Tag: Lululemon

What’s In My Gym Bag

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I always like to know more about bloggers, so when they post “day in the life” and “what’s in my bag” posts, I have a blast seeing a little more into their lives outside of blogging (yes, that sounds a little creepy, doesn’t it? I swear, I’m not a creeper!). When Gina posted a “What’s in the [quart-sized] bag post last week, I thought it would be fun to share what’s in my bag… gym bag, that is.

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I was on a hunt for the “perfect” gym bag for a long time, and back in July, I finally found it over at Lululemon. This bag is perfect because it can hold a LOT of stuff, and even when it holds a lot of stuff, the straps don’t hurt your shoulder.

Let’s see what’s in it, shall we? There are 2 pocket on the outside, which is where I like to keep my deodorant and weight lifting gloves and headbands. These are things I like to have easily accessible.

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Workout Class Notes

Notes and workouts for the various classes I teach: UXF Burn SHRED and Kickboxing. I like to keep my workouts organized so I can see what I’ve taught recently so as to make sure I keep things interesting and don’t repeat moves/formats too often.

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Music

I use CD’s so that I can change the pitch according to what I’m teaching. For UXF Burn and Shred I put the music on in the background at 138-142 BPM (I buy my CD’s at a certain pitch so that everything flows well for kickboxing) and for Kickboxing I teach at 150 BPM.

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Batteries & Tune Belt

We are not provided with batteries for the mic at the BSC, so I always have extras (2 types because not all mics take the same type). The tune belt holds the mic pack which enables me to be able to jump around and not worry about the mic pack falling off or pulling my pants down (no one needs to see that).

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Random Items and Feminine Hygiene Products

I always keep a pen in my bag so that I can make amends to my workouts as necessary before class, or completely make up a workout before class if I’m running late and haven’t had a chance to do it beforehand. I also keep gum, tampons (TMI?), elastics, perfume and facial cleansing wipes. I can’t teach or workout without gum (I get super dry mouth when I workout without gum- anyone else?) and I like having facial cleansing wipes for those times I need to run errands after class and don’t have time to shower 😉

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So, there you have it! I put an extra top in there, too, to change into after teaching so that I don’t freeze in my sweaty gear on the way home from the gym on the T. Having my gym bag organized ensures that I won’t forget things from day to day, especially when it’s a teaching day!

Questions for you:What’s in your gym bag? Is there a “must have” that you never leave home without?

I hope you all have a great weekend! I’ve got lots of fun things planned, including a sushi dinner tonight and a harvest party in NH tomorrow night. Leaving on Sunday for another work trip is not so fun, though 😦

Wednesday Workout: No weights? No problem! {Cardio & Core workout}

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Well hello there! As I still haven’t gotten weights for my new apartment, I had to get creative yesterday morning with my workout. I don’t know what it is, but I cannot bring myself to spend the money on weights! Why are they so expensive?! I know, I know. I can go out and spend $72 on a pair of Lulu Wunder Unders, but I can’t spend $30 on a set of weights? I have issues. Clearly.

But anyway! Until I get weights, I will need to get creative with my workouts. On Monday, I ran and did a tough upper body superset workout with the thought that on Tuesday, I’d focus on non-running cardio and core. This workout was successful for both of those things… and I didn’t even have to leave my apartment 😉 So, next time you are somewhere without weights and/or just want to workout in your home, here’s your workout! There are no excuses 🙂

No weights, no problem workout

I think all of these moves are fairly self-explanatory, but if you have questions, please let me know!

Questions for you: Would you like to see more “no equipment/at home” workouts on the blog? Do you like theme workouts that target specific body parts (upper body, lower body, core, cardio)?

Weekend Catch-Up: Babysitting, Lunch at Cafeteria, Lulu Shopping, Sushi, Beach

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All last week I kept looking ahead to my weekend and felt great that it was literally wide open! However, by the time Friday rolled around, pretty much my entire weekend was booked; does this happen to anyone else? Since I am a planner, this isn’t uncommon for me, but it still made me laugh to see how quickly I turned an open, no plan weekend into a relatively busy weekend!

After I taught on Friday, I headed to Newton to babysit Trent and Lila. I met their mom, Renee, back when we used to take yoga every Monday together. I have been babysitting for them for over 3 years at this point; crazy to think it’s been that long! I always have a blast babysitting because the kids are great, it’s fun to catch up with Renee, and because they always have the best snacks and trashy mags for me to read after the kids go to bed 😉

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Not a bad way to spend the night! Plus, babysitting money is my Lulu money, so you wanna know shopping was on the agenda for Saturday.

I let myself stay in bed until 9am on Saturday since I didn’t get home until 1am. I originally had plans to go to BodyPump, but realized that my body was exhausted and could use the rest. After I got up, I went to the Christmas Tree Shop and then Target to stock up on things for my trip this week. While I was at Target, I ended up getting a bathing suit for $22!! Love a good deal!

After errands, I showered and then my sister and my friend Lauren and I went into the city and had lunch at Cafeteria. Weekend lunches out require cocktails, right? And, it’s only fitting for me to have a glass of bubbly 😉

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To eat, we ordered 3 sandwiches and shared amongst ourselves.

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I got the black bean burger, but I’ll spare you the picture since it wasn’t very pretty. Everything tasted great, though!

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After lunch, we walked over to the Lululemon. I went with the mission to get a colored pair of spandex shorts, but they only had black ones in my size. Boring 😦 I ended up finding a pair of HOT PINK capris (on sale!) and a bright lime green top instead. I can’t say I was disappointed about my purchases.

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Don’t worry, I won’t wear them together 😉

In addition to my new outfit (I am SO excited to workout and wear them now- such a great motivator!), I finally got a new gym bag. I have been on a hunt for a new gym bag for MONTHS, so I’m stoked that I finally found one that I like. It’s really big so it’s perfect for my “work to gym” days (aka, every day).

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I love it so much already!!

After shopping, Lauren and I got much-needed pedicures. It’s the little things!

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Once we got home, I was absolutely beat and did something I NEVER do: napped! I had dinner plans at 7, but knew I had about an hour that I could allot to napping, or at the very least, resting. It felt great!!

Dinner was at Yoki, which I’ve blogged about on here once or twice before! The sushi is amazing and the Celtics roll is literally the best roll I have ever had!!

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Mmmm 🙂

We were finally graced with a really sunny day on Sunday, so Lauren and Danielle and I decided to go to the beach! We went to Nahant, and it was already jam packed at 10am. Even though it was a beautiful sunny beach day, it was almost TOO hot.

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Nonetheless, we lasted about 3 hours and then grabbed lunch at Tides, which is right at the start of the beach.

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I got a Teriyaki Grilled Chicken Wrap on a whole wheat tortilla with a side of steamed broccoli. I loved that they had healthy, yet yummy, food options!

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To counteract my healthy meal, I enjoyed a Blueberry beer!

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There’s just something about an ice cold beer that quenches thirst unlike no other. Please tell me I’m not the only one who feels this way!

Once we got home from the beach, I did some pre-blogging for the week (have a few guest blogs for you- get excited!), cleaned up the apartment, did laundry and went to the grocery store. Since I will be away most of the week, I just grabbed some fruit and a salad to eat with the other half of my wrap that I got at Tides. Danielle and I did walk to get an ice cream. I was craving one bad! We ended up sharing one since they didn’t have kiddie sizes.

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Phew! That was a long weekend recap; if you made it this far, thank you!

Questions for you: What’s your favorite hot weather treat? What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream? Ever been to Nahant beach? What is a MA beach that I have to try?

PS!! Check out the size of this summer squash that I picked from my garden!!!

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what do you think I should make with it?!

It’s Been A Busy Week!

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Hey there! Happy Saturday! So, I have a secret to tell you: I wrote all of my posts this week on Sunday. Since I knew I was going to have a super busy week with really no blog time, I spent a few hours on Sunday getting all of the posts set for the week. SUCH a great idea! But, since I didn’t share anything from the week, I figured I’d fill you in now!

On Monday, Jess and I were supposed to get together after work to film “Mommy’s Moves,” but the weather made a big turn for the worse and we were rained out. I had plans with Jess and some other friends to visit Lauren on her shift at Ironside Grill to watch the Bruins, but that wasn’t until 8pm, meaning I had some time to kill after work. I had gotten up and ran a 5K before work, so I figured since I had my gym stuff, I’d head up to the gym at my work and do strength and abs to complete my workout for the day (also, it was pouring rain and thundering and lightening so I needed to wait that out). As I was finishing my workout, Sheila texted and invited me over for dinner prior to the bar- perfect! I showed up and she had an awesome meal all ready to grill!

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YUM! Thanks for a delicious and healthy dinner, Sheil! And, on top of a great meal, there was a double rainbow as we were heading to the bar!

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I seriously love rainbows. They totally amaze me! Anyone else see it on Monday?

I wasn’t able to stay out very late because I knew I had to get up at 5am on Tuesday to head to NYC. I had to go for the day for a client meeting, which is fine, but it makes for a long day! Especially when your 5pm flight gets cancelled and delayed and you don’t leave until after 9pm. Yuck. Needless to say, I worked from home on Wednesday. I went for another run before I started working and boy was it hot! Nothing like sweaty legs, right?

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I’m still amazed every time that happens. It’s so weird! Anyway! I finished up work around 5:30 and walked the 2 miles to get the T at Davis Square since I was meeting work people out in the city when I finished teaching. Tim was up from Florida and Chris was up from Texas, so I promised them that I’d join them for drinks and dinner. We had a blast and I stayed out later than I do on the weekend… I’m getting wild and crazy I tell ya! 😉

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We had dinner and drinks at Remy’s and then went to the Cigar/Hooka bar later on. I hate the smell of smoke so it was a little gross at first and my eyes were burning, but I got over that quickly.

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(Mom- the boys wanted to take that for you since the glass of wine was SO big. They said it was Momma Gags approved!)

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Fun night- thanks guys!

On Thursday, I left work and taught my double and then went BACK into the city to meet up with the whole team for dinner at Smith and Wollensky. Even though I was exhausted, it was nice to have a big group dinner! I had Chris order me salmon, which was just OK. It was too salty!

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Tim wanted me to share a picture of his meal. I can only imagine how awful that rich, creamy sauce was for you, but I love sauces and had to at least try a bite!

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THAT was a yummy meal. After dinner, it was my job to show them a good time again, but the bars we went to were not that busy! Very strange for a Thursday night. As always, it’s so fun when we all get together!

Friday was another exciting day… I signed the lease papers for my new apartment starting on August 1st!

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I am moving to East Boston and I am really excited! The apartment isn’t perfect by any means, but the kitchen and bathroom are recently renovated which is huge for me. Also, the area is really nice! There is a path along the water for walking and running just 5 minutes from the apartment building. I can’t wait to explore!

To celebrate, I made pizza! My stomach has been wacky since Sunday and my appetite has been off, but pizza sounded good so I went for it!

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That’s not even an Instagram photo! So, so good. In fact, it smelled so good that Charlie woke up from napping in his new spot to see what was going on

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Now THAT is a cat after my own heart! Gotta love the Lulu 😉

Today is another busy day. I am teaching Kickboxing at 10, I have a hair appointment at 12:30, I need to get a pedicure and something for Christy’s bachelorette party in NH that night. We are doing dinner in Kittery and then going out in Portsmouth- I can’t wait!!

Questions for you: Did you have a busy week or relaxing week? Where is your favorite bar to watch sports games? Ever been to a hooka bar? Know of any good restaurants in East Boston?

Have a wonderful Saturday!!!

Friday Catch-Up: Lots of different pictures!

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TGIF! This week flew by for me, but I think that is because I had Monday off. Whatever the case, I’ll take it! While I was looking through my pictures on the train ride home from the gym (no service=try to do whatever I can to keep myself busy, aka looking through my pictures), I realized that I took pictures of all sorts of things this week! So, grab a cup of coffee (or glass of wine), relax and bear with me as this post is long could go all sorts of different ways!

Eats

I planned ahead on Tuesday night and packed myself a nice, little, deconstructed taco lunch for Wednesday. I was able to eat outside, which made lunch even more enjoyable!

042Spanish rice, beans, corn, chicken, yellow peppers, onions, salsa and cheese. Perfection.

I put this together while I was making a Spaghetti Squash Casserole (recipe to come- SO good). It’s always the best time for me to get a healthy lunch together when I am already cooking in the kitchen. Since it was really cold on Tuesday, I was happy to have these babies to keep my toes warm:

039I got these for my birthday and totally made fun of them, but I’ll be honest, I kinda love them now!

Here’s a little teaser for the recipe I will post soon

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Exercises

I caught up on my April Arms Challenge workouts that I missed from Tuesday and needed to do on Wednesday.

005Wednesday’s workout was preacher curls and plank holds and I decided to do the plank holds on the stability ball. Wow! It’s amazing what a simple change up to an ordinary “staple” move can do… my core has been SO tight ever since. Love that:)

Taught a great double on Thursday, even though it was quite the whirlwind in trying to get there.

010I look somewhat put together here, but let me tell you, I was the definition of a hott mess when I first entered the gym. Let me break it down for you…

  1. I left work at my normal time on Thursdays (4:30) to have enough time to walk to the T (about 5 minutes), get on a T, go the 5 stops to Central Square and get there by 5ish (usually).
  2. I was all excited when I walked down the stairs and saw a T waiting for me- awesome! It’s the best when that happens.
  3. My first thoughts: Why the heck is it so freaking hot on this train? Don’t they have air conditioning? Why aren’t we moving yet?
  4. Turns out, there was a medical emergency and we had to stand by. I thought of walking to another T stop, but I realized that if my train wasn’t moving, no other ones were moving. Great. It’s was now 5pm.
  5. I decided to try and get a cab. The traffic in the city was miserably bad and there were no cabs. Even better.
  6. I finally got a cab and said “please take me to central square as FAST as you can”. Luckily, I had an awesome cab driver who drove so crazy, but there was still the problem of incredible masses of traffic.
  7. I realized that if I made it on time, I wouldn’t have enough time to change AND be on time… that left me with no other choice but to change into my gym clothes IN the cab. Let me tell you, putting on tight Lulu in a small space and sweating while you’re doing it is not easy. Just sayin’.
  8. I called the gym and said I was going to be late, but it didn’t look like I’d be that late- awesome!
  9. We got onto Mass. Ave and the traffic was back and there were flashing lights ahead. I realized that I was close enough where I could run and still make it on time. Mind you, I had 3 bags on me- they call me the Bag Lady at work.
  10. I paid the $24 for the cab, got out and SPRINTED (well, as fast as I could with multiple, heavy bags on me) to the gym and made it only 1 minute late. How’s THAT for a crazy race to the gym?!

012I can’t tell you how happy I was when I walked through the door of my apartment tonight. I have a serious love/hate relationship with PT, that’s for darn sure.

Other random pictures from my phone

Snuggles with Charlie

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Coffee in my favorite mug

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Spring is definitely in the air

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I won a giveaway!

My good friend, Rachel, hosted a giveaway last week and I was so, SO hoping I’d win since I LOVE jojo jewelry. Check out Rachel’s blog post for all the details, but let me show you what I picked!

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015Rachel got us beautiful diamond blings for her wedding and I wear them ALL the time. All of the Shapleigh girls were also in Sara’s wedding, and she got us a pair of bling earrings from jojo, too. I chose to get gold metal since the other 2 pair I have are silver. I’m absolutely in love with the pair that I chose! Definitely go on over to her site and check out all the bling she has to offer. You won’t regret it:)

Oh, and when I was perusing the Bling, I stumbled upon the jojo Kitsch hair ties and decided to get a package, too. Whoops!

016Well, I think that about sums it up! Thanks for sticking with me if you made it this far:)

Your turn: What’s the best part of your week so far? Any crazy things happen to you? Do you have any jojo earrings or jewelry?