Happy Mother's Day!!

Hey everyone!

We wanted to give a shout out to all the wonderful mothers out there! Whether you're a mother now, a mother to be, a step-mom, a foster mom or a mother figure to someone special, today's your day to feel extra special and appreciated. Moms really make the world go round!

Please share your favorite memory with your mom or a special photo of you and your mom. We're going to each share a picture of ourselves with our own mothers....

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

Is There a Such Thing as a Single "Best" Exercise?

Hey everyone,

The NY Times Magazine ran this article last weekend...and the question remains....what is really considered to be the "best" exercise?  Although our love for doing burpees is almost as much as we love our husbands, as it turns out, there probably aren't many people who would perform multiple sets of burpees each and every workout. The article states the burpee as being one of the most efficient exercises, however not necessarily effective because they're not enjoyable, except to us :)  After much debate, HIIT (high intensity interval training) seems to take the cake as most efficient and effective. Which leaves us thinking about our perfect workout....HIIT of a variety of burpees :) 

We'd love to hear about your opinion on the most effective and efficient exercises.

The Fuse Favorite Vacations.....I'm leaving on a jet plane!

Summer is just around the corner, and after a long, rainy winter, and a not so good summer last year, I'm looking forward to this one.  Nothing says summer to me like vacation!  Now who doesn't love going on vacation?!?!  I know I do....that's what we work so hard for, to take time away with our family and friends, let loose, and enjoy!!  So here's the question.....what is your favorite vacation?  Whether it's a favorite vacation place or memory, please share with us where it is you love to kick back and enjoy some time away from work.  We're going to do the same....

I could go on forever about vacations...I love them!!  Alas, Pascha and I decided to narrow it down to 2 of our favorite vacations of all time....so hard to choose!  My first pick to share would have to be my honeymoon, which we spent in Costa Rica for 2 weeks.  It was amazing!! We stayed the first week in Tamarindo, partying it up, playing in the surf, relaxing in the sun, drinking cocktails, horseback riding and ziplining!  The ziplining was awesome, through the tops of the trees in the rainforest...what a thrill! The second week we traveled over to Manuel Antonio, which I must say, everyone needs to go here sometime in their life!  Here, there are some of the most beautiful, hidden beaches....one of the only places in the world where the rain forest meets the sea! We stayed in a gorgeous hotel and were totally pampered....we had multiple massages! We took an amazing hike/nature tour through the rainforest, where we saw all kinds of monkeys, sloths (they're so cute!), tree frogs, bats, and even a viper snake! We wished we could have stayed another week....or forever!

Second on my list are the Rios family vacations we do every summer.  My parents always rent a big house somewhere (we've done Lake Shasta a few times, Cape Cod, San Clemente) and invite all of my brothers and me, our partners, our kids, and friends.  We have the best time together!!  My family has to be one of the most fun there are, we look forward to these vacations all year long.  As a matter of fact, our family vacay is just around the corner...this year we're heading down to San Diego, which coincides with a wonderful childhood friend's wedding. After the wedding, we'll settle into our 2 week vacation, swimming, eating, drinking, talking, laughing, exploring, basically having a great time.  Can't wait!!

Here's just a few of us...from left to right: my brother Jason, my husband Doug, me, my Dad, my Mom, in front of me is my daughter Ava, and above Doug is my nephew Xavier.


Okay Kristin, you've got me ready to pack my bags and leave on a jet plane now!

The word vacation brings to mind blue skies, nice warm or hot weather on my sun kissed skin at a beach or poolside with a refreshing drink; yes people this is my paradise. These fond moments bring to mind two of my favorite get-a-ways. First on my list is Cancun, Mexico. Why? Well besides being able to spend it with my husband for our seventh year anniversary, we partied like Rock Stars and took a ride on Mexico’s fantastic voyage! 

We couldn't skip the club-hopping package, which took us to all of the night clubs downtown. Who doesn't know about Sr. Frogs, where the art of pure craziness goes down, Coco Bongo with trapeze artists flying through mid air and live dancers, or Fat Tuesdays giving us all brain freeze, and lastly DaddyO's, where people drop it like it's hot on table tops. I'm pretty sure you've guessed by now, I love to party!

Our fun didn't stop there; we also went on a four-hour boat excursion. We snorkeled in the ocean with colorful schools of fish around and through our legs. We also saw barracudas and a nurse shark up close and personal (a tad scary). It was amazing!

Speaking of amazing, Puerto Rico with my girls has to be one of my vacations. The staff at our resort was very warm and friendly; we experienced notable hospitality. We also had a great time during our hike and hanging out at Luquillo Beach.

Luquillo Beach had warm clear water and I felt like I was taking a bath, we were all giggly splashing around like little kids--good times!  I felt relaxed; I definitely had sunbathing moments. Speaking of soaking up the sun, please be advised to apply ample sunscreen while visiting this beach (some of us left close to the color of red crayons and some resembled burnt bacon).  Yes I know, not healthy.

I also have evoking visual images of our hike at the El Yunque Rain Forest. The tall green mountains, the various plant life and the sounds of the Coqui tree frogs singing to us; Coqui! Coqui! (in my frog voice).  And the best part... drum roll please... splashing into the cold, yet refreshing waterfall at the end of our hike (walking through the slippery rock obstacle course to get there).  It was gorgeous!

Okay, I can go on all day about every detail of my vacations, but now I want to hear about yours. Help me plan my next vacation and tell me some of your best travel tips!

Workout #1

Hi everyone!  We are proud to give you our very first at home fitness video.  We have been working very hard learning how to create and edit videos, something neither of us have any real experience with.  And while there is still a lot of room for improvement, we decided that it was really important to us for you to have these workouts and just be part of our learning process.  So PLEASE leave us comment and feedback, positive and negative.  We will continue to learn and improve, and our goal is to soon be providing you with 2-3 home workouts a week.  We want to show you that you don't need a gym to workout.  These workouts are designed to be short, between 15-30 minutes total, but intense and to the point.  If you always push your hardest, the reward is that much sweeter.  The videos begin with us breaking down how to do the exercises with correct form and giving modifications for exercises that may be too high intensity for a beginner.  Then, you get to see us in action!  That's right, we're working out right along with you!  So no excuses, let's do these workouts together and start kicking up our fitness and improving our health.  And what better time than now--summer is on it's way, so let's get in shape now so we can proudly hit the beach this summer know that we've all worked hard together.  Enjoy!!

Here's the workout breakdown:

Part 1: High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

Set an interval timer for 6 rounds, 1st interval (rest) at 10 seconds, 2nd interval (WORK HARD!) at 30 seconds

Alternate between these two exercises for the whole 6 rounds, you'll do each one 3 times.
-10 high knee raises + tuck jump, repeating as FAST as possible for the 30 seconds
-alternating reverse lunges with front kicks

Part 2: Core Work (We need to all make sure we include core work in our workouts, a strong, stable core is what holds the body together and keeps us from injuring ourselves)

2 sets of 12 reps of each exercise
-plank hops out and in
-inchworm

Part 3: HIIT

Again, set the interval timer for 6 rounds, 10 sec rest interval, 30 sec work interval. Alternate between these two exercises:
-squat jumps
-mountain climbers

Remember that it's always important to do a 5-10minute warm-up before starting your workouts, as well as a solid stretching sequence afterward.  We will be shooting a warm-up and cool-down video in the near future so you can see what we do and recommend.  Also, while the HIIT does not take much time, remember that you are supposed to be pushing to your max.  Always work hard--the pride you get from honest hard work is priceless :)

THE FUSE FAVORITES WEEK 5

                        THE FUSE FAVORITE PLAYLISTS

My favorite playlist ranges from old school to new school with a touch of soul, rock and straight hip hop.  Check out my song choices as they flow to my workout!

1. Adele- "Rollin in the Deep"(Warm-Up and Stretch)

2. Prince-"Get Off"(Dynamic Warm-Up)

3. M.J. and Janet-"Scream"(Whew! very warm)

4. Nina Simone-"Sinnerman"(Getting intense)

5. B.O.B. ft. Slim Thug- "So High"(Core Work)

6. Stevie Wonder- "I Wish"(Dynamic Movements)

7. Red Hot Chili Peppers- "Give It Away"(Classic Song! Super Dynamic Movements)

8. Lupe Fiasco- "The Show Goes On"(Super Strength Endurance)

9. Foo Fighters- "My Hero and Best of You"( back to back for very high intensity HIIT)

10. Jay-Z ft. Swizz Beatz- "On To The Next"(pure motivation, super sweaty I mean drenched!)

11. Jay-Z ft. Kanye West- "H.A.M."(Super Intense Core work & strength endurance)

12. N.O.R.E. ft. Pharell- "Nothin"(oohh! Yeah! pure strength & power)

13. Lil Wayne ft. Cory Gunz- "6 foot, 7 foot"(Really feelin this song! Back to HIIT!)
14. Dr. Dre ft. Eminem- "I Need A Doctor"-(By now you may really need one! Core Work)

15. Drake ft. Swizz Beatz- "Fancy"(Cool Down, Whew!)

16. Bob Marley- " Jammin"(Stretch, Done, Thank Goodness!)

By the way can you tell I love Swizz Beatz and how long was this workout anyway! I guess this is my extended version. Lol!

Alright Pascha, I'm going to have to steal that playlist from you!  That playlist has the kind of energy that makes you not want to stop working out!! No wonder it's so long :) 


Here's a great playlist that I love to workout to:


First part of warm-up, about 5 minutes of jumping rope:
1. Temper Trap: "Sweet Disposition" (starting off slow....)
2. Jay Z feat. Alicia Keys: "Empire State of Mind" (picking up the pace with some high knees, rotations and double unders)


Moving into next phase of warm-up, CORE WORK!  
3.  Kings of Leon: "Sex on Fire" (medicine ball and weighted ab work)
4.  MGMT: "Electric Feel" (glutes and lower back are being targeted, push-ups are getting the shoulders and chest working)
5.  Peter, Bjorn, and John: "Young Folks" (crazy planks are going on, all different planes, all different types, sweat is starting to drip!)


Running, Footwork and Agility Drills, Dynamic Warm-up: Shuffling, Carioca, High Knees, Hamstring Kickers, Walking Lunges, Power Skipping, Two legged lateral jumps, Bounding....Heart is Really Starting to Pump, I think it's safe to say that I'm warmed up now!!
6.  Santigold ft. Spank Rock: "Shove It"
7.  Santigold: "You'll Find a Way"
8.  Robyn: "Cobrastyle"


Kick-Boxing Combo #1: Jab/Cross-Jab/Back Fist/Roundhouse Kick
9.  She Wants Revenge: "Tear You Apart" (this song is intense and makes me want to damage that boxing bag!)


High Intensity Interval Training and Plyometric Work: 45(work interval)/15's(rest interval), 9 total rounds of 1) forward jump, reverse jump, tuck jump, 2) ice skaters jumps and 3) burpees
10.  Black Eyed Peas: "Imma Be," "Dirty Bit," and "Rock That Body" (the Black Eyed Peas always get me pumped up, love them!!)


Kick-Boxing Combo #2: Roundhouse kick, lunge, jab, cross-jab, jab followed by 100 jumps with the jump rope:
11.  The Killers (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix): "Mr. Brightside" (this version, while hard to find, is even better than the original! This song is almost 9 minutes, and is perfect to do boxing and jump rope intervals to)


Strength Training with the Kettlebells and TRX! Swings, single-arm swings, Turkish get-ups, windmills....I love working out with the kettlebells!! And don't get me started on the TRX, love this awesome piece of equipment!
11.  Michael Jackson: "Billie Jean" and "The Way You Make Me Feel" (I love MJ--by this point of the workout, I'm getting a bit tired so I need some fun music that makes me want to move to keep me going!)
13.  Cee-lo Green: "Forget You"
14.  Earth, Wind and Fire: "September" (bringing it back a little, but this song always makes me happy and keeps me moving)

My heart is racing, my body is on fire, the adrenaline is pumping....and I'm taking it to the stairs....alternating between running 2 stairs at a time as fast as I can, 2 legged jumps up the stairs, and single-leg jumps up the stairs....I think I'm crazy!!
15.  Kaskade ft. Dragonette: "Fire In Your New Shoes"  (keeps my feet moving!)
16.  Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: "Weapon of Choice" (love the beat, can push out another set on those stairs!)

Time for some intense core work, one of my most favorite parts of my workouts, CRAWLING! Bear crawls, spider crawls, alligator crawls.....sweat is pouring now!!
17.  Kevin Rudolph and Little Wayne: "Let It Rock"
18.  Jay-Z ft. Rihanna and Kanye West: "Run This Town" 


It's about time, I don't think I could go on much longer....COOL DOWN and Stretching!
19.  Florence and the Machine: "Dog Days Are Over" (I just love her voice, and now that I'm stretching I can appreciate it)
20.  The Cure: "Just Like Heaven" (my most happy song--my husband and I did our first dance to this at our wedding; when I end my workout with this song it keeps me smiling all day long :-)  )


ENJOY!!!!

Fuse Favorites Week 4

THE FUSE FAVORITE RESTAURANTS       

Time to talk about food....again!  Seems to be one of our favorite subjects.....We got a bit off track with our weekly blog entries, but we're getting back on track!  As we've mentioned, we're trying to do an entry each week talking about our favorite things.  We have lots of good ideas that we want to share, but would welcome any suggestions or anything you want to know about us....within reason, of course :)

So this week's topic is our favorite restaurants.  Well, there are so many, which makes this hard.  I've come to an obvious conclusion.....Pascha and I love to eat!  Tough, almost daily workouts leave me hungry, and a great benefit of being in shape and being healthy is having a boosted metabolism.  Now don't get me wrong here, while I definitely love to eat, I love to eat healthy.  There are so many incredible healthy things to eat in this world, and I feel so blessed to live in an area where it is so easy to find fresh, local and organic foods.  I love how so many restaurants in the area focus on serving foods that are local and sustainable.  That being said, onto my favorite restaurants....(by the way, we decided we could only pick 4(!!!), otherwise we would be writing forever!)

I have to say that my absolute favorite restaurant for the last couple years is The Wood Tavern on College Avenue in Oakland, woodtavern.net.  The food is amazing, from the roasted chicken to the BEST burger in town!  I can't say enough wonderful things about this restaurant.  The ambiance is wonderful, the staff is so warm and friendly, and the food is delicious.  I highly recommend this wonderful restaurant, but make sure to make reservations in advance, it is always packed.  

My favorite place to grab a quick, healthy bite to eat is Nature's Express on Solano Avenue in Berkeley.  This fast food place is not your average fast food joint....it's all vegan and super healthy....and totally yummy!  While I'm not a vegetarian even, I absolutely love this place.  They have the most amazing daily, seasonal soups and I love the Thai Chick-un Wrap.  So yummy!

Another restaurant that I love and want to give a shout out to is Las Camelias in San Rafael, www.lascameliasrestaurant.com, a wonderful Mexican restaurant. I've been frequenting this place since I was a kid, and have so many warm memories from sharing countless meals with my family growing up.  The owners are the loveliest people--Gabriel is the chef and Carol, such a sweet and warm hostess, does much of the art work displayed throughout the restaurant.  Her sculptures are very unique and really cool, and the restaurant is just so cute!  And the food is wonderful!  They have the most amazing salad here, and so many delicious entrees.  

My fourth favorite restaurant is Tamarindo in Oakland, www.tamarindoantojeria.com, another Mexican restaurant. This place mainly does small plates but does have a couple entree sized choices on the menu.  Everything is delicious!  And the place is really cute too!  I love going with my husband or with a girlfriend and sharing lots of the delicious small plates, and of course with a margarita!  They do a tamarindo margarita that is so good!

So there's my top four list!  That was a challenge to narrow it down to four :)  Now onto Pascha's favorites.....

Being a Vegetarian has it's challenges without many exciting dining options that offer healthy, yet flavorful foods. Vegetarians do appreciate variety and great tasting food as well, we don't limit ourselves to bland salads, veggies and tofu. With that said, I would like to express my gratitude to my top four favorite restaurants. These restaurants offer a variety of healthy, balanced meals packed with flavor and are a Vegetarians paradise!

 I would first like to start with the Millennium in San Francisco millenniumrestaurant.com a gourmet vegetarian restaurant that even the average carnivore will love. My favorite course 
the crusted oyster mushrooms and the Blue Corn Tamale filled with butternut squash, seasoned fall greens, black bean mole and apple cilantro salsa! Yum!

Next would be none other than Natures express in Berkeley www.natures-express.com. This cafe has everything from breakfast, to lunch. They also offer great sides and snacks(kale chips yum!), fresh made juices and teas and tasty treats. Natures Express also makes their own home-made patties for burgers (Veggie of Course), and the soups are great! My personal favorite is the Avocado and tofu Wrap and Thai Curry soup.

If you like Puerto Rican food, Sol Food in San Rafael (solfoodrestaurant.com) is a must! I always order the Vegetariano with black beans, but you can choose pink beans as well. It is a healthy sized plate loaded with spanish olives, herbs, peppers, onions, cilantro and fresh avocado over rice. The green salad has tomato with their lemon garlic dressing and is delish! If you have a sweet tooth after all of that, I recommend the Maduras(sweet plantains).

Last but not least, I would like to Thank my friend, good ole' Siriji for recommending say what.... Burma Superstar in Oakland burmasuperstar.com. My daughter loves the garlic noodles with tofu, best garlic noodles ever! Now this may sound odd, but their Tea Leaf salad is the Bomb! It is the best tasting salad I've ever had! This salad has even been featured on the Food Network! It is made with fermented tea leaves, fried garlic and peanuts; As odd as it sounds, this salad is sooo gooood!

Now that I've totally made you hungry, if you have not tried any of these restaurants go for it and tell us what you think. If you have already we would like to hear your thoughts as well and share some of your favorite restaurants with us.

Fuse Favorites Week 3

What are your favorite sports?

This week we want to share our favorite sports, both to play and to watch.  Please share yours with us!

Why Pascha Loooves Boxing!

Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Roy Jones Jr… To name a few, what do all of these athletes have in common? They all were tenacious fighters. As we witnessed in the movie, “The Hangover,” Mike Tyson still packs a mighty blow! The speed and agility of the Muhammad Ali and Roy Jones gives me reason to continue to love this sport, while I make my favorite griller on the George Foreman! The power he delivered against his opponents is definitely commendable.

If you haven’t guessed...Boxing is my favorite sport!! Boxing is a great sport where blood, sweat and tears are all left on the canvas. I have attended an Andre Ward fight, where the blows thrown look like they could puncture a kidney! I share the moments captured via PPV with my daughter and husband.. as I shadowbox as the two men/women get after each other! I feel a rush of adrenaline which makes me look forward to the next prime time event!

Sports Through Kristin's Eyes

What I love about sports is how you are completely challenged both physically and mentally.  The best athletes physically stand out against the others--they dedicate everything to constantly identifying their weaknesses, and rather than be in denial about their flaws, they go in for the attack and work hard to become stronger, quicker and more agile.  It takes a mentally strong person to admit their weaknesses. The ego has to be put aside in order to get to the top.  


I'd have to say that tennis is my favorite sport to watch. I love the quickness of the game, the complete mental focus, and the tenacity of the athletes. I've spent most of my life watching tennis alongside my dad and brother, so there's a special bond that we've created which I will always cherish. 


As for playing sports, I've been an avid athlete my whole life.  As a kid I'd rather be playing ball than playing with dolls. I enjoy the strategy and mental toughness behind the game and I love the feeling of training for something. I find a greater purpose in physical training when I have a goal to be better at a sport. I played competitive sports since I was about 5 years old, all the way through high school. While I don't play sports competitively anymore, I still love to play. My current favorites are snowboarding and rock climbing, both which I began later in life, just a few years ago.  I opted against playing in college, however I quickly found that I missed sports in my life.  Which is what led me to rock climbing and snowboarding, sports that I could participate in but didn't need to compete in.  The adrenaline rush, pride and fulfillment I get from challenging my mind and body to work hard and improve at playing sports is a feeling that I can never live without. 


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