So Much June Fun!

VLAWWWG…

There is a lot going on these days. Last week I had my first post-partum run with some of the ladies with my local Black Girls Run chapter. I am gonna take on a Polar mentee soon – actually a good girlfriend who rocked a 5k recently and wants MORE!! And I signed up for a big challenge for me, the Venus de Miles century. I will be working with them and will be posting more details later this week when I get more press release information but for now there is a registration button on the sidebar and I can offer up readers a $5 off registration code bccokia. I have four months to prepare for a 100-mile all-women bike event. Wish me luck.

With my vlog I mentioned FITBLOGGIN next week. Yep, next week. My part is to wrangle speakers and put together Ignite Fitness. At this point I cannot even express how ecstatic I am since people are working their butts off to put their best foots forward for the audience.

This week… Running (3.5, 5, and 6 miles), Dailey Method 3x, swimming 1-2x, bike commuting to the yoga studio and a fun ride, plus strength – functional with TRX. Eating includes strawberry/watermelon gazpacho, Indian Coleslaw, tofu w/ peanut sauce, hummus, greek salad, spinach salad, eggs, breakfast for dinner, and anything else to clean out the fridge before our trip.

I am looking at my stupid, frenzied week. Big things today are securing the space for a pre-Fitbloggin meet-up for Denver, submit my final entries for the Go Pro Mountain Games Click competition, finish images for an event I shot last week, and to get a handle on some of the domestic stuff I want done before our PNW trip. However there are a number of personal notes I owe people. I plan to get a big jump on thank you notes while on the road next week. Before that though I am going to push myself to get three care packages out to loved ones this week. Nothing extravagant but notes of love, cookies, and pictures. The real essence of heart. Also an excuse to bake before we are hot in the 90s again.

I am also going to challenge YOU to walk away from email and the digital world and write a love letter to someone including yourself. A post-it note. Some IRL gesture that is tangible to show you care.

One last thing – Mamavation is looking for moms for their next campaign. They are transitioning to a more holistic approach to wellness so there is no weight requirement and the campaign will focus on reducing toxin exposure through a partnership with Healthy Child. Consider applying because there are all kinds of perks beyond education for the campaign participants including NaturePedic mattresses for your children.

Weekend of Fun 1/many

6 Replies

No vlawg this week. I am just getting this up.

#1 – Please enter the giveaway I am doing for Wacky Apple. They are an organic apple orchard that make organic snacks. This means no GMOs if that is your interest. The giveaway is for a snack pack ending on Father’s Day.

#2 – 2 1/2 months into feeding a kiddo I am struggling a lot to eat clean, be active, and have a good milk supply for my kid. A gal can only eat so many avocados and nut butters. At the market you will find me at the checkout line with A LOT of produce and a bag of chips. I do not mean a bag of chips in the slang version of a lot of good things, I literally mean a bag of chips. At this point grain salads have also been a calorie saving grace. This week coming up will have me at a 5 mile long run, two 3.5 mile runs, teaching two yoga classes, yoga at home, Dailey Method, and random strength around home.

#3 – This weekend was intense. Mainly because I was entered into the photo comp for the Go Pro Mountain Games. I have not gone through all of my images yet but am proud of what I shot. I still need to process before I enter my final selections but here are a couple. There was a lot of running around but it was a blast.

Slacklining

SUP=Stand Up Paddleboarding

Kayak Freestyle

#4 It is gonna be a bit toasty here this week. We are not in the 100s yet but approaching it. The air-conditioning will be on a bit. This week’s meal planning is simple.

There will be a mix of strawberry/watermelon gazpacho with hot pickled onions (Bryant Terry inspired recipe), black bean quinoa salad, greek salad, tofu satay with peanut sauce, smoothies, spinach salad with cacao nibs/fruits/nuts, granola with almond milk, making almond milk, and going out for ice cream to celebrate my son’s 3rd birthday. Three cheers for ice cream!!!

How is everyone having a blast shredding calories now that June is here?

Camping with wAckY AppLE *review + giveaway

11 Replies

Local (to Colorado). Organic. Philanthropic. Delicious.

This is my best summary of the products Wacky Apple sent me to try out recently and why I admire this company. They are a family-owned, family-operated apple orchard out towards the Western Slope of Colorado. They went into the manufacturing of simple apple products three years ago in response to the need for healthy snacks in our schools. The products are good, like real good. I do not buy much processed foods but was eager when approached by them with the summer coming up and some things about their company that fell in line with my values.

They tugged at my heart-strings with their involvement with the Food Bank of the Rockies by donating about $14K in product. If you read this blog then you know I have massive love for FBR and there is a need for healthy donations like this.

They do not add sugar to their products but use fruit that they produce.

They recommend reusing containers. One of their recommendations is to use them to start seeds for gardening which is a great activity to do with kids.

The products arrived and ~~I decided~~ my husband begged me to make some cookies with the apple sauce ahead of our camping trip to Mesa Verde National Park over Memorial Day weekend.

Peanut Butter and Tahini Cookies with Wacky Apple Applesauce

We also took the Fun Pack with us (the same kind of Fun Pack you can win).

Wacky Apple Snack Pack with juice, sauce, and fruit leather

Mesa Verde for a few days was awesome with the cliff dwellings and family times outside.

Spruce House cliff dwelling with my guys

Toddler Hiking Petroglyph Loop

There were even bears and lions in our campground (tradition of putting kids into warm costumes for chilly CO nights when camping that I started with our first son)

bear cub infant in the a.m. (do not fret about his safety, he is was in a moses basket both nights separate from our sleeping bags)

lion toddler in the a.m.

In between our meals and activity we snacked like crazy – the Wacky Apple came in handy

The trip was obviously good. Both boys did great. I was glad we had the Wacky Apple Snacks because they were really good and an easy source of calories. The apple sauces were tasty and I appreciate that there is no refined sugar added. In the juices, leather, and sauce you could actually taste apples. With so few ingredients all you have to rely on is quality. I can see our family buying from this company for road trips and camping to make life easy in the future. The cookies also came out well and were useful on the trails. I can see having some of the apple sauce on hand in the pantry for cooking and not needing to open up large quantities of sauce for baking.

In my area Wacky Apple is available in King Soopers, Sprouts, and Whole Foods. However if you would like to win a Fun Pack like the one I have depicted in the picture at our campsite enter and follow the directions in the Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: Opinons expressed here are my own. I was not financially compensated for this post. I received a Fun Pack to sample.

Raining, Pouring, Not Complaining

4 Replies

VLAWGG from my first post-partum run…

The topic of my vlog this week is getting back into a swing of life after baby and not whining about it. I returned to leading yoga classes last week. I am taking over two classes this week after not even entertaining teaching on a regular basis until the fall. Then I was named as a nominee on a top 100 yoga and wellness professionals list for the Denver area. What a week. Opportunities are pouring in and I am grateful that people hold me in high regard.

Last week was a mixed bag of activity. I am currently taking it slow as I train for a half-marathon in August. I am doing The Dailey Method this month before Fitbloggin’ And from my previous paragraph you can imagine that there is yoga in the books.

This week I want to do 3 Dailey Method classes, two three-mile runs and a five-mile run. I am also needing to crunch in the teaching schedule and heading to Vail for several days to compete in the Photography division for the Go Pro Mountain Games. I have to thank my husband many times over for helping me with that competition. He will mostly be support in caring for our infant while I run around different competitions to shoot and come back to feed and care for our youngin.

We have meal plans for this week with the veggie tacos, bi bim bap, couscous salad, bean burritos, watermelon/feta salad, and zucchini ribbon salad making appearances for dinner, lunches, and leftovers.

Well I need to make this quick since I am covering a prenatal yoga class for someone later tonight. Have a great week everyone. I hope your transition into summer is fun with workouts and how you spend time with those you love.

First Yoga Class #365yoga

2 Replies

It feels like such a time of renewal. My son was born almost 8 weeks ago and tonight I am headed to my first yoga class as a student in what feels like forever. It feels like a time of possibilities. Tonight is a diverse event that travels every month to another location in our city. Tonight and this month it is at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. I have taught for this event before at another nature/science institution so it almost feels like a safe haven for me to practice with.

Since my son was born I have been on my mat for gentle cat/cow and other restorative work. My midwife green lit me to get back to a regular practice with modifications at 6 weeks post-partum. Last week was standing asanas and boy is my body weak with little endurance. The poses almost feel new since my current body is unfamiliar.

My goal tonight is to experience in gentle bliss. I have no need to tax my midline or abdomen. I have no one to compete with. I have to become acquainted with this physical form right here as it recovers in ebbs and flows from carrying a baby, surgery, and now taking care of two children.

My husband is going with me. I cannot tell you how happy that makes me. The two of us have not taken a yoga class together since we lived in Miami more than five years ago.

This all is newness. Delightful newness.

I am a tiny blip on the left when I had the honor to teaching on this tour. Join in the fun of what truly is our state’s most diverse yoga experience http://www.imuniqueunited.com/

Smack Talk Is Easy

13 Replies

VLAWG…

There you have it in a nutshell. I am cleared to workout starting in a week and I got to admit that this do-nothing thing is feeling pretty comfy. Oh bother. I just need to go slow and steady for consistency sake.

I did some nice motivation this week with a new H7 unit from Polar Heart Rate Monitors that syncs with their Polar Beat app on my iPhone. Let us see if that new toy will keep things groovy.

In preparation for this upcoming week I do have a workout plan devised. This week I will go do yoga one time and to get out of my comfort zone I am going to do something new and sign up for The Dailey Method. I would like to attend 2 times this week. I have my schedule planned out, now to make sure my workout gear is laid out so I do not get discouraged when looking for it.

This weekend will be active with my first run as well as CAMPING and HIKING in SW Colorado.

Now for this week’s dinner menu plan

Sunday (73/46) Mushroom Tacos
Monday (72/45) Lentils & Rice
Tuesday (72/46) leftovers
Wednesday (81/50) Grilled Veggies
Thursday (84/54) Avocado/Apricot/Quinoa Salad
Friday (90/54) Watermelon Gazpacho and Veggie Skewers
Saturday – Monday Camping!

Bodhi Bear

Self Care to Community Health