New (Half) Year Resolutions!

Do you know what Friday is?  It is July 1, 2011, the official start to the second half of the year!  It got me thinking (what doesn't these days as I try to shun the vision of my bike crash on that one left turn.....oh, once again, I digress).  I typically don't do New Year Resolutions.  Well, not publicly anyway.  Frankly, I think all too often we put too much emphasis on them, but I do, in my head, usually have some goals.  But I have been thinking ahead already to the off season and what I would like to do to make sure I don't lose my training gains and can have an even better season next year.  Plus, I have a half marathon to train for in May next year!  Setting out my goals for the remainder of 2011 has had a much sunnier outlook than when I did them this past January.  I think perhaps considering New (Half) Year Resolutions when it comes to health and fitness has some serious potential.  Here are a few reasons why:

1.  Everyone won't be asking you how you are doing on your New Year Resolutions unless you tell them you made New (Half) Year Resolutions!  (Until this blog post rockets through the universe, right?)

2.  If you are inclined to join a gym, many gyms have great deals on summer enrollment because their numbers decrease during the summer.

3.  Facilities you may use will be less crowded.  With the nice weather and vacations, etc, many facilities are much less crowded during the summer.  So whether you are self conscious or just prefer to not wait for a machine, a swim lane, or potentially get bumped from a class at the gym, you will find much less crowding during the summer!

4.  Daylight is on your side.  First, the extra hours of daylight and sun always tend to give me more energy.  And, if you are like me, you may want to do a run or a swim with daylight and warmer temps.  Early morning workouts or late evening workouts are much easier during the summer!

5.  Nutritionally, fun and exciting fruits and vegetables are much more readily available and cheaper during the summer.  One of my goals is to "eat the rainbow" more consistently.  What better time to find readily available fruits and vegetables, with increased variety, than during their optimal growing season!  My guess is you find some choices you would not consider (or even find) during the winter.  If you find something in particular you can not live without during the winter months, you can freeze, can, etc the item to have all year long at the best prices and highest quality!

6.  Summer time allows you to find your bliss.  The type of activities available to try during the summer - walking, running, biking, swimming, team sports, etc - are much easier to find during the nicer weather.  Start sampling now and I bet you find your "must have" activity before the weather turns!

7.  By the time the winter blahs roll around, you will be so entrenched in your new routine it will be a habit and something you just HAVE to continue to complete your day.  Let's face it, when the alarm goes off on a cold, rainy (or even snowy) winter day at 5 am for a workout, it sure is hard to force yourself out of your nice warm bed.  But by that time, if you start now, I suspect you will find you appreciate or even look forward to that time for yourself and it will be much easier to get it done.

7.  Your Holiday 5 (you know, that 5 or even more pounds you put on during the holidays) will be much easier to avoid if you set up good habits NOW!

So, share YOUR New (Half) Year Resolution!  What's in it for you, you ask?  (well, besides a goal you can work towards?)  How about a BONUS ENTRY into our Giveaway!  If you have already entered our Giveaway, and comment here with a New (Half) Year Resolution, you will get an additional bonus entry!  I will add all the separate comments here to the end of the comments on the Giveaway to assign it a number for our random drawing. 

AND, PLEASE NOTE on the Giveaway page, each separate comment is only ONE entry.  That is the best way for me to make it random with a random number generator, so if you posted all the WONDERFUL things you did in one comment, try to go back and separate each action into a separate comment so I can give you credit for all the entries you obtained.  I will also email commenters separately to have them do that so they get the credit they deserve.  I will be clearer next time to avoid such confusion!

Being Nutritionally Prepared and OUR FIRST GIVEAWAY!!! [GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED]



Out of necessity, I began packing my lunch EVERY day about 4 years ago.  Eating out is just not convenient for me.  Sounds odd, but true.  I have found, however, that nothing is better than bringing my own lunch and snacks.  I have a choice when I pack my food for the day and if I choose wisely it is very easy to stick to my intended intake for the day.  Of course, on days where we celebrate Birthdays and other special events, I lose some control, but given the consistency of my intake day after day, those days really don't have an impact. 

When I was returning to work after the birth of my son, I needed a new lunch bag/milk bag.  A friend with Thirty-One Gifts mentioned a great special on thermal lunch totes.  I have always loved the look of Thirty-One items, particularly the casual totes and home organization items.  So, I decided to order one for myself.  I also decided to order one for each of my girls.  Our bags are pictured above.  I love mine.  It is the perfect size whether I take a sandwich or a Lean Cuisine and all my snacks.  Seriously, that is a LOT of snacks.  Most days my bag holds not only a sandwich, but a yogurt, a cheese stick or cottage cheese, two pieces of fruit, a granola bar, and occasionally other containers of fruit or nuts.  And, it is more than enough room to bring home a few bottles and my empty containers.  They clean up marvelously as well.  I was not surprised though that I loved my bag. 

What I was surprised about was how much my girls like them.  They are so proud to carry their bags whenever we head out for more than just a few errands.  We use them for packing lunches and snacks ALL. THE. TIME.  In fact, I have to hide them at home so they don't carry them around all day!  And, when I say they clean up well, if you knew my youngest daughter you would know it would HAVE to clean up well for us to still be using them 5 months after we got them!  The biggest reason I love these bags is since the girls are so proud to take them everywhere, we all prepare healthy snacks and avoid the fast food nightmare.  And, it is so much cheaper to be prepared with healthy snacks from home!  Who knew cute little bags could have such an impact on my kids, who always would ask to stop at McDonalds!

So, when I mentioned to my friend I wanted to do a post about how much I loved these bags, she was so gracious to offer to provide one for a GIVEAWAY!!  My first giveaway to my readers!  The winner will receive one thermal tote and get to choose their fabric!  So, here is how it will work:

The Giveaway will end at 9pm PST on Thursday, June 30.  I will choose a winner at random from the comments left below and post the winner here on Friday, July 1.  I will send you an email (so be sure to include an email address) and will need you to respond to me within 48 hours to receive directions on how to order your thermal tote!  There are several ways to enter, the first entry is mandatory and each additional item below will give you one additional entry:

1.  MANDATORY entry:  Visit Thirty-One Gifts and tell us in a comment which fabric you would choose for your thermal tote and tell us what would be your favorite healthy snack to carry in it.

2.  Subscribe to my blog via email or your favorite feed and leave a comment telling me you did so.  You must confirm your subscription.

3.  Like From the Glider Rocker to the Finish Line on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did so.

4.  Share this Giveaway on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did so.

5.  Follow From the Glider Rocker to the Finish Line on Twitter and leave a comment telling me you are a follower with your Twitter name.

6.  Retweet this Giveaway on Twitter and paste it in a comment below.

7.  Email Christy at Thirty-One through her Thirty-One web page to subscribe to her email list and leave a comment below telling me you did so.

Good Luck Everyone! 

Disclaimer:  This Giveaway has been provided by Christy at Thirty-One.  I have and will not receive any compensation for this Giveaway or my review of the thermal lunch totes.  All opinions offered on the thermal lunch totes are my own.