Category Archives: Uncategorized

Stuff on the Internets

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More things I came across that I found worth sharing:

1. Lower fat chocolate made with fruit juice. Hmmm. No, I think I’ll stick to the regular stuff, thanks. I always see ads for chocolates that are lower in fat or sweets that are “under 100 calories” but I NEVER get them. Mostly because that means the product is pumped with way more artificial stuff which is actually bad for you in the long run. Fruit juice? A good idea, but I like my chocolate tasting like chocolate and chocolate chocolate chocolate. The end. Chocolate.

2. I have had a thing of heavy cream in my fridge for a bit (insert quick trip to the fridge to check its expiration) Just kidding, I had to throw it out. But do you ever find you have a bit of heavy cream leftover when you only need a teensy bit of it for a recipe? Well these cranberry and walnut scones can help you out with that. Scones are great because they are dense and filling and you can pretty much toss whatever combo of add-ins into the recipe. Cranberries are fantastic for scones- my mom ALWAYS makes them. And I ALWAYS eat (all of) them.

3. Ok, so I have to admit I bookmarked this one a few days ago, but never read it until just now when I meant to include it in this post. And OMG HAHAHAHAHAhahahahahAHHAHAHAHAHAHahahahHAHAHA I am laughing so hard from it that I am mad for depriving myself the last few days of knowing about how hilarious it is. YOU HAVE TO READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE AND YOU HAVE TO PLAY THE SONG INCLUDED TOWARDS THE END. OMG I CAN’T STOP LAUGHING. Hey, you probably want to know what the article is about, right? A ladies’ guide to a one night stand. And I’ll tell you what, this would have been useful knowledge to have pre-Tyler. Most likely college. AHAHAHHAHA yes. Just yes.

4. Chocolate chip cookie bars stuffed with peanut butter. Why have I not thought of this? Oh wait, I did stuff them with Nutella once. But that was only once because I found Nutella straight out of the jar to be much easier and just as delicious. 

5. I really want to make this jewelry board. Then I got to thinking: I have like no jewelry. So, I have change my order of priorities to 1.) get jewelry, then 2.) make jewelry board.

6. This is another one of those talking dog videos. Made me laugh/feel good to watch. Especially while I am on the phone with the bank and the registry office to coordinate things. Like, let’s talk about how the registry told me I need proof of residency, among other things, to get an Alberta license (i.e. a bank statement) and the bank tells me I need 2 picture IDs (i.e. an Alberta license) to open an account. See how that works there? Both sides are telling me I need the others. Aka: that doesn’t work. It also means that they’re uneducated on the process because I guarantee when I go to said bank/registry office, I will be able to get both. Right, so yeah…watch that talking dog video.

7. This article will clue you in on overexercising. Did you know that FAT GAIN is one of them? I honestly think that’s why I was 15+/- lbs heavier when I was living in Boston because I was taking/teaching so many group ex classes—even though I was eating healthy! Crazy thought.

Your Turn: What have you found of interest on the internet lately?

Winesday Wednesday 4/17

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Happy Winesday Wednesday, everyone! I only got a few submissions for this week, so it’s gonna be a short post. Just a reminder, it’s called Winesday Wednesday, but that doesn’t limit you to just submitting wine pics. You can choose other alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages as well. I want this to be a fun weekly post so we can show off what we’re each drinking, and perhaps inspire others to try it too! 

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Let’s see what was on tap this week!

Ashley sent in a pic of La Crema, saying: My mom had this for me at my birthday celebration at home. Went great with the home cooked swordfish I requested! Oooh, lucky birthday lady! I love La Crema! 

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Monique @burpeestobubbly (Twitter) tweeted that she was “kicking off the #birthday weekend with J. Lohr Wines. Love love love their wines!”

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..wow, these birthday gals chose some great vino for their birthdays!!!

Athena @fitnessandfeta (twitter) said the following pic was “my favorite bevvy from this weekend (and there were many bevvies!)” Love me some beer, girl!

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Keith sent this pic in, saying “A nice fruity wine, lots of bold flavour, mixes well with lots of food. This was bottled sept 2012, so it’s still maturing. I suspect in another 6 months it will be very rich, and might well become one of my favorites.” Ummm, yumm-o!!

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My mama texted me this pic of her and her friend Marg sewing in the basement. No, it’s not a sweat shop. They’re retired ladies who get together and ‘sew’ on Wednesday nights. I put the word sew in italics because I’m pretty sure that no longer happens once the wine is opened. Actually, I know that doesn’t happen once the wine is opened. 

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And I leave myself for last because it’s the courteous thing to do. I enjoyed a bit of prosecco from Costco and mixed it with some of my favorite kombucha. Sounds weird, I know, but don’t knock it till you try it. Mmmmmm

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Thank you to everyone who took the time to send me their goods this week! Please please please join in for next week!

Monday Moves #2

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Hey everyone. This week’s Monday Moves post is a day late because I got caught up in everything that was happening in Boston. But we’re still gonna call it Monday Moves.

mondaymoves

Onto some moves for this week. Keep in mind the pictures are terrible, but they are just to give you an idea of how the exercise is performed.

1. Wall Sit with Shoulder Rotation and Overhead Press

4.16 wallsit

-Aside from the fact that I obviously need to sweep my dog’s hair before taking pictures, this move works your lower and upper body. Pressing the length of your back against the wall (be mindful to not let your lower back ‘roll’ forward) and dropping your hips to knee height (get that 90 degree angle), hold the weights as pictured (keep elbows stationed at shoulder height).

-Rotate the weights, keeping your shoulders and elbows put. Engage your core so that your back remains pressed against the wall while performing this part of the exercise.

-Press the weights over your head. That is the entire move. To return to starting position, reverse the order of the pictures as shown. (Aka: drop the elbows, rotate the shoulders, and lower the weights).

2. Bridge and Chest Press

4.16 press

-Start laying on the ground, feet planted. To engage your inner thighs, place either a bender ball or extremely light weight in between your knees. Cheese relatively heavy weights to hold- elbows lined with the chest.

-Engage your core and press with your heels to raise your hips into bridge position. Be mindful of the weight/ball between your knees. At the same time, press the weights overhead.

-In a slow, controlled movement, drop your elbows down to starting position and simultaneously round the spine to lower your butt to the floor. Repeat. Repeat lots of times if you want a great butt.

3. Single Leg Deadlift with Overhead Press

4.16 deadlift

-Ok, stick with me on this one, there are a lot of moves involved. But I promise, it is SO worth it. This is probably my favorite exercise. It requires balance and lots of coordination. Something I don’t generally have (on a Friday or Saturday night. Bahahaha, good joke Jen!)

-Start with your feet together, holding heavier weights at your sides. Keeping one foot planted, gradually kick one leg back- leg extended and foot flexed. At the same time, lower the weights to almost touch the ground by your planted foot.

-Then, bring the leg back to starting position (but DO NOT touch your foot to the floor. In a fluid and immediate motion, rotate the weight and begin a bicep curl while also lifting the ‘moving’ leg so that the knee is at hip height.

-Last part, extend the foot and transition the weights from the top of the bicep curl into an overhead press. To do more than one rep of this move, slowly reverse the order of steps. (Aka: Lower from the overhead press and bend the knee; reverse the curl; lower the leg.

4. Plank High Fives

4.16 plank

-Yes, you will high five your wall. Or you can position yourself to high five your baby or your pet or perhaps someone’s butt (if they’re like sitting in a chair or something. But I recommend you telling them you’re about to TAP THAT ASS.)

-Before assuming the position, face the wall (or object you’ll tap) and extend your arm out to find the appropriate length. Place yourself at the correct distance and get into a straight-arm plank with your palms directly under your shoulders. NO BUTTS IN THE AIR, Y’ALL.

-Keeping your core engaged, alternate arms to give high fives. Just try not to rotate your hips as your reach.

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There ya have it, folks. Some potentially new-to-you moves to add to future workouts. See ya tomorrow for WINESDAY WEDNESDAY!

Question: Done any of these moves before? Love em/hate em?

 

Exercise and Eats: Week of 4/15

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I don’t feel clever enough to write a little blurb before jumping right into the exercises and eats for this week. So there.

Last week’s workouts turned out as follows:

Sun, 4/7: No Weight Workout (2x through) DONE

Mon, 4/8: Strength Workout A from Best Body Bootcamp, 20 minute spin, 10 min run DONE

Tues, 4/9: 40 min run, 5 min row, ab tabatas 60 minute run DONE

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Wed, 4/10: Strength Workout B, 35 min treadmill intervals 10 min row, 10 min spin DONE

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Thurs, 4/11: 40 min spin run DONE

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Fri, 4/12: Strength Workout C, 20 minute run, 10 min row, 10 min spin DONE

Sat, 4/13: Hike or home workout TBA OFF

Now for this week:

Sun, 4/14: At home workout (CBC kix and some TRX strength)

Mon, 4/15: Best Body Bootcamp Strength Workout A, 30 min run, 10 min spin

Tues, 4/16: 60 min run

Wed, 4/17: BBB Strength Workout B, 30 min spin, 10 min row

Thurs, 4/18: 40 min run, 10 min row, abs

Fri, 4/19: BBB Strength Workout C, 20 min spin, 20 min run

EATS

These are last week’s meals:

  • Monday: Southwestern Quinoa Bowls

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  • Tuesday: All beef hot dogs

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  • Wednesday: Loaded potatoes (regular tater for him, sweet tater for me)

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  • Friday: Paninis (not sure what he wants, but I plan on having turkey, cheddar and granny smith apple on cinnamon raisin bread)

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On tap for this week:

  • Monday: Teriyaki Bowls
  • Tuesday: Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs
  • Wednesday: Quesdillas
  • Thursday: Buffalo Turkey Burgers
  • Friday: Homemade Pizza

**Don’t forget to check back in later for this week’s Monday Moves Post!

*******Also don’t forget to submit your Winesday Wednesday pics/write-ups/what have yous. Stuff can be submitted by:

  1. Tweeting. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #winesdaywednesday and include me (@nutcaseinpoint).
  2. Sharing on my facebook page (Nutcaseinpoint)
  3. Posting on Instagram. Again, using the hashtag #winesdaywednesday and including me @nutcaseinpoint.
  4. Email me at jtougas77(at)gmail(dot)com.

Missed out on last week’s post?? (the first installment!!!) Check it out here 🙂

Stuff on the Internets

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*Just add to add this little story before publishing. Last night, a friend on twitter mentioned that she had just ordered pizza online for the first time. It immediately made me think of a story which I promised to include in this post, as it’s longer than the 140 character twitter limit.

SO. A few years ago, my ex and I were at my parents house in NY. They were in Florida for a few months, and their house was the halfway point between where he and I were living at the time. The first night we were together at the house, we decided to have a few drinks and hang out at the house. Fast forward to around 1AM and we were pretty drunk and STARVING. Since my parents were gone for quite some time, there was no food in the house. We decided to register and order a pizza online since it was pretty much the only available option.

We set up a profile for Domino’s pizza, entered my parents address, picked our poison, and prepaid. About 10 minutes later, the pizza arrived at our door. Genius idea, Dominos. Genius.

Ok, now fast forward about a year- year and a half. I was back at my apartment in Boston. I was out drinking with a friend and we decided to share a cab home. He ended up coming to my apartment for a food break (we tried to get the cabbie to stop for Chinese on the way home because we were STARVING. Cabbie wasn’t too keen on the idea). So we get into my apartment and start scavenging the kitchen for food. Pretty much the only thing that was remotely meal-like were a bunch of frozen dinners. Meh.

I had the brilliant idea of using the online pizza service. My friend got really enthused, and we quickly forgot about Chinese food. We logged in, picked our pizzas, paid, and waited. 

And waited.

And waited.

About an hour after the order was submitted (roughly 2AM), I get a call from my mom. There was a guy on their front porch (IN NEW YORK) with our pizzas. 200 miles away. 

I couldn’t stop laughing. 

My dad was PISSED.

I hadn’t changed the account information for my ‘pizza profile’ in over a year, so they still had my parents home address in the system!!!

AHAHAHA.

End of the story: My friend and I had those frozen dinners. And my parents had pizza the next night.

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Now, onto regularly scheduled posting:

Yet more things I have found on the internet to share. Perhaps they will inspire you. Perhaps it’s just some additional reading. Here we go:

FOOD

1. Cheesy Spinach ‘n Chobani Enchilada Bake. I am totally making this in the near future. Only, it won’t be with Chobani because they don’t sell the stuff here. Oikos to the rescue!

2. Creamy Almond Butter Fudge. Ummm, say whaaaaaaa? I am drooling. Need to jump on this one stat.

3. Wait, wait, wait. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Overload Bars?! Yeah, I need to make those too. Even though I am pretty proud of my streak of not eating chocolate. Wonder how long that will last..

4. Perfectly Easy Pancakes. I’m actually already pretty familiar with this recipe. It just reminded me that I really need an immersion blender.

5. I once tried beef in the crock pot and royally failed. However, since this recipe uses beer WITH beef in the crock pot, I think I might try again.

6. Another enchilada recipe to add to the long list of other waiting to be made. I seriously need to start making them. I’m afraid I’ll love them way too much though. This just reminded me of the first and FAVORITE Mexican Restaurant my parents and I would go to when I was little: El Conejo in Irvina, CA. I just googled it and saw that it closed a few years ago. Sad.

7. Now this is a genius idea. I think I need to make these for when we go on long walks with the dog. Or really, when I want to sit a veg (because we know the latter of the two is more likely). Trail Mix Peanut Butter Cookies. Oh my Lawd it incorporates the best of almost every world (except the tequila world. but JUST YOU WAIT for what I have to say about THAT later!)

8. At my parents house, my mom would make Hollandaise sauce from scratch. Confession: Tyler and I now make it from a packet. Oof. I recently came across this recipe that makes it appear to be much easier than I remember back home.

(I have about 5029735209375 other recipes flagged on my computer. Ahhhh, to take the time to share them all..)

HEALTH

1. I just flagged this post because it really struck a chord. Finding your happy weight. I still haven’t found mine. There are too many issues that I’ve had with eating and dieting and fitness and body image and negativity for me to have completely weeding through all that to find my happy weight. Tina explains that it’s a feeling rather than a number. Yeah, still trying to get over that too.

2. Oh, and this post, too. I secretly love knowing that there are other people out there having the same struggles as me. (Not happy that we are all struggling, but you know what I mean). It’s about food. My best and worst enemy. Especially when it comes to wearing pants that have a button and a zipper and less than 90% spandex.

3. How to Eat Healthy on a Budget. Guys, it’s possible. I did it in Boston when I was making approx. 4 cents an hour at my previous job.

4. Ahh, I loved this post. Janetha had a comment on one of her previous posts that she addressed. And her response was phenom. The comment was in regards to her projecting a healthy lifestyle, yet still getting sick. She addressed the sick part, then the response evolved into things she does that fall outside of the ‘healthy living’ circle. It’s only normal, right? You have one life so live it. Out of all the healthy living blogs I subscribe to, I identify with her the most. If you don’t already read her blog, you should!

5. Remember Fraggle Rock?! This video montage shows that were actually pretty depressing. (I’m afraid to admit I actually laughed while watching this.)

6. 5 Superfoods to eat in April. Have you been eating any on the list? (If you have, and have a cool recipe, send ’em this-a-way!)

7. Dara Torres says that exercise helps her sleep. I totally agree. I LOVE when I do a late night workout, come home, shower, and fall into bed. Then, it’s lights out for Jen for the WHOLE night. Lately, I’ve been doing my workouts in the afternoon (due to digestion issues) and I’m really bummed I don’t get that workout high right before beddy-by time.

FITNESS

1. Here’s a sweet poster that might address things you didn’t know: 40 Facts About Fitness

2. A challenge for women to go shirtless (not in the skanky way. In the ‘be-secure-about-your-body’ way.) Oh and ladies, while you’re shirtless, you’ll be participating in group fitness classes. Tie ’em down if you knowwhatimean.

3. An article that addresses the best way to change up your workouts. It wasn’t what I thought! (But totally makes sense)

4. Don’t forget to stretch! Athena explains some great upper body stretches.

You Turn: Have anything to share from the internet that stuck out to you this week? Link up in the comment section!