A Personal Update

I hope everyone had as wonderful a Christmas as I. For the first time in years, my entire immediate family (which totals 20 people) was present under one roof for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It was awesome. My sister and I combined our creative juices and made this video of which we are quite proud. :)

In support of my fashion endeavors, my family was kind enough to give me a total of 5 scarves and a new brooch. Who's excited? ME! My cat, Luna, helped me photograph them, and apparently her favorite is the orange one.






Due to the crazy blizzard, we are snowed in today, which gives me great opportunity to return to my exercise routine with gusto. The hustle and bustle of the holiday season kept me from working out during the last two weeks. I was eager to get back into things this week, so before doing much else today, I got out my leg strap and resistance band and restarted the 30 Day Challenge on EA Active. I'm going to do my best to follow it's schedule, but as I've mentioned before, I find it difficult to work out 5 days a week. I have completed the 30 Day Challenge in 60 days before, and if I can replicate that again, I'll be more than happy.

Interestingly enough, my father has enlisted my aid in getting his health and fitness back on track. My father is a man of strong will power, and when he puts his mind to it, he does really well. But like so many of us, life's busy schedule creeps in and before you know it, you fall back into to your old habits and looser jeans. So, I agreed to hold him accountable, so we can keep him motivated and on track. I'm not sure if he realizes what he's in for! :) I think many of the "tactics" I'll be using to help him along are valuable to anyone who wants to take better care of themselves. So, I'll be sharing some of them via this blog.

Concerning my personal health and fitness (so you know I do try to practice what I preach): knowing I would not be able to find the time to exercise, I tried to be very careful in terms of what I ate. I allowed myself cookies and other great treats, but tried to keep the portions small and grazing to a minimum. Curious as to what the two weeks off did to the number on the scale, I weighed myself this morning. As it turns out, I "lost" 0.2 lbs. Now, I wasn't trying to lose weight; my goal is to remain where I am currently while improving overall tone. Nevertheless, based on this finding, I think I'm doing pretty well! Go me!

So, stay tuned for health and fitness strategies and enjoy the remainder of 2010. The start of a new year means more and different fashion trends will be emerging and opportunities to better yourself,  however you deem fit, will be plentiful. "You are what you give yourself the power to be." Remember that.
 

The Thoelen Clan on Christmas Day minus mom; she was taking the picture.