Workout Tip of the Week: SMART Goal Setting

Sorry for the gap in workout tips. The holidays have kept us quite busy and frankly, I haven't been working out as much as I'd like to. So just like many of you I am setting some New Year's Resolutions and Goals. As I have thought about them, a few good tips came to mind:

Make your goals SMART!

S: Specific. A goal should be specific in time and amount. For example: I want to lose 10 lbs in 2 months.

M: Measureable. You should be able to measure your success. Rather than saying, I want to be stronger, set a goal to be able to do 50 push-ups by March.

A: Attainable. Set goals that you are likely to achieve.

R: Realistic. Don't go overboard on your expectations of yourself. Set goals that you can achieve in a realistic amount of time. Perhaps set smaller short term goals that work towards a big long-term goal.

T: Timely. Always set a time frame for your goals so that you actually work on them!

Set 3 exercise goals and 3 nutrition goals for 2009 and then watch how great you feel as you have worked to improve your health. Go for it and good luck!

Here are mine:
EXERCISE:
1. Be able to do 30 push-ups without stopping by February 1st. I have always been so weak at push-ups!
2. Create one new strength training routine a week for 6 weeks so I don't get bored.
3. Run for 30 minutes once a week for 1 month.

NUTRITION:
1. Try a new healthy recipe once a week for 8 weeks until March 1st.
2. Eat 3 servings of fruits and vegetables a day for 1 month, until February 1st.
3. Drink 6 glasses of water a day for 1 month, until February 1st.

Merry Christmas to All

So far Eva has loved just about everything to do with Christmas- touching the ornaments on the tree and trying to pull them off, play with ribbon and tape while I wrap presents, and suck on candycanes given to her by her dad. But there is one thing she hates. When I use scissors to curl ribbon on a present she screams her head off. I don't really know why. Maybe it is the sound that bothers her... a mystery.

Even though she doesn't know what is going on, I am really excited for Eva's first Christmas. I thought she would be crawling by now, but she isn't (which I am a bit grateful for) so I pictured her getting into everything under and on the Christmas tree. But I think she will just sit and try to suck on as much wrapping paper as she can.

I'm also excited to go home to Salt Lake with Eva and Eric to be with all of our families.

We hope that everybody has a wonderful Christmas and a New Year filled with health, peace and joy!

Sleigh Ride & Play-Doh for Dr. Ballou

For Eric's office Christmas party we went on a sleigh ride at Bogus Basin ski resort. It was freezing, but fun! We bundled up and rode on an actual sleigh pulled by horses through the snow to a little cabin where we had a nice hot dinner and listened to a cowboy play his guitar and sing some country classics. I think the best part was coming into the cabin from the snow and having hot chocolate ready waiting for us. And then to top the night off, the staff gave Eric and Dr. Peterson each a Dr. Drill an Fill Play-Doh set that you can actually make teeth out of play-doh and stick it in some plastic gums. Then you can drill them and fill them with some gold play-doh. I think it's going to be his favorite gift this year. He played with it as soon as he got home that night. They also gave us a gift card to our favorite restarant which I'm way excited about. Eric has a great staff and we are grateful for all that they do!

Meanwhile, Eva was hanging out with her Nana and uncle Quinn. They were in town for a couple of days so Eric could take Quinn's wisdom teeth out. He was a great sport. Nana bought Eva a high-chair. Yay! Look how cute and tiny she looks in it!

Thanksgiving in Island Park

We had a cozy Thanksgiving weekend in Island Park, ID at Eric's mom's new cabin. Craig, her husband, is a builder and contractor and he just finished building a beautiful cabin there, where he is from. We had a great time helping decorate the place with old skis, snowshoes, artwork and we even put up Christmas tree and stockings. Most of the weekend was spent sitting by the fireplace and eating. I did try to follow my own advice from my workout tip, although it was extremely difficult to do when we had such a fine cook. My mother-in-law that I often refer to as Wonder Woman cooked a different meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner all weekend long. She is a great cook and it is something that she really enjoys. Eric and I were so excited to take Eva out for her first time in the snow. I think we had more fun than she did, but she sure looked cute in her bear suit!

It was so nice to be with family for Thanksgiving. Our last 4 years we have been in VA and every year we had Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant we loved in Washington, D.C. It was a fun tradition and great memory, but it sure is good to be home. Plus, it's about time I learn how to cook a turkey from the pros!

Workout Tip of the Week: Stuff the Turkey, not Yourself!

There is nothing worse on Thanksgiving night than feeling stuffed and lazy. Why not feel great and enjoy the time with family and friends? Here are a few tips to help:

1. Start the day by eating a small breakfast rather than skipping meals until turkey time. This will help you not to over-eat after being hungry all day long. Our bodies aren't meant to eat 2,000-3,000 calories at once and will store the excess calories as fat.

2. Workout! Go for a walk, jog or do a quick weights routine at home. It will feel great to burn some calories before the Thanksgiving meal.

3. Watch your portions. Eat a little bit of the foods that you really like. Sometimes if it is there, we eat it. Stop and ask yourself what you really want. Stuffing and cranberries aren't my fave so I like to save those calories for pumpkin pie, which I love!

4. Bring a healthy side dish. Sweet potatoes are full of nutrients and taste great by themselves. Bake some without adding all of the sweet and fatty stuff. A little cinnamon and sugar is all they need.

5. Do something active with your family after the meal, especially if you weren't able to workout in the morning. Play tag with the kids, start a basketball game, or go for a walk.

Eva's 1st Halloween

Have you seen a cuter tube of toothpaste? Kids make holidays so much more fun. I loved dressing Eva up for her first Halloween and taking her to the dental office. She was pretty happy until her cap would fall down over her eyes! Thanks for the help with the costume, Grandma Julia.

The next day...

And I thought I could trust the dentist.

What have the Ballou's been up to?

Oh, how time flies. I haven't updated in a while, sorry. We have been busy but life has been treating us well. We went to my first BSU game (Eric took some young men from our ward a couple months ago) last weekend and had a blast. It is great to see so many crazy fans and nothing but orange and blue. We have become quite the fans ourselves. Remind me to post a picture of Eva in her new BSU t-shirt.

Eric has been working hard, seeing lots of patients, which is great! I'm so glad that he loves what he does. I have been preparing talks and lessons for the past couple of weeks for church. Eric and I are just the opposite when we have to teach or give a talk. I get scared and sweaty just thinking about it and Eric gets excited and after jotting a few thoughts down he is prepared and does an awesome job. I had to give the dreaded dating lesson to the young women at church and prepared and prepared and probably overprepared, but it went well. I wanted to do it in a way they could remember so I used jelly-bellies and compared them to boys and I compared the selection of a favorite flavor to dating. I encouraged them to "taste all of the flavors" and date lots of boys. I don't think they will ever look at a jelly belly the same. After that lesson was over I was asked to speak on gratitude at enrichment night. I was so glad I did because it really made me aware of my many blessings and after recieving a cute little gratitude journal I have been trying to write down something every day about how the Lord has blessed my family and I.

If you look closely in the bottom picture you can see the last reason why I've been too busy to blog. Yes, I finally started Twilight. I'm probably the last of the mormon girls on earth to start reading it, but I haven't been much of a reader. After this I definitely will be. I love it! And my main reason for starting this is so that I can go to the movie with Emily, Meg and Nancy who have all read just about the whole series.