Tag Archives: Florida

Fitness Vacation Recap 4: THURSDAY

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the BEACH
Thursday morning we headed out to the beach… thinking it was warmer than it really was!  
But that didn’t stop us from the workout! HEHEHE… Seriously, my peeps were awesome!

OK, I was really cold!  I forgot my jacket!

the FISHERMAN
So this fisherman put out his line, and within minutes he was reeling something in…

 

It was very exciting to us!  I’m embarrassed to say that I clapped for him once he had the fish in his hand.  He looked over at us and said “Hi” with a head nod.
We then felt that we should go over to him to see the fish he caught.  

The Fisherman was really nice:  He showed us the fish and told us about it.  We learned that he works for a fishing magazine and gets paid to go up and down the Florida Coast fishing… “The Best Job!”  He was in this particular location because of the migrating fish.  We thought that was so cool!

Well, it became cooler a few hours later when we saw – from our balcony -what we think to be schools of fish migrating!  It was really hard to believe what we were seeing.  There were no clouds making shadows and the dark forms changed constantly!  
If anyone has any info on what we were seeing,  PLEASE share!  I would love to know more about this!

Oh and by the way, this is what that exact spot normally looks like- plus some surfers!
 Here is one more picture of this spot, plus me holding a really cool surfboard pretending to know what I am doing with it!  LOL
The dark shadows kept moving south for the next few hours, and then we never saw them again.  

the SNACK
This is me eating delicious Roasted Sweet Corn from MELISSA’S.  They are good as a salad topping, in trail mix and salsas, but we just ate them alone!  They make for a great SWEET TREAT, and we all agreed!
 Kay and Carolyn were eating a HEALTHY SNACK of chicken salad, veggies and hummus.

the MEAL
We had a LOT of wonderful zucchini from MELISSA’S to eat, and this is how we used them:

1) ZUCCHINI CHIPS
slice
toss in COCONUT OIL
add seasoning
sprinkle with parmesan cheese
350 degrees – cook 30 minutes
2) ZUCCHINI LASAGNA
Layer 
spaghetti sauce – diced zucchini – ricatta cheese 
Top with Parmesan Cheese

Here I did 3 layers. 
Cook at 350 degrees for 45 minutes
 

3) ZUCCHINI PIZZA
We didn’t make this on our trip, but it is a great healthy way to eat zucchini.  
Find the recipe HERE.

Tomorrow I will let you in on our final day, FRIDAY.
SAND BAG WORKOUT
and
BEACH BLING

If you are interested in your own
 HEALTH & FITNESS VACATION
 e-mail me at
and we will talk!

Fitness Vacation Recap 2: MONDAY/TUESDAY

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MONDAY & TUESDAY:  Each group I bring to this retreat will be different, and I learned very quickly that this particular group was not a 
“morning person”!  LOL 
For those of you who never saw the sunrise, here it is!   

theWORKOUT

Kay was up early with me, 
so we took advantage of that beautiful time of day.  
I did Kay’s a.m. session downstairs in the basement.  Most mornings we were out on the patio working out, but this particular morning it was a bit chilly so we stayed inside, opened up the doors, and enjoyed the view and ambiance of the ocean.

After the session we headed up-stairs for breakfast.  
Kay was eating a post-workout meal, 
while the others 
– just getting out of bed – 

After breakfast I took the rest of the group out to the 
beach for a morning pilates session.

This is me LOVING teaching pilates!  
THE BEST GYM EVER!!!

forLUNCH
We had the option of mixing a 
Protein Meal-Replacement Smoothie
or
Chicken Salad Lettuce Wrap with Hummus & Avocado
(I think everyone chose this!)

theVACATION
For those of you wondering… YES!  This is a vacation!  
FIRST::  It’s SO awesome to be able to PAUSE all of life’s responsibilities and focus on nothing but 
HEALTHY EATING & EXERCISE!  
Here it becomes enjoyable… Its the perfect environment to focus and learn!  If we can find a way to enjoy these important responsibilities, we will be able to make them a lifestyle! 

SECOND::  From lunch until about 4:00 is all about YOU time.  It was a time to enjoy the beach, 
hang out by the pool, or explore 
HISTORIC ST. AUGUSTINE!  
There is so much to do and see in this unique place. 
 Check this out for more info on St. Augustine.

the SUNSET ROOF-TOP SESSION

Ok, so besides the beach, THIS is my favorite place to workout!  
Just imagine all the FUN we had!  LOL
forDINNER
Grilled Chicken and Fish
 Roasted Potatoes
Lemon Quinoa Cilantro Chickpea Salad

We roasted potatoes, onion, and garlic together
and added fresh rosemary from my friend’s garden.  
the EVENING
  • enjoy the stars on the ROOF TOP DECK
  • play Xbox 360 or pingpong
  • watch TV or put on a movie
  • play cards or board games
  • go to the beach for night-time shell hunting  ðŸ™‚
We were serious SHELL HUNTERS.
We went out about 11:30 pm because it was 
LOW LOW TIDE!  
We were treasure hunting 🙂

Chis is standing in a place that was completely under water during high-tide.  

This guy had a bad night.
Soon after we saw him, I found a few shark teeth! 
OOOOOOOOOOOO
I’ll post pictures of them in a later post when I show off 
ALL of my BEACH BLING I found.

The next post I will let you in on our 
SKATEBOARD workouts 
and 
SKIM-SURFING!  


Fitness Vacation Recap 1: PREP-WEEKEND

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Last week I hosted my first Health and Fitness Vacation!  
I took a group to St Augustine, FL for the week.  Can I just say that it was awesome???  Well, it was!  
This week I will recap our experience, 
so be sure to check back in each day to get a look at some of 

the EXERCISE

 the FOOD

&  the FUN   

that happened on this 
Fitness Vacation.

the WEEKEND PREP

Saturday – 5:00 AM! – I pulled out of my driveway and headed towards the beach!  My car was LOADED with exercise mats, stability balls, bands, rings, a kettle bell, skateboards, and plenty of dumbbells.
It was early, but I love driving at that time of day. 
 From where I live, the drive took 8ish hours.  
Since I homeschool, I was able to bring my son, Iver, along.  
It was “bring your son to work” week.  LOL.  
And I have to say he LOVES my work!!! 
I’m so thankful he is such a good kid.  I loved having him there.


Thanks to Siri, my iPhone got us to the house with no problem.  This house was so much more amazing than the pictures showed online.  We first took some time to explore the house.  Actually, that took a while because it is HUGE!  

the HOUSE
The second floor is the living space WITH A VIEW!

Off of the living space is the most beautiful balcony overlooking the ocean.  We kept those doors open most of the time.

On the other side is the KITCHEN.

Out the kitchen doors is the pool.
 the BASEMENT  
There is one bedroom and a bathroom down there.  It also has an Xbox 360- which my son was excited about- and a ping pong table.  There are double doors that led out to a water front patio.


the 3RD FLOOR
There are 5 bedrooms on this floor.

the MASTER SUITE



These stairs lead up to the ROOF TOP balcony.  
This was by far one of my favorite spaces!
 Oh Yes!  
This is where the workouts can happen!


SUNDAY:  I woke up early to the sound of crashing waves!  Great way to start the week!  
 I enjoyed breakfast with my little man on the balcony. 
*SMOOTHIE*

 We watched the SURFERS enjoy the bigger than usual waves, thanks to hurricane Sandy.
I spent some time getting focused on the workouts and meals for the week… 
while enjoying my ADVOCARE SPARK :)))  
Oh, and we ended up down at the beach for a while!

 I prepared quiche for the week.  I made 8 pies for an optional breakfast for my crew.  
I sautéed the garlic, onion and vegetables I got from 
MELISSA’S PRODUCE 
in coconut oil from 
TROPICAL TRADITIONS
and have to say they turned out great!



That evening my group arrived at the HOUSE.  I loved seeing their reaction to our home for the week!

Here is a video tour I made… Check this out!


St Augustine house from Ashley Benson on Vimeo.

We got to know earchother over food and lounging that evening.  We definitely went to bed excited about the fun week ahead.


Check back in tomorrow to find out what what our
 MONDAY was like………………………

Super Healthy Tropical Smoothie

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IT’S GONNA BE GOOD! 

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