Bridges Through Life

Scenes from the Weekend and Things I am Loving

January 28, 2019 by Alicia 2 Comments

Hello lovelies!! Is that a good intro? LOL. I am sitting here watching the snow fall outside. It’s actually the pretty snow where you feel like you are in a snow globe and the streets are staying pretty clear so far. After last week’s snowstorm, the snow is sticking around for a while. The next few days are going to be chilly with the lows around 0 and -4 F and about half to an inch of snow a day to come. That seems pretty manageable though and shouldn’t interfere with my morning gym schedule at least. It will be another month end this week for work so time for another crazy busy two weeks probably. Honestly January has gone by quickly for me. Between being busy at work and having school stuff to work on, I have had plenty to do. I know February will be even more busy with school stuff so I am enjoying the somewhat slow pace at the moment.

Lately there have been a few things I am really loving and wanted to share.

Firstly, these hair ties. I haven’t really branched out from a standard hair tie in a while and it was buy one get one 50% off at CVS when I picked some up so I decided to try something new and I have to say I am impressed with these braided ones.

My obsession from the weekend is my Ganesha Wall Sticker. I really wanted my office/yoga space to have a yoga studio feel to it and learning about Ganesha in yoga teacher training really stuck with me. He is the Hindu god that is the remover of obstacles, but is also known to place obstacles in your path that you need to work through. Having him on my wall reminds me that I have faced many obstacles and worked hard and in a weird way, it calms me to have him there. Looks so amazing on the bright green wall too. I got the sticker from Etsy. There are tons of different styles to choose from.

This weekend I started the Curly Girl Method for my hair. For the last two years, I have only washed my hair with shampoo and only 2-3 times a week. This started when I was backpacking because I didn’t want to carry shampoo and conditioner with me. It seemed to work just fine and my hair adjusted after a while of being oily. However, reading about the curly girl method, you only use conditioner 1-2 times a week or an approved co wash. You also use gel in your hair after a shower to keep the curls going. My hair is naturally curly so this method makes sense and I am trying it out. I plan to report back in a month.

I went to the gym on Sunday with Brian. I started a new workout routine so I was actually excited about lifting. For the past couple weeks I have felt bored doing the same things and also feeling stuck with my weights. I’m excited for this new program I created and less reps and more sets to increase my weights. I did squats at 135lbs which is my current PR so hoping to break that next week, bench at 80lbs (lighter for a wide grip, current bench PR is 100lbs) and pause deadlifts I kept light at 145lbs. As Brian was working on his deadlifts, he left 185lbs on the bar and asked me to try it. My PR was 165lbs recently. I wasn’t sure how 185 would feel, but I lifted it off the ground just fine, setting a new one rep max for myself. My goal is to break 200lbs for my one rep max for my meet in April. I think I am on my way towards that and that made me feel more confident.

Slow cooking in my Instant Pot has been fun to try out. Since I only had a small crockpot before, I was limited for my slow cooked meals, but with the instant pot, I can make more. I have also decided that slow cooked shredded chicken turns out better than the high pressure method, so I am still slow cooking chicken for 6 hours on the weekend for lunches during the week.

Also still obsessed with the best Christmas present to myself, the R8 Roller. It’s so amazing for squat recovery.

What are you loving lately?

The First Snowstorm of 2019 Weekend

January 21, 2019 by Alicia 2 Comments

Hello and happy Monday. I disappeared for a week, spending some much needed time decompressing and reflecting on life things. I am happy to be back to some writing time and it was a laid back weekend with the impending snow storm. The snow wasn’t as bad as they were originally calling for but I would definitely say we got at least a foot and it was heavy due to sleet being mixed in. The snow also started later on Saturday than anticipated, so the roads were clear most of the day.

Let’s quickly back up to Friday. Friday afternoon was very chit chatty at work as we headed into the weekend. I got home and the first thing on my mind was my stats quiz. Brian cooked up dinner while I took my quiz. I knew I had two attempts and it was open book, but being the first quiz, you never know what to expect. After quickly going through the quiz and solving for some answers, I submitted and got like a 70%…eek. Luckily I knew I had a second attempt. I could see which questions I got correct and reviewed explanations on the ones I got wrong. We are not shown the correct answers, but with the explanations, you can learn from those and figure out what should have been the correct answer. Dinner was ready once I finished attempt 1 so I ate and then reviewed. The second attempt, you have to watch for some questions that are re worded or may ask the opposite of the original question, but it went much smoother and I only got 1 wrong and got an A for the second attempt. With an A and that quiz off my back, I was able to relax. I have been watching Sabrina the Teenage Witch on Hulu as my current show.

Saturday morning I had my alarm set for 7am because I wanted to get to Wegmans early. I made bacon and some toast for breakfast before heading out. There were few people on the roads at 7:30am, but Wegmans was a bit busier than usual for the 8am hour. In addition, they had been cleaned out completely of potatoes and onions and even the meat section looked low. Luckily Brian had bought meat the other day and plenty. I basically shopped for my usual items for the week and found everything I needed just fine. Then I got to check out and people had carts filled so high with food. These people will now not need to shop for at least 2 weeks right?

The snow was originally supposed to start around noon or so. Noon rolled around and it was still semi sunny outside. I spent the morning doing some yoga and then some cooking.

I have been craving mac and cheese lately, but since I can’t do much dairy, I needed to make some vegan mac and cheese. I made a cauliflower “cheese” sauce from a recipe and used chickpea noodles that are more filling and it hit the spot. It was amazing!!

After eating it was time to do some reading homework. The snow finally started sometime around 2-3pm and did start fast, but was nothing crazy. Brian made some steak fajitas for dinner which we enjoyed with some Good Thin corn crackers, avocado and salsa. It was a really good meal.

We also watched the first episode of Tidying Up on Netflix that I have heard so much about. I think it’s a good show for couples to watch to learn things from other families. Brian and I don’t like a lot of “stuff” as it is, but we both have accumulated stuff that we need to sort through. It was fun to watch an episode together and reflect on stuff for now and also thinking of the future and how to keep things tidy.

I watched as the snow was falling outside. I love our living room window and seeing the snow lightly fall by looking at the street light. There were a couple inches maybe before we headed to bed with most of the snow expected overnight.

Saturday night was rough sleeping because they were on top of the plowing (which I am not complaining about). I live on a dead end street and the beep, beep, beep of the plow constantly backing up to plow the snow into one pile kept waking me up. After they plowed around 5am, I was rolling for a while and decided to get up at 6:30 Sunday morning. I made some oatmeal for breakfast and made some blender muffins to pop into the oven. Shortly after eating, I put on my sweatpants and coat and got to shoveling.

The snow was quite heavy due to the sleet/ice on top and mixed in. I did the bulk of the driveway and cleaned off my car in half an hour. By that time, Brian was finally up and I left the heavy plow stuff for him to do. I was so sweaty from shoveling I needed a shower ASAP. I wasn’t sure if I would want to go to the gym after the workout of shoveling, but after a shower and another snack, I felt refreshed and we decided to venture to the gym. There were few cars on the roads and the roads were partially plowed. I made Brain drive, but my new winter tires seem to be working like a charm, which I am very pleased about.

We were the only two crazy people to arrive to the gym shortly after 9am. I love having the gym all to myself though. I was able to work on deadlifts and break a new PR for myself of 165lbs.

Once we got back from the gym, I had some lunch and got to work on my school projects while Brain did some more shoveling. Luckily the snow stopped before noon and the sun even came out. I love seeing the sun reflect off the white snow.

Were you snowed in this weekend?

My Word of the Year: Growth

January 9, 2019 by Alicia 1 Comment

I don’t think I have ever done a word of the year, but I saw a few posts about it recently. I couldn’t pin point my exact goals of the year, but Growth seems to sum it up well.

I drew this little chart after watching a bunch of Youtube videos on Bullet Journaling goals for the new year. I tried bullet journaling last year in the new year and I will say it only really lasted until May/June. I love the creative aspect behind it, but I plan so far ahead that I love my $10 daily planner more for weekly plans and to do lists. So now I’m using my bullet journal for occasional inspiration with drawing or quotes I want to write.

but how cute is this polar bear I drew after watching a Youtube video with Polar Bear theme bullet journal

Anyway back to my word, Growth.

Growth in my yoga practice (aka practicing again, even if not everyday, getting back to consistency)
Growth in my relationship (currently Brian is home and it has been nice carving out more time with each other. Plus it’s wedding year!!)
Growth in my weightlifting (I have my meet in April and I have some new PRs since last year, still hoping to break even more PRs)
Growth in my mindset (aka being more present)
Growth in self care (this goes with mindset a bit, but just taking time to de stress, getting back to monthly massages, because they really made a difference, taking more baths and doing face masks and continuing to eat well)
Growth in my job (it has been a crazy year end, I have learned a lot and I hope I can continue to learn more and make tasks more efficient)
Growth in friendships (if I’m honest, I feel lonely a lot of the time. Many of my friends are in different cities and states. I am excited that a few of my close friends will be coming to my wedding in May and I can’t wait for girl time. Hopefully some weekend summer trips will happen to visit friends too)
Growth in Penn State (if I had to pick a favorite week from last year, it was the Penn State orientation week. It sounds so weird to pick that as a favorite, but I truly felt like I belonged and the first semester was amazing. This second semester there is a lot to figure out still, but I am learning and excited for my classes)
Growth in exploring and getting outdoors (I hope this summer, we have a summer and that I get some more SUP practice at the state park and some more hiking)

Those were some of the things I came up with and I think Growth describes it best for the categories.

Do you make resolutions for the New Year or any goals?

Getting Back to Routine

January 7, 2019 by Alicia 1 Comment

How is everyone doing after this first week of January? I will say it was nice to have all the time off from work to catch up on sleep. I find myself quite well rested (for now). This week starts the getting back into routine. Grab some coffee or tea (my preference) and let’s catch up.

I start my Spring semester of grad school today. I spent some time reading the syllabi this weekend as these two classes will be new subjects for me. I actually don’t think I ever read the syllabi last semester, but we had a week on campus to get started and meet our teams, teachers, etc. With online classes, I definitely feel like you have to be on top of things. Some of my classes have weekly meetings and others are sporadic throughout the semester. Either way, due dates can approach quickly and I know I will have more reading material this semester. I am saying goodbye to TV for the weekdays as that kept me focused last semester. I also deleted the Facebook app from my phone on New Years Eve. I couldn’t believe the amount of data I used on Facebook, so now I just log in from my computer every now and then to pop in, but I feel like it reduces the scrolling for no reason. Oh but I still have Instagram, so…

I kicked off January, starting Yoga with Adriene’s January Dedicate challenge. I will not say I will do it everyday, but I am going to try to do all 30 days in this month. That may mean doubling up some days. So far it has made me more motivated to practice. The first few videos, there was a bit too much talking, but I understand that she addresses things for beginners. As someone who has practiced yoga for the last 7 years and is a certified teacher, I find it harder to find online videos that are challenging. I love Yoga with Adriene because it is free and when she is moving too slow for me, I do some of my own poses in between. Therefore it is motivating for me to get on my mat and stretch out.

practicing crow pose and loving the sunlight streaming in

Sometime over Christmas, I strained my right shoulder. I already have shoulder bursitis on my right side and it is a constant practice to check in with it and see how movements at the gym feel. I have learned over the last 10+ years dealing with it, that it is like a muscle weakness almost. When I am not strength training, it gets weaker and bothers me more. I learned in yoga teacher training that doing ONLY yoga was not good for my body. This is when strength training became a number 1 focus for me. I had a good balance of strength training 4 times a week with 2 yoga classes a week. Then my favorite studio closed (in between locations) and I also had grad school so I focused on school work and strength training. I do spend some time stretching for warm up/cool down, but it is obvious to me now, that it wasn’t enough. I NEED yoga to balance with my strength training and vice versa. With more strength training, I find my yoga poses feel stronger. With more yoga, I find that my strength training workouts feel better. They are perfect complements. So with that, trying to motivate myself to practice yoga at home. It’s great because it saves me money, but I will tell you, I much prefer the studio environment when I can get it.

This week is going to be busy as I figure out my classes. Luckily I did read the first two chapters for Marketing and took a look at the discussion board questions. I am also excited for this week because I have a massage booked for tomorrow and with that I am being a terrible student skipping my first Stats class, but I booked the massage a month ago so not going to move it. Luckily the session will be recorded so I will watch it Wednesday.

It was a great last weekend of freedom for a bit. By the time I finish this spring semester, it will be time for our destination wedding in Charleston. As the final pieces are coming together I am starting to get excited. We are also heading to Aruba for our honeymoon and I’ve already checked out Yoga Girl’s studio and pass options. Brian is actually working on his scuba certification this week too so he can do his open water in Aruba. I am sticking to snorkeling, but it will be fun for us to each have activities to look forward to. I am also just hoping for lots of sunshine and beach time because I miss living near the beach and water.

What routine are you setting for yourself in the New Year?

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