Category Archives: Jazzercise

Weekend Prep

Daily Life!, Food for Thought, Jazzercise, , , ,

This upcoming weekend is going to be a busy busy one, and this hit me yesterday about midday. Luckily, Wednesday night is my night off of teaching Jazzercise so I was home for the evening to take care of a few things that I know won’t get done Saturday or Sunday!

HOD2013OutsideFinalRight after work tomorrow night, Nick and I will be getting snazzy and heading to the BCFO’s Hooked on Dance event. It starts at 6 PM, so I tried to figure out our outfits last night. The theme is Havana Nights – so think Cuban Salsa club, circa 1950. At least that’s what I have in my head. And I don’t have much in my closet that fits this bill. But I have 3 options that I will pick as soon as I get home tomorrow. My bridesmaid dress from Katie’s wedding may be making another appearance this weekend! The weather will hopefully help me decide.

Hopefully this event doesn’t keep us out too late, because Saturday I’m heading off to Kansas City bright and early with our Jazzercise gang! It’s our semi-annual district meeting. All instructors and class owners have a very large meeting to discuss mostly business-related stuff. It’s always fun, especially because I get to travel with this group!

882611_10151533357345470_1187782214_oThis is our photo from the last district meeting earlier this year. This group of ladies is so much fun. We always have a blast when we go on these little trips together!

It’ll be a smaller group of us going up on Saturday morning (some of the instructors aren’t able to attend), so we’ll all be piling into one car. It’ll be a cozy ride! Then Saturday night after the meeting, we are going out to the Power & Light District in KC for a fun evening. We have a suite for all of us that evening, and we’ll head back to Springfield the next morning. It’ll be a quick trip but lots of fun!

Nick has graciously agreed to keep his weekend low-key so he can hang around the house and take care of Mac. I’m hoping to be home by around midday Sunday to get a few normal weekend errands done, but I know it’s going to turn into a whirlwind weekend where I’ll be racing to even get to bed on time Sunday night.

But let’s back up to lunchtime yesterday…I skipped over it last night because of my busy evening of catching up on cleaning and laundry. But it was a good one!

Eggie Lunch

I was craving eggs again when I got home yesterday! So I whipped 2 eggs in a bowl with 2 spoonfuls of cottage cheese and some salt and pepper. I microwaved this for 1 minute and then added a small can of mixed veggies to make a fairly colorful scramble!

photo(126)The cottage cheese keep the eggs from getting extra firm, but after 2 1/2 minutes in the microwave total, I was sure the eggs were cooked all the way through. This was super quick and I was stuffed after all the eggs and veggies were in my tummy!

photo(125)Eggs in the microwave = my lunchtime savior! Yum!

Breakfast

Breakfast today was a little sad. I started my morning at the gym after fighting with my alarm clock. This in turn made me late to everything the rest of the morning. Ugh! Soooo in my haste, I grabbed the first things from my fridge and pantry that I saw.

photo(123)The bag is already opened in the picture, but these Kay’s Protein Pretzel Sticks are actually really tasty when you want something crunchy! I grabbed them to go along with my breakfast because they have 12g of protein, are gluten free, and are cinnamon toast flavor! But they are very good for being gluten free. Really.

photo(124)I also had some Greek yogurt and a big ol’ apple that I chopped up quickly to avoid the awkward apple crunching in my office. No one wants to listen to someone else chomping into an apple at 8 AM.

This mix kept me full most of the morning. I had a small banana and some trail mix as lunch time approached. It’s been a pretty hungry day today. I blame my workouts and my run from yesterday. 🙂

Lunch was the typical salad and Lean Cuisine – yes, I know I said I wanted to get away from the packaged/processed foods. It’ll happen…one day. 🙂

The weekend prep has to move ahead this evening since tomorrow we’ll be dancing the night away! Tonight will consistent of Jazzercise at 6:45 and then a little packing for the weekend trip to KC. The temps are supposed to be chilly, especially when we are out downtown on Saturday night! So maybe some scarves, tights, and boots will be in order. Yay for Fall clothing! LOVE IT!

Have a great Thursday night, ya’ll. We’re almost to the weekend!

Choosing Positivity

Daily Life!, Food for Thought, Jazzercise, , ,

Happy Monday! I hope it’s been a good one for you so far.

Today started earlier than normal for me…ahem…2 AM. Why, might you ask? I woke up with a screaming Charlie horse cramp in my left calf muscle! Before I was even awake, I was out of bed, screaming, and trying to work out the most horrendous cramp EVER. It lasted a whole 10 seconds and I thought I died. But it passed (like it always does!), and I went back to sleep within minutes. Luckily it didn’t come back, and I slept soundly until my 5 AM wake up call for my 5:40 AM Jazzercise class.

Workout (x3!)

I had a small crowd this morning at my early Jazzercise class. All my students were half asleep and it was hard to stay motivated, but we powered through! I always feel amazing when I start my day with a fun workout. Energized and ready to go!

So it’s going to be a serious Jazzercise Marathon day today. I was super smart and overbooked myself today for teaching. I typically teach twice on Mondays, once in the morning and once in the evening. But today one of our instructors is out of town, and I volunteered to teach her 5:40 PM class as well. Oooops! I’ll survive though. Plus, I’ll have 3 solid hours of Jazzercise under my belt by the time I hit the sack tonight, so I’ll sleep like a dream!

I truly love teaching, and it’s days like today that bring that back to my attention. If I didn’t LOVE it, there is no way I would be willing to put so much time into it. I’ve already told myself that I’m going to most likely be tired by the time my 3rd class time comes around this evening, but I’m going to choose to be positive and power through it. I know my body is able, and I’m so thankful for my job, so why be cranky and negative?? Today let’s choose positivity and make this Monday as wonderful as possible!

Breakfast

Breakfast was quick and simple to grab as I was leaving for work this morning. I prepared a nice big bowl of Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats last night. I added a splash more of almond milk, some Craisins, and a few chopped walnuts for lots of texture.

photo(91)I love, love, love adding craisins or raisins to this mix because the sweetness is a special little treat! I also had lots of coffee and some caramel spice cake yogurt on the side for extra protein.

photo(90)This big bowl of oats + the yogurt kept me extra full all morning, which can be a challenge after a morning workout! I love the staying power of some hefty oatmeal. 🙂

Lunch

Lunch came together quickly thanks to some leftovers!

photo(91)I had the very last tiny bit of my quinoa salad, a few brussel sprouts, and some veggie pasta. I cleaned out 3 small tupperware containers from the fridge. Win!

photo(90)My favorite part was the leftover pasta. This girl loves her carbs! I also had a few tortilla chips on the side for some crunch, plus an apple since my meal wasn’t very fruit/veggie dense.

photo(89)After lunch, I threw another apple and some more yogurt into my purse as I’ll need a snack before my 2 Jazzercise classes right after work. I’ve decided I need to be more creative with my healthy snacks – I’m such a creature of habit at the grocery store! Oh well, today my go-to yogurt and fruit will get me by.

Hope you’re enjoying this lovely Fall day! I’ll see you all later! Stay positive!

Jazzercise, Work, Jazzercise

Daily Life!, Food for Thought, Jazzercise, ,

My Mondays tend to be a little overwhelming, schedule-wise. I begin by teaching Jazzercise at 5:40 AM, then I rush home, shower, and make it to my office by 8 AM. I then have the typical work day til 5. This is then followed by me rushing home to spend time with Mac and have a quick snack before heading off to teach my 6:45 PM Jazzercise class. By the time I make it home around 8 PM, I don’t have much energy and I tend to hit the sack by 9.

Sounds insane, right? Well it’s only 1 day a week that I agreed to have this schedule, making the rest of my days seem slow and unproductive (even though that’s usually far from the truth!). Plus, I love what I do, so one day of craziness is well worth it! Today’s schedule stayed right on track, and I am now in my post Jazzercise stupor. I am still in slight recovery mode after running the 5K with a belly full of Mexican food this weekend, but after today I should be back at full speed! I ate fairly lightly today to help ease my sore tummy. So let’s back up a bit…

Breakfast

Breakfast was my typical grab-n-go, so I’ll spare you the boring pictures. I enjoyed some cinnamon roll flavored oatmeal with a banana and some Greek yogurt on the side. Light and filling!

Lunch

Lunch started with a quick salad that was basically half romaine and half sugar snap peas. I was craving my green veggies I think!

photo(71)I was then SUPER lazy and grabbed a Lean Cuisine that had been hibernating in the freezer a little too long.

photo(70)This little baby ended up being the best Lean Cuisine I’ve had in a long time! It was part of their ‘Spa Collection’…whatever that means. And it was amazing. I will definitely be on the hunt for sales on these from now on!

photo(69)The plus? It actually looked like the picture on the box! The chicken was yummy and it had tons of veggies to fill me up.

Dinner

I kept dinner tonight light because I snacked quite a bit when I got from work at 5. I decided some Italian style veggie soup would suffice.

photo(68)Isn’t it funny how it resembles the minestrone soup from Olive Garden, especially in the festive bowl I chose? I got a kick out of it, and it made my meal feel fancier. I also had some steamed veggies on the side, which I severely overcooked. Oops!

So most of my food today was packaged and not the freshest. But I guess we can’t be perfect everyday. I’m just ready for bed after having that big bowl of hot soup!

I hope your Monday went well! I’ll catch you all in the AM after we get some rest!