Fitness Swap = New Friend!

Over the course of my "on-line" life I have participated in a lot of "swaps." When I first discovered the internet I was very much into scrapbooking so those were the swaps I did and I did a lot! It was a lot of work, but I had a great time with it and it got my feet wet, so to speak, for more swapping.

I've participating in some different ones as well that are not scrapbooking related. Most of the time the swaps turn out just fine. The other participants hold up their commitment and everyone is happy. Sadly that doesn't always happen and it was happening more and more it seemed.

With that background....

I have been reading a great weight loss blog for the last year. I first discovered Kris' blog a while ago when she began working towards her weight loss goal. I jumped on the bandwagon and promptly fell off. I kept reading though and cheering her on. I love to see people successfully meet their goals.

It was with a bit of reluctance that I signed up for the Fitness Swap that Kris decided to host. I was absolutely thrilled to learn that I was Kris' partner! I was looking forward to getting to know her. I love how small the internet makes the world.

One of the great things about this swap that was vastly different than others I have done was the email exchange. We were purposely not given a lot of information about our partners so that we would get to know each other over email. I loved this aspect!

First off, this same Kris is the wonderful author of "Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers." What Kris doesn't even know yet is that my kids have the exact same shirts that her three young ones are wearing in her blog header. I love those shirts! I even just put a similar bumper sticker on my truck. My boys have a sweatshirt with the saying and I have a t-shirt as well. Needless to say, we all love being weird and unsocialized! Ha!

Kris has been a great encouragement to me. While she is nearing the end of her weight loss journey,  I am still at the beginning of mine. When I was feeling down about the lack of progress I was seeing, she was right there to boost me up.

Oh & I loved dishing about Biggest Loser! Although, I seriously think I need to get a life. I sometimes get a bit too caught up in that show!

On to my package....

Since I was lame and only took one photo, I numbered everything to make the description a bit easier to follow.

1. Prevention magazine - love it. I found a lot of neat things in this one. I've already read it cover to cover and will continue to browse through it.
2. Extra Dessert gum - Strawberry Shortcut....one word.....YUM!
3. Bobble water bottle. I LOVE THIS!!!! I've been bringing it with me to my Zumba classes and my weight loss class. I hadn't ever heard of these before Kris sent me one. It's a filtered water bottle so no matter where I am, I am drinking fresh tasting filtered water. 
4. The Beck Diet Solution book. I haven't read it yet, but it is definitely at the top of my TBR pile! I love the subtitle: "Train your brain to think like a thin person."
5. Food & Activity Journal - small & portable.
6. A quote deck. I love that we included some of the same quotes for each other!

What isn't pictured and was wonderful as well, was the long handwritten note that Kris included with my package. I loved reading why she picked everything just for me. 

I had the best time doing this swap. In fact, Kris and I hit off so well that we promised to continue being partners for future swaps. Sorry everyone - I'm so not sharing her!

Thank you, Kris, for making this fun & enjoyable for me. The encouragement you have given me & continue to give me - means more than I can say. Thank you, my friend!