So here’s our big news…

We are going to ALASKA!!!

We are not just going to Alaska we are making it an epic road trip of 6000 miles from Key West to Alaska. I’m so excited! Alaska has been on our dream list since we left but until now we’ve only talked about it. Honestly, driving the Alaskan highway seemed a little scary to me. I’ve heard it can be very remote at places. What if we run out of gas? What if we are in an accident and there isn’t reception? What if? What if? What if? But after seeing the 48 states we knew it was time to set those “what ifs” aside and make our dream a reality so here we go!

Go RVing is partnering with us on the trip so I’ll be sharing our weekly update on their blog. Our first week in Key West was posted this week. I’ll certainly be sharing parts of it here too but if you are interested in the details beyond food and fitness check out my posts on the Go RVing blog. Or you can like Newschool Nomads on Facebook. I post photos daily and share the Go RVing posts.

So going to Alaska means I get to film my 49th kettlebell workout. Filming another kettlebell workout also means I need to deal with some body image stuff.

It’s been 8 weeks since Thing 3 was born and my body is nowhere near where it was and to tell you the truth I have mixed feelings about it.

Don’t Care Days

Much of the time, I really don’t care.

Truly don’t care. It’s quite freeing.

(Although to be honest, most days my hair is a mess and I don’t brush my teeth until noon so maybe I’m just “letting myself go” in the name of freedom!)

I even have this vision of myself that’s smaller than reality. For instance, the other day I went shopping and I grabbed a few pairs of shorts that by looking at them I was SURE they were going to fit. Into the dressing room I went and was shocked that I couldn’t get them up over my thighs. I had to get two sizes bigger than what I thought.

Here’s the really good part.

I mentally shrugged my shoulders and felt nothing.

Nothing.

There was no emotional low afterwards because my self worth was not attached to my size. Grabbing a different size of short was like deciding a different color would look better.

It’s a sign I have either come a long way in regards to body image or I’m just too dang tired to care. Probably a bit of both.

Do Care Days

Then there are days when I button up my pants and notice my tummy pushing out and over the waistband and think, I really need to start working out again and maybe I shouldn’t have eaten those three heaping spoonfuls of almond butter.

And the tone I’m using with myself may not be so nice.

Then I think of filming my Alaska workout and feel a little horrified imagining how much my butt is going to jiggle when I do swings.

Images of all these other fit bloggers fill my mind with self doubt.

I remind myself….

“Comparison is the thief of joy.” – Attributed to Theodore Roosevelt

…and I move on.

___

When we first hit the road, I had all these grand ideas of filming a workout in every state with a six pack. Months before we left I thought I’ll get my six pack back but as our departure date grew close I didn’t get any leaner.

Once we hit the road, I still didn’t get leaner. In fact, I started to gain weight especially when I added sugar back into my diet. I decided I would rather indulge in the unique culinary experiences to be had all over the country than to chase after a body type that would require huge amounts of discipline. (Side note: I don’t see anything wrong with having this type of body and the discipline it requires as long as the person is still thriving emotionally, relationally, and spiritually. There’s too much body bashing out there from all directions and I don’t want to join the mob.)

Two and half years later, I’m back at a size that may have triggered depression 6 years ago.

Now things are different. There are days I care and days I don’t. The “don’t care” days far outnumber the “do care” days. Perhaps when I’m less sleep deprived I’ll care more.

But one thing is for sure whether I do dare or don’t care, I’m done attaching my self worth to my size.

Done.

So I’m heading up to Alaska and I’m going to film my 49th kettlebell workout and if I’m still two sizes bigger then so be it. Take it as a sign that I’m thoroughly enjoying my life and body as it is.

Or that I’m still seriously sleep deprived.

Or maybe that this little guy’s face melts aways all the worries in the world.

I hope all is well with you. Aside from being sleep deprived things are going well in our world on wheels!

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Check out our family’s adventures at Newschool Nomads as we travel in our RV through the United States!

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The post Big News and Body Image appeared first on Girl Heroes.

Hello from the Florida Keys! This is one of our favorite places to visit. It’s were I filmed my Florida kettlebell workout two years ago.

I’m doing well and I have some very exciting news (at least I’m super excited!) that I’m going to share next week. There is a BIG adventure ahead but until then here is a little update on life lately.

The last few weeks have been focused on finding our family’s new “normal”…well as normal as life on the road in an RV can be.  As those of you with kids know, having a new baby is a challenging but wonderful adjustment. Trying to figure out how to do homeschool, travel, exercise, work, errands, and everything else that needs to be done with a new little person that requires constant attention can be overwhelming. I’ve kept my expectations low but have been blown away by my older boys willingness to help. The other day Thing 2 even watched the baby and folded laundry while I took a shower! Thing 1 made dinner the other night and both help with daily chores!  

I did follow my midwives recommendation and rested thoroughly for 3 weeks. When she told me about the “21 day rest rule” I was very worried about going stir crazy. That did happen a few times but for the most part those 21 days very special and I’ll cherish that time always . My days were spent bonding with Thing 3 and spending time with the older boys. I did my best to not even think about the things that “needed” to be done and instead I focused on really being in the moment with my  littles or not so littles. At times it was a bit surreal to be nursing a baby and having heart to heart talks with my teenager.

I was surprised to find myself sad to resume normal activities after 21 days of doing nothing. Don’t get me wrong I was excited to be up and about but I found myself missing those long days cuddling and nursing the baby. I wish I would have done the same thing with my older boys but I’m very grateful for my wise midwife who insisted that I do this with Thing 3. I’m also grateful to Brent and my parents who recognized how important this time was for my healing and Thing 3. I’m fully aware that not all women have this type of support and I don’t take it for granted.

I’ll be six weeks postpartum tomorrow but I won’t likely be resuming strength training for another 4-6 weeks. My labor and delivery were very difficult and my body is going to need more time than average to heal.  If I’m understanding “Dr Google” correctly, there may be some damage that is going to take many months to heal and perhaps a lifetime of conscious lifestyle choices to manage.  My midwife didn’t want to give me a diagnosis before giving my body plenty of time to heal so I’m trying to remain hopeful that my body will continue to repair itself. Fingers crossed Dr Google is wrong!

Since I’m not strength training I started walking and doing some light yoga. Thing 3 likes being in the stroller and he often falls asleep.  So I’m hoping that when I am able to resume strength training I’ll be able to go on walks and do a short kettlebell workout while he chills in his stroller afterwards.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Check out our family’s adventures at Newschool Nomads as we travel in our RV through the United States!

If you enjoyed this post you can follow one of three ways! 1. Subscribe to the RSS Feed 2. “like” on Facebook, or 3.  Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. Simple dimple!

The post Life Lately – Finding a New “Normal” with Baby appeared first on Girl Heroes.

There have been so many changes as of late.

First, I found out I was pregnant. A TOTAL surprise.

Second,  we returned to our hometown, Ventura, CA, after two years of full time travel. While we were already pretty sure we were going to keep traveling before going back, we weren’t sure how being home would actually feel. We were open to the idea of staying if that was where we felt lead. As it turned out our gypsy hearts won out and we decided to stay on the road.

Third, in January I’m going start blogging for a company I’m super excited about! It’s not a health or fitness company, although I’m scheduled to do a little of that, but it’s a perfect fit.

Finally, we spontaneously sold our RV a week and a half ago! You can read the full story and see the RV makeover (before and after pictures) here. Better late, than never.

Oddly with all the changes, I’m feeling really chill which is not exactly my style. Something about my surprise pregnancy (and living on the road) has mellowed my out a bit. Admittedly, I was shocked and freaked out when I found out I was pregnant but knew I could either choose to embrace change or fight it. In the past, I’ve fought change tooth and nail and let me tell you change always wins. Always. Even if you think you’ve beat change you haven’t because you’ve missed out or delayed growth and opportunities. During this time of change I’m making a conscious effort to surrender and trust that’s it’s all going to work out for good.

It’s not always easy. I know. Finding out I was pregnant wasn’t the easiest news. My youngest child is 11. I spent my twenties taking care of little ones and now I’m going to spend my late thirties and forties doing the same thing. Brent and I thought we were going to send these guys off to college and pack up to travel the world. We still may but there will be another family member in tow and it will be good. Very good.

There are times I’m second guess our choice to stay on the road. Is it the best thing for our family? For Brent’s work? Brent works freelance and that, in and of itself, is riding a constant sea of change but you know what? It always works out one way or another. Our life isn’t conventional but at the end of the day, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I questioned the timing of getting this new blogging job. But I believe we can make time when there is no time if it’s something we are passionate about and so I decided to go with it.

When we got the call about our flippantly posted Craiglslist ad as we were leaving Austin, I questioned whether we should stop and show the RV. Should we just keep going? We decided to stop and 30 minutes later agreed to sell it. For the next two days I questioned our decision. Then I decided to stop questioning and trust. After all we had already sold our home what could I do?

Now after packing our stuff up in a U-haul and making a mad dash from Texas to outrun the winter storm, we are at my parent’s place in south Florida looking for a new home on wheels. Looking for a doctor or midwife to deliver our new baby in a few months. Looking forward to the changes that will inevitably come.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States.

The post Learning to Embrace Change… appeared first on Girl Heroes.

Deciding to stay on the road wasn’t an easy decision but I’m so glad we did! It feels so good to be moving and exploring again. In the last few weeks, we’ve traveled from California to Texas stopping to see cool places (even walked across the border to spend a day in Mexico) and spending time with friends.  I’m loving almost every minute of it. We are on our way to Florida where we’ll spend the winter exploring and early spring we’ll have our baby near Ft. Meyers if all goes as planned.

All the traveling explains (Along with my desire to stay in bed in the morning and cuddle with Brent…gotta enjoy that while I can!) my lack of blogging lately.

Here are some mostly food and fitness related glimpses from our life on the road lately. I’m saving our day in Mexico, Salvation Mountain, Saguaro National Park, and White Sands National Monument for my travel blog.

After spending over a month in our hometown area we headed south to Julian, California where we spent three days with my friend Deb. I met Deb through blogging almost four years ago and although she doesn’t blog anymore, we’ve built a true friendship. Not only have she and I maintained our friendship but it has grown to include my kids and our husbands. My kids just love her and her husband.

While there we went on a long and beautiful hike.

And out to a few dinners.

(Thanks for the pictures Debs!)

We also explored some local markets and stores.

Our next stop was near Yuma, Arizona. We stayed at a very mellow and nearly empty campground where I decided to get some sun on my growing baby bump.

Speaking of baby bumps, I took this a few mornings ago. My bump is still small but I decided I finally looked pregnant. I’m 21 weeks in the above picture. The next day at the grocery store a stranger said something about having a baby to me. I’m glad to be looking pregnant. It feels like I’m taking longer to show this pregnancy which is strange since I’m 11 years older than last time. I’m attributing it to being more in shape at 36 than 24. Thank you kettlebells!

After Yuma, we headed to New Mexico for a few days where I got in lots of steps climbing and playing on the dunes. By the way, I have reluctantly accepted that I’m not going to reach my goal of 3 million steps this year. It will be close but I decided I didn’t want to stress of reaching a number. Maybe next year.

Then we headed to Dallas where we spent a wonderful week with some of our friends who we spent the winter with snowboarding in Breckenridge. We hadn’t seen them since we say goodbye in Salt Lake City last May. While there I got in a few workouts.

One morning in Dallas, it was so cold I had to break out the Jack Skellington gloves.

I’ve been averaging 2-3 strength training workouts a week for the past month and I already feel much better.

Along with strength training, I just bought this DVD. So far I don’t like it as well as the Yoga Studio app but I don’t “dislike” it. I wanted something specific for pregnancy.  I’ll let you know how  I really like it once I’ve done all the routines.

Last but not least, I bought myself a gift with the birthday money I received back in August. A fancy pants blender!!!! I spent hours and HOURS reading reviews on Vitamix vs Blendtec and ended up going with the Blendtec. Costco had a good deal on one that came with the Wildside and Twister jars. I ordered it back in Ventura but had to wait until I got to my best friend’s house in Austin to get it. So far I’m liking it. I’ll try to write a full review after I have spent some more time using it.

Well that’s what’s been going on in a nutshell. What about you? Do you have a fancy pants blender? Have you ever been to White Sands?

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States.

The post Recent Glimpses from Life on the Road appeared first on Girl Heroes.

This morning I spent some time reading some fitness/healthy living blogs of friends who I have “known” for the last 3-5 years of blogging. I have not done this regularly for months and months. It made me nostalgic in a strange way for the time when I read blogs and interacted with bloggers almost every day.

It also made me want to come here and post because blogging has almost always been a very fulfilling hobby.

As we approach our 48th state and near our two year anniversary on the road we are facing some big decisions and life changes. I’ve been so preoccupied with traveling and schooling (we homeschool year round) that I haven’t made much time for myself. My workouts have been sporadic, internet not always reliable, and I find myself reluctant to go online much of the time.

Then this morning I realized how much I missed this space.

So I’m dropping in to say hello. I haven’t forgotten the state kettlebell workout series. I plan to follow through with those even if it takes me another year to finish editing because it’s not good for my self-esteem to start something only to quit halfway through. Something I’ve been known to do more than once.

Anyway all in well in my life. I’m enjoying my family more than I ever thought possible and while life on the road is challenging at times I can’t imagine having spent the last two years any other way.

I’m still doing yoga although it’s more like 5 times a week instead of every day like I had hoped. I’m also still working out with my kettlebells a few times a week with the intention of maintenance instead of pushing myself to be stronger, faster, or any other “more”. There is certainly a time and a place for that mentality but now is not the time for me. For a period of time working out was my life, or at least a huge part of it. Now it’s just something I do to live a more full life.

I workout to live not live to workout.

I’ve not been as good about taking pictures of workout locations lately but here are few of the food and fitness highlights from the last few weeks.

We stocked up at another another farmer’s market.

We picked over 8 pounds of organic raspberries and blueberries at the original Cascadian farms. The berries were $2.25 a pound! At that price, I will never be able to buy berries from a store again!

There have been hikes in the Cascade National Park, Olympic National Park and the Hoh Rainforest which is part of Olympic NP.

There was some yoga with Brent overlooking the Puget Sound.

Just to keep it real there has been yoga in the RV because there were too many mosquitoes outside.

What have you been up to lately?

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States.

The post Life Lately appeared first on Girl Heroes.

When I  love something I want to share it. In my last post, I mentioned that I’m doing a summer yoga challenge and I’ve been using an app called Yoga Studio.

Yoga Studio is the best yoga app I’ve found. It is perfect for those of us who are looking for yoga options that don’t involve going to a studio. While going to a studio is ideal it can also be inconvenient or cost prohibitive for some. Or perhaps you already go to a studio but would like another yoga at home option.

Yoga Studio is it!

I’ve been trying a number of different ways to do yoga while traveling. I borrowed a few DVDs  from the library when we were in Breckenridge but didn’t like being stuck in front of my computer. (For those of you who don’t know, I’m the self-proclaimed outdoor workout queen. I take my kettlebells to the beach, to mountain tops, to lakes, anywhere to avoid being stuck inside.) So I started a search the best yoga app and I found it with the Yoga Studio App. It’s like having a yoga studio in your pocket.

Before buying Yoga Studio, I tried a few other free yoga apps that either had a few free workouts and then you had to buy individual or the instruction was unclear or the video play wasn’t smooth. After a few weeks of trying the free apps, I decided to spend a whopping $2.99 for Yoga Studio which has over 16 hours of easy to follow classes plus a whole lot of other cool features. It’s the best yoga app I’ve found.

The best yoga app? Why?

Okay. So let’s take a look at the Yoga Studio features and see why I think it’s the best yoga app I’ve found.

Studio

Your “studio”, the classes you have downloaded, is the home screen of the app. From here you can start a class, change your settings (see below), or sort your classes.

Classes

You can choose studio classes or create your own classes.

Studio Classes

There are 30 ready made studio classes available for download. They can be sorted by ability, focus, or duration. In the screenshot above I have them sorted by focus. The checkmark indicates a class I have downloaded.

Let’s talk about downloading for a second since many of us are mindful about how much space we use on our phones. I have downloaded most of beginner classes which take up 389 MB of space on my phone. That’s not too bad considering I have immediate access to 8 different classes ranging from 15 to 60 minutes in duration.

Custom Classes

You can create your own classes by adding poses and pose blocks from the pose library. After you add a pose you can use their timing or you can adjust how long you want to hold each pose.

Once you create a class you can set the photo, title of the class, and classify your class by ability, focus, and intensity.

I have yet to create my own class other than for the purpose of this review but I can imagine that this would be a fun option for those who are more familiar with yoga sequencing.

Pose Library

Poses is the third main screen. From here you can search or scroll through all the poses, pose blocks, or just see your favorites.

There are 285 poses that can be sorted by type, ability, and focus.

By tapping on a pose you will be given a written description, a list of benefits, modifications for beginners, advanced variations, and how to “be careful”, i.e., you may want to avoid if you have (insert body part) inflammation. You can also “star” poses as favorites on this screen.

There are also 20 ready made pose blocks that you can look at in detail or add to your custom classes.

Schedule

Yoga Studio also gives you option to schedule classes on your phone. I don’t do this but it could be a helpful tool is you are prone to putting off your practice/workout.

Settings

It took me a few days to realize you could customize your settings which are accessed from the studio screen. For the “studio classes” you can choose between the teacher, pose names, or a glass ting for cueing. I prefer the directions of the teacher as I find them helpful and her voice is not at all annoying.

If you choose to make your own custom classes, “my classes”,  you can choose between pose names and a glass ting to indicate pose changes.

While the ready made music isn’t bad at all (I sometimes choose to use it) I was really excited to discover I could make my own playlists from the music on my phone and then select my custom playlist to be played during the classes. You can also control how loud you want the music in relation to the instruction or you can turn off the music all together.

You can also choose to turn on or off the progress bar (shown in the picture above) as well as have the option to swipe the screen to skip poses.

Like kettlebells, I love the convenience of being able to practice whenever I want wherever I want. The other day I found a quiet spot in Yellowstone and did a 15 minute Yoga Studio class. It was bliss!

My only complaint is that I didn’t try Yoga Studio sooner. Seriously.

And just for the record all the reviews I write are always my own opinion. While I sometimes receive items for free (always stuff I really want to try) to review, I purchased Yoga Studio with my own hard earned money, all three dollars of it. It works out to 10 cents a class. If you create your own classes then it’s even less.  I would not have been disappointed to have paid ten times as much. It is the best $2.99 I’ve spent in a long time. You can buy Yoga Studio here.

Do you have any fitness apps that you just love? I’ve tried a few different ones but right now Yoga Studio is my favorite. It’s the best! I’m using it every day.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States.

The post Best Yoga App – Yoga Studio App Review appeared first on Girl Heroes.

I have one thing to say about last week.

Amazing.

We stayed on Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake. Our friends who we met up with in Provo the week before, the ones we spent the winter with in Breckenridge, came with us. Not only that but my longtime internet friend, Janetha, who I met on a fitness forum before we both had blogs came for dinner.

Rather than tell you about my week, I’m going to show you. At least I’m going to show you the fitness-y parts. I do a lot more than exercise. I’ll save the details on bison, floating in the Great Salt Lake, and jackrabbits with ears as long as my arm for my adventure blog.

Our campsite was incredible. It was large and open and faced the Great Salt Lake making for the most stunning sunset workouts.

I did a few strength workouts and pulled out my heavy rope for the first time since last fall.

I’ve gotten so strong that I broke my rope into pieces. He he. (If you look closely- I know the photo is kinda small – you can see how the panorama app composited the rope into pieces.)

Brent and I also slipped away for a bike ride.

We started off on this trail which got progressively more rocky, so much so that we were walking and hauling our bikes over rocks more than we were riding. Biking is hard for me especially through rocks. I get really scared especially since my little brother almost died from a bike accident when I was a kid

So we found an easier trail. Much easier for me because while Brent went to the top of that moutain I sat on the side of the road.

We passed a heard of bison on the beach.

To add to an already beautiful week Janetha came to visit along with Marshall, the pups, and Momma B. I had actually met Janetha once before briefly before we left when she came to LA. Our meeting in LA was a short visit and their were a lot of people. I’m an introvert and prefer small groups so this was perfect.

I’ve met a lot of bloggers in person. Most of the time they are as nice in person as they are on their blog. Janetha is no exception. She is every bit as sweet in person as she is online and then some. As are Marshall and Momma B, who I’ve also known and interacted with online for a number of years. I actually did a Girl Heroes feature with Janetha and Momma B a few years ago. Not only is their transformation inspiring but so is their friendship. Wonderful wonderful people.

I was thrilled when she said they would bring the dogs.

I was secretly planning to kidnap Penny but once I met Randy (the basset) I  decided I had to have them both but couldn’t figure how to keep them without Janetha and Marshall noticing. These two were ridiculously sweet and well behaved. They hung out with us inside our RV until 11 pm! Janetha and Marshall told us the funniest stories about Randy  honking the horn and getting into food. Ornery fellow! My kind of dog!

We also ate dinner while watching the sunset.

A bison even decided to cruise by while we were eating!

Thank you so much for visiting Janetha, Marshall, Momma B, Penny, and Randy. It was such a treat! In case you haven’t read Janetha’s blog (you probably have she has quite the following) it’s called Meals and Moves. She wrote about our time together here.

Have you ever met an online friend in person? Any mountain bike tips?  

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States.

The post Fitness, Friends, and Fun on Antelope Island appeared first on Girl Heroes.

So I haven’t got back to a regular workout schedule since we’ve been on the move and to keep myself accountable I’m going to post my weekly workout locations again.

As much as I miss my little gym at the campground in Breckridge, I’m loving the adventure of traveling full time again.

I’m loving working out with a view of the city.

I’m loving working out in the solitude of the mountains.

I’m loving hiking through amazing rock formations.

I’m loving my new Lucy Perfect Booty Pants.

No matter how lean I get my booty (and thighs) is always the last thing to lean out. I can be rocking a six pack (Admittedly it’s been awhile and I’m totally ok with that.) but I’ll still have plenty of junk in the trunk to tame. In other words, I’m always on the lookout for pants that flatter and shape my derrière.

The team at Lucy decided to build off of their “perfect core technology” and apply it to the derrière, hence, the “perfect booty” pants. The pants have built in compression panels that are designed to help you to engage the glutes for a more effective workout. I can’t honestly say that they consciously remind me to engage my glutes more but the strategically placed seams do give my booty a boost!

The Perfect Booty Pants may be all about the booty but they didn’t forget about the tummy. I really love seams on the front of the waist.

While the price of these pants is, admittedly, a bit on the steep side, the quality is outstanding. I’ve worn them in the gym, outside on the ground, around town, and I’ve yet to find one loose thread or pill in the fabric. It’s also worth mentioning that I never dry my nicer workout pants in the dryer. Never say never because one day I spaced it and threw these pants in the dyer on high heat. The pants made it through looking as good as new and without any shrinkage. It’s a good thing because I got the short length (I’m 5′ 3″) and the length fits perfect.

I still may not have a “perfect” (Perfection is relative, right!) booty but the Lucy Perfect Booty Pants do a darn good job of making the most of what I got!

So what are you loving lately? 

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States.

Disclosure: I was provided a pair of Lucy Perfect Booty Pants for the purpose of this review.  All opinions are my own.

The post Loving Life and My Lucy Perfect Booty Pants appeared first on Girl Heroes.

We had a good amount of unexpected snow last week which meant more time than usual on the mountain and less time for the computer.

There is nothing quite like riding in powder. It feels like like floating.

Exhilarating. Freeing. Soul soaring.

We are powder seekers.

And we fit together “like legos”.

We finally made it out to A-Basin one morning last week….

…where we found some more fresh powder.

We went with my new Australian friend, Helen. I met her in my snowboard class the week before. After A-Basin in the morning, we went to Keystone to ride for the afternoon.

Later in the week, we went riding with some of our fellow gypsy friends. We called this shot “Pieter and the Shredders”.

There was falling and laughing.

And jumping.

And cheering for those of us (ahem) who were more timid on the double black diamonds.

This is me riding down Whale’s Tail, one of the easier double blacks, for the first time. (As you can tell) I’m not an awesome snowboarder but I have a TON of fun! I think this was my favorite run of the season so far!

Just hanging out with the two coolest little boys I know.

We are leaving the mountains in three weeks from today. It’s going to be bittersweet but I’ll tell you this: I’m looking forward to flip flops.

So yeah I got a lot of riding in last week. I also got in my regular strength training workouts.

Monday – Strength Training and Snowboarding
Tuesday – Snowboarding
Wednesday – Strength Training
Thursday – Snowboarding
Friday – Strength Training and Snowboarding
Saturday – Snowboarding
Sunday – Rest (I needed it!)

I’m also still on track with my step goal for the year. Last week my daily average step count was 10,589.

While it looks like a really happy week, I was actually struggling with some minor depression. I managed to push through but it wasn’t easy. Five years ago it would have knocked me out and I would have been in bed all week. Nowadays, I know that getting outside and working out help me more than any sort of medicine.

Finally on Friday after a week of off and on sadness, I went to the gym and just for fun tested my pull up. Much to my surprise I did one. Then I did two more! I had lost my pull up a few months after we moved into the RV. Over the summer I got a portable pull up bar and set a goal to get my pull up back. It feels so good. Nothing makes me feel as strong as being able to do pull ups.

Lastly, I wanted to share a great experience I had with a company, Ladies Only Sportswear. I finally decided to purchase a couple of Handful bras and when I received them two days later (crazy fast shipping) one of them was cut strange. I contacted customer service at Ladies Only and they sent me another bra right away no questions asked and covered the return shipping for the defective bra. I’m loving my new Handful bra and right now Ladies Only has them for 20% off and free shipping.  (I’m not an affiliate or anything. I was just super happy with their customer service that I wanted to share!)

Well that’s it! I hope you had a great week!

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

The post Powder Seekers appeared first on Girl Heroes.

Today when we told the boys we would be leaving the mountain in 6 weeks they sighed in disappointment.

I’m surprised after last week’s exhausting “6 day snowboard challenge”.

The boys and I decided to snowboard for 6 days in a row. Some of the days were only a few hours long but we managed to get all our gear on (no small feat) and head to the mountain Monday through Saturday. In our homeschool, we used it as a lesson in “short term goal setting”.

This is why I strength train so I can hold two boys on my snowboard.

Their  commitment paid off and I can no longer keep up with them. A few weeks ago I was riding slowly behing them offering words of encouragement and now I’m speeding along trying to keep them in sight.

This even happened.

I tried to jump too but didn’t land it.  Now I’m determined to land a jump by the end of the season.

However, sometimes my determination doesn’t work out as planned.

There was powder yesterday. I call powder “enchanted fairy dust” because it makes me feel like I can “fly”.

Powder is soft, unfortunately, trees are not.

Yep, I hit a tree.

The scary part is that bump and scraped skin happened even while wearing my helmet and balaclava (a sock-like cap).

It was totally my fault. I’ll own it. I was going too fast through the trees and had about 8 feet to go before I was in the clear when “SMACK”.  I was on the ground. Other than a tender bump I felt fine but it’s a reminder to always wear a helmet.

Workouts went pretty much as planned but because of our little challenge I hit the mountain more than usual.

Monday – Strength Training (Upper) & Snowboard
Tuesday – Snowboard
Wednesday – Strength Training (Lower) & Snowboard
Thursday – Snowboard
Friday – Snowboard
Saturday – Strength Training (Upper) & Snowboard
Sunday – REST!!!!!!

I continued with my walking as well. Last week my highest step day was on Saturday with 18, 763 steps. Going dancing may be the most fun way to get steps. Not surprisingly the following day I walked a grand total of 701 steps.

My daily average for the month of February was 10,444. I’m still loving my Fitbit Zip for counting steps. I finally did have to replace the battery. It lasted about 3.5 months. A little shorter than expected so I’m interested to see how long the new battery will last.

Well that’s it for my week. How was yours? Have you ever fallen and been thankful you were wearing a helmet?

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States!

The post Helmets Rock: My Head as an Example appeared first on Girl Heroes.