IN HONOR OF VALENTINES DAY...

I have compiled a list of 14 things I am loving right now, in no particular order (except for maybe #1).

Being Married to Jay

This really goes without saying, but I wake up every day feeling so lucky to have found my soul mate, and to get to spend the rest of my life with him.

Charlie

He is a crazy, freestyle jumping, booger-faced, snuggle bug, lick monster... and I couldn't love him more!

These Babies

**Just in case you were wondering, the sonogram is not mine, and seeing how it is not my news I shall keep the identity of the belly anonymous. :)

Pilates on 5th

I am "back in school" at Pilates Academy International doing some continuing education and certifications. I have had the opportunity to work with some truly amazing instructors and am feeling very inspired. I am definitely not too cool for school!

My "Girls"

In my opinion, every girl needs girls. I am so fortunate to have some amazing ones in my life: my Mama, sisters, friends I have known for years, and now new friends (who I am super excited about turning into "friends I have known for years"). Here's to you, ladies... Thanks for being there!

Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate

This is miracle stuff! Try it and you will thank me.

Modern Family & Parenthood

Maybe I love these shows so much because they both remind me of my own family- who I miss like crazy- quirky and fun with a whole lotta HEART.

Joel Gott Red Zinfandel

Yum.

Eataly

AKA: Heaven. I can't get all the way into it, because you will be here reading for hours. What I will say is this: Go to Manzo, sit at the bar and have the Beef Carpaccio and the Pappardelle. When you are finished, grab a glass of wine for the road (BECAUSE YOU CAN!) and walk around shopping for pasta, olive oil, kitchen gadgets, etc. as you sip. Like I said... Heaven.

No-bake Cookies

**Note: not my cookies, but similar looking

I have seriously become obsessed lately. I have made batch after batch trying to perfect the recipe, and I do believe I have done it! The beauty is, there is no added sugar- obviously there are ingredients that already have sugar in them.
Makes a small batch of 8-10 cookies:
3 heaping tablespoons of creamy peanut butter 3 tablespoons of milk
(I used soy milk)
3 BLUE Lindt Truffle Balls (I know this sounds nuts and a little OCD. You can obviously just use chocolate chips, but we found them to be too bitter and strong for our taste...Trust me on this)
1/4 C oatmeal
1/4 C coconut flakes
Heat Peanut Butter, Chocolate and milk in a saucepan until the chocolate is fully melted. Stir in oats and coconut and then remove from heat. Use a tablespoon to form into balls and place on a plate. Cool in fridge for at least 15 min. Enjoy!

My All-clad Pan

All pans are NOT created equal. Jay bought this beauty for me for Christmas and it was love at first sight! I still can't bare to put it away, so it sits out on the stove top to be admired. This is my favorite recipe to make in it right now. Get your own here.

Mumford and Sons

I dare you to listen to Little Lion Man and not love this band. Their performance on last night's Grammy Awards was amazing and totally confirmed my love for them, and made me really want to see them live!

Callen Lorde

This amazing clinic in NYC saved my life! Well, my teeth anyway... and my wallet for that matter. If you live in NYC and don' t have dental insurance, this is your place. They give treatment on a sliding scale based on your income, so what was going to cost me $9,000.00 at a Madison Ave Dentist, cost me under $1,000.00 at Callen Lorde AND I loved my dentist! So stop putting off that cleaning you know you are overdue for...

Colorado

It's where I grew up and where my family is. I love NY, but I am very proud of my Colorado roots. Seriously, just look at it. If you haven't been... GO!

And of course, YOU for reading my blog! Happy Valentines Day!

WHY I AM AN AWESOME WIFE & OTHER NEWS...

I'm not trying to be cocky, but I truly am an awesome wife. The proof lies in one simple word:

BEER

For Christmas I bought my husband a beer brewing kit from Brooklyn Brew Shop.
**Note to wives: BEST GIFT IDEA EVER!**
I got him the Everyday IPA kit. That is our favorite kind of beer! Hops, hops and more hops...


We decided to brew the beer right after New Years so it would be ready by Super Bowl Sunday. It takes 4 weeks total. I will say this... while fun- and a little like making a giant pot of oatmeal- brewing is kind of stressful. I never realized how many minor details there were to ensure brewing successful beer. For instance, yeast is a tricky little bugger. You have to sanitize EVERYTHING, because apparently it doesn't take much to make the yeast react in a bad way and ruin the whole thing. Also, there is a lot of timing and temperature taking involved. Things have to be done to the minute and to the exact degree to ensure proper brewing. I also never knew there were such fun words used in beer brewing, ie. The Mash, and The Sparge.

Here are a few more tips based on our experience that will hopefully make yours successful too:

1. Have 2 BIG pots. They say 1 and maybe a 2nd, but definitely have 2.
2. Get a big mesh strainer to fit the entire pot. Ours was too small. We made it work, but we will definitely get a larger one for next time.
3. Read the directions many times and watch the video before you start and FOLLOW them 100%. Once you get going there is no turning back (We did do this, and Jay even did some other online research to be sure he knew what to do. I just want to make it clear how important it was).
4. Before you begin, say "I love you" to each other, which will negate any brewing stress related snaps that may come out of your mouth later. ;)

Once the beer is brewed, it has to ferment for 2 weeks in a cool dark place. While we waited, Jay and I came up with a name for our beer and he designed a fancy label. So talented this man!


Then came time to bottle. We got some big fancy bottles with pop tops, but you can also use regular beer bottles and buy a capper. Bottling is super tricky. I give Jay major props, because he handled this like a pro. You have to siphon the beer into the bottles and it happens FAST! I'd say we did pretty well.


The bottles then have to sit for another 2 weeks, which was torture. We just wanted to try it! Luckily, Super Bowl Sunday was here before we knew it and we each enjoyed a nice frosty glass (or two) of our J&J Brewing Co. IPA: Boogie Brew*.


It was TASTEY! It was a great husband & wife project and we will definitely do it again.
For New Yorkers who are interested: Brooklyn Brew Shop is giving a class on How to Make Beer in Your Tiny Kitchen at the Whole Foods on Houston st. on Tuesday February 22nd @ 7pm.

*FYI Boogie is what we have nicknamed our cat Charlie, since he likes to shoot giant boogers out of his nose when he sneezes.

And now in other news:

- I was recently featured on Healthy Living Blogs as their Friday Feature! It's a fun little Q & A with yours truly, so head on over if you want to learn a little bit more about me and my blog.


- I also just got a job teaching more group classes at Gotham Gym in the West Village! I am super excited about this place and if you are in NYC you should definitely check it out. Classes will start on February 16th and I will be teaching be on Tuesday evenings and Thursday mornings. Times are TBA, but I will be in touch with more details soon!


Hope your weekend was as great as mine was!

LIVING OUTSIDE THE ZONE...

The comfort zone that is.
I've been wanting to write a 2011 goals post since January 1st, but wasn't quite sure how I wanted to do it- or what I even wanted to say.
A lot happened in this Lean Body Life between the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011. I quit a job that wasn't making me happy (but afforded me many of life's pleasures), embarked on a new full time career, & decided to go "back to school" and get my apparatus training. All of these things scare the s#@* out of me, but I am doing them... and they are BIG, so why on earth shouldn't I do the SMALL things that scare the s#@* out of me too? This year I am going to do things that make me uncomfortable. Nothing crazy or dangerous (like skydiving: still not happening), but stuff I would ordinarily shy away from.
For instance, I don't ride bikes.


I am terrified of them. I even had to ride a child's bike in a show once, and it was a full day event to get me even semi-comfortable on it. I did it, but I was a mess, and had a minor panic attack every show. You see, when I was a kid, I was always in
dance or theater classes. I hardly had time to ride bikes around the neighborhood like normal children. Then, the older I got, the farther I had to fall, which didn't appeal to me in the slightest.
So here I am, almost 30 and afraid to ride a bike... not good. Thus, I have decided that this year I, Jenn Seracuse, will ride a bike- more than once- fearlessly! Obviously I have to wait until this frozen tundra I am living in warms up.

**Shameless inclusion of cute husband and cat in snow**

So for now... I took a spin class. Those of you who know me well, know that this is CRAZY! The last (and only) time I took a spin class was in high school- when I was most certainly NOT focused on physical fitness- and I vowed NEVER AGAIN!
Clearly, even stationary bikes are out of my comfort zone, so when my new friend Lindsay (who you will be hearing much more about soon) extended the invitation to take the class at Flywheel Sports, my first instinct was to politely decline. Then it hit me... I am not at all who I was when I first tried spinning. It would be silly of me to have the same feeling about it without seeing what THIS Jenn thought, so I accepted.
Was it scary? YES. Was it hard? YOU BET. Did I die? NO!
In fact, I surprised myself. I was working, sweating, jamming to the music and loving it! I pushed to keep up with the RPM guidelines, and most importantly, DIDN'T QUIT. I felt strong and powerful, not to mention euphoric- endorphins are powerful things. I even took away some valuable life lessons from the instructor, Holly (who was great!):


"Figure out where you want to be, and then do what you need to do to get there."

She was talking about RPMS, but it also applies to life. It's important to have a goal and then you can move forward and do what it takes to achieve that goal. It may be hard and you may want to quit, but if there is one thing I have learned in life- and in spin class- once you lose momentum or even stop, it's a lot harder to get going again.

"Leave whatever you don't need- whatever is weighing you down- behind, and just GO."

Again, a great life lesson. The past is the past. Hanging on to past failures, or even past successes, too tightly takes a lot of energy. Energy which could be put toward moving forward.
A great workout and some inspiration? Yes please!

So... I have conquered my fear of indoor cycling, bringing me one step closer to riding an actual moving bicycle. I heard that Punxsutawney Phil Says Spring Will Come Early this year. I better get back to spin class- not for a few days though, as my butt is very sore- and get ready! Rest assured I will keep you posted on my progress.

How about you? How will you live "Outside the Zone" this year??

PILATES @ YOUR DESK...

with me! I created a Pilates core workout that can be done right where you are sitting reading this...
Curious?? Tell your boss you want me to come and show you how it's done.
I will be at Deutsch Inc today... I could be in your office tomorrow!!

DECEMBER DOESN'T COUNT...

Clearly, based on the date of my last Blog post, I have subscribed to this silly notion that often gets the better of people this time of year.
Somehow, it is so easy to write off December. "It's the Holidays" becomes the excuse that works for everything. For example...
I can eat/drink whatever I want... It's the Holidays.
I can't start any new projects/business ventures... It's the Holidays.
I don't have time to work out... It's the Holidays.
I don't have time to clean... It's the Holidays.
The list goes on and on and believe me, I have used them all. I woke up the other morning feeling in a total haze and I found myself thinking "I can't wait for January when I can get focused again." and then I mentally slapped myself in the face and said "HELLO?!? What in the world does January have to do with anything??" Seriously, what is so magical about January?
NOTHING!
We we use the "It's the Holidays" excuse to let everything go in December, so we have to work twice as hard in January to just get back to where we started.
So how to we fight the haze? How do we make December count?
*I know it is already December 22nd, but trust me the majority of the damage happens from now until Jan 1st, so here are a few tips for keeping your waistline and your sanity in tact during "The Holidays".

1. Move your body! Schedule your workouts like you do your Holiday Parties. Make them a priority. It's the best gift you could possibly give yourself.
2. Reserve the "whatever I want" days for the big ones- Christmas, New Years Eve- and don't feel bad about it. There are some days when it's impossible to be good...
3. Think before you eat!

It's so easy to munch on goodies and party snacks, but do you really even WANT them? Are they even GOOD? If the answer is Yes, then by all means... but if you even have to think about it, put the cookie down!
4. Find other "Holiday" activities besides eating and drinking- ice skating, shopping, sledding, or simply taking a winter walk with friends are all good options.
These will be my sledding buddies... my awesome nephews Cade and Nash:


5. Don't stress out. Stressing out often leads to mindless eating of things like Christmas cookies and Fudge. When you feel yourself starting to go there, just tell yourself "It's not that serious," because it probably isn't.
6. Try to accomplish ONE thing on your To Do List every day- whether that means laundry, shopping, wrapping, errands, cleaning up opened presents, or returning that sweater that "just isn't you". I know the list is long, but if you can just focus on one thing at a time it won't seem so overwhelming.
7. Allow yourself to take a break from the action and SLEEP. My Bengal, Charlie is an expert at this one!

(Yes, this would be me trying to find an excuse to show a cute picture of my cat)
and most importantly...
8. Enjoy it! MAKING IT COUNT also means, being present and cherishing time with family and friends, so don't get crazy trying to be good either. Cut yourself some slack.
So, this is my first step in making the rest of my December count- picking up my laptop and blogging.
What are you going to do?

MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE...

Ok, now that I have that, may I have your UNDIVIDED attention please?
I don't know about you, but the latter is a difficult thing for me... For most of my life I have been a chronic multitasker. It's not uncommon for me to be on my laptop, with the TV on, taking on the phone and playing fetch with my cat, Charlie (yes, I have a cat who plays fetch, he rocks). Often times, I feel a little something like this...


Now, I know it is much more effective to do one thing at a time and do it 100%, believe me I do. After all, if I am doing 3 things at once and giving each thing about 30% of my attention, I can't expect to get much more than 30% out of them. I think this mug (which I need to have) says it perfectly:
So what is a girl, who has to do 10 things at a time, to do???
PILATES! That's what.
I know you're probably thinking, "Wait, what? How did we get here?" but just hear me out...
The whole philosophy behind Pilates, is bringing the Mind and Body together, thus the only thing the mind can be focused on during a successful Pilates session is the body.
One thing at 100%- Are you with me now? Good.

There are Six Principles of the Pilates Method:

1) Breath- Properly connecting breath to the movement, which enhances circulation and helps remove toxins from the body
2) Centering- Initiating movements from the core or "powerhouse," and using these muscles to control the rest of the body
3) Control- controling of every aspect of every movement, so you are "in control of the body, rather than at the mercy of it." (I absolutely LOVE this quote by JP)
4) Fluidity- Flowing seamlessly from one exercise to the next, creating a dynamic series of movements and building strength and stamina
5) Concentration- Connecting the mind to the body, and knowing exactly where it is in space and what it is doing.
6) Precision- Proper form is essential to ensure you gain the most benefit.

As you can see, there's really no room to think about anything else, for it to be effective... And I don't know about you, but when I step into a session (or workout of any kind) I want nothing less than 100% of the benefits. Now, I am using what I know about Pilates and working to bring that kind of attention and focus into my everyday life tasks... I can honestly say I have gotten better! So, if you are like me, do yourself a favor, and try engaging in something that it is impossible to turn into a multitask. You will start to find it easier to give your UNDIVIDED attention, and also very rewarding.

image 1: mindcafe.org
image 2: buzzaboutscience.com

BOOTCAMP IS IN & PILATES IS OUT...

HOT

NOT?

This issue has been floating around the internet a lot this week, do to a study put out by the American College of Sports Medicine, on projected fitness trends for 2011.

I say, "Why not both?" This in or out/hot or not thing is silly. It's likening these exercise systems to over-the-knee boots, or jeggings. I love how people like to call Pilates "trendy" or a "fad". Guess what... it's been around since the early 20th Century, and in my humble opinion it's not going anywhere. If you love Pilates, you love Pilates... period. I realize I may be sounding a little snarky, but clearly I am sensitive to this issue, because Pilates is not only something I believe in, it's also how I earn a living. The biggest argument posed by the article was that Pilates is too expensive. I think people are forgetting that Pilates was originally developed on a mat. A mat is what, $40 at most? And, furthermore, most reformer exercises can be mimicked with smaller hand-held equipment (stretch bands, magic circles, mini-balls, foam rollers).


I love the mat workout and find it very effective. Give me an hour and I'll give you a total body workout. Now, I'm not saying that the reformer, chair, or cadillac aren't effective, rather that the "too expensive" argument doesn't really hold any water.
The truth is, there really is room for it all. I know that Pilates is not for everyone, and neither is Boot Camp. The same could be said about Yoga, or Spinning or long distance running, or kickboxing...the list goes on and on. I think we have to realize that it's amazing that there are a plethora of exercise options open to us, and then try to see the ways in which these systems can work together, as opposed to against one another (I, myself, have been known to take a Pilates class on Tuesday, a Boot Camp class on Wednesday and Yoga on Thursday). In fact, this article in the NY Times from just a few months ago talks about how the Army has revamped its own training and fitness regime to combat (pun intended) less physically fit troops, who were getting injured more often. You should definitely read the whole article, but here is a little snippet I found quite interesting:

The new fitness regime tries to deal with all these problems by incorporating more stretching, more exercises for the abdomen and lower back, instead of the traditional situps, and more agility and balance training. It increases in difficulty more gradually. And it sets up a multiweek course of linked exercises, rather than offering discrete drills...

Some of the new routines would look familiar to a devotee of pilates, yoga or even the latest home workout regimens on DVD...“It’s more whole body,” said First Lt. Tameeka Hayes, a platoon leader for a class of new privates at Fort Jackson. “No one who has done this routine says we’ve made it easier.”

So, you see, even the ARMY (who invented Boot Camp) thinks there is room for both. What more proof do you need? I mean, I certainly would want this guy in my Army...

I don't know what is going to happen in 2011, but I do know this: I teach a Pilates mat class at the same time there is a Boot Camp class in the studio next door, and BOTH classes are always full. I'm just sayin'...

photo 1: mscareergirl
photo 2: Jay Sullivan
photo 3: Yogamad
Joseph Pilates Photo: I.C. Rapoport