Pocket Full of Sunshine

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

1. Yesterday’s workout was a sweaty interval workout on the bike. 35 minutes and I was done! Only two more workouts for this week and I can ‘rest’ while I sit on a couple of flights on Sunday. (I’m no stranger to lunges and squats by my gate…)

2. We sampled only one beer from our first batch of home brew and it was super good!

3. I started packing. It’s a good thing my drinking pants are also my workout pants. Saves room to bring stuff back.

4. Took Layla to the park this afternoon. Pup was a mental beast with all the fresh snow. I took about 04957203957209 pictures, but will only bore you with two.

5. I am making these tomorrow. Insert evil laugh and terrible victory dance here. I will DEFINITELY have to do Airport Gate Lunges if I have too many.

6. I posted this video on my personal facebook page yesterday and I still think it is hilarious. I had my iTunes playing pretty loud while I was doing stuff throughout the house, and the Natasha Bedingfield song Pocket Full of Sunshine came on. It immediately made me think of this video clip because the montage is EXACTLY what I was doing yesterday. SO. FUNNY. Seriously people, laugh with me on this one. I got like no feedback on facebook and I was just dying for someone to comment something like “hahaha wow Jen you are so funny to be dancing with your dog and doing chores while singing that song!” But no such luck.

moving on..

7. Wait, there is no 7. I can’t think of anything else to write. Perhaps I should workout to clear my head. OK!

(PS: follow me on Instagram @nutcaseinpoint. Samesies with Twitter. And like my Facebook page)

Merry Monday!

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Merry Monday to you all! I am enjoying my first day of vacation from school! It’s so exciting not having to post discussion forums and take quizzes and write papers and do MATH.

Let’s see, what have I been doing the last few days?

I got in some good workouts.

Friday I did some strength training at home.
Saturday I got up early to get in some treadmill time and a quick spin.
Sunday I did nothing
This morning I got up early and did Workout A from this week of Best Body Bootcamp. WHOA. It was a good one. LOTS of burpees, strength and core work. Then I went to the gym and SPRINTED 2 miles. I’m not kidding about the sprinting part. That’s why I put it in all caps. Also, I realized I wore mismatched socks.

After my Saturday morning workout, I met up with Alison and Leigh for some sushi. Yes, I got lost. Both there and back.

Spicy Tuna roll and California roll. And I was happy.

Leigh also gave me a no-slip headband she made. I love it and it fits perfect!

We installed new motion sensor lights on the front of the house. No pictures, because I was too busy getting serious with home improvement.

Then….beer!

And how do you make beer better? You drink it from a BIG frosty mug!

Hmm, what else. We got Christmas lights that still need to be hung. I have been painting and glittering a lot. Ooh, and I got my hair done this morning!

Before: Super blonde

After: OMG I can’t believe it either, but I had low lights put in my hair for the first time in over 5 years. Gasp, I know. I think it looks alright. At least for winter.

She curled it a lot. It’s almost prom worthy.

Layla says hi from her favorite spot. At her favorite time. On our bed. When the sheets are stripped.

Coming up this week:

-More crafting! I can’t wait to show you (you? or it? Since I’m not really showing *you* I’m showing the internet)

-American Thanksgiving! (Turkey is getting all thawed already)

-I’m going to the Christmas Market on Friday (If anyone wants to go with…..;) )

What are you looking forward to this week?

I made balls…and other topics

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

As promised, here is the recipe from last night’s dinner (from Eights and Weights)

Healthy Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground turkey
1/4 c breadcrumbs
1 tsp grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
2 tbsp soy milk (I used almond)
1/2 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp thyme
2 gloves garlic (I used minced garlic)
Grated veggies (I used carrots)
1 pack of whole wheat spaghetti
1 28 oz can tomato sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1 onion (I used 1/2)
Cooking spray
1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degress and spray baking sheet with the cooking spray

2. In a large bowl, combine the turkey, breadcrumbs, parmesan, milk, egg, black pepper, thyme, 1/2 clove garlic, grated veggies, and half the salt

3. Once combined, form into balls (I did 12 medium sized)

4. Baked for about 15 minutes, until balls are browned.

5. For the sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan. Add in the onion and rest of the garlic. Right as it browns, add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, and the rest of the salt. (I threw in a little chili powder as well)

6. Let the sauce simmer. When the meatballs are done, carefully add them to the sauce and allow at least an additional 15 minutes of simmering before serving (I had them simmer about 45 minutes. The longer, the better)

7. Cook the spaghetti per the directions on the box. Top readied spaghetti with balls and sauce and dinner is served.

******

Ok now that we’re done with that, I’d like to give a shout out to Athena for the workout she posted from her Tuesday night class (Oh how I miss Two a Day Tuesdays. Not only for the workouts, but for the peeeeeeople!)

I started with 10 minutes of HIIT on the spin bike, then got right to it.

There were 2 rounds of tabatas. Then cardio after each round. I chose to do a minute of cardio between each tabata for a little extra punch.

Round 1

On the bosu: Pushups/Burpees
With a medicine ball: Woodchops/Pulses
Bands: Bicep curls (In and out)

Round 2

On the bosu: Planks/Mountain Climbers
With a medicine ball: Front lunges w/twist
Bands: Tricep extensions

Then I did all the ab work she posted. (Seriously, just check out her post-linked above- for a more complete description).

Last, I hopped on the elliptical for another 10 minutes of HIIT.

It was a GREAT workout. I swallowed so much salty sweat. (Gross. Cringe. Barf. TMI- I know)

Only difference in my workout from Athena’s was the music selection. She chose to go with a Cinco de Mayo theme. Me: not so much. I have been hearing way too much techno-y/pop-y music lately, that I needed me some rap, hop-hop and otherwise ‘thuggy-thug’ music. (This is no offense to anyone by referring to it as ‘thuggy-thug.’ I just think it’s an amusing way to get the vibe across.) Little Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z, Kayne, Snoop and Notorious all made appearances on my playlist this am. I gotta tell ya, that music really revs my engine.

On the way to the gym I heard this song and I got really amped to work out. It really just makes me wanna dance and twist and shake and shimmy. Please tell me that you clicked on the link. And that as soon as the music played, you started bobbing your head or rocking your shoulders back and forth. Admit it. Because that’s what I’m doing. RIGHT NOW. Of course I’m playing it on repeat until I finish this post.

Then, on the way back, I heard this song. It was my very first favorite song that wasn’t and oldie or a Disney tune. Total throwback. Not gonna lie, I have used it quite a few times in playlists for classes I ran in Boston. Best part was when someone in the class would be like “Aww man, great tune” They scored 50 points in my book.

Ok, on to address the notes I left for myself in the last post.

1) Lululemon Swimsuits.

(Source)

I’m pretty sure I am going to buy all of them. I went to the mall yesterday just to “visit” them and I fell in love. Tyler, are you reading? Your lady wants a swimsuit. The gal who freaked out at the Hot Springs 2 weeks ago because of the dreaded bathing suit wearing…WANTS A NEW SUIT. I suggest you take that as a hint.

2) Calgary Beerfest

(Source)

I got tickets for Tyler and I for Friday night. Very excited. VERY. There are so many new-to-me beers that are going to be there. I know, it’s a tough job trying all of them, but I feel I am up to the challenge. A lot of these Canadian beers have rivaled my favorites from the states, and some of them have been just awful. I checked out the list of who will be there, and some of my new faves are..so I’ll at least have some backup.

3) Copycat blogging. I’m actually in a good mood today, so I don’t want to bring myself down if I really get into this topic. Next!

4) At home workouts. I used to hate doing at home workouts because I either didn’t have the space or didn’t have the equipment. But now, I totally love them. I have my own room that I can sweat to my heart’s content. I’ve got my mat, my stability ball and my new weights. So many options.

5) How much I hate washing dishes. The end. I just hate it.

6) Positives and negatives of being a lefty. Positives: I got on a lot of sports teams growing up. I got the lefty desk in school. Negatives: Coaches had a hard time teaching me the ‘opposite’ way. I smudge over pretty much everything I write.

I know there are more, but I can’t think of them right now. I think I just wrote that on my list last night because I had completely smudged up some important paperwork. #fail

7) Sleeping positions. On my belly or on my side. If I am drunk, I sleep on my back with my arms over my head. Totally weird.

8) Favorite chapsticks/lip glosses/what-have-yous. Chapstick: Carmex. But only in the classic stick and only in the original and cherry flavors. Strawberry? Blughk. Lip gloss: Benefit Ultra Shines. I have had just about every color and love every single one of them. What have yous: Exude Lipstick. I have the lip cream in Nude- I got it from my Birchbox a few months ago (which I had to cancel when I moved because they don’t deliver to Canada! Tears, people. Tears.)

This should be sufficient reading for you all for now..There’s a lot more to get done today!

Anyone want to rant/rave on anything? I’m all ears!

Lazy Mutt

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

I didn’t end up taking public transportation yesterday. Believe me, I tried, but there were no parking spots available at the station, so I ended up just driving to the city. I parked on the outskirts to both save on parking and get a nice walk in.

I represented the big booty club

I’m going to skip over the content of the meeting because I will get entirely too worked up…but I walked back towards my car to have “coffee” with Nicole. Coffee turned into beer and hummus, but that’s typical (right?)

This lovely platter (and beer) was enjoyed at Original Joe’s. I will definitely be heading there again- their menu (both drinks and food) looked delicious.

Then, because of our overly stressful meeting, I decided to treat Tyler to dinner and drinks. We met around the corner at Julio’s Barrio for a few of these:

I had never had a Bulldog before, and it didn’t disappoint. I total felt like I should have been on Jersey Shore.

Tyler opted to accompany his Bulldog with a quesadilla

And I went with the Avocado Salad

Consider the edge taken off as this meal was finished.

Since I had the ball rolling, I thought we might as well keep it going once we got home. I picked up a few beers that we had never tried before

I chose this beer for two reasons:

1) Because the 6 pack had 8 beers in it

2) Because I’m pretty sure the dog on the label is Layla.

The beer was actually pretty good. It has no distinct flavor other than beer. But, it was easy to drink and I think would pair well with almost any type of food. I will be on the lookout to see if they have any other types of beer (I am going to link to Lazy Mutt, but for some reason, my computer won’t allow me to view it)

I took a pic of the bottlecap because I thought it was cute. Maybe you will too.

Welp. this JLo booty has some errands to run and a workout to do! We are going away for the night tomorrow and I have to get ready!!

Our date at Brewster’s

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Tyler and I had rounded out our errand-filled Saturday with dinner and drinks at Brewster’s which was right around the corner from home. We wanted to make it a nice, long experience with different foods and beers! We started with beers (only made sense).

Tyler had the River City Raspberry Wheat Ale and I had the Strawberry Blonde Ale. I liked mine

We enjoyed these with the Lobster ad Artichoke Dip

‘But Jen, you done eat seafood!’ you say. Ah, this is true. BUT, alcohol altered my decision and artichoke has my heart..

Next, we split a sample tray. We were able to choose 5 beers and we got a 5 oz. sample of each.

We started with the Flying Frog Lager.

Since I recently have fallen for lagers, I thought this would be great, but Tyler and I agreed it fell short of expectations. (plus, we were coming off our high from the delicious first round).

Next, the Farmer’s Tan White Ale

This was similar to a Blue Moon, but a little lighter in flavor. We both thought it was good.

Third up: the Original lager.

Nope. We didn’t like. Too bitter. Too hoppy. Too not hitting the spot.

Next, Blackfoot Blueberry Wheat Ale. Similar to the raspberry, it had medium body with a sweet finish. We liked.

Last stop: the Hefeweizen.

We both liked this beer. It was light and had a pleasant finish. Once we finished the tray, Tyler decided to have another Hefeweizen, while I opted for the raspberry ale. Perfect to go with the burgers we ordered.

Tyler’s:

Mine:

That’s no ordinary burger, my friends. That’s a BISON burger. I’ve never had bison before, and since I was feeling all ballsy, I went for it. And the verdict? Loved. Will definitely be ordering that again. Mmm.