Itsy Bitsy Contest Post

I'm intrigued by this book and thought I'd enter a giveaway so I can peruse it in my "free time."

I know some Christians have issues with yoga and the things it is traditionally associated with and based in. However, as I attempted in 1998 to self-manage my then-new ADD diagnosis since I was initially against taking medication for it, I have to say that effects of the type of yoga I took at a local recreation center were exactly what its advocates claim...calmness, focused-ness, less stress, more body awareness which assisted with some weight loss at the time.

I still love it but haven't done it in years. And, I wouldn't mind seeing what this book says about using it with little ones who are ALL ABOUT needing some more body awareness as their bodies grow and grow and grow! LOL

If interested, stop by Blogmommas.com and read more about Itsy Bitsy Yoga for Toddlers and Preschoolers.

How ironic...it's Spring!

We went to sleep with a winter storm warning of 4-6 inches of new snow. It started at about 10am this morning and has continued all day. *sigh* Spring in Michigan can be very anti-climatic! LOL

Regardless, today is the FINISH of the ten week exercise accountability challenge here at Life With Two Little Vikings!!

With over 13,000 minutes promised, we still completed nearly half. And, that figures out to be over 100 HOURS of exercise! Well done, ladies!

So, comment below with your last amounts and I'll update the ticker as soon as possible.

Week Nine: We're in the Home Stretch!

...for this exercise accountability challenge! Can you believe spring starts next week? PRAISE GOD! FFIINNAALLLLYY!! Can't come soon enough for me! LOL

Anyway, while I've lost my "street cred" as the leader of this challenge by not following through, I am more than proud of y'all who stuck with your original commitment or simply increase your overall movement in some way over the last nine weeks.

Lisa ck'd in on another post but I need to know how the rest of y'all did this week so I can update the slider to the right.

Seven days and counting....

Third, an update

It is week eight of this exercise accountability challenge. Again, I'm a bad leader but I am REALLY encouraged by how much many of you accomplished. You must be feeling SO much better. Those of us in the colder climates, spring is coming...don't laugh...really, it IS...just hang in there!

There are fourteen days left in this challenge! Can you believe it? So, how did you do THIS week and what do you plan to accomplish in your final 2 weeks?

A little late...Week Seven: Exercise Accountability Challenge

OK, I'm really feeling like a lame duck leader here (LOL) but I hope this is still helping those of you that kept with your commitment to exercise.

While I've not got back on track yet, Lisa informed me that she had a wonderfully productive week for exercise and I'm praising God with her for it!

Those of you still chugging along, I would LOVE to honor your dedication and hard work by listing your minutes on the ticker...so how did you do this week?

Week Six: Exercise Accountability Challenge

I've been hesitating to post today since, once again, I'm not a very good example. No minutes for me again this week although it's been on my mind everyday. But, DaHubby's dual jobs along with weather, family commitments, and a continually teething, not-sleeping-at-night Pojke, it's been hard to get a "free time" to do it.

I think I'm due for a plan change. I need to find something I can do more at home (a video perhaps?) until the weather breaks. And, assuming the sidewalks here clear soon, I can always start walking the neighborhood.

But, the really good side of this is...it's week 6! That mean tere's only 4 weeks...28 days...672 hours UNTIL SPRING! LOL

So, how did YOU do this week?

Week Five: Exercise Accountability Challenge

Well, we're halfway done! Five weeks down, five to go til SPRING!

Yet, unfortunately, this week I'm simply a moderator of this thing. Each night I scheduled in a trip to the local field house to walk, something of higher priority deflected my efforts. Yea, I know, I should set MYSELF and my health as a high priority but this week has just been exhausting more in an emotional way.

However, the events of this week have renewed my determination to keep this up. So, while I completed none of my minutes this week, I plan on getting back on track (literally and figurative) as soon as possible.

So, how did YOU do? How many minutes did YOU get done this week?

Week Four: Exercise Accountability Challenge

(You can read about this challenge here, here, here, and here!)

Wweeellllll...another lax week here at the Vikings household. Our schedule was messed up for so many reasons: DaHubby's additional work, babysitting for friends, the weather, lack of sleep, etc. It seemed it was always something. I only got 2 of my three scheduled workouts for a total of 65 minutes of my promised 90. *sigh*

I'm going in the wrong direction! Particularly since my workout schedule is about to get MUCH harder in about 10 days!

If anyone is feeling the *blahs* as I am, we need a BOOST! We need a mini-challenge. A prize? A giveaway? SOMETHING! Any thoughts? What will stoke your competitive spirit a bit? We're not even halfway through! LOL We need to get back on track! What say you all?

Leave your ideas and your minutes for the week in the comments below!

Week Three: Exercise Accountability Challenge

Well, we are at the end of week THREE of ten, ladies. We're nearly halfway there! Halfway to some new, good habits and halfway 'til Spring! Which I would REALLY like to start thinking about since we got blasted with another "snow dump" last night (another 6+ inches with more on the way) and all the schools are closed!

Just thought you'd like to know that as of last week, cumulatively we have put in nearly FOUR more hours of time then we had pledged thus far! And, that's awesome!

So, how are y'all doing? As for me, it's been a hard week here. Between caring for sickies and becoming a sickie myself in addition to DaHubby working from home this week, I lost one of my planned workouts and was unable to catch up before this morning. But, I still managed to get 70 of my 90 minutes completed.

So, leave a comment below on how many minutes you completed this week and let's make that TICKER CLIMB...or at least inch right-ward! *wink*! And, if you have stumbled across this challenge and are wondering "what in the world are these people up to?", check here for an explanation. And, then here and here for our progress so far!

Blessings on everyone's weekend! And, get in an additional workout this weekend...you'll have fewer minutes to do next week! LOL

Week Two: Exercise Accountability Challenge

Well...we're 2 weeks in with 8 weeks to go! And, how are YOU doing?

While I'm not back on the diet wagon as much as I would have liked, I'm finding the exercise something I'm looking forward to and something that I'm doing more of than I committed to! LOL DaHubby has been AWESOME (even despite being sick) at helping me setting aside time to do this! THANKS BABE!

So, my commitment was for 90 minutes and I did 110 this week. How did y'all do? Leave a comment here and I'll update the ticker as frequently as I can today as I dig out from having DaHubby home for two days. LOL

P.S. My domain host is having problems today so my banner photo and some button pics may be unavailable. It also means I can't ck email. So, please be patient if trying to reach me.

Week One: Exercise Accountability Challenge

OK, ladies that have signed up so far...it's "weigh in" day! LOL How did ya' do?

I pledged 90 minutes. And, had planned on walking 30 minutes at our local high school (which opens its "field house" aka the new gym with an indoor track on the second floor where an "upper balcony" could be) on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

I forgot to walk last Friday! LOL

I walked my 30 on Monday.

Then, found a scheduling conflict on Wednesday...well, DUH! We have leadership meetings, midweek services, and praise and worship practice on Wednesday nights! LOL

So, I walked last night for 40 minutes with the assumption that would be it and I'd come in under my pledge when I went to log in this morning.

But.....the internet was out again this morning! *sigh* And, I had gotten up with DaHubby at 5am to try to get something DONE before the Vikings woke up! LOL So, I pulled out a "Pilates for Weight Loss" video and got my "inner core" beat for 30 minutes instead! LOL

So, I did 100 minutes! Yippee for me!

Leave a comment below and I'll try to keep the ticker updated throughout the day as comments come in! Blessings on everyone's weekend if I don't get back to post again today!

Don't Forget: First Check In Tomorrow

If you are participating (or WANT to participate) in our 10 week exercise accountability challenge, tomorrow is the first day to comment here about the number of minutes you exercised this week.

And, one clarification: while I recorded your goals (for a motivation tool! *wink* And, to get the counter set up. LOL), I am NOT keeping track if you are hit your goal each week.

If I were a bigger blog and I had prizes to giveaway or something, I might. LOL But, this is an honor system here, folks!

So, be here (that's an order! *wink*) and tell us how ya' did; what challenges you faced, if any; any "tweakings" that had to be done; etc.

See ya then and see how much the counter "jumps"!

Do I hear 11,000? *wink* - UPDATED

As of this minute, we are up to 10,400 minutes! You ladies are really stepping up! Good for all seven of us!

So, how 'bout we either get three more people to participate for an even TEN!? Just ONE more person will take us over 11,000 minutes pledged. Think what we could do with THREE more people!! We could easily hit 15,000!

What do y'all think?

(UPDATED: Well, Lisa's commitment put us at 8 folks and at 11,200 minutes! Yea, Lisa!)

8600 minutes!

Wow, ladies! Ya floor me! So far we have 8600 minutes pledged for the next 10 weeks! How 'bout we shoot for a goal of a minimum of TEN THOUSAND minutes!? Whatcha think?! Let's either encourage more people to join OR pledge more minutes ourselves and see if can get that total pledge over TEN THOUSAND!

Wa-hoo! You go girls!

ten-HUT!

Attention all you Slacking Sallys! It's time to get busy...busy exercising! LOL

Today is the first day of my 10-week exercise accountability challenge! This challenge is meant to encourage those who made exercise-related resolutions to be accountable.

And, it is also for those of us Weak Wendys who completely forgo exercise in the winter because it's too cold, too dark, too EVERYTHING and become big bowls of blubbery belly over the winter months! *wink*

In the interest of everyone feeling welcome and involved, there are no strict guidelines or hoops to jump through. The idea is simply to set a goal to accomplish between today and the first day of Spring in ten weeks. If possible, could you put it in terms of "number of minutes spent exercising"? And, here's why:

The only way I could figure out to compare my "apple" goal to someone else's "orange" goal (if ya' know what I mean) was to keep a running tab of how many minutes we all spent exercising each week!

So, after the first check-in next Friday, I'll create a new ticker to keep in the sidebar to show how much time we're spending on our goals. I can either ask you all for a total number of minutes you PLAN on exercising and then ticker the number we accomplish OR we can just go from zero and measure all the minutes we finish. It's up to you!

We'll meet back here each Friday for 10 Fridays to see how we're doing and to cheer each other on!

While I'm sure I don't have to say this, let us please keep in mind that all of us are at different levels of fitness and capability. ANY addition of time put towards exercising is an improvement. That goes towards are behavior toward each other - but, it also applies to our "self-voice". Don't feel self-conscious if your goal may not seem as "ambitious" as someone else's. Remember - ANY additional time is an improvement.

So, comment to this post with your goal for the next 10 weeks. In addition, comment on your preference on the ticker. Also, feel free to "steal" the button and post it at your bloggy home and encourage others to participate!

Blessings on everyone's goals!!

I haven't forgotten...

Out of state guests passing through, staying the night in our home - DONE!
Pojke's birthday party for 6 adults and 6 kids - DONE!
MOMS Club newsletter, first draft - DONE! Hopefully, subsequent draft will be done this afternoon after the president edits it and it will be in the mail by this evening since it is supposed to be at International by the 10th! Yikes!

And, this Friday we will be starting our exercise challenge. Ten weeks of a new exercise promise to ourselves to get through the winter "blahs" and into Spring!

If you have started a "self promise" (I don't like "resolutions" LOL) January 1st, GREAT! Keep it up! If you're still undecided and/or procrastinating (like me), finish choosing one and come back Friday to sign up!

Thinking about exercise goals lately...

Exercising in Michigan in the winter without a gym membership stinks! LOL Especially if you're not the skiing/hiking/winter-loving type like DaHubby. So each winter brings me extra pounds as my summer loving self can't go for long walks.

But as Sara and Lisa have done, I'm thinking about exercise goals for 2008. And, in the interest of fun and accountability, I've offered to be "home central" to a short exercise challenge to get us through to the beginning of spring.

While most experts claim that it takes 90 days to start a new habit, this challenge is only 70 long. I'm hoping a shorter time will encourage us more to stick with it and that more of us will feel successful. And, like our Financial Peace Univeristy experience, baby steps get things accomplished! LOL And, if ya can do it for ten weeks, can't ya do it for more? Honestly? *wink*

So, I'm thinking...looking for opportunities to create realistic and achieveable goals and the baby steps to get there. One of mine was to walk indoors with the "old folks" at the mall. But, it's a bit of a hike, early in the morning, and what the heck do I do with the Vikings? Yea, I'll get the exercise...CHASING them around the mall, through the stores, etc! LOL

Then, I saw in our local paper that our local high school (which just recently built a large "field house" to replace and expand their small 1950's era gym) allows the community to walk laps from 6:30 - 8:30pm for free. And, DaHubby agreed to walk with me at least once a week! Yippee! So, one step closer to making a goal.

What are YOU doing for exercise in the New Year? Wanna join us? Grab the button above and start considering what you would like to accomplish between January 11th and the first day of Spring!

What do y'all think? UPDATED

Lisa is starting her walking regiment. Sara started exercising to a home DVD. That's two of several of our Faithprints "alumni" group.

So, Anita, Marilee, Debbie and "self"...what do you think? How about all six or so of us start a little motivational challenge and exercise accountability thing? Even a small exercise goal? Got anything y'all would like to start to (at the minimum) get us through the winter "blahs"?

And, to everyone else...would you like to join something like this? While Lisa's goal is year-long, we could start with an exercise goal from New Years 'til the first day of spring or 'til Easter or 'til that time those of us stuck under cruddy winter weather can get outside. and about to get some always-an-improvement amount of exercise.

Updated: well, the first day of Spring will be around March 20th or 21st and Easter is on March 23rd this year according to WikiAnswers. How about setting a goal to achieve over the 11 weeks from January 6th to March 23rd? How appropriate we would be celebrating Christ's risen body with (hopefully) a more-fit one of our own! LOL