Welcome, welcome!!!

I have created this blog because I love to learn about nutrition, exercise, and all things good for your body, mind, and soul!!! And yes, that includes being pampered!!! What woman doesn't need to feel special in some way everyday?

As a mother of two beautiful girls, I understand the importance of taking care of myself along with my children. I want to be my best, so that I can teach them to be their best. For me, this includes everything from eating well, exercising, crafting, baking, decorating, pampering, gardening, and looking good! I don't believe you have to be exceptional at any one thing in your life to be successful-but I do think you have to take time to explore your talents and improve upon them. There are many things I am not that great at, but every now and again, I like to try again just to see how it goes!

So please feel free to share your thoughts and information you may have about anything that is important to you!

Each week, I will post some information about an area for you-for your body-or for your mind-so stay tuned and check in often, and please leave your comments!!!!

This week, I am going to start with your body. I love to run and exercise. In fact, I just love doing anything that is active. Biking, hiking, canoeing, taking exercise classes, and I often will just pop in a workout video at home. My favorite workout started back with Billy Blanks and the Tae-Bo era!! I actually still do his workouts, and they are great! Now, my favorite exercise video/guru is Tony Horton-creator of Power 90, or more popularly now, P90X. He has a great workout that I love, 10-minute trainer, which consists of 5 different 10-minute workouts. Don't be deceived that they are only 10 minutes though-you'll be sweating-and they are great when you either don't feel like working out, or you don't have time to get in a long workout. You can get information about him and some other trainers at the BeachBody website below.

My other passion is running. I actually have exercise-asthma and bad knees, and so growing up I always used those excuses not to exercise, but when I became a young adult, I just decided I wanted to run, and so I did. I started off pitiful!! But, I worked my way up, and the better shape I am in, the better my body feels and the more control I have of my asthma, and my knees haven't bothered me for years. I still am not a great marathoner by any sense of the word, but I continue to set goals, and I am increasing my distance even after having two babies! In fact, I am in the best shape of my life and running more than I ever have-and that feels sooooo good! The link below to Runners World can get you hooked up with all kinds of great info on how to get started, taking care of your body to enhance your performance, and where to find races in your area if you are interested!!!

If you love to exercise, or you want to be more active, check out www.runnersworld.com; www.beachbody.com; or www.trails.com. Happy Exercising!