ROOF!

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I think my new favorite exercise (at least for this week) are TRX tabatas. They are no joke. I formatted yesterday’s class to incorporate 2 moves on the band (to fatigue), then do two moves with dumbbells that use the same muscle groups. After those were complete, we would do a 90 seconds cardio burst. We did this for 5 rounds, but I snuck in two different tabatas to really get our blood pumping. The first was TRX squat jumps and the second was Swimmer Starts (shown at minute 1:20).

I originally planned to get in a quick run after class, but since my muscles were pretty much dead after class, I just walked back to my car and headed home. I got a pretty sweet sunset shot on the walk to my car

 

Today’s funny story is brought to you by….ME!

I am still pretty much a child in that when I see something, like a duck, I’ll either shout “duck!” or “quack!” Or I read signs aloud as we drive by. Stuff like that. On an unrelated note, we are getting our roof done (they came and delivered the materials 2 weeks ago, we are just waiting for them to come back and actually do it.) Anyways, because we were in the process of picking out what color roof, we would point out ones we liked when we were out walking Layla. So, the other day when we were in the car, I noticed a lot of houses in a row were getting their roofs re-done. So I yelled “roof!” and Tyler goes……”you saw a dog? What kind?”

Hhahahaha, does anyone see the humor in this? My idiot self shouting ROOF sounded like WOOF. I really need to grow up and not proclaim things as I see them.

Read this post about plateauing. You will laugh.

I found some REALLY BAD pictures from college. So I thought I’d share some of them with you. This is prior to he existence of facebook, so these are what I like to call ‘rare finds.’ Enjoy. Or barf.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am a LOSER.

So I’ll leave you with something a little bit cuter to look at. Layla.

 

Do you like TRX? Tabatas? Have a terrible college picture you’d like to share?

The Funk Phenomena

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1. I forgot to mention yesterday about this sort of cool thing. Tyler ate McDonalds. No, that is not the cool thing, but I’m getting to that part. You see, when I’m not in the house around dinner time, Tyler cheats on me. I came home from teaching at the Y last week and I asked if he wanted me to make him a smoothie. He said no, he wasn’t hungry. I asked him if he had any dinner and he said he snuck to McDonalds when I left. My jaw dropped and my head started to shake, but he had what he thought was a legitimate excuse: the Monopoly game was back. AND he won. I asked if he won a McMuffin, which is basically not winning, and he said no, he won 2 free 5×7 prints from snapfish.ca. 

“Ok” I thought to myself, “I can use this!”

So yesterday, I got online (shocker) and ordered two prints. And shipping was free.

2. Naturally, I followed up this venture with a trip to Michael’s for some craft frame project, but I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted. I had a coupon, too! Wahhh.

3. I made these puppies to accommodate dinner last night (which was salad topped with spicy pulled chicken)

 

Cornbread Jalapeno Poppers

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 6 jalapenos
  • cornbread mix (I used the entire box, and baked the rest as muffins to freeze for later)
  • 1 cup corn
  • 1.5 cups shredded cheddar
  • GLOVES

Here’s what you do:

  1. Put on gloves and cut each jalapeno in half (lengthwise). Remove veins and seeds.
  2. Mix the cornbread according to box directions (ugh I always make mine from scratch, or use Jiffy mix, but I couldn’t find Jiffy anywhere here! Another sad face for Canada), mix in the corn and one cup of cheese.
  3. Scoop the mixture and place in each jalapeno. Top with remaining cheese
  4. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.

 

(Tyler didn’t like them. I’m thinking he was secretly hoping they were full of cream cheese and wrapped in bacon. That’s for next time!)

4. I had a really sweaty at-home workout last night.

 

(The stability ball followed me into the bathroom, apparently)

I started with about 40 minutes of kickboxing, and rounded out with a 20 minute full body strength session. I started laughing at the beginning of my kickboxing workout, because the first song was The Funk Phenomena (I linked to the YouTube ‘video’ so you can listen to it if you have no idea what I am talking about). I went through the song 2x because I was laughing so hard.

“Jen, why were you laughing?”

“Because he sounds like he’s saying Tha Fu Fa Na Ma Na instead of The Funk Phenomena!” (Leave it to me to make everything childish.) I was also super hyper, so I was adding some crazy hip action to this routine.

5. When I went back home in August, I dedicated a full day to take care of formally important stuff. I had to contact every insurance company I used for car insurance (to provide Tyler’s insurance company with proof that I have been driving x-number of years with 0 claims- so that my payment would be reduced) I had a lot of insurance companies, because I was always reviewing to see who could provide me with the cheapest rate. Oh, and the coverage I had under my parents when I was in college- that company doesn’t even exist anymore, so that was fun trying to track down.

I also had to deal with all the health insurance bills that SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN A PROBLEM. You see, my health coverage from my employer in the states covered one annual physical and one annual ‘lady exam’ (cough cough, yaknowwhatimsayin, cough cough). So, I went for my lady exam in September 2011 and was billed $289. UM THAT’S NOT ACCEPTABLE. So I went to my HR department to bitch about it, and they just told me to call the doctor’s office, who then told me to call the billing office, who then told me to contact my health insurance company…blah blah blah. This went on for almost a year. Finally, I was contacted by someone in HR who said they screwed up and incorrectly entered my social security number. And that’s why I kept getting billed.

I also went in for a routine check up at my doctor and was billed $110. For what? She basically took my blood pressure and asked if I ‘felt safe at home.’ Dumb questions that doctors ask these days.

Long story short, I spent 6 hours on the phone when I was home in August, trying to straighten everything out. I had people send me receipts and confirmation that everything was settled.

And then this weekend, my dad messages me saying I had another bill from them in the mail.

NO, AMERICA. YOU ARE SO SUCKY AT HEALTH INSURANCE.

YAY, CANADA. YOU GIVE ME MEDS FOR FREE AND ARE NICE TO ME.

6. Since I love to tell funny stories, I’ve got another one for you today. You see, I used to be fat.

 

(Source)

Ok, well not ‘fat’ but I ate a lot of calzones and chocolate covered raisins and drank a LOT of beer in college. And I broke my foot junior year which didn’t help, either. My highest weight was just a hair under 200 pounds. I kid you not. So to all you boys out there I made out with in college- you’re welcome. You must have been drinking a lot of beer then, too.

I went through phases of over-exercising, and no exercising, and weight watchers, etc. It wasn’t until after I graduated and moved into my own place did I realize the importance of what I was eating. And it wasn’t until I got certified in group fitness did I get the importance of my fitness.

And now, I am more than 50 pounds lighter than I was in college. Hooray! (And I still drink beer and eat Nutella, imagine that!)

7. My dog is crazy.

 

Tell me something random in the comments!

(Don’t forget to like my facebook page, follow me on instragram and twitter @nutcaseinpoint)

Number it out.

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Lots of things to talk about today. Let’s number it out:

1. The Walking Dead last night. Oh myyyyyyy, I forgot how much I love that show. Then, about an hour later in bed, Tyler put his arm over me and I thought it was a zombie and almost killed him.

(Source)

2. My legs were pretty dead from my Saturday workout, so I kept it to a minimum and focused on my arms yesterday. But I did manage to squeeze the bender ball between my knees for the entire hour of Walking Dead.

3. I started reading Wild last night. I’m already halfway through. I got sucked in, and didn’t realize that I was staying up for hours!

(Source)

4. I signed up again for Round III of Best Body Bootcamp. Last session, I followed it to a T for about the first 2 weeks, then when I went home for almost the entire month of August, I edited it to incorporate more runs (I love running through my parents neighborhood) and to accommodate my busy schedule visiting friends.

5. I just spent about $49686240935 mailing people stuff. Canada post, you are expensive.

6. And now, I must do what Tyler tells me:

 

It’s a tough life, I tell ya.

Weekend Recap

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Ah, the Sunday blues. The worst feeling. Except for probably childbirth, but I haven’t done that yet.

Cute pictures of my dog help a little bit.

 

She has entirely too many toys. Tyler brought her home a big bright pink one that’s name Silly, but I haven’t snapped a pic of it yet. (He brought me Moroccan Oil! What a gem of a guy #lovehim. And yes, I just used a hashtag)

Oh hey, and look what I Tyler installed (I helped)

 

Light! Glorious, bright, light! You have no idea how excited we were to get this puppy up. The hallway is just too dang dark, and we are still pretty painted-out from the living room/dining room/bathroom, that we haven’t tackled a brighter color for this space.

Sidenote: I did NOT know Rock of Ages was adapted from a musical. I was not prepared to watch over 2 hours of singing. oof

Sidenote#2: Never have a valued the performance of a humidifier more than now. Hello, boogerless sleeps!

Here’s a funny story: We took Layla to our favorite park yesterday. It’s completely fenced in, there are other dogs she can play with, and it’s close to the river so she can take a swim (and by that, I mean lay in the water).

Anyways, we get to the park and there is a tent set up. It was a little thing promoted by the city(?) to educate people on how to properly clean up after their pets. Ummm, what? I’m pretty sure it goes like this:

  1. Have bag.
  2. Dog poops.
  3. Put hand in bag and pick up poop.
  4. Flip the bag inside out, tie a knot, and throw bag away.

Guess people don’t know about that little trick.

I also guess that wasn’t really a funny story, but I thought it needed to be told.

On an unrelated note, I had a really great workout after the walk. I completed 40 minutes of crazy intense spinning and then since I was pressed for time, I did a quick set of bulgarian split squats, elevated squats, hamstring extensions, single-legged dead lifts, and clean and jerks. This may sound weird, but when I have a set of muscles that feel tight, I actually like working some strength on them because it feels like stretching. Silly, yes, but it works for me. Now my hammies feel fantastical.

(Insert brief pause here, while I go downstairs to change the laundry)

Oh hey, date night!

 

I clean up pretty decent. I’ll admit, I don’t get myself ‘done up’ too much these days, but DAMN it feels good to be a gangsta.

 

He looks pretty slick himself.

Tyler got a Groupon for Koiji Restolounge. Poor guy has had a mean craving for sushi, but hasn’t had it in forever since I’m not a seafood person. And then, I caved and told him I’d give it a go. The restaurant was small, but it was super nice, and the waitstaff was really friendly. Helped take the edge off, for sure.

Not gonna lie, I was nervous.

We ordered an avocado roll, 2 California rolls (avocado and snow crab), a spicy tuna roll, Alberta (beef, arugula and cucumber), and Tuscany (cream cheese, sun-dried tomato and something else).

 

 

 

a.) I suck at using chopsticks.

b.) Around the 6th piece, I had a nasty gag reflex and needed to gulp my wine and take a breather.

c.) I love wasabi.

 

I’m not in love with sushi now, but I can definitely tolerate it. This made Tyler a very happy man. (Is it weird to still taste seaweed the next day? Because I do)

Fast forward through the night, and here we are. Sunday football, pumpkin pancakes, homework (gag reflex at its finest), and watching a man jump from space.

 

That man is crazy!

What did you do this weekend? What’s your favorite sushi?

Giveaway Winner!

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Hi people of the world.

The snow is gone. PHEW. Yesterday, Tyler and I took the pup for a walk and I think she rolled in the snow in every front yard we passed. And we passed a lot.

Oh wait, I forgot to start off with “It’s FRIDAYYYYYYYYY!” But that doesn’t really matter because every day is Friday for me and Tyler is on vacation all week, sooooo yeah.

So you know how people have a really tough time getting to the gym in the winter months? Like, yeah it’s sometimes hard even during nice weather, but the cold, winteryness just makes it that much worse. Especially when it’s to do your own workout, and not be in a class where you’re told what to do for an hour. Well, last night I OVERCAME. All day, I was all “blah I am sore and tired and I just want to chill out with Tyler because he’s home” We even had dinner and fondue and were watching the football game, and all of a sudden it hit me.

I JUST GOTTA DO IT.

(little bit different from the Nike slogan)

So, I got dressed and dragged my butt to the gym. You know what? I pushed myself HARD. It was awesome. It felt awesome.

 

I did sprint intervals for a full hour. GLORIOUS. I don’t even remember the time- it passed so quickly. I vaguely remember listening to quite a few Flo Rida songs and maybe the new Ke$ha, but it really was a blurry blur blur.

Let’s insert some more internets randomness:

1. I love this video clip.

2. Runder Unders. I am in love. I want a pair. Like now. But I refuse to go to the store and try them on until I get rid of this holiday/vacation bloat. It makes a HUGE difference.

3. I posted about teaching TRX the other day. If you had some questions or were interested in trying TRX, here’s some info you should know.

4. My current TV faveys:

  • The Amazing Race
  • Vegas
  • Guys with Kids
  • Modern Family
  • SOA
  • Duck Dynasty
  • Ben and Kate
  • Go on
  • The New Normal
  • Survivor
  • The Neighbors
  • Breaking Amish

5. Can’t post any more, I have to make Tyler breakfast! (1. I don’t have to, I want to, and 2. It’s more like lunch time, but he’s on vacation!)

Oh hey, guess what?! It’s time to announce my facebook page giveaway winner! Using the random number generator, the winner is……..Caitlin Schlesier! Yay!!!! (email me or fb message me your address!)