Friday Fit Club - Inspiration

When I made the decision to kick my own fitness arse ;-) I looked online (bodybuilding.com, IG, pinterest, blog/vlogs) for some fitness inspiration. Who did I see and/or read about that made me want to get out from behind my desk and get to the gym. Who, that when I looked at their picture and read their story, would I feel some sort of connection to and make me BELIEVE I could conquer and rule my fitness.

I wanted to know who my 2 co-partners in crime called their inspiration. So I asked. And I received...

Keena aka Lee Muse answered: "Instagram there's this girl : mankofit"

So off to IG I went...and this is who I found...

*photo cred*

DAMN! Yup...I instantly re-thought eating the king size snickers someone had just offered me LOL.

Duckie replied: "I think my fitness inspiration would have to be anyone who looks great after having kids!  I'm sure you both (Keena and I) know how hard it is to get rid of that baby pouch after giving birth.  Queen Bey, Gwen Stefani, Kendra Wilkinson...all boss women who can juggle marriage, work, kids, AND still manage to keep themselves HEALTHY not skinny"

Heck ya! Bey is amazeballs! Gwen, amazeballs! Kendra...my fave girl next door...GO KENDRA...amazeballs! I mean who doesn't want to achieve everything these women have: healthy balance. 

So who do I consider my fitness inspiration? Here...I'll show you my fave...

*photo cred*

Jamie Eason...WOW! I've known of her for such a long time (mostly from my fave fitness magazines). She is recently married and just had a baby last year. And she is going through what all new moms go through...getting that pre-baby body back. I totally want her arms! Oh and if you're looking for a new workout program, DEFINITELY check out her Live Fit Trainer on bodybuilding.com...you're welcome.

Oh and then there are these 2...what makes me love these two is that they're wee littles like me...well not as wee as me ;-) 

*photo cred*

Mimi Kong! I swear we have the same bodies! Well not now...but in her before. Like not fat, but not skinny either. Like puffy...just from not being healthy.

*photo cred*

Katie Chung Hua! Her overall physique is bananas! And can you believe she is a hockey player?! Yup.

Sometimes people who are closest to us don't share the same (fitness) passion with us. So do we give up? HECK NO! We go out and find our people. Inspiration is everywhere. Dude, get on IG. You're sure to find someone there. Or better yet, get on pinterest. LOTS of fitness inspiration there. I'm not the quote motivated type...i'm the I wanna see motivation type.

So, who inspires you?

Don't just strive to be a great leader, strive to be someone's inspiration -NJ

Cheers to the NEW YEAR!

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!!

Looks delicious right?! It was! It was a pineapple cake. I didn't make it LOL. We rang in the new year with some really good friends of ours (who made the cake). We went and watched the fireworks at Auditorium shores with them at 10pm and spent the rest of the night with them. It was awesome and oh so much fun! Oh and then there was dancing...zumba actually...LOL I still giggle just thinking about it.

New year = a new set of "goals."

Remember Fitness Friday? Well this time around, Duckie and I and our other BBFF Keena, have decided to give it a little something extra to get more people involved and to help keep everyone motivated throughout the year. Enter in:

Oh ya that's right! It's going down...surryous business going on here ;-) A year long fitness "challenge" for anyone and everyone. Our very own club to help motivate and inspire each other on the road to a fit and healthier lifestyle.
It'll follow the same format as Fitness Fridays with tips and tricks and updates on our own workouts. I will also be including some great interviews with other fitness enthusiasts as well as bloggers/vloggers, nutritionists and personal trainers.

You want in? Of course you do!
Here's how it works...

~ YOU set your goals. What are your fitness goals this year? I know you made your resolutions...keep yourself accountable and WRITE THEM DOWN. Now look at those goals...break them down into doable increments-->month by month.

~ You're all planned out and those goals are staring back at you...what now? Well starting this Friday, and every friday from now on, post a current picture of yourself. (Starting next month, only on the 1st friday, along with the current picture you will also post your previous month's picture, dated, side by side). Include with your picture your goal for that month and a mini goal for the upcoming week.

Example of 1st friday of the month post...

Left: 1/3/14 Right: 2/7/14

*this is not my picture, can be found here*

Goal for the month: build more muscle

Goal for the week: 3 days of 20 pushups and 50 squats + commit 1 hour to yoga

Remember to post a new pic every friday with your month goal and week goal. Hold yourself accountable! We want to keep you motivated, and we can't do that if you are not motivated yourself. This does NOT have to be a long blog post whatsoever. You don't even need to blog! You can link up your Instagram pic, tweet, or Facebook status. Use the hashtag #4FRIDAYFITCLUB so we can find you! Come across an awesome quote that you want to share, use the hashtag so everyone in our club can see it too. I for one LOVE progress pics! Tag me on IG or twitter and I'll make sure to send you some love!

~ We give credit where credit is due. Your dedication will not go unnoticed so make sure you are linking up every week. At the end of every month, the 3 of us will get together and select one Fit Fox for the month. This person will receive a sweet little prize and be entered to win our end of the year Friday Fit Club prize pack! WHAT?! PRIZES?! Oh ya! I told you this was serious business. In order to qualify for Fit Fox of the month, you must have posted each week of that month.

And that ladies and gents, is it. Simple, free, and fun! And don't forget the goodies!

So what are you waiting for? Take that awesome selfie and let's get this party started!! Don't forget to grab out butts too! Heehee you know what I mean...

Let it snow!

A couple weekends ago it was VERY frigid for us here in Texas. Dude....I'm talking it barely got to 32 degrees as our high! But it didn't even snow here in Austin...well at least not NATURALLY.

The outdoor mall in our area had a huge snow blowing machine set up. SOOOOOOOOO much fun!

They made snow angels, slid down a small snow hill and of course had a good old fashioned snow ball fight. We left with numb hands and rosy cheeks :-) As much fun as it all was, I'm glad we don't get snow here all the time...it was FREEZING LOL!

It's VLOGcember!

First I would like to say thank you to everyone that reached out to me after my last post. The 'want' is definitely still there, but I no longer feel selfish and/or sad about my 'situation.' Faith, you were right...talking/venting about it all definitely is making the sadness go away :-) I still get very teary eyed, especially when I open FB and I get 5 status updates announcing a baby is on the way. I have cried less and less and that is good. Again, thank you for all your support!!

Now let's see...oh ya...

IT'S VLOGCEMBER. A lot of people are calling it VLOGmas on YouTube...but I kinda like VLOGcember better: you know, vlogging everyday in December (and not just until Christmas).

I don't know about you but I guess I'm kinda a voyeur...I love watching what other people "do." I love the unedited real lives of folks. I follow a lot of bloggers/vloggers on YouTube and thought, hey, I can do that...so I did. And then stopped because I felt like I didn't do a whole lot that was interesting. Then I realized, the vlogs I do watch, do most of the same stuff I do. So I said to myself: "Self, let's do this!" So I'm back at it again. Vlogging is fun! I don't upload everyday vlogs like some folks (which kinda IS the point of VLOGcember), but instead, I compile 2-3 days worth and upload them all together...unless a 1 days vlog is 5 min or longer.
I'll be posting my vlogs here so you don't have to always go to YouTube. But I would love it if you visited me there every once in awhile....and maybe subscribe to me, like my vlogs, and maybe even comment while you're there :-D (how's that for a shameless plug?)

The one where all I do is cry....

Before Big Daddy and I got married I suffered a painful, 4 month miscarriage. He was devastated! I was devastated. We knew that once we got married we would want to have a child right away. And we did. I got pregnant with Juju after about a month of being married. After having him, we thought, you know what...with my 2 older boys, our family was complete. He did not mind at all having only 1 child. Around Juju's 1st birthday we toyed around with the idea of maybe, maybe, having another one. The decision was unanimous that he (along with my older 2) was all we needed. Shortly thereafter, my period didn't come and there you have it LOL. Baby #2 was on his way. During my pregnancy we toyed with the idea of getting me "fixed" so as to not have another surprise later. I was all for the idea, then not for the idea, then all for it again...you get the picture. The week before I had BamBam I went to pre-register myself at the hospital and made the decision that he would be our last child. So on April 10, 2008 after they pulled his big head out of me via c-section, my doctor cut my tubes and burnt the edges...forever sealing off any chance of getting pregnant ever again.

Every now and then since 2008 I get a mild case of baby fever that goes away shortly thereafter. But not this time. This time is a different story. All I've been thinking about since the beginning of November is how much I want to have another baby. Financially, it would totally NOT be ideal, but dammit! Ugh and I'm back in school...Am I being selfish? I've spent countless hours over the past month searching online "can I get pregnant after my tubes have been cut and burnt." And I just cry. Reversal, in vitro, pure miracles... I've never wanted to have another baby so much. I start to talk about it with my husband and then chicken out because I know he does not want to have another one or I'm afraid he will actually say he would like to have another. And then I just get so mad at him and think to myself, "you made me do this, why?" But it's not his fault. And then I cry again. I've been so emotional about all of this. I think good god woman, everything is going great as it is so stop being selfish, and that makes me cry. I have talked to a few close friends about how I've been feeling and they tell me these feelings should pass...but do I really want them to? Its my stupid "clock." I never believed in that notion until now. Now it's actually ticking away, day by day...and all I want to do is curl up in my bed and cry.

THIS is a big reason why I haven't really been around here much.
Will I get through this? Yes. When? Who knows. Until then, pass me the tissues...

Life moves pretty fast...

If you don't stop to look around once in awhile, you could miss it. ~ Ferris Bueller

"weighted" push ups

We run..rain or shine ;-)

Go, go power rangers!

Road trippin'

50s day for the 50th day of school. My little rebel without a cause.

Ready, set, RUN!

It's that time of year again...Marathon Kids! This will be Juju's 3rd go and this is BamBam's first 'official' year.
The first 1/4 mile kick off was once again held at the Mike Myers track and soccer stadium on UT's campus. We got to run with our P.E. teacher this year too!

My Titans and Coach Fyffe

Hook em!

Waiting for our turn to go down to the track

We were the first ones in line!! That never happens. Our school (the 3 pictured here) also got to run through the banner. Too fun!

1st 1/4 mile done son!

The boy, Juju, and BamBam with their goodies from Whole Foods, Rouge Running and Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Last year, it was wet and rainy and cold...But this year the sun was SHINING! And it was hot too LOL. But y'all know I'll take hot over cold any day! So proud of my guys. Especially BamBam. He ran the whole way without stopping or even slowing down. Juju is a natural runner like Big Daddy. He's got this long stride that makes his running look effortless. Then there's me...the non-runner LOL. I ran ALMOST the whole way...jogged to the end when I got tired HA! We celebrated their great run with italian wood oven fired nutella sandwiches :-)

To find out more about Marathon Kids, check out their website: Http://marathonkids.org