Oh, where to start! I feel really good right now. Mentally. My stomach hurts like a bastard though, lesson learned, do not eat two crème puffs, a sliver of graham wafer crusted mini cheesecake, a 1” piece of buttercreme brownie, a piece of sushi and a handful of corn chips all on the same weekend when you are, for all intents and purposes, grain free. LOL! For the record, I also ate vegetables, amazing yam & beef stew (check the Feed Me tab!), lots of water, mandarin oranges and an omelette or two.
It was a festive weekend, starting with Friday night when Ray and I did most of our gift wrapping with a mediocre bottle of wine (not buying that one again) and some carols playing in the background. Saturday morning I got up at 7 and went to the gym. Yes. The Gym! I did this 25 Minute Treadmill Workout which I’ve had stashed in my gym bag for easily a year without trying it. I set out for the gym on Saturday morning knowing I was going to be pressed for time but wanted to make a decent workout. It is killer, definitely going to be doing that again! Of note, I started my warmup at 4.2 and ended up at 5.2 on the treadmill. Then, for the sprints I started at 8.0 and each set of two I increased until my last set of two sprints were done at 9.2. For the recoveries I hopped onto the side rails and then brought the speed down to 3.4…mostly because by the time my 30 second sprint was over I was maxed! The only thing that I did not like about this workout has to do with the equipment at my gym, the treadmill takes nearly 15 seconds to get from 3.4 to sprinting speed and that just irritated the shit out of me. Once the sprints were over I rowed 1000m, did my ab routine and then booked it for home.
While we’re on the subject of the gym, I also went on Sunday morning before our birthday brunch buffet. I did mile-row-mile in just under 30 minutes and then some stretching and called it done. So between last Tuesday and this weekend, I actually did hit my “3 days per week” gym attendance target. It was a little sketchy there for awhile! The 4:30am thing is frigging brutal, two weekend dates and only one 4:30am during the week might be how it’s going to go this winter. Megan, I sent you an email this weekend saying I didn’t know how to pull off moving away from 4:30am….but I think this might be the way?
Anyway, back to the weekend. Saturday after the gym I went with Gracie and donated some gently used winter dog coats and old bath mats and blankets to our charity (Rescue A Boxer) and then Gracie and I ran a couple errands. You’d be surprised how many places are welcoming to having you bring your dog into the store, most of them have buckets full of treats so you know they expect people to bring their pets in! The rest of the day was spent walking and playing with the dog, tidying up the house and general laziness. Oh, and the Yam & Beef Stew. One of the best things I’ve eaten in a LONG time!
Sunday morning after the gym, Ray went and fetched my sister from the train and we all made our way to the pub for brunch; so good! I had an omelette with mushroom & bacon (no cheese), the 2 pieces of sushi, some bacon, pan fries, some salmon and then the crème puffs. Given the enormous amount of variety and food there, I think I was really quite restrained!
After brunch we headed back to our house and did our birthday gifts. Sister and I don’t worry too much about Christmas exchanging, we pretty much do all of our gifting to each other whenever our birthday celebration is; we like it better that way and then if the item is useful or wearable, we have it before Christmas. Works great! This year my twin did an amazing job shopping, I’m super excited about all the gifts that she picked out for me! After everyone left, Ray and Gracie and I crawled into bed for a snuggle. I absolutely love it when all three of us pile onto the bed and cuddle together, there’s something so comforting about it! (OK, that sounds weird if you don’t have a dog…maybe you don’t get the feeling….but we love it!) After our nap we had my work Christmas function, a comedy dinner club thing….not my bag but it turned out alright. The food is always mediocre and that style of comedy isn’t my thing…but it’s over now!
So what’s crammed in for this week? We’re going to the mall after dinner tonight (as late in the evening as we can, less crowds), tomorrow Ray’s son is coming over for pizza and beer (omelette and tea for me!) and on Wednesday is 35th BIRTHDAY!
I don’t want to say what we’re doing for birthday yet but Ray and I both have the day off and it’s going to be really cool, I’m pretty excited about it! I’ll post pictures and an update on either Wednesday night or Thursday morning!
Play!
I think this is what they mean by “balance”. These amazing looking chocolates are courtesy of my sister, the sweat is courtesy of me!
Fitty vs Fatty 
Thank you…I like the idea of curbing the 4:30 am alarms. I’m experimenting a bit to find something that works. Shocker: being flexible comes to mind. I’ve never been one to travel with a gym bag, but I do now! Never know when I will be able to sneak a sweat in… Good job all around. Just so glad you’re back to filling us all in regularly.