Pregnancy Super Foods

Happy Friday, folks! Happy 17 weeks of existence to my baby!

A couple of weeks ago, I found this list of "pregnancy super foods"

It made me so happy... because 10 out of the 12 foods on this list were not only in my regular diet, but some of my favorites. So, I thought why not share them with you, and give you a little something to think about.

Whether you're pregnant or not, these foods are so freaking good for you.

1. Avocado - High in healthy fats, these gorgeous green fruits are also an excellent source of folic acid (for baby's brain development), vitamin C, B6, and potassium. Aside from classically throwing these on sandwiches and into a big bowl of guacamole, I love to slice up a ripe avocado, sprinkle a little salt on there and call it a snack. Healthy and delicious.

Seven Days of Yoga; Week 25

Real talk: In general, working out is getting harder. In the beginning, I used to take breaks mostly to keep my body temp from getting too high, but now more and more I'm finding myself taking breaks because I am so tired. I expect it will only get more exhausting, but I'm gonna keep it up until my body says stop.

I'm already planning exactly how I'm going to get back in shape after the baby is born. (Once I'm 6 weeks (or 8 weeks) postpartum, depending) And also depending on when I can squeeze in workouts outside the house after hubs goes back to work. That will be the real challenge, won't it?

Last Wednesday I taught my mommy & baby class. Always fun and challenging. That day ended up being a little financially stressful, so a friend of mine invited me to come take her barre class. I couldn't go because I had a chiro appt at the same time, but she reminded me I had some cardio barre classes to use, so I decided to take CB at 630.

Yoga Baby; 16 Weeks

Week 16

Today is 16 weeks. This is flying by. I'm off getting a massage and having a lovely spa day with one of my best girlfriends today. Consider that item checked from my summer fun checklist. ;)

Here's what's happening with me and the tiny one...

Cravings: Fellow pregnant or previously pregnant ladies, tell me if you experienced this as far as cravings go: I don't just randomly think of things that sound good. The seed has to be planted somehow. Someone posts a picture of In N Out and I immediately crave In N Out. My parents texted a picture of Lebanese food they had while on vacation. I immediately asked my husband how he felt about falafel and hummus for dinner. All I have are impulse cravings, which is weird, because I'm usually a pro at wanting things out of the blue. I think it's the baby wanting to try new things it's never heard of. My brain processes pizza. Baby says "Oh, pizza? What's that? Let's have that... right now." That's usually how it works. I get said food and eat it. It's wonderful. Baby has tried said food now, is satisfied, and I don't crave it anymore.
That said, I also want lemonade ALL THE TIME. I would drink it all day if I had that option.

Reading in 2014; A Long Way Down & Divergent

Earlier this year, I committed to a 2014 reading list. I put together a list of 10 books I'd like to read by the end of the year and I thought it's about time I did a little update on where I'm at, what I thought of what I've read and what I'm planning to read next.

Seven Days of Yoga; Week 24

Wednesday I taught my mommy & baby class, as usual. We had a new face, so I kept class moving at a good pace. There are always a lot of breaks in mommy & baby yoga, so while the moves are hard, there is a plenty of opportunity for rest. Babies make that part easy(ish). We do long core sets so moms can take breaks to tend to babies if they need to and still get the benefit of the exercise. Because my baby doesn't currently need tending to, I usually end up doing the entire set of every move. This week, for example, I took zero breaks and the next day I had the most sore lower abs and quads ever. Growing baby and moving organs pushing from the inside probly didn't help with that either.

Thursday I taught and then I took Power Yoga! Love love love. My little sister-face came to my class before she went off to celebrate her birthday.

Friday my little sister-face needed a ride to the airport and we didn't get to hang out much while she was here, so we got dinner and I took her to the airport. It didn't leave time for me to workout, but its ok. I didn't know what to try that day anyway. ;)

Saturday I taught in the morning and, since I ended up doing most of class, I was pretty wiped out after. It went really well though. It was a good group with great energy. I feel like I thrived off of them.

Sunday hubs and I went to the gym. I was pretty wiped out, but I managed a long walk on the treadmill for about 45 minutes.

Monday night I did yoga with my friend. It was pretty heavy stretching class. We both needed to tell each other about the absolutely crazy stressful weeks that we'd had, so we ended up holding poses for a long time as we talked. It worked great and the hour went by really fast. It's always bittersweet when it goes by quickly like that.

Tuesday night I had a froyo date with a dear friend. I wasn't planning to work out, so when I got home and didn't have time, I wasn't disappointment.

How was your week?

We're Cancelling TV

Today is the day! I will be calling up our television provider and saying "Thanks, but no thanks. We don't need your services any longer".

Before you run off thinking we're all hippy dippy and won't be watching TV anymore, let me clarify; We're cancelling our satellite, but we will still have internet and some fancy TV-show-watching apps, so... we're not exactly giving it up.
... and we waited a week after our contract was up so we could watch the season finale of Game of Thrones. ;)

Currently; June 2014

First of all, Happy Birthday to my baby sister! She turns 27 today! Though to me, she will be 22 forever.

Since I let out some pretty big news last week, this month's currently post is gonna be a little different than usual. Just a smidge.

Currently, I'm...

Reading...
I finished A Long Way Down a little while back. My friend also lent me her copy of Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy. Though I'm definitely not a fan of Jenny McCarthy, I enjoyed the book and read it in a single afternoon while I was on my staycation.
I've also been slowly working my way through the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy. I love reading about this stuff. I loved reading about pregnancy before I was pregnant. Now I have the best excuse.
I downloaded Divergent onto my kindle. Don't judge me. I started and finished it in about a week. I enjoyed it. It was fun, but I don't see what the big deal is. I had a bit of a tough time getting into it. Even though it was an easy read, I felt like I wasn't connecting to the character and I didn't really care what happened to her. By the middle, I was more into it though. I'm hoping to start the next one in a day or two.

Seven Days of Yoga; Week 23

Wednesday I took my friend, Chelsea's, barre class at Equinox. I felt (feel, a lot of the time) like such a wimp with all the breaks I need to take. She teaches a tough class

Thursday I taught two classes after work, which didn't leave a lot of time for doing my own workout, so I decided it was a rest day. Panda and I went on a little walk.

Friday ended up also being a rest day. My honey was getting home from a work trip and I kinda thought if he was up for going to the gym, I might go with him, but he was not, so we did not. He did end up doing some mild weight lifting at home, but I just sat on my tush.

Saturday I ended up at cardio barre, which made me happy. I've been into barre classes lately, I guess. This one instructor though - for some reason I ALWAYS miss her cues. The last three times I've taken, I've had her twice and she's really nice, but she's the only one whose cues I miss constantly. Both classes with her, missed cues all the time. One class with a different instructor, no missed cues. I don't know if that says more about me or her.

Sunday I taught and practiced yoga in the morning. My Sunday morning class has been wanted some more challenging stuff, so I've been pushing them and we're having a lot of fun.

Monday I taught my class in the morning, did a good bit of the class and then had a sister date in the afternoon/evening, which kind of killed my chances of working out later. The sister time was totally worth it.

Tuesday afternoon I taught my class and then I took the Total Fit Body class at the gym. Still taking breaks like crazy in the class. Some of the step work caused me a little bit of low back pain, which was frustrating since I had to find ways to do the moves that didn't make my back hurt. I guess it was bound to happen eventually. I just thought it would be later.

How was your week?

Kitchen Adventures; Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream

I saw this on Shutterbean. I had to make it. End of story.

OK, that's not the end of the story. It's actually part of a short, but kind of funny, kind of annoying story involving never having the ingredients I thought I had and an ice cream maker with missing parts. Still haven't torn my kitchen apart looking for those.

I saw this recipe last week. I'd had my ice cream maker in the freezer for months and months, waiting for the right ice cream to come along.

Seven Days of Yoga; Week 22

I just realized I'm still counting the days for P90X even though I'm not really doing it anymore. I got through the first two phases before I missed having variety in my workouts. Oh well. I'll pick up P90X2 soon. Maybe that will help me get excited again.

Wednesday (76) I taught mommy & baby yoga, which was a blast, but it ended up being my only workout for the day. I decided early on to make this Wednesday my rest day. I ate pretty healthy most of the day too, so I ended up feeling pretty good at the end. I'm seriously considering trying prenatal yoga next week, but I'll have to play it by ear.

Thursday (77) I was back on my mat for some Power Yoga. For the first time in a long time, I was feeling like myself on my mat - strong, flexible, challenging myself. It was wonderful. I was thrilled. I'm excited to keep it going.

Friday night (78) I went Cardio Barre again. Beginner again. I'm not sure I'm quite have the energy for advanced. I'm working on it though.

Saturday (79) I went to the gym - even though my energy was SUUUUPER low. I was on the treadmill most of the time. I managed to run a little bit, but my stomach wasn't right so I didn't make it past a half mile before starting to walk again.

Sunday (80) I taught yoga in the morning and since I did most of the class and was pretty wiped out for most of the day, I considered that my workout.

Monday (81) was a little more of the same. I taught on the morning and then practiced yoga with my friend that night. We did a nice little flow. Lots of hip stretching, a handful of vinyasas, a decent amount of ab work (which I can do until I physically can't anymore)

Tuesday (82) I had my doctors appt in the afternoon, and since I didn't know how long I would be there, I couldn't plan my workout ahead of time. I did end up making it to the Total Fit Body class at the gym. It was extra tough that day and I took lots of breaks. I'm sure I look like a wimp since I haven't been telling my most of my fitness instructors about the baby, but I know what I'm doing with my modifications, so I'm not worried.

How was your week?

Life Update; Things Are Happening

Do you remember how I fell a few months back? Pull up bar crashed to the ground and all of my workouts in subsequent weeks were heavily impacted by my limited mobility.

I think it was the universe telling me to dial it back on the workouts.
It took me about 2 weeks to get back to normal, and in the midst of all that, I learned something kind of huge.

WE MADE A TINY HUMAN!

Friday is 14 weeks. Yoga baby is due to make his or her arrival early December 2014.

These last few weeks have been absolutely flying by.

Kitchen Adventures; Waffles & Maple Syrup Bread Pudding

I made waffles last weekend. But you see... there are only two of us and I made quite a lot of waffles.

So, we had leftovers.

Two perfect little waffles that were too delicious to go to waste.

and we'd just had some rather disappointing bread pudding from a food truck the other night. It was soupy, not custardy. We were let down... and determined to do right by bread pudding... and waffles.