Better Than Nothing

I believe something is better than nothing.  A better than nothing workout.  A better than nothing dog walk.  A better than nothing house cleaning.  Sometimes things get pushed off because they seem like such large tasks, but I believe putting a few minutes into something is better than nothing!

Wednesday's Workout:

Better than nothing arms lifting sesh in my room with my 10 pounders - 15 minutes

- Bicep curls
- Shoulder press
- Lateral raises
- One arm row
- Tricep kickbacks
- Tricep extension
- Upright row
Check out this website if you ever need any idea of what to do with your dumbbells!  I love the little animations when you roll over each exercise.  I don't know how many reps of each, usually somewhere between 8 and 15.  It depends on the exercise because some are easy with that weight, some are really hard.  I usually just try to push myself until I'm tired and then I'll do 2 or 3 sets.  I also did some push ups, tricep dips, and a little step work between to get my heart pumping.  It sounds like a lot now that I typed it all out, but I just busted it out quick and was glad that I did something!

Tonight's Workout:
2.5 mi run - 25 minutes
I didn't walk at all!  There's no shame in doing a walk/run mix, and I actually prefer that on the treadmill, gotta love those intervals.  But, I haven't done a run without walk breaks in a while, and it was pretty quick.  I was flying in the beginning, slowed way down when I had to run up a hill in the middle, and then I really pushed myself at the end.  I did sorta feel like I was going to vom my Chipotle in the seconds after I finished (tmi?), but the feeling quickly passed and I was just so proud of actually pushing myself!

This weekend my cheerleaders have their first competition.  Tonight, their last practice before comp, they looked the best they have yet... and one of our flyers broke her ankle.  It was on such a routine stunt, she just rolled her ankle and bam.  I always heard about this stuff happening to other squads, and now in my 11th year of coaching, here we are.  It is what it is, the girls will perform everything as is, with her group just marking through their stunts (what else can we do?  I'm not changing their routine in the parking lot before they go on!) but it is such a major bummer.

Anyway, tomorrow is FRIDAY.  Thank goodness!  My weekend will involve a hair curling party for my girls, their competition, a ladies night with some dinner and vino, and a relaxing Sunday.  Oh and I can't forget to spend my 30 bucks of Kohl's cash that expires this weekend!  Win.

Happy Almost Friday :)

Do you do any tasks with a better than nothing mentality?

Feeling Inspired!

I always try to eat pretty healthy, but I really tried to clean things up when I was sick.  I loaded up on veggies and fruit, chugged OJ like it was my job, and even took a multivitamin.  And had one of these bad boys:

This green monster was composed of two frozen bananas, a little bit of berry smoothie mix, a nice handful of spinach, some OJ, ice, and amazing grass.  My sister had the grass and I thought, hey if I can't ever taste the spinach then why not just throw some of this in there.  It didn't ruin the smoothie or anything but it was definitely not as sneaky as the spinach!  And PS the pattern of the glass makes this one look extra gross, oops.

I really believe my diet was the reason I didn't feel bad while I had my cold.  I definitely had all the symptoms of a cold, but I never got that super sluggish body ache.  Since then I've been inspired.  I went to the grocery store after work yesterday and left with some produce, some Chobani, and some healthy snacks to bring to work.  Before bed I cooked up some of the veggies for today's epic lunch.  I made a sandwich with peppers, onions, mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, avocado, a little cheddar, and some red hot.  It was amazing!  And I made enough veggies to eat it again later in the week.

And my clean eating quest continued today when I took my first trip to the one and only...

I was excited to check it out because I had wanted to go there for a while but it just never happened.  My excitement was confirmed when I saw this outside...

Trader Joe's was hopping.  I did some laps around the smallish store while checking everything out and trying to find everything I was looking for.  Two different employees stopped to help me out without me even asking and I got a free reusable grocery bag when I told the cashier it was my first time here.  Tonight's dinner was Trader Joe's heat and eat falafel's.

We stuffed ours in some wheat pitas with some feta, hummus, tzatziki sauce, cucumber, tomato, and lettuce.  I thought it was super delicious but Dave wasn't quite as excited about it.  I think he would've preferred some gyro meat, but I'm glad he's always down to try new things, and I don't think he completely hated it.  On a side note, I ate meatless today, yay.

My motivation continued with a trip to the gym last night after coaching.  My friend Tami just got a membership to good old Planet Fitness and wanted me to show her the machines in the circuit.

Monday's Workout:

1.75 mi walk/run on the treadmill - 22 minutes

Machines in the circuit plus step work in between - 35 minutes

Abductor and adductor machines - 5 minutes

Stretch - 5 minutes

I felt so great leaving the gym, I will definitely be going back tomorrow or Thursday night.  Or maybe even both!  Yeah we'll see about that one haha.  Tonight is movie night, watching Easy A with the boyfriend.  Goodnight!

Do you share my love for Trader Joe's?

Movie Date & Week Updates

My second week of work is in the books, it went very well.  I'm starting to get into the big project I will be spending most of my time on and I've been getting to know my coworkers.  Tuesday night Dave and I went out with our friend Rachel to see Contagion at the new theater in Collegeville called the Movie Tavern.

What's special about the Movie Tavern is that they have a full service bar!

You can bring your drink from the bar into the theater.  They had a ton of yummy margarita flavors, I got strawberry.

You also have a waiter who serves you drinks and dinner inside the theater.

It sounds great... except we went to see a movie about people getting sick and dying... probably not the best dinner and a movie choice!  Our food arrived right when everyone started to bite the dust and I immediately lost my appetite!  Poor planning!  Overall the theater was pretty sweet though.  The drinks were tasty, semi expensive but not too bad.  The food was kind of expensive for what you got, and I'd say tasted ok.  The highlight of the theater was the amazingly huge seats.  They were extremely comfy and even reclined a little.  Also the prices for the tickets weren't bad, cheaper than the other theaters in the area.  The waiters walking in during the movie weren't really a bother, but it was a Tuesday night so it was definitely pretty empty.  I'm not sure how a Saturday night would be.  I think I would go back to enjoy the seats and just get some drinks, maybe I'd get a snack but probably not a full dinner.

As for the movie... it was intense!  I really liked it but it also kinda freaked me out.  And wouldn't you know the next morning I wake up with a cold.  I was just like... really????  I am not germaphobic whatsoever... and I rarely get sick so I just couldn't believe it.  So I overloaded my body with fruit, OJ, liquids, some Emergen-C, and lots of rest.  Despite my nose running, I actually felt pretty good.  I never got that awful body ache feeling.  Now I'm on the road to recovery!

This week was pretty light for exercise.  Honestly, I did a better than nothing workout with some pushups, tricep dips, and some free weight exercises (overhead press, bicep curl) in my bedroom one night, but otherwise the week was full of rest.  I'm still hoping to get back into a more regular workout routine, hopefully at least something more consistent this week.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.  I'm hoping to watch the Giants shutdown the Eagles so I can rub it in Dave's face all week.  Happy Sunday!

How do you beat a cold?  Do you have any good home remedies?

Work, Weekend, Workout

Well, week one of my new job is in the books!  It went really well.  I like my coworkers, I love that I have my own cubical (maybe I'll hate that later?), and it's just so nice to be back to work.  I did not enjoy getting up so early and feeling majorly exhausted, but I'll definitely be feeling better once I'm used to it!  Working also makes me appreciate the weekend a lot more.

Friday night Dave and I started with happy hour at the Firehouse and then we went out for sushi!  We checked out a restaurant in Berwyn called the Lotus Inn.  When we drove up to it, I wasn't sure what to expect because it was in a strip mall and had a hideous flashing neon open sign.  The inside was a complete surprise when we walking into a beautifully decorated, candlelit restaurant.

We ordered 4 rolls to split, 2 simple and 2 of the fancy rolls.  We got a spicy tuna roll and an eel roll to make up the simple portion of the meal.  And the specialty rolls were a spiderman roll (yes spiderman hehe) and a tiger roll.  Honestly I really couldn't tell you what was in those two rolls if my life depended on it, they were both pretty tasty, but the crunchy fish eggs on top didn't really float my boat.

Afterwards we met up with some friends to  grab a drink at the Iron Hill Brewery in Phoenixville.  I tried out their chocolate weiss, which was a little intense but tasty.

My Saturday was spent doing a little shopping, coaching my girls at their football game, and watching the Phils clinch the division!  Today has been an overall lazy day, except I made it to the gym for the first time this week.  Once I'm used to my schedule, I'll definitely be making more gym appearances, but I was glad I got a workout in today.

Today's workout:
Intervals on the arc trainer - 40 minutes
Strength training legs - 20 minutes
2.5 mi walk & talk with my friend Tami

The arc trainer kicked my butt.  I picked some program called intervals 1:1 and chose level 5.  This turned into alternating between resistance 40 and 65.  I would usually use this machine at resistance between 20 and 30, so this workout kicked my butt!  I felt completely winded after every interval at 65!  It felt good to push myself.  I only selected 20 minutes for that portion, but then I didn't want to get off the machine so I switched over to manual and did another 20 minutes between 20 and 25 but with a super high incline so it was like doing high knees the entire time.  After the gym I realized how much I wanted to be outside since it was so gorgeous out so I called Tami and we got to catch up while enjoying the weather.  Yay for walking dates with a friend.

Fall certainly has arrived!  This week was significantly colder and I love these temps... and football.  Well off to enjoy the rest of my Sunday, my mom, my sister and I are doing a girls night at Red Lobster.  Endless shrimp, here I come!

When do you find time to workout with your job?  Do you get up early and go before or try to keep your motivation going after you're done work?

Exercise, Shoes, and Day 1

For the record... I did go on the run I said I would on Thursday.

Thursday's workout:
2 mi walk/run on the treadmill - 23 mins

Friday's workout:
Walk the pooch - 20 min

I got some more exercise Friday by walking the mall!  Since I've been jobless, I've been trying to live extra frugal so I haven't really been shopping.  But now I know there's a paycheck in my future so I went out and spent some moolah on myself.  My loot included a pair of jeans and a plain brown T - trying to stock up on some basics.And then there was DSW...

If you've never been there, please remedy this ASAP!  It is an amazing place.  Friday I skipped browsing the rest of the store and headed straight back to the clearance.  I left with a pair of brown tweed flats (hello office chic) and a pair of Adidas sneaks.  I didn't even know DSW sold sneakers but here these were in the clearance section for less than $50!



They are Adidas Oscillation sneaks, and definitely the closest I've come to a minimalist shoes... they feel completely different from my old ultra padded Nikes.  They are so lightweight and let my feet breathe.  I love them so far.

Anyway the rest of the weekend I was a lump exercise wise aside from walking Dave's parents' saint bernard!  I guess I was just trying enjoy the calm before the storm.  I started my new job today and it went really well but I am soooo overdone and exhausted.  I need to get back into a real schedule and get to bed way earlier.  On that note, I'm off to bed... more on my new job later!

Do you stay true to one sneaker brand or do you bounce around?

Workouts & Big News

So one the original reasons I started this blog was to hold myself accountable for my workouts and healthy eating.  I've been slacking on that... just a little bit...

Today's Workout:
Walked Puddin' - 15 mins
Strength Training (Arms) - 20 mins
Abs and Back - 20 mins
Elliptical - 10 mins

I probably burned some more calories helping various groups at cheer practice, but we'll just count that as a bonus.  Tomorrow I'm planning a morning run.  Now it's in writing, I gotta do it!

I have BIG news!  I received a verbal job offer today!  I should be getting an email with the formal offer tomorrow.  Yay!  I'm so excited.  And I'll be making a significant amount more than my last job, so I guess everything does happen for a reason.  I may be starting as early as Monday!  I'm definitely excited to get back to work and back into more of a schedule, but I'm really not looking forward to getting up early.  I think I'll survive.

Do you have any waking up tips?  How do you keep your health habits in check?

Suddenly September

I'm always excited for my birthday to arrive on August 31st, but with it comes the inevitable, the end of summer!  Don't get me wrong, I love fall, it's actually my favorite season.  At the same time, there's definitely a sadness to the end of summer, especially when it starts to get dark earlier and earlier.

Anyway, after surviving Irene, this week was spent celebrating my 25th birthday.  Dave was down the shore for the entire week, so he sent his love with a special delivery.

As you can see, they are amazing!  My birthday celebration continued that evening at the bar with a birthday tiara, some wings, my awesome friends, and wayyyyy too much booze.  I drank everything under the sun, including 3 different types of whiskey.  Needless to say, the next day was spent in extreme struggle mode.  An amazing mani/pedi was the only thing that saved me, oh and some Chipotle!

After I somehow recovered enough to coach my girls, I drove down to Cape May to spend the weekend with Dave and his parents.  Dave's high school friends Karisa and Frank were down for the week too, so we spent their last night out and about, getting silly.

The next day the birthday surprises continued with a trip to the Cape May Winery and Vineyard.  We took a tour which took us into the vineyard, through the tank room, and into the barrel room where we got to taste a bunch of different wines from the winery.

After the tour was over, we bought some bottles of wine and went out on the back deck.  The weather was perfect and they had someone playing accoustic guitar, so we hung around to try out the apple wine we purchased.  Did you know they made wine out of apples?  I had no idea, but it was delicious.  I love sweet fruity wines and this one was no exception, but it wasn't too sweet so Dave liked it too.

And of course we were blessed with some beautiful beach weather.

Our weekend ended with checking out some bars Dave and I had never been to with his aunt and uncle and their friends.

Overall a great weekend, a great birthday, a great summer.  Now onto hoodies, changing leaves, warm cider (and rum), and obviously some football!  And hopefully a new job.  I'm waiting to hear back from an interview and I have another one on Friday.  We'll see.