A New Routine

We're almost completely back into our Planet Fitness groove. I've actually missed going to the gym, minus the people that don't wipe off their machines that is!

We've decided, since Brock starts Fire Academy TOMORROW!, to go to the gym twice during the week (Tuesday and Thursday) and then on Saturday and Sunday, so overall, four days a week. I'll be working out on my own or with Brock on the Wednesday morning, running/video followed by Kettlebells. That way he and I won't be completely exhausted during the week.

Last week I got quite poorly due to lack of sleep, so I really need to start heading to bed earlier and pacing myself. One big change is that Brock now has weekends off for the next eight months, so that will really help.

We return to Planet Fitness

I had really good intentions when we left Planet Fitness back in April. We swore we didn't need it anymore since the weather was great. How wrong we were!

We've both been so busy in the evenings, especially since I started my new job, which has slightly longer hours. We just haven't had time to run together, well at least I haven't either. I managed some early morning runs and some elliptical workouts and videos when I could, but I've just been so washed out with the new job I haven't made time for myself.

I'm finally getting used to the new hours... so we've decided to sign back up with Planet Fitness. They are reasonable in price and I did see good results during my time there. I suppose we didn't think things through before quitting. Unlike Brock, I don't have the luxury of a gym at my job, or the ability to go and run during the day. I have been waking up at 4.30 to work out, simply because I'd be too tired to do it in the evening. I will be getting up at the same time when we re-join Planet Fitness anyway. But at least now with Fire Academy starting we'll be on a very similar schedule, so no excuses!

Paris Vacation Tips

I'm a firm believer that there are two kinds of people: those who have been to Paris, and those who haven't. It's really hard to explain, but if you're one of the people who has been ,you know what I'm talking about. It truly is a place that must be visited before you die.

If you are thinking about travelling to France in the near future, I have a few tips that you may want to consider so that you don't appear to be as clueless, and waste as must time as I did when I was there.

Most importantly, pack shoes. Lots of them. You'll want to have 1 pair of nice dress shoes, 1 pair of good walking shoes, and another pair of very comfortable shoes. Trust me on this one. You will walk more in your stay in Paris than you have in the last month combined, easily. The streets and sidewalks are very hard, and the floors in the museums and old buildings are not exactly soft themselves. Buy everyone in your travelling party a pair of Dr. Scholl's inserts before you leave, they're not sold anywhere in Paris. I learned this the hard way, as my trip was almost ruined because I could barely walk near the end.

Use the Metro. Contrary to popular opinion, it's not a wasteland of thieves and gangsters. Instead, it is a highly efficient and quick way to get from one end of the city to another. You'll also get great entertainment, because buskers routinely get on the cars and play tunes or do little mini-shows. Just don't make eye contact with them. The Metro is best when you need to get to a destination further out in the town, such as Montmarte or the Catacombs. For all other trips inside the Arrondisments, you will want to walk. You'll get so much more out of the trip by going down side streets and back alleys. The best part of the city I saw was getting lost in the Montmarte/Pigalle section, and ending up in the places you won't see in the brochures. If you truly do get lost, a Metro station is always a block away, and you can find your way back eventually.

Skip the high priced restaurants. Never, ever go into any restaurant with a person who stands outside and herds people in. You will be greatly disappointed. Instead, attempt to eat at every crepe stand or corner falaffel and gyro shop you can find. I never found a bad stand, and I miss crepes every single day here in America. Jasmine is a fan of plain powdered sugar and lemon crepes. I will take the classic Nutella crepe every single time. Yum. Don't bother with the waffles they serve at the crepe shops though. It's just a waffle, nothing special.

In the same thoughts of food: take advantage of your hotel's breakfast, if they provide one. Food is very expensive here, along with everything else. If you stay in a hotel with a breakfast, you can load up on croissants and other things and skip a lunch to save some cash. We stayed at the Crown Plaza on Republique Square, and they severed anything you could ever think of for a breakfast spread. It was very impressive. I usually had 2 full plates of various items and stuck away a few bread items for later. It really is efficient, and extremely tasty also.

Latin Quarter is overrated. The only reason to visit, in my opinion, is the nightlife. Pop in a few bars and enjoy the live music, but avoid the alleyways with all the restaurants and packed out tourists. You'll do a lot of standing around, avoiding pushy restaurant herders, and guarding your personal belongings from the inevitable pickpockets that make a living from the area. There are so many other things to do that you won't miss it.

The same goes for the Catacombs. They're overrated. It's fun to go underground and walk around for a bit, but after seeing your 6 millionth skull and continuing to walk for a bunch of dark and dank miles with limestone dripping all over you, it will get old. Go for the novelty sake, if your travelling party is into it, but beware that when you exit the Catacombs you will be in a very different part of the city then where you entered. They do not tell you this when you go down, and it is a shock to try to find your way around when you come up. Take a minute to study the map after you re-emerge. Also, finding the entrance can be tricky. It's right in the middle of the roundabout near the Denfert Metro stop. We literally spent 90 minutes walking around the neighborhood looking for it.

Boat rides on the Seine are not overrated. I highly recommend them. They typically cost 9-12 euros (12-15 dollars) and last about 2 hours. You will see a different side of Paris, and get to enjoy all their beautiful bridges. We took the one at Pont Neuf bridge. When you get off the boat, go for a walk on the river's edge. It's easily one of the best and most romantic walks in the world. Do NOT do this at night. It gets very dark, and people live under those bridges in tents, doing presumably nasty things.

Museums are great, but you have to really love art to get the most out of them. Musee D'Orsay is massive and well-stocked, but if you're not a fan of modern art and sculptures it's probably best to just skip it. I wasn't too impressed by anything in there, honestly. The Louvre is also great, but it should be an all-day affair if you plan on getting in. I only had a couple hours to spare and I rushed through it. The line outside alone will be at least a 30 minute wait. I believe we stood in line for an hour. Admission is free on the first Sunday of every month, so if your trip falls on one of those days, take advantage of it because it is rather pricey to gain admittance regularly.

Bring a camera. We took over 1000 pictures, and I still think we should have gotten more. Everything within eyesight is historical, and just plain beautiful. You'll want a memento of everything.

Lastly, appreciate the French people and culture. They are not at all the rude, hateful, and unclean people that ignorants like to make them out to be. They are very fashionable, very accommodating, and extremely happy. I have never seen so many smiling and helpful cashiers and employees in my lifetime. I heard more "pardonne" and "s'il vous plaits" in 4 days of Paris than I have heard their translation in America in the last 3 months. Shopkeepers were extremely patient with me when I was trying to speak French, and when I was a bumbling idiot who couldn't make sense of what they were saying they gladly switched to English to help me out. In my whole trip I only met one rude Frenchman, and it was a businessman in the subway. Of course, if I was running late for work and some foreigner was standing in front of an open door on an already packed subway car trying to make up his mind to get on it or not, I would probably push them out of the way as well.

Enjoy your trip. You will remember it forever.

Healthy homemade pizza

Hello everybody!

Have you been experiencing a major craving for pizza, but you don't want to consume the thousands of calories and massive grams of fat that would be delivered to your door in less than 30 minutes, not to mention the 30-40 dollars including tip that you stand to lose?

Never fear, I have a great recipe that will make a very tasty pizza, and cost half the price of a delivery pizza. All the ingredients can be found at your local grocery store, and it takes less than 30 minutes from preparation to tabletop.

Ingredients:
Naan bread - I can get a package of two at Harris Teeter for $2.79. Always choose whole wheat. The garlic or tandoori flavors will make the pizza more flavorable, but it would be just fine it you get the plain whole wheat naan bread. Generally 1 bread = 1 person, so be sure to grab enough at the store to cover your family.

Hummus - this is a completely customizable base spread. I choose the sun dried Hummus from my local store, but the original recipe I started with called for a ricotta cheese and pesto mix. The ricotta is too creamy for me, and the pesto can be a bit overpowering if you put too much on. In my opinion, the hummus integrates perfectly with the other ingredients. I have also made it with no spread, only a brushing of olive oil and it came out very nicely.

Asparagus - Get a bunch of very fresh and medium thickness asparagus from your local grocer. Snap off the broad ends and set aside. This is also customizable. You can choose a lot of greens such as spinach, kale, I would even consider thinly sliced parsnip straws for this ingredient.

Ham - really good lunch meat does just fine for me. It is low-calorie, and protein-rich. In the past I have gone fancy and picked up prosciutto or other Italian meats, and it does make the pizza outstanding. Of course, it also makes it much, much more expensive. Sometimes I even have to feed my pepperoni fix and add them here instead of the ham. It's really up to personal preference.

Mozzarella cheese - Sargento makes some great and cheap finely chopped mozzarella that can be found at any store. I have used all kinds of cheeses such as fontina, provolone, Swiss, etc., but once again, it is personal preference and value-based. For me, the cheaper mozzarella is just perfect.

So now you have the basic ingredients. You can always add more, change it how you see fit. Some sun dried tomatoes, maybe some mushrooms would be excellent additions. Make sure you don't make it too thick on top or the naan bread base will not support the toppings.

-Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
-Place the naan bread smooth size down on a cookie sheet and brush with then hummus or whatever you choose to be your base sauce. Be sure not to make it too thick, you don't want to overpower the pizza or make it a gloopy mess. A light covering works just fine. If you're a big fan of cheese, you can choose to add a light covering of mozzarella to this base. I don't, and it works fine.
-Place the snapped asparagus into the base sauce, like you are making a mold. Continue to stack the asparagus across the pizza like you're making a checkerboard. Do this for all pizzas until you run out of asparagus and all pizzas are covered.
-Put the pizzas in the oven for approximately 10 minutes, or until you start to smell the asparagus roasting and you can see some browning on the naan bread.
-Pull it out of the oven and cover in the meat of your choice and then the mozzarella cheese until well covered. You can also add any herbs such as oregano, basil, thyme at this point.
-Put pizzas back into the oven for about 2-3 minutes until cheese is fully melted, then pull back
out and cut into any pattern you see fit and ENJOY!

Easy Take to Work Healthy Lunches: Part 1

It's hard to eat well when you're working full time. Most people go out to lunch, spending too much money and consuming too many calories and processed foods.You can easily buy food in advance, make your lunches at home, save money and feel better about yourself. Here's one of my regular lunches:

• Organic Applegate Herb Roasted Turkey Breast (or any of the other flavors they have).
• Trader Joe's Multi-grain sandwich round thins.
• Roasted Garlic Hummus (or any flavor you like).
• Raw Baby Spinach.
• French Green Lentils - pre-cooked from Trader Joe's.

Make two sandwiches with the hummus as a spread. Use one slice of turkey per sandwich and place some spinach on top to finish the sandwiches. Get a small tupperware and put about 3/4 cup of lentils in it.

A nice nutritious lunch for one! All of these items have a very good price at Trader Joe's - you'll find other chain stores will double the price of the Organic Turkey Breast.

For the rest of the day I'll take two other snacks, one mid morning and one mid afternoon. This usually consists of a raw almond and raw walnut mixture, around 3/4 cup, and a greek yogurt like Fage Total Greek Yogurt 2% or 0%.