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two women planking giving high five
In Fitness and Nutrition

Quick One

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This workout came about one day when I didn’t have a lot of time, and I didn’t want to mess with getting any equipment out. I did want to get in some type of workout, so I determined that 50 was a good number of reps, and I figured two rounds would be sufficient.  I did this workout right in the living room. This Quick One can be done anywhere!

Do two rounds of the following:

  • 25 air squats
  • 50 punches (25 each arm) (see video above)
  • 26 lunges (13 each leg)
  • 25 tricep dips
  • 26 plank taps (13 each shoulder)

This workout didn’t take long at all, but it got my heart rate up, and it made me feel good for getting it done. You can always make this workout more intense by adding weight or doing an extra round or two if you have time. But please warm-up if you do. If you need ideas for modifications, let me know.

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Helsinki Senate Square
In Travel Junkie

Visiting Helsinki and Stockholm

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As you read in “How Did I Get Here“, I visited eight countries in Europe before going to Thailand to teach English. After three days in Germany (“Take the Leap “), I flew to Helsinki, Finland for the second leg of my trip. I was so excited to meet up with my friend/family member, Marja.

Marja was a foreign exchange student who stayed with my family in the ’90s when I was in college. After playing basketball for and graduating from my former high school, she went back to Finland and became a teacher. Like myself, she loves traveling and has visited numerous countries. She came back to visit us in Pennsylvania and Virginia over the years, but I had never been to her home country, and I couldn’t wait to see her, her family, and her hometown.

I made plans with her before I left the United States. We messaged through What’s Up and Facebook while I was connected to wifi in Germany to finalize plans. I don’t know what I would have done without modern technology:)  She said she would meet me at the airport exit. I wasn’t sure how big the airport was or how I would ever find her, but to my surprise and relief, she was right there! Have any of you traveled before cell phones and the internet? Please tell us about your experience!Helsinki

Marja and her partner were the BEST tour guides! They and their son welcomed me into their apartment with open arms. Marja had the most creative agenda for me neatly decorated and laid out. I was so excited!

Finland Agenda Finland agenda 2

As you can see, on Saturday, we rode our bikes to a child’s birthday party where I met other Finns. It was nice to be immersed in Finnish culture and actually see the homes of people who lived there. The thing that impressed me the most was that I was in a roomful of people, I was the outsider, and of course, didn’t know a lick of Finnish. Once they knew I was a visiting American, many of them spoke English to make me feel more comfortable. It was a shock to me. I was so grateful they all knew English and could communicate with me, but it made me a bit sad to think about all the people that come to the United States who don’t know English and who can’t understand what is going on. And I was further impressed by Marja who came to the US and immersed herself into our culture. What courage and strength! Have you ever been in a roomful of people who didn’t speak your language? How did you feel?

We went to dinner at Juuri, a fabulous restaurant, and spent the night in the heart of Helsinki at Hotel Indigo. The next day, we took a bike tour of the city and went to Suomenlinna Sea Fortress. Helsinki is a beautiful city right on the water, and although it was a little chilly, it was an amazing fall day.

Monday, I went with Marja to the school where she teaches. It was such a cool experience to be in an educational setting in another country. Most of the day, I didn’t understand a word but definitely got the gist of what was going on. It was a fantastic experience seeing her in action and meeting other teachers in her school. The kids were very similar to American students…laughing, learning, engaging, and just being kids.

Tuesday, Marja and I explored the city. Click Helsinki for more views of the city. We went up to the Tower bar to view the city from above. Then we got on a cruise ship to Sweden. I was so excited to mark another country off my list! Viewing the archipelago from the ship was amazing. Although we only had one day, we explored the old and new town of  Stockholm. One of my favorite spots was the Himlen, a rooftop bar. We also explored Kungsträdgården, a beautiful park in the middle of the city. blank

The next day we took the ship back to Helsinki, and I boarded the plane for my next adventure!

Have you been to Finland or Sweden? What were your favorite spots?

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy

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egg scramble
In What We Eat

Egg Scramble

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We love eggs for breakfast so we will throw whatever we have in it.  And I mean whatever when I say it! We have done scrambles with shrimp, feta, tomatoes, crab, steak, etc.  You name it, we have probably tried it (mostly lean protein sources and veggies of course)!

Ingredients

  • one egg
  • one cup egg whites
  • 1/2-1 cup of each veggie: spinach, mushrooms, onions, cauliflower, broccoli, and/or tomatoes
  • 4 ounces of lean protein such as homemade turkey sausage, shrimp, ground chicken, or ground turkey
  • 1/2-1 tbsp ground flaxseed
  • 1/2 avocado on the side
  • season to taste with salt, pepper, or Nature Seasons
  • If you are in your workout window, you can also add a slice of bread, an English muffin, or a banana.

Stacy’s Suggestions and Preparation

  1. Use a large frying pan.
  2. Spray with Olive oil spray.
  3. Warm your extra protein such as ground chicken, shrimp, or sausage.
  4. Add in your veggies.
  5. Add in your seasoning.
  6. Stir frequently to prevent sticking. We love using the egg flip tool below.
  7. Add in egg and egg whites.
  8. Continue moving mixture around the pan.
  9. If you are adding tomatoes, I suggest adding them towards the end so they don’t get too mushy.
  10. Once eggs and whites are thickened, remove from burner.
  11. Slice up your avocado and get your toast ready.
  12. Scoop onto a plate and enjoy!

                                                                                                         

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woman by water doing a plank
In How We Move

Arms and Burpees

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Welcome to your weekly Wednesday workout! In this workout, you will do 6 burpees between each set of arms. Each set consists of bicep curls, tricep dips, shoulder to overhead, and plank up/downs. It is beneficial to have some type of weight or water bottles for the biceps and shoulder to overhead but not necessary. Squeeze at the top if you don’t have any weight.

It looks like this:

  • 6 burpees
  • 20 bicep curls, 20 tricep dips, 20 shoulder to overhead, and 20 plank up/downs
  • 6 burpees
  • 15 bicep curls, 15 tricep dips, 15 shoulder to overhead, and 15 plank up/downs
  • 6 burpees
  • 10 bicep curls, 10 tricep dips, 10 shoulder to overhead, and 10 plank up/downs
  • 6 burpees
  • 5 bicep curls, 5 tricep dips, 5 shoulder to overhead, and 5 plank up/downs
  • 6 burpees

If you don’t want to do burpees, you can do crunches, abs or hold a plank for one minute. Do your warm-up, get your equipment ready, set a stopwatch, and get to work!

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In Pilot's Wife

The 5 Love Languages

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Do you and your partner speak the same language? You may think I am wondering about how you communicate verbally with your partner, but I am talking about your emotional Love Language. Just like two people who speak different languages may have a hard time understanding each other, people who do not understand each other’s Love Language may have difficulty and frustrations within their relationships. That’s why we feel the 5 Love Languages are so important to learn.

When I met my husband, I was surprised and impressed that he had read the book “The 5 Love Languages” written by Dr. Gary Chapman. It is a great, easy read. The premise of the book is that there are 5 Love Languages and people give and receive love in one of the five ways. When you and your partner understand each other’s Love Language then you can fill each other’s love tanks.  This book will teach you a lot about yourself as well as how to improve your relationships with friends, family, and significant others.

In the book, you will learn that the 5 Love Languages are: Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts, Quality Time, and Physical Touch. All 5 Love Languages are important, but a person is usually stronger in giving love in one Love Language and may receive love in another. Take the quiz to find your Love Language here.

stacy and jeff outside mi scuzi restaurantMy husband and I talk a lot about our relationship and the 5 Love Languages. In the beginning, we decided to incorporate the 5 love languages as a way of getting to know each other better. Because we lived in different states, we decided each month to do Words of Affirmation via email on a specific day of the month. We would write to each other and state one thing that we liked or enjoyed about the other and what we liked about our relationship. It also gave us an opportunity to “talk” about what was going well and what we wanted to do to make our relationship better.

The next year, we decided to take turns picking a Love Language. Each month we would choose a new Love Language to focus on and come up with a special way of expressing that to each other. One month, we did Quality Time. We took away distractions, such as phones and TV and just enjoyed a whole day together. Another month, we did Receiving Gifts. We set a monetary limit as to just show appreciation as opposed to trying to outdo each other with some extravagant gift. One month, we decided to make dinner for each other as Acts of Service. He  was in charge of the main dish, and I was to make the side and salad. We picked a few items from a recipe book, but we didn’t tell each other what we were making until we started preparing the meal. We poured some wine and got started. It ended up going perfectly together and was a wonderful evening!  These are just a few examples of simple ideas that can be fun and bring you closer together.

Because we were both previously married, we have learned a little bit about what worked and what didn’t work. One thing we try to focus on is putting each other first. We do our best to keep our relationship strong by keeping the lines of communication open. Yes, there will always be stressors, but we talk about them, and we figure out together how to get through them. Relationships are hard work, but when you are willing to work together, you can also make it fun.

One of the questions he asks me is, “What can I do for you?” This simple question means the world to me, especially when I am “In the Bathroom with Gram”. I am learning to ask him the same thing, especially when I see him a bit overwhelmed. We try to motivate each other and pick each other up every day. I am truly blessed to have found someone who enjoys a lot of the same things I do. And I am doubly blessed that he is willing to do these things with Gram in tow 🙂

Other little things we do to keep our relationship strong is we like to cook together, we usually go to bed at the same time, we keep phones and TV out of the bedroom, we go to the gym together, we try new things together, and we spend time away from each other and from Gram, which is important as well. We would love to hear if you have read the 5 Love Languages and some of your ideas for each language. What keeps your love tank full?

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy

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