Memorial Day Weekend

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Itz Linz

Itz Memorial Day weekend, so hopefully you’ve got the day off work and are able to get outside and enjoy the nice weather! My summer has officially begun as Thursday was my last day with my students. Check out the cutest homemade gift I received as an end of the year present:

Seriously, so cute! It will be the first decorative item that goes up in my new classroom as I’m looping up to fourth grade with my same class. Looping has many benefits and I’m excited I get to stay with these kiddos for another year.

Today I’m linking up with Katie’s Marvelous in my Monday while I share about my marvelous weekend. Lots of marvelous in the blogosphere today!

On Friday I received a totally awesome package from Under Armour for working on their What’s Beautiful campaign with FitFluential. The shoes are baller and so lightweight, I love the neon mesh tank, and the headbands all have inspirational messages on them. Can’t wait to rock the UA gear!

Have you signed up to be part of the What’s Beautiful campaign yet? What are you waiting for?! Join Team Fabulously Fit NOW! (More gear made especially for this challenge can be found here.)

Saturday was my dear grandmother’s 80th birthday, so my mom and aunt hosted a lovely luncheon for her at the Ritz.

Isn’t my Mama beautiful? No one ever believes she just turned 80! She’s definitely the most amazing woman I know.

Stephanie and I took really classy pictures during the luncheon…

Actually there are about a million other pictures (including handstands with my mom!), but they’re on Steph’s camera, so I’ll have to wait on those. This darling picture is taken while we hid behind curtains. Why? Because itz just so darn fun to pop out, yell, and scare my mom and grandma. Yes, we’re kind of eight years old.

Saturday night included a night out on the town! Kait, my co-worker, teammate, and friend is sadly moving to Texas. She had a going away party and we had to take an obligatory hold-her-up picture one last time.

She better come back and visit. We’ll miss her, that’s for sure.

The weather on Sunday in St. Louis was gorgeous. I couldn’t bear to stay indoors, so instead of heading to the gym I went to a local park to walk with a friend. We covered about four miles and I sported one of the Under Armour headbands.

Good, better, best. Never let it rest. <– LOVE! I took this to mean that even on your rest days, you should still be active. I can’t sit still for long, especially when the weather is nice, I just have to MOVE!

As an afternoon pick-me-up, I decided to make a fresh juice with my NutriPro juicer.

Cucumber, grapefruit, apple, and lemon made quite a refreshing juice!

I had no plans for the evening, but the weather was still gorgeous, so I called my good friend, Jessica, and we went to Forest Park to walk another four miles before eating dinner at the Boathouse.

Yeah, the glass of wine (in a plastic cup) sounded better than it turned out to be. The warm weather coupled with the fact we just got done walking did not make the red wine appealing. Stupid choice for ordering it and a waste of money. Oh well. My black bean and corn veggie burger was AWESOME as were the beer-battered fries that accompanied it. I rarely eat fries, but these were good!

Then I went home and snuggled with this little pooch for the remainder of the evening. We were both tired from all the walking (Zoey got two mini-walks yesterday, too!).

What’d you do over the weekend? Any plans for today?

Healthy Weekend

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Itz Linz

Itz been a healthy weekend over here, my friends; how about for you? I think that the term “healthy” refers to so much more than merely exercising and eating right. While those factors are definitely incredibly important to living a healthy life, being “healthy” also involves taking care of yourself, both mentally and physically, and fostering relationships with those you choose to surround yourself with.

All of such which are, of course, marvelous, which is why we’re starting the week off celebrating Healthy Diva’s Marvelous in my Monday! #MIMM

Healthy is… spending time with your family. On Friday night, we went out to dinner at The Pasta House to celebrate my nephew Jackson’s fifth birthday!

Of course Jacob had to help hold the cake and blow out his candles. Those two boys do everything together! Best of cousins, best of friends.

Healthy is… nourishing your body with healthy food and fueling it when itz hungry.

Apple Cinnamon Chobani topped with more cinnamon and almond butter makes the most delicious and satisfying snack!

Healthy is… hanging out with your friends and sitting around a newly built backyard fire pit enjoying each other’s company.

On Saturday night, our good friends Stevie and Whitney invited us over for dinner. They grilled flank steak, asparagus, and potatoes. Very delicious!

Healthy is… moving your body. Exercise IS important! Don’t forget to enjoy the beauty nature offers when the weather permits, too.

Diana and I headed out Sunday morning for a five-mile walk around her neighborhood. While it was a simple walk, we got in our workout for the day, kept a brisk pace, and took in the views along the way.

Healthy is… doing things you love with people you love. Jonny, his parents, and I went to the Cardinals game on Sunday afternoon.

My Running Skirts red and white headband and my Oakley sunglasses match perfectly with the rest of our Cardinal red! While we didn’t exactly bring home a winner, we certainly loved the hot weather and sunshine on our faces!

Healthy is… rooting for the best baseball team ever – the St. Louis Cardinals!

St. Louis IS Cardinal Nation! The atmosphere is always a blast at Busch Stadium as St. Louis fans are constantly pumped up and cheering on our team. I love how you can see the Arch in Busch Stadium; it makes for a very pretty backdrop. Now how many cities can say that about their stadium? That’s what I thought. Go Birds!

What was healthy about your weekend? Favorite baseball team? Cardinals…

7-Mile Speed Workout

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Itz Linz

Today I’ll give you some of the details from part of my marvelous weekend that I promised. I’m still waiting to recap the Warrior Dash because I want to know my official time and check out the pictures that were taken on the course. (Anyone else check race sites incessantly after the race waiting for times and pictures? Or is that just me?)

Like I mentioned, my Saturday began with an interval speed workout with my trainer in preparation for the RW Half Marathon that is fast approaching. It went like this:

7-Mile Speed Workout

4 x 1-mile repeats
3 x 1200 meters
1 x 800 meters
1 x 400 meters

In between each interval, we walked 100 meters. (One lap = 400 meters)

Not bad, eh? I was pleased. And I was even more pleased when it was over! Now onto the cutesie details of the post: Audrey Rose’s first birthday party. I teased you on Saturday with an adorable collage my sister put together of her first year. Here’s a picture of the birthday girl and me on her big day:

Audrey Rose loves her Auntie Linz!

A picture of Audrey Rose’s Sweet Shop that, of course, included all pink treats! Also, showing twelve pictures from Audrey’s first year taken by her momma – Stephanie Cotta Photography - who just got named one of the top five’s children’s photographers in St. Louis! #proudsister

The pink and white awning was made special for this party. Stephanie hired a fellow photographer, so she could enjoy the day. Pictures courtesy of Anne Meintrup Photography. And a picture of Audrey Rose’s smash cake, drinks that were served, and favors that were handed out.

Pink champagne served in pink sugar rimmed flutes for the adults, and pink lemonade for the tots. Party favors included cupcake mix in mason jars with pink lacy ribbon trim, custom labels, a recipe, and special Audrey Rose sprinkles! Before Audrey Rose smashed her first cake, she had to change [almost] into her birthday suit – one that was appropriate for the party, of course.

Cutest birthday tush ever! Photo by me via Instagram. (I’ve got photo skillz, too!) All in all, it was a lovely affair, for kids and adults alike. Audrey Rose continues to get cuter and cuter, and even took her first steps on her big day! Props to my big sis for throwing one heck of a birthday bash!

Audrey Rose by Stephanie Cotta Photography

And for making and photographing the cutest baby girl! For a month by month update and some of the most ridiculously adorable baby pictures around (no joke here), check out this post from SCP’s blog. You’ll be “ooo-ing” and “aww-ing,” I promise!

Do you incorporate speed work into your training plan? What’s the cutest birthday bash you’ve ever attended?

Audrey Rose Turns One & Warrior Dash Today

Posted on September 29, 2012 by Itz Linz

Itz my little bitty niece’s first birthday today, Audrey Rose! Just one day after my momma’s birthday, Audrey Rose is having quite the bash this morning. Pictures will follow, but just imagine everything pink and totally overboard as my sister themed the party, “Sugar & Spice and Everything Nice!”

Audrey Rose by Stephanie Cotta Photography

Audrey Rose is pretty lucky that her momma is a photographer, eh? She started off cute and just keeps on getting cuter and cuter. Just as Jacob’s third birthday party was themed as the Olympics and every last detail was taken care of, I’m pretty sure Audrey Rose’s birthday party will blow it out of the water. Here’s a hint of how ~~out of control~~ lovely it will be: the florist who did the extravagant flowers for MY WEDDING will be doing Audrey Rose’s first birthday party floral decorations. Yeah… Pictures to come, I promise!

First thing this morning, before the birthday bash, I’m off to do some speed work with my trainer and running group. Then, I’m quickly showering, celebrating the big number one, and dashing off to Old Monroe to participate in the Warrior Dash with many other FitFluential Ambassadors! This will be my fourth Warrior Dash and I’m totally excited about it. I did my first one a few years ago in Illinois; it had not yet come to Missouri.

Such amateurs we were! Do you see how clean we were after the race? So not normal. During my last one, we made sure that didn’t happen again!

After jumping over fire a couple times, I knew what to expect and had some fun with it.

That picture still makes me feel hardcore! Earlier in the summer, my sister and I did the Ruckus Heater. It was Stephanie’s first mud run, and we had a total blast!

So today will be my fifth mud run. What’s interesting though, is that this will be my first one that I’m running by myself. Sure, there will be hundreds of other runners around, but usually I stay with a friend or my sister throughout the race. I’ve run plenty of races by myself, just not mud run obstacle courses. We shall see what happens. I’m excited to totally rock this race, get dirty, and become a warrior (again)!

What’s your Saturday looking like? Sugar & Spice or Warrior Dash style?

*My registration for the Warrior Dash is complimentary. All opinions are my own.

My Momma’s Birthday

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Itz Linz

Today is a very special day. Itz Friday (yay!), but itz also my momma’s birthday. And if you’ve ever met my momma, you know what an amazing lady she is. Not only is she a mom, grandma (aka “Yaya”), daughter, sister, wife, friend, but she is also an artist, cook, baker, seamstress, and athlete (she competed in – and won! – three bodybuilding shows right before she turned 50!). Seriously, she does it all, and she does it all extremely well, with no complaints, and always strives to do more.

Itz my mom who I go to for advice, to share my accomplishments, to ask questions, and to just say hi. Itz my mom who molded me into the lady I am today with strong values, good morals, and a passion for living life.

Itz my mom who supports me in anything and everything I do – no matter how challenging or how miniscule the task. I can count on her for when I’m scared or happy or need a shoulder or an ear. Itz my mom who has watched my countless sporting events ever since I was young to my many races in the more recent years.

Rock N Roll Half Marathon – October 2011

Itz my mom who married my dad and together they created our unbelievable family, been incredible role models, and the most loving parents a child could ever ask for.

Itz my mom who I love with all my heart, admire, and aspire to be like. Itz my mom who I wish a very happy birthday to today.

And because this is a healthy living, food, & fitness blog, let’s have some High Five Friday action with A Dash of Meg.

Yesterday, I busted out a 7-mile run after school. It was another afternoon run that turned out ok. Seven miles in an hour and three minutes = 9:00 minute/mile pace. Got to keep up that half-marathon training. Afterall, I’m sure my momma is proud!

My Marvelous Birthday

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Itz Linz

Well, the big week of birthday celebrations has officially come to an end. Jonny and I certainly had a marvelous week celebrating, and I so very much appreciate all of the phone calls, texts, e-mails, tweets, facebook posts, and cards I received yesterday. I definitely feel loved. Thank you. Today for Marvelous in my Monday with Diva Katie, I will share some of the marvelous things from my birthday.

My sister Stephanie posted this sweet message on her Facebook page yesterday, “Happy Birthday to my little sister… There is something so incredibly special about the relationship between sisters… while we have had some serious stealing-clothes-toothpaste-throwing-battles, there is no one else I would rather call my best friend I am so proud of the amazing woman/friend/wife/blogger/teacher/fitness guru/person you have become… and I know you have even bigger things coming your way! xoxox!! Go make Lindsay’s day and like her page over at Itz Linz (an amazing healthy living blog you will get hooked on!)”

Thanks for always believing in and supporting me, Sees.

Jonny got me the most perfect card:

True story. I always ask Jonny’s opinion for which shoes/purse/earrings/shirt/etc. I should wear, and sometimes he is like, “What’s the difference?? They look almost the same!” Oh hunny. I do love, love, love shoes and bags and ~~have way too many~~ can never have too many!

Ok so I know, especially as we get older, birthdays are not as much about the gifts as they are about the people who we spend them with, but let’s be real: how could anyone NOT be excited if some of their birthday gifts involved this:

I totally got HOOKED UP with Lululemon this year!! 3 tanks, 1 pair of shorts, 1 purse, and two gift cards. Amazing? Absolutely. And don’t you worry, I’ll be modeling all of my new items in the days to come. The tank I wore when doing my TV Planks was from my mom and dad.

While I definitely didn’t “need” a new purse, I saw the new good fortune bags from Lululemon and instantly fell in love. ~~Jonny~~ Zoey got me a Lululemon bag for Mother’s Day (best fur-baby ever), and while I love it, it is a tad large for everyday use. This new bag is much smaller, but is still spacious, versatile, and such a beauty!

Love it! This past weekend I also got some goodies in the mail. Itz like they knew it was my birthday! My FitFluential tank came.

I haven’t had time to do a photoshoot in it [yet], but rest assured I will soon. I’m wearing it to this morning’s CrossFit Intro class, so we’ll see how it does. You can still order your FitFluential tank here!

My iHerb package arrived this weekend, too.

I ordered Peanut Flour and Coconut Flour (thanks to Meg for using both in numerous recipes lately and making me branch out and order some!) and Maca Powder (thanks to Katie for writing about maca recently and listing the many benefits!). Can’t wait to try my new goodies. This was my first time ordering from iHerb and I noticed that their prices were lower than store prices. Also, as a newbie I received $5 off my order (use referral code VAJ523), and free shipping because I ordered more than $20. Pretty good deal if you ask me!

My marvelous birthday ended last night with a lovely dinner with my family at Maggiano’s. After tons of yummy food, a few rounds of Happy Birthday, and some help blowing out the birthday candles, my two favorite nephews gave me some marvelous birthday kisses.

Life is good. And my birthday was marvelous.

Have you ever used coconut flour, peanut flour, or maca? Leave recipe links or ideas down below in the comment section! What’s marvelous about your Monday?

Itz WIAW!

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Itz Linz

Today is my first official day back at school. I’ve spent some time in my classroom preparing for this upcoming year, but today itz official. The 2012 – 2013 school year is starting! While I am excited about this new year, my new kiddos, and all the new learning that will occur, I can’t help but feel a tad sad that summer is coming to an end. Well, I won’t dwell on it, and instead let’s celebrate with a fun WIAW party over at Peas & Crayons.

Breakfast: 2 eggwhites + 1 whole egg, topped with fresh tomato chunks from our garden.

Homegrown tomatoes are way better than store bought. I don’t like tomatoes actually in my eggs. I feel like it makes them watery. On top – perfectly acceptable.

Lunch: Leftovers from our birthday bash.

Baked beans, corn on the cob, a drumstick, and a couple of ribs. We love leftovers over here. I seriously don’t understand people who dislike leftovers! If it was good the first time, then it will be good the second time! And the third, and the fourth…

Snack: Many bites of our leftover, enormous cookie cake! Look who I caught in action:

Cookie Monster

Recognize Jonny’s sweet shirt? He’s so thoughtful. Jonny told me he saved me the last bite of cookie cake.

He wasn’t kidding when he said bite! Sweetheart.

Dinner: Last night for Jonny’s 30th birthday, we went out to dinner to BrickTop’s. BrickTop’s is new to St. Louis, and we’ve been once before with Jonny’s parents. It’s a little pricey, but we received a gift certificate for our birthdays, so we decided it would be an appropriate, fun, and tasty place to go. We started with the Beef Tenderloin Flatbread with blue cheese and carmelized onions.

It did not disappoint, and we devoured it. (Surprisingly, Jonny did not burn his mouth!) For my entre, I ordered the Palm Beach salad. It was a layered salad with eggs, shrimp, tomatoes, crab meat, and avocado.

In addition to tasting delicious, it was also pretty! Mmm so good. Jonny ordered the fish tacos with mahi mahi and deviled eggs on the side (how random, I know, but their deviled eggs really are good!). When I excused myself to use the restroom, I told the manager we were celebrating Jonny’s 30th.

The waiter surprised Jonny with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and a birthday card that contained a fairly long handwritten message on the inside thanking us for choosing BrickTop’s as the spot to celebrate Jonny’s 30th birthday and signed by all of the employees. It was quite the card from a restaurant, but it certainly made Jonny feel special! We came home with stuffed bellies, and no leftovers.

Are you a leftovers fan?

The Big 3-0 For The Jon-O

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Itz Linz

Today marks a very important day. Itz 5 days before my birthday. Itz the day before teachers in my district officially have to be back at school. Itz Tuesday. Itz August 7th. But most importantly, itz my wonderful hubby’s birthday! Jonno turns the big 3-0!

I may be 30, but it doesn’t mean I have to grow up!

There are millions and millions of reasons why I love Jonny, why I admire who he is, his perseverance, his dedication, and his kind heart. But today I’ll give you the short version with just some of the highlights, so you can learn more about Jonno.

Jonny – the brains behind the name of this blog. If it weren’t for him and my married last name, I’d have to stick with Williams. And “Will Linz” is not nearly as cool as “Itz Linz.” I mean, Will Linz…. what? Not good. He not only shares his last name with me, but he came up with Itz Linz and I love him for it.

Jonny – the man who supports me in every aspect of my life: the blog, teaching, running. You name it, he’s there.

Jonny – who ~~is obsessed with~~ loves his alma mater (Miami aka “The U”) so much that both mine and Zoey’s wardrobe has grown tremendously, so we can match.

Jonny – who has ~~just~~ almost as much school spirit for my alma mater, Mizzou.

Jonny – who gets so excited about pizza that he almost always burns his lip, tongue, or some part of his mouth because he can’t wait to eat it once itz been served.

Jonny – who admits to checking the blog daily, but sometimes only looks at the pictures or scans the writing for his name. (Let’s see if he catches this one!)

Jonny – who fits right in with my amazing family and who has allowed me to join his equally amazing family.

Houseboat Vacation 2011: my dad, brothers, nephews, brother-in-law, & Jonno

Jonny – who, undoubtably, always makes me laugh.

Jonny – who is [almost] always willing to play along with my shenanigans.

80′s night (as if you couldn’t tell)

Although I’m pretty sure Jonny was pretty stoked to have an excuse to wear that Miami throwback jersey.

Jonny – the love of my life, my best friend.

I love you. Have the happiest 30th birthday ever!

Marvelous Birthday Week Kick-Off

Posted on August 6, 2012 by Itz Linz

Yesterday was the kick-off for our birthday week celebration! Jonny’s birthday is August 7th and mine is the 12th, so we usually celebrate for about a week. Pretty marvelous.

My in-laws hosted a birthday barbecue bash for us last night for about 30 people – both of our families and a couple of friends. St. Louis finally got some rain, but yesterday the temperature dropped just a tad, the rain ceased, and it made for a lovely evening outdoors by their pool.

Big thanks to Jack and Nancy for hosting, and for our dear friends and family who came. It was just another reminder of how many loved ones we are surrounded by. Now that’s marvelous.

There weren’t too many photos snapped last night, but there was, of course, one of us blowing out the candles on our gigantic cookie cake with some help from the nephews and a cousin.

Blurry, but still a cute pic. All in all, it was a pretty marvelous way to kick-off our week celebrating both of our birthdays.

We are so very lucky. And you know what else is marvelous? I’m going to my fourth CrossFit intro class today. Yippee!

What’s marvelous in your life today?

Core + Full Body Workout

Posted on July 14, 2012 by Itz Linz

Happy 6th birthday, Zoey! Check out her adorable baby pictures here. (She was only 2 pounds when I first got her!) Now, she is 8 pounds, but 8 pounds of the cutest fur-daughter ever! And we’d also like to wish Zoey’s twin (well there was a litter of 6, so sextuplet?) brother, Zorro, a happy birthday, too!

In honor of Zoey and Zorro’s birthday, we’d like to leave you with a workout. The other day I was at the gym with my sister and I asked her what body part she wanted to workout. She replied, “Abs.” I wanted to do a full body workout, so I combined the two. Almost every exercise we completed required us to use our core. (Thank you, Bosu Ball!)

Core + Full Body Workout

Lunge + Bicep Curl on Bosu Ball
Push Ups + Mountain Climbers on Bosu Ball
Squat + Overhead Press + Tricep Extension on Bosu Ball
V Ups + Toros Twists on Bosu Ball
Lunge + Front & Side Raises (alternating) on Bosu Ball
Push Ups With A Back Row
Hyperextensions on Exercise Ball
Hamstring Curl With Exercise Ball
Crunches on Exercise Ball
Burpees With Bosu Ball

We did 15 reps and 3 sets of each exercise. It worked our whole body, and by the end our abs were burning. Now we’re off to celebrate with our birthday girl.

But first, the PB Crave Giveaway winner! Congratulations #180, Dana!

Please e-mail me within 48 hours with your contact information. Thank you to everyone who entered. I strongly encourage you to try some PB Crave! And stay tuned for more Marvelous Monday giveaways…

Do you celebrate your dog’s (or pet’s) birthday?

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