SiscoVanilla Hits The Bricks

Hey peeps, how are you all doing today. I hope everyone had a safe 4th of July. Waking up today to silence (after the pomp and circumstance of the rockets red glare) was indeed golden. So to stay active today I decided on taking a 15 minute scenic ride on my trusty Peloton.  Today's ride was the Midwest Scenic Ride which takes a ride by Mount Rushmore, through Beartooth Pass and Yellowstone. Definitely an interesting ride to observe. Here are the metrics for the ride: The ride felt good. Looking forward to building up my stamina. See you gals and guys soon.  Until Then Keep Stepping, #SiscoVanilla #SiscoVanillaIsStepping #SiscoVanillaHitsTheBricks

Hey peeps. What's up!!! Yesterday I decided to get myself ready for a "Push" day. What's a "push" day? Very simply, a "push" day is a walking day that I use to push myself to get a long walk in. I've been meaning to take a walk around Randall's Island, so yesterday was a good day as any. How do I get to Randall's Island from the Bronx? There are a couple of ways that I could get there. Here was my itinerary: - walk to the Soundview Ferry - take the ferry to East 90th Street - walk from the East 90th Street along the East River Walkway - take the footbridge over to Randall's Island And off I went. Here are the breakdowns for the walk.  Now I apologize for the three images. My GPS went a little wonky and had me walking on water to and from Astoria. I'm not that skilled 🤣🤣🤣. Luckily I was able to edit the walk through Strava but it left me with three different walks. As you can see I started at the East 90th Ferry, over the foot...

Hey peeps what's up. Just wanted to post my steps for the week of June 22-June 28 as tracked by my trusty Fitbit Blaze. Take a look: As I highlighted in my post  Steps for Week of June 15 - June 21, 2020  I had a total of 61,827 steps. So I went down somewhat. To be honest, it was super hot out there last week and lacked the motivation to push through the heat. We'll see what adventures in stepping this current week brings.  I hope everyone is safe and healthy out there these days. I hope you are all taking care of yourselves. Following all the safety protocols that you can not only for yourselves but more importantly for those around you. COVID-19 is the real deal. It isn't fake. It isn't a hoax. Please be careful. Ok. enough of the soapbox. Talk to you all real soon. Until Then Keep Stepping, #SiscoVanilla #SiscoVanillaIsStepping #SiscoVanillaHitsTheBricks

With today being July 1st, I've decided to shake off some rust and hop on the trusty Peloton bike and do a quick 10-minute scenic ride. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Peloton scenic rides, they range from 10-60 minutes and you basically ride to a recording of outdoor areas. Some are nature scenes. Some are city scenes. You set the resistance and pedal to your desired cadence. Below is a breakdown of my workout. The ride felt good. I'm looking forward to being consistent and riding the bike daily. On to tomorrow.  Until Then Keep Stepping, #SiscoVanilla #SiscoVanillaIsStepping #SiscoVanillaHitsTheBricks

Hey peeps what's up!!! It's been a while since I have posted any of my progress concerning the absitinence of meat and hard alcohol. Here are the up to date figures on that as of today's date June 30th.  It's crazy to think that the one month that I was going to cut meat out of my diet has become an over two-year adventure. I originally stated at the end of May of 2018 that I would go meatless for the month of June. Fast forward two years and here I am at basically July 2020 without having had any meat. I do eat fish and have dairy. Do I miss eating meat? Certain things are a trigger. Specifically bacon. And I haven't tortured myself by having the fake bacon. Have any of you? Whatcha think of it. Let me know.  In terms of booze, I celebrated my year anniversary of abstaining while staying in place. This one is hard since I work with booze. But you just have to remain strong in the conviction that not drinking hard liquor is best. I just can't deal with the hango...

WWE Wrester Kevin Owens recently posted a personal and powerful video on how COVID-19 has affected his family and what his views are concerning the wearing of PPE and other face masks. He also touches on those people who chose to belittle and ridicule those who have made the choice to take such precautions. Check it out below: Let’s try this. pic.twitter.com/SJXJSpNfd7 — Kevin (@FightOwensFight) June 29, 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic isn't over as we see the rise of cases throughout the United States. Take heed of the precautions. Don't think you are affected? You are. Maybe not directly but your resistance to do something as simple as wearing a mask can affect the lives of those you come in contact with, regardless if they are young or old. Be safe out there.  Until Then Keep Stepping, #SiscoVanilla #SiscoVanillaIsStepping #SiscoVanillaHitsTheBricks

Hello everyone. I know, long time no see here on this blog page. I can give the same old schtick: I've been busy, or I've been working on other things...yada yada yada. Nope, I've just been here not doing anything with this page. Nada, zilch, nothing. But I'm going to try and remedy that with the following post. So here were my steps from the past week of June 15 - June 21. I've been trying to get out a bit more while under COVID-19 Staying at Home. This week was harder to get steps for than the week prior.  The week prior (June 8 - June 14) saw four days of more than 12.5K steps including the massive 22K+ steps accomplishment on Wednesday June 10.  I just didn't have it in me to push ahead like I did the week before. And that's ok. I'm not putting up the steps that I used to when I worked at Barnes and Noble or even at the bar pre-COVID-19. This is a "new normal" that we are living with. So I need to adjust and evolve along with it.  Any sugge...

Went to Trader Joe's for the first time ever. Found some interesting veggie fare. Look forward to making these yummy selections. Any recommendations? Until Then Keep Stepping, #SiscoVanilla #SiscoVanillaIsStepping #SiscoVanillaHitsTheBricks

I've realize that I've been kind of puttering about when it comes to my exercise. So I decided that I would try to ramp up the Peloton bike riding. Now, I regularly do the scenic bike rides on the Peloton. I like them. But I find that they are limited in terms of discipline. What do I mean by that? The scenes are timed...and that's it. The rider can change the resistance (pressure) and cadence (speed of cycling) at any time but there are no cues as to when to do so. The classes are a bit more disciplined since the instructor continually tells the rider the ranges of the ride they are giving, in terms of resistance and cadence. In following their cues, you find that you have a much more intensive workout than just pedaling to a scenic video. Again, I like the scenic rides and will continue to ride them but I will just do them when I want to get my time on the bike. But I want to start using the classes a bit more for a more diverse workout. Today I did a five minute w...

I finally opened the boxes of the @drpraegers veggie burgers that I was able to find at my local @shopritestores. I simply sprayed my skillet pan with cooking spray, no seasoning and cooked the patties from frozen for a couple minutes on each side. Both patties are on potato rolls with mayo and shredded mozzarella cheese.  On the top is the Super Greens and the bottom pattie is California Veggie Burger. So what did I think of the patties? First the Super Greens pattie. The box says that the Super Greens patties have a slight hint of cayenne. Aside from the obvious taste of the greens, the cayenne stands out...and I like it. I find that it doesn't need any additional seasoning. If I can find a negative, it would have to be that inside of the pattie is a little "mushy", but I guess that's better than being hard or dry. Next was the California Veggie pattie. After taking my first bite, I can see whole pieces of peas and carrots in the pattie. Bites have a nice...

Travel onward on the path to self discovery. You're stronger than you think. Give yourself the chance to find out. Unitl Then Keep Stepping, #SiscoVanilla #SiscoVanillaIsStepping #SiscoVanillaHitsTheBricks

A little more than a year ago I posted On The Hunt for Veggie Fare at Yankee Stadium June 14, 2018 concerning my attempts to find veggie fare at Yankee Stadium. This year I'm still on the hunt and finding that the struggle is real. I went to two games this past week and both times I found that I was stymied to find some veggie grub. There were a couple of excuses that I was given from "we're out" to "the delivery never came" or "the food was never made." Lo and behold that makes for a frustrating interaction. Luckily those excuses are never made for the beer 😂. But I was able to find something to eat both times and wanted to describe to you all what they were. On Thursday I visited the Sushi stand on the main level. Considering that I was getting freshly made sushi at Yankee Stadium, paying $30 for two rolls was fairly economical. The roll on the left was the Rainbow Roll (California Roll with Shrimp on top) and a Bronx Roll (Spicy Sal...

Change is not only good but necessary. Don't fear change. Embrace it. But first and foremost, it needs to come from you by you and for you. Rock on!!! Until Then Keep Stepping, #SiscoVanilla #SiscoVanillaIsStepping #SiscoVanillaHitsTheBricks

This week was an positive week for stepping though I was short about 9,000 steps from the week before. As you can see I hit my daily step goal of 12,500 six times last week with Sunday coming pretty close. My best day was last Wednesday with 18,390 steps. Consistency is key folks. Last week was a pretty consistent week. Here's the breakdown of the steps: June 10: 17,095 steps June 11: 15,893 steps June 12: 18,390 steps June 13: 13,653 steps June 14: 17,310 steps June 15: 14,394 steps June 16: 10,410 steps As I mentioned last week, I ordered a Peloton bike. The bike has come in and I've already given it a few rides. I'll post more about it in a separate post. But I have to say that I'm pretty excited to have it in the house. I'll keep all you gals and guys posted. Until Then Keep Stepping, SiscoVanilla #SiscoVanilla #SiscoVanillaIsStepping #SiscoVanillaHitsTheBricks

While some situations can be tough for us all, often it isn't what we do that makes it easy but how we look at it is what solves the issue. If you look at it negatively, then you set yourself up for the harder road. In turn, if you try to find the positive in the situation, you can find ways to resolve your issues. Bad enough we are going through things, but its even worse if we just choose to dwell on the bad. Change your outlook and inject some positivity into your lives. Until Then Keep Stepping, #SiscoVanilla #SiscoVanillaIsStepping #SiscoVanillaHitsTheBricks

Love this quote by author Og Mandino. It's absolutely true. Hard work will always yield the best rewards. Some benefit from cutting corners and not putting in the effort, but more times than not getting your hands dirty and rolling up your sleeves will beat half-assing. So go out there and do your best. Happy Fathers Day to all the Fathers out there. Until Then Keep Stepping, #SiscoVanilla #SiscoVanillaIsStepping #SiscoVanillaHitsTheBricks

This is my mantra for the time being. "Why stress what you can't control." Am I right?⁣ So let that shit go!!! Until Then Keep Stepping #SiscoVanilla #SiscoVanillaIsStepping #SiscoVanillaHitsTheBricks

Last week was an amazing week for stepping. As you can see I hit my daily step goal of 12,500 six times last week with Sunday being my rest day. My best day was last Monday with 21,436 steps. That was highlighted by my walks throughout Midtown Manhattan and the East Village. Here's the breakdown of the steps: June 3: 21,436 steps June 4: 13,628 steps  June 5: 20,164 steps June 6: 19,217 steps June 7: 20,894 steps  June 8: 15,102 steps June 9: 5,820 steps I'm slowly getting back into the rhythm of putting together 20,000 step days. I had three this week where back a year ago when I was working primarily days I would get between four and six of the same kind of days. Going back to working nights has been an adjustment in many ways. Some good and some bad. We just have to take it day by day and step by step. I have ten days to go before my new Peloton bike gets delivered. I'm really looking forward to kick it up a couple of notches and get back to the under 250 l...

The goal you don't start won't ever be finished. So stop procrastinating and do right by you and your dreams and aspirations. Until Then Keep Stepping, #SiscoVanilla #SiscoVanillaIsStepping #SiscoVanillaHitsTheBricks

The last six days have proved to be an awesome exhibition of stepping that I haven't had in a while. Look forward to continuing the positive walking and exploration. And thanks to everyone who has joined me on this ride in terms of positive comments, recommendations and good vibes. Much love to you all. Until Then Keep Stepping, #SiscoVanilla #SiscoVanillaIsStepping #SiscoVanillaHitsTheBricks