wow. what a whirlwind the past four days have been. i left you all on thursday morning and have been working on and attending blend retreat up until sunday afternoon. blend retreat was an incredible, amazing, fantastic event. i am taking a big sigh of relief that it all went off without a hitch! there were a few snags here and there, but i think i can confidently say that the retreat was a success! everyone had tons of fun, ate delicious food, enjoyed group fitness activities, and made life-long friends. that last one is what it’s all about.

i would be lying if i told you i wasn’t stressed to the max in the days (even weeks!) leading up to blend. i was definitely stressing over the last details and the fact that i had red rock relay the weekend before didn’t help the stress level (or the to-do list, for that matter.) sooo.. i have decided i am going to take a day or two before i recap the retreat, simply because i need some time to take a load off and decompress. after two weekends out of town in a row, i have a few days before gearing up for my next one! this friday i will be heading to st. george for kristen’s bachelorette party. i swear my may is the craziest ever! sure, it’s a little stressful, but luckily it is all super fun stuff.

coincidentally, i was assigned to state farm’s better state of mind campaign recently. guess what they asked me to talk about? stressing less! i know, right?? i laughed, because that is something i definitely need right.this.very.minute.   so, while i take a load off and let the fabulousness of blend retreat soak in before recapping it, i am going to leave you with MY stress-less secrets and ways i keep the stress level down in my own life.

when there is stress on the high seas, you really need to take a step back and decide where your priorities lie. as much as you want to do ALL the things ALL the time, sometimes you just can’t. when the going gets tough, you need to decide what to cut out of your life so you don’t go absolutely crazy trying to do everything.

for me, this blog is not my #1 priority. it’s a hobby for me and something i definitely enjoy and LOVE. but i have a full-time job, a family, friends, and other activities that come before the blog. unfortunately, that means publishing posts gets pushed aside. sometimes i am on top of things and will arrange guest posts.. but most times i just abandon ship, and i am okay with that! worrying about blog posts was the last thing on my mind this past weekend.

if you have a lot on your plate, see what things don’t absolutely, positively have to have your attention… and let those things go. they will always be there when you have spare time again.

ohmygosh i love a good list! i make lists of lists that i need to make. i am the crazy list lady, for real. but i love them! i use the list! app on my iPhone to keep track of my life.

here is a screen shot of my lists.. they don’t even all fit on the screen!

for some reason, when i list everything out that i need to do, i feel a lot less stressed. just making the list alone and not even checking anything off yet makes me feel better. there’s something calming (and, okay.. sometimes overwhelming) about knowing exactly what items you need to get done. and, come on, the satisfaction of crossing things off your list is one of the best stress-less activities around!

you know i hate folding and hanging up laundry. it stresses me out. bad. but you want to know something so dumb? when i am doing my laundry, i will sort it into two piles: hanging up and folding. then i will sort the piles into piles: t-shirts, long sleeves, tanks, gym pants, gym tops, etc… and THEN, after sorting the sorted, i will finally fold it all. WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF? it’s so, so dumb!

i am the master procrastinator, and my sorting habit is just another way for me to procrastinate the folding and hanging of the laundry. the smart thing to do is touch each piece of clothing once.. no sorting, no piles. just pick it up and fold it! it would save time AND save me the stress and anxiety i feel when i see a huge mound of clean laundry.

last night i unpacked my bags from the retreat. instead of letting the bags sit on my floor for a week, i threw everything that needed to be washed in the washer. i unpacked all the electronics and toiletries immediately. i knew that i would be having a super busy week, and nixing the procrastination of unpacking from one trip would really alleviate the stress of packing for the next trip. sure, i was super tired last night and just wanted to pass out on the couch, but i am SO glad i didn’t procrastinate unpacking. that alone peeled off a thick layer of stress and i felt so much better when it was complete!

one last way to nix procrastination is to reply to emails right away. this is one i really need to work on—replying to emails is a big stress in my life. i will read them right away because they are on my iPhone, but then i don’t always reply to them in a timely manner. it would be so much easier (and smarter!) to just reply to each email immediately after reading rather than putting it off. not only does it make the to-do list longer, but it also adds stress because, in the back of my cluttered head, i am always thinking about those emails. yesterday (after unpacking my bags) i sat down for an hour and replied to many emails. i didn’t get to them all, but at least i carved a big chunk of them out of my work load and felt better afterward.

i challenge you to cut back on procrastination if it’s a bad habit for you, and i will do the same. then we can both stress less!

life gets busy, stress piles up. you don’t have to be superwoman all the time and do it all. recruit help! the blend retreat to-do list was 573 miles long and there is NO WAY katie, lindsay, and i could have done it without recruiting the help of many of our family members and friends. it’s okay to ask for help!

relying on others will help cut back on stress. you can also rely on convenience. i like to make my meals at home for the most part, but i am no stranger to convenience items. sometimes relying on takeout and pre-packaged foods can really help you stress less. the last thing i wanted to do last night was make dinner, so i went to target and bought some frozen tortellini and jarred pasta sauce and called it dinner. cereal works well in this situation, too. i am a pro at making cereal for dinner!

those are my stress-less tips for you tonight. like i said, i am going to take a timeout from blogging (well—continue my timeout, i guess, since i have already been MIA since last thursday) and when i return i will tell you all about my experience at blend retreat. i am sure you have seen many, many recaps on other blogs. i am truly grateful for everyone involved in the event and, without a doubt, all the stress involved was definitely worth the experience we all had!!

Qs~

1. what are YOUR stress-less tips?

2. what is your worst habit? me=procrastination station for SURE!

xo. janetha g.

There to help you. That’s getting to a better State.
Disclosure: Compensation was provided by State Farm via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of State Farm.

good morning, you guys! i know i never post in the morning but i didn’t post last night and tonight’s not looking good, either. sooo, thursday morning it is!  

here’s the deal…

1. my macbook is on the fritz. the trackpad is broken so i’m using marshall’s wireless one, but the cursor is super jumpy and decides to click all over the screen at any given time. this bulletpoint alone took me way too long to type because the cursor kept clicking on another part of the screen. buggggged.. but that means i won’t be blogging much until it gets fixed! too much effort.

2. BLEND RETREAT IS TOMORROW! and the fun actually starts today! katlie, lindsay, lauren, and my sister marisa all get in today. we are packing up all the swag into a box truck and heading for the hills to park city. we will be stuffing the swag bags tonight and getting ready for registration which starts at noon tomorrow. can’t believe this weekend has finally arrived! it’s been a lot of work, but it will be worth it and we will have a lot of fun!

3. this drink is SO good. i tried it for the first time yesterday and want to go buy a whole flipping case.

4. i made these almond power cookies that i saw on tina’s blog the other day. they are super tasty and i highly recommend the recipe!

5. i squatted for twenty minutes solid yesterday. we did THIS WORKOUT and.. instead of taking a break to run.. i just kept squatting. 789 squats in a row. not sore… yet. i hope it doesn’t hit me too hard tomorrow. i have a hike to do on saturday!

those are my things. i know i am a crappy blogger lately, but life is busy! and life is good! make sure you take some time out of your internet schedule to go do something fun this weekend. i will check in if and when i can. love you all!

xo. janetha g.

yoohoo! time for the actual RACE part of my red rock relay recap. if you are just tuning in, i was in moab, utah last weekend for a 70-mile relay race with five of my girlfriends. our 6-person team tackled 12 legs through moab’s la sal mountains which had beautiful back country red rock and alpine terrains.

we woke up and were in a hurry, so i had a strawberry banana core power on my way to the starting line. these don’t hurt my stomach at all! win.

our start time was 7:30 AM and candice was runner #1. the way this race works is you have a vehicle and are able to drive the course with your team and cheer on the teammate running the current leg. HOWEVER, this is not the case with the first leg… so candice was on her own for the first 7.5 miles of the relay. see ya later, cand!

while she was running, we decorated our bus. we were the GPP barbies (GPP is the gym we all go to in case you aren’t aware) and we each picked a different barbie to be. this is what the girls did last year, too, but i wasn’t on the team back then. it was fun decorating with paint, barbie dolls, and a huge human-size barbie cutout!

we gassed up and hit the road to head to the first exchange. we wanted to liven things up a bit, so we busted out the boom box and started dancing around until candice arrived. barbie even decided to join us!

we welcomed her with open arms and a whole lot of FOOD in the back of the car! i think i was eating constantly all day long…

wendy ran leg #2 and nikki ran leg #3… before i knew it it was MY turn. leg #4.. gulp. the one i had been dreading.

5.5 miles with quite the climb in the blazing hot sun… and, yes, it was as hard as i had expected it to be. before taking off, i laced up my shoes, put in my ear buds, took some shroom tech sport and some endurance fuel by twinlab that wendy had brought along. she swore by it, and i needed all the help i could get hahah.

i had major butterflies in my stomach when it was almost my turn. nikki handed off the bracelet at the exchange and at that point all the fun & games were over!

luckily my sister in law let me borrow her garmin so i knew how far (and how slow) i was going. i swear to you by the end of the first mile it felt like i had gone three. whomp, whomp. the hill just kept going up, up, up. it did flatten out in spots, but only for a bit.. and then it was time to climb again. it was SUCH a mental battle for me! the scorching sun and heat didn’t help.

i guess it was during my first leg that the rest of my team had some serious fun! i missed out on the random fire truck photoshoot… i was too busy suffering on those hills!

i was really struggling after four miles. every time my girls passed me, they would pour water on my face and back—that helped with the heat—but the hills were beating me up. then one of my favorite workout songs happened to come on (cause a scene by the format) and it seriously CARRIED me through the rest of the leg. i have always loved the lyrics and they have helped me get through level 10 sprints during body for life.. but it seems like they apply to my life even more now. it’s CRAZY what a simple song can do to your mentality! another song that came on after that was we’re at the top of the world by the juliana theory and that actually helped with the rest of the run, too.

i was SO GLAD when those 5.5 miles came to an end!! i gladly handed off to mandy and hopped back in the party bus to inhale some grapes and send a text to marshall and my mom. they were convinced i was going to die ;)

the next few hours were fun! mandy ran, then candice ran her second leg, then amy ran. i LOVED the hanging out part of the race! the running part? not so much. but cheering all of the runners on was a blast and we had a lot of laughs in and out of the party bus. we were driving alongside a team of people we know and that made it lots more fun! plus, we ran out of water near the end (whoops) so they were there to save the day and share theirs!

it was always fun to hop out and encourage which ever teammate was running at the moment.

yes.. those are pink high heels and a boom box. we were barbies… remember?

before i knew it, it was time for my second leg (#8). it was only 2.2 miles, but it was an even steeper climb than the first!

endurance-wise, this leg wasn’t bad at all. i am good with shorter distances. the part that sucked was my hip flexors were ACHING and my knee started tensing up about a mile in. my ankle also hurt by the end of the leg.. and after further inspection from my trainer it turns out i strained a tendon (or is it ligament? i don’t know… all i know is it hurts and i am not running for awhile!) even though i was in a little pain, i was in good spirits after my second leg and was just so happy to be DONE!

the rest of the race was good times for me since i didn’t have to worry about running anymore. i ate a bunch of food and cheered on my teammates on their final legs. we all changed into our barbie getups right before the final leg was through.

i was baking barbie! are you surprised? haha.

we linked up with amy (our final runner) and all jogged across the finish line together. it took us just over 11 hours to complete the race! (no official time.. it wasn’t a “for time” type of thing.)

neil (owner of GPP) was there announcing at the finish line, so we had to snag a photo with him since we were the GPP barbies and all.

the finish line was actually pretty anticlimatic and we were STARVING for REAL food.. so we zipped out of there and put our name in at zak’s pizzeria. it was a 25 minute wait, so we all parked it on the curb in exhaustion while waiting for our table.

we eventually sat down and, as much as i wanted pizza, i knew the cheese would rock my stomach. instead, i ordered a chicken wrap with the most delicious fries ever and ate a few of mandy’s pizza crusts.

you would think that after 14 hours of go-go-go we would just go to bed, but we decided to go out afterward. we went to the hotel and i took a quick shower. we walked across the street to woody’s, but after about an hour we decided bed was a better idea. we headed back to the hotel and crashed hard!

the next morning we got up bright and early, packed up our gear, and hit the road for SLC! we made it home around 2 PM.. just in time to celebrate mother’s day with momma b!

i would have to say that participating in red rock relay was a fun experience and i am super glad i decided to do it. i was hesitant and even dreading it, but i am proud that i completed my legs and that i was able to do hard things. it was definitely a mind over matter thing for me, and in the end i am happy i was able to overcome that mental block telling me i couldn’t complete this race.

i loved being part of a team and definitely preferred this kind of race to any other i have completed. the five ladies i ran with are some of the most thoughtful, fun, fabulous people i know. i am lucky to have been a part of their team and to call them friends. they have all welcomed me into their lives with open arms and i love them all to the moon!

HOWEVER… i still don’t like running. “you’ll love it!” they said. “once you are there you’ll change your mind!” they said. they were wrong.. i LOVED the non-running part. the hanging out part. the before and after part. but my mind is not changed, i just don’t like to run. i am glad i experienced the relay race, but next time i think i will just be the driver or volunteer to help out. running and me.. we are just not meant to be.

even though i don’t love it, i sure am proud of myself for doing it. it’s always good to step out of your comfort zone and prove yourself wrong!

Qs~

1. what was your favorite race? or, if you have never done one.. do you want to?

2. when was the last time you stepped out of your comfort zone and what did you do?

xo. janetha g.

special thanks to wendy for letting me use her pictures! please check her website at wendyhaslamphotography.com!

i’m back! i was in moab all weekend for the red rock relay. we left friday and got back sunday. it was a quick trip, but we packed a lot stuff in and i am here to tell the tale.

friday!

friday we left the SLC bright and early around 11 AM. because we weren’t taking off too early, i took my mom to breakfast for mother’s day breakfast. she had never been to sunshine cafe, so i treated her to the deliciousness. i had the garden scramble and she had the denver omelet. i got her a lulu tank and some quest bars along with two funny cards—because one is never enough!

after breakfast i packed up the car with all my junk for the trip and then met my ladies at GPP. my boss was nice enough to lend us his suburban. we played tetris to get everything situated in the vehicle and then hit the road!

i was chugging my water like it was my job and i also snacked on this, that, and the other. we all had to pee soo bad by the time we made it to price. it was bad. we abandoned the boss bus immediately upon entering the gas station parking lot. mandy fled so fast that she actually ended up with two different flip flops on her feet. i was laughing at it so hard from my stall. two right feet!

we decided to have a picnic in the parking lot. we had SO MUCH FOOD between the six of us! i had some bacon wrapped chicken, sweet potato fries, a hard boiled egg, cucumbers and hummus, and half of a peanut butter sandwich. my non-blogging friends help me be a better food blogger ;)

i filled up the gas tank and then we were back on the road!

we had a lot of fun on the way down! maybe too much fun, in fact, because we got distracted and ended up lost. whoops! i guess we missed a turn somewhere along the line. of course we all had to pee again and there was no gas station in sight.. so we took it to the wilderness. the good news was we were close! only 20 miles from moab.

we got to moab right before registration started for red rock relay. that’s a good thing, since we were the people in charge of working registration.. haha. we arrived and got right to work! we checked people in and handed them their race bags. it was a lot of fun and there was tons of energy among all the participants!

after awhile we took a break, tagged the sign with our team name (the GPP barbies) and had some more bacon wrapped chicken at the car for dinner.

we went back to registration to finish things up before it closed at 9 PM. after registration we checked into our hotel. hi candice!

even though we had a race to run in the morning, we wanted to go out for a bit. a few of us decided to go to eddie mcstiff’s for a snack and some socializing.  we split the mediterranean skewers and they were delicious. i also had a mojito—not quite as amazing as the ones in costa rica, but it was still good.

we wandered next door for a bit to check out the local scene. turns out a band was playing at woody’s so we tuned in for a bit.

it was a good time, but we knew our wake up call would come early, so we went back to the hotel after just a little bit. even after the long day of driving and working, it was hard to fall asleep. maybe it was nerves from knowing the race was the next morning.. but i think i finally dozed off around 1 AM. that definitely made the 7 AM alarm seem extra annoying…

next post will be the actual race recap! this one was already pretty long, so i decided to split it up!

have a great night.. i am off to work on final touches of blend retreat. can’t believe it’s on friday! eeee!

Qs~

1. where was your last road trip destination?

2. what did you do over the weekend? missed you guys!

xo. janetha g.

hey, guys! busy me.. i am packing tonight then going to see the appleseed cast with marshall (i am a concert-goin’ fool) and then tomorrow i am off to moab to run the red rock relay this weekend. instead of a post from me tonight, i have a guest post for you that i found very inspirational and useful. i hope you agree!

Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle While Balancing Your Priorities

May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, so it’s a great time to get motivated! Living a balanced life is the key to health and happiness. Although it is important to eat a proper diet and exercise, there are many other things that you should do to ensure your life has a healthy balance. Between work, social and family responsibilities, it can be hard to keep your life balanced. Therefore, the following tips are offered to help you find a healthy balance without depending upon diet and exercise to get you through your day.

Set Goals

One of the most important things you can do to find a healthy balance in your life is set goals. Ideally, you should have a combination of short and long-term goals that will provide you with a way to develop your priorities. When setting goals, focus on creating ones that are simple to accomplish and easily measured. This way, you will be able to track your progress over time.

Spend Time Socializing

Spending time with family and friends is a fun way to keep your life balanced. According to Medical News Today, engaging in social activities can help to improve your mental health. To ensure you get the most benefits from socializing, plan events with friends and family members who have a positive effect upon your attitude. Then, you will always feel refreshed after your engagements.

Maintain a Positive Attitude

Staying positive in the face of adversity can be challenging. However, when you focus on the good things you have in your life, you will feel more balanced. For some people, keeping a gratitude journal can be a great way to focus on what matters. Additionally, simply smiling and making the determination to be joyful can help you to keep a positive attitude no matter what life may throw your way.

Learn How to Relax

It sounds so simple, yet many people find it hard to relax. This is especially true during stressful times that require a person to become overworked. Therefore, learning simple relaxation techniques can enable you to quickly find your balance anywhere you may be at the time. Practicing deep breathing, engaging in a few yoga poses or scheduling a massage are all effective ways to enhance your relaxation.

Once you learn how to find and maintain a healthy balance without diet and exercise, you will begin to experience many benefits in your life. Those who strike a healthy balance report that they feel less stress and have more energy to stick to their goals. By learning how to relax and enjoy time with your friends, you will be able to look forward to doing the things that bring you joy in life while enjoying a higher level of physical and mental health.

Using an “inspiration board” format can help you outline your goal. Make sure what is on the board is what you really want.  Taking the time to create and maintain a fitspiration board is a fun yet powerful way to keep you motivated on the path towards the fit lifestyle you’re yearning for.  Here is an example:

Photo credit: thebar10der.co.uk| turningstone.com | athleta.gap.com|store.nike.com| www.flickr.com

Everyone has his or her own source of inspiration, but to me the color purple makes me really happy, so I’m using this color as the source of my inspiration. Not only is it my favorite color, but whenever I see the color it boosts my mood! And a mood booster is what I need to improve the healthy balance in my life. Last spring I started learning more about gardening. I enjoy the being in the garden and watching blooms take life as the warmer weather approached. Lilacs are one of my favorite flowers, plus the smell wonderful!

Nutrition is also something I need to work on for sure. Eating poorly is taking an effect on my energy levels during the workday. Crash diets are not for me, because those I feel those are an unhealthy approach. I’m looking for a long-term improvement, not a temporary fix. I’m looking to experiment with healthy recipes and swapping bad snacks for healthier options. As part of improving what I eat, I plan to cut back on those tempting sugary cocktails, and opt for a “mocktail” version instead. I found a great mocktail recipe from Bar10der. Makes for a fun alternative to water or soda. I may even try them as an afternoon pick-me-up, or a power breakfast. An easy way to feel motivated is to buy some bright colored workout gear. If you feel good wearing it, you’ll be more excited to wear it when you exercise. I love this purple print tank from Athleta. A little out of my price range, I could probably find something similar at a Target. As part of my initiative to spend more time doing activities outdoors, I’ve started to learn to golf at a Syracuse golf course near my work. I don’t usually golf all 18 holes but it’s nice to be able to spend most of the time walking. What I like about it is that it’s a leisurely sport, nothing too strenuous.

About the author: Michelle Pino has provided these tips in hopes to educate others on how to lead a more motivating and less stressful life.  Michelle believes more focused approach put on our health will result in more balanced life.  Her hobbies include gardening, reading and learning about healthy lifestyles.  Michelle is thankful to have had the opportunity to work with Janetha and together share their ideas on meals & moves.

OH! by the way.. the winner of the velata set is #139, makenna, and the winner of the dynamo dog treats is #10, andrea! congrats!

Qs~

1. How to you maintain balance in your life? Do you have any tips to share?

2. What would go on YOUR inspiration board?

ohhhhh.. it’s only wednesday? crazy, crazy. but i have friday off from work, so i guess it’s really like thursday for me!

i am going to be straight up with you. i have been so flipping busy getting ready for red rock relay, blend retreat, and kristen’s bachelorette party that i really have nothing in terms of a high-quality blog post tonight. but bits & pieces are fun.. and i didn’t want to just NOT post, because i like checking in with you all and at least saying hello!

tonight after work i went to GPP for a brand new workout. i still can’t decide if i loved it or hated it. i LOVE single arm snatches (SAS).. but it was a LOT of reps, which made the workout pretty brutal.

click the pic to get the workout with demos of the exercises in case you wonder. i managed to Rx this in 18:54. some people have asked what “Rx” means when i talk about my workouts. it simply means you complete the workout as written–total reps for the total weight and rounds and whatever else is prescribed. if you do more rounds or heavier or extra.. we call that Rx+.  now you know.

dinner tonight was burrito bowls! these never get old.

i made the crock pot chicken a little different tonight. i used frontera barbacoa slow cooker sauce and, to be honest, wasn’t the biggest fan. it was tasty, but not anything to rave about and i will stick to my old recipe in the future.

i am working on my playlist for the relay race! i have two legs–one is 3.25 miles and the other is 5.5 miles (both uphill, i am going to die, you guys) and so i need a plethora of tunes to get me through it. some of my favorite bands to listen to while working out are face to face, the format, the sounds, metric, and MGMT. i saw janae’s post today and will probably nab some off her list. do you guys care to share your favorite running songs?

let’s see.. what else? oh! i have been planning my travel food for this weekend. it is in moab, which is about 4 hours south of salt lake city.

we will be running from sun up to sun down on saturday, so we will need a lot of road food! we will also need it for the drive down friday and the drive home sunday. here is the list i have drummed up. most of it is grab-and-go, but a few require prep so i plan to do some cooking tomorrow before we head out friday morning.

• mini veggies frittatas
• ezekiel flax bread PBJs
• chocolate protein muffins
• hard boiled eggs
• trader joe’s turkey jerky
• raw veggies
• fruit
• core power protein drinks
• greek yogurt covered freeze dried strawberries
• pre-cooked chicken
• turkey deli meat
• lots of water
• lots of gum.. i am always chewing gum!!

i definitely have my hands full between packing up my gear and packing up the food for this trip!

well.. i think i have rambled enough. it’s 9:45 and i want to hang out with marshall and the pups. i am going to miss them this weekend!

have a great night tonight and day tomorrow!

Qs~

1. what are your favorite travel snacks?

2. what’s on your running playlist?

xo. janetha g.

hey, guys! there’s a cool new (friendly!) goal-oriented competition i want to share with you today.

i will be participating in under armour what’s beautiful 3.0 campaign along with hundreds of other fabulous females—hopefully including YOU.

i’m part of the what’s beautiful sponsored campaign. over three hundred fitfluential folks have signed up for what’s beautiful. this is a whole movement and i want you all to get in on the fitness-filled fun!

what’s beautiful is a competition born from a mission to redefine the female athlete. this is a chance for women to push past their limits, cross their current boundaries, and come out victoriously on top. under armour is asking you to set a big goal for yourself and work as hard as possible to achieve that goal. this can be an individual goal or a team goal!

from the under armour what’s beautiful site:

Together we’re redefining the female athlete by setting epic goals and pushing past where we’ve ever been and where we thought we could go. Join us. Set your own personal goal. Then document your journey by posting videos and photos that tell your story from start to victory.

We’ll continuously post challenges for you. But that’s just the beginning. Show us your journey. Show us what makes your story the one that stands out from the rest. If you meet your goal, set a new one. Make it even bigger. Prove to everyone, and yourself, that you have more than what it takes.

each week, under armour will be giving away swag bags full of loot to participants. they will feature top performers on their website. after 8 weeks, they will announce 10 finalists who have documented the most impressive & motivated journeys toward the goals. mid-july, winners will be announced! three winners will receive a trip to costa rica (LOVE IT THERE) for a 4-day retreat.

the what’s beautiful website is super cool and interactive. go there to read more about the competition, get the nitty gritty details, see the other competitors, and to sign up for yourself!

the competition will be using the hashtags #whatsbeautiful and #iwill. follow along both hashtags on instagram and twitter to stay motivated and dedicated to achieving your goal!

i have set a goal to achieve in these next eight weeks:

i wanted to set a goal that was challenging yet still achievable. i think i have set the bar pretty high with a full five minute plank! my longest ever is three minutes.. so i have some work to do.

i only recently caught on to double unders (which is where the jumprope passes under your feet twice in one jump) and my longest string is fourteen. clearly i will need lots of practice to hit 50!

i will be posting periodically about my goals and what i am doing to reach them. i plan to develop a training plan so i can work on these goals each day. i started a team for the goal.. so if you want to join me, please do! all you need is a jumprope! also, if you only want to participate in half of the goal (the 5 minute plank OR the 50 double unders) that is totally cool, too.

once you have a profile made on the what’s beautiful site, you can click HERE to join my team, 5 & 50!

like i said, i will be using #whatsbeautiful and #iwill on instagram and twitter throughout the challenge. i hope you decide to join my team and work toward this goal with me. if not, i hope you set a goal of your own and play along so we can all inspire and motivate each other. it’s FREE to join the competition and it’s going to be FUN! let’s do this!

Qs~

1. what is one goal you are working toward at the moment?

2. wanna join me on my 5 & 50 goal?!

xo. janetha g.

hi!

i may be MIA this week.. and the week after that.. and the week after that. my agenda is looking jam-packed!  the next three weekends i will be out of town…

sooo.. yeah. like i said, i may be MIA. i will try to post when i can! but, since it may be hard to do any life-casting while getting ready for all these trips, i will utilize these prep days to post reviews and giveaways that i have on tap.  like this one!

dynamo dog treats by cloud star recently sent penny & randy some treats to try out. i can’t say they will be reviewing them.. because, really, they’ll eat anything i throw their way! i will be doing the review, they will be doing the taste testing. it’s a good arrangement. i don’t like to eat dog treats and they don’t know how to use a keyboard. works out well.

dynamo dog treats aren’t your typical canine treats. they are functionally formulated for a dog’s specific needs and infused with vitamins, minerals, fruits, and herbs to help support joint function, digestion, and skin & coat health.

i really like these treats because we are VERY concerned with what we feed our dogs. we use blue buffalo dog food and are always cautious when purchasing other brands for treats. we make sure they are the highest quality and healthiest choice. marshall and i take good care of our own bodies, it only makes sense that we take care of penny & randy the same way we do ourselves. we recently purchased them antlers per our friends’ kristen & rory’s suggestion. they are a MUCH better alternative to rawhide.

anyway, back to these awesome, healthy treats!

the bags are all clearly labeled with what each flavor is along with what health benefit it is geared towards. there are two for hip & joint (bacon & cheese and chicken), one for the tummy (pumpkin ginger), and one for skin & coat (salmon.)

all of the treats are grain-free and all-natural. they are gluten-free and made in the USA by a family-owned company.

the hip & joint treats have added glucosamine and chondroitin. we give this to penny and randy in a pill form, we are very concerned about hip & joint health–especially in randy, since he’s a long dog.

the tummy treats have added probiotics and i thought it was interesting they included ginger–something i have added into my own diet for digestive health. it’s just as important to take care of your pups’ tums as it is to take care of your own!

the skin & coat treats have added salmon oil and vitamin E. i use vitamin E oil on all my scars, so it makes sense that they added this to the skin & coat treat. it’s very important for all that fur that sheds around the house to be in tip-top condition ;)

i cracked open the bacon & cheese flavor for the kiddos to try today. they (not so) patiently waited while i took a couple photos.

as expected, they gobbled these things up and kept begging for more. not a big surprise, i told you they’d eat anything. however, i do love that these treats are the soft kind rather than the crunchy kind. randy likes softer treats better. his favorite food is bread… or larabars. (click that link if you haven’t read the story.. it’s hilarious!)

i used the treats for them to practice their catching skills. they are on point!

she nabbed that treat mid-air!

you can see randy setting up to chomp on the treat coming his way. you better believe he caught it!

the folks at dynamo dog treats have offered up a four-pack of their treats to one meals & moves doggy owner. to enter, tell me what kind of pup(s) you have and something you love about him/her/them! if you don’t have one and want to win these for a furry friend, just leave their info below instead.

extra entries:

• follow @cloudstar on twitter and tweet: my dog wants to win @cloudstar #dynamodogtreats from @janeeetha http://wp.me/p1B7vY-diI”
• post on cloud star’s facebook wall saying meals & moves sent you
• pin this giveaway to pinterest

please leave a separate comment for each entry.

if you would like to purchase these treats, their store locator can be found here. they have an awesome donation program where they donate $1to hundreds of organizations for every proof of purchase sent in. love that!

i will pick a winner thursday, may 9th before i leave town for red rock relay.

good luck, pups!

here are a few more outtakes because they make me smile. i love my dogs.

haha.

xo. janetha g.