Did you catch today's Google doodle?

Tuesday, September 06, 2011

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX2BQM0D01M

I LOVE it! I wanna be a supersonic woman. This might need to be my Pimp My Pride Challenge anthem...
Don't Stop Me Now

Tonight I'm gonna have myself a real good time
I feel alive and the world I'll turn it inside out - yeah
And floating around in ecstasy
So don't stop me now don't stop me
'Cause I'm having a good time having a good time

I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky
Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity
I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva
I'm gonna go go go
There's no stopping me

I'm burnin' through the sky yeah
Two hundred degrees
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic man out of you

Don't stop me now I'm having such a good time
I'm having a ball
Don't stop me now
If you wanna have a good time just give me a call
Don't stop me now ('Cause I'm having a good time)
Don't stop me now (Yes I'm havin' a good time)
I don't want to stop at all

Yeah, I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars
On a collision course
I am a satellite I'm out of control
I am a sex machine ready to reload
Like an atom bomb about to
Oh oh oh oh oh explode

I'm burnin' through the sky yeah
Two hundred degrees
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic woman of you

Don't stop me don't stop me
Don't stop me hey hey hey
Don't stop me don't stop me
Ooh ooh ooh, I like it
Don't stop me don't stop me
Have a good time good time
Don't stop me don't stop me ah
Oh yeah
Alright

Oh, I'm burnin' through the sky yeah
Two hundred degrees
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic man out of you

Don't stop me now I'm having such a good time
I'm having a ball
Don't stop me now
If you wanna have a good time (wooh)
Just give me a call (alright)
Don't stop me now ('Cause I'm having a good time - yeah yeah)
Don't stop me now (Yes I'm havin' a good time)
I don't want to stop at all
La da da da daah
Da da da haa
Ha da da ha ha haaa
Ha da daa ha da da aaa
Ooh ooh ooh
RIP Freddie.

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DIY Challenge - Hot Chick Challenge - Final

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

My Starting Weight: 222
My Finishing Weight: 218.5 (-3.5 lb)
Four (or more) Other things I will be measuring during this challenge & their current stats:
1. Fitness Minutes
(goal) 1000/mo
(finish) August = 1245 fit min, July 1-15 = 479
I blew the doors off this one and shocked the hell out of myself - best, most consistent month of my life even through crazy heat! On track to make goal for August as well.
2. Yoga
(goal) 18
(finish) 5
Did not make goal, but that's 5 more yogas than in prior months!
3. c25k
(goal) w3d3
(finish) w2d3
Did not make goal, but did make progress - even surprised myself one night I had planned to just walk by doing a spontaneous 5 minute run, walked a couple phone poles and then a 3 minute run. So, while I wish I'd made it to w3, I'm glad to have made *some* progress during the hottest month of the year!
4. Hot Chick
(start) FrumpyDumpy
(finish) Did not make goal, but there's improvement.
(difference) Haircut/color, purged and reorganized health&beauty supplies, bought Lush bath bombs and had some yummy baths, used Nike gift card for sport sunglasses, wore my contacts some, home mani/pedis and facials, purged crappy workout clothes and picked up a few new things on clearance, started clothing purge (still need to finish - I was surprised by just how challenging this has been for me), planned a bunch of date nights and weekend adventures w/husband. Progress!!
When I first started this challenge, I thought that _____
*1000 fit min was the stuff of legends
*There was a chance I might not see the results I'd hoped for and would get so discouraged I'd flake on finishing the challenge
but now I've learned that ________
*1000 fit min is doable and a good regular monthly goal for me
*I have to do stuff that will qualify as NonScaleVictories to help keep discouragement at bay when the scale isn't cooperating
*I'm very proud of all the sparkly star stickers on my well-used fitness calendar (and surprised that such a small, seemingly juvenile thing would make me THAT giddy)
*I should have "Progress Not Perfection" tattooed somewhere I see it regularly. Perfectionist-mind would have kept me from finishing this challenge what with my less-than-perfect results.
I already knew that [ Yoovie's challenges ] motivate me, but now I've learned that ... Yoovie's challenges are still THE best motivation for me. I love the creativity, the multidimensional aspect. Focus is not scale do-or-die or just accumulating fitness numbers. There's encouragement toward self-love and inner strength, appreciation of beautiful food and living life fully - whatever THAT means to each person in the challenge group and it's a diverse group (which I also love). People are all over the map, literally as well as in their personal journeys, and they show up and do the work (which pushes me to keep showing up as well). There are ups and downs, but no matter - people show up then too, to support or celebrate. The fitness challenges have a nice ebb and flow - acknowledging that its not about daily balls-to-the-wall, but that it IS important to challenge and surprise yourself on a regular basis.
The thing that I accomplished during this challenge and am MOST PROUD OF is ... All of it, really. I DID this challenge and am posting an end card!
*Serious workout consistency - triumph over inertia and excuses. Tried some new activities and explored some new locations.
*Better food choices and new food/recipe experiments. Only 1 diet coke consumed during the entire 6 weeks.
*Progress in my quest to not look and feel so damn dumpy. Hot Chick-ness was not achieved, it's still on The List.
Something I didn't expect from this challenge was _____
Only a 3.5lb loss for all my effort. I really wanted it to be a pound a week - 6lbs, but my clothing is definitely looser and now I'm kicking myself for not cozying up to Mr. Measuring Tape at the start.
This challenge may be ending, but I am not stopping... I'm going to swallow my fear and set a goal to [ try strength training ]. *groan*
Make a statement declaring your commitment to continue:
I LOVED being part of such an ambitious group who are motivated to reach their goals. I'm excited that I finished this challenge and made progress! Can't wait to see what I can accomplish with the next challenge!!

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DIY Challenge - Hot Chick Challenge - Aug 5-7

Monday, August 08, 2011

DIY Challenge 8/5-8/7 Assignment 11

1. At some point this weekend, you will be staring down a workout that you just do not want to do AT ALL. Your assignment is to git her done, anyway. This weekend, your excuses are out of town.

Sunday: It was pouring rain and we had a friend over. Everyone was settled in and comfortable, but when the rain let up to a drizzle I decided FINE, just BE OK with being soaked. So I changed clothes and did a c25k. I was discouraged to find that w2 is *still* challenging but I think what's happened is that I've just started going faster both on the running and walking intervals (I'm reaching landmarks on my route sooner and my total time to complete has dropped). I really want to move on to w3, but don't want to end up doing one cycle and then choking and walking the rest. So I'm not sure if I should just keep doing whatever I'm doing (until w2 is easy) or just start struggling with w3? At any rate, it started pouring again shortly after I got home, so YAY for getting my a$$ out the door when I did!

2. Go one step further and Surprise yourself by going above and beyond. This does not mean jumping from a 5K to a marathon. Just.... surprise yourself, somehow, and be prepared to share the excitement and pride in your achievement.

Saturday: Hiking. I can walk forever where its flat - add significant incline and the gasping begins. There's a heavily favorited multi-stage geocache not far from the house that's a good hike. To complete it apparently takes 3-6hrs so I figured lets at least start it. So we grabbed the gps and did 2 of the 6 stages. There are loads of trails - none clearly marked and no trail map available, so at one point I was scrambling up rockface and roots on my hands and knees. It was humid and I was soaked and gasping and thinking grumbly thoughts, but ended up laughing to myself at one point thinking - "above and beyond??" yeah I can check THAT off the list for this weekend! If it hadn't been pouring Sunday we'd have gone back to try to finish it. Maybe next weekend!

3. Eat beautifully.

Out for dinner Saturday night on a beautiful stonework patio with little firepits and lush planters and strings of little sparkly white lights. I tried a spinach salad with watermelon, blueberries, red onions, and poppyseed dressing and it was YUMMY! The dessert menu offered a plate of s'more fixins with homemade marshmallows and long wooden sticks so you could roast your own over the firepit. Who could say no to that?! I had one and it was sticky finger delicious.

Picked out some new recipes to try and shopped for them. Did veggie burritos Sunday. Never had Quinoa, so got some and cooked it in the rice cooker. Planning to try a recipe with it tonight.

I'm giving myself an A for this weekend.

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DIY Challenge - Hot Chick Challenge - Aug 1-4

Tuesday, August 02, 2011

DIY Challenge 8/1-8/4 Assignment 10
WELCOME TO AUGUST!

1. ReDo Your SparkPage! It's a new month and time for some fresh surroundings. Find a mantra for your background, or pictures from this summer, or an inspiaring piece of artwork, or just a bright color to inspire energy!

Done. Shimmery water. Cool blue. Last month of summer, a reminder to drink ALL 8, reconnect with flow.

2. How many workouts did you squeeze into July?! If you track things like fitness minutes, cardio sessions, ST sessions, turn in your totals for all those things- but most importantly- figure out how many individual workouts you got in/or how many total days you worked out last month! Display that number proudly!

Worked out 25 of 31 days
1245 fit min - the most I've ever done in a month!

3. Turn over a new leaf! It's time to start a new calendar! Flip the page, wipe off the board tear the old one down- it's time to move forward with vigor!

Done! Fresh sheet of sparkly stickers tucked in the corner. Ready, set, go.

4. Come up with a loose list of things you would like to do in August. Examples: Finish C25K; Walk a mile 4 days a week; Give your kitchen an overhaul; Purge all the fat clothes from your bedroom; Run an organized race, etc.

* MORE COWBELL!!!
* FINALLY finish Extreme Makeover: Clothing
* 1000 fit min
* C25K w4d3
* Try Pilates DVD
* Beach Yoga (somewhere)
* Caching
* Farmer's Market
* Figure out a Self-Esteem boosting ritual
* Creativity - a little knit? a little pics?
* Live music
* Waterfire in Providence
* Schedule CEU's
* Tame my Paper Tiger
* Get the hell out of Dodge!

5. Plan your workouts for Today thru Thursday.

Mon - Pity party due to GAIN at weekly weigh in (WTF??!!) Re-weighed today and I'm where I should be. Gawd.
Tue - DVD, Scope out a free outdoor PM Zumba
Wed - C25K
Thu - ipod shuffle walk/jog

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DIY Challenge - July 18-21 w/pics + Skinny Cow Event Report

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

DIY Challenge 7/18-7/21 Assignment 6

Providence, RI during Waterfire www.waterfire.org

What did you accomplish this weekend!?

FUN!: Providence, RI
FITNESS: Yoga (TWICE! Yay!) and 30min+ daily cardio
FRUMPECTOMY: Skinny Cow Event (incl bra fitting for new free bra) AND The Purge Project (Finished health&beauty supplies AND deep cleaned the bathroom!)

The Skinny Cow event was fun - DJ, raffles, cosmetic makeovers, silly dressup photos with a cutout glammed up Skinny Cow, free Skinny Cow ice cream cups, 2 free drinks (wine or lemonade), nibbles, an interesting display/history of lingerie through the ages, bra fittings (nicely done with a personal fitter in private dressing rooms - wide selection of styles available to try on), and a goodie bag (reusable shopping bag) w/a variety of coups (the best a Macy's voucher for any Warner's bra of my choice), a makeup bag with lipgloss + snack, and a t-shirt.
It's claimed that 8 of 10 women aren't wearing the right size bra so I was interested to see about that. I asked the women around me in the goodie bag/exit line about it and 5 of 6 WERE wearing the proper size. Hmmmmm.

Skinny Cow Perfect Cup Loot


Mah Perfect Cups


My husband and friend met me after and we had lunch/dinner at Paragon on Thayer Street. My friend got lobster mac n cheese, husband got a seafood pasta dish, and I had the lobster club sandwich. All yummy! We walked around exploring for a while and then decided to hit up the funkiest little place for fresh cupcakes to bring home. The Duck & Bunny www.theduckandbunny.com calls itself a "snuggery". Its such a cool, intimate place (old house converted into a restaurant/bakery/coffee counter/creperie) and the cupcakes were DELICIOUS. I got a chocolate peanutbutter one and a buttermilk lavender one. Yes. I had two.

Home of Scrumptious Cupcakes


Home of Lobster Club


I didn't know Waterfire was taking place that night, but we figured it out while walking around. Its a cool happening and is on "The List" but it was hours away from starting and we had other things planned for the night, so we'll have to catch it later this summer/fall.

What is one thing you are forgiving yourself for, that you did this weekend, and how are you going to fix it?

1. FOOD
Issue: Calorie overage on Saturday.
Fresh lobster club and bakery cupcakes during our day in Providence were SO totally worth the scale not moving on Monday weigh-in. I plan all the time. Spontaneity and living in the now - enjoying unique delicious moments - are equally important.
Fix: Keep daily calorie deficit in mind when making choices - jack up the fit min to balance spontaneous food bliss when possible.

2. FITNESS
Issue: Did not do 5k walk/jog I planned
It required a solid hour-plus chunk of me-time and that just didn't happen. I did, however, do my daily 30min+ cardio and TWO yoga sessions. I'm happy with my fitness choices this weekend.
Fix: When I'm jogging more than walking, 5k won't take so long. More jogging needed.

3. FRUMPECTOMY
Issue: Did not finish Purge Project: Clothing
Purge Project: Health&Beauty Supplies is DONE and the bathroom is SO CLEAN. I LOVE it. Made a shopping list. CVS trip got most of it. Clothing WILL get finished this week.
Fix: Stop setting overly ambitious goals for yourself! There really are only 24hrs in a day (8 of which you *really* should be sleeping).

Can you match or surpass what you accomplished last week?

FOOD: Surpass - Didn't grocery shop last week, so was making do cooking out of pantry and freezer. Produce drawer WILL get filled!! Also, going to scope out a new farmer's market this week.
FITNESS: Surpass - 3 yoga's in addition to daily cardio
FRUMPECTOMY: Match - The Purge Project: Clothing

What is something you are excited about that is happening soon?

Haircut (generally a semiannual event - last one was back in January!)

Name three things that you will use for motivation this week.

1. FIT: The scale didn't move this week. It WILL freakin' move Monday!
2. FOOD: Choose and try a new recipe
3. FAB: A few new exercise clothes - purge the faded, the hole-y, the just-can't get-the-stank-out-even-using- special activewear detergent.


BECAUSE its easier to get inspired when you don't look like a bedraggled sh*tbum BEFORE your workout.

Name one thing you will NOT do this week.

I WILL NOT let an uncooperative scale keep me down.

This week, my brain and my body and I are going to ______________.

Conversate. The self-esteem bonus question from the prior assignment remains unaddressed...

BONUS! See how many days you can drink NOTHING but water.

I enjoy my morning black coffee too much to give it up, but other than that, will see how this goes.

DISMISSED!

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