This post has a little bit of everything.

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

I’ve been up since 4am. Involuntarily.

I thought I’d be able to sleep in a bit since I had a LONG day yesterday. Here’s what my Sunday looked like:

6 am wakeup when dog started fidgeting and crying. Butt problems again, you know how it is. And obviously it would be a Sunday because that’s the one day my vet is closed so of course I had to go to the ER clinic and spend even more money on a routine procedure.

I’m sick of spending money on a routine anal expression, so I had the vet teach me how to do it. Luckily, my dog is totally comfortable with fingers up her butt because I REALLY practiced.

Baked these brownies. I honestly had a little too much fun making them. And that’s probably why the scale registered a slightly higher number this morning.

Put Christmas away. 😦
Ran 32 minutes of intervals at the gym (didn’t want to do strength because TODAY is the first day of Best Body Bootcamp! And now that it’s Monday, I can tell you that I already did the day 1 workout. They consisted of pretty easy moves, except they were slow and controlled rep counts. I’ll let you know how THAT feels tomorrow). Oh, and the dog joined in on every move.

Made chicken salad sandwiches for dinner. Best part: it was on a Whole Wheat Farmers Loaf from Cobs Bread. Yummo.

And then I did a ton of other boring little things that don’t deserve a bullet point. The end.

Did you see my post from yesterday though about the special Pv.Body 30 Day challenge? You should check it out. *I* can save *you* 20% on awesome fitness gear. *You* with then thank *me*. Plus, if you sign up, you can join the challenge and win some sweet prizes.

Did you watch the premiere of Buck Wild last week? Because I did. What did I take away from that show? A ‘Holler’ is a place where you can holler to any and all of your neighbors and they’ll hear you. (a little red-necky if you ask me) Also, this song- LOVE IT.

I have also taken to this song as of late:

I always try to sound like her when I sing it. In my head, I’m spot on. In other people’s heads, I sound like a chicken.

Did you know that my wedding in is 6 months from yesterday? Also, my birthday is in 6 months from today. TO RECAP: The first week in July will be EPIC. My favorite holiday (4th of July, my wedding, AND my birthday within four days. Excitement cannot be contained.)

Did you also know that I’m going back to the States this Sunday?

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So far, my dance card is pretty empty, so get your requests in if you want to be graced by my presence (assuming I somewhat know you and you are in the Upstate NY area. I’m talking to you, silent high school classmate readers. Actually no, not you. But you will find my mother and I sitting at the bar at the 99 in the mall at some point in the next two weeks. Or me at the Y. One of the two.)

If you just did some math from the above paragraph, you will have concluded that today is my half birthday. Woo hoo 26.5!

I have decided to drive out to Banff on Wednesday. I will be on the lookout for bears, wolves, and moose. I might also buy some fudge, Lululemon, and a Canada sweatshirt while I’m there. (Haha, I totally just typo-ed it to read sweatshit)

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Looking for a new deal site to add to your daily email? Honest to God, Rue LaLa is like my favorite site for deals- they have EVERYTHING. Sorry, Canada, they don’t deliver to you, so I suggest to chum up to an American friend or you set up a PO Box in your closest American town. Check that site out, yo.

Or you can check out Zulily. They ship to Canada. Pretty sweet.

Tell me something you did yesterday. Or Today. Or will do this week.

Forgotten Cookies and a Circuit Workout (because cookies and workouts go together)

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

You’d think with all this free time I have that I’d be able to keep up with blogging everyday. You’d think.

Yesterday afternoon, Layla started drooling like CRA-ZAY. Tyler thinks her drooling is linked to her butt issue (oh, you don’t know about the butt issue? She starts yelping and getting in downward dog position. Apparently her anal glands fill with fluid, so she has to have them expressed at the vet) so of course, I was on edge all last night about it.

The drooling from yesterday made it inevitable that she would start yelping today, but so far so good (knock on wood).

In light of some butt-talk, I have a cool recipe for ya: Forgotten cookies!

I don’t think you could mess these up if you tried. They’re called forgotten cookies because you can mix the ingredients together, put them in the oven and forget about them!

Ingredients

2 egg whites
pinch of salt
2/3 sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until they get foamy. Slowly add the sugar (still beating), and continue until the mixture form stiff peaks.
Fold in the vanilla, chocolate chips, and nuts. Spoon onto baking sheets.
Place the cookies in the oven. As soon as your shut the oven door, turn the oven off and leave the cookies in there overnight (or 5-6 hours).

Yum.

Yesterday, I also got my Glymm Box in the mail.

A couple of goodies: lip gloss, fake eyelashes, $10 gift card, nail polish remover, and $20 off a panty of the month club (umm, no thanks).

Tyler and I are having a date night on Friday, so I’m thinking of slapping those lashes on the ol’ eye curtains. I predict I’ll either look like a drag queen or….a drag queen.

For your entertainment:

The 12 Daze of Christmas (performed by Fay McKay) If you’ve never heard it, you’ll get a chuckle. *and a tree….and a tree…and a treeeeee innn the meaaaadowwwwww*

(Not gonna lie, I’m sitting here staring at my computer trying to think of what to write next. I have nothing else to do except an at home workout that I have yet to write)

Ok, perhaps we should do that! (Give me 5 minutes so I can write it on paper first, then I’ll type it.)

….5 minutes later…

GOT IT. Here’s my workout for the evening that I choose to share with you:

Warm up tabata: alternating between skiiers and jump squats

5 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of:

10 bicep curls
20 reverse lunges
10 crunches
20 donkey kicks

Cardio tabata: alternatig between jumping jacks and side to side lunges

5 minute AMRAP of:

10 deadlifts
20 overhead press crunch
10 sit-n-stands
20 prone ball glute press

Cardio tabata: alternating between mountain climbers and jump rope

Polish it off with the following at your own pace:

50 single leg stability ball squat (each side)
50 pushups
50 leg lifts

What’s your favorite holiday song? What’s your favorite go-to exercise at home?

Sunday Blogging

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Simultaneously blogging while watching Home Alone 2 on a Sunday. Ambitious.

But what do I have to blog about? Nothing, really. This is where I ask you, dear readers of this silly little blog, to give me some suggestions. Have questions you want me to answer? Want me to write about a certain something? Let me know. Otherwise, the next 7 months of blogging will consist of only Layla pictures, crap I’ve baked, and my workouts. That gets slightly boring.

To briefly recap the weekend thus far: Friday afternoon I did a nice SWEATY home circuit workout.

Each set is done 3x through before moving on to the next (if it’s one side-specific, 10 reps for each side=1 set). Each move will consist of 10 reps.

Stability ball split squats
Weighted pliet squat

Bicep curls
Up-Down plank (5 with right arm leading, 5 left)

Gliding curtsy lunges
Single leg deadlifts

Pushups
Overhand grip standing row

I alternated the moves in each set (ex: 10 pushups, 10 row, 10 pushups, 10 row, 10 pushups, 10 row) and completing the set 3x through without rest. 1-2 minute rest between each completed set.

Tyler came home with an awesome bag of goodies that were being handed out downtown. AND IT WAS FROM TARGET! OHMYGODIMSOEXCITED.

A sweet reusable bag with even sweeter shades

A fleece throw and a snow/ice scraper thingy.

Friday night was spent on the couch (BOOOOOO-RING). A nice little dinner and Elf.

Saturday’s face:

Tyler was working pretty much ALL DAY yesterday, so Layla and I had even more quality bonding time. We watched The Holiday, then went to the park for about an hour or so.

I started to get really bored, so I randomly got dressed up (it lasted for about 15 minutes before I switched back to jammies) I think I was influenced to dress up because I was watching RHONY. As soon as a wedding show came on, I was all F this noise and F these tights, I’m getting comfy y’all. Anyways- here’s the get-up:

Today was an early wakeup- obviously because of football, but also because we hadn’t yet submitted our picks. Tyler ran to the store to submit them, and came back with Tim Horton’s. Good guy. Good, good guy.

So, ummmmmmm, yeah that’s all I got.

Best Body Bootcamp is over, so I’m actually going to have to plan my own strength workouts. At least until the next round of BBB starts up in January.

This commercial is hilarious:

http://youtu.be/RzbcuwtFCJQ

I started watching Dexter.

The neighbors behind us have all their Christmas lights and blow up things in their backyard. I don’t understand. Backyard? Then only *I* can enjoy them. Thanks, I guess.

Let’s talk about the pigeon lady in Home Alone 2. I never liked her.

The guy from here:

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Is THIS GUY:

(Source)

Never made the connection before. Crazy pants.

Give me suggestions/questions for future posts

Or, leave me something random.

Thanks!

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)

Layla’s lucky day

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Well, folks. I did it. I turned in my last exam of grad school yesterday afternoon. I am officially done with school and have my Masters! Woo hoo 🙂

I started yesterday off quite sluggish- I wasn’t really looking forward to tackling some of the final calculus equations

But I persevered through it and was done around 3pm- plenty of time to get to the gym and the grocery.liquor store before Tyler got home! I picked up a bottle of bubbly that came with free chocolates (which oddly enough, have yet to be consumed)

Then I whipped up some grub and we had our champy and dinner in front of…..the football game.

This morning, Layla was looking a little glum.

I think she was bummed that I had more free time to bug her while Tyler’s at work. She was soon un-bummed when a package from my parents arrived at the door. My mom had strict instructions that Tyler and I couldn’t open our gifts, but Layla could. Rawr.

She seriously lucked out! A cute christmas toy and a fleece!

I decided to add to her day of excitement by taking her to the dog park. She doesn’t ever play with dogs. No. Even when there are about 3 dozen dogs (which there were today) mine is the one by herself rolling in the snow. Her and I both have social complexes, I guess.

Alright, time for me to go and get my workout over with. If not now, I might be tempted to go grab more champagne or something. I’m going to milk the celebration for as long as I can.

Random:

I got $20 from the bottle return today. HELLS YES.

If you haven’t already, I highly urge you to check out PV Body. It’s a monthly subscription program where they send you one athletic top and one bottom. It’s only $49, but if you click ON THIS LINK, and sign up through me, you will get 20% off! What a great Christmas present 😉

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