Weekend Recap (a little late...but still...)

This was one of the best weekends I have had in a while, but I've been back to busy since yesterday, which is why I haven't been able to write a post. I had the whole weekend off from any job which was really nice. I drove out to Palm Desert to see Max Friday evening after I finished nannying. Luckily, there wasn't much traffic and I was there by 7:15 or so. I was so exhausted that when I got there, we just relaxed and watched the Olympics. Last week was such a long week - 5 full days of nannying plus teaching 5 yoga classes (2 of them unplanned!) and waking up at 5 every morning - so I was ready for some relaxation.

For me though, I have to have some active relaxation. I am so not the person who can sit in front of the TV all day even if I'm super tired. So, after a good night's sleep, Max and I headed out to play tennis on Saturday morning. We had been thinking about going to a waterpark but decided against it since they only had like 4 fun slides :p So, we decided to go play tennis and swim instead. Palm Desert has a really nice community park with pools and tennis courts, so we always go there.

We had intended to just play a little tennis, but, we ended up getting REALLY into it and playing 3 full sets. Which took 2.5 hours. In the 100 degree heat. He won the first set 6-4, I won the second set 6-1 and he won the third set in a tie breaker 7 points to 2. It was a really close match! We're really compatible tennis players (not meaning that we're great at all but just well-matched) so the games are always fun and competitive. Our games take a long time because we ALWAYS get to deuce and usually have to do at least one tie breaker.

After tennis, we were so exhausted that we decided to put swimming off until Sunday. We went back to Max's house, showered and went to lunch with his mom and little sister. Then, we went home and relaxed (I actually took a little nap!) and watched more of the Olympics of course! I really am going to be sad when they're over!

Sunday, we woke up early and went to play more tennis and swim. We were thinking of just playing one set, but once we finished that one, we just had to play another. I won the both! The first was 6-3 the second I won in a tie breaker 7 points to 3. Then, we went to the pool and I swam this workout:
Pyramid
100 freestyle, 150 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 150 breaststroke, 100 breaststroke
finish with a cool down of 50 freestyle/50 breaststroke x3 
a total of 24 laps which is 1200 meters

It was a great workout and I felt good (but tired!) by the end. I have really started to enjoy swimming. I can swim for a long time though I am still really slow but I can work at that!

We went home, showered and had a quick lunch, then it was time for me to head back to San Diego. It's always sad to say good bye to Max, but he's coming back this weekend so that will be fun. I have to work all day Saturday, but I'm planning a special date to a drive in movie with a picnic at night!

Anyhow, I drove home and met some of my friends from high school at the beach. Sadly, the beach was super cold and foggy so I literally walked down to meet them and then left. It was such a big changed in weather - from 105 when I left the desert to like 70 at the beach! We decided to go get food instead and we ended up going to Chili's (not my top choice but oh well you can get a good salad almost anywhere). It was really fun to hang out with friends I hadn't seen in a while. We had a really good time and lots of laughs.

After that, I had a conference call with all the teachers at Ignite. We just went over some studio events and plans. I was officially welcomed as a real teacher!

Yesterday, I woke up early and did yoga barre, then vinyasa bootcamp and then vinyasa. 3 classes before 10:30am! It was fun but tiring. I didn't have to nanny until 1 because the girls have dance camp this week from 10-12:30. Great for me!

I can't believe that summer is almost over...I go back to school on August 28. This is so weird because I feel like I haven't been in school for a really long time...I almost forgot about it :p Oh well. This summer has been pretty great though busy.

Finally Friday!

This week I started nannying full time, so I am pretty exhausted and glad that the kids are going out of town for the weekend (including today!). I work 7-8 hours a day and then go straight to Ignite to either work, teach or do classes. This week, I taught Yoga Sculpt on Saturday and Gentle Yoga on Tuesday and I'm teaching a vinyasa flow class tomorrow night. Yoga sculpt has been my favorite class to teach so far because it allows me to be creative with the music and what poses/exercises I incorporate. I also love the energy I get from it and can pass on to the students.

 Gentle Yoga was a departure for me, who always wants to be active and moving. It was hard for me to tone it down a bit, but I was able to. It was a really good experience for me to learn how to teach a different style of yoga. Really, I just love teaching yoga in general and I want as much practice as I can get!

This morning I got up early for my favorite class - vinyasa bootcamp - even though it is at 5:30am. I knew I didn't have to be up early today but I also knew that I'd feel better after going to class than from sleeping in a couple hours. I love this class because it helps build strength to get into harder poses. Today we focused on some warriors, Eka Pada Koundinyasana (hurdler), full splits, vasistasana variations (side plank) and urdhva danurasana (full wheel). These are some of my favorite poses to do. They make me feel strong and confident in my practice. I love trying new variations of these poses and just playing. I love the fun atmosphere of vinyasa bootcamp...so worth getting up at 5:30am! 


After class, I came home and showered (I was sweaty!) and made my breakfast. Oatmeal with unsweetened almond milk and a dash of vanilla. I also tried my hand at a green smoothie. Like any good fitness blogger, I have heard of the benefits of green smoothies but always felt a bit apprehensive to actually making one. Today, though, I decided to try it. My smoothie consisted of a bunch of kale, 1/2 a banana, some blueberries, a few strawberries, water and ice. Surprisingly, it tasted just like a regular banana berry smoothie. Though, in the future, I will make sure to blend it a bit better because there were big chunks of kale that were kind of icky (not that I don't like kale, but it's really not appetizing to have chunks of it floating in the smoothie). It wasn't a total green smoothie, but baby steps! I'll try to get more creative with my recipes and smoothies this week! 


This evening, I'm going with the other teachers at Ignite to an ariel yoga class. It should be super fun. I've never done ariel but always wanted to try it. I'm also looking forward to getting to know the other teachers better!


My wonderful boyfriend is coming to visit for the weekend tomorrow! I am hoping the weekend will be fun and we'll get some tennis, hiking and yoga in as well as some relaxing and eating yummy food that I cook!

Protein for Vegetarians/Vegans

As a vegetarian (and mostly vegan since I'm lactose intolerant) I can't tell you how many times family members have asked me "how do you get protein?" The truth is that a vegetarian or vegan diet doesn't have to be lacking in protein!

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4771/10-Vegan-Sources-of-Protein.html