Summer Challenge(s)

First off, Happy Global Running Day! I swear it was just National Running Day, but I’m not one to argue with the Important Days Calendar. I hope you are celebrating this day with some movement! I’ll be heading off on my three mile training run soon-ish. Probably.

These days I’m having such a great time not setting an alarm and getting out of bed, that I can’t even be upset that this weekend’s long run ended in a sports bra sunburn and that yesterday’s run was more of a walk. It’s summertime and this teacher is tired!

On to the point of this post, however.

On the last day of school our admin team presented us with a challenge: a summer BINGO challenge. My School is a Leader in Me Lighthouse School meaning we teach the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to our students using kid friendly language. We also strive to live by those habits and set examples for our students. This summer, to me, is all about Habit #7: Sharpen the Saw. We spend all school year working hard and not really focusing on ourselves. Sharpening the saw is doing just that.

Our summer BINGO challenge has some cool stuff on it, and I’m excited to get started. I love participating in any type of activity I can earn prizes with. I just really love prizes. I also love challenges and trying new things…for the most part. Here are a few things that are on our BINGO sheet:

-Try and activity that you’ve never done before.

-Go on a family bike ride.

-Write a positive note and mail it to a friend.

-Eat something you’ve never tried before.

-Turn off all electronics, including TV.

-Create a goal for the summer and track it daily.

-Write a list of your unique gifts and talents.

Some others included setting mission statements, cooking and eating as a family, and celebrating goals.

I love this idea because it encompasses all parts of a person, not just the physical.

So far I haven’t completed too many of these, but I’m definitely going to work on it! I’ve started an online Book Club that’s already grown to almost twenty-five people and my anxiety is doing just fine with that, thankyouverymuch. I’ve only got one trip planned so far, but I’m hoping to visit my favorite Florida parks (Disney and Universal, did you think I meant nature?), do some fun things around my house, and just R-E-L-A-X. Oh, there’s also that pesky marathon training thing I signed up to do. How could I forget that?

Summer is the best time to get back to yourself and to find new things that you love. I’d love to hear from you about your summer plans!

Now, I’m off to celebrate Global Running Day!

Road Tested: XX2i Bahamas1 Optics Sunnies (with coupon code)

Disclaimer: I received XX2i Bahamas1 Optics to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro, and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews! All opinions are my own and no compensation has been provided.

The summer is quickly approaching and with it, the end of school is less than a week away. As a stay at home mom, I have mixed feelings about this because while I’m able to get a lot more accomplished during the school year, I do love summertime with the kids.

The summer bucket list runneth over with fun activities we just don’t have the time, or weather, for during the school year. Lots of swimming in the pool, gardening, going to Six Flags Great Adventure (we have passes this year!), and hopefully lots more.

I feel like the past few months have been a whirlwind of activities and while I know that summer will be as much, if not more so, filled with things – I’m going with the thought process that they’ll be more enjoyable and less stress inducing.

About a month ago we were having a particularly stress filled week and I received a delivery from XX2i! It was the Bahamas1 Optics Sunglasses with tortoise frames. These sunglasses were a reminder to hang on, summer’s just around the bend.

XX2i are traditionally known for their sports sunglasses. Now, when I’m running I need to wear my regular glasses. It’s just a fact that if I want to be able to see and not trip, my vision needs to be 20/20.

However, the Bahamas1 are casual wear and therefore I can rock them when I’m throwing caution to the depth perception wind. Of course, before I could even put them on my face… the boys asked if they could try them.

Two thumbs up from the 12 year old. Lucas says, “I like how they’re brown inside and they’re comfortable. They’re stylish and look good… I look pretty rad with them, huh?”

Gabriel, age 8, says: “The clouds are orange. I like being able to look up at the sky without it hurting my eyes.”

What’s great about these is that even though they’re casual, they still have the polarized lenses which means that there’s little to no glare. I never had that with casual sunnies that I’ve owned in the past (although to be fair, many of my casual sunnies are the cheap ones from the drugstore).

Your eyes can actually sunburn and while I take great precautions when it comes to my skin, I never really thought about my eyes before. For shame! As I get older, I’m trying to get better about doing the little things to protect myself.

In the short month that I’ve had them I’ve worn them in Disney, at a Ragnar relay, and of course, in my yard.

Memorial Day weekend

My favorite time to wear my new sunnies is while I’m relaxing in and around my pool in the backyard. We opened our pool a few weeks ago and since then I’ve been outside nearly every day, whether it for vacuuming the pool, swimming, or the most necessary, being lifeguard/referee for the kids. (Next I need to get a whistle.)

The Bahamas1 are durable and while I try to treat my glasses with care, accidents do happen. These seem like they’ll stand up to the Daniel family lifestyle. However, if they get scratched or damaged, there’s a lifetime warranty!

Personally I’m a fan of the matte tortoise rims but there’s a few to choose from: crystal/black, matte black, and white/black. Which would you choose?

If you’re considering getting a pair of your own, code “xx2irocks” gets you 50% off purchases on XX2i.com. Sweet, right?

Also, mark your calendars! The Twitter BibRave #BibChat with sponsor XX2i is on June 20th! I’ll be there (@scootadoot) and they’re always a good time. Make sure to swing by and say hello!

Check out other BibRavePro reviews: Tedrick – Danielle – Angie – Matt – Vanessa -Nicole – Emily