Five on Friday

Sneaking in my Five on Friday late this week, thanks to school! 

Today was such a gorgeous Friday, so let's keep the last hour of the day rolling with some Five on Friday goodness!

1. NoseFrida

I remember when I first saw this thing at Target I thought, "Oh my God, that is so disgusting". I (ignorantly) thought using it meant inevitably getting a bit of what you were trying to suck OUT into your mouth. (Eww! Eww! Eww!) As always, though, my Facebook December Mom group came to my rescue. A few of the moms had tried this product and explained to me that there is a filter inside the tube that ensures the person using it will get no "surprises". 

My husband picked one up recently as our little one was suffering a cold and had a completely snotty nose. The NoseFrida has serious sucking power and totally cleared his little nose out. I will never use one of those stupid bulb syringes again!

2. Military "Music"

I don't remember exactly what made me look up military chants in the iTunes Store, but I'm glad I did. When I'm running (I hate cardio) and doing my gut-busting, heart-elevating, oh-my-god-someone-call-the-paramedics gym moves (compliments of my personal trainer), these military running cadences help me out. They are seriously motivational. 

3. Festivities Galore

Although I have a lot of work to do during this long weekend, there are punctuations of fun ahead as well. 

This weekend we are celebrating my sister-in-law Angie's birthday. She is one of the most kind hearted and giving people I know and the love for her family is so inspiring. Tomorrow night we plan on going to Ukai for dinner, followed by a painting (and wine!) session at Painting With a Twist. Sunday we plan on having a family birthday dinner at GG's. 

In addition to celebrating Angie's birthday, we will be celebrating Easter and our little man's FIRST Easter! 

Jackson made this adorable craft at school. See the footprint? :)

We plan on having an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids in the family at GG's. 

4. Midterm COMPLETE

I just completed the midterm exam for the class I'm trudging through right now. While I am very appreciative for the opportunity to advance my education, I am over it at this point. I just want my weekends back and to remove the constant "what's due next" question hanging over my head like a large raincloud.

Three more weeks and I'll be starting my second-to-last semester. Yeehaw.

5. Jackson Is 4 Months Old

Jackson is officially four months old today. Happy 4 monthiversary, little buddy! 

I love this picture because it makes me laugh. No clue why he was bugging his eyes out, but I know he got those big ol' eyes from his mama. 

Cheers,

Samara

Five on Friday

Things have been a little crazy and I consequently took a brief hiatus. I am back, darlings. The timing couldn't be better, either, because it's FRIDAY and you what that means--yep, Five on Friday time! Since I missed a couple of weeks, I am going to catch you up on some of the good things that I have been loving over the last couple of weeks. 

1. Another Class Down

I finished my SEVENTH graduate school class a couple of weeks ago and am now down to five more classes, including the class I am nearing the halfway mark in. Every class completed is like a whack at the piñata of school. I can't wait until the candy--graduation--comes spilling out in all its bright and delicious colors!

2. Back To Work

I returned to work last week and am fully back in the swing of things. I'd be a liar if I said I was sad about returning to work. I wasn't. I was sad to leave my little buddy, but I was not sad about being back to work. This is an important distinction. I'm a career woman, the daughter of a single mother who is a career woman. It's just in my DNA to be busy and on the move outside of the home. I might reflect on my experience of being a temporary SAHM (that's stay-at-home mom for you novices) sometime.

3. Jackson's Daycare

Our buddy is the first grandbaby on my mom's side who has had to attend a daycare. This part of returning to work was not easy for me--leaving my baby in the hands of strangers. Danger! Loss of control for this OCD mom! Ahhh! Not to worry, friends. We were able to secure a spot for our buddy at one of the best daycares in town. (Thank goodness for that little baby who decided to get walking early, which opened up a spot for us. Yeah!) 

We were impressed with the methodologies and passion of the daycare. Plus, too many amazing parents that we know have kids who have attended the daycare in the past or are currently attending the daycare. Jackson's pediatrician has heard a great deal about his daycare from her patients' parents. I've heard nothing but glowing remarks about his "school", so this helped alleviate all the initial fears I had. 

His teacher absolutely loves him and feels he is an old soul that loves to people watch. She can't believe how intently he studies people and listens to the music man who comes to the daycare once a week to play live music. I know I'm biased, but I think our little guy is her favorite. (Shh, don't tell any of the other parents!) Our buddy is clicking along with his routine and adjusting so well to his new daytime hangout. 

*NERD ALERT* I looooove getting his daily reports to see what interesting things he has done while at school with his friends. 

4. Spring AT LAST

Ata girl, Lansing. I knew you could do it!! Although the first official day of spring was March 20th, we all know it did NOT feel like anything close to spring. However, a look at the weather forecast shows good things lie ahead. After the winter we've had, we Michiganders are seriously DESPERATE for spring. 

5. First Training Session

I should have called this "Thank God I Made It Out Alive Session"! I didn't think my personal training session would be easy, but I didn't think it would nearly kill me. If it would have been more socially acceptable for me to cry and close my eyes like the girl in this picture during my session, I totally would have done it.

To start out, I was running on about four hours of sleep because I was anxious about my first day back to work. Additionally, because I was bopping all around at work that day, I didn't drink nearly enough water to sustain a proper hydration level during such an excruciating workout. 

We started out taking my measurements, getting my BMI and then headed right into the workouts. I always internally roll my eyes at those guys at the gym that make all those loud grunting noises. I think "if the weight makes you do all that, it must be too much for you". Well, I became that gym grunter! This woman is good, but at one point I thought "I cannot do this". My legs were shaking and after I finished, my legs were like noodles as I walked down the stairs. Four days after the workout, I could finally walk again.

Cheers,

Samara

Five on Friday

Welcome to another Friday, friends! The sun is shining brightly in Michigan today and we are slowly inching our way into warmer weather. This gives me hope and has me all amped up for today's Five on Friday. 

Here we gooooo!!!

1. Paying It Forward

This little cutie is Gabriel, the nearly-three-month-old son of a friend of mine. She's a single mom and is unfortunately caught in the double-edged sword of not making enough to make ends meet, but making "too much" to qualify for daycare assistance. She has set up a GoFundMe account in a pride-swallowing effort to raise enough to pay for six months of daycare for her baby boy until she can figure something else out. 

If it's in your heart to donate a few dollars, it'd be a great way to pay it forward. You can donate here. Maybe some kind soul out there will return the favor to you someday when you are in need.

2. New Hair

My hair color of choice has been "natural" for nearly ten years, and in an effort to shake it up a bit more than my normal "bangs, no bangs, bangs, no bangs" routine, I thought I'd get some caramel highlights put in.

The highlights are subtle (but after ten years of not touching your hair in the color department, the color feels "wild" to me and I'm still adjusting), but I'm glad I've shaken things up a bit. I also had a few inches cut off and feel like a million bucks. I feel like a kid after summer break getting ready to head back to school (work). 

3. "Southern Charm" on Bravo

I know. You're shocked. I've been roped into another Bravo series. I'm sorry, but Andy Cohen just has my heart and knows the exact kind of fabulous mindlessness I need to let my brain zone out sometimes. That and some of my favorite bloggers are from down south, so I've been kind of into the southern culture lately. 

This is a fun show. Nothing more, nothing less. You may feel like watching a game of polo and having a splash of whiskey afterwards. Maybe. Just sayin'. 

4. Art for Baby Book

Thanks to this amazing Facebook group I joined back last summer that is comprised of a small group of women--all were due in December of 2013--I've had the opportunity to discover neat things for my son I may have never found otherwise. This is one of them.

This book--"Art for Baby"--is made up of black and white, high-contrast drawings by contemporary artists that helps your baby discover new things. My son absolutely loves it and smiles and laughs at his favorite paintings. Highly, highly recommend it! 

5. Personal Trainer

After posting a Facebook status message a little while back and receiving many recommendations (thank you all!), I've secured the services of a personal trainer who works out of the gym I already attend. She has so many exciting and creative ways to help her clientele maintain healthy lifestyles and I'm looking forward to working with her. We are scheduled to start on March 20th and I couldn't be more excited. (And scared! Haha)

Have a beautiful weekend, everyone!!

Cheers,

Samara

Getting Started Is The Hardest Part - Week 4

Good morning, friends. Congratulations, you've officially made it to the middle of the week! 

How are your personal fitness goals coming along? Since health and wellness is about much more than just burning calories, I've decided to focus my efforts this week on things we put INTO our bodies (as opposed to what we burn off) and some apps that help us track this activity.

Week 4 

1. Vitamins

 I haven't perused the vitamin aisle in quite some time as I was on prescription vitamins during my pregnancy. Before pregnancy, I was taking Women's One-A-Day. When I went looking to purchase a new bottle of vitamins, I was slightly overwhelmed by the choices of vitamins for women (even the ones made by the same manufacturer). 

I purchased a bottle of the Women's One-A-Day brand pictured above, but was left wondering if some other vitamin was "better". It was hard to put down the "More Energy" vitamin bottle, but I decided to since I figured there was a focus on only certain ingredients and I'd thus be left with less of a balanced ingredient menu. Sure enough....

What brand of vitamin do you take? Any recommendations? Also, any recommendations for a brand for men? 

2. Fun iPhone Apps To Keep Me On Track

A.) My Fitness Pal

My Fitness Pal

Many moons ago, I downloaded "My Fitness Pal", but never got around to figuring out how to use it. (Not that it's rocket science--I was just being lazy.) With my recharged fitness efforts, I decided to download the app again when I purchased my new phone. 

I was tickled to discover that the My Fitness Pal app is a little like a mini version of Facebook for health and nutrition--complete with a news feed--and is rather fun. You can add "friends", "like" activity from friends, track your food, exercise and more. I like that you can enter a weight goal and it can tell you how long it would take you if you stay on your current (tracked)fitness and nutrition plan.

B.) Weight Watchers

Weight Watchers

Before our wedding in 2012, I was actually tracking my fitness activity and daily food intake rather well on Weight Watchers. My husband also lost a ton of weight before our wedding by using this app to really keep on top of his diet.

Well, it'd been so long since I'd tracked my food on this app that I'd forgotten my password. (Oops!) I have downloaded this app onto my phone again, and am logged in and tracking!

My husband is also being super supportive by getting back onto WW as well.If you see him, please send him words of encouragement. We all need it from time to time, but especially in the beginning days and weeks when we are getting back into the swing of things after a period of gluttony and being sedentary. :-P

Good luck with Week FOUR!!

Cheers,

Samara

Getting Started Is The Hardest Part - Week 3

So, this weather constantly feels like a huge drag and hindrance upon my workout attempts. But even if I don't complete all my workouts, I never stop trying to drag myself to the gym. Also, each week feels like a new start!! With that said, let's move to week 3!

Week 3 

1. Begin incorporating jogging intervals into cardio sessions

I actually got a head start on this one late in Week 2. During my thirty minute cardio sessions (which have actually slowly crept up to 40 - 45 minutes), I've started implementing a few jogging intervals (just three minutes at a time) into my treadmill routine. 

To be clear, I've never been a great jogger, much less a great runner. 

I'm slowly getting back into a routine,though. It is even more difficult than I remember. However, by the second time I incorporated jogging intervals into my cardio session, my body was already starting to feel less like a few hundred pounds of steel bouncing up and down and more like a human trying to run. 

I won't stop trying. I won't quit. I won't give up. 

2. Improve plank endurance

Last week, I started planks. I actually started off with an ab workout that had one plank move at the end. Since my doctor recommended planks as the best ab workout, I quickly changed my ab routine to planks only. (I throw in other ab workouts if I have time or if I'm feeling a burst of energy.)

I have just recently started the plank workout routine above, but modified it so each position only lasts 30 seconds. Seriously, that is all I can handle until these abs and my endurance build up a little. I'm struggling by the end. To be fair, I do these plank routines near the end of my gym session, so I've already worked my body pretty hard by this point. 

Good luck with Week 3!

Cheers,

Samara

Getting Started Is The Hardest Part

Why are some things just so difficult to get started? I find that most things like gearing up for work, heading to the gym and starting homework are never nearly as bad once you're there or started in on the work (and oftentimes you actually feel great once you're engaged in doing whatever activity you previously dreaded), but starting can be the most impossible thing to do!

Well, getting back to eating healthy and getting active after the holidays is one of those things. This frigid Michigan weather that keeps us holed up in the house or in the office day after day doesn't help, either!

I also know that these lofty new year's goals we all make year after year typically fade or die altogether by late winter (if we make it that long). Going too hard at a goal, all at once, is sure to lead to burn out;it's just not sustainable. I mean, if you were learning math for the first time would you shout "give me Calculus!" or would you start by learning how to add and subtract and build from there? 

With that said, I'm almost 6 weeks postpartum and have been slooooowly trying to get back into the workout world. I've decided to start with a base of physical and healthy activity and build from there. 

My hope is that by putting this pledge out into blogosphere, I will actually honor it! Here's my plan for week one. (And I mean, it is like, reallllly basic to start out with. Sustainable. Remember??)

Week 1: 

Get in at least 30 minutes of cardio per day (no weights yet for me until the doctor's OK)

Drink 64 ounces of water per day

 

Two tiny goals for week one. That's it! By slowly adding to the foundation of health and physical fitness, I think I can get back to that healthy and fit place!! 

Who's with me? Would you like to join my challenge? I'd love to hear about anyone willing to join in and would love to hear your updates! Spring is but a few calendar pages away, darlings!

Cheers,

Samara