Someone is awfully happy to be at the beach!

After quickly popping by the gym for some work-related business after breakfast this morning, I came home and picked up Sadie and headed to my parents’ place in Jacksonville Beach. Sadie loves it here and ran around their condo frantically searching for my parents so she could wiggle like crazy, whimper and give them her usual enthusiastic hello. Unfortunately no one was here to greet her and once she realized this, she ran back to me and gave me her “No one is here! Fix this!!!” face.

My mom is actually in Pennsylvania with my grandma who had to go to the hospital over the weekend. She is okay, but my mom wanted to be there to take her home from the hospital once she is ready to return to her house in Gettysburg. My dad will be home later tonight, but I won’t see either of them because I’m heading off to St. Augustine in a bit for a quick meeting. Since St. Augustine is so close to Jacksonville, I decided to piggyback on my meeting and drop Sadie off at my parents’ place since they were kind enough to agree to watch her this weekend while we are out of town for my best friend’s wedding. They love Sadie and she is obsessed with them, so it works out rather well!

Before I left Ocala, I made myself a peanut butter mocha smoothie with spinach to tide me over.

It was delicious!

By time time I arrived in Jacksonville, my appetite wasn’t really raging, so I kept lunch simple and fixed myself a yogurt bowl with Liberte coconut yogurt, walnuts and granola.

Enjoyed with a view! 

After my late lunch, I brought my laptop onto the patio to work outside and watch Sadie mentally stalk seagulls on the beach from above. I’m hoping Ryan and I will be able to enjoy some beach time on Memorial Day when we come back to pick up Sadie even though I am sure it will be absolutely slammed! All of this weekend talk has me feeling way too excited about all of the wedding fun that officially kicks off on Friday. The countdown is on!

Question of the Afternoon

• What is one thing you’re looking forward to this holiday weekend?

Good morning!

A delayed morning post is coming your way today thanks to our internet. It has been acting super funky lately and the signal keeps going in and out. It’s pretty great.

Anyway, back to the usual…

Workout

Today’s workout began with 25 minutes on the elliptical. I spent some time flipping through Fitness Magazine while listening to music and enjoyed a less-intense cardio session. Once I was done, I jotted down a quick circuit workout to complete on the gym floor.

Check it out!

I completed three mini circuits that included two exercises each for a total of six exercises. I did six reps of each exercise and went through each mini circuit six times. It was sweatastic!

Here are links to two of the exercises that might not be as familiar to some of you out there:

• Stability ball roll-ins
• Plank jacks

After my time at the gym, I headed home and prepared a batch of scrambled eggs with mozzarella cheese, spinach and avocado.

Served with a whole wheat English muffin!

Catch ya after lunch!

Of Possible Interest

• Black Bean Hummus (MyRecipes.com)
• Veggie Grilling 101: Charred Caesar Salad (FitBottomedEats.com)
• Paleo Perfect: Cauliflower “Rice” Stir-Fry (FitSugar.com)

Question of the Morning

• What is the best new recipe you’ve tried lately?

I’ve been feeling a little bored in the kitchen lately and am looking for some recipe inspiration! Please share your latest new recipe success!

Today I taught my first group exercise class. Hooray!

Isn’t my microphone oh-so-fancy!?

Though I was slightly nervous during the hours leading up to the class, I was busy the entire day so I didn’t have a ton of time to think about teaching and really let my nerves get the best of me which was a very good thing!

I arrived at the gym about an hour and a half before my shift started so I could sneak in a quick workout from Tina’s Best Body Boot Camp plan. After my workout, I showered at the gym and clocked in just before 9 a.m., ready to take a small handful of people through fitness assessments. The first woman I worked with was so enthusiastic about exercise and I cannot wait to train her in the future. We set up four sessions next week and I’m already looking forward to mapping out a workout plan for her.

Lunch

Lunch today was a grab-n-go affair. Luckily I packed lots of little things that I could quickly inhale in the break room between appointments.

All together my lunch included tuna salad, a whole wheat English muffin, a red pepper, strawberries and avocado slices.

I planned to toast the English muffin and make a tuna salad sandwich with the avocado, but I ended up eating my lunch in segments. Whatever works!

Eventually it was time to teach my first water fitness class. I got my music and microphone set up and headed outside in my fun Reebok “Love Fitness” t-shirt that the company sent me this month because I had a feeling the water aerobics crew would get a kick out of it!

The shirt is so soft and comfortable and the slight v-neck makes it much more flattering and feminine than some of the other workout shirts I own. It’s not clingy but it’s still shapely without being boxy. I feel like so many race t-shirts are boxy, so I am always happy when a workout t-shirt is cut with a little more shape.

Though I started teaching the class in the t-shirt, I had to take it off about halfway through and wear the black tank top I had underneath because it was so hot outside. I made a rookie mistake of not wearing any sunscreen and paid the price.

Yikes.

The class ended up going really well and I had a blast teaching it. My oldies but goodies workout playlist seemed to be a hit! Their favorites were “Soul Man,” “Hit the Road Jack” and “Peggy Sue.” (It didn’t hurt that there was a woman in the class named Peggy!) I took everyone through an aerobic workout and some intervals which seemed to go over well. It was a lot of fun!

After class, I showered at the gym (again) and got ready because a photographer came by to take pictures of all of the trainers and the group exercise instructors. I look super awkward in all of my photos, but at least they didn’t make me do the closed-mouth smile. We all know how fabulous I look doing that particular facial expression…

Once picture time was over, I left for the day and arrived home around 4:30 p.m. Now I’m blogging away and salivating over the smell of our crock pot dinner!

Time for f-o-o-d!

P.S. I know several of you out there have dogs like Sadie that don’t understand the concept of personal space, so I thought you might get a kick out of this cartoon that blog reader Emily sent to me:

(Source)

Ryan and I shared a laugh over that one!

Well hello there! This morning I am in a bit of a hurry to eat, blog, pack my lunch and head out the door to the gym.

Today is a big day on the work front. I have four fitness assessments to perform on potential personal training clients and then, later this afternoon, I will be teaching my first group exercise class!

I wrote down a basic outline for the water fitness class I will be teaching last night and created a rockin’ workout playlist with lots of classic hits that I hope the class will enjoy. Thank you guys so much for your fantastic song recommendations in the comments section of yesterday’s post, on Facebook and on Twitter. Ryan and I had a little too much fun blasting throwback music from the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ’80s last night. (We also had a pretty good time laughing about the songs I should try to slip into the playlist to get a rise out of everyone. Ha!)

Below you will find the playlist I created for today’s class. I hope you guys find it uplifting and energizing!

Oldies But Goodies Workout Playlist

• Dion & The Belmonts – Runaround Sue
• The Temptations – Ain’t Too Proud to Beg
• Kenny Loggins – Danger Zone
• Stevie Wonder – Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours
• Steam – Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye
• Buddy Holly – Peggy Sue
• Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell – Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
• Ray Charles – Hit the Road Jack
• Michael Jackson – P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
• American Breed – Bend Me Shape Me
• Amii Stewart – Knock On Wood
• The Blues Brothers – Soul Man
• The Temptations – The Way You Do The Things You Do
• Paul Simon – You Can Call Me Al
• Aretha Franklin – Think
• Spencer Davis Group – Gimme Some Lovin’
• Elvis Presley – Jailhouse Rock

Breakfast

Eggs called to me this morning, so I made myself a breakfast sandwich with two eggs, a toasted whole wheat English muffin,  muenster cheese and avocado slices.

It was delicious!

I’ve been eating lots of overnight oats, peanut butter and banana sandwiches and yogurt bowls with berries and homemade almond butter granola for breakfast since I’ve been packing my morning meal to take to the gym with me to eat during my early shift, so it was nice to mix it up a bit with eggs this morning.

Off to work! I hope you have a great day!

Hello and Happy Monday!

The workweek started extra early for me since I had to be at the gym when it opened. My shift today was busy from start to finish. I had several appointments, including one follow up appointment with a women I met with several weeks ago. After never working out in her life before, she has been coming to the gym three times a week and said her energy level is dramatically improving. Exciting!

Before I left for the day, I sat down with my boss to discuss the water fitness class I will be teaching… tomorrow. I’m beginning to realize things happen fast at our gym and I will be teaching my first group exercise class tomorrow afternoon. I am nervous and plan to spend some time today downloading energizing music and planning out my class. The instructors who previously taught this class said that the participants seem to enjoy music from the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Time to download some upbeat classics!

Workout

After I was done at work for the day, I changed clothes and hopped on the stair master to kick off my workout for the day. After 20 minutes, I decided to follow the functional training workout that one of the trainers at the gym detailed on the whiteboard.

I did two rounds for a total of 30 minutes. Since I only had to spend one minute doing each exercise, the workout was the ultimate boredom-fighter. It was great!

Before I left, I pulled up the FitnessGlo website on my phone and did a 5-minute express stretch workout video. It was a fabulous way to cool down.

And speaking of FitnessGlo, the winner of yesterday’s free FitnessGlo 90-day trial is…

• Steph: “I work from home and live in a rural area- ok pretty much out in the woods. Driving to a gym at lunch or after work not really an option 25-40 minutes away in either direction but it is nice to run for almost an bour and not see a car or human!! Just me and my running buddy, Harley my black lab!! I would love to try barre, yoga, or core since I don’t get much of those on my own.”

Congratulations! Please email me at pbfingers@gmail.com with your mailing address and we’ll get you access to the site right away!

Lunch

Lunch today came together quickly once I arrived home.

I made myself a peanut butter-topped English muffin and served it with raw red pepper and a sliced pear.

Simple and satisfying!

Question of the Afternoon

• Name a few of your favorite upbeat songs from the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s or ‘80s that you think would make great workout songs! I’ll be sure to share my playlist with you guys once I have it assembled for those of you who love throwback tunes!

Yesterday we celebrated the beautiful bride-to-be!

Laurel’s future husband is British so her bridal shower had an English tea theme and we all wore fun hats!

(Yes, I am hidden in the back. Big group pictures overwhelm me and since I’m tall, I always drop to the back and just hope my forehead makes an appearance.)

Laurel’s mom and sisters hosted the shower and everyone arrived around lunchtime bearing gifts and ready to talk wedding talk!

Within about 20 minutes, all of the women gathered around the beautiful table and dug into a delicious lunch of mini sandwiches and homemade lemonade.

The lemonade was made with lemons from Laurel’s grandmother’s lemon tree and tasted fantastic! The sandwiches were also great and I had ham salad, chicken salad, roast beef and smoked salmon mini sandwiches.

Dessert was a highlight for me and I dug into a homemade scone with strawberry butter, fruit kebabs and a chocolate truffle.

Laurel’s brother is a professional chef and made the truffles from scratch. They were so delicious that I kept going back for more! The texture was creamy, the flavor was rich and they tasted incredibly decadent. Kyle needs to become a candy man!

After dessert and tea, we meandered into the living room and Laurel opened her gifts.

Laurel already knew what I got for her ahead of time because I cannot keep my mouth shut. A few weeks ago I asked her what she wanted off her registry and when she said she really wanted a food processor, I couldn’t help but blurt out that I already bought it for her. Oops!

During the bridal shower we played Bridal Bingo and did a purse scavenger hunt, neither of which I won, but I did win the random drawing and am now the proud owner of a wonderful smelling candle!

The best part of Laurel’s bridal shower was obviously spending time with the bride-to-be and talking about her upcoming wedding. She is getting married on Saturday and is feeling ready and excited.

I cannot wait to be a part of her special day!

Congratulations to Laurel and John!

Good morning! I hope you guys are enjoying a fabulous weekend!

Between the SHINE Women’s Conference on Thursday and Friday and my AFAA Group Exercise Certification course yesterday, I feel like I haven’t had much computer time with you guys! Friday was the final day of SHINE and we all agreed that it was fabulous. On Thursday night they opened with “Oh Happy Day!” and I basically freaked out. That song is so fabulous.

SHINE was the first Christian women’s conference I’ve ever attended and I have only good things to say about it. I am still very much growing in my personal journey and am glad I was able to attend the conference with my mom and sister and my sister’s boyfriend’s mom and sister. We had such a warm group and I loved listening to the various speakers with such kind, loving women.

Yesterday I spent the day at an AFAA Group Exercise Certification workshop and will know the results from the practical and written exams within four to six weeks. I think it went really well and I’ll be sure to share more about the experience on the blog soon.

And now I have something to share with you guys that I think many of you will  enjoy, especially those of you who are on the go a lot, don’t have a gym membership or prefer to work out at home.

FitnessGlo

In between the conference sessions on Friday, we had a two-hour break and since were all feeling a little antsy from sitting for most of the day, we decided to do an at-home workout. I plugged my computer into the television and my sister and I spent some time on the FitnessGlo website selecting a workout we thought we all might enjoy from the various videos available on the site.

I first learned about FitnessGlo through a partnership with FitFluential and was immediately impressed with the workout videos on the site. There are tons! (Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, but all opinions are 100 percent my own. I loved this site!)

FitnessGlo is a website created for women by women with busy women in mind. The website features workout videos with varying intensities from level one (On My Way) to level three (Good to Glo). Their videos last anywhere from five to 45 minutes, so they’re perfect for on-the-go women who might only have a small amount of time to squeeze in a quick workout before work.

We decided to try Ilyse Baker’s barre workout because I already knew I liked her teaching style since I’ve taken a dance class with her before at the Reebok headquarters last year.

Her energy is contagious without being annoying. She’s motivating but lets you know she’s feeling the burn, too!

The workout lasted 30 minutes and we were engaged the entire time.

We started sweating and definitely felt the burn! My sister and I liked it so much that we decided to try another 30-minute video immediately after the barre workout. We selected Amy Dixon’s Cardio Athletic workout which included lots of intervals. It was right up my alley!

I loved the format of the workout and the way Amy took us through several exercises for 30, 60 and 90 second bursts of intense cardio. My sister and I were super sweaty by the end of this workout! Amy was awesome… and kind of looks like Laura Prepon from That ‘70s Show to me a little bit! I’m also hoping to pitch a similar class to my boss at the gym because I think it could be a hit in a group exercise format. 

The site makes it easy to sort through videos by duration, workout type, instructor and level.

If you need a little push to start your routine, FitnessGlo offers an 8-week customized jump-start program and ways to track your workouts and make sure your routine includes a balance of strength, cardio and stretching.

Access to the FitessGlo website costs $12 a month, but anyone can receive a free 15-day trial. And one of you will win a free 90-day membership!

To enter this giveaway for a free 90-day FitnessGlo membership, simply comment on this post telling me why you are looking for a great at-home workout option or what type of workout video you’d be most excited to try. Barre? Core strength? Cardio dance? Let me know!

I will randomly select one winner on Monday.

Good luck!

A month or two ago, I saw a survey pop up on Chelsey’s blog and bookmarked it because it seemed like a lot of fun! (Speaking of Chelsey, she is currently pregnant with twins! Check out her blog for all the details and to wish her congratulations. What wonderful news!)

Anyway, this survey is appropriately called “currently” and takes you through some things I’m currently loving. Feel free to play along in the comments section!

Current Book(s):

On my recent vacation I read Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling and loved it! It’s a quick, hilarious read.

I also read Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand. A previous passenger left it on the boat that we stayed on in the Galapagos Islands and I breezed through it. A bunch of side stories surrounded the main plot and kept me interested. It was an easy read. A great beach book! 

Current Music:

Even though I ran in the ZOOMA half marathon back in January, I am still rockin’ my half marathon playlist.

It is probably my favorite workout playlist to date and never fails to pump me up.

Another song I am loving? Mission Bells by Fighting Gravity. A friend of mine burned it onto CD for me in high school and I recently rediscovered it. Such a great song!  

Current Guilty Pleasure:

Malted milk balls. I never used to like these things, but lately I think they’re freaking amazing. I get them from the bulk bins at Earth Origins (10x better than Whoppers) and love them.

Current Nail Color:

Bright pink! I also tried sea foam green a week or so ago and liked it, but I always seem  to go back to pink.

Current Drink:

Sparkling water. Always a favorite!

Current Food:

Kettle corn. I can’t get enough of it lately. Also, almond butter.

Current Favorite Show:

The Big Bang Theory! So, so great!

“Penny!” (knock, knock, knock) “Penny!” (knock, knock, knock) “Penny!” (knock, knock, knock)

Current Wish List:

I need to find a pair of strappy silver heels to wear to my friend Laurel’s wedding next weekend.

All of the bridesmaids are supposed to wear strappy or open-toe silver heels with our long, lilac dresses and I am on the lookout!

Current needs:

A haircut.

Current Indulgence:

Ice cream. Always, always ice cream.

Current Blessing:

The ability to travel. Traveling lights a fire within me and I am so grateful for the ability to explore some of the fabulous places on this planet.

Another blessing is our small group. I cannot express how much Ryan and I love our small group and the discussions we have with such a wonderful group of people.

Current Outfit:

Right now I’m typing up this post in my pajamas but my current favorite thing to wear is a maxi dress. So darn comfortable! 

Current Excitement:

My friend Laurel’s bridal shower this Sunday! And her wedding next week!

Question of the Morning

Your turn!

• Current Guilty Pleasure?
• Current Blessing?
• Current Favorite Show?
• Current Excitement?

Hello from Jacksonville Beach!

I am staying at my parents’ condo for the next three days with my sister and my sister’s boyfriend’s mom and sister. (Got that?) We’re all in town for the SHINE Women’s Conference through Celebration Church and so far our experience at the conference has been wonderful!

Workout  

From the moment I woke up this morning, things have been go-go-go!

With no morning shift at the gym requiring a ridiculously early wake up call, I opted to sleep in a bit and got out of bed a little before 7 a.m. for a workout.

I headed out to the beach to run four miles before everyone else was awake.

Dogs are allowed on Jacksonville Beach before 9 a.m. and I had the best time watching them run in and out of the surf. I immediately thought about Sadie and how much she would love starting off every day with a romp on the beach. Lucky dogs!

My run was a little sluggish, but it felt good to get outside and sweat a bit.

Breakfast

After my run, it was breakfast time. I assembled a yogurt bowl with Liberte coconut yogurt, cold oatmeal and raw pecans.

Have you guys tried Liberte yogurt? It tastes like dessert in a cup! Delicious!

Once I had food in my stomach, I hopped in the shower, got dressed and sat down to blog when my sister said it was time to go! We had a little miscommunication about our intended departure time, so I grabbed my purse and headed out the door with everyone to attend the morning sessions at SHINE.

This morning we heard from Kerri Weems, Dianne Wilson and Priscilla Shirer, three incredibly inspiring women who spoke with such passion and energy.

Priscilla actually opened the conference last night and I was thrilled to find out that she was speaking again today. She has such charisma and sass and is a phenomenal speaker. If SHINE ends up posting videos or sharing podcasts of the conference sessions, I will be sure to share links on the blog so that those of you who may be interested can check them out.

We just arrived back at my parents’ condo and it’s time to dig into a late lunch before we head back to the conference for the evening sessions.

Hope you’re having a great Thursday!

Question of the Afternoon

• What is the best conference you’ve attended?
• What is one conference you’d love to attend in the future?

On Sunday my mother-in-law and I joked about using the song “Oh Happy Day” as our morning alarm. It is impossible to wake up in a bad mood when that song is blaring!

I probably should have used that song as my alarm today because when 4:20 a.m. rolled around and I was greeted with an annoying “beep, beep, beep,” all I wanted to do was roll over and go back to sleep. It took me a while to get into my groove this morning, but eventually it happened. I probably have my tumbler of coffee to thank for the nice little jolt of energy that finally hit me around 6 a.m.

My shift at work went well and I set up three fitness assessments for next week that I hope will morph into personal training clients.

Once I was done working for the day, I changed into shorts and a tank top and went through another Best Body Boot Camp workout. The most challenging part of the workout was, without a doubt, the tabata-style jumping lunges and jump squats. I completed jumping lunges for 20 seconds followed by a 10 second rest, 20 seconds of jump squats and another 10 second rest. Complete four total rounds and just try to tell me you’re not out of breath! It was tough!

Lunch

By the time I made it home, I was more than ready for a filling lunch and reheated some leftovers.

In my bowl:

• Corn
• Ham
• Broccoli
• Onion
• Green onion

About an hour later, I found myself back in the kitchen blending up another green lemonade smoothie. I’m lovin’ them lately!

Now it’s time to pack up and hit the road for Jacksonville where I will be through Sunday morning.

I am attending a conference that kicks off tonight and lasts through Friday and my group exercise certification workshop is in Jacksonville on Saturday. See ya from the beach!

Question of the Afternoon

• Is your alarm the usual annoying beep or do you wake up to music? Any great alarm wake up songs out there?