Thursday, December 6, 2012

Coca-Cola's "Balanced Living" Workshop to Include One Slightly Unbalanced Mom


I was compensated for my participation in Coca-Cola's Balanced Living Workshop, but my thoughts and views are my own.
Can Coca-Cola "Balance" Marianne? Stay Tuned! I believe I am one of a handful of people on the planet who knows every single Coca-Cola jingle by heart.  Remember this gem?

Coke is it.
The biggest taste you've ever found.
Coke is it.
The one that never lets you down.
Coke is it.
The most refreshing taste around.
Coke is it.
Coke is it!

And because of my single-minded devotion to rewards programs, you also know I have an extra place in my heart for Coke's rewards catalogue (despite the fact that their supply of nifty Coke oven mitts ran out before I accrued enough points to order them):

So imagine my surprise when I received an invitation to attend the upcoming Coca-Cola Balanced Living Workshop!  Now to be fair, the 8 year-old within had her own ideas about what this would entail:

"Coke for everyone!"

"Let's bathe in the stuff!"

"How about we make Coca-Cola flavored COOKIES??"

Once I reviewed the agenda, I realized the event is designed to help Chicago moms find a healthier and more balanced approach to living.

Uh oh.

I knew my day of reckoning was upon me.  I am only a few months shy of my 40th birthday.  It is high-time I start eating like a grown-up.  I also need to learn how to cook vegetables.  And turn on the oven.  And be a good example for my children.

Coca-Cola wanted to know what I was most excited about. 

The Cocktail Party. 

Duh. 

But after that, I am also excited about the fitness portion of the workshop.  After the public humiliation I suffered while wearing old maternity shorts during my tennis lessons last fall, I am happy to reveal that I now own work-out clothes.

Sure the tags are still on them, but the point is, mentally I'm ready.  I'm ready to sweat.  I'm ready to lose some jiggly parts.  I'm ready to welcome my 40s feeling a little tighter, a little more vegetable-d, and a little more aware of the model I set for my boys.

I believe practicing good health is 50% mindset.  And no matter what it takes, I am ready to embrace that mindset. 

Even if it takes some creative presentation:


Cheers!  And stay-tuned for my official review of the Coca-Cola Balanced Living Workshop!

19 comments:

  1. Yay! I kept meaning to touch base with you and find out if you were doing this too! Looking forward to seeing you there! :)

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  2. Darn, I was ready to give you a barbacoa pork recipe that uses coke in it. Not healthy and a lot like chipotle but very good. Cheers to getting more Vegetab-ly!!! :-)

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    1. Please go on, Sandbox....mmmm sounds delicious.

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  3. well congrats! My daughter did a science experiment on blind tasting coke verses pepsi...do I qualify?!

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  4. Coke does wonders for mankind. It also helps remove battery acid corrosion off of your car battery. I mean, if you are ever in a bind.

    I am 1 year shy of my 40th. Can I just have Demi Moores luck, and not look a day over my 20's when I was starring in St. Elmo's Fire?

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    1. Good info to know!

      Poor Demi. I think I'd rather be J.R. or Marianne. That gal has troubles!

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  5. You go Walshie! You go teach the world the world to sing...in perfect harmony!

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  6. Sounds like a good thing Coke is doing to promote healthy living! Glad you can be part of it too!! I gave up drinking soda when we moved down here two years ago; I used to love me a Diet Coke in the afternoons, but to cut costs I gave it up; now I don't even miss it, but I would go to a conference to promote health indeed!

    betty

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    1. Move to Chicago and I'll work to get you on the next one!!

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  7. Not sure I would have gone once I found out that all-you-can-drink diet Coke wasn't part of the day. I figure my diet Coke 'balances' my chocolate addiction. That isn't the balance they had in mind?

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  8. Great post! Looking forward to meeting you all tomorrow.

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  9. It was so nice to meet you - you are HILARIOUS girlie! And I am shocked you are almost 40? You look much younger - and three boys - how did I miss that? Good Luck on your book !

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  10. My life is already perfectly balanced with Coca Cola, so I won't need to fly to Chicago to attend. It's the real thing or nothing for me!
    New Coke. Worst day of my existence. No Diet Coke for me...I need the burn of the real deal. Please let them know that the general population will become severely UN-balanced if they try to mess with us again. I'm counting on you!

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  11. That's fantastic! I can't wait to hear the review. I am not a Coke fan (although I have cooked BBQ in it and yes, it's awesome -- PW has a recipe if you want), but Mick could hook up an IV drip of DC and still need more!

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