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Happy New Year! {Taking a look back at 2013 and looking forward to 2014}

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Happy New Year everyone! I cannot believe 2013 has come and gone already. For the past few days, I have sent some time reflecting on 2013, as well as thinking about what I hope 2014 will bring. Here’s a look back at 2013 by some of my more memorable events (note: I probably forgot some of them!)!

Although I rang in 2013 with pneumonia, it turned out to be a pretty great year. I started this blog, enjoyed playing in the snow after the big snow storm, went to Dallas for work trips in January and February.

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I treated myself to a spa day, I taught a lot and then stepped back and dropped some classes, which was upsetting at first, but ended up being the best decision. I got my kickboxing certification, which was a great accomplishment.

I was showered with love on Valentine’s Day, went out with my girls a number of times, made a number of delicious meals, and drank A LOT of wine.

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I got a promotion at my “real” job, but also lost my best friend/coworker when he took a new job in Chicago.

April was a mix of emotions: very sad ones because of the Boston Marathon Bombing, but also very happy ones because of some wonderful birthday celebrations. I went out in Boston with my parents and my friends and then my boyfriend at the time took me to NYC which was an amazing little vacation. We also hosted Sara’s baby shower, which was a beautiful day!

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NYC

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I experienced the SOWA open market, spent Mother’s Day weekend at home with my mom, went to the Wellness By The Water Retreat, a class at Exhale Spa and spent Memorial Day Weekend in Maine.

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me & monique

I on a number of work trips: Atlanta, Stowe, VT for a work conference, NYC, Ohio and North Carolina, to name a few.

Two of my best friends from home welcomed new babies into the world just a few weeks from each other (Zeke and Tucker).

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We celebrated Father’s Day while home in Maine, as well as the 4th of July and both parents birthdays.

I went to only one wedding this year, but it was a good one!

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I went through a breakup, which was very hard, but he and I have been able to remain friends, which I am so grateful for.

I moved into my own apartment and am absolutely loving it! To warm my apartment, I threw a house warming party, which was a great time. I dated someone who also lives in East Boston for a while which was fun because he took me to lots of fun places like Santarpio’s, Ecco, and the Australian Meat Pie restaurant.

My sister and I went to Chicago to visit JP (recaps: Chicago: Part1 {Shopping and Bar Hopping}, Chicago: Part 2 {The Bean, Navy Pier, Boat Tour, Brewery}, Chicago: Part 3 {Brunching, Architecture Tour, Homemade Dinner}) and my family went to Michigan for a family wedding.

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I was surrounded by family and friends for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, which I wouldn’t have any other way!

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And lastly, because of this little blog, I have been able to make so many connections through social media and share my passion with all of you: fitness and healthy meals. Thank you so much for reading and joining me throughout all my journey’s this past year.

With that said, let’s look forward to 2014, shall we? I am not one for resolutions, but there are a number of things that I would like to be more cognoscente of, be more mindful of and practice more, which is what this list is all about.

1. Be more present. Because of my Type A personality, I find myself always planning everything out… sometimes to the minute (my to-do lists usually even have times listed, as well as things like “shower”. it’s bad.). As much as it’s usually easier for me to just do the things on the to-do list and THEN relax, I need to learn what is important on my list and what is not and the things that are not important and critical to get done at that time can and should be moved aside so I can enjoy the present moment.

2. Slow down and learn that it’s OK to say “no”. Although the past year was great in so many ways, it was incredibly busy. There was a time when I was teaching 5-7 classes a week, working full time, blogging, going to events and trying to manage a social life. And you know what? I survived, but was it worth it? Probably not. It was exhausting and caused me to reach a ‘breaking point’ more often than I’d like to admit. Over the past few weeks, I have made more of an effort to take time for myself and it’s been amazing. I felt guilty at first for watching cheesy Christmas movies on Sunday afternoons, but I realized that during that time I was completely relaxed and calm and it felt really good.

3. Practice more yoga. When I was a studio assistant at Prana Power Yoga, I got in the routine of practicing yoga at least once a week and not only was it good for me physically, it was even better for me mentally. It was an hour or so out of my day where I focused more on breathing and stretching and slowing down than I did anything else. I need more of that.

4. Focus more on the present, less on the past. Focus more on the positives, less on the negatives. As I mentioned, I went through a sad breakup this past year and it affected me more than I ever let on to. But I’ve reached a point where I’m tired of looking back on it and wishing things had worked out differently because I do believe everything happens for a reason. With that said, this year I am going to try to focus less on the negatives and to not dwell on stuff so much because that is wasted energy. I don’t like myself when I’m like that, so why would anyone else?

5. Become a better instructor and become a personal trainer. The more I teach, the more I love it, but I know I have a lot of room for growth. As I’ve been experimenting with more and more classes with seasoned instructors, I’ve learned a lot about good cueing, good formats, “less is more” (it doesn’t always have to be the biggest, best, fastest exercises to be effective) and stepping outside of the box with different “toys” and ways to use them. On top of that, I want to be more knowledgeable about how the body works (muscles, etc.) and would really like to get my personal training certificate.

6. Grow Burpees to Bubbly. My 1 year anniversary is approaching and with that will hopefully come some changes. My pages need work, the content of the posts could use more substance, I need to grow my voice more… basically, B2B needs some serious TLC!

7. Be more financially stable. I was doing so well financially before I moved, but moving was expensive and totally set me back. My goal this year is to get my finances organized, grow my savings and cut back on frivolous spending.

8. Be more accepting of myself. I’m always putting myself up to all sorts of crazy standards and you know what? It’s tiring! I want to be successful and driven, but I also want to be more balanced and appreciate the smaller things I do, too.

I know it seems like that’s a lot of things to try and accomplish this year, but if I were to sum it up, I really just want to be more relaxed and less intense. I know it won’t happen over night, but if I write these things down and continually remind myself of them, maybe eventually I’ll be able to lose some of my “Type A-isms”? If nothing else, I just hope this year brings about new experiences and I hope I am able to appreciate them.

Cheers to 2014, friends! I can’t wait to see what this year has in store!

Questions for you: What was your favorite memory of 2013? Do you like to make resolutions? What’s a goal you hope to accomplish this year?

Weekending: Granary Tavern, Birthday Lunching, Jingle Bell Running

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I’m pretty sure the weather this past weekend did nothing for getting people in the holiday spirit, right? Nothing like 60 degree weather in December! Oh well, by the end of the weekend, I was able to ignore the weather and fully get into the Christmas/holiday spirit!

Friday Night

Friday night, my sister came over and we headed into the city to meet up with my former yoga instructor and current friend, Alyson. We decided on Granary Tavern, which I love. Alyson was running late so Danielle and I grabbed a drink at the bar while we waited. I splurged on the La Crema because, well, why not?

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We shared a few things like the Fondue, Ahi Tuna and Pizza. So good!

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After dinner, we bounced around to a few places before going our separate ways. Such a fun night and we definitely need to do it again, Alyson!

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Saturday

For the first time in a month, I didn’t have to teach last Saturday! But, to be honest, I missed it 😦 I really love starting my Saturdays teaching at the Oak Square Y because the energy is so good in that class and it gets me pumped for the whole day! Last Saturday, I decided to head to the Wellington BSC for some cardio, core and BodyPump. It was great!

After lunch, I met up with some of my college girlfriends (I love when I get to see them more than once in a week!) at the Yard House for our friend Lauren’s birthday. Have you guys ever been to the M Street Shops? They have so many stores (including a Lulu!), coffee shops and restaurants. I’m seriously obsessed with it and cannot wait to go back. Lunch was delicious, but what made it even more special was the fact that our friend, Kelly, who lives in San Francisco now, joined us. It was perfect!

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I hope you had a good birthday lunch, Lauren!

Saturday night was amazing- I did absolutely nothing! I feel like I’ve been on the go a lot on week and weekend nights so the fact that I had the chance to be home, alone, with no plans was awesome. I was in bed at 10pm and slept until 8am. Boy was that necessary!

Sunday

I woke up feeling like a new woman after 10 solid hours of sleep! After breakfast, I headed to Somerville to meet up with my sister and our parents for the Jingle Bell 5K. I will recap on that later, but it was such a fun race and day! We are so lucky that our parents are so supportive and love coming down to do things with us. They braved the ice storm and everything. Thanks mom and dad!

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After the race and lunch, I was SO happy to have a chance to hang out on my couch and shamelessly watch cheesy romantic holiday movies. I’ve been seriously obsessed with these movies this year!

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I don’t have many Sundays where I have no meal prep to do, no lunches to make, no grocery shopping to do, etc. I had a little blogging to do, but besides that, I was faced with an afternoon with no plans and it was lovely 🙂

Questions for you: Have you ever been to Granary Tavern? Did you or do you know anyone who ran the Jingle Bell 5K? What’s your favorite Christmas movie?

I have a granola obession…

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It’s no lie: I am a sucker for granola. There’s just something about it that requires serious self control on my end to not eat handful after handful of it. Even though granola is thought to be a “healthy” snack or yogurt topper, you have to be careful because some brands are super high in calories and sugar.

Last week, as I was perusing the granola section in the grocery store and reading labels, I thought back to the days where I would make my own granola and decided it was time to do that again. When making your own granola, you control what is going in it and the end result is generally a lot healthier than anything you’d buy in the store.

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I can’t remember where I found this recipe, but it’s been one of my favorites.

Maple Cinnamon Peanut Butter Granola

Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 cup oats
  • 1/4-1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/4-1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp. honey
  • 2 tbsp. peanut butter
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350*. Combine the wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately, excluding the dried cranberries.

2. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and place on a baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes, remove from the oven to stir, and then bake for another 10-15 minutes.

3. When the granola is done, remove from the stove and add in the dried cranberries.

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Yum! Not only is this granola absolutely delicious, but it is relatively healthy, too. The only problem, and I’m warning you now, is that you may have a hard time with portion control. It’s sad, but I finished that entire batch in a little over a week… yeah, that was just me eating it. Whoops.

Questions for you: Do you like granola? Do you have a granola recipe to share? What’s your biggest weakness in the snack cabinet/kitchen?

“Sometimes I…” {Confessions of a Fitness Instructor}

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A few months ago, I wrote about my Fitness Instructor Pet Peeves. Gosh I could add to that list as of recently… I always seem to get the crazies in my classes! Anyway, the other day in the shower (anyone else have some of their best ideas while in the shower?), I started thinking about things I do as a fitness instructor that members/class participants may not think I do, and I thought it would be fun to share!

1. Sometimes I… make my workouts on the way to the gym or while in the locker room, 5 minutes before class. What can I say? I don’t always have ample time to plan my workout in advance. I don’t like to make my workouts up on the fly, but it happens sometimes and I just have to roll with it!

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2. Sometimes I… reuse workouts. Not generally for the same class two weeks in a row but if I am teaching similar classes on different days and don’t have time to make a whole new workout, I use the one I taught earlier in the week! I apologize to members if they end up coming to both classes, but they never seem to mind, or notice, that the workout is the same.

3. Sometimes I… Use workouts from other instructors or magazines. I think all fitness instructors can agree that we sometimes just run out of new ideas. What I love about the blog world is having access to so many amazing fitness blogs that provide inspiration and ideas for me. I don’t usually take the workout and do the exact thing in my class, but I do take some of the exercises or format ideas to help build my workout.

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4. Sometimes I… Stop doing the workout with the class because it’s too hard and I can’t breathe, yell, instruct, correct form AND do the exercise at the same time. What?! Can you blame me? Just because we are fitness instructors does not mean we are in the best shape or are the strongest in class. We are human, too, and have off days where we don’t have the energy to do everything! My goal as an instructor is not to make the workout tough for me, but to make it tough for everyone else, so while I’m instructing, I try to do most of the workout, but more than that I try to walk around, coach, instruct, correct form, etc. And that can only be done if I can breathe 😉

5. Sometimes I… Dread teaching. Say, what?! I know it seems like I’m always up for a workout and excited to teach (99% of the time this is true), but sometimes I really just don’t want to teach. I don’t want to go to the gym. I don’t want to smile and laugh. I don’t want to be peppy. There. I said it. Again, we are human, too. Days like this take SO MUCH MORE energy than days when I want to teach. But in the end, it’s always worth it!

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6. Sometimes I… re-wear my workout clothes before washing them. If it’s a big week of teaching and I don’t sweat TOO much in a class, I’ll wear them again before washing them. I know it may seem gross, but my rationale is that I am going to get sweaty in them as soon as I start working out. I don’t generally re-wear tops, but sports bras and pants? Yeah, sometimes.

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7. Sometimes I… find pleasure in making members come close to getting sick from the intensity of the workout. Wow, that makes me sound terrible, huh? What I mean, is that I love when members find my workouts tough, yet still come back for more. I love it when they thank me for coming very close to getting sick during some of the exercises. I don’t want people to waste an hour of their day in my class, so I want to make it worth their time!

8.  Sometimes I… get upset and feel bad when members walk out of class. As much as I want people to work hard in my class and think I’m a tough instructor, I feel awful when people leave because the workout is too hard. There are ALWAYS modifications (which I show), so even though some of the members might be doing something crazy hard, if that’s not your level for the day, then just modify! No one is looking at you or judging, trust me. They are focusing on not dying 😉

9. Sometimes I… Feel empowered because I have the mic and am in control of the class. It’s just something about yelling into the mic and having all eyes on me as I instruct that is a wonderful feeling 😉 Especially when I have great music on and a full class with high energy… I absolutely feed off of that and tend to get even more intense than normal! And yes, I feel sorry for my members during these times 🙂

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10. Sometimes I… avoid people in the locker room. I’m sorry, but the locker room is MY time to get changed, mentally prepare for class, etc. It’s nothing against the members who might also be in the locker room, but it’s more that I am not ready to chat yet.

Questions for you: Fitness instructor friends- Can you relate to any of my “confessions”? Do you have any that I didn’t list? Non-instructor friends- what’s a confession you have when taking a group ex. class or going to the gym?

Have a great weekend!!! 🙂

Avoiding Mindless Snacking After Work

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I don’t know about you guys, but by the time 4 or 5 o’clock rolls around, I am hungry! I’ve usually had lunch around 1pm, so it makes sense to be ready for a snack at that time. Since I usually work out after work, it’s actually perfect timing because I have a snack after work (usually consisting of almonds, an apple and some crackers or granola) which fuels me for my workout.

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However, I find that when I don’t workout after work, I come home and I snack on EVERYTHING. I call that “mindless snacking”. I feel like I can’t stop munching on everything in my snack cabinet, and it’s not because I am hungry, it’s because I’m around and the snacks are there!

Last week, during my two consecutive days of rest from the gym, I thought about ways to avoid going right home after work and facing the inevitable “mindless snacking”. It’s not that I wanted to stop myself from snacking (please. I am a professional snacker and believe in fueling myself consistently throughout the day to keep my metabolism going and to avoid binging at the next meal), but I wanted to stop myself from eating an unnecessary amount of snacks. What I love about working out after work is it takes up those “dead hours” (between 4 and 7 for me. I never know what to do during those hours if I’m not at work or the gym) and stops the mindless snacking (I brought this up with my friends and they actually said that the only way to avoid after work mindless snacking is by going to the gym… I guess I’m not the only one who thinks this way!). But when I don’t work out after work and don’t have after work plans with friends, here’s what I do!

Work Late (or later than normal)

If I know I have a wide open afternoon, I’ll usually take a longer lunch and stay late at work catching up on things I usually don’t do because I’m rushing out to get to the gym to workout or teach a class. It’s nice to not be on a time crunch and rushing out of the office sometimes.

Call my family or friends

I usually call everyone in my family and make them talk to me when I have an afternoon with no plans. A lot of times it’s when I am walking home, but I’ve also talked to my mom as I’ve cooked dinner. It’s a good excuse to catch up with everyone and it keeps me occupied so I don’t snack!

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Go shopping!

Ok, if you’re on a spending freeze, this isn’t a good idea, but you can always window shop! Last Tuesday, I headed over to Faneuil Hall and shopped at The Loft, Banana Republic and The Gap. Most of what I did was just browse around the store, but I did end up getting a great pair of blue work pants on sale for $22! I’m usually in a rush when I’m shopping (moreso because I don’t do well with puttering around stores. I like to go in, get what I’m looking for and leave), but since I was trying to waste time to avoid mindless snacking, I puttered and looked at everything!

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Take the long way home (usually I am walking, so this is also getting a little active rest/light exercise in)

I walk a decent amount every day anyway since the T is a .5 mile walk from my apartment and the walk from the Aquarium to my office is about .75 miles, but on rest days, I try to get a little extra in. After sitting for most of the day, it feels good to walk around and loosen up, especially if I am sore!

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Tackle that project you’ve had on your “to-do” list

Not long ago, I finally went through all of the exercises I ripped out from magazines over the years and organized them; I threw out ones I didn’t need and wrote down the ones I wanted so that I could have a consolidated list. It was one of those things I had wanted to do for a while, but never got around to it. I also organized all of my UXF Burn, SHRED and Kickboxing workouts into separate packets so that I could easily refer to past workouts when creating new ones. Other projects I work on with free time are blogging ones and closet organization (I always start with organized closets, but somehow they always get disorganized in no time at all).

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Read a Book

As I was talking about this topic with my friends over the weekend, Jessi said she tries to read a book to avoid snacking. I couldn’t agree more! Especially if it’s a good book and you get wrapped up in it. A few months ago, I went to the park on a Sunday afternoon and read my book for 2 hours (and I napped!), which is something I don’t do often enough.

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Did I miss any? What do you do to avoid “mindless snacking”? When you shop, do you putter or are you usually on a mission and try to get in and out of the store as fast as possible? What’s the best book you’ve read lately?