Thursday, May 30, 2013

Memorial Weekend.

Since 2011, Nick and I have started a tradition of going back up to his hometown for Memorial Weekend. It's a good time to take off work since we have Monday off. We throw one or two vacation days on to that and it makes for a nice long weekend in Michigan with friends and family. As I was going through my pictures from this weekend (which there are barely ANY - shame on me!) for this post, I thought I might add pictures from the past two years too. Well it turns out last year I took zero pictures! Yep you read that right, I did not take one picture while we were in Michigan last year. At least this year I took my phone out for a few; so I guess I am improving. But I just so happened to take a lot of pictures from our first trip up for Memorial Weekend in 2011 (this was also the same weekend that Nick and I got engaged!). Since there are so many pictures and it was such a special weekend and a start of a tradition for us, I thought I may just have to write a separate post about Memorial Weekend 2011.
 
Now, moving on to this past weekend in Michigan...Thursday morning we hopped on a plane to Detroit and headed downtown to hang out at Hockey Town (a restaurant/bar - Red Wings themed of course) before we went to the Tigers game that night. I think every time we've gone to a Tiger's game, Nick and I have made a stop at Hockey Town to get a bite to eat or have a drink. At Hockey Town we went up to the top bar while we waited for my sister-in-law, Lori and her Fiancé, Ken and her two boys to get there to eat with us. Even though it was cold and rainy I still took a couple shots of our view from the balcony.
After Lori and Ken arrived, we ate and headed over to Comerica Park. The game was delayed about an hour because of the rain and by the time it started it was a chilly 43 degrees, windy and drizzling here and there. Needless to say we didn't stay for the whole game! We still had a ton of fun despite the weather and once we left we headed to Lori's house to warm up and catch up more with each other. It was a really fun night!
By the way, I absolutely love my new Michigan hoody! We stopped at a mall on our way to Detroit for me to get something a little warmer than what I had brought with me - oops! I'm glad I got this cute new sweatshirt out of it!
 
Friday morning; the sky was blue and it was much warmer (50's) out, we headed up to Alma, where we'd be for the rest of the weekend. That night my other sister in law, Gina, her husband, Jim, Lori and Ken and a bunch of our friends came over. It was perfect weather for a bonfire by the water, accompanied by music and lots of laughter!
Every Memorial Weekend Alma holds the Highland Festival and Games. There's a parade in the morning, craft tents everywhere and the sound of bagpipes echoing through the town. We walked to the parade and browsed the crafts that morning and then relaxed before we headed out to our friends house and the Beer Tent later that night.
 
Sunday was a relaxing day at the house...we all needed it after all the late night partying we had done! Nick grilled his delicious pork and steak tips for all of us for dinner. Then the best part of Sunday was that we got to see our Nephew, Jake, before he went to Chicago (today) for eight weeks of boot camp! He enlisted into the Navy and we couldn't be more proud of him! It was a pretty fitting weekend for us to get to see him off before he went away to train for the Navy.
 
We came home Monday afternoon and relaxed before it was time to head back to the real world. We miss everyone already but are lucky we will get to see Nick's parent's next weekend in North Carolina for our Cousin's graduation! And after that, we will be back up to Michigan at the end of June for Lori and Ken's Engagement Party!! We can't wait to see everyone again!


Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Bad Blogger.

I am sorry I haven't been on here in forever! I've been pretty busy and was struggling to find the time to write posts. I am back at it though and am going to make better use of my time in order to keep up with my blog.

Nick and I went to Michigan for Memorial weekend! We did a bunch of fun things and I took a measly amount of photos. I'm pretty mad at myself for not getting my camera out more when all of our friends and family were together. It's pretty sad. I am going to have to work on that!

In fitness news, I started week 3 of The Biggest Loser DVD last Monday! I decided I'd take it with me while we were on vacation and try to not miss a day of working out...I packed it in my suitcase and guess what? That's where it stayed...the whole trip - FAIL! So because of my lack of workouts last week, I am going to consider today the start of Week 3. I'll have a Week 3 result/update for you next Monday. 

Since I have been MIA for a little while, I don't want you to think it is going to continue. Here are some future posts that you can look forward to:

-Our Memorial Weekend Trip
-Wedding Reception Recap
-Detroit Respect (clothing company)
-TBL Cardio Max Week 3 Results
-Wedding Pictures and Portraits

Thank you guys for continuing to stick around in my absence. I love this blog and anyone who reads it and I appreciate you stopping by! I hope you all had a great long weekend!

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

TBL Cardio Max -Week 1 Results

Week 1 of my workout routine and diet went pretty well! I was really sore after day 2 and wasn't sure if I was going to be able to work through the soreness on Wednesday but I pushed through! By day 4 I felt so much better; a lot of the pain was subsiding in my thighs and the video seemed to be getting easier. I worked out all 7 days in week 1 and was very aware of my calorie intake. I downloaded a free App called Lose It where I put in my weight goal and calorie budget and it keeps me on point. I enter in my daily weight and the food I eat, then it tracks my calories, fat, carbs, etc. I have found this App to be very helpful and I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to keep tabs on your diet.
Yesterday was the start of week 2 (day 8). I didn't work out and I feel extremely guilty! I wanted a day off but this feeling of guilt sucks and I don't think I will be taking another day off for a while. I still have a ways to go to get to my goal and I won't get there if I don't push myself. With that said, today I will be back at it! It is Week 2 Day 9 and I will continue to do Level 1 of the video.
I haven't felt like I am getting the abdominal work and results that I want from Level 1, so for week 2 I am going to add on a 10 minute ab routine from Youtube after my Biggest Loser workout. I'm looking forward to seeing if I have better results in my mid-section by the end of this week!
 
And finally, here are my Week 1 results:
Weight: 148.8 (-3.5)
Bust: 37.5" (-2)
Waist: 31" (-1.5)
Hips: 39.5" (+0.5) -Not sure what's going on here!!
Arms: 12" (-0.5)
Thighs: 23" (-0.5)
Calves: 14.5" (-0.5)
 
Overall I am very pleased with my discipline to this routine and my diet. I can definitely tell it is working for me and I am losing inches and weight. I hope I continue to lose at this pace or faster!
Stay tuned for next Monday's Week 2 results!

Monday, May 6, 2013

TBL Cardio Max - Week 1 Day 1.

I did my first workout this evening with The Biggest Loser: Cardio Max DVD and it was great! It was actually more difficult than I thought it would be. I'm starting out at Level 1, which is a 5 minute warm-up, 20 minute workout and a 5 minute cool down. The workout itself is non stop moving with legs, arms and abs being worked all at the same time.
 
Here is how the video works with increased intensity.
 
Week 1 - 2 : Level 1 = 30 minute workout
Weeks 3 - 4 : Level 1+Level 2 = 40 minute workout
Weeks 5 - 6 : Level 1+Level 2+Level 3 = 50 minute workout
 
I took "Before" pictures today but I'm not brave enough to put them up here yet... maybe I will if I get good results; we'll see! I have a book I'm going to keep as I go through this 6 week video to track my daily weight and weekly measurements (which will hopefully be decreasing!).
 
Here are my measurements and starting weight.
 
Bust: 39.5 in
Waist: 32.5 in
Hips: 39 in
Arms - 12.5 in
Thighs - 23.5 in
Calves - 15 in
 
Weight: 152.3
 
I will be doing this video everyday; ending my six weeks on June 16, 2013. I am going to do a weekly post on Mondays with my measurements and weight difference. Along with this video I am watching (very carefully but in a healthy way) what I am eating to help push along my weight loss and make me more healthy overall. I don't really know what kind of results to expect from this program but I am hopeful that this is just the beginning to a long fitness/health journey for me.


Saturday, May 4, 2013

The Biggest Loser DVD arrived.

I got my workout DVD today, so I will begin the 6 week program on Monday! It turns out I got the Cardio Max program, not the Boot Camp but it should be just as good if not better.
I also have my fifth riding lesson tomorrow (weather permitting - it has been really rainy this past week in the "Sunshine State")! Look for an update on that tomorrow. I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Ceremony.

Our wedding ceremony started at three o'clock in the afternoon on Saturday, October 6, 2012. Walking down the aisle with my Dad by my side and looking at Nick waiting for me at the alter, I was feeling calm, happy and really excited! We had a pretty traditional ceremony, which was just what we wanted. We had a reading from our pastor, said our vows, exchanged rings and were announced as Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Lombardi; all with the organist playing in the background.
Our wedding day was everything that we wanted it to be. We are so blessed to have each other.
 

Friday, May 3, 2013

The Biggest Loser - Boot Camp.

When Nick quit his job a couple of weeks ago, he knew he had to use up his "R&R" points before he was no longer employed. R&R points are rewards we gets at our company for getting awards and doing a good job. We can redeem these points at an online store to purchase whatever we want.
 
Nick had a lot of points to use and I asked him to get me a new workout DVD if he had enough points left over after he ordered what he wanted. He ended up ordering me The Biggest Loser's Boot Camp DVD. I looked up the reviews and information about this workout routine and it seems to be pretty good!
It looks like it is a six to eight week program with three levels of intensity. I am really excited to try a new workout DVD, especially after having to take it easy the past few weeks from running (due to shin splints). To help keep me motivated and track my results, I am going to post about my workouts as I go through the entire DVD. I'm not sure when it will arrive in the mail but I will let you all know when it gets here.
 
I think I will do a before post, weekly posts during and then a final results post.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Mushroom and Basil Crostini.

- Ingredients -
1 baguette loaf
1 tub light  garlic and herb cheese spread
1 tbs olive oil and 1/4 cup olive oil
8oz fresh baby portobello mushrooms, chopped
Fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper
 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Slice bread into 1/2 inch pieces.
Brush both sides of the bread with the 1/4 cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Chop mushrooms and basil leaves.
Bake bread for 8 minutes or until golden. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat, add mushrooms and saute for 6 minutes stirring often.
Remove bread from oven and let cool.
Spread cheese onto bread.
Add a tablespoon of mushrooms.
Top with a pinch of basil.
This recipe makes 24 pieces.
Enjoy!