catching up

I haven't made a visit to the blog world in almost a week.  That's not like me at all!  Between the holidays and putting up house decorations and job searching, I haven't had the time motivation to write.  I shouldn't say 'time' because there is always always always time to do the things you love the most!  So what's been happening lately?

Not.Much.        

      

It got very very cold after Thanksgiving around here but I'm trying my best to get out and enjoy the winter air as much as I can. 

I drag him with me when I can...

I went black friday shopping to one store only.  THE CAMERA STORE.  meet my new best friend and pretty much my dream of all dreams in one little electronic device.  If I could be anything in the world it would be a photographer.  I have never taken a class, however, so before I plan my dream job I should probably learn how to work it right!?

Earlier this week I hit up Anthroplogie to do some Christmas shopping.  It's my favorite store on earth and they have awesome gift ideas. (click here to fall in love)

Breakfast has been a lot of these:

  
Blend together one banana, 1 cup ice, ¼ cup cooked oatmeal (makes the smoothie very rich and creamy when it's cooked), 1 tablespoon chopped cashews, ½ cup milk of your choice (I prefer almond milk), and a pinch of cinnamon.

And lastly, there has been a whole lot of this gal.  She has one of the most curious and gentle hearts I've ever encountered and all of the days where I wanted to 'feed her to the coyotes' are officially over.  She's pretty much my best friend.

And as you can see, she loves getting all wet in the snow.  

Now onto the more exciting stuff.  My workouts have been pretty sporadic (and by sporadic I mean I do spin one day and then nothing the next and then I do yoga and then I run on the treadmill and then I do nothing and then I circuit train and I mix them all with wonderful greens and winter treats and coffee and 140 oz. of water a day.  That paragraph pretty much describes my efforts in healthy living over the last couple of weeks.  Not horrible.  Definitely not rigid.  But room for a little improvement.  If you don't know this already, I like schedules.  Along with my family, we have each set goals to work towards through the winter and while my 'little' goal is to tackle the hand stand pose in yoga, my main goal is to put together a workout schedule and follow it!


So that's just what I'm doing.  While I drink this.  

I ran a slooooow 4 miles this morning but it felt amazing.  We have a family workout planned for this Saturday and I'm so excited.  I'm putting us through a 45 minute circuit workout in my basement.  No treadmills and no weight room but I'm a strong believer in not needing any of those things in order to get in a good workout.  One or two of these babies a week along with maintaining an active lifestyle and your heart and your muscles will be happyyy.

Complete each circuit by doing each exercise 3X in a row for 40 seconds of work and 20 seconds of rest.

Warm-Up for 5 minutes with jumping, jumping jacks, squats, kicks, etc.

Circuit A

Burpees

Jump Squats

Push-Up with Dumbbell Row

Bicycle Crunches

Circuit B

Jumping Jacks

Plank Jacks (Jumping Jacks in Plank Position)

Squat with Overhead Press

Burpees with Push-Up

Circuit C

Mountain Climbers

Alternating Lunges

Spider Plank

Tuck Jumps

Finish up with 5 minutes of core work and a walking cool down and you've got yourself a 45 minute workout with hardly any equipment.

I really don't want to leave my little coffee shop on the edge of town here but my little lab is probably ready to dive head first into a snow bank while she chases the shovel and sprints from the woods to the driveway about a dozen times until she realizes it's rather cold out. 

Until next time,

Elizabeth.