Apparently admitting workout defeat is the best cure of my poor performances at the gym. Since I publicly declared that I had become a gym weenie, I have had a serious breakthrough. I am proud to say that over the last week I have been killing it at the gym!
I am running up a storm! Well, actually, I am keeping on pace with where I should be for someone who had been struggling at the gym for a while, but it is still exciting. I can successfully make it through a 20 min run without thinking I'm going to die and then speed walk for another 30 minutes. Not too bad for the girl who was getting sick after 2 minutes of running just last week. I have a long way to go to get back to where I was, but hey, it's a start, and I'll take it.
On top of starting to like running again, I have successfully made it through some killer spin classes and a zumba class directly after a run. Not too shabby. Just one week ago I never thought I would run again. Now, I am setting myself some serious running goals...and sticking to them! I have even made a workout schedule for Josh and I to follow in the month of December (to help us reach a very fun goal at the beginning of January, more on that later). I am one happy camper.
Of course it would be great if the gym gods could get on board with my new attitude and stop trying to knock me down.
Sunday morning Josh and I went to an early spin class. It was our first time in this class and the regulars were not so welcoming. A few asked us (with serious attitude) if we had signed up for the class, while others snickered at our cheery Sunday morning attitudes. Please folks; this was not our first rodeo! As if that wasn't awkward enough, halfway through the class, the instructor asked if anyone wanted the AC turned on. I mean come on, in a tiny spin room, if you are really working hard, you NEED the AC. Josh and I of course said 'YES' emphatically. A woman right in front of Josh turned around, gave me a death glare, and then put on a jacket.
Seriously? I'm the weird one for asking for the AC? Maybe if she had been pushing herself to the limit she would have been sweating too. These early morning regulars need to lighten up!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Thanksgiving Prep
With Thanksgiving quickly approaching and our families descending on our house shortly, this weekend was all about Thanksgiving prep.
While Josh and I are avid dinner party throwers, we are Thanksgiving novices. We do, however, hope that Thanksgiving isn't much more complicated than a large sit down Shabbat meal. That said, we felt it was very important to do as much prep as possible. In 2 short days we went to 3 markets and the butcherie. Josh also did yard work while I did laundry and cleaned up. On top of all of that, we made a practice meal (details on that tomorrow!). It was a busy, but fun weekend.
We started on Saturday morning by making lists, and lists, and lists. I had already made a list of what we were serving and who was bringing what. From there, Josh and I made an ingredient list and went through our cabinets to see what we still needed. Luckily, that list wasn't too long...but unfortunately, we were not able to get everything we needed at one store.
First we had to go to Star Market to get the majority of the staples on our list. As always, they had almost all of what we needed, but not everything.
To add to the weekend fun, we had a little turkey drama. On Friday after work, Josh stopped to buy a turkey at Trader Joe's. We were really excited because they sell kosher turkey at a reasonable price. To make it better, they even had organic! On Sunday, I took the turkey out for a quick photo shoot. Upon inspection of the photos I noticed something very important missing.
There was no hecsher! Clearly I have calmed down a lot lately because I didn't even get upset with Josh about the mix up, I just told him to fix it :) Thank goodness Trader Joe's was so understanding. They took the turkey back and let Josh buy a new kosher turkey that was also organic. Phew! Talk about a close call.
With 3 days go, I think we are really prepared for Thanksgiving. I'm actually very impressed with our ability to plan ahead, stay organized, and have fun while doing it. Hopefully everything continues to go smoothly.
While Josh and I are avid dinner party throwers, we are Thanksgiving novices. We do, however, hope that Thanksgiving isn't much more complicated than a large sit down Shabbat meal. That said, we felt it was very important to do as much prep as possible. In 2 short days we went to 3 markets and the butcherie. Josh also did yard work while I did laundry and cleaned up. On top of all of that, we made a practice meal (details on that tomorrow!). It was a busy, but fun weekend.
We started on Saturday morning by making lists, and lists, and lists. I had already made a list of what we were serving and who was bringing what. From there, Josh and I made an ingredient list and went through our cabinets to see what we still needed. Luckily, that list wasn't too long...but unfortunately, we were not able to get everything we needed at one store.
First we had to go to Star Market to get the majority of the staples on our list. As always, they had almost all of what we needed, but not everything.
Later on in the day, we went to Whole Foods for parve sour cream and 2 different Trader Joe's, one for wine and one for soy creamer. Ah the joys of grocery shopping. Good thing we live very close to all of those stores.
We spent the evening getting our house ready. We picked out a table cloth and napkins, choose which serving pieces we were going to use, and added some details to our china cabinet in an effort to make our dinning room look nice.
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| please ignore the tilt! |
I went to bed feeling organized and almost ready for the big day to arrive.
On Sunday, we started off our day at a spin class and then had brunch with some good friends, both of which were really fun. As if we had not been to enough markets on Saturday, after brunch we ran to the Butcherie. We needed marshmallows and some appetizers. I was very excited that we rolled up to the butcherie during a lull and were able to get in and out in less than 15 minutes. That NEVER happens.
There was no hecsher! Clearly I have calmed down a lot lately because I didn't even get upset with Josh about the mix up, I just told him to fix it :) Thank goodness Trader Joe's was so understanding. They took the turkey back and let Josh buy a new kosher turkey that was also organic. Phew! Talk about a close call.
With 3 days go, I think we are really prepared for Thanksgiving. I'm actually very impressed with our ability to plan ahead, stay organized, and have fun while doing it. Hopefully everything continues to go smoothly.
Yet Another New Experience
Friday night Josh and I did something different. We went to a temple near our house. Since we bought our house we have been talking about this temple. On paper, it sounded perfect for us, but we had never been there. We were definitely ready to try it out.
I have to say we were both really impressed. From the moment we walked in until the moment left, we loved everything about it. Services were awesome. They were the perfect mix of tradition, fun, singing, and community. We really enjoyed the atmosphere and how many families were there. For me, the singing and excitement reminded me of camp. For Josh, knowing that this temple offered creative services and traditional ones simultaneously was a big hit. The many services, community activities, and kids programs (for way in the future) were really exciting to us. Also, the proximity to our house was huge too. Not only did it only take 5 minutes to drive there, but when the mood struck him, Josh could easily walk over on holidays and saturdays.
Most of all, Josh and I just felt at home. Being in a large conservative synagogue like the ones we each grew up in was really, really nice. It had been a long time since we had found a temple that excited us and that we both agreed was a good fit for our very different needs. We also were really impressed with the clergy. Josh already knew the Rabbi and many of the congregants from school, but everyone was also incredibly welcoming to me. It was just a great night.
We had such high expectation for our first trip to our local temple. We wanted to love it, had already envisioned what our lives would be like in the community and had hearts set on it being a perfect fit for us. We were thrilled when our expectations were not just met but exceeded. While life is often busy these days and Shabbats are generally already full of friends and minyans, we can't wait to get back.
I have to say we were both really impressed. From the moment we walked in until the moment left, we loved everything about it. Services were awesome. They were the perfect mix of tradition, fun, singing, and community. We really enjoyed the atmosphere and how many families were there. For me, the singing and excitement reminded me of camp. For Josh, knowing that this temple offered creative services and traditional ones simultaneously was a big hit. The many services, community activities, and kids programs (for way in the future) were really exciting to us. Also, the proximity to our house was huge too. Not only did it only take 5 minutes to drive there, but when the mood struck him, Josh could easily walk over on holidays and saturdays.
Most of all, Josh and I just felt at home. Being in a large conservative synagogue like the ones we each grew up in was really, really nice. It had been a long time since we had found a temple that excited us and that we both agreed was a good fit for our very different needs. We also were really impressed with the clergy. Josh already knew the Rabbi and many of the congregants from school, but everyone was also incredibly welcoming to me. It was just a great night.
We had such high expectation for our first trip to our local temple. We wanted to love it, had already envisioned what our lives would be like in the community and had hearts set on it being a perfect fit for us. We were thrilled when our expectations were not just met but exceeded. While life is often busy these days and Shabbats are generally already full of friends and minyans, we can't wait to get back.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Dinner In A Snap
One thing I have learned is that if it is not easy, it won't happen. This is never truer than with dinner. On nights when Josh has soccer, or I am working late, or we go to the gym, it is tempting to just stop at the pizza shop on our corner instead of trying to make a healthy dinner when we are hungry and tired. Nights like this derail our attempts to eat healthy.
After falling trap to our own laziness more times that I would like to admit, we finally got smart...or at least tried to. On a weekend when we had plenty of time, Josh and I made a lot of meals to put in the freezer. The trick was to choose meals that would last in the freezer and that we would not get sick of. We also wanted to make sure that they were some what healthy.
I have to admit, I am pretty impressed with us. Our plan actually worked out very well. More often than not, we stop and think about what is in the freezer before grabbing take out. We also made pretty good choices with what we froze. The food still tastes good when we eat it, we are saving a ton of calories by not eating pizza regularly, and the drama of what to eat for dinner has been mostly eliminated.
The one trick we did learn was that although it was great to have pre-made food in the freezer, generally it was not enough for a meal. We still needed to have fresh veggies available for a salad. Luckily for us, that was often the case in our house. In the time it took Josh to grab something from the freezer and heat it up or throw it on the grill, I could usually pull together a salad or veggie to go along with it.
Months later, we have not made it through all of the meals and we are making a few more healthy choices than before. Last night was the perfect example of how we were able to make a semi-healthy meal with little time to spare and a ton of other things going on. And, most importantly, it was easy! ... Almost as easy as ordering pizza :)
I am completely sold on the freezer idea. Easy and healthy meals that take the guesswork out of cooking and the drama out of throwing dinner together are the way to go.
Not too bad for a last minute meal in the middle of a crazy busy night. It was delicious, we were full, and we did not kill our whole week of good exercise and healthy eating by falling victim to the pizza place down the street.
Do you have any tricks to keep you on your healthy eating path when life gets busy?
After falling trap to our own laziness more times that I would like to admit, we finally got smart...or at least tried to. On a weekend when we had plenty of time, Josh and I made a lot of meals to put in the freezer. The trick was to choose meals that would last in the freezer and that we would not get sick of. We also wanted to make sure that they were some what healthy.
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| What is left of our personally pre-packaged healthy-ish meals |
I have to admit, I am pretty impressed with us. Our plan actually worked out very well. More often than not, we stop and think about what is in the freezer before grabbing take out. We also made pretty good choices with what we froze. The food still tastes good when we eat it, we are saving a ton of calories by not eating pizza regularly, and the drama of what to eat for dinner has been mostly eliminated.
The one trick we did learn was that although it was great to have pre-made food in the freezer, generally it was not enough for a meal. We still needed to have fresh veggies available for a salad. Luckily for us, that was often the case in our house. In the time it took Josh to grab something from the freezer and heat it up or throw it on the grill, I could usually pull together a salad or veggie to go along with it.
Months later, we have not made it through all of the meals and we are making a few more healthy choices than before. Last night was the perfect example of how we were able to make a semi-healthy meal with little time to spare and a ton of other things going on. And, most importantly, it was easy! ... Almost as easy as ordering pizza :)
I am completely sold on the freezer idea. Easy and healthy meals that take the guesswork out of cooking and the drama out of throwing dinner together are the way to go.
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| We chose Josh's famous burgers which we had pre-packaged in groups of 3 |
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| Josh just threw them on the grill |
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| And made a tasty meal |
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| While I whipped up a salad |
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| And took on dessert duty by making my new favorite treat for us to share |
Do you have any tricks to keep you on your healthy eating path when life gets busy?
Old Friends Are The Best
Earlier this week, Josh and I went to dinner with my old friend (and Josh's current bromance) Craig.
Craig had been to our house a bunch, but we had never been to his. It was fun to see where he lived, give him some design ideas (every bachelor needs a female touch when decorating!), and catch up on his super busy social life. After giving his new pad our stamp of approval, we took a short walk to a local restaurant for some dinner and drinks. While I'm not proud of food choices (nachos, sliders, fries) or our drink choices (beer, wine, sangria), we had a great time. Next time, however, we are going to have to have Craig over for some healthy food...maybe a tofu stir-fry or at least some not-so-bad-for-you burgers.
Spending time with Craig is always a blast. He and I have known each other since middle school and always have a ton to talk about, catch up on, and reminisce about. Josh loves hearing our old stories, joking around, and bonding with Craig overmovies tools dating boy stuff. Sometimes I think they have so much fun together, that I am cramping their style when I'm around. It is a great feeling to know that one of my oldest friends loves my husband as much as I do...and vice versa.
It is so fun to have such a great friend living near by. Add it to the long list of reasons we love our neighborhood and our friends.
Craig had been to our house a bunch, but we had never been to his. It was fun to see where he lived, give him some design ideas (every bachelor needs a female touch when decorating!), and catch up on his super busy social life. After giving his new pad our stamp of approval, we took a short walk to a local restaurant for some dinner and drinks. While I'm not proud of food choices (nachos, sliders, fries) or our drink choices (beer, wine, sangria), we had a great time. Next time, however, we are going to have to have Craig over for some healthy food...maybe a tofu stir-fry or at least some not-so-bad-for-you burgers.
Spending time with Craig is always a blast. He and I have known each other since middle school and always have a ton to talk about, catch up on, and reminisce about. Josh loves hearing our old stories, joking around, and bonding with Craig over
It is so fun to have such a great friend living near by. Add it to the long list of reasons we love our neighborhood and our friends.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
More Tofu Fun
Another day, another tofu dinner. We are getting good at making tofu stir-fry. It is so easy, very yummy, and we just can't get enough. It is also a meal that we can both make together which is nice.
Last time we had tofu, we used my method of pressing out the water. This time we used Josh's.
Last time we had tofu, we used my method of pressing out the water. This time we used Josh's.
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| Nice to know we sometimes put our cookbooks to good use :) |
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| It actually worked pretty well |
While the tofu was pressing, we cut up the veggies.
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| Nice and colorful, Bob would be proud |
Apparently, when the books fell over, it was time to cut up the tofu.
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| Thank you natural timer |
We then cut up the tofu into thin slices, spread a little bit of BBQ sauce on them and put them on the grill.
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| The thinner the slices the better |
While Josh was on the grill, I was on the stove, stir-frying the veggies up.
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| Check out that steam |
Finally, we married the two parts to make yet another yummy dish.
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| Delicious |
At this point, I would argue that Josh and I are expert tofu-stir-fry makers.
I Go Back
YES!!! I can't wait to Live Those Songs Again!
Ladies and Gentlemen, Kenny Chesney is back! He has ended his hiatus and will be playing this summer at Gillette! And Josh and I will be there, sitting front and center, to hear my all time favorite singer put on the show of the year. As if the show couldn't get any better, this year, Zac Brown Band will be joining the tour. I'm in heaven.
I have seen Kenny numerous times over the years in a few different cities. His shows are unbelievable, his guests are always the best of the best in country music, and it is not summer until he has rocked an entire football stadium for 2 solid hours. Kenny concerts are an event, something to look forward to, and definitely not to be missed.
I can't wait to sing my heart out, dance like a maniac, enjoy every second of the show, and most importantly, share it all with Josh. This year will mark his first (and not last!) Kenny show. And don't let him fool you; he is almost as excited as I am.
Knowing that in a few short months I will be in Foxboro, hearing my favorite music, surrounded by friends and fun will definitely help me to get through the cold winter months. And so, all I can say is: Let the countdown begin :)
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