Who needs the gym when you've got ExerciseTV?

My 20th high school reunion was last week. 

Nothing short of public speaking freaked me out as much as that - and I can't explain why. In most aspects of my life, I'm a pretty confident person. I'm not bad looking (no Zeta Jones, but OK), I'm reasonably smart, have a degree from a respectable university, I've got a great career... And yet, with the reunion coming up, I felt completely inadequate. I had to have GREAT outfit, GREAT hair, and I absolutely, positively HAD to lose that last five pounds. 

For a girl who, in 1989,  wore combat boots every day and enough eyeliner to make Amy Winehouse jealous, you 'd think I'd have been a lot cooler and more aloof about the whole thing, but but no.  

The outfit and the hair seemed easy enough, but the 5 pounds... I'd seriously plateaued. After the birth of son #3, I ballooned up like a post-breakup Jessica Simpson. I joined Curves (I swear I didn't know about the pro-life thing...) and went on a high protein diet. And I started running.  

It all worked pretty well, but I did plateau five pounds short of my goal. I look fine, but still have a little bit of a jelly belly, which I'd like to see disappear.

With two kids in day care and schedule so tight I barely have time to sleep, gym membership was out of the question. Runing and walking (outside and on my garage sale treadmill) weren't working enough muscle groups. I was tired of my Cindy Crawford video.

And then I discovered ExerciseTV. Jackpot!

Did you know about this? It's amazing. There must be over a hundred videos to choose from every month, and they're all free On Demand.  If you have any kind of cable or satellite TV system with On Demand service, you probably have it already.

I've tried a bunch of different videos and programs, finally locked into Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred. Marketers: Take note. This is a 3-phase program with phases 1 and 2 free On Demand. But if you want to progress to Phase 3,  you've gotta buy the DVD. How freaking smart is that?

"The Shred" really is a 30-day program, and it totally kicked my ass - but it's only a 20 minute workout. So I could get up at 6:00, do the workout, shower, and get everyone out the door on time. Brilliant! 

On weekends, I'd add on a "three-mile walk" with Leslie Sansone. That workout is a bit corny, but it gets the job done. And with my Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in the fall (sponsor me!), I need all the extra walking I can get.

By the end of my month on the shred (and I did buy the DVD for the 3rd workout) I'd lost most of my awful jelly belly. And, best of all, I'd gotten so used to getting up to workout every morning, I'm still doing it.  Jumping jacks in the morning - for me, anyway - work better than coffee.  Not that I'm giving up my beloved coffee any time soon.

So, bottom line: I lost the flab, feel great, and have better fitness habits....and I didn't have to join a gym. ExerciseTV is free and couldn't be more convenient. As long as they keep adding workouts I enjoy, I'm good!

Do your own thing; believe in yourself. Then blog.

Why do I worry so much about The Other Bloggers? Why do I worry what people will think?

One of these days, I'm going to start trusting myself. Start trusting my own writing. My own BRAIN.

When I started this blog, I knew it could never be another Micro Persuasion, another Marketing Pilgrim, Diva Marketing or Social Days. I know I'm not Debbie Weil or Steph Agresta.

What I find is that I fall into the same trap I fell into when I was in in theatre - I don't trust my own talent. I don't believe that people will like me for who I am.

If I'm going to build my "personal brand," I probably need to have a little more confidence in who and what that brand is.

Sigh.

It's hard enough balancing work with mommyhood. There's so much more to me than that, all of which has been sidelined for the work/mommy thing. Singing, painting, tattoos and combat boots...I do need to find a place in my world for all that stuff. (Some of it more prominently...some a little more discreetly!)

But it's all part of Mom 2.0...I want it all to be part of me. I just need to figure out how to get it all in, and blog about it all along the way.

Good Friday

Tomorrow is the kind of day that inspired me to start yet another blog.

There are plenty of great blogs out there about social media, internet marketing, search engine marketing...but not so many about being a parent in the middle of it all.

At noon on Good Friday, I'm meeting with my two associates about kicking off a mess of bigass SEM campaigns. We're also going to be discussing how their plans for tracking and testing need to dovetail with my marketing plan.

Oh...but did I mention that my 6 year old has no school tomorrow? And that the TWO sets of plans I made for him tomorrow both fell through?

Did I further mention that my 2 year old has an ear infection, so my husband and I actually haven't gotten anything remotely resembling good night's sleep since....Saturday?

This is what I'm talkin' about, people. Balance is a challenge for most working parents, but for those of us who actually put the kids first (and trust me - not all of us do!) it's a neverending feat, trying to strike that balance between doing a great job and being a great mom. For those of us who "get it", every day is another chance to get it right.

I'm not one of those moms who doses their kids with Motrin when they're running 103 so I can drop them at daycare and squeeze a few hours of work in (at their expense).

I feel actual guilt when I'm the last mom at aftercare pickup.

And I actually shut my laptop from the moment I get home from work until the kids are in bed (unless things are really dire at work - which is pretty rare).

I wouldn't work anywhere where I couldn't work from home if my kids were sick. I've got three boys with asthma, one with Aspergers Syndrome as well. If I can't flex, I'm looking for another job. Period.

So tomorrow inspired me. This is what what "Mom 2.0" is all about.

Sick on my fourth day

How's that for an impressive start? I'm in the office for half a week when I come down with some horrific virus.

I felt fine when I woke up on Thursday, but by the time I got to the office, I had serious chills. During a conference call in the AM, I actually had to put my head down on my desk.

By lunch, I realized there was no way I would make it through the day. I headed home and slept through the afternoon, joining a brief conference call late in the afternoon.

Way to make a killer first impression, huh?

If I'm REALLY lucky, one of the kids will get sick for me next week...

A typical Aimee moment

On an average day, I don't stop moving until about 9:00 PM. Often, I'll crash out on the couch and fall asleep watching Law & Order (I'm addicted to the reruns).

I'll snooze for close to an hour or so, then rouse enough to drag my exhausted butt to the bedroom...

At which point I'll remember there's not only a wet wash that needs to go in the dryer, but a full load of dry things that need to be folded.

Marketer, Mom and Confessed Geek

I'm not a person who does anything half-assed. I'm (almost) as passionate about my career in online marketing as I am about raising my three little boys. If I didn't love what I do, how could I possibly leave them to go to work every day?

I already have a blog about being the mom of three asthmatic kids. I spend plenty of time and energy venting on that topic.

What I need to write about here is the stuff I love in the online space, as well as the whole balance thing. I'm not sure how it will all mesh together...but we'll see. I'll try to make it work!!