mamavation: setting wellness goals & talkin' music.

so on monday i started a six week "fitness challenge" with my three sisters, my mom, & my nephew.  we're all putting in $25 & the winner takes home the pot.  we even have a facebook page to post our goals, update our progress & keep tabs on each other.  here's how it works:

• we all set five goals.  three of them are similar {#1: work out goal, #2: nutrition goal, #3: water intake goal} & two of them are personal.  here are my goals:

• each goal is worth a point, you can earn 5 points a day.  at the end of six weeks, whoever has the most points walks away with the $150 pot.  

these are some pretty hardcore goals.  i don't plan on working out 6x a week for the rest of my life, but for the next six weeks i'm sure gonna try.  same with the sweets.  and going to bed by midnight every night?  yeah right.  but doing little challenges like this keeps life interesting & keeps me motivated to push myself that much harder.

and who knows, by the end i may even like push ups.

yup.  i did my 30 push ups today outside on the back deck.  i'm 5/5 so far three days & counting!  i'm gonna win dem monies.

and one more thing that motivates me?

music.  BIG TIME.  i may be dragging all day long & the second i turn on my workout playlist i get antsy to get outside & hit the pavement.  i'm convinced i have some of the best songs to run to ever.  EVER.  wanna talk running songs?  hit up my facebook page & let's swap.

i've even increased my pace significantly by a little music-inspired trick.  i jog the verses & then sprint the choruses.  then when the chorus is over, it's back to an easy jog for recovery.  and?  i don't let myself check how far i've run on my gps during a song... only at the end.  that way i'm only looking every five minutes or so & the miles just roll on by.

so what motivates you?  what "games" do you play with yourself on your runs or during your workouts?  what goals have you set for yourself & what do you do as a reward for achieving them?

i'd love to hear it all.

{linking up with the domestic wannabe's "move it monday"}

click to vote.  now step away from the computer & get moving!

more motivated than EVER.

i am so excited you guys.  i am like bouncing off the walls excited about the subject of today's post!

first off, i have to say i am more motivated than ever to change my eating habits & live a healthy life.  like, i don't think i will EVER be able to go back to the old way that i thought about food.  what changed me you ask?  ummm, a little movie called "Food, Inc."

holy crap.

we only caught a bit of it last night on PBS, but i am planning on watching it in its entirety asap.  if you want to know why you should buy some {most!} of your foods organic or locally, just watch that movie.  who's seen it & what did you think?  i was already pretty passionate about eating smartly & healthfully, but watching this movie has just added another gallon of fuel to the fire.

so here we go.  here are a few things that help me live a healthy & fit life.  and some things that i am always working on being better at!

last week i saw a quote that has really stuck with me.  it went something like:  "if you want to weigh what you've always weighed, then eat what you've always eaten."  so true.  but for me?  even more importantly than what the scale says, i hate the way i FEEL when i'm eating badly & i love the way i feel when i'm eating right.  so i've been telling myself:

"if you want to FEEL better than you've ever felt, then eat better than you've ever eaten."

ok, so it doesn't have the same snazzy ring to it, but you get the point.  how you feed your body makes such a huge impact on everything.  food is fuel & when we fill up on junk all we're gonna get out of it is junk.  after a few days of crappy eating, i feel uncomfortable in my clothes, things fit tighter, there's a noticeable change in how i feel overall.  but after i'm back on track for a while my clothes fit looser, i can hold my belly in tighter, & i have so much more energy.

so what am i doing?  eating whole, real foods, saying no to fast food, & using all kinds of portion control.  even if you eat healthy, when you eat too much of it it's still too much.

dude, you've got to plan.  keep your fridge, cupboard & purse stocked with healthy snacks so that in a pinch of hunger you won't be tempted to open a bag of cookies or buy a hot dog at the food court.  think almonds, apples, string cheese, & the such as.  also?  i plan to cheat.  i always eat something sweet after both lunch & dinner.  just one something.  a reese's miniature or a chunk of cookie dough.  when i am tempted to pop a second one i just tell myself, "nah, i'll have another one later."  and i do... after the next meal.

plan your meals & cook them yourself.  if you need ideas, check out sites like cookinglight.com or cleaneatingmag.com.  both are amazing resources for healthy meal ideas & if you're like me, you'll find way more tasty meals than you can fit in a year.

when serving up a meal, leave the serving dishes in the kitchen & don't put them on the dinner table.  you're way more likely to thoughtlessly shovel seconds & thirds onto your plate when it's staring you straight in the face next to your plate.  just serve up what you know is a good portion, eat it slowly, then sit on it for a while before getting up for more.  you may decide you don't need more after all.

and lastly, drink lots of water.  like, lots & lots.  then drink some more.  your body retains water when it's not hydrated so make sure you're filled up & it'll flush your body of the excess.  true story.

this is a must.  and probably my favorite part.  i really do love to work out.  i get super stir-crazy when i miss a work out & i seriously love the feeling of pushing through quivering, shaking muscles in order to knock out a few more reps.  love it.  but that has come as a result of years & years & years of regularly working out.  being physically active has always been really important to my mom, & i attribute my love of it to her.  so thanks mom!

not so in love with getting physical?  start slow.  go for walks or do calf raises while you brush your teeth.  take the stairs instead of the elevator & park far across the parking lot.  move quickly while you clean your house.  bored with your work outs?  mix it up!  muster some motivation by registering for a 5k or find a friend to walk with.  as long as you're doing something, it's gonna be better than nothing.

i'm also more motivated than ever to up my work out intensity.  why?  because i'm seeing results.  and that is motivating.  when you see your body changing, getting stronger, & doing things that it didn't used to be able to do?  you just want to push it that much harder & reinforce what you're doing.

give it a go!  you'll be amazed at what you're capable of.

try workin out your fingers & click twice to vote.  your strong fingers will thank you.  i will too.

mama-vation: what works for me.

i had no idea how hard it would be to resume "normal" life after having a baby.  before parker was born working out had always been a HUGE part of my life.  i even had TWO gym memberships.  one gym had awesome classes that i loved {anyone out there take Les Mills classes?  ahh, my FAVE} & the other had great equipment & a pool.  those were the days.

anywho, post-baby i found it real hard to get to the gym.  one of the gyms i belonged to didn't have daycare so i'd have to go while sam was around & when he would finally get home for the day, the last thing i wanted to do was run out the door to a spin class.  then the other gym did have daycare but it was 20 minutes away & i hated leaving my new baby in there with 30 other kids & two strangers to watch over him.  nothing was working & i was a very frustrated {out of shape} mama.

long crazy boring story short, when parker was about five months old i stumbled upon Stroller Strides.  now parker & i get to be outside together enjoying an instructed workout with classes six days a week with other moms & babies alongside.  we've met so many awesome moms through Stroller Strides & i feel like i'm back to my pre-baby workout-aholic self.

it is so easy to get up & get out the door when you know you're gonna get to see all your friends, all your kid's friends, & then hang out around the playground in the sun afterward.  i have said this so many times... every mom should do Stroller Strides.

the other day a photographer came & took some shots of us working out for the owner to use in her advertising.  and they make me happy.

doing a plank with arm raises... no big deal.

talking to my friend lindsey.  do you look this happy when you're working out?  you totally should.

it's fun for the kids too.  they get used to sitting in the stroller for an hour, i swear.  and sure there are days when they cry & fuss, but we're all moms & we don't mind.  it's awesome.  and afterwards, they get to get out & run around with other kids.  win-win.

why wouldn't you want a built in playdate 4-6x a week?

that's my leg.

if this sounds like a commercial, it's not.  i'm not getting anything for this.  i'm just extremely happy to have found something that keeps me motivated & in shape.  and that gets me out of the house {almost} everyday!  it's seriously a huge part of my life.

so there you have it.  my mama-vational schpeal for the day.  i kinda wanna do more fitness & health type posts from time to time since it's a pretty big deal to me.  is there anything you guys would be interested in hearing or seeing on the blog?  how have you managed to fit workouts into your post-baby life?  what works for you or what isn't working for you?

let me know.

and maybe spare a click or two?  then drop & give me twenty.  do it.

weekday recap - {in iPhone pics} w.34

whoa.  where the heck did this week go?  it's all a fuzzy blur of holiday-summery-goodness.  let's relive it, shall we?

spoil alert:  something major happens on friday.

monday was the fourth of july & we celebrated in true parent style.  sam wanted to do some yard work {go crazy!} so parker & i went for a run.  don't feel bad for him, i cleaned the inside of the house beforehand.  we're all about equal opportunity around here.

after the our house was all ship-shaped, we headed to a fourth of july festivus where we picnicked in the grass to eat bbq & frozen bananas.  we found ourselves on an impromtu hike when we chose to take a "shortcut" back to the car so we could make it in time to our fro-yo place before they closed.  we made it & it was delicious.

then parker slept through the sounds of WWIII while sam & i watched fireworks displays on tv.  turns out watching fireworks on tv is actually awesome because you can rewind the finale & relive it.  can't do that live, suckas.

tuesday started with a mini-hike & playdate with some of our besties.  the weather was amazing & we had to be outside in it.  then we headed to costco for some essentials {ie: razors, otter pops, & string cheese.  you know, the staples.}

it was an all around good day.  my little guy is so much fun to be around lately & i truly enjoy everyday we get to just hang out together.  and side note on that last picture: i'm not that skinny.  i promise there is more belly hiding behind parker's juicy thigh.

wednesday.  if you follow me on instagram {which, if you have an iPhone you totally should... amy_agoodlife. find me & say hi!} you saw a similar picture posted, only it included abs.  you guys?  i'm feeling good.  i'm feeling like i'm finally back on track in my health & fitness stuffs.  look forward to some future wellness posts.

and bonus points if you noticed p-ray's cute little face poking up above the counter.

it was a gorgeous day.  we spent lots of time out in the sun & even hit up some more fro-yo.  yeah, we may have a slight addiction.  once parker was in his pj's & ready for bed i took off for a girl's night.  nothing like talk of diapers & boob size fluctuations over some half price apps to make you realize you're not alone in this crazy thing called motherhood.

i was stuck in some construction on the way to work & decided to commemorate a good-hair-day by waving "good morning" to my instagram friends {seriously, are you on instagram yet?  you should be, it's pretty much my favorite ap.}  we had a picnic potluck at work & i provided the green salad.  i'm telling you guys, i'm being super healthy.

back at home parker played all day with the babysitter & did cute things like get gobs of food in his hair while signing "all-done!"  it's so cute i don't even care about the sticky hairs.

thursday night consisted of a campfire, s'mores, & a ridiculously cute sleeping baby.  'nuff said.

friday morning parker had plenty of time to hang out in his pj's & get into mischief before stroller strides since he was up at like 7:00.  that's early for us!  ick.  we hit up some target after stroller strides where parker nommed on some squeezy pouches & half my pretzel.  he's definitely his mother's son... the kid can put away some serious pretzel.

i couldn't resist this shirt, "Everything I know I learned on The Street."  ummm, cute right?  i thought so.

we had another campfire friday night where i hit up round two on the s'mores.  and here's the crazy part... parker WALKED all over the place.  i can't reveal too much, this is obviously a post in itself.  so there's the teaser.

some late night skyping with blogger friends wrapped up a pretty amazing week.  and now i'm ready for an even amazing-er weekend!  

that was our week!  how was yours?  i wanna see, so link up!

Game Rules:
1.  your pictures have to be taken by your camera phone. that's it!  you don't even have to have a picture for every day.  got one camera phone pic of something fun from this week?  link up!

2.  if you want to grab the code below & put it in your post to have the linky with all the thumbnails show up on your blog do it.

and please post a link to my blog so others can come here to grab the code, too.
the more kids who come out to play, the more fun it will be, right?

Grab the code here:

<script src="http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=97073" type="text/javascript"></script>

...and get on the linky here:



we're almost in the top ten thanks to your votes!  keep 'em comin' friends!

steppin' out for a family bike ride.

we finally put parker's birthday present to use yesterday.  we got him a bike trailer & it's only taken us two months to get out for a ride {i blame weather & being out of town... definitely NOT laziness}.

we went on a little 15 mile ride & it was pretty much perfect.  parker dug the trailer & the weather was gorgeous.  we rode to a random town out in the boonies, bought some cookies from a shady cookie store & rode back.

nothing like buying treats during a work out to completely undo your workout... am i right?

here are the highlights {all pics taken with my iPhone}.

yup.  sam definitely wears basketball shorts over his bike shorts.  guess he's not worried about all that extra wind resistance.

p-ray just hanging out in the trailer... "oh hey mom.  what's up?"  : : : wave : : :

linking up with "steppin' out saturday" at harper's happenings.  you should too!

so yeah... a little unconventional with the outfit.  but hey, it's what i wore today.

sidenote:  i freakin' love my bike.  this was the first ride i've gone on since before i found out i was pregnant & i'm pretty excited about it.  before i found out i was pregnant i was training for a triathlon & was riding 50-60 miles a week.  as soon as i knew i was bakin' a baby i gave it up.  i was afraid of falling {which happens occasionally since my cycling shoes clip into the pedals} & it wasn't worth the risk.

wanna know why i didn't ride last summer?  i'll be honest.  i had just had a baby & i wasn't going anywhere near my spandex-filled-cycling-wardrobe.  trust me, that was a good choice.

this summer?  i'm still not looking quite the same in spandex, but i think i'll explore the love affair with my bike nonetheless.

this is the part where we ate cookies.  chocolate with chocolate frosting for sam, peanut butter with chocolate frosting for me.  parker even got a couple bites, but only because he signed "please." {third picture}

how can you say no to that??  you can't.

i was kinda blown away the whole time about how gorgeous the day was & how picturesque our surroundings were.  i may or may not have insisted on stopping here to "moo" at the cows.  it just seemed right.

and there it is.  our first of many bike rides with parker's very own bike trailer.  it was a total success.  see?  that kid's face is just screaming "let's go again"... right?

if you could see my face it would be saying "click twice to vote."  i swear it would.

weekday recap - {in iPhone pics} w.20

remember last week's post where we left the house a total of two times?  we did much better this week.  so much better that my laundry & dishes are suffering.  but it was all worth it.

we started our week off right with a trip to target.  trust me, after being house-bound all of last week, i was going through target withdrawals.

after target we had a night of cake, ice cream, & games to celebrate heather's birthday.  sidenote: i'm always up for celebrating someone's birthday when it involves them making me amazing pulled pork bbq sandwiches.  you need to have birthdays more often, heather.

parker entertains himself while i get ready in the mornings by pulling out everything underneath my bathroom sink.  i would probably make him stop if he didn't look so cute while doing it.

mandy & bennett came down on tuesday to hang out & despite the rain we bundled the babies up & went for a walk.  parker didn't seem to mind since he was zipped up in a bubble.  and bonus!  he even napped.

parker took his toy-playing very serious on wednesday.  too serious to smile for the camera, apparently.

thursday is my marathon day.  by the time i was home for the evening, sam already had parker in bed.  so this is pretty much what i got to see of him.  first matter of business upon getting home?  changing from work clothes to play clothes.  aka: pajamas.  done & done.

we were very ready for friday this week.  we started it off right with an amazing workout at stroller strides, followed that up with a playdate consisting of parker & three girls {he didn't mind the ratio}, & then finished the day off with dinner out on the town as a family.

and that's how you start off the freakin' weekend.  have a good one everybody!

did you take your "week in camera phone" pictures?  link up!

there's only one rule to linking up:
1.  your pictures have to be taken by your camera phone. that's it!  you don't even have to have a picture for every day.  got one camera phone pic of something fun from this week?  link up!

optional:
grab the code below & put it in your post to have the linky with all the thumbnails show up on your blog .  if you wanna be really cool, post a link to my blog so others can come here to grab the code, too.  the more kids who come out to play, the more fun it will be, right?

Grab the code here:

<script src="http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=83093" type="text/javascript"></script>

...and get on the linky here:




start off your freakin' weekend right & click twice to vote!

weekday recap - {in iPhone pics} w.17

{so i'm pretty excited about this week's weekday recap.  why?  well, if you hadn't noticed in previous weeks my pictures sometimes sucked.  yeah... super fuzzy & blurry.  my iphone camera was pretty scratched up, but i got it fixed on tuesday.  YAY!}

the sun came out on monday which was amazing.  an outdoors run in the sun in march in the pnw?  definitely qualifies as amazing. my spring fever got about 15x worse.

we also discovered parker likes puzzles & watching tv while sprawled across sam's lap.  silly boy.

tuesday is the day everything changed.  we hit up the apple store & they fixed my scratched up camera lens for free... no more blurry phone pics!! huzzah!  i got a pink iphone case to prevent repeat damage & sam & parker celebrated by practicing some wrestling moves before bed.

everyone was pretty excited.

i slipped on my new toms {love!} & headed downtown for some errands & grocery shopping.

also?  i kicked off my new "clean eating" goal {a post on this to come} by treating myself to a shiny new klean kanteen so i can up the water intake.  fyi, i wanted one in every color but went with dark blue.  i may or may not go back for a purple one.  or a green one.  or a yellow one.  i may or may not have many klean kanteens in the near future.

i couldn't stop kissing p-ray's little cheeks after work on thursday.  i swear he is growing up so fast, & in just the eight hours of my work day, i felt like i was picking up a little boy rather than the baby i had dropped off at the sitter's.  who is this kid??

and parker's kinda obsessed with story time.  it's definitely one of our family's favorite parts of the day.

parker had a bit of a rough morning... and by rough i mean he was up by 7:00am & super cranky.  so actually, it was me who had a rough morning.  we still made it out to stroller strides where i did a 6 minute 45 second wall sit.  no big deal.

friday night our homies ryan & christie came into town.  yes, these friends again.  we must be awesome hosts because christie slept from about nine to midnight, then went to bed.  we are that cool.

did you take your "week in camera phone" pictures? 

there's only one rule to linking up... your pictures have to be taken by your camera phone. that's it!  you don't even have to have a picture for every day.  got one camera phone pic of something fun from this week?  link up!

grab the code below & put it in your post to have the linky with all the thumbnails show up on your blog .  and if you wanna be really cool, post a link to my blog so others can come here to grab the code, too.  the more kids who come out to play, the more fun it will be, right?

grab the code here:

<script src="http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=80059" type="text/javascript"></script>

...and get on the linky here:




and then vote here! two clicks, that's it. thanks.

resolving

so what is a new year without some resolutions?  i mean really.  i love the start of a new year because it's totally a chance to start afresh & anew.  even though january 1st is really no different than december 31st, it is in my head.  it's like monday... only bigger.

so what am i resolving to do this year?  what are some of my goals for 2k11?  well... here are a few:

•  i'm totally doing p365 this year.  i got myself a decent camera & i'm gonna use it.  i'm gonna get better at it & i'm gonna find something to take a picture of at least once a day. 

•  i want to unleash my inner fashionista.  i've felt so inspired by lots of other bloggers out there who rock such cute styles, & i'm ready to dump the daily t-shirt & hoodie look. and try new things.  headbands, bows, leggings... all things i LOVE on other people, but haven't dared try.  this is my year.

•  i want to ride the seattle to portland in july.  this is a 205 mile bike ride from downtown seattle to downtown portland.  i have a strong love affair with my bike, but it was horribly neglected last summer.  i'm gonna make it up to her {yes, my bike is a her.  her name is tess}.

•  it's time to get back in shape.  like, for reals.  i'm at my pre-prego weight but the bod aint the same.  it's time to take my work outs seriously & find ways to work out in-between stroller strides days.  it's gotta happen.

•  continue to blog lots.  blogging is an amazing creative outlet for me when folding laundry & putting away dishes don't quite cut it.  it's important to me & i'm sticking with it.

•  and of course, spend lots & lots of time with these two.  they're my favorites.


you're pretty high up there with my favorites when you vote for us.  and i love ya for it. 

"...is sore." a story about a mommy workout.

what? you don't ever think in facebook status update mode?  well i do.  and right now my inner-monologue facebook status update is this: "amy is sore."

i have complained pleasantly mentioned a few times how hard it's been to find a post-parker work out that works {read: i have time for/fits into my day/parker can be involved in}.  my favorite gym with my favorite classes doesn't have a daycare, my other gym {yes, i currently have two gym memberships} with a daycare is twenty minutes away & gets my kid sick every time we go, not to mention he's had a cold for two weeks now & wouldn't be allowed in the door anyway.  i occasionally manage to get out with my jogging stroller & run a few miles, but the closest enjoyable route is at least 20 minutes away & we all know the rain-free days here in the pacific northwest are numbered anyway.

have i made enough excuses yet?

yeah, i know there are a few other options... work out before or after sam is at work, work out at home, or ummm, not work out.  honestly, the only thing that's working for me right now is that last one.  and. it's. killing. me.

enter the reason i am sore today:  Stroller Strides.

oh yes, i have succumbed to that level of mommy-hood.  i laughed when i heard about it at first too.  a work out group that incorporates pushing your kid around in a stroller?  and then i thought about it & realized it was genius.  that is, if it worked.  i fancy myself a bit of an athlete, so i was skeptical at how this "mommy-group" would stack up.

nonetheless, i showed up at 9:30, jogging stroller in tow, parker all bundled up with sophie in hand, ready to see what it was all about.  slowly all the other moms started rolling into the parking lot & unloading their kids too.  there were about ten of us & many of them had more than one kid.  one girl even had three kids! ok, i was already impressed.

the moms were all super friendly despite clearly knowing each other well {at least on a we-work-out-together-a-few-times-a-week basis}, so I felt welcome right away.  probably cause they were all saying parker was cute, which is totally just a mommy thing to say - yet it wins me over every time.  seriously, you never get sick of hearing that.

once the work out started i felt a little silly, i'll be honest.  how seriously can you take yourself while doing bicep curls & singing the abc's?  or doing side shuffles to five little monkeys?  but here's the kicker.  parker looooved it.  he had a blast watching me skip around & do jumping jacks in front of his stroller & jumping squats that resulted in me popping below his cover to say "peek-a-boo!"  and then he fell asleep.  so that's cool.

i guess this might be what my life has come to.  a mommy work out group.  it's not exactly the high-intensity/sweat-dripping/muscles-quivering/instructor-yelling/music-pumping work out i've become accustomed to, but it was fun.  and it was social.

and i am sore.

will i get a membership? will i join the club?  will i pay $50/month to do something that i could do on my own (albeit, alone, unorganized, unscheduled & uninstructed)?  i'm not sure yet.  i have the weekend to sleep on it.

but i'm hoping i make my decision by next friday cuz that's kids-come-in-costume day.  and parker told me he really wants to show his halloween get-up to his new friends... so we'll see.

if only i could bottle this feeling

the post-workout feeling.

why why WHY do i put off a daily work out?  never ever have i left the gym, or come home from a run saying, "man, i really wish i had just stayed at home in my pajamas a bit longer instead." 

i made it to spinning tonight.  it felt so good.  but it is still so hard to get there.  the logistics of having parker fed at the right time, combined with sam getting home in time, combined with me having the energy to run out the door as soon as sam walks in has made for a lack of making it to my favorite classes lately.  but i did it tonight.  and oh-em-gee it felt good.

this week i am setting more goals.  i'm upping the ante & am shooting for four, count 'em f-o-u-r work outs this week.  can it be done?  uh, yeah.  pretty sure it's possible.  will i do it?  only time will tell.  but i'm feeling pretty good & am feeling pretty motivated.  which brings me to my next question...

what fuels you?

what pushes you out the door when you'd rather surf the 'net?  what leads you to strapping on your runners when you'd rather stay cozied up on your couch?  there are a few things that i absolutely crave about a good work out, & they are:

-the sense of accomplishment after i'm done.  it's sad to look forward to being done with something before it begins, but that post-workout rush is really hard to beat.

-the endorphins that are pumped through your veins during a work out.  music is pumping, sweat is dripping off your face, muscles are quivering... that feeling beats a comfy couch.  

-a good soundtrack.  unless i'm running with a friend, good music is a must.  anything that makes me run faster & push harder.  i have a whole list of 'em.

-the way i feel on a daily basis when i am consistently working out.  i find myself sleeping better, eating better, having more energy, fitting better in clothes, much less stressed, & feeling overall... ummm, better.

so, what fuels you?

 

are you asking where all my mommy talk went tonight?  this was my first no-mom-talk-monday post, hosted by courtney over at live beautiful.  don't worry, i'm sure parker will be making an appearance again tomorrow.  and probably the next day, & maybe even the next day.



know what you could do today?  and the next day?  and maybe even the next day?  vote!  ya know... if ya wanna...