Wellness Wednesday - For Your Spirit

Lately I have been all about eating right and trying to work out more.  This is all well and good, but I can't forget about the other part of my wellness, my spirit.  Doing things that make me feel good on the inside are also important.

Money has been tight, and since we are saving for the wedding, I feel like we have been sacrificing as far as going out and doing things.  I mean, Nick and I are homebodies anyway, and are more than happy to watch a few episodes of Law & Order: SVU and consider it a date night, but I feel like sometimes you just need to get out of the house (especially with crappy winter weather cabin fever setting in).  I have been really struggling with ways to do this on a tight budget, but in the last few weeks, managed to squeeze a couple in.

Last week, my best friend from college (the first time) came down for the day to visit.  She is one of very few people who will go out of their way to where we live to spend the day with us.  Nick and I looooove this about her (so much, that we were both actually texting her about it the night before without realizing!).  When she came down, we hung out at the apartment a little bit, went out for a long lunch, and made a semi-delicious dinner at home (my first try at baked ziti wasn't my favorite).  Then, that night we went to a local restaurant/bar and played trivia.  It was free to play, but we felt a little bad about going and not ordering anything, so we did each get a beer.  Even though we didn't win, it was something fun to do that didn't cost much.

On Monday night, while another friend and I were at the gym together, we were talking about how we really need to hang out somewhere other than the gym soon.  Even though we get to chat with each other while we are there, and stay mostly updated on each other's lives, it's not quite the same as just hanging out.  We decided we would just hang out that night, since she lives a half mile from the gym (and had a bottle of white zin in her fridge!).  We drank wine out of dollar tree Valentine's themed wine glasses and watched "Valentine's Day" on demand.  It was a wonderful, much needed girls night for me.

Now, I still wish that we were able to see our friends more often ( Heather, this means you!), but that's what happens when most of them live at least an hour away!  For now, I will keep trying to find inexpensive ways to spend quality time with friends that are close by.

What are some things that you do for your spirit?  Do you and your friends have inexpensive ways that you spend time together?  How do you handle living far away from your friends?

Wellness Wednesday - Working Out With Your TV

I do not feel like leaving the house today...I'm just feeling a little blah lately.  My workout buddy won't be making it to the gym tonight, so I decided to work out a different way this afternoon.  With my T.V. (and Jillian Michaels).

I honestly forgot how many workouts there were On Demand.  We have comcast cable, and through exercise TV, there are a ton of options for working out at home.  Today, I have chosen Jillian's "6 week 6 pack".  I just watched it (since I like to watch it first so that I can see what I'm getting myself into), and it looks like it could be pretty intense.  She has two different levels for this workout, and both are represented in the video (which I like).  All you need is a hand weight and a mat if you have hard floors.  I will be doing level 1, which doesn't require a weight.

Do you have a favorite On Demand workout?  Are there other ways that you use your TV to get exercise? 

Wellness Wednesday - Snow Edition

I am honestly too tired to type much of a post after shoveling the snow away from my car.  We didn't get that much (maybe 6 inches), but it rained and then snowed again...and it was heavy, heavy, heavy.  Places less than 50 miles from us have double and triple that amount of snow, so I am feeling OK about our 6 inches.

So my thought today is to get out and exercise in unusual ways, like shoveling snow!! Is there anything unusual that you would consider "exercise"?

Wellness Wednesday - Volleyball

When I was in 7th and 8th grade, we had what was called "wellness Wednesday" in gym class.  I think that it was once a month, if gym class fell on Wednesday, there would be a special set-up of things to do.  We would have to run a mile (timed), see how many pull ups and push ups we could do, and also do some flexibility tests.  I hated it.  I wasn't strong, I couldn't run, and I was not flexible in the least bit.  Even though I hated it, I thought it could be a good thing for my blog!  Keep a look out every week for an entry related to overall wellness (healthy recipes, workouts, ways to destress).


Today, I want to talk about volleyball!  I played volleyball in high school, and we were generally 3rd in our division and played against the two best teams in the state.  I also played my freshman year at a tiny women's college, but our team was not as good.  I think we won one game!  But, no matter how good the team I'm on is, I love to play.


Yesterday, I went to play at my hometown recreation center.  They have adult volleyball on Tuesday nights, and I have been trying to go every week.  I am not as good a I used to be (since I am out of practice and a bit out of shape), but I love to play.  I have been using "my fitness pal" to track my food and exercise, and according to them playing volleyball for 2 hours competitively in a gymnasium burns about 1350 calories!  Now I know why I was so skinny when I was playing ever day!

This is me, 40 lbs lighter, my freshman year of college when I was playing volleyball every day.  I am not trying to be this skinny again, I am hoping to lose about 20 lbs.

For me, playing volleyball is a fun way to mix up my work out routine.  It burns more calories than anything that I do at the gym, and works muscles that I just can't seem to target there, too.  I know that I will have a flat stomach in no time if I keep playing weekly.  Here's hoping!


Did you play any sports in high school or college?  Do you still play sports?  Do you do any nontraditional workouts?