A Big SexyModest Giveaway

 We are rapidly approaching the season of Love.

And in my opinion, that means you should get yourself something you love!
Good thinking, no?

There is a new boutique that is fabulous.

SexyModest Boutique.

While it is a boutique that is local, you can also order online-through their facebook page!  Very cool, very simple, very convenient.  Not to mention that everything, yes everything in this store is under $50!

Well, guess what?

To celebrate the fact that it's Friday, and that I have been up since 4 am, I am giving away a $50 gift certificate for SexyModest!  50 big ones!

Ok, really that has nothing to do with 4am, just thought I'd throw that in there.  Although when you've been up since 4, you need all the help you can get to look fabulous, and this is the place to be if you want to look fabulous!

Last weekend I went in to check it out.
My eyes immediately fell to the jeans with pink pockets there on the left.
*swoon*
I think I need some new jeans.
Maybe these ones?

Love that tee too!

So much to choose from!
That splash of black and white in the photo above = the cutest jacket ever.  If I didn't have monstrous football player shoulders that would have come home with me.

We had a ton of fun trying on some fabulous clothes and accessories, the staff was so much fun to work with, and our husbands were good sports to boot.

Look at that-they even helped with wardrobe.  Awww....

Fabulous blingy jeans-new arrivals every week!

True love is an armoire full of fabulous jeans.

(how many times have I used the word fabulous in this post?!)

The accessories....oh the accessories!

Jewelry

Jewelry everywhere!

Funky Hats

and a shipment of stylin' new bags had just arrived!

That red bag on the top shelf on the left SO has my name on it!

If for some reason you also got up and 4am and still aren't convinced that you want free $ to spend here because you aren't fully awake yet, check this out:


Aaaaaaannd......
Now we're to the good part!   You want to win!  This giveaway has a slightly different mode of entry than the standard giveaway here so listen up!

If you would like to win $50 to SexyModest (which means you can have absolutely anything in the store!).....

*First become a fan of SexyModest on Facebook (and consequently fall in LOVE or at least deep like with Sexy Modest) and share the Sexy Modest video link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoFVDUdZiU0)  on your fb wall.  Trust me, your friends will thank you for sharing.

*Second, you must then go to the SexyModest Facebook wall and say "I shared SexyModest Boutique thanks to Random Thoughts from the Zoo"

*Make sure you come back here and leave a comment to let me know when you've done those things-both of which are mandatory to enter! (one comment for those things)

*That's it!
Unless you want extra entries, in which case all the standard giveaway extras apply here.  Extra entry for being a follower, for sharing this on your own blog, tweeting it, and sharing on facebook by linking back to this post.  Please remember to leave a comment for each entry!

Giveaway ends at 11:59pm Mountain Time on Monday January 31st, when I will draw a winner via Random.org.
Now, go forth and win!

Stylish Tag

the Stylish Blogger award.....
hahaha!

It's because I spared you the details of the stomach flu I mentioned yesterday isn't it?

You know, I have spent an inordinate amount of time making fun of my husband's best friend and all the bloggy awards that he receives/hands out.  Of course, he's a guy and he lists them in his sidebar with the little pictures of kittens and teacups and everything that frequently accompany such awards, so he totally opened himself up for that and I consider him fair game.  My husband and I spent so much time mocking all those girly awards, that Aaron came up with one more award for his friend:

The "I like your blog so much it makes me vomit rainbows" award.  

This one never got listed in the sidebar.  I don't know why. 

Since I have in part continued the quarantine which leaves me home with too much laundry no desire to be productive a little spare time, I'll play along.

The rules:
-Link back to the awardee-my friend who is a mega athlete and will always conjure up images of Roman Numerals and Fidel Castro
-Share 7 things about myself
-Pass it along
-Let those others let them know that it is their duty to continue the madness

In case you did not get enough of my weirdness back here, go ahead and read on.  I'll make #7 the grand finale, how about that?

#1.  I like socks.  A lot.

This is about half of my stash-all of my blues and most of my greens and purples and black and white patterns are in the laundry (hey, I told you I was behind on laundry), and we are not counting my running socks, funky running knee highs, or cycling socks.  And yes, those are nylons in the corner.  I wear nylons.  Deal with it.

#2.  I also like fabric.  A lot.  I could browse through a fabric store for hours.  This is a little bit of the stash I am currently working out of:

Those look like little baskets, but, uh, they aren't.  I will not show you the rest, because then my husband will see how much fabric I actually have.  Hi Honey!  Love you!  Actually this is legit to have, because I do a lot of sewing, and sell the finished products.  One day I will get my etsy shop restocked and out of vacation mode.

 #2 1/2 (since it goes with 2)  My biggest seller is aprons.  Stylish trendy aprons.  So what do I wear?  I wear an old worn out Ikea apron on which the straps are getting threadbare and are near breaking.  I know, I know.  I actually have made a number of aprons for myself, but before I ever get a chance to actually take it to my kitchen and use it, I end up carting it along to a boutique for a display and it sells, or someone needs an apron immediately for a gift or I need something immediately for a gift....you know how it goes.  I am actually in the process of making myself one (again) this week.  We'll see if it makes it to the kitchen.  I have a couple of months before Spring boutique season kicks in, so I should be safe!

#3. My toenails MUST be painted.  Always.  I've gotten lazy in these winter months (thanks to the funky socks), but in the summer I usually go fun and glittery.  I have shared pictures of my toenails before, so I'll spare you.

#4.  I have spent 308 weeks, since January of 1998, pregnant.  Actually if you include the pregnancy I miscarried it is 314 weeks.  That's a little over six years.  I have spent more time than that nursing.  Since we got married in August of 1997, 13 1/2 years ago, I have spent a grand total of just 16 months *not* pregnant or nursing.  Yes, I realize that I can't go on like that forever.  And gosh, I have a patient husband!

#5. I love love LOVE The Biggest Loser.  And I can finally watch it without eating ice cream.  Mostly because nursing Sam and eating dairy do not mix, but hey, whatever works.  Now I mostly eat smoothies while I watch it.  I am not the only one who eats when I watch that show, I've asked.

#6. Speaking of The Biggest Loser, we had one over to our house when he was the biggest winner.

Dude. is. huge.
Back in the day when the hubby used to do videography and photography he met Rulon at one of the corporate things he was doing.  Rulon needed his gold medal winning footage edited, because he was no longer married to the woman who jumped out of the stands after he won.  Slightly awkward for the next wife who watched said footage at every speaking engagement.  Anyway, Aaron did the editing for him so he came over to go over it all.  This was 2005, when he was still in training shape.  His chest was so big around that Aaron couldn't get his arms all the way around him.  That sounds strange....no they weren't hugging.  He was using Aaron during said corporate speaking engagement to help demo the hold he used on the Russian guy when he won the gold.  Anyway, nice guy.

#7.  Here's your grand finale...are you ready?
I was feeling brave recently.  So with just minutes notice, I dragged my husband out to the fields by our house to shoot a couple of photos for me.  On the last day to enter, I submitted a couple of photos to a modeling contest.

Silly, I know.
But yay me-I was chosen as a finalist!  Next week I head to Park City for a photo shoot for Impel Clothing's new line.  I am excited to go play dress up for a day!

And there you have it.  You just spent 5 minutes of your day reading about me.  Congratulations!
Now, since I have to go attend to my waking baby, I'm not going to tag specific people, BUT if you read this, you are fair game!  Let me know if you take the challenge of posting about your own randomness so I can come and check it out!

Pictures

I was looking over some pictures from last year....

They make me happy.

Niki is having a giveaway for some photo work, and every time I think of Niki I want to look at these pictures again.

This day was such a happy day!

I really worried about doing these photos when we first scheduled them.  I was so very glad to be doing them, and knew I would always treasure them, but they scared me.  We first planned these family pictures and maternity shots in case it was the closest we came to family pictures with Sam.

Due to weather they were postponed a week.  Which means they were taken just days after the big sit down with all the experts, when the news was delivered that we could plan for our baby to live.

I know some people get bugged with photos of pregnant bellies, but I love them!  I love this belly....

in all it's glory, four weeks before our little man made his arrival.

I always feel like my smile looks fake in pictures, but these pictures.....well that smile is the most genuine it's ever been.

Looking back on that day still makes me grin from ear to ear.

Local peeps-go check out the giveaway.

I now have the cleanest vacuum on the planet

Why is that?
You should probably know not to ask at this point.

After a restless night I started the day with a lovely stomach flu.  So fun!  Three other kids complained about being sick, so they stayed home without any questioning from me.  Even if they are faking it, I believe in quarantining the possibility that they actually might be sick, so as to not share the joy that is a stomach flu.
You're welcome.

Well, with mom a tad bit out of things and a few extra kids home, things are a notch above the normal daytime crazy.  Ok, normal daytime crazy with kids at school really is pretty mellow, but you know how Charlotte is.....
She was hungry and helped herself to some applesauce.  Fine by me, she is pretty darn self-sufficient and usually does a pretty good job getting something to eat while making minimal mess.  Ironic considering the mess she makes when she does everything else in life.  (I swear I feed her regularly, she just likes to be independent)
Well, the applesauce spilled.  All over the kitchen floor.  But as I was nursing Sam trying to get him down for a nap, my sweet little children didn't want to bother me about cleaning it up.
Lincoln to the rescue!

With the vacuum.
Yes, he vacuumed up applesauce-a fair amount of it.  Guessing from the insides of the vacuum, I would say about a cup, maybe a cup and a half.

At least he tried, right?

Thank goodness we invested in a Dyson a couple of years ago-that thing comes completely apart.  Every little last piece, making it possible to clean pretty darn thoroughly.  Any other vacuum we've ever owned would be ruined after this morning.  I love my vacuum!  And my kids.  Even when they do things like this.

Question....

So it's ok to send Christmas cards late as long as they say Happy New Year instead of Merry Christmas.
That's not a question.

My question is, New Year's Cards aren't late as long as they arrive before Valentine's Day, right?

I am so on top of things.
Ha!

Leaving your signature

Charlotte is a very artistic little girl.  She's not creating prodigy masterpieces or anything, but the girl loves to draw, to color, to paint...she loves to create.

It's a blast to watch her lately too, as she is very deliberate in the marks she makes.  A few months ago her big thing was circles and spirals.  She would draw a bunch of little circles all over papers.   Or she would start very small in the middle of a paper and circle outward, being very careful to make a spiral that wouldn't overlap itself.  Now her big thing is little markings that look like letters.  I have countless papers and notecards floating around my house that are sporting heiroglphyic like marks, her own little written language.
She won't say words but she tries to write them.  Hmm.

Well, sometimes one can be a little too artistic.

You do know where this is going, right?

Recently Charlotte is leaving her signature all over the house.
Her preferred medium is Sharpie.
But never fear, if she can't track one down she will happily default to a pen, pencil, crayon, colored pencil or marker-standard, or dry or wet erase.  She's not picky.
How she gets a hold of Sharpies is beyond me.  We keep them locked away and yet she will randomly be walking around with one.
Someone please tell the Sharpie fairy to stop visiting my house!

On her last Tour de House that involved a Sharpie she really outdid herself.

She started out on the banister.  *sigh*
Thanks to finding out quickly, some serious scrubbing, and some help from the pink eraser, it was saved.  I may have passed out if this hadn't come off.

She then moved to the kitchen wall.

And the island.

 A short detour through the dining room, then on down the hallway.

And to her bedroom.

But the real winner...OH yes, her grand finale.
Aaron and I were walking through surveying the damage and found Sophie trying to hide.

Yes folks,

She Sharpied........the dog.

I'll spare you the pictures of the basement.  Oy.

I have a lot of repainting to do.

5 months

Sam turned 5 months last week.  My word, these months are flying by at warp speed!

You want to know what's crazy?  He's not only hit all his milestones, but has hit all the expected milestones for up to six months.  He's almost sitting on his own now too.  Love it.  It makes me a little sad that he is growing up SO fast, but I am so excited with each new thing he accomplishes, it makes it a little easier to deal with that.

To celebrate five months we moved up to size 2 diapers and put away the 0-3 month clothes in exchange for the 3-6 month size.  At least he's growing a little bit slowly so I can enjoy these cute little clothes a little longer!

Everything goes in the mouth now.  Everything.

 

If not, he will death grip it.  He got a hold of one of the dog's collar/tags the other day.  Heh, I don't think the dogs will be hanging out so close to him anymore!  (no-he didn't try to put that in his mouth-I was supervising closely and am way too paranoid to let dogs get by his mouth!)

Sam is all about rolling now and has taken to scooting when he is on his tummy.  He will scoot himself around in a circle, and has started pulling his knees up under his tummy, digging his toes in and pushing forward.  Yes, he's moving forward.  Too soon!  He is seriously slowed down by the fact that his head is on the floor as he scoots (which makes for some nice rug rash occasionally), but he is moving none the less.

I love this hat.

Apparently he loves it too!

Still the happiest, giggliest, smiliest kid around.  The older kids love making him laugh, and I have to say that their interactions with him are about the sweetest thing ever!

Cinch! Winner

Happy 1/11/11 everybody!

I was going to wait till 1:11 to do this, but I'm afraid I'll forget if I don't do it now.

Also, before I get down to it, I wanted to give a head's up about a giveaway coming up to a fabulous new boutique, and though it's local it is also online!  I would just post it with pictures from their site, but I'm going to in and play dress up and take pictures instead.  If anyone wants to join me let me know!

Without further delay-
The winner as chosen by random.org is #52:

 Ivanna at http://www.snapparties.com said...

I've become a follower.

January 6, 2011 7:35 AM

Welcome aboard as a follower Ivanna!  In her other comment she mentioned 5 kids in 5 years-wow!  It took me 6yrs to get 5 kids, but I'm right there with you!  And don't worry Ivanna, you'll only be eating different things those first 5 days-after that the meals are so great that they will work for the whole family-my kids have been loving them!  

Congrats!  Email me at cateyball{at}yahoo{dot}com and we'll get it on it's way!

Thanks all for entering, and stay tuned for the other giveawayS coming up this month!

Well, that's annoying.

I was trying to post some things.

With pictures.
Because it's just not as exciting without those pictures.

And I'm out of photo storage space?  dangit!

Ok, I'll pony up the couple of bucks for more storage space.  I'm ok with that.
Done.
Checked out.
Charged.

"It may take up to 24 hours for your storage space to be updated"
Fabulous.  
No free time tomorrow, let's hope it doesn't really take that long!

The next challenge

Wouldn't life be boring now without one?

After the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge and the Maintain Don't Gain Challenge to keep me going through the holidays, of course it was time for another one!

It's the January Fitness Challenge!
Kicking things in to high gear for the new year.  Hey, that rhymes.  Nice.

In the Bootie Buster Challenge, I had a lackluster week 3 and 4 with a crazy schedule and way too many sick days.  Thankfully I had a nice comeback after that, and since my new challenge kicked in for this last week, I killed it.  My goal was 30pts/week.  My highest week had been my first week at 38pts.  Week 7, my grand finale, I finished out with a whopping 64 points!  Woo-hoo!  Still squat compared to those who ruled this challenge, but a huge week for me.
In the Maintain Don't Gain Challenge, I'm happy to say that not only did I not gain, I was able to drop a few pounds for a final weigh in that was 5 pounds down from the original.

Now, for the new challenge.....
MaryAnne's Fitness Studio where I do my classes ("do" as in participate) is having a challenge to rack up points this month.  With a $5 buy in and a cash prize total of all the entries, there is some good motivation-and some good competition!  The point system in this one breaks down similar to the Bootie Buster;
1 point/mile run/walked
1 point/10 min intense activity
1 point/15min regular aerobic activity, yoga, pilates, toning, etc
1 point/20 min extra stretching
1 point/9 servings fruits/veggies daily
3 points/day for no treats
1 point/weekly goal

And yes, that no treats thing is the hardest part for me.

I'm happy to say that I met my goal and attended every class last week (10 classes, usually 11 but one was cancelled), and I busted things out at home to finish at 116 points for the week.
I have stepped up my game!  I killed myself last week-in a good way-and am hoping to be able to keep it up this week and the rest of the month.  The good news is that it should be exponentially easier with a regular diet!
This week's goal is to hit 20 miles in addition to my regular workouts.  My mileage has been incredibly low lately.  Most of the 20 will be walking still, but thankfully my knee (and the rest of the issues that started on that same leg) seem to be doing nicely now; no residual soreness, no wrap for boot camp or treadmill walking anymore.  Hopefully it will be warm enough (something above 20* please!) to sneak outside and actually run for a few miles a couple of times this week.

If you're looking for something to help you put that resolution to shape up in place, work a challenge in! Use this points system for a base, or make up your own, and reward yourself for making your goals each week!  Even if I don't win this challenge (yes, I am going for a win!), I will reward myself at the end for meeting my personal goals and working so hard.  By the end of the month I ought to be right where I want to be for a new pair of jeans, and I'm thinking a massage will be part of the reward as well.  I'll need one by then!
Along with a nap.

Who will now return to normal blogging

The end of the 5 day Fast Forward

Sorry!
I know some of you came back to see how the 5 day fast forward went this weekend.
It was a crazy weekend.

Also, I've put in for yet another fitness challenge that started last week, so most of my spare minutes are spent squeezing in a few more squats, running the stairs, or some other form of insanity.  But that only runs 3 more weeks.  If I survive that long.

Ok, so the official 5 day report....
Aaron went the full five days.  Thursday morning (day 4) he was down 14 pounds.  Yep, fourteen.  Hello! I neglected to measure his waist size again, so I don't know his change in inches, but there is a visible difference-to the point that people were commenting that he was looking thinner.  By Friday evening the minimal calories were no longer cutting it, so he ate a real meal Friday evening in addition to the 4 meal/5 foods thing.
I went 4 of the 5 days.  On Thursday morning I was down 7 pounds.  I too started getting comments that I was looking thinner!  (always appreciated, thank you!)  By Thursday afternoon I was really feeling it, and while I debating going through with the fifth day as well, I realized that there was no way I'd have enough in me to fuel my workouts over the weekend and keep feeding my baby if I didn't start eating more.  So starting Friday morning I went back to my normal eating, which pretty closely mirrors the rest of the Cinch plan-the full month 4 meals a day/healthy and whole foods/produce, grains, protein, plant based fats at each meal puzzle.  For me the rest of this eating plan isn't much of a change from the norm.   For my husband it is more of a change.  The portion control side of things is the biggest issue I think.  That and getting enough fruits/veggies.  So he is changing his eating habits and starts working out again this week, and I'll let you know at the end of the month how is overall 30 day change works out for him.

We did both experience the rebound when we went back to eating more, which is to be expected.  Your body kind of goes through a moment where it gets super excited to be getting more food after a pretty strict minimal caloric intake plan, so it holds on to that for a day or two before it realizes that it doesn't need to hold on because you will continue constantly fueling with more than it had for those 5 days.  So I came up a pound and a half, Aaron came up about the same.  Granted it was frustrating to see the number on the scale go up after watching it drop so much so quickly, but thankfully we both understood why that was happening, and realize it will be going down again this week, so no biggie.

Over all, I would give the jump start two thumbs up.  If you can handle eating the same foods for those days, it is a great way to kick things in to high gear, to clear out your body and to reset your eating.  I do feel better than I did in my post holiday gluttonous state (ugh).  I also hit that weight where I start feeling lighter....it always happens at about the same number for me.  Good feeling!  My jeans are a little looser, which is always a treat, and I will admit that on my day off (Sunday-I always have a day off!!)  The treats I had looked forward to all week were still enjoyable, but not as fabulous as I had built them up to be.  These five days helped me more quickly reset my preferences to produce over junk food, which usually takes me a couple of weeks to do.

Today is your last day to enter the giveaway for a copy of the book Cinch!, so scroll down a couple of posts to leave a comment and enter that.  I would link it here but I'm too lazy to do that and in a hurry to squeeze in some yoga before the kidlets wake for the day.

Happy Monday!

Cinch check in-is it working??

So.....how are things going here in the middle of the 5 day fast forward?

Astounding.
Amazing.
Crazy.
Wow.

I will admit that I may never look at raspberries the same way again though.

I had hoped to lose 2lbs this week.  I consider myself a pretty fit person, I don't have dozens of extra pounds hanging around to lose, but it seems like those last few are always the hardest.  I wanted to drop that extra pound I was carrying from my preholiday weigh-in just prior to Thanksgiving, and one more to get started on my road back to the happy number I saw about two weeks before Christmas.   Thank goodness I've been working out regularly, or that New Year's weigh-in would have been really ugly!  I managed to put on a full 4 pounds in the last two weeks of December, putting me up 1lb from my pre-holiday weigh-in.  oops.  I thoroughly enjoyed it though.  Anyway, I usually don't let go of weight easily when I'm breastfeeding, so it takes a lot longer to get it off than it normally would, and certainly a lot longer to get it off than to pack it on!  But that's always the story, isn't it?  So between the 5 day plan and my workouts this week, I was really hoping to be down two pounds come Friday.

Uh.....I kind of blew past that on Monday.  Monday people!  One day!

Halfway through this plan and I'm down 5 pounds.  Yes, five.  So I am now below that happy number I had worked my way to last month.  
The husband?  He's down 9.  Nine pounds!  Granted I think that's a big skewed thanks to the New Year's weekend binge, but still.  That's a huge number.  When he did Weight Watchers for a bit years ago he lost 9 pounds in the first week.  He's lost nine pounds in three days!

Crazy.

I mentioned three other friends doing this 5 day plan as well; two of them are down 4lbs, the other one starts the plan tomorrow.

Overall, I'd say it's working.

Now, a couple of things:
First, me: I am still maintaining my workout schedule, one that I consider fairly rigorous at this point, so I have no doubt that is contributing to my total loss.  I am not doing any running this week though b/c this plan is not enough to fuel my working out plus running.  Plus breastfeeding.  Plus functioning.  Also, I have doubled the eggs to add more to my intake and am carefully monitoring my baby's eating patterns (and outgo) to make sure that this is not affecting my milk supply.  So far we're good!  I did add a protein bar to my intake today, because I was reeeeeally dragging and I don't plan on curbing my workouts this week.  I will reevaluate how I feel tonight and tomorrow morning and make sure I'm good to finish the last two days of this.

Second, my husband:  he is *not* working out.  It is recommended that you not workout during the five days because the caloric intake isn't all that high on this plan.  He did forget to take berries to work yesterday so he was short a couple of cups on those, but otherwise is doing great following along.

Third, the cost.  A lot of people have asked how pricey this is and a few others have mentioned that anything to help you get healthier shouldn't cost you more.  Well, yes and no.  It is cheaper to buy crap that good produce sometimes.  Sure if you usually spend fifty cents on a candy bar or even granola bar for a snack and now you are using a yogurt, a cup of berries and some almonds, it's going to be more.  But overall, healthy eating tends to be a little less than stocking up on processed foods.  Unless you shop at Good Earth or Whole Foods.  Which I am convinced many people do just so they can say they shop there.  Many of their products can be found at normal stores for around half the cost.  But hey, if shopping there is your thing, more power to you!  
I bought my spinach at Costco-less than $4 for the week.  I bought frozen raspberries at Walmart, and there is more in the bag than the nutritional info on the back indicates, so I will be going through 7 bags instead of the indicated 10 bags.  That works out to be about $21.  Pricey, but not outrageous.  When you consider what most people spend on soda or treats/sweets or going out to lunch in a week, this isn't too bad.  Almond butter I did buy at a natural food store, and paid dearly.  If you want to grind your own, that's the place to go, but I just bought it in the jar, the one where the ingredient list reads Ingredients: almonds.  Found the same thing as Costco (after I'd bought it of course) for less than half the price.  Dang.  Eggs are cheap, and I already had a bag of slivered almonds on hand-also purchased at Costco (so it's huge enough to last me for months), for about $6 so we'll add that in as well.  Yogurt is pretty inexpensive, a 32oz tub running around $2-3.  Sam still doesn't do well when I eat dairy, so I had to go another route and went with Coconut Milk yogurt.  Super yummy, but super pricey at $4.75 for a 16oz container.  Ugh.  The only place I could find this was that natural foods store unfortunately.  I'm sure if Walmart carried it it would be less, but they don't.  Which is too bad because it is really good!

So yes, it was a little pricey.  But with no treats being purchased this month, no eating out, and no junk filler foods, it evens out pretty well.

Our five day fast forward lasts through Friday, so I will be back this weekend with end results.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for your own copy of Cinch!, go HERE to do so!

It's time for my yogurt parfait.

(who is slightly tired of raspberries)

Cinch! by Cynthia Sass - A review and giveaway

I don't believe in "diets".
That's important, so I just wanted to throw that out there.
Also-giveaway!!
Read on......

It's that time again, time to make plans and resolutions.  First Monday of the new year!  Clean slate!
So.....how many of you have that number one resolution on your list?  That daunting, yet encouraging, ever popular "lose weight!"?
Or maybe yours is in the form of "get fit", or "wear skinny jeans again" or whatever variation suits your fancy.  Mine is a combination of all three.  Another one of mine is to get the house painted so it is no longer signed with Sharpie.  Everywhere.  but that's it's own post.

If you are there with me in wanting to drop a few pounds and clean up eating habits, I have something for you.
I was sent a copy of the new book Cinch!  to review, and I have to tell you, I am impressed!  Have you seen this book yet?  If you watch any of the morning shows or daily talk shows, you'll likely get a chance to hear about this one, and with good reason.

As most people, I am always intrigued by big promises.  Lose up to 8lbs in less than a week?  *snicker* Sure you will.  Statements like these conjure up images of the dreaded cabbage soup diet, or that lemonade/cayenne cleanse thing.  Ack!

Well, people, I just may be sold on this one.  And that says a lot, because you know how much I love food!  Like I said, I don't believe in "diets".  I believe that your daily diet is important, but "diets" are usually just a recipe for disaster.

Cynthia Sass, the author of Cinch! has laid out a fabulous plan in this book.  The best part is that it is not a diet.  That's right, no calorie counting!  No freakish restrictions!  And chocolate EVERY day.  Yes, you read that right-an entire chapter is devoted to your daily dose of chocolate.  An eating plan that promises results and includes chocolate every day.  Hello!
One of the other things that really appealed to me about this book is the author herself.  Over the past couple of years I have become acutely aware of how I eat.  Despite my sweet tooth and my stash, I really do try to eat well 99% of the time (which is why the stash is ok!).  Once I decided to jump in to the triathlon scene and really get into running, I realized I needed to make some changes and not only feed my body, but really fuel my body.  The fact that Cynthia is a nutritional expert for professional athletes signaled to me that this wouldn't be just another one of those fad diet books, but that this would be a well thought out plan that helps one reach optimum health, not just drop pounds in a way that won't be helpful-or healthful-in the long run.

Cinch!  details a plan that makes it simple and convenient to piece together healthy and enjoyable meals using a formula that will help you achieve greater overall health in addition to losing weight.  Not to mention she includes over 100 recipes, as well as lists of foods that fit each piece of the puzzle making it ridiculously simple to customize each of the suggested 4 daily meals to your own personal tastes.

So what about that "up to 8lbs in the first five days"?  It's bold, but it's there, and accompanied in the book by stories and before/after photos of those who have tried to this plan.  5 super foods for 5 days to get your body on track, for those interested in a jump start to the Cinch! plan.  You had better believe this one is being tried!  Starting today for five days, my husband, myself, and three friends will be putting this plan to the test.  Since I am breastfeeding Sam, I will be tweaking this 5 day Fast Forward plan just a tad (which I fully realized may tweak my results), but the others will be following it exactly.  Oooo....my own little experiment....bwahahaha!  I will have results on that for you next week when the giveaway winner is announced.  I really am excited to see how this works for everyone.

Another thing I loved about this book is that it hits things like cravings and emotional eating.  I definitely fall into the category of emotional eating, so I enjoyed the suggestions and thoughts on that subject.
The one thing that I didn't love, and struck me as odd, is that a maximum of 10c water per day during the 5 day Fast Forward is suggested.  I can only assume that it is because there are other beverages suggested as well during this plan (teas, flavored water or seltzer-both calorie free), but as one who is pretty much only a water drinker, a maximum doesn't strike me as great.  I normally drink more than 10c/day anyway, so I certainly wouldn't plan to cut back on my water intake.  The "whys" are addressed with every other component of this book, so I was surprised that there was no reason listed for a maximum amount of water intake.  Aside from that one thing though, two thumbs up!

Cynthia Sass takes her experience and expertise (and she really does have quite a resume!) and makes it simple for anyone wanting to clean up their eating-and their waistline.  I have actually read through this book 3 times already in the past week to make sure I am very familiar with the principles behind this plan, so that I can pass my book on to one of my friends.

And speaking of passing on, I enjoyed this book so much that I want to pass one on to one of you!
The deal with this review was that I was sent a copy of the book for myself.  With it being too good not to share, I went and bought another copy to giveaway.  You know I only give away things that I love, because I hope you'll love them too!

So now it's time people-kick that resolution in to high gear!

To enter to win one hardback copy of the recently released book Cinch!  by Cynthia Sass, leave a comment here on this post.

Additional entry for being a follower of this blog, and for sharing the news about this giveaway on FB, Twitter or on your own blog (with a link to this post).  That gives you a chance for 5 entries!  Please leave a *separate* comment for each entry.

Winner will be chosen using random.org and announced on January 11th, because I love that there are so many dates with ones this year.  1/11/11.  Love it!



*disclaimer*
I will be entered to win a $50 gift card for doing this review.  
I was sent a copy of this book to review as a member of the One2One network.  
That said, there is no bonus for giving it a good review-the opinions are completely my own.  And I really did like the book that much.  Giveaway copy was purchased by me because I liked it that much.  Really.  Also, I'd like to thank my husband for being a willing guinea pig.   He's packed on a few pounds in the past year and I am counting on this plan to get him back in gear.  He has been very gracious about putting himself completely in my hands to work some magic.  And he didn't get upset when I laughed at the fact that he put raspberries in his Scramble this morning.  And now you know two of the 5 day foods-eggs and raspberries.  The others are almonds, spinach and yogurt.  The recipes puts these together in great combinations that make being limited to 5 foods for 5 days a pleasant thing.  But no, you aren't supposed to put raspberries in the scrambled egg/spinach thing.......unless you like that I guess.