February Cash Sign Up

Now's the time to sign up for a great cash giveaway in February! We're looking for some awesome people to join us, so get your sign up on right now!

What: February $100 Cash Giveaway
Dates: Feb 1 - 28, 2018
Who: Anyone who wants to grow their social media

Be sure to fill out this form and don't miss out:

Water, Water, Water, Water...Water Bottle

One of the most important things you should be thinking about when you're working out is your water intake. It's incredibly important to stay hydrated. Not just during your workout, but all of the time. Water is super important in the winter as well!

Now, if you're anything like me, you're not a huge fan of water. The guys in my family can go through a case like it's going out of style. The issue I have with that is the waste with the water bottles. We recycle them, no doubt about it, but it's such a struggle for me because I dislike the waste. The problem is, I'm not confident in our well water. In fact, I'm pessimistic about our water, we're having it tested. We have a water conditioner, but we were getting all of this black stuff building up in anything that held water: toilets and pet water bowls. I was like, "I'm NOT drinking that water!" We're working on getting it fixed.

That being said, I would really love to get rid of any water bottles coming into our house. Now, I know it's not 100% avoidable. A water bottle will end up at our house. It is what it is. What I can do to keep it from happening more is having good reusable water bottles for the family to choose from (once we have safe water to drink).

Anywho, I think I've shared before that I've learned for my body I need to drink most of my water the hour before my Zumba class. While in class I just maintain my hydration by grabbing a sip here and there. If I don't drink enough before class and drink a lot during it, I end up feeling sick to my stomach. No good!

I also drink at least one 16 oz bottle while I'm walking on my treadmill. I tend to walk just over an hour on it and easily finish the bottle in that time. By the time I'm done I'm actually craving more water. Hence getting larger, reusable bottles. A couple of the bottles below have ways to measure how much water you've drank, which is great if you're trying to get in a certain amount in every day!

How do you like your water? I know, strange question, right? Listen, my son says water doesn't have a taste. I non-humbly disagree! I can't stand the taste of room temperature water. Mine has to be shockingly cold. I could drink ice water like it's going out of style. When I'm driving to the gym and I'm drinking room temperature water, I kind of gag. Meh, I'm particular. What can I say?

Here are a few great suggestions for cute ways to make sure you get your water intake!

Hydro Flask Double Wall Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Leak Proof Sports Water Bottle, Wide Mouth with BPA Free Flex Cap

Nalgene Tritan 24oz On the Fly (OTF) BPA-Free Water Bottle

Contigo AUTOSPOUT Straw Addison Water Bottle, 24oz, Ocean

The Coldest Water Bottle Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Hydro Travel Mug

Under Armour Dominate 24 Ounce Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Bottle with Flip Top Lid

CamelBak eddy .75L Water Bottle

Swig Savvy Bottles 18 oz Tritan Water Bottle

My Word For 2018 - PEACE

I suppose that by putting my word of the year out there for the world to see it's not surprising that it was already put to the test. The word I'm choosing this year is Peace. Kind of funny, right? I've always heard that if you want to grow in an area of your life, you should pray about it because God will grow you in it by testing you. lol

Not long after I shared my word, my day got not so peaceful.

What I shared on Instagram is:

"I've chosen something that seems to allude me on a regular basis because I'm so high strung and critical. We'll see if I can figure out how to find this life long elusive word and fit it into every area of my life. What's yours?"

For me though, I want peace across all areas of my life. I seriously stress about everything and have very little peace. Of course that also means I have very little joy. So, I'm hoping one thing leads to another.

I want peace in my personal life with my family, peace with work, peace with blogging, peace with expectations I have of others outside of our home. I think that's been the biggest catalyst for this word. I have so little peace about what others are or aren't doing I make myself, and then others, insane. And I actually hate it.

I don't know if it's a word I'll find success with this year, but I sure hope so. I can imagine what the change would be like, but if getting to the finish line means going through what I did today and tonight, it's going to be the longest year yet.

Here are Kat's Writer's Workshop Prompts:

1. Share your 2018 New Year’s Resolution. How did last year’s turn out?
2. Did you pick a Word Of The Year for 2018? Share!
3. If the way you spent your New Year’s Eve is any indication of how the rest of the year will go, how would you say your future is looking right about now?
4. Share your top 12 blog posts from 2017.
5. Share your top 12 photos from 2017.
6. What were you blogging about a year ago? What has changed since then?

Jeepers! It's January! $10 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

I can hardly believe a new year has already started! What better way to get the year started than with a giveaway?! I'm going to be giving away a $10 Amazon Gift Card! Who can't use that, right?! It's one of my favorite sites to get gift cards to. Hopefully you agree!

Now, once you're done entering my easy giveaway, be sure to hop along to all of the other awesome ones!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Getting Started At The Gym

It's the beginning of the year and everyone is making New Year's resolutions! Have you made yours? I haven't. I'm so bad at them. I have a feeling I'm not alone since there are statistics out there talking about the high percentage of people who break their resolutions not long after they're made, typically within a week!

Whether you make resolutions or not, if you're planning to join a gym, now's the time to do it! Typically gym memberships are at a discount or the sign up fee might be waved. I just saw Costco had a HUGE discount for joining a large chain gym (the one I go to). The two year membership was $140 less than what I spend in ONE year! I'm going to have to get that figured out asap! Spend January getting to know your nearest gyms. There are so many options: YMCA, independent gyms, and large chains.

Last February, after finally being sick to death of how I was feeling, I finally started calling around. I was hoping to work with a gym as a blogger, but none of them were interested. One replied, but also didn't work with bloggers, but since they replied, I decided to try them out. They had a 3 day free trial. I honestly don't remember if I used it. I think I went in to talk to the manager and liked everything they had to offer, but the free trials are the way to go! Maybe even ask if they'd be willing to extend it for a week so you can get the best feel for what they have to offer.

You need to get an idea of what you like. I knew I wanted to try Zumba. That's the only thing I knew. I wasn't interested in weight training. I was hoping for a pool to do some water aerobics. I also hoped there were other classes available for me to try out. I got a tour of the facilities and really liked what they had to offer. Each gym has its strengths and weaknesses.

One of the things with my gym is if you join, you get a free session with a personal trainer. Well, I wasn't at all impressed by that. The girl seemed like she was 19 and had no idea what she was talking about. We went down to the elliptical machine because I wanted to know how to use it, and she had no clue how to turn it on. So there's that. Like I said, every gym has a weakness. lol

Another idea is to start with a buddy. You're probably not the only person at work, at church, or in your circle of friends & acquaintances who wants to feel better in the new year. Keep in mind, others might want to go to the gym just to not feel so gross like I did. They might not be concerned about losing weight so don't rule people out. If you're not finding anyone by word of mouth, put an invitation out on Facebook in case someone wants to go with you. I think going to the gym with someone is probably a lot better than going alone, but not matter what, just go!

While you're using this month to familiarize yourself with a gym and start to make changes, join me for a daily challenge for the whole month! Join me and play along! Hopefully it'll give you something to focus on daily to help improve the start to your 2018.