Brea Getting Fit » breefawn

I’m BACK!

breefawn — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:54:05 +0000

I am SO very glad to be back! I am pleased to say that Tater was born on July 29th at 2:00 am! After an excruciating 8 hours of labor (thanks to him being extremely HUGE!), he was born via c-section. I’ve been recuperating for the last month, and am SO ready to lose this baby weight!! Tater is doing well. He just needs to learn how to sleep at night!! I’ve decided that if I’m going to be up at all hours, I need to have a few quick and fun workouts to help jump-start my journey (since I’m not allowed to run just yet) back into looking FAB. A good friend gave me the Zumba Fitness Total Body Transformation System DVD Set and I couldn’t wait to try it. Y’all know that I’m a die-hard barre workout/kettlebell/PINK Fitness girl when it comes to strength and flexibility…but without running, my cardio is hurting! SO, I was pleasantly surprised when I found that I actually ENJOYED a ‘dance’ workout DVD. Huh. I’ve always abhorred other dance workouts that I’ve tried (short of Cardio Barre), but this was actually FUN! I can honestly say that I won’t do it in front of Ish…but by myself at 2 in the morning, I had a blast! The music made me want to move, the instruction was good (if you try this set, be careful of the cueing and editing…there are a few moments where they do not match!), and I couldn’t believe that my 20 minute workout was OVER so quickly. I will admit that I was VERY winded when I was finished, but I really felt that I’d accomplished something…now I’m off to do some Bar Method!!

New goodies….

breefawn — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 23:47:23 +0000

I just realized that it’s been almost a MONTH since I posted last! YEESH! I blame it on my preggo brain and the fact that I’ve been completely distracted with cleaning and getting ready for Tater to get here…which if the doctor’s right won’t happen for a few weeks yet. AND I’ve been stocking my ‘nest’ with goodness that will give me energy while keeping up with my newborn. Okay, so one thing at a time…I found the most AMAZING bars!! Have you ever heard of element bars? No? You should try them!! They’re build-your-own, or pick-a-flavor, and no weird ingredients, which I LOVE! In fact, I have a 25% off code, if you’d like to try them! Just click this link: http://buzzwat.ch/brea. I absolutely ADORE Choco-lata-fun. SUPER yummy!! If you’re looking for something hearty and filling (LOVE these for breakfast with a glass of almond milk and a banana!) or just to recharge after a workout, try these. I packed a few in my hospital bag for after Tater gets here. I’m sure that I’ll be STARVING!!!

Fresh and Clean

breefawn — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 02:01:03 +0000

I LOVE a clean house almost as much as I love vegan nachos (okay…I’ll admit, maybe a little bit more). I’m OFFICIALLY 9 months pregnant, and don’t think that the “nesting” phase has kicked in, it’s just escalated. I think that I may be driving Ish NUTS with all of my disinfecting, dusting and requests for him to vacuum (I developed carpal tunnel, so sweeping, mopping, and vacuuming KILLS my wrists right now). BUT, I have a CLEAN house, and it’s FANTASTIC!! I even have a clean sewing room!!! My mom will actually have a place to sleep when she comes to help with the Tater! HOORAY! I have discovered along the way that some of my tried and true cleaning products contain some scary, scary stuff, though…. AND I also found that Clorox gives me a migraine. I can’t believe that I never made the connection before!!

OOH! AND we also got a bbq!! It was Ish’s Father’s Day present (which I realize is incredibly early), and it’s been WONDERFUL. So far my favorites are grilled fajita veggies with guacamole and smashed black beans AND my grilled portabella sammies. YUM! I cannot wait to try out my new Outset F107, Bamboo Skewers w/natural finish (wide/12 this weekend, either!! The plan is to use zucchini, squash, crimini mushrooms, bell peppers, and red onions with some fajita seasoning. I cannot WAIT!! I love summer!

Just plain SCARY!!

breefawn — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:01:00 +0000

Have you seen this?! How scary is that?! I went through my house with a trash bag…and ended up throwing away a TON of cleaning supplies, shampoo, and other products. It’s a little bit unnerving even if you don’t have kids and are not pregnant…and then here I am…LOL. I will DEFINITELY be using green products from now on!!

How do you GREEN your house?

breefawn — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:32:36 +0000

As the green movement becomes more and more recognized, it has caused me to rethink how we address our home…. Given that I’m vegan, I was quite surprised to discover that my life wasn’t very green. NOT GOOD. I am proud to say that in the past month I’ve rid our house of paper towels, started composting, AND am working on making some cloth napkins (so that our unpaper …LOVE IT!… towels don’t get used up quite so fast…thanks, Ish! LOL So…what do you do to be more “green” and environmentally friendly.

I would LOVE to recycle, but we’re outside city limits, so the garbage company doesn’t provide that service…. Something to look into! Do you use green household products? Do you have a reusable lunch bag? Or baggies? Do you compost (LOVING my composter!!)? Do you buy green products? Do you get your kids involved? Do you have a favorite site? Or brand? Do you freeze meals?

Distractions…a bad thing?

breefawn — Tue, 25 May 2010 16:47:29 +0000

So…I know that I haven’t blogged in WAAAAY too long, and I’m only kinda sorry. Is that bad? I have been getting ready for the arrival of our little one, and it is taking up so much of my time-especially when you factor in my last semester of school, working full time and starting my business. It’s TIRING! But I wanted to pop in and make sure that I updated my blog for those of you who still read (THANK YOU!). First of all, I cannot WAIT for the baby to get here!! Only 7 more weeks (and some days, but who’s counting?!) and then I get to meet my little man! Tater has grown SO much, but thankfully mommy has stopped gaining (making her doctor very happy). I’ve been diligently (or not so much, since I have to repeat week 3…) doing my Hypnobabies Home Study Course for Expectant Mothers Plus 2 Bonus Cds. I LOVE IT. Granted, I’m not terribly convinced that hipnosis actually works, but I feel GREAT after I do my sessions, and am really excited about the possibility (read: THRILLED) of having a comfortable birth.

I’ve also been working on greening up my house!! We are composting (took awhile to convince Ish to let my have a compost bucket (actually a hinge-top garbage can) on the counter, but I did it!! I also got rid of our paper towels and napkins and made some reusable ones out of terry cloth. I LOVE them. They’re SO much more absorbant! AND they don’t tear. We also re-weather stripped the doors so that our air conditioner would be more efficient! I am SO proud of us. My next project will be a container garden since we’ll have all that great compost!! I am so excited about increasing our green efforts! I have also discovered a LOVE of brown rice, black beans, corn salsa, guacamole and grilled veggies (yes, all put together). SO delicious!

Vegan hair dye??

breefawn — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 02:22:45 +0000

All I can say is that I am IN LOVE!! I stumbled upon ACT Naturals, who makes PERMANENT, plant-based hair dye. Could I BE more excited?! The last time I went to the hairdresser…well…let’s just say my hair is NOT cute, and hasn’t been since I’ve been preggo! BUT, there are no harsh chemicals or additives in this dye (consequently it won’t strip out other color, so be careful), and I am SOOOO tempted to try it! The only problem is that it can only be purchased online…which in my experience is either really good, or really bad (depending upon if you choose a good color….). So, the question is…do I dare? I love the idea of being able to even out my color, but I am apprehensive to make a “permanent” choice without seeing the actual color in person. I suppose it helps that my household is putting a spending freeze into effect on May 1st. ONLY gas and groceries. FUN! LOL I have plenty of fabric, and lots of projects, so I should be able to last the month (crossing my fingers, anyway!!). I think I’ll wait until the baby’s born…I would love to hear from anyone who has used ACT, though!

Cardio Barre Beginner Workout Giveaway GIVEAWAY CLOSED

breefawn — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 06:12:54 +0000

I had some extra energy (yay for getting 5 straight hours of blissful sleep!) and was jonesing for a barre workout when I got home from work today. SO…I have been wanting to do the beginner version of Cardio Barre: Four Workouts on One DVD, and as I was dragging out my barre (if you’ve never tried to maneuver a Fluidity barre at 6 months pregnant, you should be VERY proud of me!! That thing is AWKWARD and heavy!!) thought that I might share my thoughts (and a giveaway) with you, my loyal readers (you’re still out there, right??) I know that I have been VERY baby-obsessed the last six months, but I can’t really help that. I promise that after Tater gets here, you’ll hear all about me getting back into shape. Scout’s honor. Okay, moving on. So I finally got the barre set up (YAY!) and the DVD put in (note to self: move the DVD player to a higher location!!), and the Intro workout started. I have done the third and forth workouts before, and KNEW that I could not keep up…ummmm…yeah. I did okay. The workout is 144 bpm, which definitely got my heart pumping, and the moves were clearly explained. Some of the twisting I was unable to do for obvious reasons (and nothing on the floor…that heavens for my exercise ball!!), but I thought that it was a nice, short and to-the-point workout.

Now for the giveaway….I have a BRAND-SPANKIN-NEW Cardio Barre: Four Workouts on One DVD to giveaway! How do you enter, you may ask? Well, I’ll tell you. Leave a comment here telling me WHY you want this workout. It doesn’t have to be long, just tell me why you want it. The contest will run until Midnight EST on Sunday, April 11, 2010 (contest now ended).

I haven’t done this before, but I thought that I’d give it a try: EXTRA ENTRIES!!

-Follow me on Twitter, then post here (separate post, please) to tell me you are a follower.

-Fan me on Facebook, then post here (separate post, please) to tell me that you are now a fan.

-TWEET about this contest (one tweet per person, please), and post your tweet.

Good luck all!!

**Thank you for all the entries and follows!! We (Ish and I) drew the winner tonight…and…it’s DANIELLE! Congratulations!! Please email me your mailing address and I’ll get the DVD right out to you!**

Meet my Doula!

breefawn — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 21:40:05 +0000

Given that I love anything natural, it should come as no surprise that I want a natural birth. Ish wants a hospital birth. BIG difference. I was thinking calming birth center with water…but to make the hubby happy, we’re having Tater in a hospital. SO, to help with my wants of a natural, non-invasive child birth, we found a wonderful Doula to help keep me calm, focused and to help me stick to my birth plan. I suddenly feel SO much more at peace about the impending birth of Tater! I finally feel like I’m ready to be a mommy! I have a wonderful stash of cloth diapers (for more on the benefits of cloth, please read THIS), and cannot wait to experience a calm, natural birth. Yeah, it will be uncomfortable, but aren’t most things? Ish and the Doula made a great comparison to assisted (read: epidural) versus natural birth yesterday. She compared natural birth to climbing Mount Everest, while an assisted birth is still profound, it’s more like flying over. I would prefer to climb. I understand that there are lots of reasons for interventions and assistance, but I really want to avoid using anything but my own body. Afterall, it’s what we amazing women are built for! I am also taking the Hypnobabies Home Study Course for Expectant Mothers Plus 2 Bonus Cds. It teaches relaxation and calming practices to help with a controlled, calm and enjoyable birth experience. Now to find time to do it between work and classes…..

My 10 best preggie finds

breefawn — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:09:32 +0000

I realize that many of my readers are not pregnant, but some of you might be, or be thinking about it (or have a friend that you want to get a kick-butt gift for?)…and since I’m a little baby-bump obsessed right now, I thought that I’d share my favorite finds:

1. DreamGenii™ Maternity Body Support and Feeding Pillow
This is quite possibly the most genius invention EVER. I looked through tons of reviews about maternity body pillows (because belive me, you WILL need something to support your grown bump so that you can sleep for more than two hours), and this one took the cake. It’s small enough that I can still cuddle with my hubby, and it supports my front AND my back while still allowing me to use my amazing pillow that I absolutely CANNOT live without.

2. Deva Vegan Vitamins Prenatal Multivitamin Again, the BEST vitamins out there. Enough said.

3. Aubrey Organics – Sea Buckthorn Facial Cleansing Cream, 8 fl oz cream Seriously the BEST facial cleanser out there. I don’t know what it is about pregnancy but before I found this amazing cleanser (they also make a kick-butt moisturizer!), I was having flashbacks to someone else’s teenage years (yeah, that bad). This cleanser cleared me up and helped to keep me that way!

4. Earth Mama Angel Baby Natural Stretch Oil, 4-Ounce Bottle My skin is starting to stretch (ALOT) as I get into my sixth month (HOLY COW!) of pregnancy, and this oil is awesome. It helps to calm my itchy skin (even on my elbows and legs!), and I am sure that it’s helping minimize any unsightly stretch marks that might otherwise drive me insane.

5. Seraphine Bump Wrap Top This is the MOST comfortable shirt I own. The best part (even though it’s a little pricey)? I can continue to wear it from day 1 until AFTER the baby gets here. The top is totally adjustable, and SUPER flattering. I bought both the raspberry and black shirts, and wear each AT LEAST once a week. Super soft, very stretchy, and it makes my bump look FANTASTIC!

6. Forty Week Pregnancy Skirt by 2 Chix Quite possibly the MOST comfortable thing I own. AND it looks fab with my wrap shirts!! Again, this is one of those that you can wear before, during and after pregnancy, which completely ROCKS!!

7. Suzanne Bowen’s Long & Lean Prenatal Workout (Ruah) I absolutely LOVE the long, lean feeling that I get (especially as I get more round) after doing this workout. It’s a great alternative to other maternity workouts out there, drawing from barre and pilates styles. I love that I feel refreshed, rather than completely pooped after this workout (which, let’s face it, EVERYTHING takes more energy lately!)

8. Valeo Burst Resistant 65cm Body Ball (Pink) While not a pregnancy item, I have found that my exercise ball is my BEST FRIEND for those days when my hips and back feel tight. Just a few minutes sitting on the ball doing hip circles feels AMAZING. It also makes a nice place to support my top when Ish rubs my back (he’s such a wonderful hubby!)

9. The Belly Book: A Nine-Month Journal for You and Your Growing Belly (Potter Style) I know it’s kinda cheezy, but I wanted a memory of my first pregnancy, and this book ROCKS! I think that my favorite page so far is the one where I had to admit that, YES, I did wear the EXACT same pants to work 5 days in a row because they were stretchy and comfortable (not to mention adorable!). The book has places for photos of my growing belly, the all-important ultrasound pictures and my thoughts (and eating habits). Hopefully Tater will appreciate it when he gets older!

10. A Pea in the Pod: Short Sleeve Deep V-neck Babydoll Nursing Nightgown This nightgown is SO super comfortable, and it made me feel human again (Ish was nice enough to donate his favorite shirt when my nighties stopped fitting around my belly). It’s soft, girlie AND (once again!) does double duty as a nursing nightie. I could actually leave the house (or have visitors) wearing this and NOT be self-concious (I said COULD, not WOULD!).

So there you have it. My 10 favorite things. I’m sure that after Tater gets here I’ll have another list of MUST HAVES, but for now, I’m content with my finds. AND if you aren’t preggo, there’s a great give-away going on until SUNDAY (March 21, 2010) HERE!