Tag: Maine

Beef Burgundy: Sometimes I crave red meat

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Whenever I’m scheduled to go home, my mom always asks me to think about what I would like her to make me for a special meal (I know, I’m spoiled!). Well, as soon as she asked me this question a few weeks ago, I immediately responded with: Beef Burgundy. Sort of a strange request, right? I don’t know why I was craving it, but I was totally in the mood for red meat and hadn’t had beef burgundy in a while so I thought it was a great idea.

Lucky for me, my parents always have every type of meat imaginable in their freezer, so this wasn’t a problem at all! And, for once, I sat back and let my mom do all the cooking. I drank bubbly and blogged, while chatting with her and keeping her company in the kitchen.

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I forget the name of the cookbook that she used for the recipe, but I did take a picture of the recipe and instructions since I thought it was good enough to share.

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Instead of using egg noodles, I requested that we use potatoes from my dad’s garden and make garlic mashed potatoes (my fav!). We also baked broccoli and had steamed carrots and parsnips.

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This meal was absolutely delicious and I’d love to say it was easy, but I have no idea how easy or hard it was to make since mom did everything 😉 Sometimes there’s just nothing better than having wine and a nice meal on a Sunday night, especially when you know you aren’t going into the office the next day 🙂

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Thanks for making such a nice meal for me, mom! B2B readers- if you’re looking for a change up to your normal meal rotation, I highly suggest adding this!

Questions for you: If someone offers to make you dinner, what do you usually request? What’s your idea of a perfect dinner? Red meat- fan or not?

Weekly Workouts: Taking some time to rest

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Hi there! How was your weekend? Mine was really great, but I’ll catch you all up on that tomorrow. I like to use Monday’s as my “weekly workout” post day with the hope that it helps to get you motivated to stay on track and get workouts planned throughout the week. It’s harder to skip a workout when you’ve written it down and held yourself accountable, right?

As I mentioned on Friday, I decided to give myself a little break from any sort of intense physical activity over the weekend. My old injuries started to flare up and I was just feeling continuously exhausted, which told me it was time for a little T.O. from the gym and working out. Surprisingly enough, it was easier than I had imagined! And get this- I even enjoyed it 🙂 Friday is generally my rest day and Saturday and Sunday I kept busy with other things so I didn’t get antsy and feel like I needed to do something! I am going to take this week light, too, which is totally fine.

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I was home in Maine and completed a workout in my parents living room. It was 2 short, 4 move circuits that I repeated 3 times before doing cardio and moving to the next circuit. I think I’ll post it for you this week because it left me sore!

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  • Tuesday- I got up and ran 3.5 miles before work. It was a beautiful morning for a run, but the last 3 blocks to my apartment were brutal as they are up a BIG hill.

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  • Wednesday- I ran 2 miles before teaching UXF Burn. It was a great class- lots of people and lots of energy!
  • Thursday- I taught another similar format to what I have been teaching as everyone has been loving it. It was 2 strength moves (15 reps each), 60 seconds of abs, 2 minutes of cardio. I repeated a workout in kickboxing from months ago, but I don’t think anyone noticed 😉
  • Friday- rest! I walked .5 miles to Shaw’s and back, but that’s it.
  • Saturday- nothing!
  • Sunday- I went to bed on Saturday night at 9:30 and didn’t get out of bed on Sunday until 8:15! After Friday night’s festivities, I cannot tell you how much that was needed; I woke up feeling like a million bucks on Sunday! Since the weather was amazing, I laced up my sneaks and went for a nice morning stroll, making random stops to do a little stretching and light core work. Felt great!

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I think there is a Pilates class on Monday nights at the East Boston YMCA, so I may try to go to that.
  • Tuesday- Pending on how I’m feeling, I may run or just do some light cardio at the gym… or rest.
  • Wednesday- Teaching UXF Burn. If I do anything before class, it will just be a walk or something else low impact.
  • Thursday- Teaching SHRED and kickboxing. I think I may teach a tabata themed class in SHRED, thanks to a reminder from Athena!
  • Friday- Not sure! If I’m feeling rested, I may workout before or after work, but I’m going to play it by ear.
  • Saturday- Teaching kickboxing at the Oak Square YMCA! yay!
  • Sunday- Not sure- I’d love to get to a BodyPump class 🙂

Questions for you: Do you like to take your rest days during the week or weekend? What’s your favorite Tabata combination?

Birthday Celebrations & Labor Day Weekend in Maine

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Hi, hi! I hope you all had a nice long weekend! Although mine was fairly busy, it was really fun. Plus, there’s something about being home in Maine that just makes me feel relaxed, even if we are on the go a lot!

Since I had to teach on Saturday morning, I was around on Friday night and able to go out with Athena and her friends and gym friends for her birthday! Athena decided she wanted to go to The Asgard, which is a really fun bar in Cambridge. I had been once, but it was years ago, so I was excited to go back. I wasn’t necessarily excited about making the trek in from East Boston using public transportation, but I’m trying to save money where I can, so I did it! And, in all honesty, door to door was only about 40 minutes, which wasn’t that bad. It was nice to get to hang out with the YMCA gym ladies and also really nice to meet Athena’s friends in person, versus online (Slesh! I’m talking about you! haha)

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It was also nice to be served this ginormous goblet of vino from the bar tender 😉

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I only had 2 drinks while at the bar, but when I woke up on Saturday morning, I felt like I had had much more. I blame the goblet! Regardless, it was fun getting out and meeting new people and celebrating Athena’s birthday!

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After teaching on Saturday, Danielle, Chuck and I headed north. I was dreading lots of traffic on the trip home, but once we got onto 95N, it was smooth sailing and we were home in the normal amount of time. As soon as we walked into the house, we were greeted with LOTS of canning. I got dad a pressure canner and he and my mom have been canning their fresh garden veggies like crazy!

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I think it’s so cool that they are canning all of the veggies they grew so that they can enjoy them throughout the winter months!

For dinner, we made pizza’s on the grill- the best way to enjoy pizza in the summer if you ask me 🙂 It’s hilarious when we all get together in the kitchen; everyone wants to be RIGHT next to each other and everyone wants to run the show. It’s quite the site! Mom filled us up with wine and then we headed out to the barn to cook up the pizzas!

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On a side note, check out the collection of empty wine boxes in the barn:

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Like, really? That is a LOT of really classy vino 😉

The pizza’s were SO GOOD! If you’ve never made pizza on the grill, I suggest doing it.

On Sunday, I went for a nice 3 mile run and then helped dad pull potatoes. Pulling potatoes is no joke. I was actually sore from it on Monday!

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We headed out on Sara and Tim’s boat in the afternoon. I love snuggles with Zeke, but if he could stop growing I wouldn’t be mad. It’s crazy to see how much he has grown already!

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I also enjoyed a few Bud Light Limes (aka, BLL’s). I’m not a big Bud Light person, but there’s something about drinking BLL’s that screams summer!

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After the lake, we headed to the Mahoney’s pool for a BBQ. All I wanted all weekend was a REAL cheeseburger. Luckily, Colleen was manning the grill and cooked me up the best one! I didn’t take any pictures while were there, but the food was phenomenal (per usual). Mom’s peach-raspberry pie stole the show, though. Mom isn’t a big baker, but she nailed this pie recipe. It took serious self-restraint to not eat way more than 1 small piece.

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Would you guys be interested in me getting the recipe and sharing it? Aka, do I have an excuse to make this?? 😉

After the Mahoney’s, Danielle and I headed to my friend, Jason’s new house in Wells. We were seriously on the go on Sunday! We hung out with him and his HUGE (seriously, Maverick is REALLY BIG!) dog for a few drinks before calling it a night.

Monday I woke to crazy rain and thunder and lightning. It’s been a while since I’ve heard a storm that bad! Even though it would have been a good morning to snuggle up in bed, I got up and got in a good workout before heading to meet my friend Caitlin for coffee (iced tea for me- still haven’t had coffee since June!). Mom rewarded my workout with homemade waffles! Totally worth getting up to workout when you’re served waffles when you finish 🙂

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It was so nice meeting up with Caitlin and her little snuggle bug, Tucker. It’s amazing to see how much these babies have grown in just 3 short months!

And, that about sums it up! As always, a weekend in Maine was just what I needed to feel refreshed and relaxed. Even though we were on the go a lot (I also saw my friend Meredith for a short visit on Saturday), I’m happy I got to see everyone!

Questions for you: Did you go away for the long weekend? Do you have a hard time trying to fit it in to visit all your old friends when you go back to your hometown? What’s your favorite weekend breakfast?

Weekly Workouts: Getting used to my new location

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Good morning! I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was a good mix of fun, being productive and even a little relaxing- shocker, right?! This past week felt like “honeymoon stage” for me as it was my first week in my new apartment. I had to get used to my new commute to and from work, in addition to my commute home from the gym on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Overall, it’s all working out very well:)

I feel like my workouts have been really good lately. They’ve been consistent, strong and they’ve varied in formats, which I think is key to seeing changes (positive ones) in your body.

Last Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I went to BodyPump at the Wellington BSC after work. I’m still on the strength training kick and have been loving BodyPump lately. I don’t know if I was physically tired from my move or I just worked extra hard in class, but I left BP feeling absolutely beat! So much so, that I skipped the cardio portion of my workout; I felt like it wasn’t necessary since I worked so hard in class. Has anyone else ever felt this way?

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  • Tuesday- I thought about taking a rest day, but I wanted to explore my new neighborhood and had loads of energy (I was all pumped up about the fact it only took me 30 minutes door to door to get home!) so I laced up my sneaks and headed out for a 3.5 mile run. It wasn’t a run for speed, it was a run to check out the park, trails, streets, people, etc. I found a YMCA, a Shaw’s and some restaurants- a successful run!

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  • Wednesday- I subbed Kate’s Sports Conditioning class again so Wednesday was my first double of the week. I had NO energy on Wednesday. Literally, I couldn’t even do the classes with my members because I was so physically tired. I think between my workouts the week before, in addition to moving all weekend and not resting on Monday or Tuesday, I was just beat.
  • Thursday- Luckily, I woke up feeling better on Thursday and was ready to tackle my second double of the week. I taught a superset format in my SHRED class and people seemed to love it. I played around with tempo which was a fun change-up. Kickboxing was also fun because there were a ton of people in class!
  • Friday- I FINALLY took a rest day and boy was it needed:) It felt great to go shopping after work instead of going to the gym.
  • Saturday- I slept at my old apartment on Friday night, partly to hang out with my sister, partly to clean up my old bedroom, but mostly because I was going to BodyPump on Saturday morning and thought it would be easier being 3 minutes from the gym instead of 15 😉 I did 20 minutes on the elliptical as well as 2 ab tabatas using the TRX bands prior to BodyPump. Nicole, the instructor, knows me through teaching and kept challenging me to up my weights- it was hard, but felt great! You’ll never get stronger if you keep lifting the same weight day after day.
  • Sunday- It was so beautiful out and I had a bit of a wine headache to get rid of, so I decided to go for a nice walk on the trails through the park near my apartment. I called my mom and she kept me company for nearly 2 of the miles I walked! I covered just under 2.75 miles and felt great after! It’s amazing what some fresh air can do for a headache 😉

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This Week’s Workouts

  • Monday- I hope I’ve gotten up and gone for a run by the time this post goes up! I want to go to Ikea after work to get new couch and chair covers, so my plan was to get up this morning and go for a 3-4 mile run.
  • Tuesday- I’m not sure what I’m going to do for a workout on Tuesday. I might check out the East Boston YMCA either for their classes or just for their equipment. I want to get on the sub list there since I’m so close!
  • Wednesday- Only teaching my UXF Burn class. I’ll probably go for a run or do something else prior to teaching.
  • Thursday- SHRED followed by Kickboxing. Any suggestions for what type of workout I should teach in SHRED?
  • Friday- I’ll probably take Friday as a rest day. I’ve been enjoying that 🙂
  • Saturday- Teaching kickboxing at the YMCA. I originally tried to get a sub, but I now have plans on Thursday and Friday night so I figured I might as well just stick around and teach my class on Saturday; I could certainly use the money, too!
  • Sunday- I’ll be in Maine, so I would love it if my sister wanted to go for a walk/run with me like we did the last time we were home!

Questions for you: What’s something new you’ve been loving in the workout world lately? Do you lift the same weight or do you try to challenge yourself and up your weight? Are you doing anything for Labor Day weekend?

Happy Birthday, Mom! (and other random things)

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Today is a very special day as it is Momma Gag’s birthday!!! I’m sure by the time she’s read this blog post, she has already had a day where she’s been spoiled by all of her friends, but she really deserves nothing less! I’m sure most of you regular B2B readers have seen my mom’s comments, which she does on almost every post, and I cannot thank her enough for her continued support in all my crazy adventures (there’s a new one that I’ll be sharing soon!!). I especially appreciate her always being there when I’ve “hit my wall” and call her in tears during the midst of a meltdown… there’s just something about talking to her that makes me feel SO MUCH BETTER! So mom, thank you for always being there for me and for being the cutest, sweetest, most fun mom around!

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(Like mother, like daughter… except I can’t even come close to holding my own around her!)

Anyway! I feel like I have lots of random things I want to share with you, mostly lots of pictures of sweet Emma at her 1st birthday party… gosh I just love that little girl. I headed home after teaching kickboxing on Saturday morning (I know, I know… you all probably think I go home all the time, but I hadn’t been home since the 4th of July! And, I love being home in Maine. Period. End of story:) ) and got caught in ridiculous amounts of traffic. Literally, I couldn’t even believe how much traffic there was. Shouldn’t people have been on the road early on Saturday to get to their vacation spots? Jeesh!

I finally made it to the party and couldn’t wait to snuggle all of my favorite babies! Zeke is literally a baby, not a newborn anymore. He has grown SO MUCH!

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And Sara seriously looks phenomenal. The “mom” thing looks great on her!

Emma was cruising around everywhere and watching her and Rozzie play together made me laugh so hard!

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Playing in buckets of ice… who knew how fun that could be?!

My favorite part was watching Emma go TO TOWN on her birthday cupcake!

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I so wanted to do the exact same thing, but people would have gave me weird looks so I contained myself 😉

After that, I met up with an old friend for dinner. We grabbed sushi and I would show you pictures, but there was really nothing picture-worthy about the food or drinks so I’ll spare you. The whole experience was hilarious, though, because nothing went right. One example, was when I asked the waitress what her favorite roll was (because I always do this when I go to restaurants- I want to know what the staff eats) and she responded “I don’t like fish so I’m not a good one to ask”. Ha! Why are you working at a sushi restaurant, then?! Anyway! Fun dinner other than that 🙂

Sunday was an absolutely beautiful day in Maine. Summer without humidity is the most amazing thing! I had Danielle take pictures and videos for me that I used in my burpee post that I posted yesterday and then we went on a nice walk/jog around Shapleigh. It was fun to do that together!

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We spent some of the afternoon at the Mahoney’s pool (my favorite place to spend hot, summer days!) and then grabbed an ice cream before hitting the road. It made me remember how much I love ice cream 🙂

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And, that’s about it for my random musings/weekend catch up!

 

Oh, except for I forgot to tell you that my parents got a new kitten! Renee (little Renny, as we call her) is just the sweetest little girl ever! So fun to play with a kitten instead of a big (fat) cat like Charlie!
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Questions for you: Do you ask servers what their favorite meal is when you go to a restaurant? Have you ever gotten a cake in the face? What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?