~raising happy, healthy, confident girls in this crazy world~

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

~Turkey Yoga~

Yoga for kids is one of my most favorite activities to do with my girls. They love it! Rita's kindergarten teacher thinks it's good for the kids too and incorporates it into the curriculum twice a month. Last week I was lucky enough to get to actually teach the class. There is a kid yoga teacher training in January and I just may get some hours training in that specialized area! Here's a wonderful way to kick off the Thanksgiving festivities with your kids....

~Turkey Yoga for Kids~


~Start in mountain pose with your eyes closed




~Take a deep breath in through your nose and imagine all of the delicious food smells we associate with Thanksgiving


~Imagine Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Cranberries, and Apple or Pumpkin Pie or any other foods your family will enjoy. Taking deep breaths in between naming different foods.


Next we will go through movements for each of the foods listed above...

~Turkey Strut: however you want moving around the room. With a big group we formed a circle and flapping our wings and strutting our stuff all around saying

"Gobble Gobble Gobble"




~Mashed Potato: a famous dance move from the 50's like a combo of the twist but moving one foot in front and back



~Green Beans or Peas: Gotta get our veggies in! First we harvest our veggies by planting seeds and by raining down on them and giving them plenty of sunshine. For Green Beans we stand as straight as we can and jump up and down. For Peas we get in a tight ball and roll on to our backs while holding our knees in tight



SUN



RAIN





GREEN BEANS & PEAS




~PIE! We stand in Mountain again and look the the left then right and then up and look for an apple tree. Tree Pose and we grow our branches and then sway to the right and left. Then we put our arms in front and make a big circle for our basket and we either reach up high on our tippy toes for the apples or we squat low for the pumpkins. We then stretch our arms and do a back bend while we dump our fruit out and then fill and dump again several times.




TREE



BASKET



PICK FRUIT



DUMP FRUIT


~Finally our basket is so full we can't pick it up so from a squatting position we fall back and grab our feet for happy baby pose.






~Close our eyes for the finally resting talking about all the great food we put into our bodies to make us strong and healthy!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

~Music of the Minute~

Where will you be in 5 Years???





"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time."
Abraham Lincoln

Monday, September 5, 2011

~Lunch Box Idea~

Happy Back to School!



Along with Rita's first day of kinder lunch pick...taco salad...she's getting yogurt raisins and some cinnamon "school book" cookies...i think they will love it!

Sunday, September 4, 2011

~Hurricane Rita~

I just did a big grocery stock up and from the looks and cost of it I am well prepared for a hurricane. It's funny how I remember evacuating being so much fun as a child and now anytime one is mentioned it's absolutely dreadful. My heart is always home with those friends and family I left behind in that amazing cajun country!
So, here's hoping the first days/weeks of Kindergarten are smooth sailing! I stocked up on LOTS of fun lunch box ideas...hope to get back into blogging about that too! Here's a peek of my pantry items...





I just love the way grains look in glass jars!



And tonight for dinner: Pollo and Carne Asada Burritos...with left over Broccoli



Sure makes this Beachmom's heart very happy :-) how she opened it up to roll the broccoli inside!



YUMMY!



MYSTERY PLANT....



So we planted some Sunflower Seeds in this pot mixed with top soil and some compost and all I know is these are NOT Sunflowers...so any guesses???

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

~Music of the Minute~

"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."
~Berthold Auerbach



Monday, August 15, 2011

~Consistenly Inconsistent~


Consistently Inconsistent? Huh? Does that even make any sense. Well I'd say it sure does for me...these days at least. I then started to think back and I feel like I can go back as far as my very first year of college oh something like 20 years ago! YIKES! I was very consistent at going to college but I was very inconsistent at sticking to a major. Luckily, I pulled it together and figured things out and finished with a BS in Nutrition. It has been however a very inconsistent career choice and I haven't quite found my niche in this field I love so much. Enough about that...that's a different post altogether, perhaps a different blog even....

I had two very consistent pregnancies with my thyroid being inconsistent for both putting my body into hypothyroid for the entire length of my pregnancies. I was however much more consistent in eating well and working out through the first pregnancy and still gained 55 pounds. The second time around when the weight gain seemed to be a carbon copy each month of the first I quickly realized, it was sort of out of my control and I ate whatever my lil heart desired = 55 pounds again... maybe that's why i'm still trying to lose the baby weight from the second time around!

My triathlon training has been very inconsistent...I just can't seem to fit it in. I mean I could if I could live off of just 4 hours of sleep...can't sorry I tried and it doesn't work! I won't bother with my l.o.n.g list of reasons. One thing I have been consistent at lately is Yoga! It has helped with my core strength so much and my flexibility has improved greatly.

I have been inconsistent in blogging as well and time plays a factor again. Hopefully my schedule will become more consistent so I can find some time for blogging, and training, and living. I have decided to forgo the olympic distance tri I had planned next month and instead do a weekend Level One Yoga Teacher Training!!! Two years ago, it was listed on my 5 year plan of things I'd like to do and if I start now, I may just be able to achieve this goal. I wish I had the time and money to just dive in and go for it full time but I am just thankful for the opportunity to take my yoga to the next level. My original plan was to obtain a Les Mills Body Flow certification but let's just say that things have been very inconsistent with that plan with no fault of my own...all the changes at my gym has influenced this goal. Oh well...luckily my tri buddy had an alternative plan to the triathlon as well and in fact she's the one who influenced my destination/decision and will be joining me in the journey of Yoga Teacher Certification! We all need a lil bit of this and and a lil bit of Nat in our lives! Thanks Bunches!

Monday, July 11, 2011

~Sum It Up Sunday~

On Monday...
shhh don't tell anyone


One thing is for certain, I am staying consistent with not quite staying focused. Two weeks into it and I've had lots of distractions both work and fun. Although I have been loosely following my Triathlon Training it has been S.L.O.W moving! Can we just add a couple more hours to the day???

DIVERSION
di·ver·sion

noun /diˈvÉ™rZHÉ™n/  /dÄ«-/ 
diversions, plural

An instance of turning something aside from its course
* - a diversion of resources from defense to civil research

An activity that diverts the mind from tedious or serious concerns; a recreation or pastime
* - our chief diversion was reading

Something intended to distract someone's attention from something more important
* - a subsidiary raid was carried out on the airfield to create a diversion


Diversion is the ultimate 3D platformer for Android with 3 unique worlds, 100 levels, and 150+ characters to unlock and collect!
* - a game I uploaded last night and OH WOW addicted!



Ok Ok Focus Let's get back on track...

WEEK THREE

~Monday:
Stretch and Warm Up (20 min easy jog) and weight training

~Tuesday:
Yoga followed by 500 yard Swim a.m. and 3.5 mile run p.m.

~Wednesday:
10 mile bike I will likely be riding my bike to the bay and
swimming there!

~Thursday:
Yoga followed by 500 yard Swim a.m. and 3 mile run p.m.

~Friday:
10 mile bike

~Saturday:
5 mile run and weight training

~Sunday:
Rest
i know there is only one rest day but like i said it's been a slow couple weeks and i promise to get back on track and will make sure i'm getting those rest days in!



October 2010 Women's Series San Diego

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

~Slow and Steady Wins the Race???~

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!
just a day or so late...

We had a nearly perfect fourth and hope the same goes for ya'll! We didn't have any official plans so we just went with the flow. It was nice to be able to celebrate this holiday with our sweet lil family unit. We started the day out slow and just walked around our funky lil neighborhood taking in the morning scene. Stopped off at the corner market to pick up some last minute necessities. We decided to get to grilling and head down to the beach for the long haul. Behold a sweet photo montage aka excessive amounts of photos used to tell our story...



The Great American BBQ



Roasted Potato Trio with Garlic and Peppers






Star Brownie Bites









Peppercorn Pork Tenderloin~Corn on the Cob~Portobello Mushrooms~Parmesan Garlic Bread




Turkey Kielbasa and Andouille Sausage



Feast Enjoyed by All



Wagon ride to the beach for the Lil Surfer Girls




Setting up the most perfect spot...Lucky!




Plenty of time for some Fun In The Sun




Lovely Sunset



Time for the surfers to paddle out and watch the fire works from the water!




~Waiting for the Fireworks~



Lots of excitement during the show




Spectacular view when you get to sit directly across from the action!




Sleepy Wagon Ride Home Late at Night


Yes life is good when you get to take it slow on a day like the 4th of July! Not so good is my S~L~O~W start to my tri training. My body still seems to be healing from a recent back injury and I am getting it checked out soon so I am hesitant to register for the September Tri Rock Series. If it is only the sprint distance, this is an event I hope to be apart of. If not there's always the San Diego Women's in October! I have a week under my belt for the 10 Week Training Plan for the Olympic distance training plan and I do eventually plan to blog about it. Planing a Sum it Up on Sunday post and will play catch up for the last week! One thing I haven't been slow at lately are my bike rides!!!





And I am a happy lil beachmom now that Craig can keep up too!



Monday, June 27, 2011

~Fitness Goals~

We've all set our own fitness goals at some point in our lives. Mostly at the beginning of a new year. Some follow through while others lose motivation early on. Some plan to eat better, drink more water, work out more often etc...etc. We've all set our ideal goals whether it's that magic number on the scale or perfect size we see ourselves at. Sometimes even after we've achieved such goals we still aren't satisfied. One of the best fitness goals you can set is to complete some sort of race. The camaraderie in such an event is quite overwhelming and the sense of accomplishment is something that can never be taken away from you. After completing my first Triathlon, I was a changed woman and was already looking forward to the next event. THIS is a goal YOU can achieve. On one of my swim practices, I met a 70 year old woman on holiday in San Diego scoping out a good spot to swim as she was also training for her first Tri! I still haven't decided what distance I will participate in just yet and I probably need to decide pretty soon as this is said to be an event that sells out quickly. I have decided to begin the Olympic Distance 10 Week Training Plan. I am already questioning whether I can fit the workouts in this week or not but like I said before, getting started is always the most challenging part. Gotta love a plan that starts the first day OFF! although I did run 3 miles today ;-)

Ready or Not...It's GO Time!


Sunday, June 26, 2011

~Overly Indulged~

Well hello old blogger friends...long time, no blog! Yes indeed it's been nearly a month of living the life and finding myself overly indulging outside of the official vacation zone!












There are many reasons excuses for bending the moderation rules. From taking it easy due to a few "growing pains" and just the lack of grace in the growing old process to a few new electronic toys to add to the already many distractions! And just the fact alone of living a vacation lifestyle with bills here in San Diego...which have recently included a number of burrito runs!

Getting Started...that's the hard part. Once you figure out the plan along with some realistic goals and then develop a rhythm and follow through with it the rest is easy! Soooo now to figure out the plan...by tomorrow!!! For the TRIATHLON training! OH! MY! Well I wanted to do an Olympic Tri this time around but it's like 10 Weeks away!!! And the suggested training plan is 18 WEEKS! So now im feeling anxious and nervous and about to chicken out and just do the sprint. BUT...I found a 10 Week Training Plan!!! If I wouldn't have been Overly Indulging now for a month I'd be confident going in with the commitment to do an Olympic distance but today I'm totally having second thoughts! So the catch is...if I can talk someone else into doing their first Triathlon i'll do the Sprint with ya...any takers!

So how 'bout it fellow San Diego bloggies...wanna try a Tri???


Check it out...Sprint Distance Training Plan