H2H Challenge: A Banner Day

The Heart 2 Heart Challenge this week to was to use Banners in our designs. 

I chose to incorporate some into the wedding card I was making :) 

I really like the way the card turned out. White and black together are iconic for wedding cards in my opinion... plus a little splash of red - the colour of love!

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H2H Challenge: Take 5!

 Time for another challenge! I'm really starting to get into these. I always have cards to make, but the challenges from the Heart 2 Heart challenge blog are giving me a fresh starting point each time!

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H2H Challenge: Florals

The Heart to Heart Challenge this week was to incorporate flowers into your design. 

Adds a nice spring flare, don't you think?

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H2H Cricut Challenge

This challenge this week on the Heart2Heart Challenge blog was to make something using my wonderful cricut!

Since I use my cricut all the time anyway, this one wasn't really a challenge :) 

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Heart 2 Heart Challenge: Sketch Challenge

I just found out about these Close to My Heart (CTMH) challenges on the Heart to Heart Challenge blog, and when I saw that they had a sketch challenge this week, I thought it would be fun to enter again!

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Running Update

I can actually say for the first time in my life that I went for a run outside and enjoyed it. I don't know if it was the actual act of running I enjoyed, or the triumph of having a minor success in my personal challenge, but that doesn't matter. Either way I felt great!

A few weeks ago I had taken a hiatus from running. I was sick for a while, and I got busy with all of my house-hunting. So running (not exactly a high priority) took a backseat. Turns out that in running terms, two weeks without training can be a long time. The longest I had ever ran before without stopping was just over 4K (that doesn't seem like much, but it was a huge success for me!). When I started again post-break, I could only do about 2K without wanting to die. Now, don't get me wrong, 2K is still a triumph for me, considering I use to want to give up after 30 seconds, but it was disappointing.

Well, realizing that gave me the motivation I needed to continue training. I run at a very slow pace, but I'm making progress and I'm proud of that. I ran on a track at the fitness centre and realized that I enjoyed that more than my go-to treadmill, and that I could still run the same distance. That got me thinking that maybe I would enjoy outdoor running, so I tried it and I did! About 2.5K at a very slow rate, but I did it!

Unfortunately, that was in Edmonton, and it's still a little snowy/icy for me to feel comfortable running outside in GP, but it's getting warmer outside. Let's hope this motivation stays with me!

Goal reminder: Be able to run 5K (with my best friend in Ontario in May!)

Ouch

Fitness challenge here I come!!!

So GP has this new amazing facility called the multiplex, with all kinds of courts, tracks, fitness areas, etc., and a huge aquatics centre. It's such a great place for a growing town like GP. In order to draw different types of people in they'll be hosting different events throughout the year. One such event is the "move it and lose it" bootcamp that they're hosting.

In my effort in be more fit I figured that this would be a good opportunity. It goes for the next 8 weeks and will be very fun I think. The kickoff event was a 2 1/2 hour seminar given by the famous Paul Plakas. He's the host of the show X-Weighted (if you ever saw it), and he's actually from Edmonton. It was very interesting! Lots of information I already knew, and some new tips too. One thing he said, and I totally agree with is that you should only ever shop the perimeter of the grocery store - fruits, veggies, fresh whole-grain breads, deli meat (not processed), and dairy. Everything in the middle is junk. As I've been struggling to maintain a healthier diet, I find this to be more and more true.

Another tip: If you do everything you would normally do in a day, but add climbing 3 flights of stairs to your regular routine, you will lose 6-10 pounds in a year, without even noticing (all other things kept the same)

Also, if you remove a bit of cream from your coffee (or one equivalent fat item like salad dressing) and keep everything else the same, you will also lose 6-10 pounds in a year.

Crazy little stats. He provided lots in interesting information though, and I really enjoyed the seminar. Next came the first of the many bootcamps. I was surprised because I expected a lot of cardio work in the first bootcamp (i.e. running, jumping, ++movement) but instead he focused on muscle training and work. We did a lot of individual exercises that on their own, weren't too bad, but one after another ended up defeating me!

It was great to practice new exercises, but now, two days later my quads are still sore! Seriously, I really have to get in shape! I think the next sessions will be more cardio based, but this was a good enough workout for me right now!

Paul Plakas doing some teaching. No big deal.

Here's a pic of a couple of friends of mine that are doing the bootcamp too, with Paul Plakas! Sidenote: we had a little conversation about the Grouse Grind cause I was wearing the t-shirt!

Each week also comes with a fitness challenge. The challenge for this week was to do three exercises throughout the week, time yourself, and see if there was an improvement. The exercises are:

1) 20 reps of reverse lunges

2) 20 reps of shuffling 15 feet, touching the ground, shuffling the other way touching the ground and repeating, and

3) 20 reps of going down (chest and stomach on the floor) and getting back up

I would have done them today, but my legs are still too sore for lunges, so we'll try tomorrow! I'll try to let you know my progress. Wish me luck!