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Three Question Favorites and Sweatin’ and Gettin Muscles

If you haven’t done so yet, don’t forget to enter my Swiffer giveaway here!

Today was an exhausting twelve hour work day. I had an 8am meeting which meant that by the time I turned the computer off this evening and left the office I’d been hard at it for over twelve hours. Today was a meeting filled day which meant I was constantly moving from room to room and changing topics. While I love being part of a dynamic team and collaborating, sometimes the meetings mean it’s 5pm by the time I’m able to start attacking my own to do list.
Therefore, tonight consists of Grey’s Anatomy, sushi, and lots of this…

Three Question Thursday!
I really enjoy learning about bloggers and readers! Therefore, i’m going to try and get better about participating in Iowa Girl’s Three Question Thursdays! Feel free to answer these in the comments section so I can get to know you  better!
Three Question Thursday time – favorite’s edition!
1. What’s your favorite tool/gadget in your kitchen?
2. What’s your favorite candy?
3. What’s your favorite color AND your favorite color to wear?
My answers!
1. My favorite kitchen gadget/tool is our Epicurean cutting board. I was introduced to this brand when I took cooking classes at the Viking Culinary School in Philadelphia.  It is reversible, dishwasher safe, has a groove that catches juices, and is highly durable!
Epicurean Cutting Board with Well
2. I love anything chewy and fruity like Twizzlers, Swedish Fish, or gummy worms. In fact, Meg and I used to use these as our “brain food” when we were studying for finals at the AOPi house in college! Luckily I substitute raw carrots, celery, and other crunchy goodness as brain candy these days.

3. My favorite color is coral or teal. Both colors look wonderful with my complexion and perk me right up! I love wearing navy and yellow this season.
Sweatin’ and Gettin Muscles
My favorite Georgia blogger, Gina, has done it again! She is a great inspiration everyday and serves as a health and fitness role model. She is not only proof that lifting weight won’t bulk you up like Hulk but she also balances the stresses of base/service wife with great workouts, recipes, and more! Earlier this week she posted her second Iron Pumping Plan to help her readers discover new muscles just in time for summer. I always do better with a plan and some discipline. Gina’s plan is perfect for that and exactly what I needed and wanted right now. I’ve completed this two days so far (Monday and Tuesday) and have loved it. It is the perfect mix and short enough that I still have time to add in bursts of cardio to keep the sweat dripping! Here is a taste of the workout that I did on Monday and Tuesday:
Monday:
Overhead press with twist
Bent-over row and kickback
Saxon Side Bend
Bench Push Up
Plie Squat with inner thigh squeeze (place a larger stability ball in between your heels; as you squat down, touch your booty to the ball before standing back up. As you stand up, using your inner thigh muscles, squeeze the stability ball)
Hanging Leg Raises
Tuesday:
Sumo Deadlift
Side squat and leg raise
Dumbbell hammer curls
Supine Tricep extension
Pilates double leg stretch
Ultimate toe touch
Seated row
Lateral to front raises (bring the weights up to your sides (lateral raise) –making your body a capital “T”- then continue to bring the weights forward from the “T” position, so that your arms are extended straight in front of you, with the weights at the same level as your chest. Bring the weights down and repeat)
Between each set I did a 2 minute sprint on the treadmill at 8.0 MPH to keep my heartbeat up. I highly suggest clicking on the links that Gina set up before you head to the gym so you can master the proper form in order to decrease injury risk. I had NO clue what the Saxon side bend was or the pilates double stretch was until I clicked these links.
If you want to learn more about her great workouts head on over to her site and give it a try. Just seeing her great attitude will be inspiration enough to get you lifting weights the next day.  

**NYC area readers and bloggers*** Leave a comment if you’re interested in a May weeknight potluck. I’m itching to host something in our new apartment.

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Kickstarting Cinco de Mayo and Southern Caviar

If you haven’t done so yet, don’t forget to enter my Swiffer giveaway here!
Happy Cinco de Mayo! I knew today may include more chips and salsa than the average day so I started out the morning with a killer kickin’ workout! I’m often inspired by fellow bloggers kick boxing workouts but have always been intimidated by the moves and jumps. After hearing a few friends rave about Akin’s Cardio Kickboxing class at Equinox I decided today was the perfect day to try!  I LOVED IT! He was very friendly and took me through the moves before class started so I was more comfortable. In addition, his music was upbeat and definitely woke everyone up at the early hour of 6:30! After the hour class I was drenched through my t-shirt and already feeling my quads and arms from the punching moves, kicks, and squats.

I arrived at the office this morning greeted by Cinco de Mayo everywhere! There were emails galore about happy hour drinks
and my manager, whose roots are in Mexico, decided to treat our office to lots of this:

and…
in honor of the holiday. Our area was definitely the most popular as everyone kept sneaking in to grab a plate filled with chips and salsa. If salt intake and calories didn’t exist I could survive on chips, salsa, and guacamole alone! I love the flavors in the gourmet salsas that exist on the market today. I grew up on Tostitos salsa and chips but now I am obsessed with Green Mountain Gringo salsa and flax tortilla chips. These Trader Joes Veggie and Flaxseed chips are amazing!
I tried my best to avoid these during the day and even used a few tactics which were pretty effective:
-Keep my water bottle front and center on my desk and ensure it’s full all day long
-Enjoy my grapefruit mid morning snack and afternoon pear to keep hunger at bay
-Move the chips to different areas of our office area so they are no longer on the table next to my desk
These tactics worked quite well and I only enjoyed a plate full of chips and salsa during the day. This allowed me to feel fresh and energetic when our work happy hour started and even continue the party to the second location where we had a mini high school reunion. Bo and I had the great opportunity to catch up with five of our fellow high school alums at a local irish bar in hopes of avoiding the crazy Cinco de Mayo crowds. Yup, you read that right, Bo and I actually went to high school together.  It was great to catch up with our fellow Georgia transplants.
I’m exhausted and fully intend to do nothing besides watching The Parenthood in the vertical position on the sofa the rest of the evening! I hope you all have a great night! Tomorrow I’ll be reviewing Fitnessista’s newest lifting routine and Cheribundi! Until then, here is the next recipe from last weekend’s Diamond Derby Housewarming Party- Southern Caviar! Southern caviar has nothing to do with fish or their offspring. Instead, it’s a colorful and healthy dip that is a favorite at Southern gatherings and parties! Better yet,  it is inexpensive, fast, easy, and transports well! It was a big hit on Saturday  night and the leftovers have made the perfect salad topping!

Ingredients

  • 2 (15-ounce) cans black-eyed peas, drained
  • 1 (15-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
  • 1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles (recommended: Ro-Tel)
  • 2 cups chopped red bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh jalapeno peppers
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 (8-ounce) bottle Italian dressing (you can use light or fat free if you prefer)
  • 1 (4-ounce) jar chopped pimentos, drained

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir gently to combine. Refrigerate mixture overnight. Serve with corn chips or veggies!

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Monday Recharge

In case you missed it, this weekend was an absolute blast filled with great friends, a Derby themed housewarming party, plenty of homemade Southern comfort food, and lots of moving stress! You can read more about it and one of my favorite recipes right here!
After such an indulgent weekend I knew this week needed to include lots of exercise, sleep, and whole foods. Bo and decided that one way we’d achieve this goal would be to wake up and go to bed 30 minutes early each morning in May. This would ensure we’d be able to workout from 5:30-7am each morning. Extending a morning workout by 30 minutes allows me to pump some iron after sweating through a cardio session.
Luckily after curling up in bed at 10 last night, I woke up this morning craving a sweat fest and lots of whole foods!  This morning’s workout included a few of my favorites:
4 mile run in 38:10
10 mins on the stairclimber
Chest press, bicep curls, tricep dips, lat pull down
20 pushups
Lunges/Squats/Leg Press
Today I tried to focus on only putting whole foods in my body versus processed foods. It was definitely a challenge and opened my eyes up to how much I’ve started relying on bars as go to snacks. Today’s eats were as follows:
1/2 c oats, banana, cinnamon, and flax seeds (sorry for the Blackberry pic)

Late morning snack was 1/2 a grapefruit
Lunch was a delicious salad from Pax including romaine, egg whites, chicken, tomatoes, celery, red onion, and sprouts. I stuck with lemon juice, salt, and pepper instead of dressing.

Dinner was delicious grilled chicken with veggies Bo and I steamed/sauteed this morning in between showers and dashing out the door. We knew that if we had a dinner all ready to go when we got home we’d be more likely to eat our own food versus ordering. It worked perfectly!

When I got home from work and the Junior League meeting I was craving some yoga and stretching. I popped in the Core Fusion dvd and did thighs, arms, and stretching. It was a perfect 30 minute session that left me feeling stronger and relaxed! I forgot how much I love this great DVD. Any dvd that breaks the workouts up into convenient 10 minute segments wins me over!

The rest of the evening includes nothing except lounging on the couch with Gossip Girl!
xoxo

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