Revolt 2.3

Last week I finished week 3 of Revolt Fitness's second Uprising.  I'll call it 2.3 (Uprising 2, Week 3).  Each Revolt Fitness Uprising is a 6 week fitness and meal program.  This was my first full week on the program.

The program is 5 days a week with an optional rest day on Wednesday and a mandatory rest day on Sunday .  Monday, Thursday and Saturday I did cardio: giant circuits.  Tuesday was lower body and Friday was upper body.  After Monday's cardio with lots of squats and Tuesday's lower body workout, I could barely walk.  I hurt for a couple of days...squatting down to pick something up, making it down to sit on the toilet seat.  OUCH!  Who knows what I'm talking about?  It was a good hurt.  I definitely knew which muscles were worked and they were ones that needed working!

Saturday is also the grocery shopping day for the following week. Sunday is the food prep day. You are suppose to prep all the meals for the week.  The food prep didn't quite happened for me last week.  I prepared my meals day by day.  It would have been extremely helpful if I had done food prep on Sunday for my breakfasts and lunches.  I must do better at food prep because food is where I fail.

The meal plan is the same for the entire week.  The same breakfast and lunch all week work for me but I can't feed my family the same dinner 6 nights out of the week.  So since it's a six week program, I've chosen dinners from other weeks.  I'm able to substitute similar meals or foods.

Here are my stats after one week...

I'm on week four now so check back next Wednesday to see how I do!

Are you following a fitness plan?  How do you stay on a meal plan without slipping?

Disclaimer: I was given a free membership to Revolt Fitness in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

Music Monday [What's in a name]

I love to sing!  It doesn't matter to me it I'm good at it or not.  My boys will tell you I'm always singing in the car...annoying them at times.

This week's Music Monday theme is a song with a person's name in the title or lyrics.  This was an easy theme for me with so many songs coming to mind from my personal song library.

The first song that came to mind is The Bare Naked Ladies with Brian Wilson.  I love this band and their songs!

Here is one of my favorites...Elton John's Candle in the Wind about Marilyn Monroe.

Next up I have Buddy Holly from Weezer.  I still have Weezer CDs from when I was in college!

I'll finish up with and oldie from a group I love and used to watch on TV when I was a kid.  Here is D. W. Washburn by The Monkees.

What music moves you?

For Music Mondays, I’m teaming up with my good friend and fellow Marathon Mama, Denise. Please stop by and check out Denise's Music Monday.



Visit Xmas Dolly for more Music Monday.

Revolt Now Fitness

Revolt Fitness was created by Nichole Huntsman, a mom of four kids. After the weight gains and losses of having kids, Nichole was ready to transform her body into the body she wanted.

 

After succeeding at transforming her body, Nichole used her years of experience and fitness knowledge to created Revolt Fitness as a way for others to get in shape and be healthy.  Revolt provides members with weekly workouts and meal plans that change each week to keep them exciting and fresh.  The workouts are 20-30 minutes long 5 days a week.

Revolt is an online membership that costs less then $10 a month.

Check out Nichole's video about why she started Revolt Fitness!

 

 

I'm taking the Revolt challenge to rise up against my "before" picture which may never make it to this very public blog for all the world to see.  I'm not overweight, my BMI is in the normal range.  Even my body fat percentage is in the healthy range.  But, is this the body I want?  Am I confident and proud to walk around in a bikini?  NO!!  I would definitely like to add lean muscle and loose body fat so I joined Revolt's Second Uprising in week 3 of the 6 week program.  I started April 29!

In the past, my downfall of any fitness program is food.  Yes, most fitness programs suggest meals to eat, but it just doesn't happen.  We eat relatively healthy already so I wouldn't take the time to find the recipes in the books provided.  I know losing weight is about 80% diet.  I guess that's why I'm stuck at my current weight.

Revolt gives me a meal plan each week.  It tells me what to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and even a dessert.  I need that.  I need someone to tell me what to eat at every meal.  The program also stresses the importance of a grocery shopping day and a meal prep day.  That way you have all your food for the week in the house and ready to eat so you're less likely to slip up.

I love that the daily workouts are 30 minutes or less and boy do I sweat in those 30 minutes.  The workouts are online so I don't have to worry about new DVDs with each new workout.

I'm making Wednesday my official weigh-in and measurement day.  Check back to see how my first week went.

Disclaimer: I was given a free membership to Revolt Fitness in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

War Horse Review

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing War Horse on stage at The Straz Center for the Performing Arts.  Maybe that was because I have seen the movie and knew what to expect.  Just like with reading the book before seeing the movie, I had previous background knowledge.

"A heart-warming tale of loyalty and friendship, and winner of FIVE 2011 Tony Awards®, WAR HORSE tells the story of young Albert and his beloved horse Joey. When Joey is sold to the cavalry and shipped from England to France, he is soon caught up in enemy fire, and fate takes him on an extraordinary journey, serving on both sides before finding himself alone in no man’s land. But Albert cannot forget Joey and, still not old enough to enlist, he embarks on a treacherous mission to find him and bring him home.

Based on the beloved novel by Michael Morpurgo, this powerfully moving and imaginative drama, filled with stirring music and songs, is a show of phenomenal inventiveness that is currently playing to packed houses in London and around the world. At its heart are astonishing life-sized puppets created by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company, that bring to life breathing, galloping, charging horses strong enough for men to ride."

The life size horse puppets were amazing.  The puppeteers' movements and control were spot on with actual horse movements.  I was astonished with realistic head tosses, tail flicks and various gaits.  I felt as if there were live horses on stage performing alongside their human actors.

War Horse didn't have as much singing and musical performances as shows I've seen in the past so I thought my husband would enjoy this show.  It's also a story about perseverance, overcoming obstacles and living to tell about it.  War Horse has fight scenes, tanks, and battles.  Again, I thought my husband would like this show...but I was wrong.  I enjoyed it!

To purchase tickets and see what other performances are coming soon, visit The Straz Center online. 


Disclaimer: I was given two tickets to the War Horse show in exchange for this review.  All opinions are my own.

War Horse at The Straz Center

Photo from strazcenter.org

My husband and I are going to see War Horse at The Straz Center in downtown Tampa tomorrow night. 

"A heart-warming tale of loyalty and friendship, and winner of FIVE 2011 Tony Awards®, WAR HORSE tells the story of young Albert and his beloved horse Joey. When Joey is sold to the cavalry and shipped from England to France, he is soon caught up in enemy fire, and fate takes him on an extraordinary journey, serving on both sides before finding himself alone in no man’s land. But Albert cannot forget Joey and, still not old enough to enlist, he embarks on a treacherous mission to find him and bring him home."

 

The War Horse film was amazing and I loved it!  I'm so excited to see War Horse on stage!  Check back for a full review.

To purchase tickets, visit The Straz Center online.  Regularly priced tickets start at $44.50.

Dates & Times
Tuesday, April 30, 2013 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 01, 2013 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 02, 2013 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 03, 2013 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 04, 2013 2 p.m.
Saturday, May 04, 2013 8 p.m.
Sunday, May 05, 2013 1 p.m.
Sunday, May 05, 2013 6:30 p.m.

Music Monday [Friends]

I've been slacking on my blog posts lately because I'm substituting full time right now for a first grade class.  I started April 1st and I'm there until school gets out in June.  There's no down time when teaching 6 and 7 year olds.  I hope to be back on track and blogging regularly again.

This week's Music Monday is all about friends!  I just had a fantastic girls night out last weekend with some great friends.  We did dinner, drinks and dancing.

Here's a catchy tune we were singing along with.

 

 

Here's a classic 80s song.  I remember listening to this in elementary school and for our 6th grade graduation.  Funny how a song can take you right back to a time in your life.

 

 

 

A great Queen song!

 



 

 

And lastly, one of my favorite Disney movies has a great friend song.  Both of my boys loved Toy Story and Buzz Lightyear so I've watched this many times.

 



What music moves you?

For Music Mondays, I’m teaming up with my good friend and fellow Marathon Mama, Denise. Please stop by and check out Denise's Music Monday.



Visit Xmas Dolly for more Music Monday.

Keel & Curley Winery

My husband and I were thrilled to be invited to Keel & Curley Winery for a winery tour and tasting.  We both enjoy wine and it sounded like a perfect date night.

"Keel and Curley Winery was started in spring of 2003 in the kitchen of founder and owner, Joe Keel. Keel, a central Florida blueberry farmer wanted to find something to do with his end of crop blueberries.  Keel decided blueberry wine would be interesting to dabble with in the family farm house kitchen."

Our tour started off on an open air bus pulled by a tractor through the blueberry fields to the winery.

Photo by Denise Taylor

Our tour guide Sam explained the wine making process for their blueberry wine.  I admit that I didn't know blueberry wine was made entirely from blueberries with no grapes added.  Sam explained the processes of fermentation, clarification, filtering, and bottling.  Each step in the wine making process happens at the Keel & Curley Winery site.

After our winery tour, we headed over to the tasting area and gift shop.

 

 

 

For our tasting, we sat outside of the gift shop on the patio area where live music was playing.  I purchased food from a local food truck park near the patio area.  Let the wine begin!

• Dry Blueberry - my favorite, good dry finish
• Semi-Dry Blueberry - slightly sweet, not a dry finish
• Sweet Blueberry - sweet and smooth
• Strawberry Riesling - a little too sweet for me
• Wild Berry Pinot Noir - fruity and flavorful
• Tangerine Zinfandel - full body
• Key West – Key Lime - tart and refreshing
• Black Raspberry Merlot - would make a nice sangria
• Peach Chardonnay - strong peach tones
• Dry Blackberry - muted bouquet
• Sweet Blackberry - very sweet

We had a fantastic time at Keel & Curley Winery!

Check out their Blueberry Festival this weekend, April 27-28.

Free Admission

Free Entertainment

Free Kids Area

U-Pick Blueberries

Live Entertainment

Over 100 Food and Craft Vendors

Disclaimer: I was given a tour of the winery and wine tasting in exchange for my review.  All opinions are my own.