Moving Menu Plan Monday +this week's workouts!

Boy, this last week has been crazy! Seriously we have completely emptied our house, sold all of our belongings except for clothes and shoes, shipped memory items off to my mother and doled a few things out to other relatives that probably didn't want the crap but I need them to hang on to it, so they were voluntold. Thanks guys!

Org Junkie

So, today for Menu Plan Monday I am doing something a little different. We are eating out everyday until we get to Amsterdam, but before this I continued to cook just about everyday using up the items in my pantry, so I am going to highlight those meals today:

Breakfasts:

• Egg Sandwiches and half a smoothie or protein shake
• Oatmeal with miscellaneous leftovers in it: nuts, dried fruit, regular fruit, milk, cream, instant coffee
• Smoothies
• Protein Shakes
• Cereal
• Granola
• Omelettes, bacon, toast
• Protein pancakes (1 cup canned pumpkin or sweet potato puree and 2 eggs, fry up & serve with nut butter)

Lunches:

• Leftovers
• Tuna salad with crackers or lettuce wraps
• Chicken salad with crackers or lettuce wraps
• Omelettes and toast
• Grilled cheese and chips or soup
• Salad

Dinners:

• Leftovers shmorgas board
• Baked potato bar (with regular & sweet potatoes nom)
• Chicken breasts with cheese and sugar snap peas
• Taco Salad
• Burgers with potato skins
• Spaghetti and salad
• Soup and grilled cheese or meatballs

These just about covered us the last two weeks we've been in Vancouver. Now that we are eating out though we had to figure out a way to not spend a ton while eating out. We are eating out just about every single meal now so that gets expensive.

Tip for eating out when moving

• Breakfasts: buy oatmeal in heat & serve cups & eat with plastic cutlery
• For coffee bring reusable mugs, all coffee shops & 7-11's I've ever been to give a discount for using your own cup.
• Lunches: look for things like tuna salad kits, easy mac, premade salads in their own containers
• Snacks: I like to have on hand things like nature valley bars, yogurt in individual containers, and string cheese. Those seem to do the trick and are pretty healthy.
• When going to a restaurant look for coupons or use sites like Groupon, Living Social, and Restaurant.com
• Places to look for coupons are in local papers, in the mail (I got some great ones for starbucks the other day lol I'm not a huge fan, but to save $ I will give in to the man for a bit :P), Entertainment book, online, facebook, twitter, foursquare
• Look for kids eat free nights, buy1, get1 nights, loyalty card deals, etc.
• Split your meal with someone at the table so you aren't taking home leftovers

Random tip: Moving can be difficult, make this time an adventure. I know with a 14 year old some days she is excited other days we are the worst parents in the world lol So, we use this time to divert any "sad" feelings. So, we each got to pick one meal we had to have before we left and then we picked a couple places we had really been wanting to try but hadn't gotten to yet.  

Now, my workouts for this week....this is a devilish routine. Muahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have started an event on Facebook, if you would like to join in come like me on Facebook and send me a message so I can "invite" you. I made it a private event so we don't get any creepers in there ;)

In any case this is the play list I put together:

Burpees & squats, burpees & squats....

Basically each day for 5 days we will be doing one squat challenge video & one burpee challenge video. Each video is between 8-10 min long, so 16-20 min workout each day or you can do it in addition to your current workout. Then, on the 6th day we will do a couple of stretching videos geared toward stretching the specific muscles used in burpees and squats. Then, on the 7th day we will take all the videos & do them all together...it is going to be a KILLER workout! 

So, get your stuff together and email me on facebook so I can get you into the challenge! 

So, that is my week...what are you up to in the week ahead? Any cool workouts I should add to my schedule for next month?

Thankful Thursday...Throwback Thursday....maybe both??

It is almost Thursday here, as we prepare for a huge adventure in our lives I find little momentos here and there that make me smile. There are just some things that you cannot get rid of. One of this things for me is this:

It's such a fun little retro item isn't it?! I believe it was given to me by my Grandfather, he died when I was 3 but I still vaguely remember him. That or I just saw so many pictures of him and my mother and Grandmother told me so many stories I just think I remember him. 

This item though brings back so many fun memories. I remember being in elementary school and by Florida standards I remember it being freezing cold and my mother didn't often bring this set out but she made my breakfast in this set: hot cocoa with marshmallows (good ones too not the crappy ones In the Swiss miss packet lol), toast, and oatmeal. I have no idea why I remember that, but I do. I hope my daughter has memories like this when she is my age. Heck, I'm sure she will have memories of this set...I fed her with it often when she was little.

Here is an unedited version of the set:

Do you have any thing like this? What is one item for you that brings back warm, fuzzy memories?

Outfits of the Week...

Thought I would start trying something a little different. I really love dressing up and wearing fashionable clothes. So, I thought each week I would feature two of my favorite outfits...one everyday outfit and one dressier, or date night outfit.

So, without further ado here is my first:

This is one of my fave outfits for running errands. The shirt has just enough bling that it is happy, yet not too dressy. The little open back gives it a little fun, and makes it different from the everyday t-shirt. The jeans are a primo find. They are from Guess...they are the "curvy" jeans...they are designed for girls like me tiny waist, but big muscular thighs! 

Where to buy:

Bebe Top, Embellished Hi-Lo Drape Back

Jeans: Guess Power Curvy Mid-Rise

Platform Heels

Next up...date night!

Hubby & I have been married almost 15 years...we try and have a date night at least once per week. These are crucial to our relationship. This week we did dinner and drinks with friends so had to do it up a bit....

This dress is from last years late summer/early fall collection at bebe. It has an excellent cutout at the chest to show just a enough cleavage for the hubby. The shoes are an amazing sandal that, despite the height are surprisingly comfy to walk in. Both items were purchased in store at Bebe. There are similar online, but not exact. Here are some recommendations:

Peek-a-boo ottoman dress

Crossover Cutout dress

Zipper Sandal

Strappy Pump

I hope you like the new addition to the blog...do you have a favorite errand running outfit?

Menu Plan Monday +Workouts: Moving Edition

Wow, wow, wow! Easter Monday here folks.

We had a wonderful weekend full of games with friends, dinners with friends, and egg hunts! There was a poor decision of a donut and one of those Lindt Cream eggs for breakfast on Easter Morning but it was totally worth it ;)

Org Junkie Link Up

As you know from my last post that we are undergoing a huge move to Amsterdam, Netherlands. This means very busy days of selling and tossing stuff. So, the menu is full of easy, quick stuff that doesn't require any more than a pan, a pot, and/or a baking sheet.

Breakfast Choices:

Oatmeal cups, cereal cups, eggs & veggies, shakeology, paleo pancakes with pb, 

Lunch:

Monday: Leftover's from Easter Dinner Out

Tuesday: me: eatout, teenager: spaghetti leftovers & salad 

Wednesday: me: tuna salad, teenager: lunch out with her friends

Thursday: Driving to Washington to take care of US needs, eat out

Friday: munchies plate: any fruit and veggies that need to use up, cheese, nuts OR Chicken Salad

Saturday: Grilled cheese with salad

Sunday: Omelettes or Cream of Wheat

Dinner:

Monday: Baked potatoes/baked sweet potatoes with zucchini and sugar snap peas

Tuesday: Tacos with salad

Wednesday: Chicken breasts topped with cheese & veggies/salad

Thursday: Spending the day in Washington taking care of US stuff, eat out

Friday: Hamburgers with veggies & potato skins

Saturday: Homemade Hamburger Helper with salad

Sunday:  BBQ pulled pork sandwiches with cheese, corn, and zucchini

Snack Choices: Shakeology bites, apples with peanut butter, paleo pancakes with pb

**Update** Paleo Pancakes
This recipe is adapted from the Big Ass Pancake...

2 tablespoon coconut flour
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk (I use almond but you could use full fat coconut, coconut almond, or-gasp, even regular milk haha although then it is not quite so paleo anymore, I think that is "primal" then)

Put the coconut flour in a mug & break up any big lumps, add milk & eggs. Mix together with a fork until not lumpy. Cook in a small skillet, mine is about a 6-8" skillet and it takes up the whole bottom of the skillet. I top it with sunbutter, peanut butter, or almond butter. Many times I will mix my nut or seed butter with some coconut oil to make it a little runnier & more like a "syrup"-ish thing.

Workout Schedule

Not only are we moving, but I am having a crazy week with starting a new work project that will need a good amount of my attention. This means workouts will need to be quick, yet effective. 

Monday: 100 Burpee Burnout +insanity cardio abs

Tuesday: 1 mile run and X3 Yoga

Wednesday: Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance

Thursday: Doing some traveling and stuff so will try and do some foam rolling

Friday: P90X Cardio X

Saturday: 3 mile run, foam rolling

Sunday: Yoga at Lulu Lemon

Huge Announcement!

Hi everyone! So, as you may have noticed over the last couple of weeks my blogging has been very intermittent. I am just sort of blogging as I can. Well, I have some wonderful, wonderful posts coming up for you all because I have some really big news!

As you all know from my introduction, my family moves...and we move a lot! Well, after two years in the same spot we got a bit of wanderlust and decided it was time for the husband to move on to a new project....well, watch below to find out where that new project is taking us:



I love bringing our travels to the blog and now I am really looking forward to chronicling our adventure of uprooting our family, selling all our belongings, and starting over in a new country, on a completely different continent!

Have you ever done something crazy like this before? Have you done it with kids?

Flex Friday! P90X3 Results!

So I am doing something a little different today. As I said in Monday's post I finished P90X3 last Sunday. That was my final rest day. I wanted to work up a nice post for y'all so I could give you an honest opinion. I will be forward...I am a Beachbody Coach. I am not very good at it as I don't want to pressure people and I don't want people to think I am out to "love" every programme because I'm not. All programmes are for different people and one I may really dislike you may love. I could get into that but I want to focus on X3 for now.

Here are my results:

Yes, I completely forgot to take the 60 day ones! Oops. But you get a good idea. The ones in the pink shorts were actually my final results from T25. I actually felt like I didn't gain a lot of muscle, but I do feel like I lost a lot of fat. In fact I think my results of that were a 2% body fat decrease. Day 30 you can see where I gained a bit of weight and muscle. But, by day 90 it was all trimming out and you can really see the muscle come out.

My biggest areas of improvement were fat loss on my upper thighs and my booty area. I can see where my stretch marks are closer together and aren't as "stretched" as they were prior. Also, my shins are much more muscular, even when not flexed. My calves gained at least an inch of muscle. My jeans are tight there, but loose in my thighs and butt! Ha! 

I noticed a huge increase in my back muscles, as you can see in the final picture.

Also, I will note I didn't really watch too much what I ate. I kept it reasonable but definitely not strict. Also, the last two weeks I was in Hawaii on vacation with my best friend and we spared no calories! So, my results probably could have been even better.

I don't actually take measurements as I begin to get a little obsessed, but I will give you a better look at my photos:

These are my T25 After Pictures/P90X3 Before pictures, I did them back to back.

Now I am skipping straight to the after's because my 30 day pictures are a bit embarrassing. My daughter didn't warn me that I looked like I just escaped from the insane asylum lol So...here are the 90 day P90X3 pictures.

So, all in all, I feel like X3 was a great program. They have the classic, lean, mass, and doubles route for you go. I started with classic but had to switch to lean due to an injury. I will say I don't feel like my results were as awesome because 1) I didn't eat as well as I should have-oops and 2) there wasn't any straight core work that came with the base programme. There are three "elite" dvd's available for separate purchase-I feel this is where Beachbody is getting greedy and it makes me angry. I think these DVD's should have been included especially since one of them is an ab ripper. I feel with as much as we are paying they could have at least thrown in the ab ripper. I feel like that is the only place X3 lacks is in just one straight ab dvd, but you do get decent ab work in some of the other DVD's such as pilates.

Now, just to promote myself lol I will be starting a 30 day group May 1st. It is completely free. Contact me if you would like more info!

Menu plan Monday +workout planning

So, ladies & gents...I just finished P90X3!!! I have more coming on that soon, but I did finish it just this past weekend. Overall I am happy with my results as I feel a lot stronger and tighter, but I will be honest I didn't really watch what I ate, so my results aren't 100% what I wanted...yet!

So, this menu plan focuses on clean, healthy eating for myself and my family of course. I am really changing how we are eating simply because the way we've been eating just doesn't work for us. None of us feel amazing so I am going back to my trusty clean recipes that work. Sorry pinterest, but those greasy awesome casseroles I've been making just aren't working...

I'm linking up my menu this week here:

Org Junkie

Breakfast:

M-W-F: Big ass pancake with sunbutter and half a banana 

Tu-Th: 2 egg omelette with mushrooms, onion, spinach, avocado, and cheese and a slice of ezekiel bread with coconut oil & some gingerbread spice

Sat & Sun paleo donut holes with fruit

Lunch:

Monday: Leftovers

Tu & Th: Salad (chicken or tuna) with hard boiled eggs and avocado

Wed & Fri: Quinoa salad (throw in some black beans, onion, spinach, tomato)

Sat & Sun: Leftovers, omelettes & toast, or subs and salad-this will really depend on what we have time for we may just grab lunch at a food truck or something as we will be at a cheer leading competition 

Dinner:

Monday: Coconut crusted chicken strips,  zucchini fries, corn for the hubby

Tuesday: Tacos (we will do veggie & traditional)

Wednesday: Burgers with mushrooms, onions, and sugar snap peas

Thursday: Caramelized chicken/chick pea patties, with zucchini & mushrooms and french fries for the hubby

Friday: Homemade pizza (will do traditional and a zucchini crust) with salad

***this weekend will be super busy so these two meals are play it by ear, we may eat a late lunch so these may be moved to next week****

Saturday: Stuffed chicken breasts/chickpea patties with sugar snap peas and corn

Sunday: Homemade hamburger helper (this I make two of, one a regular and one with black beans and no meat) with salad  

Workouts

Now, since I am done with X3 I am in maintenance mode for a while. I originally planned to run the Seattle Rock & Roll Half on June 21st as mentioned back in January, but we've had something come up that is interfering with that, so, I am coming up with my own schedule. I know over the last year or so I haven't done much to lengthen my muscles so that is what I am focusing on. So there will be a lot of stretching and a lot of running.

Monday: Massage therapy day, X-Stretch from the original P90X set

Tuesday: 1 Mile Run, 1 Mile walk, Insanity Cardio Abs +foam rolling

Wednesday: Core Cardio and Balance

Thursday: 2 mile run + X3 yoga +Foam Rolling 

Friday: Insanity Cardio Recovery

Saturday: 100 Burpee Burnout +Hiit Jump Rope Workout

Sunday: P90X Stretch

I included a lot of stretching this week since I had my massage therapy appointment the girl told me it will be most beneficial if my workouts this week included lots of stretching, so that is what I am doing! 

What are you doing for workouts this week?