Excuse + Workouts+ Foods

  Whoa- in case you didn’t notice I haven’t posted in over a week..  The boys are not impressed. 

 I’m sure your not either. Well I promise I haven’t forgot about you guys and I feel like a total jerk for leaving you hanging (since I know you all wait by the computer for my posts to show, haha.) Sorry, I’ll do better I promise!
   The real story is that I’ve been planning a party for the husband who turns the big 32 tomorrow! Yeah in Coco fashion I left everything to the last minute and have been running around like crazy trying to get everything done.. In any amount of down time I’ve had… I’ve been sucked into 50 Shades of Grey and now 50 Shade Darker- what can I say, I’m a follower (or my friend sent them to me for free and I had to see what the fuss was about- fact) I’m a fan, Period.
   So now I’m going to catch ya up- half-assed of course..

 
Some work outs

     Including multiple days of different ZWOWS from ZuzkaLight- I love her workouts and they have really been fitting into my schedule.. I mean who doesn’t have 15 minutes to spare?! Of course there has been some swimming too.. but not as much. I’ve been trying to “take it easy” since my back has been pissed off.. I did get to swim practice on Tuesday and managed to swim 1000 today before my goggles snapped- Thankfully I have new ones coming in the mail so I won’t be without the water for too long.
    Randoms:

      Yeah I’m a sweaty beast after only 12 minutes..
 
Oh yeah- I even got my cars windshield fixed!

   My lilies FINALLY popped, and it was totally work the wait :)

    These stand above my eye level and the stem is at least 11/2 inches in diameter.. I think they dig that spot

 Over this past weekend our amazing friends invited us to their families beach house in Maine. We have  had the pleasure of staying there in the past and it is always amazing.. Such a great group of people with the best views-

    I didn’t really take many pictures though! Oops :)

   And of course there is food- I was generously given samples of Jenkins Jellies pepper Jellies and have been using it on veggies, tofu and Quorn chix cutlets OMG.. So good (Full review coming when I try all the of varieties)

  Little bitty baby grape :)

  Wine and Sopranos= love

    (Don’t mind the taste tester divot- I couldn’t help myself… Cream Cheese and Hell Fire Pepper jelly for crackers)

   

So good!

Bike+Date Night

  Is it really Monday already?! With the break up mid week, its hard to figure out if I’m coming or going… We had a busy weekend though- James bought his new motorcycle on Friday

 He hasn’t been able to wipe that smirk off his face since ;) I had to convince him to get off the thing long enough to head to dinner.. He didn’t kick and scream TOO much.. So down to Providence we went. It was pretty early in the evening so we did our usual walk around the hood, stopping to share an ice coffee and window shop a bit. I had made reservations but we had quite a bit of time, so we decided to have a little pre dinner desert in the form of froyo.. We’re adults.. we can do that..

  We shared a small cup with original tangy, Mango and pink grapefruit.. sans toppings.. it was the perfect way to cool off after our long walk

   I have the cutest husband in the world.. What other guy would take pictures feeding each other in the middle of the city?
   Pre-dinner fruity dessert was the perfect post coffee- but it just made us more hungry. Luckily the restaurant had room for us to change our reservation

   It had been so long since I had indian food and it was amazing! Tandori veggies, Chana Masala (the chick peas which are my personal favorite) Yum yum! After dinner we started to walk to the free concert in the center on the city..

   Yeah I can’t believe I’m posting THAT picture.. but thats ok.. There were hundreds of people and it was HOT… oh yeah, and some weird guy standing next to us that actually yelled at us for talking.. Dude, really? Relax, its a free show- I’ll refund you later.. Psst.
    Saturday morning was a blur- I have no idea what happened.. but later that night we went to a party, and snacked on these

  Ohhh buddy- these are amazing.. seriously.

Sunday morning

      I finished in 1:29:26- it was hot… really hot. I’m glad I had my camel back with ice to keep me hydrated and somewhat cool.. Unfortunately I didn’t plan ahead and had no hydration tablets or anything sugary to snack on so by the last mile I was pretty dead. I don’t know how I made up the hill to my house, but I was very glad to get there!
   Afterwards, we went to the beach with some friends- they came to get me and James met us there later on his motorcycle. We didn’t get there until late in the afternoon but it was still beautiful and a nice way to end the weekend :)

4th+ WO+ Swim

      Pretend I posted this two days ago as I planned:

HAPPY 4TH of JULY! 

Dad and Uncle lighting off stuff :)

Aftermath

       I hope you enjoyed the holiday! I personally LOVE 4th of July, probably because I love the rush you get from lighting off fireworks.. but also because everyone is always in a great festive spirit. I worked in the morning but was out by 1pm so there was plenty of time to change up really quick and head over to my Aunt and Uncle’s house for party time. We had a fantastic time celebrating with my family!
     In other news, I finally put my workout plans to paper and hung it up on my wall near my desk so I can’t miss it.

      Part of my plans include more swimming, at least 3 days a week to be exact- because there is a swim meet at the end of the month I want to compete in..

      In total this week, I swam 7600 Yards- about 5 miles.. That 3500 workout up there is the longest swim I’ve done in years and it felt amazing to kick it’s butt!
   
    How do you refuel after a long workout?

    That would be Chocolate Coconut ice coffee and my first experience with Marylou’s.. Yes it was delicious, but it was like drinking a candy bar and I couldn’t even drink half of it. I was expecting a brewed coffee flavor so it was a sugary surprise! Next time I’ll get a small :)

No title

    Monday’s usually turn into the day of recommitment- the weekends are fun but lack a bit of structure- so I really like to get back into the workout and clean eating grove. 

   I had plans with my friend Becky to hit up the pool for some lap swim, so in leu of the gym I did a little workout at home. As seen on Bess Be Fit

                                          

      I’ve been very into short, intense workouts over the 2 hours at the gym- sure I love lifting, but I also love functional, powerful and explosive workouts. Plus there is progress going on, slight maybe, but progress none the less. 

     Just 30 minutes and I was heading off to the pool. Your probably sick of hearing about my adoration for chlorine scented skin and complete body exhaustion that comes with diving into the water.. but I’m like an addict and it is all I can think about. I used this workout with a couple changes- For each 100 easy I subbed out 100 of breaststroke, back stroke, butterfly and IM respectively. I had Becky do exactly half of the workout and she did great! 

    We got dressed and headed out in search of a new bathing suit. Becky had seen an ad for suits on sale. We got the suits for $18 a piece! Awesome deals make me happy!  

    By the time I got home I was STARVED and whipped up some Kale salad

   

        It was time to take the Mutt for his first swim since his surgery.. we kept it short because I worry too much and didn’t wait him to overdo it. 

    It’s completely adorable how much he loves to swim, just like his Mama :) 

  Speaking of swimming, Dara Torres is amazing! I’m so completely inspired by her dedication and determination- and also so completely bummed out that she’s not going to the Olympics this year. She fought one hell of a fight for sure! I just finished reading

 
   Throughout the book I was not only inspired by her attitude.. her commitment for just going for whatever it is you want is something to mimic. I even sought out masters swim meets in my area.. because competing is what I really love and miss.. There is a good possibility that I will be signing up for one before the end of the year!

 
Who inspires your fitness goals?

Weekend Photo Dump

HEY-O! What’s going down? Hope you all enjoyed the weekend as much as I did! 

    It started out with a super rushed pack job to get ready for a camping trip

   Our friends bought a camper this year, which means we not only get to go camping and hang out with them, but we have BEDS to sleep on, stoves to cook on and a refrigerator to keep everything cold :) along with the s’mores, and campfires. So I tossed everything together hoping I wasn’t forgetting anything until James came home early from work. Our friends picked us up and we started the LONG drive to Gunstock, NH.. The drive is normally only 2 1/2 hours but with all the traffic it took us over 5 hours.. I had plenty to keep me busy though

   I was so happy to get out of the car and set everything up. We didn’t really do a whole lot more than hang out Friday night by the fire and relax it up, which was perfect.
    We woke up around 8 on Saturday morning (Wow it was nice to sleep in!) We drank lots of coffee, had a great breakfast, and showered for the day

    And then we headed out for the day. The campground was hosting a craft fair so we decided to check that out and head to the top of the mountain

    I’ve never been skiing, so it was my first ride on a chair lift.. I’d be lying if I said I was totally comfortable.. I was definitely a bit nervous

    Though I did manage a smile with my husband in his goofy hat..

     And I was really excited to get to the top, for sure!

    You can pay to take the lift to the top and ride back down, but we decided to hike down, which was amazing..

  My hubs is such a clown! Before heading back to the camp site, we watched and later snacked on the most amazing kettle corn..

      I decided to use the time before grilling up dinner to catch up on more reading and a little afternoon lemonade ;)

     Since we kind of skipped lunch, we ate pretty early and decided to go mini golfing. I hadn’t been in a LONG time and my score showed.. I lost.. bad.. Like the course was par 40 and I got 57. hah

     Sunday morning started the same, though a bit earlier.. We needed time to pack everything up and get ready. We took a Segway tour around the mountain and woods which was a whole lot of fun.. I don’t have pics yet unfortunately- but should have some soon! Seriously, riding those things is actually way harder than it looks! 
   
    We  unpacked, and cleaned up a bit and caught up with the puppies. I was perfectly ready for sleep, but my body had other ideas and I couldn’t get to sleep until after midnight. Over all it was a great and busy weekend!

What did you do this weekend?