This post will be as easy as, you guessed it, 1-2-3. Three things to say. Well, actually I have a whole ton more I could go on about, but to keep your interest I will limit it to three more pressing things and save the others for a later post. Plus, it keeps ya on your toes. 😉

1) Reminders: Please continue to vote for Miss Makenzie in the contest. Yesterday, there was one child's number who was obviously getting computer generated votes. Every THREE SECONDS a vote would go into theirs and they racked up over 4000 votes in only a few hours. Who knows where it is at now?! Peter, being the computer nerd genius he is, was able to figure out exactly how they were doing this. And even though we could do the same, we don't stoop to that level. Instead, we are trying to get the word out for people to vote the honest way (aka friends, family, and social media) so if you can continue to help us out that would be great. 😀 And for the record, it does seem that the voting has been changing to keep the computer stuff from working as you actually have to click a button now instead of there being an ability to automatic refresh. Click HERE and then choose #24! Thanks! 🙂

Vote for Me!

Another reminder - enter my giveaway for Gnu Bars. Open through Friday night. 🙂

2) Prayer Requests - Last night my sister, brother, and mom were supposed to come over for dinner and to hang out so I could get some extra visiting time with my brother before he leaves in a week. Well, on the way up here they got in a wreck on one of the main highways between where I live and where they live in Atlanta. It was not a serious wreck, but the timing is just AWFUL. A car rear-ended them and while, fortunately, there is not much damage and none of them had to go to the hospital, it still worries me a lot. The main issue here is that both my mother and my sister were in car accidents less than a year ago, both of which are just now getting resolved. None of these accidents have been their fault and none of them seemed serious at the time, but as time went on a lot of issues arose. From my sister's accident a year ago, she has now lost feeling in her left foot permanently. From my mom's accident a year ago, she ended up in severe pain about a week afterwards and it was due to herniated discs in her spine. Which she had to have 3 surgeries for in the last 6 months alone. Her last post-op checkup was on Monday morning...and Tuesday night she gets whiplash again because of this THIRD accident. So, please pray that my mom's neck does not incur more serious damage from this. Please pray that any insurance issues are resolved quickly, unlike their last situation. In fact, my sister JUST got a car to replace the one that was totaled in her previous wreck not even a week ago! And that's the one that was wrecked last night. Luckily, its not totaled and only the rear bumper will need work done. I just hope this time around everything is as pain and worry free as possible for them. They have both been through so much recently, way above and beyond these accidents, and I hate to see them suffer in addition to all the other worries they have already been facing. Thank you in advance for your thoughts and prayers. 🙂

Pic of Me with My Two Fave Ladies

3) New Fun Workout - To lighten things up a bit now, let me tell you that I am SO glad I stuck around for my workout this morning! As you know, I have not been feeling that awesome lately. Every night through the night and then in the morning my chest, nose, throat, ears, etc feel very clogged and it hurts to swallow, headachey, etc. As the day gets going and I get moving, I do feel a lot better so I have decided to keep up with workouts this week. Just taking it easy when needed. For example, Monday I went to spin and didn't push myself too hard and yesterday I rested because I had to tutor and I was in a bit more pain. Today I felt great after breakfast, so I packed up M to head to the gym, ready to kick some butt in a Group Kick class.

I go in to the group fitness room, set down my water bottle, take off my jacket, and look around to see....steps! Apparently today's class was switched to a Group STEP workout instead of Kick because the instructor was sick and the only sub was the step instructor.

What to do? Go home since I'm already not 100% and don't know if I feel up to a new workout? Or stick around since I couldn't stand the thought of getting on a cardio machine have done a good bit of step at home with my Cathe Friedrich DVDs? I figured why not give it a shot? I normally don't care for group step classes because the ones I have taken in the past are either not challenging enough or way too dancy for me to follow along well with if I haven't done the same moves numerous times (one of the only reasons I can do Cathe step...many times to try a workout without embarrassing myself in a class until I get it) 😉

I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised. The Body Training Systems Group Step setup was way more athletic and it got me moving and the heart pumping really well. I don't think it's as good as Cathe, but I still loved it. And I am actually planning to now incorporate a class into my workout rotation. The more you get to know me, the more you will see that I go through phases of workout preferences. Sometimes I hate cardio and only want to lift heavy weights; sometimes I hate classes and only want to do the stepmill & elliptical; sometimes I want to workout at home more than the gym.

Right now, I am more into cardio and less emphasis on weights and I only want to do classes at the gym. For everything. My attention span for cardio and my desire to lift heavy have both gone down the pooper since my fitness competition and since they fit better with not pushing my body while trying to conceive. I have a tendency to try to kill myself with a tough workout when doing my own thing. Not bad for normal circumstances, but not good when wanting to keep my body out of physical stress. I simply want to do fun workouts and not have to think or plan everything. Enter classes. Kick, Power, Spin, and now Step as well. Plus, the motivation of others is an added bonus.  I love being open to my workouts and being able to switch things up without stressing. Gym? Home? Classes? Sole workouts? Lots of weights? Lifting lighter? All sound good to me! No plan has to be perfect. Just get your body moving any way you enjoy. That's how this whole fitness thing becomes a lifestyle anyways. 😉

Okay, so there it is. 1-2-3. Now 1-2-3 questions for YOU!

1. Do you ever switch up your typical schedule? How often? Or have you been doing the same type of routine for a long time and still enjoy it just as much?
2. Have you ever been in a wreck or had a surgery? From yesterday's post, you can read about my worst wreck. Although only 1 car was involved...and my body completed the rest of the wreck. I had two surgeries to repair my elbow from that one. No others.
3. Have YOU voted for M yet? Pretty please tell me you did! But don't lie! 😉

Vote for Me!

2. What are 5 foods you don't like?  I'm not that picky but I can definitely think of a few.

• Cottage cheese tops the list. I have tried many, many, many times to like it in all sorts of mixes, recipes, etc and I can never handle it! Thank God for greek yogurt!
• Fish is another least favorite of mine. Except in sushi form or in Tijuana Garage's fish tacos. I don't know how I can hate fish any other way.
• Asparagus. I had to eat so much of it the very first time I tried to prep for a competition, I still can't eat it. It is the only veggie I don't like.
• White bread. In middle school we had to do this experiment where we chewed a chunk of white bread until it broke down completely in our mouths. The texture of it made me gag and I have never been able to handle white bread since.
• Alfredo. Any sort of super heavy, creamy dish is not a pleasurable one for me.

3. What is your least favorite house chore? Well, besides any outdoor stuff (which Peter does), I would have to say sweeping and mopping the floors. A very large portion of our downstairs is hardwoods and it takes forever to do if I want them really clean. And it hurts my back!

4. What is one thing your husband does that drives you INSANE? He falls asleep on the couch while we are watching something together. I understand he's tired and that isn't what bothers me. What drives me insane is his stubbornness. When I wake him up, he will say "I'm not tired. I don't need to go to bed." and then fall asleep all over again. And the cycle continues. For at least an hour. Every night. But, I guess if that is my biggest complaint we are good. 😉

I have a few others, but I'll save those for another post. Question box is still open!

Part 3 of this hodgepodge will be accepting an award from the super sweet blogger Nicole at PreventionRD.

She passed along the Beautiful Blogger award and I want to share the love. Besides, I think this is a great way to let us find other awesome blogs in the huge blogworld. 😀

As part of the award, I need to share 7 interesting things about me and nominate 7 other bloggers. First up, 7 interesting things..

1. I tend to eat the same things almost every day, week after week. I am a creature of habit, don’t have time to figure out what to have for lunch with a 15 month old pulling on my legs, and just get on food kicks where I want a certain food every day.
2. I was a cheerleader and gymnast growing up, but have never in my life been flexible and despite my wishes to be more flexible, I never ever have the dedication to do yoga or anything beyond simple stretching that could improve it
3. I was hit by a car going 55 mph (yes, myself…not me in a car) when I was 16 years old. I ended up with a big gash across my bum, a gash in my head, a hole where my elbow should have been, and sever road rash. Surprisingly, the road rash hurt the worst. The butt cut just made me laugh and I told all the doctors they were lucky to see my butt and I was screaming “I have two holes in my butt” to everyone in the hospital. I still have a dent in my head and a tiny bald spot from it.
4. Besides my husband, my sister is my best friend because she gets me like no one else. I wish we could see each other every day like we used to.
5. I am so bad at talking on the phone and keeping up with people more regularly. I find it much easier to stay in touch via the computer, which saddens me a bit because the true interaction from talking is so much more real.
6. I will be refreshing and voting for Makenzie all day. I know that is playing the system, but I don't care. :p
7. I spend most days in sweats or workout clothes, especially now that it is cold. I hate being uncomfortable and if I’m not going anywhere then I wonder what the point is? I should probably make more of an effort to look nice for Peter. But he says he doesn’t mind and I stay clean so it’s okay…right? LOL

And now I will pass it onto 7 blogs that I have found very recently, but really really enjoy!

Danielle at Coffee Run

Ameena at Fancy That, Fancy This

Iowa Girl Eats

Kati at Living Well

Paige at Running Around Normal

Danica at Danica's Daily

Gracie at Girl Meets Health

There you have it! A ton of randomocity for you to enjoy! With one last bit - a giveaway - at Lily's Health Pad.

And don't forget....vote for M!!!!