Being My Own Valentine

Did you enter my Multigrain Cheerios Giveaway yet?

Patrick and I had a lovely weekend away celebrating my birthday.  This is how Patrick spoiled me this year (can you tell I have a slight obsession with the sparkles?):

It was great to relax and do nothing.  I suppose we could have done nothing at home, but at home I can't help but look around and think of all the things that could be done or cleaned.  Being away, it's out of sight and out of mind!  While we enjoyed ourselves, we also did a fair amount of eating, so it's back on the bandwagon today!

I'm extra proud of myself because I motivated myself to do this workout before I left for the day:

I consider it my Valentine's Day gift to myself.  Because I'm worth it!  This is the first time I tried this DVD out and I really liked it.  I don't own a kettlebell yet, but I like that you can do this workout with a hand weight.  The heaviest hand weight I have is only 5 pounds, so I'm thinking I need a heavier one.  I would eventually like to invest in a kettlebell though.  I only did Level 1 today, but the workout just flew by.  It was about 30 minute workout and I thought it was just the right length for this type of routine.

Did you treat yourself right this Valentine's Day?  Patrick and I also enjoyed a yummy meal (ok, so that wasn't so healthy, but you can't win 'em all right!).

Thank You

Thank you to everyone who entered my bloggiversary giveaways.  If you haven't yet, the end tonight.  Check them out!
#1 - CSN Stores
#2 - Fiber One Yogurt
#3 - A Homemade Hat

Thank you to everyone who peeked at my new crafting blog.  I'm really enjoying having a place to share all my crafty project.  I recently added some more scrapbooking layouts and plan on putting up another crochet project tonight.

Thank you Jillian for kicking my butt tonight!  Patrick and I have been getting in a track workout three times a week, but I've been neglecting any sort of weight training.  So tonight I pulled out Jillian's No More Trouble Zones Video.  And boy, it has been awhile!  It showed me how out of shape I am.  But that's okay because I'm heading in the right direction.  I've got two new Jillian videos coming my way from Amazon that I'm looking forward to trying out.  I find new workout stuff helps keep me motivated.  Has anyone tried either of these new videos?

 I'm hoping the ab DVD will go well after a running workout because I know a solid core can only improve my running.  And the second DVD is supposed to be done with a kettlebell, which I don't have, but can be done with a hand weight.  If I like it, I may invest in a kettle bell.  Anyone have any recs on kettle bells? 

Now I'm watching the Biggest Loser.  Is anyone else watching?  Any favorite teams?  I'm really like the aqua team and the dad on the blue team.  I'll be interested to see who goes home this week!

Oh Jillian...

As some of you may or may not know, I'm a big fan of the show The Biggest Loser and of Jillian Michael's.  I own all her fitness DVDs and I respect her ass-kicking approach to getting people in shape.  Recently on the internet I saw some commentary on her comments on pregnancy.  Essentially this gist was that she personally would prefer to adopt when ready to start a family than get pregnant.  Apparently lots of people were outraged that she wouldn't want to get pregnant because she didn't want to put her body through that.

I've been thinking a lot about it.  I figure that 1) it's a personal choice.  She can do whatever she wants with her body.  Besides, she makes a living off the fact that she's in shape.  I think if I worked as hard as she did to get in shape, I'd probably would want to keep my body that way too.  However, I do think she could open new doors for herself if she did decide to get pregnant.  She could relate to new moms struggling to get the baby weight off, as well as to women who are looking to stay healthy through their pregnancies.

Secondly, I think people who adopt are doing a great service to this world.  Some people reacted to Jillian's comments because they're afraid this would spark some mass adoption craze.  Who cares!?!  In all honesty, our world has a bit of an over-population problem.  People who decide to adopt are doing us two favors.  They are taking in children who would otherwise not have a loving home and a family and they are not contributing to an already over-crowded world.  How can that be a bad thing?

I'm curious to know what you think about this topic?  Would you ever consider adoption?

Please don't misconstrue what I'm saying to mean that I don't think people should have babies.  I think people who get pregnant and have kids are entitled to do so and it is something that I too would like to do eventually.  I'm just saying that people who are willing to adopt are just as much parents and should be appreciated as such.