Like I mentioned previously, October is breast cancer awareness month. And an easy peasy way for you to get involved in the fight to end cancer is to “Like” a page on Facebook. Seriously, that’s it!!

Chevy Network Dealers are committed to fighting breast cancer. And for every “Like” on the Gotta Love Chevy NEO Facebook page, $1.00 will be contributed to the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Initiative. Like I said, easy peasy!

And to thank you for helping fight this disease, Gotta Love Chevy NEO is giving away three Fan-tastic Chevy Girl makeovers. Three winners will receive a complete hair, makeup, lunch and a personal shopping experience (awesome!). Plus, the winners will be featured on Fox 8 New Day Cleveland!

It’s so easy guys, head on over and like their Facebook page, all the while entering an amazing contest and helping in the fight against breast cancer!

I have been asked to participate in the NEO Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Initiative and am being compensated for my blog posts and social media promotion. However, I support this cause 100%!

Wow, I actually got another snow day today! What an awesome surprise! I got the phone call at 6:15am after I had already showered, gotten ready, and packed my lunch. So, who I am to argue with that? I went straight upstairs and climbed right back into my warm, comfy bed…..

And if my day couldn’t get any better I got a great package in the mail, too!

I received my baked goods from the blogger exchange that Erica organized! Laura, from foodsnobstl, sent me some delicious chocolate mint cookies.

These pictures don’t do the cookies justice:

I really need a light box………(hint hint, J)

I think there may only be one or two of these bad boys left. They were pretty fantastic. Thank you, Laura!!

And THEN things got even better. I know, I know, how could this be, right?

Well, I never shared this with you, but something happened the day before Thanksgiving. As J was backing out of the garage he accidentally HIT the Traverse!!!!! I’m sure you can only imagine how stressful this was. I know things happen, but this was a pretty big “thing” (TWSS – hehe – I can laugh about it now).

I told my contact at Chevy what happened and returned the car as scheduled to the dealer the next week. Since I was headed out of town to Vegas, and since J was claiming the incident on his insurance (yes, we still have separate car insurance), he was corresponding with Chevy and the dealer. The final quote ended up being over $1,000!!!! And even though the insurance was covering the bill, it was still a hit on the insurance (I’m sure everyone knows how one little thing can raise your rates!).

So, when the Chevy dealer tweeted me asking that J call them when he had time I got a little nervous. Seriously, what now? Well, they were calling to tell us that they wanted us to have a great experience with them and they were going to pay for the damage. Say that again, please??! OMG, how nice! The last email I had said “I hope you and Heather have a great Christmas as well and thank you both for being so honest. This is a great lesson for our kids…..honesty brings great results!”

So true. I try to live every day being a good example for C, and maybe one day he’ll learn from this (I can only hope!).

I can’t say enough great things about the people we dealt with during my month with the Traverse and during the “incident”. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

What are you thankful for today?

What a week, guys!! I can’t say I’ll be sorry when this week(end) is over. I am EXHAUSTED. I know that sounds so dramatic, but it’s the best word I can think of to describe how I’m feeling (yeah, I don’t sugarcoat things).

Would you know, that the morning after I returned the Traverse, it was the coldest day it’s been in CLE yet this Fall?? Go figure. No heated seats, no remote start…….blah. My car barely puttered on (I hadn’t started it in over a week!) and the gas light was on, too! Geez, welcome back to the real world, Heather.

And then on my way to work, this happened:

100,000 miles!!!!!! I was hoping to keep this car til it died. I think that may happen sooner than later….

But enough about my car. Last night we had Team Challenge over to our house for a pizza/jersey decorating party. It was fun to hang out with everyone outside of training!

We don’t mess around. This is serious business.

See me in the middle with my head down??? Yeah, that’s how I write, too. I can’t help it – I’ve always written that way and still get made fun of for it, too. Love who you are, right? Hehe.

But what I found AWESOME is that Cindy (to my left in the above picture) actually convinced her husband to decorate hers!!

LOVE.IT.

So, this is it. We leave for Vegas tomorrow morning. I’ve done everything I can to help prepare my Team for Sunday. I still can’t believe the season is almost over – it went quick! I plan on recapping my worries, struggles, and successes as the Team’s coach next week. It’s been quite the experience!

Have a great weekend everyone, wish us luck!!!

Hey guys!!

Tonight’s post is going to be a quickie, but goodie. I’m so busy trying to get ready for hosting a Team Challenge pizza party on Wednesday! Plus, there are lots of preparations happening for the weekend, too (but are a secret because I know some of my Team read the blog!!).

Also, tomorrow is sadly my last day with the Traverse. We’ve had some good times, but I have to turn her back into the dealer tomorrow afternoon. So, J and I thought it we would have fun with one of the videos. I’m sure all of you have seen LeBron James’ newest commercial, but if you haven’t check it out here. And then watch this:

[vimeogallery]

[vimeogallery]

Whew! What a weekend it has been! I can’t believe it’s Monday night already and I only have 2 more days of work this week.

So, let me tell you about my Friday (I know, I know, I’m so late!). I actually had the day off of work because I was going to be on television! I was scheduled to be on the Robin Swoboda (local news personality) show Friday morning due to the Chevy Girls on the Go program I’m a part of this month.

It’s actually funny that we were scheduled to be on the Robin Swoboda show because there is this long running joke in our family about how my dad loves Robin Swoboda and my mom doesn’t like her. So I found it amusing when I was told I was going to be on the show. And then I came to find out my Grandpa actually watches her every morning, so that was fun, too!

I arrived right on time, and was allowed in the private back parking lot.

I was escorted onto the set and into the audience with the other two bloggers part of Chevy’s program. It was really interesting watching the crew organize the set.

The mood definitely changed when Robin arrived.

She’s just as corky and crazy as she is on her show. What you see is what you get with this lady!

Before I knew it, we were mic’d up and ready to go.

I don’t have any pictures of the actual show, because we filmed outside in Robin’s Traverse (she gets to be part of the program, too, and has her own Traverse to drive around!), but she was nice enough to pose for a picture afterwards:

Live television is NOT easy. The entire crew is rushing around the whole time making sure everything is working properly and that the show runs smoothly. It was quite the experience! However, I was relieved when it was over. Television is not for me – despite my best efforts to look and act normal, I was a complete dork. I guess Robin isn’t the only one who “what you see is what you get” applies to!!

Have you ever been on television? Or met a celebrity? Were you calm and collected, or a red, blotchy, blubbery mess like me??

Wow, thank you, thank you, thank you for all the amazing comments on yesterday’s post!! I replied to most of you explaining how hard it was to write that, as I’m still one to shy away from major attention. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be the first one to break out the running man at a party (trust me, it’s been known to happen more than once), but when it comes to the serious stuff I’m shy, shy, shy. Soooo……thank you!!!!!!

I feel like this blog has been all about me, me, me lately (meeting Guy Fieri and then Women’s Health), so I want to know more about YOU. That article in the magazine really got me thinking. What do you think defines you?

• Are you a great cook or baker?
• Are you a runner?
• Do you own your own business?
• Can you touch your elbow to your ear?

Whatever it is, I want to know!!!

I’d like to believe that I’m a great mother and coach/fitness instructor. I try to help people reach their fitness goals by encouraging them to make the right choices along the way. I know that we all have it in us to reach our goals, but sometimes we just need that little extra push or word of encouragement to make us see that we can do it.

YOU ARE STRONGER THAN YOU THINK YOU ARE (mind and body)!!

I say this phrase in class all the time.

Anyways, this post is getting a little heavy for me. Here’s a quick photo shoot from the weekend to lighten things up:

We were headed to lunch thanks to Chevy and the Mom’s Time Out program!

Love Jen all the way on the right, btw…….showin off that booty!!!

Hehe……..!

So, spill it. What do you think makes you who you are??

Thank you for all the nice birthday wishes!! My Facebook and Twitter were blowing up on Saturday – it was such a great surprise!

This year was an Apple birthday. J actually upgraded my iPhone to the iPhone 4 (!!) since I had the original iPhone and it was unbearably SLOW. AND my parents and sis got me a new Nano. I like to use the Nano when I run since it’s so nice and small. I know I could just run with my phone, but it’s too big and bulky for me (unless it’s during a long race and I need to text my location!).

My Nano was SO in need of an upgrade, upgrade:

Yeah, ummmm……see that black spot on the screen? No idea. One day I turned it on and that’s what it looked like. I’m assuming from sweat since I’m a sweat whore. Who knows. But can you see the song it’s set on?? I swear that is NOT staged. I have a habit of trying to find that song at the end of my runs. It pulls me through that “I just want this to be over” stage.

I may or may not even fist pump at the end. Can’t help it. Fist pumping makes me happy.

Anyways, my post today isn’t about DJ Pauly D. It’s about a confession I have to make.

When I first started Mile26andMore in January, the only people I told were my family and maybe 1 or 2 friends. That was it. I was worried. For way too many reasons. My biggest fear was that my closest friends wouldn’t like it. Their opinions mean the world to me – more than anything else – and I knew I would be devastated if they made fun of or laughed about it. I’m not even really sure why I felt they wouldn’t like it. I wasn’t afraid to put it out there for strangers to read, but I was terrified of telling my friends. I was afraid of failing.

Well, the past few months I’ve been trying to get over my fear. Telling my best friend was the most difficult. I knew I should have told her when I first started the blog, and I knew she would be mad/hurt. Plus, I was scared to tell her because I value her opinion more than anyone else’s. Luckily we’re mature (and old!) enough now that we can talk things out, but I can’t say we didn’t shed a few tears in the process.

Then last week I finally broke down and emailed all my friends and family to tell them about the amazing Chevy opportunity I got (and about the blog). The response I have gotten has blown me away. I wish now that I would have told everyone sooner!! I need to learn to be OK with who I am and trust that my friends and family will accept me for just that. The person you see/read about on this blog is exactly who I am – and I should be proud of that, and of this blog.

Thanks, Kropf, for helping me realize this.

If you have a blog, did you spread the word right away? Or was it a secret? If you don’t have a blog, what’s your biggest fear?

Hey hey!! Thank you SO MUCH for the nice comments on my last post. I’m crazy excited to be given the opportunity to be included in the Mom’s Time Out promotion this month. I’ll definitely be sharing some fun things with you over the next 28 days.

So, today was a GREAT day. I can’t believe how good it turned out. Guess I should start from the beginning…

This morning was COLD in CLE. Like, 30 degrees cold. I should explain to you that I despise the cold. Unless I’m outside running, I want to be in warm 75 to 80 degree weather at all times. I have tried time and time again to get J to move but that boy is determined to stay here. I love my city and all, I just don’t love the weather! Are you wondering where I’m going with this? Well, how fun was it for me this morning to use the heated seats in my new Traverse to get nice and toasty in NO TIME at all. OMG, SO. TOTALLY. COOL. (or should I say warm??) My day definitely started off on the right foot.

Then, after work I came home to find the package I won from Erica and Mandy’s blog!

Along with the coupons for the Salad Express, Erica had offered to send a baked good to the winner. When she told me I won (!!) I told her to surprise me with the goodies.

How sweet was it of her to include the NuNaturals?? She knows that I love it, and it bothers her husband’s belly, so she sent hers off to me!!

She’s too cute.

I know you’re dying to know what came in the tupperware container…..

Check out those chocolate chips. I don’t think I’ve ever seen chocolate chips that big before. Awesome.

C was all over these as soon as he got home from school.

The whole family approved!! Thanks, Erica! You and your cookies are seriously da bomb diggity.

So, if things couldn’t get any better, I finally got out for a weekday run. Like I mentioned above, I hate the cold, but I love the cold weather for running. I’m so much faster when it’s cold (maybe it’s all in my head?)!

Anyways, I did a tempo run today. I’d really like to increase my pace for when I start really training again in January, so I have decided to incorporate some runs geared towards speed. A tempo run is defined as:

• A Tempo run consists of a warm-up period at easy pace (1 mile) then pick a pace for the middle miles and finish easy for the last mile of the workout. The objective is to increase the length of the workout at pace over the duration of the training program. This will help you maintain your marathon pace over a longer period of time during the actual event.
  

I surprised myself!

• Mile 1 = 9:04 (warmup)
• Mile 2 = 8:39
• Mile 3 = 8:16
• Mile 4 = 8:07 (!!!)
• Mile 5 = 9:19

My average pace for the 5 miles was 8:41. That’s Speedy Gonzales speed for me!

I hope to keep this up and get one Tempo Run in a week. I have to be honest, it was tough for me to get out there today, but after I did I felt so great. I’m so glad I did it.

What a great day. I need more of these in my life.

Did you have a great day? Why or why not??

So, I know you have all been anxiously waiting to hear my big news………..right?? Hehe, just kidding!

But I am definitely excited to share with you that for the month of November……….

I AM ONE OF CHEVY’S “GIRLS ON THE GO“!!

I seriously don’t know what I did to deserve this privilege/honor, but I’ll take it.

I was contacted about a month ago by Chevy to ask if I wanted to participate in their “Mom’s Time Out” program and I said “Ummmmm…….hellzzz yeah!”. If only you could have been a fly on the wall that day when I called J to tell him about it. I was so excited!

I was anxiously waiting for today because I got to go to the dealer to pick up my brand new ride!

We were at the dealer for about 45 minutes, as Tony explained all the features.

I have never owned a Chevy car myself, so this is a new experience for me. I have to say, though, I’m already pretty impressed. This bad boy is PIMPED OUT. Check it out:

• GPS
• Onstar
• XM/Sirius Radio
• Heated seats (score!!)
• Remote start (double score!!)
• DVD player for C and J

I’ll also be sharing my experiences this month by video. If you’ve ever wanted to get to know me in person, now is the time. I’m goofy, uncoordinated, and 100% real. Here’s a glimpse (double click on the box below to play movie):

If you’d like to see more of my gracefulness and poise (totally kidding, but you know you do!), you can follow me here:

• www.GottaLoveChevyNEO.com
• www.Facebook.com/GottaLoveChevyNEO
• Twitter = @chevyohio (#chevygirls)

Peace out, yo.

Please know that the Girls on the Go campaign is being sponsored by NorthEast Ohio Chevy Dealers who gave chosen bloggers a 2010 Chevy Traverse to test drive for one month and blog about their experiences using the vehicle. Mom’s Time Out has given us some fun excursions to do and are providing us with gift cards to allow us to do this.