Darn Girl Scout cookies.....

On Thursday I went grocery shopping because we were going to have 9 guests, between Friday and Tuesday, come to visit and spend part of Spring Break!

With four of them under the age of 11, and the fact that it is lent, I tried to avoid the sweets and sodas in case anyone had given those up. I did not get sodas, even though a case of Dr. Pepper during spring break sure sounded good, I passed up the marshmallows (mostly b/c I thought it would be too warm for a fire pit/marshmallow roast), and the Velveeta cheese dip ingredients since I didn't want to be tempted to eat a few bowls of sausage and 'cheese,'  and I did well getting extra fruit, veges, salad fixings, etc.... but what I didn't count on were the 6 boxes of Girl Scout cookies I had ordered that were being delivered!

We (about 5 of us) ate a box and a half in one night, which I suppose is better than EACH of us eating a box, but now there are still a few boxes left in the house for Brad and I to finish off.

We rode 82 miles from Fri - Sun and we'll head out in a few minutes to ride another 10-20 around the State Park, so hopefully we'll cancel out the effects, if our will power is not strong enough to keep us from eating the cookies!!!

I have fairly strong will power, but I know that my best defense is to make sure I do not buy the food or drinks that I should avoid. Even though I REALLY wanted a Dr. Pepper with lunch today, we were eating left overs at the house,  and I am not going to go to the store to buy any, so I end up without the added calories.

What 'STEPS' do you take to curb the cravings or prevent yourself from overindulging??

37 Things About Me....

37 Things About Me

I just finished reading a friends blog runningstrongforhope and so this idea
comes from Barb, but I'll try to come up with 37....since I will turn 37 in a
little over a month, and since I think I can finish this by 3-7. I'll also say that
Barb's idea came from (Tall Mom on the Run).

#1. I am sooooooooooo happy right now and have an amazing life, filled
with genuine friends and family, and I'm married to Brad, the most caring,
compassionate, hard working, and honest husband!!!!

#2 I can remember riding my bike to raise money for cancer research each
year when I was in elementary & middle school. I have no idea what
organization it was, but I remember 25 miles was a LONG way and it took
ALL day!! We now ride 40-180 miles for charity year round. The rides are
longer, we raise a little more money, but the underlying reasons, to give back
and help when you can, remain the same.

#3 I have been to 47 US states and 11 countries. What are the 3 US states
I have left to visit? Oregon, North Dakota, Rhode Island.

#4 I have run a marathon, in Anchorage, Alaska, while also raising money
 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. I do not have much desire to do
it again b/c it is hard on the body, but I won't say never again, b/c you never know.

#5 I played soccer roughly from age 3 to 33. I love it and would continue to
play, had my knees not started to fight me :(

#6 I've ridden a bike since I was 5 yrs old, and always loved the freedom of
a bike, and HOW FAR you can go on a bike and what you can see!

#7 I once traveled for 9 days with a friend from Maine to Wyoming (and up
into Quebec, Canada, and up to Glacier Nat'l Forest), with a pickup truck,
2 mountain bikes, a tent and about $100 dollars. Amazing trip!

#8 I love puzzles and math.

#9 My love of puzzles and math came from my great-grandfather "Pa"
and my grandpa on my mom's side.

#10 I do not love English....that would have come from my grandma on
my mom's side, but I somehow did not inherit those genes.

#11 I love the outdoors and grew up camping and hiking, learning from
 park rangers and my parents, how to behave in nature and treat and respect nature.

#12 I have always saved my money and been a frugal spender. (also a
result of #9 and both my parents)

#13 I have bungee jumped...in Australia, head first into water....they were
supposed to only get my hair wet, but I was dunked all the way to my waist!
Still an awesome experience!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#14 I am a middle child, with an older brother and younger sister, and the
only one who has always rather been running around outside, on a bike,
or in a pool, than just about anything else.

#15 I love scrabble.

#16 I once race-walked a 5k in college in about 31min. I won my age
group, but my shins hurt for days.

#17 I used to know how to play piano, clarinet, and bass clarinet, but
I was told I couldn't learn to play the flute b/c I couldn't whistle.

#18 I'm extremely competitive, but I'm not that great of an athlete.

#19 There are days I don't really want to work out,
but I always feel better after I do.

#20 I do not like bread, especially white bread. see #21 for the why...

#21 I once ate a large glass bulb -Christmas tree decoration -
when I was about 9 months old and so I had to eat a loaf of white
bread to absorb the glass.

#22 I've always loved fruit and vegetables!! Especially raw veggies and salad!

#23 I once ate about 1/2 a flat of strawberries in 2 days....my stomach
did not appreciate it as much as the taste buds :(

#24 I've lived in four states. NM, CO, TX and LA.

#25 I never knew I was short until I went to college and people were making
short jokes, and then I realized they were aimed at me.

#26 I am short, but I am taller than my mom, sister, brother, grandma, aunt
and great-grandparents, and I'm as tall as some of my aunts and uncles.

#27 I started 'babysitting' at age 9. Yes, I was responsible for 2 young boys
that lived behind us, during the daytime.

#28 I wanted to be a mammalogist growing up, and Jane Goodall is one
of my heroes.

#29 I've broken my thumb and ankle, both in soccer.

#30 I've had a complete ACL reconstruction on my right knee resulting
from a skiing accident and soccer injury.

#31 I used to compete in cycling, mountain biking, adventure racing, and
triathlon, but now I just ride and run for fun. The training is painful and
extremely time consuming if you want to be competitive. Right now we
steady train, but I don't train 2x a day as often anymore.

#32 I've completed an Aqua-bike half-ironman - 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike,
 in Arkansas, in 105 deg temps.

#33 I also completed an Olympic distance triathlon (1 mile swim, 30mile bike,
6.2mile run), except the course was wrong so we swam 1.7 miles! That race
gave me the confidence to do the Aqua bike race. That race also gave me
the confidence to complete almost any race, or hopefully anything in life.
I learned how STRONG the psychological aspect of NOT QUITTING or
giving up is, even if you think it is TOO HARD and you are not prepared for it.
Since that sums up most of life, it's something I hope never to forget,
b/c I didn't quit, I kept pushing, and I won my age group, even if there were
only a few left that didn't quit in the end.

#34 I've had pet hamsters and rabbits, but never a dog. Now all we have
are 'pet' squirrels and birds.

#35 I love snorkeling, but I'm afraid of scuba diving....since I could explode ;)

#36 I've always wanted a farm. I love riding horses, and I wanted
pigs and chickens to eat, and rabbits to play with. Since I grew up in
suburbia I wouldn't know the first thing about being a farmer, but I always
asked for a farm for Christmas and Birthdays.

#37  I said I would never be a teacher, but I've been a professor for 9 years
and I really do enjoy teaching and learning.

If I've forgotten any interesting facts...let me know....be nice :)

Bottom line is I've always been out trying different things. Some things I enjoyed
and stuck with and others I learned from and moved on, but I'm always
willing to get out and try!

The freedom of a bike - have you experienced it?

I always tell people that riding a bike gives you a freedom like no other! I've had a bike since I learned to ride at age 5, and I have always loved riding. It was my ride to school, friends' houses, parks, work, etc... In college it was my ride to class, work, and later for exercise and competition.

This weekend my husband Brad and I had the joy of riding with new friends, both on mountain bike trails and on the road.
On Saturday we met up with a new friend and his 14 yr old son on a bmx bike to ride the trails. He was excited... until he hit that first hill and decided that was tough and he wanted to walk up the hills. It was fun to be able to encourage him to keep going and that if we went up....we'd get to go down next! Brad found places to jump to give him a 'reward' for all his hard work on the uphills!
We made the 6.8 mile loop and the teenager was very glad to have a car to sit in with air conditioning, but I also could tell he was super proud of his accomplishment!

Today we hit the roads with another 2 new friends who just bought hybrid bikes. They have been doing awesome and had worked up to riding 20 miles, but they said they hadn't ridden on hills much yet so we invited them up here to ride with us. We started out in the neighborhood with the smaller hills and then headed out onto the main roads with the big hills. They both did awesome and again we were able to help our friends realize they can do it "one step/stroke at a time."

So, hopefully a few more friends were able to experience the freedom of a bike this weekend.
If it's been awhile and you've forgotten what it feels like to ride....dust off the bike and ride around the neighborhood!!!! One stroke at a time, the freedom is yours to be had!

One word...one step...one stroke

I have been thinking about this idea of "ONE STEP AT A TIME" for awhile now whenever I think about fitness and wellness.
My husband and I work out most everyday and our friends and family are aware of this and at times poke fun at how often we are at the gym, riding, running, training for a charity ride or triathlon, etc, but what they don't know or think, is it is an effort on our part to do this, just like it is for EVERYBODY!!

There are many days we would rather just go home after work, or on weekends sleep in and not work out, but we understand how important it is and so we push each other, and encourage others to take that first step.

Today was one of those days! My husband and I have both been fighting some kind of cold the last few days, but the weather was absolutely gorgeous this weekend and it would have been a shame NOT to go ride our bikes.
We headed to the trails for ~20miles of mountain biking on Sat, and waited to do a road ride until today when it would be a bit warmer.

I felt AWESOME on the ride on Saturday! For the first time I have my confidence back on the mountain bike. I had lost all confidence in my riding the last 12 years since I had done VERY LITTLE riding on technical trails once I moved states. I was 2nd guessing my abilities all over the trail, but FINALLY I was able to ride hard with confidence, so I was feeling strong yesterday.

Well, this morning I wasn't so full of energy, but the day was too beautiful to pass up so we headed out after lunch. By about mile 5, I was not feeling so great. The wind was BRUTAL and it felt like it was pushing me backwards. I kept pushing since we would turn at mile 10 and head toward the National Forest so I thought the wind would get better and I would be warmed up. Well, there were times the wind was blocked, but for the most part I just had to dig deep and keep going!! My legs were hurting and I wanted to quit and hitch hike home, but that was not an option. We made it back to the house before my muscles decided to cramp so all in all it was a successful ride.

We had dedicated our ride to another young LIVESTRONG supporter who just lost her battle to ovarian cancer, so as bad as my legs were feeling, it was nothing compared to what she went through in her fight and what her family is going through with her loss!

We ride for family members we have lost, and we ride for those who cannot! We believe that because we CAN LIVESTRONG, WE MUST!!!
So as long as we are able we will continue to move...one step at a time and help as many people along the way that we can.

If you would like to sponsor our efforts, or donate to LIVESTRONG, EVERY DOLLAR is appreciated and 100% directly helps Empower those affected by cancer! 100% Tax deductible!