You’re gonna sweat

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

My intention to be more proactive this week is proving to be very beneficial- I am getting so much done!

Last night, Tyler made burgers on the barbie. I needed to cut some carbs, so please guess which plate is mine:

(Hint: It’s not the first one)

It hit the spot!

We watched Survivor (how Tarzan is still in there, I’ll never know. But, the game is afoot..) then watched the 2nd Harry Potter movie.

Oh, and it snowed last night, but I don’t want to talk about it.

Today got off to an early start. Same breakfast as yesterday (english muffin topped with almond butter and a sliced pear on the side) then I headed off to the Y for some cardio intervals then a Bosu class. The class was 75 minutes and it was a FULL BODY workout. I have wanted to buy a Bosu for a while so that I can add another element to my home workouts, but they’re so dang expensive. Why is it that I can get a stability ball for $19.99 but a Bosu costs $109? I am so confused. Until I win some sort of lottery, I will continue to go to the gym for any Bosu workouts.

The past two days of workouts have been so intense, I will probably not be able to get out of bed tomorrow morning. I’m wiped! The long walks with Layla afterwards have been helpful- they keep my legs loose and my dog happy. Double win.

After my workout, I had to go run some top secret errands (to be revealed some time within the next week). I actually had some Canadian cashola on me, and guess what? It’s see-through!

Crazy right? It feels like Monopoly money. (Yes, I know my nails have been green for too long. I am making that change tonight– going to be Easter festive!)

That money went straight towards my secret errands but the coffee-THE COFFEE- was free. My favorite word. Well, free for my anyways. I had a gift card. Grande medium roast- black. Mmmmm, good.

I thought my errands were going to be quick, but day-umm Canadians are slow. It took one cashier about 40522985 minutes to scan one item. ONE. Then, at Starbucks, it was like the coffee was Molasses- couldn’t be poured any slower. Perhaps I am just too used to the bang-bang-boom pace of Americans. Perhaps that’s not how people like to roll here. But I do. Unless it’s like a super-hot cashier and I have the potential of getting a bigger discount (Sorry Tyler, but if it saves money..)

Lunch was spinach topped with a leftover mini-burger, scrambled egg, onion/poppyseed dressing and ketchup. Yum to the 10th power.

More things to do: ~~Play Draw Something, watch Mad Men,~~ laundry, cooking, painting..

I will leave you with a great, sweaty workout you can do at home (I did this a few times down in Florida last month on the balcony of my parent’s condo. So it really is a workout you can do anywhere)

These are four different tabata sets, each with two different moves. So: move 1 for 20 seconds, rest for 10; move 2 for 20 seconds, rest for 10; move 1 for 20 seconds,rest for 10…and so on. You will complete that 16 times, so each move in the set is done 8 times. Then move to the next set.

Set 1

Side shuffle with high knees (two shuffles right STAY LOW, then 4 high knees, two shuffles left, 4 high knees, etc.)
Wall sit

Set 2

Quick feet with pushup (quick feet in place for a few seconds, down for one pushup, quickly get back up and repeat)
Lunge hop (start in lunge position, ex: right foot forward, left back, putting your weight into your right leg, bring the left leg forward, bringing you left knee into your chest and hopping simultaneously, with your left leg landing back into its starting position. Do each leg 4 times in the set)

Set 3

Pilates pulse (feet in the air or heels on the ground, lean back to feel core engage, arms at your sides with the palms down, and pulsing your arms)
Leg lifts

Set 4

Squat thrust jumps
Mountain Climbers

You’re welcome.

Eats, sweets, and sweats

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Hello, lovahs! I have been making today a great day, so win for me! Imma get to the blog title. First up, eats and sweets.

Yesterday, I made a batch of beer bread to go with dinnah. I used this beer

…added a few other ingredients, and 35 minutes later, I got this

Yup, it was good. Too bad I had two slices of this stuff before dinner. No carbs to be had on my dinner plate! But for Tyler’s sake, I whipped up some chicken sausage with roasted mushies and zucchini ~~to accompany the bread.~~

I got even more creative in the kitch-kitch and threw together a fruit crisp. I had frozen strawbs and about 4 apples leftover in the fridge from a previous Costco run.

It was super simple. I just mixed the fruit with a few tbsp of honey then topped with a butter/brown sugar/oat/whole wheat flour/cinnamon mixture. Popped in the oven for 45 minutes and shizzam, dessert is ready

We enjoyed our dessert while watching the first Harry Potter movie. Since Tyler and I are on a series kick, we decided we are going to get through all 7. I might start referring to people as muggles and yell out spells (petrificus totalus) rather than swear. Not a promise, but I wouldn’t doubt it from happening.

Blah, blah, blah, cut to a bunch of hours later and this was my breakfast

English muffin topped with almond butter and a pear. ( I don’t know bout y’all, but I like my pears super ripe. Like, no crunch. Also like, I bought these pairs 9 days ago and they’re finally ready. Hit the spot.

Last eat to mention in this post is my post workout lunch:

Spinach topped with cooked sweet potato and onion poppyseed dressing. Then, a piece of beer bread topped with melted chocolate chips and banana slices

My favorite part were these little guys:

Ooooh, that makes my mouth water.

K, enough with the eats and sweets -sheeze, it looks like I eat a lot– I’m going to move on to the sweat part of my day…

I went to the Y and did a 20 min HIIT workout on the elliptical ( need to rev the metabolism like whoa) then took a 60 min Muscle Blast class. confession: I haven’t taken a class in A MONTH. Who am I?!!? I was really excited that I was able to add more than my usual weight to the barbell. Means I’ve been doing something right in my own workouts! 🙂 plus, I’m really loving these clean and jerks..

I then finished my Y workout by doing another 10 min HIIT session on the elliptical. About a 90 minute workout today…so far. I’m off to take Layla for an adventure before it snows ( we’re supposed to get a foot?! Say whaaa?!) and do a little at-home sweat sesh that I’ll post later.

Hope everyone is having a great day!
anyone accomplish/learn anything new in the gym recently?

Free laughs

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

I thought I’d share some rather……odd pictures of myself tonight. Just for a little laughy-poo. I mean, this iPad does some hilar shizzz. So, while I am laying here in bed, I decided to give the ol’ photo booth a whirl.

BUT FIRST, if you are a new reader, I must share with you a ‘normal’ picture of myself:

Ok, that’s not really normal. How about this one:

Ah, good enough. And now for the real treat of the evening: my funny shots. Put down whatever you’re drinking, sit down, and grab your Kleenex to wipe your laughter-induced tears.

Tee hee hee.

I need a good laugh….anyone want to share something funny?!?!?!
(I can only laugh at myself so much before I get a serious case of the shifty eyes from Tyler. Understandable.)

Back to food, walk and workout recaps later.

This dog was made for walkin’

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

I was able to peel myself off the couch after 4 episodes of Mad Men. Sheesh. I’m such a bum.

Layla and I ran some errands, then we headed over to Nose Hill Park for a long hike.

source
That place is super hilly! We got in some running here and there as well, but I had to be quite careful not to twist my ankle on some of the rocks and holes along the path. Layla was in heaven.

Some great scenery, per usual for Calgary!

I’m a smart lady too, and brought lotsa aqua for the little one. She was huffin and puffin.

And my favorite pic from the walk:

Once we trekked our way back, I needed some protein and veggies to hold me over until dinner. I came up with this bowl:

Spinach topped with scrambled eggs, onion/poppyseed dressing, and a dallop of ketchup. It hit the spot!

Big to-do’s for dinner tonight! I’ve already got some schtuff in the ol’ hot box.

Here’s something to think about: how would you fill your day if you weren’t working?

I had intentions of getting my workouts done early in the day, but they seem to still revolve around the evening hours. I do, however, get to be out with Layla a lot more, so I am moving a heck of a lot more than when I was sitting at a darn desk all day. And I get to actually make meals rather than whip a quick smoothie or have hard boiled eggs when I get home from work and have to dash off to the gym. Even though I enjoy these luxuries, I do miss the regimen that requires me to be places at certain times. Thoughts?

Chicken breasts in a bag

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Big things are happening here. I started season 1 of Mad Men today. I have a strong feeling I’ll be sucked in to the Mad-ness (pun intended). I’m going to have to restrict myself to only so many episodes per sitting so that I can get stuff done around here. Like, walks with the dog and domestic errands. OooOOoo.

I was busy on the Internet box last night but managed to quickly whip up a dinner that Tyler actually liked.

Potato chip chicken and Brussel sprouts with walnuts and raisins. In case you ladies need to make dinner in a jif (dare I say male readers want to get creative in the kitchen. Oof sexist comment? Nah, just praise for lady kitchen genius over here-me,) here’s how it’s done:

Potato Chip Chicken
In a bowl, whisk an egg and 1/8 c of milk. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Take 1/4 bag of potato chips (I used BBQ popchips), and crush the chips still in the bag. Take two large chicken breasts and soak them in the egg wash. Then throw both breasts in the crumbled bag of chips and shake to ensure the breasts are completely coated in chips. Put chicken on a baking pan lined with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Brussel sprouts with walnuts and raisins
Cut the sprouts in half and simmer in a pan on medium high with olive oil. Cover and let steam for 10 minutes. Toss in a dash of cinnamon, raisins and walnuts, and a bit more oil, and stir. Cover the pan and remove from the heat and let sit until chicken is ready. (I added a dash of red pepper flakes since Tyler likes spice. The sweet/spicy combo was actually great!

Dessert was a modified banana split. I melted 1/4 c chocolate chips, topped with rainbow sprinkles and a banana to dip.

Then, another sleepless night. More reading under the covers, tossing and turning, and according to Tyler, I was sighing all night. I even got up at 3:30am to shower in hopes it would help me sleep. Meh, no such luck. I really think I need to get out of the house and keep busy so that I konk out at night. Today, I shall do just that! (after a couple episodes of Mad Men, of course).

But first, breakfast!

I had leftover batter from Sunday’s whole wheat pancakes. Except this time, I made them with bananas, then topped with almond butter and a drizzle of honey. A glass of OJ ~~Simpson~~ on the side. Terrific way to get my intended busy day started!