30 Day Exercise Challenge For People Who Don't Like to Work Out

It's that time of year..... the end of the year parties, get-togethers and over abundance of tempting food.  The time of year everyone indulges, splurges on food they love, or just snacks on items because they are in front of them.  To add insult, the TV advertisers feel this is a perfect time to start making you feel guilty about your pants being snug and advertise all their weight loss options.  Every other commercial is a weight loss gimmick or program or the latest and greatest piece of exercise equipment.

I used to jog

Then on top of that, due to holiday season all of my social media is flooded with all the direct sales programs for losing weight, working out, or a way to balance your diet, and pro-biotic health of some sort.  I am gonna let you guys in on a little secret.  I say if these things work for you, then I give you a lot of credit because  I'm cheap and lazy when it comes to my health.

I hate buying exercise equipment because I'll use it for a week and then it will collect dust in my closet somewhere.  I'm also cheap, I can't justify purchasing something I need to sign up for auto-refills on or need to keep in touch with a sales person to order.  Along with being cheap, I'm secretive.  I don't want to have to contact someone every time I need to order a product.  I want to go to the store, use the u-scan machine and get on with life.  I don't want to contact anyone to purchase anything.  I guess you can say I'm complicated when it comes to my health and working out.

What I need is accountability. I used to jog and run 5K races.  I spent a whole year training to run and competing in local 5K races and even ran an 8K race.  But I had a friend I met with to work out.  I need someone to compete against when working out.  I need to be able to work out with someone else in order to get me there every day.  But going back to my statement about being cheap, I don't like to go to the gym.  So I realized unless I motivate myself to get in gear, I am never going to do anything about it.

I decided to do a 30 day work out challenge.....but which one?  Do I want to focus on my butt, abs, gut, or arms?  So I thought, since I'm doing one challenge, how hard can it be to do all of the challenges?  I decided to merge together three challenges to make a total body work out challenge that didn't require the gym, exercise equipment, or leaving my house.  Now, let me just say I am not a fitness expert, I have no idea if this will work, if it's healthy, or if it's a good idea.  I just want to try it, and am making an accountability group to help with with actually doing the work out.  So if you want to join me, consult your doctor prior to doing the exercises and if at any time these are too much for you, by all means, stop doing the work out.  But if you are game for a crazy adventure, lets work out together. And from now on I will be using exercize with a z, because we are snazzy like that.

Join my facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1888512898036946/

Leap of Faith

Sometimes in life, you just have to take a chance.  Recently I took a really big chance.  

Our family owns three businesses.  Larkin Food Center, a rural store, Grandma's Pumpkin Patch and an excavation company, Earthmovers of Midland.  These businesses keep us hopping.  My family purchased Larking Food Center in 2010 and I quit my corporate job to be a manager of the store with my mom.  I also have been managing our seasonal business, Grandma's Pumpkin Patch since 2007.  Last year an opportunity came up for me and I have also been working as the Director of Fund Development at a local non-profit.  It was a fun filled year with lots of growth opportunity both personally and professionally.  By working at the non-profit I gained experience in management, learned to work with a Board of Directors, gained exposure in the community, and developed experience in sales.  The past year was a busy one, and also a stressful one.

My mom taking selfies with her Dr.

In November of 2015 my mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She is a fighter, and is determined to get through this experience, and I have no doubt she will beat her cancer!  However, as a family we wanted to make sure she could focus on the battle ahead and not be weighed down with added stress.  The family businesses are a priority, along with family.  When something goes wrong were are a "circle the wagons" type group.  We all gather together and help each other.  My sister took over the book work side of the store and Earthmovers so mom doesn't have to worry about it.  My dad, husband and sister's boyfriend help with operations as they can and I quit my job at the non-profit.   I will be focusing on the daily operation of the store and maintaining Grandma's Pumpkin Patch.  Everything will work out, and the main concern is getting mom healthy again. 

 

Through this process we have been looking to utilize resources we already have.  In the family store we had a large empty warehouse....maybe a better description is a warehouse not being used for it's potential.  This place was not empty, it was filled with stuff.  Along with a warehouse, we have beautiful property.  Grandma's Pumpkin Patch is our family farm and we are blessed with beautiful woods, natural landscapes and a wonderful fall setting.  These two locations got me thinking and I decided to open MI Studio.

It even had a flash!

I LOVE the art of photography.  Always have.  I was taking selfies and pictures of my friends back in the 90's with disposable cameras.  Now I use my dads's fancy DSLR Nikon camera and have been collecting props and trinkets through the years.  I thought, why not utilize what we already have and open a photography studio.  However, the thought of taking someone else's photos terrifies me.  I would have anxiety over them not liking it or the criticism. MI Studio is a studio for photographers to use.  

Many people have the talent and the equipment but not the space for a studio.  We have the space! MI Studio is a full photography studio with a graffiti wall, back drops, Savage seamless paper backdrops, a brick wall stage, and an area that looks like the inside of a barn.  The studio also has lighting equipment and many, many, many props.  The property at Grandma's Pumpkin Patch is available as an outdoor studio with great natural settings and landscaped settings including an antique truck.  MI Studio offers a meeting area as well.  This space is available for rent for parties or to host classes, meeting space and if you have a membership to MI Studio you can use the space to meet clients.  Half of the battle of starting a business is having a space that you can present your brand professionally and MI Studio can help with that.  

MI Studio is my leap of faith that has me excited and nervous all at the same time. I hope the community enjoys the space as much as I do.  To learn more about MI Studio please visit our Facebook page.

Crafted Market

 Spring is approaching and with that comes farmer's markets.  This year at Grandma's Pumpkin Patch we would like to bring the farmer's market experience to our area.  

Hue Got It doing henna, photo by photolodico

The Crafted Market will feature many local artists displaying their original works of art, re-purposed items, and shabby sheek flea market flip style creations.  We will also have local farmers selling seasonal produce, and will be cooking the famous Grandma's Pumpkin Patch donuts.

Come to the patch, enjoy the warm summer air, shop local produce, and discover treasures from local artists and vendors.  

Dates of the markets are 

June 19th, 2016 10am - 2pm

August 7th, 2016 10am - 2pm

Interested in being a vendor? We are looking for produce vendors, honey, baked goods (must comply with all cottage food laws), artists, repurposed artists and more.  Contact us with questions at:
Amanda, 989-513-5222
grandmaspumpkinpatchmidland@gmail.com

DOWNLOAD VENDOR AP HERE

Hope to see you at the market!