August Challenge Recap and 2000?

As I started writing this August Challenge recap, I saw on my stats that this is my . . . 2000th post!  Holy shizz.  My Bizzy Kitchen turns 4 next week, I plan on having a great giveaway on Tuesday – a great way to start the work week after Labor Day.

I sent emails to all my participants of the challenge yesterday, basically apologizing for dropping the ball on being a cheerleader for them.  I just told Tony that I was happy to say that probably 75% of the participants did what they said they were going to do, even without my help.  Not kidding Tony said “You are kind of like a fat Richard Simmons!”  I had to laugh at that one!

So in no particular order – here are the participants who are eligible for the random drawing of a case of Chobani yogurt and my homemade salsa.  Congrats ladies!!

1. Jane.  Her goal was to workout and exercise every day.  I didn’t hear back from Jane yet, but I had a work email so she might not see it until after the holiday weekend.

2. Wendy.  Her goal was to move 100 miles. She did pretty good – worked out 19 times in August vs. 12 in July – and with elliptical/running and walking did 52 miles.  She also sells Longerberger baskets – check out her flyer here, its not too early to start thinking about the holidays!  (and I didn’t know they sold cookware!)

3. Susan.  Her goal was to not eat any chips last month.  Still waiting to hear back from her.

4. Louise.  Louise most definitely made her goal!  I talked about her yesterday – she was my oldest participant at 65.  You can check out her blog recap here – great job Louise!

5. Rachel.   Rachel and I go way back – I’ve often told her that if she lived near me we would be BFFs!  She has backed off blogging for a while, she’s finishing up her dissertation.  Her goal was to workout 3 times a week.  I also emailed her at work so I am still waiting for an update.  And her husband just discovered his love for quinoa!

6. Gretchen.   Gretchen’s goal was to move 100 miles as well.  Like most Mom’s, she put her family first and at the end of the day, there was nothing left of herself.  Now 48 with her two boys older, a year and a half ago she took up running and will be running the Marine Corp Marathon in October – so its no wonder she made her goal – she ran 120 miles as a matter of fact!

7. Carol B.  Carol and I are Words with Friends buddies – I need to fix my app on my phone because I haven’t played all week!  She suggested uninstalling it and reinstalling it again – that’s an addicting game!  She’s a loyal blog reader and her goal was to run/walk 50 miles, read 2 books and track food for at least 25 days.  She made her goal! She ran/walked for 54 miles and tracked her food for 26 days!

8. Kim.  I love Kim’s blog!  She and I have very similar tastes in food.  Her family moved in August, her dog had emergency surgery AND she turned 40!  Happy birthday Kim!  Her goal was to unpack and join the Y where her new house is – while not everything is unpacked yet, they are joining the Y – today!

9. Shelley.   Another BFF that if we lived close to each other, even I would get up at  5:30 in the morning to run with her!  Someday we’ll meet Shelley!  Her goal was to enjoy her long runs. We all know August was hotter than hell, but it was even worse for her because she lives in Texas!  She met her goal, and today as a matter of fact she has a 7 miler on tap!  Go Shelley!

10. E. Jane.  Her goal was to lost 5 pounds.  I am still waiting to hear back from her, but check out her latest blog post about how she plans to handle the holiday weekend.

11. Jacky.   Jacky and I went to the same high school and I played field hockey with her sisters!  She routinely runs into my sister because their kids go to the same schools, but I keep telling her that I need to meet up with her!   I plan on making her white bean dip for me and my SIL this week – my plan is to make a bento box around this white bean and basil dip.  Her goal was to maintain on vacation and still do her marathon training – she did great and even got a 15 miler done while on vacation – way to go!!  Tell your sisters Jody and Kelly I said hello!

12. Aimee.   Aimee is an avid runner and the mom to the cutest kid who is starting kindergarten this fall.  She is a nurse so she was able to spend a lot of quality time with her son this summer – going to beaches, hiking, a trip to Florida and he’s becoming quite the swimmer.  Her goal was to get back on track with her marathon training, From Aimee:  “I am finally back on track with my marathon training. I had to practically put it on hold though due to minor injuries and a ridiculously busy schedule with Carlos. I kept saying I’ll just wait until Carlos starts school on 8/29. I ran when I could and did my best to accept it when I couldn’t run or workout.”

13. Mary.  Mary’s goal was to go to the Y at least 12 times or just cancel it once and for all.  Still waiting to hear how she did.

14. Beth:  Awesome baker, dinner party hostess and runner – she’s even got her husband into running!  Her goal was to run 100 miles and PR on her half marathon.  I am dying to hear how she did – her last post was a Wordless Wednesday and it was a picture of her half marathon medal next to a glass of red wine!

15. Sheryl:  Sheryl’s goal was to workout 5 times a week.  Boy did she have her share of obstacles last month!  Her daughter got sick and was hospitalized for 8 days, went back to work and got fired.  And they moved!  No worries about not meeting your goals Sheryl with all that going on!  Here’s to a better September!

16. Melissa:  Her goal was to move 6 days a week for a minimum of 30 minutes, track  her food and loose 5 pounds.  Still waiting to hear back from her

17. Joy:  Her goal was to read three books and do yoga twice a week.  She was down for the count last month – she got an allergic reaction to some fruit and spent days in the hospital and was told to rest for 2 weeks – hang in there Joy!8. Sam:  Sam is a military wife, which I think is the hardest wife to be – so many unknowns, moves across the country and even around the world.  Her goal was to read 3 books, walk 100 miles and volunteer once.  While the heat knocked her down, she still managed 54 miles, read 3 books AND volunteered twice – nice going Sam!

19. Ashley – Her goal was to move 100 miles – Ashley – shoot me an email and let me know how you did!

20. Andrea C. – Her goal was to find a job and get accepted into CELTA (not sure what that is?) – still waiting on an email from her.

21. Marcia – Marcia is my hero – she’s 42 and just had her second child!  She lives in California and while she didn’t meet all her goal to lose 5 pounds, she lost 2 and I think that’s amazing with an infant!

22. Mary B. – her goal was to sweat for at least 30 minutes a day.  I love the fact that she stops by my blog for food porn and Tony’s sense of humor!

23. Sara:  Sara’s goal was to go to the gym 5x a week.  She was doing great in the beginning – hitting the gym and hiking.  Until she got sick and they thought she had a virus called hantavirus!  Lots of blood testes later, it was finally determined that she had pneumonia.  Wow – feel better Sara!!

24. Katelyn:  She wanted to lost 4% in 4 weeks, exercise more and avoid fast food.  While she didn’t hit the 4%, she did great avoiding fast food and worked out more!

25. Ruby:  Blog reader Ruby wanted to move 100 miles, lose 2 pounds and read 2 books – shoot me an email Ruby and let me know how you did!

26. Veronica:  I love V.  She’s funny – she went out to buy the Miracle Bra after I mentioned that I love this bra – it even sticks out in this picture she had with Ree Drummond – Pioneer Woman!  She bakes like there is no tomorrow and is a fellow diabetic – I always check up on her blood sugars because of all the sweet treats she makes!  Her goal was to drink lemon water every morning, incorporate green tea once a day and make sure to get her 5 servings of fruit and veggies.  She did great on the fruit/veggies, and was at 50% with the water and tea.  I sent her an email asking about the lemon water in the morning – maybe if its cold it jump starts your metabolism?

27. Maggie:  Quite possibly the longest reader of My Bizzy Kitchen (formerly Biggest Diabetic Loser).  She’s been reading me since mid-September 2008!  She was also my first giveaway winner – in October of 2008 I had my first giveaway of tea and Maggie won out of 12 people who left a comment.   Her goal was to do yoga at least 4 x a week.  Maggie – let me know how you did!

28. Dawn:  Dawn’s goals were to get back to weight training 2 times a week and cardio 3 times a week – while she met that goal, her eating habits didn’t match her workouts – she plans on making that a priority next month.  I am going to join you on that Dawn!

29. Suzie:  One of my new favorite bloggers, which I think I found through Veronica.  She has a son in the Army, is about to be a grandma, and makes really yummy food.  Her goal was to use her pool as much as possible, and if that didn’t work out, she’d use her treadmill.  Well cooler temps prevailed so that put a damper on her swimming and her treadmill was giving her the stink eye – she’s closing her pool over this weekend, a sure sign of the end of summer!

30. Ally:  Another long time blog friend.  She’s made my baja fresh salsa and even sold it at her local farmers market.  She lives in Iowa, has two of the cutest bald kids and I keep thinking some day we should meet in the middle for lunch sometime!  Her goal was to stop buying breakfast on the days she worked, to bring her own smoothies and to walk 3 times with her kids and 3 times without her kids – she succeeded in both!

31. Roz – I love her because of all of her kooky mascots she has with her food, pictures of her friends hands when they meet for coffee, and she and Dennis’s adventures through their city in Vancouver and her trips on the ferry to see her parents.  Her goal was work out 3x a week and walk up the 7 flights of stairs to her office 2x a day when she worked. Roz, my email to you bounced back undeliverable – let me know how you did!

32. Errign: – Even though she’s young enough to be my daughter, Errign and I have been blog buddies for a few years now.  I watched her leave her asshole boyfriend B – encouraged her that life would go on and be better, to her graduating from college to now dating a sailor!  She seems utterly happy and I couldn’t be happier for her.  Her goal was to work out every day until August 17 (I think when her vacation started) meal plan and eat less junk.  The fact that she hasn’t posted since August 8 is a good sign that she’s living life!

33. Kym – Kym is a blog reader that had a goal of cleaning out her spare bedroom so that she could put a bowflex in there.  Well, she got the cleaning part done, but she and the hubs are at odds on which piece of equipment to get – thanks for being such a loyal reader Kym!  I had to blush at her email: “I first wanted to say thank you for all that your blog provides. Motivation, support, humor, food tips, great recipes, words of wisdom, practical advice, and the list could go on. You are one of the few who I find interacts so well with her followers. It requires both a lot of time & dedication. It is always a pleasure to pop in and see what is new in the world of Biz, Tony & Hannah!”

34. Stephanie P. – Her goal was to work out 5 times a week – Stephanie, let me know how your month went when you get a chance!

35. Brooke – Her goal was to work out 3 days a week and to walk more.  Still waiting for a reply email from her – hope you had a great month!

Whew – that was quite a recap!  So the participants who are highlighted in red – go check out their blogs – I love how diverse a group this is and it’s a great way to find new blogs. 

So here goes the drawing!  Using random.org. . .the winner of the case of Chobani and my salsas is . . .

Min: 1   Max:   35   Result:   7

Carol B is the winner!  Send me your mailing address to my email at mybizzykitchen.com so I can forward it on to Chobani – the yogurt gets sent to you directly from them.  I’ll can the salsa this weekend so its fresh and ship it out to you on Tuesday.

Thanks again for everyone who participated and great job even without my pushing you!  I’ll be back on Tuesday for my Four Year Blogaversary and a great giveaway – enjoy your Labor Day weekend!