Guess who’s in the clear??

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At my midwife appointment today, she told me I’m “free to do whatever I was doing before.”

Music to my ears.

Even though I’m still recovering, I feel great and am excited to get back into the things I love. I’m so excited to take a Zumba class this week, I can hardly stand it. Of course, I’ll be modifying as I build my stamina back up and will play it safe –nothing is worth setting myself back by doing too much too soon- but the fact that I have the freedom to move again is amazing.

Time to dust off the yoga mat that’s been sleeping on the piano.. in the garage.. for over a month

Also, it’s been kind of challenging to write a fitness-driven blog when I haven’t been able to participate in fitness activities myself. I’ll be inspired and refreshed- a very good thing, indeed

Rewind to this morning, I had some egg casserole leftover from nana’s incredible Sunday brunch:

(x2)

plus 1 C oats with almond milk and Brewer’s yeast to-go:

(word to the wise: Brewer’s yeast tastes horrible. I only eat it to help milk supply, otherwise I would probably stay far away)

Rewind to last night, we spent the evening watching -I use the term “watching” very loosely- the Superbowl with good friends

and fur friends

and snuggles with my girls.

This afternoon, I’m off to walk and grab coffee with Kelly, then back home for dinner… maybe a gentle yoga class??

Hope you’re having a great day!

xoxo

Gina

Today’s workout jam: Perfect for tempo work

After last blogging about living in cave mode,

we were out and about all day today… and it was glorious.

I packed up a little breakfast

(nothing like a turkey sandwich in the morning)

and we went to the squadron to say hi,

2 doctor appointments,

a lab appointment

and back home to free Miss Bell.

She always gets a little antsy when she stays home all day, so we took her on a little walk around the neighborhood to shake her legs out.

We walked 2 streets down and back… plenty for me right now

Some eats:

I am obsessed with these chocolate-covered acai berries from Costco. There’s a giant bag in the pantry and my hand can usually be found in it…

dinner and a movie, courtesy of our neighbors.

Not sure if the movie will happen, but dinner was fantastic: salad with apples, pecans, goat cheese and vinaigrette, paired with shrimp that the madre left in our fridge, along with copious groceries. If we’re going to be in a cave mode, we’re well-prepared Non cave dwellers, what are you up to this weekend?

Hope you’re having a great night! <3

xoxo

Gina

Today’s tip: Being present and higher concentration will yield better results. Instead of just going through the motions during your next workout, take time to really focus on the muscle group you’re working. A British study found that by concentrating on the specific muscle during work, you can increase muscle fiber activation. For example, while you’re doing a bicep curl, picture the muscle in your mind as you flex and extend. More bang for your workout buck!

Zumba song of the day: “Taboo” Don Omar. I’ve had this one of the playlist since summer… and still love it.

*Thank you guys for being patient and hanging out with me this week while we’ve been getting to know our newest family member. Blogging has been random as we settle into things and start to get into a routine, but every day it’s getting a little easier. Sleep deprivation is no joke, but it’s 100% worth it, and I’m very thankful to have the Pilot and our Tucson family helping us out and savoring all of the moments.

Lots of fun stuff in the mix for next week, including Winter Shape Up 2012, which starts on Monday. Super excited for this one

I think it’s pretty apparent from reading the blog that the Pilot works a lot, and works extremely hard. Even when he’s home on the weekends, he’s been working on house stuff (lots of master bedroom, office and nursery furniture assembly lately) since we moved in. He had a couple of extra days off work this week for the holidays, and with most of the important house stuff taken care of, he felt like he could finally take a day sans chores and relax a little bit.

The only time he left the house was to take Bell to the park with me

(she LOVES sprinting back and forth with the big dogs)

and the only flying he did today was with his stocking stuffer: a remote control helicopter.

He’s been flying it around the house –Bella is not a fan- and even though we have very high ceilings, it was fun to watch him max it out outside.

I’m glad he finally had a day to relax all day- after a few mental health days, I think he’ll be feeling pretty good <3

Helicopter spectators:

This morning, after the gym I went to La Encantada to check out the after-Christmas sales. The stores were TRASHED by the time I got there, but it was fun to walk around and window shop.

Lunch:

2 pieces of toast with goat cheese, sundried tomatoes, arugula and balsamic

2 clementines

and a GF sugar cookie snowman that was staring at me, so I ate him

We’re grilling pizza for dinner tonight and going to watch a movie.

See ya in the morning with a Reader’s Request!

xoxo

Gina

Today’s workout jam: DJ Earworm United State of Pop 2011 Mashup. I loved last year’s and was so excited to see that this year’s was out

Something to talk about: When was the last time you took a mental health day to relax, sans chores or work obligations? I’m fortunate to be working part-time as a fitness instructor, so I have flexibility in my schedule that gives me periods of rest between teaching all day (well, for at least for the next 10 days or so…). Even when I was in Valdosta working open to close shifts at the department store, I definitely used a sick day to relax and clear my brain once in a blue moon.

I’m still sugar-buzzed from last night.

(GF ones in the middle, regular on the sides)

Of course, the ones we messed up were dubbed “eaters”

Everyone came over here to decorate the sugar cookies that mom, nana and I made the other night. Before our friends came over, I rolled out the dough

(dough creeper)

cut them into snowman, tree, angel, gingerbread man and heart shapes, and baked away.

We ordered pizzas, beer and K cups were consumed (tea for me), and decorated the cookies with green, red and white icing.

My works of (non)art:

Bikini and monokini

Snowman and Christmas… ghost

The icing was kinda watery, but we made it work

While we were decorating, madre made some bizcochuelos and baked them in the oven… and I caught Bellaboo begging her little heart out before I kicked her out of the kitchen.

Apparently she was feeling brave and sassy after her haircut…

The only grinches were Kyle and the Pilot- they came to decorate during basketball commercial breaks

The last thing I wanted this morning was something sweet after all the sugar I ate last night- my sweet tooth is still waving the white flag. So since we’re out of eggs, I made some plain oats with almond flour mixed in for protein and texture:

Check out the protein content:

with tea:

The Pilot is off work today (!) so we’re off to a doc appt, last-minute elf errands and the gym

See ya later with a Family post <3
xoxo

Gina

Something to think:

“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.”
― Mother Teresa

Today’s workout jam: “What You Want” by Evanescence- love this for weightlifting or hill work

Last night’s enchilada’s were a little different than the usual chicken or veg that I’ll make.

I’ll usually serve them with rice and beans, but last night the rice and beans were inside the enchi’s <—an idea I got from my “Cooking for Isaiah” cookbook

In all my years of enchiladas, I’d never tried them this way and was a big fan. The Pilot loved it, too.

Just started off with a purple onion, the corn from two cobs, garlic, sea salt and pepper

Added to that 2 cups of brown rice, cooked, cumin, chili powder, black beans, splash of lime juice and sliced grape tomatoes

Sauce was a la jar, mixed with some homemade salsa, his side was topped with a blanket of cheese. So good. It was my first time using blue corn tortillas for the wrappers, and while the taste was awesome, they fell apart a little more easily than the regular corn tortillas.

After we feasted, we ran a couple of errands and then came home to online shop for desks. We really want to get the office put together before Christmas, and whilst perusing Amazon, we came across these little gems:

A double-win for those who like leather bound books and rich mahogany:

Source

Sadly, the dog statue is not included.

And a desk that basically you can’t afford NOT to buy! 99% off!

Source

How a desk was originally priced the same as a car I will never know. Unless it gives me magical powers…. then I would like it. We didn’t end up finding a desk, but got a pretty good laugh out of our shopping endeavors, and called it a night.

Winter is pretty much the only time I don’t mind seeing the sun rise

and I’m about to make some bfast and head to work.

Hope everyone has a happy almost-Friday!

xoxo

Gina

Congrats to the stability ball winner! Email me your info/size and I’ll get it on the way today.

Something to read:

-The worst diet scams of 2011

-The best workout videos on YouTube

Today’s workout jam:

I’m going to go ahead and blame my tiredness on the weather.

46* and raining all day. That’s gotta be it.

Almost every day this week, around 6 pm, I’ve hit a wall. I’ve done a pretty good job fighting through it, but as far as cooking/dinner goes, it’s been a little rough.

Lots of Amy’s meals:

(gnarly-looking, but delicious, pizza)

eggs (standard)

and grab-and-gos, like yogurt, Larabars and fruit.

If it weren’t for the Pilot, it would be “breakfast for dinner week” at our house. Instead, he just says “If you prep something, I’ll just throw it on the grill.” Music to my ears.

Last night, we still ended up having breakfast for dinner, but we threw it on the grill

I was hankering for quiche, so here’s what I did to make an easy, crustless version:

-Sauté 1/2 onion, 1 container’s worth of pre-sliced mushrooms in butter

-Add the veggies to a bowl with 10oz defrosted and drained frozen spinach (squeezed with paper towel to remove any excess water

-1 t dried thyme

-1 t dried parsley

-1/2 t sea salt

-hefty sprinkle of pepper

-1/2 container of goat’s milk cream cheese

-1/2 block of shredded goat gouda

-5 eggs

-1.5 T flour (I used brown rice)

-Whisked to combine, and then poured the mixture into a pie pan (sprayed with olive oil) and topped with smoked paprika

The Pilot only turned two of the four burners on the grill, and let it cook for 55 minutes. [If you’d like to make this at home, bake for about 45-55 minutes at 350]

We enjoyed it for dinner last night with salads and toast, and this afternoon, I had the last piece for a snack, covered in blanket of hot sauce.

I might have to make another one of these very soon…

Ok friends, it’s moccasin and movie time over here.

(my legs are on the right. Haha)

See ya in the morning!

xoxo

Gina

Zumba song of the day: Working on warm-up choreography for this one, but I can’t find it on iTunes. Anyone know how I can buy the song? I’m thinking of taking my laptop to work and hooking up to the WiFi to play it on Saturday if I can’t figure it out.

Warning: if you watch the video, there will be a booty in your face. Sorry about that The song is AMAZING, though.

It’s definitely back to the grind over here…

[Egg sandwich + Larabar taken to work]

and it feels good

I taught two classes (and assisted one) this morning, and am back home for a little lunch break before Zumba and Tubing.

This is what it looks like.. when a refrigerator cries

I scraped the topping off the leftover bnut squash pizza in the fridge onto some arugula, added chickpeas (some for Bella- she goes CRAZY for chickpeas), drizzled with balsamic, walnut oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. Considering what I had to work with, it was pretty amazing.

I knew we wouldn’t have time to grocery shop last night, and was very tempted to just get a “couple of things” when we stopped at the San Diego Whole Foods on our way home.

But I was good, since I could tell the Pilot was antsy to get on the road… and I’m the slowest Whole Foods shopper ever. I like to look at everything just in case they got something new and exciting.

All I picked up was a perfect persimmon

[and a Perrier- I love the bubbles]

and the sandwich of my life.

I couldn’t believe that they had a full-up sandwich bar… it was a very legit Whole Foods. The Tucson ones hide in embarrassment.

I hid in embarrassment too because I was so distracted by said sandwich bar, I didn’t notice that they were filming a news segment right in front of my face. I quickly ducked away… and the Pilot made fun of me.

Worth it? 100%

Gluten-free bread with Dijon and hummus, romaine, lettuce, olives, jalapenos, roasted veggies, and goat cheese.

So crazy that Thanksgiving is exactly one week from today! It’s a big deal over here, and I’m so excited that the Pilot gets to have his first Thanksgiving with my family (he’s usually deployed).

Even though my family goes all out (my nana bakes a ridiculous amount of foodgasmic pies), I always like to contribute to the feast, too.

This year, we’ll go cheer the Pilot on in the Turkey Trot,

head to madre’s for breakfast

[pumpkin pancakes and egg casserole!]

to my uncle’s house for lunch/dinner

golf

[the girls will usually follow, chat and take pictures]

poker + cocktails (non-alcoholic wine for me! I’m so glad you guys let me know they actually make the stuff)

and back to our house for dessert.

I know I definitely want to make my favorite raw chocolate pie and millet stuffing,

but here are some other things I have on my recipe radar:

-Emily’s sweet and sour Brussels sprouts

-Chai-spiked pumpkin shake <—these would be so fun to have at our dessert party

-Sweet potato and pomegranate salad {minus the frisee. gag}

-Curried pumpkin soup

*I also have a healthified holiday menu on my Food page, and the single-serving pumpkin cheesecakes, too

Now the problem is deciding…

What do you have on your recipe radar right now?

Off to Zumba!

xoxo

Gina

Today’s workout jam: “Pegate” by Fulanito. This is the song I choreographed in the car yesterday, and while I’ve had it on the iPod for a while, I just love it SO MUCH. Here’s a snippet if you’d like to dance along

[I’ll try to get my choreo filmed and uploaded for you guys within the next couple of weeks]

Hi friends! Thank you so much for the wonderful birthday wishes <3 I loved reading all them and they made my day even brighter than it already was.

I’m up late blogging since we were out partying our faces off!

Ok, not really.

I went to work, came back to the casa, showered (“I can’t believe I have to shower on my birthday”), we took Bell for a walk, hit up the mall and Nordstrom Rack and then spent the rest of the night drinking tea (Eggnog Latte for the mister) at the Starbucks where we met. All in all, a truly wonderful day.

For lunch, I enjoyed a hummus tostada (crispy corn tortilla, hummus, goat cheese, greens and mixed veggies) + half a chicken GF sandwich (ate the rest after work) from Renee’s Organic Oven.

I called the Pilot while I was driving home and he said “Don’t make lunch yet- I picked some up for you.” I love that man.

+ CAKE

Courtesy of the madre: GF chocolate cake with white frosting and rainbow sprinkles. That’s the half of the cake I took back to work with me- the girls loved it

Before slicing the pieces to take to work, I munched two.. and was bouncing off the walls during Zumba. It was a very fun class – lots of energy and yelling ladies who were happy to shake their booties. The best.

We just got back to the casa and, in our typical fashion, have barely started packing for our trip tomorrow.

At least the essentials are ready:

If you live in La Jolla and happen to see a girl with an enormous belly, wearing only boots and munching a Larabar, that’s me.

See ya from the road!

xoxo

Gina

Today’s workout jam:

Love this for high-energy cardio- it would be great for a gradual tempo or resistance increase throughout the song, too.

Tonight brings a happy farewell to something I always dread: night weeks.

The Pilot has been either working or flying late for the past 3 weeks, and I’m so glad that it’s over for now- I’ve missed our dinners together, walks with Bell, and just hanging out. [He gets to go to our classes Tuesday night with me, but the rest of the week he’s been working late] Whenever he’s not home at night, it feels so quiet and lonely around here, and eerily similar to what I get used to while he’s TDY or deployed.

Dinners usually end up looking like this:

and I’ll usually distract myself at night by taking my computer somewhere else to work on things, take Bell for a long walk, go chill with the fam, and/or take a nighttime fitness class with a friend. Last night, I took a dance cardio class with a live DJ and it freed my soul- it was seriously incredible.

While night weeks throw both of our schedules off –the Pilot has to sleep late and I wake up early; he gets home late, so I stay up to chat with him- it’s always fun to come home on my lunch break and have him here, just waking up, and snuggling with Bell.

He’ll have breakfast and I’ll have lunch, I’ll head back to work and his work day will begin.

Today, the weather was so beautiful we picnicked outside:

[See the dead palm tree stump? We’re thinking of putting a pond with a waterfall in that corner]

He dragged our little patio table out into the grass, and I munched my salad while he enjoyed a breakfast burrito.

[Most random salad ever. The plan was to use beets, but the ones I had were no longer fresh and the only beans I had on hand were pinto. I rolled with it]

I eat lunch al fresco with Bell everyday, but it was even better with the man of the house joining us

Whenever I’m outside, I’m so thankful to have a backyard. After such a long time of living in apartments or condos sans yards –meaning Bella needed a leash when she needed to go out- it’s definitely something we appreciate so much more.

So, I’m off to spend the last of the night weeks at yoga, and then to a show with the madre.

Enjoy your night and I’ll see ya in the morning!

xoxo

Gina

Zumba song of the day: “Baile Me” Gipsy Kings. I usually play Gipsy Kings for my “clean the house” music, but I love to use this one for flamenco in Zumba.

Something to talk about: What’s something you’re thankful for today? I always remind myself with how much I hate night weeks, I’m just thankful the Pilot comes home each night, instead of being deployed. After three deployments, it’s definitely something to be grateful for. [Sending love to those of you who are going through deployments right now <3]

Someone managed to escape from work for a little lunch date…

I was running errands on base, and the Pilot called to see if I wanted to pick him up at the squadron and head to the golf course for lunch. The golf course has a cute little restaurant with diner-type fare, and he had a hotdog and sandwich with fries, while I enjoyed a pretty awesome chef salad. During lunch we talked a little about how I probably never imagined being married to someone in the military (true), and now it’s something that I’m totally used to and actually enjoy.

I told him that I used to be SO scared to drive onto base by myself –they have men in uniform with giant guns and scary dogs- and now it’s NBD. Also, we walked a little about what we might want to do after being here in Tucson. There are so many options, but I’m happy to go anywhere since we had the chance to be here with the family. It’s a crazy adventure!

Afternoon snack was a little random:

I took some asparagus and cut the ends off,

and then wrapped the ends in goat gouda, organic turkey, and baked for 20 minutes at 375 with a minced garlic clove, olive oil, sea salt and pepper. It was pretty fantastic with Dijon mustard, and would also be good with tofurkey if you prefer that, or even well-seasoned thin slices of eggplant.

[Not exactly something I'd serve to company, but a super easy little snack]

This afternoon Bell and I went for a walk around the neighborhood, and I’m going to make the Pilot some dinner before heading to Zuuuuuuumba

Enjoy your night!

xoxo

Gina

Zumba song of the day: “Noche de Entierro (Nuestro Amor- Clean version)” Zion/ Daddy Yankee/ Tonny Tun Tun/ Wisin y Yandel/ Hector “El Father”

I heard this on the radio yesterday and Shazam-ed it instantly I was in LOVE. If you are a Zumba fan, or just like reggaeton for working out, download asap. I’m already working on a dance for Saturday’s class

Something to think:

There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do.

-Freya Stark