What better way to start the work week than with a little work and a little Phils! Yesterday, I took my dad (for his Father’s day gift) to the Phillies vs Padres game. It was much cooler and Christmas in July at the Ballpark!
It was a Phantastic start to the week with some father/daughter bonding time :) We enjoyed cheese steaks (an easy choice when you are in Philly) and later a beer in a preemptive celebration for their comeback win. Too bad they lost by one run. Wamp wamp.
It poured rain on the way home and since I live 10 minutes away from my parents, I agreed to dinner with them instead of a workout. It poured rain on the way home and so I felt a little less guilty. Today I made up for it with a 4.5 mile run.
I am going to forego how I did on my workout goals for last week since I was not ‘responsible’ with my meal choices and exercise plan. Because of it, it caused me to feel lethargic and unmotivated. This week I am craving miles and veggies!!
Workout Goals I am scaling back my workout goals in hopes that they are more achievable this week. I think my previous goals were a little more than I could handle, so I want to make sure I'm incorporating my exercise into my routine, but also still enjoying it.
- Run 12 miles
- 1 day of Yoga
- 1 day of Strength training
Question of the night: Do you feel like your diet and exercise routine go hand-in-hand? If you eat unhealthily, are you less likely to push for a workout?
What happens when you have a bff visit, combined with alcohol, hot weather and lots of eating and fun? No blogging and certainly no exercise … and worth every missed minute of each.
This weekend was full of friends, drinks and great food. This week has been steamy to say the least and on Friday when friends Kara and Rick invited the BF and I down for a BBQ we were excited to spend some time with them and catch up indoors.
They filled our bellies with delicious burgers and we chatted about their recent trip to Maine. While there “The Ricks” (as we refer to them) visited a winery that creates wine from Honey. We cracked open a bottle to enjoy.
It was delicious, tart and actually tastes like honey! This will be something I will keep an eye out for in the future. We always have a wonderful time with them and this time was just as lovely.
Saturday, my bff Kait came to visit from Virginia! Getting us together always means a lot of catching up, relaxation and fun. We started off our day with lunch including drinks.
The rest of the day was bulleted by Kait as follows: - Eat
- Drink
- Sweat
- Relax
- Sweat
- Drink
- Eat
- Drink
Needless to say, we don’t deprive ourselves. Because of the heat, I have also skipped my workouts. I know it’s not an excuse (my gym membership says so) but I have a tough time getting motivated to move in 100 degree weather.
Now Kait and I are curled up watching the drama unfold for Real Housewives. It’s like we’re in college again ;) Does tomorrow really have to be Monday?!
Question of the Night: Do you put exercise on the back burner when the weather is this (90+ degrees) hot? Or do you prefer the heat?
This week’s workout routine will hopefully return to normal. Here’s my breakdown of goals for the week (some already accomplished):
- 2 yoga sessions
- Run 10 miles
- 2 Strength training sessions
Obviously, this is the same as last week. I really want to make this a constant routine with the milage beefing up the closer I get to the Savannah Half Marathon in November. I am hoping with the two yoga sessions a week will help my IT band syndrome and the building up of miles per week. I am also hoping that having running buddies will ease the training process this time. When training for Disney, my long runs became boring and lonely. This time with friends training for the same event , it keeps me accountable and excited.
Today's Workout. After a very hot 3 mile run, (It’s 92 degrees and humid here today) I headed over to my parents to cool off their new deck. It was BYOM tonight. I brought a chicken sausage.
What? Did you think I was joking?! ;)
Question of the night: Do you workout when its this hot out? What time of day do you exercise with the warm weather?
I have a lot of ways to motivate myself for workouts throughout the week. Mantras usually work “You never regret a workout”, “Running is a gift”, “Just get moving”. Sometimes life gets a little too busy and my workouts suffer. This week is a testament to that.
As promised, here is my weekly recap of workouts:
Monday- off
Tuesday- Ran 3.5 miles
Wednesday- off (worked late)
Thursday- Ran 3.1 miles
Friday- Off
Saturday- Body Pump
Sunday- Ran 3.0 miles
Last Week’s Goals:
Run 10 miles
2 Strength training sessions- 1 complete
2 yoga sessions- 0 complete
Well last week was probably not the time to start my weekly workout goals. With work in full force (often putting me home after 8:30 pm) it made it difficult to get in some workouts. This week hopefully started off on the right foot!
Workout. Tonight I was supposed to meet Krissie of Philly Nerd Girl for a Power Yoga sweat sesh. Unfortunately, once again work called (insert temper tantrum here), so instead, I hit up a late Yogabodies class close to home. Now I will admit, I've been grumpy, short tempered and a little less than positive lately. Turns out this class (which I viewed as a stand-in) was exactly what I needed. This was my first time to Yogabodies and it was all about working the inner Solar Plexius Chakra. It was all about building the core strength that will lead to motivation to do whatever you want and really listening to your inner voice. After an hour of working on my yellow aura, I feel much better about life stresses. :) After my workout, I came home to whip up a quick healthy dinner. An Asian inspired salad with sautéed shrimp in red pepper flakes and OO, strips of red pepper, broccoli and a little Asian dressing.
Now I am relaxing with a little Real Housewives of NJ drama.
Question of the Night: What do you do when you are in 'a funk?' Do you workout, schedule something fun?
S-H-A-N-N-O-N
Sorry my delicious readers for being a little MIA. It was a particularly stressful week for reasons I am not at liberty to discuss on the blog. When I came home from work, I was too drained to blog. Forgive me?
Because of this week, I craved a relaxing weekend full of time with the fam and BF and that was exactly what I got.
Friday. Friday night started with an oldie but a goodie date for the BF and I J We hit up the local 6-pack shop where you can mix and match beer. We were surprised they charged by the bottle, but pleasantly surprised when we started sipping. We took our little treasures to Jules Thin Crust pizza where we enjoyed Mexican, mushroom and chicken and tomato pizza. After dinner we decided we were too mellow to go out and so we went to K-Mart instead to buy a couple of lawn chairs to enjoy the night on the small patch of grass I call my yard. Craft beer and candlelight was just what the doctor ordered.
Saturday. Saturday was just as relaxing starting with a PACKED body pump class. I arrived 5 mintues before start time and had to scramble for a body bar and steps. Because they were short on equipment, it forced me to select heavier weights. I was proud of myself for completing the press and clean track with the heaviest weight. Booyah!
After body pump, the summer heat had me jonesing for a smoothie and with no groceries in my house, I headed over to Planet Smoothie for a Chocolate Chimp. Chocolate protein powder, bananas, milk and ice tastes like a dream!
The rest of the day was full of chores, grocery shopping, bank, cleaning etc. But the evening ended with a fun cook-out with my sister Meg and the BF.
Now I’m off to shower and finish chores for the weekend. I’m still a little sore from body pump and my run this morning :)
Question of the night: How did you spend your weekend?
I am a goal setter. Those who know me well, know that I am constantly making lists of things to accomplish for the day, week or life in general. My workouts are also part of my weekly goal setting. I will admit that I have been a little lax with workouts, healthy eating and ahem, my blogging, ahem. Its mostly because of my crazy work schedule, but I am hoping if I share my Weekly Workouts with you, then it will hold me accountable.So here it goes!
Goals for the week:
Run 10 miles
2 Strength training sessions
2 Yoga sessions Every Monday I will recap my weekly workouts and give my goals for the upcoming week.
Question of the night: What holds you to complete a workout? A friend? A trainer? Share your secrets!
Since the grill is the only cooking device I’ll “fire up” on hot summer days, it pushes me to become creative so the BF and I are not eating grilled chicken and burgers all summer long. We have tried grilled pizza before that ended up in grill fail. However, after perusing the aisles of Walmart and finding these sweet babys, it gave me a sense of hope to try again. Grilled Veggie Flatbread Pizza
Ingredients:
Arnold Artisan Flatbread- Savory Herb
Grated mozzarella and cheddar cheese
Sliced Zucchini
Sliced Onion
Sliced Mushrooms
Sliced Plum Tomatoes
Fresh Basil
Slice up all the veggies into medium to thin slices (you don’t want them too thin since the veggies will grill first. Brush a layer of olive oil over all veggies except the tomatoes. Place all the veggies in a grill basket (if you don’t own a grill basket, you can kebob them or put them into a tinfoil packet to cook).
Place the veggies on the grill until they are slightly soft. Place the flat bread on the grill over indirect heat and cook on each side about 1-2 minutes (or until grill marks appear)
Add veggies, basil and cheese on top of the pizza and cook over indirect heat for about 4-5 minutes. Pull off the grill once the cheese is melted.
Slice it up and enjoy! Who says you can’t have your own brick over style pizza ;)
After catching up with all of my favorite blogs, I feel less guilty for being a little MIA this weekend. It seems we all enjoyed some summer fun!
Here’s a quick catch up of my 4 day weekend….
Enjoyed dinner with my baby sister at a restaurant full of fond memories
Hung by the pool with my furry niece
 Get my good side Drank many of these with the BF
Ate even more delicious food- (My aunt is my foodie/hostess idol)
And created wonderful memories with friends and family.
Hope you all enjoyed the long weekend as much as I did!
Happy 4th of July! Growing up in the Greater Philadelphia area (America’s birthplace) has always meant Independence Day is a big celebration with friends and family including picnics, swimming and fireworks. Now when it comes to picnic food, I’m all about the ahead prep work because usually I’m hanging by the pool, running in the shower and then out the door.
If you need a last minute, healthy and delicious recipe for your next family/friends BBQ, I have the perfect one for you!
Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon/Sugar Pita Chips
Yield: 8-10 servings
Ingredients for the Salsa:
1 container of fresh strawberries
1 container of fresh blueberries
1 whole mango
1-2 kiwi
1-2 golden delicious apples
1 heaping scoop of strawberry preserves
Start by dicing up all of the fruit into small pieces and placing into a large mixing bowl. You can use whatever fruit combination you would like. Most of my choices were based on store sales and what I liked to eat.
When slicing the mango, its important to note there is a huge pit that is off center. For a good way to learn how to cut a mango, take a peek at this video first.
After slicing the fruit, add a big ol’ dollop of the fresh fruit preserves. You can use peach, apricot or strawberry, whatever your heart desires. I used strawberry because it was what I had on hand, and besides, who doesn’t love strawberries!?
Mix well and your salsa is ready to go!
Cinnamon/Sugar Pita Chips
Yield: About 8 servings
Ingredients:
1 package of pitas (I used Weight Watchers Pita Chips)
1-2 sticks of butter (melted)
1.5 cups of cinnamon/sugar mixture
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the pitas into little triangles and place on a baking sheet. Brush melted butter on both sides of the pita slices. On the top side, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
Bake for 8-10 minutes (until slightly crunchy). Cool and serve!
I hope you all enjoy the day off celebrating America’s birthday with friends and family! Happy 4th of July!
Yesterday morning was an up and at ‘em workout experience. Typically I prefer to workout in the evening, it helps me alleviate stress, but with the day off it allowed me to do a mid-morning workout without having to get up at the crack of dawn.
I was a woman on a mission. I ended up deciding to run to and from the gym for body pump class. It worked nicely as a warm up and cool down to my butt kicking class.
 Pump It Up! Not to mention, my favorite instructor was teaching the later body pump class which totally made my day!
After rocking out to 76 & 77 releases, I ran home and cleaned my apartment. I told ya- woman on a mission. J
The rest of my day was consumed with errands and dinner plans with my sister meg. It was First Friday here where restaurants and stores stay open later for people in the community to come, socialize and enjoy! We decided to head to Café America for dinner - Cafe America offers a fun twist on traditional Mexican fare.
It was where the BF and I had our first date. Not only do I love this place for the memories, but also for their delicious salads and drinks. Last night I enjoyed a glass of red sangria and a grilled chicken salad.
Now it’s off to enjoy the weekend by the pool and see this little stinker.
 Who Me? Enjoy the beautiful day and don’t forget the SPF if you’re in the sun!
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