A couple of challenges and one of my own - are you in???

I have been WAY behind on many items in my life since our vacation. I haven't worked out - not one stinkin time - since we got back, which was on the 22nd - that was TWO weeks ago. I made it a goal for the week to #1 get on track with working out, #2 get the rest of my trip pics edited (only 120 left to go, out of 1200!), #3 get my blog updated and #4 get caught up on my blog reading.

Yesterday, I accomplished #4 all in one day. Mind you, I follow 60 blogs, so three weeks worth of 60 blogs is ALOT of reading. In doing this, I discovered several dead blogs and some I just need to clean out of my list. Its not that I don't enjoy the blogs - I just don't have enough time to fit all of them in. Yall know how it goes, I'm sure.

Im SO glad I caught up on reading, instead of just punking out and start my reading at today. I found lots of encouragement, goals met, fallen bloggers who are now back on track and lots of fun challenges.

Here's a couple of the challenges I found that I decided to jump on - and a little ditty I came up with all on my own!

Tammy's Summer Challenge
Tammy (as the challenge name implies- duh), at From Fat to Fab, came up with this GREAT idea! She and the hubster are leaving on May 1st for a vacation to Panama Beach. The one and only goal for this challenge is to lose 10 pounds by April 30th. That's it. The prize - a souvenir from Panama Beach! How stinkin awesome is that?? She asks for everyone to check in and post how theyre doing every Friday. She doesn't care how its done or what other goals are linked to the 10 pounds. Just get the 10 pounds off and she'll send you a little trinket! She didn't say I couldn't cut my own arm off to get the 10 pound loss..... Hmmmm, something to ponder!

Seriously, I totally LOVE this idea! I really wish she would have come up with it sooner - I could have stolen the idea and brought everyone back a tacky set of Mickey ears for meeting their goal! Oh well, there's always next year!

Photo Comparison Challenge


This idea came from Jessica, at CBGBlog.
First of all, I totally <3 this chicka! She has a great heart and busts her hump to get her goals accomplished. So, here's her plan: Find a pic of yourself. Either a "before" pic or one from when you weren't as healthy as you are now. Take a pic of yourself today. Not from yesterday, or last week. Today - like NOW. **Ok, really Jessica, can I PLEASE shower first?? Pretty please?** She wants a blog post showing both pics and wants to see you compliment your changing body. Not on what the scale says, or how you were able to not eat the cookie last night **though those are both great as well** but on the physical changes that are taking place in your body. **Do my bat wings and shrinking boobs count?** Ok, POSITIVE changes that are taking place in your body! Once your post is posted, she then wants to know - so post a comment on her page linking your photo comparison. That way she and all of her readers can look, comment on and make comparisons of their own. FABULOUS idea!! Some people are fantastic about taking pictures of themselves for comparison **Keelie** but I just am not. I feel strange taking pics of myself. Do I smile, not smile? How do I stand? What do I do? BUT, in the pics I have of myself lately, I see a difference in my body. So, I do need to make a habit of taking more pics of myself. So, after my shower - I'm breaking out the Canon, baby! :)

Now, on to my idea--

Help Me Help You!


Ok, so this isn't really a challenge but more of an idea of another way we can help each other. I have the book, Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels. This book is full of great information and I'd like to send it to someone, anyone. If you'd like to read it, just let me know and I'll send it out tomorrow. No challenge, no weigh in and no link to my blog **however, that would be great seeing as I only have 23 readers** I just want someone to get the information that I got.
BUT, there is one catch! Whoever gets the book is not allowed to keep it. When you're done with it, post that you have it and put it up for grabs for someone else. So, if you have alot going on and would take 6 months to read the book - maybe let someone else get it first, who can read it quicker. I plan on getting a few more things - books, dvds, cookbooks etc. Stuff that ships well and is fairly inexpensive to ship. The only "challenge" part to this is that I'd like to encourage everyone to pick up a few things to add to the Help Me Help You pot. There will be no governing agency making sure people pay the items forward. It will all be done using the honor method.
I think this will be a great way to pass on the things that we are using in our journey. With money being tight, I know Id love to be able to read a book or try out a work out dvd before I buy it. So, here's a way we can do that! Let me know what you guys think of the idea! If it blows, I wont put the effort into it. Also, if you know someone or are someone who can make a tag for this - Id love you long time! Something cute and bright would be awesome!


So, here's a run down of a couple of awesome challenges and my plan. Check em out!