Can you do the Splits?

 I have found a new fitness challenge. I love new fitness challenges. It keeps me motivated and the curious part of me wants to know if these challenges actually work. I was riding my exercise bike yesterday and scrolling through Pinterest and found this:  http://www.wikihow.com/Do-the-Splits-in-a-Week-or-Less.  I am pretty flexible (just ask hubby ;)), but I have not done a proper split since college, so I am going to give myself two weeks to get this challenge done.  I started last night with the stretching. It felt so good. I usually do some light stretching every day, but to spend around 20 minutes stretching? Heaven! I am not sure how I am going to work in the stretches twice a day, but I am going to try. After stretching, I had Princess take some photos of me doing the splits:

I have quite a ways to go!

I have never been able to do the middle splits, so why not try?

It is important to have fun and make sure you can still smile after exercising. Exercise is good for you! You have accomplished something. Be proud of yourself.

 I will update you on my progress and hopefully within two weeks you will see me in a proper split!

Have a great Thursday!

Hugs!

Valentine's Plans

Happy Wednesday! It is a beautiful winter day in the Rock with a high reaching 66 degrees! A perfect winter day. It’s like living in Houston again. I love it!

 One of my favorite holidays is coming up, Valentine’s Day. I love it. Probably because I am a romantic and I just love love. A cheesy made up hall mark holiday? Perhaps, but I do not care. I love a day that celebrates love. Yes, you should celebrate love every day and hubby and I do a great job at this, I know, I am spoiled, but for those who are not as lucky as me, it’s a day set aside for those unromantic to be romantic. The last two Valentine’s Days I have been out of commission, so I have high hopes that this year we will actually be able to celebrate. Valentine’s Day also holds a special place in my heart as that is the night hubby proposed. Was it cliché’? Most assuredly, but it was incredibly romantic and I was completely surprised.  Hubby is anything but cliché, so it worked out perfectly. Sigh. Such a great night.  Anyway, I looked into what Little Rock had to offer for Valentine’s Day and wow! The local restaurants love themselves on Valentine’s Day. For instance, for the low price of $100 each (!) you can have a lovely 4 course (some courses shared) meal at So. If you did not want to spend that much you can head over to Table 28 for a set menu of $60 each. Now, I do not know if I am just cheap or because I know how to cook, but I am not interested in dropping over $200 for dinner on the two of us. Not that we are not worth it, I just have better ways to spend my money. Hubby and I will probably head over to Taj mahal and pig out on their fabulous lunch buffet and stay home that night with a lovely bottle of wine and avoid the crowds.  I do need to figure out what to get hubby for Valentine’s Day. I already got mine, because I have no patience and he just wanted to give it to me early. And, seriously, it sparkles and I wear it every day, so I did not mind getting it early. What are your Valentine’s Plans? Please do not stress over it. Life is too short to be stressed. 

Hugs!

The weekend wrap up

 Happy Monday! Hope you had a relaxing, but productive weekend and are geared up and ready for another work week. I most certainly did. Princess was at her dad’s this past weekend; stepson was at his mom’s, so it was hubby, oldest son and I. We took oldest son to get fitted for a tux. He has winter formal in two weeks. He is going to be the most handsome one there. No, really. I am not biased. On Saturday we got him ready for homecoming. This involved de linting the new suit coat and taking lots of pics. He looked awesome! I will say though, it is much easier getting boys ready for formals then girls. He did his own hair, there was not a spray tan to be done, or any make up to be worn. He ironed his own pants and shirt and he knows how to tie a tie, so in about 40 minutes, he was showered, dressed and ready to go. Pretty awesome, I think. Now, princess is still in junior high so I know we are just getting rested up for all the formals she will attend. I believe we will start saving up now. Not that boys aren’t expensive. $100 for a sport coat and $120 for tux rental is not cheap, but like I said, he did not need all the extras. I will discourage the spray tan for princess as I think everyone who does that has a bit of an orange glow to them and we do not want the oompa loompa look. 

 The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful. Hubby and I ventured out to Bryant and tried a new luncheon place, Arkansas Fresh Café’. It was yummy. The food was definitely fresh. It was presented nicely (even though they forgot my pickle!) and was very tasty. I had a turkey sandwich and hubby had a corned beef sandwich. The bread was fresh and oh so good. We will definitely be making the drive back. Saturday night we had a too die for Pumpkin Soup from Terry’s Finer Foods in the Heights. Just open, add cream and heat up. Mouthwatering! Sunday we gave the Little Greek Restaurant another try. It was just so-so the first time, but hubby loved it. I must admit, I did like it better the second time. The fries are amazing, the pita bread was fresh and the tzaziki sauce was tasty. We split a lamb gyro and it did not disappoint. We shared the falafel appetizer and it is the best in Little Rock, except for the Greek Food Festival, of course. Nothing tops the Greek Food Festival.  

 We caught up on our movie watching. Noah was terrible. Do not waste your time. Horrible Bosses was equally as bad. I will recommend Tammy and Into the Storm. Tammy was funny! And Into the Storm was intense. I would not watch the latter if you have a fear of tornado's.

 Got my walking in on Saturday, but it was too darn windy and cold on Sunday. Sigh.  Hate when the streak gets ruined. 

Have a fabulous Monday!!!

Hugs

LRSD, You are a failure!

   Little Rock School District, you failed last night! Big time! Princess cheers for Horace Mann Middle School. The boys’ varsity basketball team played their rival Dunbar Middle School.  Horace Mann is undefeated and Dunbar only has one loss (to us) so there was a lot at stake last night. If you give two sh*ts about middle school basketball that is. Going into half time we had sunk a three pointer giving us the lead. One of the Dunbar players did not appreciate this and on the way to the locker room, he elbowed our basketball coach in the face. Yes, you read that right, the face! This was witnessed by parents, players, coaches, the 9 million security guards, and students. After pulling the player off the coach (who acted gracefully) he was sent off to the locker room to “cool down”. When half time was over, he and his dad (I assume that is who he was) apologized to our coach and was able to play the second half of the game. Yes, you read that right. He was able to play after assaulting our coach! Little Rock School District (LRSD) supposedly has a no bullying policy and if you bully or lay hands on another person it causes for immediate suspension. I guess that rule does not apply to everyone. We were outraged. The students were appalled. What type of message are you sending LRSD when this type of behavior is tolerable and no punishment is given? So what if the player apologized. He should have anyway. It is common courtesy. So, LRSD you failed, big time, last night. You let everyone know last night that hitting someone is perfectly fine, especially if it is a coach. Thanks a lot. Way to go.

 

Hugs!

Tolerance

 

  I am not going to mention the State of the Union Address. If you know me well enough, you know how I stand with certain issues and I am not interested in starting a political argument on my blog. The only thing I will address is please be mindful of those who have differing opinions. You may not agree, but there is no need to blast those who think, behave, or act differently than you.  I watched a piece on Dateline the other night about parents who grew marijuana plants in their home and had a business selling the marijuana plants and had young children in their home. Child service protection was called and the younger child, who is 5 years old, was taken from the home. The parents insisted they never gave the child marijuana, yet the child tested positive for marijuana in his system. Things that make you go Hmmmmmm. Now, the judge in ruling said that although he did not see any legal reason to keep the child from his parents, he advised the parents to think long and hard about their marijuana business and how it affects the young child. Now, I do not agree at all with his parent’s lifestyle. They seemed very lax about marijuana usage, especially around the young child, but it I am not going to blast them about it. It is their decision.  I am not saying a good debate is not welcomed, but be respectful. How boring would the world be if we all thought and acted the same?

 In home news, oldest son is going to homecoming this weekend. I am excited to see him all dressed up. He needed a sport coat, so my awesome hubby took him shopping. I know nothing about buying a sport coat, so thank goodness hubby volunteered. Hubby is really amazing. Son is also going to winter formal, so now we need to rent/buy a tuxedo. I am hearing through the grapevine that buying a tuxedo is worth the investment. I can see the logic in this. He needs one for winter formal, prom, and any formal events while in college. So, this weekend we shall start tuxedo shopping. He needs one in 3 weeks. Nothing like waiting until the last minute, right?

 I am not looking forward to the change of seasons tomorrow. It is going to be 20 degrees cooler and rainy. Boo! I like spring in the middle of winter. It just seems right. The good thing is that we have a gym in our building that is free to use and I get off work at 4:00 so I can get my exercise in and still beat everyone home! Love it!

  Be nice to everyone today, even if you do not agree with them!

Hugs!

 

Get in your cardio!

 

  Good Morning and Happy Tuesday! It is a beautiful morning in Central Arkansas and I love the warmer days in the middle of winter. I hope you are getting outside and getting in that good Vitamin D that so many of us are lacking. I started a new job in January and I am working in beautiful downtown Arkansas.

 How is your 1 mile a day challenge coming? Mine is actually forced upon me, well during the week anyway. Parking is at a premium downtown, so my parking spot is about a half a mile away so, walking to work and walking back to my car, boom! There is my mile. I just squeeze one in on Saturday and Sunday and challenge complete. So, now in my mind, that is not really a challenge is it. I am going to up it to 2 miles a day so I can make sure I am getting that want to cardio instead of the forced cardio. Forced cardio is not a bad thing. Exercise is exercise. If you can, park the furthest away from your office so you are forced to walk that little bit extra. Next time you are at Target or the grocery store park further away than normal. Get in that cardio, especially if you have a sedentary job. I try and take full advantage of my breaks and lunch time. Yesterday I walked a couple of blocks to get lunch. Kind of another forced cardio as it is too time consuming to walk back to my car to drive anywhere for lunch, but I could also bring my lunch and eat at the office. Again, try to squeeze in any cardio and Vitamin D you can. I know it is hard in the colder months. I cannot stand cold weather. I am not made for it, but I try to get outside every day to do a little bit of something. Trust me, you will feel better.

  Hope your weekend was fabulous. Mine was. I have not been out in forever and Friday night I got to see some awesome friends and Saturday night I got to see some more awesome friends, eat an amazing dinner and do some dancing. Win, win. So glad to be back in the land of the living!

Enjoy your Tuesday and get outside!

 

Hugs!

Sickness

  Phew! Have you been hit with the winter cooties? I have. Big Time! I was not feeling well over Christmas, perked up a bit before New Year's and then bam; January 5th it hit me like a freight train. I managed to make Orientation with my new job, but was out sick the rest of the week. Hubby took me to the doctor on Tuesday; it was hard to get out of bed! Diagnosis: Bronchitis and Sinusitis-Yum! Steroid shot, antibiotics, and cough syrup with codeine and I was ready to feel better. I had a slight burst of energy Tuesday evening (due to the steroid shot I am sure), but that was the last energy burst until Saturday afternoon. The mornings and night times were the worst. Monday morning I would cough until I threw up (lovely) and then at night I could not fall asleep (even with the codeine!) because of all the coughing. It was not a good time in my life. Not at all. Of course the antibiotics I was on made me sick to my stomach, plus with the loss of appetite, I am down another 5 pounds. I am the lowest weight I have been in forever! I will be glad to get my appetite back; it is better but not fully there yet. I miss food and feeling good. I think I will go on the Tropical Smoothie weight gain plan again. It worked before, so why not try. Also, the doctor told me no exercising until my cough is completely gone. With my new job I am working downtown and park about a block and a half away so by the time I get to my office I am coughing up a lung, so I completely understand what he was saying. One good thing has come out of all this. I have a new primary care physician and I have really gotten to know him through this illness and love him!

 Try to stay healthy my friends! My advice when you do get sick. Plenty of rest, fluids and do not rush back into activities. It could cause a setback. 

The one mile challenge

  I love a good challenge, especially when it comes to physical fitness. When I finish coughing up a lung or Monday, whichever comes first, I will get started. And lucky for my hubby, I am recruiting him to do the challenge with me. The challenge: Walk at least one mile every day. Hobbit Singleton, who is the walking trainer for the Little Rock Marathon's daughter came up with this challenge. She is on day 77 and I think that is awesome! So, here we go. Challenge accepted. With my new job, I have shorter hours, get off earlier and have access to the free company gym, so no excuses. I think I will do my mile after I get off work. That way I will not get home and get all comfortable and not do it. You know how it goes. The awful gravitational pull of the couch. It is mighty and hard to resist.
Who is taking this challenge with me?

Happy 2015

 Happy 2015! Hope you ended 2014 with a bang, the good kind, not the bad ;). I, myself, ended it wonderfully. Hubby and I went to a couple of parties and were back home by 11:30 and toasted each other with a glass of champagne along with Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve. It was homey and wonderful. We stayed up a bit after waiting for my oldest to come home. I had no problem letting him go out New Year's Eve. I started to get paranoid as quite a few people were talking about the crazy drunk people out on the road, but, hey, that is a risk every time you go out on the road. They came home, safe and sound and then hubby and I headed off to bed.
 It's my first blog post of 2015! I get a kick out of the first things I get to do in 2015. It's my inner nerd coming out. The first time I get to write 2015, which was on a check, so I guess that was first bill to pay in 2015 too. First trip to the grocery store, to do laundry, etc. You get the point. My mom's birthday is New Year's Day, so on Friday, the 2nd, we hosted our first family dinner. We had pork roast, broccoli/rice casserole, a green salad and a carrot cake made from scratch. Yummo! My mom loves carrot cake and there is nothing better than scratch and it is part of my "do away with process foods" campaign, so it fit right in. Homemade cream cheese frosting is the best!
 I, unfortunately, am battling the first sickness of 2015. I had the flu over Christmas and now have a super annoying cough that will not go away. I had plans over the last four days about half I got accomplished because of not feeling well. Taking the victories over the losses and revamping my plans. Most of the plans involved my house organization resolution and exercise. I did manage a bit of organization, kitchen-yeah!, and opted to do some yoga since I could not run without coughing up my right lung. Minor adjustments, that is what life is all about anyway. So no dwelling on the negatives, right? Positive, positive, positive!
  How is your healthy eating going? Mine is slowly getting back on track. We still have a lot of leftover Christmas goodies, but they are slowly dwindling and the kid's friends are helping deplete the supply. Princess has decided she wants to eat healthier. For the most part, our house is a healthy one, so she only has a few tweaks she needs to make. She loves pasta. Almost every day after school she eats a bowl of it. She is going to try and substitute it for a piece of fruit, especially if she knows we will be having pasta for dinner. I am going to post the meals for the week on our kitchen chalkboard so everyone can plan accordingly.
  How is your resolution following going? As of day 4, mine is about 80%, now hopefully I am still saying that in June!
Hugs!