Weight Loss Challenge

At my new office we started a fitness challenge, there's all sorts of fun prizes available for people that get the most points for logging in & keeping up with their fitness goals.

I've decided to keep myself accountable to you guys too because what helps you lose weight and get in shape more than total transparency & public humiliation?  I know I can count on y'all to keep me honest.

That's my tracker, I'm going to put it on top of my blog too but here's the thing... I weight 240 lbs and I'm 5' 8".  I basically put on 20lbs as soon as I started working again.

My office's challenge is located here : 9 Week KEAS Challenge  I'm not sure if y'all can sign up there but if you can, DO IT!  Follow me there and then harass me when I don't do what I'm supposed to.

I'm also joining this challenge:  Spark People 28 Day Bootcamp Challenge I know y'all can join me there.  I'm doing this right if it kills me!!

Here are a few of my goals:

• Walk at least 15 minutes per day, 7 days 
• Eat only healthy snacks, 7 days
• Don't snack 3 hours before bed, 7 days

My little bit of motivation for y'all if you're interested is as follows:

What can you do today to make sure your health and fitness goals are met tomorrow? Maybe you need to pack a lunch to avoid that daily fast food fix, stock your pantry with healthy snacks so you have something to munch on, make a new bedtime routine so you get all the shut-eye you need, or sleep in your workout clothes so you’ll have no excuse to miss a morning workout.

Thinking "two steps ahead" means utilizing the present to make it easier to achieve your goals in the future. What are you waiting for? Here’s how to do it now, before you waste a few more minutes or lose your motivation altogether. 

• Think about Your Actions 
• Head Off Potential Hurdles: Prepare Your Plan B  
• Commit...and Don’t Quit 
• Make Friends with Failure  

Even after you’ve set benchmarks for success, put a halt on potential hurdles, and prepared a plan B, you can still be sure that the road to health and fitness won’t always be smooth and straight. A storm will sweep in overnight and ruin your morning run. That family road trip will be wrought with tempting treats at truck stops. Though these problems may seem counterproductive, getting familiar with failure can be helpful in its own way. When you experience a succession of small setbacks or changes in course, it helps you hone your skills at dealing with issues that are outside of your control.


Even the greatest athletes and strategic planners in the world fail—sometimes badly and sometimes publicly. But those who are great don't let failure define them or stop them. They set goals, plan ahead to avoid or minimize mishaps, and get back up and keep going when things don't go according to plan. They roll with the punches—and you can, too!

New Beginnings

So….here’s my story…I am a work outside the home mom with a 7 year old daughter named Fiona who used to call parmesan cheese "Shake Cheese" (hence the name of my blog)…the sandpaper part comes from what I will usually have in my hand if given half the chance.  Pretty simple, Sandpaper & Shake Cheese.


For the past seven and a half years that’s what it’s felt like. My life, redefined.  The first year I cried a lot and felt utterly alone and clueless. Year two was much better but I still felt a little lost. Year three I realized that I had been looking at the map upside down. I was still holding onto a life that was long gone and refusing to embrace the “new” me. Cheesy..but true.

Around that time I started becoming supremely interested in reconnecting to my roots (I'm adopted and while I have a wonderful family, I've always looked for more).  Things at home sort of fell apart, my daughter's father and I divorced... two years later I remarried.  Things around here changed dramatically after that.

I'm looking into changing the way we eat, the way we interact as a family & the way we take care of ourselves - all in an attempt to bring us together as best we can & to learn from the mistakes and successes as we go along.

My plans for this blog include:

• Highlighting different adventures my family & I take on,
• Current design trends in advertising and marketing in all arenas (print, Web, video, etc.), and
• Random tidbits about what catches my attention.

I'm sure this blog will expand with time (and possibly evolve into something entirely different), but for now, we're all here on the same page.

I come from a long line of makers. My mother taught me early on that it was far more satisfying to make something yourself than to go out and purchase it. DIY was her middle name! She stripped and stained the furniture in my room. Then my mother gave me the best gift of all; she put a sewing needle in my hand, she kept an easel with my paints ready at all times, and my dad even gave me a little workbench room in the shed. Ahh, the good ol' 80's!
 
I've aways managed to weave in a project related to my family and friends, whether it was knitting a pair of mittens to whipping up birthday aprons. There always seem to be so many more ideas than hours in the day. I used to scribble them endlessly into my idea books; sharing them with anyone who would listen, and hoping that one day there would be time and space to execute them. Little did I know, that day was just around the corner. This blog will be my vehicle to share and hopefully inspire others through my journey.