Run Run

Today we did this workout.  Yikes!  Way harder in the heat then I could have imagined.  It was only a two mile run (broken up into 4 runs), but that added with the V-ups and KB swings -- enough to kill you off. 

After GPP I went to try out Body Combat.  I'm not sure if I like it, I will give it another go and see if I can grow to love it.  I just feel like I'm doing ti-bow and that I'm in the 7th grade again.

I have 3 weeks until my last marathon, and possibly race, of this season.  Wish me luck!  This marathon I've just been doing GPP and running a lot less, so we will see how the race actually goes.  The most I will run is 15. Hope I can do this!

Hope you all have a fantastic Labor Day weekend!  One of my best friends gets married this weekend -- crazy stuff!

Pear Cinnamon Jam

I have two pear trees in my backyard and the pears are coming on. I was desperately searching the intern this afternoon looking for something to do with all these pears. I came across this recipe and plan on giving it a try. 

Pear Cinnamon Jam
makes 3 pints (fills six half pint jars)

8 cups cored and chopped Bartlett pears (or any smooth, thin-skinned pear. There’s no need to peel.)
4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
juice of 1/2 a lemon

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, combine chopped pears and sugar. Cook over medium heat until the fruit can easily be smashed with the back of a wooden spoon. Use a potato masher or immersion blender to break the fruit down into a mostly-smooth sauce.

Add cinnamon and lemon juice and stir to combine. Continue to cook until the jam looks thick and passes the plate test.

Fill jars, wipe rims to remove any residual jam, apply lids (heat canning lids in a small pot over very low heat while you’re preparing the jam to ensure a good seal) and screw on the rims.

Process the filled jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes (start the timer when the pot has returned to a boil). When the time has elapsed, remove jars from pot and place the jars on a towel-lined countertop. Let them cool undisturbed for at least two hours. During this time, the lids should seal. Check to ensure the jars have sealed by pushing down on the center of the lid. If it feels solid and doesn’t move, it is sealed.

Rx +

This week at GPP we are doing 2-a-days!  Can you believe that?!  Yes I think we are crazy too!  

Yesterday we pretty fun.  We did lemon, which is a great running workout!  Then we were crazy enough to go run bleachers.  I know what are we thinking?!  

I love this week because it is a week of pushing your body to its limits and getting your heart rate up twice a day.  I love this idea.  Obviously, it isn't super realistic to workout twice a day always, but it is fun for a week.  Check out the GPP website to see what other crazy workouts we are doing this week.

If you want to check out GPP for a month, they are having a Living Social deal for $35 dollars for your first month.  Ummm, hello!  great deal!

I know this is a way short post, but I hope you all will find a way to push your bodies just a little further than you are used to, get out of your comfort zone.  Not necessarily for a whole week, but maybe for a day, run a little further or faster, add on a little more weight.  

What did you do to push your body?  For me, this week, but also running/training for a marathon.

Happy Wednesday!

Yummy Brownies

Ingredients

• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels, divided
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, cut into pieces
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour and they turned out great)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

MELT 1 cup morsels and butter in large, heavy-duty saucepan over low heat; stir until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in eggs. Stir in flour, sugar, vanilla extract and baking soda. Stir in remaining morsels and nuts. Spread into prepared baking pan.

BAKE for 18 to 22 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out slightly sticky. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/28489/easy-double-chocolate-chip-brownies/detail.aspx

Field Trip Friday

The Park is a great field trip. Kids love to play outside and there is always something to do at the park. The slide, the swing, the monkey bars and don't forget to bring a ball to kick around or a Frisbee. A picnic also adds to the fun.

Being August I'm sure you're thinking it's too hot to go to the park but if you go in the morning or in the evening it's a lot of fun and helps run some of that never ending energy out of the kids.

Run Run as Fast as You Can!

I hope your week is going well!  Mine sure is, I just can't seem to get enough of the Olympics!  I love them!  However I am seriously missing out on sleep staying up so late and not getting to other things until I watch the Olympics.  ha But I really have enjoyed them.  Keep up the good work team USA.

Today I started my day off with a workout! I decided to get this mess done early so that I wouldn't have to run in the heat.  And believe me, I was dying without the heat.  Good workout!  After the good workout, my cute friend Candice asked if I wanted to practice kipping with her.  OF COURSE!  A kipping pull up is something I am dying to be able to do (check it out here).  I am still trying to get the motion of things.  Candice was so great to work with me.  I will hopefully have this down in a month or so.  My goal is to practice for 5 or 10 minutes after every workout until I get it.

On another note, I bought new running shoes!  YAY!  They are Brooks Pure Cadence.  They are are nice to run in (well the 4 times I've actually used them since Saturday).  I like them a lot.  Go give 'em a try.  They are cushioned in exactly the right place!

 

Source

What are you favorite shoes to run in?  

What are your fitness goals?

Before You Were Born

"Before you were conceived I wanted you. Before you were born I loved you. Before you were here an hour I would give my life for you This is the miracle of life."

~ Maureen Hawkins

 

I love this quote, it is one of my favorites because it is so true. 

 

Whether you are expecting your first or your fourth, you can create an incredible bond with your baby, simply by intent. 

Take a moment each day to connect with your baby. Talk to your baby about how you are feeling, and the excitement you are feeling. Picture your baby (preferably in a head down, facing your back position...this is the best position for baby to be born in)

Take the time to create that bond. Sitting in quiet meditation, ask your baby what s/he needs. Being in-tune with your baby is one of the best ways to make sure you providing them with what they need. This bond will carry over into the birth process. You will be so connected that you will instinctively know the best positions to be in to birth your baby easily. 

Daily mother/child meditations are so peaceful and wonderful. During my first pregnancy, I found it to be some of the most relaxing times to just sit and BE with my baby. 

With my second, it had the added bonus of being some of the best quiet time I had all day. But I loved that I was able to really connect to the beautiful child I was growing within me. 

This week, spend a moment to either connect with a child, or connect with yourself. The benefits of such self connection will undoubtedly increase your awareness of your purpose for being here. 

Next Week: Is it Selfish or Self Interested?

Sunday!

Well Charisse is off in Hawaii, so I (Melissa) am writing her post.  Sorry you have to keep hearing from me.  In church today we were talking about having faith and having enough faith to say "but if not..."

I have a really hard time with this.  Right now trying to figure out my plan for life and my future not going according my plan.  So my goal for the next little while is to have enough courage and faith to say "but if not.."  Going to the Lord in prayer and saying here is my plan, but if not...then I'll be okay with it going your way.  Because how often do we get frustrated that life didn't go according to our plans, then it turns out way better when we let it go according to the Lord's plans.

Just a thought.  Happy Sunday!

Field Trip Friday:

First off, sorry about last week. I just spaced it...I'm blaming it on pregnancy.

OK, now let's talk field trips. As summer is coming to an end you can still find a few of the local theaters who offer a $1 kids movie once a week. This is a great field trip if your kids like to go to the movie and especially if it's a movie they love! It's also nice and cool inside the theater...great way to beat the heat. I haven't been but I also hear that some theaters offer a popcorn deal too.

My recommendation is to call or look online at the local theaters and see what you can find out.

Enjoy!

Good Deal Websites

For today's post I thought I would talk about a few websites where you go find great deals on a variety of different things from vacation deals to ice cream deals!

The first one is Living Social
This site has a deal including items such as gym passes, jewelry classes, window cleaning, children's products. You name it they usually have a deal for it. I have purchased deals for a night's stay, a year pass to the Aquarium, a day pass to the children's museum and of course treats like frozen yogurt and snow cones.

You need to be careful with deal sites not to over spend so my philosophy is if it i something I would purchase anyway and pay full price I should buy the voucher and save 1/2 the money! Ok and sometimes I do splurge.

Second one is more local it is called  Go Deal Go
This is a more localized deal site. Right now they just have deals in Davis County but are working on Salt Lake and Weber Counties. These deals are usually just one deal a day. They have things like places to eat or oil changes.

You can register on both sites to receive daily email updates with the newest deals. Once again just remember don't buy something just because it is a deal! If you need it or would purchase it anyway at 1/2 price then yes you are saving money!

More deals site info to come.

New Website and a Quickie Workout

First, to the workout -- my favorite part of the day.  A workout that I LOVE that you can do anywhere is AMRAP.  As many reps as possible.  I love this because you choose the amount of time and the number of reps.  I usually do this with three different exercises.  It can be done whether you have weights or not (aka good for vacations!).  So here are a few ideas I have come up with:

AMRAP for 12 minutes

10 burpees

20 overhead press (need weights)

30 lunges

without weights you could do:

AMRAP for 10 minutes (however long you want)

10 burpees (because these are so good for you!)

20 pushups

30 jump squats

Give it a try with whatever movements you are feeling that day.  Try mixing it up with different movements for different muscle groups.

Now, to this cool website that Angela showed me.  Its called Run Keeper (link to it here).  You can put in the races that you are signed up for. You can also see what races your friends are signed up for, so you can run races together!  So much more fun that way!  Anyway, give it a gander, it's pretty cool.

Thought for today:  Do you like running races by yourself or with friends/family?

I like running with my family!

Homemade Freezer Jam

I have been making lots of jam lately as my raspberries and peaches are coming on like crazy. So last week I decided to try something a little different and I made raspberry peach freezer jam. Wow it is delicious. Here is the recipe.

3 1/3 cups of prepared fruit (crushed)- I used about 1 1/2 cups raspberries and the rest peaches
1 1/3 c sugar
4 TBSP of Ball Instant Pectin

Prepare fruit (wash, peel, cut) depending on the fruit you are using. Set aside. In a separate bowl combine the pectin and the sugar, stir well. Then mix the fruit in with the sugar and stir vigorously for 3 minutes. Put in containers and let stand for thirty minutes. You can store in fridge if you will be using right away or place in the freezer for longer term storage.

So easy and so tasty!