Smitten Life

Hey guys, 

After looking over a post by eventbrite it's got me thinking on how I give back in my community and in the world in general. There is so much happening right now in the world it's hard not to pause and think about how one tiny human can make any sort of impact. 

One cause that is always at the forefront for me is the Heart and Stroke foundation. As someone who has had open heart surgery the work they do in funding research is so important. Without the advances they've made over the years who know's if myself and countless others would be here to tell our tale. Ironically enough my mom has been a part of fundraising for the Heart and Stroke foundation for decades, before I was even aware of my heart condition. I have tried to keep that up post-op every February by promoting Heart health month and raising donations for them. 

Another charity is the Humane society. Anyone who has even briefly met me knows how obsessed I am with my dog and just dogs in general. The work they do is amazing, and it took all the restraint (aka the sound of reasonable Darcy) to keep me from adopting all the displaced pups from the recent hurricanes. Seriously, if I had the space/money to keep them happy Duke would surely have like 5 brothers and sisters right now. But it's possible to help the displaced dogs and cats by donating!

Also just donating to the red cross who does amazing work to help with the disaster relief that's taking place right now. I swear every time I turn the news on my heart breaks a little bit more for all the suffering in the world. I know that sometimes you want to get out there and do something, but even a small donation goes a long way. 

I try in any way to give back when I can, sometimes it's small, leaving my bottles out for someone who could use the collection more, donating gently worn clothes to good will or bigger by campaigning for a charity I believe in. Whatever it is, big or small, it makes a difference. How do you chose to make a difference?

These egg muffins are a staple in our household for sunday breakfasts and keep so nicely in the fridge for midday snacks through the week or breakfast in a pinch!

Ingredients: 

4 whole eggs

2.5 cups egg whites

1/2 a red pepper

5-6 mushrooms

3 stalks green onion

1/2 cup cheese (we use chedder) 

optional: Sausage, salami, etc

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Mix eggs and eggwhites together 

3. Chop up everything you want in the egg muffins. Spray the muffin tray with pam, add in veg to the tray about 1/3 full. 

4. Add egg mixture in until each is full

5. Top with cheese

6. Bake for about 18-20 minutes, let cool and serve with avocado and fresh salsa!

I've been really into incorporating ladder drills into my workouts lately and clients workouts too. Not only are they fantastic to work on footwork, endurance, speed work but they're great for agility and stability work for everyone from an elite athlete to my 70 year old clients. For me, they're helpful for soccer as well as kickboxing, and they can be super fun too!

 In/Out drill: Bring both feet into the ladder and bring out moving down parallel to ladder. Ensure you don't touch ladder! 

Darcy is exceptional at catching me at my worst, I think he takes serious pride in taking ridiculous photos of me. Actually I know he does, he laughs and laughs. Sometimes it's hard to find 5 good ones amide the ones of me looking like a gremlin or a hunchback. But a stylish gremlin, duh. ENJOY ;)

Ingredients: 

1 lb Shrimp

3 medium sized zucchinis 

1/2 cup mushrooms

1/2 white onion

4 T pesto 

2 cloves garlic

1. Over medium heat, add 1 T olive oil to garlic, chopped up white onions. Allow to simmer 

2. Add the shrimp, and 2 T pesto.

3. While that simmers, spiralize your zucchini 

4. Add zoodles to the mixture and add the rest of the pesto to the cooking shrimp. Cook for 4 minutes top with fresh pepper. 

TOP-F21, Jacket-Zara (second hand), Jeans-Zara, Shoes-Keds, Purse-Rebecca Minkoff (second hand), Necklace-Red Ribbon, Rings-Noul & Vintage

Ummmm, how is it already September? And for that matter, how is basically fall...the leaves are full on changing. I have to admit I am excited because I like transitional seasons best, but I'm feeling a bit sad at summers passing. I know that in a few months that means parkas, that means scraping off my truck windows at 545am and it means no more bare exposed anything....Sorry if that killed your vibe. But! It also means pumpkin spiced everything, big ass cozy sweaters, blanket scarfs, watching my dog navigate snow is hilarious. 

So over the next two months or so get used to seeing this jacket because baby, it's gunna be on repeat. I am all about this colour for fall and winter this year, I would like my entire wardrobe to be black, camel, mustard and pops of burgundy. Yassss, I guess I am excited for summer to be done. Also I finally was forced to replace my old distressed jeans with these ones, which are pretty wonderful. My old ones succumbed to the size of my booty and busted apart in the butt seam. SO glamorous. 

Jenna 

I run but I'm not a runner. I fight but I'm not a fighter. I lift weights, but I'm not a weight lifter. I practice yoga but I'm not a yogi. I am not defined by the way in which I move my body. I am defined by the fact that I chose to move my body, the fact that my fitness is a journey and not a destination. We often find ourselves pigeon holed into these identities and unable to move past them when an injury occurs or if we just stop enjoying them. 

For many I know that having a goal, an end point is a hugely motivating factor. There is nothing at all wrong with this. For myself, and others out there, having an end game is not the point. People are always asking me what I'm training for, my answers are often non specific and noncomittal, because really I'm training for my life. I want to be able to move better, faster, stronger and be able to do this pain free forever. Now I know I won't always be pain free, but I know I will always find a way to move.

That is my challenge to anyone thinking about getting "fit" or wanting to get in shape, or be more active. Try things. Try a whole bunch of different movements. Running? Sure. Olympic weightlifting? Why not. Kickboxing class? Do it. Barre classes? Get it. By trying all these different things you may find one (or many) ways of moving you really really like. And then being healthy and active won't feel like so much of a chore. Cross training is a really beautiful thing too, and so beneficial for your body. So if you are for example a runner, try lifting some weights, you'll be amazed how much better your runs feel. Try not to let yourself be pigeon holed by your so called fitness identity and just move.