Healthy Lifestyle Challenge #10 – Catch-up Time!

It’s Monday, and the start if another work week. I hope you all had an awesome weekend! The weather here was fantastic yesterday! We had a great day hanging out on the back deck and playing at the park and splash pad! What did you do?

Did you get 30 minutes of exercise? You should be making it a priority this week – schedule it into your day, break it up into 2 or 3 smaller blocks if you can’t commit to 30 minutes at once.

Don’t forget to drink your water – is it becoming part of your daily routine? Hopefully your body is adjusting and you are running to the bathroom less often!!

TODAY’S CHALLENGE is super easy and requires no explanation 🙂 it’s time to…

Catch up with a friend or family member you haven’t seen or chatted with in a while.

Yes, an email will suffice, but a a phone call would probably be so much more enjoyable. So, take a few minutes, or maybe a half hour and give them a call. If they are in your area, why not do one better and stop by for a visit!

Elf For Health – I am Thankful!

Yesterday’s Elf For Health challenge was to think of 20 things that I am thankful for.

With all that has gone on in the world over the last little while, it really has made me realize how fortunate I am to live the life that I do. I have so much to be thankful for and really enjoyed sitting down and putting it in writing. So, here are my 20 things….

1. My amazing children – they are seriously the BEST thing that ever happened to me!

2. My husband – he truly is the love of my life!

3. My family and friends – I have a great group of friends and a supportive family who are always there for me when I need them. Despite living hours apart from some and going weeks and sometime months between visits, I love each and every one of you!

4. My health – I’ve had a few minor health issues this past year and it has really taught me not take my health for granted. It has also taught me the importance of taking time for myself and making me and my health a priority. I am no good to my family if I am not healthy.

5. Living in Canada – there is no other place I would rather live.

6. Facebook – reconnecting with old friends has been amazing!

7. Vacations – whether its a week at a cottage with family and friends or a nice relaxing beach vacation, we are very fortunate to be able to get away from the craziness of everyday life and take some time to grow as a family.

8. Living where we experience all 4 seasons – seeing how excited my daughter gets each morning we wake up to even the smallest amount of snow, or how she giggles like crazy when the she jumps in a pile of fallen leaves, or watching her build a sandcastle at the beach…love, love, love.

9. My job – becoming a high school Health and Physical Education teacher was one of the best decisions I made. I absolutely love it!

10. My part-time job as a group ex instructor. I have met so many wonderful people at the gym and truly love teaching BodyAttack. Being paid to workout is a bonus!

11.Weekends – as much as I love my job, spending time with my family doing fun stuff rocks!

12. Nap time – a little uninterrupted time to hang with my hubby, read a book, fold the laundry, tidy the house or take a nap myself. Ahhhh heaven! I hope my kids nap forever!

13. Running – I don’t run nearly as much as I would like, but am thankful that I got back into it this year after a 5 year hiatus. I love that I run with my sister and that it’s a chance to see her regularly.

14. Lululemon clothing – my entire work wardrobe is pretty much lulu and I love it! It’s so comfy and lasts forever!

15. Bon Jovi – love his music and he’s not too hard to look at either! Only 51 one days till we see him live at the ACC!

16. Corona – love unwinding with a refreshing Corona after a tough week! So good!

17. Chocolate covered marshmallow – so yummy! Thankfully it’s only available in our grocery store a few times a year!

18. Technology – I’m totally loving my new iPhone and iPad. I think my most favourite use so far was FaceTiming with my husband while he worked out of town for 3.5 weeks! Not exactly sure how our kids would have survived without seeming him that whole time! Thanks Apple!

19. Good food – I love that we are eating clean as a family and that I have started to cook more, and I’m actually kinda enjoying it! I also love that my husband is such an awesome cook and although he doesn’t always make the most healthiest of meals, they are absolutely delicious!

20. My blog – I love having a place to share my experiences and try new things. I am grateful for my followers and those that share their experiences with me through their comments. I love that I have met some pretty amazing people through blogging! I hope to develop my blog further in 2013,

What are you thankful for?

A Letter to my Former Self – August Writing Challenge #22

Today’s Blogger Challenge is to write a letter to your former self.

Wow! This one is a tough one…I have no idea where to start or what I would say to myself….but…here it goes….

Dear Erin,

I am writing this letter to you from the future. Since you already know I’m not much of a writer, I’m going to make this short and sweet.

If I can give you 10 pieces of advice to help you live a more fulfilling, more rewarding, better life, this is what I would say…

1. Be proud of who you are.

2. Be confident in what you do.

3. There is no success without failure.

4. Don’t dwell on mistakes you’ve made, learn from them and move on.

5. Be thankful for what you have.

6. Quality is more important than quality…especially when it comes to friendship.

7. Don’t let anyone or anything bring you down.

8. People deserve a second chance, but not a third.

9. Life is not going to be easy.

10. Enjoy the little things.

I hope you remember these 10 things as you grow to become a Happier, Healthier, More Fit Me.

What would your letter say? Link it back to this post so I can check it out!

Take That, Long Run!

So this mornings 7 mile run was awesome! Despite this lingering cold and another crappy sleep, I kicked this run’s ass! How, you ask?

First – training – even though I’m only 4 weeks into the training program, I truly believe that the miles I’ve logged to date are building a solid base. I also think that since I’m getting into intensity based runs (race pace, hills and fartleks) and doing BodyAttack as my cross training my endurance is improving.

Second – friends- – I have to say that chatting with a few friends while running really helped pass the time and miles. Around the 3.5 mile mark, I ran (no pun intended) into my friend Ruth who I have not seen in forever and while she did her workout on the treadmill beside me we spent a solid 20 minutes catching up! It was great! Also, my friend Nikki stopped to chat for a few minutes as she was passing by, we chatted about our babies, lack of sleep and feeding schedules. Pretty exciting stuff, I know, but it made the second last mile so easy, I skipped my last 1 minute walk and jacked up the speed to finish.

And last but not least – the music – I have yet to update my playlist but the random tunes that played today were awesome!
Don’t forget to send me your faves, I need at least 2.5 hours of pump me up tunes to get me through the race!

Well, that’s it, three small things that had a big impact on today’s run! I hope next weeks long run is just as good!