Where's the Beach?

What Happened Last Night? This morning I woke up first at 6:20 when Maddie decided she wanted out of her kennel and to be downstairs. The second time was 8:09 when Heath decided he wanted out of his kennel and downstairs to eat. I won't like, I would like to (needed to) have slept another two hours. It was a little slow going after last night. Sign of a good party would be my first tweet of the day:  I'm thinking there is a bird in the house...what the hell happened last night??? Yep, found bird poop where bird poop most definitely should not be. Still have not found said bird however. It should go without saying that last night was a total blast. It was so fun having everyone just be relaxed and comfy in jammies. I am not known for letting loose often, but I definitely went with it last night. There was a bit (lot) of wine consumed, pizza devoured and even some dancing. Cris Cris & Sarah Getting Late Pensive Jazz Hands Lush Need a Refi...

Thank You I really wanted to thank everyone for your kind words from yesterday's post. I know that most of my replies were simply "thank you" but your words and support really do mean a lot. I've had 14 years to reflect on what happened to my friend. I've written about it (would love to publish one day), I even sat through most of the trial. So while I think about what has happened, I am now able to talk about it more freely. Sometimes I wonder if that might startle people a bit...in terms of how to react. I know it's also hard to know what to say to someone when talking about something so tragic, so sad, and so serious. So thank you all. Cardio Only Day This morning I wide awake shortly after 5 am. I thought about trying to stay in bed for another hour, but knew I wouldn't really fall back asleep. So I did myself a favor and got up to get my cardio done. I was not planning on step aerobics at all today. But weights are just not in the cards for me t...

Biceps, Abs & Step We had rain in the forecast today, so I wasn't banking on a run. I decided to do weights at lunch and cardio after work. I went with biceps and abs today. I wasn't sure how I wanted to do the biceps in terms or reps today. I stumbled across an article by Tom Venuto that helped solve my dilemma: Five Star Arms .  In this article, he lists out a variety of methods for bicep work, one method mentioned is a 4-rep System by Don Ross. It sounded interesting, different, so I thought I'd give it a shot (or the method anyway). You can read the article of course, but the general idea is to pick 4 exercises and change up the number of reps for each. I did 3 sets of each as a single set starting with 6 reps and increasing by 2 reps so that by the 4th exercise, I did 12 reps: Dumbbell biceps curls: 3x6 Hammer curls: 3x8 Incline curls: 3x10 Cross-body curls: 3x12 I really enjoyed this method actually. It was nice to try something different, and I'm...

Trying New Workout = Fail Today was super busy at work. I have some seriously tight deadlines - as in MUST go live effective 10/1/10. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. I ended up working through lunch and leaving around 3. I was really on the fence about working out. I had no idea what I wanted to do. My legs are still talking to me, so I knew it couldn't be anything over the top. I good friend had been doing P90X, and I have heard so much about the cardio, including the Kenpo workout. He let me borrow it to see if I would like it. I thought I might try that one today rather than a step or plyo type workout. Ok, seriously, the intensity level on that is just nil. I was really terribly unimpressed. Even with weighted gloves on, my heart rate hovered at 120-ish. I finally got pretty fed up and stopped after about 15 minutes. It felt like such a waste of time. So, moving on, I ended up doing 3 combos and blasts from Cathe's Low Impact Circuit then 1 combo from her Step Blast ...

Salad Sunday First off, Jason and I want to thank everyone for your congrats regarding his triathlon on Sunday. It means a lot having so much support. Last night I ended up turning on the oven after all. It was cooler than grilling. I roasted up some veggies: red and green bell peppers, onions, sweet potato, squash, and zucchini along with some tofu for a Roasted Veggie Salad . The tofu was awesome. It's a new brand, or rather, one we have not tried before - Twin Oaks Community Foods Organic Tofu "Fine Herb" . Jason picked it up from the Argenta Market . This was an awesome tofu actually. It didn't need to be frozen, pressed, or anything. It was already "dry." I simply cubed it and baked it for about 25 minutes at 425 degrees flipping at least once. We will most definitely be buying this one again. Monday Workouts This morning I knew I wasn't going to be getting up for any workouts. While I am getting more consistent about getting up early for m...

Workouts This morning I had ever intention of getting up to get in a step workout. The lows are in the 80's (yes, lows) so by the afternoon, the A/C is struggling to keep up with the 100+ temps. Definitely no running outside right now. And PM workouts are like working out inside the sauna. Let's put it this way, upstairs was close to 90 degrees even though the thermostat was set just below 75. Not conducive to a "fun" workout folks. But, maybe I'm just a whimp/whiner. Anyhoo, I woke up around 3:45 am and quickly changed the a alarm time. I figured I could at least do biceps/triceps at lunch then step after work downstairs (where it's just a little bit cooler. I've been itching to do step again after the Cathe Road Trip, which is funny since I haven't done step in weeks. Today I did supersets for biceps/triceps doing 3 sets of 8 reps: SS#1 Biceps dumbbell curls Overhead triceps extension SS#2 Cross-body curls Double-arm kickbacks SS#3 Incl...

Home Sweet Home So while I am totally missing the beach, I think I had one of the best night's sleep last night. There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed after being away for a week. It was also nice to be back in my own kitchen where the knives are sharp, the pans are the ones I want, and I have access to all of my spices. There is truly nothing like being home. Now if I could just manage to make my home on the beach, I'd be one perfectly content gal! Back to the Weights Today I was eager to hit the weights again. I really missed being able to do a weight workout on vacation. I am undecided on a rotation so I just sort of winged it and have decided to try this split for 2 weeks at least. Today I worked upper body push muscles using a 6:2 count (e.g., chest press: 6 up, 2 down). I did 3 sets of 8 reps of the following: Chest: Chest press Chest flye Incline chest press Shoulders: Shoulder press Lateral raise Rear delt flye Triceps: Overhead extension Double-arm kickbac...

Two on Thursday So this morning I set my alarm for 5:26 (I seriously have issues with setting the alarm, it can never be 5:25 or 5:30). I actually started waking up around 5 though and decided I really wanted another hour. In the end, I got up just after 5:30. I was awake and there was really no point in pretending otherwise. I had a pretty crappy night's sleep actually. I had taken a Claritin D yesterday because my sinuses were starting to drain and I felt a sore throat coming on (must avert ASAP before vacation). It always clears me up, but then I have a horrible night regarding sleep. Anyway, got up and did a premix of Step Blast . It really helped to wake me up and get me going (as usual). I was actually feeling so peppy that I would have gone ahead and knocked the weights out too had I had enough time. But, those had to wait until after work. During lunch, Jason and I made a trip to Barnes and Noble to pick up some beach reading material (providing we get to use the beach). ...

Two on Thursday I managed another morning workout today. I did one of the premixes from Cathe's Step Blast . It's always a fun, sweaty workout. I love it when cardio can be fun as well as intense - makes the time go so much faster. I went home for a late lunch and did weights. It was my final day of the 8-week rotation. Can't believe I'm already finished with it! Today was 3 sets or 12 reps done as supersets with the goal of increasing the weights. SS#1 Biceps - Zottoman curls Triceps - Weighted dips SS#2 Legs - Squats Inner thighs - Plie squats SS#3 Chest - Flat bench dumbbell press Back - Underhand dumbbell rows SS#4 Legs - Alternating lunges with pulse Calves - Calf raises SS#5 Shoulders - Upright (dumbbell) rows Shoulders - Rear delt raises So the rotation is officially done. Wow. Now I need to figure out my next lifting rotation. Suggestions? Happy Hour on Thursday??? I'm very glad I was able to get my workouts done earlier as we were meeting some frien...

Friday Quesadillas  I'll admit, it was very difficult not making pizza on Friday night. We are so used to that routine that it took forever to decide what to make. We've gotten used to not having to think about it. In the end, we made quesadillas filled with sauteed onions, bell peppers, spinach, mushrooms, and a faux "chicken" substitute and Daiya Cheddar "Cheese." I piled on the salsa and jalapenos and a dollop of soy yogurt. It wasn't pizza, but it was still pretty tasty. Short and Sweet (Heads up, this will be short today. Spending time with my sis and unplugging) This morning I was scheduled to do weights, but we had to head about an hour away for my nephew's 4th birthday party. So, I chose to do about 35 minutes of Step Blast plus abs. I'll get back to the weights tomorrow. Honestly, it was easy to put them off because it's going to be the 3 sets of 18 reps done as supersets. The birthday party was held at a place called Play-by-Pl...

Saturday Sandwich Dinner We started off with White Cheeseless Queso for a snack. We just sat at the table, listened to music, and talked. Dinner ended up being much later than normal. We bantered back and forth over what to make. Jason kept throwing out complicated, time-consuming ideas. Great ideas mind you, just not things to start at 8 pm. We settled on Italian "Beef" Sandwiches that I let him make. We served them open-faced on sandwich thins with sweet potato "fries". I apolgoize for not taking pictures. It was late, and I was starving. Step on Sunday This morning I woke up to gray skies and much cooler temps. I think we topped out at 65, if that. I was really slow going. In all honesty, I almost took the day as a rest day. Typically, Sundays are a run day, but the weather was dreary, and Jason's knee was bothering him a bit. He went upstairs to do yoga to try to stretch, and I ended up doing part of Cathe's Step Blast plus abs. Once I got going, I ...

Unmotivated on Monday I had the hardest time peeling myself out of bed this morning. Jason got up to go swim at 5 am and there was just no way I was getting up. I fell back to sleep almost immediately in fact. I feel like I'm getting a cold or allergy crud so maybe that's the reason for the sluggishness. Today was supposed to be Upper + Plyo. The upper body exercises were done as supersets of 4 sets of 8 reps. SS#1 Chest - Flat bench flyes (supposed to have been incline but I goofed) Back - Dumbbell pullover SS#2 Shoulder - Arnold press Shoulder - Lateral raises SS#3 Biceps - Incline curls Triceps - Overhead extension SS#4 Split squats (added this in lieu of plyo, see reason below) Donkey kicks (with 8# DB) Early on in the day, I knew that I wasn't feeling just super energized. I wanted to go ahead and get the weights done before I somehow actually talked myself out of them entirely. Yes, I was seriously feeling that unmotivated. I sort of made a deal with myself, do ...

Weight Day Wednesday This morning I had the alarm set for 5:26 am as Jason had agreed to another morning run. However, when the alarm went off, Jason pretty much said, "NO." I am not one to fall back asleep easily, so I went ahead and got up and opted for a fun step workout. I chose one of the shorter premixes from Cathe's Step Blast. While I hadn't really wanted to do a step workout (had my mind set on a run), it was a fun, sweaty workout in the end. During lunch I went home to do weights. I almost put it off. I was feeling totally unenthusiastic. I was pretty certain, however, that if I just got off my lazy butt and got the workout started, I'd be very happy that I did. And I was. The set up was 2 sets of 15 reps supersetting the exercises and increasing the weights: Triceps - Weighted triceps dips Biceps - Dumbbell curls Legs - Rear leg elevated lunges Shoulders - Lateral raises Chest - Flat bench dumbbell press Back - Underhand rows Legs - Squats Inner Th...

Friday Follow Up Ok, no shocker I'm sure, but it was Pizza Friday at our house. I got the dough started while we played pool. We enjoyed the pizza listening to music and just chatting. That's pretty much all we did for the evening. It was nice to just enjoy good conversation. Full Steam Ahead  This morning was a bit rushed. I got up and did Step Blast and abs. Then it was full speed ahead. My sister won't have the kids tomorrow so we did the family Easter lunch today at her house (an hour away). We typically divvy up the cooking. I was tasked with dessert (which I was very remiss at making), veggie side, and my homemade French bread rolls. She was doing chicken and roasted potatoes with herbs. For the green beans, I just sauteed them with yellow bell peppers, red onions, garlic, splash of white wine, salt/pepper, and slivered almonds. For dessert I just picked up an angel food cake and carton of strawberries. I made a Lemon Tofu Pudding to have with it as well. It was ...