Surprisingly, one of the most difficult parts of the stay at home orders in Massachusetts (for me) is that the gyms are closed. I'm used to cooking a meal every day, even though I love take out, and I don't get my nails done or have my brows waxed nearly enough so other than the gym, this quarantine has been an amazing time to spend with my kids helping them with their schoolwork, but...
I. Miss. The. Gym.
I said it. I year-ish ago I started a fitness journey that I figured would be a dead end like all the others but after learning to weight train, I really fell in love with being at the gym. Going every night became a ritual and my pre-created workout plan (created and implemented on my ass by Jarred) kicked my butt and helped me feel strong so imagine how disappointed I was when all of a sudden, I couldn't go anymore.
I have enjoyed hiking with my kids and exploring the neighborhood, but not much feels as good as lifting over 200 pounds and having the people near you nod at your accomplishment. Additionally, the mental toll of not being able to work out was affecting me. I needed that gym time to feel good about myself. I knew I needed to get some stuff into my new space if I wasn't going to take a dramatic nosedive with my weight and mental health.
Everyone else had the same idea because finding exercise equipment was almost impossible at first but thanks to Facebook Marketplace, Amazon, and Walmart (and a generous donation from an amazing friend), I was able to procure enough to feel the weights again.
The first thing I grabbed was a spin bike from Amazon. I knew I only had space for one big item and between a treadmill, elliptical, and spin bike, I knew I wanted the bike. Of the three I feel like I get the best caloric output per mile on the bike. Amazon has some amazing rated bikes, and coupled with the Peloton App (which is currently free thanks to the pandemic!), you can have that spin experienece without the heavy cost of a Peloton.
I also knew I needed a weight bench and some weights. Knowing my favorite bench exercises are dumbell and bar presses, I knew I needed to find something with an incline, but again, Amazon offered all sorts of benches with varying capabilities and price tags.
The hardest part was finding weights! Walmart sells their weights for under a dollar a pound if you can find them in stock in store, but the online mark up has been crazy. The average on Facebook Marketplace is $2.50-$3 a pound as well and when I'm trying to get multiple pairs of dumbbells, it's just not cost effective. Add in a weight bar and weight plates and it would cost me a small fortune to finance. Thaaaaaaaankfully, I have an amazing friend who happened to have "too many weights" and dropped them off for me to use.
Having all the weights is great and I've been able to tweak Jarred's plans to still work for me but without knowing what to do, many people would stall.
So fun fact-- I've lost close to 20 pounds in the last few months. It's a combination of medicating my thyroid, watching what I eat, and cutting back on carbs and sweets. It's been a conscious choice but I'm also not starving myself or denying myself things I love. Prepping ahead of time has been so helpful. I used to meal prep on Sunday nights but found I got bored with the food. So now I prep a few things but also throw things together last minute for some variety.
In an average day I eat eggs or have a shake for breakfast; and deli meat, cheese and hard boiled eggs or a protein and steamed or sauteed veggies for lunch or dinner. Honestly, just cutting out the carbs has been the biggest thing for me.
Mornings are quick for me. Often the kids wake up while I'm getting ready and want snuggles and who am I to say no to snuggle requests? I always end up leaving 10 minutes later than I planned because I just want to stay with the kids as long as I can. AS much as I love my shakes, I can't have them every day or I get bored so I started prepping breakfast egg muffins. Sometimes I use the cupcake tins and sometimes I use a cake pan and just cut servings.
It's super simple and if I cook them Sunday night I can eat them for a few days. They make great breakfasts, they pack super well for lunches, and even work as a protein packed piece of dinner.
10 breakfast sausages, cooked and cut, or 5-8 pieces of bacon cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup diced peppers and onions
6 eggs
1/2 cup shredded cheese
Preheat oven to 350* and spray down cupcake pan or cake pan with non stick sp
Saute peppers and onions in a frying pan over medium heat.
Divide into cupcake tin cavities or spread over the cake pan.
Repeat with the cooked and crumbled breakfast meat.
Sprinkle shredded cheese in the same fashion.
In a bowl, whisk the eggs. Add some milk or cream if you'd like.
If using cupcake tins, divide the mixture among the tins. If using a cake pan, pour over the pan, being sure to cover all the peppers, onions, meat, and cheese.
Place into oven. Takes from 8-15 minutes depending on whether you are using cupcake tins or a cake pan and your individual oven temps. Be sure to check every few minutes and remove when the eggs are fully cooked through.
I love grabbing a quick slice in the morning, making mornings so much easier!
I can't even put this experience into words eloquently, but I need at least try. Participating in the Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk through New York City was singlehandedly one of the most amazing and awe-inspiring things I have ever done.
Like I said before, the Overnight Walk is hosted by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the money raised from these walks goes to programs that help educate the public about depression, suicide, and how to help. There are two walks hosted each year, each walk between 16 and 18 miles long. This year, one was hosted in New York and I didn't hesitate to register.
I had 6 months to raise over $1000 and I did it! That was a huge scary goal for me. I was petrified that I wouldn't be able to raise it and I'd have to somehow pay for it all myself, but I have an amazing tribe and was blown away but the generosity of people.
The day started early, with my puppy barking at a squirrel at 5 am. Yep, earlier than my normal day and with a drive to NYC and the overnight, I was already concerned about the lack of sleep. I was so nervous that I didn't sleep well.
My husband's aunt was extraordinarily generous and invited us to stay at her house while I was walking, which saved us a few hundred dollars on a hotel room and allowed David to be with me in NYC for a while.
The walk began at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. There were lots of tables set up and as I checked in they gave us a pin, an orange flashing armband, a wristband with an assitance phone number, and let us pick up our bead necklaces. Each color represented a type of struggle: a loss of a loved one, for a loved one who is struggling, for a personal struggle, or simply to support the cause, for example. I got in a final charge on my phone and made some new acquaintances while we waited for the kick off ceremony.
Dave stayed with me for the entire kick off ceremony and the stories were so moving. Hearing stories of what others have gone through really puts your own life and problems into perspective. Many of the people being honored were on their 4th, 5th, even 12th walk.
I started off the walk next to another woman and we just started talking. The usual "Where are you from? Is this your first walk? Why are you walking?" and then it started to downpour, like buckets and downpours. There was nothing a poncho or a raincoat could have done, I was soaked.
The first rest stop was around 3 miles so I pulled off my soaking wet socks and replaced them with dry ones and started off again. At just over 6 miles, I hit the next rest stop and was still feeling good. I was dry and was excited to keep going!
At mile 8 I was ready to give up. I don't know if you know, but I hate bridges. Hate, hate, hate. With all the firey burning passion I have, I hate bridges. I white knuckle my steering wheel when I have to drive over them. Mile 8 started at the Brooklyn Bridge, which meant I had to walk 1.1 miles over the bridge, a couple miles around Brooklyn and then another 1.1 miles back over.
This is when I really started to feel my feet hurting. I don't know if I was just so hyper aware of walking, and being afraid... all I know is I cried the whole way over that bridge. Panic induced tears the whole way. Multiple times I thought about just giving up, turning back around and skipping those Brooklyn miles, but I couldn't. I'm not honorable by any means, I just knew there was a reststop with bathrooms less than a mile away and if I turned around I had another 3 miles to go before a bathroom break. By then it was 11 am night and all businesses, except bars, and the public restrooms were closed so I just kept trudging.
The roads were bumpy, my feet hurt, and I felt like I was going to fall over because the pressure on my feet was just so intense. I was having a hard time looking up at the street signs and instead started watching my feet as I walked. Remember how I said they gave us orange blinking armbands? I could see one out of the corner of my eye so I followed that as I watched my feet. Bad idea. As I'm following, and not paying attention to the arrows on street signs, I see the orange blinking light walk into an apartment. I realize that I haven't seen any signs in a bit and called the assistance phone number on my wristband. I had walked over a mile off the route and had to walk the mile back, adding more than 2 miles on to my already 9 mile walk. Again, I cried, wondering how I would finish .
Getting back over the bridge was nearly impossible. I sat at the rest stop crying, knowing I had to go back. I changed my socks again but by now, I had blisters between all of my toes, on the sides of my little toe and on the pads of me feet. Each step felt like I was walking on a piece of sandpaper. I seriously thought about giving up again but kept pushing.
I found 3 other girls who hated bridges as much as I do and we walked across the bridge, again all crying, but walking. At this point, my battery was more than half dead and I stopped taking pictures so I could save it for finish line pictures. After many tears and so many complaints about our feet, we finally made it to the next rest stop close to mile 14. I told them to continue while I finally sat down at a medical tent at a rest stop. I took a couple ibuprofen, grabbed a fruit roll up, and wrapped my entire foot in so much moleskin. I really wish I had gone to a medical tent earlier but I was happy for the bit of relief this offered me. The ladies at the medical tent just kept saying "Only 2.6 more miles to go!" and it energized me just enough to keep going.
My feet had never been in more pain. The only other time I did that many miles at once was at Disney last June, but that was over 16 hours, not 6. As I was thinking about how bad my feet hurt and how much I wanted to quit, when I heard a small voice say "I can't do this anymore. I have to be done." I am so thankful that girl was there. My mom/teacher instincts kicked in and all I wanted to do was support her. I said something along the lines of "It's less than 2 more miles... 10 blocks up and 5 aves across..." Immediately, I had another group to walk with. We exchanged the "Where are you from? First walk? Why do you walk?" and suddenly I wasn't focused on my feet anymore. I was focused on the brother's first year at college to be a teacher. I was focused on the girl asking me what my favorite English books are. I was focused on telling stories of my own classroom. Those kids, and my students, helped me finish. They helped me forget about how tired I was because I was genuinely enthralled with our conversations. We counted down each block, announcing out loud to anyone around how close we were.
Walking from 11th Ave to 12th Ave and seeing the Intrepid Museum was so exciting, I literally cannot put it into words. I have never been so excited to see anything, probably ever.
At the end of the walk, after you cross the finish line, they have you walk back to where the opening ceremony took place and give you a finishing tshirt, some food, and places to sit and relax. The walkway to this area was lined with these luminaries that each participant decorated, reminding us that there is always light shining. Walking over the finish line was one of the most gratifying feelings. Knowing I had completed it, knowing that I had raised almost $1300, knowing that I gave someone hope. I can't put that into words.
There were a couple of volunteers at the finish line and I received a very tired sounding "yey" as I did so. I took 6.5 hours to walk it and I knew many others would take longer, some even being picked up by the sweep van, gathering those who couldn't finish in the allotted time. I started thinking about how sad and disappointed I would have felt to not finish. I thought about how much it would suck to still be walking, so I went back to the finish line and sat down. I took off my shoes, stretched and sat there cheering for every single person who walked by. Have you ever heard me cheer? I'm loud and obnoxious. Whoooooo!!! and "You did it!" echoed across the place. I joked with people stopping to take a selfie saying "You're so close, keep going!" and just hoping to get them to smile. As I continued cheering, the volunteers got louder, and then more people joined. I became an unofficial finish line photographer for people. I loudly cheered for crew and safety as they passed under the finish line banner. My slogan became "Everyone deserves a Woooo!" and I stayed there for more than 2 hours, until 4:45 when the last walkers came across and they started the closing ceremony. I didn't want anyone to miss out on feeling accomplished, regardless of how they got to the finish line.
After the ceremony, I booked it to Grand Central to hop on my train and get back to my husband. My feet hurt, I was exhausted, and I felt so good. Next year the walks will be in California and DC, and I'm already planning how to pull off the DC one. I think I might want to volunteer and cheer all night long...
Mother's Day is coming up this weekend and I'm excited to share some really great gifts with you!
There are of course, the traditional "every holiday gift" gifts like Godiva chocolates or flowers. Did you know that Amazon does floral deliveries now?! Amazon through Kabloom sends some seriously gorgeous flowers and they seem to be much less expensive than other floral companies I've used before for my own mom!
I will admit, my go to gifts for moms lately have been Lillebaby carriers, since all the latest gifts I've been giving are to new moms waiting for their babies (still should be getting a gift for Mother's Day!) but I also know that not every mom needs an infant or toddler baby carrier! :)
While I would love another carrier, I am also swooning over these gorgeous hand stamped bracelets. Emma is constantly saying "Love you to the moon and back" or "I love you a million blue M&Ms" so having it as a constant reminder on my wrist would be perfection; it would look gorgeous next to a Fossil Knot Cuff Bracelet. A Kendra Scott Necklace, especially the super on trend druzy stones, would be perfect as well.
Maybe your mom is more of a techie and has been asking for a new camera? I just got my new camera a couple months back and these three were my top contenders! Sony a5100, Samsung NX500, and the Nikon Coolpix L340 all offer mom the setting and manual capabilities of DSLR without the bulky lens and hefty price tag.
Another big hit for moms is a fancy coffee maker. Seriously, some days a cup of coffee or tea is the closest we get to relaxation so grab a great one like the Nescafe Gourmet Coffeemaker that makes hot or iced drinks as well as the specialty drinks we shell out for at higher end coffee shops. Other high end trusted home brands like Le Creuset, a KitchenAide Mixer, Primitive Box Signs in Mom loving themes, or a Jonathan Alder picture frame would be the perfect gift.
Mother's Day has always been a spring signal for me as well! I love getting outside to work in our yard and with my daughter on our planter boxes so a gift card to Lowe's , a hammock and stand, or a garden stand would all be appreciated. I've been eyeing this inflatable jacuzzi since I saw it at TJ Maxx last year! I can't wait until our yard is ready to have one!
If your mom likes working outside, she may like working out as well! I've been huge into watching my steps and monitoring my activity levels so a wearable piece of fitness technology like a Fitbit Alta, Samsung Gear2 , or Garmin Vivosmart could help mama meet her goals without coming across as rude. Die hard work out fans might enjoy yoga and work out shirts or workout headbands from Etsy as well!
Everyone knows after a sweaty workout, or literally just any day of mom's life, we want, and deserve, a pampering and relaxing day off. I love finding restaurant and spa deals through Groupon and Living Social, (especially Groupon's local deals) but if you can't find an amazing deal for a wine tasting weekend or girls trip for her, you could invest in Essential Oil diffuser, some bath bombs, or a Deep Sea Mud Mask to help her relax and at least feel like she's at the spa.
The best part about almost all of these gifts is that they can be bought off of Amazon with free Prime shipping! If you don't have Prime yet, you can sign up for a FREE 30 day trial here and you'll get FREE two-day shipping on Prime eligible orders!
I'm seriously crossing my fingers for a gift off this list! Which one is your favorite for mom?
I have been on a pretty awesome health kick lately. Menu planning, meal planning, pre-prepping snacks... I'm "in it" now and it feels good. I did lose a handful of pounds and then went a week of not prepping and felt myself falling back. Sad.
This week however, I'm prepping my favorite meal and wanted to share!
2 cups rice (brown or white - sometimes I use quinoa instead!), prepared according to directions.
1 tsp of shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
1 tbsp of salsa (optional)
1. Put two chicken breasts in the crock pot, sprinkle with taco seasoning to your liking, and set on low to cook while you're at work (or wherever...)
2. Add EVOO to a skillet on low heat, then add chopped onions and corn. Cook until onions are transparent and corn is roasted.
3. Add can of rinsed black beans and mix together. Cook until beans are heated.
4. At the same time, use microwave or rice cooker to prepare 2 cups of rice.
5. When all items are ready, layer the plate with 1/2 cup rice, 1/2 cup of corn and bean mixture, a palm sized piece of chicken, and a sprinkle of shredded cheese or salsa if desired.
