Tag Archives: Layla

Barfing in my mouth

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I kind of barfed in my mouth when I walked into the kitchen this morning. I was grossly dirty. HOW did I let it get that bad?! I must have spent 2 hours cleaning the fridge out (DANG I let some stuff get bad in there.) After that and laundry and general house-pickup, I had to light a bunch of candles and just sit. But then the dog started getting all whiney on me.

And that, my friends, is when I remembered how much I hate cold weather.

 

(Also, this is what you will look like when you practically never put makeup on anymore.)

But my friggin’ dog loves this not so lovely weather. I mean, I get the whole opposites attract thing- that’s how Tyler and I work so well- but this dog/me situation is just not cool.

 

She was wagging her butt more than usual today. And rolling in the wet grass. And kept looking back at me with a huge doggie smile. Pffff.

Ok, let’s talk some stuff. No, I’ll talk and you listen. Comment if you’re so inclined.

I read this article today. And then I realized, holy crap I like never wash my bras. (I never really wear them anymore anyways, but that’s beside the point)  I used to wait till I drove home to my parents and have my mom wash them, but now I can’t be bothered. K, you can chime in now about this- do you wash your bras? I will be especially intrigued if any guys answer this.

I also saw these cookies on my Reader this morning and was determined to make them ASAP. Oh but wait, here in Canada, Thanksgiving is BEFORE Halloween. Ugh, I guess I’ll just have to make these beforehand. That’s more Thanksgiving-y.

It’s photos like these that make me happy that Tyler and I opted out of engagement photos. I honestly think even the ‘normal’ one are pretty cheesy, but that’s just me. I have a whole mouthful of things I can say about this whole wedding thing (and it’s all my opinion, mmk?!) I thing going formal is too cookie cutter. I think the ‘cutting of the cake’ and other designated events are so stuffy. I think it’s retarded how expensive flowers and photographers are. Obviously the booze is $$ but that’s what I WANT. It’s a party, people. I think the only traditional thing about my wedding is the dress. Only because I wanted lace. And when you go to bridal shops, lace= super wedding-y. But yeah,  I guarantee you I will be putting ice down my back to keep cool, and I’ll probably do a few planks or pushups on the dance floor. Did I mention the open bar? Ok, I’m done with the wedding rant. I just see all this wedding stuff on the internet and it drives me batty how cray cray other people get into it all. I pretty much planned mine in 2 weeks in August. And it’s not until next July. BOOM.

That said, I’m off to the gym for a sweaty session on the treadmill/upper body/core workout.

Playing catch up

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I know my last post was a bit depressing. But I really needed to vent. And there was no way I was about to do a happy recap of the weekend.

So I think I’ll do that now. Incredibly modified, of course.

 

There were walks with Layla. Quite a few of them.

 

Meandering through bushes. Being a crazy whiny dog.

 

We hit up a Home show downtown on Saturday morning and spent a good chunk of time looking at stuff. And buying things. I haven’t taken pictures of them yet, but I am sure they’ll make a post soon. And beers at what we have just recently dubbed “our place.” Both Tyler and I agree that we love the menu selection AND the beer selection, and it’s really close to our house, so it’s a favorite! What is it? Brewster’s!

I had a really awesome steak salad.

 

Today, I made homemade doggie treats.

 

Maple scones (not pictured), and pork and coleslaw sliders.

 

SO GOOD.

Layla and I had another wonderful walk. It’s totally Fall.

Oh, and my dog rolls. A lot.

 

 

Workouts included:

Friday: 40 minutes Spin/30 min lower body strength

Saturday: Walked the home show/Layla

Sunday: 60 minute combo workout with kickboxing, body pump and interval style training

Monday: 30 minute treadmill run/30 minute full body strength

Lots more to talk about, but I am TIRED. Night!

Recipe break!

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It’s me again.

I have been doing homework ALL.DAMN.DAY. Lots of reading and researching and discussion questions…ay yay yay.

I have been breaking it up with household chores, errands, walks, and intermittent exercises.

And recipe making. Since it’s time for me to take another mental break, I decided to write a post to share my recipes from today!

First up, Summer Salad. This was inspired by a recipe from Athena’s blog-she actually made it for me when I stayed at her place last month. I didn’t have the exact ingredients, so I made up my own.

Summer Salad

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • cucumber
  • tomatoes
  • onion
  • garbanzo beans
  • kidney beans
  • olive oil
  • lemon juice
  • S&P

 

Here’s what you do:

1. Dice up the cucumber, tomatoes, and onion (I am not listing amounts because that’s up to you. I made just enough for lunch/dinner, but you can obviously make as much as you want- and add more of the ingredients you like better)

2. Rinse the beans.

3. Mix all the ingredients. For my batch, I used 2 capfuls of lemon juice and 3 capfuls of olive oil.

4. S&P to taste.

 

Next, Deviled Eggs.

I have never made deviled eggs before, but I had a mean craving for them today. Weird.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • dozen eggs
  • 2 t. mustard
  • 1/3 c mayo
  • 1/4 t tabasco
  • paprika
  • S&P

 

Here’s what you do:

1. Hard boil the eggs. Don’t know how to? Google it.

2. Peel the eggs (duh). Cut them in half length-wise with a sharp knife.

3. Empty the yolks in a bowl and mash them up.

4. Add the mustard, mayo, tabasco, paprika to taste, and S&P. Mix it up.

5. Spoon the mixture into each half. Sprinkle with paprika for presentation.

 

Ok, back to work I go. I still have to get in a workout too! Oof.

Layla says hi.

Gangnam Style

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I made another new-to-me dinner last night, and it was pretty good.

Couscous with veggies and bacon. Pretty self explanatory. But the secret was in the dressing! After you cook the couscous as directed, sautee any veggies you have in the fridge (I used red pep, zucchini, and an onion from the garden), and sizzle up about 5 pieces of bacon, toss them all together in a bowl.

Then- the best part- coat the mixture with dressing made up of:

  • Juice of one lime
  • 3 T olive oil
  • 1 T honey
  • 1 t paprika
  • Dash salt
  • Dash pepper

It was a really nice dish. Only complaint from Tyler was that it was too sweet. He probably would have enjoyed it more if there was a higher ratio of bacon. I would suggest tasting the dressing before coating the dish to make sure it’s to your liking.

******

Yesterday’s workout came in three parts.

Part 1: Strength Circuit from Best Body Bootcamp. For the workout I chose, she had us doing 5 sets of each exercise before moving to the next exercise. Each set was supposed to use higher weights, but since I didn’t have much choice from working out at home, I made sure to do variations for each set to incorporate muscle confusion. For example: with bench presses- first set was with feet flat on the ground; second set had my legs in ‘table top’; third set my legs were fully extended; fourth set I did on the stability ball; fifth (and technically sixth set) I did single arm presses.

I’m not sore today, but I definitely felt the challenge as I progressed.

Part 2: 45 minute walk with Layla. I wore a jacket, but hot dang I was a sweaty mess by the time we got home. I chose a route that was very hilly so I could work those glutes just that much more 🙂

Part 3: Cardio. I buzzed on over to the gym for a 25 minute interval run on the treadmill and 10 min HIIT on the elliptical. Ummm, it’s been over 3 months since I have been on the elliptical. How did that happen?

Today’s workout will be at the Eau Claire YMCA downtown. I am co-teaching HEAT (indoor bootcamp) then going over some kickboxing stuff with the fitness director to see if I am eligible to instruct an upcoming class. Then probably some sweating on the treadmill.

I leave you with my current favorite jam/dance/I will be breaking this out at the retreat this weekend:

If you scroll to 1:27, that might be what I look like while instructing my class this afternoon. #justsaying. Gangnam Style.

Spoiled Dog (and a recipe!)

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So, my dog is spoiled.

I went to the store yesterday specifically to get canned pumpkin for her. Over the last few months, she has been having issues where she screams in pain whenever she sits or lays down. We have brought her to the vet and found it’s because her anal glands have been filling with fluid. Gross, right? Since then, she has had to go to the vet a couple of times to get her glands ’emptied.’ But dude, vet appointments are nasty expensive. We Googled the problem and spoke with the people at our local pet store, and it seems that upping her fiber intake may solve the problem. Insert:

 

Pumpkin!

About 1 tbsp mixed in with her food, and she should be good to go. With her being a picky eater, I was nervous she would eat around the orange stuff, but dang she gobbled it all up!

 

And now she’s even more drooly! Gross.

 

As if the pumpkin wasn’t enough, she also got some of our dinner.

 

Correction: some of my dinner.

Guys- it was a good dinner.

 

Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Onions

Here’s what you’ll need

  • pork tenderloin (duh)
  • 2 granny smith apples, peeled and diced
  • 1 medium onion (I used 2 small ones from our garden!), diced
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • S&P

This is what you do

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees, prepare a baking pan with olive oil (or Pam)
  2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat. Place the S&P’d tenderloin in the skillet to brown on all sides (about 5-6 minutes).
  3. Transfer the tenderloin onto the prepared pan and place in the oven until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 165 degrees (about 25 minutes).
  4. While the tenderloin in cooking, add the onions to the same skillet in which the tenderloin was browned. Allow them to get tender. (approx. 3 min)
  5. Add the apples, balsamic vinegar, cinnamon, and sugar. Stir frequently to fully incorporate. Once incorporated, add the water to the skillet.
  6. After a few minutes, once the apples start to tenderize, cover the skillet and turn off the burner.
  7. When tenderloin is done baking, remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
  8. Cut the tenderloin and top with onion/apples mixture. Serve.

Sounds good huh? It is. Even Tyler liked it, and he hates pork (crazy since he LOVESSSSS bacon). And he hates the idea of pairing meat with fruit. Double win for me!

 

As if these yummy eats weren’t enough for the four-footed princess, Tyler came home with even more goodies for her.

 

One of the ingredients is pumpkin! She is going to turn orange soon. I promise to post pictures when it happens.

 

She loved these treats from Wet Noses. She actually played with her first brownie bite last night before inhaling it.

While my dog enjoyed being spoiled yesterday, I unfortunately did not treat myself to such luxuries. I didn’t even work out. And I was SO mad about it. Granted, I do have an exercise-filled weekend coming up, so my body could use the break. But I took out my frustration on Tyler with lots of frowns and moans and groans. Poor guy.

Exercise makes me happy. Even if my body needs the break, I like to indulge in workouts to stay HAPPY. I promised myself that since I was not doing a single thing yesterday, I would have an awesome workout today. And I’m excited for it! I’m going to run at the Y then get in some strength circuits from Best Body Bootcamp. And then I’m going to be HAPPY!

Oh wait, I did do one thing..

 

Fall nails!

Anyone suffer from non-working-out guilt? How do you overcome?