Thanks For Walking With Us - Goodbye!

It seems the time for our WalkingChallenge Group has passed. With little to no activity over the last many months, we've decided to close the group.

If you've stumbled across this site from someone's graphic or link, I recommend you hop on over to WalkerTracker.com and join the community there. Get yourself a good pedometer (I love my Omron HJ-112) and keep on walking.

Thanks for your time with us!

Kim & RoseyGrape

August Graphics

Only a few days late ~ not bad for someone who's fallen off the walking wagon!

August Banner:

August Banner Code:

<a href="http://www.andfam.net/walk"><img src="http://www.andfam.net/walk/challenge08.gif" border=0></a>

August Goal Reached:

August Award Code:

<a href="http://www.andfam.net/walk"><img src="http://www.andfam.net/walk/walking_award08.gif" hspace=5 vspace=5" border=0></a>

And for those who did join in and weren't able to reach their goal this month but DID walk, August's "I walked!" award!!

August I walked!!:

August I walked code:

<a href="http://www.andfam.net/walk"><img src="http://www.andfam.net/walk/silver08.gif" hspace=5 vspace=5" border=0></a>

Free Pedometer!!!

One of the ladies at hsb's Blubber Bloggers, posted a link to a free pedometer offer. You have to take a very short survey for Pfizer. If you wanted a pedometer to help get walking, totally free, here's the way to do it! :-D

Here's the URL:
http://www.myheartnow.com/content/index.jsp

:-)
Kim

Better Late Than Never - June Graphics!!

Gah, can I BE any slower?

But here they are, late but not TOO late! *blush*

June Banner:

June Banner Code:

<a href="http://www.andfam.net/walk"><img src="http://www.andfam.net/walk/challenge06.gif" border=0></a>

June Goal Reached:

June Award Code:

<a href="http://www.andfam.net/walk"><img src="http://www.andfam.net/walk/walking_award06.gif" hspace=5 vspace=5" border=0></a>

And for those who did join in and weren't able to reach their goal this month but DID walk, June's "I walked!" award!!

June I walked!!:

June I walked code:

<a href="http://www.andfam.net/walk"><img src="http://www.andfam.net/walk/silver06.gif" hspace=5 vspace=5" border=0></a>

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And, just to save myself the Slacker Label in July -- Here it is, early! I know! Don't faint!

July Banner:

July Banner Code:

<a href="http://www.andfam.net/walk"><img src="http://www.andfam.net/walk/challenge07.gif" border=0></a>

July Goal Reached:

July Award Code:

<a href="http://www.andfam.net/walk"><img src="http://www.andfam.net/walk/walking_award07.gif" hspace=5 vspace=5" border=0></a>

And for those who did join in and weren't able to reach their goal this month but DID walk, July's "I walked!" award!!

July I walked!!:

July I walked code:

<a href="http://www.andfam.net/walk"><img src="http://www.andfam.net/walk/silver07.gif" hspace=5 vspace=5" border=0></a>

Hey!!!!

I forgot to make a June Challenge image! It's been almost a week!

I guess I better get to work!

Neat Resource

Hey, did you know if Rosey or I don't post here, after a week or so the front page just comes up blank? So sad!!!!

I found a neat resource today, for anyone trying to make better healthy eating choices -- NutritionData.com

This nutrition data site analyzes your favorite packaged and other foods ...

but then, under that, there's a pull-down that says 'Better Choices" for that category.

SO I went and calculated my WW points for the 2 T. of M&Ms I plan to eat (LOL) and then saw this "better choices" thing ...

The idea is that you log everything, for now, get a feel for how you're eating, and then you start making better choices - they have a magic rating system for both how *filling* the food is, and how *nutritious* ... I don't agree that all of their choices are better - sugar free jello? But then again, I *am* comparing it to the M&M's I'm about to eat. LOL!

Anyway it's very interesting, and it would be nice if we could keep moving up the 'better choice' scale until we were eating pretty healthy, eh?

Here's a link to the M&M's analysis, and you can see the choices pull down under the pretty graphs: Nutritional Data for Peanut Butter M&Ms

And a link to their "Better Choices" concept: Better Choices Diet

Kinda Nifty. :)

Walking Challenge made easier?

It seems the time for our WalkingChallenge Group has passed. With little to no activity over the last many months, we've decided to close the group.

If you've stumbled across this site from someone's graphic or link, I recommend you hop on over to WalkerTracker.com and join the community there. Get yourself a good pedometer (I love my Omron HJ-112) and keep on walking.

Thanks for your time with us!

Kim & RoseyGrape

New Graphics

At Melissa's suggestion, I've added some graphics -- see the Graphics & Icons page for the code:

The "goal reached" awards are now monthly, so you can make a little virtual trophy wall:

And for those who did join in and weren't able to reach their goal, there are "I walked!" awards!!

Sorry to be so slow on getting the actual list of walkers done. I haven't forgotten.

:)
Kim

May Walking Challenge

It seems the time for our WalkingChallenge Group has passed. With little to no activity over the last many months, we've decided to close the group.

If you've stumbled across this site from someone's graphic or link, I recommend you hop on over to WalkerTracker.com and join the community there. Get yourself a good pedometer (I love my Omron HJ-112) and keep on walking.

Thanks for your time with us!

Kim & RoseyGrape

Belated Week's Check In

I am so sorry for the delay in adding people & their updates. Easter weekend was busy, and I've been sidetracked with some things that had to be done this week.

Here's the walking list with the updates as of Saturday I received in response to the Check-In email:

Last week's walker update:

• Kim in MI ~ goal: 50 miles ~ 30
• ilicat ~ goal: 50 miles (Kim's daughter) ~ 12.5
• RoseyGrape ~ goal: 50 miles ~ 25
• Chris ~ goal: 44 miles
• Trish ~ goal: 39 miles ~ 8
• Amber ~ goal: 50 miles
• Connie ~ goal: 25 miles
• Jaybird ~ goal: 40 miles
• Monica ~ goal: ?? miles
• Nicole ~ goal: 45 miles ~ 19
• Jennifer ~ goal: 40 miles ~ 25
• Christi ~ goal: 25 miles ~ 15
• Kathy ~ goal: 50 miles ~ 10
• Elaine ~ goal: 20 miles ~ 6
• ChathamMommy ~ goal: 30 miles
• Deb ~ goal: 50 miles
• Sara ~ goal: 40 miles
• Melissa ~ goal: 75 miles walk & bike~ 40.7
• Kris ~ goal: 40 miles (15/wk) ~ 20
• Tiany ~ 40 goal: miles
• Shannon B. ~ goal: 40 miles ~ 28.5
• Emily23 ~ goal: 50 miles ~ 6
• Leslie ~ goal: 30 miles ~ 4
• Teena ~ goal: 12 miles
• Carolyn ~ goal: 60 miles ~ 19
• Lisa Michele ~ goal: 20 miles
• sÜe ~ goal: 25 miles
• momn4boys ~ goal: 60 miles ~ 39
• Diana ~ goal: to walk more than she usually does, a little every day
• Jaynee ~ goal: 50 miles
• Karla ~ goal: 15 miles
• Pam ~ goal: 6 miles
• Karen HoosierMom2boys ~ goal: 80 miles ~ 57
• MissyJo ~ goal: 100 miles

It's never too late to join us!! To sign up for the April challenge, either drop me an email or post a comment ...

---

:-D
Kim

Resurrection Morning

Happy Resurrection Morning!

Today is a day to take off from walking, take off from working, and reflect.

Imagine waking up, heavy hearted, remembering as sleep fades from your mind that a cherished loved one, a teacher and a friend, has died. And because a holiday was coming, there wasn't time for ceremony and good-byes. And so as you wake you realize the task before you that day is to take care of those final things, the details, of saying good-bye. All the hopes and dreams you had, big ones and small ones, have been swept away as last week turned from wonderful to ugly in just a few short days, and now all you're left with is a bleak future and the task of an honorable good-bye to the dead.

So you and a friend meet, heavy hearted, in the early morning hours ...

... and discover that, beyond all hope, beyond all understanding, your friend is NOT dead, even though He was certainly so. He wasn't just saved from the brink of death, but was raised by the hand of God with all authority over death, and all the hopes and dreams you'd had when He was alive are even more hopeful and joyful, because you realize He is, beyond a doubt, who He said He was!

He, who loved you when He was living, who set your heart and mind on the things of God, who taught you of true love and true repentance, has overcome sin and evil and even death itself. He has triumphed over everything that we once needed to fear from life, and offers eternal hope to all who believe and come to Him in faith, repenting of their sins and confessing Him as Lord.

Praise God for the gift of His Son, who willingly became a sacrifice for our sins, an atonement for all that separates us from our Holy God. Praise God, who raised Christ from the dead, to set Him in His rightful place in Heaven, our Lord and our Savior.

Rejoice, today, for our Redeemer lives!

You can find this wonderful Truth in your Bible in Luke 24

Second Saturday ~ Check-In

Good morning! It's Saturday! It's the middle of the most wonderous weekend of the Christian year! I pray that you are all doing well, and enjoying the weekend anticipating the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Drop me a comment or email, let me know how you're doing on your walking goal!

I know a few people have emailed/commented wanting to join the walk! Yes, you can join! I will get your name added to the list later this weekend, I apologize for my delays. I'll add you when I update goals, here, tonight!

For now I'm off to enjoy the weekend with extended family who are visiting!

Squeeze in a walk with your families, for fun!

Kim

First Saturday Check-In

Good morning, everyone!

It's a brilliant but cold Saturday in Michigan. The perfect time for a walking check-in! Drop me a line by email or by comments and let me know how you're doing on your Walking Challenge, and I'll update it below so we can all rejoice with you! Would you believe we currently have almost 30 walkers!!!! Whooo!

If you would like to get site updates when the site is updated, you can use the RSS feed: http://andfam.net/walk/index.rdf or you can email me and I'll put you on the email notification auto-updating thingie.

I plan to send out a little check-up email a little later today (I need to gather all your names together in one email list) or visit your website if I don't have your email ... but don't wait for me, drop us a line and let me know how your walking is going!!!

---

This week's walker update:

• Kim in MI ~ goal: 50 miles ~ 15.5
• ilicat ~ goal: 50 miles (Kim's daughter) ~ 12.5
• RoseyGrape ~ goal: 50 miles ~ 13
• Chris ~ goal: 44 miles
• Trish ~ goal: 39 miles ~ 8
• Amber ~ goal: 50 miles
• Connie ~ goal: 25 miles
• Jaybird ~ goal: 40 miles
• Monica ~ goal: ?? miles
• Nicole ~ goal: 50 miles ~ 8
• Jennifer ~ goal: 40 miles ~ 15
• Christi ~ goal: 25 miles ~ 7
• Kathy ~ goal: 50 miles ~ 10
• Elaine ~ goal: 20 miles ~ 2
• ChathamMommy ~ goal: 30 miles
• Deb ~ goal: 50 miles
• Sara ~ goal: 40 miles
• Melissa ~ goal: 50 miles walk & bike~ 20.5
• Kris ~ goal: 60 miles (15/wk) ~ 14
• Tiany ~ 40 goal: miles
• Shannon B. ~ goal: 40 miles ~ 15.5
• Emily23 ~ goal: 50 miles
• Leslie ~ goal: 30 miles ~ 4
• Teena ~ goal: 12 miles
• Carolyn ~ goal: 60 miles ~ 19
• Lisa Michele ~ goal: 20 miles
• sÜe ~ goal: 25 miles
• momn4boys ~ goal: 60 miles ~ 15

It's never too late to join us!! To sign up for the April challenge, either drop me an email or post a comment ...

---

:-D
Kim

Anyone who did NOT get an email from me today, let me know and I will add you to the email list.

And anyone who got an email and did NOT want the reminder/encouragement, LOL, let me know that, too, and I'll take you off the list!

P.s. - RoseyGrape put some new reviews up!!! Check them out!

Even Better about MapMyRun

The other day I posted a link to MapMyRun, where you can zoom in to your town (even if it can't find your address to start you - try with your zip code) and then click through your walk.

What I didn't see before is that you can also put in your height, weight, and how long it took you to walk/run your route, and it calculates the calories burned!

Unfortunately, there were no checkboxes for 1.) carrying a baby in a back pack and 2.) pushing a toddler AND a preschooler in a double stroller. I think carrying 20+ pounds on my back and pushing probably around 100 lbs in a stroller with flat tires (note to self - inflate tires on stroller!) should count for SOMEthing, LOL!

Anyway, I get to add another mile to my miles for today, AND rest knowing I burned off at least ... a little ... of the cheese popcorn I ate! LOL!

Don't Miss This Resource!

I know it can be fun to walk with exercise videos or on a treadmill, but some days there's nothing better than piling the smallest children in the stroller and taking off to walk in the fresh air and sunshine (yes, we see it occasionally in Michigan, too, LOL) ...

"But..." you might say to yourself, "If I walk with the stroller, I won't know how many miles I've walked! I better stay home."

Don't let that stop you!

Unless you live in some podunk rural Canadian town* you can not only map your area, but map your walk and calculate distance! Yeah, seriously!

Try it out here: http://walkingguide.mapmyrun.com/

Even if it places your house wrong (it does mine) or can't find your house, if you start with the zip code and zoom in to see the roads YOU know are there, you can click where you walk!

*Ok, I admit, this was a little loving poke at RoseyGrape. :-* I hope she still loves me. ("Oh no, honey, don't you dare! KimMI loves you" -- did I get the Quote right, R??) -- the mapmyrun site uses google maps, so if you can find your town, it hopefully will work for you, but of couse I can't promise it will work for everyone.

Coming Soon - April!

It's not too early to start thinking about your April Walking Goal!

Remember the heart of the challenge ~ to aim for a little more than you might do, otherwise.

Here's the new April challenge banner:

<a href="http://www.andfam.net/walk"><img src="http://www.andfam.net/walk/challenge04.gif" border=0></a>

Feel free also to set multiple goals ~ my personal hope in these monthly challenges is that my walking will become a habit, that I will be a woman who walks. So I have a mini-goal of 10 miles a week (5 days, 2 miles per day) but I aim for walking 6 days a week, and making 50 by month end. I also have a goal for 2006 to walk 500 miles. I re-did the ticker-picker code so that it isn't month-specific anymore, you can use it for a weekly goal, monthly goal, yearly goal, whatever!

Other things that are (hopefully) coming soon:

• A List of April Walkers!
  
• Reviews of Walking Videos
  
• Occasional (weekly?) encouraging posts / thoughts / tips
  
• Weekly check-ins for those who want to "come together" to share our progress
  
• An encouragement email for those who want it

  
  I'm hoping to walk that fine line between making a useful site for the Challenge, and not spending tooooo much time online! :)
  

How can we encourage you in your walking? Drop me an email or a comment with your thoughts and suggestions!

If you'd like to sign up for the April challenge, again either drop me an email or post a comment ...
there are three options (that I can think of!) to join -- you pick what suits you!

1.) please link my blog so others can stop by & encourage me
2.) I'll give you my email so you can gently pester me, occasionally
3.) I'll give you a name and my goal, but I don't want to be linked or pestered, I'll comment when I want to update the site with my goals

Lastly, if you haven't read it yet, check out the What IS the Walking Challenge?! post for what it's all about.

:-)
Kim