Oh my aching back

Ok. My back isn't really aching. But it should be!

I've been busting my tail in an effort to start generating some real income from my freelance writing. As a result, I've been spending 10+ hours per day in front of the computer.

Now, I like my computer as much as the next gal. But 10+ hours is a little excessive even for me! When every evening my eyes get watery and a small headache forms at my temples, I know it's time to ease off it a bit.

I've been thinking about setting a timer to remind me to get up and move around every hour or so. (I have an alarm on my sports watch that would work.) Even some light stretching might help.

Even worse, I haven't been doing my typical "food prep" during the week. So instead of having handy-to-grab healthy meals, I've been munching on whatever's convenient.

This is the curse of the workaholic, I guess.

I haven't heard anything about the July challenge, but I'm assuming it's on. My July goal is definitely going to have to be related to exercise--I've been a total slacker about it. I may still get out and run 4 miles every once in a while, but my non-running days are starting to outnumber my running days.

Making Friends Through The Internet

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Encouraging The "Other"

Ok... sometimes I have a hard time forcing my own rear-end out of the chair. There are days when it takes all my internal fortitude to strap on my sneakers. On occasion I have to literally act as my own cheerleader, chanting "Go! Go! Go!" as I progress to the gym.

As a result, I don't have a shred of energy left when it comes to encouraging Hubby to join me in my athletic endeavors.

Frankly, I think Hubby looks great. We're both at the age when a little bit of a middle age spread has started to form, but, for the most part, we're still ok. Nonetheless, he complains bitterly of his growing spare tire and his shrinking upper body muscles.

"So go workout," I respond.

"I know. I will. Tomorrow."

Tomorrow. Next week. Next month. After vacation. After the holidays. After Yom Kippur.

There's always an excuse or a reason to put off the exercise program until later.

Like I said, Hubby looks fine. But I've grown tired of listening to him complain about his body. I want to scream, "Just do it!"

So, has anyone successfully managed to encourage a Significant Other into a fitness routine? If so, share your secrets!

Morning Exercisers

Ok... I'd love to hear from all the people who get up early in the morning and exercise.

• Are you naturally a morning person? Or do you have to force yourself to do it?

• Do you eat before you exercise? Or do you workout on an empty stomach?

• Do you exercise every day? If not, what do you do in the morning on the days you don't workout?

I have always wanted to be a morning exerciser. Every once in a while I get a spurt--usually lasts about a month--where I wake up at dawn for my workouts. But then the spurts end and I'm back to hitting the snooze button on my alarm clock.

I prefer morning workouts, though. They seem more peaceful. More meditative. And I skip fewer of them, since I have no other obligations in the morning. (Unlike the afternoon, when Hubby and family and friends vie for my time.)

My afternoon and evening workouts always seemed hurried. And if a friend wants to go to dinner or Hubby wants to run errands, I'll often push my workout off to another day.

So tell me all about it... how do you morning exercise people do it?

Celebrity Gossip

[This is a sponsored post]

While I'm working out with weights or running on the treadmill, I like to watch TV. And one of my favorite things to watch is celebrity gossip shows. I like to tell myself it's because I get inspiration from their shapely bodies. And maybe that's some of it. Of course, I also kind of like hearing the news about my favorites, like Hugh Jackman and Angelina Jolie.

And now there's a new celeb gossip website! At www.CelebrityGossip.com, you can find all the latest and hottest news about celebrities. Even better, visitors to the website can vote on the news and leave their comments, too! It's a great place to visit if you enjoy hearing about Owen Wilson's latest romance or Kate Beckinsale's latest workout.

Wheat?

Started out feeling much better today, then ate a small bowl of pasta. Almost immediately my stomach started gurgling again. I'm starting to wonder if wheat is the culprit, although I didn't think wheat exacerbated ulcers. Anyone ever heard of that? It's kind of strange, because I eat wheat all the time. But maybe something's up...

Anyway, although I do have a gurgle or two in my gut, I am going to do a short run today. It's been a while since I've gotten any exercise. And with my new life as a self-employed person, I am basically spending ALL DAY in front of my computer. I swear I can feel the cellulite growing.

I haven't lifted in ages, either, and I've been totally lame about tracking my meals. All in all, things haven't been the best. But as soon as my stomach gets back to normal, so will my diet and exercise.

Weight Watchers Discounts

[This is a sponsored post]

There are very few diet programs that I believe actually lead to any type of success. Weight Watchers, however, is the exception. Studies have suggested that people who use Weight Watchers are likely to lose weight and keep it off. Moreover, I believe the Point System is a great design for teaching portion control, healthy food choices and the benefits of physical activity. Overall, I think the Weight Watchers plan is a solid one.

However, the program can be a little bit expensive. Fortunately, coupon website CouponChief.com, which features online coupons, has links to Weight Watchers coupons, too! (They also have discounts for sites like eDiets.com and Bodybuilding.com.) So if you're looking for a way to save on a diet program membership, check out the site.

Ulcer

My ulcer has been acting up... all I want to do is lie on the sofa and clutch my stomach.

Obviously this negatively affects my diet and exercise.

Hopefully, it'll calm down in a day or two so I can get back on track.

Sweet Run

Great weather today... in the low 60s outside. Cloudy, plus a nice breeze. And a recent thunderstorm swept away the humidity.

So, of course, I absolutely had to go out for a run.

Since I've kinda been slacking on my exercise a bit, I planned to just do 3 miles. I kinda need to ease back into a regular running routine. But it felt so good--and the weather was so awesome--that I did 4 miles instead.

Man... I sure wish every run felt as great as this one did.

Hubby fixed the outlet in the basement, so I'll be able to watch TV again when I workout down there. Tomorrow I'd like to squeeze in some strength training, even if it's only a short routine.

Losing Weight Saves Money, Too!

As some of you may know, I maintain multiple blogs. The two that relate to me on a personal level, however, are In Pursuit of Fitness and PiggyBank Raid. As a result, I am often considering the ins-and-outs of both weight loss and personal finance.

Then it occurred to me: Weight loss and saving money were linked in many ways! Ta-Da! A post that works for both of my personal blogs.

At first the relationship between healthy living and losing weight isn't so obvious. But, as I thought more about it, I realized the benefit of…

More local foods: I often buy fresh produce from the local farmer's stand, which is only a short drive from my home.
Money Benefit: It's cheaper
Health Benefit: These foods are usually low-cal things like fruits and veggies

Less driving: I've gotten conscious about my fuel consumption habits lately. I park the car and walk instead of driving around looking for a close parking space, and I'll walk a shopping center instead of driving from store to store.
Money Benefit: Less gas used in my vehicle
Health Benefit: More exercise in my daily life

Eating smaller portions: Serving up large portions only causes me eat more food than I need to be satisfied!
Money Benefit: Smaller food bill
Health Benefit: Fewer calories

More physical activities: Rather than spending my evenings indoors, I've started taking brisk walks around the neighborhood and encouraging Hubby to hike.
Money Benefit: Less cash needed for indoor entertainment like movie rentals and magazines
Health Benefit: I burn more calories

More homemade meals: Although dining out is one of my vices, I've tried to start making more meals at home.
Money Benefit: Fewer pricey restaurant meals
Health Benefit: I eat smaller portions and can control the fat/calories in my recipes

It's nice to know that some of my new habits are good for my waistline AND my wallet!

Gardening For Healthy Food

I have a brown thumb. Every plant I try to grow ends up withered, brown and dead.

I start each growing season with renewed hope, though. This year on my front porch I have a container of cherry tomatoes, a container of Italian parsley and cilantro, and a pot of basil. I know it doesn't sound like much. But the year I tried lettuce, spinach, tomatoes and snow peas I ended up with a crop so small that it was barely enough for one salad.

I'm trying to learn from my mistakes.

I've been diligently watering my plants every day, but haven't yet seen a spark of green push through the dirt. I am impatient by nature, and Hubby has to remind me daily that life takes time to form.

I have no real hopes of actually getting a crop this year (I haven't in the past), so I'm still making regular trips to my local farmer's produce stand.

I love the idea of fresh, healthy homegrown foods. I'm crossing my fingers that this year I'll finally figure out the trick for getting more than two little cherry tomatoes off each plant.

PayPerPost Does It Again

As I've mentioned in previous posts, PayPerPost.com (PPP) is a great company that pays bloggers to advertise on blogs. At my level of popularity, I earn about $5 or $8 per PPP post. It might seem like pocket change, but those small amounts can add up fast. And since unemployment is looming in my not-so-distant future, I'm happy to grab every bit of revenue I can.

Anyway, PPP just announced that they've secured another $7MM in funding! That's a tremendous opportunity for this advertising company.

Personally, I think they should use the bulk of that money to acquire and retain more advertisers. Blogging is extremely popular, and blog ads can be great exposure for companies and businesses. More advertisers means more opportunities for bloggers, which will ensure the PPP network continues to grow and expand.

I'd also like to see better paying opportunities for us little guys. Sure… the big blogs are where the money is in terms of advertising revenue. But having a little faith in the little blogs is a lot like returning the "love." Many bloggers had faith in PPP in the early stages, so it would be great to get reciprocal attention.

I'm sure the combined effort of PPP, advertisers and bloggers helps ensure that PPP's $7 Million of funding will be used to create a better PPP environment for everyone.

Here's a press release about this news item:

The PayPerPost Revolution Accelerates, Sponsored
Blogging Marketplace Secures $7 Million Series B

Draper Fisher Jurvetson leads round and joins Board of Directors

ORLANDO, FL – (June 12, 2007) – PayPerPost, the leading marketplace for advertisers to reach bloggers and other consumer content creators, today announced it has completed a $7 million second round investment led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson, an investor in the company's Series A and one of the world’s leading high-technology venture capital firms. The financing brings the total amount of capital raised by PayPerPost to over $10 million, giving the company considerable resources for further development as the industry’s leading Consumer Generated Advertising marketplace. Additional participants in the round include existing investors Inflexion Partners and Village Ventures as well as new investor DFJ Gotham. With this investment, DFJ Managing Director Josh Stein also joins PayPerPost’s Board of Directors.

“PayPerPost created this exciting new advertising space and has established itself as the industry leader,” said Ted Murphy, chief executive officer of PayPerPost. “Although we’ve only used a portion of our first round capital, this added support from investors unlocks significant growth potential. Our content creator and advertiser ROI metrics clearly demonstrate the upside for PayPerPost’s model. We intend to use this capital to build the infrastructure, visibility and professional expertise necessary to reach and retain a greater network of advertisers and content creators than ever before.”

Since its founding in June of 2006, PayPerPost has signed more than 6,500 advertisers to its groundbreaking service, which has enabled Consumer Content Creators to be compensated for their efforts discussing specific companies, products or services via blogs, videos or other media. The content creators are required to disclose relationships with advertisers on their blog, providing transparency for the end reader. Over 125,000 Internet postings, most in the form of blogs, have already earned money for their creators through PayPerPost’s innovative marketplace. PayPerPost recently released PayPerPost Direct, a disruptive new service that allows advertisers to contract and negotiate directly with individual bloggers they identify through a safe, managed system.

“PayPerPost has laid a strong foundation for the future,” noted Tim Draper, founder and managing director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson. “It continues to attract a critical mass of participants from both the advertising and blogging communities. Analogous to Overture’s sponsored search model, we believe PayPerPost’s business model holds disruptive potential and will enable the company to thrive in the evolving paid-content arena.”

To mark the $7 million dollar funding, PayPerPost has launched a new website detailing the company’s service offering at http://www.payperpost.com. Bloggers and advertisers can easily sign up at the site and begin leveraging the self service marketplace.

No Treadmill

Went downstairs to my home gym, ready to hop on the treadmill today (too hot for an outside run!). I tried to turn on the TV, but nothing happened. Then I tried to turn on the treadmill. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

Clearly the electrical gadgets plugged into that outlet were not getting any juice. So I tried plugging the power strip into another outlet. The result:


Sparks flew, gray smoke curled through the air, and I felt a bit of a shock.

So, until further notice, my home gym is pretty much out of commission... at least the TV and treadmill. I can still use the elliptical, but I have no idea how I'm going to stand that boring machine without the TV to keep my entertained.

As a result, I now MUST get up early for exercise. If I can't watch TV, then I definitely want to take my runs outside. And with the temperatures this time of year, early morning is the only time I can handle running.

So I'm setting my alarm clock for an early morning run tomorrow. Let's hope I don't hit the snooze button!

Win $20 for your healthy recipe

I know some of you healthy folks have great recipes in your recipe boxes! Now's the time to share them!

Over at my other blog, PiggyBank Raid, I've posted a recipe contest. Recipes should be healthy, quick and frugal. Check it out here! The prize is $20 delivered via PayPal.

Kids And Money

Visitors who have checked out my PiggyBank Raid blog know that personal finance is a favorite topic of mine. And, since Hubby and I have talked about starting a family, kids and money are on my mind.

So it was interesting to learn about the new Teen Prepaid card. Parents can add money to it electronically and also monitor where the card is being used. It does help teens learn how to manage their finances by paying with plastic, and it might be an effective way to teach kids about debit/credit transactions.

The PAYjr card allows parents to have complete control, which can be useful if your teen starts to go on a spending spree. As a parent, you can suspend the card and then have a chat with your kid about responsible money management.

Although there are some fees attached to this card, it might be a good option for parents who want their kids to have practical experience with plastic.

Ugh

I am hungover today and, overall, feeling like poop.

My only desire is to sit on the couch and watch bad Lifetime movies while I eat white foods, like rice and pasta.

HOT

I guess I am just not a hot weather creature! It's hot again today (supposed to get 90+) and that's way too warm for me to go running. I could take my workout to the treadmill... but that just sounds so dreadful.

Not sure what my workout will be today--if anything.

I do have a pretty healthy diet planned for the day:

Meal 1: Whole grain cereal and rice milk

Meal 2: Large green salad with chickpeas

Meal 3: Stir-fry tofu and veggies with a little white rice

Meal 4: Almonds and soy yogurt

We'll see how it goes...

Today's Workout & Diet

My back felt better, so I completed a 4-mile run today. It was really S-L-O-W, but it still felt great to get 4 miles under my belt.

I am trying to be super committed to my diet this month. I'm not trying to cut calories as much as I'm trying to consume more healthy foods (and fewer unhealthy ones).

Overall I am feeling pretty confident. We'll see how it goes!

Feeling the Blahs

Yesterday I couldn't even finish a 3 mile run! It was soooooo hot. I did 1.5 miles outside and about 1 mile inside... that was all I could manage. Felt a bit discouraged, but it's just another reason I need to start working out in the mornings.

Food was okay yesterday... I got caught up in a project during the evening and skipped dinner. Then I had a big bowl of soup and some crackers at midnight. Not exactly the best time for a meal, but it could've been worse. At that point, I was so hungry that I could have eaten a HUGE bowl of spaghetti plus garlic bread. Fortunately, I was too tired to cook it!

Overall, yesterday was just a so-so today. And today I am feeling quite blah. My back is killing me (thanks to yesterday's project, which involved moving furniture). As a result, I think I have to skip my workout today. Everytime I move my back twinges. Anyway, no workout usually means eating bad food for me... for some reason I need exercise to keep my diet on track. Oh well, I'll do my best and see how it goes.

June Challenge

Seems hard to believe that this is my sixth Challenge... but it is!

This month is kinda wonky for me. I know it's going to be full of lots and lots of stress. So I'm keeping my challenge goals simple but, hopefully, useful.

Primary Goal: No distracted eating. I've tried this in the past, and I found it really useful. All meals must be eaten at a table without distraction.

Secondary Goal: One restaurant meal a week. I've also tried this in the past. But as our finances will soon be changing (decreasing dramatically), I think I can get Hubby to accept this one.

Secondary Goal: Workout five times each week (minimum). I've kinda fallen off the exercise wagon... these days my workouts are definitely sporadic. As a result, I need to get my butt in gear.

A shout out to my Challenge partners, too! Please stop by and visit Alana, Cory and Joy!

Nibbles Of News

• My career--and soon-to-be ex-job--are basically consuming my thoughts these days. So I've started a new blog called PiggyBank Raid. It basically covers everything... my emotions, my thoughts, and my finances! I wanted to chronicle my journey of "crappy corporate job" to "pursuing my own hopes and dreams." I imagine it'll include lots of tidbits about stretching my budget and learning to live on just Hubby's income.

• This hot weather is totally throwing a wrench into workout plans! I love to run outside... but I can't stand the heat! As a result, early morning runs are the best ones for summertime (before the sun starts blazing). Unfortunately, I am a "night owl." Mornings aren't my thing. I gotta start forcing myself to wake up earlier or I'll keep skipping my runs.

• My diet's just been so-so these last few days... I actually felt thinner when I was on vacation! Of course, hormones and water have a lot to do with my belly bloat. But overall, I'm starting to think that working from home is actually a detriment to my diet! I used to think it was a good thing that I could avoid vending machines and take-out lunches... but now I'm starting to think that 24/7 access to my fridge is not all that great for my waistline.
  

One Stop For Info

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