A blogger's worst nightmare....

I now can relate to the pain that my girl Jaime is currently feeling. My camera is dead. Yep, DEAD.

Best part is, is died the day we went to Boston. How is that for impeccable timing? Mr. B is currently researching different cameras, and I hope to procure a new one by the weekend. I never realized how much I rely on it!

As a result, my Pampered Chef contest will be put on hold until next week as I am required to take some pictures in preparation. Are you on the edge of your seat with anticipation? :)

Today was a good day.... hit up run club in new runners. I bought them in New Hampshire (TAX FREE!) for $53.99US. Can't beat that, especially since they cost 159.99 + tax here in Ontario. Felt good to have a little bounce in my step again.

My Boston recap will come this weekend when I get the pictures from our friends that were lucky enough to have a functioning camera. 

Have a good night!

Drumroll please:

And the winners are: 

1) Laura said...

YEAH!!! This takes some of the sting out of the Habs dismal performance last night. I am posting it as well.
Have a great trip.

April 23, 2009 6:14 AM

2)  JocelynMarie said...

oh wow I love the last 10 pounds bootcamp!! everyone gets so annoyed at Tommy! hahahaha but he is amazing!! I definitly want to enter this and am doing a shout out on my blog!!

http://jocelynmmarieww123.blogspot.com/

April 25, 2009 10:01 PM

Congratulations ladies! Please leave me your email addresses, and I will send you all the details!! 

I had so much fun running this contest. My next contest willcome later in the week... it features some great products from The Pampered Chef.

I had a wonderful time in Boston. I'll recap you with the details tomorrow. GOODNIGHT! :)

Chowdah

Its late, and I've been in the car for the last 8+ hours.

Boston was AMAZING, despite my boys in pinstripes losing... BADLY.

Stay tuned until tomorrow night for the results of my contest, as I just don't have the time or energy to do it right now.

Consider this an extension to the deadline. ENTER NOW! :)

Green Sandwich Recovery

Good news! I survived! 

Even better news: I didn't have to go alone! 

One of my running buddies took the week off to accompany her superstar BF to Boston while he ran the marathon. She's training for the same race as I am, so she joined me. Its a beautiful day here in the Nations Capital, so it was great for running and chit chatting. I didn't even need to crack out the music. Its a good thing there is a new shoe purchase in my very near future, because I think today might have been the last run in my current pair. My knees aren't feeling the greatest, but I suspect its due to the old shoes.

Upon my arrival home, I refueled with my latest obsession- the sandwich I have fondly (and not so creatively) dubbed the GREEN sandwich. Whole wheat bread, avocado, extra firm tofu, cucumber, baby spinach and a touch of old cheddar. Its heaven between bread, I swear!

Served with some carrot sticks for color and crunch.

I'm off to pack for our weekend trip to Boston... I am sooo excited to relax with good friends, booze and baseball. Its sure to be a good weekend, because my favorite pitcher Andy Pettitte is starting, Lets go Yankees! 

Don't forget to enter my Tommy Europe contest! Winner will be selected on Monday when I get home.

Le Carb-Load

I'm going to miss my long run on Sunday, due to my upcoming  travels to see my future husband Mr. Jeter take on the Red Sox.

No problem. I'm doing it tomorrow! 18k.... ALONE!  EEEK! Could be rough, but I'm actually kind of looking forward to it. I love the social aspects of running with a group, but part of me also really enjoys the solitude. I'm going to load up my MP3 player with some fun tunes, and run my little heart out.

In anticipation of tomorrow's potential torture on my legs, I opted to skip Body Attack class which is killer on your legs - calves in particular. Instead I went spinning followed by 30 mins of upper body and core work. Felt great.

I carbed itup a notch for supper. Whole wheat pasta, mushrooms, zuchinni and chicken breast tossed in low fat alfredo. Below is a his and hers photo comparison.

I have some GREAT news. Tommy Europe has offered not one, but TWO memberships and E-books.... so now 2 lucky readers will be winners! Not only that, but he has also offered a 20% discount to any of my readers who are interested. Anyone interested? 

Let me know by leaving your email address in a comment to this post, and I will pass your contact info onto Mr. Europe so he can send you a discount code! 

If you haven't entered yet, don't forget! Go here and enter NOW!

I have some other great contests coming up.... prizes could possibly include: Smart Wool Socks, Pampered Chef Products and a little something from another Canadian Trainer that we all know and love.  Are you excited? I'm pretty pumped. I cannot lie!

Wish me luck tomorrow. I need it... more for the mental aspect than anything!

Tommy Europe Giveaway Contest!

I am sooooo excited about this contest!

Tommy Europe himself has graciously offered a copy of his new E Book AND a year long membership to his FANTASTIC new website www.tommyeurope.tv!!

I was lucky enough to receive my own membership and E Book, and although I've only had the opportunity to briefly peruse... its PACKED with amazing information. My personal favorite feature this far is access to all the exercises we see on his "Butt Kick" workouts on Bulging Brides and The Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp.

You’ve witnessed the results achieved on the shows “BULGING BRIDES” & “ THE LAST 10 POUNDS BOOTCAMP”, now it’s YOUR TURN to experience it!

10Lb SHRED E-BOOK is a 4 week, easy to follow, fully illustrated, progressive program which can be done at home or the gym which includes: Cardio workouts, Resistance training and a 7 day meal plan created by Registered Dietitian Maria Thomas. For those who don't know Maria Thomas, she is a registered dietitian and more importantly she creates ALL of the meal plans for the contestants of "The Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp".

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. To DOUBLE your chances, link this contest on your blog and leave a comment to let me know you did a shout out!

I will randomly select the winner using Random.org next Monday when I return from Boston!

I'm alive!

The last couple of days have been uber busy.

Rest assured I'm still eating, running and drinking water.

Stay tuned for my very first CONTEST post later on tonight.

Just a little hint: It comes courtesy of this fine looking man, Tommy Europe! :)

A Stellar Sunday!

What an amazing day! In my half training schedule, we dropped back to an itty bitty 12k. It was a beautiful morning, and we ran along the scenic Ottawa River Parkway. I was once again reminded how incredibly lucky I am to live in this beautiful city which is JAM packed withGREEN space!

Following the run, I had my weekly Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte. If you've been reading my blog for a while now, you know about my slight Starbucks addiction. I can officially say that I've kicked it! I only have it once a week after running. Feels good financially, more then anything else. At $5.70 a pop, it was sure adding up!

Andrew, Jersey and I headed out to Conroy Pit  (a.k.a Doggie Heaven) for a long walk in the sunshine. I brought Mr. Garmin with us, and it was 5.6k in a little over an hour.  Tons of people out with their pootches today, which always makes a great day for Jersey. She also took her first swim of the year... must have been chilly, but she didn't seem to mind at all. 

On a beautiful day like today, you HAVE to BBQ... so thats what we did. On the menu: M&M Lean Turkey sausage, grilled asparagus/zuchinni and a baby romaine salad topped with balsamic strawberries, walnuts and goat cheese. 

Not much else on the agenda for tonight. Going to experiment some more with homemade larabars and maybe watch Bride Wars. 

Boston in 6 more sleeps! woo hoo!

Everbody's workin' for the weekend

Its Saturday. I have to work at 9:00am. Yes, I work for the federal government. This is unheard of! I'll be working on a "different"type of project today, so stay tuned. Although the task today isn't necessarily what I do for a living... it might be kind of theraputic! :)

Here is a picture of the oats I've been eating all week: 1/4 cups oats, 1 banana, raisins, coconut, pecans and a tsp  of crunchy PB. I think I like this combo better then pumpkin oats. Today, I decided to have a 'weekend  treat' and add brown sugar... but I found it a little TOO sweet. Ah well, live and learn.

On the side: some Mango! They were on sale this week for just .79 each!

Thanks to Anne the superstar photographer for recommending the MACRO setting on my camera... fixed up my shot from last night!

I'm pretty much a genius!

Does this look familiar?

A Larabar? NO!! I made it! I can't believe I have never thought of recreating a Larabar before... 

I had a lot of dates hanging around the house that I bought to make date sqauares, which I never ended up making. What better way to use them up, but to make Cherry Pie Larabars. Dates, dried cherries and almonds. Thats it, thats ALL! 

They taste exactly like the real thing for a fraction of the cost!

I was a bust bee at work today... which made the day FLY by. I was sooo happy after work when I went to spinning, and Hottie McHotterson was back. He's been on vacation for the last 2 weeks. During his vacation I realized that I don't really love spinning, I only like his class. LOL! The rest of the instructors don't motivate me in the slightest. I left a sweaty/exhausted mess today. Welcome home Hottie McHotterson. I look forward his weekly torture sessions. :)

Food was also stellar today.

B- Banana Oatmeal with a tsp of PB and trail mix

S- NO TIME

L- Sammich with extra firm tofu, avocado, tomato and cheese melted in the toaster over, carrot sticks and a diet pepsi

S- NO TIME

D- Pulled Pork sammich, grilled zuchinni and asparagus

We slow cooked a pork shoulder roast ALL day, shredded it, and added some BBQ sauce. It looks disgusting I realize, but it was moist and full of flavour.

Meal from above.

Desert: Strawberries and cantelope with FF cool whip

...and a macaroon

Man, my camera sure isn't taking the nicest pics of late. Does this happen over time? 

Go Habs Go!

Yes my friends, its THAT time of year again... HOCKEY PLAYOFFS! Have I mentioned yet that I'm heading to Boston next weekend to see the Sox/Yankees? Game #5 of the Habs/Bruins series just happens to there if necessary. How amazing would that be... Habs and Yankees in the same weekend? :)

GO Habs GO!

So, I just wanted to say that I was TOTALLY flattered that many of you see me as 'a hardcore runner'. I run. I love it. Its totally changed my life. But sometimes I forget that I kinda am hardcore.  

My day was pretty stellar today. 

B: Oatmeal and 1/2 a banana, topped with a tsp of peanut butter and coconut

S: apple with 12 almonds

L: Toasted PB and other half of banana sammich, carrot sticks

S: 3 hershey kisses

D: M&M Veggie Burger topped with avocado, FF cheese slice and a tomato, roasted asparagus and sweet potato fries. YUM

I'll likely have something sweet to finish off the night.

In the activity department, I did an hour long (ow!!) upper body workout, and a 50 min spin class. 

I did some brainstorming and research for my contest today. You guys are going to be pretty lucky. Already I have 2 amazing products to give away... and when I say AMAZING, it really is. I was sooo excited when I got an email today from one of my biggest inspirations. Stay tuned for more!

Bad day, gone good?

It was a rather hellacious day at the office. I ended up  being there until 6h30pm, which means I missed my run with the Running Room. BOO! Although I was pretty pissed at the time, I was secretly kind of happy because I was missing 8 hill repeats. Moo ah ahaahaha! 

Upon my return home Andrew, Jersey and I headed out for a "family" run. We did a speedy 4.5k thanks to Andrew setting the pace with his long legs.  A self portrait before commencing was in order. :)

My meals today consisted of:

B- Oatmeal with banana and PB, coffee

L- Ham sammich on WW bread with honey mustard

Snacks: Apple, orange, 3 dark mini lindor eggs, almonds

I didn't feel like making much, so I whipped up my tomato soup pasta with loads of peppers, zuchinni, mushrooms and a melange of whatever pasta we had in the pantry. I topped it with a little old cheddar and had a slice of bread on the side. 

Just when I thought my bad day was pretty good, it got even BETTER! I checked out the lovely Laura's blog only to find out that I won her contest. I NEVER WIN ANYTHING!! 

Now, because I'm so flippin' happy about winning a contest... I think I might run one of my own. I want someone else to have this AMAZING feeling. I'm going  to start brainstorming tonight.

In the meantime... what kind of contests do you all like to see? Anything that screams 'Amy' that you would like to see as a prize?

 Although I've been blogging for a while now, I don't think I'm that unique. :(

too tired to be witty....

I had a good day. 

It felt good to eat normally again.

I did a 50 min  spin class, followed by a 5k tempo run. 

I had this for supper: Grilled cheese, tomato soup, and a little bit of leftover hashbrowns.

Jersey is still depressed about her ugly hair cut. She's resorted to hanging out with her arch nemesis Samuel.

Until tomorrow!

Back to regularly scheduled programming

A play by play of the last couple of days:

Sunday:

- Woke up to fuel up for my long run, discovered we were out of PB. 

- Decided to make oatmeal instead of PB and Banana.

- When decided what toppings to add, I thought about chocolate chips since Lent was over.

- Decided I didn't feel like chocolate. WHAT?

- Thought maybe the last 40 days made me lose the taste for chocolate. SCORE.

- Ran 16k. It was freezing.

- Had a good run. Not a since question was asked the entire time.

- Enjoyed a latte after running, and returned home to make squash for dinner.

- Had a lovely meal at my cousin's house. Stuck to one plate of turkey, stuffing, taters, squash and broccoli. YUM!

- Desert was angel food cake with berries. Still no chocolate.

- Held on until about 7pm when I caved and ate a Reese Rabbit. 

- It was frickin' delicious, so my initial thoughts about me losing my taste for chocolate were completely off.

- Went for a 45 min walk with my cousin to walk off our full tummies.

- Stayed the night at my MIL's.

Monday:

- Woke up with a SORE body. Legs were sore from running. Upper body was sore from Combat class.

- Sleeping on a pull out certainly didn't help. 

- MIL made an Easter lunch: Ham, scalloped taters, corn and lemon pie.

- I also had a Ferrero Rocher or 2. 

- Then I might have had a hot fudge sundae from DQ.

- Supper was tofu wraps with avocado, cheddar, tomato and red pepper. I lost my tofu virginity today. I didn't LOVE it, but I didn't hate it either. I think next time I'll buy firm instead of medium. The texture reminded me a little of eggs, which I'm not fond of.

- Chances are I will likely have a few of these tonight too

Back to work tomorrow... but I'm kinda looking forward to it. I like routine. 

The other plus side of work is that there is not crappy food there.

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend! I sure did!

Jersey gets a beaner

So... this is a weight loss/fitness blog. This post has nothing to do with either. I am a very distraught dog owner today.

We were in my home town for the weekend, and decided to try a new groomer that came recommended by my cousin. I should probably mention that my cousin has a 8lb poodle... the complete opposite of my 60lbs golden retriever.

Not that you care... but if you check out this link you will see what a properly groomed golden looks like.

Here's what my dog looks like: Judging by the look on her face, she's also pretty upset about her new 'do!

This is a closeup of her ear. The groomer managed to completely miss spots, and made it jagged. She even trimmed the outside of her ears. :(

Jersey's chest... no more nice 'mane'

Perhaps a little graphic to show her "mrs" on the internet, yes, but she is NOT a poodle.

Here's a picture of where they took a huge chunk out of her side. 

I just hope people don't think that I decided to get a little scissor happy. Needless to say, we won't be returning for her services.

Its a good thing she's cute... so she can totally work her shitty hair cut. As my Dad said, a crappy hair cut only lasts for a few days. :)

Long weekend: Day 2

I ended up falling asleep pretty early last night, so I was up nice and early today! I decided to hit up a different Goodlife location for Body Combat. Lately I've been watching a few Vlogs on You Tube. One that has caught my eye in particular is the Survivor Fitness Challenge. This week the participants were tasked to add in a new exercise.... I was kind of motivated by this. While Body Combat certainly isn't new to me I definitely don't do it enough. I loved it. The instructor was super motivating which made me give it 110%! :) 

What new activity will you add to your routine this week?

Other then that it was a pretty low key day. I enjoyed a bubble bath upon my return home, then we took Jersey to the dog park to let her frolic with those of her species. Hit up the grocery store, then it was home for some quality laziness in the form of watching some downloaded shows: Harper's Island, Southland and this weeks CSI. 

Here is my day in food:

Pre-gym: PB and banana.

Lunch: Hot cross bun, apple, carrots.

Supper: Chick-pea, baby romaine, tomato, goat cheese salad. Pasta with roasted veggies and a goat cheese sauce, and a huge ass slab of garlic bread... Hey, I'm carb loading for tomorrow!

Desert: Apple crisp!
Topped with a little cool whip... :)

Tomorrow will be another good day. 16k LSD, then dinner at my cousin's house for Easter. Best part of my day will be enjoying some CHOCOLATE!!