4th of July

I hope everyone had a Happy 4th of July. Our weekend was very busy, and yet I didn't take 1 picture. I really need to get better at that! Friday afternoon some friends came over and hung out by the pool and then we rode our bikes to a nearby Sushi restaurant for dinner. Any of you who know me know that I'm not a fan of raw fish, but I do like a crunchy roll, or something where everything is cooked- at this restaurant I get a tiger roll, which is like a California roll but with avocado and cooked shrimp on top with eel sauce- YUM! 

Saturday day we went to Home Depot, went to the local gun range, and then hung outside by the pool- it was a beautiful day! That night our friend's Kevin and Karla came over for dinner then we met up with Chris and Courtney at Brix wine bar in sunset beach. It was fun- Kevin and Karla live in San Diego so we don't get to see them that often- it was great to get together! 

Sunday we went to church in the morning and then went to my brother's now house in Long Beach for dinner. It was delish- he BBQ'd turkey burgers, and I made some of our family's Bossanova Beans (ironically these were a 4th of July Staple for years- how appropriate!). 

Monday, Sean had to work unfortunately. I went to brunch at our friend Brandi's house and got to spend some time with two of my favorite little guys, Noah and Dean, as well as their wonderful mom Lindsay! Then I somehow managed to lift my beach cruiser into the back of Sean's truck (hello muscles!) and went to Josh's house. Josh, Nicki and I rode our bikes to 2nd street, walked around, had some Lebanese food at Open Sesame (now I have the desire to try to make some pistachio Baklava - it was delish!) and I even bought some Garlic Olive Oil from We Olive (Sean and I had some that we used when cooking veggies and were so sad when we ran out. The cool thing about We Olive is that you can buy a bottle, and when you're done with the oil you take it back and refill it!). Then I stopped by the station for some yummy pulled pork sandwiches and to switch Sean's truck for my car. I picked my friend Heather up from the airport, but had to take the dogs with me (hence the car switch) because Ace is terrified of the fireworks. I think the 30 or so minutes we spent in the car the way to and from the airport was the only time that he had relaxed all night. Heather and I got to catch up, drink some wine, eat some cake, and watch TV. All in all it was a great 4th of July weekend! Sorry for no pictures, I promise to get better at it!

Feel the Burn Fridays

So this week was super busy.  Two of our best friends got married on Saturday. Sean was one of the groomsmen so we were able to celebrate with them all weekend with a lovely rehearsal dinner at the Cannery, ceremony and reception at the Mesa Verde Country Club, and celebratory brunch on Sunday morning. We had such a good time dancing the night away.

This week I went golfing for the charity golf tournament Sean's Department puts on every year. No it wasn't going to a fitness class or the gym, BUT I would say that golf is definitely a work out! Luckily since I'm pretty active, I'm not super sore or anything, but it works a lot of your core muscles in ways you're not used to. I don't golf very often at all, but I must say I did pretty well for myself. I was driving the ball really well off the tee, but the rest of my game needs a little work. One thing that I started thinking about purposefully was the way I breathed while swinging. It's amazing how something so simple changed my game. I don't know if it relaxes me or how exactly it helped, but definitely paying attention to my breathing improved my game.

Breath is so important while you work out for many reasons (sure to keep you alive), but I would tell you that the next time you're taking a class, going for a walk, or even on the golf course, pay attention to your breath. I can't tell you how many times I've been in some sort of workout class, or doing something else that I find myself holding my breath- not only do I get red in the face, but my balance seems to be off, I get lightheaded, and I can't push through the workout as I can when I remember to breath. Such a silly concept that you have to remember your breath, but when you do, you'd be amazed at how different your abilities can be!

Feel the Burn Friday

So this week for my "burn," among my normal workouts and classes, I tried out a class at an SPX Pilates studio. Ironically enough it's right down the street from my house, so a couple months ago I bought a coupon for 4 classes, but have been too intimidated to try it out. Since I wanted to do a weekly workout review, and Sean and I are doing our own little "Lifestyle Challenge," I finally got the courage to try a class out. I walked in a little nervous - I've done mat Pilates before, but I've never taken a class using the reformer.... let  alone the Megaformer as the site boasts. There were only two of us in the class, which I would have thought would make me more nervous- hello all eyes on the newbie, but it actually made the class much better because the teacher was able to focus more on me, and fix any alignment/technique issues.

The class was HARD. I thought I was in shape, but apparently, I'm not as in shape as I though. The Megaformer makes you not only work your muscles in a familiar way - the plank, plie, crunches, squats, etc- but you have to move the machine, or keep the machine still while you're doing it. My muscles were burning, and I was dripping with sweat, but it was a GREAT workout. You feel good after (even though I'm wondering if I'll be able to walk/let alone move), but the only thing I wish was different was that there was a little stretching after working your muscles so hard.

Till next week!

Lifestyle Challenge

Last week Sean and I decided to have our own little "Lifestyle Challenge." We have a pretty healthy lifestyle normally: we try to make hearty, healthful meals at home and work out on a regular basis. However, we decided to take it up a notch. Our main goal is just to have a more healthy lifestyle, that we take more of a conscious effort in. Part of our conscious effort has been to include more Paleo foods in our weekly meals. Last night, Sean was working, so I was on my own for dinner. I normally don't like cooking for just myself because it takes so much more time, and there's no one to share the end result with. Usually I eat leftovers from the night before, but since we didn't have any leftovers because we went out for Sushi on Monday, I decided to try to find myself something quick to make. I found this recipe for Warm Arugula Salad. I must say that there is nothing better than the smell of cooking bacon and onions (except maybe if there was garlic too). I followed OCCaveGirl's recipe, except my chicken was cold, so I heated it in the pan with the bacon, shallots, and walnuts. And I must say, the balsamic vinegar on top gave the whole salad a really nice flavor. Leftover's for lunch!

It's more fun to cook when you have a glass of wine!

warming the chicken...

bon apetite!

Happy Father's Day

Yesterday was Father's Day. I may not be a partial judge, but I think my dad is a pretty great dad. Sure he has his jokes, that only he gets sometimes, still asks me to pull his finger, and has moments where my brother and I turn red and shake our heads in surprise, but I think he's such a great person, and his quirkiness makes him as great as he is - just like how I tell stories with no point, freak out about driving directions, and like to dance to grocery store music down the baking aisle (well any aisle for that matter) to the dismay of my husband - Sean, don't lie, I know you love my supermarket dance moves!

I must say that my brother and I have been luckier than most to have a dad like we do. He's taught us so many valuable life lessons - How to work for each and every dollar you earn; that you should write handwritten thank you's to people (it's a lost art, and much appreciated sentiment); that you should start a savings and continue to contribute to it; that you should live life laughing and making other people laugh - after all, the only person you can truly embarrass is yourself (I apologize now to my future children for any embarrassment I may cause you in elementary school.... but really I'm not that sorry); that marriage isn't always the easiest, but committing to that person wholeheartedly is one of the greatest things you can do (congrats to my parents on almost 28 years of loving, agreeing, disagreeing, and committing to each other); that although you're family may seem crazier than most, they're all great people, and family comes first; and most of all that being a great father to your kids and spending time with your family, is one of the greatest, and simplest pleasures in life.

A favorite from my wedding

This Father's Day the four of us went to the Dodger game - it seemed like we were young again - Sean had to work, and Nicki was spending time with her dad - so once again there were four. We were invited to the game by friends of our family who go to a Dodger game every Father's Day and have tickets for two suites split between roughly 50 people. The four of us happily joined them and had a great time, eating Dodger Dogs, watching the game, and most importantly spending time with our family.

I know I don't say it enough (to either of my parents), but thank you. Thank you dad for being there, working as hard as you have and continue to do; thank you for being the wonderfully, goofy, crazy, loving, Fungi you are. I love you.

Feel the Burn Friday

OK, so although Friday is a great way to start the weekend - no work (unless you're starting your own business, then you kind of have to work when you have time), hopefully lots of sun, relaxing, and in this case a Dodgers game for Father's Day. But what a better way to prep for the weekend then to Feel the Burn. I've decided on Friday's I'm going to try to review a different workout or different studio - basically let you know how I felt the burn that week. I'm going to try to try something or somewhere new every week. Since I just decided this after my last workout, I'm going to go ahead and review something that isn't exactly new but that definitely gets my muscles burning and shaking.

Barre Class

I'm not going to lie, although during the moment my muscles start burning, and aching, the sweat starts dripping and I close my eyes thinking, how much long can I do this and then the instructor yells out "Ten More! 1...2...3....." At that point I think, "okay I got this..." Having been a dancer all my life, when I first started taking barre classes last December, I thought that it would be tough, but should come relatively naturally to me.... WRONG. Although some of the moves become more doable as I get stronger, I never cease to be sore the next day. After going relatively regularly- for me I try to make it one to two times a week, I get excited as I see results, and feel the class do what it claims - Lift, Tone, and Burn.

The class starts with a short warm up, then we move to abs, arms, thighs, seat, more abs, back, and then finally and thankfully, stretching. It's definitely a great class. Don't be scared if you haven't taken a class before or feel out of shape. There are people of all fitness levels in the class, and the instructor always gives variations on the moves, and even the fittest students have to take a break some times. For me, the thigh dancing always kills me. My thighs start burning and I fear I may never walk again.

Definitely a great class! Now what will I try next week?

Welcome Back

Okay okay, I know I've been a HUGE slacker, but let's try to get back into this whole thing. I've decided I'm going to get back to blogging and start sharing some of my favorite things with you. So what's been new recently? I've quit  my job and am starting my own insurance agency - AKS Insurance Services, LLC. My agency focuses on insurance for fitness studios and fitness instructors, so I've also started a blog for my business. The blog is sort of a repository for business recommendations and insurance considerations. Having been a dancer for most of my life, and lover of fitness classes, I have been able to gain a lot of insight into what goes into the business. I hope to offer some good advice for all aspects of having a business in that industry and not just for Insurance.

Enough about that, what else is new? Well Sean and I got a second dog - Summer. She's such a little Velcro dog and absolutely the sweetest thing. Her and Ace get along great and I think it's really been a great thing for the two of them to have each other to play with and keep each other company.

How could you not love this face?

I think those are all the biggest changes in our lives. So back to some of my favorite things. Yesterday we celebrated an early Father's Day celebration since Sean is working on Sunday. We had some of our favorite people over: My parents, Josh and his girlfriend Nicki, Sean's dad John and his girlfriend Catina,  Theresa, two of our best friends Eric and Lindsey, and their adorable little boys, Noah and Dean. We had homemade pulled pork sandwiches with homemade cole slaw for dinner, and not so frozen banana "ice cream" for dessert.

This isn't from last night, I forgot to take pictures, but you get the gist. The only difference from the one I made yesterday is we used thinner buns.

And this is how the "ice cream" should have looked. But it didn't freeze long enough and was more like a "ice cream" shake. There's nothing ice cream about this: it's over ripened frozen bananas, blended with just a touch of fat free milk to help it blend, and some honey, with sugar free cool whip, and some honey and chocolate drizzled on top, YUM!

On that note, I still have some in the freezer, so I think it's time for an afternoon snack.

Till next time!