Lululemon

Dear Lululemon,
Why can I not step into your store without buying a brand new outfit??
Sincerely,
A lulu addict

I must admit, the first time I walked into Lululemon I laughed at the insane prices for workout pants. Seriously who can spend that kind of money on workout clothes??? I thought that right up until I finally bought my first pair of "miracle" pants. Seriously, they are like a miracle bra for your butt. I've yet to buy anything from there that I haven't absolutely loved. I feel more confident and workout harder while wearing my lulu clothes! Ahhh yes, I will convince myself that it is ok to spend that kind of money on their fabulous clothes! My lulu collection is slowly expanding and I'm in love! It's pretty much the only thing I am wearing to workout in these days! Next up on my list f must haves is a new gym bag from them. 
After my little lulu splurge I decided I needed to go to Bikram Yoga to put my new outfit to use! I was so excited to find out the Bikram Salisbury Studio offers free babysitting at 9:30am everyday! Some amazing me time and Olivia gets to make some new friends! Perfect situation! Bikram yoga is the workout I kind of hate during, but feel absolutely amazing afterwards! It's totally worth the sweaty mess I am during class since I feel the benefits of it instantly! This type of Yoga actually gives your body more energy than when you started! The benefits of it are pretty amazing. I forgot my phone in the car to get an after shot of myself....but trust me, it wasn't pretty! It's probably better off I forgot it since any post Bikram pictures may have scared some new readers away from my blog! 
Olivia and I have a very special date to see a movie today...So I am off to the theatre to see The Lorax with my little love! 
xox

Sunday Session...7 weeks until show!

Here we are 7 weeks out from the show! I can't believe another week has gone by! They are really starting to fly by. The closer it gets the more nervous I get, but also the more excited I get!!! I did a side by side of my progress pictures this week. One picture was take Feb 10th, the other was taken March 3rd. So a little less than a month and I can see some big changes! It's harder to notice any changes without a before and after pictures so this is a nice motivating push forward! 
Today I attended Sunday Session with my Savage girls! It's always an awesome way to kickoff the week with a killer workout and hour posing session. It's amazing to watch the veterans walk and pose with such style, grace, and ease. They inspire me so much to practice my posing and know that I will eventually get there! A little pep talk from coach Jules and I am ready to take on another week! 
The rest of my Sunday will consist of meal panning, workout planning, and family time! We are going to dinner at Kruegers tonight which is one of my all time favorite flat bread pizza places. Then the hubby and I are going to sneak out to a much needed movie/date night. Wanderlust is in the plans, since we both agreed on it! 
On that note, I'm off to enjoy the rest of my Sunday! 
xox

A sore neck and a lazy day!

Yesterday I woke up with a sore neck...I'm pretty sure it was just the way I slept on it and not anything I did in the gym. I still managed to rock out my leg workout and then come home to rest. I actually did a whole lot of this.....

While the two kiddies did a lot of this.....

It was really actually pretty nice to be able to just relax for a minute. Anyone that knows me well understands I have a serious issue with just sitting down and relaxing. At times my mind runs a mile a minute and I feel like everything needs to get done right now! 
Today is my rest day, so we started the morning with a memorial mass for my Grandmother. We got to the church for 7am but it turned out the mass had been cancelled. Boo! We lit a candle and said a prayer for her, then headed to breakfast. We went to Caseys in Plaistow NH. When I am not in competition prep the extra thick french toast with cinnamon and sugar is seriously to die for!  I stuck with an egg white vegetable omelet since I had in the back of my mind my cheat meal of a scone from Plum Island Coffee Roasters! I had been thinking about it all week. One Cinnamon Walnut scone please! Delicious every single time! That coffee shop never lets me down. It's pouring here today, so the rest of the day will be spent doing laundry, cleaning, catching up on some blogs, and of course some playtime with Miss Olivia who is quietly watching Snow White right now! Perfect day for cuddles and movies. 
On that note I'm off to start some laundry and enjoy some of the movie with my little love! 
xox

Snow day means an empty gym!

When school gets cancelled because of the snow you can almost guarantee to have the gym to yourself as long as you get there early. The roads we mostly just wet so I headed out for my normal 5am gym time. 3 people were at the gym the first hour I was there! It was fantastic. No waiting for any machines, no getting out of anybody's way and I was in and out within 90 minutes. 
Today I had back, shoulders, and a 30 minute HIIT workout! I used Coach Steph's Sprint Workout. Wow, it kicked my booty!! If you are looking to really sweat this is a perfect workout for you. HIIT stands for High intensity interval training. It is the quickest way to burn fat and gain muscle. I found this great article that explains HIIT better than I could! It states how "HIIT optimizes your workout time by utilizing a series of short, high-intensity intervals, followed up by longer, low-intensity intervals. The reason HIIT is so successful is that HIIT’s repeated intervals constantly keeps your body. Your body is never given a chance to “plateau” or get used to one setting, something that is common with other forms of cardio. Due to the nature of HIIT, it is typical to have workouts that are only 20 minutes or less and still burn the same amount of calories as an hour of regular exercising. The best part of HIIT is that it boosts your metabolism and will continue to burn hundreds of calories hours after you are done exercising!"


Today's eats have been pretty boring. Some turkey meatballs and turkey burgers since I bought a huge amount of lean ground turkey that I needed to use up! They came out a little dry but it was a nice change from chicken! 

The snow is really coming down now so I'm about to bundle up and take my little love out for some much needed playtime. She is so excited for the snowfall and since the weather is calling for 50 degrees on Saturday it wont last long. I am certainly not complaining about the snow quickly leaving but in the eyes of a 2 year old this is some very exciting playtime! :)

My daily eats!

I am often asked by my family and friends what I eat on a typical day so I figured why not write up a post  about my meals. I eat A LOT! I have the luxury of being home during the day with my daughter so I am able to decide what I feel like at any given moment for my next meal rather than meal planning. However, I know plenty of people that will cook meals on Sunday for the week and are extremely successful with that. So, like I said, I eat a lot. Every 2-3 hours I am creating my next delicious meal! The foods I eat are very clean, just think non processed, not from a box, outer edge of the grocery store foods. Lots of oatmeal, eggs, chicken, fish, fruit, healthy fats and vegetables are consumed in my home. 
Typically I start the day with oatmeal, bananas, and a vegetable egg white omelet. Post workout meal is some type of protein, carb, fruit, vegetable, and a healthy fat such as coconut oil. One of my favorites is a slice of toasted Eziekel bread with a tablespoon of coconut oil spread on top of it with a sprinkle of cinnamon! It tastes like warm buttery bread...only better! I really enjoy Greek yogurt with diced up apples or berries and a scoop of isagreens from Isagenix! Around lunchtime I will be on meal number 3....I am usually awake before 5:00 am, so by noon time I am ready for meal 3. This will typically be some type of stir fry. I love chicken, vegetables and quina stir fry with some type of fruit to nibble on while that cooks. Stir fry is my go to meal. So easy and so nutritious! I find adding a tiny bit of mustard and low sodium soy sauce brings amazing flavor to it. Meal 4 is some type of protein, lately I am loving the thin and trim apple chicken sausages with some peppers and onions. Meal 5 which is right around dinnertime I will usually have some type of fish. Lately I have become obsessed with salmon and asparagus. Meal 6 I try to include another healthy fat. If I am needing something sweet I might have some greek yogurt with a tablespoon of peanut butter and isagreens swirled in, or if I am looking for something more savory I might make up another vegetable stir fry with some avocado oil mixed in. 
Seriously, lots of food. I am certainly not hungry. I am filling my body with good clean foods. Along with all this food I am also drinking water all day and I always start my day with a Venti coffee with soy milk from Starbucks. This is a typical day for me. I workout hard when I am at the gym and need it to fuel my muscles. In the upcoming posts I will try to include recipes and new food finds! 

8 weeks until showtime!

I am officially signed up for the Fitness Universe Foxwoods show! I am registered to compete in the bikini and figure divisions! Ohhh myyyy gawwwwd is about all I can say right now! I can't believe I am really doing this. Suits are ordered, theme wear is being designed, and shoes are bought! The countdown is on...8 weeks baby! I am really hoping to blog my way through the time right up to the competition....partly to document this experience for myself and partly to keep my hands and mind busy for a little while so I'm not thinking about food! haha just kidding about this second part....kind of. So right now my starches and fruits have been cut back a little bit. I still get them, but just in smaller amounts! I'm feeling good and still satisfied so far. 
My biggest hurdle to overcome is my confidence and posing. I know that anyone can get a killer body but its that stage presence that will truly make you shine! I have been attending Sunday Savage Sessions every week! I get to train with Cathy, my amazing coach Jules, and an inspiring group of Savage girls! My walk and posing are getting there, I have a ways to go, but will be practicing consistently over the next 8 weeks. 
There are so many times during this journey I have questioned myself. Why I want to do this? Will I be ready? Who will support me? Is it worth giving up the yummy foods? It's funny because when I relax and go back and think about those questions I can easily answer all of them! This is what I want, I have set a goal and I will achieve it. It doesn't matter what people think, it matters what I think. 
I still get two cheat meals per week which is an amazing motivator. It keeps me on track 100% for all my other meals knowing that I can have two meals of whatever my body is craving.  Heres a photo of my recent cheat meal. Crunchy peanut butter french toast. I will leave you all with this picture. Holy cow, it was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten.  Alright, I guess I can leave you with a recipe as well....Although I don't know if I recommend keeping this handy! It was so hard not to make numerous servings of this! I found this on Pinterest! I did switch the bread for whole grain, the milk for almond milk, and threw the banana slices on top. Enjoy! 
I also still get one rest day every week which is a great day to mentally and physically gather myself. 
I have been trying be sure to make time for yoga at least once a week. My body craves that deep stretch. Speaking of cravings, I am completely obsessed with Salmon! I can't seem to get enough of it. So delicious! I just bake it in the oven at 425 degrees for 15 minutes with some pepper and it is perfect! Paired with asparagus is my ultimate dinner. I never thought in a million years I would crave things like vegetables and fish! 
I am off to shower...yes its 3:30 in the afternoon....and then cookup some chicken stir fry for dinner. For those that are still following along on my blog thanks for the support! Countdown to get on stage is on.
Oh and I suppose I will start tracking my weekly pictures on here....so here I am 8 weeks out from show! 

8 weeks out

xoxox

The Value of You!

Today in my daily message from CSF She wrote about the Value of Yourself. Being treated with the love and respect you deserve. "Check your price tag and get off the clearance rack and get behind the glass case where you belong." This message really made me think. The biggest lesson I am getting out of this whole experience is making time for myself. I am always making sure everyone else is happy and I am realizing its ok to make time for me and make myself happy as well. This whole journey is so much more than looking good, its about getting up on that stage and being proud of myself for all that I've done.  Its something I have for me. I am a mother, a wife, a taxi car driver, a waitress, a housekeeper, and I love every second of it, but at times I know I need something just for myself! 
Today I was up at 4:30 to get to the gym by 5 so I could make a 6:30 yoga class. Well, I made it to the gym right on time, had a killer chest and arm workout and did my 20 minutes of HIIT cardio. I quickly realized yoga wasn't going to happen today. It was already 6:20 and I was still at the gym with shaky arms. I don't think downward dog was in the cards for today! I decided to head home and be there before my little love woke up so her Daddy could sleep in a bit. With a quick stop at Starbucks for my morning java I made it home just as her little bedroom door was creaking open! Now we are snuggled on the couch watching some early morning cartoons to start off the day! It's still dark out....as you can see in the picture! Oh how I wish my little love learned to sleep in a little bit. Like mother, like daughter I guess! 
Have a good Tuesday friends, and remember to value YOU! You totally rock so I know I don't have to tell you that twice!