Four things I did this weekend and my weekly workout report

Hi, friends! Welcome to the blog! I hope your weekend was both restful and fun. Mine was. So I usually write this post during the late afternoon on Sunday, so I can get it finished up before dinner and couch time. But not so much this past weekend … somehow the day got away from me, and I didn’t sit down to open up my laptop until late. However, you’re here reading this, so everything went okay, and I got it done. Let’s talk about the weekend and my weekly workouts at 23 weeks pregnant.

Friday was super a low-key evening, as Dave and I ate grass-fed burgers, cauliflower rice and ice cream at home, once finished with our respective responsibilities for the day. Big surprise there. What is noteworthy is that I took a profile bump pic after teaching Bootybarre, which shows that yes — I’m quite pregnant now. There’s no mistaking it.

And for the four things that I did this weekend …

1. A sweaty SoulCycle class on Saturday morning

On Saturday morning, I took a SoulCycle class with my girl, Jill. (Want to know what SoulCycle is like? Check out this class review.) Jill came out from the City to hang out with me for a few hours, and we knew we wanted to fit in a sweat sesh before brunch with our men.

We had bikes in the front row of SoulCycle Walnut Creek and got in a great cardio workout. However, I wasn’t a big fan of the instructor at all. In fact, I’ve always really liked my SoulCycle instructors, but this gal wasn’t my favorite, because I don’t think she taught or delivered a safe class. She had some spunk, but spent most of the time looking at herself in the mirror off the bike, rather than making sure the full class was prepared and executing each move properly.

Maybe I’m a harsh critic as an instructor, but I was a little annoyed for most of the class, wondering when she was going to give even a little bit of instruction about positioning your body, pulling your shoulders back or even pre-cuing the moves to come. Arg! Based on the raised hands at the beginning, there were only a few first-timers riding, but still, I expect just a bit better from SoulCycle, you know?

Nonetheless, Jill and I had fun, and the instructor’s final motivational speech was pretty moving, so it wasn’t all bad, because I still walked out of there feeling strong. 

2. A healthy brunch at True Food Kitchen with friends on Saturday

After class, we strolled just a few steps away to meet Jill’s guy, Paul, and Dave for brunch at True Food Kitchen in Broadway Plaza in our sweaties.

I have always ordered from the lunch or dinner menu at True Food, but decided to try the brunch options this time and went with the avocado toast. When it came out, it looked so tiny and underwhelming and hardly had any avocado on it — umm what?

However, the bread, the cheese and the two eggs on top ended up making it a tasty meal, even if it wasn’t as “avocadoey” as I would have hoped for, being called avocado toast and all. And this meal just goes to show that True Food Kitchen always delivers, even if you don’t think so by the looks of your plate at first glance.

Not much to report for the rest of Saturday up until the evening time, because a nap and some errands filled in the middle of the day.

3. Some summer pizza and ice cream in Danville on Saturday night

Because Dave and I are trying to get out and explore a little more now until our baby boy comes, we opted to head a town over to Danville for dinner. We pulled up to downtown Danville without a plan and walked right up to Pizza Antica and got a table outside in five minutes. It was a beautiful night to sit outside, and our meal was fabulous.

We had a kale salad, some meatballs and garlic bread and a just-released summer-themed pizza, covered in corn, bacon, arugula and onions (un-pictured, because it was dark by the time the pizza came). I know it sounds strange, but it was so good. Yes, corn on pizza is a thing!

After dinner, we popped into Crafts Creamery for the most incredible ice cream ever. I had never heard of this place before, and it’s quite a different experience (thank goodness Dave found it on Yelp so we knew to stop in).

There were a ton of people working (and a ton of people waiting for their treats), and we all watched as the workers used little machines to make our ice cream orders fresh right in front of our eyes. So cool!

I had birthday cake ice cream, topped with brownie and cheesecake bites and a Nutella coating. It was BEYOND! Dave ordered a little cup of peanut butter, which he couldn’t finish, so I got to sample that too. So yummy! As you guys know, I have a major ice cream craving with this pregnancy, and so I expect to return to Crafts soon for another dose.

4. Starting the great purge of 2017 on Sunday

Sunday wasn’t all that exciting around our neck of the woods, but it was super productive. Maybe it’s an early nesting phase or maybe it’s because I just finished reading Marie Kondo’s “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” (more to come on that soon), but I have been all about purging our belongings lately. I did a little bit on Friday, and then Dave and I both did our closets on Sunday. I don’t think I’ve EVER pulled out so much to sell or donate. Speaking of selling, I’m having great success listing things on Poshmark (referral link). Have you guys tried that service? So easy to use! (Use the code GHFGF for $5 off your first order.)

We stopped the madness to get lunch at Tender Greens in downtown Walnut Creek around 1:30 p.m. and we sat outside and each had a salad, with a honey butter biscuit on the side.

Then after that, Dave went off to the driving range for some fresh air, and I went home to continue my mission to clean and organize, working well into the evening. It was a lot for one day. I filled up multiple bags and made countless trips up and down our three-story townhouse.

I was so darn tired when I finally finished my closet, that I took a shower, popped on the couch and considered not getting this post done at all. But alas, you guys deserve better from me, so here it is! 

We finished the weekend with another round of grass-fed burgers, cauliflower rice, ice cream and some Netflix. What can I say, we’re easy to please, and my cravings are quite simple. 🙂 

My weekly workout recap

Moving on, here are my latest workouts …

Weekly workouts

 At 23 weeks pregnant …

• Monday: Took a one-hour BODYPUMP class, 10 a.m.
• Tuesday: Took a one-hour gentle yoga class, 9:30 a.m.
• Wednesday: Did 20 minutes of power-walking on the treadmill, 10 a.m.
• Thursday: Taught a one-hour BODYPUMP class, 8:30 a.m. and taught a one-hour Bootybarre class, 5:30 p.m.
• Friday: Taught a one-hour Bootybarre class, 4 p.m.
• Saturday: Took a 45-minute SoulCycle class, 10:45 a.m.
• Sunday: Rest day

Overview of the week of workouts 

Well, this was a full week consisting of seven workouts total. Some of them were much lighter than others, and I had a full rest day, so I don’t think it was too much. I won’t be teaching two classes on Thursdays for very much longer, which I’m looking forward to, because that’s the only day when I feel slightly overextended physically.

Overall, this past week was balanced, as I did weights twice with the two BODYPUMP classes, I did flexibility and isometric work twice with the two Bootybarre classes, and I did some cardio with SoulCycle and the treadmill. And did I mention I went back to yoga? I tried a new-to-me studio for a gentle sesh, and it was quite pleasurable. Yay stretching! Still going strong with my pregnancy workouts, although they sure do keep getting tougher.

Have a great day, my friends! Thank you for stopping by today. 🙂 

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P.S. Thanks to Meghan for today’s link-up. And GIVEAWAY ALERT: did you enter this sweet giveaway? If not, act now, because it ends today!

Questions of the day

How was your weekend?

What is one thing you want to accomplish this week?