Summer is on the horizon... time to get in shape!

I am sooo excited that tomorrow is March! That means we're one month closer to warmer weather and 'gulp... SUMMER! We all know what that means... bikinis, shorts, and tank tops! That also means its time to kick my butt into high gear and get rid of my "winter padding."

 

 

What am I going to do you ask?

 

 

Nahhh...

 

I am going to get off my tush and start working at it. It won't be easy... but it MUST be done!

 

My plan....

Lots and lots of cardio... classes, spinning, running, insanity etc...

AND

eating better... smaller portions, healthier meals and no eating after 8pm!

 

 

 

 

So ~Bye Bye~ bagels, grilled cheeses, and ice cream.... maybe even Mary-Lous Coffee... its time to get serious and start lookin' good for the Summer months!

 

I'm exited to see my results...

 

 

What do you do to get in shape?

 

 

 

 

Ciao! -Tam

Brain Power... Lumosity!

Do you ever get jealous of those people who can just recall anything (a movie, a song, an artist etc.) on the drop of a dime? Well, I do! I have always stunk at those kinds of games and recalls.

 

My memory has always been (I wouldn't say horrible), but just not up to par (esp. for my age!) I must do O.K. though because I did get through nursing school... and that required A LOT of memory!

 

Anyways, I started to use something that caught my eye on a commercial many times. It's called Lumosity. In a nutshell its just a website that has you play a variety of mind games that subconsciously helps you develop your "brain power," or "neuroplasticity" is what Lumosity calls it.

 

I have to say... I've been using it for about a week and I'm really liking it! They assign you to play 5 games every day that cover areas such as speed, memory, attention, flexibility, problem solving and many more. It is little fun games and honestly the training is about 10 mins. If you want to play more games you can pick as many as you'd like to play.

 

 

Here are the names of a few of the games and what you have to do:

 

Eagle Eye: This is a visual field 'attention' game. The background of your screen becomes some sort of landscape and there is a box in the middle that flashes a letter or number. You must be able to recall that number/letter and also place your mouse where the bird appears. As you get better, they add in more birds for you to find and black blank spots to try to trip you up.

 

Familiar Faces: Don't you hate when you meet someone and they tell you their name and a minute later you have no idea what it is... (happens to me all the time!) Well, this little fun game helps you with face-name recall. The characters in it, come up to your cafe and introduce themselves and order things and more and more people continue to come up in between. You have to remember what they ordered and their name in order to receive a tip. The more tips you get, the more points your earn... the better your memory becomes!

 

Follow that Frog: Simple as it sounds, you follow the path of the orange frog... it gets complicated when the frog starts jumping 3-4 steps in front you, and you can only jump one at a time... its tricky and really tests your memory!

 

Have you tried Lumosity yet? If so, let me know your thoughts

 

 

Ciao for now,

 

~*Tam*~

 



Fitness struggles... I get it now!

I am one of those people who have ALWAYS fit fitness into my life... no matter if it meant having to wake up early to get it done, squeeze in 30 mins here or there, or doing it at night. I used to (& probably still do) get very annouyed with people saying they couldn't do it. I went through college (the first time) working out practically every day, including hungover Saturday mornings. I went through accelerated nursing school and made myself go at the very least 4 days a week! Had my nice little break while searching for work and worked out a lot... now that I am working... OMG! I get why people struggle to workout on a daily basis!!

 

I have been training daily 7am-3:30pm on the new job, meaning I'm getting up at 5:30am and not getting home until 4:15ish... I'm completely exhausted at the end of my day. Last night I dragged myself to a 1 hr spin class and I was struggling to get through that! My eating habits have been atroshious these past 2 weeks and the pattern (I tell you already!) needs to stop now! Grant it, I know I am struggling to get used to my schedule and just when I do it will change to evenings or overnights... what I want to know is:

 

How do YOU keep up with your fitness regimen and eating correctly when you have a long work day?

 

I seem to do fine throughout the day, its when I leave work and before I have dinner that I feel like I could eat my own hand! So insteading of eating my own hand and not getting to the gym because of exhustion what should I do? Help! Anyone?

 

 

Ciao for now! ~*Tam*~

 



Birchbox vs Ipsy Bag

So I may be a little behind the curb, (whats new?!), but I've heard a lot about these boxes you can send away for once a month and you get a handful of sample size (or bigger) beauty products... how awesome!!!

 

 

I always want to try new beauty products, but do not always want to spend for a full size product before I have tried it... Receiving Ipsy beauty bags or Birch Boxes are a great way to sample products before buying them full size. It gives you a chance to try products that you may not know about or have wondered about, but did not want to buy without trying. You can get lots of products for only $10 a month. I am on the waiting list for both, I cannot wait to compare!

 

 

 Birchbox

 

 

vs

 

 

 Ipsy Bag

 

 

Have you tried one or both? Which one do you prefer?

 

 

Cheerio! ~*Tam*~

Holy Cow! (I'm a new RN)

Wow... my first three days of working as an RN at a hospital for the first time have been great! I am impressed by the the way things are going, but starting to feel intimidated (as a new nurse usually does).

 

 

I have been in a conference room for the most past the last few days, and I feel like I'm back in school! I'm not complaining... I need the review, I feel like I have forgotten everything since my whirlwind experience of nursing school. I am going out onto the floor for the first time tomorrow for a few hours... yikes! I hope the older nurses don't eat me alive!

 

Today they started us up on the computer program: Meditech... DEAR LORD! Why did I never have to do this much documentation in nursing school... I wasn't prepared for this and to think that I will have to do all of this for 5-6 of my own patients. (sigh) Deep Breathe... I have to remember that every single nurse there was once new and they had to go through the same process. Keeping my fingers crossed that I learn quick and that today was just new girl jitters...

 

So I've very quickly learned that working is exhausting... I already cannot wait to be off the day shift during this orientation. (3 more weeks to go!) I am 3-11pm or 11-7am kinda girl... I have no idea how people work Monday-Friday and 9-5 and have a long commute each way... God Bless You! I am currently in at 7/8 and there until 3:30-4:30... and I am like mush at the end of the day. The early mornings are killing me!

 

This is how I'm feeling:

 

 

 

Now I just need to figure out how to start going to the gym after these long exhausting days! Yikes! :)

 

Keeping positive!

 

 

 

How do you keep your spirits up during your long work week?

 

 

Ciao for now,

 

 ~*Tam*~




New Beginnings!

Tomorrow is a day that I have been waiting and working hard for, for a VERY long time! I start my new RN job at a hospital! I have been vigoriously working toward this since the beginning of 2010. I went through the year taking all of the pre-reqs that my first Bachelor's degree did not delve into. I became a nursing assistant as well. I applied to about 6-7 universities in the fall and UMass Boston was my lucky pick. I was accepted into a program that accepted +/- 30 students... It was a 15 month accelerated bachelor degree and I never worked so hard in my life... needless to say... thank god its over!! :) Finding a job has not been an easy road, and I think I applied to between 350-400 jobs in three months. I'm so happy to not have to sit behind a computer anymore and search... that was a full time job of its own!

With all of the classes, tests, labs, practicals, and clinicals and not to mention the big bad NCLEX I had to pass, I am so happy to finally be starting my career as a Registered Nurse! Wish me luck and pray for me that I have great patients! ;)



                                                                                       Ciao per ora,
                                                                                                             ~*Tam*~

Welcome & Benefits of Hot Yoga

Howdy and happy Saturday!

Welcome to my blog... This is formally my first blog entry and I'm so glad you're here to read it. I hope you enjoy my journey as I chat about fitness, health, fashion, do it yourself projects, and many more things.

First off, can I just start out by saying... I am so happy that it is almost February! That means we are one month closer to Summer and that is just fabulous in all frames of mind.

Well today I started my day off with an 8:30 AM Hot Yoga class. The teacher that I had was fantastic. She is probably 60+ and back in her day performed with the Boston Ballet as a featured dancer. She is so incredibly in shape, does things that I can't even figure out and she inspires me to become better each class!

There are so many benefits to hot yoga. Some will say no way is hot yoga a cardio workout and it does not give you the intense cardio that you get doing other things... well don't knock it until you try it! The benefits of yoga are truly astonishing and you feel like you lengthened your body by 5 inches when you leave. I feel incredibly strong (and sweaty) and like I can conquer my day in full flight!

Some of the benefits of Hot Power Yoga include:

• Deep breathing, reflection & relaxation
• Lowers stress levels & reduces the probability of illness to the body
• Lowers your heart rate and blood pressure
• Heat helps you progress into all of your stretches further than if you were just in room temp
• Increases your flexibility & mobility
• Aides in weight loss & conscious present thinking (put down that cupcake!)
• Immune system booster
• Helps with muscle & joint relief

Now that quite a hefty list of benefits... not to mention you can burn 500-1000 calories in a 1-1.5 hour class... now doesn't that just kick ass!

In my opinion... get out there, try a hot power yoga class... the benefits are amazing and you'll feel like your lengthened your body and cleansed your soul. ;)


                                                                               
                                                                                                             Namaste...
                                                                                                                               ~*Tam*~