Albion Fit Give Away! What's your inspiration?

Inspiration. It's a big word. It can mean so many different things to different people. It can be a person, a place or a state of mind. What exactly does it mean to you? What do you aspire to be?  To do?
To become? We all have different goals, hopes, dreams and on the flip side, distractions, obstacles and difficulties. What is your inspiration? Your aspiration?


When you were a child maybe you dreamed of being picked first to play on the kickball (or tether ball in my case)  team. Maybe you wanted to be popular. Be fastest, strongest, have the coolest clothes. Maybe you hoped for unity in your family, peace in your life, consistency and security. Not to be picked on. To have a best friend. Did someone inspire you to want to become a dancer, a teacher, a writer,  a rock star ;)





Now that you are an adult your aspirations and goals most likely have changed. Maybe the are simpler, maybe they are more complex. Do you hope to pay off debt? Save for retirement? Be a more fit and healthier you. It's funny the things we worried about as a child, a teenager and young adult as apposed to what we worry about and dream of now. The things we took for granted then and what we hold near and dear now.


I suppose I took health and fitness for granted when I was a teenager. Well, more like I had no clue what being healthy and fit was at all. I thought that if I ate a can of Chef Boy R D (is that how you spell it?) for lunch and that was all  I ate that day then I was golden. All that mattered to me was not hitting 120lbs which was  not healthy for my 5' 7" frame.  {I had a boyfriend in the Marines who jokingly called me fat}


Then I started having kids..... and kept having them ;} I had my first son at age 19 and after that, the weight came off pretty easily. I actually had time to go to the gym and looking back I was in pretty good shape even though I weighed closer to 150lbs  instead of 120 and at the time thought I was fat. Looking back I was actually in great shape, again with the taking things for granted.



Fast forward 18 years later....... wow, 18 years... and tack on another 25-30 lbs. and a whole lot less energy and spunk and I have come to a point in my life where I am in desperation to get back into shape. To get into the very best shape of my life. That is my goal.

 I need it.

 Feeling good about myself again and being healthy for my kids is my inspiration. My drive. It keeps me sane.



What inspires me? My children's energy. My very energetic and triathlon loving younger sister, Rachel, my new group of friends doing the "Drop a Dress Size in 30 Days" program with me on Facebook. Going to Nordstrom Rack and trying on cute clothes and then refusing to buy them until I can look good in them. Boy am I saving money! ;}

What inspires me to actually get off my butt and work out? Well comfortable and cute work out clothes totally help! You've gotta look cute while working out right?  Right!

Albion's super cute tennis clothing reminds me that I've been telling myself for 2 years now that

 I want to start playing again!

 And their swim suits? ADORABLE! 

Lucky you, Albion Fit is giving away a $50 Gift Certificate to 

one lucky Simply Healthy Family fan!

Wooop!

To enter:
Only available to residents of the U.S. (sorry to my peeps abroad)
Can not have won an Albion Fit give away in the last 6 months.

Please visit Albion Fit and tell me what your favorite piece is.

Also, Albion Fit is offering $20 off any purchase of $50 or more for 
Simply Healthy Family readers!
Just use the code: simplyhealthy20 at checkout. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Take a Hike!

Yesterday we went on a nice hike in the White Tank Mts. in the far west valley.  I love Arizona, especially in the winter months when the weather is just perfect. Some times I wish for snow and boots and pretty fur coats but then I remember how lucky we are to be able to go on a beautiful hike and have a picnic in January!

These are some pics I snapped on the short "Water Fall Trail"

Not much of a waterfall, more like a trickle, but we Zonies will gather round and stare at a trickle of water in the dry desert when we get the chance. ;)

This is the desert through my 'eyes'.

Did you know that the Sonoran Desert is the only place Saguaros grow naturally?

Cholla cacti also are native to the Arizona desert and a small part of California. There are over 20 species and are sometimes called ' Jumping Cactus' since the needles will jump off the plant if you get to close!

Crazy Zonies standing around staring at the "Water Fall"  Don't strain your eyes, it's only a trickle.

No, it's not really snowing... Photoshop. It was very cold out, much colder than usual and there is snow on the mountains in the background, can you see it?

Aren't those snow capped mountains a beautiful site in the desert? I Love it!






We needed a nice hot bowl of flavourful soup to warm us up!
This soup is part of the detox diet from Whole Living.
Not sauteing the veggies and using lots of in season, lightly cooked veggies make this soup
healthy and hearty.
Free Range Chicken adds healthy protein and flavor, feel free to skip it if you'd like, the almond
butter is a good source of protein.
Almond butter makes this soup so very decadent and is an excellent source of
 healthy monounsaturated fat, essential for heart health and controlling blood sugar.
.

Photo and recipe from Whole Living

Please excuse me, I try to always do my own pics but time and light quality were against me in a
big way last night! The recipe calls for collards of which I used along with Bok Choy I need to use up.

I'm sending this over to Fresh Friday's at La Bella Vita for her wonderful healthy life style blog hop.