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Biggest Loser: Go Danni!

Mar 192013

March 19, 2013 Posted by Darlene 1 Response »

We are huge “Biggest Loser” fans in our household. There’s nothing quite like munching on Girl Scout cookies and watching morbidly obese people live healthier lives than you do. Plus, we love the whole challenge-gauntlet-down-accepted-WIN! atmosphere. We’ve followed this season pretty closely — didn’t miss a single episode, TYVM — and we were all aboard the Danni train. For those who didn’t follow the show, this season marked the return of the much-beloved-partially-dreaded Jillian, who, along with Dovette and Bob, whipped 3 teams of big people (as they prefer to be called) into shape. Jillian was the leader of the white team, and it became readily apparent in the first 2 weeks that her team was going to collapse in short order. Not only did the white team lose week one AND thus a contestant was sent back home, but one of the contestants QUIT MID-WEEK! It was crazy by [...]

Adventure calls

Mar 072013

March 7, 2013 Posted by Traci No Responses »

I love adventure. Any kind of adventure. I was the kind of kid that, on my daily walk home from school, would extend the walk by a good half hour by ending up in a tree, or throwing rocks in a creek, or somehow ending up covered in mud. If I had to walk straight home, I’d walk across the very edges of my neighbors’ yards, pretending each change in landscape underfoot was a whole new geographic location. And I’d narrate. “I’m walking across the plains of Africa” I’d say, as I stared down at the dried-out lawn beneath my feet. As it changed to the river rock of the next yard, I was “trekking near the Nile River,” and as I trod across the next lava-rocked over yard, I had “landed on the moon.” I’ve since grown into an adult that CRAVES adventure. In my 20s, I participated in a [...]

Goals: Each step adds up

Feb 122013

February 12, 2013 Posted by Lisa No Responses »

Yesterday, I had no interest in going running. It was gray, cloudy and cold. All day. I just wasn’t feeling it. I didn’t go in the morning, or early afternoon. But I couldn’t NOT run yesterday. Or today either, for that matter. I was too close. So after I picked up my daughters from school, I changed, and got out there. Today was my 100th consecutive day running. This all started back in October, right before Halloween. I decided that I wanted to exceed my previous running streak — 40 days — which I completed during the summer. If I ran every day between Halloween and New Year’s Day, that would be a little more than 60 days, quite a significant improvement. So beginning on Oct. 31, I started running every day, at least a mile, but usually more than that. I ran on my birthday. I ran the day [...]

Don’t over-think things!

Jan 142013

January 14, 2013 Posted by Lisa No Responses »

“Don’t over-think things.” I can say that, and intellectually, I understand what it means. But it’s not so easy for me to put it into practice. Never has been. I have been a worrier and a chronic over-thinker for my much of life. But a new study published in the American Journal of Cardiology says that perceived stress, or how much you think you’re stressed, is associated with a higher risk of coronary heart disease. An article on Today.com about the study’s findings says this: Researchers analyzed six studies to see how perceived stress affects your ticker. Each of the studies asked participants to self-report intense or frequent feelings of stress and then followed each participant for about 14 years to see if they were diagnosed with, hospitalized, or died from coronary heart disease. What they found: Participants who reported high levels of stress had a 27 percent higher risk [...]

Resolve Not to Resolve

Jan 072013

January 7, 2013 Posted by Susan No Responses »

On New Year’s Eve, my husband asked what my resolutions are for 2013. As someone who makes a short list every year, I think we were both a bit surprised when I said that I didn’t have any. Upon my return to the gym this morning, Steve, the desk attendant, asked us to fill out a card with a resolution for 2013. “I resolve to not resolve – to left life happen as it may.” That’s it; that’s my resolution for 2013. No “get in shape,” no “lose 10-15 pounds.” Those two were always on my list, as was get out of debt (mission accomplished!). Instead of assigning numbers and unrealistic goals, I’ve instead decided to let life happen, just as it will. Now if I were going to resolve? I’d definitely take a cue from Vickie Milazzo, author of New York Times bestseller, Wicked Success Is Inside Every Woman. [...]

Process your emotions

Dec 202012

December 20, 2012 Posted by Lisa No Responses »

This month can be a hard time of year emotionally. Sure, there are lots of holiday events and family gatherings going on. But it’s those very events that can make December hectic. Rampant commercialism (and nonstop commercials) can make us feel like we have to keep buying more and more, spending money that we can’t afford or that just isn’t necessary. Busy schedules can make household routines go out the window. And family functions or holiday get-togethers where we must interact with people we don’t see all the time, even (or especially) loved ones, can be stressful. And then there’s the news. Devastating tragedy becomes incomprehensible so close to the holidays. It’s easier to focus on keeping busy, crossing things off our to-do list, maintaining our break-neck social calendars. But the tough emotions don’t go away. If we ignore them, refuse to deal with them, they simmer and fester beneath [...]

Keep Calm and Carry On – Through the Holidays

Nov 192012

November 19, 2012 Posted by Susan No Responses »

Keep Calm and Carry On – Through the Holidays

If you’re like me, you’re in complete denial that Thanksgiving is Thursday, which means the holiday season is in full swing, and I’m not remotely ready. Flutters of panic are beginning to settle in. Between launching my out-on-my-own business, travel obligations and finding the perfect gift for everyone on my list, it’s going to really start to wear on me. I know it. In addition to yoga breathing and a bottle of cider or two, I’m going to try and keep in mind Marla Tomazin’s Seven Tips for Staying Sane over the holidays. “Most of us don’t realize just how demanding the holiday scramble can be until we’re exhausted, overwhelmed, or even sick,” points out Marla, who has been an image consultant for 20 years after earlier experience in the fashion industry. “The good news is, with a little prior planning and prioritizing, you can enjoy and cherish the things that [...]

No winners in late cancellation of New York Marathon

Nov 032012

November 3, 2012 Posted by Lisa No Responses »

No winners in late cancellation of New York Marathon

Three years ago, I had decided to train for my first full marathon, in March 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia (my dad lives back there). Deciding to do a marathon isn’t something you do lightly or on the spur of the moment. It involves months of training, and then there are the travel plans and arrangements, especially if you choose a destination event, like I did. The night before my race, as I walked to dinner, I rolled my ankle as I stepped off a curb that I hadn’t seen and fell. I knew immediately that, at the very least, I had sprained my ankle. I was heart-sick, contemplating the possibility that all my months of training and planning might not come to fruition. But runners are crazy people, and when my brother, who had also come all that way to run the marathon, took a look at my swollen ankle, [...]

Flu vaccine opinions rage like fevers

Oct 252012

October 25, 2012 Posted by Lisa No Responses »

People are passionate about their flu shots. Maybe not to quite the same level as opinions about abortion, but passionate, nonetheless. Some people get them every year, religiously. That’s the camp into which I fall. Others are just as adamant that flu shots cause flu, and don’t recommend the practice AT ALL. Yesterday I posted on Facebook that I had just gotten my annual flu shot, and I invited others’ opinions on the matter. I got 36 comments within 24 hours, including some vehement back and forth debate from both sides of the issue. I thought my cousin, Dan King, explained very well how the flu shot works: The specific virus in every year’s shot is a different target and it’s all based on (very well) educated guesses. But this means that you are fully immunized against specific strains of flu, hopefully the most predominant. So yes, you can get [...]

We all need time just to play

Oct 112012

October 11, 2012 Posted by Lisa No Responses »

I was surfing the web, waiting for Katie to come out for breakfast before school this morning, when I heard a sound to my right. There she was, sitting on the floor in front of her dollhouse, moving her little people around. “What do you want for breakfast?” I asked. “Cereal,” she replied, “but Grandma can get it for me,” (which would give her a couple more minutes of playtime). “I’ll get it for you,” I insisted, getting up to pour the cereal. “I never have time to play anymore,” she lamented. “I get home from cross country practice, and I have to start homework. Then it’s time for dinner, then it’s time to get ready for bed.” “That’s what summers are for, playing,” I say, flippantly. “But you always have SO MANY chores for me in the summer.” No, there’s no dramatic exaggeration in our house at all. Still, [...]