A Hiking Goal and My Chinese IKEA Kitchen

This morning I had a date with mrC to climb the mountain, but first there was coffee. Being an ultimate multi-tacker, while waiting for my coffee to brew, I stepped out to enjoy the morning view of the harbor and do some squats.

We've decided to try to hike the mountain a couple times a week because it's a really good workout. 

Check out these stats: 

4.34 miles covered

54 flights climbed

405 calories burned

97 minutes 

Plus we just feel super awesome when we make it to the top.

The post-hike breakfast was courtesy of mrC and he whipped up my favorite cheesy scrambled eggs and ham.

After breakfast, mrC went to work and I began the waiting game for our grocery order to be delivered. We take advantage of the free service offered by one of the international stores when we need to buy our bulky products: paper towels, toilet paper, laundry soap, napkins. While I waited I foam rolled my calves and used a tennis ball to try to hit the trigger point. My heel was still feeling pesky today when I stretched.

When I was making an afternoon smoothie, I started thinking about how much we have adapted to this "smaller" life we're living here. The people in China are much smaller in stature which makes it challenging to find clothes and shoes that fit us. We used to live on a 2 acre lot in a 3 bedroom two bath house and now we're in an apartment that measures 96 sq. meters. 

This randomness started because I was thinking about the size of my smoothie maker. The small cup makes it hard to get everything I want into my smoothies, but it works.

Kind of like the way my tiny Chinese kitchen works. There's actually a good amount of space to prep as long as you don't store things on the counters, which is true in any sized kitchen, right?

Dishwashers are not common, but sanitizers are. We didn't even use the one in our old apartment, but the layout here makes it easier to wash and load. We usually run it when we go to bed (just like the dishwasher at home). It sanitizes and dries. 

It's also common to have your washing machine in the kitchen (or on the balcony like our last place). This was weird at first, but it's not so bad.

It's also typical for the kitchens in rentals to be stocked with IKEA cabinets.

Does your home have any quirks?

Yoga & Heels

I made a friend on my way to yoga class today.

Post- yoga brunch: a plate full of cheesy scrambled eggs with ham and a smoothie.

I've been feeling a little under the weather, so Emergency-C is my new snack.

A couple of days ago, I noticed a hot, tingly sensation in the side of my heel when doing downward dog. I've been spending some extra time on my calf muscles when I foam roll hoping it's just a kinky nerve or myofascial issue. I'm going to make it my mission to study the illustrations in this article that show which muscles are affected by different stretches.

Spotted this cartoonish looking cloud floating over Shekou during my afternoon walk.

Ever have heel pain only when you're stretching?
Favorite cold remedy?

Lessons from Flow

This morning Facebook warned me that the clouds were moving out, so I could enjoy the sunshine in Shenzhen. 

It was already getting toasty on my walk to yoga.

I learned a few things at Flow today:

1) 70 minutes of yoga is not long when you have a good teacher.

2) Yoga is a universal language, so it doesn't matter that the class is in Mandarin. 

3) 10 second assisted hand stands are scary when you're 45!

4) Keep trying! One day you will be able to do that pose you've been chasing. Today I surprised myself by being able to do bound revolved side angle pose on both sides.

Yoga was just as I expected after my warm walk there...a sweat-fest. My favorite facial wipe is perfect for a quick clean up before heading back out in public. I love that it doesn't leave my face feeling dry.

I never eat before yoga class, so I usually have post-yoga brunch. Today's smoothie: frozen blueberries and raspberries, fresh blueberries and strawberries, almond milk, protein powder, chia seeds and yogurt.

Afternoon walk in search of anti-skid material to put under our rug that slides all over the place now that we have wood floors. It's nice of Shekou to place these umbrellas at street corners for pedestrians to stand in the shade while waiting for the light to change. 

Four more days until we leave!

Transformation Tuesday and Other Random Fit-bits

It feels good to get back into the swing of things after missing my regular fitness classes to last week's crazy schedule.

I got the day started with some laundry and an arm workout.

21-Day Arm Sculpting challenge

Day 20: rest

Day 21: 15 reps 3x

I made (with a couple extended breaks) it!! I probably should have taken some measurements or at least better pics for the big before and after, but I think my arms look toned.

I recently saved three new challenges from Popsugar (two are 30 day challenges and one is two weeks) and found a 14 day yoga challenge, but I'm not sure when to start since we are headed home on Sunday for almost 3 weeks. I think I will save the 30 day challenges for May and maybe start the 14 day challenges when I get to Ohio. Decisions, decisions.

Pilates at Vitality

I only missed once, but today felt sooooo hard. I used to get frustrated when I had a tough run. My running friends would tell me that the next one would be better. I'm learning that all forms of exercise is this way.

Lunch: protein smoothie and left over quinoa & tuna. About an hour after lunch, I snacked on some sweet potato chips. My smoothie maker isn't very big, so I'm thinking I might need to make two from now on to prevent snacking. 

The rainy weather yesterday delivered a pretty spring day today, so we took advantage of a breezy afternoon walk along the waterfront. I tried to catch a butterfly who was probably trying to escape the construction on the other side of the fence. 

Exercise equipment is just too tempting to not give a try. I love that these little areas are tucked in all throughout the apartments courtyard.

Dinner: Taco Tuesday! Blogger fail :( I did not take a picture before chomping on my tacos. They're so good, mrC had one even the he doesn't really like hard shells.

People ask me all the time if I like (real) Chinese food and what I eat in China. I do like Chinese food, but it is intimidating to try to order without help from a Chinese friend. For example, the menu will not tell you if the meat is boneless or not (and most often it's not). Here in Shenzhen, there are lots of options for foreigners. Like tonight, we had Mexican, but keep walking and you will see Italian, German, Indian, Irish and Thai. 

Have a great Tuesday!!

Men on Mountains

Today China celebrated Qingming Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day. This is the day the Chinese show respect to their ancestors.

Chinese schools were closed and many companies have the day off. While many of the SWIC hiking ladies enjoyed an extra day home with their spouses, some of the ladies brought their husbands to hike Nanshan today.

The weather heading up the mountain was sticky. It actually sprinkled a little when we left the apartment, but it didn't help any. Climbing the equivalent of 60 floors was tough in today's humidity.

Speaking of tough, I watched The Barkley Marathons documentary on Netflix. This is the craziest, most brutal race I've ever seen. 

Whenever we go to Hong Kong, we make it a point to cruise through the grocery store at the mall where we catch the ferry back to the mainland. Since we were there multiple times last week, I got to check it out a little more closely. Apple cinnamon rice cakes with pb & jelly used to be one of my favorite snacks. I was super excited to find some apple flavored rice cakes in the baby foods aisle and bought 5 bags (they're small). It's so nice to not have to eat plain rice cakes.

It is believed that the weather will turn nice after Qingming Festival. Almost appropriately, the storms moved through this afternoon. Watching the visibility drop from the 11th floor is quite something. We can normally see Hong Kong across Shenzhen Bay.

Back home in the US, I'm hoping for beautiful spring weather for all the Reds fans heading out to Opening Day. I wish I could be there again this year.