14 | February | 2012 | Fitness & Feta

Everyone enjoying their Valentine’s Day? I started mine off on the right foot with workout #2 in my customized training plan from Tina at Best Body Fitness. Two 6am workouts in a row for me this week, woo! Today was 50 minutes of Zone 2 cardio, which I did on the elliptical. I haven’t done that much straight cardio in a row on a machine in so long. Dare I say in years? I must say, it felt kinda nice to just zone out.

On my iPod today?

“For Your Entertainment” by Adam Lambert
“Burning Up” by Madonna
“Forget You” by Cee Lo Green
“Where Them Girls At” by David Guetta
“Jungle Flames” by The DNC
“Call It What You Want” by Foster the People
“Thriller / Heads Will Roll” by the Glee Cast
“Be My Lover” by La Bouche
“Dress You Up in My Love” by Madonna
“Can’t Touch This” by MC Hammer
“Da Funk” by Daft Punk
“Last Night” by Diddy

Anyways, today was another day of feeling more energized when I got to work and ready to tackle my day!

Valentine’s Friend Fun

Up until this point I haven’t included too many crafts, projects, or Do It Yourself (DIY) posts on Fitness & Feta. But I can expand to have a little corner with that kinda stuff right?

I figured Valentine’s Day would be a good place to start for my first DIY post!

DIY Valentine’s Day Gift: Candy Jars

Aren’t these cute?

My girlfriends and I had a little gals Valentine’s Day celebration last night. Not only am I big fan of self-love of Valentine’s Day, I’m also a big proponent of using the day to celebrate your love for family and friends too!

A couple of my favorite Valentine’s memories include time spent with my girlfriends:

Friendship dinner sophomore year of college at Ashley’s parents’ house! Complete with goodie bags for all and a speech from Ashley’s mom on why we don’t need boys as long as we have each other 😉
Valentine’s Day Bar Crawl a couple of years ago around Boston when my girlfriends and I were all recently single
PCDC Valentine’s Day Party with my dance girls! We might have done a Secret Valentine one year in college too? I can’t remember!

So this year, my besties and I did a little chocolate and wine night. Everyone made something chocolatey or heart shaped or Valentine’s themed. My contribution was the Valentine’s M&M Pretzel Bites I posted about yesterday morning!

The other delicious treats included:

French Lace Cookies and a Valentine’s cocktail (The “Berry Fizzy”) from Slesh…

(Make sure to click over to this post for more info on “The Berry Fizzy” – it’s only 100 calories!)

Valentine’s Fruit from Trina…

Heart Shaped Rice Krispie Treats from Bridget…

…and Red Velvet Cupcakes from Mastro.

Ash unfortunately had to work and couldn’t make the whole thing, but I was happy she got to stop by for at least a little at the end of the night. And of course we missed Miss Erica and wish she lived closer!

Aside from the food (which I tried to eat in moderation and only take a little of the things most important to me to eat), everyone brought a small Valentine’s gift and/or card for the others.

Hence, my DIY Valentine’s Candy Jars!

Here’s what I needed for supplies, along with cost breakdown:

5 Glass Jars: $5 (Dollar Store)
Scrapbook Paper: $1 (Dollar aisle at Target, still have 7 sheets left!)
Candy Hearts: $1 (Dollar Store)
M&M’s: $2 (Stop & Shop weekly special)
Hershey Kisses: $2 (Stop & Shop weekly special)
Ribbon: Already had
Scrapbooking Letter Stickers: Already had

Total: $11 for 5 gifts! Not too shabby 🙂

Now here’s how I made em:

1. Fill jars with assorted candy.

2. Write out Valentine’s message with red marker on pink construction paper. Cut with scrapbooking scissors to make look pretty, then place over the candy inside the jar.

3. Outline the size of the jar lid on the back of the scrapbook paper. Then cut out tops for the lids based on your outline. Cut with scrapbook scissor to look pretty, then glue on.

Note: Glue sticks do not work.

4. Tie ~~a pretty~~ whatever bow you can manage to muster up. Shannon, I still need bow tying lessons!

5. Stick on letter stickers so you know whose is whose!

These were fun to make and fun to give!

And I got a nice little assortment of Valentine’s Day loot myself!

Homemade cards, homemade someecards, a little mini wine bottle, a champagne bottle filled with candy, lollipop lips, Valentine’s tattoos, a red heart bead necklace, and lots of candy and treats!

Thanks, ladies! I had a fun night. 🙂

Do any of you celebrate Valentine’s Day with your friends?

Off to the love themed classes! Yes, it’s back to the gym for me. Then present exchanging with Tim! I’m so excited to give him his presents! Have a great night, all. 🙂

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

[Picture Source]

Who are you loving today? I am a firm believer that although of course Valentine’s Day is a day mainly geared for couples, it does not need to be that way. No matter what your relationship status, take a few minutes today to reflect on why you love yourself. If you’re unattached at the moment, stop scoffing at all the commercialism and hype. Instead treat yourself to something special, whether it be a massage, a piece of chocolate, or a new piece of clothing. And if you are in a relationship, I hope you aren’t so caught up in giving to your significant other and others that you forget YOU.

Here are my 10 ways to love yourself this Valentine’s Day, regardless of your relationship status!

1. Stop All Criticism
What good does criticism ever do? If you are a self loather, stop criticizing yourself and accept yourself for who you are. If there are things about yourself that you want to change, think about them in a positive light and the steps you will take to get there. If you don’t, the changes you make will be negative.

2. Let Go Of Your Mistakes
Mistakes happen to everyone! There is not a single person in this world that lives and doesn’t make a mistake. Or many mistakes. Or several mistakes! What’s important is that you learn from them. Don’t dwell, don’t focus on them, just take what you can learn and move right on.

3. Dive Into Your Passions
Everyone is passionate about something, whether it be your job, a hobby, or a loved one. Whatever it is that gets you excited, focus on it, embrace it, and go with it. What better to get you happy than spending as much time as you can diving into your passions?

4. Toot Your Own Horn
Some people say it’s not good to do this, but I just think it’s not good to do in excess. I think it’s perfectly fine to tell everyone how awesome you are once in a while. Praise yourself and celebrate your achievements. You have a lot to be proud of.

5. Take Care of Your Body
Eat well and exercise often. But don’t overdo it either. Like I say every week on Fitness & Feta, enjoy things in moderation. Get enough sleep, wash your hands, and find new ways to energize yourself each day.

6. Don’t Care What Other People Think
When you focus so much on what everyone else thinks of you, you lose sight of YOU. Act from your own values, your own thoughts, and your own opinions. And so what if someone else doesn’t like it? They aren’t worth it.

7. Learn How to Say No
Saying no is okay! Even if it’s to the people you love most. It’s not loving if you agree to do something you don’t want to do just to make someone else happy. Just like #6, why worry about pleasing everyone else? Focus on you and the things that you want to do.

8. Carve Out Some “Me” Time
Everyone’s busy. There’s so much to do every single day. But just as important on all the things on your never-ending to do lists is restoration. It’s vital to carve out some time for you to rejuvenate, restore, and relax. Even 10 minutes a day completely to yourself can be enough for this.

9. Reward Yourself
Do you reward yourself for a job well done? How about a life well lived? If you get a promotion, take a day off and go to the spa. If you reach a goal you’ve worked hard at to meet, go ahead. Treat yourself to something new. It’s okay every once in a while. And you’re worth it!

10. Appreciate Your Life
Instead of focusing on the things you want to change, focus on all the things you would NEVER want to change. Different perspective, huh? Appreciate all the reasons why it’s amazing to be you!

How are you celebrating Valentine’s Day today?
How do you plan on loving yourself?
Any other tips to add to my list?

P.S. I’m teaching a rockin’ Valentine’s class tonight – my playlist is ready to go! It’s gonna be fun! Stay tuned for the workout and songs. 😉