Thursday, January 30, 2014

Polar Vortex - Take 3



YUCK!

This week has been annoyingly similar to last week. But, as you can see in the picture above, we got significantly more snow. 6-10 inches to be exact. WTH. It is absolutely ridiculous. While having the occasional day off in the middle of the week is a treat, it SUCKS when you spend it snowed in. I'm getting cabin fever. I don't have a roommate and I don't really talk to my neighbors, so needless to say, I have been so bored. Tuesday my work closed at 1:30 pm so I went to the dentist, the grocery store and best buy. Mind you, it didn't actually start snowing until like 7pm. 

Yesterday, I was pretty productive. I did several loads of laundry, did a workout with my kettle bell in my living room, and cleaned my kitchen from when I did meal prep on Sunday. That's right...it took me 3 days to clean up after myself after meal prep! I was just so exhausted. I mean look at all this:



I made garlic Parmesan chicken, red mashed potatoes, asparagus, chicken for salad, lime chicken for tacos, egg breakfast sandwiches, and a big pot of tortilla soup. Everything was good, the recipe for tortilla soup made WAY too much though so I will be freezing most of it. This week I'm going to make less of a variety because it was a long night haha.

So yea, messy kitchen is now clean. My kettle bell workout was pretty tough, but totally worth it because I had so much energy afterwards!


These were the moves I did with a 10 lb. kettle bell repeated 3 times:

10 reps around the body
10 reps each arm bent rows
15 reps dead lift with upright row
10 reps figure 8's
15 reps kettle bell swings
15 reps front squat
10 reps each side windmills
50 jumping jacks

The first set felt easy but by the time I got to the 3rd I was getting pretty tired. MAN I need to get back in shape haha! The athletic trainer did give me the okay to start running again but only half my usually mileage and only on the treadmill since it's lower impact than running outside. BUT since the weather has been pretty sucko, I haven't made it to the gym. Boo winter. 

Today was much different. I literally laid around all day watching Graceland (SUCH a good show!) and working on some things for our event at work on Friday. HOPEFULLY the snow will melt so people actually show up. 

This weekend the weather is supposed to warm up so I plan on taking my new bike out for a spin! Then make something for a Super Bowl party...any ideas on something healthy/simple to bring for the potluck?????



Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Snow Day!

Here in Virginia, we have no idea how to drive in the snow. If an inch accumulates, our whole area shuts down (including my work! Woohoo!). So, today we are having a SNOW DAY!

So my plan is to relax and maybe clean my bathroom, and definitely do laundry. One thing is for sure though, I will not be making it to the gym today. The last time I tried to drive on snowy roads, I slide into the curb and became "that" girl who called her daddy and begged him to come pick me up. No, I am not ashamed. In full disclosure, I was prepared to spend the night at my parents last night just in case I did have to go into work and needed my dad to drive me. I'm pathetic! But really, your welcome Virginia residents that a terrible snow drive would not be on the road. It really is a public service having my dad shuttle me around.

Anywho, since I will not be making it to the gym, I wanted to get in some sort of workout so I will be breaking out the kettlebell!

Also, in honor of humpday, one of my favorite blogs to follow is Fitness Blondie and she does a Hump Day Blog Hop. So check out some of the other blogs that have joined it! I know I will!



The Hump Day Blog Hop

Sara

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Busy + Sickly + Polar Vortex Take 2...

Good Morning!

The year of 2014 has really begun with some challenges (hopefully not foreshadowing much!). I have spent the last couple weeks freezing, sneezing, and calculating my expenses for each month this year. All of that has been just about as fun as it sounds. I got a cold right as the new year started and it just kept escalating. And right when I thought I was getting back on track with eating and working out, I was confined to my couch. I did catch up on my DVR though (sorry, sorry...no DVR talk!).

On top of being sick, I was also FREEZING because of the "polar vortex" that Al Roker has been talking about. And apparently another polar vortex is going to come through the rest of this week...but this time bringing snow. SNOW. NO. I hate snow. I am most definitely a warm weather kind of person and I am one of "those" people that everyone hates because I CANNOT drive in the snow. Seriously. One time I slide into a curb and now I am completely traumatized and refuse to drive if there is even a chance it will stick. Hopefully work will be cancelled tomorrow so I don't look like this:

Have a mentioned I hate being cold?

Anyways, I have been trying to make it to the gym a lot more. The athletic trainer at work gave me some workouts to strengthen my knee so I can start running again in the next month or so. Here are the moves he taught me:

One legged step downs (10 reps x3)
Front lunges (10 reps x3)
Angled lunges (10 reps x3)
Front step ups (10 reps x3)
Side step ups (10 reps x3)
And a new one I haven't tried yet - backwards step ups (10 reps x3)

The one legged step downs are pretty tough because my knee wants to twist to the inside which causes some pain, but as long as I do each move slowly and keep my form correct, they really help strengthen my hips and quads, taking the strain out of my knee. Good news is I have been given the okay to start on the stair climber!

I have also been trying some healthy recipes. Now, I am by no means a chef of any kind. I have been known to screw up hamburger helper in the not-so-recent past. So, trying new recipes is a little daunting. I chose something called Rainbow Rice to try. It is made with brown rice, chicken, broccoli, black beans, carrots and corn. Sounds good right? Looks good right?



Tastes good right? WRONG! I am sure I did something wrong, just not sure what. And I made SO MUCH of it. I felt super bummed throwing it away, but I knew I wouldn't eat it. Next time I try a new recipe, I will be sure to make a single serving first to test it out.

This week, I had MLK day off so I was able to do some meal prep for the week (with recipes I already have made before!). For breakfast I made a couple omelets using fresh spinach, 2 egg whites and 1 whole egg. Then I used them to make sandwiches with whole wheat english muffins, a slice of turkey bacon and a piece of 2% american cheese. I had it this morning and it was delicious! For lunch I cooked up some vegetable radiatore noodles from Trader Joe's and mixed it with ground turkey and tomato basil pasta sauce for spaghetti. For dinners, I made some taco meat (using ground turkey - which I think tastes MUCH better than ground beef because it isn't as greasy) and plan to make taco salads. I also picked up a bunch of apples, strawberries and bananas for snacks throughout the week!

Planning my meals and making them in advance really helps me eat healthy because I usually have no desire to cook anything when I get home from work.

So begins the second polar vortex, but hopefully this time I will steer clear of Chipotle (however hard that may be!).

Just for nostalgia, here is a picture of when I was sitting on my balcony YESTERDAY in 60 DEGREE weather. Seriously, Virginia?





Sara

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Happy 2014!

Happy 2014!

This past year (2013) has been crazy! The biggest thing is my new job that I started in August. I was so nervous about leaving my old job and all the people there (including my boss who was amazing!) but so excited about starting my new job in collegiate athletics! The last few months have been great and I am learning so much here. I also discovered my love for having a personal trainer - and also how expensive it is. I wish I would've been able to continue with once a week sessions, but unfortunately I ran out of money - i.e. I chose to be able to pay rent and eat instead, haha.

The last week of 2013 was incredibly relaxing. I spent most of the time lounging at my parents house for Christmas. And speaking of presents...LOOK WHAT I GOT!


My parents are the greatest! It is a hybrid (cross between a mountain bike and a road bike). It will be perfect for the sprint triathlon in July that I signed up for and I CANNOT wait to take it out once the weather is a bit nicer. And in order to stay awake on these long bike rides I intend to complete, my parents got me the cutest little Keurig ever!

Yum, Coffee!
 
That was my first cup that I made with it. It was some sort of hazelnut flavor that I wasn't a big fan of so I went and bought my favorite type of coffee - mocha! I mean, who doesn't like chocolate coffee.
 
Hopefully with my brand new coffee maker, I will have so much energy all I will want to do is exercise - okay, maybe that's some extreme wishful thinking, but a girl can dream.
 
So, here is hoping that 2014 is going to be a fit and fun year! I mean, I already started it out on a positive note! My mom and I walked 2.014 miles on New Year's Day (get it, 2014! It took someone explaining it to me to get it...blond moment). It was really cool because it was at the local botanical gardens and they still had all the Christmas lights up! I was so proud of my mom; she was hustling and even ran through the finish line! The picture is a little dark at the top so it's hard to see her, but she is smiling, I promise!
 



Happy New Year!!

Sara