Making Memories: American Idol Edition

My husband Taylor and I often talk about "making memories" with our children. Those moments that last a lifetime are so important. I know I certainly have childhood memories that still make me smile today. I decided a few days ago that this goal of making memories blends extremely well with American Idol.


Say what?


My daughter Kate has been following Idol this entire season and is a huge Scotty fan. She absolutely loves country music (spending a huge amount of time with her grandfather is the primary reason for that). The fact that he is from North Carolina just makes him even better in her eyes. So when he advanced to the finals last week and the plans for the huge finale party were announced, I decided to surprise her with a trip to the RBC Center in Raleigh.


Even though I haven't watched Idol in many years, I have to admit I had just as much fun as she did. It was very exciting being in a coliseum with 12,000 or so screaming fans. The RBC Center is also home to NC State University basketball and that made the night even more fun as Mr. and Mrs. Wuf entertained the crowd (I'm an NCSU grad).  It's hard not to smile and have fun when you're in an atmosphere like that, especially when your daughter has just declared that you're the best mom ever.


I'm posting a few pictures taken with my phone camera, so excuse the quality. We'll both have those memories forever, but it's nice to preserve them here, too.

Loving the poster of Scotty with Mr. Wuf

Approximately 1/4 of the crowd

Scotty won!

(don't forget about my Body by Vi giveaway - enter here)

Another BBV Giveaway!

I'm so excited about the wonderful lifestyle changes Body by Vi has helped me to make the past 9 months that I decided to share with my fellow bloggers again. In fact, the wonderful Marcia is also hosting a giveaway for me, so hop over to her blog for another chance to win. 


Hopefully, you've also read my prior posts written during my first BBV challenge. They're not all about Body by Vi and ViSalus Sciences, but I think you'll be able to pick up on my enthusiasm about how great I'm feeling in those posts. I've lost a total of 23 pounds and at least that many inches since September 2010 (I really need to update my measurements). So now I've started my third 90 day challenge with the focus of losing the last 10 pounds or so and build lean muscle.

I've really been thinking about the three pillars of the ViSalus Sciences' mission: Life, Health and Prosperity. I can honestly say that these 3 words speak volumes to me. I was in a funk (midlife crisis?) last year this time and regaining control of my health by making better food choices has vastly improved my overall quality of life. As for the prosperity, well, who couldn't use extra income each month to help plug those holes in the family budget?


From the website ... 

ViSalus™ is a community dedicated to making a positive impact on the life, health and prosperity of everyone we can reach. Our creed is so important to us that it is rooted in the very name of the company. "ViSalus" comes from the Latin "Vi," meaning Life, and "Salus," which means Health and Prosperity.

Life ViSalus Sciences® enhances the lives of our members through incentives and rewards designed to create new experiences, build relationships, and create lasting memories. Click to learn more.
	Health ViSalus™ offers a line of innovative wellness products developed by a world class Scientific Advisory Board and backed by some of the most advanced scientific technology available. Click to learn more.
	Prosperity ViSalus™ gives people of any experience level or educational background the entrepreneurial opportunity to grow and fulfill their financial potential in this exciting industry. Click to learn more.

With that said, I'm giving away a free ViSalus Body by Vi challenge "Balance Kit." The balance kit includes 1 bag of the Vi-Shape shake mix and a 5-pack assortment of flavor mix-ins. To better describe the Vi-shape shake mix, I copied and pasted from the corporate website again, of course.

The "Balance Kit" is designed to help you begin your journey by giving your body good nutritional balance. This kit contains 30 servings of balanced nutrition with our Vi-Shape™ Nutritional Shake Mix for once-a-day balanced nutrition. The kit includes an assortment of our Health Flavors, to add flavor variety, and added health benefits to your shake.

The Vi-Shape™ nutritional shake mix includes patented ingredients to help you maximize nutrient absorption while cutting calories. Shake mixes with milk or water for nutrition on the go. Low sodium, no trans fat, and an amazing Sweet Cream flavor. Our version of the perfect “fast food.”

The balance kit includes enough shake mix for 30 meals, so you can use it once a day as a recovery drink after your run, for a meal on the go in order to not hit the drive-thru, or to replace 1 or 2 meals a day if you're like me and looking to lose a few more pounds.

This is a $49 value and I'll ship it to anywhere in the US or Canada. The giveaway ends Tuesday, May 31 2011 at midnight EST and I'll use random.org to choose a comment number. 

- 1 entry for leaving a comment describing your initial reaction to the company's mission to impact Life, Health & Prosperty. Don't sweat too much over this ... I'm not looking for a deep, philosophical insight. Just write what appeals to you.

- 1 entry for following my blog (please leave a separate comment below that you are a new follower or already are one)

- 1 entry for mentioning this on your blog (separate comment)

- 1 entry for a mention on your facebook or twitter (separate comment)

Good luck and I look forward to reading everybody's comments!

Note to self ...

After using Runkeeper on the phone while sleepless on the train, it's best to delete this activity from your profile because it REALLY throws off the year's statistics ... just sayin'

Friend Makin' Monday

From Kenz at All the Weigh


If you've taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you're new, please take a moment to answer this week's question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. 

Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen.  The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it's time for this week's topic! 

What makes you awesome? List at least five qualities/hobbies/habits make you cool and unique?

I find it difficult to even accept compliments from others without replying "thanks, but ..." It's even harder to compliment myself like this! But here goes.

1- I am fairly easy-going and "laid back." I try not to let situations and/or people get the best of me. As I try to teach my children, the only thing you can can control is your own actions and reactions. 

2-I generally view life in a positive way. Maybe it's naiive of me or even simple, but for the most part, I believe things are everything is going to be just fine. I'm definitely a glass "half-full" sort of person.

3-When I really, really, really set my mind on meeting a goal, I can do it. Obviously my latest accomplishment is my weight loss and that's still ongoing. Here's the "but" to that statement, though ... if I haven't truly made up my mind to do something, I'll procrastinate and make every excuse in the book why it's not the thing to do. So just a little bad thrown in with the good.

4-As my Daddy used to say, "she's tender-hearted & there's nothing wrong with that." Yeah, I like to think I'm a compassionate, sympathetic (or is that empathetic) person. Being able to relate to others in a kind (and Christian) way is important.

5-I'm awesome because I'm ME & I'm the only one (yeah, stretching here for that number 5 - told you it's hard for me to compliment myself!)

So what about you? What makes you awesome? Give yourself a compliment today!

I think this tree likes me ...

or it knows a really great joke even though it's on the other side of the fence.

3rd Body by Vi 90 Day Challenge: Dealing with Vacation

I'm 2 weeks into this 3rd Body by Vi Challenge and my weight has not changed. You might think that lack of progress is a downer, but no, it's actually the opposite.

We returned from a family vacation to that most magical destination: Walt Disney World. We absolutely love Disney and go every other Spring. Your first thoughts of Disney might include a certain mouse, castle and pirates hailing from the Caribbean, but also stuck in the middle of all of that is FOOD and lots of it. I made the decision going into this vacation that I would not stress about food choices, but instead would do what I wanted to do. Mission accomplished! I began each day with a BBV shake but then ate from whatever overpriced, calorie-filled menu that was in front of us each day in Mickey-land.

And, you know what? I enjoyed straying away from healthier choices and I'm not going to lie about it. But I also looked forward to returning to better nutrition once we returned home. I score that as a major WIN on lots of different levels!

Oh, and the vacation was the best one my family has had in many years as you should be able to tell from these pictures.

A-ha!

I just knew my job is killing me & here's the proof ...

Via: Medical Billing And Coding