Love List (Fall 2013)

Some things I've been a little obsessed with lately...

 

 

The October issue of Real Simple:

It's got tons of awesome recipes, including 10 different ways to use butternut squash!

 

 

 

Pumpkin EVERYTHING:

Pumpkin candles, pumpkin tea, pumpkin beer, pumpkin coffee, pumpkin butter...oh, yeah, and pumpkins.

 

 

The Isabel Dalhousie books:

I'm just finishing the fourth in the series and adore them. Perfect reading for rainy days.

 

 

Codeword puzzles:

 If crosswords and Sudoku got together, their offspring would be the mighty codeword puzzle. I found a book of these at Barnes & Noble and am now totally addicted.

 

DoYogaWithMe.com:

This free site offers videos for all levels of practice. It also allows you to search by length of video (20 minutes or less, 20-40 minutes, 40-60, etc.), or by type of yoga. I love the hamstrings, neck & shoulder, yin yoga, and post-run videos. Great way to fight off tension headaches!

 

 

My "blanket" wrap:

I bought this at a local used clothing boutique. Jared calls it my Native American blanket. It's so comfy, and I love the pattern.

 

 

Vintage Pink:

 Holy smokes...this store is dangerous. I found a white rolling cart for our kitchen, a blue lamp for the living room, and a gnome for the front yard. It's on the east side of Portland - good thing it isn't closer or I would probably go broke.

 

 

 

Austenland:

Saw this with a girlfriend over the weekend, and it was adorable! Great for Pride & Prejudice fanatics and casual moviegoers alike.

 

Image source

Save Your Hands!!!

Happy Friday!!!

I want to introduce you to one of my best friends: Burt's Bees Miracle Salve:

This stuff is awesome!  Even if you wear lifting gloves (which I do), your hands can take a beating at CrossFit!  Mine always seem to get a little ripped up and dried out - this stuff works wonders.  It's unscented and super easy to throw in your gym bag or purse.  It's also great for softening dry elbow/knees, removing mascara, and fixing frizzy/flyaway hair. 

It's also helped me in a weird health plight - the skin around my eyes, nose, and mouth can get a little raw due to sweating and wiping my face repeatedly in hot yoga.  Then when I go to put sunscreen on...it stings like heck!  Now I dab on the Miracle Salve pre-sunscreen, and it does the trick perfectly!

Sold, right?  You can pick up a pack of four at Amazon.com.

Here's a look at this week's workouts:

Monday - PT exercises/planks/shoulder stability; CrossFit with my momma; Hot Yoga (hatha) with a girlfriend after work
Tuesday - Racquetball with my dad and some friends
Wednesday - CrossFit
Thursday - Hot Yoga (hatha again - I'm told I have "enough power in [my] life already")
Friday - More racquetball tonight after work; I intend to get my PT exercises, planks, and shoulder stability in as well
Saturday - CrossFit (Team Wod!!!); Yin Yoga
Sunday - REST

Wednesday was pretty killer - we got to do a "strength" I'd never done before: weighted pushups!

We started out doing 5-10 non-weighted pushups to get our form down. I tend to wing my elbows way out when coming back up - so I'm working on keeping them in the same plane of movement.  Even if I'm not doing hand-release pushups, I make sure to get my chest all the way to the ground on every rep, even in the warm-up.  To me, that's the only way to get stronger and better.

I did the first set of 8 with the #5 plate, then the #10, and went with the #15 for my third set of 8.  My first five reps with 15 lbs were great...but the last three were pretty shabby on form.  I went down for the next two sets and actually couldn't push back up for the fourth rep of the fifth set (with 5 lbs).

The WOD was just killer.  It sounded so easy: "Oh, I only have to do that for a minute," but boy were those the longest minutes!

I was able to RX this time, which made me happy.  I feel that my strongest point in the workout was definitely nailing those 1 minute rests.  The hardest part was the push press.  I got some good pointers on how to link the reps cleanly...and then didn't really use them when we got going in the WOD.  I always get tired and end up slamming the bar back down into my shoulders.  I think next time we have push press in a WOD, I will try to link more reps even if it means I have to set the bar down more frequently...rather than resting with the bar still up or on my shoulders.

My total score for the workout was 201, and I really killed myself on the final row, so overall, I felt pretty good!

You tell me: What are your plans for the weekend?  Do you use gloves at CrossFit?  How many rest days do you schedule each week?

Love List

Clockwise from top left: 

• Scrubs season 8 - Jared and I have been laughing our way through Scrubs for a few months.  Yes, we live in the dark ages and don't have TV.  Perks: no commercials, unbounded hilarity (particularly the My Muscial episode a few seasons back), and getting to unwind together after work.
• Endangered Species All-Natural Extreme Dark Chocolate - Jared bought me this a while back, and now I'm hooked.  I'm a dark chocolate gal by nature, but after this 88% pure gold, almost everything else tastes like milk chocolate (read: dirt) to me.  Perks: antioxidants, very low sugar content, and seratonin boost.  Mmm.
• Nike Game On tee - I bought this last week on a shopping trip to Sports Authority that officially was for Jared to get a padded shooting sleeve for basketball.  Somehow I ended up with this tee, new Nike capris to match, and a long-sleeve Nike therma-fit shirt for running.  Perks: cuteness, sweat-wicking properties, and minimal to zero buyer's remorse.
• Real Marriage book - We attend Mars Hill church and are currently going through the Real Marriage series, to which this book and the study guide are companions.  This book has been astoundingly controversial to people of all opinions and beliefs.  We personally have found it incredibly helpful...but if you don't like it, don't read it.  It ain't the Bible, folks.  Perks: learning how to be a better friend to your spouse, going on date nights as required homework, and getting some honest advice from a humble couple.
• Basketball @ The SJCC - Basketball is totally my favorite sport.  It moves fast and I actually understand some of the rules and most of the scoring.  I really love getting to watch the hubby hit some threes...even if I get kinda stressed when we're losing.
• KIND Healthy Grains - Generally, I'm not a huge cereal/granola kinda gal...but these are pretty much amazing.  We're currently enjoying Vanilla Blueberry Clusters with Flax Seeds, Maple Walnut Clusters with Chia and Quinoa, and Oats & Honey Clusters with Toasted Coconut.  Perks: low sugar, amazing taste, and perfect way to upgrade Greek yogurt into a parfait.
• nuun Lemon Tea: I first started using nuun when training for a half marathon...did the trick to keep me hydrated, but didn't really wow me.  But I think maybe I just hadn't found the right flavor until I tried Lemon Tea!!!  I drop a tab in a water bottle full of...water (genius, right?), let it mix up, freeze it overnight, and take it with me to hot yoga.  LOVE IN A BOTTLE.
• ToneItUp.com: I first saw Katrina and Karena in a copy of Self I'd picked up from the library...I was so impressed with their workout that I made a photocopy to keep in my health and fitness binder!  I've done it several times, and it requires minimal equipment and kicks my butt.  A few weeks ago, I realized they have their own website/mini fitness empire!  They are super inspiring and offer a TON of resources for free on YouTube.  Their Valentine's Day workout is absolutely adorable.

You tell me:  What are you loving these days?  Do YOU have a favorite brand of dark chocolate?  Do you get a kick out of watching your spouse/friend/sibling/random stranger do something they love?