Archive for the ‘Health & Fitness’ Category
By Je on 28th June, 2011 |
2 CommentsThis past weekend I pumped up my bike tires out of the tired winter slump and bought myself a little bike basket! I’m so excited! Mostly* because the basket will fit my bag (with my laptop) or grocery bags (and Trader Joe’s is within bike-riding distance), meaning less driving my car and more exercise to get to coffee shops for work or to run errands. Win, win!
When I texted a pic of my new basket to one of
my BFFs, she called me a "Hippee." Ha!
I accidentally bought too much at Trader Joe’s my first go at bike riding home with my goods. Like a 30-pound bag of stuff! It made the front of my bike “top heavy,” and my balance was all thrown off. It was a treacherous ride home! Lesson learned: bike riding my groceries home will not only be great exercise, but it will decrease my over-spending too! Yippee!
*Partially because I see more bike riding time in my future this year while living in a less rainy and cold city.
Currently Feeling: Great after burning k-cals on the elliptical tonight – I’m excited for all the group classes at the new fitness center I joined (across the street from my house).
Currently Anticipating: Figuring out my Fourth of July plans! Lake Tahoe might be on the horizon… it’s weird to try to make plans with a bunch of people you don’t know very well for such a big holiday! Normally I would have been the one planning a cabin trip or joining best friends at a lake house… oh comfort zone, you’re by-and-by.
Currently Loving: The seven-layer bean dip I made (with carrot chips instead of tortilla chips)!
By Je on 22nd March, 2011 |
7 Comments
Tell me, Blog Lovelies, have you tried Kombucha tea, known many years ago as “the elixir of life”?
I can’t get over the health effects, which are AWESOME (detoxifying! cleansing! vitamins! minerals! immune-enhancing!), and unfortunately, I can’t really get over the taste either.
I’m trying. I picked up the above flavor, Apple Pie Kava, at Metropolitan Market, which was far better than the home-brewed Kombucha I bought at a local farmer’s market that tasted like sweaty socks and old cottage cheese.
If you’re a Kombucha fan, tell me the brand and flavors you love! My hippie side will be ever so grateful. Namaste.
Currently Feeling: Antsy pants – there’s nothing worse than sitting home all day watching TV and doing nothing while sick (even worse when it’s sunny outside, something we see so little of in Seattle right now)!
Currently Anticipating: A celebration with my coworkers tomorrow, Twestival Seattle on Thursday, two dinners with friends this weekend and something special planned with my mom on Sunday. Busy busy! Hope I feel better soon.
Currently Loving: Chocolate lava cakes from Domino’s. I’m supposed to be eating healthy! Gah!
By Je on 12th January, 2011 |
8 CommentsConfession time.
I am unfathomably and incomprehensibly addicted to lululemon athletica.
I need an intervention! No, I’m serious. I’m not just being facetious.
I mean, I love that I’m free and clear to spend my money and time in any way I want, but I’m thinking that I should get knocked up just so I’ll have to spend my money on something else besides lululemon.
It started back in October when I received some good accolades at work. So I decided to “treat myself.” At that point, I’d been going to hot yoga classes for five months and sitting next to EVERYONE in their head-to-toe yoga clothes with that little tiny lululemon circle on their sides, back and butts. I’d been avoiding stepping foot in a store because of the price point and scoffed, “$100! Why would you need to spend $100 on a pair of yoga pants when you can get ones just as good for $30 at Target. Psshhhh.”
Yeah, okay. I strand corrected. They’re worth every penny of $100, and no, you cannot find pants like them at Target for $30.
Oh the thumbholes! And the brushed Luon! Oh fit! Comfort! Oh Stride jacket and Groove pant! You’re all going to be the death of my bank account.
There is nothing in the world like their Groove pant – it doesn’t sag, it holds all your lady bits in and makes you look more fit (I swear), and it’s oh so comfy. And if you want to purchase a zip-up hoodie you’ll never want to take off, buy a Stride jacket in brushed Luon immediately.
When I become fixated on something – I take fixation to a whole new level. Since October I’ve purchased two pairs of Groove pants, one pair of Wunder Under crops, one pair of Groove shorts, two Stride jackets, one Swell jacket, two Scuba hoodies, five yoga tanks and one jump rope. (Uh, for my suitcase?) In December, I actually drove an hour and a half south of Seattle, by myself on a Sunday, just to go to the lululemon outlet store. By.my.self. Now I’ve started searching eBay for “limited edition lululemon sweatshirt” cause some people sell styles that aren’t available anymore. VINTAGE lulu!!
The worst (or perhaps best) part about it is that I’ve realized now that working at a tech startup means I don’t actually have to get dressed and fancy every day. I work with boys. Who wear T-shirts and tennis shoes every day. So I started just to wear my yoga clothes to work since it saves me a step when going to pilates at lunch or rushing to yoga after work.
So obviously now I need an ENTIRE yoga (cough lululemon cough) wardrobe, so I don’t wear the same thing to work every day.
Ahh! Cut me off!
I’m going to be the little ole lady who lived in her lululemon!
Currently Feeling: Tired and “off” this week – is it a full moon? Am I getting sick again? Is it the weather? Hmm…
Currently Anticipating: Celebrating with MOST of all the people I love in my life on Saturday. I love birthdays!!
Currently Loving: Smartfood popcorn! I never buy the stuff cause I read somewhere it’s actually pretty bad (think it’s chocked full of trans fat). However, a friend bought it when she stayed with me last weekend and left it here. Damn. Forgot how GOOD that shiz is.
By Je on 8th November, 2010 | Comments Off
When you start to practice yoga regularly, it’s quite common to want to bust into a yoga pose while in the bathroom getting ready, waiting for your food to to cook in the microwave, in the elevator at work, or wherever the moods strikes you.
Courtesy of Shunpikie on Flickr
There’s something ridiculous addicting about yoga poses – the strength it requires, stretching and lengthening your body, the beauty in the shape that your limbs make while in Dancer’s Pose, Warrior III or Eagle. If you’re a yogi, you already know this. If you’re not, you probably think I’m crazy.
Crazy or not, I know there’s a time and place for everything. I usually do these poses in the mirror in the privacy of my own home, or where strangers can’t see me trying to balance and lift my leg over my head. There’s a time and place for everything, that is, until you drink a few beverages. Then apparently you think it’s smart to practice yoga on the sidewalk in the pouring down rain, a little tipsy. Tipsy does not make a good balance pose. Tipsy does make a good nose dive face plant into a wet pile of leaves in front of cute boys, scraping your knee and tearing your pantyhose.
Okay, I wasn’t really wearing pantyhose, I was wearing jeans. Thank god pantyhose aren’t really my thing cause otherwise that would have been real bad.
Life lesson: Sometimes you can’t yoga in the streets.
Shout out to my little sis’ cause the title of this post is the advice she gave me after picking me up and dusting off my dirty clothes after my face plant.
Currently Feeling: Exhausted after a full day of running around – work, hot yoga, shower then dinner with some girls I haven’t seen in months! And I used to think Mondays were low-key…
Currently Anticipating: Going to the Dream It, Launch It, Live It conference tomorrow!
Currently Reading: A crazy mix of books right now – fiction for fun, and two books for work to make me smarter or something. It’s a book juggling act!
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By Je on 16th June, 2010 |
9 Comments
Yesterday marked my 15th day of yoga – I’m officially halfway through my 30-day challenge.
Not sure if I’m supposed to shout it from the rooftops, or be all Zen like. But, either way, I honestly feel amazing. (I’m going to speak a little bit more about yoga here than giving up consumerism because the later has been easier than the yoga).
I have to say – it’s been more like 15 classes of yoga, not days. Because as much as I hate to admit it, life happened a couple times. So, I’ve missed a couple days, going twice the next day to make up for it. (Totally acceptable according to the challenge “rules”). The trickiest part of the challenge has been just to make time for a yoga class every day. To schedule it before nighttime events, dinners or happy hours. To get up and go even when I’m hungover and feel like all I want to do is nap. To squeeze it in on my lunch, to run there in the middle of my day, shower, then run back to work. Speaking of showering – I have never showered so much in my life. Two showers a day, every day. And my skin has never been so clear. No joke. It’s so soft; it’s almost shocking. There’s something to be said about sweating out the toxins on a daily basis…it’s like instant $150 facials for free-ish.
A lot of people have asked me how I like hot yoga, and here’s what I say: the first nine days were a tug-o-war, a love/hate relationship with my body. I was hot as hell every class, a couple times feeling so uncomfortable that it was all I could do to sit in the class a minute longer. The last 20 minutes were agonizing as I mentally begged the teacher to open the door, questioned what the hell I was doing and why, and thought about how great the cool air was going to be when I left the god damn room. #$@%@
Then it was like a light switch day 10. No joke – as dorky as that sounds. Suddenly my body became a little bit more used to the heat, making each class more bearable. I challenged myself to personally let go of all the impatience I held in during the last half of class. I told myself to simply enjoy it. Just stretch. Just push yourself a little harder. Take each pose a little further. Just breathe.
And what emerged was a crazy, euphoric feeling that is INSANE, I tell you. Absolutely insane. I still have a bad, hot-as-hell, impatient class here and there, depending on my mood. But most days, I sail to class – hauling my yoga mat and pounding in flipflops to get there in time to reserve a spot next to the door, knowing that when I leave an hour and 15 minutes later, I’m going to feel like a million bucks.
It’s not even a question of IF I want to go. It’s no longer telling myself I HAVE.TO go because of the challenge. It’s turned into what time of day, and which class, I want to go to. And thinking about how great it’s going to be when I get back into that 104-degree room. (What the…?!)
It’s like hot yoga has turned me into Holly Go Lightly – which is just weird, I tell yah.
“Oh, golly, gee damn!”*
*”Holly Go Lightly” and quote is from this movie, if you’re not familiar
Currently Feeling: Hungry – but it’s 11p.m. Dangit! I’m never good at going to bed hungry. But that whole “don’t eat past 5p.m.” is a myth, no?
Currently Anticipating: Happy hour tomorrow at one of my favorite Ballard bars, and a salmon & wine dinner on Thursday at a friend’s new condo.
Currently Loving: Fage Greek yogurt – YUM. I’ve been trying all brands, and have thought about doing a mini review. More on that soon.
By Je on 8th June, 2010 |
8 CommentsNot to self: Eat before hot yoga (but apparently two hours before, to be safe). Had a bit of a queasy, weakling class last night that left be a bit panicky and now nervous to go back. I think eight hours without food, burning that many calories, is not a good combo. My bad.
On another note, I’ve completed seven straight days of yoga! Woot! I took off two pounds last week and my skin feels super clear. However, I’m still antsy as all hell during the last 20 minutes of class. It’s my goal this second week to try to let go of my impatience with my practice (it’s just so damn HOT). P.S. Didn’t that sound all official – “my practice.” I’m getting so yogi hippie.
Things I Wanted to Buy This Week But Couldn’t:
- Rad, matte fuchsia pink nail polish for $5.
- The Gratitude Journal app (which apparently Oprah swears by) that I read about on Mashable. Yes, I’ve cut myself off from iPhone apps too.
- A nifty salsa pot I saw at Trader Joe’s. It’s a pot full of all the herbs you need to make salsa!
- A $39 Pilates class on Groupon (yes, I’ve cut myself off from Groupon too).
I swear I’ll post about something else here soon.
Currently Feeling: Desperate for some summer weather – we’ve been drowning here in Seattle this past month.
Currently Anticipating: Starting a new book – I’m a little burnt out on the one I’m reading, but it’s a 500-pager, so taking awhile to finish!
Currently Loving: Caprese pasta with basil from my urban garden!
By Je on 4th June, 2010 |
4 CommentsMen are stinky. Like really, really stinky. I’m going to open a yoga studio that has women’s only classes cause man if it isn’t bad enough to be stuck in a room like sardines that you can’t breath in cause it’s 95 degrees plus, then it’s absolute hell to have to smell some big dude’s body odor for that hour, praying his sweat doesn’t drip on you, and OH.MY.GOD. did I tell you he FARTED. Like huge. Like next to me and then said, “Sorry!” and the class was silent. I don’t know who I felt more sorry for, me or that guy.
P.S. I’m never eating garlic fries at a baseball game again.
P.P.S. Money saved these last two days because I’m against CONSUMERISM and can’t buy anything:
- $59 on a yoga towel with special grippers on the bottom, so it sticks to your mat. I WANT!!
- $13.99 on the “Away We Go” soundtrack, which is my fav movie of 2009 and features music from Alexi Murdoch. One song came on my Pandora station yesterday, and I was all…”Oh my God, his voice is amazing. I need this soudtrack IMMEDIATELY cause then I’d be all calm, soothed and relaxed thinking about how life is great every day!”
- $69 on Tom’s (again). God damn these things. They just released the cutest wedges ever this week, which is much more my style than flats. AND they benefit starving children in Africa.
Currently Feeling: A little groggy from my 6am class today. I always think it’s a good idea to go home and go back to bed, but then I just feel groggy.
Currently Anticipating: SUPER fun weekend ahead – trying out Lark restaurant with the girls tonight, then heading to SAM Remix for Picasso/Warhol/Kurt Cobain exhibits. Tomorrow is a high school throwback kegger, and Paolo‘s wedding reception. Then Sunday a Mariner’s game! Woot!
Currently Needing: More yoga shorts, not pants. Man the pants are hot and stick to me. Love ‘em to lounge in, but not for hot yoga.
By Je on 1st June, 2010 |
5 Commentshot.power.vinyasa.yoga.is.f&*@ing.brutal
This is me with soaking wet hair, no makeup because it all ran off (post raccoon eyes),
sopped to the bone with sweat, wondering what in the HELL I’ve gotten myself into.
All I can say is I’m grateful I didn’t pass out.
One star up. 29 more to go.
By Je on 1st June, 2010 |
2 Comments
Hello June.
I’m starting you out by doing a challenge because, well, sometimes I’m a little crazy, but mostly I like to consistently challenge myself. So, I will be giving up my most beloved Sassy Fit for just one month to embark on finding my inner yogi.
A local yoga studio in Seattle, Urban Yoga Spa, is doing a 30-day yoga challenge in June. Basically, you can sign up to commit to three different levels. Level one is 20 days of yoga in June. Level two is 30 days. And level three is 30 days AND declaring one thing to give up during the challenge.
I’m going big or going home – level three all the way baby!
SO, I Jeanna Barrett, do hereby declare to give up…
CONSUMERISM
for the month of June.
Here’s the deal – I buy stuff. A lot of stuff. Like ice cream makers, and onion savers. And magazines. And eyeshadows, lip glosses and nail polish. Dresses to go out in, new leggings and boots, big earrings and dozens of bangles. Actually, more clothing, accessories and shoes than you could possibly imagine. I buy new furniture, water bottles, paintings, games, books, smelly soaps and wine glasses. I buy fancy candles, frames for my desk, Orchid plants…any little trinket “they” (people out to get me) put near the checkout stands. Sometimes when I’m bored, I’ll go to Ross or Target and just look for stuff to buy. Stuff, stuff, stuff.
Quite frankly, it’s embarrassing.
I thought about giving up consumerism for Lent. That never happened for one reason or the other. I continued to buy – then just before I received word on the yoga challenge, I read this post on Dooce.com about a woman who drew pictures of all the things she bought, every day, and posted them to her blog (eventually creating a book). A record in over consumption, I suppose.
Boy do I over consume.
So I’m detoxing – my wallet and my mind.
Today I’ve already saved:
- $12.95 on a Jack Johnson CD I thought I had to buy at Starbucks this morning (But I didn’t!)
- $48 + shipping on a pair of Tom’s I still feel like I can’t live without (God dammit they’re cute!)
That’s roughly ~ $70 richer. Seventy dollars that I’m transferring over to my savings. This is going to add up quick.
And tonight’s my first (hot-ish) Power Vinyasa class.
Wish me luck.
(And join me if you want!! Even if you’re a day or two late… leave a comment letting me know you’re on board, and I’ll create a little badge for your blog.)
Currently Feeling:A little nervous for my first class tonight – a Power Vinyasa to current pop and rock-n-roll music. I’m easing myself into HOT yoga (this one is at 95 degrees).
Currently Anticipating: Gathering all the photos from this weekend to share with you – SO much crazy fun.
Currently Loving: My new yoga bag that carries that mat on the bottom (hey – I bought it yesterday BEFORE June 1!)
By Je on 17th May, 2010 | Comments Off
Health, health, health I tell you!
Here’s what I’m up in a crazed daze about lately:
Trader Joe’s always and forever till I die, homie. More specifically, their salads and their new Mini Cafe Twists (made without dairy, butter, eggs or yeast). I’m not actually sure what they’re made of, but at only 30 calories a piece they’re pretty awesome with some strawberries and light whip cream. Strawberry shortcake in the spring and summer sun is one of my all-time favorite desserts!
I also decided that instead of buying a ton of ingredients and ending up with a ton of produce that goes bad, salad burnout, or crappy tasting salads, I was just going to run to Trader Joe’s and buy salads every week. With a ton of options at $3.99 a piece, they make super healthy, yummy lunches. I’m in love with the Spa Salad (chicken, noodles, grapes, mandarins, and lettuce in a curry dressing for only 320 calories!)
AND… to top of my week of wanting to feel healthy… I bought myself a new treat. There are very few things I love more in life than wearing yoga pants. On a whim last weekend, I picked up a cute pair of Victoria Secret’s PINK MVP yoga pant (in a fun paint splatter print). Not only are they SUPER comfy, but they don’t rub when I run, and they hold all my lady bits in, making me seem a whole ton more firm than I really am. Score!
Loves I tell you. Loves all around.
Currently Feeling: Excited to get the new Girl Power Hour blog calendar launched, the the blog guide I wrote sent out. Lots of work for exciting new things coming up!
Currently Anticipating: My roommate coming home from vacation. Sometimes it’s nice to have the house to yourself, but then I start to get freaked out by every little sound and can’t wait for the safety in numbers!
Currently Needing: A pedicure. Or a new fabulous toe color. I’m bored with pink, and my Miami gold sparkle pedicure is chipping off big time.
