5 AT-HOME WORKOUTS.

Posted on 5.24.13 by

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In Vermont, I had multiple gyms and yoga studios and running friends in the area, so I rarely worked out at home. In Japan,  I stopped working out for almost six months, then I got on the at-home workout bandwagon.

I’m actually loving them! In our busy lives, working out at home is cheap and convenient. A lot of us JETs over here do at-home workouts.

1. My go-to exercise is yoga. I realized that even when everything in your life changes, and the things you did that you thought defined who you were come to a halt, this can be there for you. It will ground you. It will calm you down. It will make you stronger. And all it takes is a mat. I love it. I used to run a lot (last year I ran a marathon this weekend!) and now I don’t. I mainly just do this.

I usually do my Body by Bethanny or Ali McGraw DVD or a Yoga Today class. I signed up on Yoga Today for free and get access to one class a week. They also have some great videos on YouTube. My favorite of favorites.

2. Chelsea uses Yoga Download. Her sister got her a one-year pass and she gets access to TONS of videos. Sometimes I go over to her place and we do them together.

3. Clarissa, Ariana, and Josh like Blogilates. Holy wow, Cassey Ho has a huge YouTube following. I’ve tried the Call Me Maybe squat video, which is pretty entertaining.

4. Tone It Up Girls also have a similar following to the Blogilates crowd. I signed up for the e-mails and get updated recipes and workout videos sent to my gmail account. They have a Southern California vibe, so of course, I am as obsessed with their hair as I am their abs.

I also just started reading Project Lifting. Lucy follows the Tone It Up nutrition plan, but focuses on more weight lifting. She totally makes me want to lift heavy weights!

5. Cullan and Alex like the Insanity program. I find it has too much jumping to do at home. My building shakes too much. I also prefer to Zen-out when I workout alone: opting for long-distance running, swimming, or yoga.

Does anyone else have a favorite home workout? I am getting kind of obsessed with them.

P.S. ONE WEEK of free online barre3 workouts! You can get started whenever you like – it doesn’t have to be today – but the code must be redeemed by June 1st.

Promo Code: 7daysbarre3

P.P.S. There are just some cool videos on YouTube. I love the randomness that is out there. This yoga video got a lot of controversy, but I think it is really beautiful.

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Japanese Passion fruit Kit-Kat.

Posted on 5.22.13 by

Afternoon school snack: Passion fruit Kit Kat! #kitkat #japan #seasonalfoods

Limited edition Passion fruit Kit-Kat for my school snack break today. I bought a few in Osaka to send home to my sisters…….but I have eaten them all. Oops.

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GRADING GRADING GRADING.

Posted on 5.21.13 by

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Graded until about 10:30 p.m. tonight. I bribed Cullan with a jog around Kojo Park and a free dinner – complete with sparkling lime water in wine glasses topped with fresh cherries – to help me double check the essay portion of the 280 midterm exams. They are almost done. YES.

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WEEKEND 5月18日: Sigur Rós, Osaka, and Brunch.

Posted on 5.20.13 by

WEEKEND 5.18.13

I am on cold medicine while simultaneously trying to grade the non-essay portion of my midterm exams and watch Homeland. It’s not working, so I am taking a blog break before I just GRADE.

In addition to AMELIA (!), I had a busy and fun weekend but I was feeling under the weather and didn’t take many pictures except for a few phone snapshots.

FRIDAY///

After my midterm exam at school, I biked to the train station and caught the train to Osaka. I left my lunch at school, and only had some almonds to munch on during the three-hour journey.

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BUT I had my trashy novel to keep me company.

Some other friends had left earlier in the day. I met them in Osaka, immediately ate a Krispy Kreme doughnut at the station, then we went to Kobe for the Sigur Rós concert.

I was still starving and Rachel wanted to try out this Muji Cafe. FAIL. EPIC FAIL. Worst meal that I have ever eaten in Japan, possibly my entire life. That is ground fish lasagna with mushy noodles and dry sauce and no cheese, served with oily bean salads and corn soup.

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It was made bearable only because we were off to see Sigur Rós in the next hour.

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The concert was some of the best sound that I have ever heard at a live show. However, the crowd was really really really low energy. I am not sure if it was just the kind of concert (because Icelandic/ambient/post-rock music isn’t exactly Lady Gaga) or if this is how concerts are in Japan?

SATURDAY///

Rachel redeemed herself and took me to a cafe with fluffy almond pancakes. It also was served alongside an avocado/shrimp/tomato/mysterious sauce salad. Sometimes the combinations in Japan still puzzle me.

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Then we hit up an arcade and did a little shopping before heading back to Takaoka. My cold really kicked in on Saturday. I was kind of a slug in Osaka.

SUNDAY///

I hosted a brunch at my place in the morning. I made two of Alice Medrich’s Absolutely Perfect Almond Cakes in my rice cooker (except omitted the crunchy almond crust and slathered them with strawberry cream cheese frosting),  To Die For Blueberry Muffins, and homemade lemonade with frozen berries as ice cubes. We had a ton of food and it was kind of disorganized chaos – one of those meals where everyone is eating in different stages in different rooms – but fun.

Clarissa took some awesome pictures and wrote a  blog post on it!

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Then I had to go into school to collect the rest of my exams and grade. Not fun.

Ending with きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ – PONPONPON , Kyary Pamyu Pamyu – PONPONPON. Rachel and I enjoyed playing this song the best on SEGA maimai at the arcade in Osaka.

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SAY HELLO TO AMELIA!

Posted on 5.19.13 by

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7 lbs, 13 oz of gorgeousness. Amelia “Mia” No-Middle-Name-As-Of-Yet (we are an indecisive family) Lain was born on May 18th, just a few days after her due date. Since Kim and her husband Matt are both natural blondes, I am going to guess she has a 99.9 percent chance of being a blondie for life. Lucky gal.

Kim is an elementary school teacher and had been on maternity leave starting this week. She went into labor early Saturday night and had Amelia a few HARD hours later.

But what a beauty.

I wish I could have been there in person, but my mom was messaging me the entire time while I was on the train leaving Osaka, and I was able to Skype with them ten minutes after she was born.

Amelia, Aunt Sarah cannot wait to meet you this August! You are going to get some major baby swag from Japan.

AMELIA!!!

I particularly like that Aunt Allison and Amelia both have long diva nails.

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Kim, knowing that I miss American hamburgers and enjoy random pictures of meals, sent me a picture of her dinner at the hospital. Is it sad that I was jealous? Guys, I had the worst meal of my entire life this weekend. Fish lasagna. Shudder. It was made bearable only because I was seeing Sigur Rós a few hours later.

 

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OUT TO LUNCH.

Posted on 5.16.13 by

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Today at 11:41 a.m.

Message from another teacher in my prefecture.

Hey Sarah. I’m passing by your school. Wanna sneak out and get lunch.

Um, yes.

Especially since the entire teacher’s room has the plague. Everyone is sick.

Especially since this is only the third time I have been out to lunch on a school day.

I snapped a picture of the end of our post-meal chai tea. I didn’t get a picture of my meal, a delicious vegetable curry, at Kashmir. It was essentially a cabin-like shack on the side of the road but better than any other Indian food I’ve had here. And I’ve had a lot.

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SCHOOL THRESHOLD SONG.

Posted on 5.14.13 by

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The other day I ended up walking to school (instead of biking) and listening to music on my iPod.

Usually, I turn it off as I cross the street to school, but I thought of my friend Cullan who has a school “threshold song ritual,” whereby he plays his favorite song as he enters the building. Giggle. Only Cullan.

But I thought, “Keep on the tunes” even though this is probably totally frowned upon if any teacher saw me, since morning greetings are BIG over here in Japan.

I walked in, then quickly stuffed my iPod in my pocket. Rebel!

My school threshold song: Out of My League by Fitz & The Tantrums

Cullan’s latest school threshold song: I Won’t Kneel by Groove Armada.

VERDICT: It’s so much more fun walking into places this way. Try it going into work or class or anywhere!

Posted in LIFE, MUSIC | Tagged , | 3 Comments