Today Was Long, Tomorrow Will Be Longer...

I feel like this morning was days ago... Woke up early, did some computer work, walked to work and  taught my awesome adult students at Block Institute, walked home and had a quick lunch-reheats of Joe's yummy tofu pasta scramble thing and then headed to the gym to do a hill running workout (the incline SERIOUSLY pissed off my right knee... mental note- take it easy on the incline), then walked to my other job and taught my awesome 4th graders (West African Dance) and 5th graders (Salsa Dance). If ever you find yourself tired or cranky, simply tell a fifth grade boy that he has to ballroom dance and watch his reaction. Made. My. Day. :)

One of two big bags I've packed for tomorrow- mini flatiron, shine spray, HAWT Guess heels, yellow clutch, LBD, patterned tights, tiny hairbrush, Trader Joe's Chickpea deliciousness for lunch and hiding inside the bag are my makeup tote along with some other essentials to go from Dance Teacher to Executive Board Member in a flash! In my backpack I'll have all my teaching materials for the day!

Tomorrow will be absolute crazy-pants busy. I teach nine groups of pre-school/ kindergarten aged kiddos at Block Institute, then race back to Sheepshead Bay to teach 1st grade (Irish Step Dance) and 2nd Grade (Traditional Chinese Dance) and then Joe's meeting me at the school so we can book it into Manhattan for the Benefit Gala Performance of Mind The Art Entertainment's award winning 2010 Fringe play, The Timing of a Day. Joe and I are both Board Members of MTAE, and I'm super excited to celebrate our extension of this awesome piece. 

Last but not least, if you haven't already, PLEASE vote for me to be a trophy chaperone at this year's Drama Desk Awards! It would be a dream come true! It takes five seconds, and wins you my eternal gratitude! Simply LIKE TheaterMania.com on Facebook, and then scroll down their wall until you come across this picture of me, click on it and LIKE the picture! That's it! A HUGE thank you to my Blog Pals who've voted already! I promise to give you all a special shoutout when the contest is done! :)

I should have been sleeping an hour ago... oops! :) Sweet dreams!

Healthy Yums + FASHION SHOW!

Happy Monday, pals! It's been a long one for me... oyyy...

I had an oat smash for breakfast, recipe courtesy of Katie at Healthy Diva Eats! I should have taken a picture, but I was HUNNNNGRY! 

Lunch was a quick, protein packed bite- egg whites scrambled with turkey bacon on a Smart Bagel with a Laughing Cow Light wedge spread on the bagel- delish!

As promised, I wanted to model some of my super exciting purchases for my upcoming marital festivities! 

Madame Mercury Dress From Modcloth (marked down over 50% off)! I think this might be my rehearsal dinner dress! :)

$10 Forever 21 Dress for my bachelorette party! Woohoo!

Curve Your Enthusiasm Dress from Modcloth- Alternate for Rehearsal Dinner!

$7 H&M Lightweight Jersey Maxi Dress for Honeymoon! :) So comfy, I bought one in black, too!

And then Joe yelled at me to stop playing dress up and eat my dinner. I'm glad I did- it was DELICIOUS! Joe concocted a peanut tofu noodle veggie dish that looked sort of yucky, but tasted AMAZING!

I'm super excited for my honeymoon- I'll be gone for two weeks- one week in Puerto Rico, and then we hop on a cruise ship for another week... I am a terrible packer, however. I pack WAY to much always, and never seem to have everything I need...

Are you a good packer? Tips? Suggestions??

P.S. Check out Jess's Giveaway at Blonde Ponytail! :)

19 Days...

The countdown keeps ticking! 19 days until my wedding! AGGGHHH! I'm so excited!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm in the running to be a trophy chaperone at this year's Drama Desk Awards. This would be a dream come true and an amazing opportunity for me. Thank you to everyone who's voted so far! I'm still in about 6th place, and I need to be in 5th or higher to be a finalist- please vote! It's simple, fast and free! Visit TheaterMania.com's Facebook page, LIKE it, and then LIKE this picture of me to vote!

Yesterday was pretty relaxing, thankfully! 

Mmmm... Pre-Run Fuel. I did a nice 6.5 mile treadmill session yesterday, and it felt pretty darn easy. No hip flexor issues yet (knock on wood).  

Dinner was marinated steak, red potatoes and asparagus! SO YUMMY!

To backtrack a bit, on Saturday Joe and I had his boss's car and we swung by the Trader Joe's in Queens- I snagged some frozen fruit, seasoned chickpeas, Blueberry Vanilla Chevre (SO EXCITED TO EAT THAT) and some of these bad boys: 

Can you read those nutrition facts? 10g protein? 8g fiber? And they're GOOD, too! Dense, chewy, slightly nutty with great texture... It think I'm in love- I topped one of these with almond butter yesterday and was full FOREVER (or for a few hours, at least...).

Check out the awesome giveaway Amanda is hosting at her blog- Runninghood! 

AND

Check out the giveaway Katie is hosting at Run for the Bikini!

What's on the agenda for your Monday? Mine's business, as usual- teach 10-1, then teach 3:30-5:30p, then teach 6:30-8:30p...

Happy Monday!

Vote for me?!

I've entered TheaterMania.com's Facebook Contest to select the trophy chaperones for the 56th Annual Drama Desk Awards. I'm so geeked out about this possibility! The 5 male and 5 female contestants with the most votes will advance to the finals, and they'll pick two men and two women to be a part of this honored tradition and be on national television and worldwide media (a dream come true for this aspiring actress). 

Voting takes 5 seconds and is free! Simply search for TheaterMania.com on Facebook (or click the link), "like" their page, and then scroll down their wall until you find the photo of me below, and "like" the photo!

Pretty please? :)

xoxo

Happy Thursday!

Hey Pals! How has your day been? Mine was so-so... I got to the gym (yay) but had some really unfortunate stomach issues (boo) so my awesome ass-kicking hour long interval run turned into 10 mins on the treadmill, 20 mins dealing with my stomachache and 30 minutes on the elliptical. Sigh. My eating was ok... egg beaters and turkey bacon for breakfast, chicken noodle soup and a mini grilled cheese for lunch and a delicious stir-fry for dinner!

Joe's been home sick for a few days, but he managed to have dinner ready when I got home from teaching! So grateful! 

We were both craving something sweet after dinner, so we decided on a cleaned up version of Five Minute Chocolate Mug Cake! This is a light version of this recipe to begin with, but I subbed soymilk for the regular milk and used Sun Crystals instead of sugar. Holy Yum.

Tomorrow is Friday! WAHOO! I like to call Friday the marathon day, because I teach in the Bronx Friday AMs (and I live WAAAAYYY far out in Brooklyn- for those of you not up on your NYC geography, my house and the school I teach at are pretty much as far apart as two points can be while still in NYC) so I have to be up by 5:30a to leave by 7a to get to the Bronx by 9a for a teacher meeting, after which I teach for two periods and then take the subway all the way back out to my nabe where I teach in the afternoons and then I usually have to go back into Manhattan for something in the evening which is ANOTHER 1.5 hrs on the train each way...

But tomorrow night is GROCERY NIGHT! YESSS! I absolutely adore grocery shopping. I've been called strange many times because of my absolutely obsession with the grocery store. I really love food, and I find the procuring of food to be quite exciting....

Do you have any fun shenanigans planned for the weekend????

New KB Video! Figure 8 to a Hold!

Spreading the Love

That's me and the guy I'm going to marry in 24 days. We love each other. A lot. I'm fairly certain my wedding day will be one of the happiest days in my life. And if I'm going to be THAT happy, then I want to share some of that happiness. In lieu of traditional wedding favors, Joe and I have decided to donate to our favorite charities. I've included those organizations below. Please take a moment to stop by and check out the amazing work they're doing.

I'm pretty sure our guests won't walk away disappointed that they didn't get a baggie of Jordan almonds and a customized matchbook...

6 at 6

Woke up early this AM to drag myself to the gym... T minus 25 days 'til wedding and 26 days 'til honeymoon... It's about to get serious up in hurr... Doing a smooth 6 miles at 6a sure does set the pace for the rest of your day, though. AND I discovered that one of my favorite former co-workers joined my gym a few months back! I was totally zoned out around mile five and I looked up and he was standing in front of my treadmill! Awesome! I might try to make him my 6a gym buddy...

It's BLISSFULLY quiet at my gym at 6a, though by 6:45 that place was poppin'! I put my music on anyways, so I didn't really get to enjoy the quiet, but I'd imagine that on a day when I come in to lift, it'll be reallllly nice... 

If nothing else, it's worth the view on the way home...

Today will be a MARATHON day... Teaching at Block Institute, then teaching at PS 209, then in to Manhattan for a Box Office training at my theatre, then down to Wall St. to pick up supplies for my Bronx teaching gig... 

I do hope to get another kettlebell video up, though... judging by your comments on the last one, maybe I'll try something that doesn't involve overhead moves? :)

When do you prefer working out? Early AM? Afternoon? PM?

6 Miles and Some Kettlebells

Hey Pals! Happy Monday! It was pretty rainy and gross here in NYC, but I managed to drag myself to the gym for a nice 6 miles on the treadmill (technically 5.85 because I may have been checking my email on my phone for the first mile, extending my warmup... oops...). The TMs at my gym shut off after an hour, which I understand, but don't like...

I was doing some KBs this evening, and decided that it'd be fun to share some of my favorite moves with ya'll, since I talk about KBs a lot... 

Here's a video of me doing a windmill with a 10k bell (can also be done w/ a dumbell). DISCLAIMER- I am not a trainer. I am not certified to teach you kettlebells. I love using them, though and have worked with an awesome trainer who's given me my base of knowledge. Do with this video what you will! :)

Enjoy!

Feelin' good (aka SORE)

As I mentioned previously, I've been a bit lax with my workout and diet, but I'm determined to look fierce on my Puerto Rican/ Eastern Caribbean honeymoon, so I've officially set myself back on the right track! I squeezed in a  six-miler today and am hoping to get some serious KB work in tonight. I'm LOVING this awesome Kettlebell Workout Guide (fun fact- the guy in the photos is a friend of my trainer).

On a totally unrelated topic, I used up my store credit at Modcloth today! Does anyone else shop here? I LOVE IT! I actually went through a series of ordering and returning (hence the store credit), mostly because the sizing varies with the individual designers... I snagged two HAWT dresses that have some honeymoon potential...

The Madame Mercury Dress

and

The Curve Your Enthusiasm Dress

I'll post a review when they arrive! 

How's your Saturday been?

Wedding countdown...

29 DAYS! AGGHHHH!!!

I'm so excited! I can't believe it's finally here! I've kicked the diet/ exercise into high gear because THIS GIRL will be lookin' good on her honeymoon to Puerto Rico and the Eastern Carribbean!

My family threw me an upstate bridal shower last weekend (I live in NYC, so my bridesmaids threw me one here, too- I know, I'm lucky)!

NYC Bridal Shower at Chestnut- I'm a crazy person...

Can you tell I love my mom?

 I <3 my bridesmaids! From L to R- My sister, Kieren: Maid of Honor, My sister, Courtney: Maid of Honor, Me, My soon-to-be-sister-in-law: Liz, and my dear friends Christina, Genevieve, Inga and Kira! (Missing- my friend Corey).

Sitting in the Bridal Throne at my upstate shower!

With one of my first pageant directors, Helen!

Toilet paper wedding gown contest! I modeled along with Sheena and Christa, two of my BFFs from high school- my Grams was the judge- guess who won? :)

I'm DYING to show you guys my wedding dresses (yep- that's a plural: a gown for the ceremony and then a shorter dress so I can boogie down at the reception), but since I'm keeping them under wraps until the wedding, I'll have to substitute by showing you the shoes, which were an additional $15 off plus free shipping (I <3 DSW)!

This weekend will include AT LEAST two 6+ mile runs and some serious kettlebell work!

What are you currently looking forward to?

Graduate School, here I come!

I've accepted an offer to join the Brooklyn College MFA Acting Program this fall! I'm thrilled, to say the least! Brooklyn College is conveniently located near my apartment (where I've lived for almost six years), the faculty were wonderful to meet and work with at the callback and I've heard wonderful things about the program. 

The opportunity to spend two years focusing solely on my growth as a performer is something I've long been hoping and waiting for! Check back soon for more details!

Adventure must start with running away from home..."

One of my favorite William Bolitho quotes. To me, it means that the first step in adventure is stepping out of your comfort zone. And that's exactly what I'm striving to do with my:

ADVENTURE OF THE MONTH CHALLENGE

It's so easy to get caught up in a routine, especially if you're contented with your routine. Don't get me wrong- I'm quite happy with the way things are now, and I have A LOT to be thankful for. But sometimes, you need to shake things up a bit, which is why I have resolved to go on at least one adventure every month.

What constitutes an adventure?
-At it's most simple, an exciting new experience. It can be a class, an event, a trip, a meal...

Where will these adventures take place?
-Who knows? It's tough for me to get out of the city with my schedule, so I'll be searching out new nooks and crannies to explore.

How are you doing so far?
I decided on my "Adventure A Month" challenge on the last day of January, so I did two adventures in February. They were my Yamuna Body Rolling Class and my trip to the Brooklyn  Banya. Look for a monthly adventure post from here on out!

Do you go on adventures? 

YAY MARCH (A few days late)

I feel like I blinked and February was over! After an epic January, I’ll admit my expectations were a bit low (not EVERY month can be fabulous, can it?), but February rocked my socks off! The month started with two graduate school auditions and my beautiful sister winning the title of Miss Fulton County 2011 (an official preliminary to the Miss New York and Miss America pageants) along with a $4500 scholarship! I’m so proud! My YWCA and Community Word Project students in Brooklyn and the Bronx (all 180 of them) had their big shows mid-month and both were huge successes! My one-woman show was submitted to the NY Fringe Festival (keep your fingers crossed) and I’ve had some exciting opportunities for partnerships and possible tour venues…  Obviously my lips are sealed until contracts are signed, but send good vibes! I got my $700 Badgley Mischka DREAM WEDDING GOWN for $85 at Loehmanns (under wraps until the wedding, but believe me when I say it’s KILLING ME not to show everyone! I PROMISE to bombard you with a million pictures after…). I fulfilled my monthly requirement for adventures (look for a post about this) and I was selected for a playwrighting residency in Little Switzerland, NC!

February was also awesome because I (sort of ) got myself back on the workout bandwagon. January was a TOUGH month diet/ exercise wise, and I paid for it. I was exhausted, cranky and felt pretty gross overall. Not fun. I have a really bad tendency of over-booking and over-extending myself and I always regret it. So this month, I’m taking a different approach. I’m scheduling my workouts like I’d schedule work appointments, and I’m sticking to them. Aside from wanting to look HAWT in previously mentioned designer wedding gown and on my Carribbean honeymoon, I also want to FEEL good. I’ll need the energy and strength these next few months and I know how to get myself there. I just need to carve out time to do it!

I don’t usually set specific number goals, but in the spirit of mixing things up for spring, I’ll give it a try this month.

Goals:

-Lose 5 lbs

-Foam Roll for 5 minutes before bed AT LEAST 5 nights/ week

-Attend three yoga classes

-Get 7.5 hours of sleep EVERY NIGHT.

March will be a big month for me as I wait for decisions on a lot of exciting opportunities... Wish me luck!