Author: Jessica Marie

Professional copywriter, NASM certified personal trainer, mom of 2

June 17, 2013

On Turning 30

Today, I woke up and I was 30. And I’m ok with that. I sort of have neutral feelings about the number. I didn’t dread it like some people do. I didn’t mourn the loss of my 20s. In fact, let me tell you about why I’m going to be lovin’ on turning 30 today:

A cake: that was Peanut’s idea

I have never felt so strong and healthy in my life as I do right now. I work my behind off (literally!) every day to stay strong, vital and disease-free. I like feeling this way. Instead of focusing on all the progress that could be made, I like to think of it as having more opportunities in the future to get even better. It’s not all downhill from here, and I take pleasure in knowing that.

I have never felt so completely sure of what I want to do in this life. I’m sure this vision will morph and I will always feel some level of self-doubt, but up to this point, I have never had such a clear picture as to what I was made for. Even just recognizing the desires of my heart as I grow older is so reassuring. If you had asked me what I wanted 5 or 10 years ago, I would’ve had some wavering answer about some fleeting thing. Or I may have said something about how I just didn’t know and I’d wait for the greatest opportunity to present itself to me. I probably wouldn’t have even been able to tell you what I wanted for my birthday, let alone my life. Through trial and error though, I’ve come to know that some passions are just hobbies, some depend on mood, and some…oh those beautiful “some” are delicious. Those are the passions that you just can’t get enough of. That your mind wanders to when it wanders. That your whole body vibrates for. Never have I felt this so strongly as I do right now.

Never have I felt so sure of who my friends are than I do now. In high school, friends are fickle. In college, friends move away. In your 20s, you find your place in the workforce and community and begin to make new connections. In parenthood, you find that your lifelong friends are the ones who forgive you for being late or cancelling when your kids are moody. The ones who are still there…those are the ones you keep close to your heart.

The most perfect card from my sweet co-workers. See, at work, I’m the birthday banner lady:)

Never have I felt more secure in my marriage. Like they say, those first few years are really rough. Any good family psychologist would probably have suggested a separation. But that’s not what we do. We work through those pains, put pieces back together, and make sure they’re super-glued this time. We’ve built a family, we’ve merged dreams, we’ve chipped away at our fixer-upper home, we’ve combined our efforts to make our little world better, and we’ve learned to value one another. I’m sure this part will only get better and I look forward to that, but I can tell you that we’ve already come a long way.

Flowers from my sweathearts

My spirituality has never been quite so intimate as it is today. So many things about God had seemed obscure to me growing up, but make so much more sense now, especially with more experience. It’s something that is difficult even for this writer to explain and so intimate that I don’t know that I’d be able to. This is another relationship that I know will only get much sweeter as I grow older, and I look forward to that. In fact, I thrive upon that.

My biggest tangible goal for turning 30 was to earn my personal training certificate. It’s not just an end in itself. Although I plan to pursue this passion on the side, I have deep-seated desires to make something happen with this. I want to share what I know and help other people live with more vitality and rigor. This was one of those deep-seated passions that I just didn’t want to shelve or ignore. That’s how regrets are born. My first passion has always been writing, which I do for a living. But health and fitness needed their own place in my repertoire. I take the CPT exam in less than 4 weeks and I am so proud of myself for following through on this dream of mine instead of taking the “easy” way out and ignoring it.

In my next 30 years, I hope that my family has expanded whether it be with new in-laws, dear friends, children or grandchildren. I know now that this heart of mine has room for whomever and whatever it is blessed with. There’s no limit to the amount of love that it can handle. I hope to be able to see even more of this Earth than the scant territory than I’ve been exposed to already. I hope to be able to spread my passion for fitness and personal strength to as many people as I can. I hope to use those talents that have been graciously given to me to the best of my potential. I hope to give God an even greater percentage of my focus than I do now, as He so deserves, and grow more deeply in love. I look forward to this next season of my 30s to establish an even firmer base in this world (and derriere) and expand my existence. I’d like to give as much as I possibly can.

I’m lucky to be here in the first place. I’m lucky to have made it to 30. And I look forward to how these next years of my life will transform me even further.

***Also, my workout buddy and I are taking a day off from the gym to have cupcakes for lunch. Now that’s a good friend:) I am also soooo looking forward to that!

June 14, 2013

Chicago Part Two: The City Scenes

Hubster doesn’t like the big city. The air quality was getting to him, the traffic was making his blood thicken, and the sheer number of people put him on edge. He’s a country boy, through and through. I, on the other hand, am completely energized by the big city. The lit-up city skyline makes the place seem magical to me.

Friday, we left home early and got to Chicago by about 1pm. After checking into our hotel, we went to visit the Museum of Science and Industry. Our EAA passes got us into the museum for free. We did end up paying $20 for parking in the ramp though. There is other free parking nearby that we didn’t know about until we left. Parking in a high-security ramp is always a safe bet though.

We only went for general admission, which was definitely more than sufficient for us. That’s not to say I wouldn’t have loved to see the Animals Inside Out exhibit though. Interactive weather stations, business-building kids’ workshops and medical exhibits were more than enough to keep us busy and enthralled. In one of the hands-on biology labs, they were even dissecting cow eyeballs! Our little city life just doesn’t compare sometimes.

Light spectrum piano

Use the wind to keep the balls in the air

Classic static moment

Mini Chicago

Look, they even had a model UPS truck, where Hubster works

We had dinner at a White Castle. We’d never been to one. They don’t exist in Wisconsin. We just watched an episode of Undercover Boss involving the CEO of White Castle, so it was even more interesting to experience the place first hand. I am not exaggerating when I say Hubster ate about 15 sliders. Eating at a White Castle was on his food bucket list, mostly because of our limited exposure to it in Wisconsin. Ok, maybe it’s because he’s a fast food addict, but I digress. Either way, we checked that classy, super-healthy item off the bucket list (sarcasm anyone?). On the way back to the hotel, we caught a glimpse of the Jennifer Hudson Weight Watchers studio, which is very inspiring to someone such as myself.

All day Saturday, I spent at John Hall Studios for my NASM live workshop. You can read about my experience here. Meanwhile, Peanut and Hubster played in the pool, visited the Toys R Us a few doors down (I was the first victim of the water guns they bought), napped and just took it easy. Peanut wasn’t feeling the greatest when we left on Friday, so the slowed-down pace was just what he needed.

After the workshop, we ate at a place called Mattson’s Bar and Grille, which was two doors down from our hotel. We weren’t sure what to expect, and the process was sort of like half fast-food and half hometown restaurant. You order your meal at the front, kind of like at a fast food place. But they bring your freshly cooked food to you at your table. There was a full fresh salad buffet–that’s what I had! Hubster ordered the flatbread beef sandwich but didn’t have room for it after his buffet run. Leftovers! It was an interesting place. A warning though, they charge you just to walk in the door. We found that we had a $2.00 charge just for dining there. I’m sure this is to supplement tips and such, since they really didn’t have waiters.

Interesting mural over the ordering area

Beautiful stained glass around the building. Cell phone pics do no justice.

On our way home on Sunday, we stopped at an Oasis over the freeway just for the experience. Not a huge deal for most people, but for us (especially Peanut) it was something new. It’s not every day that we get to order a smoothie from McDonald’s while watching traffic pass under us.

We also made a short stop in Port Washington to visit a family friend on our way home. Port Washington is one of the most amazing Milwaukee-ish suburbs. You could almost describe it as a quaint little resort town. Fresh fish is in abundance and if you ever stop by on Fish Day, you’ll see one of the best parades and festivals you’ve ever seen in Wisconsin. Even the public restrooms down by the pier were nicer than some restaurant restrooms I’ve seen. It’s pretty much a prerequisite in Port Washington that you must visit their historical lighthouse.

We ate dinner at Tello’s Grille and Cafe in Port Washington before making the rest of our 1+ hr trip home. Tello’s offered an interesting mix of Greek and Mexican food. It was like a Greek and a Mexican got married, decided to open a restaurant, and couldn’t decide on what type of food to make, so they made both. After digging deeper, the story is much cooler than that. Check out some of their history here. The interior was segmented between a dining area and a bar area with a small dining section in the middle. This worked well since there was a graduation party going on, and we didn’t feel like we were imposing or interrupted by it at all. The restaurant also had a cute outdoor setup, where a couple was dining with their pup. It’s one of those quaint little settings that looks just as cute in person as it does in pictures.

I thoroughly enjoyed this giant Greek salad

The architectural details in Tello’s are beautiful

It’s always amazing how one short three-day trip can re-energize a person. I need to keep that in mind when I start to feel overwhelmed and wanderlust-full. Just a few simple three-day weekends sprinkled throughout my mortal days are enough to give me a jolt of renewed energy.

This coming weekend, we’re already taking another trip to a cabin in Door County Wisconsin. My parents are treating us to a weekend getaway to celebrate my birthday (which is Monday). Hopefully I’ll be back with some fun stories about that.

June 12, 2013

Weekly Workout Rundown

Monday:

45 min AM Bikini Cardio, 3.7 miles
15 min Surfer’s Paradise x 2 in PM
15 min ZWow workout in PM (killer, killer, killer!!! Check out Zuzkalight.com if you dare)

Tuesday:

35 min AM run, 2.75 miles
18 min Pura Vida arm routine x 3 in the PM

Wednesday:

35 min AM run, 2.5 miles
20 min circuits I created

Thursday:

Rest

Friday:

Rest (travel day)

Saturday:

All-day NASM workshop, interspersed with workouts throughout
30 min Tracy Anderson Method Mat Workout

Sunday:

45 min Jillian Michaels Hard Body workout

Well, I didn’t follow my Tone it Up schedule very well toward the end of the week due to travel interruptions, but I did do my best to keep my healthy habit going–as if I could give it up! Don’t worry though, I was in good hands with Tracy and Jillian. I don’t have a good gauge as to how long I worked out on Saturday during the workshop, but let me just tell you how sweaty I was. We did speed and agility drills, burpees, supersets of everything and so much more. Foam rolling has got to be my new obsession. I have yet to buy a real foam roller. Meanwhile, I’ve been using one of our foam pool noodles to work out my kinks. It does the job alright.

This Saturday is the beginning of the 5-Day Slimdown everyone at Tone It Up is doing together. I’m hoping I can do as much of the plan as possible. It will be a little difficult since we’ll be travelling again and my mom is taking care of all the food (so nice of her!). I’m not too worried about it though. I requested chicken and veggie skewers with honey mustard on the side. Sounds pretty healthy and clean to me.

What are you doing this week?

June 12, 2013

Chicago Trip, Part One: The NASM Live Workshop

This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of participating in an NASM Live Workshop, taught by Cindy Powell. The class was held at John Hall Studios in Chicago. Cindy was an amazing instructor. She was very hands-on, informed, passionate, and interested throughout the whole session. I give her an A+.

The trainers that were working at John Hall Studios on Saturday, Saddi and Sherwood, were also super helpful and informative. While we were practicing moves, they came around and gave us tips and pointers. We also had a great discussion about nutrition and overall wellness with Sherwood on our lunch break. I tried to soak up ever morsel of their experienced wisdom that I could. It was like we were fortunate enough to be given three teachers for the price of one.

I’ll share one tidbit I learned from Sherwood: You can do the plank or you can really DO the plank. Try keeping your feet fully flexed. Squeeze squeeze, squeeze and remind yourself to squeeze your glute muscles the entire time. Keep the tummy tight (navel to spine) and make sure your elbows are directly below your shoulders. Now try and hold that for 2 minutes. It makes a world of difference when you’re actually doing the move correctly.

The drive of all the students attending was truly energizing in itself. Like Cindy said after we all gave our introductions, none of us stood up and said we were there because we wanted to make millions. Every one of us had a virtuous reason for being there, whether it was because we had lost weight and wanted to help others do the same or we were chasing our passions or we had a desire to bring health awareness to places where it isn’t accessible.

I have to admit, I did have a moment where I wondered if I had taken the wrong class. Yes, I signed up for this particular class, my name was on the list and everything, but I learned that there was also a test prep class in Chicago that same day. In the short term, I feel like a test prep class may have been beneficial. After all, I’m anxious about the upcoming multiple choice I have to face. In the long term however, I know that this workshop will be invaluable. There’s a ginormous difference between reading about an exercise in a textbook while practicing it in your bedroom and having an instructor guide you through the moves with all the proper cues that they don’t teach. Not only that, but I’m sure this workshop will help on the test as well. Actually performing the moves, performing the overhead squat assessment, and reviewing the progressive stages of training can’t hurt my test score.

I’m so glad I purchased the workshop with my NASM package. I’m glad we got a good workout in at the studio too. Since Thursday was a rest day, Friday and Sunday were spent travelling, and the treadmill at the hotel was out of order, I needed a little sweatiness to make me feel like myself again.

The workshop got out just a tad early, and Hubster hadn’t left the hotel yet, so I took that opportunity to run over to the two-story Target store a block away. Sure, we have Target stores in my town, but not ginormous two-story ones. I was going to buy a foam roller due to my renewed faith in them (after foam rolling in class, my achy hips stopped aching), but I passed them up for two new workout DVD’s and three new shirts. Those are my Chicago souvenirs, ok? Ha! I’ll ask for the foam roller for my birthday;)

With my new Target purchases, I was also able to sneak in some Tracy Anderson workouts in the hotel room. When I got home on Sunday, I also busted through a new Jillian Michaels workout I bought at Target. That way, I only took two rest days instead of four in a row (heaven forbid!). I’ll have to post some video reviews of those soon.

Later in the week, I will be back with Part Two of our Chicago trip to take you through our sightseeing adventures and local food experiences.

June 10, 2013

What’s Happening

As I told you, I was in Chicago this weekend for an NASM live personal training workshop, so it was a little quiet around here as our internet connection was touch-and-go and we were enjoying our mini vacation. I will be back tomorrow with Part 1 of the trip and give you a lowdown on all of that. Then, Part 2 will come later in the week. I have so much to share!

For now, I just want to say how excited I am to have been featured on Totally Tutorials. With the number of submissions TT receives and the rules you must abide by, I’m honored that my yoga mat holder tutorial made the cut. It totally made my weekend!

Happy Monday!

June 5, 2013

Weekly Workout Rundown

Monday:

Rest

Tuesday:

40 min AM run, 3 miles
10 min Tahiti Tush workout
15 min circuit workout that I devised

Wednesday:

40 min AM run, 3 miles
30 min brisk walk at lunch, 2 miles

Thursday:

30 min walk at lunch, 1.5 miles
18 min Santorini Bikini, three rounds
15 min Bikini Strap workout, three rounds
7 min Sunkissed Abs

Friday:

35 min AM run, Itty Bitty Cardio, 2.5 miles
15 min arm workout from the Beach Babe DVD

Saturday:

62 min run, 5 miles

Sunday:

Rest

All the Tone it Up workouts can be found on their weekly workout schedule.

Did you see that little note on Tuesday? Yes, I did, for the first time, create my own circuit training cardio workout. I will have to share this workout on here soon. I tested it out first, and let me tell you, there was a lot of sweat dripping off of me. My workout buddy said she wanted something super effective during our 20 minute lunch workouts. What we’ve been doing just isn’t cutting it for her. She likes hardcore workouts, so that’s what I’m giving her, complete with bursts of cardio. Wonder if she’ll regret asking;)

I’m up to 59.5 miles for #100bySummer as of today. Hopefully I can pull off 100 miles by June 21. I’m over halfway there, so I should be able to. Let’s re-phrase that. I am going to!

This coming weekend, I’m headed to Chicago for my NASM personal trainer workshop. I can’t wait to share my experience with all of you–both the Chicago experience and the workshop experience. I can’t wait to go! It’s getting down to the wire, my friends. I have until the first week in July to take the test. Wish me luck on these final days of studying!

June 4, 2013

Chaperone Trip to Sullivan’s Woods

Peanut went on his first field trip last week, and I happily signed up to be a chaperone, which nowadays requires a full background check, but I guess I’d rather be safe than sorry too when it comes to our little Peanuts. Anyhow, we went to visit this little patch of land that belongs to the local school system. I never even knew this place existed and I’ve been living here my whole life. It always feels a little magical to find places like that, that you didn’t even know were there all along.

One of my little buddy’s teachers is so well-versed in the flora and fauna of nature that she made such a great nature guide. Check out this amazing giant hollow tree.

It was a relatively hot day compared to the weather we’ve been having lately here in Wisconsin, but it felt good to be out in it, playing a little hooky. Well, not really. My boss knew where I was;) But it’s fun to pretend.

This was only one of two trips I’ve ever chaperoned in my life. I was lucky enough to chaperone for my youngest sister’s 8th grade graduation trip to Six Flags. I’m sure there will be plenty more to come, but I’m just so happy to hang onto these memories.

Not sure what these flowers are, but they seemed to be blossoming pretty well where there was a lack of any other type of greenery.

Our amazing field guide had scouted out the place beforehand and had cleverly hidden this little gem for the kids to see. She was guessing that it was a raccoon claw. She had also found an owl pellet on her scavenger hunt. Good eye!

We saw pitcher plants, heard frogs croaking, followed the trails of crawling ivy, found some shed bunny fur, and climbed on plenty of downed trees. We also spotted fungus in quite a few places.

Four-year-olds are such darlings. One little girl, who had never met me before, grabbed my hand to hold a few times without a word. It’s just heartwarming. I forget sometimes that I’m a mother figure until other kids start asking me for snacks and holding my hand. I’m so glad I got to experience Peanut’s first field trip right along with him, complete with a few requisite rounds of “Wheels on the Bus” on our trip back home.

June 2, 2013

DIY Yoga Mat Holder Tutorial

If there’s one thing that makes me feel like I’m contributing to a more sustainable lifestyle, it’s by reusing and recycling items that I already have or have bought secondhand for new uses. One such project that was born from my recycling efforts is this DIY yoga mat strap.

I used the black holder that came with my yoga mat (from Target) as sort of a guide when designing my mat holder. The way the strap loops around itself inspired me to produce something similar with a more aesthetically pleasing piece of fabric.

A scarf is the perfect piece of long piece of finished fabric that you can use for this project, and you can usually find scarves in an array of colors and patterns at your local thrift store or your closet. Mine was from St. Vincent de Paul. If you wanted to use other fabric, simply stitch up the edges and then follow the steps below for the looping effect.

You’ll need a scarf, sewing machine (you could do this by hand), and thread that matches your scarf.

1. First, you’ll want to loop one end of your scarf around itself the way this black strap does.

First loop one end under the rest of the scarf:

Then, loop the end back over on top of the fabric and pin the short end in place.

Do the same with the other end and pin in place.

Then, sew along the edge where you pinned the scarf together. Be sure that the wrong sides of the fabric are facing each other when you sew. Repeat on both ends. You could definitely do this simple sewing by hand.

That’s all you have to do, and you have a handy little carrying strap for your mat. Pretty easy, right?

I do think I would’ve liked a little bit longer scarf to create a longer shoulder strip. I can fit this one around my arm, but it really is more the length of a hand strap. I will surely take a trip back to the thrift store for some more scarves. This makes a great gift for the health nut or yoga enthusiast on your list. And it literally takes only a few minutes to put together, once you get that looping thing down.

I’m thinking about doing a giveaway with one of these. Let me know what you think in the comments. If you do use this tutorial, leave a link for me so I can see what you made. Happy sewing!

June 1, 2013

Elkhart Lake Wisconsin Weekend Retreat

A few weekends ago, I went on a women’s retreat with my mom’s church to Elkhart Lake, WI. Now, anyone from Wisconsin knows the beauty and charm that Elkhart Lake is known for, even those who have never visited it. It’s a resort town. In fact, one of its greatest features is the grand Osthoff Hotel.

The Osthoff is situated on a cute little lake with a public pass-through path. It’s a great place for a wedding. In fact, there were at least three going on the weekend we stayed there. One happened right in the “living room” area of the hotel. We gawked and “awwwed” from the upper level windows as the bride walked down the aisle. The backyard area is the most picturesque place for wedding photos.

Our speaker for the retreat was Jennifer Sands, whose husband was a victim of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. That travesty led her to her spiritual transformation and powerful speaking and writing career. I guarantee that you can’t listen to her story without shedding some tears. I even won one of her books, which I had her sign, and am eagerly waiting to dive into it.

I really wish we could’ve stayed longer at the hotel. We had so many ongoing sessions, that we had little time to relax and watch cardinals from our balcony. Our hotel room was more like an apartment, complete with two whole bedrooms (mine’s pictured below), two bathrooms, a living room and a kitchenette. I would’ve happily lived there:) Except I would miss my little family a little too much.

The food we were provided was excellent too. We had two formal meals while there. Only downside was, they served fish and I can’t eat fish. But, the quality of the food and the amazing staff make up for that. Plus, no one told me you had to list your dietary restrictions beforehand. Ah well.

Speaking of food, the Osthoff actually offers gourmet cooking classes inside their amazing cooking school. We peeked in the kitchen and it’s pretty neat. I’ve never seen anything like that before in my little Wisconsin existence. I could see Hubster and I spending our anniversary there, learning how to make French cuisine together. That would be so up our alley. Well actually, gourmet burgers would be so up his alley, but you get the point.

I was even able to stay pretty active during our stay. One of the church members is a licensed Zumba instructor, so mom and I got up early on Saturday to get schwetty. I also took a little stroll around the quaint downtown area and ended up accidentally making one big loop right back to where I came from. I would imagine it’s even more fun when it’s a lot warmer with the multitude of indoor and outdoor pools and public beaches. The Osthoff also has a workout center if none of those other options please you.

I’m so glad I went on this trip to get a little refresh. I remember taking short trips with youth group growing up and remembering how transformed and refreshed I always felt afterward. It was about time that I let myself get away for a little retreat from life as I usually know it.

If you’re ever in the Elkhart Lake area, I would highly suggest booking a room at this hotel.

May 31, 2013

Weekly Workout Rundown

Monday:

35 min AM run, 2.5 miles
20 min circuit-training at lunch

Tuesday:

30 min casual walk at lunch
18 min, 3 rounds of Island Bikini in PM

Wednesday:

45 min Bikini Cardio in the AM, 3.5 miles
20 min circuit-training at lunch

Thursday:

40 min AM run, 3 miles
30 min Bikini Sculpt on the Beach Babe DVD

Friday:

40 min Insanity Plyo Cardio workout in AM
20 min circuit-training at lunch

Saturday:

60 min walking

Sunday:

Rest

This was what my workout schedule looked like last week. I took a little fitness break over Memorial Day weekend. That 60 minutes of walking on Saturday was figured in for rummage saling. I was too busy soaking up the glorious long weekend and what all comes along with it: parks, grill-outs, parades, shopping, playing catch-up, etc. Plus, my body just needed a break. I noticed that the break helped my back heal quite a bit. Sometimes it’s good to listen to your body, as long as you get back on the right track after your break.

Monday marked the one-year anniversary of my grandpa’s passing, so all the ladies in my family got together for a little luncheon and chat in his honor. It was so nice to be together on a holiday that we would normally have celebrated with a backyard barbecue hosted by the man himself.

I got a lot of projects that I’ve been sitting on for awhile done over the weekend along with copious amounts of studying. I took my Peanut to the park and let him ride his Hot Wheel tractor until the batteries ran out, all the while studying the components and functions of the heart.

We did well this weekend, I think.