Till Then Smile Often

Shoulder Workout

Hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday! I figured I would pop in to share my workout that I will be doing today in case anyone wanted to try it out. *NOTE: I am not a personal training this is just the exact workout that I will be doing today. Know your limits, modify if you have to and use good form.

shoulder workout

What is a superset? A superset is performed when two exercises are performed back to back without stopping. Those two exercises become one superset. The above supersets are performed for a total of 3 supersets before moving on to the next superset or set. For more info go here.

Seated Overhead Dumbbell Press

Arnold Dumbbell Press

Side Dumbbell Raises

Front Delt Raises

* This can also be done with a weight plate, held in two hands and raise straight up.

Single Arm Upright Row

Rear Delt Row

Bradford Barbell press

Rear Cable Crossover Fly

Hope this helps you to get in the weight room and gain some lean muscle to burn more calories. Any questions feel free to send me an email. I love talking fitness!

 

For Which I Am Grateful

So this week has been a whirlwind of emotions. I feel completely off kilter and for a type A control freak like me it has been rough. I hate to feel unbalanced. Life will do that to you every so often, so I just have to go with it. My Aunt has gotten really sick and is now in hospice care so I have been spending what time I can at the hospital to be with family. When sitting down to write this post I struggled what to write about, how can I look back at this week and find the good in it? However there has been good among the bad. Sometimes you just have to sit and think about it, but it was there helping you get through it. These are my things…

One. Seamus. What can I say about my dog I haven’t already said! My Dad was joking (or maybe not joking) that Seamus is the devil. He barks at strangers in fear but he has come a long way and accepts people after learning they won’t hurt him. This week he was a huge support for me. When I got home and cried on the couch, Seamus put his paw on my lap and actually licked a tear off my face.  He has made sure he is by my side and at least part of him is touching me offering comfort. For him I am grateful!

puppy

Two.  Music has kept me sane when I want to block out the world. My tastes are very varied, but I am loving the new Halestorm album. I also listed to Citizen Cope and Ray LaMontagne.

Three. Cauliflower Mac and Cheese..say whay? Even though this recipe is fairly clean I look forward to recreating it with a few more modifications so stay tuned.

Mac 'n cheese cauliflower. Better for you than pasta

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Four. This week has reminded me how short life can be and to grab each moment and live it to the fullest.  Tell those you love just how much they mean to you daily.

 

SOURCE

Five. It is Friday. That is all I got, my brain can’t handle anymore without coffee!! Have a great weekend everyone.  Hug your loved ones a little tighter today and everyday!

THE GOOD LIFE BLOG

 

Salad: It’s What I Ate

Happy Hump Day Everyone! I think after two 4 day weekend in a row I am struggling to get through the day. I am day dreaming about the weekend and getting back to the beach and being outdoors. Sitting at a desk doesn’t seem like so much fun! What about you?  Well go ahead and get aboard the struggle bus with me and while you hitting the for your viewing pleasure take a look at some of my eats for this past week.

Breakfast: I got this idea from Chris Powell’s book The 7 day Carb Cycle Solution. I haven’t read through the whole book yet so I can’t say much about it, but this was delish! It was a 1/2 cup of gluten free granola, 1/2 cup of unsweetened Almond milk, 1 cup of water, and 1 scoop of protein powder. Mix the Almond milk, water and protein and pour over the granola.

granola

Snack: This was something that I could grab and go. A handful of grapes and about 3 ounces of cheese. The cheese added protein needed to feel full and the grapes add that little bit of sweetness.

snack

Salad and me go together like Bert and Ernie so I can have it for every meal just about.

Don’t believe me? See Exhibit A

Salad-1

This contained romaine lettuce, tomato, red onion, feta cheese and 2 hard-boiled eggs. You really can’t go wrong with a salad, just be careful with the dressing you choose!

Exhibit B

Chicken Salad

This ended up being my lunch and dinner on two seperate days. I just made enough chicken for the week on my grill and reheated. Salad was romaine lettuce, tomato and red onion.

Exhibit C

Dinner

This salad was romaine lettuce, tomato, red onion, carrots and celery. I added these kabobs with Steak, pineapple and zucchini. So yummy!

Dinner: I was really craving pasta but I haven’t had regular pasta in a while and I remembered this Low Carb Spaghetti Squash Alfredo I made a few months ago. So I whipped it up and it was just as delicious as I remembered. For the recipe click here.

Low Carb Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

Splurges: I am human and I was on vacation so I had a few splurges. The first one I kept on the cleaner side so July 4th and the other was a pure cheat meal!! The first was strawberries, cool whip and blueberries. That was it, no sugar added. A sweet treat for the holiday. The second was a S’More. Which is enuff said I wanted some more!!

dessert dessert-1

 

Low Carb Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

Okay I may be a little excited as I am co-hosting for one of my favorite link-ups which is Taste of Tuesday of course! What better way to get motivated in making some awesome dishes than being able to share them and find some new recipes to try out! So what are you waiting for get on the party bus with us!  This week I brought out an oldie but goodie. I love this recipe since it is such a good alternative to spaghetti. I can’t tell you the last time I had real pasta. You can use a red sauce or a white sauce which is what I used this week.

Low Carb Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

PIN THIS

Ingredients:

1/2 medium spaghetti squash ~ 4 tablespoons unsalted butter ~ 1 cup heavy cream ~ 1 TBSP garlic, crushed ~ 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan ~ Fresh basil leaves (Note: If you want to make the whole squash just double the alfredo ingredients)

Directions:

Slice spaghetti squash in half lengthwise.

Spaghetti Squash

Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and clean as you would a pumpkin. Completely submerge 1 half at a time, in a large pot of boiling water and cook for about 20 minutes until the inside is just tender to a fork and pulls apart in strands.

Spaghetti Squash

Remove, drain and cool with cold water or ice bath to stop the cooking. Scoop out the cooked squash from its skin with a fork and discard the skin.Fluff with the fork, you should see the “spaghetti”- like strands.

Spaghetti Squash

Reserve the separated cooked squash and dip with a strainer into boiling water to reheat just before serving.  (Note: If after cooking, the spaghetti squash is a little too al dente, you can cook it more in the hot water just before serving.)

Melt half the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add cream and cook to thicken the sauce for about 2 minutes, then add garlic and cheese and whisk quickly, heating through.

Low Carb Spaghetti Squash

Stir in the rest of the butter. Place spaghetti squash in a large serving bowl, and pour Alfredo sauce over squash. I sprinkled with italian seasonings and garnished with fresh basil. Serve and enjoy! Original recipe found here and adapted.

Low Carb Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

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The Fourth of July and Other Happenings

Am I the only one who needs to check their social media in order to remember what they actually did and when for the weekend?

Thursday – For the Fourth of July I spent the day at the beach. I failed to remember that this was really my first day chilin at the beach and got a little burnt. I think as I get older I am more prone to it too! 🙁 I’m old.

thursday

1. The last is at the end of my street so I can walk to it. They even rake the beach so there are no rocks. I love it. Most people head for the ocean so it feel like my own private beach sometimes.

2. Poor Seamus got so much attention so he got two really long walks each day. He was a little tuckered out.

3. I made this special 4th of July treat. Fresh strawberries, cool whip and fresh blueberries. I didn’t add any sugar or anything else. It was so taste and healthy.  There was a house that lives on the lake that had a huge group of people over and they were setting off fireworks so all went to the end of my driveway to see a bit of the fireworks. Seamus was going a little crazy with the fireworks going off. He was barking at the really loud ones and then running and jumping on me for the rest of the time. He was a total cuddle monster trying to get away from the noise.

Friday – Since I did get a little burnt I spent Friday inside doing chores, reading, and watching movies. I lubed up with lots of Aloe and lotion so that hopefully I could get back outside at some point.  I also broke in my new grill!

BBQ

4. Marinated BBQ chicken cooking on the grill.

5. Served the cooked BBQ chicken with a side of salad. So yummy.

6. The real reason I fired up the grill was to make S’Mores. I only made one but it was so worth it!

movies

7. Snitch with the Rock was really good. He takes on becoming a snitch to get his son out of jail for taking a package his friend sent full of drugs.

8. 12 Rounds 2 reloaded – I have to say I did see the first one with John Cena because come on he is hot and from Boston, so I watched the sequal because …friggin Randy Orton is H.O.T.!!! I am not usually into muscle guys but with the face, the body and the tattoo sleeves it works. Anyhoo there is a movie in there somewhere. He is an EMT and he happens upon an accident and fails to save one of the passengers. He then has to follow 12 rounds of clue in an act of revenge against all the people involved who helped set the “killer” free.

9. Warm Bodies – A Zombie with the ability to become human again with the help of a girl. It was a bit weird but some really funny points to the movie. It was cute.

Saturday – The burn was not so bad when I woke up so I hit the beach again. This time I used sunscreen. Took Seamus for another two long walks.

 Saturday

 10. I used SPF 30 and after a few hours at the beach I was not more red but more brown. Happy girl!

11. After getting back from the beach it was time to fuel up. Clean eating is all about eating the rainbow. I think I had a little bit of each color. Included was BBQ Chicken, Carrots, Celery, Orange, tomato and spinach & artichoke hummus. So yummy!

12. Seriously Ted is such a funny movie! Not really kid friendly but the most inapproriately funny movie. It was the perfect ending to the night!

Sunday – I went for a morning hike to get the day started. Who said you can’t get a good workout from hiking? No-one, that’s who! I burnt a ton of calories (Which is better than burning my body). Then I hit up the grocery store for a few fruits and veggies. After making some lunch I finished up some chores and took Seamus for a walk. I made him some homemade dog biscuits.

 hiking

 13. I love hiking. Everytime I go I end up taking a new route and love exploring.

14. Either way a ton of calories are burned!

15. Busted out the grill for some kabobs. This was steak marinated in ceasar dressing, zucchini and pineapple. I served it with a side salad with lettuce, red onion, tomato, carrots, and celery. So good!

How was your weekend?!

 

Linking up with Sami at Sami’s Shenanigans and Leann at Join the Gossip .

Also linking up with Postcards from Rachel and Northern Belle Diaries.