Good morning party people!
Last night I skipped my usual evening blog post in favor of some hiking, reading and quality time with Ryan and Sadie.
(Ryan’s “Daddy 2012” campaign is clearly thriving.)
I am loving the longer hours of sunlight. Ryan, Sadie and I were able to sneak in a good hour of hiking after dinner before dusk.
I always joke that hiking after 6 p.m. means that we’re hiking during “feeding time.” (I actually won’t swim in the ocean around dusk because I’m convinced that it’s the shark’s feeding time. It’s my theory and I haven’t been attacked yet, so I’m sticking to it.)
Ever since we saw a bear on one of our hikes in Ocala, Ryan and I are hyper-aware of the wild animals in the forest. It seems like we see way more wildlife than usual when we hike after dinner and I think it’s because the animals are out and about looking for dinner. A few weeks ago we saw about five boar!
Luckily last night’s hike was uneventful on the wildlife front and we arrived home safely. I spent the rest of the evening cuddled up in bed with The Book Thief. I’m not even 100 pages in yet and I can already tell I’m going to like this book. I love historical fiction – specifically historical fiction from WWII – so this book is right up my alley.
Workout
This morning I hit the gym nice and early for my usual 5 a.m. workout. Today’s session began with 20 minutes on the elliptical before I tackled a three-round circuit from the Best Body Boot Camp program I am following. Next week kicks off the final two weeks of the program and I’m already getting sad just thinking about it being over!
The circuit workout I did today was one of my favorites from the whole program. It was challenging and incorporated strength, cardio and plyometric exercises. A triple threat!
Breakfast
When I arrived home from the gym, breakfast was a breeze. I simply grabbed the batch of overnight oats that I prepped last night and topped them with a sliced banana.
I used a cup of Voskos strawberry Greek yogurt in the oats and loved it! I bought the new-to-me Voskos Greek yogurt because it was on sale this week and I am definitely a fan. It’s super creamy!
Time to get to work!
Hope your Friday is FANTASTIC!
Of Possible Interest
- I’m honored to have a guest post featured on the fabulous MizFit’s blog today about “Running for Non-Runners.” I connected with MizFit through FitFluential and will be speaking on a panel with her in New York next month. If you have a minute, pop on over to her awesome blog and browse around! (MizFitOnline.com)
- Asian Sesame Chicken Salad (BlogistheNewBlack.com)
- High Calorie Foods You Shouldn’t Avoid and Why (FitSugar.com)
- Healthy Grab-and-Go Breakfast Recipes (Fitbie.MSN.com)
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I think I’d be of the same mind as you regarding the whole feeding time thing! I wonder if the same theory applies at noon…. hmmm. 😉 Have a great day Julie!
My Friday is fantastic so far – I’ve just entered the Venice Marathon, woo hoo! So excited!
that’s AWESOME! good luck, becki!
I’m with you – I love having longer days, too! I just feel like I have more energy and I can get so much more done when it’s still light out. Your hike sounds really nice! I’m glad you didn’t have any wild animal encounters – yikes. Have a great Friday 🙂
If it makes you feel better, I rarely swim in the ocean AT ALL – because in my mind it’s always feeding time for sharks. 😉
Yum!!! Overnight oats are my favorite!
Love your links at the end of your post, little bit of extra reading over lunchtime! Evening hikes in the summer are amazing..if only we had the weather for them here in Ireland! Oh and overnight oats…best after workout breakfast for when hunger strikes quickly! 🙂
Have you noticed any changes to your physique/fitness levels since starting Best Body Boot Camp? Would be interested to read about it :)!
Ha, how did the link to my salad end up in your “of possible interest”? HA! Just got a pingpack.
i just link to recipes i want to make, awesome workouts or articles i think will interest readers. your salad looked delicious!!! 🙂
Aw, well thank you, pal! ‘Twas delicious- highly recommend it! 😉
Glad y’all didn’t get eaten! I’m with you on avoiding the animals during “feeding time”…
I just had to share, I recently found your blog and LOVE it! I even made myself a PBF inspired breakfast this morning–a whole wheat bagel thin with muenster cheese and strawberry jelly. I didn’t have time to make an egg, but it was still so good!
Yikes! Bears and boars during your hikes?! That would definitely make me hiper aware too!
I loved your guest post and it’s exactly what I needed to read with my first race only a week away. Like you, I am not a natural runner, but I signed up for the race just so that I’d have to start running. I’m still not a super-fast runner but at least now I know that if you train appropriately you can become a runner. My favorite quote is: “No matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everybody on the couch” and it’s what I tell myself whenever I run.
I definitely need to pick up The Book Thief! I, too, love historical fiction (and non-fiction) – especially WWII/Holocaust related books. 😉
Hope you Friday is fantastic too!! I would freak out if I saw a bear haha. I’m so jealous of you being able to go hiking though, I want the weather to be warmer and have a place nearby where I can do that!
You should get an e-reader! Super easy to read in bed 🙂
That is scary seeing bears on a hike! I’m sure it was kind of cool to see them but it would scare me being so close! Happy Friday! 🙂
I am so jealous of your hiking! The closest I get to nature is lincoln park…
My boyfriend and I have a “favorites” competition going with our dog too lol Everyday she choose to snuggle with me I yell ” MOMMY 2012!” lol we fight over who feeds her cuz we are convinced that makes her like you more hehe
I love how Sadie is a big dog but she’s all over you like a little dog. I’ve never had a big dog before and my boyfriend only really wants big dogs so I’m excited to know they can still be lap dogs! 😀
Oh definitely… our pitbull is 50 lbs (not huge, but not tiny) and she thinks she’s a lapdog!
Mine too!! <3
I’m loving the sunlight, too. I almost feel guilty if I don’t take a walk after dinner—it’s too nice out, and I feel like I need to take advantage of it!
I think my husband wins Daddy 2012 with our dog too…. he comes home and plays with her while I am the one who feeds her and brushes her and takes her for runs, not that she doesn’t like that stuff, but it seems like Daddy gets to do the “fun stuff” with her.
Thanks for adding those links at the end of your post – I always find them interesting!! Can’t wait to read your guest post!
We have to revolve our hikes around our dog too (more so than the baby it seems lately). If you take her out too soon after eating she gets excited and doesn’t always keep her food down. If you take her for some exercise before meal time she goes crazy for food. This lab LOVES to eat! (P.S. – her name is Sadie too!)
for some reason, this made me really want a banana. yup.
I was reading your blog quite quickly this morning and I thought at first glance you poured a cup of vodka on your overnight oats, but it was Voskos yogurt. Haha I better get some reading glasses. Have a great weekend.
party timeee! 😀
Have you read Unbroken? It is an incredible nonfiction book about World War II that reads like historical fiction. It is a page turner! I am loving it!
I love hikking. It sounds like you have a cool hking area if you see animals. I love seeing deer and wild turkey when I’m trail running.
A healthier alternative to those store-bought cheez its you were snacking on!?
http://cookingalamel.blogspot.com/2012/04/homemade-cheez-its.html
I was just thinking the same thing last night– I am soooo glad the days are getting longer!!! So nice to have the time AND the sun to go for a long walk after work sometimes! 🙂
Happy Friday!
hi julie, great post as always.
if you like historical fiction, you should try the novels by Kate Morton. they are very good and travel between past and present times which i love as a genre.
all the best, tam xx
I think your feeding time theory is pretty accurate!
already reading something, but def putting The Book Theif on my list.
I think you are right about those shark feeding times. Last year there was a news story about a little girl who was bit by a shark while playing in the water near the shore in the Outer Banks. The expert that was interviewed said that sharks do come closer to the shore looking for fish during their feeding times which are early in the morning and late afternoon/early evening.
Glad you are enjoying The Book Thief so far! I loved WWII historical fiction too. It took me a bit to get into the book because of the style it was written in, and I think I read it too “choppily”…wish I had read it in bigger chunks. Maybe I should re-read it…hmmm.
Where are you speaking in New York? I’m sure us New Yorkers would all love to come see you! (If it’s not a security concern to give the details, that is!)
hi kate! i’ll be speaking at a fitness magazine event for bloggers! here’s more info: http://www.fitpicks.com/blog/
Awesome! Guess I need to start blogging if I want an invite for next year. 😉 I hope you have a great time in the city!