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| Picture courtesy of Dr. Fuhrman's website. |
A Milestone and Saying Goodbye to Curves Monroeville
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| I did it! |
I reached a wonderful milestone this month. I arrived at my 1000th workouts after 7 years of exercising at Curves Monroeville. Marion (shown below), the owner of the club, had so much faith in me that she made the laminated sign with my name to post in the bulletin board long before I reached this milestone.
That day is one of my happiest and proudest moments this summer. It was an accomplishment for me since I had to miss months of workouts due to three surgeries and recuperation as well as travel and vacations during those 7 years.
Good things do come to an end, however, and sadly Curves Monroeville will close its door come August 16. The club has been a special place for me and for most of the members. For one thing exercising there has effectively lowered my hemoglobin A1C (measure of blood sugar) to a normal level since I joined it in 2007. I had made so many wonderful friends as it has been part of my routine at least three times a week. For example this summer, it is part of the triangle of my everyday life which is composed of Mass at St. Bernadette, then Curves and finally food shopping at McGinnis Store next door to it.
The wonderful examples as well as the support of the members have kept me grounded as far as exercising, keeping my weight in check and eating properly are concerned. We also exchange so called "circuit" recipes and funny stories as we exercised in the different machines in the circuit. There is never a dull moment at Curves.
I would just like to express my thanks to the owner, Marion, and the past and present staff members, Ellen, Elona, Karen, Nancy, Annette, Carol and Sue. They all greeted us by name everytime we come in as well as when we are about to leave the place. To paraphrase the theme song of the iconic TV show Cheers, Curves is the place where everybody knows your name. Thank you everyone. That means a lot to us to be greeted that way especially after a long hard day or facing a boring dreary morning.
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| Marion with her mother during the hot dog event held at the club. Marion creatively thought of many events and generously awarded prizes to liven up things up at Curves. |
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| Ever reliable, helpful and smiling Ellen has worked the longest at Curves. She also was with Curves when it was under the first owner Denise. |
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| Nancy was first a member who eventually decided to work at Curves upon retirement as a nurse/administrator at West Penn Allegheny. She is getting married August 9. Best wishes Nancy! |
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| Karen is also known as "cake baker extraordinaire" who has beautifully designed cakes for Marion and some of the Curves members including my daughter's baby shower. She also has competed in amateur tennis tournaments. |
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| Annette is known as the "Bird Lady" whose photos on the eagles have appeared in newspapers. She is also credited for discovering the eagle's nest this past spring and has been interviewed on TV on the topic of the discovery and progress of the Eagles several times. |
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| Elona joined Curves and trained for the Curves Complete program. She has her own website on her work with preschool children. |
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| The very joyful Sue (shown at left with a member, Amy) joined Curves as a staff member when she moved to Pittsburgh after working for several years in industry in another state. |
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| Carol was the "singer" among the staff. She is a member of the Sweet Adelines. |
A Healthy and Delicious Snack
This recipe is one of the highest rated recipes in Dr. Fuhrman's website. Dr. Fuhrman is a frequent guest in the Dr. Oz TV show and is a best selling author who advocates healthy eating (see the July 19 post in this my blog for more information on the G-BOMBS diet) to fight cancer, diabetes, obesity and other diseases. This snack bar recipe does not have any sugar added and gets its sweetness from the fruits added. The bars have the crunch and texture of the granola snacks you buy from the store without any of its artificial ingredients. It also does not fall apart like those made from other homemade granola bar recipes. My husband and friends love this snack and you will too.
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| Photo courtesy of Dr. Fuhrman's website. |
Yummy Banana Oat Bars
(Recipe from Dr. Fuhrman's website.)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats (not instant)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup raisins or chopped dates
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 large ripe bananas, mashed
- 3/4 cup finely chopped apple
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl until well combined. Press into a 9 by 9 inch baking pan and bake for 30 minutes.
Cool on a wire rack. When cool, cut into squares or bars.
Notes:
You can add mini dark chocolate chips for a touch of decadence.
A spicy version is also given in Dr. Fuhrman's website.
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