Girl Power Playlist

Music is so powerful.  When I blast some kickin’ tunes during the day, the girls and I can’t help but MOVE with the energy of the music.  Countless times, just the right song has made all the difference for me in a critical “throw-in-the-towel” moment during a tough workout. 

I have been having so much fun lately making playlists from my library of music and recent song downloads.  I’ve been grouping them according to mood, mostly.  Some examples:  Ultimate Feel-Good, Anger Management, Brooding, etc.

Music is also very personal.  I choose some songs for their powerful message, some for the memories they conjure, and some simply because they just plain ROCK!  I consider myself quite eclectic in my taste and find songs in almost every genre that motivate me.

In my opinion, this Girl Power playlist is just what you need to rouse your kick-arse mojo… whether it’s for a killer workout or just a killer bathtub scrubbin’!

GIRL POWER!



Girls Rule, Boys Drool!



Wind It Up – Gwen Stefani

Trouble – Pink

Black Cat – Janet Jackson

Hit Me With Your Best Shot – Pat Benatar

Maneater – Nelly Furtado

Fighter – Christina Aguilera

Bang bang bang – Christina Perri

Bulletproof – La Roux

California Gurls – Katy Perry

Girls Just Want To Have Fun – Cyndi Lauper

Would I Lie To You? – Eurythmics

Girlfriend – Avril Lavigne

Raise Your Glass – Pink

Rich Girl – Eve; Gwen Stefani

Your Love Is My Drug – Ke$ha

Don’t Stop The Music – Rihanna

Heart and Soul – T’Pau

Note:  I’m a good girl (excuse me while I adjust my halo… there) and prefer my music cleaned-up.  I download most of my songs from walmart.com because they usually have an edited version of the edgy songs.

How I Overcame Lazy This Week: With Random Acts of Fitness, Of Course!

I didn't manage to get a "workout" in today.  But I'm OK with that because it was an active day regardless, thanks to two Random Acts of Fitness.  An "active" day and a "busy" day are different things for me.  Busy days often mean that it will not be an active day because there just won't be the time to fit in a workout. 

But since I've been focusing on these RAFs, I've been pleased to note that - though not always the case - my busy days no longer guarantee an absence of exercise.  I'm still able to make even my busiest days "active" with just a few minutes of short exercise bursts in all kinds of different ways.


Funny...I almost wore that EXACT outfit
to the playground today.


Take today, for example.  It was full of the school practice walk (R starts kindergarten next week and we’ve been preparing by walking to school in the mornings this week), dropping the car off to get fixed, grocery and school supply shopping, baking refreshments for a church activity, taking the kids swimming to give my sister-in-law some much needed peace while recovering from her C-section, and then going to the church activity.  My to-do list actually had even more on it… but the rest will be put off till tomorrow, including my workout.

But here’s the magic of the RAFs:  I don’t lament my missed workout because I squeezed in some activity anyway! On the way home from the school walk, we swung by the playground so the girls could  run amok for a few minutes; and instead of taking shelter in the nearby shade like I wanted to (it’s been blazing hot lately!), I joined them for some “fun” of my own with some step-ups and plyo push-ups and pull-ups.  This only added a few extra minutes to our routine but it was fun and beneficial to us all.  We definitely got sweaty but thank goodness the sprinklers were on for us to run through on the way home!

Then later at the pool, I did some more of the pool exercises that I’ve been so fond of lately.

I acknowledge that not all busy days easily allow for even a quick RAF.  BUT, since I’ve been focused on them more, I’m finding that they’re not as hard to incorporate as you’d think. 

In this crazy life that we ping pong around in, we often have to get creative and non-traditional in our approach to getting things done.  Well, this includes fitness as well!  Start thinking more “outside the box.” 

Start thinking “randomly!” 

RAF #15 Our Beloved Neighborhood Walk

Our neighborhood walks started, I think, before my eldest, R, even could walk.  Nowadays, we go on our pleasant constitutionals at least once a week, sometimes more.  It's the same route, same scenery; usually the same events occur but there are always enough variations every time to make each outing unique.  



Calling for Minka, the kitty that followed us on our last walk.
Alas, she was a no-show this time.

Our favorite day to do it is on Sundays.  For us, that is the day of rest from our usual weekly routine and workouts so it's nice to get a little random activity in without any planning or forethought involved.  We just head out - sometimes with scooters, baby doll strollers, even flashlights if it's dark enough - and get back when we get back





Attempting some Tarzan vine swinging.

Trespassing on a neighbor's property.
Hey, don't put in a pathway if you're not gonna use it!

Stomping on the crunchy seed pods.



Blowing "wishes."



Checking out the ants and their tunnels.

They're really disapointed if they don't get to play
"crash," their favorite park game.

It actually is more like "chicken," since they discovered
early on how painful "crash" can be!

Almost home!  And we encounter another family
enjoying a RAF of their own, playing street ball.

This RAF is becoming a tradition with our family and I hope it never ends.  It offers a relaxed yet refreshing escape from wires and satellites and walls.  It always turns out to be much more than a walk; the girls make it an adventure every time!

My wish is for all of us to have a pleasant neighborhood for strolling... or at least a nice park that's really close by.  Just don't forget to bring your washboard or kalamazoo so you can jam with Willy and the poor boys.

Randon Acts of Fitness #13 & 14

RAF #13:  More pool exercises.  This time involved squat jumps with Regan on my back.  We did it several times and it was tough!  She loved it, of course.

RAF #14:  Check this out:  Hula hooping ON the Bosu.  Yes, it was shaky and wobbly... but I think I'm on to something!  That is, if I don't fall and crack my head open first.  I'm going to keep at it and once it becomes less embarrassing, I'll maybe even share a video!

Random Acts of Fitness #12: Stayin' Cool In The Pool



At a friend's gorgeous pool.
We're usually at the community pool
where I have to watch that I don't whack anyone
with my flailing.



Don't think I haven't been getting in my RAFs lately; I've just been doing some of the same things, so I've been slow to document them.  RAFs # 8-11 have included more trampolining and more dancing with the girls.  We have been having so much fun with that lately and we make a point of doing a few songs so that we really get the heart pumping!

RAF # 12 was some pool exercises yesterday.  When we take the girls swimming, we're in the water jumping, sliding, playing "shark", etc., so we're always active.  Yesterday, however, I made a a point of also doing some hopping lunge switches, some arm exercises (both abduction/adduction and horizontal ab/add) and, my favorite, bicycling.  I made myself do the exercises for at least 1 minute at a time, so I could really feel them burning!

This girl amazes me!

If we had our own pool, my acts of fitness would not be random.  I'd be in there every day working out! Pools offer the perfect summer workout, so if you have access to one, get splashing... with purpose!

How I Overcame Lazy This Week: My Jekyll Tamed My Hyde

I refer to myself as a “lazy personal trainer” because I am constantly battling my two strong desires to kick butt & take names and strap on the feedbag like there’s no tomorrow.

I often feel like I have a split Jekyll/Hyde personality.  One is my "Dr." Personal Trainer and the other is evil Ms. Lazy.  I can give daily/hourly accounts of my character metamorphoses, but I’ll just share the latest blatant example:

Tuesday evening, we whipped up a fabulous dinner of grilled steaks, veggie mash potatoes and corn on the cob.  There was a LOT of good food and I ate more than my share.  Dessert presented the choice of chocolate chip bundt cake or 70-calorie Italian ice pops.  I chose the higher ground with the Italian ice.  Yum! 

So… good meal, good dessert.  Satisfaction and satiation, right? 

Uh, nope.

When we got home K’s shoulder devil had apparently been talking to him and he insisted we needed sugar cookies with frosting.  I, of course, made a cursory verbal protestation before I succumbed to my own little mischievous imp who’d overheard the whole conversation. 

And, of course, the girls were no help.  “What?  Cookies????”  They’re young enough that we can still spell words around them but K had made sure he articulated the word, “cooookeeeees” really well.

So within a half hour, we were lickin’ our fingers free of icing and sprinkles before crashing into our beds practically in sugar comas.  The next day I stumbled out of bed totally feeling my pig-out hangover.  Thank goodness Dr. Personal Trainer quickly dominated and got me out for a morning run.  Ahhhh, I came home cleansed and energized. 



Breakfast of Champions!



I scooped up a dish of nonfat cottage cheese with cantaloupe and prepared for a stellar, healthy day.



And then I saw it.  K had taken the girls to get Krispy Kremes for breakfast (I mean is he trying to kill us?  Seriously.) and had “thoughtfully” left one for me.  Ms. Lazy reared her ugly head yet again as I sank my teeth into another delectable confection.



... Sort of.



At least it was blueberry.  Antioxidants, y’know.

The bright side of all this is I think my inner Hyde has gotten enough satisfaction with this latest rampage that she hasn’t resurfaced since.  Dr. Personal Trainer has kept me active and eating clean for the last two days!

Ms. Lazy, I beat you into submission yet again… for now.

How I Overcame Lazy This Week: I Got Me Some Friends With Benefits

Yes, I am married to my best friend and I do get benefits.

But I’m talking about different friends and different benefits.

It’s good to have friends with cool toys that are generous enough to let you borrow them.  Like the kayaks K’s co-worker kindly lent us a couple of weeks ago.  This is the second time she’s entrusted them to us.  The first time we used them on a cold, leech-infested reservoir in northern Utah, then on a man-made neighborhood lake here in town (which we found out was NOT legal!).  This time we finally got it right and took them out to Lake Mead.

Me and Z.
She insisted on paddling "by herself."

It was one of the most enjoyable summer outings I think we’ve ever done as a family.  We launched the kayaks near a marina where the personal watercrafts also shove off.  Then we paddled to some nearby islands and spent the morning just swimming around, watching the jet skis zip by, the fishing boats put-put along, and a crane or two swoop in to join us on our private little beach. 

K and R.

Another way we recently took advantage enjoyed the generosity of some friends was  by using their pool while they were out of town.  We regularly enjoy going to our nearby community pool, but it was so nice to go to a private residence and just do our own thing with no rules and weird stares from people as I do my water jogging and pool plyometrics.  (Pool workouts rock!)

Thanks to my brother, we made use of their timeshare (right on the beach!) at the Oregon coast for our latest family reunion.  When I grew up in Washington on the glorious Columbia River, our family did not own a boat but pretty much every other family in town did, so I still got plenty of water skiing, wakeboarding and tubing in.



This could totally be me!



I’m telling ya, the expense, maintenance and storage of too many recreational toys is wack when you can just mooch off borrow from generous friends, family and acquaintances.

So, hey, if anyone out there has anything like a windsurf board, 4-wheeler… mountain cabin in Aspen, that’s just sittin’ around gathering dust, we’ll put it to good use for you!

A Lazy Personal Trainer Recipe: Power Granola

Okay, so you know I’m inherently lazy. 

Some of you may also know that I’m not much of a cook. So if I bother passing on a recipe, you know it’s gonna be easy!  If it does, in fact, involve much effort, then you know it’s going to be absolutely worth it.  When I run across an easy, healthy AND  delicious recipe, I feel I’ve achieved a sort of Lazy Personal Trainer nirvana.



Freshly made granola.  Yum!
This is a double batch... we go through it quickly!



This one has a moderate (by my lazy standards) amount of effort required but is still easy and it’s so delicious, it is indeed worth it. 

Power Granola*

3 cups regular oats

2/3 cup ground flaxseed

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup slivered almonds

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/3 cup orange juice (I use Trop 50 or Minute Maid Lite)

1/3 cup honey

¼ cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cooking spray

1/3 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl.

Combine orange juice, honey, and brown sugar in a small saucepan.  Cook over medium heat just until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat; stir in oil and vanilla.

Pour honey mixture over oat mixture, stirring to coat.  Spread mixture in a thin layer onto a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes; stir well.  Bake an additional 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Spoon granola into a bowl; stir in dried cranberries.  Cool completely.

*Original source is Cooking Light.  I modified the amounts on the dry ingredients to give it an even better nutritional profile!

On the cookies sheets - ready to go into the oven.

This is so good, it’s insane.  My favorite way to eat it is with Almond Breeze unsweetened vanilla almond milk (I've rhapsodized about this wonder beverage before).  I also often add a serving of Fiber One original to my cereal bowl to bulk it up even more for fewer calories.  Granola calories - even this lower fat/sugar version – can add up fast!



After cooling it completely,
I store in an airtight container.
It doesn't even stay around long enough to get stale, tho!