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Marine Monday – Memorial Day

Post author By cerebellumchef
Post date May 27, 2014
No Comments on Marine Monday – Memorial Day

I spent all day wondering what today’s theme should be; what I wanted to write. I racked my mind all day, thinking mostly about my brothers and absent-mindedly buying their favorite snacks (Patch has a thing for cheese-dips and chips, while David has an almost unhealthy addiction to Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream) at Central Market. All day, these goofballs were running through my thoughts, so much so I distracted myself with memories and laughing at the last time I sat at a table with them.

David was terrified that I might send his drill instructor hilariously inappropriate gifts over the course of his boot camp stay. Patrick successfully pinned me in my living room, his payback for the plethora of times I sat on his head while growing up. As my two youngest brothers, they put up with the teasing and sisterly-torture. They still do. -.o

All our shenanigans aside, it’s difficult to see them in their current roles. Though immensely proud, I find it unsettling they’d willingly give their lives to save another. Patrick will likely be deployed, allowing another Marine much-needed time state-side.

I’m not sure how many Americans can fathom the notion of having a loved one in such a terrible situation. I certainly did not understand that feeling, until now.
My appreciation of our service men and women has dramatically increased since my brothers joined the Armed Forces.
Memorial day stands for so much more, now.
It shouldn’t, but it does. I knew of the sacrifices made and those that will come; knowing and feeling are two different animals. I pray every day for the safe-keeping of all those who protect us. Their courage, love of country, and love of us, keep us safe.
Today was a somber day in our home; a moment in history to be thankful for everything we have and those who allow us these comforts and freedoms.

Thank you, boys. You grew up to be stronger than I ever could have dreamed [especially with those noodle-arms you used to have]. I am the proud sister of two amazing Marines. For you, and all your brothers and sisters, I am so incredibly thankful.

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Oorah!
CerebellumChef

Tags Marine Monday, Marines, Memorial Day, Oorah, Prayer, Semper Fidelis, Sempre Fi

Daily Dose

DIY – GeoWalls

http___makeagif.com__media_5-26-2014_0pYZmr — 3.5 hours went by in a jiffy!

I promise to learn how to slow down gifs…tomorrow. I was really stoked to get this together for you guys.
The edited version will soon be posted. Until then…laugh at the ridiculousness of this one. Bahaha!

As you can see, one of my besties and I decided to paint an accent wall this weekend. For a grand total of $43.11 and 3.5 hours of sweat equity, our awesome geo-inspired wall is complete! We opted for grey and a dark, shiny slate color [Martha Stewart’s textured metal]. I think it looks fab.

We love it bundles and it adds tons of character to our once-bland living room. I
‘m changing up the table next! That thing needs to show off my yummy dishes!
Stay tuned.

Much love,
CerebellumChef

Tags crazy tape, DIY, Geo-walls, geometric, Martha Stewart, painter's tape, scotch, tape lines, textured metal, triangles

Daily Dose HealthyFit

Marine Monday

…on Tuesday!

Ok – so I’m not nearly as regimented as my Marine brothers, but I sure as heck am trying!

This week, we’re working on those chicken wing arms! Some people call them bat wings, but I think that’s terribly offensive to those little fuzzballs. Besides, you and I can’t actually fly with these fatty appendages tied to us.

I stumbled across this workout on Pinterest. Check out my fitness board! Together, we can help bottle that sexy!

I love this! All you need is a balance ball (about $12 at Target), a set of free weights that challenge you but don’t break you (I like 3 lbs. for upwards of 20 reps) and a chair. You can work out in your cushy living room and watch a show! [I find, I can work out to pretty much any movie.]

I’ll take pictures today and be sure to monitor my shrinking chicken wings. Between climbing, this nifty workout and running – the flab pack will flee in no time!

Much love,
CerebellumChef

Tags arm flab, bat wings, chicken wings, Marine Monday, pinterest, sexy, work it

Daily Dose HealthyFit

Marine Monday – Thunder Storms

Post author By cerebellumchef
Post date May 13, 2014
No Comments on Marine Monday – Thunder Storms

There’s no running today. Nothing to do outside with the pupper and beau. None of that is happening today. We are under climatic attack in the metroplex. The rain has fallen since 4pm and the pavement looks glossy, slick, and dangerous. The lightning is beautifully terrifying. It’d be wonderful to go outside and run, clear my head, but – I prefer not being a lightning rod. Fried cerebellum? No thanks. I need mine to keep balance! [ba-dum-cha! Get it?]

Seriously. You peeps are crazy! Get inside & stay safe!

Instead, we’ll do some HIIT this week, with our climbing! After today’s almost-4-mile trek through The Perot museum with our students, the thought of another workout makes me want to cry. thankfully, this workout is short. Not merciful, but it gets the job done quicker. Note to you – HIIT is not recommended for everyone. If you need to take a break, DO IT. If you need to modify a move, do that too! Push the limits, but don’t break yourself!

This week, we are focusing on ABS! Yes, again. Why? Because you and I are doing tons of cardio, meaning we can keep working on slimming down our midsection. Woot!

I’ll be doing this circuit 4 times [maybe three, if I feel like I’m dying]. Be sure to bust out a Oorah!” [or a good grunt] now and then; feel strong and get those feels out!

Soon we'll have shhhexi abs! Rawr! — Soon we’ll have shhhexi abs! Rawr!

Have an awesome week!

Much love,
CerebellumChef

Tags abs, lightning, Marine Monday, not running

Daily Dose

Finals Week Break Down

It’s crunch time. Literally. I’m stressing and dealing with some major sweat stains. I wish I could say they’re from working out, but that would be a straight lie.

Finals week is here. No longer upon us, but knocking down the front door and taking us out. Us, as in all the lowly college students who work too much, stress too much and do everything other than too much homework. This semester I was high-strung, over-worked, ate too many calories and didn’t run damn near as much as I wanted to.
I spent more time in books and sitting at my kitchen table, pouring through calculus problems and crying about lesson plans.

It all boils down to this week.

I’m sitting in the Math building on campus, downing Snapple and Gardetto’s, trying to cram every last bit of Stoke’s theorem that can fit into these neurons. All I want to do is stop – and bake cookies, double-check my taxes, or maybe even sit in on my next dental check-up. Anything but study for this cal 3 exam.

Green's Theorem? Next please. — Green’s Theorem? Next please.

At least this is the last one.
I can relax in just a few minutes. It’s only 120 minutes to freedom; for another two weeks – then, we’re back in the grad school saddle again.

I sincerely hope your finals week [or other life challenge] is going better for you.
IF not, then dance it out.

Everything is better with a little dancing…and a slice of chocolate cake.

Much love,
CerebellumChef

Tags finals, grad school, stress, studying

HealthyFit

Marine Monday: Ab-Flab

Ab-flab, muffin-top, potato chip blanket, walking loufa – there’s plenty of ways to refer to the excess weight that many of us carry on our hips. Which reminds me – let me show you my fat picture.
Feast your eyes on this monstrous moment in my recent life, as in, 2 weeks ago [in really awful lighting, late at night, and I didn’t even bother fixing my hair because we had about 3 minutes notice before we jetted to the airport to pick up the bestie]:

Bestie - added for scale. Isn't she freakin' adorable? — Bestie – added for scale. Isn’t she freakin’ adorable?

This is a hideous picture. So thrilled to spend one layover’s worth of time together and I am so wonderfully blessed to have this chica in my life. She’s amazing, and you can read all about her adventures HERE! Laura was only here for a quick minute, but we lurved every second. [I also loved that she didn’t comment on my lack of diminishing-derriere.]

This picture speaks volumes! It also fuels my Marine Mondays, keeping up with the little brother who’s out being awesome at Marine Bootcamp! Oorah!

This week, it’s all about the cooch-pooch and gut-pack. They gotta go! I’m still working on squats, and doing the running! I’m a few miles, behind [thank you, finals week] – so I’ve got some sweat left to give to the world. I’m working on it though!

Attacking the flab with a squat and ab challenge for the next 30 days! Check it out:

High five for the gut-buster and butt-boosting combo! Much love for the gals and gents at Tribe Sports!

Make sure to jog each day before you do these [I’m shooting for a mile, minimum]. If you can only handle this 3 times a week, that’s perfectly fine. Take things at your own pace, but get that butt moving, baby!
Why not just do the abs workout? – It is imperative you do cardio before working on your abs. If you don’t, you will build up muscle underneath all those potato chip bags, pushing the flab out further and effectively making it more difficult to build up the sexy-toned look you’re going for. Don’t cover them up, rock the cardio and bust the ab-flab!

How are you kicking your own derriere? What’s your progress look like? Share your weight-loss love and send your progress pics! Keep being awesome and rocking your bod.

Much love,
CerebellumChef

Missing you bundles, Laurita. Come visit again, soon!

Tags Ab flab, bestie, fat photo, fitchick, Marine Monday, muffin-top, Oorah, visit

Daily Dose HealthyFit

Cupcake-Bashing

The past two months have been incredibly difficult. Graduate school, teaching high school, relationship issues, and not working out.
What? No wonder your life feels like it’s falling apart, girl!

So here I am, eating a cupcake – writing to you about fitness. Why?
Because every now and then, I need a damn cupcake. With a glass of wine. That’s just the honest truth.
It’s not an every day practice, though. I promise. I might want to drown my bad days in chocolate covered loveliness, but my hips get really pissed when I think about that for too long. I need to get fit, and as far as way from “obese” on the BMI scale. [Alright, BMI isn’t the best scientific method to gauge fitness, but 30% body fat is most definitely not a good thing.] Unfortunately, I can’t give up cupcakes. Thank the fitness gods that Jillian Michaels doesn’t live close enough to kick my ass and throw out every baking good in my pantry.

Since the beau fractured his foot while rock climbing, we hadn’t been doing much of anything active. My nose was stuck in grad school books and assignments; with no one to really push me – I fell out of the workout habit.

This week, I read the words in the picture above. Isn’t Frederique Murphy wonderful?
Why wait for tomorrow? Why wait on much, really? There are so few moments in life and not enough hours in the day to get everything done. Why waste a second doing something that isn’t good for you, making you unhappy, or barring you from being your best self?

These words rung so true to me, that I started the Marine Monday challenge, set up a mostly-clean (again, need cupcakes) eating menu for the next couple of weeks and started running. Frederique’s words have inspired a revitalized outlook on all aspects of my life. There’s no real reason, other than laziness, to explain why I decided to stop working out. But I am getting back into it, because diet fads and “quick-fit” schemes just don’t work for the long-haul.

This week, I’m working on finals and trying not to die [ok, I probably won’t die – but finals really do suck]. I’ve cooked half a week’s worth of meals, so the beau won’t starve and I will have no excuse to order in take-out [because I totally do this during finals week and should stop]. It can be unhealthy – especially when I order goodies from Thai Thai three times a week. Delicious, but not a great caloric choice.

This week will be the second in my Marine Fitness challenge. While the broski is away at bootcamp, I’m trying to get into rockin’ great shape. I’ve got 12 weeks to go. It’s going to be great! I’m adding this to my workout routine this week:

Let’s see if this really does “work like a charm.”

I’ll be sure to let you all know how well this Pinterest idea works. I’m sure the lactic acid build up will be a terrible idea during finals week, but I figure if my brain is suffering, then my muscles should join the pain movement too.
Stop by tomorrow for the Marine Monday challenge. It’s going rock those hips of yours!

Bust your butt and get moving!

Much love,
CerebellumChef

Tags BMI, challenge, choices, fads, fit, frederique murphy, quotes, workout

Daily Dose

Veggie Switch-Up

Veggie Swtch-Up

We all tire of veggies being eaten in the same form or fashion. Salads here and there, mixed veggies, sauteed carrots or the stand-alone smashed potatoes – we are all guilty of falling into a same-old-same-vegetable rut.

My new favorite vegetable is the spear-headed, and totally regal-looking, Asparagus.
Sear a few stalks in a pat of butter, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic…Voila! You’ve got some bonafide crunch in your grilled cheese sandwich!

The beau & I tossed together some shredded Monterrey-jack cheese, prosciutto, Sara Lee roasted turkey breast, and Emil’s buffalo chicken breast. The combination was wonderful! Next time, we will use a mozzarella or brie. The sandwich was delicious!

Tell me about your latest veggie up-dos!

Much love,
CerebellumChef

Tags asparagus, change, grilled cheese, rut, sandwich

HealthyFit

Marine Monday: Glutes!

Getting that derriere in gear is going to take some effort. This week, we are focusing on busting that butt flab and getting that base, blasted!

Monday: 25 squats
Tuesday: 35 squats
Wednesday: 45 squats
Thursday: 55 squats
Friday: 65 squats
Saturday: 50 squats + Run 1.5 Miles [walk/jog if you need to, but get going!]
Sunday: Run 3 miles.

Remember to keep track of your time. You’ll be running more every week and want to get down to a 7-8 minute mile, depending on your ability. This will be a 13 week process, so don’t get discouraged if you’re running a 15 minute mile now. Just get out there and blast that booty!

Much love,
CerebellumChef

Tags Booty-buster, Derriere, Glutes, Marine Monday, Squats

Daily Dose HealthyFit

Oorah, Boys! – A Marine Sister’s Challenge

Post author By cerebellumchef
Post date April 28, 2014
No Comments on Oorah, Boys! – A Marine Sister’s Challenge

Two of my broskis have decided to dedicate themselves to the Armed Forces. One of them is already a Marine, while the other left for bootcamp today.
It’s surreal.

1978680_665500793513055_1725601671_n — [40 degrees seems to be decent napping weather]

When you’re younger, watching them fall through ceilings (family story that nearly ruined a Christmas due to contractor bills), break bones, flirt (and fail) with girls, or even learn to make Ramen and consider it “cooking” – all these moments make it impossible for me to believe my brothers are strong, capable beings.

I look at them and see dorky little boys, trying to chase my friends and ask them to get married. They are the boys who would sneak into the slumber party tent and listen in on secrets, the ones who tagged along on my first date and made me turn eight shades of red when explaining just how long it took me to get ready…they were terrible, but I love them.
And they love you. Everything about keeping us safe, fighting for our country and defending good people – they stand for all the right reasons. I’m incredibly proud to be their sister.

Unfortunately, I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting any Marine Sisters, but I have met plenty of moms. Many of them, including my own, seem to be right there with their sons and daughters at bootcamp. They don’t eat sweets, exercise every day, pray every moment they can and their hearts ache. For a sister (or sibling), it’s a different feeling.

I don’t feel like I’m missing something when they are gone. When Patrick was away, I wrote to him often and usually poked fun at him, you know – sister things. Now that Dave is headed out, I feel like I should do the same for him. He’s always given me more headaches, so it makes sense to pull his leg more. But I do want to do one thing different. I want to challenge myself to be better, while he’s doing the same.

10246570_10152136953691715_6159033068327590705_n — Eevee & I have been couch potatoes lately – it’s time for change!

I’ve decided on a Marine Sister Challenge

I’m going to run 12 miles every week, for the next 13 weeks and will rock climb three times per week. I will post a weekly challenge, every Monday, and will spend my summer getting super fit. I’ve been lax lately, and really need to get back into the swing of things. Why not now?