Bounce bounce bounce - fun with JumpSport

So, I stepped really far outside my comfort zone at Fitbloggin, and signed up for the lip sync competition that was sponsored by JumpSport. My group, The Fitbloggin Bellas, was lucky enough to have been chosen the winners, and we each got a fitness trampoline. (Full disclosure: The value of the grand prize was divided between the five of us. We were able to chose a fitness trampoline that equaled that value or apply that amount towards the model of our choice.) My trampoline is the JumpSport 250 . Here's a picture from the JumpSport site.

  

I was so excited when it was delivered. Here's Sparkie inspecting the package.

Here are all of the parts laid out, and I'm ready to attach the legs.

Here's a close up of how the leg fits in to the frame. You use the allen key, which is provided, to bolt the leg to the frame. It is very solidly made. It took less than 10 minutes to attach all of the legs.

The elastic bands on some of the other models can be adjusted to give you different tension settings. The 250 is non-adjustable, but since it's just me that will be using it, I'm fine with that. I'm not sure I'd want to be messing with these huge knots, especially since there are so many of them!

Here she is, fully assembled and ready to play.

I just did my first full workout during lunch today. You really work up a sweat using a fitness trampoline! It's fun, but it's also work! The basic workout DVD that came with the trampoline was good. It has people demonstrating three levels of the workout, which I appreciated. I can work up to the advanced level at my own pace, and not worry about falling off! (You are "talking" to someone who's fallen off the side of a treadmill, so that could happen.) They make it look easier than it is. There are also a lot of good rebounder workouts on YouTube. What I really love, in addition to how well this is made, is how quiet it is. No springs squeaking, no creaking. The dogs were in the room with me the whole time and none of them were bothered by it in the least. My Bear is a spook who jumps at loud or unexpected noises, and he just laid there on the floor napping. This is a serious bonus in my book.

Who said by baby steps can't be bouncy ones. ;)

Baby Steps

I've eaten a lot of race fees this past year. I didn't want to, but sometimes your body says no. Emphatically. Not even taking account how hot it gets in Texas during the summer, there are days where even taking dogs for walks is too much. My hamstring issue is better. Not gone, but better. The lack of energy is still there, and going strong. One side effect of peri-menopause that I never expected was zero energy because you can become anemic. When I remember to, I take iron supplements, but I'm terrible at remembering to take any sorts of pills. So, anything I do has to be in baby steps.


Which leads me to my new "training plan." I was so totally psyched when my Fitbloggin Bella teammate finished her half-Ironman the other week. Way to go Stephanie!! I was swimming back and forth the other evening in the pool when I got an idea. I'll do my own half-Ironman. It will take weeks to complete, but with baby steps, I believe I can do this.  My pool is small, just 23 feet long, including the half round step areas. I calculated (based on how I swim in the pool) that I will have to swim 158.4 laps to equal 1.2 miles for the swim portion of my half-Ironman. (I'll round up). I swam 40 laps (down and back equals 1 lap) on Monday evening. I'm looking forward to finishing the swim portion!  For the bike and run/walk portions, I'll do laps around my neighborhood. The three block loop section that I live on in my development is roughly 1 mile (1.1 on the outside sidewalk). This will be easy to track. I see people out running in the afternoon. To me, that's nuts. It's 100 degrees out. Not my idea of fun, so I'll be getting my ass out of bed earlier and take the dogs for walks while I log my miles.


Not glamorous, no cheering crowds, but baby steps on my way back to moving. 

Exciting!

I can't tell you how giddy being able to post this badge on my blog makes me!

Transform

I have to be honest with you. I don't like moving out of my comfort zone. Heck, some days I don't like getting out of my pajamas and doing grown up things, but at my age, I have to admit that am actually a grown up. I am prone to getting panic attacks in social situations. Going to large parties and clubs where I don't know many people freaks me out. In some ways, social media has helped me get over the initial discomfort and awkwardness, simply because I've often had the chance to get to know people, and they me, before actually meeting in person. Sometimes that is all the push needed to get me out of my comfort zone to do something that scares me.

In a very uncharacteristic move, I actually applied to be one of the Ignite speakers at Fitbloggin in Denver this year. This week they announced the first seven people chosen, and I am lucky enough to be one of them. This both thrills and terrifies me. Will this event be something that transforms me from an introvert to an extrovert? Not likely. But it will help me grow. And hey. What's the worst thing that could happen? Last year I barked like my boy Bear to win a bag of dog goodies in from of a room full of Fitbloggin people. Speaking should be a piece of cake.

A Ninja, A Sweet Potato and A Waffle Iron Walked In To A Kitchen ...

Welcome to Trash The Kitchen Tuesday! Actually, I trash the kitchen most days, if I'm cooking. I like to cook. Cleaning up, not so much. And may I say, having a microwave oven that also works as an Advantium speed oven lets me trash the kitchen so much quicker!

Yesterday, for my #30DaysOfThankful I posted a picture of my kitchen. After reading Carla's post, Meet My Friend Melvin, I realized that I let way too much food spoil. Not everyone can, after paying their rent, their bills, their child support, etc, afford to feed themselves. This morning, pondering what to have for breakfast, I decide to use up some things that I had in the pantry and the fridge: two partial onions (one red, one white), half a poblano pepper that was on its last legs, two sweet potatoes that were growing alien tentacles, err, sprouting, and one regular baking potato. The first thing that came to mind was trying to make waffle iron hash brown/latkes, but I didn't want to do a lot of shredding. So, I washed off all of the sweet potatoes and threw them in the Advantium to bake. In the meantime, I chopped up the onions and minced the poblano. When I got the potatoes out, they were only partially cooked, so I scooped out what was soft and put the rest back in to cook more. I took the cooked potato and put it in to my new Ninja. Ninjas rock, by the way. I added most of the onion and half of the poblano, along with a splash of milk. I blended that until it was fairly smooth, then I cracked in two eggs and blended again until it was smooth, like a batter. (Oh, yes, that is savory jerky from Rachel Ray, another awesome Fitbloggin sponsor, in the background. I picked it up yesterday at the grocery store. The dogs love it.)

By this time, the rest of the potatoes were cooked well enough, so I scooped them out and put them in to a bowl, along with the rest of the chopped onion and poblano pepper. Using a fork, I mashed the mixture until there were only small lumps.

 In went the Ninja batter, along with a pinch of salt, and I mixed everything together.

Next, I added a cup of Bob's Red Mill GF Flour Mixture (feel free to use regular flour), half a cup at a time, mixing to incorporate the flour and leave no lumps. I looked at it and thought, this would be really  nice with a side of bacon. I don't have bacon. :(  Oh, wait. YES, I HAVE BACON!! Thank you, Costco. I had a bag of bacon crumbles in the freezer. Forget having bacon on the side. I'm having bacon IN my sweet potato waffles.

I let the batter rest while the waffle iron heated up. My finger can attest that it heats up very quickly, thank you very much. I drizzle a little olive oil on the waffle iron and spoon in the batter, spreading it out fairly evenly. Pressing down, I anxiously await the light to go from red to green. Yay! It worked!

Breakfast dilemma solved, and I didn't let foods go to waste. Savory sweet potato waffles, topped with a little butter. To make it even more sweet/savory, after I took this picture, I spread a little bit of my maple butter from Raymond Sugarhouse in Hartland, VT.  If you love all things maple, and like to support small businesses, please consider ordering from them. Everything I have tried of theirs (maple syrup, maple candy, maple butter, maple cream, maple crunch peanut butter and maple crunch peanuts) are amazing.

Avocado Salad Fit For Fitbloggin!

I am so excited to be heading to Fitbloggin again this year. Fitbloggin is the class reunion/family reunion full of all of your favorite people. Some of whom you've actually met in person. One of the amazing sponsors this year is the California Avocado Commission. They are holding the California Avocado Cutting-Edge Culinary Recipe Contest for people attending Fitbloggin this year, and I couldn't be any more excited. If you've read my blog, you know that I love to cook with fresh ingredients, and you can't get much fresher than California avocados.

Since it's rapidly approaching meltdown stage in Texas, I wanted to make something fresh and cool, yet full of flavor. Summer on a plate.

Avocado and Mango Salad with Chicken and Grilled Pineapple (serves 2)

Main Ingredients:
1/2 pineapple
1 mango
1 California avocado
2 cooked chicken breasts

Dressing:
1/4 red onion, finely diced
2 T light olive oil
1 T white wine vinegar
1 t honey
1/4 t cayenne
1 T lime juice
2 T cilantro, finely chopped (you can use basil or Thai basil if you don't care for cilantro)

Garnish:
sliced salad topper almonds
cilantro
red onion

To Do:

Peel and core your pineapple. Cut in to wedges approximately 1/2 thick. Heat up a grill pan over medium high heat and grill the wedges for 5 minutes on each side. Set aside to cool while you finish putting the salad together. (If you're like me and already have the bbq grill up and running, grilling the pineapple outside would be awesome!)

While the pineapple is cooling, peel and core your mango and cut in to bite sized pieces.  Next, take your cooked chicken breasts and cut in to half inch cubes.  Lastly, halve your avocado, remove the pit, and slice in to cubes. The easiest way to do this is to cut in half, lengthwise and split apart. Take the side that has the pit and tap the pit with the blade of your knife. Slowly twist and pull out the pit. Next, you take a small knife and cut the meat of the avocado in a grid pattern all the way to the skin, without cutting through. Then you simply use a spoon to remove the cubes. (Here's a hint: You can do something similar to the mango by slicing the mango "cheeks" off of the sides of the mango, and score in the same manner, using a knife to remove the mango cubes.)

For the dressing, finely chop both your red onion and the cilantro. Reserve a little of each to garnish the salad. Place the red onion and cilantro in a medium sized bowl, big enough to mix the salad. Add the olive oil, white wine vinegar, honey, cayenne and lime juice. Mix well with a fork to combine.

Now that your pineapple is cooled, cut the fruit into 1/2 inch chunks. Add the chicken, mango, and pineapple to the dressing in the bowl and gently mix to coat.

Spoon your salad in to a nice serving bowl or on to a bed of lettuce leaves. Garnish with sliced almonds, cilantro and red onion.

Enjoy!

Update: Today I added diced cucumber to the leftovers. I loved the crunch it added.

Fortune Cookie Friday

One of my food "addictions" is take-out Chinese food. Before The Aussie and I moved down from the NYC area, I told friends that I was going to miss our local Chinese food place. "Oh, but there's such good barbeque in Texas." Yeah, like that's a good comparison. (I rarely eat barbeque) For the first few years, the only Chinese restaurants we found were buffet style, with not many menu options. Occasionally we would stumble upon a halfway decent Chinese restaurant, but nothing very close. Fast forward to about a year and a half ago, and viola! A take-out Chinese restaurant opens up about a mile away from us. Yay for me! As much as I like cooking, some nights I really don't want to or have the time to. And to let you in on a little secret of mine, I collect fortune cookie fortunes.

This is a vase that's almost half full of fortunes. I tell you, I've been saving them for a looonnng time. I was throwing crap out cleaning up in my office the other day and I came across some fortunes that I brought with me from my last office in NYC. Wow. They've been hanging out, collecting dust, not socializing with the other fortunes. So I popped them in the the vase with the others. Then I realized, why don't I make the fortunes earn their keep? So, I decided that Fridays will now be "Fortune Cookie Friday." I will pull a fortune out at random and write a blog post about it.

Here goes....

Ooh. This is a good one for the inaugural FCF.

True friends. These may be friends that you've known for years and years. They may be people you haven't met in person yet.  They may be friends that you've gotten to know online through the Fitbloggin FB group. True friends will have lend you a shoulder to lean on when you're going through difficult times. True friends will have your back when you are struggling to get back on track, but won't hesitate to give you a kick in the ass when you need it. True friends will yell your name across a crowded room before they rush over to give you a hug. True friends are people who "get you." They're your Tribe. True friends can be you, too. So give yourself a hug and go be awesome. 'Cause there's no off switch on Awesome.

Yup, I'm registered



I didn't go in 2013, but I'm looking forward to seeing all of my friends in Savannah this June!

Bang Bang Sauce. What else would be so appropriate for the Fourth Of July.

I have to admit, I have never been to Bonefish Grill and had never heard of "Bang Bang Shrimp" until Martinus, who I met at Fitbloggin 12, posted a picture of it on Facebook the other day. It. Looked. Delicious. The more I researched it the more I understood that it practically has a cult following. Fried shrimp, crunchy greens, spicy sweet sauce. What's not to love. I do love fried shrimp, but I knew I had been making less than stellar wine um, food choices this week, so I wasn't looking to duplicate their recipe exactly. I had a big bag of defrosted shrimp in my fridge that I was planning on cooking up on The 4th, so I decided to make a leaner grilled version of Bang Bang Shrimp. Delicious, if I do say so myself. Thank you, Martinus, for the idea.





 

Bang Bang Grilled Shrimp

1 lb large shrimp/prawns, cleaned and shelled
1 T garlic powder
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
1 t olive oil

Combine the above ingredients in a bowl and let marinate until you're ready to put the prawns on skewers.

Bang Bang Sauce

1/4 cup low fat mayonnaise
1/4 cup fat free mayonnaise
~ 1/4 Mae Ploy (sweet chili sauce)
1-2 T Sriracha sauce (to taste - this stuff is hot!)
1 t rice wine vinegar

Mix all together until smooth. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

If you're grilling, thread the shrimp on skewers and grill over medium heat for about 3 minutes per side, or until they're opaque. You can definitely broil in the oven or cook the shrimp on the stove. I have leftover shrimp in the fridge that I'm planning on cooking up for lunch and having over salad greens with more sauce drizzled on top. The sauce was delicious on my grilled steak, too.

Enjoy!

Kyra

On missing #Fitbloggin and how real life takes over...

There's a lot of buzz going on this week on the interwebs about Fitbloggin. I remember hearing about it a couple of years ago from fellow fitness/health/weight loss friends. Timing wasn't good for me the first couple of conferences because of family events. Last year, though, timing was good. I saved my money, bought my earlybird ticket, and then put it out of my mind until the conference drew near. Then I started freaking out. I'm not an extrovert by any stretch of the imagination. If I'm comfortable with you and it's a small group, I'm ok. If I don't know many people and it's a large group, I'm going to latch on to familiar faces and stick to them like a barnacle. Whether they like it or not. Just ask Steve, Meegan and Tara, and Jack. Oh, no. It's you again.... sigh.

Much as I will miss seeing old friends I met at Fitbloggin 12, meeting new friends, hugging lots of friends, and posing for pictures while wearing a purple wig and pink feather boa, I will not be going to Fitbloggin 13. This year, my life has been turned upside down and taken turns in directions I never thought I'd be heading. (See my new blog page to see the first glimpse of what I've gotten myself in to.) I've also not been blogging very much these last several months, so I could scarcely justify needing to go, or the expense. Heck, after I got back last year I went and got myself a wordpress site. Have I blogged there? Once. Did I buy Wordpress for Dummies recently in the hopes of getting off my ass? Yup. Some day, when I'm not hauling brush, digging up stuff and pruning overgrown shrubs, I'll get back to it. In the meantime, I hope everyone has an amazing time at Fitbloggin 13. Tell Roni I say hi. Oh, and be sure to tell her "thank you." She works her ass off putting this together.

My Fitbloggin Memories

So, how do you process something like Fitbloggin? I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was looking forward to meeting a lot of twitter and facebook friends that I’ve made over the last few years.  I was also scared to the point of panic attacks, wondering if I should bother going. I am so not an extrovert. But, as the saying goes, nothing can happen if you don’t show up.

I shouldn't have worried. Hug #1: @FoodieMcBody As soon as I saw her, I squealed and ran to meet her. That first hug was so wonderful. Her warmth is contagious.

While I was standing in the hotel lobby, waiting for my turn to check in, I saw a familiar face walk in to the lobby, lugging her bags. Leave it to me to make a brilliant observation out loud and solidify my dork status, but I walked over to her and said “It’s Dubyawife!” Luckily she laughed. Hug #2 complete.

Up in the room, I decided to check twitter and see what was going on. OMG,  @Tidbits_Of_Tara posted a picture of herself in front of the Fitbloggin banner. Tara and Meegan were here!!!  I rushed down to the check in area and stalked tracked them down. It was so amazing to finally meet these two wonderful people in person. I squealed like a little girl when I hugged them. Hugging Tara and Meegan: Pure awesomesauce. Bit by bit, and hug by hug, I began to relax and feel less freaked out  more comfortable.  Sure, I was still having a lot of dorky, wallflower moments, but I was dealing with it.  Hugs from @FatgirlVsWorld: just as amazing as I'd heard they were. And, man, she should charge for her shoulder rubs.

I absolutely enjoyed meeting so many of my very early twitter friends, many of whom have transitioned in to Facebook friends. The best way to describe meeting the friends I’ve made online came up in a conversation with @KCLAnderson. She said it’s like “Oh, of course, it’s you.” She was so right. After a little while, you don't even think that you haven't actually met some of your friends in person before.When @Mizfitonline showed up: huge hugs and "Texas is in the house." So much laughter. More awesomesauce: meeting @SteveGrayFTW in person! Just as warm, fun, with as warped a senses of humor in person as he has online. (Cat, I'm a kitty cat...) And even though we didn't get a chance to have a wigs and wine party, I dearly loved meeting @MrsFatass and being able to Zumba (it's pronounced "zoomba") with her, @simplifyingsam (these girls got moves!) and 100 or so of our closest friends on her birthday.  Meeting my roomies @ItsMeVsMe and @ChristieO who I've stalked known through the Sisterhood, and @sweatismysanity was great. Very cool ladies that I am so thankful invited me to be a roommate.  I've learned that you can't cry and do jumping jacks at the same time, thanks to Thea. And she's right, she does kinda kick ass! Hanging out with @TJsTestKitchen, @JackSht, @SushiJammies, @IrishEyes1982, @bitchcakesny and so, so many others was beyond amazing.

I think Friday was the best day at Fitbloggin. You see, that's the day my girl @mendingjen arrived. I was hanging out, waiting for the lean beef session to start, when I hear “Kirsten!!!!” (my real name) I see Jen making her way through the tables and we gave each other the most amazing hugs. My heart was so full. She is one of my early twitter friends, and all of my stress leading up to Fitbloggin was worth it, just because I got to meet her and hug her in person. (I'm sorry I stood her up on Saturday night when it was time for her to leave. I think I did it subconsciously, because I didn't want her to leave, and I knew I'd be really ugly-crying.) Friday afternoon, Jen, Heather, and I decided to go for a walk. The weather was gorgeous, and we really needed to get outside. I don't have a lot of girlfriends in real life, so being able to just hang out, walk, have heartfelt talks with these two wonderful women, was so special. And, I can now say I've had a water ice. Pronounced "wah duh."

The memories I take away from Fitbloggin are more than just meeting wonderful people, taking part in some fantastic workouts, or just hanging  out. I take away the realization that no matter where you are on your journey or what your back story is, we are all the same. As @Mizfitonline recently blogged, at our very core, we are all the same.

You see, we are a cobbled together family. We have each others' backs. We're here for each other. So think about this when you see comments posted by unhappy people looking for attention (I won't link to the blog because I don't want to drive traffic to it). Do what you can to lift someone up, don't put them down. A heartfelt kind word can mean the difference when someone is having a bad day. 

New Month, New Goals

Sitting in my Weight Watchers meeting Saturday morning, I realized that something. I am not alone. Many of us fall off the wagon, stop tracking, lose any mojo they once posessed. I'm human, I make mistakes, I get injured, I get sidetracked. The beginning of a month is a perfect time to begin fresh.

A friend of mine recently celebrated 14 pounds down since she got herself back on track. I mentioned to her that I've been bouncing a few pounds around my 10%. The goal that I reached MONTHS ago. What is my deal? I am within 11 pounds of the Weight Watchers upper level goal range.  And what do I do? I pretty much stop tracking for a month. I am sabotaging myself for no good reason. Reaching a goal doesn't mean the work on what I eat and drink stops, I won't miraculously become a single digit size (though that would be awesome), and it doesn't mean that the training stops.

So, in the spirit of my fresh start, I am doing something I rarely do. I am posting my weight. No more  hiding. I need to make myself accountable. (Sorry for the sideways picture, I really am an amateur when it comes to blog formating. And yes, the red line on the top of my left foot is the scar left from my "incident" last month.) I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, I need to stay focused on me and my health, get back to tracking, meal planning, and making good choices that support my goal.

September has started out really well. Had a productive day Saturday(helping the local economy). I ordered a new pair of glasses and a pair of prescription sunglasses. We also got a new weedeater/trimmer. I'll admit it, I'm a dork. Sunday morning was Reunion with Communion at church. Four former members of our praise band who'd moved away in the last couple of years, returned for a reunion.The music was outstanding and moving. I cried when the former guitar player sang "You Lift Me Up." Our former pastor, who retired last summer, and his wife were there as well. I looked around during the greetings and remarked to the woman next to me that "this is the church I joined." The spirit in church was amazing. I need to keep that feeling within me.

Yesterday I had the option of working or not. I chose not, at least for my job. But work, I did, earing about 10 Weight Watchers activity points in the process. Bright and early, so as to avoid some of the heat, I headed to the community garden. I hauled up 4 large bags of organic soil, 2 large bags of soil conditioner, and 2 smaller bags of manure up to the garden (which is at the top of a small hill) so that I could work on my bed. Bermuda grass was pulled, swiss chard that I planted a year and a half ago was (finally) pulled, spent tomato plants were chopped down, soil and manure was spread, plant waste chopped up and hauled off to the dumpster, and my sweet potatoes were watered. Two hours later, I returned home, parched, tired, sweaty, and covered in dirt.  Labor accomplished, relaxation earned.

I hope y'all have had a wonderful and safe summer. I look forward to seeing you at Fitbloggin in a few weeks. September is going to be a great month! :)