Birthday Recap

Wednesday was my birthday... 29! Yikes.. Even though this will be my last year in the 20’s, which definitely freaks me out a little, I’m determined to make it the best year yet!

I started the day early with Tuna-Moose, coffee and a little snack before I headed off to the gym. 

I got in an awesome leg workout and they even hooked me up with a free drink when I walked in the gym.

I got home, showered quickly and got ready for breakfast

I knew what I was going to have at least 2 days before we actually went.. WAFFLES and bacon, duh.

 I promise, under all that whipped cream there are bananas. I only ate half of everything despite my ambitious attempt.

Right after breakfast, we headed to Providence. I wanted to hit up the thrift store to look for some clothes- (and found two pairs of jeans for $13) and walked around for quite a while. The weather was amazing, mild and bright, so we grabbed some coffee and hung out on the deck of The Coffee Exchange.

 We continued walking until it was time for birthday ice cream!

 Actually it was birthday froyo.. I hate cake, so its always ice cream for me! I think they knew it was my birthday because they had Birthday Cake Froyo on tap.. I also mixed it with my all time favorite- Vanilla.. Topped with cheese cake, chocolate turtles, heath bar crumbles, sprinkles, coconut and cherries. Mikey and I shared.

 We headed back to the car and back home around 1:30 because I had to do homework before I went to class. Mikey got me this adorable hat and a new jacket/sweatshirt- but it was way too hot for the jacket.. 

 This is the one part of my birthday that I would have cut out.. hahah.. 3 hours of lecture.. EWWW.

 Form school, I headed to work to meet up with my friends from dinner and drinks.. since they still had another hour left on the shift, I started without them

 Ginger Martinis for the win!

I had a great time with the girls, and even won a $50 gift card!

Let 29 begin! 

The Birthday Post

28!

A quick run through of the day…

But first,

Early surprise birthday gifts

Sleeping in; Strong coffee; Breakfast;

Walks through Providence; “Coco-Americano"

 (A genius creation of coconut water and espresso) 

Birthday Sundaes from Ben & Jerry's

 (1 Scoop Vanilla Heath Bar Crunch, 1 Scoop Coffee, A LOT of caramel, Walnuts and Whipped Cream)- Who needs birthday cake anyway?

Coffee dates with Mom 

Dinner at Crazy Burger

Birthday drinks; 

And a shot of Jameson for Chuck

  

Birthday Gift #2

One Happy Girl :)

Birthday Weekend

    Getting older is a weird thing.. When your in your teens you can’t wait to get older. Your looking forward to 16 so you can drive; 17-18 we have prom and graduate from high school; 21 we finally can party!

    By the time your passing your 21st birthday, the timeline gets a whole lot less exciting. Seriously.. I’ve been singing the Toys r Us theme song since 24.. “I don’t want to grow up, I’m a toys r us kid…” 

Thankfully I have an amazing husband who refused to let  me be bummed out about it.. and friends who helped in the 5 days of celebrating.. My birthday was actually on Monday, but I totally kept using “it’s my birthday weekend!” As an excuse to rock out and have a good time.. 

  Friday night James and I met up with some friends. The boys played darts while the girls chatted.. 

  (I love how the Guinness poster in the back in totally photo bombing us!)

  The night didn’t go on to late since I had to work in the morning.. but it was a great time! 

    I woke up feeling pretty good and started bouncing off the walls straight away.. It’s funny how somedays I wake up with endless amounts of energy, while other mornings I can’t drag myself out of bed. James suggested we go out for breakfast- which is easily my favorite meal to eat out.. I love that I don’t have to shower or look fancy.. roll out of bed and go!

     I had a broccoli and cheddar omelet.. and we shared a chocolate chip pancake course..

  They didn’t stand a chance. After many cups of coffee we rolled ourselves home. I had to get to work and James had some stuff around the house he wanted to get done. The best thing about the new job? I don’t have to go in until 10.. that’s practically unheard of in the restaurant biz. One of my least favorite things? Making this dessert for customers..

Banana, Nutella crepes. I don’t know if you’ve ever worked with crepes, but they are paper thin.. and not a fan of getting sticky spreads smeared on them.. they just rip to bits and I’m left trying to piece them back together.. Therefore lots of caramel and chocolate sauces to cover up your mistakes.. Oh and the homemade whipped cream does too :)  

   When I got home from work, James was still working on the house. I grabbed a little snack and caught up on the world while I waited for him to finish. By 6:30 we were meeting up with friends for dinner.. (Yes I went out to eat twice in one day.. it’s my birthday weekend dude!) I had an amazing salad.. But I did accidentally eat a mozzarella stick with sauce that had meat in it.. I have never heard of meat sauce being served with mozzarella sticks.. but it happened.. Thankfully I didn’t actually ingest a piece of meat.. I think I would have thrown up! (But it’s still icky.)

   After dinner we headed out to play pool

  Martinis were there too :)

    Oh, incase your wondering.. I suck at pool.

    Sunday I had to work again.. it went by pretty quickly and I was home by 3. James and I tossed the kids in the car and made our way to Starbucks… Hydro insisted on jamming his head between James and the side of the car.. and then gave me the look of death when I took a picture..

 Kids! My dad dropped by so we had dinner and hung in for the night.. James and I re-watched “Religious” the documentary so that my dad could see it.. Bill Maher knows his shit. 

   MONDAY! (Aka my actual birthday)

Unfortunately James had to work.. so we got up and had out normal routine.. I went to the gym and did some legs and a little arms:

-Leg press @200lbs 3x15

-Dual pulley row @27.5lbs per arm 3x10

-Deadlifts @70 lbs+the bar 3x12

-Squats @160 1 set of 10 and @90 1 set of 10

-Biceps curls @20/ triceps curls @ 20 2x8

- Treadmill 15 minutes with 6, 45 second sprints in the middle

    

  I came home to refuel

Banana

Romaine

Plain greek yogurt

Spirulina

Bee Pollen

Protein powder

   I showered and got  ready for my birthday present (from J) He had made me an appointment for a massage! And I actually had 3 more massages to use in the future.. Seriously the best gift ever. I have been to a massage therapist in the past and loved every minute of it. It was my first time getting a massage from Jen.. and she amazing.. I love a deep tissue massage.. it can be painful at times, but it really works old kinks out! I’m still sore 2 days later.. she kicked my butt! I didn’t want to get up.. I could have slept right on the massage table.. but I needed to get moving because I had a lunch date with my dad!

    Dad and I went to a local Indian restaurant, I totally didn’t take any pictures.. but it was awesome. I got Chana Masala (a chick pea curry dish) and some kind of spicy veggie curry and Brown rice. Yum and Yum! After lunch I dropped dad back off at home and went to meet up with my mom at Starbucks for some birthday coffee. We hung out for a couple of hours chatting and such and then I was off again! 

    I ran in the door, changed into my workout attire and was off to the studio in 5 minutes flat! I had totally forgotten to prepare a class with all of the birthday hoopla.. so I grabbed a deck of cards on the way out.. and just picked four exercises to go with the suits.. 

-Burpees

-V-ups

-Mountain Climbers

-Jump squats

 (Modifications were available so the intensity could be varied)

Number cards were face value, Face cards were 11 and aces were 12 reps. 

    Class ended up being awesome! I had 4 new to me students, who totally rocked it BTW, and we had a blast.. Ok well I had a blast while they complained.. but they are always good sports! 

Finally I was able to go home and enjoy the rest of the night! 

  James put dinner together, it was already on the table when I walked in..  There were also sweet potatoes.. YUM

  After dinner James and I did something new.. (backstory coming)

     A friend of ours shared my birthday. Chuck was like a big brother to me for years.. We had a falling out around my 21st birthday and I held a grudge..  We ran into each other at a gas station months later. He called my name and we chatted awkwardly for a few minutes, (the whole time I was thinking about how mad at him I was) We hugged.. And the was the last time I saw him. Chuck committed suicide not long after… 

    For the last 5 years, I’ve felt guilty that I let something so stupid get in the way of being there for my friend. Our birthday has had this black cloud following it- I couldn’t make peace with what happened, I just felt sad. A few days ago, I decided that I needed to make an effort to move on.. So I came up with a little ritual. Back in the day, Chuck and I would dance around like silly little kids any time “Octopus’s Garden” from the Beetles came on… so in his memory James and I put on the song and danced around singing.. afterwards we toasted 

“To Chuck, birthdays are never the same without you. See you in another life brother”

Afterwards I was ready for the main event.. 

HOMEMADE ice cream cake.. I have the best husband ever.. Vanilla ice cream, a layer of caramel, more vanilla ice cream, frosted with whipped cream, chocolate shaving and drizzle, and a sprinkle of coconut.. AMAZING. 

   

The final chapter…(Tuesday night) Hanging out with Paula who gave me this singing card

.. I had whiskey for the first time.. 

We ran into some other friends too… It was a good night! 

THANK YOU to everyone who made my birthday awesome :) 

Nov. 1

  I haven’t made it to the gym once this week, not even to teach. Classes got canceled Monday night because of the storm and last night because of Halloween. Don’t worry, it’s cool.. I side stepped the “your lame” land mind and worked up a sweat at home.

 That would be three days worth.. and since you probably can’t read that chicken scratch.. The breakdown:

TUESDAY- Vegas style Buy in (and buy out because that’s how we roll around here)
*****Start your stopwatch and do this whole workout as fast as you can!
 Buy in- 30 pull ups (I did the first half of these straight up. The second half I gave myself a little jump up and lowered down slowly.. )

 Round 1=10 reps. Round 2= 9 reps. Round 3= 8 reps.

1. Windmill push ups (side plank to both right and left side for one rep count)
2. Jump Squats
3. Handstand tuck ups (can substitute Pike presses if your not into handstands)
4. Medicine ball wood chop (I used 12 lb medicine ball here )
5. Standing Russian twist with medicine ball (rotate to both right and left for one rep count)
6. Jumping jacks (or star jumps if you want to make it more of a challenge)
7. Jump lunges
8. Dolphin push up (or pike press or regular pushups)
9. Burpees (without push up)
10. Sumo squats with side leg lifts

Buy out- 30 V-up crunches

   This guy took me 23 minutes to complete and I was a sweaty, monster..  no big surprise there right?

WEDNESDAY- Leg burns
   I warmed up with 10 minutes of 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest.. alternating between Jumping Jacks and High knees. Then I moved on to this workout… completing for time:

100 Deep Squat jumps
75 Burpees
50 Skaters- touching the opposite hand to toe
25 right and 25 left Diagonal wood chop with medicine ball (12 lb medicine ball used)

Holy moly.. My legs were burning and my belly was definitely on fire right along with them.. I finished in 17:46

THURSDAY 
  Today I took my workout from one of my Pintrest boards.. and it was tough- and had MORE burpees! (which just so happen to be my very favorite)

100 Squats
10 Burpees
90 Sit ups
10 Burpees
80 Bicycle Crunches
10 Burpees
70 Pushups (dudes.. I’ll be straight with you.. I did the last 40 from my knees..  Lame Sauce)
10 Burpees
60 Mountain Climbers
10 Burpees
50 Leg Raises
10 Burpees
40 Plank up and downs
10 Burpees
30 Reverse Crunches
10 Burpees
20 Pike Press
10 Burpees
10 Supermans

Yeah… This one was tough.. and it took me just over 30 minutes.  The worst part was the Pushup/Burpee sandwich.. Counting the pushups built into a burpees that was 90 of them.. Rough business!
   After Burpee madness I was starved.. so I pulled out some leftovers and cooked them all together with a blob of coconut oil

Nothing is as satisfying to me as coconut oil coated veggies, rice and beans..
    I ran a couple of errands after lunch, and then headed over the the Kickboxing gym to chat with the boss.. I needed to learn the ins and outs of opening and closing the gym, how to check people into the computer, etc.  Plus it gave me a chance to run an idea by her.
     I want to do a donation based yoga class for Hurricane Sandy relief…  She loved the idea! So for a $15 donation, students will get a 1 hour yoga class and a complementary glass of wine afterwards. All proceeds to go to the Hurricane Sandy Relief. Any amount can help and I feel good being able to do my part :)
   I know I say this all the time, but seriously time is going by way too fast. Next week is my birthday! I’m doing my best to be excited instead of bummed I’m getting closer to 30..  I’m having a hard time with the whole aging thing.. But instead of focusing on that.. I’m just going to put on my happy face and figure out what I want to do to celebrate!

How do you feel about birthdays? Getting older? Time moving at lightning speed?

What are your favorite at home workout moves?

Mustache+ WO+

 Whats going on friends?! Time for my weekly "wrap up a whole weekend in a kind of quick post”.. 

   I’ll warn ya, it was all about the parties this weekend! 

    James’ birthday party went off without a hitch! We have such a great time-  even though the weather decided to throw us for a loop and rain. Luckily I’m married to a handy kind of guy who was kind enough to set up a tarp over the whole deck so that our party could still happen outdoors- even though it was pouring on and off. .  We have a pretty small house, so it would have been tough to fit all of the guests comfortably. Even though James saved the night we still set up some old school entertainment in the living room in the form of Nintendo! See that whole box?

It is completely filled with games, but you know which game was played the most and later turned into a tournament… Tetris!  

James started the festivities early with a cigar in his birthday hat- he was a really good sport and wore it the whole night. Who am I kidding? He loved every minute of the attention! I found the hat- along with a green glass for him to drink out of at the dollar store.. That’s right, I’m that kind of classy. Oh yeah.. another thing we found…..

 

Finger mustache tattoos! Ok.. we got a little drunk and put them on our faces as a joke.. and then all the other girls at the party joined in.. Who knew a fake mustache could be so much fun? 

      WAY TOO MUCH FUN! 

  

   

          Toward the end of the night (at least for me since I fell asleep at 11pm) I served up James’ only birthday request.. 

         Tiramisu! It was my first time making it- and he really loved it.. I thought it was good, I really loved the creamy layer but I had a bit problem with the soggy lady finger layer.. I’m totally a texture kind of girl, and it just wasn’t doing it for me.. But everyone loved it so that was all I cared about! 

   I’m so happy the party was a success- it was my first time throwing James and birthday party- and I was surprised by the amount of work and running around it came with- but it was so super happy about it, I would do it every year! Happy Birthday J!!

    

      Needless to say- I woke up with a hangover at 5AM. I stumbled to the bathroom for some advil and forced myself to get back to bed. I’m so glad I did, because by 9 I was feeling much better and was able to salvage the morning with a little breakfast and lots of coffee. Still the day went quickly, and before I knew it, it was time to head to our friends party.. it was a "pinkies up” kind of shindig and I didn’t want to be that wacko snapping photos- but I will say that there was an open bar lots of amazing (thankfully a lot of veg friendly) eats. 

    

 Sunday morning started with a little workout.. 

3 minute plank hold and ZWOW 22 (which took me 19:30) 

         Sweaty beast:

It was a fun and challenging workout..  4 burpees on every minute? LOVED it.. then again.. I’m a wacko and love burpees :)

    James and my dad headed to a Red Sox game and I headed to Paula’s house. We went to the pond for a little sun before heading out to her boyfriends parents house to use the pool and eat dinner (Actually I tried to leave but they FORCED me to stay.. like literally..) they were super plus they fed me wine all afternoon.. (like being held at gun point I tell ya, hah) We headed back to the pond- where James met up with us and we talked about the important things in life.. 

    This week, I’m working extra shifts since a couple girls are on vacation so I’m keeping workouts super short.. plus they have been proving to be more my speed these days.. I did a 3 minute plank plus ZWOW 26. I even managed to get to work showered and on time.. Work went quickly and before I knew it I was teaching.. Here’s the main part of class:

10 Burpees

(2 minute AMRAP) Scissor kicks 10/ Jump Squats 10

8 Burpees

(2 minute AMRAP) Reverse crunch 10/ Jump Lunges 10

6 Burpees

(2 minute AMRAP) Russian Twists 10/ Skaters 10

8 Burpees

(2 minute AMRAP) Push ups 10/ Mountain Climbers 10

10 Burpees

   They were not thrilled- again with the burpees.. At least I had fun :) and I got sweaty as well. Sweet!

   Today I tackled ZWOW 16 and managed 3 1/2 rounds in the 15 minutes- which means I was a tiny bit faster than Zuzana.. not too shabby :) 

Have you tried any of the ZWOWs? What did you think of them?