Happy New Year’s Eve everyone! What are your NYE plans? My hubby and I are heading up to Anaheim today to meet up with my family, who are in town for a week. My dad is a high school football coach, and is coaching an all-star game with some of the best players in the nation here, so he’s in California with my mom, sister, older brother (who also coaches football), sister-in-law and nephews. It’s kind of funny that I was just in Jersey where they all live, and then a few days later they all flew out to my neck of the woods on the west coast, but I’m looking forward to getting to see them some more and spend New Year’s together! As 2014 comes to a close, I thought it’d be neat to look back at the highs of my year. Here are my 2014 highlights! Buying a home & moving back down to ... [Read More]
Archives for December 2014
ClassPass: A Great Fit for the Hyperactive Exerciser (Like Myself)
When people ask me what workouts I typically do, I usually rattle off a list of things: hiking, kickboxing, cycling, strength training, yoga, rowing, barre, and so on. I usually follow it up by saying something along the lines of, “I do a lot of different regimens, but I'm not really an expert at any of them." It’s true, I’ve never been into just doing one type of workout. I know that lots of people are strictly runners, or are amazing yogis and that’s their signature regimen, or wherever their fitness passion may lie, but for me, I’ve always wanted to do a bit of everything. I call it exercise ADD, and I figure that as long as I’m moving, it’s good for my body and soul to keep switching it up. Over the past month, I’ve been trying out ClassPass. You can check out my full ... [Read More]
Home for the Holidays {Christmas Week Recap}
Happy weekend! I hope that all of those that celebrate it had a wonderful Christmas. I arrived back in SoCal late last night. I had a fabulous time in Jersey, but as always, it’s nice to get back home too. My week at home sped by, and while it was a pretty quick trip compared to how long I typically go home for, I had a ton of fun. Here are some snapshot highlights of what my days in Jersey looked like: Lots of family time: My entire immediate family was together a few times: once for a party for my sister’s birthday, and once for Christmas Day. {The best family shot that we could muster on Christmas Day} {With my parents and sister} {Christmas with my hubby} ... [Read More]
Conquering the Reformer Machine at Core40 {Workout Review}
I was shaking like a leaf, watching beads of sweat drip off my forehead and onto the floor below me as I attempted to hold my last plank move of the class and finish my workout strong. It was a spinning + strength training combo workout at Core40 in nearby Solana Beach, and boy, was it a tough one. My friends, say hello to the Lagree "Superformer" machine, and the latest workout to kick my ass. I was first introduced to Core40 studios when my friend Tiffany became certified in the Lagree method earlier this year. She gave birth to an adorable little boy this past March, and when I asked her how her body had not only bounced back from pregnancy, but looked even more toned than before, she told me that Lagree was one of the major reasons. Tiffany and I have done a variety of workouts ... [Read More]
30-Minute HIIT Holiday Workout
Happy Friday everyone! Greetings from New Jersey! My hubby and I arrived in the northeast late last night. I'm really looking forward to spending the holidays with our families. There's going to be a lot of baking, cooking, drinking, and celebrating in my life this trip, so I will be making sure to balance it out a bit with a couple of workouts as well. Whenever I'm back in my home state visiting, I find ways to squeeze in workouts. Sometimes my mom and I do exercise DVDs in the living room together, and other times I make up routines to bang out first thing in the morning before my day of visiting with everyone starts. Lately I've been digging HIIT workouts - which stands for High Intensity Interval Training, and is when you alternate short bursts of intense exercise with ... [Read More]
Asian Sesame Noodle Salad
Hello! I'm feeling very excited to fly home and see my family tomorrow! I know that while I'm on my trip I'll be indulging a lot and not exercising as much (especially with frigid temperatures in Jersey and my crazy pup not being with me to nudge me to take her on walks!). That's perfectly fine and I'm looking forward to the vacation, but knowing this, I have been mindful in making some of my meals extra healthy and produce-packed lately. For one thing, I've been eating a lot of veggies to help build up my immune system a bit and protect myself from getting sick while I'm traveling and around so many people during the holidays. For another thing, eating really healthy meals helps balance out the sweets that have inevitably been present in my life more so than usual. Yesterday I made ... [Read More]