Monday, September 13, 2010

School is in session

School has been back in session for 5 weeks now! Hard to believe. Summer has been awesome and I am still not ready for it to end. I had a fabulous trip to Michigan and a wonderful visit in Chicago with my husband as we saw some of our very dear friends MacKenzie and Ryan. What a blast.

School has been tough but wonderful at the same time. I had a nice 2 mile walk with Charlie tonight. Absolutely beautiful outside. Tons of bikers and walkers of all sorts were out tonight.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Piedmont Pup

Atlanta is a storm of thunder and lightening at the moment. But, for the majority of the day, we had 100% goregous weather! So, Teddy and I decided to spend our morning outside, and we ended up on a bit of a park adventure. We hit Lenox Park, as well as Piedmont Park--all before lunch!

Lenox Park, with its various walking paths and great scenery, is only a mile from home, and as a result, it's a hot spot for Teddy and me on Saturday mornings. We trekked for about 45 minutes, and I'd say we managed a little over 2 miles. It was the perfect morning energy booster for me. As for Teddy...he definitely earned his mid-morning nap. :)



A bit later, Teddy and I had big plans to attend Piedmont Park's SOLD OUT "Splish Splash Doggie Bash". We didn't actually have tickets. But, we couldn't pass up a chance for Teddy to swim in the Parks' pool with all of his furry buddies, and we kind of figured Teddy's sweet face would convince the event's organizers to let us in. Haha. Unfortunately, we got our dates wrong, and the big swim is NEXT Saturday.

Nonetheless, being the resourceful duo that we are, we did another long walk around the Park, and we happened upon the Park's Green Market. The Green Market is a mini-sized farmer's market with a bunch of organic food options, including produce, frozen yogurt, and even dog treats. It worked out well for Teddy, who walked away with peanut butter-flavored sweets, courtesy of Big Daddy Biscuits. It worked out well for me too, since the long walks kept me from having to visit the gym today!



Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Where Boot Camp Ends, Something Else Begins

Hi friends! So I write to you having completed a full month of boot camp! Woo hoo! While I cannot say my attendance was 100% (more like 75%), as I had originally hoped, I definitely reached my primary goal, which was to get in enough physical shape to begin a workout regimen of my own. Before boot camp, I feared doing more than taking a brisk walk with my dog, Teddy. Now, I am motivated to get back to the elliptical at the gym, to get Teddy and I out running on the open-road, and to delve into dance and yoga. (Dance 101 in Atlanta has countless dance classes, and I always break a sweat!). I am also going to start using my TV-watching time (which is just about every night) to do some strength training (3 lb. weights, toning exercises, etc.). Recently having turned into a Gleek, Tuesday night's Glee episode will most certainly provide me with some catchy background music. In other words, boot camp was just the jump-start I needed to get back into exercising!

I also have a renewed desire to eat healthy! I tell you, I have always been a junk food eater. It was not uncommon for me to have pizza for lunch and then a burger and fries for dinner. But, once my sister started this blog (which has totally inspired me), I have begun playing with healthy (and tasty!) recipes, which my body has certainly appreciated. I'm not necessarily talking about changes in my appearance (since I have some more "exercise + nutrition" work to do if I want to drop a dress size); but, I have noticed a considerable change in how I feel in terms of energy and regularity--both of which are the result of making only SLIGHT changes to my diet. It is very cool that my body is now starting to crave something healthier.

With all of that said, I am in the process of creating a weekly workout schedule, as well as looking for a few healthy and easy recipes. If you have any ideas, I would greatly appreciate it! My goal is to turn "exercise + nutrition" into a lifestyle, as opposed to a fad that I visit a couple of times of year. So, any particular tips that you have on avoiding the burn-out of trying to be healthy would be great.

P.S. In case you are wondering whether my mile-time improved as a result of boot-camp, I'm sad to report that due to a work conflict (Court in the wilds of Forsyth County), I had to miss our final assessment. Maybe I'll try to give myself the assessment and see how I come out. :)