Good morning blog world! Happy Monday...said no one ever. It's sad and gray and rainy here in San Diego. Womp womppppp.
But this weekend managed to be a good one, broken toe and all. Friday night consisted of me being a bum at home with my puppy. Still fun.
Saturday was CRAFT DAY!! One of my bestest friends Cassandra is literally a crafting/DIY/home decor/fashion guru. It's insane (she's the one who's closet I went shopping in that one time). She's making me 2 awesome aprons that I'm suuuuper excited about AND she made me some adorable candle-holders and other little things for my room, and I made a scarf out of a t-shirt (pics soon promise). Meanwhile, I made her BLOG pretty!!!! I can't wait for her to start blogging--it's gonna be badass. Check her out in the meantime.
Making over her blog made me want to re-do mine. I know I just did it, like a month ago, but I have ADD and get bored with things easily. So don't be surprised if one day it's suddenly completely different-looking haha. You've been warned.
Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo--aka Cinco de WINO for us! We went wine-tasting in temecula with my aunt and family friend and stopped at Bel Vino, Wilson Creek (my fav where I got to have a Zin. Port straight out of the barrel...amazing), and Danza del Sol (not one of my favs).
1. Stick to an average of 1200-1500 calories per day since I can't really work out.
2. Do toning exercises every day--I can even do squats, really. Situps, leg lifts, anything that doesn't involve actual running or anything.
3. Get time outside in the sun every day. I try to go for a walk around my hotel's property every day at lunch just to get some vitamin d (and look at the ocean). I think I can wobble my way outside at least with a broken toe-just might have to skip the walk.
4. Lose 1 pound. I've gained about 5 back since falling off the wagon. So if I can lose just one this week with what's working against me, I'll be happy.
What are your goals??? Let's encourage each other!!!.
OK people. After today's workout, I had to write this post. Now, I'm no expert at working out--in any way, shape, or form. I'm just a girl who's struggled with her weight the majority of her life, has never been athletic, and is trying to get her ish together.
But, I am a damn good direction-follower!!!
I first heard of circuit workouts when Curves became a huge hit many years ago (which feels crazy to say. I'm so old.), but back then I wasn't motivated at all to put any effort whatsoever into changing myself for the better and getting healthy. Fast-forward to 2013 when I joined Chuze Fitness here in San Diego, I discovered the circuit room, which you can read about here. I thought it was an awesome concept and really feel like I'm truly getting in a good workout every time I do it.
However, I am getting really sick and tired of being cut in the circuit (see below), and seeing people wasting 30 minutes of their time in the gym because they're not doing it right. Again, I struggle with gym etiquette a lot and tend to just keep my mouth shut about everyyyyything. But this is my blog so I'm going to write about it. Here's how to get a workout in, in the circuit room.
-Read the instructions. They should be posted on the wall. Or ask someone who works at the gym!!!
-It's designed to be a 30 minute, full-body workout. Therefore, if you're all done and look at your watch and see you've only workout out for 10, 15, or 20 minutes, you didn't do it right.
-When you're starting on the circuit, you are supposed to pick any machine or cardio step to start on. To avoid cutting someone in line, which is extremely rude and inconvenient and disruptive to their circuit, wait for the current minute to go, then watch where everyone goes during the 30-second changing period. Then, pick a machine or cardio step that is open. This seems like common freaking sense to me, so I'm continuously baffled as to how this is so difficult for people to do.
-PUSH. YOUR. SELF. The alternating minutes to the ones where you're doing a weight machine are designed...for cardio!!!! What a concept!!! Don't stand there and lift your legs up and down. Step up and down at a quick pace and get your heart rate up. Doesn't anyone remember good ole-fashioned 90's aerobics? Do something you remember your momma doing in front of the TV. She was getting her heart rate up big time. The time to let your heart rate drop is meant to be when you get to the weight machine, not when you get to the cardio steps.
OK, that last tip is a bit personal. And I'm sorry. I understand everyone's version of pushing themselves is going to be different. But just think about the overall purpose of the circuit workout and ask yourself "am I doing this the right way?" If you don't feel like you're getting in a full-body workout, you're either doing something wrong in general, or you're not pushing yourself hard enough. It's not meant to be some easy-peasy copout to a real workout. It IS a real workout!!
Also, for me personally, I don't feel like the amount of actual cardio I get in a circuit is enough, so I start with at least 15 minutes on the treadmill, elliptical, bike, anything to break a sweat for an extended period of time.
OK, off my soapbox I go.
On a completely different note, this weekend consisted of a fun-filled, exhausting day of wine tasting with my mom, her friend, and my friend. Does anyone else think wine tasting is extremely tiring??? Anyway. It was a blast. And an absolutely gorgeous day.
Here's the view from one winery:
And the same view at sunset:
Doesn't that just take your breath away? California really is beautiful.
Here's a pic of my momma and me:
My friend and me:
We were super excited about wearing our hats,
courtesy of her boutique. I mean closet.
And our little fabulous group:
Yes, my mom's shirt does say "drink up bitches." God, I love her.
Here's also a pic of our little spread at the first winery. They had a fish-taco food truck, and we got some cheese and crackers from inside. And a bottle of their rose.
It was a fun, fabulous, sassy weekend to say the least. I also go to lay out on our little patio area on Saturday with my sweet Winnie Pooh. She loves the sun just as much as her momma:
That face!!!!
Ahhhh. Life is good.
In all honesty, life is hard. Really, really hard. And I have some major struggles going on in my head and my heart right now. But I'm so thankful for the blessings in my life. And I'm thankful that I keep up on this blog and remind myself of those blessings on a pretty regular basis. Because going your entire life without recognizing the amazing things God has placed in it is just miserable in so many ways.
Anyhoo. I'm currently obsessed with Carrie Underwood's Blown Away CD. I'm obsessed with her in general, but this CD is just amazing. One of my favorite songs on it is called "Nobody Ever Told You." Part of the song goes Mirror mirror on the wallActing like it knows it allTells you lies of vanityIt doesn't care what's underneath All hung up on the negativeDoesn’t have to be the way it isWish you could see yourself the way I do
I know, I know. I'm getting real deep this post. But I can't help it. Carrie Underwood does that to me. I'll leave you with a video of the song:
Hello friends! Happy hump day to most of the world, happy Sunday to me :( womp womp. At least I don't have to work in the morning tomorrow. Just night time. Anyhoo, today was probably one of the most productive days I've had in a lonnnnng time. It started with a healthy greek yogurt parfait made by yours truly (like it's hard. all ya do is take greek yogurt, then slap in a scoop of your favorite sugar-free jam or preserves, and mix it all up. If I'm feelin' frisky I'll mix in some granola too), then a meeting with a friend at a coffee shop that will *soon be* next door to her house. I couldn't resist taking a picture of this sign....
Charming, isn't it? Hahaha. I laughed, just like that. Out loud.
So my mom's been bugging me to check out this pet store in the Hillcrest neighborhood for FOREVER. And since I was in the neighborhood anyway, I went looking for it. Funny side note: Mom couldn't remember the name of it, only where it was, so I followed her directions to find it's called, lo and behold, "PET STORE." Creative...
But they had adorable clothes, so of course I bought Winnie the Cockapoo a new spring dress.
Also seen on Instagram
Yes I know, she's adorable. And she LOVES her clothes.
I also bought her and my mom's dog little doggie whoopie pies. So precious.
My gym sesh had to be pretty snappy so I could make my nail appointment on time, so I ran a mile then did a few resistance exercises, and felt pretty accomplished considering it was a short workout.
Then I went to the 2nd or 3rd happiest place on earth, Sugar and Spice Studio, to see my amazing Olga. I got a pedicure (during which Olga discovered the small start of a fungus in one of my toenails. Disgusting. Guess I should throw away Grandma's foot soaking tub), and a shellac manicure. CND just released new colors for spring, and I decided to layer cake pop and grapefruit smoothie. I'm in love.
I love looking like an alien while my nails soak in acetone
to remove the previous shellac. And on my toes is OPI
"If You Moust You Moust"
I guess I was feeling a little pink today? Sue me.
To finish the night, I cooked dinner for me and the friend-boy. I made skinny chicken nuggets thanks to Skinnytaste, and also thanks to Skinnytaste, I made some twice-baked potatoes. I used this recipe to get a handle on how to attempt to make twice-baked potatoes not-terrible-for-you, but I hate broccoli. So I kinda did my own thing in terms of what I put in it. Instead of buttermilk, I used greek yogurt, a little bit of butter and a little bit of sour cream, and I also chopped up some chives and mixed those in too. They were amaaaaaaazing.
Yeah, yeah, I'm a wino. I also made skinny greek
yogurt ranch. I'll do a post on that soon. I haven't
met someone who hasn't loved it.
I also got a wild hare up my ass and decided to take some before pics, maybe to serve as extra motivation to actually have some after pictures at some point in the near future--or, hell, progress pictures at least. So here goes nothin...
Currently weighing in at 191, size 14 (but I can sqqueeeeeze into 12s) and L/XL. Love me some Pink yoga pants to hide my love handles.
