Fantastic Friday

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Well hello there.

This Friday morning has been just as grand as Monday morning.

I got in a quick interval workout at home, watched The Pauly D Project, and took Layla for a hike at Nose Hill Park.

My glutes, quads and Hammies are super sore from yesterday’s burnin’ workout, but this hike really helped. It was a little chilly, but after a few minutes at a brisk pace, I was ready to peel off some layers. We saw lots of deer too. Actually, Layla didn’t…which is good because I would have probably lost my arm once she took off after them.

Another reason why today is good: I am now 5 days clean of sweets. Pretty awesome if you ask me. If I have a craving, I satisfy it with strawbs or mango…sweet, but not stick-to-your-hips sweet. Phew.

3rd reason: Im on my way downtown in a few minutes to get all my paperwork done for the Y then I am meeting with my Wednesday afternoon co-instructor and we are going through a mock workout. I have two different ones planned- we’ll see what she goes for!

4th: I really really really want a pair of these

Like, seriously, I really want them. Talk about a conversation starter.

5th: Since I will be teaching an outdoor bootcamp AND I have been out for long hikes and walks with Layla, I really want to get something that’s easy to carry all my necessities in (phone, keys, chapstick)

I can’t decide between a Spibelt or and Armpocket. Does anybody have either of these? Any input would be really appreciated!

Last, but not least, my new tunes for the week:

(Only two explicit songs! I’m so tame)

And on that note, I am going to whip up a smoothie and hit the road….Jack.

10 things

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Just a few things to note for today:

1) strawberry-chocolate protein shake

Check.

2) I went shopping this morning. I left the dog at home like this

While I went to go get all this

One of the purchases were these puppies

3) This is my next read

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4) my workout last night was 30 minutes of HIIT on the elliptical, followed by 10 minutes of abs on the stability ball and another 10 of HIIT on the spin bike (this was done after the 100 burpees 😉

5) New favorite show to watch with Tyler?

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I honestly can’t stop laughing when I watch it.

6) coffee. Coffee coffee coffee.

7) let’s get back to the shopping trip. The sales associate as The Body Shop is really good at her job. I walked out with new perfume, a face scrub and some body butter. Whoops.

8) Banana Republic outlet. Not too threatening on the weekend when there are too many people in the store and you give up on trying to get a fitting room. But on the weekday? Deadly. Thank god for my awesome willpower. Wish it would work against chocolate.

9) new song downloaded today

10) I am procrastinating going to the gym by taking Layla for a walk. I think it’s proactive. Put off exercising with more exercising.

Fill in the following:
1) my dinner tonight is ______________
2) my current favorite song is ___________
3) my least favorite exercise is ____________

Whoop there it is.

Covering all the bases

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Sit down and relax, this is gonna be a long one.

After I spent pretty much ALL morning on the phone with different immigration/customs people, I threw my hands in the air ~~singin’ aaaaaa-yo~~ and called it quits for the day. Moving to Canada has been by far the hardest thing I have ever done. Harder than college or fit tests or solving mathematical equations.

I rewarded myself with a trip to Safeway with Tyler’s credit card. I didn’t go crazy- mostly tons of produce. After I got home, I reheated some leftover tortellini for lunch.

I gave most of the kielbasa to Layla. A) Less calories consumed for me; B) Layla is most likely going to be a gassy mess tonight. Sigh.

I think she felt guilty for having such an indulgent snack that she gave herself timeout.

Funny story: Tyler bought Layla two new toys yesterday, both of them with strategically placed squeakies. Before going to bed last night, I put both of her toys in her bed- where she so conveniently decided to sleep that night. Well, in the middle of the night, she must have readjusted her sleeping position, because the toy squeaked and her, Tyler and I all freaked out. Like, she jumped a foot and Tyler and I instantly sat upright out of a deep sleep. It reminded me of the scene in Home Alone with Kevin’s parents realized they slept through their alarm.

Moving on.

I baked a healthier version of no bake cookies. (Ok, i didn’t bake them, but you know what I mean)

I found the healthier alternative on Eating Bird Food. Really, the only difference is using a mashed banana rather than a stick of butter.

I don’t know if you know this, but bananas are better for you than butter. Unless it’s Sunday, then who cares (I repeat: Calories do not count on Sundays)

These cookies (yes, cookies is plural, I had three because I am the baker and I am allowed) were enjoyed while I read through two new magazines:

Not too many things caught my eye in either of these. Bummer. When I did my prelim flip-through in the store, they looked like they’d be winners.

Hey, remember when I posted about some stuff I bought? Honestly, you should remember because I haven’t been buying anything since I had a job. (Other than health insurance and almond butter from Costco.) Well, it arrived today!

The raspberry ketones and protein powder plus a muscle magazine and two trial packets for free. free. I am really pumped to give these a go tomorrow before an early morning workout!

Speaking of workouts (see how this post just naturally flows?) I thought I’d show you guys my workout from last night:

10 minute HIIT on the elliptical

weighted squat series (x2, make sure to go through on each leg twice with 12 reps)

-split squat

-elevated squat

-reverse split squat

10 minute HIIT on the elliptical

arm series (12 reps of each x2)

-bicep curls

-tricep kickback

-chest press

-dumbbell fly

-shoulder front raise

-lateral raise

-front/lateral combo

-overhead press

10 minute HIIT on the ski-machine thingy. I Googled an image for you if you don’t understand my techincal lingo:

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ab series (I just did a ton of each until my core was burnt out)

-stability ball crunches

-stability ball weighted russian twists

-stability ball plank

-stability ball side crunches

Overall, decent workout.

This morning, I put my daily fitness goal on facebook

And I did it. And it was hard. And I loved every single burpee. Surprisingly, the burpees got easier the closer I got to 100- my body was in the rhythm to really push through and explode on the jump. That makes me a happy lady. I got so pumped up, I ended up doing a bit of kickboxing as well!

Check out one of my guns

For dinner, I decided to make stuffed peppers. But not our regular ol’ stuffed peps. These were healthy and different and good.

I found the recipe here. I cut it in half so that Tyler could have two, and I would have one. I put some ground beef in Tyler’s because he’s manly and needs meat and protein. Woof.

My lil lone pep. Cute. I decided to dissect it a bit to let you see the innards (Terrible way to describe food, btw)

Last one, just a little bit closer…

Couple of new songs on the iPod for tonight’s workout

Sometimes only adding one or two new songs in the mix really amp up a workout. They helped me get through those burpees!!

On a final note, I am seriously considering buying a Lululemon skirt. Not for running- but for normal everyday summer wear. Yes? No?

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Ok, I think that just about covers all the bases. I have run out of things to write about. Hopefully you were entertained? I was…I love blogging this stuff.

I am off to the gym with my 4 new songs and 100 burpee-in guns and I am going to get a serious sweat session on!

Halfway through Humpday

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Some recent downloads:

Birthday Cake– Rihanna

Liv Tonight– Nelly & Keri Hilson

Turn All the Lights On– T-Pain feat. Ne-Yo

I Don’t Wanna Care Right Now– Lupe Fiasco feat. MDMA

Too Close– Alex Clare

Drive By– Train

Does anyone have any suggestions that I can add to my music collection?? Purdy please?!

******

Let’s get back to my Humpday, shall we? I was itching to do something today, so what’s free and easy? A walk! It looked nice out, and boy was I right!

Hey, Napoleon, how much you wanna make a bet I can throw a football over them mountains?!

Speaking of Napoleon Dynamite, I’mma tell you a story. Picture it: Freshman year at college. Making friends. Drinking CHEAP beer. Being silly, Studying (that one’s for you, mom and dad), and what not. So on a random trip to Wal-Mart- the mecca of keeping college students entertained- I decide to buy a hamster and name him Napoleon. BUT, it had to be pronounced ‘Na-po-leoooo(silent n)’ If I knew how to add a sound bit of the correct pronunciation, I would. I bought him a pink wheel and a pink castle and snuck him into my dorm. (The dorm nicknamed The Virgin Vault because of strict security to not allow any boys to come in and visit us awesome froshie gals). Anyhoo, Napoleon lived the life at college. I often let him roam the halls in his little ball and I would often get instant messages from other girls in the dorm saying they saw him roll by. Often, it would be girls on other floors. He was a magical hamster that could handle the stairs.

Weird tangent, but now you know. Sadly, Napoleon’s life was cut short when I left him in his cage at home while I went on vacation to Florida that following summer. When I came back, I realized he ran out of food, so I fed him Craisins. Turns out, Craisins are poison to those little fellas. RIP Napoleon: 2004-2005.

*Cough, cough* So, today’s walk. Beautious. Like, not a cloud in the sky. Layla was happy as a clam. So was I. Minus the wind. And wind burn I discovered upon return. Minor deets.

Yeah, I take a lot of pictures of my dog. You would too, if you were (dare I bring it up again) unemployed. At least I’m giving her all the atteny-ten-ten-tion she deserves! I always justify her spoiledness by reminding people of the fact she was a rescue pup and was shot in the face and is missing a bit of her left ear and is deathly afraid of garbage bags. With that, she can have all the walks she wants.

Now here’s where I will display the extent of my artistic photography:

No clouds, bright blue sky, and a glimpse of tree branch on the bottom left. Boom, done. (*Note: I did take the lovely picture you see on the header of this blog!)

Lunch today was going to be the Creamy peanut butter chocolate avocado smoothie I saw on get healthy with heather, but I swapped the avocado for spinach when I found that my avocado should have been tossed about a week ago. whoops. Here’s my modified recipe I took from her blog:

2 handfuls baby spinach
banana
1 c. almond milk
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
ice

I am slurpin’ this sucker down now! Yum!

Any favorite/interesting smoothies out there? I’m all ears!!

Irish Evening

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Let’s go to the beach, -each
Let’s go get away
They say, what they gonna say?
Have a drink, clink, found the bud light
Bad bitches like me, is hard to come by
The patron on, let’s go get it on
The zone on, yes, I’m in the zone
Is it two, three? Leave a good tip
I’mma blow off my money and don’t give two shits

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I tend to always have one favorite song that I play over and over to death until I move on to the next. This week, it’s Nicki Minaj’s Starships. Makes me feel bad-ass. Except for when people at the gym catch me lip syncing it while I’m lunging or jumping jack-ing.

Let’s get back to Nicki Minaj- her and I are practically twins. Actually, the only thing we have in common are our badonk-a-donks. I used to be twins with JLo until she had babies and trained for a triathalon. Then, her junk in the trunk went bye-bye. I can only hope for a similar outcome.

I was going to wait to post out St. Patrick’s Day dinner (to make it look like I actually had a life and not that I come straight home to write about it for the internets to see). So, here are some mouth-watering pictures of one of the best meals to date. I managed to find some green to sport for the outing:

My expression was intended to imply ‘hey, look at this bangin’ green outfit.’ When really it says, ‘check out my disastrous roots.’ Whatever, I’m fixing that problem on Monday.

We started off with a couple of Caesar’s (to you American folk, it’s essentially a Bloody Mary, except it’s made with clamato juice rather than tomato juice). Tyler’s is extra spicy, mine is extra not. But you can’t tell the difference.

For an app, we had Mushrooms Neptune. They are mushrooms filled with crab and cream cheese. I don’t know why it was accompanied with a butt role, since we already were served a loaf of fresh baked bread. Delicious, nonetheless.

Our meals came with salads (mine: Wedge; Tyler: caesar) not pictured because lettuce is boring to look at.

Filet Mignon for each. (mine: 7 oz because I’m a lady; Tyler: 10 oz because he’s a man) Twice baked potatoes with chives and BACON, and veggies. (see! we were celebrating St. Patrick’s Day! We had potatoes!)