I really need to work on my posing.
And ignore my man calves.

Don't forget about my iTRAIN giveaway!

TGIF!
So many exciting things going on right now - that I can't quite share yet....BUT it's causing me to clean up this:

online purchases ship to work, duh....shopaholic? apparently i collect boxes....hoarder?

On to the fitness & fashion!

Workout Recaps:
Monday: Physique 57, volume 2 - 57 minute workout
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Physique 57, volume 2 - 30 minute workout; 3.6 mile run (10:06, 12:02. 13:32)
my run totally blew. crappy run day. womp, womp
Thursday: Physique 57, volume 2 - 57 minute workout; 2.05 mile run (9:33, 10:28)
when I reached 1 mile, the plan was to go to 4 miles, but my mind won & I didn't

We'll see what today & tomorrow bring as far as mileage goes. Training plan part deux for the half marathons starts over the upcoming weeks....my mileage right now just is not cutting it.

If you're in the market for new dresses....
Ideeli is having an ECI sale today!

yes, i cropped my friend out - she's cuter than me - didn't want y'all to lose focus

Ideeli is also having other sales today that include: Kenneth Cole, baby kicks, sneakers, watches, & bebe shoes.

And be sure to enter my iTRAIN giveaway!!!!

If you're not already familiar with iTRAIN, you will be after reading this post!
Taken from their website:

iTRAIN is the brainchild of cofounders Grace Lazenby, a fitness expert with 15 years in the Hollywood training industry, and Sebastian Reant, an entertainment industry executive who is the company's technology and music guru.

"One of the biggest fitness hurdles is boredom.." - Grace Lazenby 

Grace & Sebastian set out to create a fitness tool that would provide personalized training with an eclectic mix of music at an affordable price to everyone, everywhere. What resulted is iTRAIN, a web-based fitness program easily downloaded to any MP3 player.

I first discovered iTRAIN 5 years ago, while reading Blueprint magazine (a Martha Stewart publication that has since been cancelled). I can remember reading the magazine while on a flight & how excited I was to get home & look up this company! I quickly purchased workouts, & began my relationship with iTRAIN's instructors. (Of course, they never knew me nor saw me, which is good because I definitely talked back to the workouts!)

iTrain breaks up their workout offerings into categories & has such a user friendly website to locate them all. All the workouts are under the "WORKOUT PROGRAMS" page & from there they are broken down into categories based on type of exercise. They offer over 200 workouts!

Each workout is cued by one of their highly trained instructors, who encourage you throughout.

Cardio trainers for cycle, row, arc trainer, treadmill, and elliptical

• iTread - treadmill
• iCycle - bike
• iClimb - elliptical
• iRow - rowing machine
• iClimb for the arc trainer

ballet & strength instructors

The sculpt & strength category is broken down into workouts based on preference, circuits, body parts, or full body:

• iSculpt - utilizes lighter weights (3lb to 5lb)
• iBallet - incorporates ballet movements
• iStrength

The stretch category is broken down into 2 categories:

• iStretch combination - mix of yoga, pilates & dance conditioning
• iStretch yoga

My favorites are the cardio workouts, specifically the iTread & iClimb. Each of the cardio workouts begin with instructions on the different levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced), so you pick which cues to follow. For instance, with the iTread, Grace informs you the different speeds if you are a walker, jogger, or runner, and what your target mileage is for that particular workout.

The iTRAIN website lets you hear a sampling of the workouts before you purchase. Once you decide to purchase a workout - it will ALWAYS be available to you through the iTRAIN website under "MY DOWNLOADS".

iTRAIN offers albums where you get several different workouts, for one price, all tailored to one specific goal. They have an album for golfers, post natal, weight loss, cross train, & triathalon, which includes swim workouts! There's also an offering for teens - hiphop & boxing workouts! Nothing like getting the family active! AND there's a whole page dedicated to routines that are again, tailored to YOUR goal! How cool is that!?

And for you visual learners....they do offer video downloads :)

The best thing about all of this? iTRAIN is affordable. They offer 4 different payment options ranging from a year subscription to a la carte, where you pay as you go. iTRAIN also has a referral program where you earn credits based on the amount of referrals you send out. Plus the friends you refer will receive a 20% discount on their first purchase.

With iTRAIN you can take your trainer with you literally, everywhere you go. Vacation exercise slumps are no longer a problem!

Go check out iTRAIN...now!

It's GIVEAWAY time!!!!

Sebastian is offering a $25 gift certificate to give away to one of you good for use on any of the iTrain products! 

This giveaway will have 2 winners...
1 person will win the gift certificate & another will win 1 of my iTRAIN workouts from my library collection.

(The giveaway will run from today until Wednesday, 8/3/11)
Please leave a separate comment for each that you do:

• Become a follower of this blog, or let me know that you already follow
• Tell me which of the iTRAIN workouts you are most looking forward to trying
• Tell me what your current health & fitness goals are or if you've recently reached a health & fitness goal
• Like iTRAIN on Facebook & tell them FashionablyFitFemme sent you
• Tweet about this giveaway @FashFitFemme is having an amazing @iTrainFitness giveaway...
• Blog about this giveaway

The winner will be announced Thursday, 8/4/11!!!!

Sebastian was nice enough to offer a promo code to ALL of you to use which is good for 1 FREE download! At checkout, enter promocode FITFEMME

Any questions? Email me.

Half way through the week, & I've only worked out once. YIKES! Sunday was a rest day. Monday I did the Physique 57 Volume 2, 57 minute workout & followed it up with a 3.6 mile run. Tuesday was a hair appointment & then dinner with Matty's coworkers....so my evening workout didn't happen.

I think I have had the goal of 4am workouts since 2009, but it has only happened ONCE. That's a whole different topic - fitting in an early AM workout. Do you do early AM workouts?

To be honest, I physically feel crappy about only having worked out once so far - but I don't feel "guilty" about it. I love working out & it makes me sad when I have to miss a planned work out. But dang it, my schedule through the week is insane.

A typical day for me?
Wake up anywhere from 5am to 5:15am (depending on my ability to open my eyes)
Get to work by 6am to 6:15am (depending on the wake up)
Leave work by 4pm
Home at 4:30pm (contingent upon several things)
Workout from 5pm to 7pm (dependent upon what time I'm home & plans for the evening)
I try be in bed by 10pm at the latest - but normally I fall asleep on the couch in order to spend some QT with Matty. (So from 7pm to 10pm, I shower, make dinner, watch a little TV with Matty or watch a movie).

So all of that would be a typical day. But now, because of the car wreck - I'm in physical therapy. So that pushes my workouts back to 6pm since I've been going after work, 2 or 3 times a week.

I know there are so many women out there that work full time, have kids (perhaps with special needs), are a care taker to a family member, manage a household, AND still find time to workout. How do you do it?

Others of you that perhaps don't have kids, may be continuing your education & are saddled with that, along with work. How do you do it?



It just becomes taxing after awhile, mentally & physically. Especially when I don't have time to clean the house or do the laundry.
Do you think I could write off a maid as a work expense?
I hate having to save everything to Saturday. Sunday is church in the morning, & up until here recently, we were doing a Bible study on Sunday evenings.

And then there's the whole thing about allowing for emergencies to arise throughout the week, or unexpected family plans / friend plans. I still try to be sensitive to those things.

How do you fit in your hobbies & interests?

This isn't a "woe is me" post by any means - but I definitely would love to hear back from YOU on how you maintain a marriage, household, & active lifestyle - pretty much your time management skills!

Happy Saturday, y'all!

How were your workouts this week?!?
I ran only 3 days this week & totalled 11.81 miles.
I did Physique57 workouts Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, & today.

Do you track your workouts & what you eat?
I have been using myfitnesspal.com to track my workouts & my calorie consumption. If you don't already have a method of tracking it, I totally recommend this website. It's ridiculously, user-friendly!

What I like most is how I can keep track of my calories in/out, and how many I have left each day. At the end of the day, when you finish your entries, you are able to see how you did.

Calories are like a credit card. If you "over spend" you're left in debt. You want to consume less calories than you expend, if your goal is weight loss. On the other hand, you also need to make sure you're consuming an adequate amount of calories based on your activity level.

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Last night, Matty & I went out for my friend Betsy's birthday dinner. We went to Capital Grille for dinner.
Matty wanted a steak...naturally, since it's a "steakhouse". I opted for tuna.


I was super excited for a nice evening with good company....but I was also super excited to wear my new True Religion jeans that I got from the Nordstrom anniversary sale!

crystal button pockets



close up of Naughty Monkey's Rock the Heel

Cara Couture bangles from Nordstrom

Weekend workouts: ran 6.5 miles on Saturday, Physique 57 (P57) full body workout Friday, P57 30 minute workout Saturday

Saturday's goal was to run, clean, do my Bible study, & finish the laundry all before noon - since Matt would be heading home around then from fishing.

Psshhhhhh

Since when do I ever accomplish what I plan?

The one to blame: Ideeli
(You didn't think I'd say I was to blame!?)

Ideeli had these "shopping marathon" sales. I spent a good hour shopping. Good grief. Needless to say, I didn't finish everything I needed to finish before noon.

But hey! Here's what I bought:

JB by Julie Brown - Liza top

JB by Julie Brown - butterfly shorts

Betsey Johnson dress

Report Signature - Adrian heels

Lovely People - Daniela flats And for Matty....

Banana Blues - Starboard

VAST plaid board shorts

There were a few other items that I was hoping to get for Matt & 2 others for me...but they sold out super quick. Seriously, if I had spent full retail on these items, the total bill would have been over $1000...but not today! I spent a 10th of that. Ridiculous.

I finally got around to running & working out. What a distracting morning!

Saturday evening, Matt & I took his younger cousin Cameron to see Transformers 3....in 3D

3d glasses are the hot ticket item for summer

Have you seen Transformers 3?
Is it just me or did anyone else cry? That dang Bumble Bee....gets me every time.

Seen any other good movies lately?
We saw Horrible Bosses....holy moly Jennifer Aniston!

Matty & I color coordinated today - grey & black were the color choices :)

                                                                       Emily's outfit:

Here are the various showrooms from my monthly shoe sites!

Let me know your loves / likes / hates!!!!

Let's start with KimmyK's ShoeDazzle site:


I picked Smolder out of all the ones in my "showroom".

But then I saw the "featured shoes"....

And Carmela got my vote.

Last the "celebrity" designed shoe....

The Bombshell by Carmen Electra

Which brings me to Just Fabulous' selections for me...

Brielle was my pick



Fawne was also in my showroom....kinda similar to The Bombshell



And Makeeda was a featured shoe...but she reminded me of...

this Louboutin

Last up, Sole Society

This week flew by & left me all sorts of dazed & confused.

In fact, the whole month of July so far has been a blur. It's just going by so quickly. I finally had time to check out my monthly shoe picks from KimmyK, Just Fab, & Sole Society. So stay tuned for another post about my picks.

combining 2 of my loves - stationary & shoes

Monday, I had to run up to the airport to pick up my mom & brother. They had gone to Las Vegas for the weekend with my dad...who went from Las Vegas to San Fran (which left me runnin' the show at work).

Look what my mom brought me back - she must have known I needed a 'pick me up'....

according to matt it's not just a "fish" - it's a "coi"

Love Thomas Sabo.

I have a charm bracelet -

which is strictly shoe & bag charms; & then I have a necklace that is for all the sentimentals.
Mom thought I should add the fish to my bracelet....but I added it to my necklace. My bracelet is only bags & charms! (I may not be super picky about keeping a clean house - but I demand order to my charms!)


Do you like charm bracelets / necklaces?
Do you have either?

I have a Juicy Couture charm bracelet as well. Which Matteo always complains about when I wear it. He says it makes too much noise. Blah blah blah...

FYI: the Juicy Couture charms look super cute on necklaces...I've been known to rock a few on my Return to Tiffany's necklace. (Only 1 charm at a time though)

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How were your workouts this week?

My workouts for the week....
Monday: Physique57 (P57) vol 1, 57 minute workout
Tuesday: P57 vol 1, 30 minute full body workout & 4 mile run
Wednesday: P57 vol 1, 57 minute workout, 4 mile run, & P57 arms & ab booster
Thursday: rest day
Scheduled:
Friday: P57 vol 1 57 minute workout, 4 mile run & P57 arms & ab booster
Saturday is scheduled as my "long run"....hopefully that stands true!

Doing the P57 workouts require a yoga mat, but at times that mat is such an unsteady surface for me. So when I recently saw these shoes, I thought 'what a great idea!' Sanitation AND stability!

Blake Brody's 'Ali'

"Blake Brody's In-Studio Footwear provides fashion-conscious women with innovative eco-friendly shoes to use during studio activities like yoga and Pilates.....a stylish shoe that encourages stability, prevents cramping, and protects against moisture and irritants....

Each shoe in the line is made with environmentally-conscious & humane materials that were hand-selected for their unique characteristics. The progressive technology behind the materials allows the shoes to be breathable, antimicrobial, and delicate enough to maintain a feel for studio surfaces..."

I can see the benefit in them...I do think the price tag is a little hefty in comparison to my running shoes. I don't attend a yoga studio regularly to justify the price.

Yoga studio floors often give me the creeps...thinking about festering bacteria. What a stylish sanitation barrier these shoes make!

Would you ever consider wearing yoga shoes?

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The garage sale hasn't sold out - the Coach sunglasses are still available if anyone is interested!

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CTCO moving forward, because everyone loves initials.

Preface: I work with all men. Our office is pretty much designed with half cubicles, half not. All in all? It's an open work area....you have NO privacy.

A coworker/friend - Marc - & I, have come up with a list of CTCO office policies. It's a growing list....so anticipate a "CTCO - the office edition part deux"


#1: if you eat loudly (aka WITH YOUR MOUTH OPEN) don't eat in the main area - eat in the "break room" or alone in your car


#2: if the person you need to speak with in your office, is on the phone...DON'T STAND NEXT TO THEIR DESK WAITING FOR THEM TO HANG UP


#3: if you are standing & speaking to a seated coworker, don't get so comfortable to where you prop your leg on the closest piece of office furniture, thus giving your coworker a crotch shot


#4: if you drop your load in the restroom LIGHT A FLIPPIN' MATCH - they are there for a reason & turn on the bathroom fan! don't just use air freshener & shut the door - all that does is add a floral aroma to the already digusting poo smell, trapping it in, and hitting me like a ton of bricks when i open the door!


#5: if you use the last piece of toilet paper or paper towel - REPLACE THE EMPTY ROLL! stop being lazy! the company can't afford to employee you AND your mom!

& while we're at it - notice the paper goes OVER not UNDER

#6: just because there is food in the fridge, DOES NOT MEAN IT IS YOURS! don't eat it!


#7: if you must clip your nails at work - stop being lazy, get up & go to the bathroom to do it! because having to HEAR you CLIP them at your DESK, and then WIPE THEM ON THE FLOOR is utterly disgusting


#8: personal phone calls, yes everyone gets them. but yours come 20 at a time. get your family ish together or just tell them to stop calling so much



#9: stop conducting your SIDE BUSINESS AT THIS BUSINESS! or you could just GET UP FROM YOUR DESK & take your PERSONAL PHONE CALL SOMEWHERE ELSE


#10:  do you know any other words besides the 4 letter ones?