What have you read lately?

Here's a list of the last three books I sank into:  

• Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks
• Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
• Top Secret Twenty-One  by Janet Evanovich.  

These books were all totally different reads (love story, serious and true, funny and myterious) and I enjoyed them all!

The Longest Ride was a book about a younger couple and an older couple and the love that they shared.  They went back and forth in the book with their stories and how they fell in love.  The oder couple Ira and Ruth take you back in time on how they met.  Ira is in a terrible accident and hangs onto the memories of him and Ruth to stay alive.  The younger couple Sophia and Luke met and start a story of their own.  Sophia is a senior in college and Luke a cowboy are from different background and worlds but can't shake each other from their thoughts, so their story grows!  Check out the book today and read it.

Unbroken: A World War II Story is about a man named Louis

 Zamperini.  It started out by telling about his life and growing up in the United States and becoming a famous runner.   But then one day he decided to enlist into the military and become an airman.  World War II took place between 1939-1945 and it told about the many trials that the airman faced when flying and what happened if they crashed.  It was a lot harder back then to find someone that crashed.  When Louis plane did goe down in the ocean and then they were captured you will go through the torture that these men faced back in the war.  It is horrific what they put up with.  I have to say I don't know if I could do what they did.  I also have to say that these men are brave and courgous and I have more respect for them then ever after reading this book.  It really opened my eyes to the world.  



Top Secret Twenty-One is the 21st book in the series.  I would highly recommend starting with the first book One for the Money

and go from there but you can jump in at book #21 because the author always gives a little recap of the main characters in the book just in case you haven't read the series.  Yes, I've read all 21 books so far and for the most part they have all been fantastic.  There were a few that didn't pull me in as much but it didn't stop me from gettting the next book when it came out. I've have been caught up for several years now so I have to wait until she writes a new book about every 6 months or so.  In this book Stephanie Plum who works as a bounty hunter for her Uncle Vinne is helping out her HOT friend Ranger throughout the book and they run into to plenty of problems along the way.  Through her bond job, her and her partner Lula are looking for Jimmy Poletti who give them a run for their money.  Along with gaining a roommate, Randy Briggs who isn't  on the top of her roommate list.  But what's a girl to do for a guy in need.  It's always a crazy time with these characters finging the bad guys.  Have fun reading Top Secret Twenty-One!

Pick up a book and read!

Fantastic 5 Workout!

I came of up with the name of this workout from the movie, Fantastic 4 Super Heroes.  I needed to do something different today and here's what I came up with.    

I thought the Fantastic 5 Workout sounded like a good name, so there are 5 cardios and 5 strength to do throughout this workout. Let's have FUN while getting FIT and FAB in the New Year!  Give this a try and let me know what you think.  

Make sure to stretch when you are done and drink lots of water each day!  Half your body weight in oz.  

Get up and move! 

25 Days of Christmas Workout!

Here is a great Christmas workout to get you ready for eating during the holidays.  Just remember to always eat in moderation. You can enjoy the tasty desserts without being a little piggy.

 I just did half of this workout the other day and by half I mean I only did each of the items below 13x which got me all sweaty and worked up.   Today I did the full workout and did each item 25x.  I did go through it once and did them 13x and then went back through and did them again 12x.  In the end I did 25 hammer curls, 25 overhead triceps, etc.  Make sure to stretch when your done and drink plenty of water!!! 

STRETCH 
DRINK PLENTY OF WATER - at least 8oz or more when you are DONE!

Below is a break down of each section: 

ARMS - 7
1.....25  Hammer Curls
4.....25  Overhead Triceps
7.....25  Triceps Dips
10...25  Push Ups
13...25  Bicep Curls
16...25  Back Rows
19...25  Chest Press

LEGS - 2
22.....25  Squats
24.....25  Lunges


CARDIO - 9
2.....25  Jumping Jacks
5.....25  Butt Kicks 
8.....25  Knee Ups
11...25  Burpees
14...25  Cheerleader kicks
17...25  Jump Rope
20...25  Ski Jumps
23...25  Skipping
25...25  Side Leg Swings

ABS - 7
3...25  Russian Twist
6...25  Bicycle Abs
9...25  Standing wing abs
12...25  Standing crunches
15...25  Rope Climb on Ball
18...25 Crunches
21...25  Full Sit-Ups

Say NO to........Candy/Sweets!

On facebook the other day a friend of mine put a couple pictures on her page of two big bowls of Halloween candy.  One was leftovers and the other was the candy that her kids brought home from trick or treating.  It is all so tempting and yummy!  Her status was "This is not going to work for me."  Of course lots of comments came across.    I said, "If I spend the money and buy the candy then someone has to eat it.  Trick or Treaters, my kids, their friends, hubby or me.  Secretly, I like to eat some of it!"  Another person said, "Throw it away!"  I just can't do that, candy isn't cheap and that's just a waste.   Why buy it or send your kids trick or treating if your just planning on throwing it away.  My favorite response was when one gal said, "I have enforced No-sweets November for myself."  I love that idea.  

With Halloween being over now and all the candy that is now in the house there's a lot of pressure on myself to not eat it.   Let's just change the saying from the following: 

No SHAVE November!  is what a lot of guys do.  Let's change it to the following:
No SWEETS November!  This will help us all out in getting ready for the holidays.  

Then when Thanksgiving comes around at the end of the month well be ready to eat some extra yummy food and goodies.  And whatever is left of the Halloween candy is up for grabs.  Although, I'm a firm believer in moderation so go ahead and have a couple pieces of candy each day but that is it.  Here's another good one that the same gal said about November except for December.  She said, "Damn, I eat a lot in December."  I'm going to tell you again to be good and eat in moderation as it so easier to put on the weight then it is to take it off.  Moderation is the name of the game!  We all have choices to make each and everyday so make good choices 90% of the time and enjoy some treats the other 10% of the time.  Don't deny yourself otherwise you'll go crazy and then regret it later.
  
Hope this helps you get through November and December and eat healthy but enjoy as well!

Only 26 more days to go.  Don't forget to get up and move as well so you can get fit and fab!

What are you waiting for?!?!

I was sitting down to write a new blog post the other day (well back in July) about this very thing and low and behold a newsletter that I receive monthly hit home big time.  Finally sitting back down to finish it, as other things got in the way. Plus, I wasn't for sure how to proceed with this post. Here it goes!

That's the question of the day.  What are YOU waiting for???  The kids are back in school, NOW it's time to get to work and focus on YOU!   Like the article says below, take care of the temple GOD gave you, take care of your body!  

1 Kings 6New International Version (NIV)

Solomon Builds the Temple

6 In the four hundred and eightieth[a] year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the temple of the Lord.

Read more about this at the link below.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Kings%206

1 Corinthians 6:19-20New International Version (NIV)

19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+6:19-20

Choose to get started today with baby steps.  Don't jump in full force or you'll get frustrated, trust me I've been there.   Walk, jog, run or a little of each 20-30 minutes every day or every other to get started then up your exercise routine.  If you don't like to walk, jog or run then pick your fancy of the many options out there.   PiYo, Yoga, Weight lifting, Jazzercise, Kick boxing etc. the list is never ending.   

Tip:  Make sure to drink lots of water each day, as water keeps us feeling full and running to the bathroom constantly.  Fill up a 2 quart pitcher each morning, preferably a clear pitcher like the one in this previous post called Drink up.  Make sure you finish no later than 9:00 pm or you'll be up half the night using the bathroom.

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Here's part of the article below:  Fit By Burn Newsletter - July 2015 

 In the Bible, the Israelites treated their temple with great respect. God asked them to adhere to specific practices to keep it sacred and beautiful. The temple was a holy place. It was a sacrifice. 

Fast forward... like a long time forward! In the New Testament, the Bible refers to our bodies as a temple. Wow! When God puts it like that I think, "Dude, that's a lot of pressure, God!" BUT, how would you treat your body differently if you you considered it a temple?  

GET UP AND MOVE!

Steps, steps and more steps!

UP THE STEPS!

What have you done today?  I did steps and a lot of them!  No need to go to a gym for this one.  They have stair steppers at the gym but if you have them in your home then use them.   Or find steps around town and put them to use.  I have a college here where we live and they have a great set of stairs outside to go up and down or go to a mall and use the steps, not the escalator.  You can't go shopping until you've done your steps though.  Although, there's really no need to go anywhere if you have steps at your house.  

We have a two story house and from top to bottom there's a total of 19 steps down and 19 steps up a total of 38 steps.  All the

way down and all the way up is one trip.  I did this 10 times down and 10 times up as I started at the top.  That's a total of 380 steps and it took me 5 minutes 25.71 seconds.  How do I know this, of course I got out a timer to see how fast I could do it.  I'll do a second set of this later after I get some things done around the house, before the kids get home from school.  If you have any stress this is a great stress reliever, walk up and down the stairs this many times and all you'll be thinking about is breathing.  

DOWN THE STEPS

What will you get out of this quick and simple workout:

1.  Great cardio!!!

2.  Your heart will be pumping hard by the time your done!

3.  You'll get sweaty! 

4.  Burn some calories!!!

5.  Build your leg muscles!

6. Sore legs tomorrow!  If they aren't then do some more.

Make sure to drink water when your done!  

Be careful:

DON'T FALL

1.  Hang on to the rail so you don't fall.  You may be fine to start with but as you get going you'll get tired and will want to use it once in a while.   

2.  If you get winded rest, and then get going again.

Leave me a message, would love to know how many steps and how long it took you. 

Just did my second set and beat my time. YEAH!   Finished in under 5 minutes ~ 4 minutes 46.97 seconds!

GET UP AND MOVE!

Pet Peeve - Get up and move!

School is back in session and car rider lines are starting back up again, at pick up time.  But ask yourself this question.  Are you one of those people that goes up to the school and gets in the car rider line 1/2 hour to and hour early?  Don't you have anything better to do?  I know I do.   What do I see most of these people doing while sitting in their cars for this extended time period you ask?  Well I'll tell you, they are looking at their phones checking email, looking at facebook or who knows what else.  Seriously folks it can't take an hour to look through all that.  Why not make the choice to put your phone down, get out of your car, as it can hold your spot in line until the bell rings and go take a walk or run for 15, 20 maybe 1/2 hour if your there an hour early.  Just get up and MOVE!  Take care of the body God gave you and do something good for yourself TODAY!

The next pet peeve of mine is kids activities and all their practices.  Well that is fine and dandy for your kids they are moving on the soccer field, football field, basketball court etc. but what about you? Instead of sitting in a chair for an hour watching them, choose to get up and move yourself for 20-30 minutes.   Make sure you wear your walking shoes and go for a walk, run or a little of both but get out of that chair and move or go help out the coach with the 15-20 kids that are on the team.

If you want to see how far you've gone, how many calories you've burned, how fast your moving etc. then get the runkeeper app https://runkeeper.com/login on your phone that will track all this information.  It's a fabulous app to have and helps keep you motivated when you see it on your phone.  You see the icon and think, oh crap, I haven't moved today better take care of me.    

My son plays basketball in the winter and the facility that he plays at has an indoor walking track above the courts and you can still watch them practice.   What do I do?   Of course, I get up and go walk on it.  But it is so frustrating to see all the other parents sitting on the benches looking at their phones not even watching their kids.  I'll admit there are some parents watching their kids but the majority are not.  Again, get up and move for 20-30 minutes then sit and watch or look at your phone.     

I'm going to stop with my rant now but remember take care of yourself and get up and move whenever you can!

GET UP AND MOVE!