Current faves: Christmas activities, San Francisco sweating, food and workouts

Hi, friends! How are you? Feeling festive? I hope so, because here we are moving into Christmas weekend just like that. December certainly went by quickly, didn’t it?

This weekend is not only a good one because of the holiday, but it’s also my birthday on Sunday — another year older and wiser. I know I’m getting a massage on that day, but not sure what else. Other than that, Dave, Brady and Rudy and I are staying put for the holiday this year and are celebrating as a little foursome only — and the good part about that is that we won’t be packing and/or spending any time in the airport — woohoo. What are your Christmas plans?

It’s the end of the week, so it’s time for my usual random selection of favorites featuring fitness, fun, life, food and everything in between. Here we go … 

Family

Taking Brady to the Tilden Park Merry-go-Round

I spent some time researching holiday activities to do with young kids in the East Bay of SF, and there isn’t much that takes place during the daytime and is accessible for a toddler Brady’s age. There are a million festivals and Christmas shows and nighttime things, but when your kiddo goes to bed at 6:45 p.m., your window of activity is much earlier. However, upon my research I discovered a few attractions for toddlers in the Tilden Park area near Oakland, so Dave and I planned to head there as soon as Brady woke up from his nap on Saturday.

I was looking forward to taking our little guy on the Tilden Park Merry-Go-Round, but boy did I underestimate how entertaining it would be to take Brady to a new place to try new things. He was literally squealing with excitement while people watching. Although he was a little nervous and reserved on his two actual merry-go-round rides, it was clear he was loving the scene, complete with the Christmas music and decorations too.

Dave took Brady the first time and stood next to him holding him while he rode, and I videoed almost every time they came around and waved too. My annoyingly high “mom” voice was at its highest yet, and I didn’t care at all hehehe.

We took a little snack break after the first ride, then I got the chance to take him. He was wide-eyed and just adorable the whole 3-minute ride — which by the way was only $3, so those two rides made up one worthy $6 investment, with no admission to the little park area required and easy parking.

On the drive home (which is a winding one, down the mountain, wheww), I was telling Dave that before becoming a mom, I dreaded the thought of doing kid things. But now, all of a sudden, I’m excited to do them. It’s just as much fun for us parents as it is for the littles. This outing was the highlight of my week, and I kept picturing Brady’s little body on that merry-go-round, and it made me smile every time!

Fun

Getting a library card

Yes, this is filed under the “fun” category!

Earlier this week, I finally went to the library and got a library card. I’ve read every book in our house and have ordered a ton and finished them too, so I figured maybe I should borrow books instead (it’s better for the environment too).

Brady and I swung into our local Walnut Creek library after the gym and signed up for my library card and picked up two fiction books by writers I’ve read from before … here’s hoping they are both fun, and I get them read in three weeks before they are due back. Who else goes to the library?

I used to do work there when I was pregnant and wanted to get out of the house, but this is my first time checking out books since college. It’s a nice place, and I would’ve stayed longer if Brady wasn’t being so chatty in his stroller.

Shown above are the two light and fluffy books I’ll be digging into.

• “Surprise Me” by Sophie Kinsella
• “One Fifth Avenue” by Candace Bushnell

Events

SoulCycle Self-Care Sunday in the City

Truth be told, as much as I love going to fitness events, I don’t love being gone for too long on the weekends, when it’s our only time to do family stuff (oh parenthood — I need time away, but then I don’t want too much so that I miss things). However, I RSVPed yes to the SoulCycle Self-Care Sunday weeks ago and was excited to get into the City for some fun. I’ve been a digital influencer for SoulCycle this year, and I’ve grown to love my time on the bike in those classes in the dark studio. It’s like a mini-therapy session sometimes.

It was a dreary and rainy day, and I took the BART in from the East Bay and arrived just in time to walk to SoulCycle Castro, which is in a gorgeous corner spot in the heart of the neighborhood. I said hi to some of the other ladies there, and met my friend Jill, who was my guest, then we hopped into a class with the most amazing instructor, Joe.

I’ve taken a lot of SoulCycle classes with a lot of instructors, and Joe is BY FAR my favorite. He was charismatic, entertaining, he commanded the room, gave just the right amount of challenge, and best of all — he gave COACHING at the beginning of the workout and throughout to make sure everyone was safely doing what they needed to do — without being too informative and killing the vibe. Oftentimes in SoulCycle, even though it’s fun, there’s not a lot of instruction — and the fitness professional in me doesn’t like that at all — so Joe was top notch in my eyes.

After an awesome class, we showered up, then headed over to The Assembly women’s club, which I’ve been to once before. It’s a beautifully designed place in an old church in the Mission District. Once there, we chatted, opened our gift bags and then took a restorative yoga class, which was such a treat. I nearly fell asleep while lying there in the long poses supported with bolsters and smelling the essential oils. Heavenly is the word! By the way, The Assembly has a great line-up of fitness classes, wellness events and all sorts of programming for women — definitely worth checking out if you live in the City.

We finished up the day of activities around 3:30 p.m., and Dave, Brady and Rudy picked me up from the BART station back home in the East Bay, so I had a little bit of time to hang out with them before we had to get Brady to bed.

Overall, it was great to get out of my neck of the woods, take a sweaty and fun cycle class, hang out with some awesome influencer ladies and friends, then end the event with some major relaxation in yoga with another super-skilled instructor. I’m so glad I went to this day! Thanks for having me, SoulCycle. (Side note: After enjoying that yoga class so much, I realize I need to figure out how to make time to get to a studio yoga class every once in a while — it’s soooo good for me.)

Food

Tone It Up peanut butter protein powder

I can’t tell you how often people ask me about my favorite protein powder. I used to love Vega Sport Chocolate, I’ve also used and enjoyed Sunwarrior Chocolate, and I typically go for plant-based protein powder.

I’ve been purchasing new brands of protein powder and haven’t come up with a good one to share with you until — of all brands — the one from the Tone It Up girls. I was prepared to not like this protein powder, but I totally enjoy the taste of the PB flavor.

It’s non-GMO, gluten-free, plant-based protein powder made from pea protein isolate (isolate is a more pure form of protein than concentrate), and organic pumpkin seed protein. There are only a few other recognizable ingredients, so it’s quite clean, and it tastes very good and has 15 grams of protein per serving. I’ve been mixing it with water mostly, but it’s extra delicious mixed with coconut milk too. 

I wouldn’t say this would be the best protein powder for someone looking to put on tons of muscle and get extra vitamins and minerals, but this is an affordable and flavorful protein powder perfect for someone who likes to add it to smoothies or drink after a workout to hold them over until their next meal. I’m totally going to try the other flavors, especially the organic vanilla, which wasn’t on the shelves when I was shopping. Oh, and you can find it here or at Target. I don’t mind supporting the Tone It Up gals either, because they are adorable, and I remember watching them when they were starting out on their Bravo show for one season. Anyone else remember that?

Fitness

Weekly workout recap

And now we’re into the fitness.

Here’s a look at my workouts from last week …

• Monday: 1-hour BODYPUMP class, 10 a.m.
• Tuesday: 30-minute CXWORX class, 9:30 a.m.
• Wednesday: 30-minute full-body weights workout, 12 p.m.
• Thursday: Taught 1-hour Bootybarre class, 12 p.m.
• Friday: Rest day 
• Saturday: 45-minute BODYATTACK class, 9:30 a.m.
• Sunday: 45-minute SoulCycle class, 11:45 a.m., 1-hour restorative yoga class, 2 p.m.

This past week had a few good things about — number one, I did 45 minutes of BODYATTACK, which is almost a full class (the class was shortened that day due to an instructor issue), and wow, it was so hard and so fun. Sometimes I can’t believe that I ever taught BODYATTACK, because it’s such an intense workout. I’m most definitely not in BODYATTACK instructor fitness shape right now, but I made it through the class and just soaked it up. I haven’t done a full hour of BODYATTACK since the last time I taught the class in August 2016. OMG. I do want to teach it again one day … we will just have to see if the opportunity ever comes up and it works.

The second good thing about this week was the restorative yoga class I took at The Assembly in SF — it was so slow, relaxing and just what I needed. I want to do more yoga, but it’s just not easy to get to yoga studios these days, and they never have childcare. Yoga at home just isn’t the same to me.

Here’s the full-body solo workout I did on the double cable machine … it was a good one!

Favorite reads

Best stuff on the web

• Micronutrients 101: Micronutrients are nutrients that we need small amounts of in order to function properly. You can get your micronutrients from food or supplements. This article explains where you can get each micronutrient and what you need it for. Quite helpful!
• Easy budgeting. We don’t talk about budgeting much on the blog, but I couldn’t pass up a chance to share this simple equation for looking at your finances. 
• Holiday movies. My favorite holiday movies are White Christmas, Elf, Love Actually and Holiday Inn. I’ve watched all these this month, but perhaps embarrassingly, I’ve also watched a few Netflix originals from this list. hehehe How about you?
• Fitness humor. This is a hilarious list of memes about lifting weight. A few grammatical errors, but I laughed anyhow.

A Lady Goes West archives

• Year in review. A walk down memory lane, looking back at the the big things from this year … “A Lady Goes West 2018 year in review: Biggest life moments, top posts and more.”
• WORTHY goals for 2019. This is a post I wrote last year, and as I look back at it, I still believe in everything I wrote — it’s not about dieting or losing weight, but improving your life with a few small things … “Improve your beautiful life with these wellness goals.”

Have a wonderful weekend, Christmas Eve and Christmas, my dear friends.

I know I said it earlier in the week, but the fact that you click through and read this blog means SO much to me, so THANK YOU for that. Now go enjoy your day! 🙂 

Questions of the day

What’s on your wish list for Christmas?

What are you up to this weekend?

What’s your favorite Christmas movie?

Do you have a library card?

What are you currently reading?