My Grandma Irene is the only person I knew that served beets until a dear friend of mine served a cold beet salad last week at her home.  Needless to say it brought back many fond memories of growing up with my grandmother and the rest of my family.  Grandma with her small frame, her sweet smile, happy laugh, and stark white hair loved beets.  I don't know if she knew how good they were for us, I just know she loved them.  And I love them too.

Beets are full of iron, they are an immunity booster, and guard against certain kinds of cancer.  They are low in fat, high in carbs, and are an excellent source of folic acid too.  And they are so pretty and so very, very good for us.

I think of Grandma Irene everytime I see beets.  Grandma's are so wise.

Where's a camera, any camera when you need one? That's what I was thinking a few weeks ago at a local 5K race. I didn't even have my cell phone with me. 

I dearly wished I had a camera on April 18, 2010, at the Hermosa Beach 5K race because two "Grandmothers On The Run" won 2nd and 3rd place in their age category.  Bobbi Wynhoff,  placed 2nd (she's fast) and I placed third (almost a minute behind Bobbi) on that cool, beautiful Sunday morning down by the beach.  When we got done and saw are race results we were very, very happy. I haven't place in a race since high school!  We received our medals while standing up on the winner's podium --  smiles and applause all around -- and no camera!

I searched high and low these past two weeks for a captured snapshot of our victory, but alas no luck.  These two Grandmothers On The Run will cherish the memory of that race, and next time, without a doubt one of us will bring a camera!

Every Tuesday, rain or shine I watch the TV show “The World’s Biggest Loser.” I know most of you have heard of the show and I hope many of you watch it too. It is so inspiring to watch week after week how people transform their lives from being helpless to having control over their minds and their bodies. I am so proud of each and everyone of them. They are brave, tough, determined and strong individuals.

Just like us! We’re strong and determined too. So get out and go for a walk, go for a run, just move and feel the power and control of gaining strenght and health.

Have fun, enjoy life, enjoy your families, enjoy your grandkids. Go Grandmothers On The Run everyone.

Five “Granny’s” had a great time at our first race together in Seal Beach, CA on April 11, 2010. We walked, we ran, we laughed, we shared our excitement with everyone we passed, yes, we did pass a few walkers along the way! Grandmothers On The Run is all about being proud of who we are as women, proud of our families, our grandchildren, and proud that we continue to stay active even though at times we wish we had slept in late vs. running a foot race early on a Sunday morning. The beauty is we can sleep in next weekend! Stay active, stay happy, believe in yourself and find other granny’s to have fun with. Enjoy for we are blessed!

Eating certain foods can really add to reducing hunger, reducing anxiety, and overall help you feel a lot calmer and happier according to Sara Reistad-Long of Woman’s Day. I just read her online article today and had to pass some of her information to you.

The next time you’re feeling stressed try eating some of these foods; dark chocolate, skim milk, oatmeal, salmon, walnuts, sunflower seeds, spinach and my favorite blueberries.

Omega-3 found in salmon can help suppress the production of the anxiety hormones called coritisol and adrenaline, spinach which has magnesium in it helps improve your bodies response to stress. And those marvelous walnuts help lower blood pressure. Carbs in oatmeal can help calm you, dark chocolate is high in flavonoids which can help you relax…..see aren’t you feeling less stress already?

So go ahead, give some of these foods a try and here’s hoping that you’ll be feeling less stress in no time at all. Remember to get out for a walk too if you can. Enjoy!

Physical fitness is of utmost importance to live a long and healthy life, but so is protecting yourself and your loved ones. This year we’ve all seen the severe weather across our country, along with the natural disasters throughout the world. So today I’m taking a detour from my fitness quest and asking each of you to begin getting more prepared to protect you and your family – just in case. This FEMA Handbook will help you learn how to be more prepared.

Here is a brief description directly from the FEMA website describing this handbook.

Are You Ready? An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness (IS-22) is FEMA’s most comprehensive source on individual, family, and community preparedness. The guide has been revised, updated, and enhanced in August 2004 to provide the public with the most current and up-to-date disaster preparedness information available.

Are You Ready? provides a step-by-step approach to disaster preparedness by walking the reader through how to get informed about local emergency plans, how to identify hazards that affect their local area, and how to develop and maintain an emergency communications plan and disaster supplies kit. Other topics covered include evacuation, emergency public shelters, animals in disaster, and information specific to people with disabilities.

Are You Ready? also provides in-depth information on specific hazards including what to do before, during, and after each hazard type. The following hazards are covered: Floods, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Thunderstorms and Lightning, Winter Storms and Extreme Cold, Extreme Heat, Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Landslide and Debris Flows (Mudslide), Tsunamis, Fires, Wildfires, Hazardous Materials Incidents, Household Chemical Emergencies, Nuclear Power Plant, and Terrorism (including Explosion, Biological, Chemical, Nuclear, and Radiological hazards).

Go to http:www.fema.gov/areyouready/ to download this very valuable handbook.

Enjoy life and take care of your families and one another,

Madelyn

I know, I know it’s that time of year once again when Girl Scout Cookies need to be ordered and then of course eaten. And I support my grandaughter every year by buying as many girl scout cookies as I can. Then I give them away to friends, co-workers, eat some myself when no one is looking, and put the rest in the freezer for those days when you just need a Girl Scout Cookie. Look for extra ways to burn those delicious cookie calories away too. A few extra minutes at they gym, or an extra lap around the block — it’s all worth it to support a Girl Scout! Have fun and stay fit my friends.

I am so excited to let everyone know that today I mailed off our first check to the Foodbank of Southern California on behalf of Grandmothers On The Run. What a terrific feeling to know we can help others and are putting our words into action. We are blessed beyond words.

Happy holidays everyone. God Bless and thank you.

I got to see my Mom this weekend. It was a treat indeed. We live about 400 miles apart so I don’t see her as much as I would like too. Shes a Great Grandmother and a great woman. I love my Mom will all my heart.

Hug your families today for we are blessed indeed.

Madelyn

God Bless our veterans today who served and those who are still serving. Thank you for protecting this great country.

My Dad served in WWII and rarely spoke of those years. I served in the United States Navy, not during combat, in the mid to late 1970’s, but I am very proud to have had the opportunity to give back. I love America.

Hug your family and friends today. God Bless us all.

Madelyn

Hello everyone:

What an exciting week it’s been. We got our website and company launched on November 1st and now we’re meeting great customers. So the movement of Grandmothers On The Run is already catching on!

I called my Mom today, she’s my biggest fan, and we talked about life, love, fun, and being friends. My Mom is the best. I’m going to go see her next weekend.

One of her neighbors, Steve, told me about The Helen and Margaret blog. What a treat! http://margaretandhelen.wordpress.com/blogging/

I’d like to be out running around in my RV this week, but I’ve got other things that need tending.

Have fun everyone,

Madelyn

It’s Sunday, November 1, 2009, and Grandmothers On the Run is off and running. This E-commerce apparel and goods company focuses on the needs of active grandmothers who are active in their grandchildren’s lives, are having fun, and give back to their communities.

The company is a step in the movement of redefining what a grandmother is. Grandmothers on the Run are women who do it all! Nowhere is it written that a grandmother can’t train for and run a marathon, work, play, pick up the grandkids after school, and then drop off some canned goods at a local food bank. Grandmothers have a lot to brag about and Grandmothers On The Run is getting those bragging rights started.

The company’s founder and owner is Madelyn Sawyer who is a grandmother, a marathon runner, world traveler, and now entrepreneur. She was inspired to create this fun and charitable company after running in a local 10K with a fellow grandmother. The hand drawn logo for Grandmothers on the Run was drawn by her 7 year old granddaughter and is a testimony of the love, fun, involvement and generosity that the company represents. Go Grandmothers On the Run everywhere!