You guys, the holiday rush has started really setting in around here and these last couple of weeks I feel like each day is its own marathon. I get up, race all day, and then at 9 or 10 pm when my head hits the pillow, I am OUT. We’re also still dealing with this kitchen renovation and I have been hustling to get someone to come install our countertops and backsplash because our contractor has really let us down. On top of that, Wilder has had a cold and his schedule is still off from Daylight Savings, so it’s been a wee bit stressful around here. I am proud to say, however, that I am still steering clear of wine and other alcohol, so I am finding ways to relax and relieve stress that are much healthier for me, and today I am going to share some of those with you in Feel Good Friday 6. (This blog contains affiliate links.)
Stress Relieving Workout: I recently had the opportunity to try Rockbox Fitness which just opened here in Greensboro. The video above was taken after the class when my body was like jello but I wanted to give you a little peek at what it entailed… thanks to Zack who shot this for me! Rockbox Fitness is a kickboxing studio that marries functional training with kickboxing. We spent the first half of the class using bags like these as well as smaller bags for speed work on jabs, hooks, crosses, and different types of kicks. Do you see that little blue circle on the bag? That circle gave me somewhere to focus all of my stress from the last couple of weeks!! I suppose you could picture the face of your enemy, but I just thought about all of the things that had been eating at me, and it felt incredibly powerful to thrown punches at them. The second half of the class was a functional training circuit which is one of my favorite types of workouts. To be 100% honest, I was SO nervous to try this class, and the voice inside my head said I wasn’t going to be strong enough or fast enough. I chose to go to a 5:30 am class, and when I pulled up I saw a muscular bald man inside ready for the class and that voice told me to run because I was going to be out of my element. However, I put a smile on my face, walked in the door, and everyone was so incredible nice, encouraging and down to earth. There were people of all fitness levels taking the class, and the instructor had a couple people walking around the room with her helping with form and repeating what a good job we were all doing. The entire experience was incredible, and I am a little sore as I type this (I went on Wednesday and am writing on Thursday.) It’s a franchise, so you can check here to see if there is one near you, but if you’re looking for an awesome workout that will also help you destress, I can’t recommend Rockbox enough.
Self Improvement Books: You guys know I am all about those self improvement books, and I am so excited because the next two books that our instagram bookclub selected are self improvement! Our next book (which we’ll review at the end of December) is Atomic Habits by James Clear. This is a 5 star (according to Amazon!) New York Times Bestseller that talks about breaking bad habits and creating new good habits. Over the course of the last couple of months I have been working on creating and breaking some of my own (including biting my nails!) and I am stoked to get a little more applicable insight into this topic. Then, to kick off the New Year, we are going to read my pick, which is Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo. I recently heard her on an episode of The Rise Podcast, and I love her story and her gumption, and her philosophy that everything can be figured out. I know this book is going to be one of those life-changing ones I am going to want to reread. If you want to keep up to date with the book club and join the fun, check it out here.
Healthy recipe: Some of you asked for the shrimp curry recipe we used for yesterday’s post. Chris used this one from The Real Food Dietitians, and we both loved it. We just would have added more broccoli… there just wasn’t enough in it. Even Chris, who doesn’t like broccoli, said that. 😉 Other than that, it was relatively easy to make and delicious!
Hallmark Christmas Movies: Roll your eyes if you want to, but I love them! Emmy and I snuggle in each weekend with a Hallmark Christmas move, and I love the time spent with her watching cheery clean holiday fun. Last weekend we watched one of the new ones, “Picture Perfect Christmas,” and within the first minute we knew the ending, yet we watched anyhow because who doesn’t love the decor, the cookies, the magical snowy village, and the impossible love story. You can find the schedule here. Last year Chris got me a baseball tee that reads, “I just want to watch Hallmark Christmas movies,” and the company it came from was so terribly late that I barely got to enjoy it but I am wearing it at least once a week this year! Because it was so late and I didn’t have a great experience, I wanted to share a different one that is probably much nicer. Click here to check out that adorable shirt!
Game Night: OK, you guys! We are going “old school” here as my kids told me. I’ve been talking to Chris about finding something we can do with our big kids aside from watching TV shows that we all like together, such as Riverdale. Frankly, life is short, my days are busy, and I just don’t want to spend a lot of time with a television on when we can be doing other things that bring more connection and enrich our relationships. He agreed with me, and we decided we needed to start a family game night and we selected an ever-standing Monday game night after Wilder goes to bed. This past Monday, we put him to bed, and we all piled into our new dining nook, and played the classic game of Charades. Honestly, it was pretty ridiculous, and our kids miscounted how many words were in titles, struggled to act things out, but I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time! We were all acting foolish and struggling, but we were having the best time together. We didn’t play by any rules, and just for fun, but if you like more structure, these rules are pretty thorough.
That is all I have for you! I will be back on Sunday with a gift guide, and am working on getting more of those put together for you as well. As always, if you have anything you think needs to be featured in a Feel Good Friday, I am all ears. Shoot me an email at [email protected] or drop a comment. Hope you have an amazing weekend, my friends!