Where's the Beach?

PuPu Platter Last night I ended up throwing together a pupu platter for dinner as I figured I likely would. I had thawed out some tofu and decided to toss that with BBQ and hot sauces then sprinkle with panko and bake for some crispy Buffalo Tofu Strip s. I made up a sundried tomato and artichoke hummus (looks brown because I added balsamic vinegar), cut up some carrots, and also cut up some almond cheese to go with vegan pepperoni and almond crackers.   It was a fun dinner actually. It can be fun to have snacky style foods for dinner for a change. Oh and here are some pictures from last night that made me smile.     Gray Sunday It sounds like spring has totally run away from almost all of us at this point. Today was gray and 41 degrees. I guess it wasn't raining at least. I did Day 3 of Week 3 of the total body rotation . It called for 3 sets of 15 (yes count 'em 15) reps. I did do some legs, but not 3x15. Weighted triceps dips Flat bench chest flyes Double-ar...

Thank God for Makeup Today I feel like I've been run over. I had a horrible night's sleep. I guess I sort of went overboard with water and was up more times than I can count to pee. If I wasn't up for that, it was because Maddie was banging around like a fool in her kennel, randomly letting out piercing barks too. And then there's this issue with my piriformis/sciatica. Not sure if it's the piriformis hurting, the sciatic nerve, or the piriformis inflamed pinching the sciatic. Or hell, something entirely different. But whatever it is, it hurts like hell and that kept me up. I am a stomach sleeper. If I even roll over on my side I wake up. Last night the only position that didn't cause the piriformis/sciatic/whatever the hell pain was lying flat on my back with legs straight. Let's just thank God for a moment for giving someone the wherewithal to come up with the whole idea of makeup. I'm a huge fan today. Adjusting Weight Workout The plan for me...

Gym Day Today started Day 1 of Week 3 of my total body workout rotation . It called for 4 sets of 5 reps of the following exercises done as straight sets. I started with 10 minutes on the elliptical as a warm up. Wide grip pull ups Incline chest flye into press Squats Deadlifts Dumbbell curls Double-arm overhead triceps extension Lateral raises  Static lunges I did some ab work then finished with another 10 minutes on the elliptical before heading home. I must say that I'm starting to struggle with these workouts after work. I had gotten really used to breaking out the workouts doing weights at lunch then cardio later. I'm doing a lot less cardio now, but workouts are taking about the same amount of time. A lot has to do with getting set up at the gym properly. But I'm starting to just feel tired of it all. Is it possible to workout just 5 days a week and maintain or even possibly gain results? There was a time, many moons ago, when I didn't workout 6 days...

Housewarming Recap Well, to say the Artichoke Hummus was a hit is an understatement. But, I had to remake it unfortunately. The original batch got left at the house. We got to my sister's house and started unloading everything only to realize that container had not made it into the cooler. Oops. Thankfully Sarah had the ingredients on hand to whip up a new batch. Along with that, I made a Black Bean and Corn Salsa . She had some pico de gallo, Jason made a balsamic chicken salad. We had lots of dippers from corn chips to veggies. I didn't get pictures of all of the food, but did want to highlight some things.       My sister is getting the house all set up the way she wants and it's looking so cute. We did help her rearrange a few pieces just before the party (nothing like last-minute furniture arranging). I really opened up the space more. Everyone seemed to have a great time. We got to hang out with a few long-time friends (as in known whole lives basically). Our ...

Gym Day Today's weight workout marks Day 1 of Week 2 of the total body rotation. This week is the same as last week, only you superset the exercises with the goal of increasing weights by 1.25-2%. The sets are done as 3x5. I started off with 10 minutes on the treadmill then hit the weights. Push ups - warm up set of 24 SS#1 Chest fly into chest press Underhand barbell row SS#2 Squats Stiff legged deadlifts SS#3 Hammer curls Double-arm overhead triceps extension SS#4 Static lunges Upright rows I also did some ab work before finishing off with 10 minutes on the elliptical. I was going to do 15 minutes, but the man next to me smelled so bad, I really couldn't stomach another minute. Another reason why fans (ceiling at the very least) are ideal at the gym. Other than the unpleasant smell and lack of air movement, the workout was pretty good. I was able to go heavier for some exercises, but not for others. I guess I need to start taking my weighted gloves to t...

High Rep Day I really hate the time change. Ok, so hate might be overkill. I love that it stays light later. That part is fantastic. But to lose an hour on the already short weekend? I felt like I was already behind when I got up the morning. Not the best way to start the day. It was sunny at least, for a bit I should say. I got out of bed at 8:30 (feeling late of course). I had my breakfast then piddled a bit before getting to my workout. Today is Day 3 of Week 1 of the total body rotation. It called for 2 sets of 15 reps done as straight sets. Double-arm triceps kickbacks Lateral shoulder raise Pullovers Incline chest press Incline biceps curls Squats Plie Squats Firewalkers - 2x6 Weighted donkey kicks - 2x18 Roll ins and hip lifts on ball for hamstrings Inner thigh squeezes with ball I did the high intensity HiiT segment from Cathe's Intensity workout to hit the legs more then did just 2 combos from MMA Kickboxing (love boxing/kickboxing after upper body weigh...

Gym Day Today is Day 2 of Week 1 of my 12-week total body rotation. I did a warm up of 10 minutes on the elliptical. The following exercises are done as 3 sets of 8 reps (straight sets). Arnold press Alternating dumbbell curls Flat bench dumbbell press Single-arm row Cross-body curls Lying dumbbell triceps extension Calf raises (skipped these today as calves still pretty tight) Rear-leg elevated lunges Squats Alternating plie squats I did some ab exercises then headed back to the elliptical for about 10 minutes. It was a pretty good workout overall. Though, I was really more than ready to be done with it about 45 minutes in. I honestly wasn't feeling just super motivated today to begin with. Spice Anyone? Speaking of not motivated, I wasn't really highly motivated to make anything special for dinner. I had a few ideas, but in the end, Jason is making a Habanero 2-Bean Tempeh Chili . Habanero 2-Bean Tempeh Chili Ingredients: 1/2 yellow onion, diced (or whole i...

Trying Start Today was one of those days when things just seem to be going against you. It started off relatively ok. I even got to work early. I'll blame it all on the rain for what happened during lunch though. Jason and I need to get our passports ASAP. When we go to visit our friends in Seattle at the end of next month, they want to go up to Canada since we didn't get to do that during our last visit. So, it's raining and yuck. Jason thinks maybe the lines at the Post Office for passports will be short. I had all the paperwork ready. The photos and ID stuff was at the house though. I didn't know he was going to want to go at like 10:30, but he did. I had a last minute fire to put out on a project then I rushed out. I realized the new umbrella I spent 13 bucks on yesterday was a tiny POS! It was pouring down, my feet were wet, my pants wet all by the time I crossed the street to Jason's office. And the kicker...I had forgot the paperwork on my desk. So, back...

Awesome Workout This morning I woke to sunshine. Ah, how could it not be a good day??? It was my last day for the Total-Body Training rotation. My how time flies. I've really enjoyed this rotation and will definitely do it again. I started with the warm up from S hock Cardio Athletic Step , did the weights, then finished Athletic Step. It was a super good workout day for me. I just had fun with it today. Weights were supersets of sets of 12 reps increasing weights 1.25-2% over the previous week: SS #1 Biceps - Zottoman Curls Triceps - Lying DB Triceps Extensions SS #2 Chest - Decline DB Press Back - Double Arm DB Rows (this was supposed to have been underhand rows, oops) SS #3 Step Ups Upright Rows Sunny Saturday After the workout, Jason and I had grocery errands to run. Well, we made it as far as Whole Foods. The day was soooo gorgeous, sunshine, 60 degrees, that we decided on a late lunch at a restaurant with a patio. So the other groceries will just have to wait. Some things...

Wowzers Workout This morning I woke up before the alarm went off. I seriously think I am traumatized from the alarm incident yesterday! I wasn't sure if I'd be able to pull of my morning workout because my legs are incredibly sore from Monday's weights. I decided to at least do the warm up and see how they felt afterward. I figured that if nothing else, I would just do cardio. I did the warm up from Low Impact Circuit (LIC), weights, then the Cardio Premix from LIC. Once I got moving, my quads loosened up, and I was able to crank out the workout. Today was supersets of 3 sets of 8 reps: SS#1 Quads - Static Lunges Hamstrings - Stiff Leg Dead Lifts SS#2 Shoulders - Arnold Press Biceps - Alternating Bicep Curls SS#3 Back - DB Pullover Chest - Incline DB Flyes I did reward my hard work with an Epsom salt bath after work. I used to do that frequently when I was dancing, especially near performance time. I should bring this back into my routine. I have decided that of all th...

The Monday Blues I'm having some serious Monday Blues today. I think part of it is the lack of sleep from last weekend and then the lack of sunshine. I keep beating myself up for not being as productive as I envision myself to be. However, I still managed to get a lot of pre-made dinners completed. I guess it's just a matter of defining productive. Productive as in chores (dusting, mopping, laundry), productive as in completing kick-butt workouts, or productive as in getting 2 types of veggie burgers made, ciabatta bread, and then dinner. How do you define being productive? Making (HI)it Happen While I was awake this morning in plenty of time to get my workout done, I didn't. I had everything set up, but it just wasn't going to happen. I slept fitfully in the early morning hours. Just not able to get comfortable. I think I need to go pillow shopping. Also, I was dreading the weights today to be honest. You'll see why when you read the sets/reps pattern. I was feel...

Friday Follow Up Last night was a ton of fun. I always enjoy getting to hang out with my sister. We started the evening off with a happy hour at Big Whiskey's then back to the house for homemade pizza and wine. I had pre-made my usual Wheat Pizza Dough Thursday evening, but we did end up having a friend of Jason's stop by. So, I dug out an old recipe I had on hand for a super quick Whole-Wheat and Honey Dough . This one does not really rise, it's a much flatter, crispier type of crust. But it really works in a pinch. Tim was super nice and brought over some wine to share. It went perfect with the pizza, which no one complained about! One was made up Greek style with sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, spinach, artichokes, banana pepper rings, roasted red bell peppers, and feta. For the other pizza, half was made with vegetarian pepperoni, sauteed green bell peppers, onions, and garlic. The other half had sauteed squash, green and red bell peppers, and onions. There was no...

Working Out on No Sleep After several restless nights, I had really hoped to just crash last night. I went up to read around 8:30 and had the lights off by 9:20. I dozed for an hour, then I was wide awake when Jason and the dogs came up. I fitfully dozed another hour as Jason fidgeted and kept getting up. I thought that he was just having a restless night too. However, he kept going downstairs, then back up, had the bathroom light on. Usually he would attempt some sort of discretion about waking me up. He finally came over to me and realized that I was indeed wide awake, he was about to wake me to tell me that he thought he was experiencing anaphylactic shock symptoms from this allergy shot that morning (well, the previous morning by this point). He did admit that he had been reading about it online and that he may just be working himself up over it. He does have an EpiPen at least. I kept asking what he wanted to do (911, ER). Long story short, we did not get any sleep. I did manage t...

I feel like I am so far behind with my blog. My Valentine's present to Jason was to make dinner and stay off the computer. And today I've been super busy trying to run errands that I'm just now even getting to sit down and start my blog about last night's dinner and catch up on reading everyone's posts. This morning I did the warm up from Shock Cardio Athletic Step then hit the weights, and finished with Athletic Step. Today was the first workout for week 7 of the Total-Body Training rotation. I can't believe it's been 7 weeks! This one was a toughie, 3 sets of 18 reps. Yikes. Chest - Dumbbell bench press Back - Double arm rows Quads - Squats Shoulders - Lateral raises Biceps - Dumbbell Curls Triceps - Double arm kickbacks This was very tiring with the high number of reps. Ouch. Once I started going with Athletic Step, I quickly realized that I should have opted for a slightly easier cardio. My quads were screaming at me. I also did one of my favorite ab...