The Blogging Wagon

I promise I will be back soon, I just have taken a little break while I figure out a blogging schedule that jives with my life.  Blogging is definitely a time commitment, and I want to be able to give this little baby blog 100% effort.

Last week I found myself not being able to find (or make the time) to blog on certain days, and didn’t feel like that was fair to my readers.  I kind of fell of the ‘blogging wagon’ feeling like I do when I skip yoga- it snowballs into more than one day.

I am currently working on creating a schedule so that I have posts already ready/created for those days I don’t get to blogging.  Although my life can get hectic, I don’t need my blog to fall by the wayside as my schedule (and semester) changes.

I’ll leave you with a cute picture of the baby while I get my act together. 🙂

xxo Stephanie

Fitness on the Go

Hi all!

How is your day going so far? Today was a great day, I ended up running 2 awesome miles on the treadmill, running some errands, and packing for a quick trip to visit the parentals.  Although I would have liked to run more miles, I am still recovering from being sick last week, so I didn’t want to push too hard.  Plus, I’m sore from Zumba last night. 🙂

I have a hard time finding the time to visit my parents, so I figured a nice mid-week trip was in order.  Both of my younger brothers still live at home, so it is really a fun time when we are all home together.

After a family dinner, my papadukes decided it was a good time to look up father daughter dance songs.  We narrowed it down to our two favorites (links are to YouTube):

My Little Girl by Tim McGraw

Daughters by John Mayer

I really liked I Loved Her First by Heartland, but I was major waterworks during it, and my dad liked the Tim McGraw one better.

Contribution from my brothers?  I’ve Done Everything for You by Rick Springfield.  If you don’t know it, check out the lyrics below.

“I’ve done everything for you
You’ve done nothing for me
I’ve done everything for you
You’ve done nothing for me”

Oh my brothers.. they are too funny. 🙂

Any father-daughter song ideas? We really had a hard time finding nice ones that weren’t too country, too old, etc.

Hope you have a great night!  By the way, my Lululemon post will be up soon- I had ordered from the website and have been waiting for the second part of my order to ship before posting about all the goods. 🙂

xxo Stephanie

Wood Stove Workout

Hi all!

Yesterday was a nice and relaxing day after such a busy weekend.  We drove home from the city, and the first thing we did was put on a fire.

I haven’t mentioned it on the bloggie yet, but since Dr. Os is finishing a post-graduate degree, and I am finishing a certification, we moved in with his parents for a few months while we wrap up some school.  It was either this or part-time classes for the next 3 years… so most of our pictures are his parents house. 🙂

Anwyay, after doing some major relaxing, I settled in to do a yoga DVD.  I absolutely love Ana Forrest style yoga, and DVD’s seem to be where it’s at in north Jersey.

I love taking yoga classes up here, but sometimes I need the core-focused yoga.  It’s always good to switch it up and keep your muscles guessing. 🙂

It was really great to practice next to the wood stove, although I am not sure you can tell from the picture that it was on.  Sometimes the flames are a little low. 🙂

This DVD I like to do is a little slow-moving, but that really allows me to get into the poses and open up my tight spots.  Part of it is also an intense core-focused sequence, which I love for working out my inner abdominals.

Next up was some working, dinner with a co-worker, and then what is quickly becoming my new favorite way to workout… Zumba!

I was finally able to make another class with my favorite instructor, Chris SantaMaria.  He is so great- he has such high energy and really teaches some amazing classes.  Although I don’t have any pictures from Zumba, I have one silly one of the baby…

And doesn’t that look comfortable?  Chin resting on table doggie relaxation pose?

Hope you all have a great day! Tomorrow I’ve got running and hopefully some yoga on my plate.  Do you try to plan your workouts ahead of time? I really like to know what classes I plan on attending each week so that I can schedule around them.  I like to make them a priority. 🙂

xxo Stephanie

Busy Bees NYC

Hi all!

Sorry for not posting yesterday, it was a super busy day and I forgot to bring my computer to NYC.  Still getting the hang of blogging. 🙂

Yesterday morning we had a special mass to attend.  We do not regularly attend church (sorry God), but we are Catholic, and are getting married in our church, so we have been attempting to attend mass more often.  Yesterday was a special mass where engaged couples were being blessed, so we figured we had planned to attend.

After mass we headed home so someone could watch the big game…

…and someone else could paint their nails. 🙂

At halftime we both took a break to pack, change, and get ready to head to NYC.

quick packing/laundry = bags and laundry baskets all over our bed.

We were heading in so we could see the off Broadway show Avenue Q.  The last Broadway show we saw was a Wicked (which I am in love with), a few years ago, so we were really excited for this one.

We stayed at the Double Tree Hilton in Times Square, and we really liked it.  Doubletree is usually our hotel of choice when we travel.  Usually though, when we head to NYC, if I am in charge of booking, I find an awesome boutique hotel.  Dr. Os was in charge of this one. 🙂

First thing Dr. Os did upon entering the hotel room was put on football.  Boo.

After getting settled and taking tons of pictures, we finally headed to the show!

New coat! Had to put a picture in of me wearing it. 🙂 It was so warm, perfect for NYC brisk weather.

The show was hilarious, and our seats (which we had purchased on sale), ended up being in the second row.  It was really an awesome night.

Have you see any Broadway shows recently?  What is your favorite show? Wicked is still my favorite, but I had such  fun time last night.  It was a fun surprise for a Sunday night.

xxo Stephanie

Gym Date

Hi all!

Happy weekend 🙂

Saturdays are my favorite because I get to work out with friends 🙂

And because this little bugger takes lazy Saturday mornings to a whole new level.

My usual Saturday morning routine is to practice yoga and run with friends.  Today we headed to a free yoga class at our local Lululemon taught by Brenda Blanco.

Our lulu is in a mall.  This makes the free classes especially nice because the mall is empty, and the close parking spots are always open.  Score. 🙂

 

After sweating like maniacs, we decided to check out the inventory.  I wore my favorite new striped socks with my well-loved Uggs, which you can kind of see in this picture.

After trying on and purchasing some adorable yoga gear (more on that later) we headed to the park to put some miles on our shoes. 🙂

Why yes that is another lovely bathroom shot, don’t mind if I do.

It was such a beautiful day for a run, and it was really great to spend some time catching up with the girls.  Big bonus, my one friend surprised us all with super cool running hoods.  Although not the most stylish, I can guarantee you can see me coming from a mile away. 🙂

This will be great for those cold winter runs.  Especially the Super Sunday 4 Miler in February!

Do you have great running gear that you love, although it is not the most fashionable? I am usually one to shy away from crazy stuff like this, but when I am cold, I will wear anything.  Function always wins!

xxo Stephanie

Zumba-ing Love

Hi all!

Today was such a good but busy day.  The best part of my day was Zumba!  And getting to wear these babies.

My new Zumba shoes! I have been taking classes in my regular old running sneakers, and was feeling some knee pain.  After searching high and low for Nike Huarache Dance Low’s (recommended by Fitnessista), I found a similar alternative with the Nike Dunk Low’s.

Dunks have an awesome pivot point at the bottom (is that what it is called?), which reminds me of the Huarache’s and other dance sneakers.

Note to self: Take pictures of soles of shoes before wearing them.

Zumba and I had a rough start a few years ago, and I have always felt like I was not a good enough dancer to participate. Fast-forward to now, I absolutely love it, even though I’m not the most rhythmic.  I think it really depends on the instructor.  And of course the music. 🙂

That’s my favorite Zumba instructor Chris SantaMaria. 🙂 Such a good workout!

For each 1 hour class I take, I drink 2 gigantic Nalgene’s of water.  That is 64 ounces of water!  It is an intense cardiovascular workout.

Class tonight was really great, and the new shoes made such a difference.  No knee pain, and I was actually able to do some of the moves that I hadn’t been able to really execute in the other sneaks.  Although I don’t have any pictures at the studio, I took a couple afterwards at Dr. Os’s wrestling match.

I really just wanted to show off my Dunks 😉

Dr. Os volunteers with the local wrestling team, so I like to go to a few matches to support him… pretend this isn’t a high school bathroom shot.

After wrestling we had our usual post-match dinner date- sushi 🙂 I forgot to take pictures though, so I will instead leave you one of how we found babycakes when we returned home.

His dog bed was left on the recliner while we were cleaning, so he hopped up and  improvised. 🙂

Ever have any “usual” dates you take with your significant others? I automatically associate sushi with wrestling because of our usual date nights.

Have a great night!

xxo Stephanie

Ab-licious Workout

Hi All!

Hope you had a great day.  It was a little warmer today, and although I contemplated going for a quick run, time just got away from me.  Sometimes it takes way longer than expected to just run a few errands.

First order of business?  Stock up on ingredients to make juice!  I figured that since I wasn’t likely to juice every morning (short on time/not a morning person), it would make more sense for me to juice and freeze.

I stocked up on organic apples, lemons, cucumbers, and a big bag of kale.  I have never seen bagged kale before, but it was the only kale I could find in the grocery store.

I wanted to make my juices ‘greener,’ and I figured kale would be the best addition.  I really don’t eat much kale, and because I know how good it is for me, I love to juice with it.

I split up the ingredients and my freezing containers, and set out to make 6 servings.  A little trick that I read in my juicer manual was to put a plastic bag in the waste pail to make clean up easier.  Eventually I would like to use the pulp to make some fiber-rich meals, but today I was focused on being a juicing queen. 🙂

How good does that juice look?  It really was such a pretty color, and made the house smell amazing.

I plan on putting lids on these babies and putting them in the freezer.  Each night I will take one out and put in the fridge so that it is thawed for me to drink in the am.  I had thought about using an ice cube tray, but wasn’t sure exactly how many trays I would need for a week.

After juicing and freezing, I settled in at Starbucks to get some grading done.  I tried their nonfat Chai Latte for the first time and was pleasantly surprised.  Although it was sweeter than I usually like (I like black coffee and plain espresso, I know, weird), it was a nice ‘warm me up from the inside out’ drink.

Can you see my Uggs peeking out? 🙂 I really enjoy reading my student’s work, and really like seeing the progress they make throughout the school year.

After spending way too many hours in Starbucks, but really getting a lot accomplished, I packed up and headed to my gym.  This week my gym is offering a few free classes of ones that are usually an additional cost; Pilates Reformer, TRX Band Training, KettleBoxing, etc.  All the super cool classes that I don’t usually attend 🙂

I walked into the studio and was a little intimidated by how complex the machines appeared to be, and was nervous I would not be able to handle it.

I was completely wrong.  I loved the class, and I think my background in yoga helped me to really pick things up quicker (I am a 200-hour Hatha yoga certified teacher).  We used the machines to do leg presses, extensions, etc. on our backs, and I really feel like I got a good full body workout.  Especially my core- my abs are so sore right now!  It’s a good sore though 🙂

Tomorrow my Lululemon order should come in the mail (can anyone say second Christmas!?!) and I will finally get to Zumba. 🙂 I think I need to schedule more days of Zumba a week.  Although I have no rhythm, my heart melts thinking about how much I ❤ it.

Any big plans for Friday or this weekend?  Zumba-ing like me? 🙂 I always look forward to the weekends because I always make sure to have fun workouts scheduled with friends.  Scheduling keeps me accountable. 🙂

xxo Stephanie

 

Juice-ified

Hi All!

Sorry for the delay in this post today.  I had a super busy day and had planned to blog at Starbucks, but their internet was down 😦  It’s okay, we’re just rolling with the punches over here 🙂  Here is my post from this am:

First thing first, Dr. Os snapped a picture of me and my little love bug sleeping this morning… I think he’s actually a human trapped in a dog body. 🙂

When I woke up I had an amazing surprise waiting for me on my doorstep.

My juicer!

I have been searching for one for awhile, and when I finally found this one on Amazon on sale, I knew I needed to order it.  I scrounged around the fridge and figured I’d try my hand at my first juice.  This was definitely my favorite combo- it was so unbelievably fresh.

1 large lemon, 2 small granny smith apples, and 1 large english cucumber

This was the first morning I didn’t drink any coffee either.  It is amazing how energizing fresh juice can be. 🙂

I’m off to Starbucks to get some grading done, and then heading to my first Pilates Reformer class.

Ever taken a Pilates Reformer class before?  Did you like it? I am usually a yoga girl, but my gym is offering a few free specialty classes this week.  I am excited to try something new and work out some new muscles.

xxo Stephanie

Health = Wealth

Hi All!

Today was such a good day, despite the cold weather here in Jersey.  I am just starting to get over my cold, and was itching to get back to the gym!

I was all bundled up and ready to face the cold! Side note- still working on how to take good blog pictures, bear with me por favor 🙂

At the gym I was all set to run my 4 miles, but after my warm-up on the elliptical, I knew my heart was racing faster than normal.  I had Dr. Os take my heart rate (who needs a heart rate monitor when you’ve got him around? 😉 ) and we both decided it would be better if I lifted instead.

I spent some time working on biceps and triceps and called it a day.

Although I was disappointed with my ability to push myself hard today, I knew it was a smart decision to listen to my body. Dr. Os knew I wasn’t super happy, so he stopped at the juice bar to cheer me up.

Apple, carrot, and celery.  Although it wasn’t my favorite, it was very fresh.

Do you juice or drink fresh vegetable juice? What is your favorite combo? I just purchased my first juicer and am excited to try different combinations.

Time for some Modern Family, tea, and bed 🙂

xxo Stephanie

Hunting for Food

Found this little baby hunting for his share of breakfast today…

He has an uncanny ability to sneak up on the table when no one is around, and then get himself stuck up there.  Oh hey mama, could I get a hand?

Feeling so much better today, it’s amazing what a few days of rest and some medicine can do.

I’m a big fan of running local 5k and 10k races, and am feeling sad that my next one isn’t until February.  Since it is so cold here in Jersey, I am spending some quality time with a treadmill to do my training.  Using this photo as inspiration for my treadmill run today:

That’s me, running in Vibrams, my shoe of choice in the warmer months of the year.

What is your favorite treadmill workout to do? I like to just run straight miles at a steady pace, faster than my outdoor pace.  Hoping to run 4 today.  I usually listen to 55 Top Hits- Workout Mixes because the BPM is very steady.

Have a great day!

xxo Stephanie