Category: Random

5 Ways I’m Making Winter Workouts Easier on Myself

Lauren3 Comments

Oh no, I just said the W word, but seriously, winter is coming.  

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been straight dreading the return to they gym — though I’ve actually already been three times already and it wasn’t even bad — so I thought really hard about how to go about this gym season thing in a way that I won’t hate.

#1 Build a better playlist

The “Girl Power” playlist I built this summer is great for office listening but turns out Adele isn’t exactly “pump me up!” music.  Sorry, Adele.

#2 Really try for only one morning workout a week

Truth be told, I’m a morning workout person — or just a morning person in general — so I can tolerate getting up in the dark and driving myself to the dreadmill once a week, but it starts to feel like actual torture if I do it more than once.

#3 Go to yoga WAY more

I always wonder what life would be like if I gave up running for the entire winter in lieu of yoga, then I remember running is free and yoga is not, but I think mixing it up is going to be key this winter.

#4 Build dinner plans around workouts

As in, it TOTALLY STRESSES ME OUT, when I get to the gym at 5:30 PM and have to wait for a treadmill to open up and all I’m thinking about is how this workout delay is cutting further and further into my dinner cooking time.  Need to coordinate leftovers night to go along with gym night.

#5 Stress less

I KNOW working out is good for you, but at the end of the day, stressing out about when to fit in a trip to the gym probably negates any positive effects it has on me.  New plan involves going when I can, hitting snooze when sleep feels more important and not overthinking whether or not I WANT to workout.

Are you a winter gym go-er?  Do you love it, hate it, land somewhere in between?

Weekend Things

Lauren4 Comments

In “hardcore adulting”…

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We bought two tree babies after work on Friday and what the heck, why do they bring my heart so much joy??  Adulthood is just a series of unexpected excitements.  Over things like trees, backyard gardens, a clean sink.  Anyway, these are Cleveland Flowering Pears, so yeah, they flower (in the spring) and yeah, they have teeny tiny little pears growing on them.  Both Joey and the guy helping us at the tree farm ate one and I think they are both so weird.  We got these planted and looking so so cute in front of our house on Saturday and even though I did none of the digging, I did mix all the soil and felt like it was a job well done by both of us!

In delicious things…

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I made us a cast iron pizza on Friday night and seriously, I do not tire of how good it always comes out!  I would like to tell you we ate a responsible two pieces each but no, we ate the entire thing.  And I feel good about it.  Saturday morning, I made my new favorite pancakes and topped them with coconut whip, blueberries, granola and maple syrup.  They were HEAVENLY.

Saturday night, my mom, my sister, Wayne, Lori, Joey and I all went to dinner at The Nickel and the majority of us ordered that melt-in-your-mouth short rib.  I couldn’t get over those baby radishes!  Sunday breakfast was at Snooze this week.  We biked over to sit on the patio at their Union Station location and it was kind of perfect because a slight chill in the air meant no wait for outdoor seating.  I know Snooze has kind of chained themselves out, number of locations-wise, but I still think the food, service and atmosphere feel one of a kind.

In work week prep…

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After breakfast on Sunday, Joey headed to the office (SAD FACE) and I went grocery shopping, then spent the rest of the afternoon food prepping.  Aka, restocking on granola (I used this Pumpkin Maple Pecan recipe and it’s so good!), baking banana muffins and making lunch for the week.  After all was said and done — aka food being packed up and the dishes being washed and put away — I looked at the mason jars full of granola next to my newest batch of ruby red black cherry kombucha and such a pure sense of happiness washed over me.  How nerdy is that??  Do you feel this way when you food prep?

In television/theater entertainment…

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Friday night, we watched the Rocky Horror Picture Show remake and yikes, that thing was BAD.  We had no idea it wasn’t live until it started and were both really disappointed.  Not even Adam Lambert could save that trainwreck.  Saturday night, our group saw Swan Lake and even though I feel like I should love all things dance, I really only started to enjoy it when all the swan maidens showed up and more importantly, we all turned on the subtitles that told us the plot.  Now I really want to re-watch Black Swan.  Raise your hand if you felt disappointed by SNL.  Tom Hanks AND Lady Gaga?  How do you even mess that up?

I should mention that we started watching Transparent last week and I am loving it.  It has been so beautifully heartbreaking thus far.  Also, we rounded out Sunday night with Shameless and though the novelty has certainly worn off, I still consider it one of my favorite shows.  I’m LOVING all the brother bonding this season plus Emmy Rossum just kills it as Fiona.  Plus she directed this week’s episode!

Share one thing you ate, watched or did this weekend! 🙂