Plank Workout

Last week I took a few days off from my normal lifting schedule to focus on some body weight and plyometric exercises. My favorite workout from the week was this plank workout.

Here are links to some of the exercises:

• Shoulder Taps (minus the ball)
• Leg Raise
• Up-Downs
• Hip Twists
• Reverse Plank w/ Leg Raise

Try to complete these exercises on a mat or padded floor. I made the mistake of doing these on the bare gym floor and my forearms were bruised from the up-downs.

This is a great workout for when you are on the go or maybe just in the mood for some change.

I hope you enjoy!

Doggy Mail

It’s been a while, right?! Apparently I took a little hiatus from blogging, so let me catch you up to speed. This past weekend was spent back home in Ocala. I did some studying, some napping, and lots of eating. How can you say no to delicious meals like this?

My favorite, biscuits and sausage gravy. I also ate my fair share of candy corn. I may have come close to eating a whole bag myself. Whoops.

On Monday morning, Chipper and I headed back to Gainesville. There was a very special package waiting for us, and no it wasn’t for me. It was for Chipper! I signed Chipper up for a month of BarkBox. I kept seeing ads on facebook for the monthly dog treat subscription, and finally decided to give it a try.

Included in Chipper’s box was pizza flavored treats, a couple of raw hide chews, a treat ball, and liquid bandage spray. He is a big fan of the pizza treats and has already enjoyed one of the raw hides. The treat ball wasn’t a big hit with him, but I’ll try it again and see if it grows on him at all. All-in-all,  we (especially Chipper) were pleased with BarkBox. While we probably won’t get a monthly subscription, it will be something fun to get once in a while.

Breakfast of Champions

Mike and I both woke up wanting some pancakes yesterday morning. I’ve been meaning to try creating a protein pancake recipe, so what better day than a Sunday morning to try it out. I made the mistake of not measuring my ingredients. I just eye-balled everything, so I don’t have a recipe to share yet. What went into making them was greek yogurt, oats, cinnamon bun protein powder, cinnamon, milk, an egg, baking powder, and a little whole wheat flour.

I am going to recreate these soon and measure everything out so I can share the recipe. I am going to try to leave the whole wheat flour out and maybe just use a little more oats. The end result was a filling and delicious pancake. I’m not going to lie, a big plate of chocolate chip pancakes would have been better, but these were a good alternative.

For breakfast this morning I popped some of the left over pancakes in the microwave and paired them with an apple, carrot, and celery juice.

I was craving some fresh juice, so I had to work with what produce I had on hand. Obviously, it was slim pickings around here!

As for the rest of the day, it’s a normal Monday around here. Getting some things done for school before classes tomorrow!

Weekly Workouts and Fall Favorites

The weeks are beginning to fly by for me. I swear it was just Monday, but nope! It’s already the weekend. Classes have been going well and I’ve been trying to get some work done so I can commit to studying for my certification exam. Coming up in just about a month I have to take the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) exam in order to graduate from my Master’s program. The exam happens to fall right in the middle of midterms, so I am trying to work ahead in my classes and get things done. 

Workouts this week have once again been squeezed in between my classes. 

• Monday: 10 min row + 10 min incline walk + Back + Abs
• Tuesday: 10 min run + Arms
• Wednesday: Yoga
• Thursday: 10 min run + Chest + 10 min incline walk
• Saturday: 12 min Stairmill + Legs

After spending some time at the gym this morning, Mike and I did some grocery shopping for the week. I found one of my favorite fall treats that I previously mentioned. 

Halloween Oreos! I already tasted them and they, of course, were delicious. It’s something about that orange color that makes them taste even better. Another great Fall find was this huge bag of Pumpkin Spice coffee from Target. 

It’s the perfect amount of pumpkin flavor and it makes me feel like Fall is just around the corner, even though it’s still 90 degrees here in Florida. 

The rest of the day is going to be spent working on a paper and watching some college football. Mike volunteered to make us spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, so I get to enjoy the night off! Time to put the feet up and relax!

Enjoy your weekend!

“Lazy” Sunday

There is something I just love about Sundays. I always like to say that I’m going to have a “lazy Sunday”, but I usually end up being pretty productive.

Today started out with a trip to the gym where I did a little cardio mash-up. I ran some intervals on the treadmill, spent some time on the stairmill, and then finished up with an incline walk on the treadmill. Once I got home, Chipper and I spent some time at the dog park. He was loving every minute of it and has been sleeping ever since we got inside! Next up for me was some food.

I set up a little snack plate that hit the spot. The rest of the afternoon has been filled with laundry, meal prep, reading for school, and catching up on Scandal. Scandal is my newest show to watch on Netflix. I’m trying to finish the second season before the new season airs in a couple of weeks.

On the menu for dinner tonight is Brunswick Stew. It may still be 95 degrees outside, but I’m ready to start having soups and stews for dinner. Florida needs to hurry up and get the memo to cool down!

Wedding Talk Wednesday: Venue Shopping

Happy Hump Day everyone! I hope it’s been easy to get back into the swing of things after a nice long weekend. The good thing is, the weekend is almost here once again!

Mike, Chipper, and I enjoyed a nice long weekend in Ocala and made it back to Gainesville on Monday morning. Thinking that we needed to get the ball rolling on some wedding planning, we had an appointment to tour a venue not too far from Ocala on Saturday. I’m not going to mention the name of the venue, because it was a nice facility, but we just knew it was not for us. I was a little disappointed, but I didn’t expect to fall in love with the first place we saw anyways. The process has to start somewhere.

Our plan is to go look at a few of venues up in the Jacksonville area within the next week or so. We are leaning towards a wedding in Jacksonville since we will be moving there upon Mike’s graduation.

In more exciting news, I have my first appointment to go try on wedding dresses. The appointment is set for the middle of October and I could not be more excited. I’m ready to get this show on the road!

And here’s just a view of what I do in my free time…

Pinterest overload! Who knew there were so many different flowers and color schemes?! So many decisions to be made!

Fitness Friday

Happy long weekend! I hope everyone has some fun plans for this holiday weekend. Mike and I will be heading to Ocala in a little bit for the weekend. I’m super excited because I’ve gotten all my school work done ,so I’m not bringing my books or laptop home. Living on the edge! I plan on just relaxing. And I’m sure I’ll end up watching more college football than I’m really willing to.

I had a really great week at the gym. I’ve finally gotten back into the groove of my gym routine.

• Sunday: yoga
• Monday: 15 min Stairmill + back + abs
• Tuesday: 15 min run + push-ups/pull-ups + abs + 10 min Stairmill
• Wednesday: 10 min row + arms + 10 min incline walk
• Thursday: 20 min running + legs
• Friday: yoga

After yoga this morning I headed to Trader Joe’s in search of pretzel buns. I keep seeing them on commercials and have been wanting to try them, but I will not bring myself to buy a fast food burger. Luckily TJ’s did not disappoint.

These pretzel buns look so good and the cashier at TJ’s assured me they are to die for. Needless to say, we will be having burgers sometime this weekend! I’ll let you all know how they are.

Fall Treats

So, how do you know when fall is just around the corner? Let me answer that question with a picture.

This is how. When you start seeing fall inspired candies at Target. Bags of candy corn were just waiting for me at the check out lane during my latest trip to Target. They caught my eye and I couldn’t refuse them! Another one of my favorite fall treats are the Halloween Oreos. They seem to taste even better (if that’s possible)  when they are that bright orange color!

I’m only a week into school and time is already starting to fly by. Let me just remind you that September is only a few days away. Does that seem crazy to anyone else? Before we know it the holidays and some cooler weather will be upon us!

I’ve gotten back into the swing of things and have finally gotten into a routine. On both Tuesdays and Thursdays I have an hour and twenty minutes between my classes so it leaves me just enough time to head to the gym and get my workout in for the day. This way, once my classes get out for the evening I can head straight home to eat dinner. Earlier this week I made a pork tenderloin, cooked apples, and green beans.

It turned out great. I used this marinade for the pork and the flavor was delicious. For the apples all I do is peel and slice them, put them in a skillet with a little margarine and brown sugar, cook til soft, and then add a little cinnamon to taste. They sure are a favorite around here!

Long Weekends

Want to know something wonderful? I somehow managed to win the lottery with my school schedule this semester. I have Tuesday and Thursday classes, which leaves me with a glorious 4 day weekend. So what have I done with all of my free time this weekend? Nothing out of the ordinary.

Friday means only one thing in this household. PIZZA! Mike put his request in weeks in advance, so there was no question about the toppings on our pizza this week. It just had to be Buffalo Chicken- no questions asked.

This pizza is always a winner and we never end up with leftovers.

On Saturday, Mike and I went to the farmer’s market here in Gainesville, but I was seriously disappointed. Nothing looked good and we left empty handed. Well not entirely, on the way home we stopped at Starbuck’s for a little pick-me-up.

And now we’ve reached Sunday. I started my day off with some yoga and besides that I have designated the rest of the day to truly being a lazy Sunday. The rain outside is helping us out on that one. The only other things I plan to accomplish today are folding laundry, cooking dinner, and partially watching the VMAs. The award show has gotten worse as the years have gone on, but with the rumored N*SYNC performance you know I will be tuning in. The middle school girl inside of me is giddy with the anticipation.

Back to School

Today is my last first day of school. I’ve said that before with the end of my undergraduate run, but this time I mean it! The past couple of days have been filled with unpacking and getting back into a routine. I somehow managed to accumulate a lot of stuff over the summer. My car seemed much more full on the way back to Gainesville than it did on the way home this summer. Maybe it was just a little deceiving because I have a car instead of a an SUV now, but there was a lot of unpacking to do! While I was getting settled I found this little treat that my mom put in my bag.

I am a sucker for sour candies! Thanks mom!

Yesterday was spent hanging out and getting organized for classes. I may have taken a lot of puppy-play breaks.

Dog pile! I won, obviously. 😉

Dinner last night was a make your own fajita spread. They were delicious, but left the apartment smelling like Chili’s all night long.

And now for today, it’s back to the real world. I have two classes this afternoon with a little break in between, so I’m hoping to make it to the gym during my break. Busy, busy, busy!