Yo Quiero Taco Bell??? Not Yet!

While I do not think it's ok for Taco Bell to run a "Taco Bell Diet" or "Drive Thru Diet" campaign, I can say that after reading Christine's journey, Taco Bell is moving in the right direction! For a fast food chain to FINALLY get that we need truly healthy options is wonderful. But my concern about promoting those healthier options this way is that we are feeding (pardon the pun) the nation's obesity epidemic with yet ANOTHER fad. When in reality, this change that Taco Bell is making could actually usher in a new America (similar to what Subway did! Now THAT'S fast food I can stand behind).... But it doesn't look like it's going that way at all.

Taco Bell's Fresco menu is a brilliant FIRST STEP! Replacing sauces and cheese with pico de gallo is a huge step in the right direction. But it's NOT Subway!!! Subway offers REAL healthy options with whole wheat bread and TONS OF VEGGIES. We REALLY need to be asking: what's IN that Fresco item beyond the pico de gallo? How is the meat REALLY prepared? And why can't they offer low carb whole wheat tortilla as an option as well? Yes America... Taco Bell is heading in the right direction.... but we're not there yet. And Taco Bell might want to rethink how they are selling this because fads come and fads GO whereas "Taco Bell's Making Healthy Changes" could move them to corner their market and change the way America eats forever! Subway did it beautifully! I would definitely encourage Taco Bell to rethink their marketing.

If Taco Bell REALLY made that Fresco menu healthy (REAL grilled chicken with no additives and low carb whole wheat tortillas), I can honestly say that I would be in line weekly... as I am with Subway. Now, if I could just get Subway to go organic....

The Inventor Of the TV Dinner Should Be Slapped!

Close observation of my eating shows that I can scarf my tuna casserole at an alarming rate. I sit in front of the TV to eat my dinner and 5 minutes later I am pushing the plate away with little to no memory of ever have eaten. That is interesting to me because, you see, I LOVE FOOD! I also LOVE being thin. These facts SHOULD come to life by the knowledge that if I took smaller bites and chewed thoroughly, not only would I get to enjoy my food that much longer, but I would also be burning more calories (yes, the activity of chewing burns calories!!!!)! And on top of THAT amazing knowledge, my body would also be able to process the food I eat much better therefore more of the food I consume would be utilized to help build my lean mean body. So what the heck is up???? Why DON'T I slow down my eating knowing all these amazing benefits? What's causing this little glitch? Those are the very questions I asked myself at the start of this year. I knew the answer before I ever wrote the question down on my trusty goal sheet; TV. For me, the television causes mindless eating. When I sit in front of the TV, I can get so absorbed that huge blocks of my time go missing. I end up having little memory of anything beyond the shows that I just watched. Don't get me wrong. I don't watch a lot of TV, but I ALWAYS watch TV when I eat dinner. Come to think of it, snacks are often consumed in front of the television as well. I have developed the terrible habit of associating food with TV and have instilled mindless eating into my day-to-day! How did this happen????

I think (by now) you all might see where this is going. #1 priority for 2010: NO EATING IN FRONT OF THE TV!!! That's all I'm going to say in today's post other than to say, "Mindless eating bad!"

*** Here's another great article with even more tips! Master 7 Keys To Lose Weight

Is Your Partner Partnering?

Everyone knows that it's good to workout with a partner. The experts say that partners keep you accountable, which of course is a good thing. But what if your partnership is holding you back? What if your partner is sick or can't make a workout or gives you excuse after excuse why they can't workout, what do you do? What if they tell you, "I just can't make it today, but we'll do our workout tomorrow"? Are you letting your partner down by going without them? What if you feel like you are? Would it be right to end the partnership and find a new one?

Well, I can't be the one to tell anyone that they need to dump their partner (mainly because my workout partner is my husband and I certainly can't dump him!), but I can share what I did to keep myself on track and give my partner the boost they needed for both of us to stay on track for this new year.

The end of 2009 was rough! I got sick, then my workout partner got sick. My workout partner did not go to the gym and continue working out when I was not there, so when my partner got sick and saw me getting ready to go to the gym, he told me that he felt bad that I was going without him. He pointed out that he didn't go without me when it was me who was sick. He went on to tell me that he would feel better the next day and we'd do our workout tomorrow. Well, guess what; he didn't feel better the next day and quite frankly, when you have a weight training schedule, THAT DAY'S workout is THAT DAY'S workout. You miss a day, and you miss THAT DAY. Moving the workout to the following day throws the rest of the weeks schedule out of whack. This is something that my partner and I had honestly never discussed before. When we started working out together last year, we just started working out. There were no plans and we never had any discussions about "workout etiquette"... we never established ground rules for our "workout partnership". So, time passed and we learned A LOT more about exercise (specifically weight training) and workouts started getting planned and still, no ground rules were established. Enter: New Year 2010!

I took this opportunity to lay down our workout ground rules. Being that I always start the new year with a goal sheet, I used my goal sheet to open the discussion. I explained that I had set my goals for 2010 and I added a few things that would effect OUR workouts and I was hoping that he was game to help me reach my goals. Well, that perked my partner's ears and opened his mind. I was able to explain the "ground rules" for 2010 without any discomfort or defensiveness. Here they are:

1) Workout schedule is set for the week. M-W-F cardio and weight training, T-TH-SAT cardio with Sunday being our day off (this is the same schedule that we used in 2009... very successfully I might add).

2) If someone has to miss a workout, the other person MUST GO without their partner. This is to help each other continue to support one another by NOT BREAKING the team's momentum.

3) If both partners have to miss THAT DAY'S workout, it is simply skipped and the workout schedule continues as if nothing was missed.

Now, a couple of things have already occurred due to the new rules. First, a new motivation to not be the person to miss the workout has kind of fallen into place. People, and I mean everyone, has this weird thing about them that they don't want to be left behind. No matter how much your partner (or spouse) cares for you, they still instinctively don't want you to do or be better without them. It's not that they don't want great things FOR you, they do, they just really want great things WITH you. Of course there are those people that honestly don't want great things for you at all and will purposely try to sabotage and hold you back and in that instance I would say cut and run, but I'm writing this from the point of view that I have an awesome partner who ALWAYS wants great things for me. He just didn't want me to workout without him and the more workouts we missed together, the harder it was to get back to the gym.... our momentum was broken (all throughout the holiday season). That leads to the final thing that the ground rules fixed.... we've regained momentum that I intend to keep.

I will keep everyone posted periodically throughout the year about how these new ground rules have effected our workouts and specifically how it has effected our success. I can already feel in my bones that this is the missing piece of the puzzle and this year is going to be the BEST year yet! This is the year we get everything our hearts desire!!!!

Christmas Ornaments... Sparkly!

Well, I got a special request from someone to post how I made my wonderful sparkly ornaments. So here you go folks, it's a snap.

I'll start with the pictured items you'll need for this project (click on pictures to enlarge).

• Pledge Floor Finish with Future Shine
• Craft Glass Ornaments
• Fine Glitter
• Mod Podge (optional)
• Hot Glue w/Gun (optional)
• Embellishments (optional)
• Funnel (not pictured)
• Bowl for trash/excess liquid (not pictured)

Carefully remove the metal top from the ornament. Don't pull too quickly or roughly as you can chip the glass. Squeeze about a tablespoon of the Pledge Floor Finish inside the ornament, cover the top with your thumb and gently shake until the entire inside of the globe has been covered with the floor finish. Empty excess floor finish into trash bowl. Place the funnel in the top of the ornament and pour another tablespoon of glitter into the ornament. Cover with your thumb again and shake until the entire inside of the ornament is covered in glitter and set (it's about 2-4 minutes of shaking). Replace the metal ornament cap. And you're done!

Now as you can see from the pictures, I added some embellishments. While the glitter ornaments are pretty on their own, the embellishments add a sweet and personal touch. I just bought some mini ornaments and ribbon. I also cut out the word "Joy" on a piece of thin cardstock/patterned paper on my Cricut. I used Mod Podge to "decoupage" the word "Joy" to the ornament. The wonderful thing about Mod Podge is that it goes on white and dries clear (and with a pretty sheen), it's also wet enough to saturate the paper word "Joy" so that it will mould to the ornament and be completely attached when it dries. After about an hour, I applied a second coat of Mod Podge and let the ornament dry over night. I then hot glued bows and embellishments to the metal tops of my ornaments. Super simple and beyond cute! Another wonderful idea is to use glass paints to decorate the ornaments (I love those metallic paints) as well as etching liquid.... just a couple more ideas. Have fun with this and Happy Holidays.

*** Thank you to Happy Happy Joy Joy from Christmas with the Cricut for your wonderful how-to video! You can check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTvq2GPkm9U

*** Also, you can a find a Gypsy cut file for this cute little box that I made that happens to fit this ornament perfectly HERE!

Programmer

There are so many people who make "deposits" into our lives. Things that are said that we literally take to heart and make part of who we are. These people can be our programmers if we aren't careful. It starts with our parents and fortunately or unfortunately, THEY install our operating systems. What our parents and family tell us as children lays the groundwork for who we become down the road and what we believe about ourselves. Being so young, we have no reasoning skills and therefore no control of our mainframes. But there IS a point where WE decide what programs will be integrated and WHO influences our internal connections. In some cases (like in my case) the problem lies with needing to RE-wire the mainframe and upgrade that operating system.

If you're like me, because of bad wiring, it can be a struggle believing that you're good and strong and capable and deserving. But if you are struggling, it's important to understand that the struggle itself is a WONDERFUL gauge. Focusing on lessening the struggle is where you begin taking control of your own wiring. And when I talk about wiring, I'm talking about what you are internalizing and connecting with and virtually becoming. What internal dialogue is happening; what external dialogue is happening? If at any time it's contrary to the programming you desire, CHANGE IT! YOU decide who you are, how you will be and what you are capable of. NO ONE ELSE!!! And that struggle you feel... it's your guide to get you where you want to go. Work on lessening that struggle a little each day and reprogram yourself to give you the results you're after.

Finally, control what "cookies" are attaching to your program. The hackers around you that are trying to infect you with viruses through negative thoughts, words and actions need to be set aside. Instead, inviting positive add-ons will reinforce your wiring efforts eventually producing strong internal connections.... i.e. no struggle. From quitting smoking, to getting fit and healthy, connecting to everything that says you will be successful will reinforce your programing to be successful. Thankfully, I have wonderful people in my life today who are supplying 'good cookies' with positive encouragement and reinforcement that I AM everything I think I am. Luckily, in our technology driven age, our computers can be a major success tool for just about any rewiring you might be working on.

Message boards, social networks, blogs and websites provide an unending source for positive input (as well as output) to shift your paradigms and your focus bringing you closer to the person you want to be or rather achieve success with your goals. Get to know these resources, how to use them safely, and I think you'll be surprised at how easy it is to control the deposits that are being made into your life and how easy rewiring can be. If you think you can't, you can't. If you think you can, you can. That is by far the greatest paradigm of them all.

NOTE: A special thank you to my friend Heather Frey of SmashFit.com for providing input that makes my rewiring easier every day! THANK YOU! Your trainers ROCK!

Edmund Burke Got It Right

"He who wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper." What a wonderful quote from Mr. Burke. Me thinks Mr. Burke read his Bible... either that or he was married to my ex husband... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I am so very lucky for all the lessons I learned at a very young age. Those lessons were, in fact, the prelude that would make the stories of the Bible JUMP out at me. I was blessed with bad decisions and bad behavior right from the beginning which lead to a tough run too young.... and too soon after being baptized a Christian. But, I was in effect wrestling... a picture that became crystal clear years later reading Genesis 32:24-28. This is the scripture that came to mind when I read Mr. Burke's quote earlier today.

Genesis 32:24-28 - "And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, Let me go, for the day has broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." And he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed."

Ok, so this scripture ROCKS!!! First off, what's up God?!? You're not winning in your human form so you used some supernatural mojo to cheat?!? HAHAHAHAHA! Ok! And secondly, God totally had to go but Jacob held on. Even after his hip was put out of joint and he wrestled with God ALL NIGHT, he held on... and PREVAILED. Can you imagine being the guy that gets jumped by another guy and in the middle of the fight the dude touches you (probably on the shoulder or something) and your hip goes out of joint? And you're like, "This dude who jacked me is God! And I was kickin his butt so he had to do something Godly like throw my hip out! I SO rock!" But then you're like, "Crap, THIS IS GOD.... and my hip hurts, so now I'm just gonna hold on till he says I win!" That happens all the time on UFC! HAHAHAHAHAHA! What I'm trying to say is, sometimes you CAN win just by holding on. There have been many times in my life that I did NOT hold on, but then there have been other times when (out of desperation... and the want of the blessing if you will) I did. Interestingly enough, EVERY time I've held on, I got the blessing. You all probably already know what happened when I didn't hold on. **** Special note: Be true to yourself. Don't confuse letting go with changing course/direction. Sometimes you are forced to change direction. So change your course and HOLD ON!

I wonder if Edmund Burke had the same picture in his head of the match between God and Jacob? He SO got it right! Who's your antagonist? Is it God???

Crafting Cards For Soldiers

I just volunteered to make cards for our soldiers overseas (click on pics to enlarge). I love volunteering and I love crafting, so when the opportunity to combine the two presented itself... well, of course I was on-board! But I COULD NOT have done it without my Cricut and my Xyron 900. It would have taken me forever!

I spent the day working an assembly line to make these pretty cards inspired by Abby (thanx Abby!). First was the stamping, then the coloring with the water color pencils, then the blending with water, then the drying and embellishing all before cutting out each image.... twenty... 2.... 0.... But it just so happens that while I was doing all those steps, I was also cutting out my card fronts and mats on my cricut. See, the beauty of the Cricut is you can load and cut your paper and walk away while it's cutting. On top of that, I was able to plan out all of my cuts with my Gypsy which saved even more time and certainly more paper. Twenty cards were made in all and I think I might just have to make 20 more. Can you think of a better cause to craft?!? :)

If anyone else is interested in jumping on the Cards for Soldiers bandwagon, feel free to check out their site HERE. Their email address is right at the top of their blog, so feel free to contact them with any questions you may have or if you want to participate... which I hope you do! :D

Nothing beats the heart of a volunteer!