Warrior Dash, Half Marathon, Hip Hop Hustle, and Turbo Kick.. oh, and I’m 30

This summer, this year actually, has been full of pivotal changes for me.

To touch on a few reasons why:

I participated in Warrior Dash, survived injury free, have the shirt to prove it:

My Half Marathon is this coming Sunday – I’m excited & nervous. I've been training for months, I know I'm ready, but I also know that once I hit 8 miles of running it starts to suck. I'm hoping that the adrenaline of race day, friends, and random people cheering me on will keep me going. That, and shot blocks!

I’ve signed up for Hip Hop Hustle & Tubo Kick Instructor Training this coming January:

I'm looking into Zumba Instructor Training as well, but can't decide if I should wait until after Turbo & Hip Hop, or do it all at the same time? This is my current ongoing debate with myself.

I turned 30 in September, and it was everything I thought it could be. I am blissfully happy to say goodbye to my twenties and enter into my thirties with anticipation, new life goals, and a better attitude!

This month I will officially be 2 years into being a Passion Parties Independent Consultant, and I’ve done 100+ parties. I'm excited for another year in such a FUN business!

Life is busy, but a good busy. I haven't stamped a thing in MONTHS, and I miss it. But, I do need my sleep, and physical training takes up a lot of my time right now.

Find me on facebook!

Peace & Blessings!

Happy Anniversary to Me!

July 1, 2000 - I married the love of my life.

10 years later, and we still behave like newly weds.

Just a few pictures to remember...

Turbo Fire

I am jumping out of my skin with excitement over this workout....

It's coming soon....





TURBO FIRE SITE


Peace & Blessings!

Fitness Fanatic

The past 90 days of my life have been filled with exercise, nutrition, research, and a huge attitude shift.

My focus has been all about training.
Weights, running, food timing, nutrient profiles... the list goes on.


I have completed the workout program, Chalean Extreme.




My results speak for themselves....

Body Measurements:
17.5 lbs lost (25 lbs overall)
15.5" lost (6" off my waist! HO RA!)

Fit Test:
Day 1 Squats: 40
Day 90 Squats: 100

There were more exercises, all of which I doubled my reps, but the squats I am most proud of.



I am planning on starting P90X next.



I must admit, I'm intimidated by the schedule with this program. Also, with my running training - I may have to adapt the schedule to work. I'm not sure I can follow P90X to the letter, AND train for running. (I do have a day job, and Passion Parties!)



This year's 5K training rounds out with a Father's Day 5K.
I realize I "should" be jumping up and down at my progress - Just looking at my normal training workouts, I have shaved 3 minutes per mile off my time. That's HUGE!

But, I am SO FOCUSED on my time this year.
Last year's Father's Day 5K was about staying in the jogging cadence the entire time. No walking. I wasn't focused on time. And I did it - I never walked.

This year, I really need to shave an additional minute per mile to make my time goal for this Father's Day. I am positive though. With my continued weight loss, and hard training - and positive attitude - it is possible.



And just to round things out, I have decided to do the Warrior Dash to celebrate my 30th birthday in September.




Who am I? When did this happen?


Peace & Blessings!

Shakeology

I have tried, and tried, and tried protein shakes.

I love the theory behind them, yet for YEARS, never found a protein shake that fit the bill for what I was looking for:
ZERO artificial sweeteners.
Tastes A-MA-ZING
Solid Nutrition that goes way beyond the normal shake.


Have you heard of Shakeology?

Videos will do more justice than I could with the science behind it:


Nutrition Simplified


Shakeology vs Juice or Coffee


The Healthiest Shake Around The World



As for me, and my experience:
Tastes A-MA-ZING!
My sweet cravings have diminished (not totally gone, but a SIGNIFICANT decrease)
I FEEL better.

It really does taste AMAZING.
I even, accidentally, made Shakeology ice cream once, and now do it on purpose.
I like my shakes to be ICE cold, so I blend with 6 or 7 ice cubes.
One night, my mother called just as I was finishing blending a shake. I threw it in the freezer to keep it cold while I was talking to her.
Got off the phone - got my shake - and WHOA! It was the consistency of ice cream, and I'm being honest - JUST AS GOOD!

SA-WEEEEEET!

1 Scoop Chocolate Shakeology
4 oz milk (or almond milk)
8 oz water
6 or 7 ice cubes
1 tablespoon peanut butter
and blend until the ice is totally disintegrated and the shake is THICK.
Freeze for 20 min, and you have ICE CREAM! mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm



You can order through my website SHAKEOLOGY

Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year

I feel like I'm living in the last episode of Grey's Anatomy....
Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years - all in 1 hour.

Let's see...
Family visited for Thanksgiving
Working full time
Parties - 2 to 3 a week
Hubby
Friends
Cats
House
Food
Making Christmas gifts, thank you cards, & tags
We traveled to Maine for whirlwind Christmas
And now a snow storm MAY be coming our way for New Years.

Phew!


I realize that my last few posts have been my pining over the fact that I barely blog any more. And I know I keep thinking I will. I do think I'm transitioning into the joys of a 140 character Twitter updates, that automatically updates my facebook status more than blogging... for a while now.

Social Media - FIND ME:
www.facebook.com/AlisonMewerCowan
www.twitter.com/AlisonMC


That's all for now. Find me on facebook.... I love to connect!

Peace & Blessings!

Sewing? Really?

I have finished Christmas gifts.

Everything is made, wrapped, tagged, and sitting pretty in a plastic tote waiting for December.

On one hand, it feels AMAZING to be done so early.

On the other hand, I have been obsessively creating in my studio for the past 2+ months, and now I'm out of projects that NEED to be done.

What to do.... what to do....?

LAVENDER EYE PILLOWS!

I know, crazy right?
I don't think I've pulling my sewing machine out for 3 years, and I did last night.

I'm in the process of whipping up some yummy lavender eye pillows to have on hand for future gift giving. I found some fun fabric, so last night I washed, pressed and cut it to size. I think I sewed half of my panels (all 24 that I cut). I received my filler today, so this weekend I will fill a few and snap some photos.

I subscribe to the thought - you can NEVER have too many gifts on hand. You just never know when you'll need a quick gift for someone, or a hostess gift.

I'd love to hear from you:
What is the most memorable hostess gift you've ever received?
What is the most memorable funny gift you've ever received?
Why?

I'm looking for more ideas of fun things to whip up and have on hand.



Happy Halloween!

Oh My Neglected Blog!

Dear Blog,

It has been since the end of July since we last met.

It’s true, I AM seeing someone else.

No, no… it’s not you, it’s ME.

I have missed you.

I like to you use as a of journal of my life.

I promise, (maybe), to be better at showing you some love.

~ Alison

Isn’t it interesting how life changes?

How interests shift?

How pet projects are set aside?

So much has happened since we last met. Here are a few highlights:

In August, my stamping / art studio underwent a MAJOR overhaul. Adam and I switched rooms in the basement. I was ready to tunnel under the pool from my old room, and Adam's puzzles don't take up as much space as my art supplies do.

The shocking thing about the move - my old space is LESS THAN HALF the size of my new space - and everything in my new room - was in my old room. I had stuff just squirreled away!

The fun part about showing off my new room is walking people to my old room, having them get a feel for the size of the room, then unveiling the new room and say "and all of THIS was in that other room". No one ever believes me!

Drumroll please......

Before:

After:

After:

Before:

After:

After:

After:

Before:

After:

This last picture is actually my Passion Parties Area. I love it here because it's put away, and I have it organized in one area (Thank you Michele!). Also, I can have people over to play in my art studio, and nothing, ahem... that buzzes, is laying around.....So unassuming... ;-)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new space. It’s BEA-U-TI-FUL! The first week I had it, I would just sit down there, basking in the glory of all that is organization!

I must thank Michele and her family for all of their wonderful help. Without them, I would not / could not have pulled it off!

So, why no blog updates of my beautiful creations.... I’m working on Christmas gifts, so, I cannot post pictures of what I have been creating. I'm already about 50% done with Christmas gifts, and I've also already WRAPPED what is done. I'm way ahead of the game this year.

I've got to be on top of things with working full time, and doing Passion Parties. Time is my new currency, and that demands a higher level of efficiency and organization.

As an Independent Passion Parties consultant – I am rocking the business! It is fulfilling, fun, profitable, and an absolute PASSION of mine! I fill my time with working my business, and my results show it.

That's all for now.

Hopefully I will update this pet project of mine a little more often.

For me. So in a year, or two, or three, I can read through posts and smile and say "oh yeah, I remember when that happened".

Peace & Blessings!

Happy Birthday James

My God Son, James, turned 15 today! Adam and I couldn't be more proud of the intelligent, witty, responsible, fun loving, hilarious, respectful young man he has grown into.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES!!!!!!!


PS - I CASEd the card off SplitCoastStampers.com.

Excitement!

Haven’t been stamping lately…. Not that you could tell by my silence on this blog with stamping posts.

This will all change, soon!

My stamping studio / art studio is a bit of a disaster. I find I can clean & organize it, only to find that after 1 session of making a few cards – it’s trashed again. Almost like when I go into my creative mind, my organizational mind goes completely dormant. Putting anything away just zaps my creative mojo. So, when I’m done with a tool, I set it aside. And then the paper, I set it aside. Oh, and embellishments – set those aside as well.

And what happens is my clear work space suddenly becomes a pile of tools, paper, and embellishments. ACK!

I have been meaning to empty my studio closet out, go through supplies, and clean out for a while. I’ve also got a vision in my head of ripping out the shelf that is there now, and installing custom shelving to serve my needs. Finally, a vision of an art studio where everything has a station and a place, so when it comes time to clean up, I know where everything goes instantly, and I could clean up in 10 minutes or less.

Frankly though, that kind of organizational skill isn’t a strong point in my being.

However, it IS for my best friend, Michele! She’s AMAZING at looking at a space, learning about what the needs are for a space, and setting it up to be functional and BEAUTIFUL at the same time.

AND………

She is coming for a visit this summer.

AND…….

She has asked if she can help me with this project!


I have no words for the level of relief, excitement, and anticipation I have for the two of us digging into that studio and creating an organized, functional, beautiful space.

Thrill Chills Abound!

Running Barefoot

One of the reasons for not updating my blog as often as I used to, is I have had a dramatic lifestyle change – particularly over the past 3 to 4 months. A major change… I am now a runner.

I am reading Born To Run by Christopher McDougall. This book is a fun, easy, reality shattering read. I won’t go into a summary here – check it out on Amazon.

A major reality shattering concept he discusses at length in the book is the idea of running barefoot. That we, society, have been conditioned by corporate entities that we NEED to wear thick soled shoes with pronation support, arch support, etc etc etc in order to protect our feet from anything we try and do throughout the day. When in actuality, runners that go barefoot or wear shoes such as the Vibram Five Fingers have less injury, run faster, feel better, have better arch support and stronger feet.

The research I’ve done on barefoot running online, and viewing a video of a woman running barefoot in slow motion and running with running shoes on in slow motion – I can SEE the difference in body mechanics and foot strike. It’s really quite amazing to me. Barefoot running makes sense, intellectually at least (and I’m speaking as a licensed massage therapist).To see the video:

I have yet to try it though. This has been my obsession over the past two days. Research. Research. More Research.

I must admit, I am VERY nervous about hitting my road barefoot for my run tomorrow. What about glass? What about the *stuff* that could injure my feet? I really want a pair of the Vibram Five Fingers, BUT I have webbed toes. These shoes don’t work for webbed toes. That is a MAJOR bummer. There are other companies out there making shoes with no support, that are basically for barefoot running – but give the foot protection from road debris. However, no one sells them locally, and I really want to try them on first!

(Who would have ever thought I would be researching specific running foot protection that will allow the sensation of being barefoot, which would in turn change my body mechanics & foot strike while running…. Ok, not me!)

I think the most compelling argument I’ve heard so far is that when you put a cast on your leg, your leg with atrophy by 50% in a 6 week time period.

So why are we putting our feet in shoes which immobilize our feet and the natural flexion & extension feet were designed for?

Also, the graphic below I scraped from Barefoot Runner:

Time will tell when I find shoes that’ll work for me. Time will tell how my body responds to this new way of running.

If you are as fascinated as I am, some resources to do your own research:

Barefoot Runner

Barefoot Ted

Running Barefoot

Peace & Blessings!

5K!!!!

Whew!

Today I completed my 1st 5K!

And I RAN THE WHOLE WAY!

YAY WOO!!!!!