Welcome to March

I picked these up at the Superstore weekend before last and I’ve been enjoying the colors and the scent every time I walk through the entry way.

The weather for the last bit of February was quite mild and it’s been so easy to think that spring is right around the corner.

This morning we woke up to winter again though.

I hadn’t actually seen any weather forecasts all weekend, and it was a bit of a shock to see first thing this morning, I have to say.

But, but the end of the day it had warmed to rain and all the new snow is pretty much gone – though we may get some more flurries tomorrow morning.

As much as I would have liked to crawl back into bed and hide from the snow, we had to head off to work. We left Zappa, looking very smug that he did not have to go out in the weather…

And Frank hiding in the closet, firmly in denial. Snow? I don’t see any stinkin’ snow!

Where did February go?

When I said that I was going to be blogging less, I did not intend to disappear altogether. The past couple of weeks have been kinda crazy ‘round here. I’ve been stressed out and exhausted and the days just seemed to disappear on me.

I finally started to feel more like myself this weekend, thankfully. I actually had some energy to get some things done around the house – and things were in pretty desperate shape. Hopefully I’ll catch up one of these days.

My workouts suffered somewhat, along with everything else. It was a bit of a tough schedule in February, but I did the best I could.

February Workouts:

Feb 28: Cardio Intervals[35 mins]
Feb 25: Supersets + Abs
Feb 24: Cardio Intervals[35 mins]
Feb 23: Hyperbolic RT + Abs + Steady State Cardio
Feb 22: Steady State Cardio [35 mins]
Feb 18: Supersets + Abs + Steady State Cardio
Feb 16: Cardio Intervals[25 mins]
Feb 15: Hyperbolic RT + Steady State Cardio + Abs
Feb 14: Cardio Intervals + Steady State Cardio[45 mins]
Feb 13: High Intensity Circuit x1 + Abs [35 mins]
Feb 10: Supersets
Feb 09: Cardio Intervals + Abs
Feb 08: Hyperbolic RT + Steady State Cardio
Feb 06: High Intensity Circuit
Feb 05: Cardio Intervals + Abs
Feb 03: Supersets + Abs + Steady State Cardio
Feb 01: Hyperbolic RT + Abs + Steady State Cardio

The workout schedule for March is even tougher. I’m a bit scared to tell the truth, and starting to wonder if Lindsey is trying to kill me.  Ok, not really, but the schedule looks kinda painful.

I survived my first workout after work today – the first of two High Intensity Circuits on the schedule for the week. It took me about 55 minutes to complete. At which point I was ready to collapse. Fortunately tomorrow is just Hyperbolic Resistance Training and Cardio. Just, I say. Ha!

Now it’s time to finish up a few little things and crawl into bed. Good night everyone!

Snowy Day

It started out like this…

And it just kept snowing all day.

This is the first real snow we’ve had since the beginning of the month though, so we’ve had it pretty easy so far.

The roads were messy, I was glad Husband was driving and that we had winter tires on the car.

Cardio Intervals? Again?

It seems not that long ago that I was looking forward to intervals and feeling happy about it. It was going so well there for a while. Today I was all ‘Intervals again? Didn’t I just do intervals?’

It’s not so much fun because the running is not feeling so great anymore. Again. I may just have to give up on this running thing, I don’t know.

Anyway, today I alternated walking and running intervals, so it was less running; similar to what I did on Monday. I may have to stick with this for a while and hope the running thing gets better again.

Lazy Food Blogger

I was taking pictures all day, but I realized at supper time that it was nothing you haven’t seen already this week. And it’s only Wednesday.

- Yogurt & coffee for breakfast

- Raw veggies & Amy’s Kitchen Burrito for lunch

- After Eights for my afternoon treat

- Tomato & cucumber salad, Beef Curry Hotpot for supper.

It would just be boring to see all that again, right? So to save time (yes Bag Lady, for the piano) I decided to skip it.

However, I did decide that such a snowy night calls for an appropriate dessert; time for Mr. Hot Chocolate Maker to come out and play again.

Off to the piano I go!

The Musical Conclusion – Or Perhaps I Should Say the New Beginning

When last I posted, I was getting ready to head home to Nova Scotia for the Holidays. Of course I was looking forward to visiting with family, but I was also kind of excited because I would finally get to meet my new piano!

We actually had a bit of a rough ferry crossing on the way over – it was very windy. Normally I am quite happy to sit and read for the 3 hour crossing but for the first time I found I couldn’t settle down to that. But, we arrived in one piece and hit the road for Greenwood.

We made a quick stop in Middleton at Husband’s family home, then continued on to my parent’s house for hugs and greetings and lunch and my first look at the Digital Piano. Or the box anyway.

There it is; the new piano, sitting right next to the old.

We had a lot of fun fitting that box into our little VW Rabbit for the trip home, let me tell you. I really should have taken a picture, but Husband was seeming a little cranky about the whole thing so I didn’t want to push my luck. It did fit, but let’s just say it was a very cozy car ride.

We came home on Sunday, Dec. 27, and my [NS] sister came over to Saint John the next day to spend New Year’s with us. Somehow we didn’t accomplish much during our visit, other than a lot of relaxing. I did make a start on clearing space and reorganizing things in the basement, but that was about it.

We dropped Sister off for the 9 am ferry yesterday. It was starting to snow a bit, so on the way home we made a stop at the grocery store to pick up a few things since the forecast was saying we were in for a lot of snow.

Then, finally, I got back to work on reorganizing the basement and Husband helped me to put the piano together. Actually, he did most of the putting together, I was mainly there to hold things.

The cats really enjoyed the box that the piano came in.

I really should have got video – Zappa was going nuts in there.

But, with all of our attention focused on the piano, Zappa did not waste any time checking it out either.

Frank did make a few appearances, but I didn’t manage to get him on camera.

Finally, it’s here, it’s all set up and ready to be played. Technically, you are not supposed to set anything on top of the piano (so says the instruction manual), but in an effort to keep the cats from jumping up on it (they are not exactly feather weights, my giant felines), I did set a few lighter things on top.

I have a collection of Coca-Cola memorabilia (my father and my father-in-law both give me collectibles when they come across something they think I will like) that used to sit on a shelf in the spot the piano is now occupying.  A lot of it is going to be packed away for the time being, but I picked a few things for guard duty. There is a set of Coca-Cola coasters (which I bought for myself), a polar bear (from father-in-law), a small bear (which I think came from my Sister) and a clock radio (from my Dad).

I have another polar bear that my Dad gave me years ago. He’s too big to fit on the piano, so he’s keeping the piano books company.

I have to say, after all of that, I did approach the actual playing of the piano with a certain amount of trepidation. It’s been years! I don’t really want to think how many…But I was pleasantly surprised/relieved. I had brought my piano books from home and sat down to give them a try. I am definitely rusty, but it’s not as bad as I thought it might be. People have been telling me that it will come back pretty quickly – Husband too and he’s never even really heard me play – and it looks like they were right. I had one good long session yesterday, but I was at the piano a total of 5 times from the time we had it all set up (around lunch time) to when I went to bed last night. I am having so much fun already!

And as it turns out, we did get a bit of snow…

When we had dropped Sister at the ferry terminal it was just starting, but the snow came down pretty heavy for most of the day.

I took these pictures early afternoon yesterday.

And then I took these this morning…

So far today it has been back and forth between rain and snow. I still have some work to do to get things tidied away in the basement and I’m thinking I’d like to get in some yoga;  exercise has been almost non-existent and I should start easing back into it.

And of course, the piano is calling to me. Tomorrow it’s back to work, but today there is still time to play!

Heavy Snowfall Warning

Thirty centimetres coming our way apparently. Winter appears to be making up for lost time.

Fairly uneventful day. Actually, the past two days I’ve had major problems with concentration. Hope my brain starts working again soon. Work to get done!

I did not want to get out of my warm, comfy bed this morning. Brr! Husband seemed to think I should get up and go to work though. Sheesh.

Breakfast

I had a glass of Bolthouse Vanilla Chai at home, which I forgot to take a photo of.

At work:

 

Two Super Charge Me cookies and coffee.

Lunch & Snack

For lunch I had Sweet Potato & Black Bean Mole which I also apparently forgot to photograph. I’m telling ya – brain not working.

For snacks – an apple & almonds.

Late afternoon I noticed the snow had started, and a short time later Husband messaged me that he wanted to head home. When I went out to the front doors I was surprised how much snow was coming down already.

We made a quick stop at the Superstore on the way home. I snapped this with my iPhone when we got back out to the car.

Not nice at all.

Dinner

When we got home I did my workout – Circuit workout today. I repeated the circuit 3 times which took about 20 minutes, then did a 20 minute walk on the treadmill.

After my workout I had a glass of Bolthouse Vanilla Chai. Zappa was checking it out. I gave him some milk.

Dinner was easy – leftover Chicken & Lentils from last night with President’s Choice Garlic Naan.

And dessert. I just can’t stay out of the cookies.

With Peppermint tea.

Time for Glee!