Good morning friends, I have to apologize for not posting my workout activity and daily movement yesterday. I met my dear friend Bahareh, her children, sister Parasto, and mother Parvin for lunch and a park play date. She is visiting from Newport beach and is one of my best friends and my “used to be” workout partner!

We decided to meet in Los Gatos at Willow Street pizza beforehand, and go to the park next. Now, this was sort of a difficult one for me because I LOVE pizza, and pizza LOVES me. Pizza loves me so much, it sometimes decides to hang out with me waaaaay past it’s welcome, lingering around my midsection and thighs, and the energy that I have to expel to kick this fair-weather friend out of my “house” is more difficult than just passing it up and choosing something more healthy.

So after reviewing the menu and asking the very patient and informative waitress quite a few questions I decided to go with the wild mushroom (sauteed in butter and oil and accompanied with a few chunks of fresh semi-melted mozzarella cheese ) burschetta, and a small Cesar salad topped with organic free range chicken from a local farm. I asked the waitress to skip the butter while sauteing the mushrooms and be light on the olive oil and exchange the bread with diced cucumbers,  my order came true, and it was DELICIOUS! I also felt very proud and happy with my choices to refrain from the tempting wood fired, melty, cheesy,  plate of unhealthy and unnecessary calories, and carbohydrates. I was still able to enjoy the tastes of the pizza place. I had the perfectly  chewy sauteed  mushrooms, and semi melted mozzarella tricking my taste buds and mind into really feeling like I was having a mushroom and cheese pizza. I had the zing of the Cesar dressing, and heartiness of the locally farmed raised chicken. The combination of all of this filled me up, and was very satisfying.  Here is a photograph of yesterdays lunch, it’s all about making healthier choices, one meal, snack, and beverage at a time!

Once lunch was over, we all packed up and headed for the park across the street. Our two 2 year olds ran wildly around the park while our two newborns hung out in their strollers. Thank goodness we had an entourage of moms and sisters trying to keep Lillianna and Mikey in the parks parameters. I chased and chased and chased both of the kids while Bahareh and her mom watched the littlest ones.  Parasto kept the lead, running and sometimes sprinting down the grass to the edge of the sidewalk where traffic and cars were driving by, to keep the kids safe and redirecting them into the safe zones of the park. She had her work cut out for her, and thank God she is in great shape and was able to do it. As I watched Parasto effortlessly glide and stride around the park with ease, it really made me miss my fit and agile body even more. I can’t wait to be able to sprint around a park and chase my children with ease.

Right now that is out of the question, I was huffing and puffing, that was most likely due to the excess post-baby weight. The biggest obstacle had to be that with every pounding step, I felt like my uterus was going fall right out and splat on the ground!! LOL!! Now, I have been cleared to workout and get back to my normal business over a month and a half  ago, but I am listening to my body and she is telling me ….. Not yeeeeeet Lisa, not yet… Unless I want to tinkle all over the place while trying to keep up with the “Mrs. Jones’s”, and that would be embarrassing, I know this  from personal experience trying to get back in shape after Lillianna. I may share some of my humiliating, yet very laughable “potty pants” stories in the future when I blog more about the care of our bodies, even after having babies, or not.

Here is a photograph of our two energy filled toddlers, taking a literal 10 second break to look at the fountain and catch their breaths.

After saying our goodbyes we headed home and all three of us, Lillianna, Madelynn, and I turned on our relaxation music and passed out on the couch until 10:00pm!! WOW, I couldn’t believe it when I opened my eyes at how much time had gone by. My husband was home and working in his office and said he left us sleeping soundly because he knew it was a much needed rest. I skipped writing my workout summary because, quite frankly I was still pooped. So we got the girls all settled and taken care of and went straight back to bed!

Well, considering I got caught up on some sleep and was feeling more refreshed than the rest of the days this past week, I woke myself up at 7:00am and headed for the gym. Again, I would have much rather have kept sleeping and enjoyed the snuggley coziness of my warm bed, but I did it I got up and went to the gym. I did the Precor, Stair climber, and treadmill. I was there almost 2 hours, really enjoying that I wasn’t in a super rush to get home to take care of the girls, because Kris was home and keeping them safe and occupied! Today is an absolutely glorious day in Northern California, and if you live here and are reading this blog, go outside and breathe in the splendor of this perfect weather and get moving. You can do it, do something, do anything, just move. I hope you all have a glorious Saturday, and check in tomorrow for Supplement Sunday, and my weekly photo update!

My workout summary for Friday and Saturday:

• 8,899 steps according to the fit bit on Friday.
• Saturday
• 35 min of Precor
• 12 min. of the stair climber ( the one that looks like an escalator)
• 38 min. of brisk walking on different inclines on the treadmill

Thank you for following along,

Health, and Love

Lisa