I am normal!

Well, I stepped on the scale this morning...and the world is not ending. I weigh 59 kilos. That is 0.5 kilos up from last time...about 1 Lb. Random. I am not concerned. I'm embarrased to admit I am very relieved. Essentially I'm the same as I was 3 weeks ago. It has reaffirmed that I only need to do this monthly to keep from slowly drifting upwards and not obsess...because honestly, I feel the same. Unless I go up more above 60 kilos I'm going to just keep on steady as she goes and not think of changing. If my clothes fit the same and I look basically the same I imagine I should weigh toughly the same too. Go figure. It was nice for the world to confirm this to my brain though. Very nice. So take that scale...I can do this on my own thank you very much!

I had a much nicer weekend this one and got in some vegging as well as hard work on my MSc, as well as a night out with my husband. I ate healthy with a few glasses of wine and felt ready to jump back into the week. I also devised a healthy yummy oatmeal spice muffin recipe with coconut in. Mmmm...I must make more of them for work snacks. Yum.

March is crazy month. Lots to do...but I've done it before, so I know I can do it again. Just a few more months and then my classwork component is done and I'll have cell lines grown up for the last part of my project. Just have to keep it together until then...*fingers crossing*

This morning I was up and in the gym. I did a modified lower body workout - the knee raise step ups on the 20 inch step, plus 1 legged deadlifts, smith squats, ab work and some sets of arm work too (yay!) with 12 Lb dumbells for most and 5 Lb for the one movement that I hurt my arm with before. Testing the waters. We'll see how my arm feels tomorrow. Then I hopped on the bike for 28 minutes...all is good.

Random event - Today I am, for the first time in about 7 years, wearing a ponytail. It's been SO long...feels weird but cool. My hair is finally getting long again :)

Brrrr

Last night was a long evening. A cold cold day too: -31. To celebrate getting thru it all, J and I figured we'd order chinese from a new place. It took waaaay too long (didn't arrive until 8:30) and when it did it was someone else's order...heh. Whoops. Thankfully I liked all of it. There was a lot of shrimp which J doesn't like, but considering a lot of it was mystery stuff, I picked out the seafood and it turned out to be OK. Only the odd face from J. We get credit on our next order, so it's all good...
This morning I was up and in to workout. I could really feel what I did yesterday, so I modified my lower body workout, seeing as I already did some of those muscles yesterday. I still got a lot in and did my abfest too. The gym was a bit late opening, so my cardio was just 20 minutes. I ramped up the treadmill to 4% and had a speedwalk...it felt good.
Now I'm in on another freezing day to get things done in the lab. It's another weekend of MSc stuff, but I get to go see my husband play music saturday night, so that will be a very nice break.

Hope you all have a great weekend :)

slowest swimmer ever

Last night I made homemade falafel. It was the bomb. Mmmmm. If you've never made it at home, I found a baked version that is a little less crunchy but SO. Good. I have a few left to go with my lunch salad. Mmmm...

This morning I was up and into the gym - very excited as the pool was open again. The gym opens half an hour before the pool does, so I thought I'd use the time to try out some new stuff I've been eyeing up at the gym, seeing as it's holiday week and the gym is completely empty (it's so nice to not fight for stuff). I found the various step up boxes and did 3 sets of raised knee step ups and some front/back lunges off of the 20 inch box with some 8 Lb weights. Then I did some sets of leaning over one legged dead lifts and tried out what I think is one of the coolest things - the smith machine. It's wicked, because if you're clumsy (like me) and tend to have a bad knee or hurt yourself (like me) or aren't good at balancing weights for squats and work alone so you don't have a spotter (ahem...yup) this machine is the coolest thing. I put 20Lbs on the bar to see how my knee would take it and did 3 sets of deep squats. I loved knowing that I couldn't lose my balance and wrench my knee or strain something because I couldn't come back up from a squat...just rotate the bar and the notch fits back into one of the resting spots on the rack. How cool is that? I always wanted to try it out, but I'm one of those weirdos that needs time to poke at and fiddle with something to get comfortable with it, so it was nice to get used to it and fiddle without knowing I was holding other people up. These butt exercises will definitely become a part of my lower body rotation - I need some new things. I tried to do a few arm curls and straight lifts with the 8Lb dumbells but my left arm is still a bit stiff, so I left it so I don't hurt it again. My plan is to swim my arm back up into shape.

And boy will I. The pool is finally open again and I got in a nice 25 minutes swim this morning. It was so nice being in the pool on a cold winter day. The new lifeguards are being super strict and not allowing flippers for lane swim...which is super super lame, as I am the slowest swimmer in existance without them, but perhaps this will be the incentive I need to actually work on my form and get faster. I'm definitely the slowest of the slow lane, and my arms got a good workout. I used the flipper board half the time for just my legs to give my arm a break after a while, as it was getting stiff, but it was a good solid swim workout. I couldn't do a lot of front crawl without hurting my arm, but good old froggy swimming and back stroke is OK for now. I'm hoping it will be the physio my arm needs to get back to normal so I can get back to weights again...I know it's good for my knee when it acts up.
A nice hot shower and man...I fell like a zillion bucks. :)
I'm off to the lab, my good peeps. Genetic mutational analysis awaits!
Tah!

Solitary workouts are my thing I think

I'm glad I work with cool people. There are a few people on my floor who go to the campus gym at the same time I do. We smile and say hi...but that's it. And I have found that I like it that way. When I work out I zone out. It's my time to be alone in my head and sweat and push myself. Often I'm planning my day, working through projects or venting off steam. With others around I get self conscious and I don't like to talk to people when I work out other than the odd smile or hello. I don't workout as hard if I'm talking. Plus...well it's just kinda weird. I'm there to sweat...
If I take a *class* that's another thing - that's a social time. Spin class or bellydance I like the interaction. Weights and sweat times? Not so much.

Quick workout log on my way to the lab -This morning I came in for 35 minutes on the arc trainer on intervals and then my abtastic fest. I feel fantastic and I'm off. Gotta run!

My mamma used to say: crazy is as crazy does

This weekend was a long weekend. I am glad there was an extra day in there because I truly needed it. What began as a rather hideous weekend, ended up quite alright, although I wasn't sure to begin with.
Saturday, after a late night of working, I awoke early to a giant painful kink in the neck and the thought of working ALL day on my MSc. I had some breakfast and grumpily went in to work, with my neck throbbing in pain. I did everything I had to, but even driving (shoulder checking...ow...) hurt. I was miserable. It was when I came home and lipped off to my husband and ranted at him, when all he'd done was come to give me a hug to welcome me home that I realised I needed to take it down a notch, and start again. I'm generally *not* that kind of person. The look on his face said it all. I needed to calm down.
So - I did. I apologised, took some painkillers, and then made a drink and made some mini quiches for a potluck we were going to in a half an hour (rush rush rush...).
Then we headed out for what ended up being a fine evening. It was a friend's birthday potluck and movie night, and it turns out she had gotten engaged the night before, so we celebrated with lots of food...and then lots of wine and eventually, through the power of drinking games and EVERYONE there being way too tightly wound up with stress, having a full-on dance out, paper pirate hat wearing house party. The rum and wine flowed freely and there was much dancing and snackery. I lost a few of the drinking games and, as a result, near the end I was napping in the corner (I swear I'm 80 years old and need to nap when I've had a lot to drink :) ), but it was a very good time. Much steam was let off. We all needed it.

I spent sunday recouping. Thankfully I was just exhausted, not hungover. I did my best to relax and read a book, drank lots of tea and made homemade pizza and ate lots of toast with apple spice butter (divine). Yesterday, I felt like a rebooted new me, and since it was a provincial holiday and J had to work all day, I spent the day rotating between relaxing and catching up on a LOT of housework. Part of my stress from previously has been as coming home to a train wreck of a house, and having no time to even look at it. One of our cats had taken to peeing under the kitchen table, which meant there was a table and all the crap normally in the kitchen in the living room so I could treat the stain and then shampoo the carpets. There was nowhere to sit and relax...and it was driving us crazy. After morning pancakes with J, I was determined to make the most of my day once he left for work. Between breaks of reading and general house tidying I did 10 loads of laundry, cleaned the ENTIRE house, put the kitchen back together, repotted plants, baked some delicious muffins and made a great healthy supper for myself. I even watched a cheesy movie while tidying and settled in with a glass of rum and coke for the ending. Twilight is utterly ridiculous...I must say. It was the perfect thing tho. :)

My emotions were a bit up and down, but for the most part, I finally relaxed for what must be the first time in ages. At the thought of coming back to work today I got very anxious...and then (thanks to my slightly miswired brain) got hungry. *sigh* Realising it for what it was, I had a small bowl of all bran and almond milk (what? I love the stuff) to settle things as a low cal healthy filler and found I was OK after that. Sometimes it takes me a day to unwind and fend off crazies for a while. I've never had a full on panic attack, but I could feel things nearing the edge. I'm grateful for the day off to restore sanity, as I haven't been myself lately. I needed it-a day to chill and then another to get things back together. Looking around to see a clean, neat house does wonders for my mind. You don't realize how much something is bothering you until you fix it...

This morning, I sadly got up at 5:15 and came in to work out. I did my lower body work and 30 minutes on the arc trainer. It felt good. This morning I'm feeling rather thick around the middle, but I refuse to step on the scale. Whether it's psychological or not, I'm just trying to focus on being healthy this week. Living well. I'm going to see how long I can carry this zen with me. Hopefully at least a day :)

Have a good day :)

fridays are fantastic

It's Friday. Thank frog.
It's been a long week. I still have to work tonight and tomorrow (sigh) on my MSc but at least have a friend's birthday Saturday and Sunday is declared to be restful. I could use a break. And I'd love to see that guy I married a while too :)
This morning I got up and was in to the gym to do my lower body work, ab work and 30 minutes on the exercise bike. I wasn't really thrilled to be there, but I did it, and in the end I'm glad to have gotten in my workout. I've got the February blahs and I want to hibernate and eat, so regular exercise is a must...otherwise I'll eat myself back up on the scale. I haven't been as good as I could lately with food, but it's a challenge some days. I just start over every day and take it from there. And so far, today has been great :)
Hope you all have a great weekend!

Ah. Snow.

We got a white dump of snow last night - about 8 inches...
This morning I got up a few minutes early and shovelled snow before I headed out on the bus. I didn't know if J would get to it before he left and I didn't want the mailman to die bringing us the mail. My arm still isn't good enough for full on weights, but it was OK with 10 minutes of shovelling fluffy snow. My husband was out on another late night so I figured I'd cover his snow duty.
Then it was in to the gym. It was a great tromp thru the snow to get there. One thing I love about being on a 6 AM bus is generally there's very little snow clearing yet before I head out...so I get to wrap myself up like sausage and tromp thru it all like a little kid. Just me and the jackrabbits :). At the gym, since it's no arms for a while yet (and I figure shovelling was enough) I hopped on the arc trainer and thought I'd see how long I could go. Thankfully my knee gave me no complaints and I was on that puppy for 45 minutes on an interval program. Good stuff :) It felt great...listened to some great music, read a magazine and had a great workout. It's reading week on campus so the gym is a little mellow. It's nice to not be so crowded.
And now, it's work time. I'm a bit tired, but today I'll get it done here in time to head home to... some more MSc work. Yes. Whee.
Have a good day all. Try not to get buried under all the snow :)

sorry, must dash

This morning I was in to do 30 minutes on the treadmill with a fast walk at 2% incline, with all out 30 second sprints every 3 or 4 minutes. That and a whole lot of abwork and I feel great! Didn't do any planks as they aggrivate my arm ,but did the rest of "crazy ab day".
Must go. Much to do-just wanted to log this. Sorry, must dash! :)

Soon with all the splishing and the splashing


They finally finished repairing the pool!
I can go swimming twice a week again, starting next week!

YIPADEE!

Crossing my fingers my arm will be good enough by then...

"Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body"

Yesterday was really odd. I was so very tired all day (I didn't get much sleep so not too surprising), but I was also so very HUNGRY. ALL afternoon, even after eating. And it wasn't a hormonal or emotional hunger...a deep hunger -for some kind of sustenance that I was obviously lacking. I honestly felt like the Master in the season 4 finale of Doctor Who..."so very hungry"...

At first I wondered if it was emotional or tired hunger, so I tried to keep it subdued with tea and munched a few granola bars at work. I ended up stuck there late, so I only got home at ~8. On my way home I wondered if I just needed protein as the mix of tiredness (being too tired is proven to release the hormones that make you hungry) and my arm healing was just too much...so I picked up one of those small ready roasted chickens and took it home. Then I settled in and I had a small potato and HALF THE CHICKEN. Yup. It was a lot of protein. And it was delicious. (and I'd like to add that unlike the master I did use cutlery..)
Only then, after a large glass of water, was I actually satisfied. Full. Satiated. It was weird. Perhaps a bit too much meat, but man. It was like I filled a void that had been there all day. And today my arm hurts less. Very bizarre.
And, then, since J was working, I just went to sleep. And for once I was not woken up for long when he got home late from work (I forgot he worked last night). I went right back to sleep and woke up this morning and actually felt rested. And best of all, not stupidly hungry (well at least not yet any ways).

This AM my arm ached a bit less. I did my lower body workout and 30 minutes on the bike. I have a healthy breakfast and lunch (the rest of the tiny chicken with a salad!) and feel more human today. I got excited this morning, as I saw a personal trainer put a few girls much older than I through a killer all over workout and it got me thinking about some new things I could do once my arm heals up. Some different ideas for workout moves. And so I'm going to do some research and reading. I'm giving my arm the time off until March to heal properly Then...I hope I can begin a a real workout revamp-starting Rachel Cosgrove's program. I need something new. I want a challenge for spring...to keep me going so that come summer I can rock the beach :)

Have a good day all!

Quick trip to the lake

I am very tired today. Long weekend and not enough sleep, but it was a good one.

I had a good weekend at my Dad's. I went through everything with him and he's rather nicely settled in now at the cabin as his home. It wasn't as much work as I feared, as he'd already done a lot but it still took us all day. He really needed a visit too, so it was nice to be able to help him and chase away the lonelies. I also got to make some yummy baked trout with riced potatoes, green beans and apple pie...he doesn't cook up a lot of fancy food for himself so it's nice to cook up a bit of the good stuff for him while I'm there. :)

J and I had hoped to get out snowshoeing on the lake (it was frozen and covered in snow and beautiful) but I just didn't have the juice after it was all said and done. We went for a brisk hour long walk on saturday as the weather was at ~0 and sunny and lovely, and that was enough. There was much lazying and snacking on sunday I admit. It was not so good for me, but it was what it was. In the end we headed back home to "normal" life. It is good to be home but I don't like being back in crazy busy land. The cabin is my favourite place on earth. I relax as soon as I arrive...I miss it already, but in the end, there's no place like home. :)


This morning I got out of bed and since my arm has ached all weekend (seriously starting to worry me a bit - it is a deep muscley ache) I did not do any upper body weights today. In fact, if it doesn't seriously start healing up soon I'll be getting it checked - I think I may have actually pulled a muscle because depending on the way I turn my arm it can be totally fine or if I sleep on it wrong or twist it strangely it will just throb and feel like there is something rubbing on the bone of my arm - like an arm shinsplint for lack of a better word. Yeah, weird and not just a simple thing I fear. It ached enough when I slept on it wrong that I actually dreamt about it (zombie bite dreams anyone?) ...so I'm being very kind to it. Instead of weights (*sniff*) I just did 30 minutes on the treadmill at 2% incline at very fast walk with 30 second sprints every 3-4 minutes. Then a bunch of ab-work. I feel really good, although I missed pumping iron. I must be a patient grasshopper tho- I need my arms :)

We don't celebrate valentines day as a rule, but I do plan on a nice supper with some wine and canoodling...:) After all, any day is love day!


Have a great day everyone...hug someone you love today.

Friday off

Ah. I get every fourth friday off work, which means I can sleep in a bit...and then come in and work on my MSc stuff. Whee. Actually it's not so bad. I like the hour of sleep I can snag and workouts are a bit less hectic, as I'm not under the gun to have to be at work at a specific time. Much less stressful. I came in and did lower body work together with 30 minuts on the bike and a bunch of solid ab work. I feel really good, and now I'm off for a quick coffee and breakfast before I get some work done. Then it's home time...
I'm off to help my Dad unpack in his new place tomorrow...it'll be a long day, but it will be nice to see him for a bit. I'm glad I can help him out with little things...it will feel good to know he's settled in, and I can leave him with some healthy baking before I come back.

But first, numbers to crunch and oh so exciting analysis to do.
Have a great weekend!

tired this morning

My arm, in the middle of the upper arm on the outside, is sore. Has been for 4 or 5 days. Don't know why...but I am trying to let it heal, whatever "it" is. It's sort of like a tendon thing where my shoulder muscle meets the bone mid-arm. Only hurts for certain things. So this AM I did upper body, but left out any exercises that made my arm hurt. After that and 30 minutes on the bike I'm in to work. Tired. I came very close to crawling back into bed this AM but I made it in. My husband was on TV live covering the local election and got home late and so I got up again when he got home and we talked all about it. I'm so proud of him! I didn't want to miss sharing a bit of that with him...BUT now I'm so tired :) Ah well. If you'll excuse me, I'm off for some coffee...

How to make a banana taste sweeter


Huh...I had mumbled on my other blog about weird comments about how much fruit I've been eating, and musing to some of my coworkers eating "all that fruit" fruit was evil.
But...Apparently it can be. Who knew?
I'm not talking about nutrition wise - sure they're higher in sugar so you have to keep a level on amounts, but there's more to it.

My friend Cindi has been on a quest the last few years to eat sustainably and cruelty free. It's a challenge, and she finds the more she knows the trickier, yet tastier and ultimately more rewarding she finds the food choices she makes for her family. My fruit post rang truer than I knew...turns out fruit can be evil, in a sense of ethical and fair trade.
Specifically: bananas. Apparently Dole and Chiquita both are unfortunately trampling on the rights and lives of those who cultivate and ship the bananas in developing countries where they grow. Ethical improvements, like not exposing workers to pesticides that are banned here, are needed. The companies continue to use paid militia for union busting and their fear induced labour enforcements that keep the cost of bananas down are widespread. Like coffee and chocolate, the farmers and workers are being massively exploited for added profit - and in the case of bananas it's a paltry sum. We're talking child labour and severe mistreatment. It's difficult to know how widespread this is. From what little I've read, buying ethically grown/traded bananas would only be ~10 cents more PER BOX for bananas. This is the profit margin that large exporters and importers are willing to mistreat their workers and farmers for.
Yes, this is troubling. There are ethically grown bananas available, apparently Loblaws are the main company in North America to carry them, and more grocers would carry them up on request, if they knew the increased price would be accepted by consumers. In England apparently 25% of bananas are ethically grown and more widely available. Here it is marginal.
And so I am in a moral quandary -I love bananas. I eat one a day...they are my post-workout candy. Now they present an ethical issue for me (Cindi why do you tell me these things...).

Personally, I will be lobbying my local grocers to supply ethically grown bananas. It has worked for other things, like organic vegetables and fair trade coffee and chocolate. If we want it, we can convince grocers to supply it to us. Being in the middle of the prairies it may take a while to get here, but I hope that you will, after reading this, look into this yourself. See if you can get your local grocer to consider ethically grown crops. I know I would pay a bit more and will feel much better knowing that my daily fruit treat is not at the expense of the dignity and livelihood of someone else I've never met.
image

Too easy- I call shenanigans

I was up and in on this chilly day for my ab day this morning...it seemed too easy.
I did 30 minutes at 2% incline, fast walking with HIIT sprints every few minutes, and before i knew it it was over. Weird. Then I did some solid ab work, and planks again and used the foam roller on my lower body to work out some kinks. This time I could only get up to 70 second planks per side. Tough things those planks :)

I'm pumped to try a few new things in the kitchen soon, as I finally got around to picking up some agave syrup last night at Costco. It's supposed to keep your blood sugar from spiking, so I'm curious to see if it really does that for me in baking. I have a few recipes with it I've wanted to try. I really don't go much for sweet things, so I find sugar really hits me when I indulge, so I'd like to know I have a bit more of a balance to things.

I also have some curried goat inside a hollowed out squash from a friend of mine to try for supper tonight. He said to bake it for 40 minutes and then I can scoop out the curry and the squash, and eat it right in the shell with the squash acting like a little orange bowl. I'm so excited...I haven't had curried goat for ages (I love having friends from all over the world who pay me for a ride to Costco with curry :) ). I'm also itching to make up some carrot apple beet juice and use the pulp for some morning glory muffins...that may be this weekend tho. Time is still too scarce. I think I'll bake some up for my Dad and take them when I pop in to see him. He doesn't get any fresh baking and I know he'd never make any for himself.

Anyways, I must be of to scienceland. Much to do today...take care everyone. Try not to freeze :)

HIIT biking and curry. A great combination...

Last night I had a bit of a panic...I never weigh myself at night but in a fit of stupidity I did...after a long day with much liquid and after a healthy but large meal. Dumb. I freaked as I seemed to have gained 4 Lbs...which this AM were mostly gone, but it freaked me out a bit. So this morning I decided no more scale until March 1. Because really - if I'm working to gain muscle and be healthy I may gain a pound or two,. I'm trying to go by how my clothes fit and how I feel. And quite frankly - not to brag, but I think I look pretty damn good today :) I'm going to just use the digital one at the gym once a month to keep myself from drifting too far. I know I weighed 58.5 kilo Feb.1, so I'm aiming to be around the same on March 1st. It's all doable. And far less crazy making.

I like non-crazy...

This morning I was up and in the gym to do lower body work and 30 minutes on the bike. I did HIIT interval biking this morning. It's been a while...whew! What a rush :) It felt good. I also learned another reason why HIIT training is good for me. I always have a swig of water after each intense interval and end up drinking my whole water bottle by the end. Otherwise I tend to forget about it and I'm sure I don't get enough water...I'll have to remember that.
I had a healthy breakfast and then I had a healthy lunch...which I admit got thrown out the window when one of the doctors offered to take me out for indian food. YUM. I didn't overdo it, but indian food tends to have a lot of oil in it...so I tried have just a little of each thing. It was SO YUMMY. Wow - Why do my coworkers all have to be from other delicious countries? I can resist bad foods when I'm out in a regular restaurant, but take me out for indian, mexican or thai food and I'm in heaven. Fresh naan, pokoras and mataar paneer? Mmmmm... :)

Ah well. It's all about figuring out how to live and maintain-right? It's tricky this life business. I'll figure it out eventually I think. My trusty HR monitor and I will get it together...:)

Courage ;D

*blink* where did the weekend go?

Wow - what a busy weekend. My supervisor was in town from Toronto so I spent most of the weekend working on MSc stuff with her before she flew home sunday. Thankfully J and I got time together in the morning on sunday for french toast and mango sauce (mmm...I love homemade fruit sauce) and then I was back after supper as well so we could spend some time together. I wish I'd had a bit more free time, but it is what it is. I got a lot of important work done and know where I'm going with my next steps in my project and I got to sleep in on sunday :)

I'm curious to see how a month of intuitive eating works for me. I've just eaten reasonably when I felt hungry lately, and stuck to healthy things and I feel fine. I weigh the same, so I think it's a good thing to be doing. I find I'm thinking about food less, which is my main goal.

This morning I was up and in to the gym to workout. I did my upper body and ab workout. My left arm is a bit stiff, so I lowered the weights to 10Lbs for the side dumbell raises, but everything else was OK. The guys were hogging the weight bars so I only got in one set of lifting the bar without anything on it, but it was a good workout. I did my time on the bike at tension 4 and now I'm in on another cold day at work. I had some fresh blackberries this morning with my cottage cheese...heavenly. I love blackberries...
Tonight I have a lot of number crunching to do and some housework to catch up on, but it's all good. Busy, but at the end of the day I can look back on a day full of useful things done well (knock on wood).

Have a wonderful day out there everyone. I will try to keep from freezing solid and gt some work done :)

Dim Sum!

I'm so glad it's friday. I'm excited to learn but dreading that I have a training conference all day tomorrow (boo) and have to work on my MSc a lot too sunday (meh) but this week has just flown by in a whirl of busy and tiredness. Having reading to do is so more consuming than I'd thought and it's really hard to read when you're tired (I jsut read the same page over and over with my head bobbing up and down). Plus things keep coming up out of the blue for me to do and deal with at home so the time I keep setting aside to do reading keeps getting eaten up. In the end though, the main thing is I have not slept or seen my luv enough. He has been wonderfula nd sweet, but I have missed time with him. Soon...sunday will come. Here's to pancakes and naps...part of that day is ours. Everyone else can just go away for a few hours.

This AM I was up and in to work out and did my lower body work and some abs work. I was able to do a few more lunges this morning which was nice. I cut down the bike to 25 minutes though, as everyone seemed to be taking the one piece of equipment I needed when I needed it today so it took me a few minutes longer to get through my workout and still have time for a shower before work. It feels good to have worked out though...

I'm pumped. Today at lunch we're going out for dim sum...it's been YEARS (since we were last in Vancouver on holidays) that I've had me some dim sum -my husband and most people I know aren't fans, so I rarely go (and to be honest there isn't much for good dim sum out here). I love it and I'm curious to check out the new dim sum place down town with a few coworkers...hopefully it's good and we'll go more often.

Must be off. Have a great weekend everyone.

Naptime makes it all better

It's positively tropical out now compared to the last few days. It's great! Last night I kept nodding off doing readings for my assignment so I just gave up and went to bed early. Man...the extra sleep was nice. I feel much better today.

This morning I was in and did my upper body workout and then 30 minutes on the bike. I upped the tension from 3 to 4 today. It all felt great and I stuck with the 12.5 dumbells. They'r enot girly so I feel all strong when I use them. Hee hee. Aaaaaaaand - I'm up to 2x12 reps of bench-pressing an empty bar. Wohoo! It may seem silly, I know it's just an empty bar, but I love how it feels to do that. I never thought I could ever do it and honestly -I've never felt more strong than when I do that. My goal (and I'm getting a random stranger to take a pic that day I swear!) is to bench-press a bar with actual weights on it! I don't care if it's just 5 Lb extra - I'll be grinning from ear to ear for days when I do that! :)

I must run. Today is a busy day full of coolness. I'm optimizing a new lab method and then I get to test it out on cell line DNA and real people's DNA. Mapping genetic mutations. The geeky fun stuff! I love it.

Have a great day guys!

75 seconds!!

This morning it's still chilly, but a lot more bearable.
Last night was grocery night. We try and get most things for the month all at once (10% off day!) and we focused on all really healthy food. (MAN is it expensive to eat healthy) We are now all stocked up on super healthy delicious foods. I have cottage cheese with pineapple and blueberries for breakfast again. Oh. Yum.
Today was ab/core day. I did my ab workout as usual and tried planks again...I could only make it up to just over 75 seconds...that was all I had. I'm going to challenge myself to be able to do a 2 minute plank by the end of March. I tried to do a workout on the arc trainer but it started to bug my knee after 10 minutes so I switched over to the treadmill for the rest of the time and put in a few 30 second sprints. My knee feels fine now and I feel great.
It's another busy one today, so I'm off.
Have a great day :)

It's a cold one

It's been a busy day! Haven't had time to pop in until now.

This AM I braved the stupid cold to come in to work out. It is the coldest day yet this winter: -41 plus some wind. Oh yeah...frostbite season. I had 2 pairs of pants plus all my winter gear and a balaclava on my face to head out to the bus stop...thankfully all the buses were on time. I'm amazed every winter we all just go about as business as usual when it's like this. If you're dressed well you're toasty, but I certainly wouldn't travel any distance in this weather...it's too dangerous to be stuck outside in it for too long. And to think it was +4 last week. This province is mad...Thankfully this extreme only lasts a day or so here and there in Jan and Feb- it's supposed to warm up into more civil temps by the weekend.
I did my lower body workout today and was pleased that my knees were happy with both lunges and bulgarian one legged squats today. It seems it is when I add extra weight that they are unhappy...so I'll just increase reps gradually or add other exercises instead. After 30 minutes fast walking on an inclined treadmill for a break from the bike I had a nice hot shower before heading in to work. I've got healthy food and a nice mug of coffee and I'm having a good, if not stupidly busy day. I'm trying to listen to my body for what it wants and give it that. Thankfully the PMS food cravings seem to be fading so I'm a lot more sane today...that helps me learn to listen to my inner voice better - it's finally louder than the "I WANT CROISSANTS!!" PMS voice again :)

Have a good one everybody :)