Snow Days are Sweaty Days

Hi guys,

How goes the beginning of the week? (well a day in). Mine is g-g-great! I had yesterday off (technically work went ahead, but myself and a few other decided to kick it at home due to the snow the night before). When I woke at 4-am yesterday morning, I was snowwwed in .. so I didn't feel guilty staying in bed. It wasn't until around 10-am that a good chunk of the snow had melted and I was able to steal the neighbors shovel and shovel myself out for the first time at the new house! Muscles magee - right here!

After I got my sweat on for a good 30-40 minutes, I headed inside to start my day. My late morning began with a catch-up on blogs like Carrots 'N' Cake, 125, Losing Weight in the City and Peanut Butter Fingers. I then chowed down on my classic protein oat pancake, sipped one two black coffees, updated my playlist and wrote down a few daily tasks.

druggy there with the pills photo-bombing my picture..
ps. antibiotics from the lymph node infection

After breakfast, I did some things around the house, grabbed a quick shower (I was heading to the gym anyway, but just felt like I needed a wake-up) and read some more of my book. I started The Happiness Project a while back and then stopped when I started a different book. I've started from page 1 again and am loving this book!

After I got out of 'relax-Vic' mode, I headed to the gym for a treadmill run / incline walk.

I was gonna do a short fast run but was in the mood for a long cardio session (been really missing it lately) so I decided to slow it down and stretch it out. My run was broken down into the following:




ps. new playlist additive - Spiderwebs by No Doubt!

GREAT tune for jogging

After the jog, I did the 1.0-mile incline walk (second picture) at 4.0mph. Kinda just wanted to stretch out the legs.

And then I did a 10-minute upper body workout.

rough face I got .. I was tired

3 x 10 reps - Dumbbell chest press
3 x 10 reps - Side lateral raise
3 x 10 reps - tricep dips


Since I'm here rambling about my run jog, how about I update you with my treadmill playlist?

1. Monster - Eminem & Rihanna
2. Home - Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
3. Get it Right - Miley Cyrus
4. I want your love - Royal Wood
5. Elastic Love - Christina Aguilera
6. Glam - Christina Aguilera
7. Spiderwebs - No Doubt
8. SOS - Rihanna
9. Man Down - Rihanna
10. Only Girl - Rihanna
11. The way we touch - We Are Twin  < -- DOWNLOAD IT / YOUTUBE IT
12. Chain my name - Polica

Note: All of the above are hyperlinked to the associated youtube video. Please listen to the bolded songs. They're ma fav:)

I was at the gym for over an hour and a half, and I can't lie, I was pretty beat from the jog. I had planned to finish my Christmas shopping, but instead I headed home as I was sick to my stomach with hunger. I knew if I stayed in town, I would probably eat something that I would regret later so I trucked to Pouch Cove and had some leftover vegetable pesto spaghetti squash.


..and then wrapped Christmas for 2+ hours

I finished my evening pretty early. I was sitting in bed reading at 9-pm and asleep shortly after 10-pm. O happy days!

So, the plan for tonight? I need to shop, workout, write up Christmas cards, read (last on the list), and be merry :)

Also, before Thursday morning, I really wanna get some baking in. Though I'm with the structural team now, the scaffolders still have my heart :) Le sigh .. and I wanna make them Christmas cookies but I'm pressed for time (guess I should have hopped on that train yesterday when I had a snow day). Anyhow, I saw this quick and easy recipe from Julie @ pbfingers and it looks pretty delcicious, so perhaps I'll have a little date with Dominion tonight. I can drink coffee, bake cookies, blast music and dance!

One more thing ..  totally gotta give credit to Lizzie @ lizziefit for this one! I noticed this recipe on her website this morning and totally have to make it! I'm a HUGE fan of oats and she said they're delish! Time to switch it up for the holidays I think :)

On a side note, can I show you guys two items that have been saving my life lately?

Is anyone else experiencing sore lips and hands from the cold weather lately? oh.my.god. Both are killer for me. I have pretty much every kind of Burt's Bees lip balm but this passion fruit flavour is an absolute must have.

The vanilla lotion is from Bath and Body Works and has been a saviour with my hands cracking up from being in and outdoors.

Moving on ..

My back is SO sore today .. and my sneakers were giving me some arch issues yesterday so now it's inserts vs. new runners, right? Yup, new runners for sure!

I'll leave it at that as my I'm writing this post through my breaks at work and have to go be productive and give myself credit for being like the most awesome person in the world. Cause I am, obv! ;)

Happy Tuesday, friends! :)

Question
1. How much do you generally spend on Christmas gifts?
2. Any quick and easy cookie recipes?
3. Do you miss running/jogging when you give it up for a while?

Sources for this post
http://mariandaniells.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/happiness-project.jpg
http://lizziefit.wordpress.com/
http://www.pbfingers.com/