Category: Holiday/Special Occasion

Weekly Workouts- {Hopefully} Back At It

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Hey everyone! How was your long weekend? Was it just me, or did it feel like the 4th of July festivities went on and on and on? Not that I am complaining, it was just a long string of celebrations! It felt great to have some time off to be home with friends and family- just what the doctor ordered (literally).

Although I was sick at the beginning of the week, and therefore couldn’t work out, by the middle to end of the week I was feeling good enough to bring in some light workouts to my schedule. It felt great. It’s amazing how much I need workouts for the mental aspect in addition to the physical aspect. Don’t get me wrong, I love the feeling of sweating and leaving the gym physically exhausted, but I really love the feeling of a clear mind after my workout and feeling great because of all the endorphins flowing through me. Who else feels this way?

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- Nothing. I had to cancel my visit to The Studio Empower because I had a sinus infection and was severely dehydrated. What a bummer!
  • Tuesday- I went for a 2 mile light walk after work. Tuesday was one of those days were I NEEDED exercise mentally more than anything.
  • Wednesday- I went for a 2 mile light jog in the morning and then went to Jackie’s Ballet Barre class with my mom at 5pm.

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  • Thursday- I got up and did my 4th of July Workout before my 2nd workout, which consisted of candy sprints at the parade.
  • Friday- I got up and did Athena’s Red, White and Blue workout. It felt great to get some lifting back into my schedule (since mom only has 5lb. weights, I doubled them up for the upper body exercises and did unilateral lifting).
  • Saturday- I tried to get a last minute sub for my kickboxing class in Brighton since I had decided to stay in Maine for the weekend, but I couldn’t get one so I made the trek to Brighton, taught and then drove back to Maine. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be and there were 25 people in class so that made it worth it!

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  • Sunday- Nothing. I thought about working out but decided that since I had a hectic weekend (lots of driving and sunning and BBQing), it was probably a better idea to rest, especially since I had 4 days in a row of good workouts. I shopped around Kittery a little bit because I wanted to get a new suit since I am doing a lot of work travel this month (Stowe, VT, Toronto, Canada and Atlanta, Georgia).

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- Jess and I are filming July’s “Mommy’s Moves” workout during my lunch break and then I am finally going to get to The Studio Empower for the class they invited me to take. Can’t wait!
  • Tuesday- I am going to try and get up and run or do something else since I have plans with someone to get drinks after work.
  • Wednesday- I think I will finally be able to get in my own cardio session before teaching UXF Burn- it’s been a while!
  • Thursday- Teaching SHRED and Kickboxing at the Central Square BSC- missed my classes last week because of the holiday so I’m pumped to be back!
  • Friday- Attention Allston BSCers: I am subbing my old class this Friday!! 5:30pm at the Allston BSC- please come so it can be like the good ol’ days!
  • Saturday- I don’t have to teach, so I am going to go to BodyPump in the morning- I really like taking a day to focus on weight training!
  • Sunday- Probably a rest day or active rest day.

Feels great to look at a full schedule again!

Questions for you: Were you able to get in any workouts during the 4th of July? Is it hard for you to keep your schedule when you’re traveling or going home or away for the weekend? Do you like BodyPump classes? Ever been to The Studio Empower?

Happy 4th of July!

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I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July, today, and are able to spend it with friends and family! I can’t wait for the parade and the Mahoney’s BBQ and pool party after the parade! Be safe and have fun 🙂

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Wednesday Workout: 4th of July Workout!

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I wanted to pop in and provide you with a fun, festive & fast-but effective- workout that you can squeeze in no matter what your 4th of July plans are! There are no weights required, but you can feel free to use them for the squats if you want. I tried to make the moves as festive as I could, but my creative juices were not flowing as well as I would have liked… oh well! I think this is going to be the perfect little workout to do before heading to the parade tomorrow 🙂 I hope you all have a happy and safe 4th of July!

4th of July Workout

Baby Tucker and Father’s Day Recap

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Even though the weekend was a bit hectic and busy (literally nonstop the whole time!), it was so much fun. Last week, my friend, Caitlin, had her little baby boy, Tucker and I was dying to go visit the two of them (and Matt! Don’t want to leave the hubby out!). Luckily, our schedules aligned on Sunday morning so I headed over after I finished up some blog work.

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Look at that hair! Tuck was 8lbs 2oz, 20 inches long (right Cait?)

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(Sorry this one is blurry!)

I was so happy that Tucker was awake the whole time I was there. His blue eyes literally melted my heard and listening to him coo and watching him squirm around was so fun. He totally stared at me, too… love at first sight! 😉

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Caitlin said she, Matt and Tucker are having a great time so far, which is always good to hear from new parents. She and Sara are going to get together since Zeke and Tucker are just about a week apart! Maybe they’ll be besties 🙂

I let them get to giving him a bath and I headed home to spend time with papa bear on Father’s Day. He cooked a rotisserie chicken (aka, Rostis Chick in our house- we love abbrevs!) on the grill and WOW did it come out great.

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Before we ate, dad decided he was ready to open his presents. I got him a pressure canner that he asked for. He and my mom like to can their veggies from the garden, but have never had a pressure canner so I am excited to see how much better and easier it will be to can now that they have one!

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“Now let me read all that this pressure canner can do, ok? And then I’ll open it”

Needless to say, dad LOVED his gift and that made me so happy! Granted, it’s not hard to buy the right gift when you receive an email stating exactly what to buy (love that about you, Dad!). On top of the pressure canner, mom got him a funny little garden turtle because, well, dad has had some serious issues with snapping turtles this year.

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For some reason, they love the gardens and I swear one has it out for him. He literally drove it 2 miles down the road near other water and somehow it made it back to our house 2 days later. Needless to say, dad has been having nightmares about snapping turtles coming after him, so hopefully this little bugger will keep them away!

After presents, we served lunch and even ate in the dining room- a shocker!

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This is probably one of my favorite meals, except we were missing the stuffing 😦 Chicken, tomato-zucchini casserole, garlic smashed potatoes and asparagus. Yum! It was nice to sit down and have a nice meal together. But, what was even better than lunch was looking out the window and seeing a little deer!

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Maine living. There is really nothing like it!

On our way back down to MA, we made a quick pit-stop at Sara’s mom’s to see little Zeke one last time. We won’t see him until the 4th of July and that makes me so sad:( He’s going to be so big by then!

We hit a little traffic, but got home with enough time for me to go grocery shopping and cook dinner. Here’s a teaser… I’ll post the recipe later 😉

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Looks good, huh?

Questions for you: Would you rather someone tell you exactly what they want for a present or would you prefer to do it on your own? Have you had an issues with animals destroying your garden? What was the best part of your weekend?

Happy Father’s Day, Papa Bear!

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For the dad’s who may be reading my blog (dad, Uncle Joe, Tim, anyone else?), I want to wish you all a very Happy Father’s Day! Your kids are so lucky to have such great dads!

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I feel especially lucky to have such a wonderful dad in my life. Although I have many of my mom’s qualities (planner, go-go-goer, etc.), I am SO like my dad in a lot of ways. First off, I’ve been told I look like him… this is still debatable, as I don’t think I look particularly that much like him (or anyone in my family, actually), but when you compare me to both mom and dad, it’s clear I look more like him than I do my mom.

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My dad and I are also big-time list makers. He’s the one that taught me about adding completed things to my list just so I can cross them off (because how great is that feeling of crossing things off a list?!). I have to say, even though I love lists, I can still multi-task pretty well, but dad? Notsomuch.

multi tasking“Let me put the wine down before I take the picture. Ok?”

We are also a little, well, intense. When we get something in our head, nothing can really stop us until we visit, build, buy, etc. whatever that “something” is. For instance, we have gone car shopping on 3 different occasions and on each occasion, I came with a new car that same day. Impulsive, much?

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I got it in my head that I wanted to buy dad this jacket for Christmas, no matter what it cost.

I’d like to say I am just like my dad with gardening, but let’s be honest- his gardens are an “architectural masterpiece” (his words, not mine, although they are quite impressive!) and way better than mine.

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Even though I am a total wine-o, dad has definitely got me beat, but that is the norm in my family! In my defense, he is retired so cocktail hour(s) is(are) daily for him. Sometimes we can even get him to dance after a couple of wines!

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Or climb onto road statutes!

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(Church Street in Burlington, VT. How we got him up there is still a question to me!)

We are both big lovers of seafood! Dad is the one I always call when I need help deciding on a fish and learning how to cook it- it’s pretty awesome that my dad loves to cook as much as my mom and I!

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Over the years, my dad has taught me SO many things, and for that I am forever grateful. From building a doll bureau to gardening to investing in stocks to changing the oil and doing other maintenance up-keeps around the house, dad has always been there to help ME do these things, rather than just do it for me. Countless hours have been spent side by side with him over the years, learning all different things (some useful, some not): tapping trees and boiling sap to make maple syrup, plowing and driving a tractor, putting up window boxes on the house, starting a grill/fire in the fireplace/woodstove/fire pit, making bread & pork pies (holy yum!), fishing and gardening, just to name a few.

My dad is the first person I want to call when I have done something that I know will make him proud, only because I think he is harder to please than my mom, and hearing him praise me for my blog or work accomplishments is the best feeling in the world! So, dad, thank you for always being so supportive and offering your advice (even though sometimes I don’t want it and it makes me mad!) and just being there for me. Knowing you’d do anything for Danielle and me makes us feel like the luckiest girls around.

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Happy Father’s Day, Papa Bear! I hope you enjoy your day and your pressure canner 😉 I love you!