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Some of my FAVS – Christmas Edition

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

As the song goes…’the most wonderful time of the year’.  Thought I’d jot down some many of my favorite things / traditions.

  • Christmas Lights – we didn’t have outdoor lights at our house growing up.  I picked it up when I move to Dallas.  I guess because it is so warm down there everyone puts lights up and there are some amazing decorations.  Each year in NJ I see more and more lights…I just love driving around and seeing what everyone has done.
  • Christmas Movies / Shows):  A Christmas Story, It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street (the original), Bishop’s Wife, Christmas Vacation, Thin Man (starts off during Christmas), All Creature’s Great and Small (Chrismas Show), The Year withouth a Santa Claus, Rudolph and of course the Grinch.  I’m sure there are many more…I watch a lot of them in December.
  • Toys for Tots:  I love going shopping and buying gifts for kids in need.  A great way to give back.  Click on this link for more details:  http://www.toysfortots.org/
  • Baking Christmas Cookies:  I love doing this but haven’t done it the last couple of years as I like to make a lot to give to friends and family.  Here are the list of family favorites:  Choc Chip, Snowflakes (cream cheese press cookies), Oatmeal (the dough is better than the cookie), English Shortbread, No Bake Cookies, Hershey Kiss, Coffee Bean.
  • A blazing fire and my Christmas Tree
  • Midnight Mass – I haven’t been to a midnight mass in quite a few years as I’ve been going Christmas morning.  I may get to go to Midnight this year…I just always enjoyed it at home.  Maybe I’ll even make myself a grasshopper after mass (a tradition from my Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop).
  • Decorating the Tree.  I love looking at the ornaments and remembering where I got them or who gave them to me…each one has a memory.  Many of the ornaments on my tree were hand made by my Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop (I split their ornaments between my brother and I with my Mom-Mom supervising making sure it was a fair split 🙂 ).
  • Christmas Dinner at my house.  This will be the third year at my house.  It is very low key – just the 7 of us.
  • Hanging out with my niece and nephew while their parents go out shopping.
  • Christmas Candles – just love lots of the wonderful scents.
  • Finding that perfect gift (I dislike wrapping)
  • Buying my brother and I the Swarvoski Annual Christmas Ornament – it has become a tradition (I try to find a fun way to wrap it each year).  Check out this year’s ornament: http://tiny.cc/mi6ql (I purchased mine from Amazon and in the past e-Bay).
  • NYC at Christmas time…just love seeing all the sights and people watching
  • Christmas Carols – and yes as a kid I went caroling – even as an adult when I lived in Texas.

What are your favorite Christmas / Holiday traditions?

December 2011 Accountability Log

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

Time sure flies nowadays.  I can’t believe it is December 6th already.  I don’t know about you but I have lots to do this month and just don’t seem to know when the heck I’m going to get it all done.  The good news is I do take off the week before Christmas off so that is my saving grace.  This will be the 3rd year I’m hosting Christmas at my house.  I love having my family here but I’m a procratinator so it should be an interesting month (the first year I hosted, I was still putting the finishing touches on my tree Christmas morning).

So in the end I know I will get everything done, but the one thing that seems to suffer is the making time for myself to ensure I exercise and make good food choices.  This year is going to be different.  I’ve established 3 goals for myself (December 5th – January 13th):  Keep a food journal, drink 105 ozs of water a day and complete my Daily10 Challenge (click here for more details:  http://bodyprojectfitness.com/daily10-challenge/ ).  What are you doing this year to keep your focus during this busy time of the year?

Accountability Log:

12/7:  Food Journal – check, 105 ozs water – check, Daily 10 Challenge (modified for my knee) – check

12/6:  Food Journal – check, 105 ozs water – check, Daily 10 Challenge – check

12/5:  Food Journal – check, 105 ozs water – check, Daily 10 Challenge – check (it included a total of 80 push-ups)

 

Toys for Tots & Silent Auction

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

Looking for something fun to do this Thursday, December 1st and an opportunity to give back to the community and get a little shopping in while you are at it?  Join the Central NJ Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association for our 4th Annual Toys for Tots Event and Silent Auction at PURE Princeton (formerly BT Bistro) (Route 1 South, Princeton, NJ) from 6:30 – 9:00 pm.

Bring an unwrapped toy or two to make the holiday a little brighter for a child in our area.  If you don’t have a chance to pick-up a gift, drop by the event and we will have a donation can (the chapter will purchase additional gifts).

As an added bonus this year, we are holding a silent auction to benefit our Central NJ Chapter Scholarship fund.  All procceeds of the Silent Auction stay locally and assist an incoming freshman during the fall semester.  Last year we provided a $1,500 scholarship to help defer costs.  Pictures are posted with the Silent Auction items.  We have a week’s vacation in Williamsburg, VA, Golf Foursome at NJ National in 2012, Body Project Fitness Bootcamp, 2 Private Sessions of Yoga, Manicure / Pedicure, Gift Baskets, PSU and PSU Alumni Association items.  Check the following album on Facebook for more details:  http://tiny.cc/kb6cf

Hope to see you on Thursday!

 

 

Tears of Joy…

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

As you know from reading my blog that I started a 6 week Fall Transformation…my true transformation has been evolving long before this Fall program (I promise to explain the tears).

To give you a little background…I’ve been making changes in my life over the past few years.  It all started when I was looking through one of the local CNJ weekly newspapers…I spied an advertisement for Body Project Fitness.  I’m not sure what exactly it was that triggered me to try it…maybe the free week or maybe it was just different from a gym.  I know I was back and forth with BodyProject a couple times before it really stuck for me.  I tried the holiday program and they did a special for kettlebell training (if you’ve never tried it…AWESOME…great cardio/strength workout)!  I have probably been a HardBody (what we call ourselves who go to bootcamp every month – not the special programs).

What is Body Project Fitness and how did it change my life?  It isn’t just a work-out, it is a fitness program.  Yes, I work-out 3 days a week at 6 am (and yes there are days when I pop right out of bed at 5:10 am, times when it is really tough to get up and others when I let negative self-talk get the better of me and go back to sleep (doesn’t happen as often as it used to) for 45 minutes with a mixture of cardio and strength training – lots of times circuits.  A different workout every day.  It sounds like many other programs right?  No, it isn’t because the FitPros at Body Project are there for you for the full body workout – including the mind (food journals-including reviewing, our own FB for BodyProject, available for 1:1 consultations – including goal setting, etc)

How have things changes (credit to BodyProject and helping re-think a few things)?

  1. Check out my freezer…not one WW or Lean Cuisine meal.  here are frozen veggies, fruit, chicken, filets and salmon.  Ok..there is some ice cream – but it isn’t light…full blown…I know what is in it – cream, sugar, pecans.  3 years ago my freezer was filled with whatever was on sale for WW or Lean Cuisine (and prior to that JC meals)
  2. Sweetner:  I used to use 2 (yes 2) Sweet n Low packets in my coffee, then I moved to 1 packet and now I’m using 1/2 of SweetLeaf (stevia).  And if I forget my Stevia and I’m out I use sugar…would rather put the real mccoy in vs. a chemical.
  3. Reading Food Labels:  I’ve been on 2 Grocery Store Tours as part of the Body Project program.  I’ve been a label reader for a long time..this has made me look at the labels differently.  I look at the sugars, fiber and actual contents…I still look at the calorie and fat content but I weigh them differently than before.
  4. I eat more whole foods and try to stay away from things with a long shelf life (ie. bread)…oh I still eat bread – either Eizekel Sprout bread (from the freezer) or fresh made delivered from the bakery rye bread.
  5. I have ‘new’ go to items:  hummus, avocados, guacomole, cannellini beans, black beans, ricotta cheese, nuts (almonds and pecans), honey (for the ricotta cheese), greek yogurt, homemade granola, string cheese, apples, dark chocolate.
  6. I’m taking a yogalates class on Thursday nights through December in addition to Bootcamp
  7. I really try not to ignore the scale in my bathroom
  8. And I’m not on a DIET – and I correct anyone around me who asks how my diet is going! 🙂
  9. And I’m sure there are more I just can’t remember

So back to the Tears of Joy…as part of our program our measurements and body fat are measured.  When I first stared we held a machine in our hands.  Now we use BodyMetrix.  What is BodyMetrix?  They still take our measurements, but the add in is an ultrasound of the back of our triceps, waist and hips to measure the layer of body fat / muscle.  Since April 2010, my bodyfat has DROPPED 7% and I’ve moved into an ACCEPTABLE range for BodyFat!!!  I knew my numbers a week ago, but I didn’t get my report (to show the ranges) until the other night…I cried TEARS of JOY!  It clearly shows the progress I’ve made and what I can do when I put my mind to it.  I’m very pleased!  And I’m ready for the next 6 weeks!

PS:  A special SHOUT OUT to Lindsay Vastola and the BodyProject FitPros…THANK YOU!!

1000 Rep Challenge

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

Today is the second to last day of the Fall 6 Week Transformation. On day 2 of the Fall Transformation (back in Sept) we did our first 1000 rep challenge. What is a 1000 rep challenge? It is a circuit with 10 stations, must do 20 reps before you can move to the next station, you run back to your mat to put a tick down (to count your completed exercise & get a little cardio) and you have 20 minutes to see what you can complete.

Here are the exercises:

  1. Squats
  2. Bent Rows (using a band around a pole) (yes we were outside this morning)
  3. Alternating Scissor Abs
  4. Reverse Lunges
  5. Bicep Curls
  6. Ice Skaters
  7. Overhead Press
  8. Squat Jacks
  9. Ab Knee Ins
  10. High Bridge

On 9/21/11, my goal was to complete 30 rounds (1 round = 1 station), I completed 21 (420 of the 1000 reps) rounds.  Today my goal was to complete 25 rounds and I completed 25 (500 of the 1000 reps) rounds.  The average improvement is between 3 – 5.  I landed right in the middle and achieved my goal (19% improvement).  I was so close to getting one above my goal (darn it) (note to self:  next time make sure my mat is closer to the stations! 😉 )  I’m proud of the improvement I’ve made over the last 6 weeks.

Happy Hump Day!  Make it a great one!!

 

Do you eat the mini Apple packets?

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

Do you eat the mini Apple packets they sell at convenience or grocery stores? I do. I get the apples or grapes, but usually pick the apples. I think of them as a nice alternative to chips and easy to eat in the car or when on the go. I believed all of this until this weekend.

I purchased two small packets at a local convenience store for my PSU Reunion weekend to eat in the car along with lunch for myself and one of my friends.  We ate one packet, opened one in the car but didn’t finish it.  We got to Happy Valley, unpacked the car and went out for the evening.  We noticed Saturday morning the apples were not brown.  Every time we got in the car we noticed the apples were not brown.  We were in and out of the car quite a bit (it got to be a bit of a joke to see if they were brown).  So we looked on the back of the package and noticed that apples weren’t the only ingredients in the package (not sure why I surprised).  Calcium Ascorbate was added to maintain freshness and color.  I’ve posted two pictures, one I took yesterday ‘fresh’ out of the bag (remember the bag has been open since Friday around 1 pm) and sitting out in the air for the day (look at how ‘burnt’ the edges look…not even natural browning)!  Makes you wonder how much of the Calcium Ascorbate is in the bag too…because it least they are doing something now that they are out of the bag.

I know from my learnings at www.bodyprojectfitness.com that anything that is package has some sort of processing.  I never really thought of it with the fruit and veggie packages.  Boy was I WRONG.  I won’t be eating the ‘snack packs’ anymore since I don’t know how long the added ‘stuff’ has been sitting on the fresh fruit or veggies.  I don’t care how convenient they are…I’ll just eat an apple to the CORE!

PSU Reunion Weekend + / –

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

This past weekend, I headed up to Happy Valley (State College, PA) for homecoming to see my Penn State Nittany Lions take on the Purdue Boilermakers.  This wasn’t just another football weekend for me.  I went with my college roommates from my Junior year.  The three of us haven’t been to State College in years and probably haven’t been together since LH’s baby shower for her oldest (let’s just say it was a long time ago).

Here are the +s / -s from the weekend:

  • – I had to work Friday morning (but for a really good reason)
  • + Bunny Burgers at the Red Rabbit (en route)
  • + Hitting some local establishments over the weekend
  • – Paying $15 to get some Pita
  • + Tailgating
  • + PSU Win over Purdue
  • – The guys behind TB and I during the game – one was a Debbie Downer and the other a Negative Nellie
  • – No nap
  • + Original Sins at the Adam’s Apple
  • – Getting in very late two nights in a row (I can’t hang like I used to)
  • + Souvenir Shopping on Sunday
  • + Picture at the Lion (in our new PSU tshirts)
  • – Waiting in Line at the Creamery
  • +  Waiting in Line at the Creamery for some yummy PSU ice cream – WPSU Coffee Break, Keeny Beany Chocolate and Butter Pecan were our selections
  • – The weekend ended way too early!
  • +  Planning already started for next year

Bottomline – An AMAZING Time had by ALL!! 🙂

Vintage 'S' Zone

Some of my FAVS

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

I thought I’d share some of my favorite blogs / internet sites that I visit on a regular and not so regular basis.  They are in no particular order.  Check them out (I tried to do the fancy links…but you get the webpage and if you roll-over you get the name I provided…something for me to work on).

Fitness:

http://bodyprojectfitness.com/ – This is where it all started for me!  It is a muscle – mind connection thing for me…and has changed how I think about food and working out (and many other things).  A site related to this is an internal site (Facebook for bootcampers…I utilize it a lot…a great forum for all of us during our transformation).  Thank you Lindsay and BP Fit Pros!  And if you live in the West Windsor, Robbinsville or Bordentown areas of NJ…check out bootcamp…it will change your life! 🙂

http://kbellqueen.blogspot.com/ – I love this blog as I fell in love with kettlebells the first time I went back to Body Project bootcamp. I even bought the DVDs…take a look at Lauren’s abs. She has some great tips and I enjoy checking it out once in a while.

http://www.findyourwarrior.com/index.html  A plug for a very dear friend of mine who has transformed herself with Yoga.  Her HOT YOGA class is fantastic!!  Schedule included on the blog.

Food = Fuel:

http://www.101cookbooks.com/about/  Put an ingredient = get some suggestions

http://www.elanaspantry.com/:  Use this when I was on the Clean Program – used some of the soup recipes.  I do want to try the Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe around Christmas time to see if anyone notices a difference…shhhh…don’t tell anyone.

http://my.cleanprogram.com/  The site I used daily to support my detox.  I do need to get back to reading.  They have some great recipes out there (the Hummus Chicken recipe came from this site)

http://clarksvillechefexpress.com/index.php  I order my food from this site every week.  Love, Love, Love the food.   It changes every week.  Some of my favs:  Spicy Turkey Meatloaf (and I’m not a meatloaf lover), Tilapia Tacos, Salmon Ceasar Salad, Chicken Salad to name a few.  I order side salads and extra veggies to add to the salads.  If you are in Central NJ, check out the Jersey Girl Cafe on Route 33 in Hamilton – signature sandwich:  Chicken Salad and the Cranberry Shortbread Cookie.

For Fun:

http://thriftygoodness.blogspot.com/  Rebecca is the first of my friend’s to blog.  She is so creative…and I’m not at all…I love looking at what she creates, her adventures in thrifting or read about her swaps.

www.gopsusports.com:  Everything PSU sports…do I need to say more?

http://www.pennstatecnj.org/:  Everything PSU in Central NJ (shameless plug for our Central NJ Chapter of the Alumni Association)…WE ARE…

www.pennlive.com:  To stay up-to-date with happenings in my hometown

http://gothamgirl.weebly.com/1/category/purses/1.html:  A friend posted this one…one of these days I’ll post what is in my purse…right now it might scare you all away.

http://lindsaylately.weebly.com/  The friend who turned me onto Gotham Girl.  I like her + / – blogs (which she got from another blogger)

http://crazysexylife.com/about/  This is a little bit of this and that

Good Morning FALL!

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

Good morning FALL! Week 1 of the Fall Transformation is in the books. I’m feeling great! Attained my attendance goal for week 1.

We have accountability goals for each day. I’m doing well…so a really good week.

I’m adding another goal for the 6 week fall transformation…push-ups! On Sunday, I’m going to set my baseline. What is the baseline? I need to count how many good form push-ups I can do in 1 minute. From there I will set my 6 week goal (at that point 5 week).

Happy Friday!

Transformation Accountability Log: 9/19 – 10/28

Posted on by keepingupwithkate91

My goal for the 6 week fall transformation is Attendance! I have a knack for talking myself out of not going at 5 am (my class is 6 am). I’m very convincing at that hour! I need to remember that I’m doing this for myself and no one else.  Anything worth it –  is worth the hard work!  This blog is dedicated to me holding myself accountable.

  • 9/19:  Day 1 in the books:  DONE!!
  • 9/21:  Day 2 DONE!  10 circuits / 20 reps – timed 20 minutes.  Goal:  30 – Actual 21
  • 9/22:  Non-bootcamp activity:  Yogalates – combo of yoga / pilates…lots of strecthing
  • 9/23:  Day 3 and Week 1 DONE and in the books!!  Feeling fantastic!!
  • 9/26:  Day 4 and the start of Week 2 DONE!  Today was a day that I could’ve rolled over and stayed in bed.  I didn’t!  I felt great right after, but was a bit tired in the AM.
  • 9/28:  Day 5 in the books.  Again hard to get up this AM (but not as hard as Monday).
  • 9/29:  Non-bootcamp activity:  Yogalates – combo of yoga / pilates…one of my favorite poses – the corpse – very relaxing!
  • 9/30:  Day 6 – mission accomplished…Week 2 DONE! (first time hitting the snooze and I actually needed the alarm…I usually either get up before or turn off the alarm completely).  Happy Friday!!
  • 10/3:  Day 7 – no bootcamp today due to a sore knee (started last week) – really bothered me yesterday and today.  I did notify my trainer and she encouraged me in the future to come to bootcamp and we can modify my workout.  I agreed.  I just completed an 11+ minute circuit (so about 1/3 of what I normally do)
  • 10/5:  Day 8 – back on track – icing the knee
  • 10/6:  Day 9 – Sunrise Yoga! 🙂 & Yogalates (normal Thurs evening class) (after the day I had today I needed both sessions! 🙂 )
  • 10/7:  Day 10 – Done and in the books!
  • 10/10:  Didn’t make it this morning
  • 10/12:  Didn’t make it this morning (did not sleep well at all last night) (felt like I was up every hour on the hour)
  • 10/15:  Made it to the 5 am class as it was a busy, busy, busy day at the office
  • 10/17:  Didn’t make it due to sleep deprivation from the weekend.  I did not make myself a priority regarding hydration on Sunday and I really felt it Monday morning.  I had planned to go to the 9:30 am class since I was off.  Not going was a poor decision on my part…I let the negative self talk over rule my better judgement.
  • 10/19:  Done!  Back on Track!! 🙂  Loved the circuits today (even the dreaded cardio)!
  • 10/21:  Done!
  • 10/24:  Done – Last week of the transformation
  • 10/26:  Done!  1000 Rep Challenge and Yogalates Class
  • 10/28:  Done – The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown Workout