Tag Archives: MMM

Motivational Music Monday… and stuff

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May is a busy month in this house.  This past week we’ve celebrated a birthday and Mother’s Day (and we still have an anniversary coming up).  We also did a happy dance when the child returned home from Hawaii.  AJ is the one buried in the sand (his father did his laundry, 😀 ).

The day before AJ came home was James’s birthday.  I bought him… (notice I said him, not us)… I bought him a nice dinner and dessert on his birthday, and when AJ got home, we celebrated properly.

It’s Sunday night, so I’m on day 12 of The Whole 30.  All of my cravings stopped on day 6.  I wasn’t even tempted with cake or naughtiness even with all the celebrations going on.  I will admit, as I hate cooking, I’m a bit tired of spending time in the kitchen, but again, it’s all in the planning.  I made enough food on Thursday and Friday to last me the weekend, and the boys were on their own.  Mostly.  I’ll always share my veggies and chili.  (#spottedtheGroot)

I also did my long run today.  It went well.  I felt strong and full of energy.  At mile 4, I ate a few too many raisins (portion control matters) and my stomach cramped up; however, as I was doing an out-and-back, I had no choice but to power through.  Sometimes not having a choice is a good thing.  I also had the trail mostly to myself.  Nice.

Although… sometimes being on the trail alone can wreak havoc with the imagination.  I wore my hydration pack, kept hearing the sloshing of water, and thought someone or someTHING was stalking me as it sounded like the bushes rustling.  I don’t have a clue what bedded down in this huge patch of grass the previous night, but I’m glad it was gone (the grass is actually as high as my hips).  The blades were clearly flattened right smack in the middle:

A successful week in eating and a successful week in running (with even some cycling thrown in for good measure), so now on to Motivational Music Monday by 50 in 50 Marathon Quest.

Tonight (Mother’s Day), U2 are here in concert, so James opted to pay tribute to them.  I’m not a big U2 fan, so I’ll pass on playing a U2 song.  I will, however, follow suit with the title. “It’s A Beautiful Day” has helped me pick up my step during many a long run… and it’s Michael Bublé. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

Hoping all y’all have a happy week!!

A Smidge of an Update

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Downtown River Run in Reno

I’m not going to write a big recap about this race.  Just know it was hard.  Probably the hardest 10K I’ve ever completed.  Because of Reno’s higher elevation, I couldn’t catch my breath after the first mile (this happened in SLC as well, after mile 6).  James also spent most of his race in the Red Zone because of the lack of oxygen.  But that’s not important.  We went, ran a hard race, and had a fabulous time.

The Whole 30

A couple of weeks ago, I had looked into The Whole 30 food program.  Have you heard of it? Basically for 30 days, you eat nothing but whole foods, nothing processed and nothing with sugar.  I get that it’s a variant of the low-carb craze, but really not so much.  Potatoes are whole foods, pulled right out of the ground, so they work (but they don’t work in the low-carb diets).

The premise is to detox your body from all the food processing that goes on, and then slowly reintroduce foods back into your diet to see how your body reacts.  If a certain food doesn’t make you feel so good, then guess what!  You don’t eat that food no mo’!  I needed something to get me off all of the sweets, desserts, and chips I’d been getting in the habit of eating recently, so enter The Whole 30 program.

I had the start date written on the calendar and was 100% mentally prepared.  The mental part is important.  Your brain can talk you out of anything if you let it.  I started May 2nd, so I’ve been on it a whole 2 days now.  The cravings of chocolate and chips are strong, but I shut those thoughts down by asking myself, “Am I hungry enough to eat a plate of spinach?”  If the answer is no, I drink water.  If the answer is yes, then I eat something I’ve prepared in advance so I do not fail and give in.  Again, it’s only been 2 days, but I’m hoping that I will remain strong for the entire 30 days.  Okay, not hoping, I WILL remain strong for the entire 30 days.

The foods I’ll miss and crave most are oatmeal and peanut butter, every single form of chocolate, cookie and cake, chocolate milk (I already said chocolate, didn’t I), cheese, nuts, and chips/crisps.  For my pre-run carb load, it will be a baked potato with clarified butter, although I haven’t figured out how I’m going to fuel in the middle of my long runs yet.  Maybe I can make some banana mash, place it in a baggie, and I’ll have my own GU minus all the added sugar.  I don’t know.  (For those who don’t know, GU is a nasty gel a lot of runners are forced to consume in the midst of a long run to keep their energy levels up.)

Mmmm, tastes just like bacon!!

I’ve also had to give up my morning, mid-day, and afternoon cups of tea as I use sweetener.  I now start my day with a nice cold glass of iced tea.  Super glad it’s warming up or I’d be missing my cup of hot chocolate too!  (Seeeee!  Wayyy too much chocolate!!  It’s a good thing I don’t drink soda or I’d be hurtin’ for certain!)

My other goal during this time is to do something 6 days a week, not just on scheduled run days. Yesterday I ran.  Today I was supposed to go for a bike ride, but the heavens opened up and gave us a storm from hell, so I did nothing.  A minor set-back… I’ll start again tomorrow as I’m scheduled for another 3 miles.  (And for those who are anal about their numbers… yes, I should’ve ran around until my watch said 3.1.)

And finally…

The child is having a great time in Hawaii without his parents.  Am I the only one who thinks this is completely unfair?!!

I’ll leave you now with a song for MMM… this came on during my race in Reno.  Oh the irony.  “Sucker for Pain.”  Yes indeedy.

Have a happy weekend!!

Motivational Music Monday — Lovergirl

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It’s time for Jamesy’s MMM linkup at 50 in 50 Marathon Quest, calling forth for all motivational or not-so-motivational music to be posted for those of us in need of some new or different types of sound.  Go visit his site and post a rockin’ good (or bad) song in the comments!

I’m not particularly in the mood to follow suit with what he’s posted, so I’m going completely different.  I’m hittin’ up the good old Eighties!  What a great era for music!  Back then, we all liked to bang our head and rock out, even the girls.  Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Miss Teena Marie and Lovergirl, an oldie but always a goodie.

(Feel free to click the extra links above… you might find bonus music…)  Hope your week is nothing less than wonderful!

Life In One Day

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It’s Monday! Ummmm… yay? Okay, well, yay for Motivational Music Monday at 50 in 50 Marathon Quest!  Time to post some music that you’re enjoying this week!  Got any ’80s songs that you’re in love with?  Shout ’em out!!

I mentioned yesterday that James and I went to see Howard Jones and OMD over the weekend, so I think it’s most fitting that I come up with something from good old Howard, one of my all-time favorites.

I think one of the reason’s I was so drawn to Howard is because he was a fabulous lyricist.  His words had meaning, and, as an impressionable teenager, I could relate to most of what he was trying to say.  The song I chose is probably not a mainstream hit, but it is upbeat and a happy little tune, kind of quirky really.  It’s called, “Life In One Day.”  The lyrics follow, but I also chose a video that plays the lyrics.  The original video is actually quite annoying, with breaks here and there and people talking in the middle of it, and if you’re actually going to listen to the song, then I want you to hear the song as I heard it back in the day.

Lyrics

The old man said to me
Said don’t always take life so seriously
Play the flute
And dance and sing your song

Try and enjoy the here and now
The future will take care of itself somehow
The grass is never greener over there
Time will wear away the stone
Gets the hereditary bone

Don’t try to live your life in one day
Don’t go speed your time away
Don’t try to live your life in one day
Don’t go speed your time away

The old man said to me
Said you can’t change the world single-handedly
Raise a glass enjoy the scenery
Pretend the water is champagne
And fill my glass again and again
While the wolves are gathering round your door
Time will wear away the stone
Gets the hereditary bone

The old man said to me
Said don’t always take life so seriously
Play the flute
And dance and sing your song

Try and enjoy the here and now
The future will take care of itself somehow
The grass is never greener over there
Time will wear away the stone
Gets the hereditary bone

I tried to live my life in one day
Don’t go speed your time away

I bit off more than I can chew
Only so much you can do

Wolves are gathering round my door
Ask them in and invite some more

I tried to live my life in one day
Don’t go speed your time away

Of course, the song that got me started on my positive thinking way of life was from him, “Things Can Only Get Better.”  I listened to that song over and over again until I truly believed those words, heart and soul (it’s not easy being a teenager).  I recorded a snippet of it at the concert… I wanted to sing and dance, too, but no way was I doing that on camera, so I only recorded about a minute.  The lyrics to the first verse follow.

Lyrics

We’re not scared to lose it all security throw through the wall
Future dreams we have to realize
A thousand skeptic hands won’t keep us from the things we plan
Unless we’re clinging to the things we prize

And do you feel scared, I do
But I won’t stop and falter
And if we threw it all away
Things can only get better
Wow wow wow oh, wow wow wow oh oh oh oh

Have a super great week, my friends! 

 

You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet

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Having just got back from Montana, I’m running a bit behind on everything, but I’m working on catching up, really I am!

In the meantime, rumor has it that it’s Motivational Music Monday over at 50 in 50 Marathon Quest!  That means it’s time to share a song that you are enjoying this week, possibly one that is making you move… or boogie…

I haven’t had the chance to write about what a good time Missoula was yet; however, in case you were wondering, yes, I finished my half-marathon!  I’m still suffering a bit from the plantar fasciitis, but it’s getting better now thanks to some wonderful advice I got, so all I can say about what’s to come for me in the future… well… hey…

You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet!

Have a great week!!

 

WHAM!

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What time is it?!!  It’s time for Jamesy’s Motivational Music Monday!  It’s time to search those playlists and post what floats your boat!!  One day James will actually create the linky link thing, but in the meantime, put your video link in the comment section on his site so we can all see what makes you happy, gets you running or walking, or just plain puts a spring in your step!

When James told me he was going to post a rap song (you have to visit his site to actually see what rapper gets that metal head out and running), there was one song that came to my mind instantly. Now, most of you know that Buble is my boy; however, back in the eighties, George Michael was above and beyond my favorite of favorites.

Like most American kids/tweens/teenagers, I watched American Bandstand and Soul Train every Saturday morning (after Bugs Bunny, of course), and this is where I first saw Wham!  They performed this song (Wham Rap!), they were dressed exactly how they were dressed in the video, and they even danced the same way.  Ahhh, such entertainment!  🙂

This song is full of energy and still gets my blood pumping and my legs moving!  It’s nice that not everything changes.  Watch the video.  If you know the song, see if it doesn’t bring a smile to your face after all these years.  And if you don’t know it, I would still bet the video puts a smile on your face… if for no other reason than how fabulous the clothes and hair were back then! (George is sporting a tail, hehe)  Enjoy!!

Motivational Music Monday — Walk!

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It’s time for Jamesy’s MMM linkup at 50 in 50 Marathon Quest, calling forth for all motivational or not-so-motivational music to be posted for those of us in need of some new or different types of sound.  Go visit his site and post a rockin’ good (or bad) song in the comments!

He’s crunching a bit this week (courtesy of our son… seriously, go check it out), so I thought maybe I’d follow suit.

Many many moons ago, back when AJ was a baby, James and I would watch Metal Mania on VH1 and kind of play a little game to it (AJ was a baby, so he slept through all that noise).  Anyway, we’d guess what was up next, rate the songs on a scale, make bets, and so on and so forth… you know, stuff that every normal set of new parents do when their baby is sleeping.

I’m a Michael Buble type of girl, so heavy metal was not my thing.  I really only watched it for all the great hair bands from the ’80s.  I’d become disgusted when Pantera, Type O Negative, Motorhead, Megadeth, Metallica, etc., would come on… I hated the crunch, and the noise, and the complete lack of music that made these artists millions of dollars.

Fast forward 10 years… most of these artists are now on at least one of my many playlists in some form or another.  One of my… favorites… has been Walk by Pantera.  I’m sure there’s some deep, dark, hidden meaning behind this song that I have yet to figure out… all I know is that I like to play it while I’m attemping Mo Fo Hill… it actually pumps me up and gets the blood moving.

So, without further adieu, I present Walk…  enjoy!  😛

Did you ever watch the classics on VH1?  Do you have a favorite song from the “classic” era? One of my favorites was Unskinny Bop by Poison… Bret Michaels had THE most gorgeous lipstick!