I'm in Love....

spinning to the beat of a good song! In Spin Class last Friday for the last song our instructor turned off the lights and played this song. He did a little visualization (which I'm normally not in to) about being on the coast, overlooking the beach, and riding to the top of a hill where our castle was. I pictured myself on the Pacific Coast Highway cruising down the highway, as I always wish I could do when we are there on visits, but with steeper hills. I turned up the tension on my bike and just pedaled to the beat. I was in love!! t was a awesome ride, and today he did the same thing!

Ha, I accidentally snapped a pic as I was trying to record the song.

I really love riding to the beat of a good song. Poker Face by Lady Gaga was one of my favorites when I started spinning in 2009. I especially love a song when it works out with a challenging climb, or the beat speeds up and I try not to lower the tension.

What's your favorite way to Spin?

An Apple a Day.......

A few weeks ago I was at work (5:00pm to 1:30am shift at the hospital) and was feeling that I needed a little treat at about 11pm or 12am for my break. On this particular night I was thinking a little box of junior mints (the snack size) that they have in the cafeteria for .15. Once I got there I saw a nurse with a apple and made the comment that it looked much healthier than what I was going for. So I decided to try the apple instead. The results were amazing! I wasn't dying at the end of my shift and made it through quite well. Usually I'm dead tired. Thinking that was no coincidence, the next time I worked I made sure to take a apple with me for that late night snack. And again, my energy was boosted. I mentioned this to a friend a few days later and she said, "Yeah, I heard a apple was equivelant to a cup of coffee."

So I looked it up on the internet and found this on eHow.com:

Eat an apple in the morning instead of drinking a cup of coffee. An apple can actually energize you naturally in the same way that a regular cop of coffee will and is a much more healthy alternative.

Read more: How to Replace Your Morning Coffee | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2225650_replace-morning-coffee.html#ixzz1Io3hAcRj

I've never had a cup of coffee but I've definitely have made apples part of my daily routine, especially late at night or in the afternoon when I need a boost. I'm a believer!

Sugar Free.....again

I'm starting today to go without treats and refined sugars for the month. For me this means going without treats, syrups, and baked goods. I feel better, my skin looks better, and I loose a little extra in those unwanted places. ;) So here's to getting through the first week, which is always the hardest for me!

Meal Plan Idea

My meal planning routine has changed a few times over the years but recently I just came upon something that has been working great!

At the beginning of the month I make a list of a month's worth of meals. This month my awesome husband gave me a lot of suggestions of what he would like which is invaluable to me. Using 4x6 cards write 6 meals on each card for as many weeks are in the month. This is assuming that one day during the week will either be leftovers or eating out. Then on the back of each card you write the grocery list that you'll need for that week. I tape the cards on the inside of my cupboard and on Monday take the card with me to the grocery store and I'm all set for the week!




No more 4pm panic of "what's for dinner"! This method was taught in one of my old LDS Wards but the gal teaching laminated the cards so that at anytime she'd have a week worth of dinner ideas and the shopping list on the back. I just don't like the idea of always eating the same 6 dinner together during the week. But maybe when my kids are a bit older and we're all busy with school and extra activities it may save my sanity. :)

Balancing Act

As you can tell I've been slacking a little on the blog. I started a job in December and life has been a little busy. I work in the evening just 3 nights a week but from 5pm to 1:30am. Therefore, I've cut out my early morning 6am workouts that I love, and come to find out, need for my mental sanity. Luckily, my husband came to the rescue with suggesting that we do P90x together in the evenings. Perfect! I've loved the workouts and being able to do them together after he gets home from work has been great. On the nights that I have to work I just try to fit in the workout in the morning, or go without that day.

But after about 2 months of P90X I was definitely feeling stronger but something was missing and I was pretty grumpy about it. I didn't realize how addicted I was to cardio (mainly running)! P90x is great, but only 2 days a week are cardio workouts. I'm used to 100% of my workouts including cardio. Usually at the gym I'll do 30 minutes of strength and then 30 minutes of cardio (usually run or step machine), or I'll just run a route from my house if the weather is nice. So the last two weeks I've been trying to work it out to run at least twice a week. It's amazing how much better I feel, physically and mentally. I need those runs to think and be energized for the day. What is workouts wouldn't you be able to live without?