Since my latest achievement fell on a Tuesday, I jumped on the chance to toot my own horn with the help of this meme.
Today, my Beat the Heat Fitness Tips were featured on Go Graham Go!, which is one of Nielsen’s On-line Top 50 Power Mom Blogs. How awesome is that?
THANK YOU to Felicia of Go Graham Go for fitting in my fitness post and spotlighting my blog.
As I push closer to forty, I worry if my arms tell my true age. Do my saggy arms greet others before I actually wave hello?
Well, it’s time to say GOOD RIDDANCE to jelly arms!
In our quest to be hip and fit moms, Running Betty and Run DMT have teamed up to present our readers with the ultimate challenge. During the month of July, we’re pushing the limits with our push-up challenge. Our goal: 100 push-ups before the end of July.
With help of hundredpushups.com, this goal can be painfully easily achieved.
From hundredpushups.com
Push ups are one of the basic and most common exercises for the human body. Push ups are not only great for your chest, but do a tremendous job of defining your abs, triceps, shoulders and torso. Your core strength will also go through the roof too!
Hundredpushups.com offers a week-by-week plan to help make this an attainable goal. Commit to 30 minutes three days a week and you will be on your way to one lean mean, hot momma machine.
Are you up for the challenge? If so, drop and give me twenty ten five two and sign your name in blood Mr. Linky to commit to the challenge. Also, add a comment to this post with your link so other readers can visit your blog and support you through out the challenge.
We would love for you to help spread the word about our “Pushing the Limits Challenge” by sharing it with your readers. Add our “Pushing the Limits” bloggie button to your site and link back here.
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<img src=”images/pushups” height=”102″width=”207″ border=”1″ alt=”Pushing the Limits July 2009″></a>
Feel free to tweet about it, too! Pushing the Limits- 100 Push-ups by 7/31 http://tiny.cc/Fnls0 @denisermt @rafdarrow #100pushups
Just as to be expected, my family and I had an absolutely fabulous time with our Moms on the Go friends at the South Beach Resort in Treasure Island. Moms, dads and the kids look forward to our anniversary beach weekend each summer.
For another summer, the South Beach Resort graciously accommodated our large group by allowing us to take over their yard for our potluck breakfasts and dinners. Without fail, this family-friendly resort helped make our beach weekend truly enjoyable.
This year, Allan and I choose to stay an extra night on the beach to soak an extra day of fun in the sun and relaxation. Since every condo unit at the resort overlooks the Gulf, beautiful sunsets are included at no extra cost. How’s that for relaxing?
Although storm clouds threatened our beach days, the cloud cover provided cooler weather. With the clouds, we managed to avoid sunburns but fortunately, escaped any thunderstorms. As another bonus, the storm front stirred up some waves for fun on boogie boards. Riding the waves was quite a work-out! My triceps muscles hurt!
On Friday evening, we walked to Sloppy Joes on the Beach for a sunset dinner. A duo of female musicians played rock classics as the kids bopped around the dance floor. Of course, Emmalynn and I jumped in and didn’t miss a beat.
At dinner, Allan and I passed on the Sloppy Joe’s infamous tower of 100 ounces of beer and opted for the margarita bowls. Unfortunately, I slurped down one too many of these bowls, which meant no sunrise run for me on Saturday morning.
For the last evening on the beach, we hosted our annual luau dinner. Sweet and Sassy Nicole baked delicious and adorable Hawaiian themed cupcakes.
After dinner, we posed for group photos and walked down to the beach for one last sunset stroll along the beach.
Such a great weekend! I’m ready to return for our fourth anniversary.
Looking forward to a sunrise run along the beach, I laid all my running gear out the night before to prepare for my early morning run. Then, a storm rolled through Clearwater early this morning, which dampened any desire for a sunrise run.
Once the rain passed, I ran out the door for a quick three miles along the beach. Despite the humidity, a cool refreshing breeze and the view of waves rolling onto the shore made the run truly enjoyable.
Not being used to the spongy surface of the sandy shore, I began feeling an unusual pain (but a good pain) in my calf muscles, which made me recall the runner legs I noticed in NYC. I may never have Big Apple calves, but after a few more beach runs this weekend, I may grow some nice Clearwater calves.
Tomorrow, I will try once more for a sunrise run. I hope to run a little further (~6 miles) and maybe another 3 miles on Sunday.
We’re having a great time with family and friends here at the beach. We’re spending our time twisting the days away, but not quite like Annette and Frankie. Well, maybe if they had Corona Lights in their hands.
My bags are packed and I’m ready for the beach. I’ve got a towel, sunblock, my cute little sundresses and my very teeny bikini.
For me, long days spent on the beach brings lots of beer drinking, which leads to a big ‘ol beer belly bulging over my itty bitty bikini bottom. Well, that simply won’t do! So, do I cut back on the beer while at the beach? *gasp* Heck no! Instead, I found a way to keep my girlish good-looks without giving up the beer.
For this week’s Five Minutes for Fitness, I present to you Fitness Beach: The Abs Work-out. I can do some crunches while reaching for my beer. I’ll drink to that!
See, you really can find time for fitness.
Tomorrow, my family and I leave for the beach for our Moms on the Go’s Third Anniversary Beach Weekend. We’re looking forward to making more memories with our Moms on the Go friends.
When Allan and I thought about selling our first home, I felt a small pang in my heart. Allan proposed to me in that cozy little home in sleepy Spring Hill. He carried me over the threshold after we were married. Years later, I carried two little infants through that very same door.
My oldest daughter, Allana, still speaks highly of that little home. She fondly remembers her old bedroom walls covered with playful bunnies hiding in garden print paper. She also recalls a huge lantana bush and several old shady oaks trees in the backyard.
Eventually, our small family of four outgrew and overpowered our quaint little home. The coziness was no longer cute, but rather cramped our style.
While we lived in Spring Hill, my DH’s commute to Clearwater took over 3 hours round trip. Allan wanted to invest in more quality family time rather commute time. With that, we sold our home and purchased a home a bit further south.
Within a month, we sold our old home, but we sat in limbo for a few weeks until our new home was ready. We turned to family members for a place to stay, but no one had room for our small family.
Then, a dear friend offered her vacant home hidden in the woods of Brooksville for us to stay rent free until our new home was completed. Although we had all the comforts of home, I felt very isolated and alone due to the distance from my old friends in Spring Hill. Those few weeks in Brooksville were the hardest for me.
Once we settled into our new home in a new town, I started a moms group. With the aid of an amazing moms group, I slowly began to build new friendships, but still kept ties to all my old friends in Spring Hill. However, as my family and I began spending more and more time with our new friends, they quickly became our extended family and their smiling faces felt like home.
Home is more than a shelter or a place to hang your hat or a step with a welcome to wipe your feet. A true home transforms into a warm place when you are surrounded by people who love you and with those precious people, you create many cherished memories.
With my friend, Lori, moving away, I know that where ever she settles will be another home for me because a loving, warm home awaits me there. The same will be true if and when our other friends decide to choose uproot and move away.
If my husband lost his job tomorrow and we became homeless overnight, I know I would still have a home in my heart because of the foundation my friends and family laid there.
What does home mean to you? Tell your story to TwitterMoms.
Focus Features and TwitterMoms have teamed up to create a fun contest around their new movie premiering this month called “Away We Go.” A heartfelt comedy directed by Sam Mendes and written by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, Away We Go follows one couple’s quest to find a place they can call home
To participate, simply write a post on your own blog sharing what “home” means to you! For more information, click here.
With the help of random.org, here are the results of the Run DMT’s Run U Mother giveaway. Drum roll, please….
Congratulations to Kara T! You are the lucky Run U Mother winner!
Thanks to everyone who participated in this contest! 
Today is your last chance to enter to win a Run U Mother Shirt. Click here for the giveaway. You don’t want to miss this!
When Tiffany and I met with the Striders again on Saturday, we planned to run 8 miles on the trail (4 out and 4 back). Tiffany roped another running friend, who also wanted to run 8 miles, to join the Striders and our little running group. However, with an 8 mm pace, Kim is no Lori replacement and thankfully, she found people in the pack to pace with other than Tiffany and me.
As a courtesy to its visitors, Starkey Park offers water stations along the scenic trail. Still, I would like to invest in a dorky water belt for these trail runs just in case the water stops are empty one day. Plus, after Saturday’s run, I also need it to hold my heavy duty DEET bug spray.
As we approached the 4 mile mark, a HUGE bug few at Tiffany and me. In our panic and dehydrated state, we couldn’t determine if the inch size bug was a bee or horsefly. Just shy of 4 miles, we chose to turn around and head back; however, with the huge horsefly chasing us, we were pushed into speed drills against our will.
At one point, the horsefly kept attacking Tiffany and I had to come to her rescue. With a mighty force, I clapped my hands together in an attempt to kill it, but I feel my lame attempt only maimed the vile creature and made it mad. When the injured fly returned to his hive, he told his son to seek vengeance of us.
A few minutes later, the son of a horsefly began harassing us to avenge his father. At about one and half inches, the son was much larger than his dad. Tiffany froze in her tracks as I swatted the fly with my hat. After our second attack, we were forced to run even faster.
We knew this battle was not over and son of a son of a horsefly would return to avenge his family’s honor. I explained to Tiffany our plan of action.
“When the son of a son returns, you keep running. Run ahead and send for help. I’ll stay behind and fight him off. I’ve got your back, girl.”
And sure enough, the son of a son came and he was even larger than the first two. As promised, I protected Tiffany and defeated the bad bug. We returned to the beginning of the trail a little faster and avoided any further attacks.
8 miles
Time: 1:33:58
Pace: 11:44
(Holy horse flies, Batman! WTF??? I guess each bug battle affected my pace. Stupid bugs.)
On our return run, Striders Melanie and Rebecca caught up to us. We shared our horsefly horror story with them and they shared their bug spray with us. They also shared a little swatter secret: Run with a washcloth.
***Disclaimer: When writing this post, I researched “horse flies” and discovered that the species commonly found in Florida are deer and yellow flies. Also, the female yellow fly typically attacks and drains blood from its prey. So, although Son of a Son of a Horsefly makes for a better horsefly horror tale, it is scientifically inaccurate.
