I've moved!

Rather than manage two blogs and a website, I'm doing it all in the same place.  Keep up with my latest and greatest adventures and all sorts of other fun stuff on my new home on the 'net: Moxie Girl Productions.
Follow me at moxiegirlproductions.com. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Whatever it takes

"Exercise in the morning before your brain figures out what you're doing." Love this one! So true; get it done before you have too much time to talk yourself out of it.

Since I started my lifestyle change in 2002, I've had to continuously adapt in order to keep exercising and eating right. Currently, running in the morning is working for me, sometimes followed by short evening workout. But, when I began, I exercised during the day, on my lunch hour, in the storage room at work. My husband at the time was not supportive of my lifestyle change, and doing it at lunch was the only way I'd stick with it.

As the years have progressed, I've shifted my workouts from noon to early evening to the crack of dawn and back again. In reality, it doesn't matter when you do it. It only matters that you do it. Figure out what works for you and go with it. When it stops working, figure out another way until things change again, as you know they will.

In addition to persistence and consistency, adaptability is key to achieving any important life goal. And isn't it delightful that, no matter which strategy you've adopted, there's a funny quote to support you along the way. :)

Adventures in Kindness

There was a bit of adventure at work today when I was advised that we had a homeless person snoozing in our lobby.  As Deputy Administrator for the Nevada Housing Division, and the highest ranking staffer here in Southern Nevada, it was up to me to take care of it and make sure our employees were safe.

I offered the gentleman a bottle of water and asked his name.  Enclosing my palm in his leathery grasp, Tyrone gave me a firm handshake and told me he'd come here from Los Angeles about a month ago.  He'd lost all his money in the machines.  It's a familiar story in Vegas; this is not the place to be if you're addicted to gambling.  Tyrone had popped into our building, looking for respite from the heat.  He wanted a place to stay for the night.  Ultimately he was hoping to find an apartment.

We adminster the low-income housing tax credit program, which awards housing affordable housing projects to developers who create housing for seniors, the disabled and low-income folks who can't afford anything else.  We don't, however, manage the housing directly or provide any other types of transitional services.

I turned to HELP of Southern Nevada, a non-profit that delivers services to serve the poor, the homeless and those in crisis.  They offer a range of options for people in Tyrone's situation.  I was delighted to learn that they'll also pick people up and deliver them to the right place to get assistance.  Within an hour of my phone call, Mindy and Christine arrived, talked with Tyrone, and escorted him to their car to take him where he needed to go.  They were fantastic.

An easy out in this situation would have been to call the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police.  They'd have come and sent Tyrone on his way.  That may be the solution one day, but thankfully, it wasn't today. 

Instead, with a little bit of research on our end, we were able to connect someone to the services he needed while maintaining an appropriate environment for our clients.  And, who knows; maybe this will be a new beginning for Tyrone.  I like to think so.

Sparkle & Glow

My first sparkle skirt just arrived from Team Sparkle!

I think it'll be perfect for the Vegas Seven GlowRun 7K I'm doing in early October.  Maybe I should add a pair of yellow fairy wings??

My Top 10 Mud Run Bucket List

Run for Your Lives zombie-infested 5K (photo courtesy of MSNBC)

I've got a respectable number of muddy obstacle races under my belt:

• Muddy Buddy
• Warrior Dash
• Tough Mudder
• Spartan Sprint
• Mad Mud Run
• Devil Dash

Since my descent into mud-run madness began with the Muddy Buddy back in 2010, obstacle racing has exploded in popularity.  Races are popping up left and right across the country, each with their own funky twist. 

Ready to run the Spartan Sprint in Malibu

My Top 10 Mud Run Bucket List

1) RhinO Night Race - Most obstacle courses feature 10-20 obstacles.  The rhinO course has up to ten times that amount over the span of 4 miles. Climbing through log-jungles, crawling through tunnel mazes, hoisting yourself up through platform holes, swinging across ropes, and maneuvering obstacles… at night.

2) Las Vegas Halloween Weekend Urban Obstacle Run - This 5K run hits the streets of downtown Las Vegas in full Halloween form. Scurry up rope ladders, sprint through cornfields, and save your fanciest footwork for the tire row. Once you make it past the brain-hungry zombies, more than 14,000 people will gather to perform the "Thriller" dance in an attempt to break the world record.

3) Run for Your Lives - Run For Your Lives is an apocalyptic 5K obstacle race. But you’re not just running against the clock — you’re running from brain-hungry, virus-spreading, bloody zombies.

4) Rugged Maniac - Rugged Maniac is a 5K obstacle course race that combines the most rugged terrain with at least twenty obstacles. You’ll climb over walls up to 12’ high, crawl through mud under barbed wire, slide down a 50’ water slide, jump over fire and face many other challenges all while running through a combination of forests, fields, motocross tracks and ski slopes.

Diva Dash (photo courtesy of Diva Dash)

5) Diva Dash - Diva Dash is an adventurous women-only 5K obstacle race. You will jump, climb, swing, and DASH your way to the finish line where even more contests and prizes await at the after party.

6) R.O.C. Race - The Ridiculous Obstacle Challenge takes the challenges of a military obstacle course and combines it with the competitive game show themes from favorites like Wipeout, American Gladiators, Double Dare and MXC.

7) The Survival Race - The Survival Race bills itself as the Original Family-Focused 5K, Obstacle Course & Mud Run.

8) Civilian Military Combine - The CMC starts with “The PIT” (strength element) and transitions into a 5-mile mountain run with military obstacles positioned throughout. The difficulty of the course is determined by you, the competitor, whether you are a weekend warrior looking for the ultimate challenge or a competitive athlete looking to win.

9) Pretty Muddy - Pretty Muddy is another women-only 5K with "architectural" obstacles.

10) Ruckus - Ruckus offers 2-, 4-, and 8-mile courses, and each course features 20+ large-scale obstacles.

Runners up: Obstacle Apocalypse, Savage Race, Rebel Race, Man vs. Mud, Renegade Playground Challenge, Living History Farms Race, Down & Dirty, Del Mar Mud Run, World Famous Mud Run, Casper Zombie 5K, The Runnnig Dead - Zombies, RTAW Walkers, Temecula Zombie Walk, Zombie Stomp Mud Run, Mavericks Mud Music & Obstacle 5K Run, Lozilu Womens' Mud Run Series, Dirty Dog Mud Run, Mean Streets Race Series, Mud, Sweat &  Beers, and Suicide Hill Mud Plunge 5K Adventure.

Here's Your Sign!

Sometimes when I'm out there - running, walking, or skipping to my Lou, I stumble across little bits of inspiration that make me smile.

It feels like the universe is applauding my effort, offering up encouragement in unexpected places.  It's my sign that I've chosen the right path.

Soul Fitness: 12 Ways to Nourish Your Creative Side

Vintage Jewelry Class: recycling found objects into fresh and funky wearables

This I know: we are not modular beings.  Our various components - body, brain, soul - don't operate in a vacuum.  If one part is strong or damaged or stagnant, it affects all the other parts in some way.  That's why it's so important to seek out adventures for every aspect of ourselves.

It doesn't have to be daunting.  In  fact, it can be lots of fun!  Everyday Health recently provided some inspiration with their list of a dozen ways to nurture your creativity.  I've tried several of their ideas, like creative writing, fabric crafts, painting classes, yoga, and cooking classes.  As you can see from my hand-stitched Moopy Bunny, some of my attempts haven't been pretty.  I'm fine with that, though, because they've all been fun and expanded my horizons.

Adventures in Curious Creatures: Moopy Bunny

Want to work on your soul fitness?  Check out the full list from the EH article.

1. Tackle a crossword puzzle
2. Take a knitting, crochet, or cross-stitch class
3. Take up gardening
4. Visit the theater
5. Take a painting or sculpture class
6. Take a dance class
7. Learn yoga or tai chi
8. Listen to lectures
9. Take a cooking class
10. Learn to sing or play a musical instrument
11. Learn to speak a new language
12. Go back to school and take some academic or other classes of interest to you