Things I’m Loving Right Now

I had so much fun and great feedback from posting a blog post like this last month, that I decided to make it a regular thing!

Dailey Interval

Although I really enjoyed P90X3, there is something about group classes that I just loved. I really missed Pilates and also Dailey Method! The last two Thursdays I’ve taken “Dailey Interval” at The Dailey Method Carlsbad which is a more cardio-based strength adaptation of the traditional barre class. They’ve changed the routine a bit since I first treid this class (which is typical of TDM – they are always adapting and keeping things interesting).

During last week’s class I was so challenged that at one point I was shaking so much I wasn’t sure I was going to make it through class! Although the class uses a wide variety of squats and lunges to keep the heart rate up, there is also plenty of planking and push-ups to work the upper body as well. Unlike the traditional TDM classes where there is focus on one body part per segment, Dailey Interval works several body parts at once, blasting fat and toning muscle at the same time. Between interval sets, there are “recovery” sets, which incorporate a lot of yoga moves. I put recovery in quotes because these moves don’t really feel like recovery. By the end of the 45 minute class, I’m sweaty and exhausted! The day after class both weeks I was super sore in my quads, glutes, back, shoulders AND abs.

TV Cleanse

You didn’t read wrong. We went without TV for a full month (using my ipad to watch Orange if the New Black while on the trainer doesn’t count) and it was actually not as hard as I thought. Mike has been encouraging us to do a “TV detox” for over a year now and once our TV broke (or so we thought) we decided to go for it. Mike told me I owed him since I make him do things like alcohol and sugar detoxes and I couldn’t argue with that one! We’ve been so busy over the last month that it wasn’t too hard to avoid. Instead, I’ve been reading a lot more, taking more walks with Mike and we even had a game night!

Chickpea Avocado Salad Sandwiches

After getting VERY sick of my usual 3 vegan lunches in rotation, I searched high and low on Pinterest for something new and discovered an amazingly tasty sandwich recipe. Here’s the recipe: Mash 1 ripe avocado in a bowl. Drain and rinse one can of organic garbanzo beans (chickpeas) and mix into the avocado mash. Squeeze half a lime into the mix and sprinkle with salt and ground coriander (to taste). Optionally, cut up red onion and mix it up!  It’s simple enough to make in the morning and I serve it between two slices of bread with slices of tomato and cucumber and spinach. It makes enough for 3 full size sandwiches – I usually put very large portions on 1 sandwich each for Mike and I and then bring the remaining mix to work for an afternoon snack.

The Neighbors

We saw this movie (which is about a young couple with a baby who moves in to a new house just as a rowdy fraternity moves in next store and a battle of territory ensues) last Friday night on a double date with Asia and Jeremy and I must say I haven’t laughed so hard in a movie in a long time. I haven’t seen very many good comedies in the last few years but this was great. The entertainment factor went way up by the fact that I can relate to both sides of the battle- as a former party girl (but seriously never partied as hard as these guys do in the movie) and a now “bed before 10 p.m., maybe 11 p.m. on the weekends” married person (with plenty of friends with babies), I was amused on a few different levels.

Miranda Lambert’s new album, Platinum

If you’re a country fan, give it a try! This is my 4^th Miranda album and a great one. I especially love the song “Pricilla” where she compares her marriage with attention hog Blake Shelton to Pricilla and Elvis’.

What are you into right now?