Worth Mentioning

Well, it’s Monday. I’d say its back to the grind, but that’s not really the case…. for me anyways. It won’t be back to the grind until I’m home in Calgary where I have my routine with the pup, etc. And especially when I’m back to my usual eating habits! This isn’t technically a vacation, so I don’t think it’s ok that I have gained 5 pounds (not important in the overall scheme of life, but very important for the wedding dress fitting). Until then, it is what it is!

So…some things worth mentioning:

-check out Athena’s recap of this past weekend. She did a way better job than I did.

-have you heard of Vine?

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It’s an app that is similar to Instagram, except with 6 second videos! I recently joined, so if you find yourself on Vine, make sure to follow me!!

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-I had a bowl of oats this morning for the first time in almost a year! I topped it with a bit of brown sugar, cinnamon, wild bluebs, and walnuts. Accompanied with a couple cups of strong coffee, and I was super satisfied.

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I think I was reluctant to get back into oats because they are usually calorie dense with all the add-ins, but I knew I needed some of the nutrients in addition to the staying power!

– Today’s strength workout was courtesy of Best Body Bootcamp. I only slightly modified it to make it look like this:

    Round 1 (to be continuously repeated for 15 minutes)
    Single leg dead lifts, L and R (12)
    Plank w/row (12)
    Standing oblique crunch with knee raise and overhead press (12)
    Round 2 (to be continuously repeated for 15 minutes)
    Gliding reverse lunge (12)
    Dead lift with row (12)
    Cross body curl (12)

I made my own cardio intervals to be done on the treadmill. It looked like this:

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And since its snowing cats and dogs, I’m hoping to get back on the treadmill tonight to walk while I watch Biggest Loser!

– I got an email from Citizenship and Immigration Canada today that said I have passed the initial assessment for my permanent resident application! Such good, happy news. I can’t even begin to explain to you the frustration, tears, and anticipation Tyler and I have he’d over all of this. (The tears were min, obviously. Boys don’t cry)

-because of the above mentioned bullet point, there is current a bottle of prosecco in the fridge.

-my Nike+ Fuelband broke last week. Apparently, you are not supposed to charge them through a wall outlet. It’s only supposed to be charged through a device that had a time chip. But, since Nike doesn’t tell you that, you kill it, and then wind up talking to customer service for an hour attempting to troubleshoot only to have to have a replacement sent. Run on sentence? Yes. Frustrated? Heck yes.

-mama is making a Wacky cake. Yay!

Love my Mondays!

Scary, but I’m really starting to love my Mondays. I’ll wait for you to finish gasping before I explain why.

Done yet?

K good.

Actually, I’ll let you wait a but before I explain. Just need to recap Sunday first.

Breakfast started with an English muffin topped with leftover guac and scrambled eggs. Pretty dang delish and tons of protein. Helps with the hangover, too. Ok, I’m not sure if that’s proven, but it is in my case.

After breakfast and oodles of coffee was consumed, Tyler suggested we head to Bowmont park for a walk. (Note: It was really my idea, but using the power of suggestion and persuasion, I made Tyler think it was his idea..this is how successful relationships work, people.)

And of course, the youngin’ found her way into the water. I’m pretty sure Tyler almost took a dunk. She was not behaving on the leash AT ALL. There were tons of people out with their dogs and she was just overwhelmed. Lots of whining and half-woofs and scampering.

I managed to take a shot of the river while we crossed one of the bridges. I just thought it was so pretty that you can see the mountains in the background. Look harder, they’re there. (Ooooh correct grammar on their, there and they’re. Jen for the win)

Of course, since it was Sunday, I had to make some sweet treat once we got home. BUT, I decided to make it a healthy sweet treat. For the sake of my thighs. And hips. (Oh god, my hips. Cringe)

Here’s what I suggest: If you want something sweet and indulgent, go ahead and make the full fat version. Honestly, it’ll satisfy the craving. But, if you just want something to satisfy your sweet tooth without overdoing it, try this recipe (I came up with it myself!!!)

Protein Brownies

  • 3/4 c unbleached flour
  • 1/4 c cocoa
  • 1/4 chocolate protein powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2/3 c sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 c applesauce
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 c nonfat plain greek yogurt
  • 1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8×8 baking dish with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In one bowl, combine flour, cocoa, protein powder, salt and baking powder.

3. In another bowl combine softened butter and sugar. Once completely mixed, add in egg, applesauce and vanilla.

4. Add flour mixture to egg mixture. Then add the yogurt until fully incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips

5. With a spatula, spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool completely before removing from dish and serving.

If you try this recipe out, let me know what you think! (I didn’t tell Tyler they were healthified and I caught him going to the kitchen a few time for a brownie!

The sun was still out after I finished baking, so I decided to take advantage. I mean, who knows- it might snow again.

And I got started on another book

I forgot about the whole sun thing, and now sport a terrible sock and capri tan line. G-ross.

Once dinner rolled around…I was craving veggies. And veggies we did eat.

Grilled carrots, mushies and onions and Frank’s RedHot Chicken. To grill the veggies, I slathered them in olive oil, s&p, wrapped them in foil and tossed ’em on the grill. The carrots look burnt, but that’s actually where they carmelized and were really sweet! All in all, good dinner.

Sunday night’s workout was a quick 20 minutes of cardio/strength intervals. It consisted of:

  • Jump squats
  • Leg lifts
  • Pushups
  • Jump rope
  • Sit ups
  • Squats
  • Mountain Climbers
  • Stability Ball hip raises
  • Jacks

Ok, now I can tell you why I love Mondays. Well, for starters- it’s the first workout post-weekend. For some reason, I always have tons of energy. And I can really just get a fresh start.

Pre-workout, I tried out some of this stuff

Razor Blast Powder 8 in Triple Berry. I was nervous to take it because I haven’t yet tried it, and I didn’t know how my body would react to it.

WELL.

Holy balls, did it work. I walked to the gym at 7:30 this morning and absolutely killed my workout. What workout did I do? Glad you asked:

10 minute warmup (I did HIIT on the spin bike)
Round 1 (Do 2x before moving to next round)
Reverse lunge with fly (12 reps w/8lb weights)
Jump Squats (10)
Plank Hold (60 sec)
Round 2 (Do 2x before moving to next round)
Plie squat w/lateral raise (12 reps w/8lb weights)
Mountain Climbers (10)
Plank Hold (60 sec)
Round 3 (Do 2x before moving to next round)
Bicep curl w/overhead press (12 reps w/12lb weights)
Weighted side lunges (10 each side)
Round 4 (Do 2x before moving to next round)
Stablilty ball lower back extensions (12)
Stability ball roll out (10)
Round 5 (Do 2x before moving to next round)
10 double hop jumps
4 pushups
Round 6 (Do 2x before moving to next round)
Weighted Russian twist (10 each side)
V-ups (4 with hold at the top)
50 jacks
Round 7
Fire Hydrant (10 each leg)
Crossover mountain climbers (10)
Fire Hydrant with toe kick (10 each leg)
Crossover Mountain Climbers (10)
10 min Cardio (I did HIIT on the elliptical)

Fuel (otherwise known as breakfast) after this workout was a bowl of eggwhite oats. Delish

I combined oats, an egg white, almond milk and water with a scoop of pumpkin and 1 tbsp of chia seeds. 2 minutes in the microwave and topped it with almond butter.

YES. ALMOND BUTTER. Finally, after three weeks sans any nut butter, I finally have to jars of this nutty goodness!

Happy happy happy Jen. 🙂

Off to take advantage of this lovely day and take my terror of a dog on the trails!

Phew, I’m tired. Are you? Zzzz…

Ok I guess busy was an understatement. After my early morning gum session/desperate housewives/breakfast this morning, I showered, then was on hold for 30 minutes on two different phone calls. One to pay some insurance crap, and the other to schedule a few medical appointments for my immigration paperwork. Talk about a gross waste of time.

I did, however, make use of this wait time by straightening my hair and doing my makeup. So I guess it wasn’t a total waste.

First stop after that speed bump was the library! Look who got herself a library card!

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I even checked out a real live book

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They offer eBooks, and I already have a few on hold. Not gonna lie, I’m excited. Free>not free.

Next stop: photographer. I needed some quality shots for my PR application. Did they turn out? Let’s just say they meet the qualifications.

Then, Hallmark. Got a few cards and become a rewards member. Free cards and cash back never hurt anyone.

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By then, I had worked up an appetite (AM workouts really rev the metabolism!) and I threw together a real good bowl of deliciousness.

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I mixed some of the leftover stir fry with some scrambled eggs and topped with black beans and salsa. Tummy= satisfied.

I took Layla in my next round of tasks. Only because she was involved in one of them: nail clipping. I took her to The Paw Spa. She was in and out in less than 5 minutes and they did a great job. Layla was a little freaked, but when is she not.

Then, we went around the corner to mail some of the cards purchased earlier in the day, and around another corner to the used sports store for these babies:

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Phew, I’m just tired typing about my day! When we got home, I took care of some laundry, then cozied up to the first 100 pages of my book.

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I wasn’t planning on reading that much, but a line from the first page got me hooked:

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You’d keep reading too, if you saw that line.

Dinner was a bowl of oats with walnuts, chopped medjool dates, a heap of pumpkin ad pumpkin pie spice.

It hit the spot.

I made Tyler a hodge podge dinner (hodge podge= delicious but ridiculously easy to make), and he spent some time in his office. I don’t know what he was doing, but I heard techno/electronic music coming from that direction. I didn’t bother asking.

We just finished Underworld and are rounding out the evening with an episode of Top Gear

I’m about to run into a dilemma and I am not sure how to approach the situation. Backstory: I have been reading my eBooks on night mode in bed so that Tyler can sleep while I read at all hours of the night. Now, I have a real book. Flashlight under the covers, or put the bedside lamp on the floor and lay halfway over the bed so it won’t disturb the man? And no, I’m not going in another room.

Hmm….

The Golden Workout

I had a terrible dream last night that I was being chased by people with guns and knives and bombs and they wanted to kill me. I’ve had the exact same dream before- it took place on a street I used to live on, and I just could seem to ever run fast enough. Then, I have the thought in my dream where I know it’s a dream, but my mind can’t get it to stop. Perhaps that’s why I had a terrible night sleep. That, and the fact that I kept getting tangled in the damn sheets. They’re too big for the bed. And between Tyler and a squirmy dog and me- well, it gets ugly.

Breakfast this morning was chocolate almond butter oats

Nothing super special, but they keep me full for a long while. Doesn’t hurt that it tastes great.

Layla and I went for a walk afterwards. 4miles (6.5ish km)
I tried Skyping my mom while we were walking, but the dog was pulling me too much and Canada’s reception sucks so I kept freezing. But it was a funny try.

Little bit of snots

Great view (my favorite pic from our walk)

Im about to grab a bowl of leftover chili for lunch. This is a pic I took of the chili from last night

Pretty dang delicious, if you ask me.

Once this bowl of yum yum digests, it’s off to the gym for this workout:

The Golden Workout

(because everything is done in sets of 50)

10 minute warmup

50 squats (weighted)

50 jumping jacks

50 lunges (weighted)

50 jumping jacks

50 pushups (take breaks if necessary- as long as you get to 50)

50 jumping jacks

50 leg lifts

50 jumping jacks

50 hip raises (weighted)

50 jumping jacks

50 side crunch pushups (25 each side)

50 jumping jacks

1 min plank

10 min cool down

******

That, plus a long, hilly walk should suffice for physical activity for the day. However, if I still have energy, I might throw in a quick run and/or abwork on the stability ball.. I’m aiming for it!

Anyone have a a favorite workout/move they’ve been loving lately?

Getting the ball rolling

Well, last night ended terribly. I committed a crime, a very bad crime. I weighed myself at the end of the day- at the end of a holiday weekend. The verdict? You don’t want to know. Ugh, I was so mad at myself. Hated myself even.

You’d think after 25 years I’d have learned to enjoy food and fitness in balance. But every once in a while- it takes a mean turn and I cry myself to sleep over a stupid number on a stupid scale.

After a huge sobfest and a good nights sleep, I started today with a clean slate. Breakfast was a bowl of oats w/honey, almond milk, almond butter, raisins and toasted coconut.

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Today’s workout included a 3 mile run- the first ever since moving to 3500 ft altitude. I think I did pretty good

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Sub-10 min miles. I’ll take it, thankya. And the route I took was hilly. Another high five for me.

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I listened to a new playlist for my run- it’s a weird mix of genres and old/new stuff, but it hit the spot for a run today!
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Oh, and Nicki Minaj’s new CD? Fantastic. She does a lot of the rap that she’s known for, but here and there she actually sings and she has a great voice. And great lyrics. And great featuring artists. Most of the songs talk about b*tches and d*ck, though. Hell, one song’s even titled Come on A Cone. For serious. But I really like the music- I’ll just have to watch my potty mouth for a bit 😉

My heart was a-thumpin’ by the time I got home. Theeeen, I did a quick at home circuit that consisted of

    Squats with alternating front kicks
    Side lunges with high knee
    Pushups
    Crunches
    Side plank dips
    Mountain climbers
    Jumping jacks
    Side crunches
    Jump rope

Oof!
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15 minutes of those moves, and I broke my second sweat of the day. Very pleased with my workout on day 1 of post-scale horror.

Lunch was a smoothie with an interesting list of ingredients.

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It included: 1 frozen banana, 2 handfuls spinach, orange juice, frozen raspberries, Oikos Greek yogurt, and 2 medjool dates. Totally delicious.

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Dinner was quickly and easy- another round of healthy chicken tenders with broccoli and spinach citrus couscous.

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Dessert was an orange.

I finally got around to trying out another way to get hard cooked eggs. Rather than boiling them, I baked them!

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In the oven they went at 325 for 30 minutes, then I plunged them in ice water to stop them from cooking. They actually turned out! I’ll be eating them over the next few days! Yum.