The blog world runneth over with “Best of 2013” recap posts today and here I am to add to the fun. I would like to start out by saying that overall 2013 was a good year for me. It wasn’t without its struggles (probably one of my personal favorite posts from the year) but one [...]
December 2013
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Day in the Life Monday
December 30, 2013 { 7 comments }I thought today was a good “day in the life” post for you. It’s a little different because almost all of my PT clients are traveling and not training this week but it still gives you a good idea of what a working day looks like for me. 6 a.m. – alarm goes off. I [...]
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Party Weekend + Winners
December 30, 2013 { 13 comments }Hi! I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. Today I want to share some weekend photos with you and then announce the winners of my most recent giveaway. Saturday night we had our holiday staff party for Y2 Yoga. I spent half the day at the mall making returns and checking out the after holiday [...]
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Running Is The Easiest Travel Workout + This Week’s Workouts
December 29, 2013 { 15 comments }Even with the Christmas holiday this was a good workout week for me. One of my favorite things about running is that you can do it anywhere with minimal equipment and minimal time. No driving to a gym or yoga studio, you can just head out of the door and go. It’s always my default [...]
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This Week’s (Non-Holiday) Eats
December 28, 2013 { 7 comments }Happy Saturday! It actually feels so weird that it’s the weekend already after having Christmas in the middle of last week. Oh well…I’ll take it! I started my day bright and early at Om Yoga to take and teach. I was hesitant about adding a Saturday morning class to my schedule but I actually love [...]
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2013 Christmas Love
December 27, 2013 { 20 comments }Part two of Christmas is all about the love. Love for being at my grandmother’s house like we have been almost every year for 30 years, love for having sweet children around and seeing their joy and excitement and love for having all of my family together in one place. Here are some of my [...]
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2013 Christmas Eating
December 26, 2013 { 21 comments }One of my favorite things about going home for the holidays is the food and spending time in the kitchen with my family preparing meals. My dad and I always menu plan for weeks ahead of time and bounce ideas back and forth. So the first part of my Christmas 2013 post is all about [...]
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Wrapping It Up
December 24, 2013 { 4 comments }Merry Christmas Eve! I’m headed to Georgia for Christmas with my family. The past few days have been a whirlwind of last minute shopping, baking, packing and wrapping. This was the scene in my living room last night as I tackled all the gifts that needed to be wrapped while I watched Elf. Sullie acted [...]
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Approximation
December 23, 2013 { 15 comments }One of my yoga teachers is always telling us to “approximate the pose” to the best of our abilities. How you do a pose might not look like the yogi practicing next to you, a photo in Yoga Journal or the way Krishnamacharya would do it but it’s the right way for you and your [...]
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Weekend: Buddhas, Baking, Movies and More
December 22, 2013 { 11 comments }Here are a few weekend photos from the iPhone. Friday evening I swung by Erin McDermott’s house to pick up some holiday gifts and ended up wearing this buddha necklace home. I seriously just love everything she makes and she is truly one of the sweetest and most thoughtful women ever. Bathroom tub remodel. I [...]
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Five Miles Never Felt So Good
December 21, 2013 { 9 comments }Happy weekend! Mine is a balance between hanging out and relaxing and running around trying to get the last of Christmas taken care of. This month flew by! It is a beautiful day here in North Carolina – 72 and a little overcast with peeks of sunshine coming through the clouds. It was too nice [...]
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Healthy in 2014, 2024 and Beyond!
December 20, 2013 { 6 comments }The New Year is just around the corner and that means it’s time to reflect on the past year and set goals for the year ahead. This year I want to encourage you not to think only of short-term goals but also long-term goals around health and the aging process. What can you initiate in [...]
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Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup {Recipe}
December 19, 2013 { 14 comments }This is the time of year that I can’t get enough warm foods and drinks. I have a mug of tea in my hand constantly, I want oatmeal for breakfast, soup and sandwiches for lunch and comfort food dinners. My craving for all the summer things I love like salads and smoothies (and even ice [...]
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Anemia As An Athlete
December 18, 2013 { 66 comments }I have been on and off with supplementation over the years. In recent years I stopped taking supplements in an effort to get what I need from my food. All that has changed again after the annual physical I had a couple of months ago. At the appointment my doctor (who I can’t even begin [...]
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Gravity Finally + Recent Eats
December 17, 2013 { 13 comments }Today was…long. It started with a 4 a.m. alarm that necessitated two naps later in the day. One 15-minute “I’m just going to lay here and close my eye during the floor work” in yoga class and one 45-minute mid-afternoon full out nap. In general, I’m not a napper. I have a hard time slowing [...]
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A Cookie Swap with Cascadian Farm {Recipe Post}
December 17, 2013 { 10 comments }One of my favorite traditions about my family Christmas is my grandmother’s appetizer table. We always gather at her house for our gift exchange and Christmas dinner. The first thing we always did growing up was to check our stockings and then check the appetizer table to see what there was to snack on. She [...]
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December Bodyweight Tabata Workout
December 16, 2013 { 23 comments }I got lots of comments, emails and messages about the tabata workout that I posted last month. Many of you are using it and like the tabata format. I’ve received requests for more variations of the workout so you can mix it up a little. I’ve put together a new bodyweight tabata circuit. You can [...]
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One of Many Jens
December 15, 2013 { 28 comments }Hi and happy Sunday! I hope it’s been a great weekend for everyone. I attended two very fun holiday parties last night. The first was our staff party for Metro where this photo was taken. It’s the “Jen’s.” There are FOUR Jen’s that work for Metro…and we only have 30ish employees. This has pretty much [...]
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Accidental Arugula Smoothie & A Really Strong Workout Week
December 14, 2013 { 9 comments }Well, I don’t have much to share with you from my Saturday. It’s cold and has been raining all day here in Charlotte. I slept until 8 and then headed to Om Yoga to teach a hot vinyasa class at 9:30. It’s my second week teaching there and I am loving it so much. I [...]
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Friday Nails, Cupcakes & Steak
December 13, 2013 { 14 comments }Happy Friday! Mine started pre-5 a.m. which is brutal on a Friday but worth it to train a great client at 5:30 a.m. After that I taught a yoga class, did some treadmill interval work and then taught another lunch yoga class at Om Yoga. Backing up to Thursday night…I made spinach and artichoke stuff [...]
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Mashed Cauliflower Myths and Breakfast Preferences
December 12, 2013 { 25 comments }Helllllooooo. Today has been such a good day. I got some amazing news and I’m feeling grateful and blessed. More to come on that front! :) Also, I’m just so overall happy with how things are going right now on the work front. Teaching more and writing more = good for my heart and soul. [...]
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What I’ve Been Eating This Week Wednesday
December 11, 2013 { 33 comments }Hi, thanks for the support on the Marsala Challenge competition. Remember, you can vote again on Thursday and leave another comment for another chance to win. Again, thank you! Okay, back to the regular stuff. I’m cuddled up on the couch with a fire and a sweet golden retriever laying (on the floor) next to [...]
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Wednesday Giveaway!
December 11, 2013 { 386 comments }The end of the “12 Days of Marsala Challenge” is near and I need y’all to vote for my Marsala Mac and Cheese! It’s so easy to vote. You just visit the Challenge page and then enter your email address under my Chicken Marsala Macaroni and Cheese recipe. Colombo Marsala is giving away a $50 gift card [...]
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Weekend of Celebration
December 10, 2013 { 15 comments }Last weekend was one of those special weekends full of love, fun and friends. On Friday night I attended the Tupelo Honey preview party where I ran into so many friends I don’t see often. After dinner I went to a screening of an amazing documentary that deserves its own post. I left with my [...]
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Tupelo Honey Comes to Charlotte
December 9, 2013 { 12 comments }In all the visits I have made to Asheville I have never visited one of its most iconic restaurants, Tupelo Honey. The restaurant is located downtown and serves “nouveau Southern” cuisine. The lines are always crazy long so I never visited while visiting Asheville. Tupelo Honey has been expanding in recent years and now has [...]
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2013 Holiday Gift Picks
December 9, 2013 { 15 comments }I always love new holiday gift ideas so I wanted to share some of my favorites with you. Everything that I’m listing here is tried and true and my personal recommendations. For the guy on your list. Personalized DeCapper bottle opener. I have had one of these for a couple years now and love how [...]
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The Week in Food and Fitness
December 8, 2013 { 26 comments }Please vote for my Chicken Marsala Mac and Cheese recipe in the Colombo Marsala Wine Challenge. It takes two seconds! My dish is today’s featured recipe on their Facebook page! Like ,share and help spread the word!!! Hi there! Hope y’all are staying warm. It has been such a wonderful weekend. I have a ton to [...]
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Five Things I’m Doing To Age Gracefully & Healthfully
December 6, 2013 { 20 comments }Let’s have an honest conversation about aging and growing old. I think it’s easy to have tunnel vision when it comes this topic. We have the tendency to limit aging to focus more on the next phase in our life instead of the overall big picture. So for us growing older means hitting common social [...]
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4-3-2-1 Workout
December 5, 2013 { 13 comments }I want to share a workout format with you today that I sometimes use when training clients or programming circuit classes. It’s called “4-3-2-1” and provides a good cardio strength workout that keeps you moving and sweating. Here’s the basic breakdown of how it works. 4 minutes of cardio – Usually do some sort of [...]
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Grocery Restock, Cranberry Sauce Recipe, Tuesday Eats
December 4, 2013 { 11 comments }Hi and happy Wednesday. I so enjoyed reading your comments on my last post about your travel mishaps. Smooth travel is definitely never a guarantee but I think it’s worth it! :) As I mentioned in my last post, I spent most of Tuesday catching up and getting back into the groove. Here’s a look [...]
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A (Very) Long (And Eventful) Trip Home
December 3, 2013 { 35 comments }Today has been a whirlwind of catching up. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to attend my friend’s destination wedding in Punta Cana but it made for a lot of travel in five days! Yesterday was a 14 hour comedy of errors in getting home and I have to share it with [...]
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Chicken Marsala Macaroni and Cheese {Recipe & Contest}
December 2, 2013 { 30 comments }Today I have a very special recipe to share with you! I was invited to participate in the Colombo Wines 12 Days of Marsala Recipe Challenge. I was tasked with developing a recipe utilizing either their sweet or dry marsala wine. Colombo provided me with the wine and ingredients and I got creative from there! [...]
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Working Out At Home And Away
December 1, 2013 { 15 comments }Hola! I’m in the Dominican Republic until Monday but wanted to check in while I wait for room service to bring my breakfast.Then I think I’m going to take a long walk on the beach followed by a massage and then laying on the beach reading. It’s a tough life here. The wedding was last [...]