What's Good For The Goose

Fact #1
I live in a small beach town.  There is nothing to do within 45 minutes of here unless you want to go to the beach.

Fact #2
I go to the gym 6 days a week and my trainer has atleast 30 minutes for cardio scheduled into all my workouts.  I'm at the gym atleast 90 minutes a day.

Fact #3
I enjoy food.  A LOT.  I like carbs.  I like eating.  I like cooking.  I enjoy every aspect of food.

Fact #4
My weight loss has stalled (after I gained a lot of weight for unknown reasons) for a while.  I have been tring different things to get myself back on track.

Last week I realized that I spend 75% of my day sitting.  As I am writing this, and then again as I am typing this, I am sitting.

Did you know that sitting too much can actually reverse the good things that you are doing when you workout?

Did you know that sitting can make your ass spread?  Instead of being perky, you'll have a flat ass.

I have taken a few steps to keep me from sitting so much.  I make sure to stand up for atleast 5 finutes every hour.

I have also been adding in an extra hour of exercise whenever possible throughout the week.  I go to yoga some nites and other nites I take the girls to Hangar15 to jump for an hour with me.

Now I know alot of people might not have the extra hour to spend at the gym, or in a class.  

Any extra activity is good if you sit all day.   It doesn't have to be actual exercise.  It can just be movement.  Go for a walk (even window shopping at the mall is good), a nice bike ride around the neighborhood, or even simple things like, parking farther from your office/the grocery store/your apartment.  Something that gets you that bit more time up and about.

What do you do to get yourself up and moving throughout the day?

Anniversary

Tuesday was my anniversary.  Every year we try to go out of town.  It's the only holiday that my husband doesn't have to work so, we make the most of it.  We try and find a new place to do every year.  I originally wanted to go to Cocoa Beach but, they did their fireworks on the 3rd of July instead of the 4th.  That's so dumb!  Part of the reason we got married on July 4th was for the fireworks.  

But, we decided to go to Fort Lauderdale.  It's my new favorite place!  We went down Memorial Day weekend for Sunny to perform in a show.  We didn't do much but, I really wanted to go back.  I have a few Instagram people that I follow that are in the area.  


We left our house at 6 AM.  The drive wasn't bad and we got there around 10:30.  I normally leave early in the morning so that one day of a trip isn't completely wasted with travel.  We changed and headed straight for the beach.  

They had a bunch of stuff going on for the 4th so we only spent about an hour on and off in the water.  {Side note: The water down there was so crystal blue!  It was gorgeous!}

At 3:00 we decided to start walking back to the hotel.  Check in was at 4 so, by the time we got back to the hotel, got our bags out of the car, and go inside, it was time. I didn't get any pictures of the hotel but, we stayed at the Bahia Mar.  It was really nice.  They are currently renovating so, the pool wasn't working but, other than that it was good.

We decided to change and head out for a late lunch/early dinner around 5.  We picked a nice Italian restaurant because I really wanted a salad and they had the best ones out of all the beach restaurants.  

Ken and Sunny split a pizza.  Mo got Cheesy bread.  Kaylee got shrimp and scallop pasta.  I got a shrimp and scallop salad.  Everyone was really happy with their food.

After dinner we stopped for fro-yo and then went to the hotel to get ready for fireworks.  

Fort Lauderdale has a great fireworks display that you have an amazing view of from the hotel.  

They next morning I got up and went to the gym.  It was really nice.  Obviously a personal training company trains clients there.  I would love to do that!  If anyone owns a hotel in the Daytona area let me know!  I'd love to talk.  I got in a good workout.  They had all the stuff I needed {and an ACTUAL squat rack.  Planet Fitness only has Smith machines :(  }

After that I woke the Mo up to watch the sunrise.  One of the things I really miss about living in a beach front community is being able to watch the sunrise in the mornings.  

For breakfast we went to The Original Pancake House.  We tried this place in Texas and fell in love but, it wasn't as good as Texas.  We would have been happier at the hotel for breakfast.  But, it's decent.  

Kaylee and Mo got chocolate chip pancakes but, Kaylee added peanut butter chips to hers.  Ken got a ham steak, hash browns, eggs, and corn beef hash, Sunny got M&M pancakse and I got an egg white omelet and gluten free pancakes.

After this we packed up and headed home. It was a fun 2 days.  

What did you do for the 4th?  What do you normally do for your anniversary?

20 Minute Anywhere Workout

My trainer has me sheduled for 45-60 minutes of cardio most days of the week.  Alot of time I only have enough time/ patience/energy for 20-30.  Most days I will go back for my remaining time.  Other days I will switch it out for a different type of cardio.  (A trip to the beach TOTALLY counts as cardio!)

I did this workout in the front yard.  I did my sprints and back pedals from one side of my yard to the other.  I have no clue what the actual distance is or how long it took me.  All I know is that I was out of breath from running hard.  Make sure it's a decent distance though.

This workout took about 20 minutes and I burned over 300 calories.

July 1st

It's been a while since I last wrote anything.  Before that, my posts were few and far between.  

Honestly, I ran out of things to say.  I couldn't find a topic that I wanted to write about.  I'm back now tho.

I can't believe that this year is more than half over!  It feels like the months and years have started going by quicker and quicker.

The past few months have basically been very repetitious. School, dance, work, nothing much else.  I'll give you the monthly breakdown on the "important" out of the ordinary stuff that has gone on.

January

February
* Samantha won a bunch of awards (she literally won every award), at her first competition this season
*We got Disney passes

March

April
*We went to Dallas for a hip hop convention.

May
*I started teaching HangarFit classes.  (Tuesdays and Thursdays 9-10 pm!  Daytona Beach Hangar15!)
*Sunny performed at the Gold Coast MuscleMania competition Memorial Day weekend.  It was a blast!

June
*2 recitals.  1 at our studio in our city and another in their other studio, 20 minutes away
*We bought a house


So, I plan on writing atleast once a week.  I don't want to promise y'all too much but, it will be back to business like it used to be.  Same content, hopefully you guys will come back and see what's in store.  

LEAVE ME ALONE!

A.K.A Rules For When I'm Sick

I've been under the weather since we got back from Dallas on Monday.  I don't know why but it seems like people have wanted to have these long, lengthy, conversations with me since I got sick.  I have also realized that I HATE holding conversations with people when I'm sick.  So, here are a few rules for interacting with me when I'm sick.

If  you see me sitting in the corner of waiting room at the dance studio instead of my normal spot, this means that I'm sick.  You can come over, say "Hi", exchange pleasantries, and we can converse for a couple minutes.  When I start looking at my phone that is your cue to walk away.  I'm betting I have already told you I am very sick and that is the reason I have put myself in the corner, to stay by myself and not get anyone sick.  

I don't want to talk about how team works, I don't want to tell you about the summer schedule, I don't want to debate over my views on recital pictures and my views on the recital itself, I don't want to talk!  {Can you tell I had to deal with this??!!??}  My problem is that I'm not 'sick enough'.  I don't have a hacking cough every 2 minutes, I'm not sniffling and blowing my nose every 2 seconds, I am a functioning adult who feels like crap. 

Why do people feel the need to use these days to chat up a storm and invade my bacteria-ridden space?  I'm trying to get work done, and make it through the rest of the evening.  I don't want to be here and if I had a choice I wouldn't.  

So next time you see me, huddled in the corner chair, looking miserable.  Say "hello!", and then walk away.  

Fitness Favorites

I have a list of things I bring with me to the gym.  If I forget one of them I feel like my workout is useless.  {I know it's not though} I have forgotten these before and it's not fun.  I always make sure to 

1.  Pre-workout aka Rocket Fuel

Right now I'm using Scivation's Xtend Go and RSP Quadra Lean.  These give me just enough "get up a go" to get me through my early morning workouts.


2. My headphones & Phone

Credit: http://www.samsung.com/uk/galaxys6/

Credit: http://tzumi.com/audio/

These go together.  They are useless without each other.  While I do my cardio I watch Netflix {I'm currently working my way through the seasons of Shameless}  While I lift I listen to either Pandora or IHeartRadio.

Recently I came across an app called Aaptiv.  Aaptiv is an "On-demand audio fitness that combines the guidance of a trainer with the perfect playlist to give you a fresh way to work out."
This app is really cool!  It's like being in a fitness class or having a personal trainer right there with you.  They have classes in running, cycling, ellicptical, yoga, strength training, and race training.  This thing is so helpful that I will lose clients if too many people find out about it. 
I love yoga but going to actual classes is tough for me due to the kids schedules.  With Aaptiv my living room, my bedroom, my front yard, anywhere becomes my personal yoga studio.    
It's available on Android and iPhone.  Click HERE for more information
3. Heart Rate Monitor

I track my heart rate during all my workouts.  If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook {or if you've been reading my blog for a while} you know that I'm an ambassador for Polar.  Currently I'm rocking the V800.

4.  Change of Clothes

After my workout I have clients so, if I don't bring a change of clothes I'm either forced to run home to change before I see  them or, I go see clients looking like a hot, sweaty, gross mess.  
What do you bring to the gym with you?  

St Patty's Cabbage Rolls

I know this post is late but, better late than never, right?  I made this recipe for St. Patrick's Day.  As you know, I love finding recipes that normally contain meat and switching them to vegetarian/vegan friendly recipes.  This year I decided to give cabbage rolls a try. 

These are super simple and made from mostly packaged things.  In a way this is truly a thaw and dump recipe. 

Vegetarian Low Carb Cabbage Rolls

1 head cabbage (20-25 good sized leaves)
2 bags meatless crumbles (I used Quorn)
2 bags cauliflower rice
2 T minced garlic
1 lb mushrooms, diced
1 large onion, diced

Pasta sauce recipe
4 (15 oz) cans diced tomatoes
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
2 T Italian seasoning

Directions

1. Thaw meatless crumbles and cauliflower rice
2. Sauté mushrooms, onions, and garlic
3. Mix together, set aside to cool
4. Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil
5. Separate cabbage leaves, place 3-5 leaves at a time in boiling water for approximately 4 minutes
6. Set aside to cool
7. preheat oven to 350
8. Place tomatoes and paste in blender.  Blend until smooth
9. Put in medium pot add seasoning and simmer for 15-30 minutes
10. Place 2-3 ladles of sauce on the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish.
11. Place cabbage leaf on the cutting board so it forms a cup.  Place a scoop of veggie meat, cauliflower combination in the leaf and roll like a burrito. Put each roll seam side down on sauce{follow link for burrito rolling directions HERE}
12. After all the rolls are done, ladle more sauce on top, cover with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes, until hot and sauce is bubbly. 

2017 Goals

I have 3 goals for 2017.  They are rather vague but, they totally mean what I plan on accomplishing this year.

1.Do More  -- This is as simple as it sounds.  I want to do more things.  Get back into my photography.  Start doing the things that I used to love. Buy a house.   

2. See More -- I want to go more places.  The girls and I don't DO enough.  We are together alot but, we don't do much.                                

3. Be More -- I want to grow my business.  I want to better myself.  I want to grow as a person.

So, as you can see.  I don't have anything specific.  I jsut want to be able to wake up on January 1, 2018 and say "I did alot.  I am a better person."

What are your goals/resolutions for 2017?