Suitcase Organization

Yesterday, I gave tips for planning a road trip, today I want to talk to you about organizing your suitcase. With the right tools and proper planning you could easily travel for two weeks with just one small carry-on, like my daughter and I did in March of 2014 when we went to Hawaii. That's right..one carry on for two adults. Here is how I did it.

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Have a medium size carry on . I have found this is the perfect size, it fits in all over head compartments, fits under the seat, and is easy to roll around a city if you make a side trip.

Use these awesome pack-it envelopes . If you fold the items correctly you can fit up to 7-12 items in this envelope. Hubby I can only fit 7, but for the teeanger and I can fit up to 12!

Use these awesome pack it cubes. These are great for keeping socks and undies together, or shirts/shorts that you can roll. I was able to fit a week's worth of undies and socks into one cube for the teenager and I. 

Don't over pack. For a week long trip you don't need a ton of stuff, we went for two weeks and I packed enough for one week and just washed items since I was staying with a friend. Things like jeans, shorts, or skirts can be worn multiple times before needing to be washed, so bringing just a couple items to fit different situations will work. 

Utilize your personal item. I typically put individual toiletries in our personal item. For example, my purse will carry any feminine hygene products and/or make-up I need. 

Fold your dirty laundry. This may sound bizarre but when you are at the end of your trip and won't be needing to keep dirty and clean laundry separate just fold up the laundry as it will help you fit it all back in. 

Do you have an great suitcase organization tips we should know about?

Road Trip Planning Tips

Road trip planning tips are the topic of today's Blogging A to Z post.

Check out the other posts I've done here.

Since moving to Europe almost a year ago I have made quite a few new friends and acquaintences, through our chats one thing has become clear: planning a road trip is hard! Whether you are taking a car or train, getting organized to plan a big trip and see all you want to see along the way can be extremely overwhelming. I'm getting it down pretty well so I wanted to share with y'all some of my tips!

Use google maps. If you are going via car, use google maps, it is fantastic. You can add waypoints along the way, search areas in which you are thinking of stopping for landmarks and whatnot, it is a great resource. If you are going via train, like us, it is easy to map as well since google maps has the transportation feature! In Europe I imagine this is an easier feature to use, but it allows you to see a basic route and what is along the way. Using this feature I know on our way home from Berlin we will be stopping off in Cologne for a few hours since we switch trains there and our tickets are flexible. 

Know your route and stops along the way. If you want to make stops along the way while using a mass transit system make sure you know exactly where you are supposed to change trains. This will often allow you to see some really unique places that will only take an hour or two of your time. If you are in a car, this is important as the teenager remembers once being stuck on a bridge in Louisianna having to pee and once we finally got off the bridge, we were in the middle of nowhere with no peeing stations in sight, so knowing your route is good to prevent emergencies.

Know the terms of your tickets. If you are going by train make sure you know the terms of your tickets. I always get the mid-grade flexi tickets so if we want to hop off and on we can, just be aware of certain time restrictions and whatnot.

Know your train if you are travling by train. Most trains when traveling through Europe I have found do not having a dining car, so know ing your route will help you to know if you need to bring along food and drink. I always recommend having snacks, but we are traveling 6 hours to and from Berlin (12 total hours) this month with no dining car so I know we each need a water bottle, plus one extra bottle each, along with a full lunch and a snack. Usually they have someone walk through on trips 3+ hours with a box like you'd see at a ball game in the US but it is ladened with sugary crappy food that I have no desire to eat. (Plus, if you plan right and you don't have to drive you can bring beer and wine along ;))

Check the weather the day before you pack. I thought this one was something everyone did, but I have talked to 6 different people who have had a horrible vacation because they were so excited to get going, had an assumption about the weather of a place, and it was not at all what they expected! I usually pack just 24 hours in advance. I have a basic outline of what I want to take but the real packing isn't done until 24 hours before, you never know what sort of weather system could come in over night, some places are just that unpredicatable.

Bring as small a bag as you possibly can. This will eliminate over packing and will keep you from dreading making stops along the way. Many train stations have lockers you can rent so if you want to stop off you can toss your small suitcase in and enjoy a few hours sightseeing before catching your next train! For car rides this will allow for more leg room, than if you over packed.

Have a written itinerary. The biggest complaint I hear is they didn't get to see everything they thought they would. This doesn't necessarily have to be a huge written itinerary with walking directions like I made for London, but at least having a written account of landmarks you want to see and what is inside if it is a museum can be really helpful.....as poor time management, not realizing how long some things would take vs. the number of things they want to see is the reason most people are left a little let down. For example, when we went to Paris, we only had a long weekend so when we tackled the Louvre we knew we wanted to see Napoleon's Apartment and then we each picked three works of art we wanted to see, made it to those and then got out of there. We were in there an hour longer than we anticipated, but we still made it to all ther other stuff that day thankfully because we had a plan.

Keep your wallet in your front pocket for men, and women have a cross body bag with zipper in the front. For backpacks, have a lock for the zipper. This is to protect you from pick-pockets. These aren't foolproof but they do help. People can be the suck, especially in large, crowded areas such as the Eiffel Tower, near the Mona Lisa, or in a crowded square in Brussels.

That is all I have for now, later this week I will have some suitcase organizing tips, as well as my travel essentils.

Do you have any tips to add?

Packing Tips

When traveling a lot, packing can become a bit of second nature. So, I decided to share a few tips I've come across when talking to friends and acquaintences. 

Wear the thickest/heaviest items. If you have to bring a heavy coat, wear it. If you have to bring big bulky shoes, like boots, wear them. If you are bringing a pair of jeans but shorts for other days, wear the jeans. This saves valuable space and will allow you to fit more into a small space.

Multi-week trips choose lodging with laundry facilities. Many Air BnB rentals have laundry facilities, almost all hostels I've looked at have laundry facilities, and you can always utilize the sink and some soap if need be. But, this will help you to pack light for longer trips.

Know your destination and check the weather 24 hours before you leave. It is very important to be prepared with this information so you know if you should have a poncho with you, bring rain boots and an umbrella, or ensure you have shorts if you need it.

Be aware of local customs. This is important, when we went to Rome it was hot (85+F degree days) but to go into the churches there your knees must be covered as well as your shoulders...had we not looked in to this before hand we would have been very upset. In the middle east there are actual laws for how men and women (yes, even visitors) are supposed to dress, so just make yourself familiar with local customs and are prepared for the weather.

For some ideas on what to pack, here is what we packed for our weekend in Rome. I will try to do more of these posts as I find them really helpful when I am getting ready to go somewhere.

Do you have any more packing tips I should add? 

Have you ever visited a place with a "dress code"?

Menu Plan Monday #14

So, lately I have really enjoyed the Sunday to Sunday planning. I find I am actually prepping a lot more and when Monday Morning rolls around I actually have food to pack lunches so we are starting off on the right foot, it is great!

This weekend was a lazy one, the calm before the storm if you will. 

Saturday it was gorgeous and the kiddo needed to get a birthday present so we took a nice long bike ride to enjoy the weather and keep our travel costs low! 

Then our friend came over to do some professional portraits for the husband. We wound up taking a bike ride through the forest and having a meal together. It was a wonderful day!

Sunday the hubster and I mostly relaxed. Aside from a trip to the grocery store we mostly cuddled on the couch and watched Episodes I and II of Star Wars. 

I really love these calmer weekends, especially when your husband has worked basically three weeks in a row. Next weekend will be the kicker....can't wait to fill y'all in on that! If you follow on Instagram you can follow along to all our shenanigans :) As a preview I will just say there will be tulips, a fantasy fayre, and the huge King's Day celebration! This.Will.Be.Epic!

Goals

Last week, I was fairly unproductive so besides keeping off the added sugar and processed foods I didn't accomplish anything really (haha) so nothing to report there...this week:

• Seriously, finish our freaking itineraries. Vacation is NEXT WEEK! and I have no solid plans, I'm not making a walking path this time but I do want to have names of places we should see and the history of each marked on my phone or iPad so we can read up on them on the train ride.
• Keep at the tougher workouts, been feeling really good so want to keep working hard.
• Keep eating well..again, I am feeling amazing. I've been keeping a higher good fats and higher protein diet and am feeling really great!
• Finish my Hawaiian scrapbooking. It really, really, really needs to get done so I can move on to our move! 

Workout Schedule

I stuck to my schedule pretty good last week, let one extra rest day creep in on Thursday and Friday I only did half my workout. This week will be stronger though...

• Sunday: Rest, I was tired, we did a mild errand bike ride and took a walk
• Monday: 3 mile run and PIYO
• Tuesday: Long bike ride to try and find some Tulip Fields, yoga
• Wednesday: 4 mile run with Bootcamp
• Thursday: Ride to North Amsterdam...rumour has it there could be Tulip fields there too, MMX, Stretching
• Friday: Double PIYO, walk if it is nice or bike ride to find the baby goats
• Saturday: 100 Burpee Burnout, sightseeing

Trying to get some really solid workouts in this week as next week will be off and on because of our traveling.

Menu

Breakfast

Sunday: Egg and cheese crescents with strawberries and kiwi 

Monday: Açai bowls with egg whites or oatmeal with egg whites

Tuesday: Same as Sunday

Wednesday: late start so will make a big breakfast: omelettes stuffed with veggies and cheese with cinnamon raisin toast and blood orange slices

Thursday: same as Monday 

Friday: banana, blood orange, and coconut fruit bowl with toasted cinnamon almonds

Saturday: sightseeing big breakfast before we leave: same as Wednesday

Lunch

Sunday: snack: bread and butter, smoked meat, fruit

Each day hubby takes two hard boiled eggs, nuts, cold cuts, cheese, and every once in a while a slice of bread. He gets fresh fruit provided by work. Once per week he does eat out.

Kiddo: 

M-W: tomato and cheese panini with Apple slices, and nuts

Tuesday-Th: leftovers 

Me: 

M-W: No pasta salad with half panini

T-Th: Leftovers
Friday: fried egg tostadas with a side salad

Saturday: sightseeing we will have a late lunch/ early dinner out

Dinner 

Sunday: Tacos/taco salad

Monday: Triple lentil stew with salad

Tuesday: BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with carrots and rice

Wednesday: Triple lentil quesadillas (chicken and cheese for hubby if he is here) with peppers and leeks

Thursday: Breakfast for dinner

Friday: Burgers/veggie burgers (will be made with leftover triple lentil filling, peppers, and leeks) with broccoli, corn, and leftover rice

Saturday: late lunch/early dinner out, will snack In the evening if hungry

This week I am on a pilgrimage for Tulip fields near Amsterdam. I know there has to be some so our meals are going to be super simple and utilize as many leftovers as possible so there isn't any food to get stinky while we are gone. I will be making some meals to freeze for hubby so he isn't eating out. Here is some of what I will be making and freezing:
Rotisserie chicken and rice
Burgers with twice baked potato
Taco filling (made Sunday night, already in the freezer) with cheese and corn
I'm sure he will eat out one night, but this at least provides him options

Snacks
Homemade cinnamon raisin bread
Apple slices with peanut butter
Soaked and toasted almonds
Hard boiled eggs
Homemade bounty bars

So, I think that covers us for the week. What are you up to? Are your kids almost out of school?

P.S. I'm linking up with Mommy Run Fast, Jill Conyers, and I'm an Organizing Junkie.

E is for...Earring Holder

So this earring holder is a cute and quick little DIY....

It came about because {as you all know} we are trying to not accumulate "stuff". When we moved to Europe almost a year ago we paired down our household belongings to 4 boxes I mailed to my mother, 6 large suitcases and three carry-ons. So far, we are doing pretty darn good!

Well, since moving here and biking everywhere my husband and I have a few pairs of jeans that have..uh...well, become crotchless. Obviously unable to wear these anymore I decided to recycle them. So, they sat in my craft area for weeks. and weeks. and a few more weeks. Finally I said let me do something with these or they are getting tossed.

After himming and hawing and searching Pinterest for ideas I noticed my kiddo's earrings are everywhere! Like seriously-everywhere!

So, I decided a quick and easy little earring holder was needed and this is what I came up with:

Supplies:

• Old jeans or whatever fabric you want to use
• Medium embroidery hoop {I used a wooden one}
• Pencil or pen for tracing the hoop
• Hook for hanging
• Optional: Washi tape 

1. Turning your jeans inside out and using a washable marker, a pencil, pen or chalk trace the embroidery hoop. You will use this only as a guide as you will want to make your fabric circle 2-3 centimeters larger. My hoops came with three varying sizes so I used the larger hoop to trace. 
   
   
   
2. Cut your circle out and place it between the hoops and tighten the hoop to desired taught-ness.
   
   3. As you can see there is quite a bit of material hanging over so I just trimmed that down a bit. 
   
   4. I then trimmed the side with some washi tape to give it a more finished look. 
   
   5. Add the earrings and hang it up!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   This is a super fast and fun craft that uses things you may already have around the house!
   
   
   
   
   

C is for Creating a Coffee Center!

Coffee...it is practically essential to life! Who agrees?!

I did used to be a barista, sometimes I break out my skillz ;)

After moving to Europe I have an even greater appreciation for coffee. Coffee here is very good, so since I was lucky enough to have a Nespresso Coffee Machine in my house I decided to create a whole coffee center. This has worked out really well when guests come because they don't have to guess where everything is!

As you can see I have the coffee machine (if you don't have one of these seriously look into it, they are the best, and Nespresso makes the tastiest coffee!)

Next to it I have my milk frother and warmer. I don't use the frother that came with the machine because, honestly, it is a pain and this one is more self-explanatory for the guests.

The three-tiered shelf is a gem I found at HEMA just after we moved here...on clearance from Eater for €5! Score! Since there is a bolt on the bottom I put one of my awesome placemats from Ikea under it.

I stocked the shelves with mugs on the bottom.

The middle has coffee capsules-I try to put out a small selection of everything we have-and two types of sugar: regular sugar and coconut palm sugar. 

The top shelf holds a no calorie sweetner, chocolate and cinnamon shakers, and little stirring spoons.

Next to the shelf I do keep straws since the kiddo drinks iced coffee, but we just ran out!

This is a really great way to display your coffee center and when coupled with the Breakfast Center I posted yesterday shows great hospitality to your guests so they can feel more independent and at home in your home!

B is for...Breakfast Center

Breakfast, the most important meal of the day. Seriously, one that should not be skipped for any reason. But, so many people do because they just don't have time. Well, this breakfast center I created has really helped do away with the morning rush in our house.

My teenager had been starting to skip out on breakfast because I wake up a little later than her and she couldn't decide what to put together for herself for breakfast....so, I decided to nip that in the bud and make it so she could see what easy, quick breakfast fixings we had on hand that she could make herself without much work.

I also realized after having some company that if I wasn't cooking breakfast that morning our guests needed a spot to see what exactly was available for easy to make breakfast items.

I keep it well stocked:

On the left are our tea fixings. We have a few friends that aren't coffee drinkers, and I like tea to flavor my water since I don't really drink much outside of water.

In the middle I keep some powdered greens and raw cacao powder to put into smoothies or oatmeal. I also keep spreads here, right now all we have is peanut butter-pure peanut butter no salt, oil, or sugar added-and pure creamed coconut. My secret of the creamed coconut is it is the same texture as coconut butter but it is waaaaaaaay cheaper....the only ingredient is coconut. I also keep some powdered sugar around in case anyone wants to sprinkle it on their pancakes or waffles. I have some just regular processed table syrup but pure maple syrup as well. I store my banana's in here along with oranges, I've found everyone is likely to grab one of those if they are in there. I also keep a loaf of Whole Wheat bread and a loaf of raisin nut bread.

On the right I have some Frosted Flakes-Frosties here-for the husband and the kiddo when it tickles her fancy, which shockingly isn't often. We have two types of granola for just munching or topping smoothie bowls. We of course have some Hagelslaag. We usually have a dark chocolate one but the kiddo bought this when she went to the store for me. Hagelslaag are Dutch sprinkles and the are very popular for putting on toast here. I thought it was just a kids thing, but I have had plenty of adults confess it is still their go-to breakfast. In the basket is butter and oatmeal; when I'm feeling ambitious it contains my homemade instant oatmeal packets, I've been making these for almost 14 years now. These are a serious money saver.
Instant Oatmeal Packets

Cinnamon Brown Sugar

• 1/4 cup oatmeal
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Combine in one bag. 
• Instructions: add 1/2 cup water or milk of choice, heat in microwave at 30 second intervals until done to desired thickness.

This recipe is just my base, I change up the sugars, add dried fruit. The options for making these packets are limitless. Use your imagination and have fun creating any easy treat anyone can cook up!

Also, in the basket I have some recipe cards. These are easy mug recipes that take less than 10 minutes from prep to table.

Tell me, what is your favorite breakfast food?

Mine is waffles, especially Belgian ones where I can fill every hole of the waffle with syrup. Nom.

Menu Plan Monday 2015 #10

 Last week's menu was pretty successful for the most part, we took lots of snacks to Belgium and threw out a couple of meals in favor of leftovers! ha! My workout schedule was not successful, I tried a couple of days, but coupled with all the sight seeing we were doing and still not being 100% apparently I had to abandon my plan and listen to my body.

Let us move on to this week!

Workout Schedule

• Sunday: Yoga
• Monday: 3 mile run, fit tutor
• Tuesday: Insanity workout
• Wednesday: 2 mile run, fit tutor
• Thursday: Yoga
• Friday: 3 mile run, fit tutor
• Saturday: Insanity workout

Weekly Goals

• Meal plan, prep, and stick to it.
• Bike to one cultural event.
• Create four items to list in Etsy store.
• Complete 4 hours of Dutch practice, and try and conduct one meeting with a Dutch person in Dutch.

Weekly Menu

Breakfast

• Sunday: Cheese Crescents with fruit salad
• Monday: Smoothie bowl
• Tuesday: Quinoa Oatmeal (Thug Kitchen Cookbook)
• Wednesday: Eggs with sweet potato
• Thursday: Quinoa Oatmeal
• Friday: Eggs with sweet potato
• Saturday: Eggs, pancakes, sausage

Lunch

• Sunday: Snacks/Leftovers
• Kiddo: Sandwich with cucumber and orange slices x2
• Kiddo: Leftovers x2
• Kiddo: Buy one time
• Me:
• Monday: Grilled chicken with Italian cabbage salad
• WF: Chicken Salad
• Tu/Th: Tuna Salad
• Will Have a potato and leek soup to go with the meal each day (didn't get to this last week)
• Saturday: Panini's with Veggie Soup

Dinner

• Sunday: Tacos/Roasted Chickpea and Broccoli Burritos with side salad and apple-pear (once upon a time this said broccoli-pear sauce, I meant apple-pear, that is what I get for writing while hopped up on cough medicine! ha!) sauce. We are having a dinner guest and will serve for dessert Stroopwafel and coke floats!
• Monday: Coconut-lime rice with red beans and mango (a meal I didn't get to last week)
• Tuesday: Lentil Walnut Apple Loaf with side salad and apple-pear sauce
• Wednesday: Roasted cauliflower/chicken wings for the hubby, corn, fries, green beans
• Thursday: Zoodles with creamy tomato sauce and chicken (optional), from 21 Day Sugar Detox cookbook; Chicken carbonara for hubby served with a side salad for everyone
• Friday: Leftovers/breakfast for dinner
• Saturday: Create something fabulous out of the leftovers, date night for the hubby and I, we will probably go for a movie and walk depending on the weather.

Snacks

• Rosemary almonds
• Cinnamon Spice Peppitas
• Banana and Coconut Slices (for the afternoons) with Earl Grey Lattes from Thug Kitchen Cookbook
• Dark Chocolate Trail Mix Bites
• There will also be a selection of string cheese, local cheese, leftovers, and smoked meat.

What are you eating and planning this week?

P.S, Join in on the parties over at Mommy Run Fast, Jill Conyers, and I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday 2015 #8

So, I won't lie, I started this post Sunday, but didn't get past the first sentence and inserting a couple of images. I have been so incredibly ill since last Tuesday. All I really managed to do was boss around the husband and teenager, watch Netflix, and go see a couple of movies...both of which I was so tired I almost fell asleep during them...but honestly Jupiter Ascending was just terrible and even hubby ranked 50 Shades as the better movie :P

So, now that I am feeling a bit better I will say the kiddo and hubby have kept this place running and have done whatever I request. They have sat through a many night of cereal or leftovers from the freezer for dinner or picking something up. I really appreciate the break but I am so ready to feel better.

Last week I accomplished nothing outside of catching up on Mad Men, catching up on Downton Abbey, starting House of Cards, and drinking insane amounts of Sleepytime Extra tea.

The rest of this week here is what I would like to accomplish:

• Type up itinerary for a day in Brussels
• Get back into light workouts
• Cook dinner each night 
• Plan a fun, but easy date night depending on how I feel

Workouts

Since I got sick I only got in one workout from Week 2 of my Fit Tutor workouts so I will pick those back up and do some heavy walking and light jogging maybe.

Thursday: Walk around downtown with my friend, kiddo is out of school early so we will do a bike ride when she gets home to the forest

Friday: Day 1, Week 2 Fit Tutor, Walk

Saturday: Day 2, Week 2 Fit Tutor

Sunday: Day 3, Week 2 Fit Tutor, Walk

Breakfast:

Thursday: Currant toast with peanut butter and bananas for the kiddo, creamy oatmeal for me

Friday: Currant toast with peanut butter and bananas

Saturday: Omelettes, bacon, toast, fruit

Sunday: Cheese crescents

Lunch:

Thursday: Apple-pb wrap with orange slices and chips for the kiddo, I will eat out

Friday: Superfood Crunch Salad with a slice of chicken breast, kiddo will eat out

Saturday: Panini's with veggie soup and salad

Sunday: Easy snacks: baguette with a new dipping sauce I found, smoked meats, fruit slices, cheese

Dinner:

Thursday: Glazed Pork Chops/Lentil burgers with home fries and green beans

Friday: Steak bites with gravy/black bean balls with carrots, wilted kale or creamed kale and potato rounds

Saturday: Date Night! If I feel good we will go down to an area of town we haven't explored much and grab dinner and go to a comedy show that is in English, if I still feel like I should rest (which will most likely be the case) we will just grab dinner and go for a walk around the canals downtown if it is nice, if it is crummy weather we will see a movie and get dinner at a nearby pub.

Sunday: Chicken Wings/cauliflower "wings" with salad and root veggie fries

This week is coming at you late, but at least it is all planned out. What have you been munching on this week?

Check out the parties over at Mommy Run Fast, Jill Conyers, and I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Menu Plan Monday 2015 #2

This week we have a friend visiting and I am catching up with my friends after the long holiday break so there will be a lot of eating out, will have to make sure I make good choices!

Breakfast options:

Acai Bowl

Smoothie

Oatmeal

Cereal

Lunch options:

Me: leftovers, superfood salad X2, eat out x2

Kiddo: fruit and fries, veggie wrap x2, apple pb wrap x2

Saturday: Pulled bbq chicken/bbq mushroom sandwiches with vegan creamed spinach, salad, and any leftovers

Sunday: Muffins, coffee, fruit

Dinner options:

I say options here because with a friend in town this may  not go 100% as planned.

Cheese burgers/bean burgers with apple sauce and grilled tomatoes

Tacos/veggie tacos with salad

Chicken wings/baked cauliflower with rice and a salad

Pizza with salad and bread

The "empty days" will be out to eat.

Fitness is going well. I started Insanity Asylum Vol 1 on the 1st so here is my workout schedule this week:

Monday: Speed and agility

Tuesday: Back to core

Wednesday: Strength

Thursday:Vertical Plyo

Friday: Game Day

Saturday: Back to core

Sunday: Relief

I will talk more about the program in my What I Ate Wednesday post as this program is super crazy and deserves some serious attention!

So, what are you making this week?

P.S. Make sure to join the party over at Mommy Run Fast, Jill Conyers, and I'm an Organizing junkie.

Menu Plan Monday #66-Christmas Menu

Seriously, I know you've seen it all over the internet, but I cannot believe we are already at the week of Christmas. Next week we roll in to 2015!

I've been thinking a lot about this past year and so much has happened. I won't dive into it all in this post but my word, it feels like we packed at least 3 years into this year...no wonder we are all so tired! haha

But, lets take a look at what workouts I packed into last week and what I will be doing this week:

Last week:

Monday: Max Interval Circuit-actual Max cardio conditioning

Tuesday: 4.5 mile run-actual Max Interval Circuit

Wednesday: Rest-Acutal Max Interval Plyo

Thursday: Max Interval Circuit- Actual Max Interval Circuit

Friday: Max Recovery-Actual Rest, but lots of errands & tons of walking I was exhausted really lo

Saturday: Max Interval Plyo-Actual Max Recovery

Sunday: 3.5 mile run and stretching-Actual Core Cardio & Balance

This week: 

It is going to be raining all week. If I can fit in a run I will, but not going to force anything.

Monday: Max Interval Circuit

Tuesday: Max Interval Plyo

Wednesday: Max Cardio Conditioning & Cardio Abs

Thursday: Max Recovery...after breakfast, presents, and all the rest.

Friday: Max Interval Circuit

Saturday: Core Cardio and Balance plus mile run

Sunday: Mile run & stretch

Here is what we have planned:

Monday: Crafts at home, finish Christmas Tree, dinner out for the kiddo's birthday, sleepover-Done and a total success!

A photo posted by Kate (@diaryofanurbanhousewife) on Dec 12, 2014 at 3:07am PST

Tuesday: Go to the lunchtime Christmas concert at The National Ballet and Opera because they are doing carols & lunch with my hubby/her daddy-Done! Check out the post here.

Wednesday: Free lunchtime concert at Concertgebrouw, the Rijkmuseum and check out the boat exhibit finally and ice skate at the rink outside the museum-Skipped, after our workouts we were too exhausted to go anywhere or do anything.

Thursday: Movie marathon day & dinner at a friend's house-Done! Only it was a Gilmore Girls Marathon lol

Friday: Read-a-thon and craft day-Skipped...we finish our christmas shopping and ran errands.

A photo posted by Kate (@diaryofanurbanhousewife) on Dec 12, 2014 at 12:43pm PST

Saturday: Cinderella at the National Ballet and Opera and dinner out, do a walk around to see all the Christmas lights.-Done! What a fab day!

A photo posted by Kate (@diaryofanurbanhousewife) on Dec 12, 2014 at 4:20am PST

Sunday: Football day; rest, relax, rejuvenate.-Done! Worked on some crafts, got a great deal on a Christmas present so alles goed! :)

Since everyone is on break/vacation I am going to do a day by day breakdown for breakfasts and lunches instead of just options.

Breakfast

Monday: Peanut butter banana cinnamon toast

Tuesday: Cereal with banana and chia seeds

Wednesday: Smoothies with spinach and chia seeds for added protein

Thursday: Christmas Day: Cinnamon Rolls

Friday: leftovers

Saturday: Peanut butter banana cinnamon toast

Sunday: leftovers

Lunch

Monday: Split pea soup and half a grilled cheese (will just be hubby & I so we will eat small)

Tuesday: Chicken sliders with fried apples and sugar snap peas and salad

Wednesday: Lunch out

Thursday: Christmas Day: Snack on smoked meat, baguette, cheese, fruit

Friday: Ham and cheese crescent rolls and salad

Saturday: Omelets with bacon, cheese, veggies, salad

Sunday: Tomato soup and half a grilled cheese

Dinner

Monday: Burger sliders with salad, corn, and broccoli

Tuesday: Tacos with salad

Wednesday: Christmas Eve: Brown sugar glazed pork chops with fried apples, mashed potatoes and gravy and broccoli and salad; dessert: caramel apple tart with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream 

Thursday: Christmas Day: Chicken Wings, fried rice with mixed veggies, leftover tart

Friday: Brats with peppers, mushrooms, cheese, and leftover side dishes

Saturday: Teriyaki glazed steak bites with any leftovers or salad, baked potato/sweet potato bites, and mixed veggies

Sunday: Honey Balsamic Chicken Tenders, homemade fries, sugar snap peas

Activities, Week 2 of Christmas Break, Week 1 of Christmas Vacation for the hubs:

Monday: Watch horse riding (kiddo), hubby and I will just laze around, watch a movie, craft and play games

Tuesday: Hubby & kiddo go Christmas Shopping, I will take a trip to the Amstelveen Mall because I haven't been and I want to see all the Christmas hubbub

Wednesday: Christmas Lunch Concert at Concertgbouw, ice skating, Stadelijk Museum

Thursday: Christmas Day, the kiddo wants to stay home so we will do presents, workout, and watch movies all day

Friday: Trip downtown to Nemo Science Center

Saturday: Trip to the Rijksmuseum

Sunday: Rest and relax, nice bike ride if it is sunny

So, that is our week in a nutshell, what are you up to this week?

Btw, I am linking up at Mommy Run Fast, Jill Conyers, and I'm an Organizing Junkie! Come join the parties!