Fresh From the Garden

I absolutely love fresh herbs, but I hardly ever buy them at the grocery store.  This is partly because I just plain forget to get them, and partly because they tend to go bad before I get a chance to use them.  Plus, fresh herbs can be so expensive!

It is much easier to grow your own herbs.  Many people grow theirs in pots, which is how we started our garden a few years ago when we moved out of our apartment and into a rental house.  Now that we own our home, we are slowly but surely piecing together a wonderful little garden.  We planted some tomatoes, herbs and jalapenos last year, and had an amazing supply of pico de gallo to show for it.  This year we did even better, and built two large raised garden beds.


We followed the plan on this site and it was super easy.  We made two 3'x8' beds, and this spring we planted tomatoes, parsley, cilantro, cucumbers, green beans, squash, zucchini, thyme, basil, and aloe vera.  Its been a few weeks, and boy these plants are thriving better than ever before!  We used Peat Moss and topped it with mulch.  We also have sprinklers set to go off 3 times a week so we don't have to worry about going out to water the garden.

I can't wait to make many fresh recipes using the vegetables and herbs from our garden!

Full Body Workout

Today I completed a full body workout at the gym in my neighborhood.  Instead of driving the 1.5 miles to the fitness center, I braved the walk, and I'm so glad that I did! I incorporated my walk into the workout circuit I wanted to do by beginning with the walk and adding in some high-incline treadmill walking in the middle of the circuit.  I would've jogged to the gym and back but I haven't mastered jogging while holding various items (keys, waterbottle, phone, etc).  And when I tried jogging with all these things in my hands, I was sorely reminded that I need to invest in a darn good sports bra if I'm going to work out while I'm still nursing!

Here is the circuit, but feel free to change out the walking with jogging, stair master, elliptical, bike, etc, as long as you get your heart rate up!

I used the machine for most of the weight lifting exercises except for the bicep curls, deadlifts and leg presses.  Here are some great links for how to do  leg raises, hip lifts, dead lifts, and how to do a leg press without the machine.

I used 10 pound hand weights and 20-30 pounds on the machines.  Go at your own pace and do not use more weight than you are comfortable with.  You will build up to a higher weight eventually.

At the end of every workout, I do 10 vertical arm raises using 5 pound hand weights.  This is my challenge to myself.  It is extremely hard for me to do just ten of these so I'm using this exercise as a tool to measure my fit level. 

On my way back from the gym, I took a more scenic route for my cool down walk.  I live in a gorgeous neighborhood in a small suburb of Houston, Texas.  I do not take enough advantage of my surroundings, but hopefully this summer I will make more use out of the beautiful walking trails my neighborhood has to offer.

Where is your favorite outdoor spot to go for a walk?  Do you have a place close by you would like to start spending time at this summer?