This Week {A day late}: Workouts, week off and things I’m looking forward to

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Good morning! It feels weird posting my Monday post on a Tuesday, but I wanted to spend my day with family yesterday since I was only in Maine for a short period of time. I hope you all had a great day off (if you had one off). I’m feeling pretty fortunate this week as I have the WHOLE WEEK off. Technically, I guess it’s kind of like I’m unemployed since I’m not getting paid, but that’s ok… the new job is right around the corner now!

It’s funny, last week I had half of Wednesday off and all day Thursday and Friday and on Thursday, it wasn’t even noon before I felt bored and lonely. I have issues! The time off is good, though. I’m so busy all the time with work and teaching and blogging and being a girlfriend (<—- did you see that?! woahhh!) and a friend and a sister that I forget what free time feels like. After a few days, though, I get in my groove and appreciate it so much. A little downtime every once and a while is such a wonderful thing, and something I think most of us don’t do enough of. We have so many “obligations” that get in the way.

One fun thing about more time is that I have more flexibility with my workouts… and way more energy to do them. I was laughing last week after my Thursday double because I had so much more energy than normal. It’s not like I have a physical job during the day, but I think the fact of getting up and out of the house early, working all day and going straight to the gym just wipes me out!

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I did another lunch break workout at the gym in my building. I’m so sad that I won’t have that luxury anymore 😦
  • Tuesday- I got up Tuesday morning and ran a 5K before work. I also did some core work… and something else, but I can’t remember what it was!
  • Wednesday- I actually went to a class! I know the instructor who teaches before me on Wednesday is intense so I figured I would check out her class before teaching my own. It was a really great class and totally challenged me. UXF Burn was also a fun class- we worked hard and did LOTS of burpees.
  • Thursday- I taught a stations circuit class in SHRED and then taught cardio kickboxing. It was great to have lots of energy to get me through both classes!
  • Friday- I got up and attempted a workout but didn’t get very far. Looking back, it was a dumb move. I was tired and sore and should have just slept or foam rolled, but instead I got up and tried to push myself until I realized: a. I didn’t have it in me and b. I was too sore. I knew I likely wouldn’t be working out on Sunday so I wanted to get something in on Friday, but since I did a double on Wednesday and Thursday, working out on Friday was not necessary. It’s all about quality over quantity, but stupidly, I had quantity over quality on the brain. Although I’m good at giving advice of listening to your body and not over doing it, I have a hard time following it myself. There are times when I just need to know a crappy workout isn’t the right choice. Oh well.
  • Saturday- I was finally back at the Oak Square YMCA for my cardio kickboxing class and it felt great! There was a pretty good crowd considering it was a holiday weekend.

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  • Sunday- I wasn’t planning on working out, but the boy and I were in the Twin Mountain area in NH and I was wide awake and bounding with energy (he was sleeping off the booze from the night before…) so I headed out for a 3 mile run and my standing ab workout. I feel like I just did that workout but yesterday my core, especially my obliques, was so sore!

This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- My sister and I went on a nice hour long walk throughout East Boston.
  • Tuesday- My plan today is to go to a 10am class at the Wellington BSC.
  • Wednesday- I’m going to dinner with my sister after teaching UXF Burn, so I will workout during the day at some point and just instruct in my class.
  • Thursday- Teaching my double: SHRED and Cardio Kickboxing
  • Friday- I bought a deal for a massage at Exhale Spa, so I would like to book a massage on Friday. Before the massage, I’d like to take a class- either a Core Fusion Cardio or maybe a yoga class?
  • Saturday- Teaching my second Saturday in a row at the Oak Square YMCA- yay!
  • Sunday- I will be in Maine (Zeke turns 1 on Saturday so I’ll be up there for the birthday party!) so I may go for a run or a walk.

Things I’m Looking Forward To

I’m looking forward to having time off! On top of that, time off with no real plans. It’s the weirdest feeling to know I don’t have to get ready for a week of work, packing lunches, planning out my days, etc. This week I hope to get caught up on lots of blog posts that I’ve wanted to write, as well as make other blog updates that I generally don’t have the time to make. I can’t wait to finally get a much needed massage- I shouldn’t push that to the back burner so often. Lastly, I’m excited to go to Zeke’s first birthday party on Saturday. I cannot believe he is already 1!!!

Questions for you: What was the best workout you had last week? Do you ever go for quantity over quality when it comes to workouts? What are you looking forward to this week?

 

Boston Restaurant Roundup: Part 1 {Downtown Boston}

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It’s no surprise that I love to go out to lunch or dinner or even just for drinks, right? I love trying new places or foods or drinks and then sharing that information with all of you who read this little blog. I especially love when you guys ask me for restaurant recommendations, so I thought that I would make it a little easier for you and give you my Boston Restaurant Roundup so you can have access to all my favorite restaurants in a few different posts. I originally wanted to put everything in one post, but as I started to list out the various restaurants I’ve been to, I realized I’ve been to A LOT of different places all around Boston. Putting them into one post would’ve just been too long, so here is your first installment of my “Boston Restaurant Roundup”, which includes restaurants in Downtown Boston (Fanuel Hall, Financial District and Downtown Crossing).

Faneuil Hall/Financial District

  • Anthem– I have talked about Anthem a number of times on here, so it’s no surprise that it’s the first place I list. They are located right in the heart of Faneuil Hall, have a good wine and cocktail menu and a terrific food menu. It’s great for outdoor dining in the summer and the bar area is great for indoor people watching in the winter/colder months. If you go, you MUST, I repeat, MUST get the fondue! It is the absolute best.

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  • Granary Tavern– This is another place with a similar vibe to Anthem. I have to say that the prices are a little better and I like their wines more, so sometimes we choose this place over Anthem. It’s located on Atlantic Ave, so it’s still close to shopping and bar hopping. They’ve got some terrific salads and pizza’s and a great outdoor patio area for summer dining.

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  • Sakurabana– If you’re looking for Sushi in this area, I definitely suggest Sakurabana. The fish has always been really fresh and colorful and they have brown rice options. This is a really popular lunch place, and although it’s never busy for dinner, it’s wroth a trip. I think I’ve been there 3 times in the past 2 months. If you have a gluten allergy or intolerance, they accommodate that, too!

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  • Society on High– I went here for after work drinks and loved the atmosphere. They had a great bar area and lots of high-top tables to sit at around the bar. They also had an absolutely delicious Sauvignon Blanc that I may or may not have had 3 glasses of… on a Tuesday! 😉 We ended up getting some apps and really loved the fish tacos and shrimp cocktail. I’ve been trying to get back there ever since.

Downtown Crossing

  • Stoddards– I haven’t eaten here, but my sister, Amy and I had a girls night there a few months ago and loved the bar area. We ended up downstairs, but they have an area upstairs, too. I’ve heard that the food is good, I just haven’t had a chance to get back there to try it.
  • 49 Social– Danielle, Amy and I went across the street from Stoddards for dinner at 49 Social. While this is a little more of an ‘upscale” place compared to Stoddards, it wasn’t TOO stuffy. We tried to sit at the bar area since it was certainly more casual there, but they were full so we had to go upstairs. The regular menu looked wonderful, but we were more in the mood for munchy food and asked if we could order from the bar menu- no problem at all! Everything we had was absolutely delicious- I highly recommend trying this place.
  • Sip– I recently went with my friend Lisa and we enjoyed countless drinks and a few food dishes and left there completely satisfied. I still dream about the tacos and mushroom pizza with truffle oil. The fact that you can choose what size glass of wine you want is also a really fun thing- it gives you a chance to do a tasting “flight” of various wines. The prices are also very reasonable.

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  • Gem– This triples as a great dinner spot, lively after dinner drink spot and a great post dinner drink spot. Trust me on this- I’ve done all three 😉 We did dinner first (a while ago as one of our girls nights) and loved it. We shared a salad and a flatbread and lots of wine (they have a heavy pour!). Recently, we went for after dinner drinks and loved the scene. It’s certainly not a “casual” atmosphere (more clubby than casual Boston bars), but if you’re looking for a time to get dressed up, it’s a great place to go!

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So, there you have it! Your first installment of my “Boston Restaurant Roundup”. Next up will be Southie/Seaport District and East Boston. There are lots of good places in those locations!

Questions for you: Have you been to any of these places? Did I miss any/are there any that I should try? I’m always looking to expand my restaurant repertoire, so share your favorites in the comments section!

Dealing with change

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If you’ve been reading my blog, over the past couple of weeks you’ve probably suspected something has been up. First I was talking about being faced with making a big decision and then I was talking about going away parties and having time off. Well, the good news is I haven’t been fired- phew! And the better news is that I was contacted by a former coworker asking if I’d like to come work with her and some others at the company they are at now.

I was by no means looking for a new job and always thought that my next move would be into the health/fitness/wellness area, but sometimes opportunities come your way that you can’t pass up. This was one of those. I won’t get into the specifics, but I will say that it is a promotional move, allowing me the opportunity to manage others as well as projects and I will be making a lot more money.

But with those things also comes something I’m not always good at dealing with: change.

life-changes

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Change can be good or change can be bad. But the one thing either direction of change shares in common is that you will be dealing with, faced with or doing something different. While some people seemingly thrive and live for change, I tend to be the opposite. I like my routines and schedules and knowing what to expect and change certainly leaves those things up in the air until the newness wears off, right?

Since yesterday was my last day at my former company and I now have a week and a half until I start my new job, I thought it might help me deal with and face the changes that I’ll be experiencing a little better if I wrote them down. And hopefully you guys can help share your “secrets” that help you deal with change better!

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Try not to dwell on the past and stay away from the comparison trap

Sure, there were some great aspects about my job and perks that came with it, but there must have been something that didn’t make me happy and make me want to change jobs. Dwelling on the things I’m going to miss, the location of the job and incredibly flexible work schedule could likely hold me back from giving everything to my new job. Also, whenever I’m faced with a new change I often get caught up comparing the two: we did this here, we didn’t have that opportunity, it might be better if you did it how we used to do it… etc. etc. Comparison traps like that doesn’t do anything for allowing you to move forward and progress, it often just holds you back, so being cognizant of that will hopefully help me stay away from it.

Talk with others

I’ve had a number of friends and former coworkers go through the exact same change I’m going through right now, and you know what? They are all doing juuuuust fine in their new spots. I’m sure many of you have gone through changes- whether it be jobs, relationships, where you live, etc., too, right? Did you find it helpful to talk to others to see how they dealt with the change? Talking to friends about what to expect helped me get excited about the change rather than fear it.

Go with the flow

So my schedule may be off for the first few weeks or months at my new job, but you know what? That’s ok! That’s part of what makes change so exciting. I’m not always good at going with the flow, but in situations like this, I know it is necessary… and I also know I am capable of doing it.

Write down things that excite me about the new change I’m about to face

Talking to people within my new company or hearing about things the company has to offer gets me really excited about the change and the decision I made. Things will surely be different, but that’s part of what makes this next move so fun: being a manager and learning how to manage others, learning new things, working with new people, facing new challenges- all of these things make me EXCITED to start my new job. Just writing that down made me feel really happy, so it’s clear sometimes I just need a little reminder 🙂

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Embrace the change and soak it all in

It won’t be long until the newness wears off, so during the time everything still feels new, I’m going to try and really soak it in an appreciate it. I know there will be times I feel overwhelmed or frustrated because of the change, but those are also the times when I end up learning and remembering the most.

At the end of the day, I weighed my pros and cons and really thought long and hard about the decision I had to make and tried to envision where I saw myself happiest 6 months down the road. Although my move wasn’t into a full time health/fitness/wellness job, for right now, I think it was the right move for me. But, if all else fails, maybe I’ll take this route:

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Thanks for sharing, Alice! 🙂

Questions for you: How do you deal with change? Do you thrive off of change or does it stress you out? Do you have advice to keep me calm? When’s the last time you were faced with a change?

 

 

Wednesday Workout: Taking your workout outside

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Hi! How are you today? I have a bunch of workouts that I’ve been meaning to write up for you, but since the weather has been so nice and I’ve, personally, been trying to take my workouts outside as much as possible, I wanted to give YOU some ideas of ways to take YOUR workout outside, too!

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You only think that running and walking are outdoor workouts, but those are just a few of the many other ways to get fit while breathing in fresh air and catching some rays (with sunscreen, of course!). So, if you’re looking for a way to change up your standard walk or run, try some of these workouts!

Add in plyometric exercises, core moves or other boot camp style exercises to your walk or run routine

This is my favorite way to split up a run and make it seem, less… boring. I’ve done it by breaking up the run into time segments or mile segments. I’ve also added in a number of different “mini circuits” or exercises to change it up. Here are some of my favorites:

Run & Strength Workout

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Wednesday Workout: Run/Walk & Park Boot Camp Circuit

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Wednesday Workout: Run/Walk & Superset Workout

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Run for it:

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Even though those are “running” workouts, you can always modify them to be a walking workout if that’s what you’d rather do! And, if running or walking are not your things, here are some other activities that get your heart rate up and let you enjoy the outdoors!

Bootcamps

Whether it’s an organized bootcamp through your town/city/gym or just a group of people that get together to workout outside, bootcamps are a great way to workout! It’s a very team-like environment and doing it outside encourages you to use ordinary things as workout tools. Think: park bench, money bars, logs, etc. Athena used to teach an outdoor bootcamp and it always looked so fun.

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Sports

Warm weather seems to bring everyone together. Be it tennis or basket ball or softball or kickball, there are loads of ways to get outside and be active! There are often various leagues that you can join, too. The BSSC is a big one for that.

November Project

If you’re on social media, you’ve surely seen all sorts of posts about November Project or seen their “grassroots” stamp all over peoples’ workout clothes. I haven’t participated in any of the workouts, but I have a lot of gym friends that do and it seems like an amazing time. Anyone can participate in the workouts and it looks like it is a huge team/family feeling.

Canoeing or Kayaking

If you’re in or around the Boston area, I highly suggest heading over to Charles River Canoe & Kayak. You can rent canoes or kayaks and go out by yourself or with friends. My sister and I did it one summer and it was so fun! Not to mention a terrific upper body workout and a great way to work on your tan 😉

Gardening

Last weekend, my dad came down and we gardened together and let me tell you, it’s not easy! Between lifting and carrying heavy bags of soil, raking, shoveling, etc., I felt like I had a full body workout! Pulling potatoes is also a tough job. A way to get more exercise in? Rather than using a hose, use a watering bucket which requires more trips back to the faucet, which means more walking, which means more calories burned 🙂

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Swimming/Water Aerobics

My mom is a huge water aerobic fan so whenever we are together in a pool during the summer, she’s doing some type of exercise: jogging in place, leg lifts, arm circles, crunches. This is a great way to be outside in the sun and getting a workout in.

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Did I miss any? What’s your favorite way to workout outside? Do you participate in any athletic leagues? Are you a “November Project-er”?

 

Weekending: Gardening, Driving Range, Sunsets and Sheila’s Bridal Shower

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You guys. This past weekend was SO FUN! I was, again, surrounded by family and friends and the boy and enjoyed every minute of it.

Friday night, the boy and I headed to Waltham for his home-town friend’s surprise birthday party. It was my first time meeting all of them and they were so friendly and welcoming! We stayed out late- until after 1am, which is unheard of for me. I was the DD, but I still felt off on Saturday morning, which must have been because of the lack of sleep. Totally worth it, though.

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I skipped the gym on Saturday since I knew I’d ben working hard with my dad. He was gracious enough to take the time to come down and build me a garden on my back patio- how lucky am I?! Ever since he retired, he started gardening, which has been really fun to be a part of. My garden is about a fraction of the size of his, but I’m still so excited about it. Between lugging about 25 bags of heavy manure, compost mix, mulch and pete moss, as well as wood, I was pretty beat (and secretly loved it- I love physical labor!). It only took us about 2 hours from start to finish which is pretty impressive. We leveled and measured and screwed and shoveled and raked- in other words, we earned our beers after we were done 😉

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My dad is going to come back down in a few weeks to do the planting for me. I wouldn’t be able to do this without him, so I’m so thankful that he’s helping me!

After my parents left (my mom went and hung out with my sister in Southie), the boy and I went to Quincy to drive some balls at the Granite Links Golf Course and Driving Range. We planned it perfectly because we finished our bucket of balls just in time to get a cocktail and watch the sun set. Have you guys ever been there? It’s the most beautiful place- it’s up high and everywhere you look it’s gorgeous. They also have an outdoor bar and had live music. We each got a margarita to watch the sunset and agreed it felt like we were on vacation!

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By the time we realized it, it was 8pm so we scratched all plans of making dinner and went to the tavern at the course and had dinner there at the bar. Based on the wait and how busy it was, clearly we were not the only ones with that idea. Thankfully I’ve got eyes like a hawk when it comes to nabbing seats at the bar so we were seated in no time. I got the fish tacos which were amazing!
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Sunday was a day all about my friend Sheila. She’s getting married in September and her mom had planned a surprise bridal shower for her at the Venezia. It may have been terribly hard to find, but boy was it worth it! The location was right on the water with beautiful views of the city. Being around my girlfriends, drinking cocktails and celebrating is probably one of my favorite things to do.

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Everything about this shower was perfect- the location, the decorations, the food… you could clearly tell there was a lot of time and energy spent on making it the most perfect celebration for Sheila. No detail was missed! The food was also fantastic. I went with the Scallops and Lobster and Asparagus Risotto and it did not disappoint. My favorite part, though? The ice cream sundae bar!!! Best idea ever.

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All in all, it was such a wonderful afternoon. At this point in our lives, we are all so busy so it’s nice when we have an excuse and an event that brings us together. Jessi and Kelly were missing- we missed you girls!

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Can’t wait until the bachelorette party… shenanigans will ensue 😉

And, there you have it. Monday morning clearly came way too fast 😦

Questions for you: What was the best part of your weekend? Did you spend any time outside? Do you like to go to the driving range? What’s your “vacation” drink of choice?