Spring Break Road Trip 2014 | Las Vegas to Ensenada, Mexico

In case you didn’t already know it, I love to travel! I love getting out and seeing new places. I get it from my parents 🙂 Anyhow, our last family trip was in August and it didn’t go so great (Elysse got sick and we had to cut it short!) You can read all about it HERE. Needless to say, I was itching to get away as a family. Diego’s school is year-round, so rather than the conventional 3 months off during the summer, he gets 3week track breaks throughout the year, the first was in November and now in March. We figured we’d take advantage of the time off and call it Spring Break! Our little road trip consisted of driving to San Diego from Las Vegas then from San Diego to Ensenada, Mexico. We arrived late afternoon to La Jolla Beach where we were all ready to run around in the sand and stretch our legs!

The next day, I got up early and went on a quick 2 mile run before our super fun whale watching tour. We were told not to expect too much since they don’t always see whales, but we were in for a major treat! We first saw a huge pod of about 100 common dolphins playing and jumping over the waves made by the boat. This was Elysse’s favorite part since she was really able to see them up close. And then, not only did we see whales, but we saw them mating! Yup, 3 huge grey whales (2 males, 1 female) were frolicking and courting right in front of our boat. It was an amazing sight! Talk about getting close to nature! Diego had a few questions afterwards….awkward!!! Aside from those whales, we also saw 2 others in the distance for a total of 5 whale sightings!

After the tour we had some lunch and drove the second half of our trip to Ensenada, Mexico. We were all beat from the drive, but we were super hungry so we found a taco place and enjoyed some delicious local food! The next morning we went to see La Bufadora, one of the largest blowholes in North America. The street leading to the blowhole is lined with vendors selling all sorts of things from food and drinks to toys and tshirts! The kids loved it and Diego got to haggle with the vendors! It was pretty funny, but they did come down in price for him 😉

Yes, they were hoping people would give them money. Nobody did!

I wasn’t expecting the weather to be as warm as it was so I didn’t pack swim suites. Elysse was dying to play in the sand at the beach, so we made a quick stop at Wal-Mart (yup, they even have Starbucks & Costco!) got some bathing suites for the kids and spent the rest of our afternoon playing at the beach, collecting seashells, and enjoying the beach all to ourselves! It was perfect!

The next day, I woke up a little early and did a quick 20 minute interval workout that my trainer gave me before we left. It felt great to get 2 workouts in during the trip, especially since I wasn’t being 100% paleo 😉 On our last full day, we drove out to La Cava de Marcelo, a cheese farm I had heard of on Trip Advisor. It was so worth the drive! We enjoyed a nice tour of the farm, learned how they make their artisan cheeses, and had a tasting of 5 different cheeses in the cave. Afterwards, the kids played around and we ate a delicious lunch al fresco! We ended our evening with some shopping along the main street of Ensenada and a seafood dinner!

This trip was a lot of fun and wasn’t too packed with activities, so we were all able to just relax and enjoy our days away from the routine. The drive back to the US however, was not very fun and traffic to get across the border was over 2 hours, even with ReadyPass, which is faster. I think the regular line was about 4 hrs!! As soon as we crossed the border we headed to Balboa Park so the kids could run around and stretch before the long ride home.

Huge thanks to Happy Family Movement for their Road Trip in a Box! Those packages made our trip a lot more fun. I’ll be blogging all about that on Monday, so stay tuned! Thanks for sticking around and reading all about our latest adventure! Do you have any fun adventures planned with your family soon? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below 😉

Happy International Women’s Day | Inspiring Change

When I found out today was International Women’s Day, I quickly began to think of who I would blog about. I thought of important women in history and thought I should find one that really inspired me and blog about her. But then I thought about it some more and I realized, I am surrounded by so many inspiring women on a daily basis, let’s talk about them for a bit. Let’s honor the working mom who wakes up every morning at 6am to start her day packing lunches, folding laundry, dropping kids off at school, then go to work every day. Let’s honor the moms who homeschool their children. The women who own their own businesses. The mom who finds time in her busy schedule to take care of herself too. Let’s honor the women who follow their dreams and pursue their passions in life. Let’s honor the girlfriends who will stay up all night with you when you’ve had a bad day and need someone to vent to. Let’s honor our mothers for the sacrifices they’ve made to raise us to be strong independent women. Let’s honor each other. We are all inspiring.

This year’s theme for Women’s International Day is: Inspiring Change. Well, I am here today to tell you that you can make a difference. You can change your life to be what you want it to be. Your choices, your actions, your words can inspire someone to make positive changes in their life too. Then their changes will inspire someone else and so on and so on. You can be the start of something amazing.

This goes out to all of us: mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, aunts, nieces, grandmothers, granddaughters, girlfriends, women, girls. Today on Women’s International Day, I ask that we be aware of our actions, that we be aware of our words. That we not put ourselves down. Let’s be proud of where we come from, where we’ve been, and most importantly, let’s be proud of who we are! We have the power to inspire change.

Here I am with the most important and inspiring women in my life. My sister, my mother, and my daughter. Who inspires you?

Race 1 of 14: Blood, Sweat, and Beers 10K Trail Run

I’ve been a little MIA from my blog and life in general! I have been consumed by WPPI, the Wedding & Portrait Photography Conference & Expo since Sunday! It’s been a whirl wind of non-stop activity for me and although the conference ends on Thursday, life will still be hectic for awhile. As a wedding photographer in Vegas, March-April, is our super busy wedding season. On top of that, I’ve got a ton of races coming up these next 2 months. I see a lot of coffee in my future. Don’t worry, though, I won’t be neglecting my blog just because life is gonna get a little messy (See what I did there?) I plan on blogging the whole messy journey 😉

Ok, so back to my blog post! I am so excited I finally ran my first race of 2014, Blood, Sweat, and Beers 10K. It was really nice to run with my husband too. It was his first official race, if you don’t count Tough Mudder, and I think he’s hooked too!

This race was organized by Desert Dash and they put on a great event! From packet pickup to the morning of the event, it was well organized and offered a sense of community. Everyone from the race directors to the volunteers were so friendly and informative. I noticed they also seem to focus on other local and small businesses, which as a small business owner myself, I think is awesome! Since this was my first trail run, I was a little nervous about what to expect at the event. But, once we got there, we noticed a real laid back, friendly environment and felt like we fit right in. They had a good variety of food and drinks before and after the event too. One of their sponsors is Island Boost, which I love! YAY!! Oh and of course there was beer and root beer from a local brewery, Joseph James Brewing Company.

They offer 5K, 10K. half marathon, 30K, and full marathon distances. Being our first trail run, the 10K was a perfect distance for us! We’d done some trail running to train for it, so we were prepared for it and we had a great time. The trail course was pretty brutal and challenging (that’s a good thing!). We ran 6.2 miles with a 750 ft of vertical climb. Those switchbacks are no joke! The markings along the course were clearly color coded and easy to follow.

I really enjoyed the experience and would totally recommend it to anyone who wants a challenging, but fun race! Just because this is a smaller local race, they do not skimp out on the goodies. You get a nice re-usable drawstring bag with some swag, along with a nice tech tee. The medal is super sweet too. Plus, if it’s your first race, you get to ring a bell and you get some additional bling! And who doesn’t love race bling!?!?

I was definitely sweaty, I drank my beer, but luckily, I have no blood to show at the end of the race :) — I was definitely sweaty, I drank my beer, but luckily, I have no blood to show at the end of the race 🙂

Happiness, Love, and Imperfection

My life is not perfect. It’s far from it. My kids fight too much. Their rooms don’t look like a picture out of a Pottery Barn ad. Heck, not even a corner of my house could be in a Pottery Barn ad. At any given moment, when you walk into my bedroom you will see a basket full of clothes to be folded at the foot of my unmade bed.

But, with all these little imperfections, comes a life I am proud of. A family I love. A husband I’m in love with more every day. A love that is based on trust and honesty. We argue, sure, we aren’t perfect remember!?! But, with this imperfect life, comes so much happiness and so many good times, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I wouldn’t trade it for a cleaner house, a brand new car, or all the Lululemon a girl could dream of!

photography by The Happy Family Movement

Happiness and love come from within. Not from the exterior things we own or all the cool facebook and instagram pictures we share. It comes from the struggles, the sacrifices, and hard work to make our marriage and family life work. How do you measure your happiness? Your love? Is it measured by your career success? The size of your house? The size of your diamond ring? These things, albeit nice, do not equal happiness. What’s the point of a big house if there is no love inside?

I’ll admit it, there was a time in my life when these things mattered to me a lot. I was competing with “friends”, and I wanted more than I had. Was I happy? Maybe thought I was, at least for a moment. But the truth is that these things weigh you down. They steal your happiness and love.

Happiness is about making memories with those you love! It’s about not caring what other people think of you because you know your own worth. Being able to find love and happiness in our imperfect lives takes courage, it takes hard work, but it is so, so worth it. Wouldn’t you agree? Now, let’s all go out and choose happiness and love over all else.

Training for Obstacle Course Races

I will begin this post by clearly stating that I am no expert on obstacle course races (OCR), nor am I a personal trainer! I’m just an average girl who really loves to push her limits and see what she can do. Last year, I did 3 OCR, including Tough Mudder and this year I’m signed up for Tough Mudder again and Super Spartan. I will probably add a few smaller ones too by the end of the year….what can I say, I really do love OCR!

So that being said, I thought I’d share with you a few tips that helped me complete (read: SURVIVE) Tough Mudder last year and what I plan to do in these next 2 months leading to my obstacle course races in April.

Eat Clean! They say a good workout can’t out-exercise a bad diet and I really believe this. I’ve noticed that when I allow myself a lot of “cheat meals” my workouts suffer. I’m more sluggish and slow and of course, I don’t see the results I want. So, eating clean in the month(s) leading up to your OCR will help you get lean & strong!
Focus on Building Upper Body Strength! This was huge for me. Most of us ladies tend to have weaker upper body strength and a lot, if not most, of the obstacles you’ll encounter will require strong arms. Army man crawling, pulling yourself up walls & ropes, monkey bars, etc.. these all require strong upper body strength. Find a workout that is best for you and work on getting those muscles! Push ups, tricep dips, and pull ups (Disclaimer: I have yet to master 1 pull up. It’s on my to-do list!)
Run! You’re not training for a marathon, but you should be able to run at least 3 miles nonstop. Work on sprints and hills to really get those legs ready for the 10 + mile course.
Interval Training! You’ll be doing all sorts of things on an OCR from jumping over fire, crawling under barbed wire, and balancing on boards. You’ll have to build up your endurance and agility. Tabata, HIIT, Boot Camps, these are all great examples of high intensity training. Get lots of lunges, high knees, mountain climbers, and frog hops done!
Burpees! I don’t know anyone who loves a burpee, but everyone agrees they get the job done. And if you’re planning on doing a Spartan race, just know that the penalty for not completing an obstacle is 30 burpees..Yikes!!
Stretch! Don’t forget to stretch after your runs and workouts! This will aid in recovery, flexibility, and help prevent injury!

Also, do some research and check out what you’re up against. Go to YouTube and look for videos of the OCR you’ll be doing, specifically in your city. This will help you visualize what you’re going to be facing and get you pumped up! Tough Mudder has this great Boot Camp Training on their website where you can build your own workout circuit based on your fitness level and it’s designed to get you through their toughest obstacles! I’d also recommend checking out a training facility in your town. We have Camp Rhino here in Las Vegas and it rocks. We went last year and plan to go again this year. They have a beginners class where you can try out the obstacles, plus they give you tips and techniques for conquering the race. Lastly, have fun training 🙂

So, which OCR are you signed up for? I’d love hear about it and how you’re training!

Virtual Coffee Date

My son is home sick from school again today and I gotta tell you, I’m getting a little bit of cabin fever. So, I started to think about how nice it is to meet with a friend over coffee and just chit chat and since I can’t really do that today, how about you humor me and pretend we’re on a coffee date together! Here goes…

If we were on a coffee date, we’d be meeting at one of the few independent coffee shops in town. Nothing against Starbucks, but it’s nice to support local businesses! I’d probably order the biggest caramel macchiato or chia latte they offered. I’d be super thrilled if they offered almond or coconut milk!! How about you, what would you order on our coffee date?

We’d sit on some cool oversized chairs, I’d put my feet up and get comfy. We’d have a cute little table in front of us, but I probably won’t put my coffee down the whole time! I’d ask how things were going with you? Then of course, I’d tell you about how germs aren’t leaving my house and it seems we’ve all been sick way too often this winter and ask if you had any remedies?

If we were on a coffee date, I’d tell you about my 14 races in 2014 goal and ask if you thought I was crazy for doing the Super Spartan and Tough Mudder in the same month? Then, I’d ask if you’d like to join me on one of my races? Running or doing an obstacle course race with a friend is a lot more fun!

If we were on a real coffee date, I’d probably vent a little bit about how my kiddos, ages 8 and 5, are fighting like crazy and I don’t know what else to do about it. I’m kinda scared to think what life will be like when they are teenagers! Yikes….hey, I’d probably ask if you had any tips for this too?

If we were on a coffee date, I’d listen to you vent about whatever was on your mind and offer whatever advice I could. I’d tell you to follow your dreams and passions. I’d tell you that you are awesome and amazing! We’d laugh about our problems and make plans for the future. I’d thank you for meeting me for coffee and how we must do it again soon! We’d leave our coffee date feeling refreshed and hopeful and fully caffeinated!

ps. If we were on a coffee date, I’d probably invite you to join me at the gym or for a run 😉

Transformation Tuesday

This is the first time I post a Transformation Tuesday, probably because I’ve felt I am not exactly where I want to be and I don’t feel I’ve reached my ultimate goal. But today I’m like, hey, I’ve come a long way and I should be proud of all the hard work I’ve put in. You can read all about my journey in detail on My Story page. It’s amazing to see that almost 2 years ago I would not even consider buying running shoes, nevertheless wearing them! Yet, here I am today itching to buy a new pair of sneakers, signing up for races and events I didn’t even know existed and training hard for these challenges.

I’m here to tell you today that you can make changes to your life. You can find the drive and the focus you need to make those changes. It’s not going to be easy and if you’re anything like me, you will have pitfalls and it won’t be perfect success. But, that’s not the point is it? No, the point is that you are out there doing what you thought was impossible. Doing what you didn’t even know you wanted to do! So, whether you are just starting your fitness journey or you’re on the road and think you’ll never reach your destination, just know that it’s happening. It’s not only happening on the outside, but it’s happening on the inside. People are noticing. It’s not about reaching that perfect number on the scale, although that’s nice too, right? It’s more about finding the courage to do something different and focusing on becoming the best version of yourself. Here’s to transformations from the inside out!

It may not seem like a huge drastic change to many, but it is to me and I'm happy with where I am now and looking forward to where I'll be 3 months from now! — It may not seem like a huge drastic change to many, but it is to me and I’m happy with where I am now and looking forward to where I’ll be 3 months from now!

Take Control | Don’t Give up

So, who signs up for a half marathon and celebrates by eating a donut?!? This girl, that’s who! I just had to get that off my chest, it’s not really what this blog post is about. Ok, so moving on…

It’s been a stressful week at home, mostly just stressing over work stuff. Lame, I know, but hey, I’ve got kids to feed! Maybe I’m being a bit dramatic but the point is I’ve been stressed out. I skipped my training session on Tuesday and I almost skipped going today too. Why? Because yesterday was a bad day and I woke up still feeling in a funk. I just wanted to stay in my PJs all day and do nothing. But, I started to feel bad, remember I missed Tuesday, so I put on my workout gear, tied my sneakers and I made it to the gym.

I started out feeling sluggish, but then somewhere in between my 2 minute interval on the Stairmaster (level 10!) and bicep curl lunges, I remembered what someone once told me. I was told that you may not be able to control everything that happens in your life, but you can control what you put in your mouth and how your body looks. Aren’t those words of wisdom? At that point, I was like, forget feeling sorry for myself and worrying about things that are out of my control. My problems and anxieties will still be there when I’m done with this workout but right now is “Me” time. It was time to push my body to the limits, it was my time to sweat, to get out of my comfort zone and work it. If only for the next 45 mins of my workout, I felt powerful. I felt in control and it was awesome.

Am I jumping for joy and feeling euphoric right now? No, I’m not. Let’s keep it real! I’m back to reality, but I do feel a little bit better. I feel focused and ready to tackle whatever life throws my way! I feel empowered because I didn’t let life’s annoying problems get in the way of my goals. So, I’ve said it before (specifically in this blog post —> HERE) but I’ll say it again: Don’t give up on yourself and your goals!! Making exercise a part of my regular routine really helps me deal with the stresses of life and I’m confident it will help you too. So, go on a walk today around your neighborhood, pop in that workout DVD, or go to the gym, whatever it is, make some time to take care of you. Your body will thank you. xoxo

And, if that’s not enough, click on the picture below for 100 other reasons you should workout today!

Workout Wednesday | Survival Tips for Going to the Gym Alone

Earlier this week on my facebook page I asked if wether people preferred to workout alone or with a buddy. I asked because a few weeks ago my husband and I were talking about it. Turns out, I prefer to workout alone for the most part, while he needs a buddy. As for the responses to my question on facebook, most people said they were ok with both. Exercising or running alone was seen as “ME” time, while working out with a friend was also motivation to work a bit harder or a nice distraction from the miles ran.

When I first joined the gym almost 2 years ago (WOW! I can’t believe it’s been that long already!) I had to go with a buddy, usually my husband but also some friends of ours that would go in the evenings. We tried to go regularly about 2-3 times a week but I found way too many excuses to not go and evening workouts took it’s toll on our family time. Kids ate before us, we rushed to get out the door, put the kids in the playroom, rushed to come home and shower and get them to bed and we would end up having dinner around 9pm. It was not a routine we were accustomed to or one that worked for us. I was paying a monthly membership and I am not one to throw money away so I had to get my money’s worth. I figured I had to find a way to make it work. So, I put my big girl panties on and went to the gym alone one morning after dropping our oldest off at school and my daughter went to the gym’s playroom. I was so scared!!! I did a Body Pump class and although I was sore for days and felt completely inadequate compared to the other people in there, I kinda liked it. I kept going and also tried out a few more classes until I found what worked for me and I created my schedule. Soon, even though I was going alone, I knew I would see some familiar faces in my classes and I didn’t feel so alone. So, if you are scared to go to the gym alone, here are a few suggestions from me, someone who has been there, done that!

Do Research. Check out your gym’s fitness group classes schedule, find a few classes you want to try out, and put them on your calendar.
Be consistent. Don’t give up on a class because you don’t know the routine. It will take a few times of going to figure it out and get into it. If there was something about the class you liked, try it again. Don’t give up.
Make gym friends. We are all creatures of habit and tend to stick to what we know. So, let’s say you found a class you liked and you go for your second try. Stick to the same general area where you were stood the first time. Why do I say this? Because the other people will probably do the same and you’ll start familiarizing yourself with them. I’m not saying you have to become BFFs with the lady standing next to you at Zumba, I’m just saying a familiar face is nice. And, if you happen to grab a juice together and become BFFs, well, you can thank me later 🙂
Have a plan. If group classes aren’t your thing, that’s ok. Put a workout routine together (there are tons of them on Pinterst and I even have a few on my Workout Motivation Board), save it to your phone, and walk in there like you own the place. It’s ok to look at your phone to see what’s next, I do it all the time! Oh and have a backup plan or don’t be afraid to go out of order in case the machine you need is being used.

Well, there you have it. My tips on surviving the gym alone! Oh and I know that I am very lucky to get to go during the day, so if you have to go in the evenings, I suggest going directly after work if you can. This way, it’s done and out of the way before all the demands of home come flooding in 🙂

Update: My Fitness Bucket List

Back in July 2013 I shared my fitness bucket list with you! You can read that post HERE! I was thinking about it the other day and I wanted to see how much I had accomplished in the past 6 months. So, here’s the update:

Do a pull-up (yup, just one for now) No progress!
Complete a half marathon (signed up for one in November) YAY!! One thing off the list!! You can read about my Rock N Roll Half Marathon experience HERE 🙂
Run a 10K (Almost! I signed up for a 10K trail run for March 1)
Complete a Super Spartan race No progress! There’s one in April, so we’ll see if I get to sign up….
Move up to 10 lb. dumbbells during P.I.T. class Sadly, I’m still struggling with 8lb. dumbbells, but one day!!!
Do 3 one-handed push-ups
2 minute plank I’m getting close!!
Learn to ride a bike (Don’t judge me) No progress!
Complete a triathlon (hence, the above item) No progress!
Bench press my own weight No progress! Actually, I haven’t even tried this one yet.
Lululemon outfit (does this count? a girl can dream!) Oh yea, I got 2 outfits & a jacket! I know, I’m a lucky girl!!
Learn to rock climb No progress!

So, it’s not a ton of progress, but it’s something. It’s nice to see a few things marked off and see where I’m headed to next! How are you doing with checking things off of your fitness bucket list? I’d love to hear them!