Lindsay Maddox {the blog}

I've Moved! NEW BLOG! {Designer Wife}

2009-12-31T02:20:00.000-08:00

Hi Dolls!

Hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas! I've been working away on the new blog that I told you about in my last two posts (click here to read the reasons for moving to my new blog home). Well, I'm happy to say that I'm launching right on time. I still have some decorating and designing and adding things to do, but for the most part, it's up and running. Needless to say, this will be the last post here on Lindsanity. Hope that all of you will join me over at my new place: Designer Wife {www.designerwife.com}

Come over and see the new place and let me know what you think! I'll be posting a fantastic give a way next week for my official blog-grand-opening thing (any excuse for celebration, that's me!), so be sure to watch for that!

Happy New Year!

Are you READY?!? :)

2009-11-22T18:18:00.000-08:00

Sorry for being away so long, but I'm super excited with the progress I'm making on the new blog design! Incase you missed the announcement, you can read all the details in my post Redesigning & Redefining. The new blog will be amazing - I'm thrilled with it so far! I'm building it, once again, from scratch and moving to a new server with a brand new domain. Launch date is January 1st - so PLEASE check back here to see the new changes and bookmark the new page :) Feel free to sign up for my newsletter over in the sidebar and I'll send you a quick reminder as soon as I relaunch!

Get ready for TONS more content and a few really awesome give-a-ways!!! Also, I'll be announcing my new blog design service! GET READY! :) Talk to you all SOON!

Trick or Treat!

2009-10-31T19:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry for such a horrible quality pic! Taken on a friends phone and sent to me. I was a White Russian and hubs was a bartender {get it?... white russian... bartender.. ha}. Obviously, thrown together for a last minute Halloween party... we didn't even have costumes 2 hours before the event LOL

Hope that everyone had a safe evening and enjoyed themselves! Don't over indulge on all that candy ;)

Redesigning and Redefining!

2009-10-30T06:20:00.000-07:00

Good morning dolls!

I'm really excited that it's Friday - hubby and I have a fun weekend planned and I'm really looking forward to just hanging out and de-stressing a bit :)

Before the relaxing, I have a huge to-do list to tackle. Lots that needs to get done today. Aaaand, I'm only adding more to it because I have a TON of changes I want to make around here {{excitement!}}

So, i've been thinking about my blog a lot lately. I know the topics of discussion are rather random and not always necessarily "fitness" related.

I've been reading about blogging and such, and it seems that all the "pros" suggest that the secret to a successful blog is picking something you're passionate about. When you're passionate about what you blog about, the readers see that passion and blah blah blah.

So, I picked fitness. I love fitness. Working out, eating clean, finding great healthy recipes and such really makes me weak in the knees. OK, but here is the problem.... I have a lot of passions. Or maybe I'm ADHD. Either way, when I sit down with my beloved MacBook {ah ha, yet another passion! i <3 Apple} and start to blog away, thoughts just come out... whatever is on my mind at the moment.

OK, so we've got fitness and Apple products, what else am I passionate about? How long do we have here? Let's see... things that make me tick:

design {pretty much in any capacity... graphic, web, interior, etc}
fashion
techy/geeky gadget stuff. i love gadgets.
DIY vintage chic crafty home decorating stuff
entertaining {wine and cheese party at my place next week, btw}
animals. my furkids are my life.
shopping
artsy things
photography
scrapbooking {digital and paper}
girly stuff

Basically, when I go back and review that list it all comes down to one point... I like pretty things. So, I'm going against all the "rules" of blogging and redefining my little space here. Yes, health and fitness will still be a main topic, because it's a huge part of my life. I just want this to be more... me, in a whole sense... not just 1/10th me because I only blog about 1/10th of the things that really make up who I am. As far as the "pro blogger" big wigs rules and guidline blahness, I suppose technically we could say that "pretty things" are my niche topic. And there - back to one topic! Ta-da!

So, expect to see a ton more fabulous content in the future as well as a redesign of the blog - i'm overdue for some fall decorating {{squeeeeel! yippee!}} Who knows, I might completely re-brand and change the name while I'm at it. We'll see.

Having said all that, I'm looking forward to digging in to designing the new blog look this weekend. We all know what I'll be doing - what are your plans this weekend?? Halloween parties??

Flluuuuu. iiiiiiiicccckkk.

2009-10-28T23:49:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posting the past couple of days. I'm sick. I mean, like I'm living off of Nyquil Cold & Flu and Ginger Ale kind of sick.

ACCHOOOO. :(

Hopefully tonight it wont make me so sloshed that I dream that I'm getting Botox injected in to my forehead or that my cat is really Elvis in hiding.

I'll be back in a day or two.

Home is love.

2009-10-25T01:29:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, the hubs and I traveled in to visit my parents for the weekend. I love coming home and spending a few days here. It's home. I feel comfortable here, loved here, happy here.... it's where I feel I most belong. It's the place where my life started, the place that shaped me in to "me".

Sooo Good Saturday!

2009-10-24T00:26:00.000-07:00

Good morning, dolls!

I'm so excited about this weekend because I'm actually in visiting my parents. We come in to visit pretty often, but I've had such an awesome week filled with good news that it's great to be surrounded by family to share the happiness with.

One of the things I really look forward to when we come in to visit is that my dad always cooks up a huge breakfast and we enjoy good food and company out on the back deck. This is what makes my Saturday sooooo good!

What's your favorite thing that you look forward to on Saturdays? Leave a comment and let me know :)

Make it a great day!

Friday Fill-Ins!

2009-10-23T02:46:00.000-07:00

{words in bold are my fill-ins}

1. The crickets sing, and it puts me to sleep like a sweet lullaby.

2. Be thankful wherever you are.

3. I want to get far away from the desire to drink a ton of coffee everyday.

4. I'm Cinderella and my entire castle is clean; this was a dream.

5. But as for me and my prince charming, we're living our happily ever after.

6. Home is still the place that I come from

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to traveling home to visit my parents, tomorrow my plans include cleaning up the house and finishing laundry before hitting the rode and Sunday, I want to spend quality time with the fam!

Wednesdays for Wyatt

2009-10-21T19:46:00.000-07:00

You know, there are some pretty amazing people in this world. It warms my heart when complete strangers can come together to help a family make a difference.

Teresa over at Too Many Heartbeats left a comment asking me to check out Wednesdays for Wyatt and I'm so glad I did! Take a read at the story below...

The following post was taken from Danielle's Blog,

LETTING GO AND LETTING GOD

"For those of you who are not familiar with my family and what we are trying to achieve, here’s a brief run down...
Our son Wyatt was diagnosed with a fatal condition at our 18 week ultrasound, but chose to carry him to term. We waited to meet our son with love, all the time praying we would get to see him alive.
On June 1, 2009, Wyatt made his way into the world by c-section. To our amazement he had a faint heartbeat and was breathing! He died two minutes later, but I’ve clung to the two minutes my son and I breathed the same air since his passing.
Upon calling to get a copy of Wyatt’s birth certificate, I found out he was listed as a stillborn. You would assume it was a mistake (like I did), but there was no mistake. According to the definition of live birth in Tennessee my son was not “alive enough” to be deemed a live born baby. His two minutes of life has gone unrecognized by my state, and I intend to change this piece of legislation so I can solidify the validity of my son’s short life.
Wednesdays for Wyatt was created to help spread awareness for a law that needs to be changed, as well as to generate more traffic to my petition. So if you’re reading this, thanks for taking the time to help our family!
We are currently up to 1,253 signatures. Hurray! We’ve made it over my initial goal of 1,000 signatures, and now I’m dreaming big! You think you can help me get 5,000 signatures by Thanksgiving? I bet you could, and I hope this Wednesdays for Wyatt helps out tremendously. Post this to your blogs, facebook, myspace... wherever you can think of. I can’t wait to see how many more signatures we receive from this. I have a great feeling!
The contest will only be open today. You have until 11:59 pm to post this on your blog and come back here to link up with MckLinky in order to qualify for this Wednesdays For Wyatt giveaway. Good luck everybody and thanks for participating."

NPC Mid Atlantic Carolina Classic!

2009-10-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

Whew! I've been BUSY! I'm working on several blog posts that will be up this week, but I just wanted to do a quick recap of the NPC show in Uptown Charlotte this past weekend.

First, the show was a huge success with a great turn out. Savage girls completely rocked the stage! Our own Gretchen won the Bikini class and looked amazing - check out the video that I filmed of her right after winning :)

More pics and vids of the show will be posted tomorrow!

Sleeeep

2009-10-14T00:48:00.001-07:00

I am an insomniac. And a lazy one at that. Yes friends, it's nearly 4am and I'm blogging...from my iPhone. Like my MacBook isn't 3 feet away or anything.

In going to go fold laundry. Woo!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I didn't even prepare a speech!

2009-10-11T23:16:00.000-07:00

WOOOOHOOO! I received my very first blog award this weekend and couldn't be more thrilled :) Sometimes, when you're blogging, you often wonder if your thoughts are just being blabbered off in to cyber space. Being acknowledged and knowing that my random yammering made sense to someone else... and better yet, that they liked it.... really makes my little day.

The amazing Kelly over at Giving What I Am thought that my blog was worthy of the Lovely Blog Award. Be sure to stop by Kelly's blog and check her out too - her posts are uplifting, positively optimistic and just down right fabulous! Thanks Kelly!! :)

So, the rules of the "One Lovely Blog Award" are:

Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

It's so difficult for me to narrow it down to just 15, but here we go! These are my Lovely Blogs:

Hot Piece of Sass - quite possibly one of the funniest blogs I've ever read!!!

Clash & Contradiction a lovely blog and a great sense of humor.

A Mile in These Shoes - an NPC Fitness competitor with some great blog posts!

A Chocolate Lover's Confessions - blogs about some really cute wedding stuff!

Muscle & the City - it's clever, about fitness, and has lots of pics and posts. Love it!

Everything in Moderation - an amazing blog about keeping everything in a happy, healthy balance. I agree with soooo much of this and she just posts some amazing stuff!

One Fit Foodie - healthy AND delicious? Yes, Please!

Trasy Rincan - motivation & optimism is what she's all about. Inspiring energy!!

Strictly Simple Style - lovely home decorating & style - simply :)

The Balance Beam - just an amazing blog with great, entertaining stories. Love reading this!

The Chic Life - so chic, so fabulous. :)

Jenny.Lee - I'm loving her "Pumpkin Monday" posts!

A Blob Blog - a truly inspirational weight loss blog!

The Wandering Thoughts of KiKi - fit, funny, and absolutely fabulous!

Hope everyone enjoys these wonderful blogs - I certainly do :)

Wickedly Delicious

2009-10-09T23:38:00.000-07:00

Hi dolls!

So, as you can see over in my sidebar, one of my goals for October is to try out some new proteins. I'm no stranger to cottage cheese, but it's not something I eat all that often. Well, while I was in the dairy section of The Fresh Market to pick up some yummy Fage Greek Yogurt, I stumbled upon something new.

I'm a sucker for pretty packaging, and something in a sleek black cup with a pop of color caught my eye. Cottage cheese?? Oh, but not just *any* cottage cheese - it's Rachel's Wickedly Delicious Cottage Cheese. Cute package, fun name.... I'm buyin' it!

Turns out - there are several different mixes. I've only seen just plain ole' boring cottage cheese before, but Rachel's comes in several holy-cow-im-drooling-over-cottage-cheese flavors; Cucumber dill, Sun dried tomato pesto, Roasted red pepper, Pear Magosteen, Pomegranate orange cranberry, and Lemon verbena berry. Um... YUM!

I decided to start out with the cucumber dill and the roasted red pepper. Both were truly amazing. And it's nothing fancy... it's as simple as a cucumber and dill chopped up with cottage cheese on top. You just mix and enjoy. Next time I grab some, I'm going to try it as a side to some grilled salmon - that would just be delish! The roasted red pepper was super yummy as well!

To beat it all, cottage cheese is packed full of protein. This makes a wickedly delicious, healthy little snack :) Here are the macros....

Check out their yummy website to find out where you can buy some near you!

PS - just wondering.... my hubby gets totally grossed out by cottage cheese. What are your thoughts? Love it or leave it? Leave me a comment & let me know! :)

Congrats Jim & Pam!

2009-10-08T23:12:00.000-07:00

This is totally not fitness related in any aspect, but it's a huge part of my life - so of course it's going to spew over into Lindsanity land.

It's no secret that I'm a HUGE fan of The Office. I've watched it since the beginning and have anxiously awaited this day. OK, i know most people watch it for the humor and tomfoolery that goes on amongst the co workers but I, however, have faithfully watched because I'm a hopeless romantic. Some might think I'm a tad crazy... I mean, The Office isn't exactly a romantic comedy. But you see, I wear my rose tinted glasses pretty much everywhere.... especially when watching TV.

Perhaps it's because back when I met hubby, we worked together and I was engaged, er, kind of. Ring on finger, no planning taking place.... much like Pam Beesly. So, perhaps it makes me a bit reminiscent. Either way, I love love. And, I like to see people in love.... even when it's just fictional characters. Makes my heart melt :)

OK, but here's the bummer. Now what do I have to look forward to?!? I mean, I tuned in religiously just to see them shyly flirt with one another and pretend as if nothing was between them. Now they're married... honeymoons over. Bleh.

Oh that's right! Pam is expecting a baby!! But this does nothing for me except t make my baby fever even worse. We'll save that for another post though ;)

One Year.

2009-10-04T20:47:00.000-07:00

One year ago today, I married my best friend.

Eating the top of our wedding cake.

BEST. CHEAT MEAL. EVER. :)

It was a little smooshed, but hey, it made it a year in the freezer :)

Linds

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Phew!

2009-09-30T21:25:00.000-07:00

Wow - so I've been crazy busy lately! It's very unlike me to go 2 weeks without posting to my blog!

Just wanted to stop by and say "hi". My parents are traveling in tomorrow and will be here for a couple of days, then Hubby and I are celebrating our 1 YEAAAAR anniversary on Sunday. I can't believe we've been married a year already! WOOOHOOO! :)

So, next week I'll be working on catching up on here. LOTS of news and things to share :) Hope everyone is enjoying the fall season so far!

Mind Blowing!

2009-09-15T12:10:00.000-07:00

This post doesn't even need words.

National Yoga Month!

2009-09-10T19:20:00.000-07:00

Hey dolls!

So, I've always wanted to be more involved in yoga & I was recently inspired to finally act on this when Cel sent out an email to all of the Savage girls encouraging us to try it if we weren't already in a class. I started researching facilities in my area and just yoga in general. To my delight, I found out that September is actually National Yoga Month and more than 750 gyms will be offering a free week of yoga classes. How awesome is that?? While you're on their website, be sure to check out the health benefits of yoga and the "new to yoga" section for lots of great info on getting started. There's also a list of yoga events going on throughout the nation.

So, if you've been interested in giving yoga a try, this is really the best month to jump in! Go over to YogaMonth.org to see events and classes in your area. I'll be sure to follow up to this after my first class!

Namaste.

Five To Stay Alive

2009-09-09T19:01:00.000-07:00

It's the rare child who actually wants to eat fruits and vegetables. Kids are bombarded by television and radio ads for cereals, candy, and chips that contain huge amounts of sugar and large quantities of saturated fat. The sugar craving begins in childhood - kids quickly develop a taste for sweets. To a child's sugar-sensitized palette, the complex sugars contained in fruits and vegetables are a poor substitute.

We carry these habits into adulthood and our long-term health suffers as a result. Twenty-four hours is not enough time in the day for most of us, and many consistently choose fast foods as a means of satisfying our need for food and a method for limiting the amount of precious time we spend on meal preparation.

But fast foods are not really food in the sense that the nutrition they provide is minimal. Fast foods are essentially empty calories.

In the 1950s and 1960s a well-known health-related slogan was "an apple a day makes the doctor away". This advice represented ancient folk wisdom. Today, decades of research has shown that apples - and all fruits and vegetables - have remarkable health-promoting and disease-fighting properties.

Most fruits and vegetables are packed with magical biochemicals called phytochemicals - "phyto" means plant. Phytochemicals give fruits and vegetables their color, so the more colorful a food, the more phytochemicals it contains.

Ongoing research studies show that phytochemicals - of which there are thousands of varieties - provide protection against the development of many chronic diseases, including cancer, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and arthritis.1,2

Many phytochemicals are antioxidants and neutralize free radicals in human cells. Others have anti-inflammatory properties - these help slow the aging process.

Fruits and vegetables are so important for our health and well-being that many national organizations have promoted the "five to stay alive rule" - the recommendation is to eat at least five portions of fruits and vegetables each day.3

Portions could include any of these - an apple, an orange, a banana, a cup of grapes, a cup of blueberries, a yam, a couple of carrots, a couple of tomatoes, and a couple of tablespoons of broccoli.

For many of us, "five to stay alive" would be a radical departure from our old habits. It might take a little effort to develop new shopping and eating habits, but once you're in the groove it's likely you'll be feeling so much better you'll wonder why you didn't start this healthy-eating plan sooner.

Cited:
1 de Kok TM, et al: Mechanisms of combined action of different chemopreventive dietary compounds: a review. Eur J Nutr 47(Suppl 2):59-59, 2008
2 Ware WR: Nutrition and the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer: Association of Cytochrome P450 CYP1B1 With the Role of Fruit and Fruit Extracts. Integr Cancer Ther December 2008
3 Liu RH: Potential synergy of phytochemicals in cancer prevention: mechanism of action. J Nutr 134(Suppl 12):3479S-3485S, 2004

3-day weekend!

2009-09-04T18:18:00.000-07:00

Hi loves!

Hubby and I are headed out first thing in the morning to spend the weekend at my parents. I love this time of year :) Hubby and my dad have a football watching date at noon, mom is baking and fixing all kinds of food, Hubs is playing golf with his dad on Sunday - I just really enjoy all of the family time that 3 day weekends allow :)

Hope everyone enjoys the time off. I'll be back on Tuesday :) Happy Labor Day!!

Making things easy :)

2009-09-03T12:44:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you all, but I follow A LOT of blogs! I just really enjoy reading what others have to say. My favorite blogs are ones about health & fitness (of course!), crafty/decorating fabulous things, medical blogs, and my beloved design and graphics blogs :) These all make me happy. What doesn't make me happy, however, is when I come across a completely awesome blog that I want to follow - and then I can never find it again in all of my bookmarks. So, a while back I started using FeedBurner by Google. Basically, all the new posts (feeds) show up in one central spot! It's awesome - I get to read all of blogs, quickly, and without missing anything!! If you're following a lot of blogs, or are getting in to blogs - check it out:

feedburner.google.com

OK, now what's even BETTER than that?!?! Go ahead - GUESS! OK, ok - i'll tell you :) I've set up my own feedburner so that you can receive new posts from my blog once a day in your inbox! All you have to do is click one of the "get updates" or "in the know" links I've put in either sidebar....

.... andenter your email - that's it! I'll immediatly send you a link that you'll need to click on just to verify I got the right address. The service is through google - and I SWEAR the only thing you'll get are my posts from this blog. Easy Peasy!

I usually do one or two posts a day, but this way you'll get all new posts in ONE cute email between 3pm-5pm daily :) I know, I'm such a complete geek - but stuff like this just makes me happy! Yay! :)

What's for Dinner?

2009-09-02T23:30:00.000-07:00

Holy cow! I got so excited about the "Bear Naked" post before this one that I COMPLETELY forgot to post what I had for dinner! Not sure how I could have forgot... seeing as how it was simply delish.

grilled turkey breast, boiled white potatoes, sauteed squash & zucchini

Sorry the presentation isn't all that pretty - just kind of threw it on the plate because I felt that I was just going to starve to death. I avoided that tragedy - phew!

Truly, it hit the spot. I've got to stop looking at it though.... again, it makes me hungry.

OK, that's all for tonight. Just wanted to blog that while I was thinking about it - completely forgot about it earlier! :)

Have a pleasant evening!

Get Bear Naked!

2009-09-02T18:42:00.000-07:00

Hey dolls!!!

Noooo, it's not THAT kind of blog! I'm talking about Bear Naked brand granola and cereals. Check out this link - they're giving away free samples! YUM!

I absolutely LOVE granola - and I like this brand because of their philosophy and commitment to clean food. Here's what I mean:

100% Pure & Natural Peak Granola
Made with REAL whole grains
Soft-baked texture
All-Natural, Bearly Processed and Utterly Naked Ingredients... that you can actually pronounce!
NO Artificial Flavors, NO Cholesterol, NO Hydrogenated Oils, NO High Fructose Corn Syrup, NO Preservatives, Og Trans Fat
Vegetarian friendly
Kosher certified

Things like that make me happy :)

One of my favorites from their line is the Peak Protein granola...

It's very yummy and filling when I'm craving something like this. Here are the macros:

Unfortunately, they're not offering this particular formula in their free samples - but they have some other yummy options! I love this stuff - thought I'd share it you :) Let me know what you think of it!! :)

Happy September!

2009-09-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

Hey dolls!

I'm so thrilled - September is FINALLY here! Know what that means? Summer is winding down and crisp, cool autumn mornings are right around the corner! Fall is by far my favorite season. The gorgeous foliage, comfy sweaters, the smell of pumpkin pie in my Mom's kitchen. Aaahhhh. Lovely thoughts :)

What this also means is that the fall competitions are very near... and it's time to really get my butt in gear! I received my new weight training & cardio info from Cathy today. These plans that she comes up with are just amazing, I love changing things up each month! We also have a lot of supplemental options to add to our training if we have the extra energy. I definitely want to add as much as I can to get the most benefit! I'm super excited to try out this new program - it's definitely more of a challenge than last month :) I'm ready for it!

Today was grocery shopping day. Which was a good things, because we were down to pretty much nothing! The seafood counter had in some fresh caught wild Alaskan salmon that looked AMAZING. Salmon is one of my favorite foods... I really could eat it everyday.

wild alaskan salmon, white asparagus, white potatoes

Seriously YUMMY. Ugh, I'm getting hungry again just looking at it! Tomorrow's dinner plans are roast turkey breast. I'll say it again, YUUUUM! I love food too much, haha.

OK, enough about food now. I have a notebook beside me and I'm working on narrowing down my specific goals for this month. I do so much better when I actually have specifics down in plain text. I have tons of things I want to accomplish, but I'm trying to be realistic in what can be achieved in a one month period. As soon as I have this finalized, it will be posted over there ---------> in the top of my sidebar.

So, talk to me. What are your goals for this month?? Better yet, what tips and tricks do you have to ensure that you will successful achieve your goals? Personally, I'm thinking of setting up a reward system. I mean, I know achieving the goal is a reward in itself - but I need an added incentive. I'm thinking I should do one small reward for each set goal, and then a bigger reward if I accomplish everything. Perhaps a new lip gloss or eye shadow from MAC for each small goal, and something like a new pair of shoes or a hot stone massage for completing all goals. Hmm.. I'll have to go hammer out the details on this and get it in writing.

Hope everyone had an amazing start to the month!! :)

Whats up with that Header?

2009-08-31T23:18:00.000-07:00

Hi loves!

OK, so I lied. I didn't get around to making a post today. Well, then again... technically this is a post... so it counts, but it's not fitness related... so it doesn't. Oh well.

I actually had a really busy day today. You see, my lovely husband and I relocated out of state back around the first of June. He was offered a job that was pretty much his dream job- so we literally packed up our lives and made a huge move all in a matter of exactly two weeks. When this opportunity came up, we were kind of in the middle of working on our house... so it wasn't exactly in the prettiest shape to be listed on the market. So, once we moved we hired a contractor to come in and finish the remodel, which took 3 weeks. Finally, we listed it for sale just under a month ago.

In the mean time, we've been renting an apartment down here... which is pure hell for me. Not that I haven't rented my share of apartments before, but it's just that after owning your own home for 2 years, it's difficult to get in to the "renter" mode again. But, it was necessary, seeing as how we couldn't possibly sell our house and buy a new one down here in only 2 weeks. Thus, my busy schedule lately. We're currently in negotiations on selling our condo and, at the same time, putting in some serious time neighborhood hunting. Moving to a new city and state is more difficult than I imagined. You know where nothing is, so it's hard to know where you want to live. It's really important to me (both of us) that we find the PERFECT neighborhood for us, because kids are definitely in the future. So schools and safe area are top priorities.

Wow, I got waaay off track. Anyway, we found a couple of areas that we really like and have been spending a lot of time looking at houses and spent pretty much all day driving through a few more neighborhoods. We didn't get back in until late evening, so I didn't get my post in that I wanted to. Obviously I probably could have now, seeing as how much I've babbled on about why I DIDN'T post today. Ugh, i'm odd.

What I DID do this evening was finish out the redesign of this blog. Yes, my friends, I'm finally pretty much finished. I still have a few things that I want to add here and there, but it's only minor tweaks that I'll finish up over the next two days. What you're looking at is the result of code that I wrote from complete scratch. Indeed, I'm that big of a geek. But, I like to make things pretty... it's what I do.

So, what's up with my newly designer header image?? It's random, but after all, the title of my blog is "lindsanity", so I wanted it to be a little crazy. Basically, the egg is in there... well, you fitness gals will know why. I mean, it's an egg... I eat tons of them. The chocolate skull & cross bones is in there because.... well, you fitness gals can figure that one out too. Sugar is the devil. But I love it. I stay away from it as much as possible, but I still loves it <3

Ooooh, ladies. I'm tired. Seriously. Super excited for tomorrow because it's SEPTEMBER! I new month means a new SOS plan! WOOT! :) I'm working on my goals for this month and will get them on here tomorrow. Oh, and how about that new SOS check-in format?? I'm loving it! CSF is just awesome :)

Hope everyone enjoyed their Monday and continues to have a simply amazing week!

Sleeeeepy!

2009-08-30T21:30:00.000-07:00

Hey dolls!

Sorry for being MIA over the weekend! We traveled to my parents for my dad's birthday and I tried as much as possible to make it a "no technology" trip. Don't get me wrong, I still took the beloved macbook along... I mean, what if there were a design emergency and I had to save the day?!? Oh, and of course I check my email religiously on my phone... but that doesn't count! ;)

Anyway, we just made it in a little bit ago. Hubby is already passed out and I'm on my way there as well. I'll follow up with a post tomorrow - I have lots of updates! WOO! :)

Hope everyone had an amazing weekend!!!

Truth.

2009-08-27T20:51:00.000-07:00

"Fitness - if it came in a bottle,

everybody would have a great body." ~Cher

Let's get physical!

2009-08-26T22:17:00.001-07:00

I laughed entirely too long and to hard when I watched this. Don't worry, no one was actually injured.

101 things in 1001 days!

2009-08-25T21:59:00.000-07:00

A huge part of health and fitness is setting goals. Even if all of your goals aren't directly health & fitness related, just checking them off gives one a sense of accomplishment and thus a healthier, happier attitude. It's a win/win ;)

The Mission
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria
Tasks must be specific with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic.

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Want to try? Make your own 101 in 1001. If you have a blog, be sure to leave me a link to it in the comments below! :)

Items in italics are in progress, items slashed through are complete!

READY? GO!

101. Visit Italy
100. Swim with sharks.
99. Go deep sea fishing (and throw back what I catch)
98. Visit Loch Ness
97. Go on a safari
96. Keep a plant alive for at least a year
95. Drive across country... just because
94. Go Skydiving
93. Clean out the attic & have a yard sale
92. Have a Christmas party
91. Bake cookies and deliver them to my friends homes.
90. Run a marathon.
89. Walk the Breast Cancer 3-day (60 miles!!)
87. Volunteer at the animal shelter
86. Spend an entire day at a museum
85. Have lunch with my grandparents
84. Attend a Cleveland Indians game
83. Attend a Carolina panthers game
82. Eat a cheeseburger in paradise
81. Go on a south Caribbean cruise
80. Learn to cook one of hubby's favorite dishes
79. Start working out in the morning instead of the evening
78. ~~Clean out all of my textbooks and sell them on Amazon~~
77. Read one self-help/motivational book a month for 6 months (1/6)
76. Make a shopping list before going to the grocery store
75. Get a facial
74. ~~Get my broken tooth fixed~~
73. Make a new friend
72. Blog at least once a day.
71. Smile at strangers
70. Clean out the spare bedroom.
69. Buy new running shoes.
68. Take a bubble bath.
67. Try 4 new foods (0/4)
66. Call an old friend to catch up.
65. Have one completely lazy day of doing NOTHING
64. Go on a second honeymoon
63. Wake up at 5:00am every weekday for 1 month (excluding weekends)
62. Go to bed before 10 pm for 1 month (excluding weekends)
61. Go sleigh riding.
60. Sell something on eBay.
59. Go on a weekend road trip.
58. Attend a concert.
57, Win the lottery.
56,. Play hookie from work.
55. Go to a Parade
54. Start a family holiday tradition for my husband and I.
53. Make a family tree.
52. Cut my hair off.
51. Splurge on the new Jimmy Choo slingbacks
50. Volunteer at a soup kitchen during the holidays.
49. Donate Blood
48. Go for a physical
47. Visit a vineyard
46. Fold and put away laundry every day.
45. Take my parents to dinner
44. Sign up for a yoga class
43. Buy new glasses
42. Buy my dream car
41. Forgive and forget.
40. Give up diet mt. dew
39. Learn to love another carb other than potatoes.
38. Clean out my desk
37. Subscribe to a "home" magazine like Southern Living
36. Go hiking
35. Donate dog and cat food & beds to the animal shelter
34. Go kayaking on the lake.
33. Get my new drivers license
32. Pay my school parking ticket
31 Visit a ranch out west
30. Vacation in Antigua
29. Revisit Jamaica
28. Develop a better "housewife" schedule/routine
27. Learn to make hummus.
26. Pray EVERY night
25. Buy a new washer & dryer
24 Go to a Broadway play in NYC
23. Rent jet skies
22. Go camping
21. Have a cup of coffee while watching a sunrise
20. Join an adults sports league
19. Make a honeymoon scrapbook
18. Make a wedding planning scrapbook
17. Go to a chili cook off
16. Host a cocktail party
15. Join a book club
14. Submit an article to a magazine/newspaper
13. Go ice skating
12. Go golfing with hubby
11. Attend the Kentucky Derby
10. Finish my Masters
9.   Become an NSCA certified personal trainer
8.   Go to a fair
7.   Dead lift my weight in weights

6. Leave a 100% tip to a deserving server
4. Get my CSCS certification from NSCA
3. Send a care package to a solider in Iraq
2. Drive to Canada, enter, then turn around and come home.
1. On Day 1001, publish a new 101 Things in 1001 Days list that includes anything I haven't finished!

Intense.

2009-08-25T20:10:00.001-07:00

"Successful people create their own opportunities by focusing on goals with an intensity that borders on obsession"

Cheat meals!

2009-08-24T18:33:00.001-07:00

So, my appetite was really lacking last week and I just wasn't feeling food much at all. The cure seemed to be a cheat meal. Now, I usually don't go all out on my cheat meals - but this time I did. Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo with mushrooms! YUM-O!

It was delicious! It's funny, though, how much your tastes do change. As much as I enjoyed it, I was satisfied with about 1/10th of what was on the plate. I mean that was a REALLY big serving of food to begin with, but I didn't eat nearly as much as I thought that I would.

I did take the leftovers home and thought I might have just a little bit later on. Hubby, being the sweetheart that he is, took the entire box with him to lunch so that I wouldn't be tempted the next day :) I love when he does stuff like that... it helps keep me on track!

I really can't think of a better cheat meal than this. Well, my mom does make a pretty wicked chicken casserole... she's an amazing cook. I definitely schedule my cheat meals to take place on days when we go home to visit them, lol.

So, let's talk food. What's your favorite cheat meal?? Leave me a comment :)

The Abundance Diet

2009-08-23T18:29:00.000-07:00

I came across this article earlier and really agreed with everything about it. I know most of you gals that follow my blog already know the following info, but for anyone who might stumble by that is interested in changing to a healthy lifestyle, this info on nutrition is very helpful! Enjoy!

The Abundance Diet

posted by Tony Horton (creator of P90X)

Missy Costello prepares food for me every week. She is the reason why I'm healthier than ever. She makes it, I eat it. Whole fresh foods prepared right in my kitchen. This gal knows her stuff. This is a piece she wrote for her blog and I'm passing it along to you.

Enjoy the Knowledge!

If you are a living, breathing human being, then chances are you’ve been on a diet once, twice or maybe multiple times in your life. The word diet, as described in Webster’s dictionary means; “fare; what is eaten or drunk habitually”. If you think about it, this means any food that we eat on a daily basis. So, according to Webster, we are on a diet every day of our life, just by eating habitually. Unfortunately in today’s times, the word diet has been described as a way to lose weight. It almost has a negative connotation to it. When most people hear the word diet, they think “lack, or deprivation”, which is usually true. But

Human beings are as different from one another as any snowflake that falls from the sky. There are no two of us alike, anywhere in the world. We all have our own distinct genetic make up, we differ in the way our body burns calories, absorbs nutrients and so on. Most of these diets are based on some sort of deprivation and are very unbalanced. The abundance diet is just the opposite.

If you want to lose excess pounds, maintain a healthy and fit body weight, burn calories, feel good inside and out and keep away disease and illness, then you will need to adapt a whole foods eating lifestyle. Or as I like to call it, the Abundance Diet! A whole food eating lifestyle is a way of eating where you do not deprive yourself. This way of eating allows you to have an abundance of whole foods; veggies, leafy greens, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, lean proteins and healthy fats. You can eat as much as you want, as long as you are eating a whole foods diet, without gaining weight. You will actually even drop weight.

Of course, as with any change in your eating habits, you will want to take baby steps, so that you do not set yourself up for failure. Below are some simple steps you can take to help change your eating habits for lasting results.

1. Adapt the 80/20 Rule: Eat a whole foods healthy diet 80% of the time and allow yourself to splurge the other 20% of the time. This allows the mind to believe that it is not deprived. Sounds pretty abundant to me!

2. Upgrade one food per week: switch out white rice for brown rice, white flour for whole grain flour, white sugar for natural sweeteners such as honey or brown rice syrup.

3. Cut out one processed food/drink per week: give up your twinkies, this week, and see how you feel. Cut out your diet soda…just for a week. YOU CAN decide after one week if you want to continue to drink this over processed, chemical ridden beverage or if you want to be committed to your health. (for more on the effects of artificial sweeteners visit http://www.newliving.com/issues/jan_07/articles/sweeteners.html)

4. Add one new whole food per week: if you’ve never had kale before, give it a try. Eat something you’ve never thought of eating. Having trouble knowing how to prepare it? Just email me missy@karmachow.com or go online for tasty recipes at www.wholefoodsmarket.com

5. Have a piece of fruit and a handful of nuts for a snack instead of those greasy, salty chips. The fiber in fruit, and the protein & fat in the nuts will help to keep you feeling full longer and will regulate your blood sugar.

6. Drink plenty of water: forego that afternoon soda and have water instead. . Drinking plenty of water keeps our appetite at bay and our body well hydrated. Sometimes we may mistake thirst for hunger. Drink an 8-oz glass of water and see how you feel after 15 minutes.

7. Cut back on caffeine: if you drink coffee, try cutting back by drinking half decaf with half regular. Or switch to heart healthy green tea! But remember, for every cup of caffeine you drink, you will need to drink extra water to hydrate!

These are just a few ideas for ways you can begin to eat healthy and abundantly. Once you start to make changes and adapt this healthy whole foods lifestyle, your cravings will subside and your body will no longer want the junk food. This will result in a natural weight loss, clearer skin, better digestion, less mood swings and so on. The list of benefits is endless.

Remember, allow yourself that 20% cushion so that you wont’ binge. Reward yourself with a treat after dinner, or an afternoon snack. Also be mindful that the healthier you eat, the healthier you will be, feel & look. We all know that old adage, “you are what you eat”. So adopt this as your new Mantra because it is the biggest truth that has ever been told!!!”

For a complete list of whole foods in the Abundance “Diet’, contact Missy at missy@karmachow.com or visit her web site at www.karmachow.com.

Redesign!

2009-08-22T23:24:00.000-07:00

Hey all!

Sorry for the lack of posting - last week was a bit hectic! I spent some time unwinding this evening by sipping on a chai tea latte and goofing around with photoshop (i'm such a geek)... which turned in to a redesign of my blog.

I'll be back to regularly scheduled posting tomorrow. I have lots to blog about :)

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend - and I hope all the Chi-town ladies enjoyed CAMP SAVAGE!!! Hope to see some pics!! :)

Country Roads, take me home...

2009-08-14T12:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday!! :)

Just wanted to make a quick post for the day as I probably won't get around to it this weekend. Hubby should be home in about two hours and as soon as he gets here we're packing up the SUV and headed to visit my parents!! IM SO EXCITED! I get homesick like crazy being down here with no family, so I always really look forward to weekends in the mountains.

Right now I'm getting ready to send in my weekly Savage Girl Check-In to Cathy. I feel like I made some pretty good progress this week, despite my lady-issues-cramping-out-of-my-mind set-back. The world, in fact, did not end. I was pretty sure for a minute that it was. Phew.

I did really well with nutrition this week. As you can see from my mobile post below, my new favorite snack is rice cake topped with almond butter and banana. It's ridiculously yummy and really hits the spot when you're having a sweets craving. :)

OK ladies - I'm off to finish up folding the last of the laundry and get my things packed. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!!

Yummy snack!

2009-08-13T19:54:00.000-07:00

Rice cake, almond butter and sliced banana. YUM!

Lindsay
Sent from my iPhone

Throw today in the Fail pile.

2009-08-11T23:26:00.000-07:00

***** Non Motivational Post Alert ******

Summary of my Tuesday:

7am Woke Up. Kind of.
7:02am Ate a bottle and a half of midol.
9am Attempted cardio.
9:03am Collapsed.
9:12am - consumed another bottle of midol & one piece of organic dark chocolate.
9:14am - 5:34pm Rolled around on the couch with the comfy pillow until hubby got home.
5:36pm-present Whined, bitched, moaned.

Tomorrow will be better. Pinky swear.

Test post from the cell!

2009-08-11T22:21:00.000-07:00

Testing out posting from my cell via email :)
Lindsay
Sent from my iPhone

Marvelous Monday :)

2009-08-10T18:18:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

Today marks the beginning of week 2 of my Savage Show Prep program. I woke up around 7am feeling more than a little under the weather, so I crawled back under the covers for several more hours. I finally talked myself in to getting out of bed, had some breakfast, stretched, and started lifting. My shoulders are on FIRE right now - I love feeling that burn :)

I headed to The Fresh Market after dinner to pick up a few things. I absolutely LOVE natural peanut butter, and they have one of the machines where you can grind the peanuts yourself so that your PB is super fresh. I've never tried freshly ground almond butter, but they offer that too, so I got about half a pound of that instead of the kind in a jar.

Oooooh, just got an email from Cathy that has some optional training enhancements to my program. Awesome :) I'm seriously determined to bust my butt to get in shape for Fitness America weekend in Vegas. 14 WEEKS! WOO! :)

OK, I have to handoff the laptop to the hubby so he can do a little work before he calls it a night. In the meantime, I'll be working on doing some specific goal setting. I'm going to set short term bi-weekly goals as well as my 12 week goals. More about that in the next post :) Also, I'll be writing about "Paying it Forward" and my mission to become a better person by giving back.

Hope everyone enjoyed this marvelous Monday. Make it a great week!

It all started with my first Halloween...

2009-08-08T22:33:00.000-07:00

I'll be the first to admit it, i LOVE chocolate. Nothing is more heavenly than licking a bowl of brownie batter. Don't even worry about baking them... just hand me a spoon and a glass of milk!

I've never been one to eat "unhealthy" foods. I gag at the site of the Golden Arches and all the greasy fast food gunk that awaits on every corner. I don't care for anything fried, or deep fried and smothered in goop. I actually hate pizza (it's a wonder my husband actually married me after learning that fact). I've always stuck to grilled chicken, turkey breast, white fish, etc. I adopted the "eat organic" philosophy before it became so much of a "trend". I drink water often, stay away from artificial sweeteners, etc. SO WHY IS MY BUTT STILL JIGGLY?

Oh yea... the chocolate. And that pop tart. Ohhh, and maybe those brownies......... with a hershey bar melted on top. The entire pan. :\

I didn't realize how bad it was until I caught a glimpse of my backside in the mirror after I just stepped out of the shower. THAT'S NOT ME! I'm not Fffff ffffff. I cant even say it. Either way, I'm f'd. I've had enough of this. It's like I turned 25 and my metabolism walked out on me for someone younger. So, I'm thinking that I have two choices. I could sit here on the couch and continue to grow out of my clothes.... or I could get up and do something about it.

Mid July 2009 | I've decided that not only am I going to DO something about this... not only am I going to lose the weight and gain some muscle back... I'm going to become a figure competitor. I've been fascinated with the sport for YEARS. Right now, it seems like such a lofty and unattainable goal - but I know I can get there. With some help, of course.

Aug 1 2009 | I'm officially a Savage Girl. :) I signed up for SOS Show Prep with Cathy Savage Fitness and couldn't be more thrilled. My goal for my body transformation is towards the end of Novemeber. I would like to compete in Vegas Nov 20, but will see what my progress is in a few weeks. Either way, I'm going to Vegas whether I go on stage or not - so I still want to be in amazing shape.

This blog is a way for me to document my changes, feelings, triumphs, failures and everything else that happens in life. I'll use it to reflect back on and to evaluate myself, all while sharing it with you. I don't have a certain format of what will be posted. Mostly fitness related stuff, but my random everyday life ramblings will sneak in here as well. I'll post progress pics frequently.

Due to my program with Cathy Savage, I won't be disclosing any details on my nutrition and training, but talking more in general about how it's all going :)

Feel free to follow along or subscribe to get daily updates! If you have a fitness blog, leave me a comment so I can follow you as well!

Pics and stats coming in tomorrows post! :)