Keep it Positive

In my daily life I try to keep it as POSITIVE as possible. I've been described as a "TRUE OPTIMIST." I've seen it where one negative person, or someone in a bad mood brings the entire group down. I try not to let something bad that happens to ruin my day. In fact, I REFUSE to let it bring me down.

Yes, I have concerns. About paying bills, things I need to do, things we need to get for our home or our kids, my body, etc. I'm always going to think about these things, but I can't let them drive my personality, the way I act and my positivity.

How do I do this? I try to see the positive in every person. Yes, sometimes this is hard. I try to see the beauty in myself. Most recently I've been doing a lot of yoga. I believe this has really helped me balance my mind. I also use exercise to keep me in a good mood. A GREAT workout is the PERFECT way to start or end a day.

I also believe that you should surround yourself with things you want to impact you. I connect with positive people. I listen to motivational speakers. Most recently I came across the "9 Best TED talks." You should check it out...http://greatist.com/discover/ted-talks-for-work-and-life?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_newsletter_2015-07-27_mails_daily_new_header. 

Remember to keep it POSITIVE!!!

What are Some of Your Favorite Warm Weather Activities?

The summer is HANDS DOWN my FAVORITE season of the year. I am not a cold weather girl. If I had it my way I'd want it to be 70 degrees with sunshine and minimal rain all of the time. Wishful thinking? Who knows. Living in Michigan I'm not so lucky. We have to deal with winter (I HATE SNOW) and many gray days.

For me as soon as March hits I feel like we should see warm weather and sunshine. Still it never seems to come soon enough. As soon as the weather breaks I can't help but run outside all of the time.I have met up with a girlfriend a few times to run and do circuit training outside.  I'm a sissy and I don't run outside when it's cold and definitely not when it's snowing...WARM, BEAUTIFUL weather only.

I like to go to judo practice when they can open the big doors up so that we can feel the air blow through the room. It makes practice even more enjoyable to be able to see and feel the light and fresh air.

I aim to eat as many meals outside in our cabana as possible. It's so nice to sit in our
peaceful yard and enjoy a meal together. My kids especially love to eat outside. I almost wish I didn't have to work as much so that I could enjoy coffee outside. We spend a lot of time in the cabana when it's nice out. The kids can swim, play in the yard, ride the four wheeler's, etc. I must admit that I did a little floating over the weekend. The pool water is just the right temp. This is our time to put our sunblock on, enjoy the nice weather and turn the rest of the world off. Sometimes housework and chores have to be left for another day. If we don't take time to enjoy life that would be no fun. I want my kids to remember all of the fun times we had and all of the things that we did.



Other than this it's nice to get out on the water and float on the boat. I'm all for sunblock on, world off. What's your thing for warm weather?

80% Diet

I can workout like  a crazy person. I really do workout to eat. My diet is my enemy. I have done a lot to improve my diet and I've made it so that it is a LIFESTYLE NOT A DIET. I feel best when I eat clean. I like the way I look when I eat well. In order to look good working out like a crazy only takes me so far. It really comes down to diet. I try to follow the guidelines of the 21-Day Fix.

If I eat like crap I feel like crap. It's that simple. I am setting myself up for success if I only give myself good things:) This week I did a mini-meal prep. Only two meals for the end of the week since I wasn't able to get it done sooner. Still proud of myself because I was able to eat good all week packing on the fly.

Eat good and feel GREAT! You just need to find a way to make those good foods desirable. I'm huge on meal prepping. They way I think about it is that

I'm huge on making new recipes and being creative with what I have.  I try not to let any food go to waste.  I find a lot of Facebook and recently discovered Pinterest. Yes, I just found Pinterest. It's WONDERFUL! So many ideas. If you follow me on Facebook or Pinterest you'll notice I post a lot of recipes and pictures of food. These are two great places for support and motivation too!

I've discovered that the better I eat....the better I feel and the better I look. So, if you didn't catch on...EAT GOOD....FEEL GOOD....LOOK GOOD! (This is where the 20% workout comes in).

Best of luck and please share your recipes with me. I'm always looking!!!

Switch Up Your Workout

How often do you switch up your workout? Do you cross train? I'd say that I cross train, but I'm a creature of habit. I like to run (I'm fast as a turtle) and do harder workouts like Insanity Max 30, T-25 and other circuit workouts. It's sort of funny that I seem to be able to pick up harder things, but it's the simple stuff I have a hard time with.

I like to push myself during my workout. I feel like if I didn't sweat

(and when I say sweat I mean melt) then I must not have worked out hard enough. I really hit my stride a few months ago and I was really able to push myself during my workouts. Then...plagued with injury. It's so frustrating. I want to go, but my body says STOP and I'm not healing.

Then...I think I had the moment of clarity. I'm going to move away from doing workouts with a lot of impact (jumping kills me and flares up my injury). I'm going to focus on building my strength. My doctor told me that strengthening my quads would help my knees. Let's hope so. Yes I'll still do Insanity and circuits and run, but not as much. I'm going to lift some and maybe do some Pilates or yoga.

It's been a  while since I've changed things up and I'm hoping this will help me.What have you done to change up work workouts? Has it worked?

Ready to be ACCOUNTABLE!

I like to be held accountable for what I do. This applies to work, working out, diet, etc. We all stray from the path from time to time. We need to recognize that we have gone astray and start holding ourselves ACCOUNTABLE!!! I especially like to hold myself accountable when it comes to my meal choices and exercise. I find that we you are held accountable in a group setting that I am able to get myself on track and check in and report.

What do you think about this? Do you think you could be a part of an accountability group? You choose the meal plan and the workout plan. I provide the MOTIVATION and will create a private group for you to check in and share with others your setbacks and accomplishments.


JOIN MY NEXT ACCOUNTABILITY GROUP! It starts on 7/13/15 and will go for 7 days. Are you ready? I know I AM!!!What will I be doing next week? For my morning workouts I'll likely blend running and Pilates/yoga. For my evening workout I will be doing Insanity Max 30, circuit training and judo. AND...as soon as it comes I'll be starting BODY BEAST!!!

Super excited about this. I'm going to be switching up my morning workout. My intention is to move away from so much jumping so I can allow my injuries to heal while strengthening my body. This will not be a 7 day journey for me. It will be 90 days, but I will certainly hold myself accountable with you during these 7 days.

Are you ready to be accountable? Would you like to JOIN MY GROUP? Message me!!!

Were you able to Reset?

I would have to say that Fourth of July is my FAVORITE holiday hands down. We get to do some extra celebration because this is also the day my BEAUTIFUL daughter Ava came in to this world. We were able to start of the celebration on Friday (I was given a surprise half day.....YEAH!). Went to lunch with my hubby and kids.

Then Lincoln and I were off to get decorations for Ava's room. Yes, I decorate my kids rooms for their birthdays. I want it to look like a celebration threw up in their rooms. That....and they LOVE IT! When Ava saw her room she gave me a BIG HUG:)

I find this to be the most relaxing holiday. We started off the day at the Sketchers store getting my daughter her annual birthday shoes.

We always have a barbecue on the Fourth. It' s a great time to get together with friends and family. were able to sit down, talk about new things and reminisce about past experiences. The kids swim in the pool, play on the trampoline, go on the swing set, get in the bounce house, ride the motorbikes, etc. Everyone was gone by 10:00 p.m. and I fell asleep on the couch with Linc watching t.v. and woke up and midnight with Ava sleeping on top of me.




Sunday we spent the day on the water.

It's always so nice to get out on the water and catch some rays. The kids like being able to climb from boat to boat. Sometimes I think you have to break free from the world and just sit down and relax.

How do you reset?

What's in your Lunch?

Ok, let's be honest. What's in your lunch? Do you buy lunch every day? Do you grab whatever food you see when you're running out the door? Do you have a plan? I feel that bringing your lunch is the healthier more cost effective choice.

I try to plan out my lunches on a weekly basis.

Step 1 Make A Plan

I tend to obsess about foods so it's not uncommon for me to eat the same things for a few weeks straight. I always get fruit and cottage cheese and/or yogurt because I know I am going to have Shakeology EVERY morning for breakfast. It's the ONLY way to start my day. Right now I'm stuck on my strawberry banana cheesecake Shakeology recipe. My afternoon snack is usually fruit and vanilla yogurt (sometimes Fage and a little honey and almonds) or cottage cheese.

Then I select a meat for the week. I'm currently caught up on tilapia and ground turkey. Veggie's would be next. It's easy for me to go veggie wild. Lately I've been making zucchini and summer squash into noodles for spaghetti and using ground turkey Italian sausage to have spaghetti. I've also been doing a lot of southwest recipes with corn, black bean and salsa.

Choose your snacks. I've been huge on peanut butter protein bites lately.

Step 2 Make a list and go shopping. It's best to stick to the list. Although, I am an offender of derailing from the list.

Step 3 Meal Prep

Usually I meal prep on Sunday. Take your plan from earlier in the week and start cooking. Please each meal in an individual container. I try to make 5 so I'll have one for each day of the week.

Your food is portioned and ready to go. Having your food ready and in the container allows you to grab and go. The way I look at it, if you have the food portioned and in the containers you are less likely to fail.


What are your tips and tricks? Best of luck on your mission to be a healthier person.