New Mommy Mobile, Broadway Show, Water Slides, and SQUATS!!!

BUSY MOMMA!!!

Everyone says it... "I've been busy". It's as common a saying as "how are you?" Just as people have become numb to that question, they say it routinely and don't even really listen to the answer. "I've been busy" has been coined as small talk, conversation fillers, same old, same old. Every one's idea of busy is different... if you work full time or have hobbies on top of that, that's busy. If you stay home with your kids and are a taxi driver/maid/chef etc, that's busy. If you're in school and study and write papers non stop, that's busy. If you volunteer a ton, that's busy. If you're training for a show, that's busy. If you work part time, and have other responsibilities, that's busy. You get the idea. We are all busy in different ways. So when we say "I've been busy", although its so easily dismissed, its not always simply small talk or an excuse to skip the gym, be a bad friend/relative, forget some one's birthday, not return a phone call... its a legit fact of life. Those of us who are busy understand.

So what is my busy?

Well it depends on the week... but this past week lets see...

Busy for me involved losing an hour of sleep and that setting me up to be tired... working two nine hour days (Monday and Tuesday), car shopping both nights which we all know how draining that can be and I still opted to get in a late workout at 8:30 on Monday night, Shoulders and stairs I GOT IT DONE!! Wednesday was my run around day; drop off B at school, errands, pick up car, more errands, pick up B, take kids to the park, it was gorgeous out! After a long New England winter you have to seize warm sunny spring days! Drop her off at dance, more car errands, throw laundry in (need to pack the next day). Pick her up from dance, home, dinner, bed for the kids, and off to the gym for back and cardio... GOT IT DONE!

Thursday we headed into Boston to see Lion King the musical and packed up for two nights/three days to head into Plymouth, MA for a little birthday weekend spring family getaway for my daughter's birthday. We swam in the pool, went down the water slide, walked around Plymouth, went out to eat, got pedicures, watched a movie, played in the game room, were nonstop! But we had FUN! Vacation without kids is usually to relax, with kids its to keep them entertained... lets put it this way, one morning I was in the game room with my twins by 7:45 AM!!

We got back Saturday, I did some quick spring cleaning, opened the windows, mopped, then enjoyed the weather outside with family!! Sunday it was back to the norm... laundry, groceries, gym, food planning, back on clean eating! I ate perfect prepped and packed food all week up until Thursday night, then I unraveled slightly. I planned to as we were away, but not gonna lie def had some indulgences Friday night (wine, butter cream, movie snacks) and Saturday, then right back on on Sunday... just gotta keep going!

Today Hit legs at the gym with a girlfriend! Forgot how motivating it can be to lift with someone, it pushes you for sure! Our workout consisted of :

Barbell Squats
1 warm-up set
3 sets 12, 10, 8 and then one set of 25 reps with lighter weight (well it was suppose to be 25 reps by my eyes were bigger than my legs and I dove in to vigorously and only got 20 reps)

One legged Squats with dumbbells
3 sets 10 reps

Leg extensions
3 sets 10 reps

Leg curls 3 sets 12, 11, 10 ( no real rhyme to that I wanted 12 the second set couldn't get it, when slightly heavier the third set so got 10)

Leg Press (ON SLIDER) feet together and up high to hit hamstring/glutes more
3 sets 10 reps

2 sets abductor machine (10 reps)
super set with glute raise kickback machine (12 reps)

Followed by 45 minutes on the treadmill moderate pace medium incline
My legs were doing the wobble and were PUMPED! I know I'm gonna be walking like I'm 80 for a few days but all for the greater good lol

So now as I sit here writing this blog, supper cooked, dishwasher loaded, laundry switched, kids bathed and in bed, I can say we are all busy!!! And whether it involves a new car, a new job, a vacation, a new place, a new baby, a show, a big test, whatever the case may be, we ALL are given the same amount of hours in a day. What we do with them and how we utilize them is a strength for many and a weakness for others. It can be a challenge, but a challenge that with plenty of planning can be done to give you the most out of your time. There are days that I miss the gym, there are days that I miss meals, there are days I wanna pull my hair out, days I'm dog tired, but I am on a mission to plan, and GET IT DONE!

Sooo few pics... No more Jeep Commander, growing family called for an official mommy mobile... this car was BUILT for kids! Never thought I'd be excited to own a minivan BUT I LOVE IT!! 2010 Chrysler Town and Country Touring in blackberry pearl... All the "luxury" options/convenience for me, and all the goodies and space for them! My daughter watching her DVD with her headphones on so we can listen to sirius heading into Boston!



Fun FAMILY TIMES :)


GREAT SHOW!!!

Grey's Anatomy 6, 7, & 8 :)

Cardio ... dun dun dun... am I right? For most it is DREADFUL!! Yes we have some who just "love to run" and for those of you: I just stuck my tongue out ;) I'm not saying I'm not happy once I get into the groove, but for most getting back into the groove IS NOT FUN!

It's a necessary evil for most in order to facilitate fat loss. Now I'm not going to get into specific amounts, levels, intensities, durations, time of day, etc... people get so wrapped up in these "magical numbers". Those pieces to the puzzle do get more important as you have reached a certain level, when your body fat is lower and you are trying to be more specific to goals and restrictions of diet, but they can vary GREATLY for each individual. Your goals shift to not only burn fat, but preserve as much muscle as possible. For most that doesn't really start until 12 - 10 weeks out. Even if you start your prep further out, the real "crunch" of cardio scrutiny doesn't start until then. In the beginning phases it is JUST GET IT DONE!! I am in THAT phase. I am not any amount of weeks out... I am at the nutrition's on point, lifting's on point, and I would like to get my body fat down to see what I'm working with and "if" a show prep could be in the future phase... Remember I told you small goals for now? Well for now I just wanna be able to put on my two piece and not be pissed off for about an hour after doing so lol That is my mini goal! ;) Keepin it simple :)

Cardio TV... GOTTA LOVE IT?!?! It almost feels like cheating... not too long ago cardio meant layering up in as many clothes as possible and sweating it out. No TV, lucky if you had a fanny pack with a CD player and headphones, and in some of the old school gyms NO AIR! Talk about torture!

But now... with a water bubbler 5 feet away, an ipod with all the latest tunes, a personal TV attached to your equipment, with your own headphones and over 30 channels... how can we possibly COMPLAIN?!?! Seriously... its almost like cheating. There's no way cardio should be this "easy" (well relatively speaking).

60 minutes on the pre cor elliptical, 612 calories later, burning and tingling in your legs, intervals, sweat dripping, and it just FLEW BY! How is that possible? I'll tell you how. Because you were glued to the TV. Eyes wide, mouth open, jaw dropped as you watch these amazingly gorgeous doctors find that the swollen, red, inflamed testicles on this man brought into the hospital was not an STD that he got on vacation with his mistress, but instead it was a CANDIRU FISH that swam up his urine stream into his urethra, through his penis and got logged in his bladder. Yes you learn this slimy, slim, little parasite, cleverly nicknamed "the penis fish", has spikes that grows backwards and can only be removed by surgery.

Now ask yourself after watching all that unfold, how on earth could you possibly complain about cardio? How could you possibly glance down to worry about how many minutes are left when a fish is in a man's junk? The female doctors laugh and say it serves him right for cheating on his wife. While the male doctors turn pale and almost vomit at the thought of that little slimy guy in their jewels. And the mistress and wife sit side by side waiting for the man who's lying to them both.. Now ask yourself again, is cardio really that bad? :)

As a mom of three, and a wife of a Call of Duty addict, how many chances do you think I get to sit down for a full hour and watch whatever I want on TV without interruption? Now how can I complain about my cardio? I can't. Grey's Anatomy 6, 7, & 8 I have NO EXCUSE!! Just GET IT DONE!

Maybe TV's not your thing, then how about a book, learning a language on CD, good music, find a buddy, take a spin class... FIND A THING... your thing, and get it done! In the early phases that's all that really matters, getting there consistently. Now don't be a sally just because your watching TV, doesn't mean you can't play with intensities and intervals. Push during the commercials, break a little during... pre sets intervals, you won't even notice that all of a sudden your on level 7, or just get on the stairs! Do it up, Get there and get it done :)

How many facebook updates do you see... "settling in for LOST", "BACHELOR TIME", "can't wait for Desperate Housewives", "about to watch the Celtics game"... Be the one who writes: "sweating my booty off, getting my body right while I watch____________ fill in the blank with guilty pleasure TV." You get the idea... just another reason why exercise MUST FIT into your life!

And remember I touched on all the cardio rules, regulations, specifications. I will leave you with only ONE for now that I live by no matter what stage of the game you're in. NEVER EVER EVER do cardio before your weights. I wholeheartedly believe and there are many studies to support that it is so counterproductive! The only reason I even mention it is because I have noticed many fitness enthusiasts recently saying that this is not an important rule. It seems its becoming more popular and the argument is some people like to do cardio first to warm them up, or get them mentally ready for lifting. I am a firm believer in working smarter not harder, and this is just backwards in my opinion.

Do your research, and figure it out for yourself. It's a topic that could take a whole other blog and as I get my body to a point that needs tweaks and specifications on my cardio maybe we'll discuss more then, but for now... I'm just getting it done!

So to recap 3 morals from this blog
*Cheat on your wife and a fish will infest your genitals
*JUST DO YOUR CARDIO... enjoy it (okay you don't have to really enjoy it, but fake it) embrace it, we're lucky to have it the way we do now in "luxury"
*Never do cardio before weight training
*AND this is not a only cardio, pro cardio bunny blog. CARDIO is a tool with diet and weight training, but I focused on it because after diet it is usually the least favored and often neglected aspect of the puzzle.

First Blog!!! WELCOME!

So I've been saying for years that I'll get around to this again... I had my fitness/promotional website a few years back that was very detailed and updated that I loved! It was a great way to get myself out there in the fitness world, stay connected, and update everyone on happenings. Well as that faded after I had my boys I decided to be more active on the message boards, and as fun and interactive as that can be, it can also become very time consuming with a lot of wasted time on things unrelated to my goals. Then there was facebook and myspace... fun fun fun but I'm not about to have one for my friends, one for my family, and one for my fitness peeps... I could never keep up. So after being suggest and INSTRUCTED with a check list by a good fitness friend ;) I decided to finally start a blog!!

My own little place to have a small, but sometimes not so small VOICE. I also like a blog because its a voluntary read. No one's forcing updates down your throat, if you're here its cause you want to hear what I have to say, and I don't have to worry about those who do not. I love this quote "let those who love you, love you, and those who don't twist their ankle so you can tell them apart with a limp" haha unfortunately sometimes "friends" are not your friends.

Those who have followed over the years know I love to write. When it fits my mood and my creative juices are flowing I can just go and go and well, facebook statuses are just not long enough LOL

So what will this blog be about?

Well first off things I can't promise...

• I can't say it will always be positive, as much as I TRY to focus on the positive hence the TITILE - TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED, we all have our days.
• I can't promise it will always be a great read, because sometimes things that ENTHRALL me, may bore you to tears.
• I can't promise the speediest updates - though I usually have a lot to say there will be periods of drought, because that's my life
• I can't promise you will always agree with what I have to say... the beauty of this is its MY VIEW, my opinions, and I encourage people to think outside the box and CHALLENGE what they have been taught or told. So I do not take offense if someone doesn't agree. Challenge is growth and makes you think, THAT CAN NEVER be a bad thing.

"BELIEVE NOTHING, no matter where you read it or who has said it, not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense." ~Buddha~

• I can't promise that I will stay away from all controversial topics such as politics, religion, and morality. Although they won't be a focus, sometimes the oddest things inspire thoughts good or bad.

What I CAN PROMISE from this blog

• I can promise LAUGHS, at the very least... if you're not laughing, you're not living
• I can promise that I will be open, honest, and share info about fitness, my life, ideas, thoughts, news, and encouragement on how to juggle it all... IT being anything from fitness, to work, to mommy hood. NOT that I am perfect by any means, BUT bouncing ideas off one another and feeding off positive energy is what makes FIT MOMMAS, SMART MOMMAS, WORKING MOMMAS, STAY HOME MOMMAS, EVERYONE, thrive. And as I get tips and news, I share as well.

So you may check one blog and its strictly fitness driven, you may check one and its strictly marriage related, you may check one and its strictly kids related, or one that's just for fun, or one that's just updates... this is my free for all... ENJOY THE RIDE! I will try to add recipes, pictures, new workouts, maybe even videos if I can.

*Next Blog I will try to "formally introduce" myself and my family and touch on my fitness history and future goals... again I'm not even "BACK IN THE GAME" yet, so the goals may be small to start.

PS. LOVEEEEEE FEEDBACK and/or thoughts

Have a great weekend!