10 things

Just a few things to note for today:

1) strawberry-chocolate protein shake

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Check.

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

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While I went to go get all this

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One of the purchases were these puppies

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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

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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

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!

Day 2

In a hurry to get everything done at the instead before it’s off to the gym for course day #2.

Last night, Tyler and I enjoyed burritos from here

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Yeah, that thing is Gigantor. Mine was a bit smaller

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No, that’s not a glass of wine in the background. But if it was, it could have been some of this

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And if I did drink it, it could’ve been quite delicious.

Layla likes burritos and red wine as well

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Did a series of 8 tabatas this mornin just so I could get in a good sweat before siting in a lecture all day. The tabatas were

    Jumping jacks
    Jump rope
    Squat w/leg lift combo
    Hamstring extensions
    Pushups
    Sit upon a stability ball
    Hip raises
    Jog in place holding stability ball in front of chest

Not bad for 5:45am on a Saturday

Just inhaled some oats and coffee, whipped together a repeat bag lung and I’m off!

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.