The Sewing Mom

From the time my daughter was in kindergarten, she has always had some sort of PE class at least a few times each week. She’s always been active outside of school too, with softball and swimming. But, this 2nd semester of 7th grade, for the first time, she has not had a PE class. We’ve actually had to discuss ways to stay active in the winter to stay physically fit, whether it’s using the Wii Fit walking on the treadmill. It’s important to stay fit during the off season.

So, my daughter spent all day yesterday with the junior high Honor band. They had a contest performance and then, to celebrate the hard work they’ve done all year, they went to Medieval Times for dinner and all had a blast. After coming home last night, we got to talking about her future with band and what she wants to do when she gets to high school. She’s not sure she wants to do marching band, but then she informed me that marching band counts for PE credits in high school! Who knew?!

She’s only in 7th grade, but it’s never too early to start thinking about your future. She has a very good chance of receiving a college scholarship for band and, if marching counts for physical education, that’s something to seriously consider. If you’ve ever watched a marching band practice, or even perform, you know how hard it is and how many steps they take. It’s definitely a physical activity.

I wish I could tell anyone in a marching band to put on a pedometer and measure the distance that they’re walking each and every time they take to the field. They could then take that information, register at BeeWell Miles , log their miles marched and learn how many calories they’re burning! If they’re interested, they can even the meals they’re eating and get the caloric value. It really is a great way to living a healthy lifestyle.

I participate in BeeWell Miles by logging my walking and my Wii Fit time. To make it even more inviting, From 4/1/09-10/31/09, Bumble Bee Foods will donate $0.15/mile for every mile logged at BeeWellMiles.com (up to $200,000) to help Breast Cancer Network of Strength provide emotional support to those who can’t wait for tomorrow’s cure. And, as if that wasn’t enough, for any day that I log in (or you) and register my miles walked, I am automatically entered to win one of 15,000 prizes! I would love to win something, wouldn’t you?

Anyway, time will tell what my daughter decides about the future. I have no doubt she’ll stay with band, it’s just whether or not she’ll be marching that remains in question.

This is my new pedometer and I’ve been making attempts at putting it to use to monitor how much I walk during the day. Nine months ago I was diagnosed with high cholesterol and have been fighting since then to get it down. I’ve worked hard on improving my diet and have tried to introduce exercise into my routine, but it hasn’t been easy. So, I decided to start walking again, something easy to fit into my schedule and something I do anyway.

To motivate me even more to be active, I learned that the miles I walk or the minutes I spend exercising can also benefit the Breast Cancer Network. Raising money for breast cancer research and programs to better serve those who have been diagnosed with breast cancer is something I’m always interested in. I discovered that from 4/1/09-10/31/09 with BeeWell Miles I can log my miles walked and/or the time I spend exercising and Bumble Bee Foods will donate $0.15/mile to the Breast Cancer Network. So, something I need to be doing anyway, and something that costs me no money, can benefit not just me, but also a great cause.

BeeWell Miles is also a great site full of tools to help me lead a healthier life. I can learn ways to eat healthier, monitor my diet and monitor my exercising. I can also ask my friends and family to join and help the cause. Plus, each day you log miles or game codes from pink Bumble Bee cans you could instantly win one of 15,000 prizes!! Now, I can’t always get outside and walk, so I still strap on my pedometer and hit the old treadmill. Those miles count too!