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#DecemberGoals :: Finding Time for Fun and Paleo Mint Chocolate Cookies!
We have less than a week left before Christmas?! I cannot believe it. 2017 has absolutely flown by, especially the past month or two. And although I hope you have plenty of things to look forward to, this time of year is so busy for everyone with all the preparation, parties, shopping, and traveling that it is very easy to become frustrated or too caught up in it all. And as s someone who thrives on routine and schedule (understatement), the extra time and effort that all the holiday festivities and activities require can honestly make me feel a little stressed or even grinch-like at times. Knowing this about myself,…
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Building Grit and Mental Strength One Barre Class at a Time
Nature vs. nurture – one of the oldest and most longstanding of all psychological debates. Although this was a formerly hotly debated and central issue in the field, most researchers and people in general now accept that each of us are indeed powerfully influenced by not one or the other, but both biology and genetics as well as society and culture in almost every facet of our personality, preferences, tendencies, talents, and inclinations. A lot of evidence supports a variant of set point theory, which argues that we all have a genetically determined range for our weight, our aptitudes, our intelligence and even our happiness. But it is important to…
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What I Read Last Month :: November
I know this time of year is crazy for everyone, but I cannot believe that I am this far behind. And since things have been very hectic for me lately, I am not only delayed my usual reading recap post, but also had far less opportunity for reading itself over the past month. I absolutely love to read, so it is something that I try to make a priority if at all possible, but with the busier holiday social calendar and all the extra project I have had going on, it has made it a bit difficult. However, I do have an enormous reading list prepared for my Christmas break…
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Avoiding the Comparison Trap, Focusing on Strengths and Eggs Florentine with Avocado Hollandaise
Over time, and this past year especially, I have been intently focused on understanding both myself and others better. I feel I have come a long way in recognizing the various dimensions on which we all differ, in terms of personality, inclinations, values, and paradigms, which has lead to unprecedented acceptance and appreciation for those around me. I say unprecedented because this is not something which necessarily comes naturally to me. I tend to be quite black and white and like most others, have reasons for doing things the way that I do. It is often confusing to me to see people both succeed or fail spectacularly via means and…
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The What, the Why, and the How of That “Barre Shake”
I am definitely biased, buuuuuuut barre is just the best! Aside from the sense of camaraderie and community, the upbeat music, and the indescribable “barre high,” your body is challenged in a totally unique way. It’s low impact, but definitely not low intensity! No matter who you are or how fit you are, it is a shockingly challenging workout. Barre is full of tiny, isometric movements and contractions which generate a big burn and epic shake in your muscles regardless of how strong you are. Seriously – even professional athletes and Olympians (recently witnessed at Flex in the City firsthand – with our special guest Derval O’Rourke!) experience that tremble…
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Act the Way We Want to Feel (and Whole30 Chicken with Almond Butter Satay Dipping Sauce and Coconut Cauliflower Rice)
Causality dilemmas (most famously, the question of which came first – the chicken or the egg), represent situations of potential infinite regress, in which it is not clear which of the two events, situations, or phenomena is the cause and which is the effect. And while it may seem to be a deeply philosophical or fruitless concept, we are actually faced with such scenarios quite regularly in our lives. When I first moved to Ireland, it was a struggle and long process to get everything in order – finalize visas and registration, lease an apartment, open a bank account, switch phone service providers, hire an accountant for taxes, etc. Everywhere…
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Happy Birthday Coco: Lessons Learned From My Dog and a Whole30 Chicken Fajita Salad
Today is a very special day for a teeny tiny member of the Vasquez family – it’s Coco’s second birthday! For those who may not know, Coco is a miniature Yorkshire terrier with the breed’s characteristically BIG personality. She is endlessly full of energy, friendly to a fault and completely oblivious to her diminutive stature and the fact that she is not human. As I am someone who works from home alone during the days, she has been the perfect companion (sleeping curled up on my lap as I write this now) and adds so much joy and liveliness to our home. We didn’t have any while I was growing…
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Happy Thanksgiving! The Many Benefits of Gratitude and A Fall Roasted Vegetable Side Dish
In regards to #trending, I usually prefer to be a bit on the early adopter edge and my appreciation for something can be, and has often been, lessened as it becomes incredibly mainstream or overdone. Many times a concept or idea which was originally quite powerful, transformative, or transcendent can become stale, diluted, or cheesy as it reaches a point of oversaturation. However, despite of the fact that messages of gratitude are ubiquitous this week in light of Thanksgiving over in the US of A, I find it a topic too important to skip over. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays – it involves copious amounts of fall foods,…
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7 Minute Barre Arms Workout
As those who barre know, one of the first and most dramatic changes your body will undergo after only a few sessions is in the arms. Perhaps even more amazing than the sculpted barre arms themselves, is that you can achieve such impressive results with only very light (2-5 lb) weights or literally no weights at all. It’s all about the contraction deep into the muscles and it is INTENSE. Just ask my husband who can benchpress or deadlift 2 times as much as I weigh, but still struggles through a barre arms series every time. The small and sharp movements, the way we target the muscles from all angles, and the deep…
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Whole30 Lemon Pepper Salmon and Lemon Thyme Roasted Cauliflower
In my recent reading, I have been made ever increasingly aware of how much we tend to stick with what’s familiar or what we know. Much of this is entirely subconscious and affects us in ways which are imperceptible even to ourselves. We tend to make sense of things and experience the world through our own lens based on what we have a basis of understanding or framework for and we often rely on heuristics or mental shortcuts in our daily judgments and decision making. However, more obviously, the tendency towards the familiar not only applies to our subconscious thought patterns and biases, but also to the overt choices and…
