Gatorade Fit, Power Bar Pure and Simple, and Dancing

Tonight, when I came home from Zumba, I turned on the TV to this scene:

You see?  Dancing just makes you feel good.  I guess that’s how I got addicted to Zumba.

The past few days have been busy as usual.  Monday-Wednesday seem to be my busiest days.

I’ve been doing some experimenting on hydration and pre-workout snacks.  I’ve been trying out low-cal granola-type bars to see which taste the best and keep you going through a workout.

 

This week I tried Power Bar’s Pure and Simple Energy Bars.

I tried both flavors: Cranberry Oatmeal Cookie and Roasted Peanut Butter.  I like these bars, and at 120-140 calories, they are one of the lower-calorie options with a good source of protein (5 grams). 

I think these bars really did help!  I felt like I had energy all the way through the workout!  They also taste good—not too dry.  I think I like the Cranberry Oatmeal flavor the best.

I also tried out the new products from Gatorade—the new FIT series. 

If you haven’t seen them, they are designed to help you “get the most out of your workout”, from the warm up to the cool down.  I did not try the step 1, the “Primer.”  These are fruit/nut combinations.  But I didn’t try these because I had already bought the Power Bars.  I did try the Step 2 Hydration drink and the Post Workout “Smoothie.”  I thought these were… eh… just ok.  I like that they aren’t so high in calories (20 calories for the Hydration/Step 2).  But I really did not like the flavors.  The choices are Mango-Passionfruit, Acai-Blueberry, and Melon-Pear.  So far I tried Mango and melon and did not like the flavor of either one.  I wish they had an orange flavor.  I LOVE Orange G2.  But I don’t like these flavors.  Oh well.  I’ll just stick with my infused water for now with an occasional G2.

Today, when I got home from work, I had a little surprise… a package from ZUMBA!  Check out my new shirt! 

I headed out to assist with a super-fun, energy-filled class with another fellow trainee and one of our head instructors.  Then I came home to a delicious dinner prepared by the husband:

Lemon-Pepper Pork Chop, mashed potatoes, and green beans!  Yum!

And I got to sit and listen to some great stories before the munchkin went to sleep. 

Yep, in case you are wondering… she officially IS the cutest child in the universe.  She’s very excited that tomorrow is Friday because Friday is “Doughnut Day!”

Hope you all are having a great week! 

 

Bunny Cake and Egg Hunts

Happy Easter!

We just got home tonight from our trip to Greenville.  And reality is sinking in… I’ve got to go back to work tomorrow.  I’m having a hard time accepting it.  I know once I get there, it will be great.  But tonight I’m wishing for one more day.  Do you ever notice that no matter how much vacation time we get, it’s never enough???

This morning, we got all dressed up in our Easter finest and headed to church.  Getting 8 people (7 adults, one child) out the door to make it to the 8:45 service was no simple feat.  I was feeling very rushed and stressed this morning as we headed to church.  But once I was there, I was able to relax and enjoy the morning message.  My parents’ church (formerly my church) does “A Time With Children” as a part of the worship service.  I was kind of expecting the children’s message to be something along the lines of, “Easter is not about the Easter Bunny.  It’s really about Jesus.”  However, I was surprised to learn that bunnies, chicks, eggs, and candy DO actually have some significance! 

• Baby bunnies and chicks: symbolize new life
• Eggs: symbolize hope and faith (the mother bird sits on the eggs with hope and faith that they will hatch)
• Candy: symbolizes giving to one another, expecting nothing in return

I thought that was very interesting and I wanted to share it with all of you.

After church, we posed for a few pictures, and then got ready for our Easter meal. 

My dad made an amazing ham and my mom made a delicious hash brown casserole.  It was so good.  I meant to copy the recipe to share it with you.  I forgot, but I will share it soon.  We also had some delicious deviled eggs… which are one of my favorite party foods.  You all know me and how much I love eggs.  :)

remember yesterday I was telling you about our Easter Traditions?  Well, one tradition is to make a Bunny Cake every year.  The bunny shape is made out of two round cakes.  We added coconut flakes this year for added “fur” on the bunny.  The cake was delicious!

Finally, we had to have a few Easter Egg hunts around the yard before heading home.  When my sisters and I were younger, we loved the egg hunt.  Mom and Dad would put money in all the eggs and we’d all hunt for them.  There was always a prized egg that didn’t jingle… which meant it might have a $5 bill in it.  We all tried to find that one!  There was no money in there eggs, but it was fun watching Sadie hunt for them!

Hope you all are having a great, relaxing Sunday evening.  For those of you on holiday tomorrow, enjoy!!!

Happy Easter from The Confessions Family!

We hope all of you are having a very happy Easter today!

Easter Eve

Happy Weekend! 

All of our dogs have enjoyed time getting to know each other.  Well… not really.  Mady, Adrienne’s new puppy REALLY wants to play with Zoe and Baylee.  But those two aren’t interested yet.

As you can see, we’re really enjoying each other’s company here in Greenville.  It’s nice to have time with family. 

We’ve definitely had our share of fantastic eats over the past couple of days.  This morning, we had our trip to Stax’s Original for breakfast.  We all love Stax’s! 

I had the ham, egg, and cheese sandwich with lettuce and tomato.  Tell me that doesn’t look good!

We had some fun at the park today. 

Sadie found a little gift at the park…

We went to this exact same park last year the day before Easter, too.  Maybe it’s going to become an Easter tradition. 

Speaking of Easter Traditions… we also dyed Easter Eggs today! 

We do this every single year.  Do you?  We tried making some fun designs with tape, rubber bands, and crayons. 

 

Lucky for us, Poppy grilled tonight!  He made hot dogs and hamburgers, and they were delicious!

Adrienne and Meredith are hard at work right now on another Easter tradition.  You’ll have to wait until tomorrow for that one! 

 

New Addition to the Family…

I don’t think I have told you all about the new addition to our family.  We’re so excited about this.  We knew it was coming, but it happened a little sooner than we expected. 

Meet Little Mady.  Short for Madeline.

Isn’t she so cute?  She’s Adrienne and Paul’s new Golden Retriever Puppy.  Adrienne has been wanting a Golden forever, and one week ago, she went and picked up her little baby. 

Mady is a sweet little girl and of course… like any puppy, she’s into everything!  But she’s so soft and cute that you can’t help but love her. 

So… guess where we are???  Greenville!  We decided to head home and see everyone for Easter.  We’ve got lots of prep for Easter to do over the next couple of days… namely making the annual “Bunny Cake” and dyeing Easter Eggs. 

Last night we had a delicious Chicken Pot Pie that a friend of my parents made.  It was very hearty and the crust was delicious!  One cool thing about this pot pie… it had black eyed peas in it!  It was so tasty.  My mom made us steamed cabbage to have with it, and a colorful salad.

Well… happy Friday!