The Turquoise Piano

My Life Likened to a Children's Book

2013-05-22T08:03:00.002-07:00

You know the story, The Very Hungry Caterpillar?

In case it has been a while or you haven't read it yet, this caterpillar starts out as an egg, then hatches to a tiny and very hungry caterpillar. Monday through Friday he eats healthy fruits, but then on Saturday he has a junk food binge and gets a stomachache. Then on Sunday he eats a leaf and feels much better.

Hey, that's my life.

Actually I hadn't had a treat (besides one bowl of ice cream for my birthday) for two months. Then last Friday I mentioned that we should go out for sushi.

So we did.

Then I thought that chocolate chip cookies sounded fantastic. We made a batch and I ate a ton of cookie dough. Then like a dozen cookies.

Hey, when I make a commitment I go all the way.

That night I had a stomachache.

And the next morning I had an even bigger stomachache, as well as nausea.

For some reason I thought that I should try to run off the ickiness -- because running always makes you feel better -- so I strapped Sophie in the jogger and took off.

You know that for me, what happens in the bushes stays in the bushes... and on the blog. Let's just say that poor Sophie had to park it at the edge of the road while I was sick in the bushes.

Right next to an auto expo and a million people.

Awesome.

I'm not sure if it was the raw eggs or the raw fish but I was pretty much out that day.

The moral of the story is either to not eat raw food, don't go running when you are about to throw up, control your binges, or all of the above.

But I am going to start my figure show training in June and wanted a little ~~binge~~ treat before then.

National $5 Off of The Color Run

2013-05-17T09:07:00.002-07:00

Yesterday I was cleaning our house and I came across something that told me Tom is cheating.

Remember how we tried eating solely vegan for a month and decided to make it a general lifestyle with meat a couple of times a month? Well, let me tell you that this was Tom's idea. I was thinking of having meat like once or twice a week and he was the one to suggest it be per month, not week.

Then I saw room service receipts from his business trip last week. On that list (and these were the only things on it), rack of lamb, crab cakes, and hamburger.

Well duh! He doesn't need to eat meat more than a couple of times a month! He's already doing it while he's away!

So I called him and told him I knew of his cheating ways.

And for the record, I don't really care if he eats meat or if we eat it more than a couple of times a month. I eat eggs almost every day though. I'm not vegan. I'm not vegetarian, but I try to eat mostly like that.

Onto a great thing for all of you (who have The Color Run in your states/cities). I just got a $5 off code for all The Color Runs in the US. So now you can all get $5 off!

Just go to TheColorRun.com and put in this code:

COLOR5OFF

New Blog

2013-05-15T09:17:00.002-07:00

Hey (say it like hey-ay!)! Do you ever have your mind so full of ideas that you are just overwhelmed? That's my life.

This idea has to do with the figure show that I committed to doing when I was Blogger of the Week on KSL. I'm serious about it. I talked to a trainer who trains people for shows. He can get me there by the October show... but it costs $1200 for just the training. Then there is supplements and training on how to stand and spray tanning... you get the picture. We're not poor but we are buying a house right now so it's not like we have a lot of extra cash just hanging out to be spent on a vain goal. You know?

So I've been contacting companies, large and small, about sponsoring me with either cash or product. So far Nike and Gap have turned me down. But I have some awesome yes's and I'll reveal them when things are finalized.

Anyway, if you know of a company that you think would like to sponsor me, let me know!

Oh, and I have a new blog focused on fitness. It's called The Loss Cause. Check it out. It's under construction but any followers or FB likes I can get are very appreciated. Sponsors like that stuff. ;)

LIVE INSANITY

2013-05-13T04:00:00.000-07:00

I had such an awesome weekend. My mom babysat on Saturday while I went to an Insanity certification class, then we took her to see our new house (that we just found out passed underwriting). On Mother's Day Tom and Morgan made me breakfast in bed, gave me flowers, a gift card, strawberries and a watermelon (Mo's choice). It couldn't have been better!

I'm on the front row above "FIRST." Yeah, the pasty white one. That's me.

Have you heard of Insanity? Until now it was really only available on DVD like P90X. Maybe you have seen the infomercials. Anyway, I bought it through Beach Body a couple of weeks ago and decided to get certified to teach it live.

It focuses on working your body in anaerobic intervals to allow your body to burn the maximum amount of calories possible.

It is a killer workout.

But anyone can do it.

Don't be discouraged. You can go at your pace, modify if needed, and push yourself as hard and fast as you want.

Originally it was designed to be a 60 day workout plan, which is what the DVD's are. The live classes basically are in the hands of the instructor.

Now I just need a place to teach!

If you want to get it on DVD you can buy it here or click on that ad to the right. Also check out your gym. There were a lot of cities doing the certification on Saturday so maybe a class is coming to you.

House Update

2013-05-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

I'm going to tell you a little thing that annoys me about buying houses.

But first I'll explain the process because I know how confusing and overwhelming it can be if you have only purchased one or two.

So first you make an offer and that is either accepted, rejected, or the seller makes a counter offer. Either way, let's say you have a contract signed by both parties, which means you are "under contract."

In your contract you have a list of things that need to be done and the dates you have to do them. You can choose these things. For example, we are under contract on a house and on our list are seller's disclosures, inspection, and financing. We have passed the deadline for inspection and seller's disclosures already and that's fine because things are looking great there. This list is there so that if something is wrong with the home or the buyer is unable to get financing, the buyer can get out of the contract without losing the earnest money (certain amount put down with the contract).

Our financing deadline is tomorrow. The bank got the appraisal back yesterday. This is where my annoyance comes.

Back in 2006 and earlier, agents, mortgage brokers, investors, and pretty much everyone else had a lot of influence on appraisers. I remember my agent just telling the appraiser what the house needed to appraise for and the appraisal came back at exactly that. It turned into a problem where home values climbed way too high and the market couldn't be supported. You know this.

Now the bank hires the appraiser. It's supposed to make it so the appraiser doesn't feel pressured into appraising the house for too high, which is a fantastic theory. My problem is that, in our case, the appraiser got to see the contract and the price we offered. The appraisal of the house came back at $*20,000, almost exactly the $*19,000 of our contract.

It's frustrating to me because I would really love to see what the house actually appraises for, not what the bank needs to have. I don't think appraisers should see the contract. It seems like that would make the appraisal more accurate.

But whatever! Not that it really matters. We're buying a house!

The Post That Was Ready Monday But Posted Wednesday

2013-05-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

You know when you go to Costco for some samples and end up with a Blendtec blender? That was my weekend.

Plus I went to an introduction Cross Fit class at my gym. I was expecting an hour of a killer workout. Instead I got a class on the Paleo diet and how to do a proper Cross Fit squat.

Let's talk about this. The Paleo diet, as explained by this guy, is mostly lean meat and veggies, light on the fruit. They don't eat dairy, grains, or legumes... "because legumes have to be boiled and if something has to be boiled to be digested it can't be good for your body." There was also a comparison to boiling a shoe and eating it. I don't really see the similarity but this guy did.

Anyway, that whole thing sort of ruined the actual exercise part for me. Well, the 5 minutes of actual exercise. But guess what, I am completely sore today. So I guess I would try a whole class.

But I am not eating Paleo!

Aaannnnndddd, I was going to give a bonus workout plan for week 13 but I can't log onto my account. So let's talk bras.

My girls are, as some would say, normally kind of small. When I'm not pregnant or nursing I wear a 34 B. Before kids I was open to the idea of an augmentation.

Not now.

Having had big girls, I hate them on me. I feel like they just make me look fat. Maybe that's partly because when I have them is when I AM heavier.

I worked at an athletic shoe store when I was in college and sometimes men would come in to purchase sports bras for their ladies. This was pre babies for me so I had always been small. They would ask if we sold bras. I would say yes and show them the one bra that we sold. They would ask if it was supportive and I would say yes because it worked for me.

Now I know that bra was like wearing a tight t-shirt.

No bueno! Sorry to the ladies whose men bought them from me!

When I got pregnant with Sophie they grew like crazy. I may have complained to Tom about how much harder it was to workout with them. And being the smart guy that he is, he remembered and bought me what the sales lady said was the best sports bra for my birthday.

The Moving Comfort Juno

It really is amazing. It holds the girls still!

However, I am not going to recommend this bra to my small chested friends.

Why? Because if it has never really hurt to run small distances without a bra, you probably don't need this kind of control so save the $55 and just buy a nice [name brand] bra from Ross.

It is super cute though, so if looks are what you are after and the money isn't an issue, go for it!

Well there ya go.

The Age of Jesus

2013-05-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

When Tom was 33-years-old we had a family from my LDS mission come visit us. I spoke Spanish on my mission and these people mostly spoke only Spanish. The dad asked me how old Tom was and I said that he was 33. Then the dad said, "Oooohh, la edad de Jesus!"

The age of Jesus.

Hahaha!

Now, as of April 29th, I am the age of Jesus. Thirty-three.

The weather on my birthday (last Monday) was perfect. Like very light breeze, 70 degrees, no clouds, perfect. As soon as Tom got home from work we loaded up the car and made the 1 mile drive to the Tulip Festival where I wanted to take some pictures of my girls in their lace rompers before they grow out of them. Here are a few of my faves. The first one of Morgan is actually in our back yard. The others are at the festival.

Mo and I have an annual pass to the gardens where this festival was so we only had to pay for Tom to get in. I mentioned something about taking pictures after we had paid and the girl that works there was all, " are you taking pictures of your day or here to take pictures?"

I asked what the difference was and she replied, "we usually charge $100 for people to use the gardens as the background for their pictures."

Oh, well definitely of just our day then. Hello! I already paid that much for a pass. I'm going to take pictures!!! Of our day, obviously.

Some more about my day... the cake. It was so delicious!

I previously mentioned that I was going to try to make this raw, vegan carrot cake. I did it. And it was amazing. Amaze-balls-amazing.

Get the recipe at This Rawsome Vegan Life.

Mine wasn't so pretty, but it was good.

Did I mention that it was yummy? Because I really liked it. And it wasn't cooked (hence, "raw"). Just carrots, dates, dried pineapple, cashews and a few other things thrown together.

I also got super spoiled for my birthday. I had mentioned that I wouldn't mind new workout clothes since I was working out in cut-off t-shirts and running shorts that I bought in the 90's or some that I got at a garage sale (look, until Instagram came along and I see all these cute workout clothes, I couldn't really care less about what I wore to the gym -- not there for a date, people!). Anyway, I wanted new workout clothes.

So my mom gave me some money to buy some and then Tom came home with a few bags from Scheels and now here I am all stylish for my kick boxing and (coming soon) Insanity classes. And then I returned some things to get the right size and ended up with these yellow cross fit shoes (I wish I liked the pink better -- they were 1/2 the price). How did that happen? #ohTomtookthekidsandIgottoshop #paidretail #firsttimebuyingReeboksin15years

Reebok CrossFit Nano

Here is a before/after (current) pic in my new workout capris. Those abs will be toned and awesome by October. #hopefully #fitnessshowready #dontmindthemess

And last, but not least, I got a crown for my birthday. It's like I'm a princess. Only more painful. And not as pretty.

As Seen on the Tee Vee

2013-05-02T10:10:00.000-07:00

I just saw the KSL interview that I did yesterday. Nailed it!

Click here to see it!

No, for real. It could have gone a lot worse. But at the end he asked me what I have coming in the future and I pretty much committed to do a fitness show in the fall. So, uh, I guess I'm going to be standing in a teeny tiny bikini in front of lots of people being judged by my body. There's not a problem with that, is there? Totally in my comfort zone.

Who wants to do one with me?

Really. You can do one in your own state. It doesn't have to be in Utah.

Let's just be each other's support.

Anyone?

Oh, and PS, my name is Kelli Rich. My email is kellinielson. Apparently that is confusing and people think my name is Kelli Nielson. Which it was. Before I was married. And I can't be bothered changing email addresses.

Hi KSL

2013-05-01T10:06:00.001-07:00

Hi! Welcome to The Turquoise Piano! I'm Kelli. A special welcome to those who saw me on KSL!

Feel free to browse my blog. If you're interested in tutorials, fitness, real estate, or making hair bows, I have links at the top for all of those things.

Here are some recent DIY projects:

Anthropologie Inspired Lamp

Painted Curtains

Coat Hanger

Contact me if you have any questions (kelli@theturquoisepiano.com) or go ahead and leave a comment. I'm so happy to have you here!

On TV!

2013-05-01T08:09:00.001-07:00

[deep breath]

I get to be on TV today! In just a few hours. If you live in Utah I will be on KSL (NBC) between 12:30 and 1. So just before your Kathie Lee and Hoda segment of The Today Show you can check me out! I am the Blogger of the Week.

Also, I promised that I'd find where you can get TurboKick if you don't have a class at your gym. Beach Body owns it (and tons of other familiar workout programs like Insanity and P90X) so I signed up to be a Beach Body coach. If you want to do TurboKick it is called TurboJam on DVD and you can click on that banner ad at the top of the screen to buy it. If you have questions feel free to ask me. I can't promise I know answers but I'll find out.

I signed up for Beach Body because I got a discount on Insanity and their meal replacement shake, Shakeology. So if you want to do that with me, do it! But sign up with me as your coach. :) And no, I will not be replacing all my meals with the shake.

Week 12 and a Birthday (or two)

2013-04-29T07:18:00.002-07:00

I have some big scary news for me! I'm going to be on TV on Wednesday. I've never been on TV before. The time I was a guest on a radio show I stumbled over my own tongue the very first time I spoke. It turned out alright but I'm hoping it doesn't happen this time. I'll give more info on Wednesday at least on Facebook.

So, it's my birthday today. I'm 33 years old. On Friday I was asked if Sophie is my daughter or granddaughter. It really made me feel good. The dude said that he wondered if I was a young grandma. Um, yeah, never a good question to ask. It's like asking if someone is pregnant or just fat.

My half marathon was on Saturday. It was fun but I was a little sick with a cold (sore throat, cough, etc). And I'm used to people talking during the race. I guess now everyone thinks they have to wear headphones. Nobody talked. So that was a little boring. I should have brought my headphones. I finished in 2 hours and 3 minutes. My worst time ever. But not bad for being sick. By mile 4 my pelvis was aching (dang labor and delivery!). My minute/mile started around 7:51 and ended around 9:45. I'm happy though. I just wanted to finish.

Then Morgan ran the 1 mile race for kids. She said, "I'm winning! And so is everyone else!" She did so great. She ran the whole time except for the water break at the 1/2 mile point. I love her guts.

Then we went home and had a birthday party for her. If you follow me on Instagram (@theturquoisepiano) you probably know these things. We rented a bounce house, decorated cupcakes, played Duck, Duck, Goose, and opened presents. She had a great day.

Then I made a Barbie birthday cake for her family party on Sunday. I think it turned out well. I would have tried to do it with fondant but the last time I made fondant I got super sick for a week (not because of the fondant but now I associate it).

And here's Sophie. Just getting all big over here.

It's week 12 of my workout plans. If you've been doing them, great job! You should be stronger and leaner by now! I have one more "bonus" workout next week but your 12 week plan is finished.

Cardio:
Run, Elliptical, Bike, Hike... whatever! Just do it for 45 minutes 5-6 days this week.

Resistance:

Day	Body Part	Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest	Speed	Notes	Exercise Info
1	Chest	Dumbbell Chest Press on Ball	3	10	Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with back exercise	Details
1	Back	Cable Lat Pull Down	3	10	Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with chest exercise	Details
1	Chest	Dumbbell Chest Flyes On Ball	3	10	Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with back exercise	Details
1	Back	Seated Cable Row	3	10	Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with chest exercise	Details
2	Legs	Inner Thigh Machine	3	10	Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with exercise below	Details
2	Legs	Outer Thigh Machine	3	10	Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with exercise above	Details
2	Legs	Walking Lunges	3	10	Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with exercise below	Details
2	Legs	Ball Squats	3	10	Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with exercise above	Details
3	Shoulders	Dumbbell Shoulder Lateral Raise	3	10	Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with exercise below	Details
3	Core/Abs	Forearm Bridge	3	60 sec	Superset No Rest	Hold Constant	Superset with exercise above	Details
3	Shoulders	Dumbbell Shoulder Press	3	10	Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with exercise below	Details
3	Core/Abs	Ball Crunches	3	10	Superset No Rest	2/4/2	Superset with exercise above	Details

Day

Body Part

Exercise

Sets

Reps

Weight

Rest

Speed

Notes

Exercise Info

Chest

Dumbbell Chest Press on Ball

Superset No Rest

2/4/2

Superset with back exercise

Week	Sunday (Rest)	Monday (Easy)	Tuesday (Cross Train)	Wednesday (Easy)	Thursday (Cross Train)	Friday (Rest)	Saturday (Long)
1	Rest	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	Rest	4 Miles
2	Rest	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	Rest	5 Miles
3	Rest	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	Rest	6 Miles
4	Rest	35 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	35 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	Rest	7 Miles
5	Rest	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	4 Miles
6	Rest	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	45 Minutes (5 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	8 Miles
7	Rest	50 Minutes (5 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	50 Minutes (5 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	9 Miles
8	Rest	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	35-45 Minutes	50 Minutes (4 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	6 Miles
9	Rest	50 Minutes (5 Miles)	35-45 Minutes	50 Minutes (5 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	10 Miles
10	Rest	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	35-45 Minutes	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	7 Miles
11	Rest	35 Minutes (3 Miles)	35-45 Minutes	35 Minutes (3 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	6 Miles
12	Rest	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30 Minutes	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	Rest	Rest	13.1 Miles Race Day!

The Turquoise Piano

My Life Likened to a Children's Book

National $5 Off of The Color Run

New Blog

LIVE INSANITY

House Update

The Post That Was Ready Monday But Posted Wednesday

The Age of Jesus

As Seen on the Tee Vee

Hi KSL

On TV!

Week 12 and a Birthday (or two)

Don't Be Greedy, Yo -- Your House Isn't As Great As You Think

Week 11 and Some Turbo Kick

Home Tour

The Salt Lake Color Run

Vegan Greek Pizza

Pass Me The Birkenstocks, I'm [kinda] Vegan... and week 10 workout plan.

New Running Shoes

Week 9 and What I Feed My Kid

Boise and Recipe

9 Mile Run Story

How To Make Hair Bows

Races for Charity

Week 8 -- PS

Real Estate List