Leslie Sansone's Workout Schedule For February

(photo credit - http://www.walkathome.com)

Here we go again! Maybe this will be the kick in the pants that I need. Leslie Sansone has a workout plan set up for the month of February. I'm going to do my best to follow along. Thankfully she's incorporating days off this time, that's good. Here's the run-down on her blog. I've already got my workout set up on wunderlist.

Saturday, February 1 - 5 miles (starting off big she is!)
Sunday, February 2 - "Restorative Walk". It is Superbowl Sunday after all. I may watch the game as always for the commercials. Why not walk in place during the game?
Monday, February 3 - 2 miles plus core exercise
Tuesday, February 4 - 3 miles plus arms, chest, and back exercises
Wednesday, February 5 - Day off!
Thursday, February 6 - 3 miles plus arms, chest, and back exercises
Friday, February 7 - 2 miles plus core exercise
Saturday, February 8 - 5 mile (good luck!)
Sunday, February 9 - "Slow walking" Whatever you want?
Monday, February 10 - 2 miles plus core exercise
Tuesday, February 11 - 2 miles
Wednesday, February 12 - Day off!
Thursday, February 13 - 3 miles plus arm exercises
Friday, February 14 - 2 miles plus core exercises (Happy Valentine's Day!)
Saturday, February 15 - 5 miles (split them up throughout the day if it's easier)
Sunday, February 16 - Day off!
Monday, February 17 - 3 miles plus arms, chest, and back exercises
Tuesday, February 18 - 2 miles plus core exercises
Wednesday, February 19 - Day off!
Thursday, February 20 - 3 miles plus arms, chest, and back exercises
Friday, February 21 - 2 miles
Saturday, February 22 - 5 miles
Sunday, February 23 - Day off!
Monday, February 24 - 2 miles plus core exercise
Tuesday, February 25 - 2 miles plus arms, back, and chest exercises
Wednesday, February 26 - Day off!
Thursday, February 27 - 2 miles
Friday, February 28 - 2 miles

There you have it! Looks challenging, especially Saturdays with those 5 milers. Good thing we can choose to split up the miles throughout the day though. That will help.

I will do my best to complete this challenge. Join me if you want! It will be fun!

The two Leslie Sansone DVDs I'll be doing will be:

and

I highly recommend both of these DVDs, they're great!

Teavana Tea Review: Six Summits Oolong Tea

(photo credit - Me)

Well, sure enough, I found three Teavana teas that I have not reviewed yet. Unfortunately, two of those three tea tins are empty. I procrastinated too long when I got them, and never got around to writing the reviews. “I’ll do it tomorrow” is my line, and I can’t stand it anymore. Just do it! So that’s what I’m doing.

The tea I’m drinking right now is Teavana’s Six Summits Oolong tea. I actually had to double check to make sure I used the right tea. It tastes a lot like the Monkey Picked Oolong tea. I checked Teavana and sure enough, the descriptions says “The Monkey-Picked Oolong base is gently scented with a delicate raspberry and strawberry aroma”.

This tea smells fantastic! You can definitely smell the raspberry, and a hint of the strawberry. The ingredients are simple.

-Oolong tea

-Artificial flavoring

To make this tea, use 1 teaspoon of tea leaves for every 8 ounces of water. Let it steep for 3 minutes and it’s done. The taste is a lot like the Monkey-Picked Oolong. There might be a touch of raspberry or strawberry flavoring, but it might just be psychosomatic (ooohhhh big word) with the scent. It’s a nice light green tea tasting tea.

So, I’ve now had 3 teas from Teavana that taste almost exactly the same. The first green tea I had (never did a review on it as it was long ago before I decided to write tea reviews). I’m almost positive (95%) that was the Dragonwell Green Tea. Then the Monkey Picked Oolong and this tea, the Six Summits Oolong. I love green tea, so it’s just fine and dandy. If you don’t want a full blown green tea taste (you do have to watch how long the Dragonwell steeps for...1 minute max or it gets undrinkable), this tea is perfect for you.

See you in my next tea review, which may be a while now. I’ve got some teas to finish up here.

Check out more of my tea reviews!

Mileage Monday

Well my plan to get at least five pictures from the virtual walk site last week ended up only being two. I'm finding it difficult to get into an exercise routine lately. I feel tired all the time, like I'm not getting enough sleep. This morning (Monday), I actually slept in until 6:30 (the alarms goes off at 5:30 AM). Whoops. Not sure how I managed to sleep through not only my alarm, but my husband getting out of bed, him taking the dog out and back in, and the rattling around in the kitchen when he made coffee. I was out. I took a look at my FitBit sleep page for last night and it says I woke up 11 times. I don't remember waking up that many times, may 3 or 4 times, but 11?

(photo credit - FitBit)

I put a pillow over my head most nights to block out sound. Our cat tends to rattle around at night. And of course other nightly noises...like snoring...hehe. The pillow works though. And no, my husband is not the only one who snores. I snore like a buzz saw too (I've woken myself up before). That's partly contributing to my bad sleep also I'm sure. Anyway, I feel like I can sleep for ten days straight and still be tired.

So, yes, my exercise is lacking still. I need to force myself to get it done. Give the dog a chew stick and do what I need to do. But, I do have two pictures from last week to share. So, let's get to it.

Mile 716.4 (elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 717.4 (elliptical for 1 mile

(photo credit - http://exercise.lbl.gov/index.html;jsessionid=1F4E2B8269D80C6DF557FB31D1D6D77B)

Here's hoping I can kick myself in the butt this week and get moving. Maybe I need to invest in some chocolate covered espresso beans again. I'm tired of almost falling asleep while watching TV in the evenings. Hehehe. Stop whining Tee and get moving!

Teavana - Jasmine Silver Needle White Tea Review

(photo credit - http://www.teavana.com)

OK, Teavana is really making it difficult for me to choose a favorite tea. I love love love the Mate Lemon Blast Herbal tea that is no longer sold (if anyone has seen it IN stores, please let me know), and I also love the Maharaja Chai Oolong tea. But, now that I’ve had several cups of the Jasmine Silver Needle White tea, I have to choose. The flavors of the two teas (chai and jasmine) are totally different, so I’m just going to say I have two favorites!

The chai is a rich and bold tasting tea, and the jasmine is a lighter and fresher tea. The Jasmine Silver Needle White tea smells amazing when you open the freshness cap on the tin. You smell the jasmine immediately.

The ingredients in this tea are simple.

-White tea

-Scented with jasmine blossoms

To me, “scented with jasmine blossoms” means the blossoms aren’t actually IN the tea, they just used the blossoms to give it a nice smell. I can actually taste the jasmine (does jasmine have a taste?), so something is in there besides white tea.

To make this tea, add 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of the tea leaves for every 8 ounces of water. I guess I misread that because I only used 1 teaspoon for every 8 ounces. Tasted fantastic to me with that amount. Let it steep for 4 to 5 minutes and you’re good to go. I steep mine for the maximum every time, since I like my tea strong. I don’t think it would matter to let this steep longer than 5 minutes either. I might try that sometime.

So, another thumbs up for another tea from Teavana. I think I may have another tea or two from Teavana that I never got around to reviewing. If I find them, I’ll review those also sometime down the line. This is the third tea of three that I received for the holidays. All fantastic!

Check out my other tea reviews!

Teavana - Monkey Picked Oolong Tea Review

(photo credit - Me)

The second of the three teas I’m reviewing from my holiday gifts is the Monkey Picked Oolong tea. I’m had several cups of it so far, and it really reminds me of the Silver Yin Zhen Pearls White tea that I reviewed in the past. A lot, there’s not much difference in the taste really. Just one is a white tea, and this one is an Oolong

The ingredients in this tea is just one.

-Oolong tea

Pretty simple. To prepare the Monkey Picked Oolong tea, you need 1 teaspoon of the tea leaves for every 8 ounces of water. Let it steep for 3 minutes and you’re good to go.

This tea reminds me of a very light green tea. If you like your teas stronger (like I do), just let it steep for a few more minutes. It smells really nice too. The Teavana website describes it as having a “bright orchid aroma”, but I don’t really think it smells like orchids. I think it smells more like a light green tea. I’ll have to pay more attention to the smell when I make it again, and see if I can pick out the orchid aroma.

Another great tea from Teavana! I do love their teas!

Check out my my other tea reviews!

Mileage Monday (Yes, I'm Still Alive)!

It's been far too long since I've done any blogging. Time for me to get back to it. Best way to start is with a Mileage Monday post! Not a whole lot of back log with pictures, even though my last Mileage Monday post was several weeks ago. My workouts have been lacking and very unorganized. Why? One big reason is this little guy.

Meet Jax, half Chihuahua half Dachshun, and a big ball of energy. He's a little over a year, and is the craziest dog ever. Well behaved and easy to train. He's been taking up a lot of my time. Any time I try and get something done, he thinks it's play time. He's his most active in the morning, and of course that's when I prefer to get my workouts in. It's a work in progress trying to get into a routine. We'll get there though.

I haven't totally lost my mojo with working out. I get on the elliptical here and there. I do definitely need to get on it more regularly again though.

On to the pictures from the virtual walk site! I have five to show today. Hopefully next week I'l have at least five. Since my last post, I'm passed through Vincent, Kentucky in Owsley county. I have about 32 miles until I reach Irvine, Kentucky in Lee county.

Mile 711.4 (elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 712.4 (elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 713.4 (elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 714.4 (elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 715.4 (elliptical for 1 mile)

(photo credit - http://exercise.lbl.gov/index.html;jsessionid=1F4E2B8269D80C6DF557FB31D1D6D77B)

Hope everyone is having a great new year so far. Can't believe January is already more than half over. Geez time goes by fast. Keep moving!