Colorado Day 7

Hello Everyone! 

Friday was our last full day in Colorado Springs. We knew we wanted to get a hike in, but needed to still get all of our stuff packed up and ready to go. So we hit up Palmer Park again. (This was the place we ended up impromptu hiking on day 4 the day it started out COLD and WINDY!) This park is in the middle of Colorado Springs and a very enjoyable hike. 

Colorado Day 6

Hello All!

We made day 6 our hardest hike of the trip. Barr Trail is one of the two trails you can take up to Pikes Peak. It is also the trail you would take down after climbing the Manitou Incline. Since The Incline is closed, we decided to take the trail up to the Incline Summit to eat lunch and then hike it back down. Barr Trail takes a longer amount of time to climb, but it’s just because it’s very windy. We had a blast enjoying the views and talking about our last time on the trail. I’m not in as good of shape as I was the last time, but still enjoyed it. During our time we found the bailing off point for The Incline. This is about 2/3 of the way up and is for people who got in over their head and need to get off and not try to keep going up to the very top. I don’t even remember this section when we climbed the Incline two years ago. When we got to this point, there were no signs saying it was closed and no one manning the entrance.

Colorado Day 5

Hello Everyone!

We had a bit of a late start on Wednesday since our mortgage loan company decided to call to discuss refinancing our home. I guess you can’t escape reality the whole time you’re on vacation, huh?! In good news, we were able to cut 5 years off our loan and keep our monthly payments the same (actually slightly cheaper)! 🎉 

Once that conversation was complete, we loaded up and headed to Seven Bridges trail. It was slightly funny because we kept talking about this steep winding road that we had to take to get up to a hiking spot a couple years ago, but we couldn’t remember which spot it was...but we were pretty darn certain it wasn’t for Seven Bridges.  Well...it ended up being for seven bridges. 😂😂 Taking a large pick-up to that hiking spot isn’t the funnest, but we made it safely and had a blast hiking the trail again. Listening to the water run was so peaceful. Seeing the sights and being surrounded by the forest and the smell of pine trees was very enjoyable. 

After we finished our hike, we wouldn’t be getting back to our Airbnb until close to 4 so we headed straight back so we could take showers and relax before dinner. 

For dinner and dessert we tried a popular sushi place, Jei Sushi, and a dessert place called Decadent a Coffee and Dessert Bar. To get to Decadent we officially hit the upscale part of Colorado Springs. An area we’ve NEVER been in before. It was interesting and reminded me of a few places near Kansas City. Jei Sushi was also very good. The interesting thing about CO Springs is the fact that some places are allowing people to dine in while other places are not. Both of these places were allowing people to dine in, but we still opted to take our food home and eat it while watching a movie. We would definitely go back to Jei Sushi, but would probably skip Decadent just because it was pricey! For everything you see below it was $30...that's a dinner out for Tony and I. Yikes. But it was tasty, so if you have the funds go for it. 

For our evening movie we watched Man of Tai Chi. It was a great action packed movie. Probably not one of the best acting for Keanu Reeves, but he is always hit or miss on his movies. It was fun to watch and listen to Tony nerd out about the different martial arts styles used too. So far 4/5 movies have been a hit. 

Healthy Lifestyle Wins: We ate a normal breakfast without any sweet additions. So we just stuck to two eggs, oatmeal and veggies.  We packed our lunch for the hike and, well, we went on a 2.5+ hour hike. Haha. Lunch consisted of a banana, an RXBAR and a ham & guac sandwich. Yum. 

Looking forward to our hardest hike for Day 6. We might not be able to do the Manitou Incline, but we are going to tackle a section of Barr Trail. ⛰💪

Stay safe and we look forward to updating you on our Thursday adventures tomorrow. 

~Deanna~

Colorado Day 4

Hello All! 

Day 4 started off COLD, dreary, rainy and w.i.n.d.y!! It had snowed overnight, nothing stuck in town, and it was 59 degrees inside the house. Burrr. 🥶 So we decided to have a lazy morning eating breakfast and watching Parks and Rec. After that we moved to being a little more productive and did a workout since we knew we wouldn’t be hiking when it was so cold and windy and we’d planned for the days to be in the 70’s at least. 

One thing that Tony and I have made a tradition since our honeymoon in Kansas City is to find Vegan eateries and give them a try in different cities that we visit. I was surprised to only find two in this town, but one was a drive thru and the other more of a sit down restaurant.

Colorado Day 3

Hello All!

We started off day 3 by eating a late breakfast and adding one of our cupcakes from Smallcakes A Cupcakery to the menu. These were the cupcakes we bought to eat on Sunday, but then we were too full after dinner and decided to hold off. I am very glad that we did as they were very yummy to enjoy with some coffee. I had Wedding Cake and Tony had Lemon Drop. Both were very good. 

After our cupcake and coffee we loaded up and headed back to Red Rock Canyon Open Space. 

Colorado Day 2

Hey All!

Today we tried to sleep in, but gaining an hour and being at the start of a vacation makes that a bit hard. We work up and ate a good breakfast of oatmeal and eggs. We followed that with a weight training session since we knew we’d be getting plenty of walking in through our hike. 

We finally decided to load up and head to Garden of the God’s. This was our first hiking spot two years ago and we figured we should just make it a tradition and go back. It was just as beautiful, if not even more so than it was the last time we visited.

Colorado Day 1

 

Hey All! 

Today, Tony and I headed to Colorado. It’s been two years since we last visited Colorado and that is two years to many. Haha! 

We hit the road at about 8 am CST and made it to our AirBNB by 3 pm MST. We were definitely ready to get off the road, but even more excited to be back and seeing all the awesome sights we missed. This town, well, really city,  is a lot bigger than I remember. However, I still love it. ❤️ 

We decided to try a burger joint our AirBNB host suggested and it did not disappoint! It’s called Crave Real Burgers and it is made with 100% Colorado meat.

Weigh-in Wednesday - Oh How I've Missed This...

Hello All,

It's been a long time since my last post. There has been a lot that has happened since my last post. We've had a lot of adventures, a lot of ups and downs a lot of struggles and frustrations and a lot of fun memories that will last a life time.

In my lifestyle, that's been a roller coaster. When my husband started school and I had to adjust my work schedule to accommodate our new normal, I cut out my lunchtime workouts and didn't make up for them anywhere. I gained between 15 and 20 lbs in 6 months and was out of control. I was eating everything in sight, not working out at all and just let myself spiral out of control. From August 2018 through January 2020, my weight was a yo-yo. It stayed around 15 lbs over my comfortable zone, but the worst part was I stopped lifting weights regularly and working on my cardio. I just let myself get lazy and stay that way.

imprompTuesday - We Upgraded Our Scale

Hello All!

I don't know about you all, but I do enjoy weighing myself on a regular basis.  I know this can be a love-hate relationship and can even be done unhealthily depending on your mindset. My husband and I try to weigh ourselves only once a week to just make sure that we are staying on track, because focusing on the slight adjustments that can happen day to day is just a way to beat yourself up for no reason.

Recently we both hit our goal weight and started having the problem of over focusing on the constant fluctuation of a 1 or 2 lb change week to week. Weight only helps get you so far in your healthy lifestyle journey. So we decided to update our scale so that we could really get a better picture of our overall health, that is why we upgraded to...

Fitness Friday - The Wonder Woman Workout

Hi Friends!

It's been several weeks since I was last able to come here and share some fun information or insights with you all.  Life seems to constantly get away from me and between vacations, traveling, family activities and my active lifestyle it's hard to find time to fit everything into a day.

Getting back into the swing of things, I thought I'd share my current obsession and that is this awesome Wonder Woman workout.  It is a KILLER, but so worth it in the end!  Here we go...


So gearing up for the awesomeness that had to be the new Wonder Woman movie I started nerding out about the movie and our leading lady Gal Gadot. I wanted to know what she did training wise to get ready for the role and found the following video on YouTube:

After watching this I knew I HAD to give it a try!  So I found the workout and here it is:

 

I have officially completed this workout 10 times and have to do this at least 12 more times before the end of September to win my work Q3 Health Challenge.  If I complete it then I get to choose a super hero shirt as my prize. Haha...I love my job!

 

Have any of you given this a try? If not, you should try it out and let me know what you think!  My least favorite move is the backward bear crawls....they are the worst!

 

P.S. In my nerding out about Gal Gadot I found a fun picture she'd posted on Instagram and thought I'd give it a try myself:

 

 

 

imprompTuesday - Foods We Keep on Hand at ALL Times

Happy Tuesday Everyone,

I hope today isn't feeling like a second Monday for you!

Recently I was thinking about how everyone tends to have those staple foods that they always keep on hand. Sometimes these can be very healthy food options, other times not so much.

As I've mentioned before, we have really adjusted our diet over the past few years and now have some healthier items on hand at all times. I wanted to share these items with you to give you some ideas of other items you can have on hand as well (if you don't already keep these on hand).

Thankful Thursday - Being 31

Happy Thursday Everyone!

One day closer to the weekend and a three-day weekend for that matter. :-)

Today I wanted to focus my thankful thoughts on being 31.  I know this might sound weird to some of you, but last year turning 30 had me going through a mini-life crisis. It probably had something to do with the fact that everyone is so focused on their 20's and making the most of their youthful years...and here I was a mother of two not ready for the dreaded 3-0.

Today I have to say I'm happier to be 31 than I was ever happy to be 21 and here's why...

Menu Monday - 5 Tips for Family Gatherings

Hello All,

This week is a strange one for us since we will actually be with family for the majority of Memorial Day and not making family dinners Thursday - Monday!  So this week I'll share our mini menu and then my top five tips for leading a healthy lifestyle with family gatherings and all those tempting delicious foods!

Monday: Pepperoni Pizza
Tuesday: Grilled Cheese Sloppy Joes
Wednesday: Left Overs
Thursday - Sunday: Eating with family

So here are my five strategies for family holidays centered around food:

Fitness Friday - My Step Routine

Hello All,

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I was going to share my personal step routine with all of you, but then I didn't.  I finally got a recording of myself to share with you.  This is what I do on a regular basis and some variations that I'll add in to just help keep it entertaining and help to keep my body guessing what I'm throwing at it.

This really does get my heart pumping and the sweat dripping!  I hope you enjoy and take something away from it.

Thankful Thursday - My Faith

Happy Thursday Everyone!

It's been a while since I've written a Thankful Thursday post and I'm sad to think about that.  We should all find things that we are thankful for every day. Whether it's the beautiful sun rise that you were able to catch this morning or a nice gesture someone did for you.  The more we can focus on being thankful, the more positive our lives will be.

For this revisit, on such an important part in an overall healthy lifestyle, I wanted to focus on my faith and how thankful I am to have it as a core part of my life and my families lives.

Weigh-in Wednesday - 5 Recovery Tips

Happy Hump Day Everyone!

Today I wanted to discuss recovery when it comes to all the pressure that we put on our bodies to transform.  So many of us spend the majority of our time focusing on our training plans that we forget the most important element in working towards this healthy lifestyle, recovery.

Giving our bodies time to recover is key in becoming faster, stronger, better and even lose those pesky lbs you've been focused on for weeks, months and even years. 

Here I share my top five go-to tricks for recovering from all the work I put in day after day.

imprompTuesday - My Fitspiration

Hello Friends!

Everyone typically has something that helps to inspire them and helps to keep them motivated.  Something that helps them push towards their goals.  This can be a person, an outfit, a sport, a specific goal, a quote, etc...really it could be anything for anyone.

Well today I wanted to share my fitspiration.  The thing that has seemed to motivate me like nothing else. The thing that, frankly, I've become a bit obsessed with and I'm not even ashamed about it!

Menu Monday - Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken

Happy Monday to Everyone!

Spring time always seems to encourage even healthier eating with the extra delicious veggies and fruits that are available.  I hope everyone is feeling the same way!

This week we'll be enjoying:

Monday: Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken
Tuesday: Chicken Teriyaki Skewers
Wednesday: Sloppy Joes
Thursday: Spaghetti
Friday: Simple Sesame Noodles with Pork
Saturday: Left Overs
Sunday: A friends wedding

This week I'm going to highlight another favorite of ours, Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken.  Click the link below to see the recipe:

Fitness Friday - PictureFit

Hey Friends,

My Fitness Friday posts are not only to share various exercise routines, but it's also a way for me to share exercise, fitness and healthy lifestyle resources that I find very helpful.

This week I'm going to share with you an awesome YouTube channel that my husband introduced me to, Picture Fit.

Weigh-in Wednesday - Workout Apparel and Mindset

Hello Everyone!

This week I wanted to visit a topic that I had a different opinion on towards the start of my healthy lifestyle journey then I do now. The topic is, does your workout apparel affect your mindset when being active?

When I first started my healthy lifestyle journey I would wear a t-shirt and some yoga pants.  It wasn't anything special, but I'd always thought, "Why buy anything special to workout in when you're just going to get sweaty?" I couldn't understand why people would want to spend extra money on a ton of outfits for the sole purpose of working out.

Well today, I definitely have a different opinion on this...