Weekly Workouts & a Weekend in East Hampton

I haven't done one of these in a while, but I really enjoy looking back at these and I miss blogging on a somewhat regular basis.  So here we are!

M - 1 mi dog walk + CrossFit

• Strength: Back Squat 6 x 3 at 80% with 8 Push Ups between sets - I did these at 155 lbs and the squats felt great.  The push ups were extremely challenging and I felt sore through my chest and shoulders immediately.  I never thought push ups were that hard until I joined CrossFit and I had to change to the CF standard with my arms tucked in tight, chest hitting the floor every time.  3+ years later, you think I'd be better at them...
• WOD: For Time (15 Minute Cap)
• 30 Calorie Row
• 20 Burpee Box Jump (24"/20")
• 10 Power Snatch (115/75)
• 20 Burpee Box Jump
• 30 Calorie Row

I took my time on the first rowing section because I didn't want to completely burn myself out right at the beginning.  The burpees didn't feel great since those muscles were already torched from the push ups, but I kept chipping away.  I was half way through the snatches when I saw the clock hit 7:30 and decided I needed to kick it up a notch if I was going to finish under the cap.  Apparently I did, because I flopped off the rower at 13:11!  I was also happy I was able to Rx this because I've been having some wrist pain but the snatches didn't bother me at all.

T - 1 mi dog walk

W - 0.5 mi dog walk + CrossFit

Apparently there was some discrepancy between the website which said 4 minutes and wodify, the workout tracking app we use, which said 3 minutes.  Our coach tried to estimate and decided we would go with 4... until everyone finished the first round before 2:30 and he switched it to 3!  Fun times.  My back has been in great shape lately, but deadlifts are something I definitely don't mess around with.  I kept the weight super light at 105 lbs and made sure my form wasn't compromised.  I was in the middle of the pack during the runs today, which is not usually the case!  It was really nice not to bring up the rear.  My times were 2:18, 2:24, 2:28, 2:24, and 2:10.  I killed that last round :)

I thought I needed a band for my chin ups, but I was doing each one jumping up on the bar, which gave me a little head start and they were going well.  My coach told me I should try from a fully extended position, so I did and I made it about half way up.  So close, yet so far.  When I got off the bar I realized I had seriously strained something in the left side of my neck.  I had pain from my neck all the way down my shoulder blade.  Thank God I already had a trip to the chiropractor scheduled for that evening!

Th - CrossFit

• Strength: 1 Hang Power Clean (EMOM, aka every minute on the minute, 10) - My right wrist had been bothering me for a few weeks when I finally went to see my PT Sue last Thursday.  She told me my wrist isn't injured, but my shoulder and forearm are so tight that my wrist is forced to compensate.  After she put me through some torture, she gave me some stretches to do and told me to keep my weights on the lighter side.  My wrist felt better immediately and has continued to improve.  I wasn't sure how cleans were going to feel, since the catch position was painful before I saw her, but I started super light and everything felt great.  I worked up to 120 lbs!
• WOD: 5 Rounds for Time (10 Minute Cap)
• 20 Double Unders
• 10 Wall Balls (20/14)

My dubs have been great lately, but I'm thinking I should probably take some time to warm them up before any WOD.  I spent the first two rounds really struggling, but rounds 3, 4, and 5 were great.  Wall balls always suck, but my coach told us we weren't allowed to break and I was glad for the mental push.

F - 100 Burpees for Time - A nice little better than nothing workout done in my living room before work, I finished in 9:19.

S - Rest

S - Random Yard Workout - 10-15 minutes of whatever moved me at the time including sprints, push ups, handstands, squats, stretching, and more.


When my coworker Hannah extended an invite to her family's house in East Hampton, we absolutely could not say no.  The town was beautiful, the beach was gorgeous, and we stuffed our faces at all of Hannah's favorite local spots.

My Weekend: Couch Shopping, 12 Hours of Cheerleading, and Laziness

I started my weekend by taking Puddin' to the park down the street.  We walked there once before but didn't really go through it.  Apparently our town doesn't have strict leash laws and all of the dogs are the park were running around free!  Someone actually asked me if my dog was poorly behaved since I had her on the leash.  I was a little reluctant since I wasn't sure exactly what Puddin' would do, but after talking to a few of the really nice owners and thinking of all the times Puddin' had been fine off her leash in Valley Forge, I let her off.  She did some laps with the other dogs and got some loving from the other owners.  I didn't want to overdo it or outstay our welcome with the other dogs that all knew each other, so we headed home shortly after.  The other owners told me every Saturday and Sunday morning, there's usually 20-30 dogs that all come to play.  I'm not sure we're quite ready for that, but we're going to keep easing into it.

Friday night Dave and I checked out two furniture stores.  We decided to set up all the furniture we had already in our family room and that we would get a nice new matching set for the living room.  We're still working on painting that space so we're not really in a rush to purchase anything.  It's nice that we can shop around and see what catches our eye.  The prices vary so much.  I know we want to get something that will last, but I'm still not sure how much we should be spending on couches!

This set caught our eye.

But it is definitely more pricey than the other couches we were considering.  This one was half the price!

We're painting the accent wall special gray and the other walls ivory brown, so we're thinking a dark gray or brown couch.

This was my original inspiration:

(The source was the Benjamin Moore website, but the page is unavailable now.)

And here is some of my further research:

(source)

(Another non working pinterest link.)

(source)

I'm not sure my living room will end up looking anything like any of those spaces, but decorating is completely new to me and the inspiration pictures really help me start putting ideas together.  The idea of decorating our entire house is so overwhelming, I know putting the whole thing together is really going to take a while.  But we have plenty of time, well... I will after cheerleading is over ;)

My Saturday involved over 12 hours of cheerleading.  I volunteered at a full day of 30 minute critiquing sessions with each of the squads in our league moving on to the Regional competition.  It was a long but very rewarding day.  Various coaches expressed their gratitude for our thoughts and suggestions.  The girls were working hard all day and my team did well during their session.  Our routine was complimented by some people there that definitely know their stuff!

So naturally, today was a lot of this.

And football, obviously.  Not only did one of the games start at 9:30 am this morning since it was played in London, but we also upgraded our cable to include the Red Zone (aka every touchdown from every game).  Heck yes.  I also plopped this Chicken Tikka Masala into the crockpot and made some simple cauliflower rice (chopped cooked cauliflower + butter + garlic + salt + pepper).  The recipe was pretty good, I think I could've put in a little more garam masala though.  I also wish I had used fire roasted diced tomatoes for a little extra kick and I really shouldn't have skipped the fresh cilantro.  (Tip to future self: never skip the fresh cilantro!)

So my cauliflower isn't very riced... I need to actually unpack my food processor!

The weekend always goes by way too quickly.  I hope yours was fun, relaxing, and enjoyable!

How much would you spend on a quality couch?  Please give me some feedback people :)

Weekend Snapshots & Paint Colors

My weekend started off on Friday with a nice hike through Valley Forge with Puddin'.  I'll seriously miss having this trail in our backyard when we move.  I took P for a walk one of the nights we were at the new house last week and although there's a park nearby, you still have to walk on a busy road to get there.  It will definitely take some getting used to.

Afterwards, Dave and I spent some time battling traffic into the city.  We met Michelle and Alex for dinner and some drinks at a local pub and then headed to the TLA for a show.  The first act was a Jimi Hendrix cover band and the main event was a Led Zeppelin cover band.  Both bands rocked but let's be honest, nothing can compare to the originals!  I'm also getting old because my feet and legs were seriously in pain by the end of the show and my hatred for crowds is getting pretty serious.

The rest of our weekend looked a lot like this.

We're going with the bottom color for our kitchen, it's called Southern Breeze (and I can't stop singing make's me feel fine afterwards).  Things are moving along in the house!  We have the kitchen, living room, and spare bedroom all primed and ready for color.  The next two weekends are pretty booked for us, so we'll be trying to sneak in all the work we can on weeknights and we'll be accepting all the help we can get for the first weekend of October.  Once we finishing painting these rooms and doing a bit more cleaning, we'll be all ready to move in!  So crazy!!!!

Speaking of painting, I really want to do dark gray walls in our living room and so far the responses have been mixed.  I'm thinking an accent wall would be a good compromise and the lighter walls would keep the room from being too dark.  This is my inspiration, what do you think?

In between days of painting, I also had a football game to coach at and we had dinner at our friends Jeff and Arley's place while watching Penn State win a nail biter.  I need to see if Jeff will share his amazing Thai curry recipe with you guys, it's so good.  Overall our weekend was a nice mix of productivity and fun, although I will say it was a bit exhausting!

So tell me what you guys think about dark accent walls!  Love em?  Hate em?  Any tips?

Some Fun Eats & the Broad Street Run Expo

Our weekend started off with a double date in West Chester at quite the hidden gem.

 

 

The High Street Caffe didn't look like much from the outside, but when we stepped in the door we were greeted fun decor and an overwhelming crowd.  The tables couldn't have been any closer together, but there wasn't an empty seat to be found.  We feasted on alligator sausage, scallops, ahi tuna, blackened catfish, and a crab cake and it was all extremely delicious.

After dinner we went to a bar in town and did some serious people watching.  Nothing like watching a bunch of 21 year olds get their drink on to make me feel old!  I drank a few Woodchuck ciders and we headed out a little after midnight.

Dave and I woke up nice and early this morning to head down to the Broad Street Run Expo.  Apparently 2 glasses of wine and 2 ciders are enough to make me feel less than stellar the next day.  I wasn't super hungover, but a few drinks combined with less than 6 hours of sleep gave me a feeling that I really haven't been missing.

We headed down to Philly nice and early not sure if there would be a long line like I waited in last year.  But the expo wasn't overcrowded and we zoomed through.

 

Despite my lack of running, I found plenty of stuff to purchase at the expo.  I picked up a nice New Balance sports bra, 6 pairs of socks, and a sparkly sweaty band.  Dave got an awesome pair of red compression socks and the proceeds from his purchase will go to The One Fund for Boston!

After the expo we headed to South Street to grab some brunch with a friend.  We ended up waiting 45 minutes for a table at Honey's, but big crowds don't lie because the menu was diverse and the food was tasty.  I feasted on a a 3 egg omelet with chorizo, salsa, cheddar cheese, onions, and peppers that came with a onion and cheese potato latke.  Dave ordered some biscuits and sausage with gravy and a side of home fries with onions and peppers.  We also split a side order of bacon (which was pretty disappointing since it was only 2 slices for $4).  The bill was pretty high so we probably won't be headed back any time soon, but it was a nice treat.

The rest of our Saturday involved hitting the grocery store, finally canceling our Y membership, and then grilling and chilling.

Dave just headed to bed.  I'm going to veg, prep some things for tomorrow, and then crash myself.  Tomorrow is a big day!  Hope you're enjoying your weekend.

Do you like trying new restaurants or do you prefer to hit your old favorites?

What’s Happening

What we did yesterday: Stuffed our faces at the Reading Terminal Market and saw the Flyers win!  If you live in the Philly area and you haven’t been to the Reading Terminal Market, shame on you!  Everything is so delicious that it’s impossible to decide where you’re going to eat.  We split a few things and then splurged on dessert!

What we watched last night:  Restrepo, an intense eye opening documentary about a group of men stationed in Afghanistan.  I was skeptical when I opened our latest Netflix delivery, but it was so well done and now I want to watch a million documentaries!

What we’re having for dinner:  Caramelized Italian Pork Chops with Sweet Onion Jam, nom nom!

What I’m reading:  Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected, a memoir by one of my favorite bloggers about how having a child with Down syndrome changed her life.  Having a brother with Down syndrome has definitely changed my life and I’m loving this book and her perspective.

And now I’m trying to enjoy the last few hours of my weekend with a quick workout, some cooking, and relaxing.  I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

How about you?

• What did you do this weekend?
• What are you watching?
• What’s for dinner?
• What are you reading?

Wedding Warm Up

Thank you all for the wonderful feedback and love in the comments of my last post

It’s the weekend, are you pumped?  Two of my good friends are getting married this weekend so it’s going to be a good one!  I got to leave work at 11 am yesterday to go get my nails done with the ladies!  Chilling in the massage chair with a mimosa in my hand was way better than work!  I got a gel manicure which isn’t supposed to chip for 2 weeks, I’ll believe it when I see it.  I already tripped in the parking lot and chipped my pedicure… dainty lady fail!

I took a ton of pictures at Leah’s bridal shower and bachelorette party, but I never found the time to share them here so why not kick off their wedding weekend with some photos!

Insert a bunch of pictures that I’m sure nobody wants posted on the internet!  Go check out Heather’s blog to see the amazing décor and some fun pictures.

Omg, I can’t wait!  My neighbor did my hair bright and early, and soon the groomsmen will be coming over for a hearty lunch and to get ready, and the rest of the day will be spent celebrating!

In other news, my camera suffered a tragedy, but I got a brand spankin’ new cell phone with decent camera!  It’s the Samsung Galaxy SIII and I am still deathly afraid I’m going to drop it!  My birthday is coming up in August, so hopefully my phone can do the trick until then.

Do you have anything fun going on this weekend?  Do you love weddings?