Weekend Catch Up. And free lululemon!

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Ok, I think I can get back to normal now. School is over and grades are in. 2 A’s to finish grad school! My cumulative GPA is 3.751. Not. Too. Shabby. I am really glad it’s over. The other night, I dreamt that I hadn’t finished all my work. But I also dreamt bears were chasing me, so I couldn’t take it too seriously. I finally checked yesterday morning and had to refrain from hooting and hollering because Tyler was still sleeping.

Made me feel even better about getting this puppy from Tyler as a graduation gift:

I have already made a batch of chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies and biscotti. The chocolate chip recipe that was my go-to recipe has been officially taken over by a new recipe that came with my mixer. Tyler and I agreed that this batch was the best because it wasn’t as sweet. I thought they were chewier, too. Makes them last longer (or not). I am still on the hunt for a savory dish to make with this. But why rush, when the obvious thing to make during the holiday season is tons and tons of cookies?! I loaded up on sugar, flour, brown sugar, powdered sugar, eggs, BUTTER, and food coloring in preparation for the madness that will be my kitchen in the next few weeks. PS: If you have any cookies recipes you’re dying to share..PLEASE DO!

Saturday was a busy day. It was a FUN day! And, after two weeks sans makeup and normal clothes, I got myself dressed.

I rocked some red corduroys, brown leather boots, a plaid long sleeved tee, and my wool scarf from Zulily. If you haven’t heard of Zulily, I highly recommend you check out that link I provided. There are some insane deals on there! (The girls got their bridesmaids earrings from there!)

We had a Groupon for Fatburger that was due to expire this week, so we decided to make the trek to the NE for some fat-kid food.

The voucher was for the standard burger, fries, and soft drink. A meal that is totally out of my norm. I managed to finish most of the burger which was OK, and a couple of fries. Had to force feed those, since I am NOT a fry person. The best thing I can say about that meal was that it wasn’t greasy. So I didn’t feel like a tub-o-lard that I planned on feeling like.

While eating the meal, I spotted a Bulk Barn across the way. I had never been to one yet, and I really wanted to sneak a peak on what goodies they had to offer. Yup, it was heaven. I was surprised by the variety of things they had- coffee to spices to baking ingredients to candy to nuts to….everything.

I managed to restrain myself, and we walked out with only a couple of goodies:

Irish cream coffee beans, hot tamales, corn nuts (for Tyler). and silver sugar pearls. I was entirely too excited to see the pearls because I remember my mom always having them in the cupboard, ready for baking. I guess the store we went to stopped carrying them or they were discontinued because we couldn’t find them for the longest time. Tonight, we will be definitely using them to decorate christmas cookies- made with my new mixer 😉

We also stopped by this shop that was within the same neighborhood- and we got a home brewing kit! Tyler and I LOVE drinking beer, and Tyler has been interesting in making it at home. We ended up getting the kit and a box of wort for mexican cerveza.The guy at the store said it was more like Dos Equis than Corona. As soon as we got home, we got right to it!

I can’t wait to see how it turns out. We have already been looking into other ‘flavors’. I’m rooting for Apricot!

After the beer was all set (it is currently still sitting in the basement fermenting. Or doing whatever it does), we got to our gingerbread building. I opted for the traditional house, while Tyler mixed it up and got the tree. I think they turned out pretty good. Mine included red and green fondant that I had to roll out and shape myself. I now have a new respect for wedding cake bakers. But I’m still going with cupcakes.

We rounded out the evening with Caesars and Home Alone.

And Layla drooled all over us. Typical.

Sunday was nothing unusual. Except for the fact that I wasn’t bogged down with homework! Tyler watched football while I did laundry and napped and snuggled with the pup. I was feeling pretty blah and didn’t want to go to the gym, so I did a pretty quick- but effective strength circuit:

50 left reverse gliding lunges
50 right reverse gliding lunges
50 overhead presses
50 shoulder presses
100 stability ball situps
50 right single leg deadlifts
50 left single leg deadlifts

Yesterday’s workout was Workout A from Best Body Bootcamp– 6 rounds of tabatas, with each alternating between two moves (this is my favorite series for arms, because I have seen immediate results after both last night’s session and last Monday’s session. Score!) I also got to the gym and did a 30 minute treadmill interval workout.

I think that makes me sufficiently caught up. What’s going on with you?

PS: Don’t forget, if you’re looking for a fitness-related gift for you or someone you know, check out the monthly fitness apparel subscription box from pv.body. If you click here, you can get 20% of regular price! AND IF YOU SIGN UP BY 12/13 (THIS THURSDAY) YOU WILL GET A FREE $25 LULULEMON GIFT CARD!!!!!!! (You can thank me later. Or now. Or send me cookies/lululemon gift card)

Let’s get to it.

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Happy Monday, folks. Let’s get to it.

1. I won 2 tickets to the Kensington Wine Market Wine Fest on Friday! I was so excited because I really never win anything- and this I could share with Tyler!. Unfortunately, he got my cold, so at the time he couldn’t really taste much. We still had fun though!

There were 80 wines to try, and they were separated by country. Only one bottle of each wine was opened, so we were encouraged to ‘move on’ to another sample to allow for others to get a try. They had some food catered- finger foods as well as meat and cheese platters (I got hooked on the smoked bison).

And Crave cupcakes!

The event ran from 7-9pm. At 8pm, they brought out the cupcakes and dessert wines. If I could have just drank port all night, I would have been fine with that.

I got a good laugh because everyone arrived very timid and quiet, and by the first 15 minutes, we were all buzzed and chatting. Tyler and I made nice with the Spain and US tables. MMmmmmMMM (I have the pamphlet they gave us which listed all the wines, but I have yet to take a picture to share with you. I would do it now, but I am typing this in bed and I’m too comfy to move. Maybe another time.)

So fun!

2. Saturday, we ran tons of errands. But who cares about those. When we got home a bunch of hours later, we carved our pumpkins!

Tyler’s came out better than mine. Whatever. I scraped the insides out of both of those suckers, so I’m the real hero.

His:

Mine:

And I roasted the seeds! I had no idea how friggin easy that was. AND TASTY.

4. Our post pumpkin treats were….beer. We indulged in some seasonal brews from one of my faves, Big Rock Brewery. We loved all three!

Autumn Wheat: Spiced Ale. Light in taste. Great with din din.

Loved the Espresso Stout! Only 4.2% alcohol content. It tasted like cold coffee with a hint of beer. There was absolutely no aftertaste. We both thought this would be nasty, but it was an awesome surprise. I could have drank about 6 more of them.

But I moved on..

Winter Spice Ale was 6.0% alcohol content, so I thought it would be massively strong, but it was still quite pleasant. Seriously, there is not a single beer from Big Rock that I don’t like. Good job, guys.

5. Oh, and I actually got dressed on Saturday. Like, makeup and everything. That never happens. Even Tyler gave me a double look because of it.

Not TOO shabby.

6. Yesterday I finished up my two midterms. Not fun, but after about 5 hours of work, I submitted both and the weight was immediately lifted. Now, only 5 weeks to go and I’ll have my Masters!

7. Layla is a lazy bum.

8. Workouts. Love em. Let’s talk about em.

Friday

Best Body Bootcamp workout C (It was a mostly-arms circuit)
20 minutes of kickboxing

Saturday

Sunday

The 100 workout

Oh wait, you don’t know what that is? Probably because I made it up. I was too busy making pumpkin pancakes, watching football, doing schoolwork, and finishing my book to get to the gym for any cardio yesterday (wasn’t up for cardio anyways), so I do a bunch of strength stuff in my jammies at home.

100 pushups
100 Gliding side lunges
100 stability ball situps
100 lateral raises
100 wall squats
100 leg lifts

Today will be an INTENSE cardio session followed by Workout A from BBB.

8. I bought toilet paper this weekend. I know, I know, it’s a big deal. I used to buy it at Target (in bulk), and it’s cheap. But grocery stores are significantly more expensive. I chose the cheapest one, which oddly enough was 3-ply. The verdict? 3-ply is no better than 2-ply, so don’t waste your pennies. #justsaying.

9. Started this book last night:

(Source)

10. Got the new Pink CD. Played it on Friday night after we got home from the Wine Fest, and of course I had a dance party (with myself. Tyler doesn’t dance, and Layla usually just stands in front of me and stares)

This one is my fave: (you probably won’t see the link if you’re viewing this through Google Reader)

11. Important notes saved on my phone:

These are very imporant

Trash can liner size
light bulbs for house
light bulbs for kitchen lights
weight conversion (mostly for meat in the grocery store)
gas prices. I still don’t understand why they price it so crazy looking,

Ok, I have to get to the mall. See ya.

Montana Road Trip

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

So we went to Montana on Friday night. The only reason was so that I could officially export my car from the US and import it into Canada. Really out of the way, but Tyler and I made a trip out of it.

It was about 4 hours of this view before we got to Cut Bank, MT for the night (we were able to export the car on Friday night, but the officer said we could still stay the night in MT since we had already made reservations).

So, Cut Bank is tiny. Like, population 4. Le woof. We managed to find a place called Charlie’s for dinner, where we gorged on pizza and beer. Meal of champions.

I had a Moose Drool

And Tyler had a Land Shark

Pizza was topped with pepperoni, pineapple and mushies. It was pretty good (but not good for you. Whatever, it was Friday and I was in AMERICA!!)

Our hotel was…well, a hotel. Nothing fancy. It was a Motel 8! The swankiest place the town had to offer. I wasn’t too impressed with the mirror headboard.

Yeah, that’s a face of happiness. Or something like that.

The view from our room:

Lots of nothing. BUT, we stopped at a gas station before getting to the hotel and we got a 6 pack of Shock Top and a 6 pack of Blue Moon. This American was in HEAVEN. Oh, how I’ve missed that beer. We enjoyed them while watching European Vacation. (We didn’t drink it all- we got to bring back most of them. Thank you border patrol lady for letting us!)

We woke up Saturday and got right on the road. Once we hit the border, we actually had to go in the office and get my car admitted and go through all the paperwork. It only set us back about 30 minutes, so it was actually quite easy!

Before making it back to Calgary, we made a detour at Buffalo Junction

And paid a visit to the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.

This site was where Blackfoot Indians would persuade Buffalo herds to stampede over a cliff to their deaths. They would use as much as they could from the Buffalo carcasses to survive until the next jump.

The museum itself was 6 stories and the top floor allowed you to go outside and stand at the site where the Buffalo would jump. It was really quite impressive.

Archeologists found that the jump was used up to 6000 years ago. At that point, the cliff was substantially higher, but as more and more jumps were completed, the remains of the Buffalo and dirt would accumulate at the bottom. Over time, the fall became less fatal, and more Indians had to man the base to kill the injured animals once they had fallen. It was important that no Buffalo escaped, because they believed that the escapee would warn other herds to stay away.

Ironically, once we left Montana and were in Alberta, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant called Montana’s.

And then, of course, Tim Horton’s for a caffeine boost

This barn made me laugh because of it’s large smiley face. So, I thought I’d take a photo to share

Dinner when we got back home were burgers and margaritas. Isn’t that how all road trips are supposed to end? I had the best chef(s).

Action shot

And I can’t forget the Tequila! (We were schooled at the liquor store about tequilas with 100% agave, silver vs. gold, and basically how crappy Sauza and Jose Cuervo were because they only had to make theirs with 51% agave and the other 49% could be made up of whatever sugars they want.

And now, my friends, I am off to the gym because I feel like one fat lardo. Can’t wait to get my sweat on!

Let’s talk beer

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Hi friends (I’m calling all of you reading this friends because I think it’s nice)

Tyler and I had a little Around the World beer tasting last night when he got home from work. We went over to one of the local liquor stores and took about 20 minutes deciding on our selection.

This is what we came up with

We made sure to create a solid base by grabbing pitas from Extreme Pita

We enjoyed our brews while we watching a couple episodes of Top Gear. It was still light out and Tyler wanted to wait until it was dark to watch our movie.

Side note: yeah, it stays light out way later here. To back me up, I have provided some proof:

Here are the sunrise and sunset times in Calgary this week

And here it is for Boston

source

The sun sets here after 9pm. Meaning, it doesn’t get dark until 10. Pretty sweet if you ask me!

Ok, back to the beer. The first one we tried was Schofferhofer from Germany

Tyler and I both liked this one. It was light, slightly sweet and had no aftertaste. It was very easy to drink.

Next, we traveled to the Netherlands for Mongozo

It had somewhere around 3% alcohol, so it was a very fruity, light beer. I could definitely imagine drinking his on the beach. But, I made due with the couch.

Third, was Fuller’s Organic Honeydew from England. Yet another surprisingly light beer. This one had a great aftertaste too. The honey was subtle, but delicious in this medium bodied beverage.

At this point, we were 3 for 3. So far so good!

Spain came next: Estrella Damm. Tyler picked this one out and it had no label, just a little info tag around the neck. I read that this one was designed to be drank from a wine glass and specifically to be paired with food. Hmm, well we ate about an hour earlier, so I didn’t see the harm.

Wow. This one was good. I could really see how this would pair with food. It was light in taste. I really don’t know how to describe it other than that it was nice to have this beer out of a wine glass!

Tyler noticed that Layla kept walking around to find different spots to lay. His solution: bring her bed out to the living room. She’s not spoiled or anything.

Then, when I went to go pour our 5th beer, this happened

She gets so many treats (note: don’t say the word ‘chicken’ around Layla anymore) its ridiculous.

This fifth beer, well, it was interesting. It was Cannery Brewery Blackberry Porter from BC.

As soon as I poured this, I could immediately smell the blackberries. We sat. We sipped. We both made stink faces. It smelled good, it tasted odd, but had the greatest aftertaste. So weird. It was still good, I just think it was different from what we expected. We were still happy!

Last beer of the night was Blanche de Chambly white ale.

Did we really choose 6 winners? Yup. This last one was very citrusy ad wonderful. Tyler said it reminded him of Hoegaarden and I thought it was reminiscent of a Blue Moon. Either way, we both loved.

At this point, it was dark enough outside, so we watched The Grey. Good movie!

And that’s my beer review for the week, off to walk my little lady!

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Share me please!

Share me please!

Share me please!