Creative Thoughts

How can summer vacation be almost over? Becca returns to school in a week. A WEEK!

We totally worked our butts off last weekend, trying to finish the renovations I so eagerly began at the start of summer. Baseboards and reinstalling the island then w00t we are set. Maybe you will all see pictures … at some point

Becca and Ethan have enjoyed the summer so much. They have enjoyed each other so much. They got along (with some minor blimps along the way) so well. Freakishly well. They play together all day long with few arguments, it amazes me. Ethan will miss her so much next week.

He won’t have too much time to miss her. He is registered in two preschool mornings. One swimming, one tumbling (as in lots of play!) all at our local rec centre. He will also be attending the preschool library program once a week too. We are going to make sure this kid is busy and socializing!

Becca has a brand new smile for school!

So to celebrate the end of summer vacation, J took today off and we headed to the beach for the day. The children all had a blast in the sand and water! Cordi is such a beach baby! She crawled right up to the water and in! She would stand (with support) and wait for the waves to reach her toes then squeal in delight!

Becca is a water girl, totally loving swimming in the ocean. Ethan headed in too! It was great! The weather was perfect, the water was warm and the five of us had a great day together!

I always love that J can take the perfect self portraits! So rarely do I like pictures of myself, so self conscious .. but this one makes me smile. As a family and as a couple we have had our best summer ever! How is your summer? On our way home we were listening to CBC on the radio and I was reminded that summer is not over till September 21 … I wish it could last longer!

I have decided to reinstate Fitness Friday. Although you may not have known it, you the readers became part of my fitness team. I became accountable to you. I do not believe it is a coincidence that when I stopped logging and writing about my work outs, that my work outs faded away. So now that I am back on track, it is time for me to share my success and failures to keep me on the road to my goals.

This week I have worked out almost everyday, and started really watching what I eat. Although we did not crash into our old terrible eating habits, J & I have been a little too relaxed about eating junk food and drinking maybe a tad too much alcohol .. hehe. I maintained my weight but that is not very satisfying.

So imagine my excitement when Janice from the Fitness Cheerleader announced she would be releasing a Walk & Tone MP3 Workout. See I have a little hero worship with Janice (I have been reading her blog for almost 6 years! Oh did I mention .. totally Canadian too!). She is a full-time working mom of two, pregnant with her third, a runner and in totally great shape. She started up the Fitness Cheerleader website to share and encourage others to get active and get fit.

She shared with me a copy of the Fitness Cheerleader’s Walk & Tone MP3 Workout to review and share with you. So yesterday I “hired” Becca to keep Cordi company so I could focus on the MP3.  I did this workout on my treadmill but it could easily be done outside. You do need some weights. I used my 3lb weights and started walking. I had to smile when the music started, it is  dance music from the 90′s, I felt so young and it also reminded what I was working towards! So I knew the tunes, then Janice encourages and guides you through each exercise. The MP3 is 40 minutes and I was totally burning once I got going. My arms are sore today! I also realized I need to pay more attention to my triceps, ouch!

My only criticism were based personal likes, for example I always forget to suck in my gut and keep my abs tight. I have gotten spoiled with the Jillian Michaels workouts because she always reminds you to pull your abs in. So instead I did a whole Pavlov’s dogs idea, every time I heard Janice’s voice I sucked in. It worked The other thing, is Janice’s voice comes in loud over the music rather than the music fading a little. It gets your attention but sounded harsh through my bad treadmill speakers. I haven’t tried it with earbuds yet so it maybe alright that way.

Motivation and determination are the hardest aspects of getting and staying in shape. I love the feeling of a great workout …. after. For me it takes tools, like writing, being accountable, having videos that work for me. The Fitness Cheerleader’s Walk & Tone MP3 Workout, is another tool to get you motivated, moving and excited about the results. I so wish I had something like this when I was pregnant. The last month with Cordi, I walked but it never felt like enough, then I would get tired.

Janice is having a special on the Fitness Cheerleader’s Walk & Tone MP3 Workout right now you can get it for $3.99 (use coupon LAUNCH for a limited time, regularly $4.99 … seriously less than a trip to Starbucks!) Seriously a great deal for an awesome walking workout. I plan on using it on those days I just can’t run, but still need some cardio and strength training.

Have you been working out? Have you ever tried a MP3 based workout? (this was my first and I liked it!)