Hey everyone, how's your day going? I've had a pretty relaxed first day of summer break. I got up and ate breakfast while watching Live! with Kelly (breaking my rule that I can only watch it at the gym). But that's okay, because then I did an at-home workout. I started with a jump rope routine that I originally posted about here.
New jump rope, old school boombox. I got that boombox in 4th grade, I think, and passed it on to my dad for his work bench in the basement (hence all the dirt/ dust). But today I took a trip down memory lane and used it to blast some tunes while I did the jump rope workout. Should have rustled up a Hanson CD to make it more authentic.
Then I did this 10 minute arms workout video:
I used 4 lb weights which I thought might be too light at first, but some of the moves - especially the one-minute isometric hold - were pretty tough. Phew, I was shaking. Then I went on a short jog, followed by stretching and foam rolling. I did the whole workout in 4 different places, and I think switching up the location so much helped it to fly by. Except for the jump roping parts... those were killer.
I continued my workout (kind of) by washing my car after that.
So stylish, right? Ha. I was actually hoping it would start raining while I was washing the car because then I wouldn't have to dry it... that's my least favorite part. No such luck, but at least my car looks better for it.
Lunch today:
A salad and a taster plate of carrots, hummus, snap peas, and 1/2 an apple.
The salad had spinach, grape tomatoes, yellow bell pepper, sliced almonds, and homemade Italian dressing. Tasty!
This afternoon I baked a loaf of beer bread to take to my grandparents' house for dinner tonight. It has just a few ingredients (all-purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, a bottle of beer - I used pumpkin ale, and butter) and it's really easy and quick because you don't have to let it rise. Plus it's delicious.
Off to dinner with the fam. Have a good night!
Forget-me-nots at my parents' house. I transplanted one clump into this area in high school and they've really spread! Love them.
One of my contributions to our family Easter dinner was a loaf of homemade sourdough bread. I followed this recipe by the lovely and hilairous Mama Pea. I used my own sourdough starter that I've had for awhile now, though, which I made by following a recipe from Martha Stewart's Breads cookbook.
I let my sourdough starter sit out for about 2 hours, then added all of the ingredients to a mixing bowl:
I stirred together 1 teaspoon active dry yeast, 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (heated to about 95*F), 1 1/2 tablespoons honey, 1 1/3 cup white whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and 3/4 cup room temperature sourdough starter.
After the ingredients were all combined, I turned the dough out onto a well-floured surface and kneaded everything together. I had to add quite a bit of white whole wheat flour, probably about 1/2 cup, and continuously added flour to the counter so that the dough wouldn't stick.
I kneaded the dough for about 10 minutes until it was smooth and springy.
I lightly coated a clean mixing bowl with olive oil and placed the dough inside, turning the dough around so that it was completely coated.
Then I covered the dough with a towel and let it rise overnight, for about 12 hours.
Ta-da!
I punched the dough down and let it sit for 15 minutes.
Then I placed the dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, which I sprayed with cooking spray, and shaped the dough into a loaf, lightly scoring the top a few times. I baked it at 375*F for 27 minutes.
It smelled ahhhh-mazing.
And tasted delicious! My family agreed. I think it actually tasted more like honey whole wheat bread (which makes sense since it contains both honey and whole wheat, imagine that) but not so much like sourdough. Still very tasty, though!
I wish I could take credit for this little guy, but my mom got him from Great Harvest. I wanted to have a back-up loaf of bread in case mine didn't turn out, so I suggested my mom pick up a honey bunny from Great Harvest after seeing them on Kath's blog a lot!
We had a special helper in the kitchen with us:
That's Bella.
Just one of the girls.
Well the weekend went too quickly and it's back to the grind. I got in some cardio at the gym this morning (elliptical and rowing machine - still loving it) and had to stop by the post office to mail my taxes. Fun stuff!
Most exciting thing of the day: Hart of Dixie is finally new again!! Ahhh so excited, I really love that show. I will be foam rolling my way through it tonight. I think 2 Broke Girls is new, too - perfection.
Hope you had a great weekend (filled with chocolate like mine, haha) and that the week is off to a good start for you.
Song of the day:
Okay, this isn't so much a song of the day as it is a video clip of the day (but I do like the song, too). For your viewing pleasure, here is James Franco in all of his corn-rowed glory, singing along to "Love You Like a Love Song" by Selena Gomez & The Scene. Yes. Yes, please.
West side roll it out South side roll it out East side roll it out North side roll it out
Sorry, couldn't resist.
I'm referring to this innocent looking cylinder:
That is my foam roller, and I'm in a dependent relationship with it. And I think it's going to be long-term. Let me start from the beginning. A few weeks ago, I did the week 3 workout of the Fitnessista's Winter Shape Up program. The thing is, I am NOT a runner. I can do cardio classes back to back, walk for miles at a time, etc., but running and I do not get along. This goes back to the first time we had to run "the Mile" in 5th grade - it was horrible and I just wanted to lie in the grass and sunbathe instead of run.
But the week 3 workout included a treadmill plan. I could have done it on the elliptical or bike, but I wanted to give the treadmill a shot and challenge myself. I definitely had to make modifications and take it at my own pace, but I felt awesome after completing the 30-minute routine. Except for one little thing - a sharp pain on the outside of my lower left knee.
I had felt this pain before, at least since I was a teenager, but it was always fleeting and I didn't think much of it. This time, though, the pain was much more intense and did not immediately go away. From reading other blogs and fitness articles, I had a feeling I knew what it was: my IT band, which runs from the hip to the knee. IT band injuries are common amongst runners, and while I would not consider myself a runner, I didn't think it was a coincidence that I felt the pain after running (and after being the most consistently active that I've ever been). I did a little online self-diagnosing and found that my symptoms matched those of IT band injuries.
I really did not want to get a full-blown injury, so I elevated and iced my IT band (with a bag of frozen corn - classy!), ordered new tennis shoes (the ones I had been wearing were a couple of years old), and ordered the foam roller pictured above. This video shows how to use a foam roller to release your IT band:
I had NO idea how painful this would be. The first time I used the foam roller, I could barely put any weight on the outside of my thigh; my IT band was incredibly tight. Tears came to my eyes as I was writhing in pain on the floor - lovely, right? I've used it every day since, ideally before and after working out, and before bed, and I have noticed a huge difference. Now I can put my full weight on my IT band on both thighs, and I only get a slight twinge of pain once in awhile. Huge improvement.
This is another video that shows other ways to use the foam roller:
If you work out regularly, and especially if you run, I would highly recommend getting a foam roller - it allows you to release muscles in ways that cannot be achieved merely from stretching (but don't forget to stretch, too!). Plus, using a foam roller is like an at-home massage! Also, a lot of gyms have foam rollers if you want to try it out before getting one for yourself.
On a sweeter note, I baked these lemon squares and brought them to school today for the Environmental Law Society's bake sale.
This is not a healthy dessert in the slightest, but it sure is delicious. As I was cutting them last night, the first square stuck to the pan and was difficult to get out - since it was falling apart and was not in any condition to be sold, I happily claimed it as my own and had it for a midnight snack while I was finishing up my school assignment. I set two aside to take over to my neighbor (a cute old lady who lives across the hall from me and has been in the apartment building for 50 years!) and the rest will be sold for a contribution to the Ohio Environmental Council.
After school I did the week 3 workout and am so glad that this time around I'm not having shooting pains like I did a few weeks ago.
Now it's time to shower, tackle my dish mountain, and get something to eat for dinner. Have a great night!
When's the last time you had a bake sale? Before I started law school, I heard it was a lot like high school, and that is so true - we have lockers, our class sizes are relatively small so you get to know each other pretty quickly (read: lots of gossip), we have bake sales...
Song of the day:
"Lonely Boy" by the Black Keys. The Black Keys are from my hometown of Akron (!!!) and I love their gritty rock vibe. And this is a pretty awesome music video, too.
