Well I woke up sore today. But I guess I can’t say ‘woke up’ if I never really slept! I tossed and turned all night because of all my aches and pains. And because the dog was rolling all over me.
Must’ve been those stinkin’ (but awesome) burpees from Monday night.
All I did yesterday was run! (40 minutes..woooo!)
I still haven’t changed the time since daylight savings on my Garmin.
I finally ordered an armband online yesterday for my iPod touch! I can’t wait for it to get here because I’ve been using this thing since 2007.
Tyler brought me home a flower that’s hard to kill! How thoughtful. No seriously, I squealed with excitement. And Layla sniffed like crazy.
For dinner, we had kabobs. Steak, zucchini, red peppers and mushrooms. I didn’t do anything to the veggies, but I marinated the steak for a couple hours in 1 part whiskey and 1 part balsamic vinegar. Super tasty!
And some macaroons for dessert:
I was crafting for a bit (still not done) in the afternoon, and Layla took it upon herself to wear my scarf. I think she rocked it.
Now, onto random ramblings. Because I do those best.
1. I have to change which post office I go to now because the girl at my usual stop knows that I sent out wedding stuff, so now every time she sees me (which is OFTEN) she asks me about it. And then relays stamp and package information to me. Like I give a hoot.
2. Ahh, speaking of giving a hoot. I found a great gift for a Christmas swap yesterday, but didn’t buy it. I’m writing it here as i reminder because I always walk around with my blog posts on my phone (it’s a means of PR people)
Totally jk-ing. Or am I? I have been known to shout out my blog name to strangers..
3. I posted a video on my personal facebook page last week about dance moves. Here are further instructions on how to get jiggy with it:
4. I have 3 holiday recipes starred in my google reader that I CANNOT wait to make. Of course, they all have 32059720957209 calories, so that should be interesting.
5. But if I get this spoon (or someone wants to get it for me) then I guess I’ll be ok.
6. No class next week because of Thanksgiving. Feel free to come up to me and be all T-Pain like and Buy Me A Drink (get it? hahaha the song?! I crack myself UP)
7. Pretend you didn’t read #6. That was just terrible.
8. Does anyone watch Ben&Kate? In lasts night’s episode she told Will she’ll see him later. With her looking balls. I just about died with laughter. Totally using that one.
Tell me something random. Or something funny. If it’s a random funny thing, then you’re multitasking. So talented.
******UPDATE: If you’re in Canada and interested in signing up for a cookie swap, please e-mail me at jtougas77 (at) gmail (dot) com by Friday, November 16th!******
1. Last night, I intended on getting to the gym for a run, but I couldn’t stomach the idea of bundling up and such just to get there. So I opted for an at-home workout. I plugged my iPod touch into the speakers in my office and got right to work.
Whoa, you don’t need to see a picture of me. Sorry about that.
The ladder workout was part of yesterday’s designated workout from Best Body Bootcamp. I thought it was a little too easy (not sure if that means I need to up the weights, or up the reps or what. Or maybe I just wasn’t exhausted from cardio or something. Who knows)
I finished it off with 100 burpees. It felt so good. SO GOOD.
2. I have decided that I am not a huge fan of healthy living blogs. Correction: I think I have healthy living blog overload. Sometimes I am just NOT in the mood to see my twitter feed or google reader full of posts about exercise science or protein-packed meals or incredibly detailed workout regimes. (Am I guilty of that? Sometimes. But I try to keep a good balance of fun, fitness and whatever so that I don’t get myself in too tight of a niche) Plus, I think a lot of bloggers “fake” their lives online. Those pictures of only having one peanut butter cup? Not real. Yet, many readers think it is. And therefore, they feel guilty for consuming the entire bag.
I’m not accusing anyone or whatever, just saying that that information is a little too much for ME sometimes.
3. I tried to start The Happiness Project last night, but I just couldn’t do it. Not my kind of book.
4. I am a crafting fiend. I broke out the glitter, glue, and paint last night and really got my christmas on. I’m not done with anything yet, so I have no awesome pictures to share. Plus, I plan on hitting up Michael’s again today, so who knows what’ll happen!
5. My family is cute
6. I have so many gifts to buy! My foodie penpal, my Canada blogger Christmas Swap, another gift for a White Elephant exchange, me… (haha on that last one)
7. I think it’s a Canadian thing to not wear shoes in the house. I hate that. I mean, I get that it prevents a lot of crap from being dragged in, but I have a dog. She drags in a ton of crap already, so what difference does wearing shoes make? None.
8. I will not be going home for Christmas. I am SUPER sad about it. (But at least I can enjoy my holiday decorations with my little family- see above). I am probably going to get comments about this one. Sorry people, I make no $$ and can’t really control the decision. I’ll be back at some point though, because I haven to get my wedding dress fitted.
9. Speaking of weddings, we finally decided on bridesmaids dresses (and their earrings). And I have emailed my coordinator to put together sample bouquets so I can actually SEE what the final product will look like.
10. I really want to have a cookie exchange party, but I don’t think you can really do that when all your friends live like 239572093 miles away- and in another country. Besides, cookies don’t hold up well when they’re stuck in customs.
11. Ok, I am sick of blogging right now. So I’m gonna go craft.
12. I would really love more followers on twitter and Likes on my facebook page. I would bribe you with a giveaway or something, but I can’t afford it. Plus, I don’t have companies giving me free stuff. Sorry. But, if you feel a little warmth in your heart, you’d do it anyways.
I feel like I’m in a super huge rut right now. I don’t know why, but I don’t like it. But, I figured since I haven’t posted in a while, I might as well bust something out.
I have no pictures to show you either because I got the new iPhone 5 on Saturday. Apparently, the software in the phone is different than my Mac Book, so I would have to buy new software for my computer in order for my phone to be synced on it. So, long story short, I had to back up my old iPhone on Tyler’s computer instead, and start from scratch with this iPhone. I could put the software on my computer, but I am going to wait a couple more weeks for school to be over and clean out my computer, yadda yadda yadda.
Let’s talk about Tim Hortons. Um, yeah. I have been there a ton of times now, and they STILL can’t get my order right. Today I wanted a bagel with plain cream cheese and ended up getting some weird onion chive crap. And they put sugar in my coffee. Le sigh. They still win over the Starbucks nearby because they are super fast. This Starbucks employs people who are literally stuck in slow-mo.
Still looking for an armband for my ipod touch. It’s not the newest generation one, and none of the stores here seem to carry what I want. Or it’s super expensive. Suggestions welcome.
I built two fires this weekend.
This is my new favorite song. It’s even better watching the video:
Inner Monologue every weekday when I have nothing to do:
2x today you are graced with my presence. It’s Jen overload. (You secretly get excited when I have a new post, admit it)
BUT I HAD TO IMMEDIATELY POST AGAIN because Sara from My Life in a Lab Coat nominated me for a freakin’ award! Thanks so much Sara, not only does it make me feel super duper good, but I have a case of raging boredom so this couldn’t have come at a better time.
It’s for small blogs, which makes it even awesomer because THOSE are the blogs I love most! We little folk are more interesting, funnier….you get the idea. So, I gotta tell you 11 things about myself, answer the 11 questions from Sara, nominate 11 people, and ask 11 questions for them to answer. Here goes!
11 things about me
1. When I run on the treadmill, I do a 4-count on my right hand. Over and over and over again. People and neighboring treadmills think I’m cray.
2. I still jump onto the bed because there is a monster under it who WILL grab my leg. (Insert scene of Sixth Sense here).
3. I sang in Carnegie Hall! In Latin! As a soprano!
4. I DO NOT eat fries.
5. I don’t wear ‘makeup’ (i.e.: foundation, concelear, etc.) It’s too icky for my pours. Strictly You Rebel moisturizer and a bit of Hoola from Benefit
6. I have lived in Southern California, Northern California, Upstate New York, New Hampshire, Boston, and now Calgary. Progressively colder places.
7. When we were living in Northern California (we had a chocolate lab named Sadie) a cockatiel flew into our backyard. So, we put signs up for a found bird. No one claimed her, so we named her Tiki and bought her a cage. On nice days (which is pretty much every day in CA) my dad would hang the cage in the backyard under the awning. Well, after two years of having our ‘found’ bird, the cage broke, and Tiki flew away. Good thing too, I hated cleaning that cage.
8. My favorite family vacation EVER was going to a dude ranch in Colorado. I had my own horse for a week, got to hang out with kids my age (super fun when you’re an only child) and eat cowboy food. (Wait- I just ranked this vacation over Hawaii. Am I insane?! No. Why? Because this gal DOES NOT do bathing suits. NO. NO. NO. Although, that reminds me, my high school friend Becca and I used to scooter (Razr scooters, HA!) around our town barefoot and in bathing suits. We would sometimes get all the way to a shopping center and be so dehydrated and hot that we would have to walk into the local pizza place and ask to use their phone to call my mom to come pick us up..and then take us to Starbucks for caramel frappuccinos.
9. I was convinced that I would go to school for soccer. Soccer was my life growing up. Primarily because I was the best left-footer (ok, the ONLY left footer, really). But for some reason, when I got to high school, my dad made me try out for the volleyball team and the rest is history. Boy was it gross when I gained the freshman 45 and still had to wear California spandex (1 1/4 inch inseam. YUCK)
10. That being said, it wasn’t until after high school did I find out what people were calling me behind my back. pun intended. you’ll soon see why……people would reconfigure my last name and call me “two-ass”. So mean!
11. I get really crazy when I am home with my parents. I run around the house, make funny noises, stand behind my mom while she’s doing dishes while holding her arms and controlling her movement. She’s really short, too, which makes it way fun. I can throw my leg over her shoulder to make her stay put. I’m not kidding. Granted, I have to do a series of stretching prior. But still. It’s fun.
11 answers to Sara’s questions
1. On a scale from 1 to 10 how much do you love cheese?
A billionty. Except about 70% of the time, my stomach doesn’t like it. In that case, 0%.
2. If you could life anywhere else in the world where would it be?
Australia. And I don’t know why. Perhaps because I hate snow.
3. Who is your favourite band/musician?
Hmmm, I don’t really have a favorite. But I can tell you what concerts I have been to: Nsync (2x), Backstreet Boys, Madonna, Britney Spears, KOL (3x)
4. How do you feel about snow?
Oops, I prematurely answered. I HATE IT. HATE. HATE. DO NOT LIKE. (Hate is a strong word. Seriously dislike)
5. What percentage of your day do you spend blogging/thinking about blogging?
This somewhat requires math. And I do enough of that with my homework. So, I’ll ballpark it and say 5% blogging/50% thinking about blogging.
6. What was your favorite childhood tv show?<—had to take the u out of the word favorite, because I’m amurrrrican.
I Love Lucy.
7. If you could have a big dog and a little dog, what would their names be, and which one would be the alpha dog?
Not counting my current dog, I would get a Burnese Mountain Dog and name him Gus. I hate little dogs, so I’ll say the other would be a Basset Hound named Bobby.
8. Do you love what you are doing for work, would you trade it for something else?
Haha, well I don’t work right now. But I am excited to see what I end up doing what I get my PR card! In the states, I worked in finance (worst job EVER) and taught group fitness. I would LOVE to continue personal training and instructing, but I think with my upcoming degree, I’d like to go back into the corporate environment to make some serious $$$.
9. Which member of the beatles is your favourite?
Ringo, because I like to say Ringo.
10. Do you prefer sweet, salty or sour?
SWEET.
11. If you could change the colour of the sky, what colour would you make it?<—again, dropped the u in color
PINK
Now I gotta nominate 11 people! (They’re either smaller bloggers or new-to-me bloggers!)
1. Check out this little craft I did yesterday that cost only $5 and took about 5 minutes to complete:
Each of those 81/2×11″ frames were 25 cents and the scrapbook paper was 99cents a sheet!
I have two other christmas craft projects that I might wait to complete over the weekend (it includes paint and candles and glitter and glue and all that jazz)
2. Last night’s dinner was FANTASTIC. I took the recipe from SkinnyTaste, and only tweaked it a bit. <—because I am terrible at converting ounces to grams and then usually halving the recipe for just the two of us. Yes, pretty much everything here is in grams which drives me freaking batty.
Chicken and Broccoli Noodle Casserole
Here’s what you need:
2 large boneless chicken breasts
3 cups no yolk noodles
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
1 cup milk
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large crown of broccoli
1 tbsp butter
1/8 cup minced onion
3 tbsp flour
1 cup shredded cheddar
3 tbsp parmesan cheese
2 tbsp bread crumbs
Here’s what you do:
1. Put the chicken in the crock pot on high for roughly 4 hours and shred with two forks when it’s done. (submerge the chicken in chicken broth, enough to cover the meat- this is not included in the list of ingredients0
2. Cook the noodles until they are almost al dente. Strain and set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 375, spray 8×8 with cooking spray.
4. Put the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and allow it to simmer for about a minute. Then add the broccoli florets. Turn the heat to low and cover the skillet to allow the broccoli to steam.
5. In a large pot, add the butter. Once it’s melted, throw in the onion and allow the onion to soften for a few minutes. Add the flour until incorporated. Then add the chicken broth and whisk thoroughly. Add the milk and bring the mixture to a boil (stirring occasionally). Once brought to a boil, turn it back down to medium heat and allow 6-7 minutes for mixture to thicken. Remove from heat, and add the cheddar cheese and 1 tbsp parmesan. Mix well.
6. Add shredded chicken, noodles, and broccoli to the cream mixture in pot.
7. Pour the mixture into the 8×8 dish. Top with remaining 2 tbsp parmesan cheese and bread crumbs.
8. Bake for 20 minutes, then allow it to sit under the broil for a couple minutes to allow the top to brown.
9. Eat! (We added some sriracha to our portions. yum!)
(I always use the smaller plates for my meals, and leave the big plates for Tyler. Perception of having the plate full can really deceive your eating habits!)
3. I worked out at home yesterday and did the strength workout B from Best Body Bootcamp. It was an interesting workout, and I adjusted a few moves to accommodate the equipment I have. The toughest one was what I substituted for hamstring curls- I actually used my gliding discs for these. Yikes, my hammies were screaming after that set. There were cardio intervals within the supersets and I finished it off with some kickboxing. Check out this super flattering picture.
(Notice that my HEAD is wider than my entire body. Oy)
4. It was during my workout (in ‘my’ room) that I noticed it’s been a while since I updated my calendar.
Just a few months off. No biggie. But July is my favorite. 4th of July, my birthday, summer= all happy things.
5. A lot of people do throwback thursday pics. Since I am now 3000 miles from home, I couldn’t really bring any of my stuff with me, so I don’t really have any of my childhood pictures. But I do have this gem that my mom somehow brought this summer.
It was my understanding that in 5th grade, prescription sunglasses were HOT. Looking at it now: NO THEY’RE NOT.
6. I got shout outs on both Leigh AND Alison’s blogs today (ladies, I am totally stealing that post soon!) Woo hoo!
7. It’s not a new song, but it’s been a huge player this week in my workouts. Love me some hip hop/electro mixes (mostly the hip hop part though). The best part:
Ugly girls be quiet, quiet, pretty girls clap, clap like this Ugly girls be quiet, quiet, pretty girls clap, clap like this
(I obviously clap)
Pretty Girls (Benny Benassi remix)
What song (new or old) do you have on heavy rotation lately?
nutcaseinpoint 