Category Archives: Pixie

Strength training move of the week and worst fast foods.

Still more hot weather, will it ever end??  It was already pretty warm when I biked to the gym.

Exercise Set/rep/weight Muscle worked
Chin ups 2 set of 2, 3 sets of 1 Upper body
Good mornings 3 sets of 10 with 45# bar Hammies and low back
Incline chest fly 3 sets of 12 with 15# DBs (30# total) Chest
Plank 3 sets of 1-minute holds Core
Cable squat to row 3 sets of 10 at 50# Back and legs
Upright row 3 sets of 12 with 25# bar Shoulders
Cable triceps pulldown 3 sets of 15 at 30# Triceps

Loved the combo moves today to make best use of my time!

Strength training move of the week.

No video today because it is the plank! No need for video, because that would be pretty boring.

(This is the spare bedroom in my house) The plank is a fabulous core exercise, and quite difficult when performed correctly.  You want to keep in as straight a line as possible here.  Don’t let your hips pop up (cause they will want to), and keep your abs pulled in so your middle doesn’t sag.  Work on increasing your hold times.  Before I hurt my back, I was able to do a 2-minute plank, although I think I saw through time near the end of that.  Today, I did 1-minute holds.  The fun part of the plank is being able to feel the loose skin of your thighs and tummy hanging there….  For an added challenge, you can do the plank on your side.

I love how some guy (who has been a bit chatty with me of late) came up today while I was doing the plank and said “So, working your core, huh?”  I didn’t want to be rude, but it is very hard to talk while doing a plank, so I kind of grunted out a ‘yes’.  Not sure if he thought I was practicing to be a coffee table or what. 🙄

John met me at the gym and we biked to Cool Beans today.  The outdoor patio was set up, so we ate outside.  Forgot our travel coffee cups, so I grabbed the big cup.

Now that is what I’m talkin’ about!  It’s even labeled magnum LOL!  Whole wheat bagel with plain cream cheese – so no added sugar there.

Bike ride today was 13 miles.  We were pretty sweaty when we got back and it was only 9:30.  Temps reached 91 today.

It was so hot that the  kitty broke!

(How come she doesn’t herniate her disk??? Not fair.)

Lunch time and I decided to put the rest of that stuffed pepper filling on top of some scrambled eggs.  It was really good!

The carrots, on the other hand, were pretty lame.  On the old side and the end of that bag, thank goodness.

Buzzed right through work today.  Had a latte:

and one of my favorite snackies!

I was reading an article today about the worst fast food meals:

The top 10 deadliest fast food meals:

1. Wendy’s Baconator Triple, 1330 calories and 38 grams of saturated fat
2. Sonic’s SuperSonic Cheeseburger, 980 calories and 24 grams of saturated fat
3. Burger King’s BK Quad Stacker, 930 calories and 28 grams of saturated fat
4. Domino’s Bread Bowl Pizza, 670 calories and 22 grams of saturated fat
5. In & Out Burger’s Double Double With Onion, 670 calories and 18 grams of saturated fat
6. Arby’s Large Beef n’ Cheddar, 650 calories and 11 grams of saturated fat
7. Popeye’s Breast-Leg-Biscuit, 640 calories and 15.5 grams of saturated fat
8. Taco Bell’s Chipotle Steak Taco Salad, 900 calories and 11 grams of saturated fat
9. White Castle’s Sack of 4 Cheeseburgers, 680 calories and 16 grams of saturated fat
10. Jack in the Box’s Jumbo Jack With Cheese, 620 calories, 15 grams of fat

Okay.  Let’s get real people.  Is there anyone on earth that would get the baconator and be concerned about calories??   And do you care about fat if you are buying a sack of cheeseburgers?  Don’t give us the info on meals like this.  Make a point to list calories of things we *think* should be good, but aren’t, like fast food salads.  You know, the stuff that sneaks up on you.  Let the people who want to eat their quad stackers eat in peace.

Okay, rant over.  I snacked on some nuts while roasting up some sweet potato for dinner.

Something I need to be careful with this week is the nut snacking.  It’s taking the place of the other nibbles I would have had like ginger chews or cereal or crackers.

Dinner was some lemon pepper shrimp with the roasted sweet potato chips (gotta love toaster ovens in the heat!).

Tonight I have bananas in the fridge to make the banana soft serve.  I’m wanting something sweet today, so need to try that.  I’ll let you know how it comes out!

Question:  Have you tried the plank yet?

Lifting move of the week

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  It was a gorgeous day today.  I biked to the gym today for my lifting.

  • Rail squats:  3 sets of 10
  • Dumbbell chest fly:  3 sets of 1o with 15# DBs
  • Chin ups:  4 sets of 1
  • Dumbbell pullover:  3 sets of 10 with 25# DB
  • Pushups:  3 sets of 10
  • Reverse crunches:  3 sets of 10
  • Nosebreaker:  3 sets of 15 with 20# bar
  • Cable biceps curls: 2 sets of 10 with 30#

I am going to try to do more video of me doing a different strength move each week.  Today is me doing the dumbbell incline chest fly.  This is a great move for the chest muscles.  While it looks like your arms are doing the work, it is really the chest.  You want to initiate the move with your pectoral muscles.  You want to feel a stretch across your chest when you open your arms, and a contraction when you bring the weights together.  This can be done either flat or inclined.  You can also vary where your arms are a little.  Mine tend to drift upwards a bit.

John met me at the gym, and we biked to breakfast.  He chose where we went today, and he picked Maude’s!

I love this sign:

I had 2 eggs over medium with home fries and toast.

Yum

I love eggs.  I know you were all expecting a bagel today!  They don’t have them at Maude’s.  Well, they do, but they aren’t made there.

Biked home and got to work after a quick shower.  Somebody got on my lap right away:

Lunch time:

Tuna salad and the extra loud Sun Chips :mrgreen:   Those have to be kept up high, btw.  I snacked on a few out of the bag before putting them on my plate.

I am still having an attack of the snacks today.  Sometimes that just happens.  I don’t feel guilt about eating anymore, but that doesn’t mean I am not disappointed at some of my food choices yesterday and today.  Like the cookie dough:

Which I had more of, too.  Accountability!

I finished up work around dinner time today and made a classic broccoli and chicken stirfry!

Always good.  It was such a nice evening that I did a good amount of work weeding out the side garden bed.  It’s ready for mulch now.  I made the big mistake of skipping the mulch last year and had so many weeds!  I am also going to purchase some astilbes for the side, probably from Bluestone Perennials.  I love their plants.

We then walked down to the ice cream place and I got a small malt made with peanut butter soft serve.  This was so good.

I really need to eat clean tomorrow.  I wanted to lose 3 pounds in May, and this is not a good start LOL!  I need to kick my own butt back in gear.  Come back tomorrow and see my clean eats 😀

Question:  Do you want to see more Move of the Week videos?

Flashback Friday: The Pixie edition.

Happy Friday!   Had another nice workout today.  I went to the gym and the owner was there, so I showed him the Shape article.  He was pleased to see a member in there!  He took the article and set it out in the waiting area so other members can see it.  A little embarrassed there LOL!

I hopped on the stationary bike and rode for 15 minutes.  It’s getting easier – I might have to try the real bike this weekend.  My knee stings now, which is weird.  It’s constant, too.

The iron:

  • Stiff legged dead lift:  3 sets of 10 with 45# bar
  • Incline Barbell chest press:  3 sets of 8 with 55# bar
  • Rail squats:  3 sets of 10 with body weight only
  • Dumbbell pullover:  3 sets of 8 with 25# DB (surprised this one felt fine)
  • Military press:  3 sets of 10 with 15# DBs
  • Crunches on a bench:  3 sets of 15

Then I did 10 more minutes on the stationary.  Felt good.   Slow progress, but progress nonetheless!

Happy to be working out again.

Came home after thinking about creating some gingerbread custard oats during the last bike session:

1 tbsp of molasses cooked with the oats, along with ground cloves, then stirred in the egg whites.  Topped with some crystalized ginger bits from Ginger People and 5 toasted pecans.  Ah-mazing!

Here is a little backstory on Pixie for the Friday Flashback.  This was 3 years ago.  We had a cat already (Chloe), and she was pretty much a 1-cat household kind of feline.  I had spent a month working on befriending an injured stray cat outside and finally getting it into our house.  She had a lame front leg, at some point she must have been hit by a car. We named her Moxie and I set about finding a home for her.  We got a home for her and I burst into tears when she left, because I had grown very attached to her, but it wouldn’t have been fair to Chloe to bring another cat into the house (not to mention John being allergic and all).  Moxie needed to be an indoor cat because of the lame leg.   John felt so bad that he bought me a little stuffed kitty.

Look familiar?  Right about that time, a thin, raggedy, and desperate cat with giant feet came meowing up to the door.

She had ticks on her face and had fleas, not to mention that she was pregnant (which we did not know because she was rail thin).  John said I could feed her, but she couldn’t come in (hahahaha – famous last words!!!).  She stayed in our shop behind the house, and then miscarried kittens a couple weeks later, which was sad.

I took her in to get spayed before we were going to find a new home for her.  Here she is recuperating next to her doppleganger:

Isn’t that the most amazing coincidence?  I say that John brought her to me with that stuffed kitty.  After she was getting better, I kind of made up my mind to keep her.  Pixie adored me and seemed very needy, so I didn’t want to give her to a stranger.  The problem was breaking the news to John.  I don’t think he was very happy with me, but I thought she could live in the shop and then come into the house after Chloe passed away.  It worked out pretty well, and she lived out there for a year and seemed perfectly happy.  When Chloe passed away at age 18 last year, Pixie moved into the house with us about a month later.  She’s all fat and happy now:

And John doesn’t seem to mind so much:

It’s amazing how time flies, isn’t it?

Time for lunch!  I had a deconstructed BBQ chicken salad because the lettuce was like lettuce soup (ewwww….).

After lunch I finished up the rental house cleanup.  All fresh and sparkly clean.  Not sure if we are closing Monday or not, as the lawyers didn’t set a time yet.  Sigh….

After that, it was time for lattes:

Plus some mini ginger snaps:

These are tres delicious, which could be a problem!  Since it is the start of John’s weekend and the middle of mine, we decided to have a cheap dinner date.  That always means pizza!  John biked, and I drove.  I think 10 miles would be a bit much for me right now, although I am really starting to want to move.  The greens:

And a cheeze pizza wrap on a wheat wrap.  So good!

I lurve cheese!

I may or may not have had more mini ginger snaps when I got home.  Just sayin’

We are still trying to decide what to do for the evening.  Either some shopping or movie time.  It’s the weekend!

Question:  Tell me all about your pets.  How many do you have?

Spring in my step

I am so sorry I didn’t include a P for Pixie yesterday!  So, I will make up for that.  I think she is more popular than I am……..

It is a glorious pre-Spring day.  I knew I wanted to run outside, but not until later so I slept in until 7:15!  Yay!  Felt pretty good, too.   I wanted protein waffles today, but with a different topping:

This was an apple cooked in a tsp of butter, 1 tsp of brown sugar, an SL of cinnamon, and about a tbsp of water.  I put a lid on the frying pan and let it steam a little bit.  Yum.  I might do more water next time and thicken it up to make a sauce.

Got to work early today while waiting for the temps to rise.  It was 26 degrees this morning, but low 50s this afternoon!  Woo Hoo!  Protein snack mid morning:

Here is a gratuitous Pixie pic.  John is playing with her:

Lunch time!  I had the last can of tuna today.  Officially tired of tuna, and this can has been here for a few weeks.

Nom, nom!  After digesting for a while, I got ready to run.  Hello vitamin D!

I’m not exactly sure what this pose is supposed to be.  I kind of look like a weathervane.  Did 4 miles today.  Felt pretty good except for mile 3, where I started to get tired, but I was running into a headwind.

Check out what else I spy with my little eye:

This made me dance around with joy!  These are the black and white tulips coming up.  Gonna be time to trim back and clean out the garden.  Happy, happy!  You all know how I love my garden 😀

After the run, I needed a snack:

Lattes make me happy.  I thank whatever Ethiopian goat chewed on the first coffee beans so that I can have this cup.

Dinner time and I had a frozen crabcake.  I baked it in the toaster oven (although I secretly long to deep fry it).   ….insert peanut eating here…

Brussels with cranberries and clementines round it out.  I was so paranoid slicing the brussel sprouts because I did a report today where someone sliced off the end of their thumb with a mandolin.  One of those reports that make your toes curl while typing it up. 😯

Tomorrow is the wearin’ of the green!  I need to think of some kind of green food to make for St Patty’s Day.  We have an Irish family!

I need to put something green on Pixie, too.  Bet she would love that.

My mom is coming over tonight, so we can pawn off some chocolate on her LOL!  I think tea and chocolate sounds like a good night tonight.

Question:  What is your heritage?

Power lifter!

I totally rocked the weights today!  I puffy heart lifting and I missed it last week, but my muscles were glad for the break.

Today I tried some pyramids with a couple of the exercises.  That involves increasing the weight on each set while decreasing the reps.  Hard!

  • Chinups: 1 set of 2, 2 sets of 1
  • Barbell deadlifts: 1 set of 12 at 45#, 1 set of 10 at 65#, 1 set of 8 at 85#, 1 set of 6 at 95#
  • Seated Row:  1 set of 12 at 45#, 1 set of 10 at 55#, 1 set of 8 at 70#, 1 set of 6 at 75#

Supersets:

  • Barbell push press: 3 sets of 10 with 35# bar
  • Hammer curl: 3 sets of 8 with 15# dumbbells
  • Bench Dips:  3 sets of 10.

Supersets:

  • Dumbbell chest press:  3 sets of 8 with 25# dumbbells
  • Planks:  1 set at 1.5 minute hold, 2 sets at 1 minute hold

Superset:

  • Split squat:  3 sets of 10 with 35# plate
  • Good mornings:  3 sets of 8 with 35# bar

I was a shakin’ after I finished!  It felt so good.  No cardio today, just a little walking warmup on the treadmill.

Came home and made an interesting breakfast – I almost wasn’t going to put the photo on the blog, cause it doesn’t look so good LOL!

This was custard oats cooked with frozen blueberries.  Normally I make the blueberry sauce and top the oats with them, but thought I would save a step.  You know, the blueberry flavor was less intense this way, so I will go back to topping again.  John said it looked like black beans (ewww…)

Mid morning protein hit:

This is some protein powder mixed with water and cinnamon with a little nut butter.

So, with regards to exercise, I realized that I was doing a lot and I don’t really have an event to train for right now.  Not to mention that any smaller event (like a 5K) – I am totally ready for at this moment because of what I have been doing.  It’s almost like I am actually in training mode with no goal, which can be a scary thing because I don’t have a plan.  I have noticed a little fatigue and the insomnia is starting to creep back, so rather than risk over training, I am cutting back on cardio a bit and lifting a little more.  I don’t need to be running 6 miles at a pop if I am just scheduled for 5K runs.  Make sense?  I find myself incredibly hungry on those days and I eat too much extra (more than the 700 calories I burn).  I don’t want to feel like I am trying to out train a bad diet.   So – I am going to scale the mileage down a little with a max of 5 miles per run.

Lunch was an interesting experiment:

That thing that looks like bread is actually a modification of the 1-minute muffin.  I got an email from PubsGal that she made pancakes out of the recipe and they were very good!  So, I thought I would try a non sweet version for bread.  This was 1/4 cup of flax meal mixed with 2 egg whites and 1/4 tsp of baking powder.  I cooked it on nonstick skillet (which I should have sprayed, still).  This has a lot of potential, I have to say.  It was bland, but I topped it with some chicken mixed with hummus.  This will go into the experiment-on-again pile 🙂 Served with pineapple topped with cinnamon.

Afternoon latte snack and a little fat to go along with it:

I always thought I was a crow in a former life because I like sparkly things, but maybe I was really a squirrel based on how I love nuts…

We bought a new stirfry sauce this weekend:

This stuff is really good!  I made a shrimp stirfry with broccoli for dinner.

I *loved* this dinner.  Nice ripe pear, too.  With cinnamon.  Think I eat enough cinnamon?  I put it on almost everything that isn’t savory (and sometimes that, too).

Tonight’s snack will be the protein powder/ricotta cheese mix.  Need to maximize that protein for today’s lifting!

Pixie also wanted you all to see her after she is freshly brushed.  You can also tell spring is coming because she is starting to shed again.  She has such a mane, doesn’t she?

Can you believe she is actually awake? Seems like most of my pictures are of her sleeping.

Question: What is your favorite protein source?

It’s bagel day (or not!) and chin up video

Did another lifting routine today.  I need to sit down and sketch out a program to follow for a few weeks.  I tried another chin up – want to see? I actually shot this video just to show John, but I’ll share it with you, too!   Couple things: this was shot with the camera tipped up on a bench (which makes me look taller 😀  ), so it looks like I am up on the bar already.  I am standing on a milk crate to get up where I can grip the bar without having to jump up, so my arms are a little bent. This is also my “I’m at the gym and unshowered” look, so you are forewarned!

Chin up and over the bar!  WooHoo!  My baby chin up!  I’ll make a better video in a few months when I can do 3 in a row with a full hanging grip 😉

I am not sure how to stop the swinging, as that is really, really tiring on the arms to try to stop.  That’s why I can’t quite do 2 chin ups.

Rest of workout:

  • Barbell squats:  3 sets of 8 at 85 pounds
  • 1-arm dumbbell snatch:  3 sets of 8 at 20 pounds
  • Reverse lunge with forward reach:  3 sets of 8 at 10 pounds
  • Back extension (on machine):  3 sets of 8 at 100 pounds
  • 1-point dumbbell row:  3 sets of 8 with 20 pound dumbbells

Then it was some treadmill walking.  John had started walking to the gym and I picked him up partway and we went off to breakfast.  As you know, Wednesdays are one of the bagel days, but apparently one of the cafe workers hadn’t show up, so the other person was unable to go pick up bagels!  They were out!  It was okay, though – I had this instead:

oats1202

Oatmeal with nana and raisins (go iron!!) and brown sugar. It was quite tasty, although not my bagel.

Regarding Pixie’s foray into the catnip – here she is in hangover mode:

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She has absolutely no shame……

Lunch today was quick with yogurt, protein powder, strawberries, and cranapple granola:

lunch1202

Ornament of the day:

orn1202

As you know, we are big Broncos fans.  We used to live in Colorado and were there at the time of John Elway’s first superbowl win!  It was pretty exciting.  I got this as a stocking stuffer for John one year. It’s always a little weird to see dated ornaments.  Makes you realize how time flies by.

No accidental vegetarian day today, as I remembered to thaw out some chicken 😀  Had a waffle sammie with it!  Yummers.  Plus sauteed brussel sprouts.  I am beginning to actually love brussel sprouts.  What is wrong with me??

din1202

I need to look into some indoor camera lighting since all dinner pictures are now at night!  Love that appetizing yellow hue….

So, I have been working an extra hour a day starting this week.  The nice thing about working based on productivity is that you determine how much you make per hour.  I use word expander software, so I have increased my productivity enough that I finish a normal 8-hour line requirement in 6.5 hours.  So, I was just doing other things.  I have decided to work an extra hour each day and do more lines to make more a little more money.  My company does not consider that over time, unfortunately.  They just appreciate it LOL!  So, I guess that is me being more efficient and productive for one of my goals this year.

Snacky snack:

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Gingersnaps!  Okay, multiply this picture times 3 😳   Good thing they are gone now.

Question:  What is your favorite cookie?

Sore and protein power!

I took a Tylenol PM last night both for the back and the pain at the Broncos loss last night. 😡   I slept really well for almost 8 hours (go me!!).  Opened my eyes and took inventory:

Sore legs? check

Sore butt?  check

Sore arms, sides and chest?  Check, check, and check.

My back injury actually felt pretty much gone, just a tiny twinge.  I was slow getting out of bed and John commented on how weird it was to see me moving so slow.   I guess it does happen on occasion LOL!

Only went for a walk today as I decided to let my body rest up since I have NROLW on Wednesday to do.  I also decided to stock up on protein for repair.

Protein pancakes for breakfast!

cakes

Along with cafe au lait (I use 1 cup of milk to make 2 drinks for breakfast).

Without a workout, I got right down to typing and worked steadily.  Sometimes I can get distracted by things, and I had some trouble focusing today watching my squirrel buddy right outside my window.

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Pixie was really enamored of him, too!  She chatters, which is so funny!

I made a fabulous protein packed superfood  lunch!

lunch1110

  • 1 container of french vanilla Oikos
  • 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin
  • cinnamon
  • cranberry sauce
  • 1 packet of teddy grahams (into the pool!)

It was so delicious.

John made lattes and brought me a little treat with it.

latte

Candy corn kisses!  These actually remind me more of a canned frosting than candy corn, but I love the look of them.  Another thing hidden up high.  I should take a picture of what is hidden away from me – it is quite a lot of stuff LOL.

Took a walk before dinner.  It feels so funny just to walk.  I hardly ever do that anymore since I normally run or bike.  I kept catching myself wanting to start jogging.  Come on Lori – gotta relax!!

Dinner was more protein in the form of chicken.  I brushed some mustard on the chicken breast and coated it with almond meal and sauteed in a pan.

dinner1110

Super tasty, although the coating fell off.  Yummy.  And roasted brussel sprouts for a change.

Done with work, so that means the evening is free for something, although not sure what yet 😀

Tomorrow we are going to attempt a morning ride to bagels.  Upper 30s, so at least it will be above freezing!

Question:  What is your favorite way to get protein?

Bagel day and Fiber One coupon!

You know it! One of my favorite days 😀 We had decided last night that we wouldn’t bike since the temp was supposed to be 30 degrees this morning. I was actually 32, and I think I would have biked if I was by myself, but John didn’t want to. I was not at the gym this morning since I am done lifting until after the duathlon. Just easy stuff the rest of the week.  So, bundled up with the first wearing of a turtleneck this season!

turtleneck

I look pretty chipper here for not having had coffee yet….. What’s up with that?

New mugs at the coffee house!

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Plus carby goodness. Yum, yum.

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Spied my pink item for the day while there.  I am not totally sure what this is, I think it is a dinosaur?

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Worked hard today, although I had a case of feline disease, which makes it a little hard to type. I just don’t have the heart to make her get up.

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(Yes, I still have the word ‘sucker’ tattooed to my forehead thankyouverymuch).  If I could bottle this cuteness, I would be a millionaire.

Lunch was a Fiber One banana chocolate chip muffin crumbled over some greek yogurt with a little peanut butter.  It’s in a gigantic bowl because it was time to run the dishwasher 😀

lunch1014

Nice combo, but I would have liked more!

Had a Larabar as an afternoon snack.  Last week’s bar wasn’t this small.  I wasn’t sure if it was the kind (peanut butter) or if they just are getting smaller?

larabar1013

Maybe it is just thicker.

Took a brisk walk after this.  All the while I was thinking that it’s going to be pretty cold Sunday morning!  I wonder how many layers I should wear?

Lucked out with dinner tonight.  John’s choice was to go to Long John Silver (ick), so I grudgingly went with wallet in hand and found out they are discontinuing the healthy grill items.  So, we left (yay!) and went to O’tooles instead.

ottole

This place is fun with a sports bar atmosphere and perfect fire for today!

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I didn’t think I got that guy in my shot, and is he picking his nose???

I was wanting something warm and saw a baked potato on the menu, so that is what I had.  It was yummy!

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Only $5.99 for this.  What a bargain!

Hoping to be productive tonight and get some writing done.

Here is a coupon for $1 off Fiber yogurt.  At least I hope it works.


$1 off Fiber One yogurt by Yoplait

Question:  Do you get enough fiber?

Holey Donuts and fall flavors

Phew – I have too much to say and not enough posts, so I am sorting out stuff  (plus I don’t want to bore you all).

Before John’s race today, I had a lovely fall-inspired breakfast with whole grain cream of wheat, pumpkin and dried cranberries, topped with slivered almonds:

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Delicious!  Cream of wheat has 50 less calories per serving than oatmeal and yet, I was so full after eating this!  Yay for whole grains!

It was really weird just watching in this race today.  I have always been a participant, so it was weird waiting around.  I just decided not to do this one with the duathlon coming up, plus a 5K on Halloween.  I don’t need to do it all!  I got in some pretty pictures at this race spot:

Wild asters

Wild asters

Chicory

Chicory

After John ran his fabulous race, he wanted a bagel – and you know I am not going to turn down an opportunity for that!!

More flavors of fall with this cinnamon apple bagel.  Sooooo goooood!!!

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Good thing this place is 15 miles away or I would be there every morning 😀

I was lucky enough to win 3 boxes of Holey Donuts in a drawing on Nutricious is Delicious, and the donuts arrived packed in dry ice.  3 kinds:

Donut Holes

Donut Holes

Low fat donuts

Low fat donuts

Holey Donuts Cinnamon Rolls

Holey Donuts Cinnamon Rolls

Sorry about the photo quality here.  I was pretty excited to try these after seeing them everywhere on the net.  I tried a couple donut holes: Vanilla Raspberry and Boston Cream:

Holey Donut Holes

Holey Donut Holes

Heated up in the microwave.  I have to say that I was a little underwhelmed.  The flavor was good, but they didn’t taste like a really good, hot and fresh donut.  I thought they were a bit dry.  I feel a little bad saying this, because I am thrilled to have a chance to try them and the company was very generous.  John had one of the regular size donuts and said the same thing.  Definitely a nice snack, and it will take a while to get through the boxes (Mom and Dad – guess what??), but I wouldn’t be ordering them for delivery.  If they had a store where they are made fresh (which I hear is in the works), that would be another story.

Went out for a gorgeous bike ride today.  John did his own brick by coming with.  We did 14.5 miles.  I love biking so much.  I run a lot, but I am a biker at heart.  I am getting really excited for next week.  I just hope it isn’t raining.  If it is anything like today, I will have a great race.

Found silly Pixie laying in one of my plants today.  I don’t know why she wanted to lay like this!  It doesn’t look very comfortable and she was there for a couple hours.

Pixie and plumeria

Pixie and plumeria

I will have a new veggie experiment for tomorrow that I actually had for dinner tonight.  Yum!  I need to sign off before this post becomes to epic.

Question:  What weird thing does your pet do?

NROLW: YTWL video and no bagel??

Hello to my new visitors!  I was honored to be asked for an interview by Sahar for FatFighterTV and it was posted today.  I was given a Weight Loss WooHoo, which you can read about here. That was fun!

September challengers, don’t forget to do the final check in here!

Today was the last NROWL stage 5 workout:

  • Deadlift/bent over row:  4 x 4  at 75 pounds
  • Single leg partial squats:  4  x 4
  • Wide grip lat pulldown:   4 x 4 at 70 pounds
  • Back extension:  4 x 4 at 100 pounds
  • YTWL:  4 x 4 at 10 pounds
  • Crunches, reverse crunches, lateral flexion:  3 x 10
  • Prone cobra:  3 x 2 minute holds

Then it was breakfast time.  Long-time readers probably expect the usual Wednesday bagel, but not today!  Today is my mom’s birthday (Happy Bday MOM!!) and we took her and my father out to breakfast at the Silo Restaurant.

P9300009

There is plenty of opportunity to eat a lot of food there, but I decided to eat healthy instead with a bowl of oatmeal!

silooats

There was a choice of strawberries or blueberries, and you can see what I chose.  I also sprinkled with a bit of brown sugar.  It was quite good and filling.  Actually more oats than I normally eat.  I was hungry after my workout today.

Chilly day today, mid 40s.  We turned the furnace on today for the first time.  Pixie is just a heat magnet now. It’s very hard to work when she does this:
pixie
Yes, that is my current work spot.  How lucky am I that I can work in a rocking chair??

Here is my next video! Please forgive the set up and ending. I still need to figure out how to crop those off. I did it before with my triathlon videos, but forgot how I did it!  I’m no Stephen Spielberg.

Anyway – this is a move called YTWL.  Named that way because of the moves your arms make. You can feel free to sing YMCA when you do this if you want. 😀 If you try this, please start with no weights and build up. It is much harder than it looks. I am using 10 pound dumbbells and you can see how I struggle on the L part at the end. Also, some people point the weights horizontal on the T part. I do them parallel to the floor because I think it is easier on the rotator cuff (that’s just me).

We are off to my folk’s house tonight for cake, ice cream, and fruit – so wish me luck. My plan is just to have fruit and I have enlisted John’s help with that.

Question: Is there another NROLW move you would like to see me video?