Just Do It

... That is the motto of the day.

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, Andrew and I are working towards living a healthier lifestyle. I have received several comments about this such as, "You are already so skinny!"... "You already look great!"... and so on. So, as a disclaimer, I am not doing this to "lose" weight, but I am doing this to feel better. To feel healthy. To have energy. To feel good about myself. Luckily, Andrew is wanting to lose a little bit of weight, and his willingness to participate in this new campaign makes it easier for me.

Our new plan... eat less, eat healthier, and incorporate exercise into our weekly routines. This weekend, along with eating the super yummy, very healthy meals, we also made it a point to exercise in some way every day. On Friday, we walked for an hour around the park and campus. On Saturday, we went to the student REC center, and Andrew lifted weights while I walked on the treadmill. Finally, today, we walked over two miles around the hilly campus. Today's walk was much different than the previous two days though... We had new excercise gear!

Andrew and I purchased new tennis shoes! My old shoes were a half size too small, five years old, and simply not good for my feet. When I purchased my last Nike's, they were a steal. Although too small, I didn't wear them enough for them to hurt my feet. However, my friend and I have been walking several times a week, and now Andrew and I plan to work out more... so new shoes were a must.

Andrew's shoes were also in need of replacement. They were old and not very supportive anymore. He had gotten a lot of use out of them, and it was time for those shoes to retire. They served him well.

So- we went on a quest to find the perfect pairs. We ended up at Shoe Carnival where they have a buy one, get one half off sale. We hit the jackpot!! I found the above white and bright pink tennis shoes. Andrew found a similar pair that are white and red. He didn't want his picture taken. Silly boy.

These shoes are ultra comfortable... my toes don't jam against the front... and they feel so good on my feet. In fact, my toes were doing a happy dance as soon as I put these shoes on because I had so much added room!

On top of our jackpot in regards to tennis shoes, I also found two packs of socks... also buy one, get one half off. These socks are extremely vibrant, thin, and provide adequate breathing abilities. These socks compliment the bright pink Nike "swoosh" on my shoe perfectly. I love them- and I was in need of socks to go with tennis shoes. I have a ton of socks- but I have come to learn that they are all Christmas socks. Needless to say, I've been slowly getting rid of socks for over a year.

So, back on track, Andrew and I, of course, had to try out our new shoes right away. As I mentioned before, we walked for over two miles all over campus... up hills... down hills... on blacktop... and never once did our feet scream for a break. We would recommend these shoes to anyone. We enjoyed our time together- we enjoyed our exercise- and we are so excited about our new lifestyle!

Finally, I am going to leave you with another picture.

My Christmas cactus must think that it's Christmas as a result of the new shoes. This silly plant is only supposed to bloom at Thanksgiving/Christmas; however, here it is in full bloom, with more buds, at the beginning of May. Crazy cactus!! It was a nice treat to walk outside to find this pretty surprise!!

In fact, I kind of wish that it would bloom all year...

Maybe, just maybe, this won't be the only sweet surprise I receive from this exciting plant.