Weekend Catch Up. And free lululemon!

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Ok, I think I can get back to normal now. School is over and grades are in. 2 A’s to finish grad school! My cumulative GPA is 3.751. Not. Too. Shabby. I am really glad it’s over. The other night, I dreamt that I hadn’t finished all my work. But I also dreamt bears were chasing me, so I couldn’t take it too seriously. I finally checked yesterday morning and had to refrain from hooting and hollering because Tyler was still sleeping.

Made me feel even better about getting this puppy from Tyler as a graduation gift:

I have already made a batch of chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies and biscotti. The chocolate chip recipe that was my go-to recipe has been officially taken over by a new recipe that came with my mixer. Tyler and I agreed that this batch was the best because it wasn’t as sweet. I thought they were chewier, too. Makes them last longer (or not). I am still on the hunt for a savory dish to make with this. But why rush, when the obvious thing to make during the holiday season is tons and tons of cookies?! I loaded up on sugar, flour, brown sugar, powdered sugar, eggs, BUTTER, and food coloring in preparation for the madness that will be my kitchen in the next few weeks. PS: If you have any cookies recipes you’re dying to share..PLEASE DO!

Saturday was a busy day. It was a FUN day! And, after two weeks sans makeup and normal clothes, I got myself dressed.

I rocked some red corduroys, brown leather boots, a plaid long sleeved tee, and my wool scarf from Zulily. If you haven’t heard of Zulily, I highly recommend you check out that link I provided. There are some insane deals on there! (The girls got their bridesmaids earrings from there!)

We had a Groupon for Fatburger that was due to expire this week, so we decided to make the trek to the NE for some fat-kid food.

The voucher was for the standard burger, fries, and soft drink. A meal that is totally out of my norm. I managed to finish most of the burger which was OK, and a couple of fries. Had to force feed those, since I am NOT a fry person. The best thing I can say about that meal was that it wasn’t greasy. So I didn’t feel like a tub-o-lard that I planned on feeling like.

While eating the meal, I spotted a Bulk Barn across the way. I had never been to one yet, and I really wanted to sneak a peak on what goodies they had to offer. Yup, it was heaven. I was surprised by the variety of things they had- coffee to spices to baking ingredients to candy to nuts to….everything.

I managed to restrain myself, and we walked out with only a couple of goodies:

Irish cream coffee beans, hot tamales, corn nuts (for Tyler). and silver sugar pearls. I was entirely too excited to see the pearls because I remember my mom always having them in the cupboard, ready for baking. I guess the store we went to stopped carrying them or they were discontinued because we couldn’t find them for the longest time. Tonight, we will be definitely using them to decorate christmas cookies- made with my new mixer 😉

We also stopped by this shop that was within the same neighborhood- and we got a home brewing kit! Tyler and I LOVE drinking beer, and Tyler has been interesting in making it at home. We ended up getting the kit and a box of wort for mexican cerveza.The guy at the store said it was more like Dos Equis than Corona. As soon as we got home, we got right to it!

I can’t wait to see how it turns out. We have already been looking into other ‘flavors’. I’m rooting for Apricot!

After the beer was all set (it is currently still sitting in the basement fermenting. Or doing whatever it does), we got to our gingerbread building. I opted for the traditional house, while Tyler mixed it up and got the tree. I think they turned out pretty good. Mine included red and green fondant that I had to roll out and shape myself. I now have a new respect for wedding cake bakers. But I’m still going with cupcakes.

We rounded out the evening with Caesars and Home Alone.

And Layla drooled all over us. Typical.

Sunday was nothing unusual. Except for the fact that I wasn’t bogged down with homework! Tyler watched football while I did laundry and napped and snuggled with the pup. I was feeling pretty blah and didn’t want to go to the gym, so I did a pretty quick- but effective strength circuit:

50 left reverse gliding lunges
50 right reverse gliding lunges
50 overhead presses
50 shoulder presses
100 stability ball situps
50 right single leg deadlifts
50 left single leg deadlifts

Yesterday’s workout was Workout A from Best Body Bootcamp– 6 rounds of tabatas, with each alternating between two moves (this is my favorite series for arms, because I have seen immediate results after both last night’s session and last Monday’s session. Score!) I also got to the gym and did a 30 minute treadmill interval workout.

I think that makes me sufficiently caught up. What’s going on with you?

PS: Don’t forget, if you’re looking for a fitness-related gift for you or someone you know, check out the monthly fitness apparel subscription box from pv.body. If you click here, you can get 20% of regular price! AND IF YOU SIGN UP BY 12/13 (THIS THURSDAY) YOU WILL GET A FREE $25 LULULEMON GIFT CARD!!!!!!! (You can thank me later. Or now. Or send me cookies/lululemon gift card)

Workouts and Christmas Gifts!

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Hey, internets. It’s me, Jen. I’ve been SUPER busy the last few days working on my finals. MY.LAST.FINALS.

EVER!!!!!!!!!

I actually turned one in Tuesday night and already got my unofficial final grade (it’s an A 😉 )I have a little more to complete of my other exam, then DONE!

The only breaks I really took were to workout, make dinner, and watch Ellen. Priorities, people.

My workouts have actually been following this phase from Best Body Bootcamp! I have been feeling pretty great this week- even under all this stress!

Monday: 30 minutes of sprint intervals on the treadmill. I made up my own intervals: 2 min run, 1 min run faster, 1 minute SPRINT. This was done quite a few times through- each time shortening the ‘rest’ intervals in between. Thanks, Pitbull and Will.i.am for getting me through. I waited until I got home from the gym to do the strength portion of the workout: tabata style! Tina had planned Monday’s strength tabatas to be focused on upper body moves. I seriously couldn’t stop flexing all night because I loved how awesome my arms looked! (and it only took 24 minutes. I didn’t get bored. AND I wasn’t even listening to music!)

Tuesday: 30 minutes of spin. I have been actually really good at motivating myself and pushing myself on the bike lately- since I haven’t liked ANY group ex classes since moving here. On the Keiser bike, I noticed that I was getting in about 12.5 miles per 30 minute session on the bike. I know it’s not about the distance- especially since I love to dial up the resistance once in a while, but Tuesday I decided I wanted to ‘beat’ my average. I kept using the varying resistances, but I really pushed myself and got an extra mile in. SUCCESS! I also did 100 stability ball sit ups at home.

Wednesday: I knew I didn’t want to get to the gym (I really only go there now to run or spin) because I didn’t want to overdo it on the same type of cardio I had been doing this week. So, before I got in bed last night, I managed to get in strength Workout B from BBB. This one was focused on lower body, and after 24 minutes I was nice and sweaty! Great way to end the day and snuggle in bed.

Today: since my legs feel rested (ok, maybe not completely rested after last night’s workout) I am looking forward to mixing up my cardio at the gym with a combo of sprints, spin and rowing! Then maybe some abs at home.

A while back, I signed up for a blogger Christmas swap that Leigh set up. I was paired with Jolene, whose blog I had not yet come across. We swapped some emails to get an idea of what each other liked, and began reading each others blogs. On Monday, I received my package from Jolene, and I was blown away with all the awesome goodies she included. They were so ‘me’.

She had individually wrapped everything, so of course I was super giddy. The dog looked at me in horror as I ripped and threw paper around the room, gasping with each item. Not to mention, the paper was SUPER cute. Here’s the loot:

Along with a cute card came Lindt chocolates, Toffifee, taco scented stickers, a face mask, 2 different perfume samples, lotion, chapstick, ESSIE nail polish, chocolate cake vodka, shampoo/conditioner, BACON SALT, and some treats for Layla!

The Lindt chocolates are already gone (they were PEPPERMINT flavored. Of course I ate them already) and half the box of Toffifee has been eaten (only 2 pieces from me. Tyler loved them too!) I actually never had them until Jolene sent them to me, and now I can officially say they’re on my list of favorites!

Caramel, nougat, chocolate and hazelnut? Pass it on.

A huge thank you to Jolene for the awesome gifts!!!

Ok, back to the books. Hope that helped with your Jen fix. Layla says hi.

BBB update, cookies, and christmas!

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

It’s a new week, people. Not a fun new week, however. Sure, it’s cyber Monday, but it’s also back to school for me. 2 more weeks of this nonsense and I am DONE!

The last few days have been pretty fun though:

There were 2 good workouts- Saturday was a combination of strength circuits and short cardio bursts (all done at home) and Sunday was a nice long spin at the gym. On Friday, I got my new armband in the mail, so I was finally able to use my iPod touch yesterday. I loved it! It’s super minimal, has awesome no-slip fabric(?) and has a small pocket for a key!..or money!..or both!

Wait, let’s go back to my at-home workout on Saturday. 3 words: Single. Leg. Burpees. I have officially added that to my list of all-time favorite exercises. We were meant to do a lot of burpees in this phase of BBB, but after doing Workout A last week, I just wasn’t feeling the layout, so I rearranged it for my Saturday workout. Lots of single leg burpees mixed in with other compound exercises. By the end of my workout, I was walking around like I just got off a horse. FANTASTIC!

I haven’t really been in the mood to follow the Best Body Bootcamp workouts lately, but I am thinking of vaguely following them (at least the strength portion) this week and getting in a LOT of my own cardio through running, spin, and kickboxing. Hey, since I’m on the topic of cardio AND it’s that time of the year where getting to the gym can be hard, I thought I’d share THIS post with you. It’s a lot of cardio exercises you can do to get your heart rate up up up! And you can do them from the comfort of your own home. You are so welcome.

On Saturday evening, I headed over to Leigh’s for a Calgary blogger meet-up. It was super fun! There were about 10 of us, and it was really nice to put faces to names of bloggers I have been checking out lately. Plus, it felt REALLY nice to be able to socialize. You have no idea.

I ended up bringing a batch of my favorite ~~crack~~ no-bake cookies. Alison asked me to post the recipe (you may regret this, Alison!) Here it is:

What you’ll need:

2 cups sugar
4 tbsp cocoa
1 stick butter (that’s in American butter. For you Canadians, it’s 1/2 cup butter)
1/2 cup milk
1 cup peanut butter (don’t substitute with other nut butters, it really doesn’t come out right)
1 tbsp vanilla
3 cups quick oats (you can use cook and serve, but it really changes the consistency)

What you do:

1. Put the sugar, milk, butter and cocoa in a large saucepan and bring to a boil (stirring constantly). Allow it to boil for 1 minute.

2. Remove from heat, stir in peanut butter, vanilla and oats until fully incorporated.

3. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture on foil or waxed paper and allow to set and cool completely.

4. Eat all of them and then make another batch to share.

At the meet-up, we also did a white elephant gift exchange. I lucked out (ALL the gifts were awesome) and went home with a few goodies:

Some locally made toffee- which I ate half of last night and it was deliciously yummy and fantastic

Some lemony soap shaped like a wedge of pie

And some handmade Christmas cards. Love the glitter!

This AM, a couple of packages arrived from my parents. Yippee!!!!!!!! I love getting stuff in the mail 🙂

Ok, ok. One is for me, and the LARGER one is for Tyler. Mom said we could open them right away, so I tore mine open. [Do you have any idea how difficult it is for me to leave Tyler’s unopened until he gets home from work?! Ugh, the agony]

I already knew of one thing that was in my package- so I really did have to open it right away. My mom made us a beautiful tree-skirt!

She’s a really awesome quilter, so I have no reservations in pimping her skills on the blog. If anyone wants her to make something for you, I could totally hook you up. (With a commission of course)

Then, some other really sweet goodies:

Soap in a coat! The bar of soap was wrapped in wool felt that acts as an exfoliator. It smells of delicious lavender.

A cute little snowman! He’s already up on the mantle 😉

A luxuriously soft infinity scarf and headwrap. Now I have an excuse to get dressed and leave the house today ~~to shop.~~

And, without further ado, I would like to wish my parents a HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY 46th anniversary today!!!!! (SHIT, that’s a long ass time)

And good luck to my dad who is having surgery today- a wonderful gift to give your wife on your anniversary. Let’s just hope mom doesn’t make nice with the wine before having to drive him home! (kidding, mom. Sort of. Not really.)

Merry Monday!

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Merry Monday to you all! I am enjoying my first day of vacation from school! It’s so exciting not having to post discussion forums and take quizzes and write papers and do MATH.

Let’s see, what have I been doing the last few days?

I got in some good workouts.

Friday I did some strength training at home.
Saturday I got up early to get in some treadmill time and a quick spin.
Sunday I did nothing
This morning I got up early and did Workout A from this week of Best Body Bootcamp. WHOA. It was a good one. LOTS of burpees, strength and core work. Then I went to the gym and SPRINTED 2 miles. I’m not kidding about the sprinting part. That’s why I put it in all caps. Also, I realized I wore mismatched socks.

After my Saturday morning workout, I met up with Alison and Leigh for some sushi. Yes, I got lost. Both there and back.

Spicy Tuna roll and California roll. And I was happy.

Leigh also gave me a no-slip headband she made. I love it and it fits perfect!

We installed new motion sensor lights on the front of the house. No pictures, because I was too busy getting serious with home improvement.

Then….beer!

And how do you make beer better? You drink it from a BIG frosty mug!

Hmm, what else. We got Christmas lights that still need to be hung. I have been painting and glittering a lot. Ooh, and I got my hair done this morning!

Before: Super blonde

After: OMG I can’t believe it either, but I had low lights put in my hair for the first time in over 5 years. Gasp, I know. I think it looks alright. At least for winter.

She curled it a lot. It’s almost prom worthy.

Layla says hi from her favorite spot. At her favorite time. On our bed. When the sheets are stripped.

Coming up this week:

-More crafting! I can’t wait to show you (you? or it? Since I’m not really showing *you* I’m showing the internet)

-American Thanksgiving! (Turkey is getting all thawed already)

-I’m going to the Christmas Market on Friday (If anyone wants to go with…..;) )

What are you looking forward to this week?

Let’s get to it.

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Happy Monday, folks. Let’s get to it.

1. I won 2 tickets to the Kensington Wine Market Wine Fest on Friday! I was so excited because I really never win anything- and this I could share with Tyler!. Unfortunately, he got my cold, so at the time he couldn’t really taste much. We still had fun though!

There were 80 wines to try, and they were separated by country. Only one bottle of each wine was opened, so we were encouraged to ‘move on’ to another sample to allow for others to get a try. They had some food catered- finger foods as well as meat and cheese platters (I got hooked on the smoked bison).

And Crave cupcakes!

The event ran from 7-9pm. At 8pm, they brought out the cupcakes and dessert wines. If I could have just drank port all night, I would have been fine with that.

I got a good laugh because everyone arrived very timid and quiet, and by the first 15 minutes, we were all buzzed and chatting. Tyler and I made nice with the Spain and US tables. MMmmmmMMM (I have the pamphlet they gave us which listed all the wines, but I have yet to take a picture to share with you. I would do it now, but I am typing this in bed and I’m too comfy to move. Maybe another time.)

So fun!

2. Saturday, we ran tons of errands. But who cares about those. When we got home a bunch of hours later, we carved our pumpkins!

Tyler’s came out better than mine. Whatever. I scraped the insides out of both of those suckers, so I’m the real hero.

His:

Mine:

And I roasted the seeds! I had no idea how friggin easy that was. AND TASTY.

4. Our post pumpkin treats were….beer. We indulged in some seasonal brews from one of my faves, Big Rock Brewery. We loved all three!

Autumn Wheat: Spiced Ale. Light in taste. Great with din din.

Loved the Espresso Stout! Only 4.2% alcohol content. It tasted like cold coffee with a hint of beer. There was absolutely no aftertaste. We both thought this would be nasty, but it was an awesome surprise. I could have drank about 6 more of them.

But I moved on..

Winter Spice Ale was 6.0% alcohol content, so I thought it would be massively strong, but it was still quite pleasant. Seriously, there is not a single beer from Big Rock that I don’t like. Good job, guys.

5. Oh, and I actually got dressed on Saturday. Like, makeup and everything. That never happens. Even Tyler gave me a double look because of it.

Not TOO shabby.

6. Yesterday I finished up my two midterms. Not fun, but after about 5 hours of work, I submitted both and the weight was immediately lifted. Now, only 5 weeks to go and I’ll have my Masters!

7. Layla is a lazy bum.

8. Workouts. Love em. Let’s talk about em.

Friday

Best Body Bootcamp workout C (It was a mostly-arms circuit)
20 minutes of kickboxing

Saturday

Sunday

The 100 workout

Oh wait, you don’t know what that is? Probably because I made it up. I was too busy making pumpkin pancakes, watching football, doing schoolwork, and finishing my book to get to the gym for any cardio yesterday (wasn’t up for cardio anyways), so I do a bunch of strength stuff in my jammies at home.

100 pushups
100 Gliding side lunges
100 stability ball situps
100 lateral raises
100 wall squats
100 leg lifts

Today will be an INTENSE cardio session followed by Workout A from BBB.

8. I bought toilet paper this weekend. I know, I know, it’s a big deal. I used to buy it at Target (in bulk), and it’s cheap. But grocery stores are significantly more expensive. I chose the cheapest one, which oddly enough was 3-ply. The verdict? 3-ply is no better than 2-ply, so don’t waste your pennies. #justsaying.

9. Started this book last night:

(Source)

10. Got the new Pink CD. Played it on Friday night after we got home from the Wine Fest, and of course I had a dance party (with myself. Tyler doesn’t dance, and Layla usually just stands in front of me and stares)

This one is my fave: (you probably won’t see the link if you’re viewing this through Google Reader)