Moving Monday

It doesn’t look like we’re having Workout Wednesday this year so now we have Moving Monday:)

Exercise:

I started the day with a run, but had to content myself with the sidewalk. I could have come home on the trail, but was worried about making sure I got all my mileage in. I did manage to get 3.32km in which is fine with me:) I was faster than normal which really surprised me because it sure didn’t feel like it!

This afternoon after school we had our first bootcamp. I really tried to push myself because I’ve been feeling flabby and frumpy lately. We did: plank, mountain climbers, squat jacks, pushups to shoulder taps, front kicks, squat to shoulder press, reverse curls, front punches, bench step ups to burpees, single leg bench lunges, side lunges with hammer curls, bridge March, side wall balls. It felt great to be sweaty!

I just feel like I need to have a couple of days in a row of healthiness to get on a roll. I’m not gaining weight, but I’m not losing like I want to be:(

Teaching:

Monday is always tough as I feel like I have to retrain my students after the weekend.

The day didn’t start great as I had to encourage a mom to give her kid a hug and let her be independent. This of course, was the one who was standing waiting to be dressed last week!😖

We finally got our All About Me page done and put up, only a week late! I had some children using privacy screens so they could get their work done.

We started talking about bucket filling (being kind) and designed our own buckets. Of course right after that I had three boys go outside and have a huge fight on the playground🙄. I’m glad this stuff isn’t happening in the classroom, but I finally made it clear that they wouldn’t be going outside if they can’t handle it. I’m really not sure how much the office follows through with consequences. I was also thinking on the way home that maybe we need to put the boys in separate areas on the playground for now until they earn the privilege of playing together.

Finally this afternoon after planners and silent reading (the stamina didn’t increase today☹️), I introduced the class jobs and allowed them to pick their jobs. I’m thinking I need to keep better track of which jobs they do this year and how well they do them so it can be part of a report card comment.

That was my day and I was exhausted by the time I got home!

Eating:

I had a half a turkey and guacamole sandwich for breakfast, a breakfast taco and fruit for recess, a plum mixed with yogurt and cereal parfait for lunch and a feed of beet greens and two rice cakes with cream cheese and jam for lunch. Way too much food!!!!

Knitting:

I have finished two cowls that are the same pattern and yarn for my HPKCHC class this month. I’m glad their done and it was perfect timing as the designer got back to me with the stitch confirmation.

Well, I guess I’d better go to bed so I can get up and do it all again tomorrow.

Have fun!

AJ

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The First Day

I realize school started a week ago, but today was my first day with my class for the year. I was super nervous about it.

Exercise:

I got out this morning for my morning run and managed to be out the door at 6:30 so I’m happy with that as I didn’t want to have to get up any earlier! I got 3.47km in. I really want to make sure that on non-work days I get more mileage in so my body doesn’t get used to only doing 3km. At least this 3km ensures I am still on track this week:)

This evening I got a little bit of weight work done, 3 sets of 12 of the following:

Bicep curls, squats, front raises, calf raises, tricep kickbacks, bridge, shoulder press, deadlifts, sit ups, and Russian twists.

Teaching:

It was a truly exhausting day because I had to teach absolutely everything! We came in and sat down and I taught how to use the coatroom. We did a talking circle and everyone introduced themselves. 8/21 children challenged themselves to come up with something they liked that starts with the same letter as their name. Not bad for a straight grade one. I taught the bathroom routine, the recess routine, we read a story called First Day Jitters which I always love. We also read No David and brainstormed our rules. I always post the rules and have the children sign them and I had one little girl who didn’t plan on signing them because she didn’t plan on following them. Can you guess that this was the same girl who drove me nuts all day with her attitude and learned helplessness!!!

The children finally went home and I got to sit through a very painful staff meeting where nothing seemed to be decided and then did some more prep for tomorrow. I got home extremely late:(

Knitting:

I got a few rows done on my sweater:)

Eating:

A hard boiled egg, a mini kind bar, salad with chorizo sausage, grapes, cherry tomatoes and crackers.

Well I’m off to bed!

Have fun!

AJ

Calm Before the Storm

I decided I’d better try to have some quiet days as it is getting very close to when I’ll have no chance of that!

Exercise:

After enjoying a cup of tea in bed, I headed out for my run. I got about 4.5km in when the rain started pelting down. All I could do was tuck my phone in my sleeve and head for home as fast as I could. I finished 5.3km and the last kilometer was my fastest by far! I guess it’s time to put my phone in a bag on my runs again.

This evening I finally got back to my weight training as well. I did 3 sets of 12 of the following:

Calf raises, hamstring curls, reverse lunges, squats, deadlift, bridge, sit up, dead bug, chest press, flies, bent over rows, bicep curls, overhead tricep extension, front raise, and shoulder press.

It’s good to finally get back to it and now I just have to make it a habit!

Knitting:

I have spent most of the day in absolute silence working on my knitting. I am loving how the Not a Boring Sweater looks already, but it sure does take concentration and counting.

I am twenty rows into that yoke full of cabling. I think I’ll be thankful for the mindless stockinette when I get there! I am a little worried the sweater is going to be too big for me:(

Eating:

Not a bad day:

Banana with peanut butter and jam

Salmon burger

Blackberries

Carrot, celery, cucumber slices with guacamole and two ham sticks ( no idea, but I found them in my freezer).

Well I’m going to take a break and read or watch a chick flick.

Have fun!

AJ

Playing

It was a nice day:)

Exercise:

Once again I got out for a run. I really do prefer it when I wake up early enough for a snack before I run. I also found out the 8-9 hour is way too busy on the trail. Once again I didn’t feel like I was having a great run, but my pace was decent.

I really wanted to get more exercise in, but then I realized I needed to get going on some things if I’m leaving Saturday! I washed my kitchen floor, swept, vacuumed, did laundry and dishes instead of working out.

Socializing:

I met up with Anna and Emily and Anna’s boys at a local park today. It was great to spend a couple of hours with old, good friends. We ran around the playground and the water park and then went to a cafe for lunch. The boys were awesome and were asleep before they got out of the parking lot!

This afternoon I had a peaceful hour picking blackberries. I got a ton and didn’t even make it all the way around the area. I decided to just pick one big bowl full and deal with those before I go back to pick any more.

Reading:

I finished Hold On To Me by Jules Bennett today. I was so excited to be approved for this book as I have loved her others in the series.

The third installment in the Haven airport series.

Jade and Cash knew each other in school and became better acquainted when their friends paired off, however, they’ve never gotten along as they are opposites. One weekend in Nashville changes all of that!

I loved this third book in the series! The characters are complex and interesting and so well described. I definitely had a picture of them in my mind! The surrounding friend group is just as present and wonderful as it has been in the previous books. They really do round out the book beautifully.

The pace of this book is great! It’s definitely not insta love, in fact I wouldn’t say this perfectly follows any popular trope, but that just makes it better! There are no lulls you have to wade through, not any unrealistic moments.

I would highly recommend this book, though I would read the first two books in the series before this one.

Thanks to Jules Bennett, Kensington Books and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Eating:

I’ve had a weird eating day.

Breakfast- cheese and tomato omelette

Snack- vegan orchard cookie- the only thing the cafe had that I could eat

Lunch- shrimp plate from Costco

Dinner- cheese and crackers- I just couldn’t stop eating the crackers. I’m going to be mad at myself tomorrow for this!

Well I’m going to go find another book to read:)

Have fun!

AJ

Returning Home and Reading Galore

A holiday coming to an end is always tough!

Exercise:

Lyndsay and I got out this morning for a run. Seattle has a beautiful path along the water. Just head down to the water and it seems to run the whole way. I did about 7.2km while Lyndsay did almost the whole 10.8. It was gorgeous, cool, busy and it felt great!

This evening I went for my usual walk around the inlet:) It was truly a spectacular evening.

Eating:

After our run we got cleaned up and went in search of breakfast. We finally ended up at the Heart and Hunter in the Palihotel. I have to say that we’ve been super unimpressed with the service in Seattle and this place was no different. I ended up with fruit salad as that’s all they had that was gluten free and dairy free and it turned out to be just apple, banana and grapes. I have never seen such a monochromatic fruit salad before! This and tea cost me $13 and took over an hour to get and consume! I wasn’t impressed! Then the waiter took my Visa card and then proceeded to wander around doing every other job before coming back with my credit card:( Ugh I’m looking forward to having my own kitchen back!

Traveling:

We got checked out and headed home. It was a quiet trip as both my passengers napped. It was lovely until just north of Seattle my check engine light and VSC lights came on. All of my gauges stayed normal so I continued, but worried the whole way home:(

After a stop at Trader Joe’s we got home without incident:)

Reading:

I finished The Marquis she’s been Waiting For by Ella Quinn today.

What an excellent book! Lady Dorie is a strong woman with a lot of knowledge of how t run a household and an estate. Alex, Lord Exeter, has absolutely no knowledge, but just wants Dorie as a wife. Dorie is holding out for a love match, but perhaps during her lessons to him, they can both get what they want.

I loved the characters in this story. Dorie is a strong, capable woman who is not afraid to wait for what she wants. I also liked how Alex recognized her strengths and valued them.

The family was lovely as well!

This is definitely a sweet, rather than steamy read, but well worth reading if you enjoy historical romances. I am curious about the other books in the series, but this can definitely be read as a stand-alone.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

It must have been a reading day because I finished a second ARC called One Summer Weekend by Shannon Stacey.

The story of Carly and Noah. They have been friends forever, but while Carly is protecting Noah’s back- they may become more.

This story was super quick and cute! The perfect read for a day at the beach!

The friends to lovers plot line was well done and completely convincing! It also had a super cute HEA scene. I loved how it had an epilogue to let the reader know what happened later too.

Thanks to Shannon Stacey, Carina Press and NetGalley for the free ARC in e change for an honest review.

I am so exhausted that I’m off to bed! I will tackle pictures tomorrow as I missed be able to share what I was seeing with you all.

Have fun!

AJ

The To Do List

The to-do list ruled my day and even for me, it was a long one!

House:

I had people coming over this afternoon so got busy this morning getting my house cleaned and tidied. I should have people over more often- it would probably stay cleaner!

Exercise:

I got out for a 3km run this morning and it felt really good. I wasn’t pushing myself or worried about pace- just plodding along, which of course, meant I did better than normal. I did a total of 124.1km this month and have caught up on my monthly goal. I’ve actually gotten an extra 6km done and am hoping to do a little extra in August too to ease my September which is usually crazy busy!

I got a walk in this evening just because it was beautiful!

Baking:

I’m out with friends tomorrow and needed to do some baking, especially for Sally’s Monthly Baking Challenge which for July was no-Bake cheesecake. I really wasn’t sure how the cheesecake was going to turn out since I had to make it vegan, so I made some mini blueberry tarts first.

The cheesecake did turn out well and was super easy. I took one block of vegan cream cheese and mixed it with a tablespoon of lemon, the zest of a lemon, a teaspoon of vanilla, two tablespoons of sour cream and mixed it until it was smooth. I then mixed in a container of coco whip and poured it over a base of one cup of gluten free graham cracker crumbs mixed with two tablespoons vegan butter spread. On top of the cheesecake layer I made a blueberry sauce and did a layer of that. Blueberry sauce is so easy to make and only takes nine minutes! Put two cups of blueberries in a saucepan along with 1/3 cup sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla. In a small dish combine one tablespoon corn starch with two teaspoons water. Heat the blueberry mix over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves- about five minutes. Then mix in the cornstarch and stir until thickened- about three minutes. I threw a piece of mint on top of the cheesecake just so I could use more herbs from my garden:). I tested their recipe out on my friends this afternoon and they both said it was super yummy!

I’ll let you know what my friends tomorrow say.

Knitting:

I had to get all my yarn off my floor and put away today. I did end up being able to separate each weight into a separate box, though the worsted is actually in a garbage bag for now.

I had offered to teach my friend’s daughter to knit. I used to have a knitting club at school and have missed this element of my life this year.

I can’t believe how quickly Tavia caught on. She already had seven rows done in less than an hour! It would seem that she is a natural.

I also got some more of my summer tee done. I’m onto the endless stockinette in the round, so am watching movies as I knit forever!

Eating:

Today was supposed to be a super careful eating day, but trying the treats threw that out:(

I had a cheese omelette for breakfast, a poke bowl for lunch and mini tarts and cheesecake for dinner. I had to make sure I wasn’t going to poison anyone!

I was so happy to see that the poke bowl I’ve been eyeing was on sale, that I bought it without checking it out. Turned out it just had two packages of tuna and two packages of poke sauce in it and the poke sauce had gluten in it. Thankfully I discovered that before I ate it! I made a poke sauce and had one of the packages of tuna along with half an avocado. Yum!

Back to knitting!

Have fun!

AJ

Trivia Tuesday #16

Well my day had a few changes and was a lot cooler, but overall, quite a nice vacation day:)

Exercise:

I got out this morning for a 3km easy run. This is all bonus mileage for the month so didn’t want to go crazy, but wanted to stay in the routine. It’s a good thing I wasn’t going for time or anything as I got stopped by an old neighbor and talked with him for a while.

This evening I went out for a walk. I looked at doing a workout but didn’t want to get hot and sweaty before trivia so decided on a 6km walk instead. It was great to see one of my old students out running with her dad!

Socializing:

I met up with Corianne and Lyndsay to plan out our road trip to Seattle this weekend. I wasn’t much help until I had processed it all and responded this evening at 5pm. Boy am I a slow processor! I think we’re going to have a lot of fun!

Eating:

I had blueberries for breakfast and when I met up with Lyndsay and Corianne I gave into temptation and had the waffles at Green Mustache again. Cori and I really should have shared it as it was entirely too much food for me! I hope she’s willing to share food this weekend!

For dinner I am super proud of myself for making the decision to eat a salmon patty at home and just have a sangria at the pub.

I worked out that 20% of my meals for the week is four meals and that’s been really helping me lately to stay on track. I know my weekend will all be out so I have to keep this in mind!

Knitting:

I have spent some more time sorting my yarn by weight and it seems to be going okay. I just have to decide now if I’m going to group lace, light fingering and fingering in one box, sport and DK in another and worsted and bulky in a third or try to have each on a separate box. Thoughts and opinions are appreciated:)

I’ve also been knitting on my crewneck, raglan sweater and am quite happy with it, though as usual I am worried it’s going to be too big:(

I had to pass two tops onto Lyndsay and Cori today as they are just too big for me.

Trivia:

It was just the three of us and you could definitely tell!

What I knew:

A popular song by Chumbawumba?

Tubthumping

The next five words in the song American Pie?

How to dance real slow

How is insulation rated?

R Value

What is the number one tho g men ask their wives for permission?

Going out with the guys

Put these fractions in order smallest to greatest.

7/12, 5/8, 2/3

What is an Elvis Presley song with Blue in the title?

Blue Suede Shoes

A song by Faith Hill…

Breathe

The number one hit song from 2018? (Shown a picture of the singers)

Shallow by Lady Gaga

What was the job of the seven dwarves?

Miners

What is the most important book to Muslims?

Quran

Who was James Bond’s secretary?

Miss Moneypenny

Who produced and co-wrote Uptown Funk?

Mark Ronson

Well that’s it for me as I have a new book to read:)

Have fun!

AJ

Workout Wednesday Prevailed

I really didn’t plan on a lot of activity today, but it happened anyway.

Eating:

I was still so full from pub food from last night that I haven’t been very hungry today. I’ve had: shrimp plate (boy do I love the Costco shrimp plate), Greek salad, 6 crackers and cheese.

Reading:

I finished the second book in Alexa Martin’s Playbook series, called Fumbled. I think I liked this book even more than the first (which is saying a lot) because the drama was dialed back a bit and it had a deeper issue in it. It’s still another awesome beach read and I can’t imagine that I have to wait for December for the third book!!!

Knitting:

I am knitting away on the blanket, but the ball of yarn isn’t getting smaller and the blanket doesn’t seem to be getting bigger. I have promised myself that I will use the whole ball of yarn so I don’t have to add it to my stash count, but I think this may turn into a full size afghan. I really wish I was knitting a sweater right now!

Socializing:

I met up with my friend Anna and her two sons today. I always love spending time with them as the boys are adorable and so well behaved. Anna really is amazing with them. We walked over to the playground (getting a tea on the way) and just hung out and played with the boys. It was such a lovely afternoon!!!

Sammy insisted on wearing his “helmet” as Ruben had to wear his because he was on his bike.

Exercise:

I really planned on just my one run this morning. I went out and around the park this morning. Of course it managed to pour rain on me for about ten minutes in the middle of it. I definitely saw that reflected in my pace as I slowed to try and figure out how to protect my phone:( The run really was fine though and I felt strong. I did 4.52km at a 6:45 average. I know that’s not fast for most people, but it’s decent for me.

This afternoon my friend Sarah texted me to see if I wanted to run Bert Flynn with her. I’m not one to ever turn down a run, so of course I said yes. We did about 4km around the trails in there and it was lovely and cool as the day had heated up. When I run with Sarah, I keep in mind that I have a mileage goal this year, not a pace goal. I just slow down and enjoy the scenery and the company as it isn’t often I have company!

I haven’t decided what to do about my trail run tomorrow night. I’m not super excited about going for a few reasons. Now that Dennis has broken his foot, I really won’t know anyone, they are obsessed with elevation and that’s not what I was looking for, my knees hurt from all the up and down:(. I’ve paid for it though and know it’s good for me and it would get me out of my comfort zone. Ugh why do pros and cons have to be even?!?!

As I was knitting away this evening I was listening to another episode of the Marathon Training Academy podcast. It was about weight loss for marathoners. It was great to listen to this, even though I’m not a marathoner, because my goal this summer has been to get back to my favourite weight/shape where I feel amazing. I was reminded of a lot of good things by this podcast and recommend it for anyone who needs some tips or reminders. They also set out an easy weights workout that I was inspired to do this evening.

I did 3 sets of 15 reps or 30 seconds of the following:

Forward lunges

Squats (while getting my butt as far down towards the ground as possible)

Calf raises

Plank

Side plank

Superman

Bridge

I did each of these slower than usual so I could really ensure proper form. It was a nice, quick workout and only took 22 minutes, but at least it was something!

Well I’m going to go watch a movie and knit again.

Have fun!

AJ

Returning Home

It was time to come back to reality and let my parents return to their normal schedule.

I grabbed a flight first thing this morning and made it back in time for tea with my running buddies, though not without a little train drama:( Note to self- they do track maintenance before ten on Sunday mornings.

After a lovely tea where I caught up on all the news- a holiday, a broken foot and a family crisis, I settled in at home.

Reading:

I finished the book, Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren. This is the story of Olive and Ethan. Through many misinterpretations they have remained enemies for the past three years, until a ghastly family wedding leads to them going on the honeymoon trip together. Thankfully what happens in Maui doesn’t stay in Maui!

I loved this book! I started it yesterday and could barely put it down. The characters were funny and realistic and I was rooting for them from the start.

The plot had a great pace and was hilarious without being super unrealistic. I even laughed out loud and grinned a few times.

It had romance in it for sure, but was on the sweeter, rather than steamier side.

This would be an excellent book to take to the beach, though you may get sunburned as you’ll get so engrossed you’ll forget to reapply the sunscreen.🤣

Knitting:

I have finished all the yarn I had for the baby afghan. Right now it is 54″ by 21″. The question is do I rip it out and make it 27″ square or do I go buy another ball of yarn( assuming I can still find it)?

Exercise:

It was also back to reality for exercising. It was super hot so I didn’t end up running, but went for a walk around the inlet and did a Lyndsay workout.

My workout had a warm up of skipping, jogging, arm circles, leg swings and running man.

I then did 45 second sets of:

Lateral step ups – right and left

Up downs

Lunges – right and left

Mountain climbers

Jumping jacks

Tricep dips

Squat jacks

Plank jacks

Pushups

Pop jacks

Twisting mountain climbers

A tabata of burpees and mogul skier.

Then 30 seconds each of:

Alternating v ups

Plank hip dips

Straight leg raise to reverse crunch

Russian twists

Hopefully this will get me back into track after my lovely holiday.

Eating:

Six crackers

Cucumber with vegan cheese

One seafood cannelloni shell

One ice cream cone

I’ll have to get back to more fruits and veggies now that I am home. I’ll need to take an inventory and maybe hit the grocery store at some point. I do better with an emptier fridge though so I don’t want to go crazy!

Otherwise I have had a nap and been listening once again to The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James on LibriVox. It has been nice to have a quiet day and I’m looking forward to my own bed tonight.

Have fun!

AJ

Nice To See You Friday!

It was a really nice, low key day!

Reading:

I admit I didn’t hop right out of bed this morning, but lounged, reading Picture Perfect Wedding. I also finished it and really enjoyed it for what it was- a light, fun read. The characters were well depicted, interesting and I loved the backdrop of Misty Bottoms Georgia as it sounded like a great place to live!

Exercise:

I did finally get out of bed and exercise. I did a quick circuit that Lyndsay had given me. It has three rounds- the first is 45 seconds and then the next two are 30 seconds, all with 15 seconds of rest. You do:

Right leg step ups

Left leg step ups

Dips

Bench mountain climbers

Frogged jumps

Bench squats

Bench pushups

Bench plank jacks

Bench knee tucks

Bench hip bridges

I was definitely a little sweaty by the end.

I did finally get out for a run late this afternoon. I really didn’t want to go for some reason, but managed to get my usual 3.56km in. I am happy to say I am 11km ahead so far this month and hopefully o can maintain that!

Socializing:

I met up with my friend Corianne for lunch today at Browns. It was nice to sit and catch-up. Some friends are just so easy to be with.

We then took the opportunity to wander the village looking at the shops, but managed to buy nothing:)

We also hit the library where I wasn’t so self-disciplined!

Eating:

Not a bad day:

Breakfast- cherries

Lunch- tuna poke bowl, 1 mini cherry tart (thankfully I have the rest away and froze a couple)

Snack- iced chai latte with almond milk

Hmmm I guess I haven’t really eaten since lunch, but I also haven’t been hungry after eating the entire bowl!

Knitting:

I managed to finish my sleeve for the second time so tomorrow I will try sewing it into the rest of the sweater and see if I am happier with the results. For such a simple sweater, this sure is taking forever!

Well, not a super exciting day, but probably just what I needed. I also managed to not take a nap, so hopefully I’ll stop sleeping in so late!

Have fun!

AJ