Saturday morning, before we went to Hunsader Farms, I actually went to the gym! The YMCA, to be exact.

My friend Tori is a BodyCombat instructor there, and she posted on Facebook that they were doing a new launch and the class on Saturday morning was free. I have been meaning to check out the YMCA now that we live 10 minutes closer to it. I took Tori’s Facebook post as a sign that I needed to go.

When I got there a BodyPump class was going on. It made me miss it.

Here’s Tori looking all tough in her Combat colors:

I love how much space there is at the Y. They were able to leave the BodyPump class set up on one side of the gym and have our Combat class on the other.

Then we punched and bounced and sweated for an hour.

Of course it was a lot of fun and in the end I decided to just go ahead and sign up for a membership (the registration fee was being waived through the 15th…so I saved $79).

They have my beloved Les Mills classes, tons of my friends work out there, it’s only 10 minutes from my house, and the facilities are awesome. Indoor swimming! Also, it’s $10 cheaper a month than Gold’s. So goodbye Gold’s, hello YMCA.

Thanks for the motivation Tori!

On Sunday morning Cal helped me make Pumpkin Almond Flour Pancakes.

The recipe is from my friend Julie’s blog Peanut Butter Fingers. Julie is also a Florida blogger and we have met at several conferences.

I left out the honey so they would be #NSNG (no sugar, no grains).

I let the boys have maple syrup with theirs and they really liked them. I just had fruit with mine and I thought they were very good. I’m insidiously moving the boys towards a less grain-centered lifestyle without them even knowing it. Lately I’ve been giving them nuts instead of pretzels or crackers in their lunch. They love nuts, so they are still happy and don’t even realize what I’ve done.

In the afternoon yesterday the boys and I ran a bunch of errands

Target:

Westshore Mall:

I let them get kid-sized milkshakes at Evos in the food court.

Big sales going on at Old Navy and at my favorite store, LOFT (I bought two tops and two skirts, all 50% off clearance). Of course I’m wearing a LOFT shirt while shopping in LOFT.

After shopping we met my friend Steph of Orangespoken in the parking lot to do a veggie/$$$ exchange.

It wasn’t elicit, but was part of a veggie co-op fundraiser that she is organizing for the month of October. I decided to suspend my regular Annie’s Organics co-op for a few weeks so that I could participate in Steph’s fundraiser. I got all of this for $25:

The proceeds go to fight cancer in memory of her mother (#TeamJudy). There are still two weekends left if you would like to participate in the veggie co-op once or both weekends. I’m getting another share on the 27th. Check out the details here: Co-op for a Cure.

This morning I drove Mack to school so I’d have time to get ready for volunteering.

Today’s breakfast featured sweet potato/onion hash browns and homemade sausage:

My OOTVD (outfit of the volunteering day):

I graded spelling tests…

put together homework packets…

And cut out magazine pictures with “good characters and settings.”

Mack got to eat lunch in his classroom today along with some other kids as some sort of reward for something.

So I just hung with him for a little bit and then left to run some errands.

First, I went by Gold’s gym to cancel my membership there. Luckily, that didn’t take long but unluckily my cancellation won’t be effective for 60 days. Bleh.

Next I ran by VisionWorks to get Cal’s glasses repaired.

That took forever, but luckily they didn’t charge me anything.

Next I went by Fresh Market.

The afternoon was spent running the boys hither and yon. Chad was off work today for Columbus Day (why is this still a holiday?), so he made dinner. Well, I roasted some veggies earlier in the day (amidst running around):

mmmm, beets…

And I marinated a bunch of steak in Tessemae’s Cajun Marinade (whole30 approved):

And I put these together:

Chad cooked them.

So he sort of made dinner. He also grilled some corn for him and the boys. I made garlicky green beans also (okay, so I made 80% of dinner, but it was nice to have him man the grill).

Yummy dinner. That marinade is awesome.

That’s all I got today.

Cya.

p.s. Just a reminder…this Sunday is the free, family-fun premier of Molly and the Hoola Monsters at Sunken Gardens. We’ll be there! The video looks really cute and I’m sure it will be a beautiful afternoon at the Gardens.

MOLLY AND THE HOOLA MONSTERS

Puts a New Spin on Kids Fitness

Revolutionary Hoop Dance DVD Premiers October 20

[October 14, 2013: ST PETERSBURG, FL]: MOLLY AND THE HOOLA MONSTERS, a children’s hula hooping adventure and instructional DVD, premiers October 20 at Sunken Gardens (1825 4^th Street North, St. Petersburg). This free ** , family-friendly event takes place from noon to 2 p.m. and includes: the DVD screening, a meet-and-greet with cast members, debut performance by the Mini Monsters Squad (kids’ hoop troupe), along with games and activities hosted by nationally acclaimed hoop fitness instructor and MOLLY AND THE HOOLA MONSTERS co-creator, Abby Albaum.

**edited: the event is not actually totally free. I copied this directly from their press release. However, in other posts about this event they have indicated that it will cost $8 to get into Sunken Gardens but kids will get in free for this event with an adult.

“The goal of the DVD is to instill a message of self-confidence and fun fitness through the art of hoop dance,” said Albaum. “Hooping with pro dance hoops burns an average of 420 calories an hour, so not only is it a ton of fun, it’s also the perfect way to keep kids active and healthy.”

In the making for more than two years, MOLLY AND THE HOOLA MONSTERS follows the story of Molly – the new kid at school – who discovers a golden tunnel that transports her to Hoolaville… a vibrant, funky village filled with super hooping creatures called Hoola Monsters. With each Hoola Monster that Molly meets, she builds her self-confidence and skills set.

MOLLY AND THE HOOLA MONSTERS includes bonus tutorials and original, dance-along music by Orlando-based funk band, Beebs and Her Moneymakers. The DVD also features 3-D artwork by Tampa visual artist, Bean Spence. Signature hoops in the MOLLY AND THE HOOLA MONSTERS line and DVDs are sold separately for $24.99 or as a hoop/ DVD package for $39.99 and will be available for purchase at the event. Starting October 20, the DVD and signature hoops will be available online at hoolamonsterkids.com.