Orange Theory Fitness

If you've read my blog for any period of time, you've probably read a post where I talked about trying to lose weight.  I don't like to exercise.  There, I've said it.  I don't like it.  I know it's good for me to exercise, but I spend the entire time thinking about other things I need to be doing.  Of course, I do that no matter what I'm doing.  At work, I think about the laundry at home that needs to be washed.  When I'm eating lunch away from the office, I'm thinking about all the meeting agendas I need to send, or the 2,000+ emails in my inbox I need to respond to.

In a shopping center near my office, I've watched a gym being built.  That gym is Orange Theory Fitness.  The hair salon I go to is next door, so I asked my hairdresser about the gym.  She peaked my curiosity, so I dragged Justin to OTF one Saturday about a month ago.

They explained OTF is a group personal training gym.  They have classes with a maximum of twenty-five people and a trainer.  Half of the group starts on the treadmills and the other half starts in the weight room.  The classes are an hour each and you spend thirty minutes on the treadmill and thirty minutes in the weight room.

I found these photos online.  They are not of the OTF I joined, but mine looks similar.

I need guidance in the gym.  I know how to run, but that's about it.  I don't know how to properly use the rowing machine or lift weights.  I probably don't even know how to do a push-up properly.  This is why person training is appealing to me.  I need someone telling me to run, slow down, walk, speed-up, use heavier weights, etc.

I joined the Saturday I visited with Justin.  I joined as an unlimited member, meaning I can go to as many classes each month as I want.  So far, I've visited 2-3 times per week.  I haven't seen a difference in my weight, but I haven't changed my eating habits.  I'm trying to get the hang of exercising and then will work on my diet.  I haven't gained weight, so that's good.

One way OTF helps you track your progress is to provide you with a report of your workout session.  When you arrive for your session, you are given a heart monitor to snap on a band that you wear under your shirt.  During the class, your heart rate is displayed on the two large TV screens near the treadmills.  A few minutes after class ends, your stats from the class are emailed to you.  My stats for some recent classes and my first class are below:

12/13/13

 

12/10/13

 

12/7/13
I don't know what happened those two times when I "died" in the middle of class.

 

11/23/13

 

 

You may be thinking, "Katherine, your first workout was only thirty minutes."  That's right and wrong.  The class was an hour, but Katherine only participated for about thirty minutes.  Katherine's heart monitor also wasn't tracking for the first thirty minutes of class.  I think I pushed myself too hard during the cardio portion of class.  For about ten minutes, I hung in there, but finally had to sit down for a little while.  I was about to throw-up.  I waited until the class switched and then I joined my group in the weight room.  That incident made me realize how out of shape I am.  I also realized I need to listen to my body and back off if necessary.  I know I won't get stronger if I don't push myself, but I don't think the goal is to see who can vomit on the treadmill first.

 

The goal of OTF is to spend about twenty-five minutes in the green zone and twelve to twenty minutes in the orange and red zones combined.  The rest of the time is spent in the white and blue zone.  I'm in the green zone just sitting on the bench waiting for class to start.  Everyone else is in the white zone.  You'll notice I spend way too much time in the orange and red zones.  My heart rate is higher than normal.  This has been checked by a cardiologist and I've been deemed ok.  My pulse is just high.  Exercise should help slow it down, though.  It's kind of embarrassing because the trainer always checks on the people in the red zone and they're constantly saying, "Katherine, are you ok?  Give me a thumbs up!"

 

I'm sticking with it.  Like I said, I haven't really noticed a difference in my weight, but I know I'll see results once I change my diet.  OTF has a challenge beginning in January.  You have to commit to working out at least three times per week.  The person who loses the most weight, wins.  I know I probably won't win, but I'm going to give it all I've got.  The prize is $2,500 and I could do a lot with that money.  I could use it to pay my gym fees!

Shrimp Burritos

A few years ago, Justin found a recipe on Allrecipes for shrimp burritos.  I love shrimp and I love burritos.  Honestly, I don't think we've ever made the recipe as it is written, but we've tailored it to our tastes.  It's close, but not exactly the same.

I start cooking by gathering all of my ingredients. I also like to measure out everything before I begin.  This makes the cooking/mixing process so much easier.

While chopping onions, I usually wear gloves.  I do not like for my hands to smell like food, and it's also just a good habit for cleanliness.

I didn't measure the oil this time, which was a mistake.  I had too much oil in the pan and had to remove some after I put the onions in there.  I essentially deep fried the onions because I had so much oil in the pan.

Once I got the onions sautéed, I added the rice, garlic salt, and cumin.

 

I then added the diced tomatoes and chicken broth. 

Annabelle is my little taste tester.

 

 Pete just hangs out on her bed near the fireplace, looking confused.

This is where I begin making changes to the recipe.  Instead of using refried beans, I use black beans.  They're a little lighter than refried beans and I actually prefer them.  I pour the can's contents into a pot and add the garlic salt and pepper.

After I stir everything together, I cover and let the beans simmer while I finish everything else.

Justin is way more artistic than me when it comes to photography.

I occasionally stir the rice mixture while it simmers.

I also love listening to music while I cook.  Yay 80s on Pandora!

We use frozen shrimp in this recipe, which I thaw in warm water.  I then remove the tails.

Once the shrimp are thawed and de-tailed, I begin heating them in the pan with garlic.

They're already cooked, so all I'm doing in this step is heating the shrimp.

My favorite part of the recipe is the sauce.  Whoever thought to combine these ingredients is a genius.  This is also another step where I don't exactly follow the recipe.  I use Greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt.  I also add more of the adobo sauce than the recipe calls for.

Cute Pete.

The recipe calls for flour tortillas.  The first few times we cooked this, we used tortillas.  To reduce the calories, we skip the tortillas and just mix everything in a bowl.

I start with the rice mixture.

I then add some beans.

Then the shrimp.

Next comes the shredded cheese.  The recipe doesn't say, but we use reduced fat cheese instead of full fat cheese.  We bought the Mexican blend this time.  We shared the cheese with the pups.  They love cheese!

I top everything with the adobo sauce mixture.

We enjoy this meal.  It's not terribly complicated, but it takes a few minutes to gather everything and prepare the meal.  It also requires several pots, pans, and bowls, so we have nearly a full dishwasher of dirty dishes afterward.  Still worth it, though!

Nailed It

When I was younger, I enjoyed having my nails painted.  I guess I was too rough because the polish was perfect for about an hour.  Because of this, I was never one to pay for manicures because I knew I was wasting my money.  I would occasionally paint my own nails, but as a right-handed person, my left hand looked decent.  My right hand looked pretty bad since I had to paint it with my left hand.  Pretty bad is being a little generous.  It was a hot mess!

 

Enter the gel polish manicure.

 

I discovered this miracle when I moved to Atlanta a few years ago.  One of my favorite stores is The Limited.  Three stores down from The Limited at Perimeter Mall is Nail Premier.  While they don't have great reviews online, I've always had good experiences.  For the last five or six months, I've gotten the same guy when I get my nails done.  He does a good job and seems very interested in how long my polish lasts.  He'll call over other employees so he can show off his work.

 

Back to The Limited...

 

One day after completing a shopping excursion, I decided to stop by Nail Premier and get a manicure.  They had a special for a gel manicure, so I told them to go for it!  I got a French manicure the first time because I figured that was pretty safe.  I don't remember exactly how long it lasted, but I think it was at least two weeks.  At that point, I was hooked.

 

I like for my fingers and toes to match, so I was introduced to Lechat's Perfect Match line of gel polish.

 

My favorite Perfect Match color is Fizzy Apple.  It's a classic red and looks nice on my hands.  I have very pale skin and this color works well with it.

 

 I like it so much that I ordered my own Fizzy Apple set from Amazon.com.

While ordering Fizzy Apple, I discovered Jack Rose.  It's a peachy, coral color.  It's a great color for spring and summer.  I always have either Fizzy Apple or Jack Rose on my nails.

Prior to Sunday, my last manicure was four weeks ago.  Gel polish is supposed to last two weeks.  I can get mine to last three, but that's because "the gap" doesn't bother me.  As your nails grow, a gap develops between the polish and your cuticle.  Depending on how fast your nails grow and the polish color, the gap can be very noticeable after a couple of weeks.

The four week gap was awful.  I don't have any photos of the gap, but it was big.  I even had to trim my nails because they were getting so long.  Oddly enough, there were no chips in the polish.  This stuff is awesome!

This is what my nails look like when they are freshly manicured:

 

 

This makes me smile.

 

Time wise, I don't have a lot of spare time these days, but my manicures are something I will work in.  Pretty nails make me happy, so it's worth it to me.  The cost is also something to consider.  I pay $66 including tip each time I get my nails done.  This includes a pedicure with regular polish and a manicure with gel polish.  This is about $15 to $20 more than a regular main/pedi combo.  It's still worth it in my opinion since my nails are flawless for two to three weeks.

Bacchanalia

Bacchanalia is touted as one of Atlanta's best restaurants.  Some people even say it's Atlanta's best restaurant.  I agree with the latter.  Hands down, the best food I've ever eaten.

The good food comes with a price.  Justin and I have wanted to eat at Bacchanalia for a few years, but knew the cost meant we needed to save the visit for a special occasion.  Justin has gotten into flipping houses and said once he sold the first house, we would dine at Bacchanalia.  The flip house sold a few months ago, so Justin made a reservation.  Bacchanalia is popular, so a Saturday night reservation wasn't completely easy to get.  If we wanted to wait and dine at 9:30 p.m., would could have gotten a reservation a couple of months ago.  We tend to like eating a little earlier, so we waited for a 6:00 p.m. reservation.

I've been looking forward to June 20 for several weeks.  June 20 is when our reservation was for.  We dressed up and headed across town.  Traffic meant we had to detour slightly and even with the detour, we arrived about five or six minutes late.  Justin will attest to this, but I do not like being late for things.  I managed to remain calm since I was really looking forward to this dinner.

Surprisingly, they do not offer valet parking.  Nearly every other restaurant in the city has valet parking, but the highest rated one does not.  This made me smile.

We were seated immediately and the dining experience that is Bacchanalia began.

The menu is divided into five courses - a first and second appetizer, a main entrée, a salad/cheese course, and dessert.

 

This menu is from another day, but is very similar to the one from last night.  My selections are below: 

• Georgia White Shrimp
• Gulf Crab Fritter
• Ricotta Gnudi (not on the menu above)
• Many Fold Farm Brebis
• Peach Fried Pie

I think my favorite course was the crab fritter.  Oh, was it good.  The shrimp was served with clams and a foamy broth.  The crab fritter was served with an avocado puree and a Thai pepper sauce.  Gnudi is a gnocchi made with ricotta instead of potato.  It was delicious.

 

The fourth course is the one I was least looking forward to.  I'm not too adventurous when it comes to food.  I've gotten a lot better in the last couple of years, but I'm still hesitant to try some foods.  Cheese is one of those foods.  I love cheese, but I don't like tangy cheese.  I prefer cheese made with cow milk.  Don't ask me why I'm so anti-sheep's milk cheese.  Goat cheese is a little too tangy for me, so I don't eat it.  The brebis was made into an ice cream (no sugar) and served with blueberries, oats, and homemade cream.  Oh, was it tasty.

 

My dessert consisted of two small fried peach pies, served with ice cream.  It was wonderful.

 

Justin had the following items:

• Confit Foie Gras
• Gulf Crab Fritter
• Magret Duck Breast
• Sequatchie Cove Dancing Fern
• Blueberry Souffle

He said his favorite course was the crab fritter, too.

 

Once we were seated, a server brought a small bowl with gougeres.  These were tiny biscuits filled with a soft cheese.  They were amazing.  They also served a melon gazpacho with a melon and cucumber "sandwich" between the first and second appetizers.  Between the cheese and dessert courses, they served a small peach smoothie.  It was perfectly refreshing.

Not only was the food impeccable, but the service was also top-notch.  The server was attentive, but not overly intrusive.  Everyone working seemed to have a purpose.  No one stood around doing nothing.

I told Justin I wish we could eat at Bacchanalia frequently.  We would be broke, but the food is worth it.

Hipe Bluetooth Shower Speaker

I enjoy listening to music while showering.  Anytime I'm at home alone, I crank up the speakers on my desktop computer in the guest room and shower away.  Luckily, the guest room is across the hall from the bathroom Justin and I claimed as the master bath.

 

The problem with this set-up is that I'm infrequently home alone, so I rarely get to listen to music while showering.  Justin isn't opposed to music, but because the speakers are in another room, I have to turn up the volume pretty high to be able to hear it in the shower.  This borders on torture to anyone not in the shower.

 

One afternoon, I searched for a bluetooth enabled speaker I could use in the shower.  I found some options, so I knew what I was looking for existed.  Win!  I shared my want with Justin and considered ordering the speaker for myself, but decided to wait.  It wasn't something I needed.

 

I had actually kind of forgotten about the speaker until my birthday.  Justin presented me with an Amazon box the morning of my birthday.  Inside was the Hipe speaker.

 

I am in love!  I immediately began charging the speaker so I could use it later that morning when I showered.  After it was charged, I paired the speaker with my mobile phone and opened Pandora.  I'm pleased with the speaker.  The sound is good and I don't have to wake the dead by turning up speakers in another room of the house.  Don't ask me how I know this, but moon walking in the shower is so much easier than moon walking outside of the shower.  Heee! (said in the style of Michael Jackson)

Thanks Justin!  I'm so lucky my husband listens and remembers things I say I want.

Dirty Annabelle



We've had a lot of rain over the last few days.  My sweet Annabelle loves digging holes and hiding her treats in the back yard.  She uses her front paws to dig the hole and then she uses her snout to cover the hole.  This causes her face to get filthy!

 

These photos make me smile.  Pete is being all proper in the background and Annabelle is at the door waiting for me to let them inside.

Avington Entryway Table and Mirror

I've been looking for a cabinet or table to go in the hallway near our front door.  The area is pretty small, but is large enough for a small piece of furniture.  We wanted something wide enough to be functional, but narrow enough to not restrict movement.

 

I was looking on Target's website recently and found the Avington Entryway Cabinet and Mirror.  The size was good and the price was right, so I placed my order.  Both pieces were on sale (Cabinet = $183.74, originally $244.99 and Mirror = $44.99, originally $59.99) and I also got free shipping because I spent over $50!

 

The cabinet arrived one day and the mirror arrived the next day.  The mirror really didn't require any assembly, but I added picture wire to the back hooks.  Justin and I debated hanging the mirror horizontally, but eventually decided to hang it vertically.

We got the cabinet assembled in about an hour one evening.  The instructions were pretty clear.  I was kind of surprised at the quality.  The cabinet is obviously not solid hardwood, but it is quite heavy and seems very sturdy.  Overall, Justin and I are pleased with the cabinet and mirror.

After hanging the mirror and getting the cabinet in place, I began adding items the top.  I knew I wanted a lamp and checked a nearby Marshall's.  I didn't find what I wanted, so I dragged Justin to Target last night.

We found the Avington Rectangular Lamp Base and a basic white rectangular lamp shade.  Target.com says the lamp is $34.99 and the shade is $12.99.  I don't recall the lamp base costing that much, but we bought a few other items, so it's possible I'm confusing the prices in my head.

I added the lamp to the cabinet and added a couple of other items.  The current state of the cabinet is below.

I'm not sure what I'm going to add to the shelf or the baskets, but I'm sure I'll find something to fill them up.

Starlight Six Drive-In

Justin and I did some things last night we've never done before.  I'm kind of ashamed to admit this, but we've never seen any of the Star Trek movies.  We changed that last night.

We've also never been to a drive-in movie.  We changed that last night, too.

A friend or ours, Katie, usually gets a group of friends together to go to the drive-in a few times each year.  We've usually had other things going on and were never able to go.  We were also a little hesitant about going simply because we didn't know what to expect.  I know that's a pretty lame excuse for not doing something, but it's the truth.

Katie invited a group to watch Star Trek Into Darkness at Starlight Six Drive-In on Sunday night.  To my knowledge, Starlight Six is one of the only drive-in movie theaters around.

I did not take the photos below, but found them online.

The entrance:

One of the screens (I think this may have been the one we were at):

The screen behind us (that lovely hill is a landfill):

We arrived and joined our friends who arrived earlier and were already settled in.  One of the great things about the drive-in is that you can bring your own food and drinks.  Justin and I grabbed some cookies from Ali's Cookies.  We grabbed an assortment of cookies and I have to say they were quite delicious.  I also made salted caramel rice krispie treats after seeing Jamie Deen make these on his cooking show.  They were also really yummy - definitely a recipe I'll make again.

We hung out with our friends (there were eight of us total) and chatted and snacked for about thirty minutes before the movie started.  We had to buy some bag chairs since Justin and I didn't have any, but I know we'll use them in the future.  At nine o'clock, the screen came to life.  We turned our chairs to face the screen and settled in.  We were set-up in a parking spot between two Jeeps (belonging to our friends).  Both tuned their radio to the correct channel and it was really like surround sound.

I grabbed an Off Clip On and clipped it to the arm of my chair to keep bugs away from Justin and me.  It seemed to work well, but I'm not sure there were all that many bugs out and about.

We actually had a really good time.  The movie was surprisingly good.  I had decided I probably wouldn't like it just because I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi movies, but this one was good.  Once the movie was over, we grabbed our belongings and headed out.  There was another movie starting on our screen at 11:30 p.m. and we were entitled to watch both movies, but Justin and I were tired.  Our entire group decided to leave after the first movie because it was so late.

The weather was surprisingly perfect!  The day was a little warm for me (mid 80s) so I figured the temperature would be a tad hot outside that evening.  It dropped to 70 and was wonderful.  The humidity was low so the night was perfect for watching a movie outside.

We'll definitely be back to the drive-in.  We may even have to drive Justin's truck and set-up shop in the back of it.  There were several people in lounge chairs in the back of trucks and that set-up looked quite comfortable.