Giveway from Dancing through Life!!!

Hi guys,

One of the blogs I'm following is doing a giveaway and you guys should check it out!!!

dancing through life: Gluten Free Goodness, Tea and an Awesome Giveaway Courtesy of Wild Earth Bakery

Read her blog at the same time... lots of great healthy food ideas!!!

Bootycamp in the rain

I am here on my bed, all clean and showered, warm and in my jammies. Well, I was in a complete opposite situation just a few hours ago.

Photo credit: here

It is bootycamp night and today, the weather network called for rain. Bootycamp has a hotline that you can call to know if your class is still ON based on the weather. They only cancel a class if there are thunderstorms. I probably called the hotline about 4 times just to check if I should go to class. And of course, the class was still on as scheduled. And I really didn't want to go!!!! It was freezing outside today (probably even colder now). It was 9 degrees Celcius (48 degrees Fahrenheit) around 8pm tonight. I seriously could not imagine working out in the freezing rain, in the dark!

What saved me from the cold and from being wet tonight (my top half) is a ski jacket! I don't have a rain jacket and I dug in my closet to see what kind of jacket or sweater I could use for a rainy bootycamp. I saw a ski jacket (that is actually my sister's that she only wore once) and thought it might work.

My jacket doesn't have the square patterns and it's a light brown, almost beige but similar style
Photo credit: here

It's a Orage jacket and it kept me from being cold and wet all night. After my body was warmed up from all the running and push ups and lunges, I zipped open the vents which open from the back of the arms all the way to the back side. I kept myself from overheating by just wearing a t-shirt and sports bra underneath. Now if there is a way to keep my bottom half warm and dry, that would be awesome. I use my Reebok runners that are mesh to ventilate your feet when working out, and man, my feet were soaked the minute we started running around the field. And of course my butt and my legs were completely soaked as well because I was just wearing my Lululemon yoga pants.

Photo credit: here

Photo credit: here

Here's a rundown of what we did last night:

• Lots of running, about maybe 4 huge laps around the park in total (other than the other runs stated below)
  
• Lunges and push-up drill (2 lunges, 2 push-ups until you reach the other end)
• A running and push-up drill, total of 90 push-ups
• Squats, plyo lunges, bicep curls, pop sqauts, tricep with bands for a minute each and running a lap in between.
  
• Partner table pose with dips (one person goes into table pose while the partner goes into a plank and puts their legs on the person doing the table pose)
• Plank, Side plank with variations, and lots more ab workouts

Oh and I have to tell you about my Yoga mat!!! I recently bought it from Lululemon a week ago and I wish I got it a long time ago. It's so awesome!!! It is non-slip, I mean it is so non-slip that in the soaking rain, I was able to stay on the mat and it gripped me no problem. I like it when I do yoga to because you can use the lines on the mat as guide for your alignment. Also, it costs just about 5 bucks more than the ones in Walmart so it is a pretty good deal. And the best thing of all, it's pink!!!


So basically that was my first night of cold and rainy bootycamp. I am also signed up for October so I guess this is just the taste of the cold weather to come.

How about you guys? Do you ever work out outdoors in the cold or in the rain? I am curious about those people who run in the winter... How do they do it?

Weekend Recap

Hi Friends,

My oh my what a busy weekend! The main highlights were going to our friend's wedding on Saturday and today, aside from church, my family reunited with a old close friend after not seeing each other for almost 7 years.

Needless to say, I haven't worked out! Although I did burn some calories on the dance floor at the wedding. Also, I did not indulge in the excessive amounts of delicious Italian food that was served to us. I basically chose veggies instead of seafood on the Antipasto buffet, ate only half of my pasta course, ate all my salad, ate half of the chicken breast, veal and potatoes and ask for extra veggies in the main course.

The dessert was so delicious that I just had to indulge. It was a truffle ice cream ball served in a waffle bowl topped with berries and strawberry syrup. And afterwards, I just completely avoided the wedding cake, roasted pig and pizza that was served at midnight. My night was capped off with some fresh fruits from the dessert buffet table (where they had like 6 different types of cake and tons of pastries!). Overall, I'm proud of myself for not overeating at the wedding.

This is the dress I'm wearing that I mentioned in my previous post BTW

Today, I was just dead tired!!! We came home at about 2 in the morning the night before and I barely got any sleep since I woke up just 5 hours later. My daughter was already lively and awake so I had no choice but to get up. We eventually went to church around 10am and after the service, my family stopped to the cemetery to visit our Late friend.

After lunch, we had to jet out again to see my Tita Heidi (she's like an aunt to me) whom I haven't seen in a long while! She came to immigrate here from the Philippines along with her son, Ali. It was so nice to see her again and I look forward for her starting anew and living here so close to us.

During our visit we had more food and tons of it. We had some grilled chicken and pork, pizza, different kinds of Filipino food and a huge batch of brownies topped with caramel sauce for dessert. Seriously, my sweet tooth is getting me into trouble lately because I couldn't resist myself eating at least a small square. So I did, and now I feel oh so guilty.

Photo credits: here

I can't really imagine myself not having any treats if I am surrounded with it. How do you guys keep yourselves disciplined with food? Weekends are totally my weakest times in terms of giving in to temptations. When I get so busy and I don't have that homemade food option, I totally crack. It'll be cool if I could hear out some of your suggestions.

Well I bid you goodnight, I need my beauty rest.

Wedding

Nope, not mine... already did that crazy huballoo 2 years ago. My hubby's good friend (who also became my friend) is getting married to the man of her dreams this saturday!!! I am excited not only for that reason, but I love weddings in general. All the love, family, food and even the chicken dance are AWESOME!!!

I will be wearing a dress that I haven't worn for about a year and a half now and have only worn once. It is still pretty and not outdated, so I figured, I might as well save me some money and wear it again. Now, the last time I wore it I was already 4 months pregnant but barely showing. So I could safely say, about roughly 15 to 20 lbs lighter than I am now.



It bares a lot of arms and has a low back, so I'm pretty scared wearing it again now that I have gained weight. Going to bootycamp has worked my arms a lot so far so I THINK they look ok (trust me I had some crazy chicken wings going on before).

On another note, I also recently changed my hair color. It was a medium brown before (just like in my profile pic ---> ) and now I have gone back to my roots, BLACK. But it is even a darker and almost bluish than my natural black. I like the contrast against my skin but everytime I look in the mirror, I feel like it's not me!!! I am hoping I will get used to it in a few days.


Anyway, I am hoping for a wonderful weekend and I'm pretty sure it will be. It's bootycamp night and I will go work my butt off in a few hours. I want to look my best in that dress!!!

Tough day

Hi Friends,

Yesterday was not a good day for me. I was feeling really down and I had no energy for anything! I promised myself to sweat once a day and yesterday that phrase kept creeping up in my mind. But when my spirit is low it is hard to recharge with activity. Because no matter how great you might feel after that adrenaline rush, that burden is still gonna come back in your heart quite instantly.

So yesterday I DID NOT SWEAT.


My hubby sensed my lack of enthusiasm and he took me out to a nearby coffee shop to talk (My baby was already fast asleep and my mom was home with her, in case your wondering). We got ourselves a cup of tea each and sat down. It was hard to even say out loud how I felt. But he encouraged me and listened intently to even the littlest things I said. And after an hour or so, I was relieved. I cannot even thank God enough that I have my hubby. Without him, a day like yesterday would drive me off the wall. And today, he sent me a message through Facebook quoting a scripture from Matthew 6:24. I read that before countless times, but today, I found it's meaning and I would like to share it with you.

Matthew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

photo credits: here
27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.

29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

photo credits: here

30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own

photo credits: here

Yesterday, my mind was too occupied with the now and of things I think I needed. Now, this verses refreshed my spirit and I know that God always takes care of me.

It is great to have goals in life and to obtain and accomplish things. But sometimes, we need that break, to go back and do some soul searching, pray and be with the ones we love.

I hope that reading these verses would touch your heart and comfort your spirit as it did mine.