happy liquid aloha friday!

Friday Friday Friday! While I won't be enjoying any liquid aloha this weekend (love my new tank top, btw), I'm excited because I'm getting more highlights today and I know I'm going to get to sit in a chair and do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for at least an hour. (Probably longer.) And leave blonder. 

Right now I'm sitting in my car waiting to get my Friday morning Kaia flow on! Since 5am isn't early enough, I usually get here about 10 minutes earlier to peruse Facebook/Instagram now that the east coast is in full swing. Or, start writing a blog post. 

One hour, ten sun salutations, and a yoga buzz later... 

I am home sipping my coffee, and Christian is building a parking lot in our living room, the day can now commence. At the end of Kaia today a Cleanse Specialist (real thing) from Blue Tree Cafe came to talk to us about some of the juice cleanses they offer. And since I love everything Lululemon, Kaia, Muumuu Heaven, Backstreet Boys, and Blue Tree Cafe, I was all ears. 

This morning's parking lot. Or the H1. 

Where Christian's toys are, Baxter wants to lay. Drives him crazy.

I signed up for a 3-day cleanse starting on Monday. Blue Tree will deliver all the juices and smoothies (yes smoothies!) to Kaia in the mornings. There's six per day to consume every 2-3 hours. Kind of perfect since next week is another detox week. I've done a total of maybe three juice cleanses in my life. The 10-day Master Cleanse (don't do it - lemon, maple syrup, cayenne, and salt water flushes does not a happy cleanse or person make), the Lanikai Juice cleanse (it was mostly grapefruit juice and I hate grapefruit oops), and a failed Master Cleanse. Blue Tree's cleanses are made with lots and lots and lots of super foods, and other add-ins like spirulina, bee pollen, maca powder, chia seeds, etc. for even more nutrients. And the particular one I'm doing, I will consume 1,600 calories per day (about what I consume in a normal day anyway), so no deprivation here. 

Tomorrow we'll do a nice long beach run in Kailua, which I'm pretty stoked about. I used to do beach runs all the time along Manhattan/Hermosa Beach when we lived in Playa del Rey. It is a killer workout, but oh so good. Afterwards, Rob and I will be attending a New Members' class at the church we regularly attend, while munchkin has a fun day with Mimi & Papa. On Sunday Rob actually starts flying again for the month of June, so he leaves for a short trip. Mimi and Papa are so very graciously letting Christian have a few sleepovers at their house this week so I can still go to Kaia in the mornings. That is support right there. 

Last night I made this zucchini lasagna with mashed Okinawan sweet potatoes, and I thought it was all pretty darn good! I added cheese to the lasagna (idea from Val, my recipe queen) for the rest of the family to make it more like a "regular" lasagna. Either my family was being SUPER nice, or they genuinely loved it. I'll go with the latter. :) 

Have a wonderful weekend and happy aloha friday! 

progress

I hesitate to write this post because I don't want to be "one of those people." I know it's annoying to some when people post lots of pictures of what they're eating (I appreciate it because I need ideas!), how much they're exercising, and generally get up on some new soapbox. I really don't want to be that person.

So here's my warning to you. Run away now, close your eyes, pray that I'll just shut up because I'm sure this post will head towards that general direction.

Last Saturday morning's Kaia workout we ran around Magic Island, which was a bit of a mess because they were setting up for the annual Memorial Day Lantern Floating Ceremony. We went a few years ago when I was pregnant with Christian. There were so many people, but it was very beautiful and I'm glad we saw it. For the last time ever.

Anyway, after a nice run/walk around the park, we had our Kaia handbag making party! And anyone that reads here also follows me on Instagram or is a Facebook friend, so you've already seen my handbag. BUT here you go anyway. Again. You're welcome.

Everyone made some really awesome bags! The creativity runs high with this group. 

We also took our week three measurements. Progress. In three weeks I have made progress. Progress that I am proud of because I have been working hard. I've been getting up at 4am to workout HARD, somedays doing double workouts (Stroller Strides, walks around the neighborhoods, or hikes), and I've been eating as clean as I can. I've lost 5lbs and a couple of inches all over. Clothes fit better, and I have tons more energy. My general fitness level is improving. The first week we did a fit test (timed mile, weighted crunches, pushups, etc), and I did alright. We did the same fit test the third week and I improved my timed mile by a minute. Shoot. Does that mean that at week six I have to go faster than that? Pretty sure I almost died upon finishing. But I (slightly) improved in other areas too. I'm getting stronger! 

Some people may say (because I used to be one that did), that eating like this isn't really enjoying life, but I can assure you that I am enjoying life a lot more by eating nutrient dense food, which has given me more energy than I've ever had. When I was eating tons of processed food (and I was! helloooo Goldfish everyday, jellybeans at night), I felt sluggish, not motivated, and had strong cravings for more more more sugar. And I was still working out multiple times a week and not seeing the results I had hoped for. 

Can I just say that I am SO thankful for the friends that give me encouragement?! My friend Leah, I must text her a question a week about something health/nutrition related. She ALWAYS takes the time to call/text/email me with as thorough of an answer as I want. Also, you should follow her Facebook page, Ask Leah Renee, if you're not already. I mean it. This girl knows what's going on.  

Heading up Koko Crater for a very hot midday hike. I'll stick to sunrise or sunset or cloudy day hikes from now on thankyouverymuch.

And the slow climb back down. They (who???) should install a giant slide. That'd be great.

Christian hiking from Pillbox 1 to Pillbox 2 at the Lanikai Pillboxes. 

At the first pillbox. 

Next week is "hell week" at Kaia. I'm actually a little scared. If the past three and a half weeks haven't been hell weeks then what's happening next week??? I mean really. :)

Fancy Kaia bracelet. I'd like to collect more. 

Maybe some of you (probably not) are wondering what a typical day of food for me would look like. Run and hide now, because here it is. And I'm not in anyway saying these are the best options, or the healthiest, but I choose these things because a) I like them b) there's protein and fiber to keep me full and c) there's a few veggies mixed in, and d) I like them. 

For breakfast I rotate between smoothies and something like eggs, spinach, avocado, etc. 

This morning I had soft-boiled eggs (yes, I LOVE my eggs runny), leftover mashed Okinawan sweet potatoes (this really should be classified as dessert), an avocado/tomato mix, and organic spinach.

For smoothies, I try my best to include more greens than fruits - I rotate between the Organic Power Greens (chard, kale, spinach), and organic baby spinach. Usually about 2 cups. I throw in a cup of frozen berries. I try to use lower sugar berries (usually organic frozen strawberries or blueberries, or this great "antioxidant mix" that I get from Costco). I'm really new at making smoothies, so I keep mine pretty basic. I like my smoothies on the creamier side, so I throw in half of a banana, sometimes a whole. (I try to limit myself to one banana a day at most.) Or something I never considered but a great recommendation by our Kaia leader, an avocado! I'll usually add a tablespoon of chia seeds or ground flaxseed, and a half scoop of Vega chocolate (plant-based) protein powder. I'll use almond milk or water for liquid. I've started adding cinnamon and Himalayan sea salt to mine too. No joke, because that's what they do at Blue Tree Cafe, and their smoothies are the best ever. Sometimes I'll add a tablespoon of almond butter... and that's the great thing about smoothies! You can make it as complex or simple as you want, experimenting with ingredients and different things you think'll taste good. For example, yesterday I made a smoothie that tasted like what I imagine garbage sludge tastes like. 

For lunch, a huge salad. Lots of greens, bell peppers, avocado, carrots (don't like them, but learning to), cucumbers, olives, grape tomatoes, topped with a protein like canned tuna, or hummus, or grilled chicken, or the options are endless. For "dressing" I will squeeze half a lemon on top.

For a snack, if I feel like I need one (and lately I have...), I've been grabbing bell peppers or cucumbers and dipping them in hummus, a handful of grape tomatoes, or a Larabar. My weakness. They're really good in terms of bars because there's nothing processed, artificial, or added sugar in them, but because dates are the binder, they're naturally high in sugar. Christian loves them! 

For dinner, it's kind of whatever, protein + veggies. I've been checking out different recipes, like this Roasted Asparagus and Sweet Potato Soup. Except I use coconut oil instead of butter. It was super tasty! I've been roasting a lot of asparagus and brussels sprouts now it seems too. 

A few nights ago I made Hawaiian/Okinawan mashed sweet potatoes, thanks to the inspiration of my friend Melissa. :) Dessert I tell ya, it tasted like dessert. 

My friend Val has been a WEALTH of information with tons of good recipes up her sleeves... and on her Pinterest page. I'm excited to try out this Paleo Lasagna. She said it was delicious and she hasn't failed me! She's the one that made me this gorgeous and DELICIOUS quiche with coconut flour crust. So yeah, basically I listen to everything she says. And I invite myself over to her house a lot. And do drive-by sweet potato drop-offs. 

We polished this off for breakfast by day 2. 

So right now, that's basically how it's been going. Am I saying that I'm cutting out sugar, dairy, wheat, or alcohol from my diet forever? No way! Do you know me? But for now, I feel really good, and I'm enjoying the "new" foods I've been eating and experimenting with, I have no cravings for sweets and I'm seeing results in a way that I never have before. Granted it's only been a month, but isn't kind of amazing what can happen in one month of eating foods that nourish your body? 

*Stepping down now.*

I saw these pants while perusing Zulily. Are they for real? Is this a real thing? 

Happy Harem Pants Wednesday! 

aloha friday!

Hey hey! Two posts in a week? Lucky you!

Happy aloha Friday!!

Today is off to a good(ish) start. I woke up super early at 4:05am (the :05 makes all the difference really) and almost murdered the cat. He was all up in my face last night, on and off the bed, making cookies on my pillow, back in my face. Oh, Baxter. Baxter. Baxter. Sleep all day, play all night is the cat mantra, as any cat owner will tell you. And then my new ALOHA necklace broke, so I am suuuuper bummed about that. If Rob can't fix it I'm sending it back to the lady I bought it from who super apologetic and promised to fix it. (UPDATE: Rob fixed it! Hurrah!)

However everything quickly turned around once I got to Kaia. Today is Friday Flow, and the yoga was exactly what I needed to destress and turn this morning right around. Rob doesn't have to go into work until a little later this morning so I had a chance to indulge in a little me time with a smoothie at Blue Tree Cafe and... Wal-mart. Whomp whomp. Wal-mart at 6:30am is tolerable. I picked up some fancy duct (duck?) tape for our Kaia handbag making party on Saturday. Some girls (#beastmode) use kettle bells, and the rest of us use this awesome Kaia invention called a handbag. It's a bag filled with sand, and then duct taped all pretty.

Kaia handbag (photo cred: http://kaiafitsacramento.com)

Right now Tom (of Tom & Jerry) is trying to poison a dog while singing, Lullaby, but changing the lyrics to "I hope you don't wake up..." Um... um... yeah. That's all I got. Why can't Christian just want to learn Spanish from Dora?

I've decided to do the Windward Half Marathon in September, which I'm stoked about! I haven't done one since 2012. My friend Val is into it, so we've decided to do some early morning runs together after Kaia is over. Another mom from Mighty Moms said she was hoping to do it too, so I'm super motivated and excited to train for it. Anyone else? Jayme? Brandi?

My beautiful friend Jayme and I pushing through with smiles!

This handsome little man was waiting for me at the finish line. An 8-month old baby Christian. 

I really need to get my butt off the couch and go to Stroller Strides this morning. We have thankfully moved onto Curious George (no poisoning dogs there!) and he's happily racing his cars down his "new" racetrack so I'm not feeling particularly motivated. Probably also because I have that yoga buzz going on (yes even after Wal-mart).

We had a lovely beach playdate with friends yesterday! I met Natalie at WeePlay way back when Kobe was just a little babe only a few months old. (Kobe just turned 2 and now has the sweetest little sister that is 5 months old.) Christian is a little bit older than Kobe, and I'm so happy that we have stayed in touch and remain good friends! 

I'm hoping we find ourselves at the beach again this evening with some Stroller Strides friends! Speaking of Stroller Strides... better late than never. 

Have a wonderful weekend!! 

kaia: week 3, sleep, and other stuff

It's still really early and the house is still asleep. I love these quiet moments in the morning. It's currently chaos in this house and it's taken me 4 hours to write this. But last night I got a full 8 hours of sleep. Unheard of! Granted I think I crashed at about 8pm, and that was only possible because Christian went to bed on the "early" side - 7:45pm. Going into week 3 of very early risings for Kaia, plus many days of double workouts, Kaia + Stroller Strides, I'm just tired earlier. Maybe because I still haven't felt like I needed a nap by the time Christian goes down for one. And could we talk anymore about sleep? Moms, you get it. Moving on...

We're into week 3 of Kaia and it's a love/hate thing. Hate in the best way possible, because I am getting WORKED, and it's hard, and I'm sweating and groaning, but I am so motivated by the change I'm seeing in myself. Pass the Kool-aid. There are SO many ladies doing this thang that are just so amazing. Friends that I am completely inspired by - they work hard, and it shows. And of course they look fantastic, but that's not what I'm talking about. They move fast, they do these moves at "Kaia level," the hardest. They are strong, they encourage others, they make me laugh, and seriously, are just plain awesome. I am inspired because we're all in this together. We just finished detox week, and not too bad! I'm seriously feeling the best I've felt in a long long time.

We're gearing up for a busy few weeks ahead... or few months, rather. For the next few weeks we have a steady flow of visitors/birthday parties/graduation parties/traveling. I love it! We still need to get our trip to the east coast squared away. Our biggest hindrance was the cost of the ticket from JFK-RIC. I'm sorry, but $850 roundtrip for one person and one half person for a 45 minute flight. Survey says... NOPE! We're walking. Just kidding, we're going to test fate and try to fly standby instead. We've done that particular JFK-RIC flight enough that there are usuaaalllly open seats *knocks on wood, lights incense, prays* so I'm hoping at some point next month we'll make it to Richmond.

Too many words not enough pictures?

Christian inspecting the first papaya picked of the year! 

Christian pulling his brand new suitcase through the mall. We could hardly keep up. 

This dog is a saint. Miss Jasmine, my beautiful friend Val's dog. She came along for our beach playdate, and sought refuge in the stroller from two wild toddlers. 

Blue Tree Cafe aka delicious healthy smoothie heaven. I want to go here every single morning for the rest of my life. Guys, they make their own almond milk.

This right here is a note from a very encouraging husband. Our Saturday morning workout changed locations and Rob saw the message after I went to bed. He knew that he wouldn't be awake when I left, so he wrote this note for me on the kitchen table. 

Now we're off to Stroller Strides (running late of course) and a playdate with Christian's good buddy, Dylan! And Rob has a day off! HALLELUJAH. Have a wonderful day! 

aloha friday! & kaia: week 1

Happy Friday!

I don't know how you're feeling, but I am feeling... a lot of things. We are rounding out the first week of Kaia, and man. It's been a looooong while since I've been this sore!! Like, I can't even raise my arms to wash my hair without pain. I am LOVE-ING IT. With Kaia we don't just work our booties off for an hour, well we do, BUT there is also such an emphasis in nutrition, and eating green. Let's be honest here, past the age of 25ish, you cannot eat whatever you want and workout and get great results. *Cries* What's that saying? "Abs are made in the kitchen." I also wanted to add, that I'm holding off on doing the Whole 30 for now. NOW listen here. I'm still (mostly) eating Whole 30 compliant though. Kaia has SO MUCH great nutritional info that I'm following Kaia's guidelines for now. And truly, the only difference between what Kaia recommends and Whole 30 recommends are smoothies and quinoa. Whole 30 says "no" to those things. So, see? Still all good.

Kaia really is the total package - exercise and healthy eating 4 LYFE. Today was our "Flow" day - a mix of yoga and Pilates, taught by one of the founders of Kaia, Nikki Warren. Wow. If I could look like her by doing Kaia, then sign me up. For the rest of mah life. First, her warmup was a workout - jumping rope, on one leg. Hold me. Plus lots of other things that make you curse. And just because the "actual" workout was yoga, doesn't mean I wasn't sweating. I'm not one that's really "into" yoga (except Bikram where you ALWAYS sweat), and I didn't know you could sweat while doing yoga. Silly me.

Let's address the early morning issue. Getting up at 4am most every morning hasn't been too bad. Since I've been eating clean for about 3 weeks now, my energy levels are way up, and I haven't napped during the day. Whut? I religiously take a nap everyday during Christian's nap, but I've been powering through and going to bed earlier (9ish) so I can get more continuous sleep at night. I've also been keeping up with Stroller Strides, which means two workouts a day somedays. Like today. I mean, why not? I love Stroller Strides, Christian does too. I just take it down a notch.

Wow that was long.

I did find out this week a little more about my last pregnancy. The baby (a girl) had a chromosomal abnormality. My doctor said it was again, a random occurrence. But he did draw some blood to check a few things, and even mentioned the possibility of taking Clomid. In June, I have to go back for a hysteroscopy, which requires general anesthesia. Read at your own risk. Ugh.

There's been a lot of this this week... and hanging out with friends, and play dates!

And a little bit of this... 

We got tickets to see Jack Johnson at the Waikiki Shell in August, so totally stoked about that! We got lawn seats so we could bring blankets and spread out with friends and kids. 

We have a few birthday parties this weekend, and Christian keeps trying to swipe their birthday presents. 

On the parenting front, I got a very lovely email from the former leader of a Moms' group I used to be part of, and it really inspired me. I'm trying to be more of a "Yes Mom." I'm trying to say "yes" to Christian more, when it comes to the things I'm only saying "no" to because it inconveniences me. Which to be honest, I didn't even realize I did. But this week has been A LOT easier because of it. Not as many Battles of the Wills, and it really hasn't "inconvenienced" me at all. So what if I have to brush sand off of him after Stroller Strides when he asks to go into the volleyball sandpit. 

And Christian loves LOVES Tom & Jerry. And Looney Toons. So violent. Hah. Cartoons now are all about sharing and caring and following instructions, not so much how to off your arch enemy, anymore.

Have a wonderful weekend! Hopefully one as long as this post!  

committing to kaia (and whole 30)

See what I did there?

A few things have been happening around these parts recently and I am PUMPED. Yeah. That excited. First, I've been reading the book, "It Starts with Food" in preparation for the Whole 30. If you don't know what that is, then go here. Read all about it. I've seen the results of Whole 30, and I am impressed. (Although I want to say the goal isn't to lose weight, that's just the amazing side effects when we stop putting junk into our bodies.) I've been eating "Whole 30" for the past 11 days just to prepare myself, so to speak, in conjunction with the Advocare Herbal Cleanse.

Without going too much into it... because you can read all about the cleanse on their website, it really isn't a cleanse in the way we're used to hearing about them. There is no starving going on here. No lemon, maple syrup, cayenne pepper concoction. Trust. Been there done that, blogged about it. Never again.

With this cleanse, you drink a fiber drink in the morning on days 1-3 and 8-10. You also take the "herbal part" at night on days 1-7. It's three tablets that include senna extract, beet root powder, wheat grass juice, cranberry juice powder, etc... all ingredients available on their website. You also take probiotics (which I take anyway). Their "rules" are: no dairy, no sugar, no preservatives, LOTS of vegetables, fruits, lean proteins. Hmmm... sounded a lot like the Whole 30.

So for the past 11 days, I have been eating TONS of vegetables, and protein. Vegetables for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And if I snack in between, more vegetables. I've been trying to limit my fruit. No dairy, no sugar, no alcohol, no soy, no gluten. Guys, these really aren't hard things to give up. Well, gluten is kind of a pain, but I have found it actually hasn't been too bad. Promise. I've been reading labels like a mutha, and I have been cooking my butt off. And I don't cook. (Two nights ago I googled, "how to boil chicken.") So there you have it, if I can do it, then anyone can. Rob is pleased.

I now feel really confident starting the Whole 30 tomorrow. The hardest part for me is all the vegetables, which admittedly, I typically don't like and don't eat. And instead of focusing on what I CAN'T have, my eyes have been opened to so many NEW things of what I can have, and how to create and cook with all my options. It helps that there are blogs with many many many recipes available.

BUT THE BEST PART?? I have a TON of energy. I wake up energized. I've been sleeping SO GOOD at night, and I have energy through the day. Maybe even as much as Jessie Spano on caffeine pills. Ok, maybe not. My skin looks better than it ever has.

Tomorrow I'm also starting Kaia F.I.T. Their website best sums it up, so I'll just put it here: Kaia F.I.T. offers fitness programs catered to women and specializes in delivering personalized training in a group atmosphere. Our whole body approach to fitness and healthy living will make you leaner, stronger, more flexible, and give you the energy to be more effective in your daily life.

I know a few mamas that do this program, and um, I'm sold. I was sold a long time ago, but with pregnancies and laziness, I haven't committed. That is until now. It's a 6 week program, 5 days a week, and I am so pumped to be a part of this group! And it starts tomorrow at 5am. Whhhhaaaaaa? Yep, I'll be there!

My hope is that with clean eating - and if you read all about Whole 30, it's not just about eating clean. They really get into the psychology of why we crave certain foods, and how it makes us feel, and making a disconnect of eating for comfort instead of hunger. So let me start again, my hope is with clean eating + Kaia (and Stroller Strides), I will be my strongest and healthiest ever. That I will lose the last bit of this pre- pre- pre- pregnancy weight, build muscle, crave vegetables, and have lots of energy to chase around my very busy little boy who is constantly in motion!!

Constantly. 

Wish me luck.