Tag Archives: sweat session

There’s a really bad T-Pain joke in this post

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Well I woke up sore today. But I guess I can’t say ‘woke up’ if I never really slept! I tossed and turned all night because of all my aches and pains. And because the dog was rolling all over me.

Must’ve been those stinkin’ (but awesome) burpees from Monday night.

All I did yesterday was run! (40 minutes..woooo!)

I still haven’t changed the time since daylight savings on my Garmin.

I finally ordered an armband online yesterday for my iPod touch! I can’t wait for it to get here because I’ve been using this thing since 2007.

Tyler brought me home a flower that’s hard to kill! How thoughtful. No seriously, I squealed with excitement. And Layla sniffed like crazy.

For dinner, we had kabobs. Steak, zucchini, red peppers and mushrooms. I didn’t do anything to the veggies, but I marinated the steak for a couple hours in 1 part whiskey and 1 part balsamic vinegar. Super tasty!

And some macaroons for dessert:

I was crafting for a bit (still not done) in the afternoon, and Layla took it upon herself to wear my scarf. I think she rocked it.

Now, onto random ramblings. Because I do those best.

1. I have to change which post office I go to now because the girl at my usual stop knows that I sent out wedding stuff, so now every time she sees me (which is OFTEN) she asks me about it. And then relays stamp and package information to me. Like I give a hoot.

2. Ahh, speaking of giving a hoot. I found a great gift for a Christmas swap yesterday, but didn’t buy it. I’m writing it here as i reminder because I always walk around with my blog posts on my phone (it’s a means of PR people)

Totally jk-ing. Or am I? I have been known to shout out my blog name to strangers..

3. I posted a video on my personal facebook page last week about dance moves. Here are further instructions on how to get jiggy with it:

4. I have 3 holiday recipes starred in my google reader that I CANNOT wait to make. Of course, they all have 32059720957209 calories, so that should be interesting.

5. But if I get this spoon (or someone wants to get it for me) then I guess I’ll be ok.

(Source)

6. No class next week because of Thanksgiving. Feel free to come up to me and be all T-Pain like and Buy Me A Drink (get it? hahaha the song?! I crack myself UP)

7. Pretend you didn’t read #6. That was just terrible.

8. Does anyone watch Ben&Kate? In lasts night’s episode she told Will she’ll see him later. With her looking balls. I just about died with laughter. Totally using that one.

Tell me something random. Or something funny. If it’s a random funny thing, then you’re multitasking. So talented.

******UPDATE: If you’re in Canada and interested in signing up for a cookie swap, please e-mail me at jtougas77 (at) gmail (dot) com by Friday, November 16th!******

Yummy Chili

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Recipe you MUST try: Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili from SkinnyTaste

 

 

Holy Moly, was it tasty (and there’s a bit left, so I get some more today!) I actually made half of what the recipe calls for since the two of us are pretty sucky at using up all the leftovers. I topped mine with a dallop of greek yogurt and a pinch of cheese.

Yesterday’s workout felt GOOD. I did the strengh “ladders” from this phase of Best Body Bootcamp at home, then went to the gym to bust out a 30 minute interval run and 20 minutes on the spin bike. Here’s what my run looked like:

 

Hey, so I am going to be boring and do another survey. Mostly because the coffee hasn’t kicked in yet and I am brain dead. Yay!

1. Last thing you ate:

Multigrain Cheerios (my weekday breakfast of choice)

2. Last beverage you drank:

Coffee. Coffee. Coffee.

 

3. Last workout:

See above

4. Last thing you pinned:

 

Lace wrapped mason jars

(I totally forgot about pinning this, by the way, but I ironically took a bunch of used glass candle jars- put them in the freezer for a couple hours, popped out the leftover wax, and now they’re ready to get some similar decorating!)

 

5. Last text message you sent:

Well, it’s not the last one, but I thought this rant I sent Tyler yesterday was pretty funny

 

6. Last blog you visited:

Meh, I sort of skimmed over a ton and Marked as Read when I woke up- haven’t clicked back over yet to check more out. Actually, I lied. I clicked on Its Linz post on pumpkin muffins (through twitter)

7. Last tweet you sent:

 

8. Last place you visited:

Yesterday I went to Safeway, Pet Planet, and the Y. Super exciting stuff.

9. Last time you did ab work:

Sunday night. I did side crunches on the bender ball.

10. Last show you watched:

We have been recording this season of Revenge because I was obsessed with it. But I watched the first episode of this season this morning, and I am so over it.

 

(Source)

11. Last thing you baked:

Pumpkin Bread!

 

12. Last thing you Instagrammed:

 

Some pre-workout powder I got in one of my Bulu Boxes

13. Last Item on your to-do list today:

Well, ummmmm…..

 

And I leave you with my thoughts about school right now:

 

Ok, your turn- answer one or some or all of these!

Recipes, Purchases, and a Workout

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Hey, I’m back. I told you I would be, so it shouldn’t be such a huge surprise.

 

1. So these:

 

Holy hell are they sweet or what. They’re so sweet, I gotta say it again: holy hell. But if you’d like the recipe, you can find it here.

2. Apple Leather

 

Here’s what I did: 6 apples peeled and halved. Put into boiling water for a few minutes to get them nice and tender. Drain and throw them in the blender with just under 1/4 c water and cinnamon to taste. Then spread out on a cookie pan lined with saran wrap (sprayed with cooking oil helps). Then put oven on the lowest setting (mine was 170 degrees) and let it sit in the oven overnight (8-10 hours. Check it now and then to make sure it doesn’t crisp up, you want it to be a bit pliable).

There ya go!

3. I went to Lululemon (because Tyler TOLD me to) and I got 2 precious gems to add to my collection. This is totally going to help me with that issue I mentioned yesterday.

 

It’s the Virtue Energy Pant in dense purple and the Run: Swiftly Tech long sleeve

4. Then I got carried away and found an amazeballs steal on some more winter clothes. I got two pairs of cords and 2 sweaters and they were each $20! Not bad, Jen. Not bad.

 

5. Yesterday’s workout.

It was somewhat adjusted because I only had one girl attend the class, but here’s the gist: (some of the moves were taken from Best Body Bootcamp. Green= strength; Blue= cardio)

  • 5 minute warmup
  • Elevated push press (using the step) 1 min each side
  • Up/down plank- 1 min
  • Run laps around the studio for 3 minutes
  • 15 seconds jacks/15 seconds mountain climbers x3
  • Lunge stance with row- 1 min/Opposite leg forward lunge stance with reverse fly- 1 min
  • Tricep dips- 30 seconds at the 4-count and 30 seconds at single count
  • Repeat lunge moves and tricep dips
  • Run laps opposite directions for 3 minutes
  • 1 min torso twist hops
  • 1 minute wall sit with bicep curls
  • 1 minute weighted laying hip abduction/1 minute weighted hip adduction
  • 1 minute wall sit with overhead press
  • 30 seconds jump rope/30 seconds quick feet x3
  • 15 squats with front raise
  • 15 chest flys
  • 30 second decline plank
  • 15 single leg tricep kickback Left/15 right
  • 10 plank with single arm row Right/10 left
  • 8 surrender squat right/8 left

BURPEES

  • we did 5 burpess with a 15 second rest 10x through

ABS

  • Crunch progressions: 10 reg crunches, 10 with legs at tabletop position, 10 with legs straight in the air, 10 with scissor legs left, 10 scissor legs right, 10 tabletop, 10 regular

Tell me something random. How about: what’s the last thing you bought online? Where’s the last place you went out to eat? Favorite TV show this fall? Favorite cold-weather meal to make?

Throwback Thursday (not that kind)

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Happy Throwback Thursday (usually people refer to throwback in the sense that they post old pictures or play old songs. But me, I ‘throw back’ a few brewskis. Umm it’s Thursday, so there’s football. And when there’s football, and a football loving dude that I just so happen to live with…..there’s beer)

Oh funny story: I have been saving all the booze bottles (and milk cartons and kombucha bottles) for the last couple of months and I returned them today for $23! Hells yeah I can buy practically nothing in Canada for that.

1. My Avon order arrived today! Woo hoo

 

(More than $23)

 

 

2. So did my new coat!

 

(Way more than $23)

 

(That’s my crazy i-look-like-crap-silly-face) Gimme a break, I didn’t put makeup on today because I am about to go to the gym, and I wanted ‘naked’ skin when I went to my Avon lady’s house just in case I was going to put a lot of samples on. But I didn’t) Layla doesn’t judge.

3. We also got some dimmer switches that Tyler ordered, but I didn’t open the box because those aren’t as exciting to play with…..until they’re installed.

*Have we noticed that I am useful being stuck at home? I answer the door for all the deliveries!

Yesterday’s HEAT class had a whopping ONE person in attendance. PEOPLE, DON’T SLACK OFF ON GOING TO THE GYM JUST BECAUSE THERE’S SNOW ON THE GROUND. I hate snow and I still trekked through that shi*

I did a 10 minute progression cardio set on the elliptical before heading to the studio for class, where I did:

(The first few rounds were taken directly from one of Athena’s workouts that she posted the other day. I used to hate being in her class when she did count downs only because I seemed to be the only grunter by the time we got down to 4’s. Oh wait, I think I liked it because I was the only grunter. Ahh, potayyy-toes, potahhh-toes.)

Countdowns (10 of each move, then 9, down to one…Athena explains it. Then one minute of the cardio, and about one minute of the core move)

Round 1

  • Bicep Curls/Overhead Presses
  • Jumping Jacks
  • Alternating crunch/toe touch

Round 2

  • Pushups/bent over rows
  • Jump rope
  • Side plank w/hip raise

Round 3

  • Tricep Kickbacks/Upright Rows
  • High Knees
  • Heel Taps

Then, I had to get a bit creative because my one participant was a little limited in her movement due to an injury.

Round 4

  • Donkey Kicks (each leg countdown)
  • Weighted left squat to left side lunge (45 seconds) to right squat and right side lunge (45 seconds)
  • One minute wall sit with a front raise

Round 5

  • Crunches/Supermans
  • Mountain Climbers
  • Leg lifts
  • One minute wall sit with lateral raise

Round 6

  • Weighted reverse lunge with 3-count pulse and 3-count hold (90 seconds each leg)
  • Weighted Squat to overhead press
  • Laying weighted hip abductions with 3-count hold

It doesn’t look like a whole ton of cardio, but since we were doing those countdowns like quickfire, we were both breathing hard and sweating lots.

Today’s workout will consist of 40 minutes steady state cardio, and a few moves that were in my workout from Best Body Bootcamp that I was supposed to do yesterday (but didn’t squeeze them in my class)

Peace out.

The Funk Phenomena

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1. I forgot to mention yesterday about this sort of cool thing. Tyler ate McDonalds. No, that is not the cool thing, but I’m getting to that part. You see, when I’m not in the house around dinner time, Tyler cheats on me. I came home from teaching at the Y last week and I asked if he wanted me to make him a smoothie. He said no, he wasn’t hungry. I asked him if he had any dinner and he said he snuck to McDonalds when I left. My jaw dropped and my head started to shake, but he had what he thought was a legitimate excuse: the Monopoly game was back. AND he won. I asked if he won a McMuffin, which is basically not winning, and he said no, he won 2 free 5×7 prints from snapfish.ca. 

“Ok” I thought to myself, “I can use this!”

So yesterday, I got online (shocker) and ordered two prints. And shipping was free.

2. Naturally, I followed up this venture with a trip to Michael’s for some craft frame project, but I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted. I had a coupon, too! Wahhh.

3. I made these puppies to accommodate dinner last night (which was salad topped with spicy pulled chicken)

 

Cornbread Jalapeno Poppers

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 6 jalapenos
  • cornbread mix (I used the entire box, and baked the rest as muffins to freeze for later)
  • 1 cup corn
  • 1.5 cups shredded cheddar
  • GLOVES

Here’s what you do:

  1. Put on gloves and cut each jalapeno in half (lengthwise). Remove veins and seeds.
  2. Mix the cornbread according to box directions (ugh I always make mine from scratch, or use Jiffy mix, but I couldn’t find Jiffy anywhere here! Another sad face for Canada), mix in the corn and one cup of cheese.
  3. Scoop the mixture and place in each jalapeno. Top with remaining cheese
  4. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.

 

(Tyler didn’t like them. I’m thinking he was secretly hoping they were full of cream cheese and wrapped in bacon. That’s for next time!)

4. I had a really sweaty at-home workout last night.

 

(The stability ball followed me into the bathroom, apparently)

I started with about 40 minutes of kickboxing, and rounded out with a 20 minute full body strength session. I started laughing at the beginning of my kickboxing workout, because the first song was The Funk Phenomena (I linked to the YouTube ‘video’ so you can listen to it if you have no idea what I am talking about). I went through the song 2x because I was laughing so hard.

“Jen, why were you laughing?”

“Because he sounds like he’s saying Tha Fu Fa Na Ma Na instead of The Funk Phenomena!” (Leave it to me to make everything childish.) I was also super hyper, so I was adding some crazy hip action to this routine.

5. When I went back home in August, I dedicated a full day to take care of formally important stuff. I had to contact every insurance company I used for car insurance (to provide Tyler’s insurance company with proof that I have been driving x-number of years with 0 claims- so that my payment would be reduced) I had a lot of insurance companies, because I was always reviewing to see who could provide me with the cheapest rate. Oh, and the coverage I had under my parents when I was in college- that company doesn’t even exist anymore, so that was fun trying to track down.

I also had to deal with all the health insurance bills that SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN A PROBLEM. You see, my health coverage from my employer in the states covered one annual physical and one annual ‘lady exam’ (cough cough, yaknowwhatimsayin, cough cough). So, I went for my lady exam in September 2011 and was billed $289. UM THAT’S NOT ACCEPTABLE. So I went to my HR department to bitch about it, and they just told me to call the doctor’s office, who then told me to call the billing office, who then told me to contact my health insurance company…blah blah blah. This went on for almost a year. Finally, I was contacted by someone in HR who said they screwed up and incorrectly entered my social security number. And that’s why I kept getting billed.

I also went in for a routine check up at my doctor and was billed $110. For what? She basically took my blood pressure and asked if I ‘felt safe at home.’ Dumb questions that doctors ask these days.

Long story short, I spent 6 hours on the phone when I was home in August, trying to straighten everything out. I had people send me receipts and confirmation that everything was settled.

And then this weekend, my dad messages me saying I had another bill from them in the mail.

NO, AMERICA. YOU ARE SO SUCKY AT HEALTH INSURANCE.

YAY, CANADA. YOU GIVE ME MEDS FOR FREE AND ARE NICE TO ME.

6. Since I love to tell funny stories, I’ve got another one for you today. You see, I used to be fat.

 

(Source)

Ok, well not ‘fat’ but I ate a lot of calzones and chocolate covered raisins and drank a LOT of beer in college. And I broke my foot junior year which didn’t help, either. My highest weight was just a hair under 200 pounds. I kid you not. So to all you boys out there I made out with in college- you’re welcome. You must have been drinking a lot of beer then, too.

I went through phases of over-exercising, and no exercising, and weight watchers, etc. It wasn’t until after I graduated and moved into my own place did I realize the importance of what I was eating. And it wasn’t until I got certified in group fitness did I get the importance of my fitness.

And now, I am more than 50 pounds lighter than I was in college. Hooray! (And I still drink beer and eat Nutella, imagine that!)

7. My dog is crazy.

 

Tell me something random in the comments!

(Don’t forget to like my facebook page, follow me on instragram and twitter @nutcaseinpoint)