Kiwi/grape kabobs - think variety & color!

A great sweet treat for the kids - that's healthy!

Ingredients: Fruit for Kebabs:
2 red bananas, cut into ½-inch slices
1 Tbsp 100% orange juice
2 kiwifruits, peeled and cut into ½-inch slices
1 cup grapes
½ cup strawberries
½ cup blackberries

Dip:1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple
¼ cup (2 oz) 100% apple juice
¼ cup vanilla yogurt, fat-free

Combine crushed pineapple and apple juice in a blender. Add yogurt, and blend until smooth.
Pour into small bowl. If desired, cover and refrigerate before serving.

In a small bowl, place the banana slices and drizzle with orange juice. Stir gently.Cut the kiwifruit slices into quarters.
For the kebabs, thread the fruit on to 4-inch skewers. Serve with dip.

Nutritional Information per Serving
Calories: 170
Carbohydrates: 41g
Total Fat: 0.5g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Saturated Fat: 0g
Dietary Fiber: 4g
Protein: 2g

40 minutes of fire!

Here's another great one for an at-home workout. Strive to complete it in 40 minutes. You will feel great when you're done!

50 jumping jacks
25 pushups
25 squat jumps
30 bicep curls
25 one-leg squats
50 jumping lunges
40 tricep dips
50 walking lunges
1 minute wall sit
25 burpees
25 upright rows
40 crunches
25 tuck jumps
25 tricep extensions
25 mountain climbers
30 second side planks
50 side jumps
25 overhead extensions
1 minute calf raises
Supermans

"What the hell are you doing, woman?"

Today, I opted to go for a run. I need to begin running again. Not to train for another 1/2 marathon, but just to kick my own ass. Running always kicks my ass. Especially when I have avoided it for so long. 6.5 months, I think.

Still, I signed up to do a triathlon in July with some friends and we are working as a team - A TEAM, my friends, because the last time I did a triathlon I swear to God all the years of swim team, all the times at the beach and the pool growing up, all the practice hours I had put into it for months prior to the race disappeared FASTER than it takes me to finish a row of Thin Mints {and that's fast!} as soon as I got myself in the lake.

Could be because I was in a bathing suit, not a wet suit, and it was a very cold, rainy September morning.

Could be the hundreds of other women - serious triathletes, mind you - who were bound and determined to get SLOW LITTLE BEGINNER ME the hell outta their way.

Who knows? All I know is that I.did.not.like.that.swim.
It haunts me.

So yay! I'm on a team. We're going to do great. So, I thought, what the hell? I'll go on a run today.
It was beautiful outside. My goal? 4 miles.
Just for fun, I threw in 50 burpees on the run.
Then I thought, why not some pushups too? 75 of those suckers were added to the workout.
Oh yeah, and frog jumps, and side shuffles and high knee jogs and walking lunges.

The neighbors probably thought I had lost my marbles.
Either that, or they want to know who I train with and maybe they'll ask me and I'll hand them a business card! :) HA!

Hey, a girl can dream.
So what if I nearly made myself throw up.
So what if my desire to do "more" overshadowed the rational side of me that said - no - SCREAMED -

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, WOMAN? CAN'T YOU HEAR YOUR BREATHING? CAN'T YOU SEE THAT DOING THIS MUCH ON YOUR FIRST RUN IS LIKELY TO KILL YOU?"

And I know I didn't look pretty. A red-faced, sweaty mess.
Hmm, on second thought, maybe they won't be asking for my business card after all!

Oh hell, still, I did it.
It isn't quite bed time. I think it may be a bad sign when it pains me, just a little, to rise from my desk. The tight hams, the tighter quads, calves, shoulders and oh yes, butt are telling me - no SCREAMING at me:

"I TOLD YOU SO!"
"NAH NAH NAH NAH BOO BOO!"

But you know what? I'm gonna tell them to shut the hell up and I'm gonna get up and do it again tomorrow. Well...that is...of course...if I can move!