The incredible Egg!

So last night I decided to snuggle up with Steve and watch some tv before bedtime.

Well of course Steve being Steve we ended up watching Modern Marvels on the History Channel.

This one was all about Eggs. 

They broke down the difference between caged and free range or pasteurized  chickens, ostrich eggs, quail eggs, egg whites, ect ect ect.

Eggs are one of my favorite foods. I eat them at least once a day with tons of veggies added in. Absolutely one of my favorite meals!!! 

Eggs have amazing benefits for your health and are one of the cheapest forms of protein you can get! 

I'm still trying ways to make a perfect hard boiled egg but my lovely friend +Jennifer Uebelhoer Forstner just gave me a new way to try so watch out you fucking hard boiled eggs I will conquer you!!!

Then the show took a turn and showed this guy....

Aimean Faour

and I made this face

Then Aimean drank one of these... and Yes I did mean to write drank....

and I made this face.....

Did I mention that there are 80 eggs in each container!?!?!

Here is his full clip from the show if you are interested....

So how many eggs do you eat? How many is too many? Are you an egg white only person or do you go for the whole egg? Favorite egg recipe? Let me hear it!!

Have a great day!

~A

20 things for a Monday Part Deux

So let's go count down 10 more things for this rainy Monday

10. This one was one my favorite meals this week.... Mexican salad!!!

Kale and romaine lettuce, purple cabbage, cucumbers, cilantro, tomatoes, sauteed peppers and onions, grass fed beef, avocado, banana peppers, and salsa....YUMMY!!!!

9. Why are old habits SO easy to fall back into? I have some how slowly switched back to drinking WAY too much coffee and not enough tea and water. This cloudy weather isn't helping me either!!!

8. I miss these two more then I would miss my right arm!

If your sisters were this cool you'd miss them too! Come on June I can't wait to see these two ladies!!!!

7. Just say no to that nasty little white stuff.....Sugar

Challenge yourself to cut 1 sugary item from your daily intake. Small changes add up to big differences!

6. There is a race only for ladies called Run Like a Girl. Your daily fitness and CO2 Fit are teaming up to host a team Please consider joining our team! We are giving away prizes to the first 25 ladies who join our team! 

Register Here We are team CO2 Fit

5. I made delicious coconut banana pancakes yesterday. Steve said "oh are they healthy? I don't want them" I told him Shut-up stop acting like a 4 year old who just doesn't like something because it is healthy.

These were his pancakes....

after asking for seconds I think he liked them! :)

4. This man totally rocked this weekend!

-He took the girls to Toys R Us all by himself!

-Every time I started freaking out cause I was grounded to the couch this weekend he would just hug me

-When I couldn't stop snacking this weekend all he said was good you need to eat.

-He cleaned this weekend!

3. I won an airbrush tan at my favorite place Bombshell I can't wait to get it!!!

2. I just tried to schedule it so I could have it done before a fashion show I am in on Friday but no spots open....oh well looks like I'll be all pale for the fashion show.

1. Hooray I did it.... 20 things were really hard this week! Now to review the new body jam for tonight and see if I can find some shoes I can wear...

Happy Monday All!

~A

20 Things for a Monday

Ok you're only getting 10 now and 10 later cause I need to get into work! So let's jump right into it....

1. I am DETERMINED to have a good week! Now to make it happen!

2. I started learning the next release for the next GRIT series! OMG if you want to train like an athlete, take your fitness to the next level, and make jaws drop at the pool. You need to be in this program!!! GRIT Cardio is going to be a whole new level!!!!

Message me if you have any questions!!!

3. I can't believe that April is almost over! I started this 60 day challenge and now that it is coming to an end I realized I didn't start a challenge I changed my life!!!

4. I keep kicking myself cause I want to write all about my yoga training but just can't seem to get to it, but really if nothing else this picture deserves a blog!

I'm super curious as to the name of Shannon's pose! ( +Shannon Somogyi )

5. I am attempting to go the whole week without any nuts. I have a theory on them and me and I am using myself as an experiment. This will be hard because when I need a go to snack I always grab almonds or cashews....Let's see how this goes

6. Spotify.... I am trying it out...anyone have any tips of suggestions?

7. Steve and the girls built a fort yesterday.....

And we let them sleep in it....

 

7. Tomorrow is this little dudes birthday 

Can't believe he will be 2 already! I remember so many walks trying to get that little man to be born! Happy Birthday G Thug!!!

8. The days I take rest days I hurt SO much more the next day!! Especially when they are forced rest days!!! I am ready to move....I hope my foot is!

9. If you missed them.... These are my girls school pictures.....

SMH..... I'm in so much trouble!!!

10. If you are free May 18th you should join me and my good friend +Seo Kelleher  For the next CO2 Fit Challenge at Huguenot park.

More Info and registration 

See you later for 10 more things..... Now to run or hobble to work :) 

~A

Rough Weekend....

Perhaps it was my "Everything WILL go wrong Friday" that has lead me to this weekend I am just over it! 

Well that's being over dramatic ( perhaps Ava is rubbing off on me! ) 

This was my game plan for Friday.....

Sleep in till 6:30 ( yes that is sleeping in for me! )

Make playlist for class, pack lunches and bag for the day, 

Get girls up and ready for school, 

Head into work to finish the schedule and anything else that needed to be completed

Teach Class

Change and head out for Grocery Shopping ( In Short Pump ) 

Hot Yoga

Get home and get girls off the bus

Afternoon activities with my ladies

Cook dinner

Family Movie night

This was my day.....

Woke up at 7:15 ( Shit I over slept FUCK!!! ) 

Ipod is giving me a hard time and I used all my morning fighting it.

Get the girls up and getting dressed back to the computer maybe I am on to something .... Nope

Grumpy Steve wakes up and stomps around till he leaves for work

Now I am grumpy and REALLY having to dig deep for patience ( did I mention Malia feel back asleep and ava is playing with her dolls still in her underwear?!?! ) 

SO Forget my playlist the girls now have 20min to be at the bus stop.....

Every one is dressed and eating time for me to get dressed....

Ok we are only 8 mins late leaving for the bus stop we can drive instead of walk.....and we barley made it! Phew!!!!

Back to the house .... make a playlist FINALLY. Not what I wanted but it will do....Shoot now I am running late to work though so looks like all my other stuff will have to wait till after my class ....

Class was good! We sweat a lot! I love Body Step!!!

Finished up the schedule and other things I needed to do! YAY

But now I have 1 hour till hot yoga a 20 min drive to shortpump. I haven't eaten and there is no food at home....

So jumped in the car and head to Trader Joe's I can at least get something to eat before hot yoga...

As soon as I pull in the parking lot I think YAY food is close...Then my phone rings

"Mrs. McNeil this is the school nurse Ava is in here for the 2nd time today with a bloody nose. If I can't get it to stop you will need to come pick her up, but she should be fine I just wanted you to know." 

Ok well now I am not going to hot yoga because I can't take my phone with me so that won't work ( SHIT ) 

Well I get some groceries.... 10min later Phone Rings " Mrs. McNeil I think you should come pick Ava up it will almost stop and then start again."

So put the groceries back because the lines are WAY too long to even wait to buy the 4 things I've picked up...

RACE back to the girls school to walk in to Ava perfectly fine and the nurse saying " Oh it stopped about 15min ago she is fine to stay if you want her to" 

Nope taking her home with me so if she gets another one I can just handle it.

So I make Ava go to the grocery store with me, Kroger, they won't have everything I need but it will do.  The whole way there "Mom can we PLEASE get Starbucks !?!" Hmm let's think about this mom on no food and then let's throw some coffee on that NOPE I want my child to survive the day! 

Grocery shopping done ( after our first stop being the tissue isle so Ava had a box of tissues the whole time ) 

Back home to unpack groceries, I grabbed a handful of Macadamia Nuts and then its time to head to the bus stop to get Malia. 

Ava "mom can we take our scooters so Malia and I can ride them home? "

Me "Sure I'll bring Malia's and you ride yours"

Pushing Malia's scooter across the parking lot, the scooter hits a rock pivots around on the front wheel and smacks full force into the back of my naked heel ( I was wearing flip flops. )

I instantly lose my breath, see stars and scream a line of profanities that would make any marine proud!

I can't stop because Ava is a head of me and the bus is almost here....Shit just keep walking!

By the time I get home my heel has doubled in size ( which looks very weird.)

So I get to spend my Friday night icing and resting my foot.  

I am such a planner and when things don't go right.....Well my poor husband heard an earful when he came home! 

So today is Sunday one more day of resting my foot....it's still swollen but not nearly as bad, but I so badly want to go for a walk. However  I know what my week looks like and I need to rest it...So time to find a good book or movie....( I read 2 books yesterday and took about 3 naps hahaha ) 

Ok I'll try to stop bitching now....... I'm just going to look forward to all the non-sitting I will be doing and YOGA!!!

Hope your weekend is going good! 

~A

My Girls

I can not tell you how many times I have been told I need a blog, twitter, facebook, or something simply for "shit my girls say". Anyone that has spent time with them fully understands this. They are the most entertaining people I have ever met. There is N-E-V-E-R ( draw it out as long as possible ) a dull moment with these two....

I adore my little ladies

and they adore each other

Just like sisters should!!!!

So my idea is that for the Wednesday's I actually find a chance to write, it will be dedicated to the crazy, silly and wonderful moments my daughters produce. 

Like this morning, Ava is singing "It Girl"

You could be my it girl 
Baby you're the shi- girl 
Lovin' you could be a crime 
Crazy how we fit girl 
This it girl 
Give me 25 to life 
I just wanna rock all night long 
And put you in the middle of my spotlight 
You could be my it girl 
You're my biggest hit girl 

Well this is the version Ava sang.....

" You could be my It Girl baby you the it girl, I just want to dance all night and put you in the middle of a stop light" 

WAIT WHAT, Put you in the middle of the stop light?!?!? hahahah

So let's cross our fingers that they don't suddenly become boring dull individuals, but really after 8 years I'm not too concerned. 

Since I know plenty of you have had some fun interactions with my little ladies, I'd Love to hear some of your favorites!

~A

It' really only Tuesday?!?! OK Let's do this!

Happy Tuesday all! 

I can't believe it is only Tuesday and 7:30am at that!!! Monday was a long full day but it was good, I went to sleep with a smile on my face and woke up to begin a new journey with a new/old PT client....

Let me back up a little.

Monday 6am: Finished up a 6 week series of Grit with a great group of ladies! They each got stronger over the 6 weeks and I can't wait to start again!!!!

Monday 10:30am Taught Body Pump 85 and nailed the choreography which put a huge smile on my face.... and an intense muscle burn in my back, shoulders, biceps, quads, triceps, chest (OMG )   Every where!!!!!!

The rest of the day was filled with getting things done, meetings, and one more practice before the dance party.....

Dance Party for Relay for Life was SO much fun!!! I wish I had thought to take a picture earlier. This was towards the end of the night....

The lights were AWESOME!! Courtney was AMAZING and the love from the instructors and members was unbelievable!! ( LeAnne Thanks so much for coming to see me before you moved!!! )

It was a great night and I can't stop smiling about it!

By the time I got home however I was EXHAUSTED and hadn't prepped anything for dinner SMH!!! I took care of the girls dinner via Chick-Fil-A ( some times it happens.... ) But I had nothing for me for dinner...I was ready to just say screw it I'll just go to bed, or let me just grab a handful of cashews and be done with it.... Neither option was going to provide my body with the nutrition it needed....So I pulled myself off the couch and put this little dinner together is under 5 mins....

Salad ( Kale, cucumber, carrots, beets and Tuna ( with no soy added which is very hard to find!! ) Green Beans, and mashed cauliflower ( I had some leftover ) 

It was an amazing dinner and I went to be completely satisfied!!!

That was my Monday, how was yours?

~A

Why are we always the hardest on ourselves?

I've been thinking about how to eloquently write this for a couple days  weeks now. I haven't figured it out but I'm moving forward anyway.

I can't say for sure what got me started thinking about this, but this video has replayed in my mind more times then I can count....

If you need to grab tissues I will wait.....

Ok, So I know for 100% truth that I would NEVER draw myself accurately. How would you do? I will be the first to say I am queen of being hard on myself! I promise I will critique and criticize myself more in the time span of 30 sec then you could if you dedicated your whole day to it....And I am probably not alone!

Think about it, how many times do we think, "oh I don't look good", or "I did that wrong", or "I'm an awful parent", "I'm no good at _______ , ect ect ect". 

I know personally I have struggled with this since I can remember. I battled anorexia as a teenager, then swung the other direction and developed all sorts of messed  fucked up eating habits. Self esteem has never been my strong suit and probably the thing that drives my husband craziest about me. 

Why are we not gracious to ourselves? Why is it so hard ( especially  for women ) to be kind to ourselves?

As I look into myself more, I want to learn to be more gracious and kind to myself, but how? How do I teach my girls to be kind to themselves? To think highly of themselves? The times I do take for myself I end up feeling selfish and like I need to make it up some how. 

I often hear women complain about how mean other women can be and I probably would have jumped on that band wagon with you.... But I am blessed and have some fabulous women in my life who think more highly of me then I have ever thought of myself. They always show up at just the right moment with a hug, a smile, a laugh, or just someone to sit with and breath. 

This morning this beautiful woman ....                                               Whom I am just starting to get to know!      

Saw me in the locker room, took a second to ask how my day was, LISTENED, and then said something that meant the world to me. "Be kind to yourself you are a busy woman and you need to be kind to yourself"

Really those words could be said over and over again to numerous people and perhaps it wouldn't have had the affect it did on me today. But today it hit me right to my core. Why at 9:30 am when I have already been up for over 5 hours, and got more accomplished then most people do in their whole day, am I beating myself up that I haven't gotten more done or better. 

I don't know how, but I am finding a way to see myself more accurately. I want to be able to draw myself correctly and not this distorted view I have created of myself. I hope you know your worth and your beauty both in and out. And if you are in the same boat as me, let's find some higher ground together!

~A

  

20 Things for a Monday

1. This weekend went by WAY Too fast!

                                                                      

2. Launch this weekend was SO much fun! If you don't know what Launch is let me educate you ....

Every 3 months Les Mills provides ( for a LOVELY fee ) new choreography and music for their classes. So we at the gym do a big Launch Day to highlight all the new releases. So I launched this weekend with these lovely ladies! 

 

 

Thank you Ladies for a fabulous day!!!

3. I was up ALL night with a tummy ache and my spider bite won't stop blistering at night and itching all day....Stupid!!!!

4. I meant to do a weekly wrap up of all the food I made this week....and it was good! But I ran out of time and I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I should have! I will try to do better this week!

5. I found these little delightful treasures 

OMGOODNESS!!!! They are AMAZING!!!! I have only found them at whole foods which is a good 30 min away from me! My bank account is rather pleased about this distance between us! If you ever want to get on my good side....I'm just saying!

6. My Yoga trainer challenged me to give a compliment a day. It really does make a difference.... Try it! Give 7 compliments this week! It won't hurt you I promise! It may be a little awkward at first but the reward it totally worth it!

7. I unfortunately missed this little ladies birthday party  

Happy Birthday Little Emma! Can't wait to dance with you again! Littlest Body Jammer EVER!

8. My Girls took an ENTIRE week to clean their room. Finished it LATE Saturday night, but 12pm Sunday it was a mess again .... SMH!!!

9. On a good note....My girls both brought up all their grades on their report cards!!! WOO HOO!!!!

10. Analysis Paralysis  Have you heard of this? Where you do nothing cause you have too much to do and don't know where to start, ect.... I fight this all the freaking time. Why when I have too much to do do I want to just sit there and do nothing?!?!

11. Malia found out Grandma is coming for her birthday party.... I heard Woooo HOOOOOO for at least a full minute!

12.  This lady gave me the nicest compliment this weekend! And I haven't stopped smiling about it!

13. One last time I will invite you to come dance with me for Relay for Life. It's tonight from 6- 7:30pm and open to everyone! Grab your buddies and come dance with us! 

14. I'm so glad they caught those stupid bombers! Now I will run and run and run for all the runners who can't anymore!

15. I watched this yesterday .... I LOVE this movie.... especially the songs!! 

16. I need a good book to read that will provide me with lots of life inspiration.... Any one got anything?

17. There was a Yoga Flash Mob on Saturday I desperately wanted to go to but it just didn't work out. Did any of my yoga friends go? I'd love to see pics!

18. I went to 90 min candle light yoga, I thought it would be relaxing, NOPE holy shoot I was wrong!!!! 

19, Happy Birthday to this lovely lady! You ALWAYS bring a smile to my face as soon as you enter a room! You are an amazing woman! Happy Birthday!

20. Shoot I needed to leave for work 2 min ago....More later friends have a wonderful day!

~A

I'm Happy! :)

I was just sitting here finishing some emails when I took a deep breath and prepped myself to mentally run through the rest of my day and tomorrow.

Mentally I ran through all my to do's for today and tomorrow and thought, well I'll be busy but not too bad. Then I ran through all I had already done today, Took another breath, and Smiled.

I just sat their and smiled and realized how happy I am, and smiled probably looking ridiculous especially since I am the only one in the house, some good chill music playing (  at this exact moment it's "Is this Love" Bob Marley ) the windows are open & I'm not sneezing !!!! Then I  started to run through some things that just randomly popped in my head that make my heart smile in this moment!

1. Of Course this collection of people .... 

2. How much better I feel. health-wise. I fully contribute it to some life changes I made and the diet changes I have made! I can not even find the words to full explain the magnitude of the difference!

3. Something else I contribute to this new state I'm in is Yoga....There is TOTALLY something to this! If you don't Yoga you should!!!

4. I LOVE my job! I work with so many AMAZING people! I go home so many days and just rave about the amazing people I work with! I am beyond blessed to work at MAC and have the job I have!!! But even more I get to workout for my job! I get to help change people's lives EVERY day. I get to play and smile and have fun. Really I have a great job!

5. Still on the job thing....I get to walk to work! That may not seem cool to you, but I can't remember a time I didn't want to live somewhere I could walk to work and other places I needed to go! I count this as a HUGE blessing to me!

6. Laying in the hammock on a warm day and feeling a cool breeze, listening to the birds and geese talk and just enjoying the moment!

And then a million other things I am blessed with! Amazing Friends, listening to my girls laugh, the ability to go out and run. ect ect ect. 

What are you happy for?

~A

Eating healthy is so .....

Delicious and Flavorful!

I know plenty of people are saying Bull Shit! But for REALS! I am so surprised by all the amazing flavors I am finding in these "healthy foods" 

Let me tell you a predicament I found myself in.... 

Saturday night I was lazy and we ordered Chinese food. The place we ordered from has their "Diet" section so I got some steamed vegetables and chicken. Nothing on it, I had plenty of options at home. Plus all my options contained ingredients I could pronounce and know exactly what they are.

So I put some food in my bowl at home and decided to put some curry spices and Tahini 

It was really good and I thought about just using that combination for the rest of my food.

However I figured I'd gone through the hassle of bringing out other options so why not.....

Second option.... 

Spicy brown mustard. SO good and none of the crap in the hot mustard the restaurants provide you with.

By then I was full, but already thinking of other combinations for more meals. 

I have REALLY found a new love for cooking, but really of all the variety of foods available that I have been missing out on because I was too busy filling my diet with crap! Plus when all the chemicals from foods are removed ( I'm not even just talking about the pesticides and such, I'm talking about the chemicals they put into the foods to make them "taste better" ) you are able to really taste what food is supposed to taste like.

Ok I'm jumping off my soap box for now....

There is way too much that I can't seem to say about what happened in Boston. So for my lack of eloquence and my speechlessness. I will simply say, I hope everyone wore their race shirts today!

~A