Lasting Impressions

It's horrible to say that I'm excited the Christmas season is over. It seems that this holiday season has become more about the gifts under the tree and the true meaning has been thrown to the wayside. It all starts at 6pm Thanksgiving night where most department stores open their doors for "the best" deals of the season..and it just continues. Don't get me wrong I enjoy spending countless hours with my family eating wonderful food and spending quality time together. What I stress myself out about is the whole production of the day. The appetizers, main course and dessert.  I stress about wondering if the gifts under the tree are all that good enough. Well I changed it up this year after reading a post my sister-in-law posted on Killing Off Super Mom . I kept it simple. A few fancy cheeses with pepperidge farm crackers, wild rice soup from a favorite restaurant and my mom made seafood lasagna. We were too full for dessert. I did have some chocolate covered peanut...

As a mom, wife, and someone who is always thinking about ways to eat cleaner, I still want to eat tastey food. When my husband I first got married I had little to no kitchen experience. The role of "wifey" was a new title. I wasn't use to having to prepare meals for other people other than myself. I stumbled upon a great blogger who I still look to for new recipe ideas. Budget Bytes . She breaks the cost of the dish down by the cost per serving. A great way to keep your budget in check, and she has some really great recipes. I had made her baked chicken strips before and homemade honey mustard dipping sauce - TO DIE FOR! This was our Sunday night meal: Panko dregged chicken strips with honey mustard dipping sauce and spicy cauliflour buffalo bites. I found the recipe for the cauliflour on Pinterest. Chicken Strips : Adapted from Budget Bytes Ingredients 2 lg. chicken breasts 1 cup mayonnaise (I used MiracleWhip Olive Oil - a little less calories) ⅓ cup honey (I u...

It's officially winter! I again ask myself the same question I always do when we get the first snowfall, "Why do I live here?" Like for example this morning, -27 degrees with windchill. Who wants to go out in weather like that for the next 4 months. Oh well, so off to work I went after bundling up Miss K in her jacket, hat and bulky mittens. Oh how she screams when we try and strap her into her car seat. However, as I got into my vehicle and started the trek to work, it appeared that God was speaking to me that today was going to be a better day. A "Sun Dog." It was beautiful. It was a small reminder of the attitude check I needed to make sure that today was going to be the best day possible. The "Sun Dog" warmed my heart and gave me that extra little push that I needed and the motivation. So here I am enjoying this day, and reminding myself to make each day the best day it can be. With that in mind, join me tonight at the Y, which is a great nig...

Miss K's party was a huge success. I guess the weather could have been a bit better but other than that the turnout was great. I have to remind myself I can't believe a year has gone by so fast. Within the past few days she has already started attempting to take her first few steps and tried standingup on her own. Each day she begins to be more confident. It is all too often that we forget how short life can be sometimes. We get caught up in our daily activities our daily schedules are Monday through Friday jobs. We forget about those who struggle. Forget about those who are dealing with emotional struggles. We forget about those who are dealing with things bigger than any of us could ever understand. Getting through the first your life is a miracle which is a time to be celebrated which is why the first birthday is so special. So I take this opportunity to thank those who took time out of their busy lives and their busy schedules to spend some time with our family and our spe...

The time has come and I can't believe how fast it has gone. Little K will be turning 1 in a few weeks. I've started planning and I feel like my list keeps getting longer and longer. Her birthday will be a  fall theme with a taco in a bag bar and lots of bite sized desserts. I'm still teaching at the local Y and love it! HIIT on Tuesdays and spin on Thursdays. Just wanted to do a quick update since it has been so long. Keep living healthy and love each day like it's your last.

Get ready for a blast from the past with plenty of upbeat 80's hit. Take this ride back to the days of leisure and carefree.  See you tonight at 5:30 at the YMCA

I've had this thought. I love food I love to cook so why not have a food blog. My husband cooked up amazing dinner tonight. Marinated chicken breasts in a spicy and sweet red chilli sauce with baby zucchini and rice. The rice was a little over cooked but that didn't stop this foodie.  I added a bit of reduced sodium soy sauce and parmesan cheese.  The parmesan gave the rice a deeper nutty flavor and just a bit of saltiness with the soy sauce.  AMAZING!

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Get ready to sweat to the beat of the newest pop music today. Class will consist of a variety of drills: Hills, Sprints, Rolling Hills, and Jumps. You definatley won't leave class dry. Hope to see you there.

Great class tonight at the Y! I have the hardest working, sweat pumping members. I love how hard they work no matter what the workout is. I gave them a workout tonight.  Three sets of intervals. 1st set: 1 minute each of each exercise 4 Rounds *push up with rotation *squat with over head press *walking plank *hand release push ups *lawn mower high pull 2nd set: 1 minute each 4 Rounds *squat jumps *plank jack *split jack lunge *burpees 3rd set: Tabata Style 30 second sets - 20 -25 sec work 5-10 sec rest 2xs each exercise 2x through *skiier with weight *dead lift *reverse lunge with bicep curl *plank with tricep curl I have a 55 minute class and had to cut the second round of the third set to only doing each exercise only once. With a short warm up and cool down its about 55 minutes. Enjoy that extra dessert tonight or another glass of wine. It's well deserved! Happy Friday

Class tonight will consist of longer and strenuous intervals mixed with high tempo cadences.  Get ready for 45 minutes of remixes and mashups!

This is only a test

You see these pictures of these beautiful moms with their strollers and perfect hair and makeup. This is reality right?!? OMG!!! Are you kidding me?!? I told myself that even once I became a mom I would make time to workout for myself, because I need the "me" time. Boy was I wrong! Becoming a mom might be the most rewarding thing I have ever experienced but also the hardest thing I am still trying to figure out. I love the fact that I'm teaching at the local Y two days a week and still finding time to exercise in that capacity. A few updates: 1. We finally moved into our house. No more living with the in-laws. After almost 10 months, it was definitely time to have our own space. Miss K has her own room finally! 2. I changed jobs within my department and finally have a "normal adult" schedule. 3. My husband also received a promotion to a more permanent schedule which will be a huge help on the home front. As Easter approaches this weekend and we are ...