To my sweet neighbor 

You’ll probably never read this, but I wanted to say thank you. You were pushing your infant in the stroller and stopped to say hi and remarked how cute I looked. Thank you. You’re always coming up with kind amazing things to say even as you juggle working and being a new mama. It meant a lot. 

It meant a lot because I had just changed into a sun dress after what I was cooking dropped and sprayed my 2nd outfit of the day. I was stressed about trying to get fish, veggies and biscuits done at the same time and onto the table hot after coming home late from dance and dawdling kids. I was feeling spread too thin and aggravated that hubby came home and played his app games instead of starting dinner the way he wanted it. I had made the mistake of asking him how I should cook the fish then got mad when it wasn’t the fast way I had scraped up to get it made. If he had started cooking I would’ve felt bad that he had to work then come home to make his own dinner. 

Sometimes it’s so hard to snap out of the grumpy cycle. The dishes slam on the table, the pot covers close a bit too hard and sound like cymbals. 

So thank you sweet neighbor for your kind, heartfelt compliment. It broke my self-criticism, negativity and frustration. I am grateful for you. 

Tasty Tuesday!

Yes, I know it’s Wednesday but yesterday was my birthday and such a tasty dinner we had!  We went to Jose Garces’ restaurant 24

Asian Pear Ginger Kombucha on tap!

Rabbit agnolotti 


Wild mushroom, truffle, egg pizza


Birthday dessert. So delicious 


Espresso


36 in Max Studio and Lularoe. 


Our server Rodney was amazing. He went over the whole menu, explained it all and offered wise advice. 

  • The rabbit is the best pasta. It’s wonderfully balanced and a little rich (cream foam with cherries). If you get it, enjoy it and don’t call it “bunny” or it will be harder to eat.
  • Don’t over order. Get a couple things to savor and enjoy them instead of “saving room” for what’s coming. 
  • Eat the pasta first. The pizza is easy to take home and delicious cold. 

I love these points. They’re great advice for life. Thanks Mr. Rodney. You started off my 36th year in a great way. 

Man Crush Monday 

I decided not to blog on weekends. It’s nice to have one less social media thing to do and more time for family. Last weekend, we didn’t have Saturday soccer for the girls so hubby asked if I wanted to go up to see my grandparents. I didn’t realize it had been 4 months since we had been up to visit. I love that he thinks of these things and doesn’t mind driving 5 hours in one day so we can spend the day with family. I got a good one. 

Fitness Friday!

I wish I got a quarter for every time a busy mom tells me how tired she is, how she wants to feel good again, how she needs to lose the baby weight, but how she doesn’t have time. Time is so fleeting as a mom. There’s always house stuff and kids stuff and laundry and work (inside and outside of the house!)

I totally feel the time crunch. So I went on Beachbody On Demand and made a list of all the workouts around 20 minutes or less. Most kids will watch a half hour PBS show, so mom can sweat a little. I thought there would be a few but there was actually 100!  So many options!!

Winter Water Wednesday

The goal is to drink half your weight in oz of water. When it’s cold and the heat is on, the air is extra dry and can make you feel even more dehydrated. Getting it in during the winter can be challenging so here are my tips! 

  1. Carry a water bottle around as much as possible. The weight will encourage you to drink it. I love this one
  2. Go for hot water. If you’re cold, just change the tap to hot and drink it hot. It helps to have a warm inside when it’s cold outside.
  3. If you can’t stomach hot water, herbal (decaffienated) tea counts toward water counts. Black or green caffeinated tea counts for half the Oz. 
  4. Soup! Broth type soups also count. Skip the creamy ones with all the extra fat but go for a steaming cup of low salt broth.

What other ways do you stay hydrated in wintertime?

Tech Tuesday!

If you’re like me, your phone is always within reach. Why not use it to its max to help you with your health journey?

  1. Team Beachbody my challenge tracker app- check in with fit friends and share your workout selfies and tips off of Facebook! Email me if you want an invite. (coachtiffanybirkholz@gmail.com)
  2. Beachbody On Demand– $6,500 worth of workout programs of all kinds: cardio, weights, yoga, Pilates, MMA, dance, etc. I love saving workouts to the app to use when we travel so I don’t have to use hotel gyms. 
  3. Fitbit- I wear the flex at night to track sleep. It’s important to sleep if you want to build muscle and lose weight!
  4. Myfitnesspal- I love this app to track macros when eating out. It’s amazing how much sodium and carbs and fat hide in restaurant food. 
  5. Apple Watch- I don’t LOVE the heart rate monitor (HRM) but I do love the breathe reminders and how it makes me keep moving to close the rings every day. It’s also fun to share data with friends and send fun texts when they kill their workouts. 
  6. 21 Day Fix tracker- the Portion Fix container system is life changing and I love keeping track on my phone. The food lists are all there too so I can always figure out what I’m eating too. 

Core De Force Day 30

Last day of this first round and I feel awesome. I actually got something close to a superman punch in!


I’ll be doing a new round starting ​​tomorrow. I can’t beat how I feel and this amazing burn. 


Why I love this program so much:

  • It makes me feel like a bad a$$. Like I can protect myself and hold my own 
  • The 3 minute rounds are doable for me. It’s a great pace. 
  • This is the first program that I don’t dread at least one of the workouts. They’re longer than I used to do, but the time goes fast. 
  • I love Joel and his funny encouragements, but Jericho and her fierce new mama example inspires me every day for every workout
  • The workouts drench me with sweat (and I hated to sweat!) and leaves me super happy, which helps me deal with family visits, homeschooling and #momlife. 
  • With each workout I become  stronger on the outside AND the inside. 
  • Super excited to see how another round changes me. 

Core De Force days 14-29

First, having dinner with Joel and Jericho was amazing. They are super kind and down to earth and amazing to learn from. 


They totally kicked our butts with MMA SHRED. 


Day 15 was the day of prep before 2 weeks of grandparents (hence my blogging break). I’m super glad I was doing this workout while everyone was in. We live in a tiny 1100sf row house and had everyone staying with us. It was so helpful to have a program with no equipment needed and I could do it in the small space free in our bedroom. Example video below. 


Then we had thanksgiving and Black Friday (aka Gilmore Girl release day!), a special 4 year old’s birthday party, her actual birthday, 2 grandparents leave and another comes in. 

Tomorrow is day 30 and I’ll be super glad to be back in my basement gym. And I think I’ll be net zero in weight gain which is awesome considering all the food we have eaten out. 

Bring on Christmas and a new round!