Flurry Monday

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And a happy snow day to you, my dear friends. It is a glorious 0 degrees here in Calgary this a.m. and I am ready to get this week going!

But first, I will show you what I threw together for dinner last night (to be consumed while watching The Amazing Race. While we’re on that topic, I hate the green team. Ok, no, I seriously don’t like the girl on the green team. And the Kentucky boys are HILAR) That said, dinner was basmati rice toped with garlicky sauteed spinach and chopped chicken sausage. Yum!

After The Amazing Race, we decided to watch The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Holy balls is that a crazy movie. Slow and twisted, but really good. Now I can see why I had a hard time getting into the book. There are so many different characters to remember and how they are connected to each other. Woof!

After watching that and 12 episodes of The Walking Dead the night before, I had some crazy bizarre dreams last night. I need to stop doing that to myself!

B-fast this am was a couple leftover banana chia muffins with a scoop of pb and some scrambled eggs.

After adequate digestion time, I decided to get started on my fitness for the day.

Dont’ I look intense? The answer is YES.

I decided to once again turn to Pinterest for some inspiration. You know, change it up a bit. Keep me from having to get creative. I came across a workout I have done a few times before, and I thought it would be perfect for a Monday morning pre-workout workout.

Source: indulgy.com via Rose on Pinterest

 

I did that 3x through, then did the same stability ball ab routine I posted yesterday. I had a little interruption here and there when my separation-anxiety ridden dog decided to ass-plant on my mat. Doing crunches with her there was like playing peek-a-boo with a baby. I’d extend back, and she’d cock her head to see where I went, then I’d contract back up and her neck would jolt back. It’s comedy hour at my house this morning. We’re a funny little team in this house.

I just wanted to get this all jotted down before I really get my day going. Lots to do today!

  • YMCA for cardio and weights
  • walk with Layla
  • Paint my nails (yay! Jen squeals with joy! The move and crap weather have wreaked havoc on my precious digits)
  • Come up with an amazeballs dinner (I’m domestic like that.)
  • Paint! (Will it ever be done??!)
  • Costco (Yesssssssss. Mama needs a big ol’ jar of almond butter, and almond milk by the gallons, and economy bags of brussel sprouts and strawbs and…..)

Ok, I guess that really isn’t a whole lot, but for this gal, it’s the mecca of all daily schedules right now.

Off to the gym! 

Sunday Sweat Sesh

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Just thought I’d share some bits of my workout today!

First, I started with a leg burner that I saw on Pinterest (thanks, Ashley! I found it on your board!)

Source: fitsugar.com via Jen on Pinterest

I did that 2x through. I needed some cardio, so I did a quick 30 minutes of kickboxing (Give Me Everything, How Low, Ramalama, Get on the Floor, Beat It, Dun duh-duh, Enjoy Yourself, Down on Me)—-> for you CBC folk 😉

Then, I followed it up with another lower body burner I found on Pinterest

Source: itsfitnessbaby.com via Jen on Pinterest

Last but not least, I finished up with some abs on the stability ball. I did a mix of

  • russian twists
  • crunches
  • planks, jackknives, pikes
  • side crunches
  • pass throughs
  • back extensions
  • roll outs

Did you work out today? What did you do?
 

Dead Frogs

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Hello there, my dear friends.

I promised a review of the beer Tyler and I sampled last night, so let’s dig right in

Dead Frog Brewery; Aldergrove, BC

(This is my own opinion, I have no been compensated for this review)

First up: Mandarin Orange Amber Ale

Tyler thought it was good and not overpowering. He could taste a hint of the orange. I found it to be a bit bitter at first, oddly with a nice aftertaste. We both agreed this tasted like a summer beer, even though the packaging says it’s seasonal.

Next up was the Nut Brown

Tyler classified this as a winter beer. We both thought it had a great nutty flavor and good aroma. It was an easy beer to slurp down, even though I would have initially thought otherwise. It didn’t have any bitterness to it, nor did it leave a bad taste in my mouth. I actually really liked this one.

Third, was the Lager. Now a lot of people generally steer clear of lagers because of it’s heavier connotation. However, it is actually a lighter brew than the pale ales! (not the color, which is how most people think otherwise).

Tyler and I were very excited to try this one. And it didn’t disappoint. It was light, crisp and oh so good. We both marked this as our favorite. (Trust me, those delicious cookies in the background had nothing to do with this decision 😉 )

Last was the Pale Ale

We both guessed this would be bitter and we were spot on. I knew what flavor to expect from this beer, as pale ale’s normally have a bitter taste to them. It wasn’t bad, but we had just come off our Lager high, so we were a little bummed.

Moral of the story: If you ever come across some Dead Frog, definitely give it a try, especially the Lager or the Mandarin. They have unique flavors you should try at least once! Mmmm Canadian beer…

Weekend Update

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Yes, I’m still here. And yes, I have lots to show and tell.

By the way, here’s a post hair appt shot. I thought it was alright until I realized I cut off the top of my head which defeats the purpose.

Let us start with Friday evening. Tyler and I had a double date with Joe and Twyla at Shanks. We had dinner and drinks there (obviously I was too excited to take pics of that, but I did remember to snap a few of bowling right after.)

I think it’s a pretty good deal: food, alcohol and bowling all under the same roof. BAM. Friday night success.

Yesterday (Saturday) morning started off fantastic. Tyler made us a B&E breakfast

While I fumbled around with the idea of making some type of banana baked good.

This is what I came up with:

Banana Chia Muffins

  • 1/4 c. softened butter
  • 1/2 c brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 c water
  • 2 large mashed bananas
  • 1 c whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 c all purpose flour
  • 1 cup oats
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/2 tbsp chia seeds

In a small bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg until fully incorporated.

In a medium/large bowl, combine the flours, baking soda and oats.

In another small bowl, mashed the bananas, chia seeds and water.

Slowly mix the banana mixture and egg mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir in vanilla.

Bake in a prepared muffin pan at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes.

This recipe is the bomb.com. For added awesomeness, I highly recommend slathering those puppies with almond butter. Go ahead and thank me now!

******

This was a great meal to prep us for an incredibly busy day ahead…we had season 2 of The Walking Dead to watch!

This shot makes it look like the TV screen is filthy, but I promise you that is what the Intro Credits look like. Mom, I am not a slob.

We started with a couple episodes, then decided it was too much to take on at once and slapped another coat of paint on the walls. We played my iTunes throughout the living room speakers. I will not divulge which of us chose the 90’s music playlist (me). We Shooped and we Called Him Big Poppa and We Got Jiggy With it. Then it was back to more Walking Dead.

Once again, we had to break it up, so we hit the grocery store and liquor store (those really do go hand in hand) and made ourselves a nice little feast.

Another episode of The Walking Dead later, these came out:

Dead Frog multi-pack. Tyler and I made sure to sample each one. We actually took notes on what we thought. I am going to post a review of them in my next post, so look out for it!

And yet another episode later, I whipped up some homemade M&M cookies (Tyler’s fave)

I am telling you guys, these where the best cookies I have ever made. I threw the dough together while Tyler made dinner and let it refrigerate for about 2 hours before baking (I now think that is the key). The result was a thick, chewy wonderful cookie. I used the recipe from this site and just subbed the chocolate chips for the M&Ms. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE!

We watched as many episodes as we could before our eyes literally could not stay open any longer.

This morning, when we woke up, it was “Hey good morning, I love you.” It was “Hey, wanna watch another episode of The Walking Dead before breakfast?”

Obviously, I agreed.

Then Tyler made me this:

Eggs Benedict with black forest ham. I mmm’d and ahhhh’d with every bite.

I must now get back to the last two episodes of, you guessed it, The Walking Dead. Beer review and more to follow!

Ice Cream Meltdown

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Last night, I had a meltdown. A what the hell is happening with my life type of meltdown. I just lost motivation to go to the gym, didn’t want to get out of bed, socialize…..NOTHING. So of course, when Tyler got home I started bawling my eyes out. I got snotty. I know now that Tyler really REALLY loves because he wiped my snot WITH HIS BARE HAND. I shudder at the thought. After the crying conundrum, Tyler and I went to DQ where I picked up this bad boy:

I mean, it’s not the best thing to have when you haven’t worked out in two days (I was depressed, OK!?) and it’s dairy (another no-no) but all men know that the key to a woman’s heart -when you can’t afford jewelry- is ice-cream. After the first bite, I took a deep breath and automatically felt better. To complete the night, we watched Jackass 3 and I laughed my dairy-engorged heart out. I also had the best night’s sleep after. Cry session for the win!

In an effort to squish the blues, I was determined to be a little more proactive today. I had a smoothie (banana, almond cashew butter, chia seeds, almond milk and ice) and eggs for breakfast.

I got my tush up to go to the gym, and Twyla ended up coming with! Sometimes (lots of times) it’s so nice to have a workout buddy. Heck, you don’t even have to work out with them, just arrive and leave at the same time! It feels so much more encouraging. Today’s workout was a combo of cardio and strength intervals. Some of your run-of-the-mill exercises I have posted about before. I ended with a good 20 minutes using the Bosu Ball. I did jump lunges, planks, russian twists, leg lifts and burpees using that thing.

Post workout eats included a Vega Bodacious Berry protein smoothie (only 100 cals, 11g protein, and 2 servings of veggies!)

And a cheddar/spinach/salsa whole wheat wrap.

Which was mainly a spinach wrap. I’m not complaining, I need all the greens I can get!

My sweat started to really cool down, so I made a cup of peppermint tea to top it all off

Immediately after tea, Twyla and I took all three pups to Nose Hill for a walk. I tried to take some pictures, but it was a tad overcast, so you can’t see much. But I will post them regardless

Twy with all three pups:

Me with all three. Layla was terrible on the leash. Ugh.

I have just napped and showered after a full day..gonna gussy myself up for tonight (Even though I have no clue what we are doing, I figured it would be nice to put on real clothes and makeup).

Not a whole ton of words today. I am partially recovering from last night’s sob fest and I’m just so dang pooped from working out and that walk!

Have a great Friday night, see y’all in the A.M.!