Weekly randomness: The Happy Hour Effect, 5 minute abs, and snacks.

Special events with a lot of people use to be panic attack inducing experiences, but this week I had an amazing special event that was anything but anxiety fueled. Thanks to my MBA classmates and the confidence I’ve found in myself, I was able to attend a happy hour event with author Kristen Brown and I am glad I didn’t miss it. Kristen has an inspiring story, lots of energy, and guidance you can actually follow. Number one take-away from her 40 minute presentation – forget the word balance when it comes to work/life; there is only harmony. You should check her out and I recommend her book The Happy Hour Effect.

After that great happy hour, my brain was on vacation mode. This weekend is the first annual sisters weekend. Chicago here we come! One thing I don’t look forward to when traveling is airport and airplane food. They have come a long way from the cheap junk, but the good stuff is often super expensive. So I like to come prepared.

Some of my favorite carry-on snacks

Plum chocolate chip go bars

Lightly salted roasted almonds

Chocolate peanut butter monkey bars

Apples

Wild Garden hummus to go
Ab workouts
I’ve been running for over 15 years and never gotten bored with it. I have, however, cut back over the years from runs twice a day to four runs a week. It is good to mix up your workouts to tone your whole body and avoid injuries form overuse. However, I get bored with workouts other than running. I’m constantly switching them up and looking for something that I love doing just as much. I have found the Insanity workouts keep me going, but I still have a hard time with an ab focused workout. I use to do pilates religiously and I’ve tried yoga, but my brain moves too fast for either of those slower paced workouts. So I went to YouTube to find some ideas and found this new one to do that only takes 5 minutes. That means on a busy morning I can still fit in a good ab workout and some weightlifting! Plus, the channel that it is on is full of wonderful quick workouts that you can challenge yourself with when you are bored or short on time. The accents help too 🙂

I hope you all enjoy a little happy hour, snacking, and healthy activity this Memorial Day weekend!

March Nature Box

Between work, school, spending time with family, and trying to do a few things for myself a few items had to get dropped from the to-do list. One of those things was making healthy homemade snacks. I use to make homemade granola, prep snacks the night before, and nibble on healthy options that would fuel a full day of activities.

Since starting classes I’ve taken to grabbing whatever I can and nibbling on things that definitely don’t fuel a full day of work, chasing a toddler, and homework. I found myself getting tired early in the day and then feeling guilty for what I was eating.

So I have broken down and subscribed to Nature Box to get healthy snacks delivered to our door monthly. Month one has arrived . . .

Cherry Berry Bonanza – a medley of dried cranberries, cherries and blueberries. This snack wasn’t my favorite. It is a very tart blend and plain dried fruit isn’t my favorite, but I’m looking forward to adding it to yogurt and a snack mix of multigrain cheerios and nuts.

Roasted Kettle Kernels – honey coated roasted corn. Wow! These are a sweet, salty, crunchy kernels of delight. Growing up in the corn belt I now think about all of those little kernels laying outside the grain elevator with a whole new potential.

French Toast Granola – maple flavored granola with pecans. Yummy. A little sweet and way healthier than most store bought versions. We have been enjoying this on our morning yogurt and will definitely be sorry to see the bottom of the bag.

Masa crisps – corn chips with flax seeds. From the first bite my taste buds said Fritos, but my brain said way better. We enjoyed these with chicken tortilla soup and even the little one couldn’t stop eating them.

Pistachio Power Clusters – nut squares with almonds, cashews, and pistachios. These were my favorite snack in the box and I have been rationing them since I ate the first cube. Slightly sweet and a little bump in energy with each bite.

I can’t wait for April’s box!