♥Hi There! I figured I’d share what we’ve got on the menu for this week. I did prep yesterday so we’ll start the menu with Sunday.

Sunday: Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken. I have a recipe that I base it around but add and subtract according to what I have in the kitchen. This wound up being a late grownups dinner because of my work schedule but normally Girlie likes this. She elected for leftover pasta instead. Ok by me.

Monday: Taco Night. I made the taco meat yesterday so all I have to do tonight is reheat it and put out toppings. I meant to mix a can of black beans into the meat but forgot to. Maybe tonight when I reheat it. This will be a super informal family dinner at the kitchen counter right after softball practice.

Tuesday: Girls’ Night. Handsome Husband has something planned so Girlie and I are on our own. I didn’t plan anything. We may have pancakes together or she may elect for chicken nuggets and I’ll eat leftovers. Or pancakes…I ♥ pancakes. I have so many different protein pancake recipes.

Wednesday: London Broil and Broccoli. I don’t know if you remember how much I hated broccoli? I finally found 1 recipe I adore. I seriously make this at least once a week. You should try it. This will be a grownups dinner. Girlie will have her own dinner earlier.

Thursday: Salads with Tuna. It was going to be salads with chicken and strawberries but I forgot to buy chicken breasts. Doh! Also a late grownup dinner since we’ve got wacky schedules and Girlie will be at her grandparents.

Friday: Who knows?

Do you have anything fun on the menu this week? Do you go back to the store if you forget things or would you rather re-do the plan? A trip back to the store always seems to become at least $30 even if I intend to get 1 thing so some weeks I’ll do it and some weeks I’ll improvise.

When I found out that I had the opportunity to join a group of NH bloggers and social media mavens for Surfset Fitness at TI Fitness I was soo excited. And nervous. You may not know this but I am one of the clumsiest people you could ever meet. I’m actually working with my trainer on balance based exercises in hopes of being able to ride a bicycle someday. I’m a walking “I’m so clumsy” joke. I’m so clumsy I always have random bruises on my knees and hips from bumping into stuff. I’m so clumsy the woman who has the office across from me doesn’t even blink anymore when I don’t quite “make” the hallway corner. You probably also don’t know that I’m also super socially awkward and anxious. So taking this class with this group of women? Totally fits with my current agenda of challenging myself.

The ladies of Blog & Tweet NH surrounding TI Surf Fitness Co-Owner Chris (in the light blue top).

TI fitness is located about an hour away from our home. Which brings up one other thing about me that you may not know: I get lost. A lot. Even with directions. I remember driving home from college I would take the same wrong turn over and over. So I gave myself about 2 hours to find the studio. And yay! I found it no problem. Which gave me time to get a non-parallel-parking spot downtown outside the cutest little coffee shop! And time to go in and have a coffee.

On the walk to the studio I ran into Amy. She asked me the same question about the parking meters that I had asked a random guy outside the coffee shop. (Seriously Manchester, could you post the hours in a way that makes sense?) We discovered we were heading to the same place and found it together.

I loved the vibe of TI fitness right off the bat. It’s in this super cool old building. The workout space is actually in the old ballroom. Between that and the Hawaiian decorations and Surfset surfboards it had a fun, kitschy, prom night feel. I was happy to learn that SurfSet is a NH based company and the boards are made in America.

Super fun space!

The instructor and co owner Chris started us off with goodie bags (yay!) and introductions. Then we picked a surfboard with a kettlebell (yay!) and jump rope (boo!- hello I’m clumsy).

Toys

We got on our boards and Chris taught us some basic moves. My board shook like crazy while I found my balance but I managed not to fall off.

I did it!

We did a full body workout both on and off the boards. Planks, bicycle crunches, and mountain climbers on the boards. Kettlebell swings, jumping rope, and burpees on the floor. Chris worked us hard. But it didn’t feel like work. It felt like play! Sweaty, physically draining fun. I was reminded of my Girlie and her friends riding their scooters and bikes around the neighborhood. And I never fell off the board:-)

Done! Sweaty and lying back on the board.

SurfSet at TI Fitness was such a great time. If you get a chance to take one of their classes- Do It!! We had a range of different fitness levels in our group and I feel confident in saying that we were all challenged and no one was put in a position to feel “less than”. The instructions were clear and the moves were challenging but not confusing. I would definitely go back! TI Fitness does Surfset classes for kids and even birthday parties! Hmm- Girlie’s birthday party for this year is partially planned already but next year…

What a busy weekend around here! I still want to take a few minutes to check in though.

After my meeting with Heather on Friday I headed over to Girlie’s school. It was book fair day and I’d told her that I’d buy her one of the books on her “wish list”. Sneaky school, they give the kids a wish list form to fill out and let them browse the book fair during school. Girlie had 4 books on her list. Her grandparents gave her enough money to buy 2, she used some of her tooth fairy money to buy another, and I told her I’d pay for the fourth. Lucky kiddo got all the books on her list then realized “I have some money left” and was able to get a fifth book! I love that she’s starting to really enjoy reading. I’m an avid reader (duh, I don’t know too many writers who aren’t) and it makes me smile to see her take joy in books. Which reminds me, our library books are due back Monday. I’ll have to renew one and with Girlie’s new purchases I don’t think we’ll pick up any new library books for her.

When we got home from school Girlie was off to ride bikes with her friends. Her teacher had listed Friday’s homework as “Play outside. Get some exercise!” and Girlie was quite happy to get right on that assignment! I’ve been noticing that the homework load is getting lighter as the weather is getting warmer. I really appreciate that. It’s hard enough to get a kiddo to sit down and do homework on a cold day, never mind a bright sunny one. Plus their little bodies (like ours!) need sunshine and fresh air and exercise.

While Girlie did her homework I got to work on our grocery list. Our kitchen was starting to bear a remarkable resemblance to Old Mother Hubbard’s. We were even out of salt! So as soon as HH got home I headed out to the stores. Three of them. Yep. Sometimes four. I know what’s cheaper or better at each store so I take the time to hit the ones I need. Which can take a lot of time. By the time I finished shopping it was almost 9:00. The original plan was to pick up salmon at the last store and cook it while putting the groceries away. The problem with this plan? At 9 pm on Friday night the fish counter is closed AND I have no desire whatsoever to cook. So I called HH from the store.  He ordered Chinese delivery and it came just as we finished putting away the groceries. It felt really weird to eat takeout moments after putting away tons of fresh food but it was the best solution two tired, hungry people could come up with.

Saturday morning was Girlie’s first softball game. There were all kinds of opening day festivities as well as the actual games. I never participated in sports as a kid so this whole world is new to me. The kiddos in Six and Under Softball are just too cute!

Saturday afternoon was Girlie’s friend’s birthday party so we went directly from the ball field to Target to pick up a present. Then home to get cleaned up and changed for the party. I stuck around at the party instead of dropping off. When are you supposed to start dropping off and picking up rather than sticking around?  I had a good time hanging around with the other moms at the park anyway. Confession: we always buy the birthday present right before the party. I know some people are organized and do these things in advance but NOT I. With adults we usually shop in advance (’cause most adults are harder to shop for than kids) but with kids it’s same day. Maybe you’ll see us sometime, sitting in the Target Starbucks loading up on caffeine and wrapping presents before the party.

We decided to celebrate Cinco de Mayo a day early since I have to work Sunday night and went out for Mexican food Saturday. Mmm- steak burritos. And margaritas. Yes please. After dinner we got Girlie settled in to sleep and ourselves settled onto the couch for a movie. We finally watched Django Unchained. So good! (I love how I say finally like we’re the people who see movies in the theater or anytime shortly after release. We’re usually about a year behind on movies.)

Today: Laundry and meal prep. I had a giant mountain of laundry to wash, dry, and fold. I don’t usually mind folding laundry ’cause I set myself up with TV or a movie in the bedroom and just get it all done. The only meal prep I had to do was pancakes for myself, which was good. When I initially started doing meal prep on weekends I really liked having things made for the week. Now that the weather is getting nice, I’m thinking I want to figure out how to do more during the week and have the weekend to kick back.

Do you do the household chores during the week or on the weekend? Are you a laundry folding machine or is it a chore you hate? 

Did you play sports as a kid?

Tell me I’m not the only one getting and wrapping kids birthday presents right before the party. Please.

I met with the lovely Heather on Friday for my weigh in and body comp as well as to go over the next 4 weeks of workouts.

My last weigh in/body comp was 4 weeks ago yesterday. In the past four weeks I’ve had some great workouts, some so-so workouts, and some skipped workouts. I’ve enjoyed some clean eats and some serious treats. I took a trip to Indiana during which I ate like it was my job and didn’t even put my sneakers on once. I had exactly no idea what my results would look like. So those results…..

Exactly the same as four weeks ago. There might have been a hundredth of a percent change somewhere but otherwise the same.  I wasn’t sure how to feel about this, but Heather was positive. This means I’ve reached a point where I can live a “normal” life with a nice mix of healthy and unhealthy and not gain weight. Hmm- I can be OK with that. I still want to get stronger and leaner and I’m still working towards that end but it’s good to know that I’m in a solid spot. Oh, and speaking of getting stronger, I definitely am. I can lift ever so much more than I could 4 weeks ago.

So, this next month’s plan? I may have let it slip to Heather that I can’t ride a bike. Which means that I am now focusing on balance and stabilizing muscles. My push-ups will be done with my feet on a stability ball. As are a whole lot of other things. I’ve also pushed yoga back to 1x per week and replaced the other day with a dedicated cardio day.

Do you have a plan or goals for this month?

Wednesday night I got to join the ladies (and gentleman) of Evolution Fitness for a Cinco De Mayo themed workout in the park. The posting said to wear flair so I borrowed Girlie’s sombrero and headed over to Garrison Hill park.

Fiesta Time

Once I met up with everyone I realized that my sombrero wasn’t nearly enough so I stuck on a mustache too.

There was a group of young men playing frisbee as well as a few young families enjoying the warm spring evening. I kinda wonder what they were thinking watching us cavorting around in mustaches, beads, sombreros…

Heather had the park all set up. Those things on the ground? Sombreros with kettlebells. There were also cones, tires, ropes… Yeah. We warmed up to a selection of Mexican style music. Then got into groups around the kettles. Lunges, burpees, goblet squats. Just a little starter:-)

At this point, my memory gets a little fuzzy. I know there were bear crawls and inchworms and skipping (which was tricky on account of my being old and apparently forgetting how) back and forth across the field. We may have done more but my mind was on this:

I think that grey speck partway up is me.

Did you remember my fear of heights? We had to climb this whole thing, get beads from the top level, then climb down. At the top I moved my mustache to my cleavage, figuring that climb put a little hair on my chest.

Back on solid ground we used the giant ropes for a bit. I remember dribbling medicine balls across the field like soccer balls.

We ran down the road to a lower parking lot for prisoner lunges and burpees and… I forget.

When we crossed the parking lot it was time for another run, this time down the street, around the corner, and down a path. The path led us to… the bottom of our local sledding hill. Which is a no joke sledding hill. Girlie and Handsome Husband love it in the winter time. Me, not so much (too steep!) I digress, back to the workout. Just in time to hike UP the sledding hill.

Up at the top we were almost to the end of our journey! We dragged tires across the field.

A few star jacks later and we were done!

I made it!

I had such a blast working out with this group again! I loved the rambling, spread out stages for all fitness levels. I loved the support and camaraderie along the way, especially on the tower. I hadn’t done a theme workout before but I definitely will again, especially with this crew:-)

If you get a chance to join Evolution Fitness for a themed workout: jump on it!
(I wasn’t compensated for this review in any way. I chose to join this workout on my own and paid to attend. Most photos courtesy of Evolution Fitness.)

It’s (finally) Spring here in New England! I’ve been loving the outdoors. With one, minor, health hitch. I’ll get to that later.

We have all been enjoying playing in the sunshine. Girlie spent most of the rest of vacation  with her neighborhood friends, playing outside and riding bikes. We hosted our first cookout of the year on Saturday. I love cookouts! And I love having people over and feeding them. I may have mentioned that before;-)  A friend and his kiddos came over. He brought an amazing pasta salad, chips, and salsa. We grilled up steak tips, salmon, and hot dogs. We went through a giant bowl of mixed berries and grapes. There were chocolate chunk cookies…. And I thought to take food pictures AFTER.  Yeah, so no food pictures. I got one of my first deck beer of the season though.

The grownups lounged on the deck while the kiddos rode bikes and played. I loved that the neighborhood kiddo horde stopped by and completely accepted our friend’s kids into the pack.

After the cookout we had our semi-annual neighborhood bonfire. It’s a great way to get rid of all the spring cleanup debris like brush, as well as pallets, wood scraps from projects, and the occasional Christmas tree. (OK we usually have this bonfire in February but for some reason it got delayed) It’s also a great way to get to know neighbors and spend time with friends. The kids get to stay up late, grownups get to chat. Much fun. I stayed up quite late and had a few beers. Which was a bad call considering I was just getting over a cold. Doh!

I don’t think I mentioned it but I started to get a slight cold during our Indiana trip. A little stuffy, no biggie, and it hit about 3 days after flying out there so I figured, “planes are just petri dishes anyway” and went about my life. Until we flew back. On the flight back my ears hurt so bad.

I was feeling completely better by the end of the week. A little residual snottiness and sinus pressure but otherwise fine. Then I stayed up late Saturday night. Breathing in bonfire smoke and drinking a couple beers. Then Sunday morning I woke up with awful ear pain and sinus pain. Why does it always have to be Sunday- with the need for Urgent Walk In rather than a regular Doc visit?! Oh, right, ’cause I wasn’t all healthy focused Saturday night. So I dragged my sorry self to the Urgent Walk In for my antibiotic script. I love it when I describe what’s going on to the doc and their response is “Sounds like you correctly diagnosed yourself. You know your body pretty well.” Thank you.  I do. I’ve spent years really getting to know it. It’s had plenty of health issues and I’ve worked hard with my docs and on my own to understand, treat, and prevent them.

Then we discussed the pros and cons of antibiotics for a bit. Ok, if you just agreed that I know my body well and correctly diagnosed the issue why on earth do you think I’d be here on Sunday morning if I didn’t want antibiotics?? Hmm?? I really hope he didn’t think I was seeking narcotics for my stupid ear pain.  Times like this I wish I had a card printed up that said, “Certified in Holistic Health. Avoids overusing antibiotics. Does not seek pain meds. Hates benzos.” He eventually said that the re-emergence of symptoms a few days after feeling better raised the chance that this was a bacterial secondary infection rather than just a return of symptoms from the original viral infection. Hmm- rereading this I wonder if he was just enjoying having a decent conversation about antibiotics. I’m glad I kept all attitude internal:-) Hopefully the poor guy won’t read this.

Monday was a bright sunny day first day back to school and work after vacation. I was really happy to wake up Monday morning relatively pain free. ‘Cause no matter how lousy you feel, you can’t call out of work the Monday after vacation. Unless you’re calling from an airport somewhere, stranded.

The first 2 days back have been well paced. I had a great workout Monday. I felt super strong! I was able to do increase weights on each exercise. And I did more did more plyo pushups before failing than any of the prior weeks. And I didn’t skin my knees! While I was doing my (band assisted) pull-ups there was a girl next to me absolutely rockin’ out the full-scale real-deal ones. And I made a goal for myself. By the end of the summer I will be able to do at least one full-scale real-deal pull-up.

Yesterday I skipped yoga and went for a run outside:-) I hit about 3 miles, doing crazy intervals. Those intervals were courtesy of Zombies Run!. I love this app! I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it or played with it but it is just so. much. fun. Basically you’re running IN a video game. It’s post-zombie-apocalypse and you’re on a runner mission. It uses music from your playlist and intersperses it with info from “mission control”, dialog from other characters, and zombies. It uses GPS to set your easy run pace then when zombies show up you have to really haul to keep from getting caught. You can actually start to hear the zombies coming and they get louder when they’re getting closer. You collect objects as you go, some of which tie in to the mission and others… well…. I think they give your character points or something. I never get around to going in to the game later to sort things out.

Spenser has been loving the weather too. I bring him along on the walk to Girlie’s bus stop in the afternoon.

Me at the bus stop.

When’s that bus gonna get here?

We don’t have a fenced in yard so I’ve been letting him hang out on the deck when we’re inside. I think he’d rather sit in a patio chair than on the grass anyway.

My Chair

You are NOT expecting me to move, are you?

Just chillin’ by the pool.

Tonight I’m going to the Cinco De Mayo theme workout with Evolution Fitness. I don’t know what I’m looking forward to more, the workout or seeing the ladies from the New Year New You Challenge. I miss the camaraderie of group exercise but I’ve been loving the freedom scheduling my own workouts gives me. Our gym has Supervised Swim times so I can drop Girlie off at the pool while I work out but sometimes it gets full. Without the pressure of a class time I can chill and let her swim until a spot opens up. Plus my weekend workouts are short so I can let her stay in the pool for a while when I’m done too.

Post Workout, chillin’ by the pool. Next time I’ll remember my bathing suit!

Do you use any workout apps? Or play video games? I’m not generally one to play video games but have a lot of fun doing this active one.

Any fun Spring activities you’ve started?

Group exercise or on your own?

Disclaimers:
1. I am not a doctor. I am only giving my opinions about my own medical issues.
2. I was not compensated in any way for my review of Zombies Run!, although I wouldn’t turn it down. I only have the original, not the second version.