Day 14: heart

Best I could find yesterday. Turns out Las Vegas is pretty heartless.

Day 13: Blue

Aquarium

I started this morning with an easy 5k and then a quick aquarium trip. Now it's time for yummy brunch. Not too shabby for a Monday!

Daytrippin'

A perfect Sunday began with a wonderful bowl of cinnamon spice oats and a 3 mile run with the boys. Now off on a quick scenic drive.

Day 11: Makes you happy

Did It

Exercise: 4 miles running, 8:45 avg pace and 1/2 mile swim

The gym was incredible. Little Man loved playing with all the new kids that were all around his age and I loved my workout. Music Man even came along for a swim. The gym was busy but I was able to snag a treadmill so all was good in the hood.

I set out to do a mini in-gym triathlon but I ran out of time. I barely fit in the run and swim because I grossly underestimated how difficult a 1/2 mile swim is. Especially after a 4 mile run. I'm not seeing an Iron Man in the near future.

Swimming is much harder than I remembered. After 50 yards I was worried I wouldn't be able to finish 10 lengths. But I pushed myself to 10, about an 1/8 of a mile, then to 18, then 24, and I figured I could go the full 36 to finish the 1/2 mile. But it was crazy tough and my shoulders and back are screamin'. But not enough to not do it again tomorrow ;)

We celebrated with a fun date night. We went to Prohibition which was so amazing. So if you're ever in the Valley or LA, I highly recommend going there. Oh and we also had a random celebrity sighting, this guy from The Wedding Singer.

Have a great weekend!

Day 10: self portrait

Join em'

I thought it would be a long long time before I joined a gym again but today Little Man and I toured our neighborhood Y. And we both loved it! From the new cardio equipment to the 25 meter pool to the awesome free childcare, we were both instantly smitten.

And I can't wait for tomorrow! My plan is a 4 mile run and a 1/2 mile swim. Maybe I'll hop on a bike so I can do a whole triathlon:) So many options, and I can't wait to try zumba.
In all honesty, I'm a bit nervous about the childcare since I've  never left Little Man in a strange place. But I toured the facility and met some of the caretakers and I feel pretty positive. It helps that one of my friends has been leaving her 6 month old there for a few months and she's beyond satisfied. So I'm ready to give it a shot.

Even though I'm worried about the childcare I'm so excited to not have to worry about waking up before the sun or trying to exercise and do all my other chores during nap time. It feels so freeing. But I guess we just have to see how the Little dude does. He loved it today so I'm crossing my fingers he loves it tomorrow.

Day 9: Front door

To the play house

Day 8: Sun

Day 7: Button

It says open for interpretation...

and...

a butt on a slide

Day 6: Dinner

Before:

After:

Surviving  juice cleanse day 1

Day 5: 10:01am

I ran my 8 miles but fell just before I got home, around 7.6 miles. I have no idea what I tripped on but I flew forward and got this nasty scrape. I'm doing fine though. It probably helped that I ran into Music Man and Little Man on their walk and we walked another couple of miles together. It helped loosen everything up so I'm not feeling too sore from the run or fall.

The run went really well this morning. I was worried because it's the longest distance I've done in a while but it felt great completing it. I ran free without phone or GPS and I finished in 75 minutes, so just around 9:30 avg pace. I'll take it!

Time to rest before the big game! Enjoy your afternoon.

Day 5: 10am

This is a happy face!

New Loves

Exercise: Elliptical tabata with intervals of strength and yoga for a total 80 minute workout of awesome

So I'm finally feeling healthy although I'm not gonna hold my breath because most likely I'll be sick as a dog within the month. I really enjoyed my nap time workout today so I just kept going until my body was jelly and it felt sooo gooooood.

I'm still on a high from the hot yoga class I took on Thursday and I'm "chasing the dragon" if you will. It was incredible! I want to do it every day. The class was extremely popular and we were packed in like sardines. Even with the heat and close proximity there was very little smell which was a nice surprise. I didn't find the heat the least bit oppressive, on the contrary, it was totally pleasant, calming even. The workout was definitely hard but the teacher lead the class clearly and I felt strong and confident in my poses. If you have a Core Power studio near you I highly recommend it. The first week is free, total plus.

Tomorrow I plan to do a long run and it will be my first run over 6 miles in a few months. I'm going to try for 8 which should be doable. I would just do 6 but gotta burn a few extra calories in preparation for the 2 Super Bowl parties we're attending. The first party is at Music Man's manager's home and I'm kind of hoping for a celebrity sighting but it's probably just gonna be a bunch of dudes talking audio gear.The second party is at the producer's home he works with most often. It's kind of like family since they've been working together for nearly 10 years now.

I always want to be a gracious guest so I wanted to make a Super Bowl snack to share. I thought about preparing something healthy but then I saw this recipe and I couldn't stop thinking about it. Cookie dough dip. How could I not spread this kind of love? So I tried the recipe as is but made a few changes that I think made it better. Oh and , by the way, there is nothing healthy about this recipe. Sorry.

First, completely leave out the stove top step. I found just softening the butter and creaming everything together worked much better. I also think a whole stick of butter might be a bit much, so I cut it to 1/2 a stick, much less greasy and the cream cheese is creamy enough. Lastly, I added in a 1/4 c of flour because I thought the texture was too slick and the flour addition made it like a smooth dippable cookie dough. Boy was it good. I had about 10 samples :) I'll photograph it tomorrow but I plan to serve it with sliced green apples, graham crackers and pretzels. The recipe makes quite a large amount so i froze 1/2, we'll see how that turns out.

Have a great Sunday!

Day 4: Stranger

I only left the house once today for a neighborhood walk and didn't happen upon one stranger. So I'm interpreting stranger as being "more strange than." Therefore, Ringo is stranger than most dogs ;) And he loves Hot Wheels.

So here's a photo and perhaps I can photograph a stranger tomorrow along with my day 5 subject.

Day 3: Hands

February and love is in the air... And the beer ;)

Feel My Heat

Exercise: A ton of walking with Little Man earlier in the day but some yoga planned for this evening

Argghhh! I so wanted to embed the "Feel, Feel Feel, Feel My Heat" scene from Boogie Nights but there is no sound due to copyright restrictions. So please watch the movie so that you can laugh at my post title. Wait is that copyright too? Shhh, don't tell anyone, k? ;)

Tonight I'm taking my first yoga class in over 2 years and I have to say I'm a little nervous. Not only is it the first class in a long long while but it's also hot, power yoga. Yikes. My dear friend told me I would love it and luckily she's going with me so I can strangle her afterwards if need be. 

Truthfully, I'm not worried about the workout aspect, I like to be challenged. And I'm not too worried about not knowing the poses, you gotta start somewhere right? No, what I'm really worried about is the smell. Back in college I worked at a gym and I remember every Sunday morning I couldn't enter the spin room for about 2 hours after the class because it was so rank. Because when people REALLY sweat all those toxins come out and it smells like butt. So I can only begin to imagine what hot yoga smells like and I am not stoked about it. Ha

I am so ready for a new workout challenge though since I have my creative challenge set with daily photos. I feel like I finally have my head above water because January I was drowning in a sea of sickness, busyness and just feeling generally overwhelmed. February is gearing up to be a great month with the Superbowl and all it's parties, Valentine's day, awards season and then the cherry on top is I'm turning the big 33 at the end of the month. 

A friend of mine recently said something that really stuck with me. "You can start your new year any day you want." How simple is that? I love it. Although now I'm tempted to reset everyday;) But that's ok too, right? Here's to a happy new year and making each day better than the last.

Photo, Day 2: Words

Finally have a reason to post this!

February Photo a Day, Day 1

A challenge I might be able to complete! A few bloggers and Facebook friends have accepted this challenge  from Fatmumslim and I thought this might get me back in the habit of blogging regularly. Maybe....

So here's my view for yesterday, Winter in the Valley. And from here on out I'll try to get better about posting the photo the same day, may be the following day on occassion.