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| Still smiling after the workout of my life!
OMG, Ladies have you tried Bikram Yoga??
I purchased a Groupon for a local yoga studio here in Michigan and was delighted when I also had an additional 20% off coupon in my in-box. The deal is for 5 classes, whenever I can fit them in, for a whopping $20.00! I can handle a 90- minute yoga class for $4.00. I have always wanted to try this type of (hot) yoga and now I can honestly say that I gave it my all. I feel like I lost 5 lbs. in sweat alone. There are 26 poses in Bikram yoga and you are moving very slowly as you complete each pose. Which is good, because moving fast in a 109° temp would be very difficult. As is was, I felt I was going to pass out numerous times and had to sit out a few poses. The instructor mentioned that I might feel nauseous as I attempt many of the poses and I did. She said the nauseousness was from the toxins leaving my body. I took many breaks and drank lots of water. When the time was up I felt relief. I was dying to get out of the heat. Will I go back? Damn right I will!! I will use the rest of my Groupon and if I find I am stretching my muscles and getting leaner then I will sign up for more classes. The women/girls, and a few men, in the class were limber, lean, and had little body fat. Even though Dave and I run, go to the gym for classes, and weight lift, I still feel so out of shape. This class forced me to use muscles I normally don’t use.
I have to rest for two days before I go back- that’s standard operating procedure. So on Sunday- I’ll be feeling the heat again. In the mean time, the weather is warming again this weekend so we can hit the trails for a run. 🙂
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Tag: lifestyle
Monday Mash-Up!
Hope you had a wonderful weekend! We were busy as usual. We finalized some work to be done in the house. The master bath is getting new counters, sinks, faucets, shower door, mirrors, cabinet hardware and newly stained cabinets. We are keeping the old oak cabinets just having them stained a coffee color. I’ll update as we continue on this journey.
We have also decided to add wainscoting up the stairway and crown molding in the study, guest bath, and entry way.
There will be wainscoting and crown molding as a background for this upstairs sitting area.
The entry way wainscoting will continue up the stairs.
The kitchen oak cabinets are getting a gray wash stain over them as well.
Fresh paint in study and guest bath will be added and then I think we are done for this year. All work is to be completed in March- so I will post progress as it happens! Can’t wait to get started 🙂
On Saturday we got together with the family for birthdays. What a hoot the Pie Face Challenge game was!
We ran 7 miles this weekend and biked 10. Worked out at the health spa and tried to eat healthy…birthday cake was sooo good though. We had to bring a huge slice home to eat on Sunday 🙂 Oh well, life goes on. I’m making a vegetable soup tonight to get back on track.:) Tell me about your weekend!
Monday Mash-Up
Hello! A blue sky and warm weather in February is unheard of here in Michigan, so everyone was out enjoying the sunshine this weekend. The trails were full of runners, skaters, walkers, and bikers. We took a 14-mile bike ride on Sunday in the warm 65° weather. Some people were out with no coats just short sleeve shirts. Crazy for a Michigan February!
On our bike ride we ended up at another model home. This detached condo is located on a golf coarse. Really nice, with some beautifully decorated rooms to glean ideas from.
After our bike ride and touring the model home we ended up getting lunch at the Brown Iron, a local brew pub and restaurant. We enjoyed a sample of Raok Rum-Aged Porter with Maple Syrup and Chestnuts, 7% ABV, very good but not great. After that we tried a sample of Brown Iron’s own Chocolate Raspberry Stout, an Imperial Stout w/ Chocolate, Raspberries & Coconut, 8% ABV, really good but not order worthy. Next we tried a sample of the Brown Iron’s Chocolate Cherry Cordial, an Imperial Stout w/ Chocolate & Cherries, 9% ABV. WE loved this one and each ordered one to drink with our lunch. We are going back to this pub later in the week with friends, now we know what beer to order with our dinner. 🙂
On Saturday, I was so sick with a cold that all I did was bathe, change my pajamas, read, and sleep. Dave ran in the morning, logging in another 4 miles and biked on his own for 10 miles. Luckily, I made a big pot of split pea and ham soup during the week, so dinner was taken care of. We ended up binge watching Homeland, season 6, episodes 1-5 – free access to Showtime is always a nice surprise!
Our weekend was over before we knew it. How was your weekend?
Vegas Baby!
Boy- did we have fun! Last weekend we decided to splurge and treat ourselves to some warm weather and good beer in lieu of getting each other candy or flowers for Valentine’s Day. I’m so glad we did. We flew out on Friday morning and by late afternoon (after we ran 4 miles) we were enjoying a craft beer from one our favorite restaurants The Yard House enjoying a Founders Breakfast Stout and Hazelnut Brown beer. We decided to walk around afterwards and check out the sites. Took some pictures as we strolled. We ended up at Ceasars Palace and were lucky enough to score tickets to see Elton John that night!!
Ceasars Palace is remarkable- full of shoppes, restaurants, and of course gambling
The Elton John stage
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| Stage for the song Philadelphia Freedom |
The next day (Saturday) we decided to ride bikes. We found a bike rental shoppe in Henderson that was near a bike trail that was well maintained and 36 miles long. It followed along Lake Mead and the views were spectacular! The weather was warm and the course was challenging.
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| The path was so hard, it seemed to go up hill forever! |
Back at the hotel we decided to walk around old Vegas for the night and find a brewery we looked up on line.
Old Vegas is so much fun! You can zip line above the crowds 🙂
We enjoyed a beer at the Banger Brewing Company. Made friends with the bartender who told us to go to Pizza Rock for the best pizza in town.
We did, and enjoyed a vegetable pizza with a Rouge Hazelnut Brown beer!
On Sunday we shopped and drove around most of the day. Dave got a cold right before we left and was under the weather most of the weekend- but the trooper he is, he never complained and kept up with me the entire time 🙂 We even ran a few miles in the morning.
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| Found a street named after me! |
On Monday we decided to travel to the Western rim of the Grand Canyon. There is a Skywalk there that was calling our names! The Skywalk extends 70 feet into the canyon with a glass floor. It was costly to go on the Skywalk- $76.00 per person- We would suggest you save your money and skip the actual Skywalk and just take the nearby trails for $49. The views are just as good. The drive from Vegas thru Arizona is just beautiful. I’m so glad we decided to rent a car for this trip. Costco has a special- $109.00 for the entire 5 days with unlimited miles, crazy good deal.
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| Beautiful tumbleweed, the desert is so pretty |
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| Wild horses randomly walking down the road |
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| You can see the Skywalk in this picture |
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| We wrote our initials and the name of our blog on a rock, hope it lasts for awhile. We got back to the hotel (Marriott Las Vegas), very nice hotel with a healthy breakfast buffet, in plenty of time to enjoy the sunshine and swim.
Our last evening in Vegas was spent walking around the strip, eating good food, and drinking a few great beers. Beer for the evening started at Gordon Biersch Brewery on Paradise Avenue. I enjoyed the Belgian Golden– a Belgian with bitter orange peel and a slightly fruity finish. ABU 7.4%- very clean. Dave was not a fan however, so onward to the Yard House once again where Dave discovered, possibly his favorite beer of all time, a Belgian Ale called Barista Chocolate Quad by Kasteel Brewery. It ranks neck in neck with Southern Tier Creme Brulee stout, another favorite beer. In fact, we drove around for an hour looking for a 4 or 6 pack to bring home with us. We found some!! It is that good!!
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Walked around leisurely the rest of the night enjoying the lights, sounds, and people of Las Vegas. So nice to get away 🙂
10 pictures on the 10th of the Month
Trying to decide what color to go with on the kitchen cabinets. We originally wanted them stained a gray color with the oak wood grain showing. Unfortunately the red tone in the cabinets will be difficult to stain over unless we stain them much darker. The other option is to go with a gray/beige paint. I have know idea what we will do. I’ll keep you posted.
We are planning on keeping the back splash and granite counter tops.
Picked up a dress for Olivia’s shower (blue) – (clearance) Ralph Lauren at Marshall’s!
Dreaming of the 15 Mile Porter from Ascension brewing we had a few weekends ago. We took this one home- it lasted all of a day in our house 🙂
Wishing I could spend most days with this little man.
Dave made this lovely Caprese Salad for a dinner party over the holidays and I never shared a pic of it- so here you go. He does nice work 🙂
Remembering how much fun we had at Bill’s 60th Birthday Party!!
Had such a good time trying to tackle this pole at a girl’s outing!
Spent some quality family time with Liv and Zach at their house. Went out to dinner and toured their home.
Some work to do! Luckily Zach has deep pockets!
Picked Liv’s venue for the Bridal Shower- now I need to get busy on Pinterest 🙂
Monday Mash-Up
Welcome friends! How was your weekend? Great Super Bowl Game yesterday. We watched until the score seemed impossible to catch up and then turned the channel. Went back later and found the game tied! We were so bummed we turned the channel 🙁 Not making that mistake again, we were able to see the final touch down. Before the game we were looking for something to do so we decided to go to the movies. We saw Manchester by the Sea– so very good and so very sad. Casey Affleck deserves an award for his performance and we loved seeing Michelle Williams as well- we just saw her on stage in May during our New York trip.
On Friday we met some friends for dinner and drinks. Great company and great beer!
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| Atwater 1884 First Brown– so good! |
On Saturday I spent some quality time with girlfriends as we indulged in a pole dancing session! We found a studio in Ferndale that accommodates large groups and since we had over 20 girls this place was perfect. We had so much fun taking pictures and trying not to look too stupid.
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| This is me trying my hand on the silks. Check out my hair- the vitamin I’m taking is really working! Vital Proteins |
I add a scoopful in my water in the morning and swollow my vitamins. 
I
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| We all had an opportunity to use the pole. The dancer showed us moves but none of us really looked very good doing it:) |
I ran lots last week and this weekend. I logged in 18 miles and went to three exercise classes at the health spa. Trying to get in shape for the wedding this summer 🙂 Hope your weekend was wonderful!