Heart Choices: 2013-01-27 -->

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Weigh-In Wednesday ~ My New Normal


My  new normal.  I read this phrase recently on a blog and liked it (thanks Shari).  That's how I want to look at healthy living.  It's not going on a diet to lose some weight.  It's being healthy.  It's having the energy to do the things that are important to me.  I certainly don't want to waste a lot of time, energy and money on doctor visits or medications.

I want to be healthy.  The habits I adopt will become my new normal.

I have to laugh when I accompany our Pre-K 3 class to PE.  They have so much energy!  They start out doing warm up exercises.  A child is chosen and they decide what exercises they want the group to perform.  For example, they might say arm circles (a favorite of mine) and throw out a number of repetitions.  Or they might say mountain climbers, twelve (not my favorite).  I have to laugh when they do jumping jacks.  They haven't quite gotten the hang of them. It does take coordination to use your arms and jump opening and closing your legs all at the same time after all.  I try to do many of the exercises along with the children too.

But back to Weigh-In Wednesday.  I love this group of women who encourage one other to live a healthy lifestyle.  The support and love offered is something that all of us can use, especially when working towards a very important goal.

This week we were presented with another challenge.  We're already doing at least two planks each day.  If you need a refresher on this, click here.  I'm getting pretty good at them but I have to set my kitchen timer for one minute.  I hold the position until the timer goes off.  The first one isn't too bad but the second one is harder to hold. I'm hoping it gets easier.  We've also been drinking 48 ounces of water a day.


Weekly Challenge #2 =
2 reps of 8 sets of Triceps dips (or more) + at least 64 oz. of Water EVERYDAY!



OK, I was having a hard time getting my 48 ounces of water per day and now I have to increase it to 64 ounces?  I have to admit that this is hard for me.  I've not been consistent yet but I'm working on it. No more Diet Coke for me.  Every ounce of liquid is water.

As far as the tricep dips, I'm actually enjoying them.  I used to do them on a regular basis and I loved the results; definition in my arms.  I'd gotten away from doing them on a regular basis but this challenge got me back to this habit.

I'm still hopping on my treadmill as soon as I get home from work. I do this 5 days a week.  My weight has been stable after losing four pounds.  I had a birthday celebration with a few extras to eat but I was happy I didn't gain any weight back.

Now for some exciting news!  

I was honored to be approached by a lovely representative from Ogilvy Public Relations on behalf of the Heart, Lung and Blood Institute The Heart Truth®.  American Heart Month is February 1-28.  I was asked to participate in a few of their exciting activities in February.

Heart Choices was selected for several reasons:

  • I often write about heart health 
  • I believe in the importance of making wise and healthy lifestyle choices 
  • I worked as a cardiovascular nurse specialist for 25 years
What they didn't know is that I've personally experienced heart disease!  I was born with a congenital heart defect and had open heart surgery at the age of seven.  I also have a strong family  history of heart disease.

So I am on The Heart Truth® Pinterest Board under "Stories from the Heart".  I was so excited to submit my photo wearing red (of course) along with my statement on how I keep heart healthy.  I encourage you to click on the photo of me below so you can link to Pinterest.  I would appreciate it if you would 'like' and/or 'repin' it so others will become aware of this very important month for women's heart health.



I'm linking up with Kim of At Home with Kim for Weigh-In Wednesday.

        

Blessings and love,

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Birthday Blessings


I celebrated my birthday on Friday.  I have to admit I wasn't looking forward to this one.  After all, I turned 60 years old.  I can hardly believe it!  But I got to celebrate my birthday with many little children and co-workers.  So it turned out to be a fun birthday after all.

I was greeted with this poster from the other Pre-K 3 class next to ours.  And then I came into our classroom only to be greeted by many of our students with hugs and shouts of happy birthday.

It was so special to receive so many beautiful cards from each of the children.  There were many flowers, plants and chocolate candy; oh my!

I'm so thankful to Heidi for orchestrating all of these festivities.  She made a crown for me to wear as the children sang happy birthday. In the teacher's lounge I discovered trays of fresh vegetables and fruit.  After all, Heidi knew I've been trying to lose weight.  I appreciated that.



Are these munchkins cute or what?  They are holding up the groundhogs they colored earlier in the day. They were predicting whether Phil would see his shadow or not.

I had fun celebrating with good friends at a local restaurant here in Phoenix called Hillstone Restaurant.

Check out the live fish they have displayed at the entrance to the restaurant.  I have to admit that I ate very well.  Between the sushi as appetizers, the veggie burger and then ...we all split a hot fudge sundae.  I have to exercise twice as hard today to make up for that.  But then again, how often do you turn 60 right?

#662 Getting to celebrate my birthday with a classroom of children
#663 The joy of friendship
#664 Homemade cards are the best
#665 An amazing friend and co-worker Heidi
#666 Teachers who love what they do
#667 Good friends who know how to celebrate
#668 Hearing songs of happy birthday on the phone from my dad, siblings and aunt and uncle
#669 My friend Theresa who knows how much I love Le Grande Orange and their roasted corn pizza
#670 My husband who helped me cart all my goodies into our condo
#671 My husband who wanted to hear every detail of my day
#672 So many wonderful Facebook greetings
#673 My new friends in our Weigh-In Wednesday Facebook group who are so encouraging and helpful
#674 My Facebook Morning Moments friends where we get to share what we learned in our daily quiet time

I'm linking up with Ann of A Holy Experience for Multitudes on Mondays as we count our every day blessings.

 

Blessings and love,

QuickEdit

I Would Love to Win a Trip to Norway



Norway is an amazing place!  It also happens to be where all of my relatives are from.  Both of my parent's families are Norwegian. There is a beautiful family farm in Sumstad, Norway which is north of Trondheim.  My paternal grandfather was born and raised here.

Norway will be celebrating "Munch 2013" throughout this year.  It is the 150th birthday of Edvard Munch, a late 19th and early 20th century artist.  You may be familiar with his best known painting titled "Scream".

Visit Norway has launched a campaign to commemorate this event. They want to generate lots of buzz about this funny video "How to Scream like a Norwegian".  It's a short video but very funny, so enjoy.



I would love to win a trip to Norway.  They will be awarding one blogger who generates the most buzz (screams) two round trip tickets to Oslo, Noway.  I want to win this trip for Greg and me!

So how can you help me?  I'm glad you asked.

  • Add a comment letting me know if you liked the video
  • Link to YouTube where you can also like this video
  • You can also like the video on my Facebook profile
Norway is a beautiful place to visit.  The scenery is fabulous.  I've visited once back in the early 1980's so I'm ready to go back.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Blessings and love,

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NATIONAL WEAR RED DAY® IS FEBRUARY 1, 2013


Together we are powerful. Let's unite and get to the heart of good health.

Did you know that heart disease is the #1 killer of women?  Too often it's thought of as a men's disease.  But women suffer from its effects too.  I worked as a cardiovascular nurse specialist for 25 years so I witnessed this first hand.

The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute is sponsoring The Heart Truth, a national awareness campaign for women about heart disease.  They have established the first Friday of February as National Wear Red Day.

This year it falls on February 1st ...which just so happens to be my birthday!  

And did I mention that red is my favorite color?

The following comes from The Heart Truth:

Ten Commandments for a Healthy Heart

  1. Know your risk factors for heart disease.
  2. Talk to your doctor about reducing your risk of heart disease.
  3. Have your blood pressure checked regularly.
  4. Know your cholesterol numbers (total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides)
  5. Have your blood sugar level checked for diabetes.
  6. Do not smoke cigarettes.
  7. Eat for your heart health.
  8. Get regular physical activity. (at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity daily or most days of the week)
  9. Aim for a healthy weight.
  10. Know the signs and symptoms of a heart attack and the importance of seeking help immediately.

I was born with a congenital heart defect and had open heart surgery when I was seven years old.  Although I am now healthy, I still have the scar down my chest as a reminder.  I will share more personal stories with you throughout the month of February.

So wear red on February 1st.  And get out and do some exercise.  Here's to good heart health!

Blessings and love,

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