Winter fluff. I’m not talking about the white stuff, but rather the extra pounds one tends to gain during the winter season. Of course, this was normal living in Minnesota. Activity waned for me as the weather got colder outdoor. Fortunately, over-sized sweaters were the perfect way to cover up any extra weight.
Unfortunately, living in South Florida our winter consists of dips into the 40s. Most of the winter is comfortably warm and bikini season in unending. There’s rarely sweater weather here, so there’s no covering up any extra winter fluff. On the flip side, the weather here is perfect. Consequently, we can enjoy the great outdoors year round. Not surprisingly, running is a lot more pleasant when the temperatures are in the 70s not the high 90s. Running in triple digit heat indices, as you can imagine, is not nearly as much fun as it sounds.
The only the combination of lack of sweater weather and winter fluff are troublesome is around the holidays. Who wants to behave and eat well with all the holiday parties and dinners? Thanks, but no thanks! So how does on survive the holidays without putting on the fluff? I’m glad you asked. The key is moderation and exercise. Sadly, diet is 80% of the equation with exercises only making up 20%. This means you cannot completely correct all your food indiscretions with exercise.
Where does this leave you? Comprising. If you’re at a party, enjoy the food, but skip seconds. If you’re drinking, opt for a drink (like a vodka soda) that is low in calories. My drink of choice is a peach pear LaCroix with a shot of Peach Ciroc on the ice. Its refreshing, its light and its low calorie. Plus, Circoc is very smooth. In addition, add in some extra workouts as this will help mitigate some of the extra calories.
In honor of the start of the holiday season, let’s kick it back to 2001 with Pink’s Get the Party Started
To fly or not to fly that is the question. For the 2nd Saturday in a row, thank you hockey schedule, I was able to take my circuit burn class followed by aerial yoga this morning. This was my 3rd aerial yoga class. One of the questions, I’ve been asked most often since starting aerial yoga is which practice do I prefer. Do I prefer aerial or vinyasa?
The answer isn’t so easy because both the aerial and vinyasa practices feed each other. There are aspects of aerial yoga that will translate into a better practice on the mat. For example, the inversions in aerial yoga are much easier because the swing supports you and provides balance. Consequently, since the inversions are aided in a sense, it allows you to work on strength and alignment. As an added bonus, you can hold the pose for a significantly longer time. I guess the answer is that I prefer both.
Aerial yoga takes a significant amount of trust and letting go of fear. You have to trust yourself and the swing knowing that it will prevent you from falling and hurting yourself. Moreover, you have to let go of fear. Admittedly, the first aerial yoga class I took was intimidating. My teacher Monica, who is incredible, encouraged all of us to let go of our fear. Additionally, she also showed us how to position our bodies to prevent a fall and assisted us with the poses. As a consequence, I felt comfortable in the fabric by the end of my first class.
Aside from the fear of getting hurt or embarrassing oneself by falling, the fear of not being able to keep up is omnipresent that first class. If you find yourself in an aerial yoga class discouraged by your ability, do like Elsa and “let it go.” Today in class, there was someone completely new to aerial. Almost half way through the class, she became discouraged and was ready to leave because she couldn’t keep up. Fortunately, between our teacher’s encouragement and her fellow classmates’ encouragement, she decided to stick it out. While she may have struggled that first half of class, she absolutely slayed the second half.
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I think the turning point was realizing that: a) nobody was judging her b) everyone progresses at their own speed c) her practice is her own. In my opinion, there is no better teacher of humility than a good yoga practice. I’m a highly competitive person. Yoga has helped me put that aside. I’ve learned to accept that my practice is my own own and I’m in competition with nobody. In addition, I learned that I loved savasana in aerial yoga even more than on the mat. I know, I didn’t know it was even possible. In the aerial class, you encase yourself in the yoga silk, which becomes akin to a hammock. It sways ever so gently during the pose, which is okay with me. By the end of the savasana, I feel like I’ve just woken up from the best night’s sleep. I freaking love it.
Due to my work and hockey schedule, I haven’t been able to go to a Vinyasa class for a couple of weeks. I cannot, however, wait to see how I’ve progressed on my mat since starting my aerial practice. As for my aerial practice, I look forward to seeing how it evolves from week to week. Significantly, I’ve noticed with each class a step function in ability and comfort. Last week I was able to do a flip, while today I was able to do plow and a shoulder stand. It was pretty awesome stuff. Tomorrow it’s Xtend Barre in the morning followed by hockey games in the afternoon. At some point tomorrow, I’ll try to tackle the household chores. I’ll probably try to get some laundry done and maybe even take a nap.
Tonight’s song comes courtesy of Tom Petty in honor of Aerial Yoga: Learning to Fly
I admit it, after much consternation I jumped on the Jus cleanse bandwagon. After struggling to lose both the Norway and Hurricane Irma weight, I figured why not try it. I researched several cleanses. I quickly realized that I would need a cleanse with more than just juice if i was going to be successful. Fortunately, I found a cleanse on Groupon from a reputable company with tons of good reviews. It was reassuring to see numerous people write that they didn’t feel hungry or fatigued while on the cleanse.
Consequently, I bought a 3 day cleanse from Jus By Julie. The cleanse itself was came with nine juice and nine soups. The juices were Sweet Spin Juice (kale, spinach, pineapple, rice milk and mango), Spicy Pomegranate (think master cleanse with pomegranate), and Berry Chia. I enjoyed each of the juices including the Spicy Pomegranate. These juices are blended not cold pressed, so there is considerable pulp in some of them. I don’t mind pulp, but if you’re not a pulp person these juices probably aren’t for you.
In addition to the juices, the cleanse came with 9 different soups. There’s too many to name here, but some of my favorites were: split pea, carrot ginger, red lentil, coconut pumpkin bisque and the detox broth. Each of the soups, like the juices, is vegan, gluten free, kosher, non-GMO and dairy free. If you have sensitivities to any of the aforementioned items, this cleanse will be perfect for you. While the soups have no dairy, gluten or animal products, what they do have is a lot of good flavor. I was honestly impressed with the quality and flavor of all nine of the soups.
Was I hungry on the cleanse? Absolutely, but I’m always hungry. I could eat sixty four Thanksgiving dinners still be hungry. At the end of each night, I was hungry, but I wasn’t dying from hunger. In fact, I had expected to be much hungrier at the end of the day. From a calories perspective, it wasn’t super low calorie, which is good. I felt it kept my calories at a safe level without being too high or too low. Unquestionably, the most surprising aspect of the cleanse was how I felt on the cleanse. Surprisingly, the cleanse left me feeling energetic and amazing. While teaching Zumba on the cleanse, I felt great and full of energy. This was a truly pleasant surprise.
Confession time. The cleanse directions state that you’ are to give up solid foods and coffee creamer while on the program. I have no problem with the food, but admittedly I couldn’t give up my Dunkin. Nonetheless, the cleanse was still effective for me even as I continued to drink my cream laden coffee. I know there’s a cacophony of differing opinions on cleanses, which makes it difficult to truly evaluate their worth. However, at the end of the three days, I was down four pounds and feeling fantastic. It is definitely something I will buy again and something I’d recommend trying.
Where can you buy it? The best option is via Groupon as it sells it for $59 plus shipping vs. the list price of $125 on Jus By Julie’s website. They ship the juices and soup to you frozen at a cost of $20. Jus By Juile packs their products into a Styrofoam cooler with a generous amount of ice packs. I was impressed that the cleanse survived being delivered to sunny South Florida in the early October heat.
Affiliate disclosure: Some of the links of this site are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I will earning a commission if you click through and purchase.
Be Brave, be bold, be unapologetically you! It’s quite the call to action isn’t it? But what exactly does it mean? To me, being brave doesn’t mean mustering up the courage to bungee jump or sky dive. I mean, I guess in another context, it absolutely does mean bravery. Rather, I’m talking about the bravery it takes to get out of bed after life’s darkest night’s. When life has thrown everything it has got in your face, but you still get up, put your make up on, rock your heels and smile, that my friend is bravery. Yeah, it isn’t jumping out of a plane or anything like that, but sometimes not giving up is brave.
Speaking of brave, last Wednesday I wrote about my first Xtend Barre experience. What I may not have shared is that by early Friday, my abs were so sore I could not roll out of bed. In addition to basic movements, I couldn’t cough, sneeze or laugh without significant pain. I was that sore!
I’m obviously glutton for punishment or stupid because I went back for more Barre torture tonight. There was no bosu ball madness in class tonight, which my abs are quite happy about. Adam is a phenomenal teacher. I thoroughly enjoy the class, but am certain that by Friday morning I’ll be unable to walk.
Whether it is returning to a fitness class that kicked your butt or holding your head high after disappointment, be brave. Harness your inner shield maiden or warrior , take risks and own your future. “Audentes fortuna iuvat” remeber Virgil’s wise words “Fortune favors the brave.”
When you’re a hockey mom, your life becomes a rat race cloaked in a fog of fatigue. Some weeks there simply is not enough caffeine to keep you awake. Day in an day out, you race from the bus stop, to work, to the gym, to practice and then to home. By the time you eat dinner, its after 9:00 and your falling asleep on your plate. Maybe your kid doesn’t play hockey, but plays another sport or activity, but the story is the same. Pure unadulterated exhaustion. As I figure it, I will finally get a chance to sleep in sometime in December! Woohoo!
In effort to balance your life, you have to make yourself a priority. It could be carving out 30-60 minutes for exercise. Or maybe you take the time to actually use the Massage Envy membership you bought yourself. At this point in my life, I could get 86 90 minute hot stone massages without me having to come out of pocket. Do as I say, not as I do is clearly the message here. Nevertheless, I’m taking time Sunday to get a nice relaxing massage. If the meme below speaks to you, like it does to me, it is time for you to make yourself a priority.
I went for a run tonight when I got home from work tonight, despite the fact my abs were destroyed in Barre. For context, my abs have been so sore since taking my first Barre class that I can barely get out of a chair, rollover in bed or stand up. Hey, the upshot is that I know the class worked! In order to run, I had to figure out how to mitigate the pain in my core. As a result, I found a girdle (sexy I know) for lifting weights that I could use to support my abs while I ran.
The run sucked, but running in 88 degree weather is never the most fun you will ever have. The runner’s high you experience post-run is amazing and can’t be beat. I only ran 2.75 miles because I’ve been having some serious shin pain in my right leg and serious knee pain in my left. Sadly, my left knee was not loving the run so much. Fortunately, my right shin felt pretty good during the run and feels okay still. Fingers crossed!
No sooner had I sat down after taking a nice post-run shower, when the Mayor called me asking me to pick him up from practice. Hubby took them to practice tonight. The Mayor’s practice ends at 7:20. Meanwhile Goalielocks finishes practice at 9:30 pm. I, of course, told him I’d pick him up. I drove to the rink through the usual log jam that is Friday traffic on the turnpike to get My Mayor. The normally six minute drive, took at least 15-20 minutes. Good times. Only in Florida, is the quickest route on the turnpike through the pay lines and not the Sun Pass lanes. Craziness!
I got to the rink and saw my Bantam parents outside in their “Oktoberfest” beer tent. None of them had seen the Mayor. As I drove towards rink two, my hubby came out of the rink laughing. It seems the Mayor, in between the time he hung up with me and I got to the rink, had arranged to go home with a friend and out for dinner. Amazingly, the Mayor forgot to relay his change of plans to mom. I thought I was going to blow a gasket. I had finally gotten comfortable when he called. Now here I was circling the parking lot at the rink in my pajamas hair uncombed with searing pain in my core. Ah yes, motherhood is a glamorous gig.
As I figure it, the ab pain is really a good news bad news scenario. First of all, it is good because apparently my ab muscles still exist. It is bad, however, because any movement like coughing, standing up, sitting down, laying down, coughing or laughing causes the some serious pain. Sadly, while I have now confirmed the existence of said ab muscles, they’re nowhere to be found. In fact, they’re now in the witness protection courtesy of Irma and stress. Here’s hoping they emerge from the program before the holidays.
I’ll leave you with this incredible video of the band Aha (awesome Norwegian 80s band) performing Take One Me acoustically. Shout out to one of my fave people, the one and only BG for directing me to it. Its incredible, enjoy!
Be exceptional, don’t settle for average, don’t settle for mediocrity, don’t freaking settle! Do you hear me? Instead choose to be your best. Everyday we have a choice. We can choose to be average or worse mediocre, but we can also choose to be exceptional. This doesn’t mean that we are perfect or striving for perfection. It only means that we do everything with our best effort.
For example, when we work out. Do you give your best the entire time? Or do you slough off a bit? If we’re not giving our workout our best effort, we won’t see the results we covet. Our results are proportionate to our effort and sadly our diet (damn you age and womanhood.) For example if we only give 50% effort at a Zumba class, instead of burning 500 calories, we’ll only burn 250 calories.
Tonight I tried my first Xtend Barre class up at Burn Fitness. Cheese and rice, I will feel it tomorrow. Adam, our amazing teacher, likes to call his class barre boot camp. He wasn’t lying. Hey, at least he was up front and honest. He’s a great teacher with tons of energy, so class went quickly.
Class may have went quickly, but it was tough! In truth, I felt a little bit like fish out of water as I was the sole novice in the room. Adam, as good fitness instructor will do, made the class appropriate to everyone’s level including mine. Even though I was new to barre, and admittedly not that good, I gave it my best effort. Consequently, I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to move tomorrow, but no pain, no gain. Right?
Being exceptional isn’t just for the fitness studio though, it’s for all aspects of our lives. If we find that what we’re doing is no longer inspiring us to be exceptional, then it is time to move on. Life is far too short to settle for mediocrity. It is imperative that we find something that makes our heart and soul sing. In addition, it is easier to be exceptional when we find something or someone that we are passionate about.
Tomorrow morning the choice will be all of ours. Join me in embracing the madness one cup of coffee (see meme below) at a time and being exceptional. If you’re not where you’d hope to have been by now, that’s okay. Now is the perfect time to start working towards your dreams. Now is the time that you stop settling and grab the bull by the horns. Its time to go get it!
p.s. I’d like to give a special shout out to my Finland for tagging me in the meme below on Facebook. It very accurately depicts my relationship with coffee!
Here’s to you thirsty Thursday! We spent our thirsty Thursday at the rink for Goalielock’s 8:30 pm game that started at 9:00 pm. Thankfully, the rink has a liquor license and plenty of beer and wine. I know what you’re thinking. And you’re right its borderline sacrilegious to drink beer or wine on national vodka day. I, however, have an alibi. Since I had to drive myself to the rink post-Zumba, I couldn’t be drinking vodka all game and driving. There will be plenty of time for vodka during the tournament this weekend.
I have to say that a late game is far better, in my estimation, than the 6:00 am games of mites, squirts and apparently peewee. First, nobody looks at you with the stink eye when you drink at an 8:00 pm game. This is not the case for an early morning game. Although if we’re honest with ourselves, is it ever too early for mimosas? I don’t think so. Plus a mimosa is a fashionable way to accessorize any hockey mom outfit.
There’s an upshot to switching up my drink of choice tonight and that’s the fact that beer is a great re-hydration beverage. Amazingly, beer has the optimal mix of carbohydrates and electrolytes that re-hydrate the body more effectively than water. However, there’s a caveat here and its a big one. The benefits, however, are erased when you drink more than two.
Ciroc makes a new french vanilla vodka that I’m dying to try in my coffee with a little Bailey’s Irish cream. It may be the perfect compliment to my morning coffee. Plus it takes the edge off of U-14AA hockey, which is a definite plus. Tonight one of our kids got rocked badly at the end of the second period. I love my hockey fast and fierce, but there’s no need for head contact or knee on knee hits. Fortunately, our player is going to be okay. He did, however, make us pretty nervous for several minutes. I’m pretty sure there will some Doug Glatt style hockey next time we play that team.
Guess what day it is!?!?!?? Not only is it hump day, but it also opening day for the NHL. That’s right folks, hockey is officially back!! Whoop Whoop! My Minnesota Wild start their season tomorrow night, so tonight I’m watching the Pittsburgh/St. Louis game. Nevertheless, I am stoked to be watching my favorite sport live!
Last night marked my first yoga class in over a year. Boy oh boy how I’ve missed my yoga and my yoga has missed me. Unfortunately, I’ve been away from my mat for far too long and today I’m paying for it. I am sore from head to toe! In fact, combing my hair may be problematic tonight since my range of motion is quite limited today. Initially my plan was take an Xtend Barre class tonight. I can’t deny, however, that the only activity my body is up for tonight is blogging and sleeping.
During shoulder stand, my only inversion of the night, I got a giant, horrifically painful charlie horse in my left leg. Holy cannoli batman, I wanted to scream at the top of my longs. Of course, I was in a yoga class, so I couldn’t vocalize my angst. I didn’t want to detract from the others experience by wallowing in pain. I briefly left the pose to try and massage out my calf. Unfortunately, this move met with little success. As I winced in pain as my calf contracted violently in pain, I used my ujayyi breath to keep my pain and my heart rate at bay. Miraculously, the yoga breathing allowed me to manage the pain and work through the rest of the pose.
There’s some pride in the pain, right? I mean, it is a reminder of how hard I worked last night. Conversely, its a reminder of how much more work there is to be done. The thing is, we’re all a work in progress. I expect days like to as I work toward my physical and mental goals. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself. As I tried to climb the steps at work this morning, my left calf reminded me of the charlie horse and my right leg reminded me of a major issue cooking in my shin.
This morning was the first time I actually thought it might be time to call a podiatrist. I feel old. Ugh.. What the heck? I’m not even forty, the last place I want to be is at a podiatrist office in South Florida during season. Listen its not that I hate snowbirds, its just that I strongly dislike them. Honestly most of them, at least by us, are utterly terrible and entitled people that feel traffic laws were made for everyone but them. Sadly, my ankle and my shin are starting to cause some serious pain that no longer abates after I stop working out. It is probably time to bite the bullet and make sure there’s not something serious going on in there.
“I’m the podiatrist around here!”
Tonight I will be enjoying another nice, hot shower followed by some tiger palm and salonpas patches. If I thought I could get out of the bath, I’d probably draw myself a nice, hot Epsom bath. The only problem with this plan, however, is that I’m not confident I could get out tub. While I’m taking tonight to let my body rest and recover, tomorrow night I’ll be back to teaching Zumba followed up by some yoga at home. Until then, I’m going to namaste in bed.
Namaste my dear friends in the blogosphere. Tuesday morning started off with the realization and confirmation that another icon of my youth was indeed taken too early. Today Tom Petty is playing his guitar with George in the great beyond. Consequently, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and The Travelling Wilburys provided the soundtrack for my morning commute.
The soundtrack brought some solace and lots of nostalgia. Petty’s songs played with heavy rotation in my house. Inevitably, these songs remind me of my parents and all the great times we had as a family growing up. Not surprisingly, as my kids have spent many their summers with Minnesota, these same songs conjure up sweet memories of their time in Minny with my folks. Music unites us, our collective experiences and the generations. One simply cannot ignore or question the power that music has to shape our lives.
Tonight, after too long of an absence, I finally made it back to Burn Fitness for yoga with my beloved yoga teacher Monica. Oh boy, am I going to hurt tomorrow. Undeniably, my return to yoga was long overdue for both my physical and mental well being. After a year of pain and grief, tonight’s class felt like a welcome release. As I work to get rid of the Irma weight, I’ve made the commitment to myself to take time and devote it to my yoga practice . This is long overdue as all of the running and Zumba are quite taxing on my body. Meanwhile, yoga is the perfect anecdote to keeping my body in peak physical shape.
Post yoga, its all about the MLB wildcard game between my Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees. There’s something alluring and thrilling about baseball in October. It definitely peaks my interest significantly more than the regular season. We just turned the game on and its tied 4-4 at the bottom of the 4th. We’re already into our bullpen. Consequently, this isn’t the best harbinger for a favorable outcome for my Twins. If the Twins lose, work will surely be miserable tomorrow with all the Yankees fans in the office. Let’s go Twins!
The struggle is real. By the time we get to Thursday. I’m fresh out energy, both mentally and physically. Life as a hockey parent can be freaking exhausting. Through the week, we run from the morning drop off at the bus stop, to work (pit stop at Dunkin), get the kids, head to the rink, teach Zumba, conquer homework, try to get in a workout and coerce the kids to shower before bed. Rinse repeat day in and day out.
By the time we get to Friday, sleep deprivation is hitting its peak and our energy is hitting its low. The exhaustion is all encompassing, yet we press on. We derive our inspiration from our kids, while our energy comes courtesy of perpetual coffee. We should likely have stock in Dunkin’ and Starbucks. Any hockey mom that’s been around for more than a season knows exactly where to find her favorite coffee near every rink.
Notice how I say we because I’m fairly certain that I’m not alone in my craziness. It’s not just me… Seriously…. Ask any hockey mom or day and they’ll tell you. As I left work today, I let out a smile as I realized this weekend’s games were home! Winner, winner chicken dinner! The realization that I don’t have to drive to Tampa this weekend was almost transcendent. Of course at this time of day on a Thursday, I’m looking for any win.
I headed home feeling a bit uneasy about life and my path. Its easy to feel that way when exhaustion fits in. Thank god for my beautiful, energetic and incredible Zumba girls. These ladies rock my world (not that way you pervert) and always bring a smile to my face. There’s nothing like a great workout to clear your head and remind you how great life truly is. Thank you endorphins!
Closing out my Thursday with a rocking Zumba class is the best way to launch myself into productive and happy Friday. Not every moment in our life is picture perfect. Moreover, there will be times in our lives where our progress doesn’t align with where we envisioned ourselves. That’s okay. So maybe you’re not where you want to be professionally or personally, who cares. Ultimately the control over where you land is with you and only you.
