Power of Veto

I am currently super distracted by the smell of the AMAZING cobbler I just made!

My coffee smelled soooo good this morning I forgot to take a picture of it.  While I sat in on my weekly torture conference call I sipped my joe and munched on breakfast…

That banana has seen better days.  I’ve been having to keep all of my fruit in the refrigerator to avoid fruit flies but bananas aren’t a fan of the cold!

Our meeting ran really long so afterwards I got right to making lunch.  The salad so nice I made it twice!!

More pears and gorgonzola.  This time I added a chopped fresh date.

Multigrain Wheat Thins for crunch.

Our sun returned today but there was still a chill in the air.  While out at the post office sending off loot to some bloggie friends I decided to walk over and get a latte.  I think I’ve nailed my current recipe for latte love.

Grande, THREE pump, non-fat, no whip, extra hot Pumpkin Spice Latte.  Whoa.  (There are usually four pumps in a grande…too sweet…but half sweet wasn’t doing it for me!)

Alternatively if I’m getting a PSL as my main morning caffeine fix I get it with an extra espresso shot (triple grande) and just leave the syrup as is.  The extra coffee helps cut the sweetness.

This week’s grocery budget has been spent mostly on restocking my baking supplies and a few fresh items so dinners will consist of things I already have on hand.  Example:  Amy’s Burrito!

With fresh local corn on the cob…

Ole! Sprinkled the corn with a little salt and a little chili powder for zing.

After dinner I decided to put the fresh Red Haven peaches I picked up last night to good use.  I made my first ever deeeeeeelish fruit cobbler.

This is just a tease.  Recipe tomorrow.  Soooooo yum!

To earn that dessert I played an exercise game with myself while watching Big Brother.  For the first half of the show I counted how many times they said the word “veto” and on the commercials did that many crunches.

29 veto = 29 crunches

Added 30 flutter crunches and a 30 second plank just for fun.

For the second half of the show I switched to counting how many times they mentioned the alliance name “Brigade” and did a corresponding number of girlie push ups.  Thankfully they said brigade a lot less because me and push ups don’t get along too well.

18 brigade = 18 push ups

I threw in another quick burst of flutter crunches just cuz.

Of course, I probably should have run around the block to earn that cobbler but how could I watch the live eviction from out there?

No Free Passes

Awww, thanks for all of the lovely support on this morning’s confessional.  You guys know you are all a bunch of enablers right?  haha.  Almost everyone gave me a pass stating “it’s only one weekend” (I actually said it had been three weeks of eating snacks in bed) or “it’s OK because I’m going through a rough time” (I am actually quite fine…but this is scarily similar to my previous life as a single person at which time I was unhealthy and relatively inactive). 

Don’t give me a pass!  Kick my arse and remind me to treat my body right, feel good, and take care of me!  :)

Of course today has gone along just the way it should.  (It’s still early…check with me at bedtime, right?!).  It’s a work day though…it’s all about structure and routine.

Coffee…didn’t even finish my second cup.  Too dehydrated. 

Straight onto the sippy cup of water.  Today is totally a #waterlogged kind of day.  2 litres in and I think it’s finally working.  The potty trips are fewer and fewer now…meaning my body is actually absorbing the water.  Yay!

Breakfast was the last serving of Liberte Greek yogurt with half of a perfectly ripe banana, a drizzle of honey, and a small serving of granola…

And a plate of canteloupe…

My out of town friend has borrowed my car to head off to do some sight-seeing so my workout will be a do-it-myself at-home routine.  The sun is still hanging around so I’m off for a walk-jog in the fresh air, which I’ll follow up with some Booty Camp Fitness DVD action because my buns and abs are feeling sorely neglected.

I’m just waiting for lunch to finish digesting…

Dinner is going to be lean meat and veggies, so I allowed myself some carby love for lunch.  The last serving of Chicken Pot Pasta tossed with the last of the leftover Mashed Root Veggies.  Fiberific comfort food.  Possibly one of the most unappetizing photos I’ve ever posted.  LOL. 

Nom!

Three cheers for Mondays!! (OK, that might be a bit much… *grins*)

Anyone else have anything they want to confess?

Sammiches

So lovely and sunny today!  I hope that means the predictions of rain for the weekend are wrong!!

This morning I enjoyed my sunny office with my cuppa joe…

Then made a quick breakfast sammy for the road.  I finally turned the trunk full of recyclables in to the depot (wooT! $9 for the road trip fund!! haha).

Dark Chocolate Dreams PB with sliced banana on toasted sourdough…

I then dropped my car off to have the Winter tires swapped off.  Yay for Spring!  So glad to have my pretty rims back on my car.  Winter rims are fugly!!  I walked home about 20 minutes in the lovely sunshine.  Bliss!

At home I got back to work and got into a zone.  Come 3:00 (!!!) I realized I was starving.  Um ya…lunch!!  Another sammich of sorts was created.

Kind of a quesadilla really.  With light cheddar, turkey, spinach, hummus, and salsa…

Smushed and grilled on the Cuisinart Griddler…

Served a scoop of Greek yogurt to help take the fire out of the salsa.  I’m kind of a sissy.  LOL.

 

Another walk back to pick up my car right quick here…yay!  And then I think  trip to the gym for a proper cardio and strength training session.  Not sure if you noticed, but I’ve cut back on my working out in lieu of more yoga and me-time.  Not that gym time isn’t me-time, but my me-time usually involved staying up late and sleeping until the last possible minute…thus creating a lack of time for the gym outside of work.

I’m OK with that!  I was a bit overzealous with my workout plans last month, so this month I’m tackling things realistically and so far it’s all just fine.  Balance is the key after all, now isn’t it?!

The One Where I Missed Yoga

…but still went to the gym!  (That’s right people, I told you I was back!!)

Work ran late.  Damn Wednesdays.  I can never seem to get everything done at a reasonable time. I watched 7:00 come and go and realized my yoga plans weren’t going to happen.  So I headed for the gym for an 8pm workout again…

• 25 minutes on the treadmill, hurting my knees like an old lady
• 2 sets: 1 minute regular squats, 1 minute plie squats, 30 seconds pulsing squats, 30 second wall sit
• 2 sets: back extensions, assisted crunches
• 2 x 1 minute plank, again pain in the knees!

If that wasn’t enough, I went for a walk earlier today too!  Fall is here. 

After my walk, some banana bread.

Silent lunch to eat while on my weekly conference call.  Organic vanilla yogurt, thawed blueberries, oats, hulled hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, and craisins.

Afternoon snack to tide me over through yoga (the best laid plans!)…the last of the hummus and (gasp!) Mary’s Crackers.

For those who have asked, I got the crackers at Sobeys in the natural foods section.  They do have an “au natural” taste that some may consider sawdusty…but for some reason I love them!  I think it’s the seeds, and the fun crunchy texture.

By the time I got back from my workout I was FAMISHED!  I had this Campbell’s Creations soup in the cupboard and thought “yaaaieee dinner is ready!”.  However, once I got it open I thought “meh soup” so made a bigass salad to go with it.  :)

 

Lettuces, tomatoes, cukes, shredded marble cheddar, chickpeas & a drizzle of Ranch.  (chickpeas + cheddar = match made in heaven)

Ate a bowl of soup and a bowl of salad.

Then went back for the rest of the salad. nom nom nom. 

Now here I sit showered, moisturized, relaxed and drinking English Toffee tea.  A bit of girly TV in the form of Eastwick and then sleep will be mine!

A Quick 15

With only about 15 minutes to fit in a workout today, I easily could have talked myself out of it. Definitely no time for a run, which made me consider just skipping the whole thing...but I didn't! Instead I just used the time for some minor strength training and I'm so glad I did. :)

15 of each:

- crunches
- reverse crunches
- bicycle crunches
- 1 minute plank
- downward dog pushups
- regular pushups (girlie)
- tricep pushups (girlie)
- squats
- plie squats
- bridge raises (two legs)
- bridge raises (each leg)
- crunches again

Man, I can't wait to get in a proper run and workout when I get home. (ha, who knew I would EVER say that!?). You guys are going to be bombarded with posts when I finish vacation. :)

Do it Yourself Vacation Booty Camp

I had planned an afternoon run yesterday when we returned from our day's adventures, but FH's brother and family showed up for an impromptu visit so I had to change my plans. We had nowhere to be this morning, so after a nice sleep in and a couple of cups of coffee I decided it was now or never.

I set out to do what we figured was about a 3km jog, but passed a school on my way so decided to throw in a mini set of our Booty Camp exercises.

(Sorry no photos folks...hard to run with a camera...plus due to the lack of wireless I'm using the house computer and it's a pain to upload photos.)

This was my first official outdoor run and I must say I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I warmed up with a few stretches and a 2 minute walk down the block...then I set off and decided to use landmarks as my markers instead of trying to time myself. I ended up sort of doing both. Ran to the next big lighted intersection...took 5 minutes. Walked 1 minute, then ran again. So on and so on. Total running time was about 20 minutes...about 4 minutes of it was walking.

When I got back around the block I headed for the school field. Another quick jog and then I started with the DIY Booty Camp.

• squats (2 varieties)
• 1 legged deadlift bends
• lunges (regular & reverse)
• burpies
• plank (1 minute!)
• pushups (regular and downward dog)
• crunches (regular & reverse)
• bridges (1 legged & 2 legged)

Finished up with a final jog around the rest of the field and back down the block. Cooled off with a short walk and some stretching.

WooooT. Now I don't feel so bad about the Chinese Food feast we partook in last night. :)

(So sorry about the guest posts. Amy says she's having trouble too and she thinks it's Blogger. Booo Blogger.)

There’s Sand in My Booty

Tonight was my first class of Booty Camp, along with some other Haliblog girls (thanks for the name Farm Girl!).  I went into it knowing it would be a good workout, but hoping it wouldn’t be too hard or too easy.  I also knew we would all laugh our asses off the entire time.

Our instructor, Heather, is personable, easy going, and super qualified.  Not only is she a trainer at a local gym, but she also just completed the Kineisology program at Dalhousie.  We like her!

First, I should tell you that this entire event took place on a sandy outdoor volleyball court…but not nice, lovely sand…grainy, scratchy, wet sand.  However, I’m kind of glad it did because it helped up the intensity/difficulty level. 

Heather explained that we switch areas of focus when the songs change.  Start with cardio, then squats, then lunges, more cardio, some upper body, some core…you get the idea. For the most part I found it a good workout and fairly easy…although I will admit that it’s pretty easy not to give it your all.  With 25 women in the group, it’s hard for her to whip us all into following exactly.  I’m hoping with a few more sessions she’ll get more “boot camp” on us and start really giving people hell for slacking.  We shall see.

After our hour of power, we all hung around Farm Girl’s car enjoying some fresh strawberries she brought from her family farm.  Deeeeelish!   We were waiting on our turn to weigh in and get measured (yes, Mouse she put the scale out on the road!!  it was the only flat place…haha), and wouldn’t you know it but the local Red Bull car pulled up.

So we all had a good time getting free sugar-free Red Bull (which I won’t drink but it was fun to get free swag) and sitting on their car for a photo op.

Lynn, me, Farm Girl, Lex, and Angie 

So, all in all, a fun first day.  I’ll try to take it more seriously in the sessions to come.  Honestly though, so far it seems like it caters to folks with little to no fitness level and is mainly a weight-loss program…neither of which really fit me at this point.  We shall see!  I really just want to get better at real pushups!

 

Before I headed out, I had my planned fruit in the afternoon…

and an On the Glo granola bar about an hour before class.

When I got home I scarfed down the leftover chicken salad on whole wheat with some greens.

 

Today I got five litres of water in.  I’m definitely hydrated.  :)

Boys Will Be Boys

So because of my two appointments today I am working this evening to make up some lost time.  Earlier today I let FH know that I wasn’t going to be making a planned dinner, so it would probably be easiest if he just ate whenever he was hungry instead of waiting for me.

Well, as it turned out I was home and we could have eaten dinner together but in typical boy fashion he ordered a pizza!  Fridge and pantry full of food…but there’s “nothing to eat”.  ie: he ate the last can of mushroom soup yesterday.  LOL.  Really, this is only funny because I know that he’ll probably eat pizza all weekend while I’m gone to Toronto.  Ah well.  Boys!

I did enjoy one slice of his pie though.  I LOVE me some thin crust, so even though he thought the pizza was only so-so, I thought it was tasty!  Crisp, lightly cheesy, and barely any sauce…just the way I like it.  Served it with an amazing salad.

     

Convenient for me, FH wasn’t interested in salad with his meaty meaty pizza so I was able to throw together a combination I enjoy without having to worry about whether he would like it or not.

In the big bowl: chopped romaine, English cuke, strawberries, drizzle honey, big drizzle EVOO, herby goat cheese, sprinkle of walnut pieces, and the piece de resistance: fresh basil.  Deeeee-freaking-lish. 

Working backwards…for a quick lunch I had leftovers I found in the fridge.  A dish of salad from last night’s dinner, and half a ham & cheese sammich from the Relay. 

On my way out the door I stuffed a container of chopped kiwis in my purse, which I enjoyed in the car after my hair appointment.

I’m feeling wickedly silly for not accomodating a gym trip into today’s hectic schedule, so I’m off for a quick bit of yoga and some ab work.  Then another movie on the couch with FH…I can’t remember which one though!

Reality

My hopes of getting to bed at a reasonable time last night were dashed a bit by my wonky sleep schedule.  After my yoga session I wound up watching the premiere of The Bachelorette.  I don’t know what it is with me and reality TV lately…I have rarely watched even an episode of any Bachelor or Bachelorettes, but I was right into this.  I found myself yelling at her to pick Juan during the rose ceremony.  What a dork I am!

While watching I had a little snacky-poo of Kashi crackers, carrots stix, and almond butter.  I might have gone back for a small second helping.

This morning I awoke on time to my alarm and actually managed to get up and get my butt to my desk for 9am.  Nice.  My eyes feel bleary but other than that I think I’m doing OK.

Breakfast was coffee and water to start.

Then I decided to pull out this box of Nature’s Path frozen waffles (Flax Plus with figs) I had purchased a while back.  It just seemed like a waffle kind of day!  Toasted up two of them, cut into quarters, drizzled with the teeniest bit of syrup, and served alongside some fresh berries and Liberte Svelt vanilla yogurt for dipping.  Deeeeelish!  With another coffee that I didn’t even finish…still craving the water instead.

 

For lunch I wanted something simple so I made a turkey sammich.  Two slices of my favorite Sunflower Flax bread with light mayo, mustard, deli turkey, spinach and tomatoes.  Served with carrot stix.

I am considering going to warm yoga after work, but after so much time off from any workouts I’m a little concerned that it might be too hard on my sissy little lungs.  Sometimes they really get us moving and I find my breathing labored.  A week back on the treadmill building my stamina might be best before I try the class again.  Either way, I’ll be out the door by 5:30pm for a workout of some sort!