Fitness

Some of you may have noticed that I have started posting my fitness regimen on my social media. I usually get like this a few weeks before a birthday – you know, gotta look good… But fitness has so many more benefits than just looking good.

“Dumbbell With Water And Towel” by Naypong

According to the Mayo Clinic there are at least 7 benefits to being physically active and they include:

Weight control
Improving health to fight disease
Improving mood
Boosting energy
Better sleep
Better sex life
Fun

Exercise also helps raise HDL, the good cholesterol and it can help strengthen your body. I’ve noticed my knees and back don’t hurt as much as they used to.

I really enjoy doing interval workouts – I use the Interval Timer free app to help me keep time (check out my review of it here). The fact that I can control the workout keeps it fresh for me since I am always switching up the exercises. Another tip: great music can make or break a good workout – make sure you have tunes that will get your butt moving.

Here’s the workout I am doing today:

Everyone needs me time, make your workout or physical activity time non-negotiable. What do you do to keep yourself fit?

Bullet Proof Soul

Sitting here listening to Sade’s Bullet Proof Soul

and thinking to myself how much I love that song. And what that phrase means to me, although my version does not have anything to do with a spurned lover.

We all need to have a bullet proof soul. We need to have the ability to deflect the negative vibes that come off from other people, intentional or not. People have bad days, yes, bad weeks, yes and sometimes even a bad month or two, mine kind of all happened in 2010…

The energy vampires, what I like to call them as they suck the energy out of you, don’t need to make you their next victim. I don’t mean for you to cut these people out of your life entirely, sometimes you can’t. You need to deal with them in small doses or pawn them off on other people to limit your exposure to them.

For the ones you can cut off, it might seem like a mean thing to do, however if they leave you feeling more exhausted after dealing with them, well that might tell you the time to cut ties has come.

The next song on the album, Cherish the Day always reminds me of this drag queen in NYC, and that my friends is a story for another day…

Oh How I Missed You

Oh my lovelies I have missed you so much. This summer was a tad busier than I expected, not an excuse I know, but I promise to fill you in on all the fun this summer.

I took a few classes over the summer which puts me on track to graduate in May, very excited! We also fostered three dogs

Bert

Pip

Jordan

and ended up keeping one of them! Meet Jordan, the newest member of our family.

Jared & Jordan

I thought I would have an amazing garden this summer, unfortunately school and work kept me busy. Nonetheless, we got some nice tomatoes

Tomatoes

A pumpkin! I don’t really remember planting this, it may be a kabucha that morphed into a giant, hope it tastes OK.

Pumpkin

My peppers have done well, I didn’t think they would survive the transplantation and they took forever to bear fruit.

Peppers

And a sunflower!

Sunflower

I have also enjoyed eating the dandelion and the plantains that have popped up in the vegetable garden. I don’t pull them anymore, I now cut the young tender leaves and eat them as salad greens. I only wish we had some purslane growing, we used to have tons.

I started volunteering at a food pantry, everyone should do this. It gives you a different perspective on the whole feeding the hungry issue. Remember people need food all year long, not just during the holidays. If you think only lazy people and illegals need food assistance then think again. I see people that work hard but don’t make enough, people that have lost jobs and can’t find work, old pensioners and young families. There but for the grace of god… It could be any one of us out there. OK rant over.

We had our annual Maine vacation and the drive up

Luke & Jordan

Jordan even went in the water at the little beach!

Jordan at the beach

The boys got to spend time with the grandparents

Dad H & Luke

In September I started the last year of my DTR program and a new job at a local hospital, the first steps in the process for my RD – yippee!

Of course I have to include a photo of my princess!

Lola

I hope all of you have had a great summer! Now on to Halloween – woo hoo!