You-tubin' It Up

I know I'm posting a lot today, I feel like I have to play catch up from my lack of posts over the past week, lol.

I wanted to share my fave YouTubers! I watch quite a few, and find them all inspiring and have great tips and workouts!

1.) charliejames1975 - This is bodyrock.tv's channel! The best workouts around, and she has some REALLY great recipes too! She's also taken more of a vlog approach as of late which is really fun. I love watching them. Hands down, my favourite channel.

2.) diethealth - Good tips and workouts! They have some cool routines and programs, too.

3.) SarahsFabChannel - I really like her! She posts workouts and lots of advice, and how she dropped weight herself. She's in the process of becoming a certified trainer, too!

4.) ToneItUp - I find these girls really inspiring and motivating! They have some good tips, too.

If you have any youtube channels you like to watch, share!

Reading: The Lovely Bones

Woohoo, another book done!



I liked the book. However, I didn't like that the back of the book basically tells you it's about a father trying to solve his daughter's murder, because that's maybe the first 80 pages and that's it. It's really just a story without a plot. About how the death of Susie Salmon affects her family and friends and others. I mean it was interesting, just not what it was advertised.


And now for a spoiler....

WHAT THE HECK is up with the end?! She comes back to life in the body of a friend to have SEX? This is the victim of a rape/murder! I would imagine that would be the LAST thing on her mind! Why not go see your family? Tell people where your body is? Tell them where the murderer is! I was reading this in total disbelief, it almost, ALMOST, ruined the entire book.
And then... death by icicle? For seriously? That's all I have to say about that.



Anyways, overall, not bad. Just, strange. I'd give it a 3 out of 5.

Krispy Kale

Last weekend I discovered my new fave healthy snack! Crispy Kale. It's super easy to make, and very tasty! Satisfies the salty/crunchy cravings, and no guilt afterward!



Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:

* 6-8 cups chopped fresh kale, hard stems removed
* 2 Tbsp. olive oil
* 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
* 1/2 tsp. kosher salt or sea salt

Preparation:

1. Place a rack on the lowest shelf of your oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Spread kale out on a sturdy baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and apple cider vinegar. Toss to coat completely.

3. Place on the lowest rack of the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

4. Remove from oven and stir so that kale can get crispy all over.

5. Bake another 8 to 12 minutes or until kale is crispy. It should be just lightly browned and crispy to the touch.

If kale still bends, rather than crackles, when you touch it, it isn't done yet. Return it to the oven. Turn down the heat if it is getting too brown. Continue cooking until crispy.
6. Remove from oven, and sprinkle with sea salt (Maldon sea salt makes it taste fantastic) and serve immediately.

Creative, you say?

An Award? For Meeeee?! A big thanks to Phil for the nomination!



Here are the rules of the award:
1. Thank the person who gave this to you.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you.
4. Tell up to six outrageous lies about yourself, and at least one outrageous truth.
5. Nominate seven "Creative Writers" who might have fun coming up with outrageous lies.
6. Post links to the seven blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know you nominated them.

I nominate the following blogs this award:
1. is at isfitness
2. Jennifer at Ex Hot Girl
3. Hollie at Skinny Hollie
4. Jack at Jack Sh*t Gettin’ Fit
5. Amie at On My Way To Fabulous
6. Ashley at A Daily Dose of Dieting
7. Diane at Fit to the Finish

The seven I picked are blogs that have been inspiring for me and keep me going, make me laugh and are a fun read! Keep it up, guys!

Now for some lies, and one truth...
1. I have 3 tattoos – symbol on foot, butterfly on back, barbwire around arm
2. I have 5 false teeth
3. I am a certified skydiver
4. I’ve kissed Gene Simmons
5. I’ve hammer danced with MC Hammer
6. I’m missing my left baby toe
7. I spend my spare time jumping off of cliffs

Can anyone guess which of these statements is true?

Back With a Bang!

I decided to take last week "off". I had a nasty headcold, was very tired from that, and just needed a breather from the gym. Last night went back and it was great! I had so much more energy and power. The week of rest also allowed my shin splints to heal! I was able to do 4.5kms of 200m walk, 400m run, repeat. I also seemed to be a lot stronger in terms of strength training. So, I think the break was really beneficial, I'm glad I did it! Now I'm totally ready to jump back on full speed.

30 Days.... No Sugar!!

I've decided to take Zuzana's (of bodyrock.tv) challenge to cut out sugar for 30 days. It may just be the boost I need!

Only one exception. It's my birthday in 2 weeks, and there will be cakes galore. I find it rude to not have any of your own birthday cake, so I'm going to let myself have a little. Maybe for the 1 or 2 days I'll have a "cheat" I'll tack on an extra 1 or 2 days to the 30.

I'll be a Sexy Beast....

....if I keep up with Zuzana's workouts! God DAMN. These are just killer! But they work! I'm loving the interval method, my Gymboss Timer is FAB!


And I just finished up this one today! She calls it the Sexy Beast Workout, lol




And on Tuesday I had done this one!

WooHoo

The last week or so I started getting that "I'm bored/This isn't working" feeling again. I haven't wanted to workout and I indulged in a delicious poutine on the weekend. It was seeming no matter what I did, I just can't just past a 7 pound loss! It's been up and down and up and down but never past 7. I know I'm gaining muslce, but it just sucks to not feel like I'm making progress in the direction I would like.

After a big "up" after the weekend, I was REALLY getting dissapointed. But I still dragged my butt to the gym last night and worked VERY hard. This morning I decided to see what the scale had to say. Well, went back to the 7.3 pound loss but I got there over 2 weeks ago. So I just decided to get dressed and get ready for work. In the pile of clothes was an old pair of jeans I haven't fit into for awhile that I tried on two weeks ago with no such luck. I decided to try again. They FIT. And not like, the button is about to pop off and I can barely walk... they comfortably actually fit! Yayyyy! I instantly feel better and motivated to keep going. I really hope the scale starts to reflect progress soon as well.

Let's Talk Money

I have been watching this Canadian show called "Til Debt Do Us Part" and it's really motivated me to do something about my own. I went and got Gail Vaz-Oxlades book on removing debt and with watching the show, picking up tips on how to save and snowball debt repayment. We have decided to read through the book, start living on a cash budget and get that debt paid off, then start saving for a house!
We had gone to an open house in this AMAZING house over the weekend. It's perfect for us... but we don't have good enough credit or a down payment to do that. We really want to change that, so when the perfect house comes along we can HAVE IT! Part of me is really hoping this house stays on the market and it can still be ours. I love it! It's VERY dated. It was built in 1972 and nothing has ever been updated. It has red and blue carpets and funky yellow lights all over. But it has so potential, and it's HUGE (6 bedrooms!) and the price is really good. I really hope we can make something happen!

And for a fitness update: My weight doesn't change, but measurements do! I can lift and push more weights, and I can also handle longer cardio without feeling like I'm ready to pass out. My favourite bodyrock.tv put up a new interval workout today that I want to do tomorrow morning! I will post up how I did and what I did tomorrow!

Intense Intervals

So my Gymboss Timer came in the mail today! I went off to the gym with a workout in mind, to find the gym PACKED. Every machine taken. Every inch of mat taken. Not even a free exercise ball or weights that weigh less than 25 pounds. So I got frustrated and left!

Instead, I came home and did a cardio workout from bodyrock.tv with my timer. WOW. I am EXHAUSTED! It was really intense! Zuzuna does 20 seconds work with 10 seconds rest, but as a beginner I did 15 seconds work with 15 seconds rest. It's using the tabata method of training - so 4 minutes of intense interval training is worth just as much as 40 minutes moderate intensity on an elliptical. I did 5 different workouts of 4 minutes each for a total of 20 minutes! I can definitely feel the burn.

Here are the workouts...

Dreaming

A little while ago I was reading this blog, and felt inspired. I have been into photography for quite some time, but lacked the equipment to really make my pictures stand out. A point and shoot can only take you so far! I got myself a digital SLR this past fall, and after some time playing around it really began to grow on me. I've been wanting to go one step further, and actually be able to be hired as a photographer, but unsure where to start. Reading Kandee's blog inspired me to really get out there and make it happen.

So today I finally made myself a photography blog along with a facebook group to let friends and family know what I'm doing, and that I'm seeking out clients. I feel much more official now, haha. We'll see where this takes me, I'm excited to find out!

You can check out my new blog here!

Facelift!

So I have seemed to have come down with a little something. On Saturday evening I was getting weird dizzy spells, than on Sunday I had NO energy (but still pushed through 2 hours at the gym, somehow...) and this morning my glands are nice and swollen and I feel like utter crap!

I've found myself mighty bored this morning so I created a new blog background. I think it's pretty cute!