Looking AND Feeling Like My Badass Self

For the last several months, I have mainly been running. I fell out of my groove with doing cross training and strength work on the days I wasn't running. As a matter of fact, with summer being so busy with fun things, my running even took a small hit. All those margaritas and wine by the pool were finally starting to show.

Since school has been in session at the end of August, my running buddy and I have been back at it pretty consistently but even though we tried different things like adding sprints to our runs and improving our pace, I just didn't see the changes in my body I wanted to see. I have to accept the fact I'm getting older and my metabolism is slowing, and I won't give up my love of food. But still, I get up at 5 a.m. to run and while that in itself makes me feel kind of badass, I want to actually look badass too.

So even though over the last couple years I have consistently lamented my lack of time, and the challenges I face having two small children and a husband who's not home most nights, I stopped the whining. I am now making use of the YMCA membership that I previously used only sparingly, mainly to take advantage of discounts on my son's activities. I am adding one more day a week of strength or cross training depending on what my running buddy and I feel we are lacking at the end of the week. Sometimes we do a boot camp class, other times it's yoga. I love both. I wish I could work out seven days a week. But for now, it's 4-5. I think I am okay with that for right now. Boot camp is surely more strength-training oriented, since there are some weights involved, and I also like how running/sprinting is incorporated into it too. Yoga can be very helpful to me for stretching, strengthening and toning but I find it is awesome for clearing my mind as well.

I have also tried something that is really hard, but I really enjoy it. Have you heard of The Dailey Method? There is no cardio, it is a barre/pilates/core class and I love it. I leave sore, and spent, and see results in areas that I want to see results. My arms are toned, my abs are showing more definition and I feel as though my muscles are getting stronger and lengthened.  There are several targeted, intense movements that are so small that it's insane that you feel it the way you do. I previously was only able to manage one class a week but they have just added more classes so I think I'll be able to fit in one more! I will keep you posted on further results! It's only been a few weeks so far.

So, the holidays are coming, but I'm armed and dangerous.

--Stay fit and fabulous, my friends!

On Fire This Week!

The Boys and their late-night light saber shenanigans

I start my new job tomorrow. I am beyond excited. I was very fortunate to have a week + off between jobs, and I really took advantage of it. I am always seeing small projects around my house that need to be done but never get to them with the hustle and bustle of every day life. Whenever I take time off from work, its usually because we have something planned and there is no time for getting around to projects then either. Holidays here and there are days I fully cherish and look forward to, so no catching up on any nagging items then. Of course, that's my choice. Instead of enjoying myself on the weekend I could commit to...cleaning out my closet or something of that nature but, nope. I'd rather not.

Well, I didn't make it to cleaning my closet this time around either, but I did take time to think about what kind of accessories I need. I am trying to get rid of a large dresser in my room so that I can put a small writing desk in its place, and need to make room in my closet to incorporate the clothes in the dresser. Part of that means cleaning out the top drawer which is filled with a combination of jewelry and important papers. That type of project would probably take me a full day because I'd have to go through each and every paper and item of jewelry to determine what I can get rid of. When I stop by Target this week and get the items I need for my closet, I'll empty out the dresser (easy) and put the contents of the top drawer in a box which will some how make the task seem smaller.

Let's hear about all the great things I accomplished:

Found a place to donate my business suits. I have been saying for a while now I was hoping to find a good place to send my business clothes that I hope I will never have to wear again. I found a great charity called Dress For Success that is exactly what I'm looking for. Really easy, quick search on the internet, but for some reason just never go to it!

Worked out hard every day. No lie. This is how I would live if I didn't work. I was in pure heaven. I did a fitness center/circuit training/treadmill work out, a Body Pump class, a Body Sculpt class, yoga, and TRX. I also managed to get a couple outdoor runs in as well. I am totally sore but I feel amazing.

On a machine at the gym, workin' it!

Had fun with the kids. I got to pick them up from school each day. We went fun places for lunch, I took them to the indoor pool at the Y that has an indoor water slide, we had ice cream, we saw The Lorax, I took Buddha to an open play session at a gymnastics academy while Monkey was in school. We had play dates, we played outside in the court and they rode their scooters, skateboard, rollerblades. I know typically the kids don't get to do these things during the week as their caregivers are more comfortable keeping the kids confined to the house and backyard. So to the boys, this was definitely special!

Lunch time smiles!

Finished The Hunger Games Series. For some reason, I struggled with the last book. But I finally finished. I really enjoyed the first two and tore right through them, and had a hard time getting into the last one until towards the end. The funny thing is I usually read at night in bed and with all this extra working out I've been doing I kept falling asleep when I would attempt to read.

This book was awesome. Couldn't put it down.

Ate well with no regrets. Ok, I usually do this anyway. But this time around I honestly felt I earned everything I ate. We had a great dinner out with our neighborhood friends at a fabulous Vietnamese restaurant  here in town and indulged in dessert too. We took the kids out to a sushi feast at our favorite local joint. I ate ice cream with the kids. I drank some wine. I had a Skinnygirl Margarita or two in the evenings. We had some great meals at home as well - salmon, asparagus and roasted potatoes...pork chops another night...pasta a few times I was alone with the kids....I fit in my requisite green smoothies a few times of course to balance it all out. I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but I can assure you it was good!

Nothing Bundt Cakes, mmmmmmmmm!

Filled a photo album with a backlog of pictures. That's right. All of 2011, with the exception of our Disneyland trip in December, fit into one album. So now I'm just going to get one small album just for the Disneyland photos...not nearly as daunting as having a box full of Snapfish envelopes staring at me for months on end.

This bad boy holds 500 photos. It's now full.

Took my baby gear to a new consignment store here in town.  I have been giving away the baby and toddler clothes over time as the kids grow out of things. I kept hanging on to the bigger things: Pack n' Play, co-sleeper, double stroller, and various others *just in case*. Well, I think that ship has sailed. Part of me really wants another child, but I am kind of starting to enjoy the phase my boys are in right now and can't fathom starting over with another baby. If only I was younger and could afford to wait a few years. You know, rest, recover, otherwise known as forgetting how friggin' hard it is to have a baby. But I'm over 4-0 (just a little) and I guess its time to move on.

Reduced a large pile of "important" papers to nearly nothing. I swear, the longer I hang on to stuff that I think I need, the funnier it is when I go through the stack and realize I can now throw it away because its irrelevant. I have the hardest time with the art work the kids bring home. I've started taking photos of most of it because you just can't keep it all.

Picked out new bedding. I've really been needing something new. Something to brighten up my room especially since spring, and eventually summer, are coming. Everything in our room is brown. The walls, our bed frame is black but has a brown suede headboard, our current duvet is white with a dense brown paisley pattern, and our sheets are solid brown. West Elm sent me an email about one of their sales, and I got suckered a great deal on a duvet and sham set that I had been eyeing. Its totally different than what we have and is just the change we need. Now I just need to get new sheets, but that's the easy part.

Dreamy isn't it? Adds some color to our brown room.

Pampered myself. I went with a friend to get pedis and also got my very first shellac on my nails. This is fantastic. It lasts until it grows out and doesn't need to be drilled or filled. I can see myself doing this again for sure! I usually don't get polish on my nails because with small kids my hands constantly seem to be in water and regular polish seems pointless.

Love this!

And lastly, I had my blog header re-done.  What do you think? My fabulous friend Tracey did it. I love it.

So I feel like I made the most of my time off. I am thrilled that I managed to accomplish things I've needed to do, as well as enjoy myself and my family. I am totally ready for my first day at my new job tomorrow. BRING IT!

The Skinny on The Skinnygirl Workout

I just love Bethenny Frankel. What is it about her? She is flat-out funny and speaks her mind. She has always seemed so real and accessible to me. Even though she has an amazing figure and a fabulous life, you really don't want to hate her. You really would like to be friends with her.

In the past, I had received a copy of Body By Bethenny from Acacia, and wrote my honest review here. I really like Body By Bethenny, and it grew on me even more as time went on. This time around, I received my Skinnygirl Workout in my Christmas stocking from my husband. Before you start feeling all bitchy in my defense, I did ask for it...the stocking stuffer was in no way a hint from him to exercise more. It has been in my exercise DVD mix for the last couple months and I think I'm ready to talk about it.

I didn't love it right off the bat. I love Bethenny for her humor and wit, and was hoping to see more of that in this DVD. The ease of the banter between Bethenny and Kristin McGee was what made Body By Bethenny fun. In this case, the new yoga instructor, Mike McArdie is all business. I would actually call their interactions almost awkward sometimes. Bethenny's quips sometimes don't even phase him...where I am chuckling, this guy doesn't crack a smile. The way this DVD comes across is like these two just met and are working out together for the first time. The one time Mike says "Give me more chest" and Bethenny's like, "Excuse me?"...that made me laugh out loud and it went over his head. Of course she did get some funnies in, with the "boob-to-knee-asana" pose she coined in the last DVD, and references to "shar pei neck". I did find it endearing when she spoke directly to the camera and told us viewers that this DVD is "much harder this time around."

Well, this is a workout DVD, not a soap opera. All other things aside this is a great workout. I must say that Mike is a solid instructor, leading the workout but also doing the poses himself. He always mentions modifications that can be done to make it easier or harder depending on your skill level, and speaks of the benefits of the particular poses and what part of your body to engage with each pose. He also takes time to encourage Bethenny and mention if her poses or movement need to be tweaked for proper form. That is what I love about Bethenny. She keeps it real. You can just imagine so many other celebrities would never want themselves filmed in a workout DVD where each pose and movement wasn't exactly perfect.

I do love that the workout is broken up into segments. Three Workouts For Your Busy Life, to be exact. One 20-minute workout, two 15-minute workouts, and then a 12-minute stretching portion. The latter is especially great because most yoga DVD's include stretching at the end of the main workout, so I feel you actually get more workout time. There have been mornings that I have been short on time and may do the first two segments and I still feel like I worked my entire body. I love incorporating yoga into my routine, as I feel it is the perfect compliment to my running. There have been days that I have been sore after doing The Skinnygirl Workout. A good sore.

Are you a fan of Bethenny? Have you ever tried any of her Skinnygirl products or workout DVD's? I think you should. Especially the Skinnygirl Margarita...after your Skinnygirl Workout.  Have a fit and fabulous weekend, friends!



Linking up over at Bees With Honey today! Stop by and check out some new blogs!

Thrifty Mama Gym: Netflix

I've been getting the little red packets in the mail for about 6 years now. I love Netflix for many reasons. First, the "No Late Fees" pitch that got me hooked. Then I realized, I loved the convenience of having pre-chosen movies arrive in your mailbox, the variety of movies available, and the cost was very reasonable. It wasn't until I canceled my gym membership at the end of 2010 that I realized another fabulous benefit to using Netflix that I had never even thought of!

I had gone back to work full time and could no longer make it to the gym enough to make paying $80/mo. worthwhile. I could have gone to a 3 other less expensive gyms nearby, but that didn't really solve my problem. All I would end up doing is going 1-2x per week and wasting less money, but still wasting money.

I started to notice some of my running group friends on Facebook mention that they were getting workout DVD's from Netflix. I run pretty consistently but still needed something else for the purpose of cross-training and toning.  I had my Body By Bethenny DVD, which I just love, but sometimes my hamstrings would be so sore that my runs would suffer. So I decided to try Netflix, and I have had a blast trying out different DVD workouts! I only get one DVD at a time though, and I like to do the DVD's several times, so I have decided to select from the "Watch Instantly" section, so that I can stream workouts over the internet and still get films sent to me on Blu-Ray that I can watch on the weekends.

What I love about this - I can keep switching up my work out. I can try different things and if I don't like it, no sweat (no pun intended, really). I can choose different workouts of varying lengths depending on how much time I have. And, my muscles don't get complacent - I can keep them guessing. I have tried Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown, Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred, Crunch Bootcamp, Pick Your Level Weight Loss Pilates, Crunch Fat Burning Pilates, and many others. If I find something I can't live without, then naturally I will buy it but for now this is fun and incredibly inexpensive. I can workout in the comfort of my own home, before my family even wakes up and I don't have to leave the house in the dark and the cold. Netflix really has been my sanity-saver this winter!

Do you have any favorite fitness DVD's? I'm always looking for suggestions.

Friday, Time to Break Out the Wine

Clos La Chance, drinking local tonight!

 
TGIF my friends! What a week. It's rained non-stop here, fortunately everyone seems to be out of town because traffic was a breeze to and from work every day. I bring this up because my commute has an enormous effect on my mood. I mentioned a couple days ago I was having some challenges (um, my kids!) with exercise but have still managed to fit it in when I can. Doing even part of my yoga work out and doing arm weights and core exercises while I watch a bit of TV is not so bad! Sure I'm not out running 5 miles but I think our bodies need variety and new challenges to stay in shape. It's supposed to rain all weekend but my running buddy and I still hope to get in 10 miles between Saturday and Sunday. As a matter of fact, when I am done with this post, I plan to get on my treadmill. I am sitting here with my treadmill staring me in the face. I have no excuse! And Good Lord, will that Valentine candy just go away already??

Chip is off tonight - so we are going to do something as a family. Since its raining and one of our brood is too small to sit through a movie at the theater, I am thinking a family dinner out is what's on tap. Probably not anything too healthy as my Monkey is already telling me he is ordering a corn dog (so I'm thinking Chili's). Other than the Valentine candy I have been eating well all week. Breakfast was oatmeal, with almond milk sprinkled with blueberries and cinnamon and vanilla. This was my lunch today:

Black Bean Burrito
1 whole wheat tortilla wrap
3/4 cup black beans (rinsed if they are canned)
1/2 avocado
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Trader Joe's corn salsa
dash of salt n pepper (optional)

This is the quick and dirty assembly: Put tortilla on microwave safe plate. Put beans in center, top with cheese. Microwave for 40 seconds, depending on your microwave. Top with avocado and corn salsa. Dash with salt and pepper if you so desire. Fold up the bottom, and roll the sides. Easy, healthy and tasty.

Just waiting for the hubs to get home so I can crank out a run, and have a glass of wine. Aaah Friday. Finally. Have a fantastic weekend!

Fitness Eff-Up

The boys in their pj's playing inside Buddha's new dresser

I'm not the type to complain a lot, and I'm not really even complaining now. This week has been a mixed bag, and I fell short of some of my typical goals. I have been eating really well, despite a few pieces of See's candy from that darling heart-shaped box I got on Monday. A lot of vegetables of all different colors, hardly any meat, and no processed food. It's my blogging and exercise that sucked. I was good about running Saturday and  Sunday, but Monday my running buddy "called in sick". We already were not scheduled to run Tuesday, so I planned to get up early anyway and do Body by Bethenny. And I did, sort of.

Pottery Barn pattern for Buddha's "surf" themed room

Let me rewind a bit. I am starting to rethink putting Buddha in a bed so soon, at 28 months. He did so well in his crib, he absolutely loved it. I don't know why I was in such a hurry to get him in a big boy bed. He doesn't want to stay in it at bed time unless I lay with him until he falls asleep. Which isn't so bad, except Mama needs "me time" and wants to put him down and walk out so I can blog and watch TV. I sound horrible, but its true. Sometimes it takes him about 45 minutes for him to go out. Before, he'd just amuse himself in his crib on his own until he fell asleep and I was so proud of his independence and ability to self-soothe. Now, I sort of feel like a prisoner who's night is pretty much over when its time for the kids to go to bed.

Even my morning work outs for me now are at risk. The Buddha is waking up sometimes a little before 6 a.m, which is when I leave for running. So far, and its been a miracle, he hasn't woken up that early on my running days. If he's telepathic and he gets it, then I'm going to encourage that. But on my other days when I am not running but working out at home, he is waking up before I even have a chance to make any noise or even start my DVD. That kind of telepathy I do not support. For whatever reason, this darling, sweet, cherubic love of mine does NOT like me to do yoga. He looks downstairs and sees me on that mat and he starts to scream.

"WAIT MOMMY!!" he wails.

I don't know what I am supposed to wait for. He lays down on the ground and writhes around like he is in pain. Yesterday, I was 20 minutes into a 40 minute work out and I was totally irritated. Since Chip works nights I have to keep the kids quiet. Monkey was awake too, but he is a total Mommy Yoga Supporter. He even goes to the closet where I get my mat, takes it out and unrolls it for me. I love it.

This work out is excellent for my hamstrings and counterbalances my running

I made do, pausing the DVD to put the TV on in their playroom which mostly worked. I managed to finish the work out although I think I might have missed part of a sequence on one side of my body but oh well. I planned to do the same thing this morning but was a complete YOGA FAIL. I had even tried asking the Bude if he wanted to sleep in his crib last night.

"NO! Sleep."

He promptly hugged his bear and fell over onto his pillow pet with a huge smile on his face. Did he fall asleep right away? No. Did I? Of  course. At some point I made it out to watch TV with my hubby who had actually stayed home sick. Naturally, both kids got up early this morning. It was a school day and before I started it was too late for me to work out and still be ready in time.

I'm not going to give up, I am planning to try the DVD again tomorrow. I think Buddha likes his bed and it might be too late to go back to the crib. I just have to be patient, and know that eventually he will get the hang of this. I also need to give a shout out to my man, who I know will still encourage me to run in the morning, even if it means dealing with Buddha if he wakes up before I get back.  And, there's always velcro. Just kidding.

Hope you all are having a fabulous week so far...we are on the downside...2 days until the weekend!

So Far, So Good

You Can Teach a Dog New Tricks
I am midway through my 5th week of my new crazy fitness plan. Crazy for me, that is. I saw my parents the other night at a birthday gathering for my sister, and they had a good laugh over me running outside before dawn on a regular basis. They shared stories - especially with my amused husband - about how I couldn't be woken up if my life depended on it, when I was younger and still living at home. Sometimes I can't believe it, but I have grown to really cherish the "extra" time during the day this new schedule gives me. I used to be a total night owl, but I would my evenings reading magazines or other doing unconstructive things like watching TV and surfing the web. And while my Tivo was cleared on a regular basis, I was tired in the morning and my ass had couch prints.

Staying Focused
Nowadays, I am like a granny, trying to be in bed between 9 and 9:30 on the 3-4x per week I have to get up and run the next day. When I get back, my family is still sleeping. I can drink coffee in peace, eat a little breakfast, wash/fold some laundry, check my email...I have quiet time just for me!  At night when I get home from work I am still in kind of a mad rush to get the kids fed, bathed and put to bed. And after that, rather than stay up too late trying to cram in some laundry or catch up on my shows, I just go to bed. I have a really great book I have been dying to read, but I know it will keep me up too late so I have put off starting it. I really want to stay focused on this plan for as long as I can. And I have realized, I don't even miss half of the shows used to "need" to watch. I have stopped recording most of them and also not replaced series that are off season or cancelled with new shows. I still watch TV, but I keep it to just a few nights a week, and only programs that I really LOVE.

Pushing the Limits
Additionally, I only give myself 1 day off exercise during the week, right in the middle. The days I am not running, I try to mix things up a bit by adding in yoga, pilates or doing an interval training (walking) on my treadmill. It's good practice to keep your muscles guessing by cross-training. This will prevent your body from getting too used to one form of exercise and your muscles will stay challenged by the variety. Already, my morning runs are getting easier, and my time is decreasing for the same route. Soon I'll be adding more distance!

Seeing Is Believing
I love looking in the mirror and seeing a thinner face staring back at me. I look so much better when my thighs are tight and muscular, and my butt is perky. Yoga is really toning my arms. I am working on my middle, which could definitely use some firming up and  that is always the last to go! I have to remember to keep drinking water and flushing out the toxins and things that make me puffy. As my running partner and I always say to each other - "Kick ass!"

Hope you are having a kick ass week!

Review: Body By Bethenny - Unleashing My Inner Skinnygirl!

If you are a fan of The  Real Housewives of New York City, you know Bethenny Frankel. She is a straight shooting, no B.S., healthy food chef, reality star and author. Bethenny's enterprise also includes this workout DVD called Body By Bethenny. If you own this DVD or are interested in purchasing it, it is probably because you already know of Bethenny either from the Housewives or her newest show Bethenny Getting Married. She is not well-known for being a fitness expert, although she is well-known for being healthy and in-shape. This isn't like the Jane Fonda Workout, where Jane was the fitness guru who led and directed all of the workouts on her videos back in the day. Bethenny is essentially showing us, as she says on the DVD, what she does to get in shape. And that, my friends,  would be doing yoga with a qualified instructor.

In the introduction, Bethenny stresses that it is important for us to be realistic in our workout goals, and how it is important to just do what we can do and work with what we have. It really makes fitness out to be un-intimidating, which is nice. For 55 minutes, Bethenny works out with Kristin McGee, who is a certified personal trainer, Pilates master and yoga instructor. There are no other students in the room, its just Bethenny and Kristin. Their easy flow of conversation throughout the work out is not strictly teacher-pupil, its almost like two girlfriends working out together or the relationship you might have with your hairdresser where you become really close buds with the expert who makes you pretty. There is some banter back and forth and typical funny Bethenny comments - such as "Ugh, my hideous feet" when we are directed to reach down and grab our toes. And when we are doing  a forward bend she calls it the "boob-to-knee" pose and says "We should write to India and tell them to change the language."  Such a character!

This is definitely a good workout for a beginner yoga student to work up to. It's nice because the yoga portion is only 40 minutes, so its great if you don't have a lot of time, or if you are just starting to try to get in shape the duration of this workout won't kill you. But this is not a super easy work out, there were times when my arms were burning and the poses were hard to hold. I have a lot of work to do on my core strength, which will help me balance better. I noticed I was even better the second time I did the DVD, and the backs of my legs (hamstrings) were pretty sore. As they mention in the DVD, if you sit at a desk all day like I do, your hip flexor muscles get very tight and had a great stretch for that. I really felt that for me, this DVD was an excellent compliment to my running.

There were also 10 minutes of strength and toning, with light arm weights. The last 5 minutes were fun "booty blast" moves which consisted of leg lifts and squats. I felt like the 55 minutes flew by fast and because of that see this DVD and something I will be doing often. It's a realistic workout, just like Bethenny says. Being a busy mom of 2, I need to work out regularly but don't have 2 hours to commit to it every time. With this DVD, I don't even have to drive anywhere, just pop it in while the kids are playing, napping or even better yet before they wake up in the morning. Before you know it, you'll be done and you'll feel much better about yourself. You'll unleash your Skinnygirl in no time!!

Focus on Fitness, Drop the Excuses

In the beginning of this year I was facing 40 and was determined to be a fabulous 40, not a frumpy 40. I think I've managed to do a decent job in many areas: I have paid more attention to the food I ingest than I ever had in my life. I don't think I have ever put so much attention on eating fruits, vegetables, whole wheat/grains, organic products and cut WAY down on my sugar. I have made a point to try to eliminate the processed food in my family's diet. I have paid way more attention to how we spend our money.  I have become far more concerned with the environment and reducing my carbon footprint, and finding new uses for things and recycling as much as possible. I do my best to eat locally grown products.

The one area that I have not excelled is my fitness regimen. I haven't failed, but not met my goals. It's hard because I have two kids and my husband works most nights. I get home, do dinner quickly, bathe them, read books, put them to bed and I'm lucky if I get to read some of my book, look at a magazine or watch a TV show. Frankly, by the time my kids are in bed, I don't feel like working out. I'm tired and I want to sit down. So the smart thing to do would be to get up early and work out before my kids get up. Naturally, although I have set my alarm several times to attempt this, it just hasn't happened more than a few times. When summer was in full swing we would go for a walk in the neighborhood some nights after dinner, which was great. But that meant to get the kids to bed on time they had to skip their bath. Ok to do occasionally, but not something I would plan to do several times a week!

I have been diligent about working out both days on the weekends. I run with a friend, hit the trail with youngest in the jogging stroller, and hit the gym. The last couple weeks I have managed to fit in one weekday work out. I am going to try to do two next week.

I would love to get up early before work and at least do some cardio. I do not wake up until 7 a.m., some would say that is sleeping in! I haven't had to get up earlier than 7 a.m. EVER, so my body is conditioned...When my oldest starts kindergarten next year he will have to be at school at 7:45, and my that will all change, so I might as well start prepping now. I just have a hard time getting out of bed when it is still dark outside. Stay tuned on my progress.

Goals:
Run 12 miles per week
OR
Do interval training workout on treadmill if having a rough day
Weight training 2x per week
Yoga 1x per week