Say NO to the Holidays' Side Effect!!!

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It's coming...it's approaching...there's no denying...

And you know the drill well.

Christmas shopping lists.

Holiday decorations.

Ornaments.

Teacher gifts.

Class parties.

Stocking stuffers.

Christmas parties.

Holiday meals.

Cookie exchanges.

Christmas cards.

Wrapping.

Flights. 

Travel.

Turkeys.

New Year's Eve parties.

As you DO ALL THIS PLANNING for the holidays...do you also plan on gaining weight?!?!

Probably not. That's not a real fun side effect of all that work!

But, be honest, did you end up doing so last year?

Where will you be in early January 2013? Standing in front of a mirror pledging that THIS TIME you'll make a change...only to find yourself later snacking again when you didn't want to?

I want to offer you something to COUNTER ACT THAT SYNDROME!!

Last year, I put out a challenge to join with me in a challenge where we daily encourage one another to live a life of health and balance. See last year's post here.

I lost twenty pounds since I wrote that post!

REALLY!!!

Another friend in our group lost 91 pounds. Yes, that's for real!

Another lost 10, another 20, another 25 and yet another 70.

We are the serious ones. We have supported one another ALL YEAR LONG. And it has made ALL the difference!!

Yes, this has been our year!! :)

I'm going to open up another group to people who would like to END THEIR TREND of holiday weight gain!

Would you like to kick the extra squish on your tummy/hips in the butt this year?

Would you be willing to join me and a small group of others in a Facebook accountability group?

Would you be willing to post a little something about how your day went each evening?

Would you be willing to say YES to daily exercise through the cold winter months when what is natural is to snuggle down and eat sweets? (You can STILL do this in a controlled way...just AFTER your workout is in! ;))

If this sounds like something you want to do...then drop me a comment here or friend me on Facebook and send me a private message. (You'll find my Facebook badge on the sidebar down near the bottom of this blog.)

We will use Beachbody products as I am a true believer in them and have had nothing but fabulous flying success using them! (And the variety is AWESOME!) Hop on over to my Beachbody page and click "shop" to look through the many different programs available.

Let's enjoy the holidays without the side effect!!!

Refusing

Last week I had the privilege of taking my eldest two daughter to a concert. Josh Wilson opened and he gripped my heart when he sang this song:

Sometimes I

I just want to close my eyes

And act like everyone's alright

When I know they're not

This world needs God

But it's easier to stand and watch

I could say a prayer and just move on

Like nothing's wrong

But I refuse

'Cause I don't want to live like I don't care

I don't want to say another empty prayer

Oh, I refuse

To sit around and wait for someone else

To do what God has called me to do myself

Oh, I could choose

Not to move but I refuse

I can hear the least of these

Crying out so desperately

And I know we are the hands and feet

Of You, oh God

So, if You say move

It's time for me to follow through

And do what I was made to do

Show them who You are

I hope you delight in this song and are moved at the core of your being! The adventure awaits you...

The Love Strand Challenge

I have an idea. You've probably see on Flickr, Facebook or somewhere on someone's blog where people step up to a personal challenge of taking one picture every day of an entire year. They will have captions like 1/365 for January 1st and then continue on through the year. The super amazing people make it to post picture number 365/365 on December 31st. I have thought I'd like to do that, but when the idea flits across my little brain, it's mid-year some point.  I think, "Well, I'll remember in January and start the year off right." Yep, you guessed it, today is January 30th. I missed again.

I got to thinking, "Why not just do it for a month?" AH HA!!! And what month is next??? FEBRUARY!! The shortest month of the year! Hey! Now I just might be able to follow through on 28 days of picture taking and posting! The more the idea rolled around in my head, the more like a snowball it became, picking up other ideas too. I'll keep a theme: love. Everything I photograph will be about love. Either something I love, something that speaks love or is a symbol of love. I will let the creative muse for the day simply take over and inspire me each day.

And then my idea expanded. What about getting other people to participate too? It's one thing to look at my pictures of love for a month, but what if a whole crew of us were doing it? What if we could all link to each other's blogs so we could see what each other is posting? What if I could find a way to post on my blog like Missy did on her blog of practical ideas (see her post here) so that we could easily check in on other's posts? (You have to understand I'm a baby in the blogger world, only doing this since last month. There's TONS I have no idea how to do!!) UPDATE: I figured it out!! Add your name and url in the box below and your name will appear in this post with a live link to the site you name! COOL! :)

So here's my challenge: Take a picture each day of February. Keep the theme of love. Post one picture each day with the caption 1/28, 2/28, and so forth. Add a caption or text if you like. Word happy people like me will be challenged to let the picture stand alone. Some poets may like to express themselves with prose or rhymey lines. You do not need any special photography skills, only to be motivated by your heart. (Everyone's will look different and that'll be the charm of it!) Link back to my blog (you can grab the button down the side if you like) or click "follow" so we stay connected.  Until I figure out how to have you place your own link to your site from mine, post a comment down below with a link to your blog, Facebook, Flickr or wherever you're planning on posting your love strand. Then spread the word.

Let's have some fun. :)