Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Creating your own circiut workout

So I was reading some fitness magazines and I thought it would be fun if I started to try to create some of my own workouts.

So here is a create your own workout plan.

Start
-Choose a time limit
  • 10 mins to about 1 hr
- Do a warm up (chose 1 exercise and do for one minute) - this a warm up so do this easy
  • Jumping Jacks
  • Jog in place
  • high kness
- Chose a lowerbody exercise (do one move for 1 min)
  • squats
  • plie sqaut
  • forward lunges
  • backward lunges
  • curtse lunge
- Chose a upper body exercise (do one move for 1 min)
  • push ups
  • tricep dips
  • tricep push ups
  • chest fly (using a elastic band or dumbells)
  • calf raises
  • dead lifts
- Chose an ab exercise (do one move for 1 min)
  • crunches
  • plank
  • side plank
  • oblique crunches
  • flutter kicks
- Chose a cardio activity (do one move for 1 min)
  • high knees
  • jumping jacks
  • skiers
  • burpess
  • mountian climbers
After one round have 1 minute break
Then go back and do the entire circiut  again.. either staying with the same moves or doing different ones :)


It should be pretty fun :)


Tuesday, June 26, 2012

1/2 marathon training plan

So yay... I am offically training for my first 1/2 marathon.

I just started training last saturday but it feels so real. I can not wait till Nov 17th.

I will be running the Thunder Road Marathon in Charlotte. Here is the Offical Thunder Road page.

Even though I have ran off and on throughout my life I have never really trained for a race on my own.

My running story starts when I was in High School.
One of my friends who is an avid runner persaded our school to start a cross country team my senior year of high school. At first I was pretty nervous but I thought it would be fun. I always had run when I was playing soccer in highschool and I liked it pretty good.
All we did was run 5k's, which was awesome.. in about a 3 month time I got my time down from about 28 mins to 22 mins. I was pretty impressed....But from running I ended up gettting killer shin splints.


After that I would run some and do some races like a 5k s, a 4 miller and some Turkey Trots that ranged from 8 to 10k's.
They were all awesomly fun but I never really got into that much becuase I would end up starting running and go out for a 5 mile run. And even though my cardiovascular system could take it... my legs could not.
I get shin splints so easlily so ever single time I would always get them.


This time I am hoping will be very different.
I am using this training plan.
It is 16 wks long...( I think I have about 19 weeks till the 1/2) so I have some wiggly room.
I wanted a little bit of a longer training program, well b/c I have time and b/c I wanted to keep my legs safe. I don't want to push it to hard... but I do want to be able to run the whole race and end with a decent time.
(i have really no idea what that might be... right now I am running around a 8:30 to 9 minute mile while doing 3 mile runs)

I really am so excited to start running. :)
I have a feeling I am gonna get addicted.
I have already done two 3 mile runs.  
I have always been addicted to working out (usually with workout DVDs) but never to running.

I also bought some new shoes! ( to help the whole no shin splint thing)


Questions:
Have you ever run a 1/2 marathon?
Any good running tips?
What was your workout for today?
-mine was Sculpt 30 (Turbofire) and then a 3 mile run during lunch :)

Monday, June 25, 2012

2 years ago today

2 years ago today I started dating the man on my dreams :)
Oh my I am so blessed beyond words.
Aaron has made my life so much better and he more than I couldve ever imagined. He is my knight in shining, my hero, my safe place and my best friend... (and soon -to- be husband)

I am more in love than ever.


To celebrate this wonderful day we decided to go out on Saturday night and go on a special date. (since I had to work today and he has to study for a final... boo for growing up lol)

Son on Saturday night, after an absolutley wonderful day, we got all dressed up and decided to go to a tiny resturant called Mama Lena's in waxhaw, nc.
This is the absolute yummiest homemade Italian food out there.
We started off with an appetizer of calamari and some bread.
Both were so delicous. The bread was homemade and straight from the oven and the calamari was just so yummy.
After ordering our meal, we got a small salad and then split 2 entreres. Gnochi and Pene pasta with sausage.
Both were absolutley AMAZING.
During dinner it was great to just get to talk to each other and think about all the wonderful times we had over the past 2 years and all the things that are coming in our future.

I have learned so much over these past 2 years... knowing Aaron has made me such a better person.
He has taught me how to look to out fro the intrests of others and showed me how to truly love.
I can not wait to spend so many more years learning from him and growing old with him.





I love you Aaron Rankin :)

Perfect Saturday

This weekend was absolutley fabulous :)
I loved getting to hang out with my Aaron.

This weekend started off AMAZING by going for a Saturday morning run. I ran 3 miles and fininshed in 26 minutes.
That is not my most amazing run but it was great to get back out and run.... and that was my first offical run of my 1/2 marathon training plan. (more to come on that)

Then once I got back and cooled off a tad I started making some b fast. Aaron came over for some delicous breakfast.
I made some cinimon rolls and some (not so good) greek yougurt pancakes.
I put like way to much baking powder in them and they ended up tasting bitter so it was on to Special K protien cereal for me :)

After a yummy b fast me and aaron ran over to good will and then my daddy took us to go look at a golf store for Aaron






We have just started playing some golf and Aaron needed a pitching wedge so we went to this tiny store in Charlotte and it was so cool.
I found the perfect club for him and it was in a set so we got like 6 golf clubs for $45.
Yay!!

You can tell Aaron was a happy boy.

Then after that we went to the pool and swam for about an hour and a 1/2. That was my first time at the pool this year and it felt so great. It is just so relaxing and really feels great on your joints.
While we were at the pool we acted like little kids and did races and saw how long each of us could hold our breat.. um how bout no time at all... i think i have a defect. lol


After drying off.. lunch :)
Then to go buy me some awesome running shoes!
I am sooo incredibly excited! It is so much fun to try on new shoes... it makes me wanna go jump and run even more!! I can not wait till Nov 17th (1/2 marathon day)

Then we went to Aaron's house to get date clothes for tonight.
I also examined our baby vegetable garden... it is slowly but surley getting there.

Then off to play golf.

The rest of Saturday will be talked about in the next post :)
It was just to much to put in just one..


Questions
What is your favoirte saturday morning bfast?
Are you planning to run any races here soon?
Any 1/2 marathon advice?

Friday, June 22, 2012

4th of july desserts.. help?

So I am trying to decide on what to make for the 4th of July.
I will be traveling up to O-H-I-O, as the Ohio state fans may say :)
Im gonna be going there to go hang out with Aaron's family for the 4th. It should be a ton of fun.
From what I have heard they make a pretty big deal out, which is as it should be, for the 4th.
They do fun races and have tons of food... but I really like to bake so I thought I should contribute something.
The tricky thing is that it needs to be easy to transport since it will have to go from NC to OH.

Here are some of the ones that I have found from surfing around the Internet.
Any ideas.
All of them look super yummy to me.
We can consider this a little bit of a dessert 4th of July round up (easy to travel edition)
Enjoy and tell me if you make any of these or if you have... I need ideas and suggestions :)














So any ideas? What is your fav?
What should I make?
Oh goodness... This is the first time meeting some of his family so I want them to like me ( and my baking)


Questions:
Which one should I make?
What is your favorite thing to eat on the 4th of July? mine is for burgers and probably like a triffle with angel food cake. and ice cream :)
Any fun plans for the weekend?
I am going on my 2 year anniversery date with Aaron :) I am oh so exctied and there will for sure be a review and pictures!
Work out for the day?
Air Core at Flex and Fit


Adios for today yall :)

Thursday, June 21, 2012

sad puppy face

Howdy yall :)
( you know I am 1/2 country)


Anywho it is offically Thursday! one more day to the weekend! yayayayayayayayay! :) I am ready.


So lets see... last night was pretty good :)

I got to see my perfect fiance. (and that makes any thing good... its like the extra gummy bears on a fro yo)



My mom dropped me off at his house on our way home from work so I could drive back with him. We have so much fun together.. i feel like we laughed the whole way. We even danced and did the fun arm moves to "Call me maybe" (we are cool ya know)

After we got home we grilled some chicken (no pic... i am still a bad bloger. i will be bettter some day.. promise)

It was perfectly amazing :)
And after we hung out just for the taddest bit and then aaron had to go home.. and I got real sad because I am not going to get to see him for 2 whole days :(

So I made a really sad face. and then pouted a tad... but that really didnt work to try to convience him not to leave.

He actually started laughing at me... I need to work on my "i am a sad puppy" face.  :)

So now I am offically a free bird for 2 days... what will I do with my time.
I think i will dream about Aaron :) and our wedding and probably work out a tad bit more :)


Now onto today :)
I woke up wayyy early (4:20)
did some Fire 45
took a shower and got ready
ate some yummy special K protien cereal with almond milk.
and now I am work.

and I am listening to the radio. :)
Do yall ever feel like listening to the radio makes your day better and go by faster... I know it has for me. :)
I am currently listening to Kat Country 96.9. And I am really like this. This is the first day I have brought my headphones to work....  I think this will be a tradition and everyday occurance.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful morning!

Questions:
What kind of music do you listen to?
Do you have a sad face that works on anyone?
What is your plan for today?
What workout did you do today?

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

2 more days!

It's Wednesday!! Yay... only 2 more days to the weekend!


Today has been pretty good.. my first post today has def changed the way I am feeling. I really am just trying to be grateful for all that I have and all the other stuff that goes on is just in God's plan :)
It is nice to feel this way :)


This morning I have been trying to figure out what pictures and designs I want to use for my save the dates... yay 332 more days!!

I am so ready... I know I say it all the time but it is so true :)

So after a morning of looking at save the dates and working it was time for some Flex and Fit :)

Today I did some Air Yoga :)
Air yoga is absolutley my favorite type of yoga. It is very easy and stretches you so much. We do 4 main poses. Downward dog, lunges, inversions, and squats.
All of the poses using the silks (the fabric hanging down) really opens up your body so much! It is just so AMAZING and I totally reccomend it to anyone!


It is so relaxing to do in the middle of the day (I go during lunch)


After I got back from some air yoga I had me a Detour Bar :)
And read some of this book.
This book is so good. I am trying my absolute hardest to become the best wife I can be (well future wife)
Today I have been reading about forgiveness and how important it is. There were so many great things that I need to try to remember in my everyday life. One quote that really stuck out was "Forgiveness has little to do with what was done to us, but much to do with what we chose to do with it. I believe it is the ultimate expression of love."

How true... so may times whatever I am mad about is so insignifgant. Yet I let it drag me down... I let Satan win and ruin my day.
It is such a wonderful reminder that I get to chose to forgive... whatever or whoever hurt me is not that big in eternity's view. I can show God's love to them through one simple act.
So many times I fall short.... But with God's grace I am able to get back up and try again.



I want to focus on that. That forgiveness is a choice. I get to chose how the story ends :)

Questions:
What did you have for lunch?
Are you reading any books right now?
Any ideas on how to show forgivness?

Things that I know

Yesterday I got kinda upset with just mine and Aaron's relationship.... It was just so hard not seeing him a lot and I just kinda had a breakdown.

But we talked it out and we are totally all better now. I really have no idea how in the world I found such a perfect guy. So much more than any other dream guy I could have imagnied.

Yesterday when I got home he gave  me a letter about all the things that he knows.
Things like "I know I love you more than any fiance here on Earth could possilby love!", " I know we grow stronger each day" and " I know dancing in the kitchen cheer you up."

How in the world did I become so lucky!
I know that I am so blessed.

So today I was thinking about all the things that I know.
Things that I have learned and things that God has taught me throughout my life. The truths about life.
I think just thinking about these things throughout the day, the week and the year can really change your attitude and help you focus on the truths instead of feelings and things that change day to today.

So here are some of the things I will try to remember. The things that never change.

  • I know that God has a plan for my life - I was put on earth for a reason and my  life has a purpose.
  • I know he created me in His image and that I am beautiful. ( To Him and to my fiance)
  • I know that Christ died for my sins and I will go to heaven.
  • I know that my fiance loves me and would do anything for me.
  • I know that I love my fiance and that no matter how worried or scared about the future I am that he will not leave me and God is planning every step.
  • I know that through Christ I can do ALL things.
  • I know that I am blessed beyond words...just waking up is a blessing.
  • I know that God will provide.
  • I know that the little downs in life are just for a little while and there is no need to sweat the small stuff.
  • I know that simply smiling makes me happier
  • I know that I have parents that love me.
  • I know that every single day is a gift.
I guess that is just a start.. but look at all those things.
They are all so true and yet so many times I forget about them and start to worry. These things are the things I need to keep in front of me everyday.
I think the main thing is to remember that every single day is a blessing... a day that should not be taken for granted.

I know that.... espceially now that I stopped and thought about it.

Questions:
Do you ever stop and think about what you know?
Do you really know that God loves you... no matter who you are?
What are your plans for today to make it count?

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

bright part of my day

So this afternoon has been a true snooze fest.
Basically I have sat at my desk and just browsed the internet that is not blocked.

But it is finally time to almost go home!! YAY and YIPPIE :)

The one bright part of my day occured during lunch. I usually go work out at the most awesome gym in the whole wide world but today I really just wanted to walk.
So I walked around Downtown Charlotte.
It was so beautiful outside that I could not resist. :)
I walked around for about 1 hr.



While I was walking I saw a couple of places that I wanted to eat at. Including this fun pizza and pasta bar all classed up :)


I also walked by this cute little church that me and Aaron walked past on our 2nd time hanging out... that brings back the best of memories.

I am just amazed at how many things bring back memories of me and Aaron.
I really wish I was with him right now :)

Only 10 mins more... i can make it. I think.

Questions:
Have you ever had one of those days that just dragged on and on? How do you get through it?
What is the highlight of your day? - mine will be seeing my Aaron
What did yall do for lunch?


This morning has been pretty good so far :)

  • Woke up at 5:05 am
  • Did Fire 45 from Turbofire series
  • Got all ready
  • Ate some yummy b fast ( i so wish i wouldve taken a picture... it was a yummy bowl of plain oatmeal that had truvia, cinimon and raisains in it)- pure amazing. I wish I could make enough to share it with all of yall :)
  • After that I got to relax and watch some TV till my mom and dad got down stairs and were ready to head off to work
  • After we got to work ( we got there early and I had to ran an errand), I went out downtown for a 15 min walk. It was so beautiful this morning and really just started of my day wonderfully :)
So that was my morning :) Pretty good if I don't say so myself.

Last night was pretty simple and not that exciting.
Aaron had to study (boo for summer school) and my mom is sick... so it was a chill night. We ate dinner and ran over to Costco :)
We kinda basically live there
Then I came home, took a shower, talked to Aaron and then watched this new show called "Breaking Point"
It is really kinda interesting... it is all about Ballerianas... bassically a reality show.
Idk... basically I love all shows like that.
Teen Mom, 16 and Preganant, Real Housewives, Mrs. Eastwood and Company... we will just stop there :) lol


That was last night and this morning for ya... I am now going to go work very hard at work and try to get all the things I need to do done :)
And then I get to see Aaron tonight and maybe go to the pool... it will be oh so worth it to see him


Adios yall


Questions:
What is your morning routine like?
Do you like reality shows... if so what is your favorite?
Do you live in a big city or a tiny town?


Monday, June 18, 2012

forgotten.. no never :)

So it has been a while again... but that is only because i thought i had forgotten my password to blogspot.. :(
idk how in the world I do that because it is very similar to all the other passwords i use but some how i do.


So anywho.. 334 more days or exactly 11 months until I become Mrs. Rankin (#2.. bc his mom is already Mrs. Rankin lol)
I am so incredibly excited!! like can not stop smilling and counting down the days excited.

And tommorow i get to show yall some of they AMAZING engagement picutres! I am so so so excited for that to. I have only got to see 3 in a sneak peak that they sent me but tommorow I will finally get to see them all.
I so hope that I really like them.
I am kinda nervous because in some pictures I just do not love the way I look but im keeping my fingers crossed. :)

So lets catch up... it has been a while.

Well me and Aaron went and did some golfing :)
I have fallen in love with a new favorite work snack
And we went and watched some baseball


I say it has been pretty good since I have last time.


So lets catch up on the whole eating and getting in perfect wedding day shape. :)

So I think I have been eating pretty good throughout the weeks but the weekends just stink :(

I have got to figure out how to stay on track. Any ideas???

Turbofire is going good though :) I just love it... and can see some results. I am on Week 4 now.

So here to maybe conquer the whole eating bad on the weekend thing I have decided to make up a little food meal plan for the week.
Today:
Breakfast - Special K protein cereal with Almond milk
Snack 1 - 1/2 mini muffin
Lunch - Detour Bar
Snack 2- Deli meat turkey
Snack for driving home - small amount of popcorn
Dinner - tortilla pizza with pepperonis, cottage chese and a apple cinimion rice cake


So all in all  I think i have a pretty good plan. Ill keep you updated.

Questions:
1. What is your daily eating like?
2. Are any of you looking forward to something coming up?
3. Any new deliocous snacks I should try?



Have a super wonderful Monday!! :)