Bringing Sexy Back

Well, sexy might be pushing it. But I'm finally starting an exercise program to bring something back from my pre-baby days. While this extra layer of flab may be keeping me warmer this winter, I'd like to be able to trade it in for a cute bathing suit this summer.

The hardest thing about exercising, in my opinion, is just getting in the routine. In order to get results it's important to stick to some level of consistency. There are a million programs out there that guarantee results as long as you adhere to a 5 day workout plan, devoting an hour and a half to each day and sticking to a strict no carb diet. Let's face it - who can realistically do that? Maybe for a month, yes - but as a way of life, I don't think so.

For me, a three day work out plan is ideal. I can devote 45 minutes to an hour to each of these days. As far as diet goes, I just try to make healthier choices. Instead of the usual 4 scoops of ice cream, I will now settle for one. Instead of a bag of chips, I will snack on a mini bag of popcorn.  I'm a snacker by nature so I would be foolish to think I could cut all snacking out of my diet.  It would also be silly for me to think I could eat only raw veggies and fruit as my snacks and be satisfied.  I'm not preparing for a bikini contest here - just want to get back into some sort of shape - and preferably not round.

The program that I have chosen to follow is the Couch to 5K plan.  Running is the one exercise that I know I can always do no matter where I am.  It doesn't require a gym or equipment to get in my day's worth of exercise and the plan is based on 9 weeks.  That's really all I need.  Once I've reached that point successfully I can then run on my own without any sort of aid.

Today is day 1 of the program.  This is the starting point: 
Brisk five-minute warm-up walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

I will use my blog as a motivator by recording my progress.  My brother, Tim, also mentioned that he is starting to train for the Chicago Marathon so maybe I can feed off his energy a bit too.  I'll need as much motivation as I can get.  Trust me.

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Winter Weather

We got our first taste of winter weather the day after Christmas.  We had snow flurries the majority of the day, but no accumulation.  It was still a beautiful sight considering our last seven years have been spent in Florida and we rarely saw the temperatures drop below 60 degrees.

We've been under a winter storm watch for the past 24 hours and it seems the storm has finally made its way to Murrells Inlet.  The snow is coming down hard and we're actually beginning to see some accumulation outside.

Growing up in NC we were lucky to get one good snow/ice shower and usually we were cursed with ice.  Travel would be dangerous, no power for miles and of course everything would be closed.  But amazingly, it was still exciting.  The phone lines would be busy for hours from everyone calling around to talk about the 1 - 2" of precipitation they've received.  Kids would drag out their sleds trash can lids and attempt some sort of sledding action while moms whipped up the hot chocolate.  We would literally have to dig out the boots, gloves and hats that were stored in the very back of the closet hoping we had at least two that matched.  Michiganians would scoff at our enthusiasm for winter weather.

I imagine I'll never live in a region where snow is an afterthought - and I'm totally ok with that.  I prefer to be excited by one or two episodes and then look to spring with even more excitement.  It's possible I may end up right back in FL when it's all said and done.  But for now - I welcome and love the change in seasons.

Oh, and to give a true sense of a SC winter storm - the time it took me to write this post and feed MJ the snow has melted.