SexyBack Challenge - Week 2

I’ve had a strange week and haven’t been as dedicated to the sexyback challenge as I should or could be. Shame on me. Besides Friday night, at the Relay For Life, I haven’t pushed myself to get any physical activity in. I need to MAKE time in my days because otherwise it’s not going to happen. My goal next week is at least 4 days of 30-45 minutes of physical activity. I’ve been in somewhat of a haze and I think that physical activity will definitely help to clear my head.

What do you do to keep your workout and fitness motivation?

Besides basically failing on that part of the sexyback challenge, I did much better on food this week. I’m not consistently drinking 3 miir bottles a day, but I’m drinking much more than in the past. I still want to step it up to hit at least 3 a day.

I’ve been eating more vegetables, including salads which lettuce from the garden! Some of my favorite meals this week includes: chickpea tacos, fajita bowls [aka peppers, onions, pinto beans & quinoa], black bean & veggie burgers, zucchini quinoa lasagna, broccoli quinoa casserole, steamed broccoli, tex-mex veggie salad [see picture], and homemade strawberry rhubarb smoothies.

I've included the recipe for this because it's one of my favorites! It's super easy and makes enough for lunches, snacks or dinners for a week. See variations at the bottom of the recipe!

Tex-Mex Veggie Salad
1 can (14 oz) black beans, drained & rinsed
2 tomatoes chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 can Mexicorn
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1 jicama, peeled and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, minced

Dressing
1 1/2 tsp Garlic Galore (Wildtree Herbs)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil (Wildtree Herbs)

Place salad ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat. Chill overnight.

Variations:
Add chicken (if you're a meat-eater) with Chipotle Lime Rub and Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil (Wildtree Herbs)
Add to cooked, chilled quinoa for a heartier salad

SexyBack Challenge - Week 1

I was excited when I saw these posts [ONE. TWO.] by Carlos Whittaker last week. I finally got the chance to watch this video on Sunday.

I think this SexyBack challenge is perfect for me. I’ve been slacking on my fitness and don’t remember the last time I worked out. My eating habits aren’t horrible, but there’s definitely room for improvement.

Every Thursday during this challenge [12 weeks] I’ll be posting my weekly update and how I’ve done on my goals. Most of them are general because I don’t need to lose a lot of weight or anything. I really just want to focus on eating healthier and making better choices. I also want to get back into a great workout routine and get toned [where are you abs?].

Here’s a list of my goals for SexyBack:
- 45 minutes minimum of physical activity or exercise 5-7 days of the week
- Utilize workout dvds (30 Day Shred, 6 Week six-pack, BL Cardio)
- Nightly walks/runs
- Use RunKeeper app
- MORE water (3+ miir bottles/day)
- Eat healthier
- MORE veggies, utilize the garden
- Less processed food and more fresh food
- Homemade meals
- Less pop and coffee, green monsters, fresh fruit smoothies or tea instead
- Use MyFitness app & website to track calories & exercise

In addition to my update I’ll include a photo each week that's related to my #sexyback11 journey.

Here’s my picture for the week.

My recap for this week is pretty general, but it might get more specific in the weeks to come. Since I started on Sunday I've done the 30 day shred twice and gone on two 1.5 mile walks. I've made better choices as far as food goes. I'm definitely eating more fruits and veggies and snacking less. I've done really great on drinking more water, especially with working out more & it's been getting hotter here too. I'm struggling with drinking pop and I'm slowly working on cutting it out.

I'll be picking up Jillian Michaels' 6 week six-pack levels 1& 2 workouts from the library tomorrow and will hopefully be doing [almost] everyday for the two weeks I have it checked out. Tomorrow night I'll be participating in the Relay for Life and will definitely be getting some walking in. It's not too late if you want to join the challenge. I'd love if you'd join me, whether you're looking to lose weight or get back on track. You can search #sexyback11 on twitter to see what other people in the challenge are doing.

Ignite Boise

You may have seen Heather's post about Ignite HERE. Please forgive any duplicity.

I had heard Matt Pipkin mention Ignite Boise on twitter about a month ago. I’m sad that I missed his presentation at Ignite 5! I investigated to find out more about it.

5 minutes, 20 slides, What Would You Say?

Ignite Boise brings together an inspiring and unexpected blend of thinkers from business, art, technology, government and academia. All with ideas. And all willing to share them.

Still not sure what it is? Here is a little more info about it:

WHAT IT IS:
Ignite Boise is a 3 hour-ish idea feeding frenzy that brings together artists, geeks, entrepreneurs, academics, government officials, and others to share their ideas in fast-paced, bite-sized presentations. It’s a great opportunity to meet smart, interesting people (if we do say so ourselves) and maybe even learn something.

THE GOAL:
Bringing together embers of big ideas to spark a blaze of creativity in Boise’s business and creative community –leaving attendees more educated and just as importantly, more inspired.

HOW IT WORKS:
Presenters each get five minutes and 20 slides (automatically rotating every 15 seconds) to talk on a topic of their choice. Everyone is invited to participate, though due to the limitations of space and time, only a handful will be selected to present at each event.

COST:
Zero. Zip. Nada. Ignite Boise is brought to you by a group of volunteers and sponsors.

Like it says, tickets are free. They released a bunch of advanced tickets Monday, March 28 at 9am and by noon or 1pm they were all gone. I was lucky enough to snag two (of course I was going to drag Heather along to this). But just because all the advanced tickets were gone didn’t mean it was sold out. You could arrive at the door and be let in at 6:30 pm instead of 6 pm.

Heather and I arrived downtown right at 6 pm. We walked right in and were some of the few lucky ones who got free shirts. Hello new pj shirt. Anyway, we got great seats. That's the back of us in the lower right corner.

[Photo by Boise Weekly]

You would think waiting an hour for an event to start would be boring, but up on the big screen they had Tweetdeck opened searching for #IB6 or #IgniteBoise6. It was fun to see everyone’s tweets and Boise got their first swarm badge on foursquare that night. Probably the only time that will ever happen. I had to go out of Idaho to get mine. haha!

After going to this event I realized this is why Boise is ranked in the top 20 social networked cities in the United States. See article HERE.

So even after reading the website, I still wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I had read what some of the speakers would be talking about, so I was excited to see how it would play out.

That would be me and Heather grabbing our free shirts.

There were some great speakers. My favorites included:
Kelli Ryder'sStop Shop: She went a year without shopping. One of my favorite lines from her presentation was [in reference to Miley Cyrus and clogs]: “Girlfriend was river dancing all over town.”

Bri Clark's I’m good at poor, it’s prosperity that got me: She spoke about her experiences with both prosperity and poverty, as well as choosing priorities in her life.

Travis Porter's No I’m @travisporter: He became the victim of online identity confusion. His presentation was hilarious and he ended it by asking for advice as to what his next steps should be. #whatshouldtravydo

It was a great night! I thought it was funny to see so many of my Boise twitter friends there that I had never met before. Unfortunately, 1: Heather and I were sitting in the very middle so it was difficult to get in and out and 2: I’m a big chicken, so we didn’t actually talk to anyone.

Afterward, Heather and I went over to The Matador (hello butternut squash quesadilla!) and talked about how much fun the event was. What would you talk about for 5 minutes? I’ve been asking myself that question ever since and I still don’t have an answer. What about you? If you were given the chance to talk about anything you wanted, what would it be? Is there an event like this in your city?

I hope that I’m around for Ignite Boise 7 on October 20, 2011! Who knows? Maybe by then I’ll think of something to talk about.

Seen It, Heard It, Read It

Seen It

The Social Network

Heather and I saw this in theaters, but recently watched it on dvd with our parents. I absolutely love this movie and can't wait to get the soundtrack! It was so well done and the story is from my generation. I find it amazing.

Veronica Mars Series

I have NO idea why I didn't watch this when it was on tv. I must have been too busy with The O.C. or something. Anyway, I love this series! I wish it was on longer than just three seasons because I was bummed with the way they ended it.

Letters to Juliet

I watched this during my weekend away to Camp Perkins. It was the perfect chick flick. I had seen it once before, but I was busy doing other things. This time I was able to catch stuff I didn't the first time around.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Seasons 1-3

I was sad when I finished Veronica Mars and jumped head first into this show. Both were recommended by my friends Megan and Janelle. I don't even want to know the exact day Heather and I started watching this, because it would be sickening to know how fast we've watched the first three seasons, haha. We just started season four on Thursday or Friday.

Heard It

Landon Pigg: The Boy Who Never

Landon kept me company on the drive up to Camp Perkins. I haven't listened to him in a while. This cd reminds me of when I moved home from California. Heather, Jenny and I got to meet him when he played at House of Blues in Anaheim two days before we moved. See my blog post HERE. It was the most perfect evening! He is the sweetest guy!

Adele: 21

I'm a BIG fan of this album. I must admit I haven't listened to her other one that much. Chasing Pavements will forever remind me of Heather and Jenny and our time in So-Cal. So many good memories.

The Decemberists: The King is Dead

Heather has been playing this a lot lately. Last week we were both working in the office and I had this on. It's another great album to add to your playlist.

Read It

Once again, I haven't been reading much besides school. I started a book at the crafting retreat, but haven't got around to finishing it. I have a huge list of books (in my head and on my nook) that I feel like I'll never get around to reading. One day I'll learn how to better manage my time and fit reading into it. Anyway, here's the what I've gotten around to reading lately.

School Modules

I'm taking Portraiture and Location Lighting this semester. I don't have books for either of these classes, just the weekly modules. This week is the start of mid-term week. I can't wait for Spring Break next week!

Twitter favs

Like last time, besides school I've just mainly been reading my tweets. These are some of my favorites from the last couple weeks.

5 Funny Habits & 5 Guilty Pleasures

I got the idea for this blog from Heather, who got it from Elsie and Kelly. It's always fun to learn quirky things about others. Without further ado, here are some of my funny habits and guilty pleasures.

Funny habits
1. Alphabetizing and organizing: I LOVE to have my things (books, movies, cds, magazines, clothes, etc.) organized either in alphabetical order or in color order. Everything has it's own place (even when things get messy). I love having an order to my stuff.

2. Eating strange things for breakfast: The following foods are acceptable to eat for breakfast (not everyday, of course): 7 layer bean dip, pizza, cake, cookies and pie.

3. Checking my social media apps: I obsessively check my social media app on my Droid X throughout the day. It combines my twitter and facebook updates in one place. It's where I get my news and keep up to date with friends and family.

4. Sleeping with my head back: Ever since I was little I would fall asleep with my head back like this. It usually happens when I'm in a car or on the couch or when I fall asleep really hard. It's so comfortable!

5. Stockpiling magazines: I'm not quite a hoarder, but I do have a huge stack of magazines on my bookshelves. Right now there's a big pile that I haven't read yet, it's getting overwhelming. Heather and I recently cleaned out our "collection" and donated a bunch to the library magazine exchange. It's something I need to do more often.

Guilty pleasures
1. Angry Birds: Around Christmas Heather downloaded this and then got me hooked on it. I'm so addicted! I have an obsession with getting three-stars on a level before moving to the next one.

2. Disney Channel: I may be 25, but it doesn't stop me from loving Disney shows and movies like Hannah Montana, Suite Life of Zach and Cody, Wizards of Waverly Place, High School Musical, Camp Rock, and Sonny with a Chance.

3. Starbucks: It's hard for me to resist an iced caramel macchiato (with light ice). What's better than coffee and caramel?

4. Lindor truffles: These chocolates are seriously amazing! They are perfect for a pms chocolate craving.

5. Instant Netflix: What can I saw about this? It's amazing! It has almost every tv show and movie available. I've been able to watch tv shows like Grey's, Veronica Mars, Arrested Development, Ruby, and Giuliana and Bill.

Seen It, Heard It, Read It

Seen It

1. Babies

This has been on my instant Netflix for months and I finally got around to watching it. I really enjoyed it! My little cat Blizzard sat right in front of the tv and intently watched the whole movie. It was so funny!

2. Salt

Angelina is her typical fierce self in this movie. It was a great action movie and it keeps you thinking. You definitely need to pay attention so you don't miss anything.

3. Grey's Anatomy: Season Six

I'm doing pretty good job with catching up on Grey's Anatomy. Heather and I got my parents into it which has been fun! We finished this season last week and I was FUHHH-REAKINGGG out. They mean it when they call it "The Season That Changes Everything." I absolutely can't wait to watch season 7 and finally get current!

4. The Last Song

Seriously LOVE this movie. Like I said way back when, I loved the book! Normally when there's a book turned movie, I either like one more than the other, but I think they're both great!

5. Legally Blonde: The Musical

Last Monday, I won tickets to see this from our local news station on facebook! Heather had been wanting to see it for years and I knew she was disappointed we weren't going to be able to see it while it was in Boise. We had great seats and the show was fabulous! I still have some of the songs running through my head!

6. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never

Heather and I went to see this Sunday afternoon. I love how driven Justin Bieber is. That guy has amazing raw talent. It's inspiring to see someone pursue and achieve his dreams. It's also incredible how fast he's risen to fame thanks to social media (and being cute and talented). This was probably the best documentary I've ever seen. Like he's said before, it's a story about having a dream and that's something we can all relate to. This is a must see!

Heard It

1. Brooke Fraser: Albertine

2. Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago

3. Demi Lovato: Here We Go Again

4. She & Him: Volumes One and Two

5. Ingrid Michaelson: All of her albums

Read It

I've been really busy with school, work and preparing for my midpoint proposal that I haven't had much time to read. One thing I do read everyday is Twitter. You could call me a little obsessed. One thing I like to do is mark "favorite" tweets. I feel like I'm the only one in the world who does it, but I love looking back at other people's tweets that maybe made me laugh or were thoughtful. So here's a little sampling of tweets from the last two weeks that were some of my favorites, in no particular order.

What have you been watching, listening to or reading lately?