contest

So, my company is having a model search and I am really excited. I am excited to have one of my entrants be chosen as one of the FOUR winners. Wouldn't it be awesome to have the eye for finding talent that will be featured in a national publication! It is my goal to find her!

Here is the information from Craigslist ad.

Model Search for Portfolio/National Catalog
Reply to: gigs-359563121@craigslist.orgDate: 2007-06-24, 8:52PM PDT

We are looking for female face models of all ethnicities, ages 18 and over, and sizes. No experience necessary. What to expect: skin prep, color consultation, and before/after photo for catalog. The "After" Photo will be used for selection for catalog feature. A gift will be given to all participants.

Four women will be selected from the pool to be featured in national commercial catalog: (The Look), receive a three-night, expense-paid trip for winners and one guest each to New York, a professional makeover and a $500 shopping spree gift card. (Winners required to sign a model release.) If you are interested in having an opportunity of a lifetime, contact me today! Runs through September 15, 2007.

If YOU are interested, contact me today.