I actually started this blog over a year ago but never seemed to find the time to invest in it. I am not completely sure what I want to make of this blog but I do know I plan to use it as a creative outlet to share my new path focusing on a career in fitness, our Pacific Northwest adventures and healthy living tips.
A few weeks ago we ventured out to the Olympic Mountains for a day hike. After 3 hours of traveling, we made it to the Lake Cushman/Staircase Area of Olympic National Park. We went on the Staircase Rapids trail and it was about 4 miles roundtrip. The hike wasn’t difficult and I loved that the trail followed the North Fork Skokomish River with the sound of rapids through almost the entire hike. The huge cedar trees all through the hike made it seem like we were in a giant forest playground.
The view overlooking Lake Cushion.
When my parents were visiting over Memorial Day weekend, we spent one day on a whale watching adventure. We bought the sealife search package in the San Juans from Clipper Vacations.
Our ferry left Seattle at 7:45am and we were off on the 3 hr ferry ride to Friday harbor.
It was cloudy during the morning on our ferry commute to Friday Harbor but the scenery was still beautiful.
Once we we got to Friday Harbor, we had a quick stop and were then off for our 3 hour sealife tour through the San Juan Islands.
Less than an hour into the sealife tour, we had the first whale spotting – a pod of Orcas!
After the sealife tour, the ferry headed back to Friday Harbor where we docked and had 2 hours to spend exploring the area around the harbor.
We ate, ate, & ate and then got ice cream.
Next, was another 3 hour ferry commute back to Seattle. The day ended with the picture below — if only the picture did the moment justice. There are 2 adult bald eagles sitting on what is left off a leaning lighthouse and 2 young bald eagles on the sand near the water eating something. Add in the sealions swimming around the small island and it was a special nature moment.
It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks filled with studying & teaching Pilates, my parents visit out to Seattle and a trip back to Tucson for a beautiful desert wedding.
This past weekend was training weekend #3 and now I am only a month away from being certified in Level 1 for Peak Pilates. At 25 weeks pregnant, my pregnancy workout routine is focused on Pilates a few times a week and playing tennis once a week with my tennis team.
Most people that know me, know that I love my green juice. I try to drink 1 green juice or smoothie daily if possible. If I have a smoothie, it’s normally for breakfast with added protein powder for more of a meal replacement. If I have a juice, I supplement into my 3 daily meals consuming the juice late morning or early afternoon. I make my own juice at home about 50% of time. Living in Seattle, I have a lot of options to purchase a fresh, organic, cold pressed juice.
Reasons Why I Love Juicing
1. Quick way to get your daily servings of fruits and veggies.
Juicing removes the fiber from the produce leaving just the amazing nutrients for your body to absorb! It is an easy and convenient way to consume a greater volume of produce than you would eating in a raw of cooked form.
2. You’ll absorb nutrients better with less digestion.
Since the fiber is removed from the product, the juice is almost completely self-digesting.
3. It strengthens your immune system.
Juicing provides a powerful boost to your immune system.
4. Juicing Tastes Good!
Even though I normally stick to my green juice, there are so many options of fruits & vegetables to experiment with for different tastes or nutrient needs.
**I try to buy organic produce when possible
Over the last couple of years though, I find myself only wanting to buy workout clothes. Good news is I can live in workout clothes during this pregnancy as my days are spent mostly with Pilates and working from home for Society Social.
Lululemon Power Y Tank // Lululemon Wunder Under Crop (similar) // Pink Lotus Sweatshirt (similar)
Growing up, I was active but mostly played team sports (basketball, soccer & volleyball). During college, I didn’t make fitness a priority and my few and far between workouts consisted of running on the treadmill and doing circuit weights. Then I entered the corporate world after college for the next 8 years. When I first started working, it was really hard to incorporate fitness and healthy eating into my daily routine. Two years later, I moved out to Tucson, Arizona with my husband where I really started to develop a interest in healthy living and working out. My husband talked me into trying Crossfit and we both became addicted & found our Crossfit family at Ventana Crossfit. I took a few yoga classes while we lived in Tucson but most of my workouts centered around Crossfit.
We moved back to Charlotte a few years later and after this move, I knew fitness was more than just an interest for me. Most of my fitness routine in Charlotte was centered around yoga but I was eager to try out new & different workouts. I tried some barre workouts, HITT group classes, TRX group glasses & my first Pilates reformer workouts. I started to research yoga certification options but never pulled the trigger to sign-up and get certified because I wasn’t convinced I wanted yoga as my first certification. Something about the Pilates reformer classes had me thinking I should also look into Pilates.
We moved to Seattle last Fall and for the first 6 months we were here I only managed to sneak in a few yoga and Pilates reformer classes. After finding out I was pregnant in January, I decided to make it priority to receive my certification in yoga or Pilates. After researching, I decided Pilates was the best fit for me & below are the reasons why:
The certification I am receiving is based on the classical pilates method. I plan to share my journey to getting certified through the next year.
We had a low-key Friday night and got to bed super early knowing we had a long adventure day ahead. Saturday, we were up early to watch some of the high schoolers Ryan coaches play tennis at Greenlake Park. Next, we took the 10:30 ferry over to Bainbridge Island for a waterfront lunch at Harbour Public Place. We split a Putine and the fish & chips. Not healthy but it sure was good! In case you don’t know what a Putine is it is Canadian dish popular out here. It is fries covered in gravy & cheese curds. After lunch we drove 2 hours to the Lake Cushman area for some hiking in Olympic National Park. The hiking in Washington never disappoints & I am always ready to plan the next hike before we even make it home from our current adventure. Sunday morning, I went to the Capitol Hill Farmers market & walked around with Helena. I finished the weekend teaching a friend a Pilates class then hanging out with some couple friends at Witness (a southern restaurant a few blocks away). The cocktails at Witness are delish & the food is good (not quite great but I set the Southern cusine bar high).
Sharing a few photos from our weekend adventures but will share more hiking photos in a later post.
At the end of March, Ryan & I decided to head a little north (about 3 hours north of Seattle) for a long weekend in Vancouver, Canada.
We stayed at the Westin Bayshore & the downtown location was perfect! Of course the weekend we decided to go, it rained almost the entire trip. I’m talking like pouring down don’t want to be outside at all in the rain. It was a good thing we were both beyond exhausted and it was the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. We were content being parked at a bar watching basketball for a majority of the trip.
Vancouver was an awesome city & we plan to go back again when the weather is nicer so we can enjoy more of the outdoor activities. Our hotel was right beside Stanley Park which is must-do when you visit. We spent our first day attempting to walk around through Stanley Park in our rain gear and headed over to the Vancouver Aquarium. We also spent time on the trip shopping & eating on Robson street. My favorite meal of the trip was hands down at a French restaurant called Provence Marinaside located in the Yaletown area of downtown. On the last day, the rain started to let up a little so we ventured to the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. The park consists of seven footbridges suspended between old-growth Douglas Fir trees.
My weekend consisted mostly of Pilates. It was our second weekend of training and I spent my Friday, Saturday & Sunday at the studio.
I did manage to sneak in a little social time on Friday and Saturday night. Friday night we went to eat at Chavez for Zvi’s going away dinner. Chavez is a Mexican restaurant right down the street from us in Capitol Hill. I loved the restaurant atmosphere and the chicken mole tacos Ryan & I shared were pretty good. Saturday night we had friends over to watch the big fight.
I spent Monday recovering mentally & physically from the packed weekend. Today, I was back at it spending some time at the Pilates studio.
