Workout Review: Women's Health Total Workout in Ten

I was totally prepared to hate this workout.  I added it to my Netflix and didn't really think to look at my queue when this one happened to arrive.  Honestly, I was a little bummed when I got it, thinking that I would hate it and it would be way too easy.

Boy, was I wrong!  I ended up absolutely loving this workout.  The entire workout lasts about 50 minutes if you do all segments (so the title is kind of a lie).  There are 10 minute upper body, lower body, cardio, warmup and cool down segments.  I ended up doing all of the segments together, and while it was challenging, it definitely wasn't too much or boring.

I also found myself really liking the trainer.  Normally fitness hosts get on my nerves and I end up muting them and just listening to music, but Amy Dixon is legit.  She seems pretty nice and is motivating without being annoying.

The only down side is that one of the "extra features" is for core work and you'll need a stability ball to do that.  I don't have a stability ball, so I couldn't do that segment.  Other than that, this is a great workout.

Menu Sunday

Here's what the Browns will be eating this week:

Mon:  Thai Peanut Noodles from last week.
           I was lazy and didn't cook....surprise, surprise.

Tues:  Baja Shrimp Tacos
         Shrimp was majorly on sale at the grocery store and I've been craving tacos.  I love fish and shrimp tacos with cabbage slaw.  This looks really easy, but delicious!

Wed: Gravy Pork Chops with Stuffing Biscuits
         KB loves pork chops and they just happened to be on sale.  The stuffing biscuits look a little weird and I'll probably end up adding some Parmesan cheese or something to them.  I also didn't buy store made gravy because it was expensive and I'm a tightwad.  I'll be making my own gravy from my 50 cent gravy packet.

Thurs: Lemon Pepper Shrimp
          I bought a lot of shrimp.  This recipe is made for the grill, but since it's still cold outside and we don't even have a grill, I'll be pan frying them.  I'll be serving this over brown rice and probably with some roasted veggies.

Fri: Slow-Cooker Curried Chicken with Yogurt and Ginger
      I'm not sure if I'll end up making this recipe this week, but everything in it looks like it will keep until next week.  I love everything curry and this looks awesome.  I don't have any Greek yogurt, so I'll probably end up leaving that out.

What goodies will you be eating this week?

Happy Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to one of my very favorite people....

KB!!!!!

Happy 24th Birthday to my better half!

Workout Review: Denise Austin Quick Cardio Burn

Overall I thought this was a pretty good workout.  The entire DVD consisted of a 10 minute warm up, two 20 minute workouts and a 5 minute cool down.  I did the entire DVD in about an hour and felt like I got a good total body workout.  There is a lot of jumping and pliometrics, so it may not be the best for someone that has sensitive knees or ankles.  One of the 20 minute workouts is a sculpting workout using weights.  This was really effective and did double duty, since most of the arm exercises involved some type of lunge or squat too.

I actually cheated and watched this on my computer while listening to my Lady Gaga Pandora station.  I turned off the volume completely, so I can't really say if Denise was annoying or not.  I did notice that her hair was down and DID NOT MOVE the entire time, even during jumping jacks.....get me some of her hairspray!

Recipe Review: Sausage and Kale Soup

I think this recipe has been my favorite of all the recipes I've reviewed so far.  This was seriously the easiest and best tasting soup that I've had in a while.

 I love leafy greens and the kale in this soup did not dissapoint.  It was really earthy tasting, but also very flavorful due to the stock and garlic.  This soup reminded me of a ham and turnip green soup that my mom would make for us growing up that I absolutely loved.  This recipe is also very healthy....so I didn't feel so bad having 2 or 3 bowls!

The recipe called for turkey sausage, but I used some cubed ham since that's what I had laying around in my fridge.  I also ended up using half chicken stock and half beef broth (plus a little water) since I didn't have the 6 cups of stock that the recipe called for.  I also left off the red pepper flakes since I didn't have any.

Overall, it's a winner dinner!

TV is for Me!

Here's what we (mostly I) have been watching lately:

I'm a sucker for an MTV show with a lot of teen angst....enter "I Used to Be Fat".  I actually like to watch this while I'm working out.  It motivates me in a weird "I don't want to be like that" way.  I also have really liked almost all of the trainers on this show.  Normally TV trainers act like they have to be super hard asses to make people respect them, but these trainers are actually nice and seem to care about the participants' futures, not just getting them to their goal weight.

In my own weird little world I would like to look like the ladies from "Jerseylicious" just one day.  For some reason seeing their fake extensions, nails that look like talons, and enough eye makeup to smother a horse puts me into some kind of trance like state.  I could watch this show for hours.....and I hate to admit it, but I DO!

Another weight loss show to keep me motivated.  I watch A&E's "Heavy" while I work out a lot too.  These people are actually sent to a ranch to work with fitness coaches, trainers, psychologists and dietitians.  It still amazes me though that a lot of people on this show end up totally going off "the plan" once they get back home.

I don't really think this is a TV show, but more of a documentary special.  VH1's "Let's Spend the Night Together" is based off of the book from Pamela des Barres.  This dame was apparently a pretty hot commodity in the late '70s.  The documentary was really cool and looked at groupies across all rock and roll eras from Elvis to Ray J.  It was kind of neat to see the older groupies all grown up.

What goodies have you been watching recently?

Guilty Pleasure

Just like the fun swinging couple below...I am an avid bird watcher.

My grandmother is a big bird watcher and I think this is probably where this habit came from.  She has always had tons of feeders and houses and all types of random bird paraphernalia.  While I just have one feeder, I still love to look out my office window and see what types of birds are around.  Birds are so neat.  They are so industrious and are so active.  I love watching the different species interact.....NERD ALERT.

This past weekend I participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count.  I really hadn't put too much thought into the different species that are at my feeder until I filled out my GBBC checklist and it was really neat.....then I emailed my grandmother....to compare notes.