Work It Off

For the holidays I enjoy making my clients do themed workouts.  A few days before Christmas we do a 12 days of Christmas workout.  Easter has alot of hopping exercises and, Thanksgiving is just a very heavy duty workout. This is the workout that my clients are doing tomorrrow.  I'm doing a variation of this workout tomrorow also.  

I always do some type of exercise on the holidays.  Christmas is often just a long walk since my gym isn't open and I don't want to risk waking people up by working out in the house.  

There are 3 ways to do this.  
1. Do 20 reps of each exercise, then repeat 3-5 times
2. Do 3 sets of 20 of one exercise before moving on to the next
3. Do 1 minute (or 2 or 3) of each exercise and then repeat

I have rounded up 6 great Thanksgiving themed workouts for you.  

From: Sassy Fit Girl

From: Home Field Essentials

From:  Fit University

From: My Own Balance

From: Fit2Flex


Lastly, you can check out THIS ONE from Born Fitness.


Do you workout on special days?  What type of workout do you do?

Oh and Have a happy thanksgiving! 

Photo Shoot

I rarely ever brag about my girls.  But, this one time I have to.  Back in September Sunny and Mo had headshots done with a local photographer.  They came back a few days ago and they are amazing.  A-MAZE-ING!  I just wanted to share them with you.

The photographer was Miguel Emmanuelli and his website is http://www.miguelfornow.com/ 
You can follow him on Instagram HERE
Like him on Facebook HERE


Sunny

Mo

Group

Weather

Every month I say "I'm going to get my blog back on track." and every month I fail.  The past month was especially difficult to try and fit in a blog post.  The hurricane caused my entire community to flood, and my landlord kicked us out and gave us 2 weeks to find a place, pack and move.  But, with the holidays coming up I'm hoping that inspiration for posts will fill my brain and I can get back on track. 

Due to some unforeseen circumstances my eating has been really crazy.  So, most days atleast on of my meals consists of a Quest bar.  I have been slowly working my Way through the various flavors. 

 Strawberry Cheesecake --Actually quite good
Apple Pie  -- Didn't taste anything like apple pie but, it was good.
Mixed berry bliss  -- Very fruity. 
Coconut cashew -- Good.  Needed more coconut flavor.  And it was nice because the coconut didn't taste fake
Banana Nut Muffin -- Good.  And luckily the banana doesn't taste fake
PB&J -- Just okay.
Vanilla Almond Crunch
Lemon Cream Pie
Peanut Butter Supreme

 Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough -- My favorite
Cookies and Cream -- Really good.  Love the chunks of chocolate cookies
S'mores -- Disappointing
Mint Chocolate Chunk -- Tastes like a thin mint
Double Chocolate Chunk -- Another favorite
White Chocolate Raspberry -- Lame.  No real flavor
Chocolate Brownie -- Pretty good but, falls short
Cinnamon Roll -- Boring
Chocolate Peanut Butter -- Another disappointment.  I took this trick or treating with me to curb my candy craving and it doesn't taste like chocolate or peanut butter!

Blueberry Muffin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip -- Good.  Not as good as the chocolate chip cookie dough though
Rocky Road -- Love it!

The blank ones are the ones I haven't been able to try yet.  For the most part I haven't found any that are disgusting.  Some fall short, and a bunch of them I will never buy again but, in general the Quest bars get a 4 out of 5 stars. 

Have you tried Quest bars before?  Comment below with your favorite flavor.

A Day In The Life

As y’all know, I work every morning, take the kids to dance every nite and find time to get their school done in the afternoons.  My life is basically scheduled fully.  I have to find special time to take a shower.  It’s hectic in my house.  My kids each have a detailed schedule.  Let me just give you a glimpse into my day. 

Monday

4 AM – Wake Up, pack bag, get dressed, eat breakfast

4:30 – Leave

5 -6 Client #1

6 --7:30 Gym

7:30 – 8:30 Commute to Client #2

9:15 – 10:30 Client #2

10:30 – 11:30 Drive Home

11:45 – Lunch

12:00 – 2:00 -- School with Sunny {She does the classes that she can do on her own while I’m at work.  These include Art, Intro to Computers, and her study website}

2:00 – 4:00 -- Catch up on DVR’d shows, eat a snack and get the girls ready for classes

4:00 -- Leave for dance and karate

4:30 – 6:00 -- Sit at the dance studio

6:00 – 7:30 -- Karate

8:00 -- Pick Mo up at dance

8:30 -- Get home and make dinner

9:00 – 9:45 – Eat dinner & Clean up

9:45 – Bed

My Tuesday schedule is slightly different.  It’s a bit….just a bit!...calmer.  The time that it takes Sunny to do her homework varies greatly.  Math, Science, and Social Studies she flies thru.  Super easy.  No problem.  Language Arts is a whole different story. She We hate Language Arts.  It’s horrible.  But that’s a different rant for a different day. 

We normally do one subject every day and she gets Friday off.  Today she did 2 lessons.  Math and Social Studies so it took us a bit longer.  The girls have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow and we’re leaving to go camping hiking on Friday so it’s nice that they can double up their work one day in order to not miss anything those 2 days.  Falling behind is a fate worse than death.  

A Week of Dinners

I started this post and then had to RESTART it because I forgot to take pictures.  I thought that since I talk about my weird dinners so much that I should actually show you a week of them.  

Day 1 -- Chili Mac

Sunday we had tacos so I had leftover taco meat.  I decided to whip up a batch of chili mac.  I have always heard about it but, never tried it so, I made it for the girls.  2 boxes of mac & cheese, a large (28 oz?) can of crushed tomatoes, a packet of chili seasoning.  Make the mac & cheese according to the package.  In a separate bowl mix together meat, tomatoes, and chili seasonings, pop into the microwave and heat for a few minutes, mix together macaroni & cheese and chili.  Voila!  Takes under 20 minutes. 

Day 2 --  Cereal

I've told you before, my kids eat cereal once a week for dinner.  It's quick, there's no clean up, and it's great when you get home late.  This week we had the option of Special K chocolate, Special K Yogurt and berries, or pumpkin spice cheerios.  

Day 3 --  Meatloaf Broccoli & Mushroom Quinoa

Ken had the day off due to rain so I took this time to make a proper dinner.  Proper dinners are few and far between on week days.  The meatloaf is packed with vegetables (carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, and onions), and it really easy to whip up.  I'll post the recipe soon.

Day 4-- Grilled Cheese & Rice Cakes

Today was supposed to be sandwiches but, somehow the kids convinced me to make grilled cheese. 

Day 5 -- Vegetable Stew & Garlic Knots

Hurricane Hermine caused the dance studio to close today.  Since it was dark and gloomy half the day (even though the storm ended up being a dud where I am) I decided that stew was perfect for a day like today even though it was 85 outside.

Day 6 -- Mushroom Cheesesteaks, Mixed Vegetables & French Fries

I forgot a picture today.  

Day 7 -- Pizza

Sunny wanted to have an UN-birthday party.  Even though all her "friends" ditched her we still did a little thing.  Pool, pizza and a movie.  

Day 8 -- Leftovers

I included today just to show that I DO use the leftovers.  I had originially planned to do them yesterday but, things don't always go as planned.

Hotel Gyms

The past 3 weeks I've stayed in 3 different hotels.  Well, one wasn't a hotel, one was a vacation rental but, they all had gyms.

The first place I stayed was Emerald Island.  The house was lovely but, the gym was cramped and small, and only had 2 treadmills, a cable machine, a couple double duty machines, and a few other cardio machines.  Plus, it didn't open until 8 so, if you are an early gym person (like me) you're out of luck.  If I had to rate it I'd give it a 3.  

The second place I stayed was the Home2 Suites in Downtwon atlanta.  The room was very modern.  The kitchenette was kind of a joke.  You have to rent hot plates, and they only give you one tiny skillet so, if you're planning on cooking a big meal, don't stay here.  But, the gym was nicely equipt.  My gym at home doesn't have medicine balls so, I did a medicine ball workout.  It wasn't my greatest workout {no caffiene makes Katie a grumpy lady} but, it got done.  If I had to rate this one, I'd give it a 9.  Darn near close to perfect.

Medicine ball Workout  (do 12 of each exercise and repeat 4 times)

Rock and Roll up

Squat press and Throw

Weighted Superman

Lying Chest toss

1 arm slam

Romanian Twist

The last hotel of July was the SpringHill Suites in Florence SC.  Hotel gyms are the only gyms that I say that bare bones is acceptable.  This gym had a full set of dumbbells, 3 treadmills and an elliptical.  There was enough space to do my plyo moves.  But, I know that if there had been anyone else in there it would have been tight. My only complaint is that since it is right next to the pool, the gym smelled like chlorine.  This gym gets a 7.  Not perfect but, really damn nice.  Yes, simple can be nice.  I did a total body workout.  I love total body workouts when I'm going to be inactive for long stretches.  It makes me feel like i've worked everything.  Below I've attached the link to the workout.

Ultimate total body dumbbell workout

Where did you go for vacation?  Do you exercise while out of town?  What kind of workouts do you do?

Trying to Find a Topic

Hey y'all!  It's been a while....

I've been having a hard time blogging recently.  I don't know why.  But, I'm not gonna sit here and act like I haven't been gone.  I'm not going to try and explain why.  Because honestly, I didn't have anything to say.  

But, I will fill you in on the {boring} things that have happened since we last spoke.

May 18, 2016

Kaylee turned 13!  I feel so old.


May 28, 2016

 Kaylee was promoted to a green belt

June 4, 2016

Dance recital for Sunny and Mo.  These are their ballet costumes.  They also do jazz, lyrical, hip hop, tap and acro.

July 4, 2016 

Ken and I's anniversary.  We spent the day down at Daytona Beach.  

July 5-9, 2016 

The girls competed at Nationals in Orlando.  Sunny's dance came in 4th and Mo's dance came in 2nd.

July 15,2016 

Vacation!  The girls went to my parents house in Virginia so, Ken and I went to SeaWorld for my birthday.  

{Side note:  I actually don't celebrate my birthday or Mother's Day.  I'm honestly not important enough to consider those days special.  For my birthday we went to SeaWorld, and came back and Ken got drunk with his best friend.  But, I made myself a cake and bought fat free ice cream.  So I atleast got my cake.  Nobody sang "happy birthday" though.}

But, that was what's been going on in my life.  I have a few recipes planned and a couple workouts so, be on the lookout!

Frozen Soup

You probably know that dinners in my house aren't your average dinners.  They're a bit odd.  They're quick, don't take much time or work, and are scheduled about a month in advance.

Sometimes I run into problems with my planned dinner.  I sometimes don't want it, or I don't have enough time to make it.  Occasionally, we'll be running late for whatever reason and I know the kids won't be able to wait for the dinner I had planned so, I make something else.

This recipe I'm going to share with you is great.  I figured it out while I was dealing with wisdom tooth pain.  {one of the worst pains ever!}  I really wanted soup but, every time I try and make a soup and I don't let it simmer for at least 45 minutes it tastes like water with vegetables.  Not good. I really don't have that much time when I get home from dance or karate.  I have 20 minutes.

I figured out 2 tricks to make a quick, gluten free, vegetarian, tasty, healthy, vegetable soup.  This soup is great because you can choose any vegetables you'd like.  The first time I used peas, carrots, and fresh spinach.  The second time I used, peas, carrots, broccoli, spinach, onions, and bell peppers.

Trick #1 -- switch out your fresh vegetables for frozen.  This will cut down on cooking time.

Trick #2 -- Puree your soup!  This makes all the flavors come together.

Quick Veggie Soup

Ingredients
1 qt vegetable stock
4 bags of frozen vegetables

Directions

1. Place vegetables in a pot and cover with stock.
2. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Place in blender {do this in batches if you need to} and puree until smooth

I make big batches of this.  It doesn't have alot of calories so you can eat a ton of it.  I also like to add chunks of veggie chicken for protein.  Beans would probably be a good addition too.

What veggies do you think would be good in this?  Do you have a quick goto dinner?

That's It Review

That's It bars are great.  They are made from 2 ingredients; apples and whatever else is in the bar.  I eat one Monday, Wednesday, and Friday between clients. I decided to order a sampler box.  The sampler box has 9 different flavors.  I decided to review every flavor for you.  
These bars are great.  They only have around 100 calories, no fat, and 26 carbs (all from fruit).

  

Apple + Apricot

My least favorite.  VERY tart.  And I wasn't expecting the color.  Kinda wondering why it wasn't more yellow.

Apple + Banana

This one tasted like banana bread.  It also wasn't as soft.  Yet again, another favorite.  

Apple + Pear

Yuck!  2 thumbs down.  I hate pears.  This is the second new flavor I tried from the box.  I tried the ones that I didn't think I'd like first.  This one was horrible. 

Apple + Coconut

I liked this one because it has a bit of crunch.  And the coconut was unsweetened so it gave you a small break from all the sweetness.  I have no clue why I don't have a picture.  

Apple +Strawberry

This is another flavor I get at Daily's...daily.  Nothing really special about this one.  I do enjoy it though. 

Apple + Blueberry

This flavor is sold at the Daily's near one of my client's houses.  I eat this one quite regularly.  It's okay.  This particular bar was a bit dry.

Apple + Mango

I was semi-surprised that this was good.  Sometimes mango is good, sometimes it's gross, so I didn't know which to expect.  This was good.  It was sweet.

Apple + Pineapple

Very yellow.  The apple and pineapple blended very nicely together.  I was pleasantly surpirsed by how good this tasted.  I normally hate pineapple.  There was a pineapple after taste and it was nice.  This bar was actually quite refreshing.  

Apple + Cherry

VERY red comparatively.  I loved it.  Not too sweet, yet not too tart.  The cherry flavor stood out but it mixed well with the apple.


Side note:  I found a piece of a pit in my apricot bar, I sent the company a message to let them know, and they sent me a free sample box!  I love companies that go above and beyond to make clients happy.