Happy Monday Everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and an amazing Valentine's Day! We partied hard at the George household! Ok, maybe not exactly "hard," but we definitely had fun! It was a fantastic day from start to finish.

Belle gave me an early Valentine's present by sleeping until 5:30 AM before she requested her first feeding. After I fed her, I squeezed in a quick garage workout and shower. Then I started swiffering the floor expecting her to wake up at any second, but she didn't. She slept for so long I got to sweep, mop, and clean the bathrooms (doesn't sound all that glamorous, but I was so thankful she slept long enough for me to get it all done)!

After spending the morning with Annabelle and E (and enjoying the gluten free muffins E surprised me with), I head to the studio for our special Valentine's Day class. Todd had the great idea to do a love song extravaganza class to celebrate Valentine's Day. Each instructor taught 2-3 songs choreographed to our favorite love songs. Of course, I had to go with upbeat songs, so I chose:

"Living For Love," by Madonna
"When Love Takes Over (feat Kelly Rowland)," by David Guetta
"What I did for Love (feat Emeli Sande)," by David Guetta

You can find these songs and check out my full playlists on my playlists page.

The class was an absolute blast! All of the instructors did great and our class brought their A Game with a ton of energy. After class, there was an after party at Water 2 Wine with wine, snacks, and lots of great company. Below, is my recently graduated trainee, Katie, and she absolutely kicked butt in class. I am so proud of what an amazing instructor she has become. Watch out Pilates world, Katie is coming for you!


Crazy socks and leg warmers called for ridiculous poses of course! Throw back to our cheerleading days.


After class, I headed home to find my sweet tiny human dressed to the 9's in Valentine's Day apparel. The weather was so amazing, we had to take a family walk. She was all smiles the whole time.


She loves to sport Dad's hat anytime he will share. I have to admit, I think it looks even better on her than on E.


After our walk, she showed off her gymnastics skills to all of our neighbors. She cracks up uncontrollably anytime E tosses her in the air. Even when she is at her fussiest, this will usually stop the crying.


And of course, she is still mesmerized by her toes.


After dinner, we decided to take a stroll on the brand new boardwalk that just opened at Lady Bird Lake. It was a gorgeous night, and there was hardly a soul on the boardwalk. It was so nice to just be able to walk and chat while taking in the views. We probably walked for over an hour, and it was just perfect.


The views of the skyline from the boardwalk were absolutely amazing. I love how all of the lights reflect off of the water. If you live in Austin, you have to go check it out at night.


No date night is complete without dessert, so before heading home, we stopped by Central Market for my favorite gelato. It was delicious as always. We hung out there for awhile to soak in a bit more quality time before heading home. It was the perfect ending to the perfect Valentine's Day!

We took E's mom to Wildwood Bakehouse for brunch on Sunday (I am getting so spoiled by all the brunch I've been eating lately), and then spent the rest of the day doing laundry, running errands, doing work from home (both of us), and hanging out with Belle. Nothing too crazy, but nice all the same. Linking up with the wonderful Biana at B Loved Boston for this weekend recap!

I hope you all got to spend time this weekend with those you love!

What did you do this weekend?

Favorite upbeat love song?

In health,

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Howdy!

Happy first full week of 2015! I hope this year has been treating you well so far. Yesterday, I told you about my New Year's resolutions for a stronger Mind, Body, and Soul. Today, I thought I would give you a peak at a few of the EASY recipes I am using to work towards my goal of a stronger body through less sugar and processed foods. Additionally, my good friends over at Spartan, are keeping me motivated to work towards my stronger body with a ton of exciting new events for 2015. They have even been generous enough to offer all Fun, Fit, and Fabulous readers a discount on any race in the continental U.S. and one lucky reader will win a 100 % FREE RACE ENTRY!

So let's start where all healthy days start..... with breakfast! As you guys know, I am a HUGE oatmeal fan. I would eat it every day if I could, and not that there is anything wrong with oatmeal, but I have been trying to increase my protein intake in the mornings. I get tired of scrambled eggs pretty quickly, so I am always looking for ways to jazz them up. After my noodle arm making workout (full post on that tomorrow) yesterday, I whipped up an easy breakfast scramble. I had left over sweet potato fries from Sunday night and some delicious turkey sausage begging to be used in the fridge.

To make this scramble, I chopped up roughly 1/2 a cup of left over sweet potato fries and 2 small links of breakfast turkey sausage. Next, I heated up a non-stick skillet with 1 tsp of coconut oil and tossed in my sausage and sweet potatoes (remember the sweet potatoes were already cooked). After I felt like they were warm, I added three eggs (pre whisked). Mix until the eggs are completely cooked and voila!

Next up, is my new favorite lunch - Avocado Tuna Salad (zero mayonnaise to be found here). All I did was combine 1/2 a ripe avocado with 1 can of chunk white tuna in water, 1 tbs lemon juice, and a dash of salt and pepper to taste. I am really not a huge tuna fan, but I know how good it is for you so I try to incorporate it into my diet whenever possible. Now that I have found this combination, I will be eating it A LOT more often. I think avocados just make everything better! Yes, those green apple slices are gigantic!!



Last but not least, we have yesterday's dinner. This recipe comes to you compliments of Pinterest and You Hunt I Gather. We all know E is just an overgrown (a very intelligent one of course) 12 year old, and he definitely has the taste buds to go with it. When I saw this recipe for Almond Crusted Chicken Tenders, I knew I had to give it a try! They were so easy to make and delicious. Since I baked them instead of frying them, there was no messy grease to deal with. I will definitely be making these babies again very soon!



My second New Year's resolution for a strong body was to focus on increasing my strength in 2015. I specifically set the goal of increasing the number of pull-ups I can do throughout the year. I am definitely going to need that strength to conquer in a Spartan Race! I'm hoping to compete in one of the races when Spartan comes to Austin in May!!

The goal of the Spartan Race team is to bring the excitement of obstacle racing to spectators and athletes (even if you don't consider yourself an athlete) alike! With course lengths of 3+ miles (sprint), 8+ miles (super), and 12+ miles (beast), each course is filled with mud, water, and signature obstacles designed to help you discover your inner Spartan. Athletes of all fitness levels can participate and enjoy these challenging and invigorating obstacle courses! Spartan Race even has events for kids! They believe that fitness and adventure should involve the whole family. Now, that is something I can get excited about!

They have some exciting new things coming out in 2015! The new 2015 Spartan season pass has just been released with tons of great perks such as unlimited racing, special travel discounts, free bag check, and much more. The 2015 World Championship Spartan Race is also moving to Lake Tahoe California (somewhere on the top of my list of places to visit)! For all my podcast lovers (I love to listen to them when I'm walking or running), Joe Desena's "Spartan Up!" podcast is launching soon. Last but not least, the first ever Spartan Cruise is happening in March. Talk about not letting your workouts slide during vacation!

If that's not exciting enough, the Spartan Race team wants to offer all Fun, Fit, and Fabulous readers 10% off any race. Simply use the code SPARTANBLOGGER at checkout! They are also going to be giving one lucky reader a FREE RACE ENTRY into any race in the continental U.S.! Enter below for your chance to win!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Howdy!

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Happy Monday!

How was you weekend? Wonderful, I hope! Mine was very eventful and a ton of fun!

This weekend, I hosted one of my best friends, Jenny's, bachelorette party here in Austin. She is marrying the love of her life, Garrett, in 3 weeks in Utah, so we had to send her off to marital bliss in style. Jenny and I first met when we were both teaching aerobics at Texas A&M and quickly became good friends. She is one of the most outgoing, caring, and fun people I know!

Party prep started a few weeks ago, but by Friday, I had a gazillion errands to run with a baby that hates the car seat. Luckily, my saint like mother-in-law came in to save the day and stay with Annabelle while I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off getting everything for the party.

The festivities began at noon on Saturday with a little pool time at our hotel. At around 4:00 PM we all went back to our room to change and get ready for the shower part of the evening. We all gathered in one room for snacks, sangria, and presents!

After presents, we headed out for dinner and dancing! We ate dinner at Gloria's in downtown Austin and then walked down to West 6th Street to raise our glasses to Jenny.

Cheers to Jenny and Garrett!



A peddy cab was 100% necessary by the end of the night. All of our feet were killing us from walking around in heels.


After everyone was safely back to the hotel, I headed home for the night so I could give little bit her middle of the night feeding and get in some cuddles. I was only gone for a few hours, but I missed her so much! The next day, I met the crew at Olivia's for brunch. I was the photographer for this picture.


After brunch, it was back to the normal Sunday duties of grocery store and laundry. Overall, it was an amazing weekend celebrating an even more amazing friend!

This morning, I felt like I needed to detox from all the sugar I ate over the weekend (how can you turn down gluten free cupcakes?), so I started my morning off with a Chocolate Frappuccino Green Smoothie.


Ingredients:

• 1-2 large handfuls of spinach
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder of choice
• 1 packet instant coffee (I used decaf since I'm breastfeeding)
• 2 packets of stevia
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 cup almond milk or milk of choice
• handful of ice

Blend and enjoy. this smoothie reminds me of a frappuccino from Starbucks and keeps me full until lunch. Win and win! After my smoothie, Annabelle went down for a nap and it was time for me to hit the treadmill. I did 4.5 miles of intervals. Since I'm building my running back up I alternated 1 song of running with 1 song of power walking. Focusing on the music, rather than time, makes the workout fly by. Time to feed the tiny human again.  I hope you all have a great day!

What did you do this weekend?

How do you reset after a weekend of indulgences?

In health,

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Howdy Friends,

Happy Monday! Guess what? We're still pregnant over here. I was really hoping the little lady would make her arrival this weekend, but no go. I'm thinking I should just settle in for quite a long wait at this point.

We tried to stay busy this weekend to make the time go by a little bit faster. We had some friends come in and visit on Saturday. Mike, Ashley, and their son AD drove down from Fort Worth to catch up. We went for ice cream at Amy's, checked out the UT Football Stadium, and grabbed dinner and one of E and I's favorite spots. It was an absolute blast to get to catch up with them!

On Sunday, I woke up early to hit the grocery store and get in a quick workout before heading to brunch with the girls. We went to a cute little spot in North Austin called Epicerie. It looked like a cute little French bakery. We had a great time chatting and then stopped for a photo op since this is the last time we will all be together before Annabelle arrives and the 2nd to last time before baby Strub arrives!

Love those girls! After brunch, Whitney, Christy, and I headed back to Christy's place to spend a little time in her pool. It feels so nice to be in the water! It takes all the pressure off my lower back, and I feel like a normal person for a little while.

I told you last week, that Annabelle's room is finally all done!! I am absolutely in love with how it turned out and I can't wait to show it to baby girl when she gets here. Thank you again to Eric for putting every single piece of furniture together, my in-laws for gifting Annabelle some of her furniture, Kelli for making her name above the crib, the "Annabelle" picture frame, and beautiful star mobile hanging from the ceiling, and Kelley for making the decorations above her changing table. We are going to add her baby pictures on either side of the "A" above the changing table and then the room will be 100% finished.








And there you have it! Pink, pink, and more pink! But if you know me, you know I wouldn't have it any other way. E has been such a trooper about the pink overload! :)

Last, but not least, I need to announce the winner of our Pure Via Summer Fit Kit Giveaway. Drum roll please......... The winner is Alison S! Thank you to everyone who entered!

How was your weekend?

Are you a brunch fan?

In health,

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Happy Thursday Friends,

I hope you are having a wonderful day so far! Like most days, mine started out with an early morning workout. I had a great group of clients in the 7 AM class this morning and they rocked it as usual! :) One of the amazing things about teaching early morning classes is seeing the sun rise. The clouds were a gorgeous shade of pink this morning when I arrived at the studio.

Last night, Roger, Todd, and some of the wonderful ladies from the studio through Eric and I a baby shower at Water 2 Wine. It was so much fun to get to socialize with everyone outside of class and E, Annabelle, and I felt so loved. The studio is my home away from home, and I feel so blessed to have such an amazing second family here in Austin. I don't have any of the pictures yet, but I will share those with you as soon as I get them. I did manage to snap a quick picture of the cookie cake they had made for us. They knew it was E's favorite! They also got me gluten free vanilla cupcakes from my favorite bakery!


I can't believe Annabelle could be here in 3 short week or less! Yikes! To prepare for her arrival, I have been experimenting with recipes I can make ahead of time and freeze. On Sunday, I tried out a new blueberry muffin recipe using almond meal and flax seeds. I also tried to add a little extra protein with Greek yogurt. I was totally flying by the seat of my pants, but I was so excited with how it turned out. They even froze well! I have been eating on them all week. The best way to reheat them is to turn the oven on at 350 F, put the muffins in cold, and leave them in there for 15 minutes. They taste like they are fresh out of the oven every time.



I was a little weary about using almond meal because it tends to dry things out. However, these muffins were extremely moist and had a delightful nutty flavor. Let me know if you give them a try!

It's time for a little cardio via the treadmill for me and miss Annabelle. I hope you have a great rest of your Thursday.


In health,

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Howdy Friends,

I hope you are having a fabulous Tuesday. Mine has been pretty good so far. It started bright and early with a 7 AM Pilates class at the studio. After I got my blood flowing, I did a little work at the studio and then headed to the chiropractor for an adjustment. Going regularly helps keep my hips somewhat in alignment which slightly eases my lower back pain. I'll take any little bit of help I can get.

I'm sticking with liquids before noon until this weird nausea thing goes away. This morning, I tried out a new tropical inspired smoothie!

Strawberry, Papaya, and Mango Green Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 2 large handfuls of spinach
• 1 cup mixed frozen fruit (strawberries, papaya, and mango)
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 cup water
• handful of ice
• 2 packets of stevia (optional)

Blend and enjoy! It was refreshing and reminded me of something I would drink while lying on the beach! I will definitely be making it again soon.

Yesterday morning, I whipped out the TRX and medicine ball for a quick strength workout. I am really trying to hold on to as much muscle mass as possible during my last few weeks of pregnancy so I hope to squeeze in a few more strength workouts each week. It's so sad watching your muscle dissapear week after week even while working out. :(



This workout took me about 30 minutes with minimal rest inbetween rounds. It's perfect to do on its own when you are short on time or before or after a cardio session. For my fellow soon to be mommies, feel free to do the plank with your knees on the floor instead of in the TRX handles if it puts too much pressure on your lower back. Let me know if you give it a try!

How did you get your sweat on yesterday?

In health,

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Howdy,

Happy Hump Day everyone! I hope you guys are having a great day so far. I have a yummy smoothie recipe lined up for this weeks installment of What I Ate Wednesday.

After reading yesterday's post, you know I have not been eating watermelon. :( I was also pretty over PB&J, so I mixed things up a bit for lunch this week with an open faced turkey, colby jack, and avocado sandwich on gluten free bread.



I'm not usually a huge sandwich person, but I am totally going through a phase right now. This sandwich absolutely hit it out of the ballpark in my book. It's even better if you toast your bread first and add a little spicy mustard!

Since my tummy still isn't loving real food in the morning, I went with a smoothie for breakfast. I decided to pump up the nutrition factor by throwing in a Mamma Chia Squeeze Vitality packet. Total success. Trusty smoothie ingredients + a Mamma Chia packet = a power packed smoothie!







It's time for me to tackle a little bit more work before heading back up to the studio for barre. I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your day!!


What is your favorite smoothie ingredient?

In health,

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