Seven Days of Yoga–Done!

Yesterday I completed 7 days of yoga for this challenge and I feel good that I managed to do all 7 days. Some days were short, if that’s all I had time for, but it got done and I enjoyed it. I considered continuing on for the rest of the month but my shoulders are feeling like they need a little break from all that downward dog and chaturanga-ing.. I would like to continue focusing on it though, I feel like I’ve lost a lot of strength and flexibility and if I want it back I have to work at it. Haven’t decided for sure what I’ll do, but today was Pilates which was a change but kept things in a similar vein.

After dinner I took Frank out for a walk. Everything is soaking wet because it started raining yesterday in the afternoon and kept up for most of today. Again. It rained pretty much every day last week. I am scared to go out and look at my garden, it’s probably a swamp by now.

I didn’t take my camera out at first, but I ended up running back for it (again! but this time only once). I was quite fascinated with the water drops that were everywhere. Frank was enjoying being outside, but not enjoying all the water so much. Too bad I didn’t have the camera pointed at him when he tried to step down off his perch and discovered he was cut off by a giant puddle. Kitty may be brave, but he does not like to get his paws dunked. At one point I turned around and managed to catch a deer heading into the trees.

Here are some photos – hope you enjoy!

Diary of a Week - Workouts and Musings

Since workout motivation seems to be lacking lately - at least that's what it seems like when I look back on the past couple of months - I thought I would try keeping track of my week to see what was going on. It made sense to start from last Friday, since that was July 1st. So here goes...

Friday - Canada Day! It's a holiday! I love holidays! :) There was a Torchwood marathon on Space. A weekend not too long ago it was a Doctor Who marathon. The Space Station has to stop doing this to me. Anyway, I've been picking away at sorting through my closet and doing some organizing. So I spent some time working on that while watching Torchwood. Oh yeah, also made Strawberry Shortcake. Busy day. Then spent 90 minutes or so out in the garden - determined to get the garden planted over the long weekend. Has to be done!

Saturday - More Torchwood. Husband and I went out, on the hunt for an air conditioner, then grocery shopping and I can't remember what else. Back out to the garden for another 90 minutes or so.

Sunday - Didn't turn on the TV. Didn't want to get sucked into Torchwood again. Garden will get done today! All in all, I'm guessing I spent 4 hours out in the garden. And got things mostly done. Finally.

Monday - I apparently did nothing. I can't really remember why. So much for keeping a diary. Sheesh. It was a rainy day and I think maybe I was tired after Sunday's marathon of gardening? Oh wait...now I remember...I actually came home from work in the mood to hop on the treadmill and jog for a bit...But I didn't because the city was turning off our water from 7 pm to 7 am Tuesday morning, and by the time we got home I wouldn't have had time to do a workout and have a shower before the water was turned off.

Tuesday - Sun shining again! Only one day of rain! It's a miracle! Unfortunately, came home with a headache and zero energy. Did a 20 minute yoga download when I got home, and then after dinner went out to do a bit more puttering in the garden. I say that totally counts.

Wednesday - Charlotte posted a link to The Spartacus Workout and I immediately thought "I want to try that." Funny where motivation can come from - I guess I just need some new workout inspiration? I made it two times through the circuit and decided I was throughly exercised. Guess my goofing off lately has taken a toll. Or, you know, it could be the fact that I didn't really read the instructions so I didn't do any of the rests between exercise or circuits. Oops.

Thursday - Kinda tired and feeling my muscles a bit. Husband and I had to go into town after work to return the air conditioner that would not fit in our window. We found another one that works. Yay. The weather was so nice though, that by the time I finished dinner I was ready to head out for a short walk. Nothing strenuous though - just a stroll to enjoy the summer evening.

So that was my week. I always find myself torn this time of year. We really have such a short span of time where the weather is nice, or so it seems, so I feel like I want to get out and enjoy it - working in the yard or going for a walk. But I have a tendency to think of those things as not being a 'real workout'. If I don't get out and enjoy it though, the summer will pass me by and I'll wonder where it went. This year we've been waiting so long for the nice weather too. It would be great if I had time to do both, but honestly I have a hard time keeping up with everything as it is. The 'real workouts' will still be there when the cold weather sets in again.

Today - Kitty Walk with Frank

The moon was out early.

November So Far...

Getting back into my workout groove...I hope! Monday & Tuesday - Mission accomplished. Today I had every intention of coming home and doing a workout, something not to intense since I'm feeling sore from my circuit workout yesterday. We even got home a little early. The sun was shining. But I just wasn't in the mood. I thought maybe I'd take a rest day, give those sore muscles a chance to recover. I was feeling strangely motivated to try and catch up on some housework...

Frank let me know that he wanted a walk. And the sun was shining. It's been a chilly week, but it was pretty nice outside...Maybe just a short walk!

We headed up the hill, with Zappa watching and complaining from below.

Up over the hill we went. Frank was all keen to explore, then one of the neighborhood kids came running up the hill and went past us. Frank didn't quite know what to think.

Once the kid disappeared we wandered a bit more, but I didn't want to go too far since I knew I'd have to carry my 16 1/2 pound cat back to the house.

Once we got back Zappa felt that it was his turn. Frank tends to meander and take his time, checking everything out along the way. Zappa usually trots right along, so we headed right off around the house, down the driveway, and suddenly another youngster went dashing by up the hill.

.

Zappa stopped to look (sorry - blogger won't let me reorient the photo - should have written this is LiveWriter) then he immediately turned around and ran back to the house. So much for that.

Anyway, then I came in decided to do a short, easy walk on the treadmill after all. So much for housework.

And, for the sake of record keeping, here are September & Oco

October Workouts:
Oct 23: Fitnessista BootCamp #1[55 mins]
Oct 21: Treadmill walk/jog[25 mins]
Oct 20 Walk + Lunar Flow #1[40 mins]
Oct 18: Treadmill walk/jog[32 mins]
Oct 13: FitChickExpress DVD Superset #1 + Treadmill walk[30 mins]
Oct 12: Treadmill walk/jog[30 mins]
Oct 10: Walk[20 mins]
Oct 05: Walk[40 mins]
Oct 04: Lower Body weight circuit + Treadmill walk[35 mins]

September Workouts:
Sept 30: Cardio + Bicep/Tricep curls
Sept 29: Treadmill walk/jog + short strength circuit[35 mins]
Sept 27: Treadmill walk[25 mins]
Sept 25: The FIRM Power Half Hour DVD[30mins]
Sept 24: Crunch Yoga Body Sculpt DVD[40 mins]
Sept 22: Walk[45 mins]
Sept 19: Walk[40 mins]
Sept 14: Treadmill walk + short upper body circuit[35 mins]
Sept 11: The FIRM HiDef Sculpt DVD[45 mins]
Sept 10: Treadmill Walk[40 mins]
Sept 09: Crunch Pilates-Yoga Blend DVD[40 mins]
Sept 08: Hip Opening Flow #3[30 mins]
Sept 07: Treadmill Walk[40 mins]
Sept 04: Walk[35 mins]
Sept 02: Lunar Flow #1[20 mins]

Gorgeous Saturday

The weather really has been beautiful – it still gets quite chilly at night, but the days have been warm and sunny. It’s a real boost to the spirit, that’s for sure.

I’ve been debating the whole cat walking thing over the past winter. The cats love it (especially Frank) and I enjoy it too…But I need for the cats to be happy with their fenced in yard (especially Frank) and I’m not sure the walks help that situation.

However, my Frankie has been wanting to go since the weather has turned spring-like, and I have to admit that I wanted to get out into the fresh air and sunshine myself, so this morning we went.

Gosh, but it was a beautiful day…

Still the odd patch of snow, here and there, but it’s mostly gone.

I didn’t have a whole lot of time because I had an appointment for a hair cut, but we had a decent ramble.

Then, of course, I had to take Zappa out for a short walk as well.

He’s happy as long as he gets to roll around on the ground for a few minutes.

We ventured down to the end of the driveway, but then we called it a day. Fortunately Zappa was happy with that.

I drove in to town for my hair appointment. When I came out they were changing one of the flags – putting up an Irish flag for Saint Patrick’s Day, and there was a bag piper in a kilt playing Amazing Grace in front of the City Hall building.

 

I snapped a picture with my iPhone, though I don’t know whether you’ll be able to see the piper; I wasn’t very close. I got a picture of the flags later on as I was crossing the pedway from Market Square to City Hall.

Cat walks, hair cut, grocery shopping, then the rest of the afternoon puttering around the house. Talked to my Mom on the phone for about 45 minutes. Husband and I made a stir fry for supper. Just finished getting in a bit of piano practice. All in all, a wonderful Saturday!

Vegetarian days

I really can’t come up with a title. Oh well.

Friday

Nothing particularly exciting about yesterday; it was Friday and I was glad. I was feeling tired and ready for the weekend.

First Breakfast:

Second Breakfast:

Husband seemed quite shocked when I ordered a scone. Looked at me like I’d grown a second head or something. True, I’ve never ordered one before, but yesterday I wanted one. It was quite good too.

Lunch:

Sorry for the blur – apparently I can’t hold a camera (iPhone) still. Rockin’ Moroccan Stew. It’s not a large amount of food, but it’s quite filling. Mainly chickpeas and sweet potato.

Went out for my afternoon walk, hit the City Market and the book store. Got caught in the rain coming back, but it was pretty light. And my snack was worth it:

Mmmm! Pomegranate!

I was sooo tired and would have loved for it to have been one of those days where Husband was ready to leave early, but it was around 5:30 when he finally messaged me.

The usual Friday dinner:

Pad Thai with Tofu and extra veggies.

I thought about doing my interval workout, because Saturdays are always so busy, but I was just too tired.

Dessert:

Had some couch potato time, was in bed by 11 pm. Was dead to the world until 9? 9:30? this morning.

Saturday

Only one breakfast today:

Watched some TV while eating breakfast and finishing my grocery list. Then I ran out to do the shopping because Husband was going out for the evening and he needed the car. I think I headed out somewhere between 11 – 11:30 and got home around 2.

I had a protein drink:

While I put the groceries away. Then I took Frankie out for a walk.

While Frank nibbled on some grass, I worked on my balance – each foot on a different rock; he will pick the most awkward places to stop.

He’s awful purty though, so I let him get away with a lot.

Zappa was [im]patiently waiting in the yard.

When I took Frank in, there was a deer standing on a lawn across the street. Cars kept slowing down to look at it.

I brought Zappa out…

…and when we turned to go up the hill,we saw the deer had crossed to our side of the street.

 

It kept an eye on us, but did not seem particularly concerned. Zappa was quite interested in sniffing around where it had been though.

The deer moseyed it’s way up the hill…

…and Zappa and I went back to the house and out into the yard.

Still a couple of brave little flowers showing their colors.

Zappa decided to attack the tree. Poor tree.

Then he went to chew on some catnip.

Frank was just taking in the ambiance.

When I went in Husband was ready to leave for the evening and I decided it was time to tackle my kitchen project of the day. I grabbed a LaraBar because I didn’t want to take the time to eat – this tends to happen on the weekends, I get busy and I put off eating. I never plan on it, it just happens.

Anyway, I made a pot of Marinara sauce and I made the Bean Balls from Veganomicon. The recipe calls for a 20 oz can of Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed, and says it should be about 3 cups.

All I ever see are 19 oz cans, and when I measured, it was two cups. So I scaled back the other ingredients a bit.

The recipe says to make the Bean Balls walnut sized, and that it should produce 12 – 15 Bean Balls.

I don’t know what kind of weird vegan math they are doing, but with my reduced recipe I got 27 bean balls.

By this time I was getting hungry. No wonder, since it was 5:30 and I hadn’t eaten a real lunch. I may have eaten a handful of Jelly Tots during my cooking…

But that was it. I decided to quickly get in my interval workout and then have supper.

I did 35 minutes on the treadmill, went back to the kitchen and threw some broccoli in the oven to roast. Had a shower, came back to the kitchen and took the broccoli out of the oven – it cooked faster than I thought it would.

Not being vegan, I would have had no problem putting cheese on my spaghetti & bean balls. However, I happened to find Nutritional Yeast while I was shopping today, and I’ve been curious about this whole “Cheeze” sauce stuff, so I decided to make that as well.

Sure seems like I worked hard for my supper today, but I finally had everything ready. Bean Balls with Marinara Sauce on Whole Wheat Spaghetti, Roasted Broccoli, and Cheezy Sauce. I made myself a little “mocktail” to drink as well.

 

I sat down to enjoy dinner with this little present that I bought myself today:

The verdict – I liked the Bean Balls. You would not fool anyone into thinking they are real meat balls, but if you like beans – which I do – they are quite tasty. The Cheezy Sauce I am not so sure about. It does have a vaguely cheese-y flavor. And that seems to be all I can think of to say about it.

So basically, I’m quite happy to replace my meat with beans, but don’t mess with the cheese. Please.

Dessert:

Pretty tasty little cookies. I had two and was quite content.

Enjoyed my movie, dinner and dessert. Then I had to do the dishes. That would be the down side of kitchen experiments – they do tend to make a mess.

Now it’s way past my bedtime. Good night all, hope you have a great Sunday!