Seven Days of Yoga; Week 21

Wednesday (69) I taught mommy & baby yoga - did most of the class, as usual. I actually ended up using the rest of the day as a rest day - like I've been supposed to every Wednesday. I just felt like the right thing to do. I had a tough workout on Tuesday, so I didn't feel like I needed to push myself.

Thursday (70) I taught in the afternoon and then I fully planned on coming home and working out, but I kinda lost my motivation. Hubs wasn't feeling well and I had planned on working out from home, so with him sitting on the couch in the other room, I just decided to join him. Kind of a bummer that I didn't get a workout, but I'm not beating myself up about it. Unofficial rest day.

Friday (71) I went to the gym with my honey. I ended up running 2 miles on the treadmill and then walking for another 20 minutes. I haven't really been running much in terms of distance lately, so getting up to 2 miles was kind of a big deal. I need to pick it back up, but my body is telling me to take it easy, so I'm listening.

Saturday (72) I just walked on the treadmill for 40 minutes. I wasn't really motivates or feeling awesome, so walking was it.

Sunday (73) I was feeling better, so I ran a mile, walked fast for 20 minutes, then did some weight training with my honey and finished up with some planking and tabata mountain climbers. It felt pretty great.

Monday (74) I ended up taking Cardio Barre. I took beginner - and good thing too because my body was not used to those exercises anymore. I really only took beginner because I woke up too late to get to advanced, but maybe next time I can give advanced a shot. Maybe.

Tuesday (75) I was back at the WHAC for the Total Fit Body workout. It was haaaard this week. I had to take a couple mini breaks to cool down, but I still felt pretty awesome by the end.

How was your week?

Kitchen Adventures; Black Bean, Pepper and Corn Quesadilla

I fully meant to post this last week, but quesadillas were deemed "weekend food" in our household, so I had to wait until the holiday weekend to make these little pockets of magic.
This recipe came to me in the mail thanks to Cook's Country and the geniuses of America's Test Kitchen.

I didn't follow their recipe exactly. I never do. What can I say, I'm a rebel.

But I adore these quesadillas. They are everything I ever hoped and dreamed they would be.

And you get to kinda feel like you're eating something NOT terrible for you because there are veggies in there. ;)

Kitchen Adventures; Belgian Waffles with Swedish Pearl Sugar

Happy Memorial Day!

I've had a hankering for waffles for (what feels like) ages! I feel like I've wanted to make them every weekend, but we haven't been able to work it out with our schedules.

It feels like that's just the way things are working out lately. I have to wait to make make all these fun dishes until the weekend.

Seven Days of Yoga; Week 20

Teaching shoulder-stand at the wall

Wednesday (63) mommy & baby, teaching power yoga, and Kenpo when I got home. It was a late night.

Thursday (64) sucked. More heat wave. Another migraine, and me curled up on the couch in the dark.

Friday (65) I did plyometrics and it was good. I don't really have much to say about it. I was a bit bummed because it was so hot during the day that I didn't get started until pretty late, but it didn't ruin my night or anything and I felt pretty great after, so on the whole it was a win.

Saturday (65), after the strawberry festival, I went to the gym with the hubs. I did some jogging/walking on the treadmill for about 45 minutes and called it a workout.

Sunday (66) was yoga all day long. I taught from 8 to 9am, then took Power Yoga from 10 to 1130 , ran errands, and then taught again from 4 to 530. It was amazing and I loved every second of it, but it was THE WHOLE DAY.

Monday (67) I taught in the morning and then taught again in the evening - even though "teaching in the evening" is just doing yoga with my friend. When I got home, it was late, but I knocked out my Legs & Back workout.

Tuesday (68) afternoon I taught a decent little yoga class. One of my favorite instructors took my class, which was kind of cool. I haven't been able to make it to his class in a long time, so it's nice that he takes my class anyway - even though most of the other senior teachers at the studio don't take many classes there.  After I taught I decided to take the Total Fit Body class at the gym instead of doing Kenpo. I don't know why, I am just not in the mood for Kenpo on Tuesdays. ;)

How was your week?

30x30; Go to the Oxnard Strawberry Festival

THIS WEEKEND WAS THE STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL!

I've been wanted to go for years and this year we finally made it. It was three exhausting weekends in a row for my hubby, but since I asked him so far in advance to go with me and he knew how much I wanted to go, he agreed!

We were actually a little disappointed. We had a hard time finding strawberries. We were expecting farmers to have booths where you could buy giant baskets of berries and tons of strawberry jams, drinks, snacks...

and there was a lot of dessert - shortcake, funnel cake, strawberry pizza, chocolate covered strawberries.

Seven Days of Yoga; Week 19

I'm pretty convinced this heatwave we're having, combined with the relatively high winds, have made me feel generally crappy this week. Allergies plus heat equals nooooo buenoooooo, but I persevered.

Wednesday (56) I taught my mommy & baby class and it was fantastic. I had so much energy and did 95% of the workout, only coming out of plank once to help with one of the babies.

Thursday (57) I taught my afternoon class - ended up doing a good bit of the poses - and then went back home and got into week 9 of P90X and did the Chest & Back workout, which I hadn't done in a while. I felt really good to get back into it. I can't believe I only have a month of P90X left.

Friday (58) I was not feeling well. I went to bed at 9 without a workout.

Saturday (59) I didn't have a set "workout". I did some yoga on my own even though it was supposed to be Shoulders & Arms day. I've told you, it's phase 3 and I'm bored.

Sunday (60) I did a little yoga on my own, which is what I was supposed to do anyway, but I also got up early and went for a jog, which was nice, since I hadn't gone running in a while, but it was hard... because I hadn't gone running in a while. It was definitely motivation to get back into it, especially since I only have 39 miles to go to reach my updated goal.

Monday (61) I taught class in the morning and did P90X Legs & Back when I got home from work. It felt so good to workout my legs. They needed it. I love squats and lunges. My legs love them, my butt loves them, but my legs and butt were very vocal (so to speak) the next few days, crying out in soreness.

Tuesday (62) I did not do Kenpo, like I was supposed to. I took Power Yoga. I really like taking Power Yoga on Tuesdays after I teach my class. I just drag my mat in, let go of e'rythang, and get my amazing workout and stretch. I wish I had time to take more yoga. Even taking class once a week, I still miss just being a student.

Also, totally random, but I have no yoga or workout related pictures from this week. It was weird. I got my phone out on Wednesday morning to flip through and see what to put on this post and nada, so that's why this week's picture is of my breakfast Monday morning, which was really yummy, by the way.

Mother's Day In Pictures

Just thought I would share some pictures from our little Mother's Day get together at the beach.

The tide was so high. None of us had ever seen it that high there. There was barely enough room to walk around the rocks in some places.

Kitchen Adventures; Poppyseed Rolls with Fennel

I told you I went to the wine festival last weekend, and that at dinner we had the most delicious poppy seed rolls.

I decided to make myself some... because I love poppy seed, and fennel can be such a beautiful flavor when it's ever so subtly added.

So this weekend, I went for it. :) Hubs was out of town for his brother's graduation, so I got out the yeast, stand mixer, and a whole mess of flour, and I set to work.

Currently; May 2014

Happy Monday and Happy May!

Currently, I'm...

Reading...
A Long Way Down. I am really enjoying it. I found I just really enjoy Nick Hornby's writing style. I don't always like his message, but while I'm reading it, I find the characters and the plot pretty entertaining. I'm excited to see the movie. As I'm writing this, there have been a lot of Toni Collette movies playing on TV, which is a little weird since she'll be one of the leads in the movie version of A Long Way Down.

Seven Days of Yoga; Week 18

Wednesday (P90X Day 49) was technically a rest day, but like I said in my last workout recap post, I took Tuesday to rest, so Wednesday I did mommy & baby yoga with my class, and then after work, I did Kenpo X.

Thursday I decided I would rather do Core Synergistics from home instead of yoga  (Day 50), and since I knew I wouldn't have a chance to workout later in the day (because we'd be on an airplane). Hubs was working from home downstairs, so I did my best not to make too much noise as I jogged in place and jumping jacked. It ended up being a great workout.

Friday (51) morning I did a short yoga routine on my own in the hotel room. I wasn't super motivated and I didn't have a mat, so my hands were slipping around a lot on the carpet, but I did get about a half hour in, with some good warming, energizing stuff, so I was satisfied.

Saturday (52) morning I looked up the Core Synergistics routine online and did it on my own sans DVD in the hotel room while hubs was at the gym. I decided it was easier to do in a hotel than Kenpo or Yoga, so I would just switch them around when I got home.

Sunday (53) was rest day, and good thing since it ended up being a long travel day.

Monday (54) I taught yoga twice and did most of the practice both times. I felt good about that and called it my exercise for the day.

Tuesday (55) night I took Power Yoga. I felt so so so good to get back on my mat in a class. I think I've talked about this before. Doing a solo practice is great, but there is something so much more meditative about being about to just turn off my brain and follow instructions. I can focus on my body and what it's feeling and I don't have to think, "should I be pushing myself with more challenging poses?" "should I have warmed up more before I do this next pose?" "what should I do next?".

This concludes Phase 2 of P90X. I have kind of wimped out after being sick a week or so ago and feeling swamped with life since I got back from my break, but I'm ready to tackle phase 3 head on. Let's go!

Livermore Wine Country Festival 2014

Remember we went to the Livermore Wine Country Festival last year? We went back. You're shocked.

There was some drama getting to the airport - I left my phone at my aunt's house. We went back to get it and almost ran out of gas on the way back to my parents, were worried we'd be late for our flight...

... and then the flight was delayed over an hour, so we were fine... and I was glad to have my phone/camera.

We ended up getting into the hotel around midnight. I love so much that they give you warm cookies when you check in.

Seven Days of Yoga; Week 17

Since I took Tuesday to rest and it should have been Kenpo day, I just switched them. I did Kenpo X on Wednesday and called it P90X Day 42, even though it really should have been day 38 considering all those days I took off over Easter.

Thursday I taught back to back classes from 430 to 730. I did a little yoga in there, but with all the errands (and other fun things) I decided to get in during the day, I just didn't have time to get any other exercise.

Friday I went to antigravity yoga! It was beginner level, which I felt like I needed so I could ease myself back into it, considering how rarely I go, and I thought if I had some time later in the evening I would do some Plyometrics, but I was pooped. It ended up being a pretty busy day.

Saturday I went back for more! This time it was antigravity, level 2. We did a lot of fun flips and things. 45

Sunday morning I taught my private class. I still do a good bit of the class so they can see what the poses are supposed to look like, but I took it down a notch on Sunday.
Then, instead of P90X, I went to the gym with my hubby and hung out on the treadmill for about 40 minutes - did some running.

Monday (P90X Day 47) I did yoga with a friend after work, and when I asked her what she felt like doing toward the end of our "class", she said push-ups, so we did a mini push-up challenge - in which I got to talk about how much I love push-ups and how many different variations there are, and how easy it is to get better at them through programs like hundred pushups and P90X. Then I went home and actually did one of my P90X workouts. That night was Legs & Back. I loved walking around the next day, getting little reminders from my body that I'd worked out hard the night before.

Tuesday (P90X Day 48) I skipped my workout because I had a medium to annoying headache that I knew if I pushed too hard would go full on migraine. So, I took it easy and since Wednesday was supposed to be my rest day, I decided I would do Kenpo then.

So, here's what's happening with P90X... I'm kinda just doing it when I feel like it. After two months of repeating the same workouts over and over, its gets a little monotonous. So, I'm spicing it up and trying not to get bored.