I need the Maytag Man!

Here is my counter top! It's filled with dirty dishes, why? My dishwasher is not working... what do I do now?
Yep, I have to wash by hand... how long has it been since anyone has done this? I feel like I should have on a maids uniform...
Down to the last cup, I have no idea what I'm doing-- I've always loaded them in and pressed start!
That wasn't bad... I wonder how many calories I burned doing these dishes? I think I'll google search this...

Hey! It turns out I've burned 73 calories-- I think I'll eat something that ends in an O!

Great Shot!

Yep, that's me with my mouth wide open!!! Your aerobic instructor extraordinaire..

So most, if not all, of us have been to the Japanese steak houses where they cook in front of you while making jokes around the table.

It was my niece's birthday and she wanted to go to the "fire dude"-- that's what she calls the chef. We all went and had a wonderful time.

For those of you who have never been, at the end of the meal the chef (aka fire dude) takes turns around the table tossing shrimp into the mouths of his victims... Yep, it's my turn and as you can see my mouth is wide open and if you look closely you can see the shrimp in mid air on its way to me, BUT...... The reason I posted this lovely photo of myself is because if you look to my left you will see my youngest child Sydney and I'm not sure WHY she is making that face but I think it's the funniest thing I've seen in a while and I just HAD to share it with all of you! In fact, I am laughing right now as I am typing this and tears are coming out of my eyes!

I would love to hear some captions for this photo!

Breast Cancer

I wanted to post these SUPER cute canned tomatoes. These were given to me by a client at the gym. She is canning them to raise money for Breast Cancer. Here is the site to go if you would like to order: http://www.mynicetomatoes.com/. Please feel free to contact me as well if you would like to donate.

Here is some information I found on the web about canned tomatoes, I would LOVE to hear some of your healthy recipe's:

How to Cook With Canned Tomatoes

Tomatoes are one of the few foods that can actually benefit from being canned. The canning process seals in their flavor at the peak of ripeness and amps up their lycopene content, a powerful antioxidant. Canned tomatoes are perfect for making sauces and soups when fresh tomatoes aren’t available.

Step1: Choose the type of canned tomatoo that’s appropriate for your purpose. Whole or chopped tomatoes are ideal for soups, while petite diced make great quick sauces. Tomato puree and paste add flavor to sauces and soups while keeping the texture smooth.

Step2: Consider the quality and flavor of your canned tomatoes. Read the labels and choose the tomatoes with the most natural ingredients—tomatoes, water and salt. Many canned tomatoes come already seasoned with garlic or herbs. This makes cooking easy, but for the most control, use plain tomatoes and season them yourself.

Step3: Make a quick pasta sauce. In a frying pan, saute 2 cloves of garlic and 1 large shallot in extra virgin olive oil. Add salt, pepper, 1 tsp. of Italian seasoning and ¼ cup of white wine. Stir in a 14-oz. can of petite diced tomatoes. Cook on medium heat for 4 to 6 minutes until slightly thickened. Serve over al dente pasta.

Step4: Make an easy soup. In a small soup pot, cook until softened 2 cloves of garlic and 1 large shallot in extra virgin olive oil. Add a 14-oz. can of chopped tomatoes, a 14-oz. can of white beans (rinsed and drained) and 1 tsp. of Italian seasoning. Stir in a 14-oz. can of chicken broth or 1 ½ cups of water, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Step5Make a quick side dish. In a sauce pan, combine a 14-oz. can of chopped tomatoes with 1 ½ cups of a chopped fresh vegetable like zucchini or okra. Cook over medium heat until the fresh vegetable is tender. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

If you would like to post a comment on someone you may know that has been touched by breast cancer, I would love to hear that too.

POLAR

I recieved this email from the Polar and I wanted to pass the information on to all of you. I plan to check out the new stuff-- and if you do, let me know what you think!

Hi Tiff,

I work for Polar’s PR agency in the U.S., and just wanted to send you a quick note to say ‘thanks’ for mentioning them on The Spin Chick earlier this week.

You might be aware of this but just in case you aren’t, there’s lots going on at Polar these days, including a new website and YouTube channel as well as a whole new line of fitness watches introduced this month, including the FA20, FT40, FT60, and FT80 that are all designed for a broader audience of consumers.

You’ve got a really cool blog going. Keep up the great work!

Best regards,

Roberto E. Lebron
CooperKatz for Polar
205 Lexington Avenue, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Tel. 917-595-3035
Fax. 917-386-2435

rlebron@cooperkatz.com
www.cooperkatz.com

If you don't workout with a heart rate monitor, you should... Here are some reasons why:

Why Use a Heart Rate Monitor?

Heart monitors are devices that are designed for wear during strenuous exercise, and serve the purpose of measuring and recording your heart rate, while giving you instant feedback about the work level of your heart. The fitness of the heart is the key to one's aerobic endurance - sometimes called 'cardiovascular respiratory endurance'. Both for health and racing reasons, aerobic endurance is a point of focus for almost any runner. Heart monitors are one of the most effective aids for tracking and developing your progress on the path to increased aerobic endurance.

1) Accuracy And Ease: Heart monitors are the only effective way to track and record your heart rate over the course of an entire workout. Not only do heart monitors provide you with a complete record of your heart rate for the duration of your workout, but they are also more accurate than manual methods. Stopping during a run to count your pulse disrupts both your workout and your heart rate, and even the application of pressure to the carotid artery - perhaps the most common point for manual pulse detection - slows down the pulse.

2) Monitor Your Fitness: Cardiovascular fitness is the single most significant factor in your speed as a runner. Consequently, being able to track your cardiovascular fitness - not to mention tailoring your workouts to meet cardiovascular goals - is an extremely useful training tool. Measuring the work-rate of the heart is the most accurate method of determining how much benefit you are deriving from your workout (a discussion on how to gauge results can be seen in section III). Other methods, such as how hard one is breathing, or how tired one feels, can reflect other factors and give imprecise impressions of the effectiveness of your workout.

3) Prevent Over-Training: For many competitive runners, every week's workout regimen is essentially a seven-day dance along the fine line between optimal training and over-training. Using a heart monitor to avoid stressing your body too much means that you will maximize the efficiency of your training, while minimizing the opportunity for injury. Injuries are much less likely to occur when you are not over-taxing your body, and avoiding injuries is tantamount to avoiding setbacks in your training. While opinions differ on how much running is too much (we will discuss this more later), once you determine the desired intensity of your weekly workouts, you can use the monitor as a gauge. Are your recovery days really allowing your body to recover? The surprising answer, in many cases, is that runners' easy days are simply not easy enough. Use your monitor to stay below a certain ceiling, and you will avoid depleting your body's glycogen stores, ensuring that you will have the energy to perform your intense workouts with vigor and that you will not have to take unexpected days off from fatigue.

4) Prevent Under-Training: Though perhaps less common than over-training, some runners simply do not run hard enough, often enough. In this case, the monitor can function as a sort of coach, telling you when your body can handle more, and consequently, when you should pick up the pace. Set a minimum heart-rate goal for your run, and the monitor will sound an alarm when you have dropped below your target, telling you to work harder.

5) Pacing During Training: Perhaps the most obvious use for a heart monitor is to pace your training runs. Sometimes your time is not the best measure of how hard you are working. Different terrain, different energy levels, inconsistent distance measurements, and any number of factors can mislead you into thinking that you have performed well or poorly when the opposite may be true. Your cardiovascular performance is best measured by the work-rate of your heart, so pacing your training runs according to your heart rate is the best method of targeting your cardiovascular fitness as you do your workout.

6) Pacing During A Race: Some runners not only train with a heart monitor, but race with one as well. The monitor is a better tool for gauging effort during a race than mile markers, as the appropriate speed of each mile during a race can vary. Also, the monitor is indifferent to the wind, the paces of the other runners, the cheering of the crowds, the silence of lonely stretches that occur towards the end of some races, and any hills and curves; it is an objective observer than can help you maintain a consistent work rate, both over varied terrain and in areas where external factors affect your motivation and speed. Within a racing context, a monitor is perhaps most useful in preventing you from going out too fast or working too hard early in the race.

7) Enjoyment: While many runners enjoy their long runs, using a heart monitor adds a twist to running, whether it is being worn for a race or for training, for one mile or for twenty. Monitors can give you an accurate and fun way to quantify your progress, and if for no other reason, contribute some variety to the activity.

Don't Bug Me

Many of you heard about this already, but for those of you that missed it; here's the story:

I had my plants outside getting sun and fresh air, I heard it was going to get super cold, so I brought my plants in for the night. The next morning I find this praying mantis in my bathroom on the shower door-- I assume he/she came in on my plants. Anyway, I take a picture of it with my camera and text it to my dad. He texts me back "you know it's illegal to kill them". My first thought was WHAT? How would they know if I killed it? Are they tagged? Than I text him back and said "He was trespassing! Is it OK to kill him than?".

Now-- this is how my mind works.... I guess its OK to kill them as long as you don't record it and put it on YouTube. However, IF someone killed one AND got caught I would pay money to be in that court room to see that trial-- I mean, really? This has to be a joke, right?

What do you think?

It was a BIG salad!

I saw this napkin and I just had to capture a picture of it. My first thought was how funny it was because, as you all know, I like my food! Pizza, ribs, steaks, cheeseburgers, and subs.
Than I started thinking about the places I like to eat salad. Much like Kendra from "The Girls Next Door", I love Olive Garden. Soup, Salad, and Bread sticks... That could be a meal.

Of course I enjoy any salad that has hot and juicy steak or chicken on top, like the ones you get from the Original Steak House (USDA Prime Steak Salad crisp iceberg and Romaine, julienned carrots, red cabbage, cheddar, tomatoes, cucumbers, homemade croutons and applewood smoked bacon)-- That could be a meal!

Many of you know that I almost always order the taco salad at my favorite Mexican place in Prince Frederick-- That could be a meal!
So yeah, I eat salad (most of the time it's on top of a cheeseburger). We just might have more in common than I thought.

I would love to hear where you find your favorite salads...

Happy Eating!

A Pound A Week!

Sometimes I think that because I know something that you all know it as well. Just as we've heard the saying "breakfast is the most important meal of the day", we fitness freaks know that loosing a pound a week is the healthy way to loose weight.

There are 3500 calories in a pound, so in order to loose a pound a week you need to cut out 500 calories a day. In order to do this you will need to work off 500 calories by exercising and still eating all your healthy meals and snacks, or you will need to cut out 500 calories of food a day.

Since I'm not one for counting calories, I like to wear my heart rate monitor to see how many calories I've burned during exercise-- this way once you've burned your 500 for the day you can eat your normal diet for the day or even a few more healthy calories!!! On the days you don't work out, try to find something that has close to 500 calories that you would normally eat and just cut that out-- for example, if you hit the McDonalds for lunch, try to have a small salad or fruit instead of the fries and you've instantly cut those out!

Want more information on this, just let me know-- got other fun ways to cut out or count 500 calories? Share with us!

Where did you get that?

Where do I shop? People ask me all the time where I get my aerobics clothes. Here is one of my favorite sites for finding gym outfits:

Shoes? I like Rykas. You can find those at Lady Footlocker in the mall or http://www.ryka.com/-- if you know your size.
My bandannas come from everywhere-- I wear them to keep the hair out of my face and the hairspray, makeup and sunscreen from sweating down and burning my eyes-- trust me, I know they are not glamorous! You should try it one time and give me your opnion. Besides-- it's hard for you to reconize me without it-- this is how I can get away with going down the O isle in the grocery store..
I get my bra tops from http://www.underarmor.com/. I've also hit up the Nike outlet over the bay bridge.
http://www.athleta.com/. Check it out and you will see alot of the outfits you've been asking me about. Its alittle pricey, but always check the sales tab first. The customer service is great and I've never had a problem with returns or exchanges.
My heart rate monitor-- Its a Polar F6 and I got it off of eBay!

You know about some great aerobics deals? Share them with me...

Thank you Google

I want to take a moment an talk to you about the area of a triangle and a square or rectangle....
My daughter is in 6th grade this year and she is working on this in her math class at school. The problem is, I can't remember how to do this stuff! The school sends her home with only a photo copied piece of paper with problems on it. There is no book to look back through, no examples to look at, nothing!
Need I remind you that my name is Tiffiany and I'm just an aerobics instructor? I don't need to know this to teach a class-- ask me anything about the muscles or the bones in your body and I'm there, ask me about nutrition, ask me the ingredients for a margarita, but area of a triangle, rectangle, or square?
Now, I've talked about Google before and how wonderful it is to find useless information-- like the name of Gargimels cat from the Smurfs, and that picture of ALF I put on my last post, but I have NEVER been so thankful to Google until today when I had to find the formulas to find areas for my child's homework!
I just typed in "area of a triangle" and BOOM-- there is was: lenght times Width divided by 2! Woo Hoo! I am feeling like a super smart mom now. Bring it on Math Teacher-- Bring it on!
Oh yeah, I'm planning on volunteering in the math class tomorrow at school-- I may have to eavesdrop on how to do tomorrows homework.

Those that were

My friend and I were having lunch the other day and we started joking about my realiy show again. She asked me if I was going to have other stars on my show and I laughed and said only "has beens" will be invited.
I've started a list of "has beens" for my reality show-- Inita Margarita-- here is the list:
Vanilla Ice
ALF
The Duke Boys
MC Hammer
Manudo
Punky Brewster
Macho Man Randy Savage
Nature Boy Rick Flair
The rest of the 4 horsemen
The Bill from school house rock
McGruff the crime dog
Lamb Chop
Kazoo from Flintstones
The entire cast of the A team
The golden girls
Have I missed any? Is there any other "has been" you would like to see guest appear on my show? How about take one of my spinning classes? Wa ha ha ha!

I never stop working for you

Yep, that's me in my PJ's studying the newest Body Pump routine. For all of my Body Pump lovers-- New release will be October 18th! I better get back to studying!

coffee and oatmeal

I am a coffee drinker and some mornings I find it very difficult to eat breakfast. I may not be hungry or I may be in a hurry. We've all heard the saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but I wanted to give you some reasons WHY you should eat breakfast:

According to the John Hopkins Nutrition department:

Breakfast
Why You Should Eat a Healthy Breakfast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Breakfast provides you with the energy and nutrients that lead to increased concentration in the classroom.

Studies show that breakfast can be important in maintaining a healthy body weight.

Hunger sets in long before it's time for lunch, but because it's not convenient to eat properly, many people who have not eaten breakfast snack on foods that are high in fat and sugar.

People who skip breakfast are unlikely to make up their daily requirement for some vitamins and minerals that a simple breakfast would have provided.

Breakfast provides energy for the activities during the morning and helps to prevent that mid-morning slump.

Eating a healthy breakfast has been linked to better learning ability and memory functions.


Tips on Eating a Quick and Healthy Breakfast

Pick 2-3 foods, including at least one from each of the following food groups: -bread and grain (i.e.cereal, toast, muffin) -milk and milk product (i.e. low-fat yogurt, low-fat milk)-fruit or vegetable group (i.e bananas, apples, carrots)

Pick up portable breakfast items when at the grocery store. You should buy foods like fruit, low-fat yogurt, whole grain breakfast bars, or granola bars for those mornings when you have to eat breakfast on the go.

Replace or accompany that morning cup of coffee with a glass of orange juice or milk.

Make an omelette! You can shorten preparation time by chopping up your vegetables ahead of time.

Get up 15 minutes earlier. You can fix and consume a healthy breakfast in 15 minutes or less.
Plan ahead to eat breakfast. This means you should decide what you are going to eat for breakfast before the next morning. You can save time by putting out the box of cereal or cutting up some fruit the night before.


Just as you plan your day around the gym, you should plan your breakfast. This morning I tried to oatmeal from starbucks on my way to work and it was DELICIOUS!!!! Here is the information on the oatmeal and other "healthy" breakfast options:


Start Your Day Right.

Whether you’re looking for wholesome ingredients, a guilt-free energy boost or just a quick start, there’s something good for you.

Perfect Oatmeal 100% whole-grain goodness finished with your choice of dried fruit, nut medley or brown sugar.

Fruit Stella Bursting with 100% whole grains plus juicy baked berries and omega-3s.
Chewy Fruit & Nut Bar Real fruit, oats, nuts and clover honey with plenty of yum.

Multigrain Roll Made with seven hearty grains and seeds and the sweet taste of honey. Comes with your choice or almond butter or fruit preserves.

Apple Bran Muffin A good source of fiber, with hearty grains, dried cherries and baked apple.

Power Protein Plate An on-the-go snack of Cheddar cheese, fresh fruit, hard-boiled cage-free egg, whole-wheat bagel and peanut butter.

OREO's take me away....

It was another one of my "just" days today. I ran from one place to the other with NO TIME to spare. Got the kids off to school, went to the gym, taught my class til 11am, ran-- I mean RAN out of the gym and drove to Edgewater to get my payroll done, back into the county to pick up my oldest by 1:30pm and took her to a 2:00 doctors appointment where she had to get 3 shots-- that was fun! Than back to the house to change and get back to the gym for my 4:00pm class, home again for a quick turn around and off to dance class from 6-730. Home to cook and do homework and baths and paint nails... ugh... no time for wine, BUT..... The Halloween OREO's are out and that will be a GREAT finish to my day... if I ever sit down that is....

Ocean City

I had a great time in OC, minus the sickness of course.

It was my second trip to the OC bike week. Last year it rained and it was so cold. I packed shorts and flip flops and had to buy sweat shirts when I got there. This year they called for rain the entire weekend, so I packed jeans and boots and t-shirts and it was a STEAMY 95 degrees everyday and I never saw a drop of rain!

I did pass the World Gym several times and thought about stopping in for a spin class, but I decided that being on a bike with a throttle is much more enjoyable!

I staid with friends on 94th street and they had Harley Davidson swaps all the way to Salisbury.

A friend of mine called to tell me she was also in OC with her husband and kids and the first words out of my mouth were, "you know it's bike week, don't you?". Ummmm, yeah-- she kinda figured that out!

I spent time at Fish Tales, Hooters, Pickles Pub, and the Harley Davidson store, but my favorite place was Cowboys. It's off the road behind a strip mall on 116th street-- the beer was always cold and the food was excellent! If you get a chance to go, ask for Mizz-- tell her Tiffiany sent you! Yee Haw!

Doctor Doctor

I'm back on-line today after my trip to the beach followed by a terrible head cold.

I started feeling sick the day I left and after all the staying up late and eating bad foods I let my resistance get low and I got slammed hard with this cold.

Now, usually I can catch it when it just starts to come on and I can work out hard and sweat it all out, but I was on vacation so I just kept pushing through it. What a mistake, I was down and out for two days when I returned. I couldn't even lift my head from the pillow it felt so heavy. Oh, I still had to do mommy things, but in between I was SLEEPING!

I'm planning to teach my boot camp class this morning and hope that I don't pass out from lack of oxygen. I still can't breath through my nose.

I would love to hear your home remedies for a head cold....

Like A Girl Gear!

I've added a new shirt to my clothing line, check it out at www.thespinchick.com!

"quitchurbitchin' and exercise"

This could only happen to me

Am I that easy to talk to? I feel like this is a conversation that would only happen to me!
As you can see, my vacation has started, I’ve decided to stop in and have a much needed pedicure. The girl doing my nails is rubbing salt scrub and lotion on my legs and she has very long fake nails, so I ask her “do you have lotion and scrub stuck under your nails every night?” She replies “No, I wash them really good in between customers” Great, I’m thinking as I enjoy the massage on my shins! Then she adds “but if it’s a really busy day I sometimes find nail clippings in my cleavage when I get home at night”. WHAT?!? Did I need this information? Needless to say I was laughing so hard that my abs are now killing me….. Who needs the 30 min core class when you can have conversations like this?

More vacation stories to come!

To My Spin Fans!

Hello my spin fans! I must sincerely apologize for what happened today. I got the phone call at 647am this morning. One of the Prince Frederick instructors couldn’t make her 10am and 11am classes. Unfortunately, one of the classes was kickboxing and we have VERY few boxers. At 855am, the executive decision came down the channels and I was told to sub out my spin class in Owings and go save the day at Prince Frederick…. I told them all in PF that I as slumming for the day!!
I knew that there was going to be an uproar in Owings since this was the second spin class in a row I had missed!!!!
Anyway, I just wanted you to know that you guys are my top priorties, but being the GFM (Group Fitness Manager) for the Owings World Gym AND the fact that I can teach every single group ex class there is, including yoga (Yeah, I teach yoga, but that’s a whole nother blog), I had to step in.
I know I let some of you down and I promise to do my best to make it up to you next Wednesday-- be prepared to work hard hard hard!!!!
I’m off to OC bike week-- wish me fun!

I JUST can't do anything!

OUCH! I am so sore from the new Body Pump routine and my hamstrings are killing me from the 4:00 spin class tonight! I’m gonna need lots of protein and even more red wine…

I want to vent about the word “just” for a moment. I’ve always said that once you become a mom the word “just” leaves your vocabulary. You can’t “just” run to the store, you can’t “just” stop in for a second, you can’t “just” do anything any more-- everything is a big production. Here was the schedule of my day:
6:00am-- alarm is going off, out of bed, coffee, breakfast, kids ready for school.
7:00am-- Kids off to school, I’m off to the gas station and than the gym.
8:00am-- gym doing paperwork and preparing for class
9:00am-- teaching boot camp and burning 600 calories
10:00am-- class is done, quick change and off to my second part-time job of making t-shirts
10:30am to 2:50pm-- I’m standing on a concrete slab while pressing, turning, pressing, turning, pressing, turning t-shirts. Mind you, the ink has to dry so it is at least 85 degrees in there! Thank goodness for good company!
2:50pm-- I’m off to pick up kids from school
3:00pm to 3:40pm-- home to change, grab a quick bite than off to the gym
4:00pm-- teaching a spin class
5:00pm-- home to cook dinner for kids, help with homework, bathe the kids, and get them ready for bed.
7:00pm-- shower myself, sit down, enjoy a sip of red wine before I hear the word “MMMMMMOOOOOOOOMMMMMM”

I’m pretty sure I didn’t JUST do anything today-- I did make it into the gym twice though! 547 calories in my boot camp class and 444 in my spin!
See you tomorrow!

Trust me, I know my stuff

I work as hard as you do! Do you think I wake up like this in the mornings? NO! My teeth are straight and white because I had braces as a kid and I brush and floss two or three times a day! I have good skin because I wash my face morning and night. I have good hair because I’m able to go to the salon to cover the gray and I wash it often. And I have a fit body because I know fitness, I’m passionate about fitness and I work out above and beyond my fitness classes! Would you want to take a class from an unfit instructor? Would you go to a dentist if he/she had yellow teeth? How many of you have taken an aerobic class and said your goal is to look just like me? (Or your instructor?) I work hard! I eat right, I exercise on top of my classes! Any good trainer would. Guys, I know my stuff-- let me show you the way to your goals, talk to me, email me, ask me questions, let me help you! My point is, you don’t get good skin because your skin care lady has good skin, you don’t get good teeth because your dentist has good teeth, and you don’t get fit because your instructor is fit-- you have to do the same things your skin care lady, dentist, and fitness instructors are doing! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again-- I CAN MAKE FITNESS FUN, let me show you the way!

You dont have to go to dental school or to dermatology school-- just do what you should be doing-- listen to your dentist, listen to your Mary Kay lady, and listen to the people that know fitness best!

You can't got to the dentist twice a year with no maintanence and still have good teeth or go to the gym once a week and expect results. You don't wash your hair or face once a week and don't expect pimples or greasy hair. You work hard and take care of yourself and then expect results.

The O diet

Things to let you know that you might be addicted to the O diet….

What’s the O diet? I like to say that I am ON the O diet—if it ends in an O, I will eat it. Frito, Dorito, Tostito, Ledo, Dominio, Combo, Cheeto, Potato etc….

If you can understand your friend if she talks to you with a Dorito in her mouth, you might be addicted to the O diet.

If you have 8 snack items in your pantry and 7 of them end in O, you might be addicted to the O diet.

If you have to change your clothes into elastic pants before you go out to dinner, you might be addicted to the O diet.

If you only need to go down one isle when you’re in the grocery store, you might be addicted to the O diet.

If you’ve figured out how to spell other foods to make them end in O, just so you can eat them, you might be addicted to the O diet.

If you know the exact date that the Christmas special white fudge covered Oreo’s come out for the season (December 18th), you might be addicted to the O diet.

If you know how many Cheetos you can fit into your mouth at one time (17), you might be addicted to the O diet.

If the only beer you drink is from MEXICO, you might be addicted to the O diet.

If you have your own reserved table at LEDO’s, you might be addicted to the O diet.

If you feel that you or someone you know has an addiction to the O diet, please send them to me ASAP.

(Next blog—your twelve step program for O diet addiction!)
www.thepsinchick.com

Left Over Kid Foods

I’ve always said I would like to create a diet that consists of the left over’s off your children’s plates; things like, 1 ½ chicken nuggets, 3 spoonfuls of Mac & Cheese, the crust off the sandwich, and the last bite of the pizza crust. I’ve decided that this will be the title to my first chapter:

Things licked off of knives and spoons have no calories if you are in the process of preparing something. Example: peanut butter on a knife making a sandwich, and ice cream on a spoon making a sundae.

So for all you lunch, dinner, and dessert making parents, this one’s for you!


http://www.thespinchick.com
http://www.msplinks.com

12 step drinking program

I sent this picture to my girlfriend and she said I needed to get on the twelve step program to getting sober. I said, my dad drinks with me-- he thinks I'm fine, she said "step 1 is denial". I replied, I'm on step two "drink until you forget step one".

I'm going to be doing extra sit-ups this week!

Don't forget to vote before Wednesdays class!

Yes, I eat Italian food!

I love Fridays! I had a great class this morning followed by a nice lunch with my marketing guru and my biggest fan! We worked on a lot of ideas to bring The Spin Chick into every home. Start looking for Cyber Fitness-- I will coach you via email!

So, I’m telling my class today about how my mother had a TON of $5.00 bills, she and I went to the grocery store and as she was paying with all of her 5's, the teller asks "Are you a waitress"? "No," my mom answers and points to me "My daughter is a poll dancer"! Right there in the Safeway! Yep, these are the seeds that sewed me!!!

I also told my class about my daughter and her 4 year old well baby check up. She had to do an eye exam. She covered her eye and as the nurse pointed to the pictures she would say "star" "moon" "circle". She got to a picture of a hand and she said it was a "glove". A GLOVE? Why a GLOVE? I was laughing! Why didn't she say a hand or a high-five? As she continued she came to a photo of a tiny tea cup and my daughter says "Um, that's my mommy's coffee". How do they know? My coffee cup doesn't look like that!?! As I was telling this story to my class they say to me "You're lucky there wasn't a picture of a wine glass or something". Ha Ha Ha! I guess that's true!

I went to dinner at Mama Lucia’s, Sals place, and had nice fattening Italian food and two glasses of wine. Nice dinner. Sal is a member of the gym and he comes in 5 days a week. I call Sal my job security! He keeps Calvert County FAT! Thanks Sal!

It’s Friday and I know the weekends can be hard when keeping up with your fitness goals, so I would like to set a challenge to you all. When I brush my teeth in the morning I will do calf raises or small squats. I would love to hear how you do your little workouts outside of the gym. Do you bicep curl your grocery bags? Do you squeeze your glutes while sitting at a red light? Do you do crunches during the commercials of your favorite TV show? Maybe you have small hand weights in your bathroom? (Is that proper etiquette?) Do you always walk up steps two at a time? Let me hear your stories this week! If I think you have the best “at home” fitness workout I will send you some free SPINCHICK merchandise!
www.thespinchick.com

Damn Chirping Cricket!

Has this ever happen to you? I had a cricket in my room last night that kept me up ALL night with its chirping and chirping and chirping! I looked everywhere for this tiny monster! I even brought the new puppy into my room—the same puppy that can find every bug in the back yard before she pees and even she could not find the damn thing! I'm telling you now that I'm going to capture a few and force them to take a body pump class or I will decapitate them and line them up at the front door to dare any live ones to enter! It made me crazy today!

I also have toe rings on my beautiful pigs and just as I was getting into my run on the treadmill this morning my toe started to really really hurt! It turns out that one of my toe rings was twisted and kind of diagonal on my toe and jamming into the other toe! I had to cut my run short…. Jewelry, now the cause of my injuries? These are not new to me, I've been wearing them for over 7 years now—have I lost weight in my toes?!? This is crazy!

Had my 7am client this morning followed by a few mommy issues in the afternoon—that means I didn't get to make t-shirts using my mad skills I've been bragging about for three days!

At 4pm I was able to make it to my Body Pump class where I KILLED the nine peeps that were there. It was those crickets—they kept me up all night long!

I didn't do any Body Fat Measurements this morning, I'm hoping you guys will grab me soon…..

See you tomorrow for my 4pm spin class!

Back to Work

My day started off pretty early after my three day weekend away from the gym. I didn't have any clients this morning, but I did arrive early so I could get some end of the month paperwork done.

I was able to get in a short 2 mile run before my boot camp class today.

Boot camp was great! 12 peeps and V came in running thinking she wasn't going to get a spot! She had plenty of room. I gave them a tough class today with non-stop cardio, weights, cardio, abs, cardio, etc… I think they really enjoyed the one armed push-ups. Didn't you?

After class I headed over to my second job of t-shirt making. I was pretty much on my feet all day—that kinda sucked, I'm used to taking a hot shower, a nap, cleaning up a bit, having a lunch time spirit or two—you know, before the kids get back. Well, that's not going to happen for me for a few days. My lunch consisted of a subway sub than back to the t-shirt machine. My first 37 t-shirts were screwed up; I won't mention what company they are for. After that, I got the hang of things. I was there from 10:30 until 3:00. I was such a long day, I'm thinking of filling a flask for tomorrow—no, it won't be JUST Gatorade! That just means the 4pm class tomorrow is going to be AWESOME!

I headed to the preschool for my youngest and we were back at the gym for my 400 spin class. It was SO NICE to see my regulars there. You just don't know how happy it makes me to know you guys made that special trip just for me. V showed up in the same shirt she had on in boot camp—um hum! S was there with a fresh haircut singing every song! M popped in to ride for a bit and even gave the evil Tiff laugh to the new gal! I hope I didn't let you down on the 45 minute spin ride. I was TOAST after that.

Home to cook dinner, help with homework, shower, baths, clean up and at the computer for the payroll, end of month numbers, and newsletter information for my first job. (Was that a run on sentence or what?) Thank goodness for my red wine, there is no way I would be here typing without it.

I think I've finished for the evening with not too much to type about. I do want to add one quick gym thing. I think it is important for you all to know what your Body Fat Measurements are. It just consists of a quick hop on the scale. It takes only 1 minute of your time, and it's free. I think you should get measured every 6 weeks so you know where you are and where you are going. Please see anyone of the trainers or instructors and start keeping track of the changes in your body. Make sure you're doing the right things! Always have your measurements done BEFORE you workout, I am always available before my classes.

I Can Lead the Way...Really!!

On another note, I spoke with S tonight and I want to make things very clear to everyone. The reason I post all the information about my life and fitness is because I want you everyone to know how important you are to me and how important fitness is to me. I am just a NORMAL girl; I've got kids, parents, responsibilities. I've been a wife, a friend, a sister, a daughter. I've been through pregnancies and injuries and I'm still in the gym every chance I get. I eat bad foods, drink beer, don't count calories nor measure my portions. I brush my teeth at the gym, get on the scale and eat ice cream sandwiches! I'm not Lance Armstrong or an Olympic athlete, I'm just me—I'm just like you and yes I fold my own underwear!

So let's enjoy fitness together, I can lead the way!

I Had to Pay them $50.00!

Great three day weekend! Didn't do much Friday, taught my Body Pump class and it was intense!

Friday afternoon I met a friend for drinks, and just as I was walking into the bar my brother called. He asked what I was doing and I, assuming he was at work slaving away, said with a sarcastic tone that I was just about to have a cold Corona. He just had to burst my bubble and tell me he was in New York City having lunch! Thanks little bro!

I got a new phone recently and I hate it! My old phone was broken, so Verizon replaced it. First of all, I pay insurance every month in case something happens to my phone and they STILL charged me $50.00 for the new phone! What is the insurance for? Anyway, if that wasn't bad enough they cannot transfer any of my things over from the old phone. I have over 100 contacts in there- plus all the games and ringtones I paid to download. All the pictures of my kids and my entire picture IDs! Needless to say this was a very stressful time for me! I no longer have any dates in my calendar, I don't know anyone's birthdays—it's awful! AND I HAD TO PAY THEM $50.00 FOR THIS TORTURE!

Was planning a wild weekend of drinking and partying and ah yeah- that didn't happen. It was pretty mellow. I did have a cookout with friends and family on Sunday which started at 3pm in the afternoon and I'm pretty sure it still going on now. I've got some stranger on the couch behind me snoring away….

I've uploaded photos of my Friday—Day in the life of the spin chick. My camera battery went dead and I had to charge it, so I will continue that album again soon.

Looking forward to boot camp in the morning! Send me spin song requests!

My New Blog!

Hey its the Spin Chick here. Just want to say that I am using a new blogging software that will allow me to post surveys and other fun stuff for my peeps to enjoy. If you look to the right you will see my first survey, "To Ride or Not to Ride", that is the question. Now I need your input! Thanks for riding along on this new adventure.

Love,
The Spin Chick

The Wedding Fairy

A married couple in their early 60s was celebrating their 40th weddinganniversary in a quiet, romantic little restaurant. Suddenly, a tiny yet beautiful fairy appeared on their table.

She said, 'For being such an exemplary married couple and for beingloving to each other for all this time, I will grant you each a wish.'

The wife answered, 'Oh, I want to travel around the world with mydarling husband.'

The fairy waved her magic wand and - poof! - two tickets for the QueenMary II appeared in her hands.

The husband thought for a moment: 'Well, this is all very romantic, butan opportunity like this will never come again. I'm sorry my love, but my wish is to have a wife 30 years younger than me.'

The wife, and the fairy, were deeply disappointed, but a wish is a wish.

So the fairy waved her magic wand and poof!...the husband became 92years old.

The moral of this story: Men who are ungrateful bastards should rememberfairies are female.....

What a Day!!

What a day!!! How many of my blogs start out like this?

First I would like to thank A for the wonderful information about how much fat, calories, and carbs are in the pound of cheese I ate on my pizza—I LOVED getting that information…
Had my 7am bride-to-be today-- she showed up in all black, much better for my sandpaper eyes to see than the pretty pink shirt! She worked hard today and even did planks for abs! Great job M!

My 8am came into the gym limping worse than me so I sent her away and told her not to return until she had a doctor's note! I have an idea she went to the gym 15 minutes after I walked out!! Hummmmm.

I had to laugh at D and S, they were shooting each other down in the gym today—one needed a walker and the other didn't have proper men's room etiquette! It was sooo funny!

No classes for me today, but I was able to get a 2 mile run in on the treadmill. Saw a few of my clients in the gym complaining of the pain I inflicted on them Tuesday and Wednesday and a few surprised faces to see me running—what do they think? I just wake up with this body in the morning?

I went to T's shop to help her out—she's giving me a part-time job during the week because I need the pedicure money. I think she was surprised at how well I did printing T-shirts—as she would say "I've got mad skills you don't even know about"!!!

Hit lunch with my two morning clients—Coronas for all! OK- Corona LITES dad!

Went to do some things for my BFF L--than home to deal with the kiddies!

Dinner was chicken and rice and LOTS of red wine for me—A's diet!

Tomorrow I plan to take photos so you can see what the Day in the Life of the Spin Chick is like—I hope you all enjoy

To Ride or Not to Ride, That is the Question

Not having a great day today, on the inside. I got up for my two early morning clients. My 7am was there to greet me with a big smile on her face and a cute pink top. No one is allowed to smile at me at that hour! EXTRA SQUATS for her! She is the bride-to-be and is doing a GREAT job! She did try to bribe me with Buffett tickets, but no date…. I can't go alone.

My 8am was my usual, I've been with her 6 months and she just puts on her IPod and pretends like she is listening. She did admit to me later in the afternoon that she was pretty sore.
Spin class was full again and I had to teach off my bike. I have a question, do you guys like it better if I ride, or does it matter? I can always turn people away that don't get there on time. Let me know your thoughts on that.

We all had a great spin ride; I made room for everyone and still had to turn two away. That's heart breaking. Everyone was singing along to the playlist and there wasn't a dry person in the room. Sweat was EVERYWHERE. How many calories did you burn D?

After class I went home for a quick shower and headed out in the convertible. I had lunch with a friend and a few coronas (not lites) and a salad. We talked for a while and then I headed back up the road. It's Wednesday and that's my Ledo's pizza night. Met another friend for pizza with the girls and I've attached a photo of the TV that I complain about. OH, did you know that a mosquito has 47 teeth? Yea, now my brain is full of useless information—I'll be great on Jeopardy. I feel it was necessary to carry my camera to the pizza place, take this photo and upload it so you will all believe that I don't make this stuff up! This REALLY happens to me! Check it out in my pics!

Do you really think this is necessary to know WHILE you're eating a large cheese pizza? 1 pound of cheese…..

I've got to run on the treadmill tomorrow and do some lifting, because of you guys I haven't been able to spin for two weeks now…. But you know I love ya!

Oh, I'm diggin' MySpace—I had a message from a cute 26 year old that said I was a MILF. Great for my ego (because you know it wasn't big enough already). You got competition S!
One last note, I want you all to have this wonderful phone number to call incase you need therapy: 1-603-413-41

Funny Fitness Tip

Beer and/or liquor in your water bottle are prohibited in the gym. Unless, of course, you bring enough for your trainer. This also goes for mochaccinos, frappaccinos, and anything with an umbrella in it

The First Day of School

Great day today! All three kids were in school, my first day of mommy freedom!
My day started very early again with my 7am client. She had been super sore over the weekend and I'm pretty sure she was doing the dreaded crab walk. She was back for more torture this morning and I dished it out! I think she will be drinking from a straw because she can't lift anything.

8am client was awesome as usual. I've only got her this last week before surgery so I'm trying to shed every last pound off of her. Come to find out she's been sneaking juice boxes… Time for an intervention!

Boot camp was packed today! 14 peeps and all of them complaining. V comes waltzing in late talking about her weekend at the beach! I hope she doesn't walk tomorrow. S was not himself today, too many days without me I think. He said he wasn't coming to spin tomorrow because he was sore already. I know he won't miss my class. A couple of the girls that had taken the summer off are really going to be regretting class this morning.

I have been looking forward to school starting, made a nice list of all the things I needed to get done, yeah…. Haven't even looked at that list, I feel busier now than ever! How does this happen?

Got home around 3pm- My oldest picks up her hermit crab and its legs just drop, no, CRUMBLE off onto the bottom of the cage…. First of all… ewwwww- I'M traumatized. Second, what happen to 50 years? I couldn't even make it a week?!? This is gonna cost me—Toys R Us to the rescue.
Several Coronas, a lunch consisting of a tomato sandwich, and 1 spin ride later and I'm multi-tasking by making dinner, blogging, pushing one child on the swing, folding clothes (really just wrinkle releasing them over and over again), and updating my site. Sorry I've got nothing exciting for you tonight, maybe tomorrow.

On a good note, I got a camcorder from Ebay and I'm waiting for it to arrive, Reality YouTube here I come!

Gotta go before I burn the house down.

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

I had a great time on my vacation, so good I didn't log onto MySpace once!!!..

Day one: (Thursday)
I trained two clients in the morning, one of which was at 7am!!!! Only for a bride will I get up that early, in fact it was so early for me that when I got to the gym I noticed I had my workout shorts on inside out AND backwards. Yep, tag in the front, white strip from the who who was on the outside. My clients had to pay!

After my clients I grabbed the bags and the kids and headed to the beach. We arrived around 3pm and hit the pool right way. The pool closed at 7pm, so we went to grocery store, got lots of junk food and had dinner in.

At the condo where we stayed the kids found a toy from the past—a sit and spin. Of course my wonderful children decided to try to STAND and spin. Yep, I couldn't be prouder of the degree of smarts in my children. I knew that was as accident waiting to happen, so I put that in a hiding spot and broke out the bubbles—what child doesn't like blowing bubbles? Apparently my youngest just likes to EAT them. No, they were never dropped on their heads. I am in need of a beer with a shot on the side and for the kids to go to bed.

Day two: (Friday)
I get up early; enjoy a cup of coffee while I'm watching the OC channel on TV trying to decide what to do for the day. I find a water park off the beaten path and we all pile in the car… we're off! We had a blast—yes pictures to come! It was tough because it was three against one. Mom look at me, Mom watch this, Mom can you ride with me, Mom can you carry my tube… Needless to say by 1pm it was beer time again. Every time we went around the lazy river my kids made SURE I went under the waterfall that beats you half to death.

On the way back to the room I swing by the boardwalk and grab a tin of caramel popcorn that I plan to eat later tonight. Take the kids to Candy Kitchen so they can watch candy being made. They were very excited as they told me it was like Charlie and the Chocolate factory. I can't help but think about Lucille ball and that whole candy ordeal. A tear comes to my eye when I realize that the chaos of being a single mom is not too far off that episode.

Alright, back to the condo, back to the pool wear them down and get them tired out. While the little one naps I research more and make reservations at a buffet that has a magician and a clown walking around painting faces and such. 7pm reservations and we are off. $29.00 all you can eat. WHAT? All you can eat? Let's see now, one child ate two bites of pasta, two carrots, 18 french fries, and ended with a slice of cake. Child two eats ½ a slice of pizza, 8 cucumber slices, and finishes with a soft serve ice cream. Child three LOVES crabs and I do NOT! Don't like them, have never liked them. Of course being the wonderful mom that I am I get the crab legs and try to shuck them for her. I am so not good at this, I see the other people around me with tiny forks digging into the legs. Look, I just broke it in half... if no meat came out I threw that one in the trash bowl and got another one. Now, because I don't like crabs I was very careful with all my food. I didn't put my hands on anything including the bread roll. Not thinking, which is common with three kids, I squeezed a lime in my much needed Corona and that was it! CRABBY BEER!!!! UGH! Bed time for all!

We get back to the room, relax, have chips and dip, watch TV, I get the kids to sleep. I go to dip into the giant bowl of caramel pop corn and it's empty! What happen? My oldest said, it tasted stale so I threw it out! OMG!!!! Do these kids not know anything?!?

Day Three: (Saturday)
My breakfast now consists of champagne and orange juice and the beer drinking begins at 10am. R and T, they came up to visit me for the day. Swimming and drinking is the only thing on the schedule. Without going into too much detail, let's just say the day didn't turn out quite the way I had planned. I was asleep in bed before the kids.

Last day: (Sunday)
I hit the boardwalk early for MORE caramel pop corn and keep it well out of the kid's site. I also grab a HUGE bucket of thrashers fries, can't leave OC without those… Kids get hermit crabs. The man says to me, do you want bigger shells for them to grow in to? I said, well how long do they live? 50 years he tells me! WHAT? I said, what if they grow out of the shell and don't have another one, he says they will die. That works for me, I gave them man 30 bucks and left!
The car ride home--you know you are in bad traffic when the sign says "Speed Limit 55" and the electronic sign under it says "your speed" 8! Let's just say I'm sunburned on the left hand side and that's not from the beach!

I'm home and super busy. Can't wait to catch up on my 85 unread emails and MySpace messages.

No more Seattle S, I'm back!

Quick Fitness Tip - Drink Your Water!

I was talking to Bob today, one of the other trainers, about a client I have that has hit a holding pattern in her workouts. After going through a question and answer period with Bob he tells me that every person should be drinking half their own body weight in ounces of water every day, for example, if someone weighs 160 pounds they need to drink 80 ounces of water every day. The first thought that comes into my head (and I'm not making this up) is "I wonder how much water is in beer". I guess S was right, I DO need therapy!!

Drink your water!!!!!!!

Men's Bathroom Etiquette

What a day!!! Started out early with a PT client, yes I kicked her butt but that's what she pays me for. You will never waste your time or your money training with me. Let's see how she feels tomorrow—I do believe she said something about drinking beer through a straw since she can't lift the bottle.....

I'm not sure what to say about boot camp. Somehow we got on the subject of restroom etiquette. I had no idea, truly, no idea that there were so many rules in the men's room. Ladies, we have it so easy, the men can't talk to each other, look at each other, or pass toilet paper to each other, NOTHING! I guess if you tap your foot on the floor in a men's room, it means you want a date?!? Is there such a thing for the ladies room? I mean, we never even go to the bathroom alone... we always go with someone else. I think I'm going to have to research this…

Speaking of research, I am such a product of GOOGLE! I am working on my spin ride for tomorrow; I had a request for 80's big hair bands. Now, I'm a product of the 80's, I should know this stuff, but I find myself Google searching music. (Is kiss an 80's band?) (Are the beasty boys considered part of the big hair band era?) (What band is Ozzy Osborne in?) You can GOOGLE search anything!!!! What should I fix for dinner, let me Google search. Fastest way to work, Google search. Kids homework answers, Google search! (Trust me on this one, type in the problem and the answer just appears! Ha, 6th grade, here I come) Will Corona regular really give you a fat ass—Let's Google search. Here is what I found out about bathroom etiquette:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hgcdfz8DcTI

Are you now amazed at what you can find on youtube? Oh and by the way, I found NOTHING on youtube for women's room etiquette... See men, no rules. Anyway, I digress.

Boot camp was awesome, had 13 peeps, all sweating, working hard and having a great workout.
After the gym I took my kids back to Kmart for more school supplies, man I'm going to be broke by the time they go back to school, hope I can find someone to pay for my Margaritas for the month of September. After Kmart, home for lunch, playtime, shower time, work time, nap time, dinner time.

As I am on the computer downloading music for my spin class tomorrow my youngest daughter's daycare calls and I answer the phone just as Dr. Feel good from Motley Crue blares out of my computer… Lord, what must she be thinking…? Mother of the year!!!!

As I sit here typing away at my blog, sipping on my second Corona (LITE) of the evening, wishing I had the 15 minutes of my life back that it took me to watch the youtube videos; I'm wondering how I got so far off of work outs and onto bathroom etiquette and school shopping… Are you SURE you would watch my reality TV show? I AM just a girl

Spin Class Rocked today!

Spin class ROCKED today, you know you are going to burn a lot of calories when the first thing out of the speakers is "I wanna rock!" I have to admit I was a little worried about all the 80's music, but it turned out to be a great class. You're lucky K; I didn't have to blame it all on you! Everyone sang along though!

Had my regular PT client before spinning today, she wasn't too sore—she told me she did her sit-ups at home with a beer and a straw between her legs. She kept crunching 'til the beer was gone—now that's my kinda client! I did tell her I was headed to the beach for the weekend; she said "I hope you choke on a lime!"

We talked about Google and old TV shows, what was the name of Gargimels cat from the smurfs and had she ever heard of the show the great space coaster. Of course we had to get the entire gym involved. Needless to say I ended up Google searching the cats name (Azreal) and the great space coaster came up on YouTube! Who knew!

Back to spin class, an old friend from the PF location showed up to give me grief because I left them like red headed step children. I had too many spinners and not enough riders, so I gave up my bike once again. Thanks T! She was spinning out vacation drama anyway!

K had requested the music last week and didn't think I would follow through—pa lease! They don't call me the spin chick for nothing! I'm here for YOU!

All my regulars were there today, A even had to bring her own bike in. She had red wine to spin off anyway! We had a ball with the 80's and I even broke out in a little Kevin Bacon footloose dance! UM HUM—you shouda been there! Heard D had over 1000 calorie burn!

It was nice to walk around and get close to all my peeps, but at the hour is was SO MUCH FUN to ride out the last of the survivors! You haven't had a spin class till you see S shoot the horns and pull out the cell phone during the love songs! Rock on S!

Nothing exciting after spin, got the kids, went home, showered, Safeway, home again, Ledo's for dinner—it is my Wednesday ritual. Yea, Yea, I know, one pound of cheese on a large pizza and who knows how much in each Corona, but I DID do several bicep curls and my triceps are a bit sore from all the lime squeezing.

I'm home now and I've got a 7am client in the morning that I've got to prepare for, yet another bride! Two clients than I'm off to OC—no worries though, I've got a wireless laptop and I can still blog from the beach!