Workin' It!

I got such great feedback last week when I posted about my fitness goals and that itty bitty monokini that I can get my body into, but don't feel 100% confident in just yet...so I decided to create a blog-hop for other mama's out there to share their goals, progress and motivate one another!

Welcome to....

<a href=" http://www.theszems.blogspot.com/"><img src=" http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c91/zippinviolet/workout.jpg " /></a>

A place to talk about inspiration, motivation...successes and failures...to own up to your goals and face them head on.

Each week, I'll kick it off by talking about my previous weeks workouts, whether I achieved a goal or not and how I'm feeling about things. I'm going to hold myself accountable, and hopefully in doing so, will motivate some other mamas.

To sum up last week, my.arms.hurt!

Sundays workout was my first in 5 months. Eek! Did I overdo it? Absolutely but it felt amazing.

• 5 min warm up on the treadmill
• 2 sets of: 10 bicep curls (10lbs), 30 plank crawls, 20 seated rows (30lbs), 10 weighted squats (15lbs.)
  
• 2 sets of: 10 bicep curls (10lbs), 30 plank crawls, 20 dual pulley rows (37.5lbs), 10 weighted squats (15lbs.)
• 15 mins cardio on the elliptical at 5.3mph

Monday, ever though I was sore from the muscle activation, was

• 5 min warm up on the treadmill
• 4 sets of: 15 lateral pulldowns (75lbs), 10 weighed lunges (per leg, 10lbs each hand), 15 sunups (situps on a 1/2 balance ball), 10 bicep curls (10lbs.)
• 15 mins cardio on the elliptical at 6.1mph

I'll be honest, I was so sore and tired from those two workouts that I didn't make it to the gym on Tuesday (we were also house hunting that evening and meeting with our real estate agent).

I got in two workouts, and made sure to eat three times a day, so I will call last week a success! I've noticed in just a few days that some of my clothes are fitting...smoother. So..I know that the hard work pays off, and will continue to trudge through!

Link up your Workin' It post and let's motivate eachother!

Book Review: UNMarketing by Scott Stratten

I finished another book on Friday night, so thought that I should get caught up in my book reviews.

Will I reach my 25 in 2011 goal? Probably not, but I'm still going to try!



C recommended that I read this book, given that I'm a twitt-a-holic (he calls me, and wrote book for our anniversary {even had it printed!}, Little Miss Twitter).

So...I gave it a read. While I was reading, I found myself saying YES! out loud, and even tweeting to Scott abotu how much sense he makes.

The book is really fantastic, and it's a great guide about how to properly use social media when you are representing a brand. It speaks about being authentic, not transparent, and engaging with people rather than being an auto-bot.

So true, and many of the strategies I have implemented with Sweet Stella's in my social media strategy.

There is one passage that really irked me. It's about stay-at-home-moms, rather the work-at-home-mom and how it should/could/is seen as a not-so-positive thing because who knows what you're really spending your time on. How much time if going to your paying client and how much to your child?

While I get the logic, I think it rude. Between the hours of 10am-3pm, my client is my beautiful son. 3pm-5pm, whoever wants to pay me to make party decor, stationery, masks and ornaments..I'm all yours! 5pm-7:20pm...my beautiful boy takes precedence over that. I wouldn't expect any other WAHM to be different...family first, and that's part of the reason why we decide to be a working-at-home-mama.

All in all, it's a great book...you just have to look past that one chapter, which for me was a difficult thing to do. Scott is a brilliant social media strategist and makes alot of sense with his claims...he just missed the mark about moms, and just how powerful we can be!

A Rockin' Giveaway at the Mommyhood Chronicles

There is a seriously awesome giveaway going on over at The Mommyhood Chronicles

rockstar wear for your kiddo by RowdySproutRockerTees!

They have everything from Beatles (woot!) rompers and shrits, to Bruce Springsteen, The Who, Pink Floyd and Aerosmith.



amazing! And not just for little boys either!



Go enter!

Weighing In

Sunday marked a fun day...the first day back at the gym since the end of May. (May 27th to be exact! Thank goodness for that training journal I keep!)

Yes, you read that right...I didn't go to the gym ALL SUMMER.

and why? Well, we were freaking busy with 5 weddings (including GodMomma's that I was in and did the cake for), Owen's birthday, Grandma Maria visiting, and...y'know...life.

I'm happy to say that I maintained my weight since my last session with fitness guru personal trainer Liz! I cannot beleive that I did it, what with all of the fast meals, no meals, ice cream, birthday cakes and festivities over the past few months!

But I did!! I sit currently, and freaking proudly, as 154lbs.

When I got pregnant with Mr. O, I was 205lbs. That's a whole hell of a lot of weight to lose, and keep off, so I'm proud and not ashamed at all to reveal those numbers.

It dawned on me the other night that Christmas is coming, which means Florida...pools...boats...beaches...



This is the bathing suit that C bought for me at the beginning of the summer (July really). I want to be able to wear it with confidence, and right now...eh...I'm not quite there yet.

I love that it covers the middle of my tummy, and my stretch marks, but the bottoms are itty bitty...like...whoa! There's my booty!

So...I'm on a mission to shed 10-15lbs. by Christmas.

My plan?

Sunday afternoon - gym and hitting the circut HARD!
Monday evening - gym, primarily cardio
Tuesday evening - gym, hittin' it hard, and focusing on toning

I know that I can do it because I have seen what the hard work will do, and I know that I am capable of doing it if I set my mind to it.

Food wise...ugh. I'm not good with food, either remembering to eat at particular times, or eating the right things, so I'm not going to focus on food. I'm going to try and make good choices, but I'm not going to beat myself up if I make some poor ones.

To take it a step further...I'm going to hold myself accountable for those Sunday, Monday and Tuesday gym sessions by blogging about them and recapping my workouts, how I felt and how I feel the progress is coming.

How do you whip your booty into shape?

Steppin' Out 11/5

What a busy day on Saturday! I had my first Christmas Craft Sale and had spent all of last week freaking out about what to wear and how to present myself.

Jeans: Old Navy
Top: Old Navy
Camisole: Suzy Shier

Rosette Broach: Rumour Has It
Necklace: Dad's with Tiffany & Co. pendant

I went for cute and girly...just my style. I didn't want to get allllll christmasey, but I wanted to look pulled together and semi-professional since it's my baby, my business that I'm representing!



New Mardi Gras masks, christmas favour pouches and pinwheels



Pretty journals, amazing masks, stationery and party kits!

It was a heck of a day, and definitely an awesome learning and growing experience for me!

Book Review: sTORItelling by Tori Spelling

I know...I know...

You're probably thinking what is a smart girl like Shan doing reading a trashy book like that!?

Well...all I can say is don't judge a book by its cover, including me ;)



I was never a 90210 fan growing up, never really watched it or followed it. I didn't get involved with the show or the Donna and David saga, or Luke Wilson's character...what was his name? Dylan?

But...I while I was pregnant, late in the evening, I would certainly tune into SLICE and catch an episode of Inn Love with Tori and Dean. If you want to watch a cray cute couple who so genuinely love each other...Inn Love was the ticket (then came Home Sweet Hollywood and STORIbook Weddings...which I adore!)

So...it was only natural that this made it under the tree for me last year at Christmas. It was a super quick read, and I definitely learned things about Ms. Tori that I didn't know. Not shocking {gasp} type things, but things about her family dynamic that definitely made mine seem less dysfunctional.

If you want a quick, light hearted read, I definitely recommend this one...and I bet any money that your fingers, like mine, will be crossed that Santa puts Mommywood under the tree for you this year!

Gunapod

As the weather is changing up in the frosty North, I've been looking into other options for Owen for bedtime.

The poor little guy wakes up with cold feet (18+month sleepers with feet are hard to find in these parts!) and cold hands.

Along came the Gunapod...and thankfully, Baby Shmizz is having a giveaway for it!



What's awesome about it...is that we can use it for the stroller and zip it right up to keep him warm when we take him to the Santa Claus parade!

Hoping to win one, but why don't you enter too!