Janetha of Meals and Moves has organized a live online fundraising auction for Susan, a fellow blogger, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Susan has some hefty medical bills to the tune of $5000 per month and could use our (prayers and) financial support. For more info about Susan and this fundraiser, you can click here.

The Great Fundraising Act kicks off TODAY! There are over 100 items in the auction from books to baked goods generously donated by some amazing healthy-living brands and individual contributors. All funds raised from this event will go directly to benefit Susan’s treatment.

Now I really must go…raise some dough!

The Red Cross has responded to more than 40 major disasters in more than 30 states over the past three months alone – delivering help and hope to people affected by floods, tornadoes and wildfires. They need you—now more than ever—to roll up your sleeve and give blood.

Eligible donors of all blood types are asked to visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to schedule an appointment to donate as soon as possible.

Please check out this important video message from Jim Cantore, Meteorologist, as he highlights the need to avoid this personal kind of disaster.

Now I really must go! Have a great day and as always…B positive!

Now I really must grow.

You know you need more sleep when you start thinking about really random things like…

• Just how many blades will be on a razor in 10 years?
• Is a beer under 100 calories really a beer?
• What are we going to do with all of those big buildings with a bunch of books when they stop making real books?
• Where will all of the librarians go?
• Was Mr. Slim Goodbody the same guy as Richard Simmons?
• Does anybody remember Mr. Slim Goodbody?
• Is Goodbody one word or two? And is it hyphenated?
• Why didn’t I think of Google?
• How many Arnold Schwarzenegger jokes could I pump out in 60 seconds?
• Am I really 7 degrees away from Kevin Bacon?
• Why hasn’t Apple changed their tagline to something really clever like…”Apple…we’re as easy as 3.14159265″
• Am I Oprah’s long lost half sister, too?
• Why can’t my gym be more like Twitter and only allow 140 characters?

Now I really must go to sleep before I start hunting down a mid-night snack…after all, I’m no CHEATANATOR!

What do you do when you don’t get your day started off on the right foot? You step on your left foot, of course.

The same wisdom applies when your diet and exercise program gets off track, right? All you need to do is to get back on the right path. STAT.

I learned this lesson (again) just this week.

According to a pair of pants I tried on I’ve been a little off track with my program lately. To put it nicely, those suckers were sucking the life out of me. So I took a little advice from my good friend Colin Powell and I got mad and got over it.

It took me no time at all to diagnose the problems:

1. I’ve been half-arsing cardio.

2. I’ve been eating too little during the day and making up for it by eating too, too much at night.

3. I’ve stopped updating my accountability partner.

My bad.

But even after tightening the reigns over the last few days, those pants of mine aren’t so tight.

What a difference a few days can make.

Now I really must go make a mad dash to the track, generally speaking.

You know what I realized this week?

Life is like me and my blog…really, really short!

Watch this quick video and see what I mean…

Life is short. Go play!

Now I really must go seize the whey…and wish my Mom a very happy and healthy Mother’s Day!

You hear fitness professionals everywhere preaching about the importance of being healthy in mind, body and spirit, right? Right.

I’ll be honest, of those three categories, my spirit bucket is the weakest link. So how does one put on a little more spiritual muscle? Prayer? Yoga? Meditation? Volunteering? Cheerleading? All or some of the above?

I don’t have the answers.

But, I will tell you about a resource I’ve recently added to my spiritual-building program.

Through Divine Intervention (and/or Twitter) I found a great website called Prayfit.com and signed up for their daily emails. Each email usually contains a verse or two from the bible, a short little story or thought for the day, and then a workout or fitness tip. The Prayerfit.com messages have been a positively fitting way to kick off the day and give my spirit a little warm up.

What to you do to keep your spiritual muscle fired up? Enlighten me…

Now I really must go…peace out!

Raise your hand if you’ve said one or more of the following statements more than once in the last two weeks:

• I’m fat
• I’m so tired
• I hate my job
• Nothing fits
• I hate Monday’s
• I have no energy
• I’m starving
• I have no time
• I hate cardio

Are you raising your hand? So what are you doing to make “it” better?

Are you just complaining about it? How’s that working out for you?

I’m convinced that you are what you repeat.

Listen to your words.

If the negative thoughts really are true, take action for change…set a goal, ask for help, change your behaviors. Then, try replacing those thoughts with something positive because, let’s be honest, you really are phat.

Now I really must go do some cardio because I’m a lean, mean, fat-burning machine….I’m a lean, mean, fat-burning machine…I’m a lean…

The first few weeks of Spring are eye-opening, aren’t they?

It’s a time full of renewal, rebuilding, refreshment, and even a few reminders. In fact, just this weekend I was reminded of these…

5 (Random!) Things I Know for Sure

• 1. It is impossible to complete a home improvement project without taking at least two trips to the home improvement store.
• 2. 98.2% of Volkswagen Bugs have personalized license plates. Which kind of bugs me 99% of the time.
• 3. Some of the best conversations take place over wine, coffee, and/or ice cream.
• 4. Lemon juice and Mr. Clean Magic Erasers remove unwanted self tanning lotion from the palms of your hands. And most importantly…
• 5. Some people should not wear shorts to the gym until they expose their legs to some sunlight or self tanning lotion.

Now I really must go refocus and then spring for the door for some more research!

Patience isn’t one of my virtues.

I’m an instant gratification kind of girl when it comes to business, body transformation, food, relationships, shopping, and even spirituality. I want answers and results ASAP. Or faster, thankyouverymuch.

But, over the last few weeks the universe has been trying to tell me to hurry up and slow down. And I’m finally starting to listen. I’ve had a few in-your-face reminders lately that things, big and little, like building a business or a relationship, making soup or cupcakes from scratch, and even gaining muscle or losing fat, all take time and are all worth the investment.

Let’s be honest, it’s hard to slow down in a world of…

Speed eating. Speed reading. Speed dialing. Speed dating. (Speed demons?)

Quick lunch. Quick oats. Quick bread. Quick parking. Quick calls. Quick shops. Quick workouts. Quick trips.

Instant tea. Instant replay. Instant soup. Instant messaging.

Minute rice. 6, better yet, 5-Minute abs.

Express checkout. Express lanes.

Fast forward. Fast food.

My goal is to hit the pause button a little more frequently and enjoy the things that make life a little more delicious like a slow cooked meal, a meaningful conversation, a really good read, a rewarding business development, and the joy that comes along on the journey toward reaching a goal.

We don’t always have to move so fast, just as long as we’re moving forward.

Now I really must go take the dog on a long walk and maybe smell some roses before I jump back on the American Express.