Training 2011

Guess what I have started?

That's right my training!! I even registered for my "Give - It - A - Tri". This one is on the Toronto Islands. Same as last year. It is on August 27th. I am oh-so-very-excited for it. I'm training and working as hard as I can!

This past month in my training I have:

Cycled 114km's for a total of 3 hours and 45-ish minutes,
Swam for about 6.9km's which took me 2 hours and 52 minutes, and
Walked one walk, which was 2.1kms and was a grand total for time of 21 minutes.

I've also been working on my "Core Fitness" so I've done a total of 800 sit ups, 30 planks (holding for at the beginning of the month 10 seconds, I'm now up to 12 seconds each, 10 seconds between) in about 40 minutes or so. It used to take me 5 minutes to do 100 sit ups. But now I can do it around 3 minutes and 30 seconds, or less. I'm getting there!!

My goal for sit ups this year is 10,000. This means my 800 sit ups are doing something!!

One of my favourite things about my sit ups is having Kyler and Quinton watch me. Kyler does some in gymnastics and he knew he needed someone to sit on his feet. It was so cute to have him ask someone for help. For me, I put my legs up on a box and Quinton sits on them. This is an example of the view I have while doing my sit ups:






He even counts them off for me. Sometimes we skip a few numbers, and sometimes we go back to the beginning after getting to 10 or 15 but I know he is doing his best as my "trainer"

I've Personal Best'ed (PB'ed) almost every Thursday swim this year. My last one was 1750m's in the pool. It took me 44 minutes to do that. That is 70 laps of the pool, with an average of each lap taking me 40 seconds per lap. Which, for me, isn't too bad. I'm going to try mixing it up a bit.

I have talked to a few of my favourite lifeguards about this and one said one day do distance distance distance, the next day do sprint sprint sprint. So For now Thursdays are my "Kick my PB in the face" days, which makes Fridays my "time trials" and my sprint, sprint sprint days. Hopefully I can make it work for me and get some better times in the lake.

I've been biking in the garage alot this month. I try to get out every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for a bit of time. Generally around 15 to 20 minutes has been my goal. My goal by the end of this month (jan) was to be out there at least 20 minutes 2 times a week. This is about 10kms for me. I have done that!! Go me! Next month I plan on getting out there for about 26ish minutes 2 times a week. This means I have to up my game a bit in the next few weeks. I'm getting excited about the challenges.

Along with all the wonderful stuff of working out comes being sore! I can't believe how bad some of my muscles hurt and how long they hurt for. It's crazy. I'm excited for getting some new cycling clothing to get this bum to stop hurting (in the mean time I'm dawning my cycling shorts 3 times a week now to give my tail bone a bit of extra padding).

And to step up my game I'm trying to lose some weight. Last year, by exercising, eating healthy and being careful not to eat *too* much junk I lost 15 pounds. This year I'm aiming to do about 30 pounds, or there about. For the Month of Jan I have lost 3.6lbs. It might not seem like alot but I know it's helping. My shoulders have stopped hurting so much and I'm having to pull up my new pants more.

I won't lie and say it's easy to lost weight. I've had to give up on some cravings; change them; or try something that isn't going to change my weight too much. I'm also noticing that my body will tell me if I had junk, or something it can't handle. For example I had a chocolate bar last week. I was craving chocolate so bad I had a twix bar and some of a toblerone bar. Well, let me tell you, this body did not like the "junk". Rule of thumb, nothing bigger than my thumb when it comes to "junk". And I think my body can handle it. So no huge pieces of chocolate cake, no large chocolate bars, no 2 "fingers" of the twix bar at once. It does mean a change but it works for me!

All in all my training is going well. Jan's total Kms is 122.

Only 7 more months until the Triathlon!

Photo Catch Up #2

Lets be honest, I just don't have time to post *everything* that happens so here is my catch ups from the past month

While we were at Nana and Papa's house this past month Quinton decided to "chill out" in the train box:





After a movie (and Nana's nap) they all headed out into the hot tub. What cuties! Love their hats?










On Thursday the 27th, Quinton was playing around with my camera. In return I got this shot of him:

Sweet Nothings, Part 2

Last year around this time I wrote a post about "Sweet Nothings". I was reminded of this post this weekend.

Our family had our first "family day" of the year this past weekend and had a wonderful time. We went out and did some things as a family that we don't normally get to do. One of the things we did was watching a movie. We got to see "Tangled". It's such a cute movie. And to spoil it a bit... When the girl and the guy share their first kiss I swear I could see at least 3 or 4 couples in the theater lean over and kiss each other. What sweethearts. I remember when Arnold and I used to do that. This time we had 1 sleeping child and 1 wide awake child between us.

Another "Sweet nothing" was today at church. For those of you who have family members who regularly do things in church you may understand this. Arnold and I have *almost* never sat together since becoming members at this church. In fact the last time we had the chance to sit together was when Arnold's parents came, and I was so "not used" to it that I sat in my normal seat with friends on one side and his parents on the other. It was just so strange. This Sunday, somehow, we got to sit beside each other. The sound booth was taken care of and we could actually sit BESIDE each other. It was so nice to have his arm around me during the service and to have that extra bit of "warmth" beside me. It was so nice.

All I could think of was when you first started dating someone and you would hold hands on the bench where "no one could see" and eventually move closer and closer to each other. Those butterflies that are there and that feeling of "wow, this person really likes/loves me to show the whole church we are holding hands" during prayer or a song. That's how it felt today. Wow, Arnold really loves me enough to not be afraid to show it in the church, in front of all these people.

Ahhh sweet nothings.

New Food Friday #9 ~ Hash brown casserole (with ham)

Thursday was Day #3 of our new food this week. Our plans for tonight's new food is being moved to tomorrow so next week will have a few as well!

Hash brown Casserole with Ham

10 oz of Condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup of finely chopped onion
1 cup of non-fat sour cream
1 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of pepper
2.25 pounds of Frozen has brown potatoes
1 cup of grated sharp Cheddar Cheese
2 cups of cooked ham cubed

Topping:
1 Tablespoon of hard margarine (or butter)
1/4 cup of corn flake crumbs

1 - Stir first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Add potatoes, cheese and ham. Turn into slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours.

2 - To make the topping, melt margarine/butter in small saucepan. Stir in cornflake crumbs. Saute until crisp. Scatter over top before serving. Makes 6 to 8 cups.

Miranda's Mix Ups: There is no ham called for in this one but to make a "side dish" a real one I added in what I had in the freezer, which was left over ham cubed up from when I had something else that needed ham. I also didn't have any cornflakes so rice krispies it was! Oh and no cream of mushroom soup in our house, so we used cheddar cheese soup.

Family Review:
Q - gaged... we were having one of "those" nights
K - at it all
Arnold - Said it was ok. He would eat it again but not begging for it
Miranda - Really enjoyed it. Super easy and nice to make. Next time I might put in Cream of Broccoli and maybe some actual frozen broccoli but who knows!

New Food Friday #8 ~ Maple Chicken Fettuccine

Today night we had a wonderful Chicken meal. It tasted really good!


Maple Chicken Fettuccine

10 oz dried fettuccine
5 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1.5 pounds total)
Salt and ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 - 16oz package of frozen stir-fry vegetables
3/4 cup of chicken broth
1 Tablespoon of cornstarch
1 teaspoon snipped fresh rosemary
1/8 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1/4 cup of maple syrup

1 - Cool pasta according to package directions; drain. Set aside and keep warm. Meanwhile, season chicken with salt and black pepper. In a large skillet, cook chicken in hot oil over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes or until an instant thermometer inserted in chicken registers 170F, turning once. Remove from skillet' keep warm. Increase heat to medium-high. Add frozen vegetables; cook and stir 6 to 8 minutes or until crisp-tender.

2 - In a small bowl, combine broth, cornstarch, rosemary, and black pepper. Add to skillet. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Stir in maple syrup. To serve arrange hot pasta in shallow bowls. Top with chicken. Spoon vegetables and sauce over chicken.

Make 5 servings.

Miranda's Mix-ups: I didn't have 1.5 pounds of chicken. Instead I make it go farther by cutting it up. I seasoned them then cut them into smaller pieces. I also couldn't find stir-fry vegetables so I used what I could find. This ended up being peas, carrots, baby corn, peas. Also the store didn't have rosemary fresh so I used my dry stuff at home. And another, I know I know. I didn't read right and I added the maple syrup to the bowl. So I cooked everything together. I had chicken, and veggies and sauce all in the same frying pan (less to clean up later).

Family Reviews:
Q - loved the noodles and corn. He ate a bit of chicken but not too much
K- asked for seconds
Arnold - Ate it but not his thing.
Miranda - It had a nice flavour to it. I shouldn't have taken so much pasta but it was yummy!

New Food Friday #7 ~ Quick Pizza Rolls

Monday night was the beginning of our crazy week of new food! We have 3 new foods this week, that I'm making at least! I'll add in our new ones this weekend we have planned.

On the weekend I picked up some "bread bowls" that would have worked. And on Monday, I went to work. It's a great meal, similar to chili in a bowl.

Quick Pizza Rolls

1 pound of ground beef
1/2 cup of chipped green pepper
1/4 cup of chopped onion
1 can (8oz) of tomato sauce
1 can (6oz) of tomato paste
1/4 cup of water
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon of salt
6 French Rolls
3/4 cup of shredded cheddar Cheese
3/4 cup of shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1 - In a large skillet, cook the beef, pepper and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, garlic, sugar, Italian seasoning and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes or until heated through.

2 - Cut 1/4inch off the top of each roll; set aside. Carefully hollow out bottom of roll leaving in a 1/4 inch shell (discard removed bread, or save for another use). Fill each roll with 1/2 cup meat mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Replace bread tops.

3 - Place desired amount of sandwiches on a baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 10 to 15 minutes or until heated through. Individually wrap remaining sandwiches tightly in foil; freeze for up to 3 months.

TO USE FROZEN SANDWICHES: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Place foil-wrapped sandwiches on baking sheet and bake for 30 to 35 minutes at 350F or until heated through.


Miranda's Mix-Ups: As normal, no green peppers. Everything else was about the same. I didn't have French Rolls and I would TOTALLY use them next time. The buns we had made it a little hard to eat after heating.

Family Reviews:
Q - didn't eat the bread but ate the meat mixture, asking for more
K - Ate some of the bun but really liked the meat mixture
Arnold - had 3 helpings (I guess he liked it!)
Me - Good. Really similar to chili in a bowl and may make this version for Arnold for the superbowl!

Arnold

Arnold is my husband, for those who haven't caught on. And I love him. More than I can ever tell you. We have been working on our relationship and strengthening what is already there. It's easy to understand that once you add children into your relationship things change. We added to our family quiet early. Don't get me wrong we love our boys to the end of the world and beyond but we did add early. Kyler was born less than a year into our married life. Our "alone" time ended once we got pregnant.

We are now beginning to realize we still need that alone time. Our babysitters are LOVING this part of our relationship! They have been getting alot of hours and Arnold and I have been able to go out, spend time together and not worry about our little ones at home.

Last year we challenged each other to read the book called "The 5 Love Languages. We got this book from my Brother-in-law and Sister-in-law when we got married. Yes, it took us this long to read it but it was good for us to do now and not then. We have learned alot about each other and now, about our love languages.

My love language gift is "receiving gifts". Which is no surprise. I mean my parents even knew this when Arnold asked if he could marry me and my parent's response was "If you can afford her you can have her". Go figure!

I have to say that I'm loving that we are working with each other to fill up our love tanks. This week has been wonderful! Arnold has been incredible knowing that it's been a rough week. His work has been crazy and with having other things to go to I've been keeping the house, dealing with sick little boys and still managing to get somethings done.

Arnold started bringing home gifts for me at the beginning of the year. Little things every once and a while. One time it was a Twix bar, another time it was a Booster Juice (my fav!). But this week was so wonderful.

The boys and I were gone this weekend and when I came home and we turned on the TV on Monday for the boys I found this:



Awe so sweet right? It gets better! Arnold had a friend from work drop him off at the grocery store on his way home. And when he got to our house he had another little gift for me.

Please, tell me if this could be any more beautiful!





















I love you Arnold. Thank you, for everything.

Cookies!! Bonus "New Food Fridays" #6 ~ Honey Cookies

This weekend in Sarnia, Uncle Jack and I helped the kids make some cookies. Papa was wonderful enough to come along and take some photos for us.

Honey Cookies

3/4 cup of Honey
4 tablespoons of butter
4.5 cups of four
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
2 eggs
3/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of finely chopped almonds
1/3 cup of finely chopped candied citron
1 tablespoon of grated lemon rind

1 - Heat honey and butter in sauce pan until boiling, remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm

2 - Sift flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg on wax paper

3 - Beat eggs until fluffy and add sugar. Slowly add in honey mixture. Begin to add almonds, candied citron and lemon rinds. Gradually add in flour mixture mix in well. Cool overnight

4 - Roll dough out, one quarter at a time onto a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out any shapes and place them on a greased cookie sheet.

5 - Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Remove from sheet and let cool. Decorate as desired.



We didn't let it go overnight (we put it in the "cold room" for about an hour or so. And we ended up putting the pot in the snow to have it cool down faster!!

Here are the photos of our fun:

Wordless Wednesdays ~ Love Food

Photo Catch Up #1

Making our V-Day cards:















And making random things... these boys are STRONG!