The weekend is upon us!

HAPPY FREAKIN FRIDAY Y'ALL!!!

Geeeeeeeesh, it's been a long weekend and boy am I glad that Friday is finally here!
I have been slacking on posting new blogs because I've been running around like a crazy woman.  I did have such a good week of training and i am feeling pretty good.  Well, except for Wednesday when I cheated and had a big bowl of rice with Thai curry and a slice of funfetti cake for one of my roommates' birthday. And... I might have ad a few glasses of red wine.

My thing is, I can indulge in something once in awhile when I'm consistently eating clean and training dirty.  I tend to get down on myself too much when I eat something I'm not supposed to but I want to enjoy the little things in life and eat a freakin chocolate cake if I want to!

Anyway, I'm super excited for this weekend. I was supposed to go to the Waste Management Open tomorrow (it's one of the biggest parties/golf tournaments that's held every year in Scottsdale) but I don't know if that will happen.. it might just be too crazy for me and it's pretty exhausting.  I think a nice long hike is in order for me instead.. Sounds more relaxing and rewarding.
Then there's the Super Bowl! The Cardinals didn't quite make it this year so I'm not too passionate about the teams but I just love the whole commercials/halftime/food/get-togethers, plus my friend is getting a Vizsla puppy on Sunday and I can NOT wait to meet him. I'll definitely post a few pics of him and I guarantee you they'll melt your heart!

What's everyone doing this weekend? Anything fun?

Well, I'll catch you guys later, have a great weekend and stay active!

Cheers,
J Bae

My little piece of heaven

Happy Beautiful Saturday Everyone!!

I felt so good waking up this morning knowing that if I wanted to be lazy and stayed wrapped up in my sheets I could.  I slept in later than usual because I got sucked into watching a Korean soap opera until 4 in the morning. I haven't watched a cheesy Korean drama in so long that I got so wrapped up in it and completely lost track of time. I must admit, I am the biggest sucker for sappy romantic movies or shows that make me want to reach for a box of tissues and a big piece of dark chocolate.

Needless to say, I was a bit groggy but that didn't stop me from getting my hiking shoes on, lather up some sunscreen and pack up for another beautiful afternoon hike.  I went up to Sunrise Peak again today since I knew it wasn't going to look like an ant trail of people trying to climb up the mountain.  It was the most perfect day; 70 degrees, clear sky with a few clouds to get me out of the sun bits at a time.  I usually find a hiking buddy to go up with me but I wanted a peaceful quiet hike where I can do some thinking and enjoy my own company so that's what I did and loved every minute of it.

It's hard to push yourself sometimes and the temptation of giving up and slack off is constantly present when you're by yourself but it's a nice challenge for me and my own battle to win against myself and man oh man, does it feel good when you win and resist that temptation to give up on yourself.

One of the main things I'm learning from my trainer is to embrace the pain and not letting the body control my mind but rather, let the mind have the total control over my body and not letting myself give up until I say it's over even when my body wants to give up.
Time is passing by whether you give it your best or not, so might as well endure the pain and make it count so when you're finished, you know that last minute you pushed yourself so hard amounted to a positive change in yourself.

Oh, by the way, I had to post pictures of my dinner from last night because it was so simple and amazing.  My friend made baked chicken with sweet marinade which consisted of sriracha, minced garlic, shallots, a dash of balsamic vinegar and about a table spoon of lemon juice and baked it for about 40 minutes.  I made steamed broccoli and blanched then sauteed green beans with olive oil, minced garlic, cayenne pepper, ground black pepper, a sprinkle of ground ginger and a dash of balsamic vinegar and let me tell you, it was so good.  The chicken was cooked so perfectly and the green beans were still crisp and the broccoli wasn't over cooked at all.  We put a few slices of avocado on top of chicken and it was so good!

I'll spare you guys and stop rambling now.  I hope you guys did something today that your future will be thankful for!  Have a fantastic rest of the weekend and don't forget to stay active and be grateful!

Thank you for stopping by, I'll catch you guys later! :)

Cheers,
J Bae

Walkout Wednesday

Happy Hump Day Everyone!!

So, today I just wanted to talk about all things outdoors.
If you've read a few of my posts, you should know that I love hiking and running outside.  I haven't been running as much as I'd like to since I hurt my left foot awhile ago and I am just itching for it to heal all the way so I can go pound the pavement and feel the wind brushing against my face.

I've been doing more hiking and jump roping outside but I feel like I'm running out of ideas of outdoor activities.  I want to go snow boarding but Arizona has been way too warm and there's no signs of snow in the near future so I need help!

What do you guys do for cardio outside of the gym? I want to get some ideas and start switching it up so I don't get bored doing  a couple things over and over.  I like the gym but I love being outside and enjoying the beautiful weather (it's in the 70's in Arizona so I try to spend as much time outside as possible).  I'd love to hear what my fellow health nuts do to get their heart pumpin' and blood flowin' outdoors so please help a sista out! :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Wednesday and remember, the weekend is just around the corner so hang tight, keep kicking and stay above the water!

Oh, and of course, don't forget to hug yourself and be grateful for today. As always, thank you so much for coming by and catch you guys later!

Cheers,
J Bae

Oh.. Mondays

Happy Monday everyone!! (It was a bit painful to type that..)

I hope most of you got to enjoy one more day off from work unlike this one who didn't get so lucky and had to work today.. Let me tell ya, it was a STRUGGLE getting myself up this morning.

BUT, I'm still grateful that I got to wake up to another beautiful day and got to have a good butt kickin training sesh with my amazing trainer Kevin. (By the way, pictures and videos are coming, I promise! He's in the process of getting his gym set up so it's just taking awhile but it's coming!)

I had just recently purchased coconut oil to see what all the hype was about (you can read all about coconut oil, and find a link for recipes using coconut oil here).  There were two types of coconut oil, refined and unrefined, and I went with refined since it seemed more suitable for cooking purposes.  I just scooped it out of the jar like peanut butter then melted it onto a pan to stir fry some tofu slices in. **Warning, do not turn the heat up too high, I learned very quickly that coconut oil heats up REALLY fast so keep the heat on medium**

My verdict is, I think I can get used to cooking with coconut oil.  I really liked a hint of nuttiness it gave to tofu and the outside turned crispy without getting too tough.  I had it with a slice of turkey breast, steamed butternut squash and some spinach sauteed in sesame oil with a pinch of sea salt sprinkled on top (oh, and how could I forget, a big squeeze-ful of sriracha sauce).  I try to minimize my carb intake at night so I keep my dinner simple and light but my usual carb choices are brown rice and quinoa.

If you haven't tried coconut oil, it's not too expensive (I think that jar was around $5.00 at sprouts which will last me for awhile), so pick up a jar and experiment. Now, don't go too crazy with it because portion control is the key to everything.  All good things are good in right amounts and measures so keep that in mind.

Anyway, cheers to surviving another Monday and think of a few things you're grateful for before hitting the hay.  It tends to always put a smile on my face before falling asleep.

Thanks for coming by and I'll catch ya later!

Cheers,
J Bae






 

Conquering Mountains

Happy Saturday everyone!! *Insert happy dance*

I hope everyone's feeling well today, I know I'm surrounded by a bunch of sick people at work and at home so I've been overdosing myself with vitamin C, water and hot teas to keep myself from getting sick.

I was supposed to train with Kevin yesterday but I could tell my body was weaker and was trying to fight something off so I had to take a day off and just veg out at home.

I am ecstatic to say that when I woke up this morning I felt 100 times better! Maybe resting and sleeping in was just what I needed.  Needless to say, I had to take my happy body outside and soak up the sun since it is a beautiful 73 degrees day out here in Arizona and that's just what I did.  I called up my friend Josh who's been my go-to hiking buddy for awhile now to see if he was up for a hike and as always, the answer was yes.

Today we picked a trail called Sunrise Trail and it's a total of about 5 mile hike that took us a couple hours to get to the top and back down on.  Josh had never been to this trail and it's usually less crowded than other popular trails like Camelback Mountain or Piestewa Peak so we decided to give it a go.   I haven't been running a whole lot since my left foot would hurt when I do (I think I over stretched something), so I had to find alternatives in terms of cardio and luckily, I happen to love hiking so it all worked out.

It gets tough sometimes though, I'm not going to lie, and there are many times where I want to give up and turn back around but I just imagine myself being on top looking down to see how far up we've come and the feeling of achieving something and pushing myself to get to the top is indescribable.

Anyway, I'm off to run some errands and be productive.  I hope you all are staying warm, active and healthy.  Don't forget to drink TONS of water and eat a lot of fruits and veggies! Don't forget to sweat it out even in the cold; your body needs to stay active and strong to fight things off!

Oh, and don't forget to be grateful today, catch you guys later :)

Cheers,
J Bae

Snackin' Healthy

Happy Hump Day Everyone!!!

How was everyone's day today? Hope you're not taking advantage of Wine down Wednesdays too much and being good at home with your healthy home cooked meal :)

Speaking of healthy meals, one of my biggest weaknesses has got to be snacking.  I love to snack and I used to snack all the time, even when I wasn't hungry, just because I was bored or because it was in front of me.  I have come to realize that even if I snack on healthy foods may it be nuts or Greek yogurt with fruits or whatever, too much is plain too much.

Now I drink water throughout the day (I try to go for at least a gallon a day) and that helps me a lot with quieting down my stomach.  If I feel the need to snack on something to hold me over until my main meal, I grab an apple or a banana, or some raw veggies with hummus.

I have been seeing posts about baked kale chips everywhere so I thought I'd try it out since chips are my all time favorite thing to snack on and if they turn out well, hopefully these will stop me from reaching into an air filled bag of potato chips.

I've tried kale at restaurants before and I liked it a lot but when I tried to make a salad with it at home, I couldn't stand the taste of it for some reason. I thought it was too bitter and rough for my liking. Maybe I didn't prepare it right and I really wanted to give it another try without dousing in salad dressing to choke it down my throat.

I gotta say, this was a winner! Super easy and super quick to make and it tasted delicious!  I found my recipe here but all you really need to do is to tear off the leaves from the thick stem, tear them into bite size pieces, spread them onto a baking sheet, sprinkle with some olive oil and some seasoned salt, bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, voila! Light and crispy kale chips at your disposal!

Chips to snack on that are healthy for me.. what???? I mean granted they're not AS good as unhealthy potato chips but pretty darn good if you ask me.

So, my goal is to find more healthy snacking options to try out and if you guys have any good recipes or ideas let me know and I'd like to try them!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great rest of the night and I'll catch you all soon!

Oh, and don't forget to be grateful for something before you go to bed today :)

Cheers,
J Bae

Sunday Blues

Hi everyone!

I hope you all had a great weekend and are ready to kick next week's butt!

My weekend was pretty mellow for the most part; Despite a minor injury on my left foot, I got to go on a 3 hour hike yesterday since I was feeling better and couldn't stand to waste an absolutely perfect day.  I took a friend of mine who isn't as avid of a hiker as me and when we were done, she said "it's safe to say that I will never go hiking with you ever again." Well, I will take that as a challenge, she will conquer another mountain with me!
I mean, I guess it was a bit more than what she signed up for but I'm glad she got to be on the top of that mountain and say "I did it!" (I'm also very glad that she didn't faint of me.. it came pretty close to it a couple times but besides that I think we were golden).

Sundays... I have a love/hate relationship with Sundays.  I love it because I get to be lazy, run errands, watch football and prep food for the week but I hate it because it marks the last day of the weekend and you know when you go to bed, you'll be woken up with the reality slapping your face the next morning.

I'm still in the process of figuring things out and planning out my future.  I will find something I enjoy doing so when I turn it into work, it wouldn't have to be work for me.  It might not happen overnight, in a month, it might even take a year to figure it out but I am slowly taking the steps to achieve what I want. They say follow your passion and the money will come.  I truly believe that and I don't want to waste another day doing something I'm not passionate about just to get the paycheck.

Ok, off to more brainstorming I go before I hit the hay.
Hope you all have a good night and I'll catch you guys shortly. Don't let the bed bugs bite!

Cheers,
J Bae

Hooked on Dates

Happy Friday everyone!!

This has got to be the longest week ever and I am ridiculously glad that Friday is finally here. Phew!
It's not that I have a super duper exciting weekend planned (if any at that) but it's just been a long week at work and let's just say I'm happy to escape from it for a couple days.

Anyway, I hope you guys have some fun plans because this girl is looking forward to just relaxing and being a bum all weekend.  I hurt my left foot a few days ago and I'm hoping it will heal soon so I can go running or hiking this weekend (please cross your fingers and toes for me!).

Oh, so I've been having crazy cravings for sweets lately and I don't know what my deal is but it's been a real struggle for me. There has been many times where I wanted to pick up a family size dark chocolate bar or dive into a tub of gelato and get lost in it but thankfully I was able to hold myself back.

I was really testing myself yesterday when I was walking by the bins full of chocolate covered almond clusters, dark chocolate espresso beans and chocolate covered pretzels until I was walking by the dried fruit section and found myself these gorgeous dates.  And by dates I mean a type of fruit, not some eye candies just happened to be at the grocery store (although that would have been quite nice).  Anyway, I decided to buy a small container full to satisfy my sweet cravings.  I've had dates before but never by themselves so I was excited and nervous at the same time.

I couldn't wait to get home to try them and you guessed it. I am HOOKED.
I had to hold myself back from eating the entire container, close the lid and put it away so I didn't devour them in one sitting.

I'm so glad I found these gems and if you haven't tried these, you should definitely give them a try.  There's a place in Scottsdale where they make date milkshakes.. I am tempted but I'll stay away, for now..

Anyway, have a fantastic weekend you guys and keep on sweating! :)

Cheers,
J Bae

I'm Grateful :)

I came across this video (click on link, it will take you to it) today whilst mindlessly scrolling through the news feed on my Facebook.  It was a short 3 minute video that set my heart on fire with gratitude and hope.
It's about a pastor and his wife in South Korea taking in babies that are abandoned on the streets of Seoul and raising and loving them as if they were their own kids.

Watching this just humbled me and restored my faith in humanity.  People like this make me want to be a better person and make me wonder, "what am I doing to contribute to the community?".

I tend to get wrapped up in my own world and get too busy worrying about myself that I lose sight of things like giving back to the community and helping others.  That will be one of my goals this year; I will give more and make more people smile and I truly believe it will make me happier and stronger by doing so.

I am grateful for another beautiful day, I'm grateful that I have what I have and I'm so grateful that my parents were able to raise me to be who I am today.  I am nowhere near perfect but I stinking love my-crazy-self and will try my best to do more of what makes me happy and less of anything but that.

Did you hug yourself today? :)


Cheers!
J Bae

What are you passionate about?

So... I had a long conversation with a trainer of mine that I recently started working out with yesterday. His name's Kevin, you guys will get to know him more as I continue to get my butt kicked by him.

He asked me this one important question and it got me thinking long and hard about where I'm at with my life and which direction I wish to head towards. The question he asked me was, "If you had all your bills paid for and didn't have to worry about money, would you be doing what you're doing right now for a living?" I probably hesitated for about, let's say... 5 seconds, and said "no" without even thinking about it.

I never saw myself sitting at a desk all day doing monotonous busy work that I am not highly passionate about.  I am in a travel industry which I wanted to get into since traveling is one of my greatest passions of mine but the problem is, I'm not getting paid enough to travel nor am I free enough to travel as much as I want to be.

Travel and fitness. Those words pretty much sum up my passions and I will be doing some SERIOUS soul searching to find out how I can turn my passions into a paycheck!

Anyhow, I thought I'd share this with you because this is all I've been thinking about since yesterday and it should be interesting how I'll go about achieving my dreams.

If you get a chance, ask yourself that same question. If you had all the money in the world, would you be doing what you're doing right now for a living? What would you rather be doing?


Till next time,
Cheers!

J Bae

Pavement therapy

Happy Saturday everyone!!

Ah..... I look forward to this day all week long, I get to sleep in and get to spend all day doing whatever I want without worrying about how early I have to wake up the next day.

I wouldn't call myself a morning person, actually am far from it, but this whole day job thing has set my body clock to wake me up early in the morning even if I didn't want to.

Sleeping in until 9 o'clock has become a luxury and boy, did that feel so good today. Waking up to no alarm has to be one of my favorite things and I did just that.

Breaking up with my bed never gets easier but I knew I had to leave him for a hot date with the pavement this morning and I knew it was the right decision.

I finished my bowl of oatmeal with mixed berries, sliced up banana, and a handful of almonds and head outside.  Although it was a bit chilly (ok, chilly for us Arizonans, it was like 52 degrees this morning!) I knew that would keep me running to keep myself warm.  I didn't really keep my usual pace, I wanted this to be a relaxing nice morning jog and I was so relaxed and found myself keep smiling throughout the run. Running makes me happy (especially when I'm done, let's be honest) and that's why I call it the Pavement Therapy.

If you're not a runner, just try to start slow by running around the block. You'll want to give up but when you push out that weakness whispering in your ear telling you to stop, the rest gets easier, trust me.

Now I'm off to go get my hair did and have some fun with my girlies.  I hope everyone has a fantabulous Saturday!! Catch you guys later! :)

Cheers,
J Bae

Bring it on 2014!

Happy New Year everyone!!

I can't believe 2014 is here already. I feel like as I get older, the time just speeds up for some reason! (sigh... and it starts already.. I'm officially getting old).

Anywho, I hope everyone had a fantabulous time ringing in the new year and is ready to kick some serious booty in 2014 because I am!

Some of my friends and I rented a cabin up in Pinetop, AZ for a couple days to just relax and snowboard at Sunrise Park for NYE and I think it is becoming a tradition that we do that now. Nobody has to worry about going out to a crowded bar, worrying about driving and all that nonsense. Been there, done that and over it. Here is a picture of the girls of the group at a dive bar we went to, and needless to say, it was quite the experience (bathroom pic was very much needed hah).

We had a blast but I have to say, I was very excited to be home and start eating clean and training dirty again. I was a naughty naughty girl, eating bad and drinking. Bad girl!!

I'll start posting some pics of me getting my butt handed to me by my trainer Kevin soon. I keep forgetting to do that because I'm so busy doing just that but it's coming, I promise!

Here's the picture I took on the lift at Sunrise Park. It was a beautiful warm day to shred and I can't wait to go back for more! 

Ok, time to catch some Z's for this tired girl, back to the real world tomorrow but 2 more days and it's the weekend woot woot!

Sweet dreams everyone and I'll catch ya later!

Cheers,

J Bae