I am a 44 year old wife, mom and athlete. I started running in high school and have loved it ever since. As I got older, I had to stop running every day so I added in weight training and all sorts of fun work-outs like Insanity, P90X and Turbo Fire. I'm a certified personal trainer and I love all aspects of fitness.
Today is my 100th consecutive day of the daily 43!!! I wanted to do a 43 to reflect this milestone. I think I accomplished my goal today!
I used my step and did a squat series.
14″ double step (the Transfirmer)
start on step – squat with feet wide
step left foot next to right foot – squat feet together
step right foot onto floor – squat
step right foot back on step – squat feet together
step left foot out – squat feet wide
step right foot to left – squat feet together
step left foot onto floor – squat
step left foot back on step – squat feet together
That series makes 1 rep. I did 43 but then I kept going until I had done 100 reps!!! (which, in case you are wondering, is a grand total of 800 squats!!)
One of our Christmas Eve traditions is to open presents – so that will take place later today!!! I hope the boys are happy! Christmas morning we do our stockings and then hang out and enjoy the day – usually we have friends over and play games.
(adapted from Taste of Home Holiday & Celebrations 2009)
8 oz uncooked linguine (I just guessed at amount)
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (I used 12 boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins)
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
2 T olive oil
2 T butter
1/2 c white wine or chicken broth (I used chicken stock)
1 c green grapes, halved
2 T minced fresh tarragon
Cook linguine according to package directions. Meanwhile, sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook chicken in oil and butter for 5-8 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. Remove and keep warm.
Add wine or broth to skillet; stir to loosen brown bits. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced by half. Stir in cream; cook and stir until thickened. Add the grapes, tarragon and chicken; heat through. Drain linguine and serve with chicken mixture. (I mixed the linguine into the skillet after draining.)
I’m not great at photographing food (or really anything) but this was really good!!!
(adapted from Taste of Home Holiday & Celebrations 2010)
5-6 lb boneless pork shoulder roast (I used a 3.5 lb pork roast)
4 garlic cloves, sliced (I used minced garlic)
2 large onions, sliced (I used 1 onion, chopped)
1 c orange juice
1 c lime juice
2 T dried oregano
2 t ground cumin
1 t salt
1 t pepper
For the Sandwiches:
4 loaves French bread (2 loaves here)
butter
mustard
sandwich pickles
thin sliced deli ham
swiss cheese, sliced
Put pork roast in a large Zip-loc bag. Mix together the garlic, onions, orange juice, lime juice, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper and pour into bag with roast. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
Roast at 350 for about 2.5 hours (until a meat thermometer reaches 160).
Pork (on the plate – not the boys!!)
Let the roast rest for about 10 minutes while you assemble the stuff for the sandwiches.
Cut a loaf of the French bread in half lengthwise and then into serving sizes (we got 4 sandwiches out of 1 loaf). Once you have your sandwich made the way you like it, butter the bread (top and bottom) and place it on a preheated panini grill (you could use an indoor grill or skillet, also) for about 4-5 minutes.
Panini
These were really good!!! The boys ate theirs without pickles because they aren’t fans but I think the pickles and mustard make the sandwich!!!
Today I did something a little different (for me) with the daily 43. I used this machine:
unsightly piece of equipment
This is the Weider Platinum XP 800 by Cross Bow. It is similar to a Bow-Flex (I think). We have had it for years and today is the first time I have used it (I prefer dumbbells and free weights). Chris uses it occasionally – I think.
Anyway, I did leg extensions with this today. I set the weight/resistance to 50 and my quads were screaming by the time I had done the first 10. By the time I reached 43 I wasn’t sure I could stand up (but clearly I made it!!!).
Start (smile – you can do this!!)Extend those legs!!!
I’m not sure that I will be using this machine often again – kind of a pain to get set up!
I also did a little Turbo Fire today – Fire 30. It is a challenge for me to do these work-outs and keep them low (no) impact. The good news is, I really focus on my punches and form. I also try to get lower in my stances and squeeze my abs harder.
After a little cardio I decided to try my plank (with arms fully extended) hold again – 3:30!!!! That is my best yet!!!
The past week or two I have noticed that my website has been running VERY SLOWLY. I couldn’t figure out why or how to fix it. Last night I was messing around with it and Jordan came walking by. I asked him what he thought. He looked at some of the pages and decided that it was my newest page (Daily 43) that was causing the problem. I had set it up as one long post and it probably had 70 or more videos on it. (At this point I’m pretty sure Jordan decided that I was totally incompetent on all things computer related.) Anyway, I deleted all of the videos and just linked the exercise to the corresponding video (per Jordan). I think we (by we I mean Jordan) solved the problem!!!
Funny that 14-year old boys are so smart!!! See, all that time spent on his computer has totally paid off!!! Thank you, Jordan!!!
Tonight we are going to a Christmas Eve Eve party at some friends. This is a yearly tradition of theirs and always a good time!!
(Chris in his very first demo for me – 12 – way to go, Babe!!)
The only times I have ever been able to do real pull-ups are after I have gone through P90X and P90X2. It has been awhile since I have done either of those programs (slacker, here!!) so I had to do assisted pull-ups in order to get in 43 (or even 1!). I used a stool (I tried to use it minimally and not completely push off of it each time) to help.
(I didn’t feel the need for you to watch all 43 of mine – it was painful and not pretty!)
Not gonna lie – even with the “cheat” this was a HARD 43!!! Clearly, I need to start trying to do pull-ups more often!
After the family pull-up event, I did another work-out: Turbo Jam 20 minute work-out. This is the first time in over 3 weeks that I have done any Turbo work-outs and even though I had to keep it low impact (see, Doc, I sort-of listen!) it was fun!!!
Yesterday after skating across a couple of icy parking lots, braving Wal-Mart (what was I thinking on that one?) and a marathon grocery shopping expedition, I came home to this:
Look out, Hunter!!Ummm…the camo isn’t really helping in the snow
And after a bit I looked outside and saw this lovely site:
Snow Angels
I guess you never get to old for fun in the snow!!!
I did not choose to participate in the snow play – I am sort-of a complete hater of snow and cold weather!!! Instead, I had this as my treat for dealing with the madness of the shopping world:
my kind of cake!!!
This stuff is sooooo good!!! There is also a chocolate cake vodka – equally tasty.
Happy Saturday!!! I hope you don’t have any crazy Wal-Mart shopping to endure!
