Fitness Friday: Goals

 

I think I have mentioned before, that my goal has always been, to be  fitter after having children than I was beforehand. That means being fitter than I was when I did a half ironman, a marathon and numerous other races. I have realized, though, that while I love running, biking and swimming, those activities have little effect on my overall physique. My body looks the same whether I am running a hour a day or nothing at all. Furthermore, while long distance running comes easily to me,  doing push-ups does not. It is for that reason that I have decided to focus on weightlifting. I want to do something that not only has the potential to transform this body of mine but also make it STRONG!

 

During the winter months, when I was sleep deprived and nursing Levi around the clock, all I could manage was a Jillian Michel's video workout every other evening. By the summer I was ready to attempt a crazy video series called insanity. It was INTENSE. I have never sweat that much in my life. By the end of each session, I was a sweaty heap on the floor. Over the past couple of weeks I have started using a workout routine I found on bodybuilding.com. While I still do the odd video workout during Nathaniel's work week, I  try to hit gym on his days off. I am slowly learning how to use the machines and the free-weights. I must admit that I am enjoying this new journey. I am enjoying the soreness afterwards that lets me know that I pushed myself. I am learning to love squats and deadlifts.  I can do more push-ups now that I ever thought was possible and I can even do a few chin ups. I feel empowered, strong and excited about this next chapter of my life.

 

 

 

Glamour Shot

Don't I look glamorous? This is for those of you who think I have it all together. Not so.

This is me at 2pm in the afternoon,  in my pj's, covered with Levi's blood and pureed mango. I wish I could tell you that this is uncommon, but its not. 

 

Levi is particularly challenging these days. Somehow I forgot about this stage. The one where they are constantly impaling themselves, refusing to eat, climbing everything in sight, waking up at the crack of dawn, consumed with a constant need to be held and have an infatuation with toilets and toilet paper. Have I forgotten anything? Oh, right, the perpetual teething.

 It's pure bliss, I assure you.

 

 I KNOW that I experienced this stage twice before, so it shouldn't come as a surprise//shock to the system,  but it has been. It's been exhausting.  Stages like this remind me that I am more than content with my brood of three chicks.

 

That being said, I am SO thankful that he is still nursing. While I axed nursing at night about a month ago, I continue nurse him on demand throughout the day in an attempt preserve our mutual sanity.

Nursing a toddler is both immensely rewarding and precarious. Rather than lying demurely beside you, gazing into your eyes, they twist and turn and squirm into positions that you never thought it  possible to nurse in. They stand and climb over you, all the while securely attached.  Once and awhile I get a good bite, but for the most part nursing has been immensely restorative for both of us.
It's all about survival people!

 

Pumpkin Spice Whoppie Pies

 Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies are a fall favorite in our home. If you are not familiar with this delicious treat, just imagine two cake like cookies joined together with cinnamon spiced marshmallow spice filling.

 

 

 Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies

 

1/2 cup of butter melted

1/4 cup of butter softened

1 cup of light brown sugar

2 eggs, at room temp, lightly beaten

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. plus two pinches of salt

1 2/3 cups flour

4 oz cream cheese

1 cup confectioners sugar

1/2 of 7oz jar of marshmallow cream

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

 

In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in the egg, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice 1 teaspoon vanilla, the baking powder, baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour.

 

Using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon, drop 12 generous mounds of batter, spaced evenly, onto each baking sheet. bake until springy to the touch, about 10 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool completely.

 

Marshmallow Spice Filling

 

Beat together 1/2 cup of softened butter  and one 8oz package of  softened crème cheese. Add two cups of sifted powered sugar , 1/2 of a 7oz jar of marshmallow cream, 1 tsp. of vanilla, 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon and nutmeg. beat until well combined.

 

Spread the flat side of the 12 cakes with the cream cheese frosting. Top each with another. You could also just slice one cookie in half and put the frosting inside if you don't want a sugar coma.  

 

 

These Days: October

Enjoying
Having my husband home, as he has been away a lot the past two months.

Listening

"Your favorite Coffee House" mix on spotify
 

Reading
My stash of fall décor magazines & The Book Of Mormon

Feeling
Healthy and strong

 

Learning

 About the Mormon faith.

 

Drinking
Zhena's gypsy coconut chai green tea

Wearing
My new dark denim gap skinny jeans with a black lace top and some boho jewelry I found at value village a few weeks ago

Blog Loving
This wild and precious life

 

Struggling

To get Levi to sit still long enough to eat.

Doing
A LOT of baking
(pumpkin spice whoopee pies, granola bars, butternut muffins to name a few)

Starting
To finally use the "manual" setting on my digital SLR

Interested in reading
Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne 

 

Loving

The face lift I gave my blog last night

 

Attempting
To de-clutter my craft room and bake with less sugar and white flour 

 

Watching
A reality show about a crew of people working on a yacht called "Below Deck"
   

Eating
A lot of wraps. Essentially, they salads wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla.
 

Thinking
It would be a good idea to get started on my Christmas cards since it takes me ages to write heartfelt notes in each of them.



 

This girl

This lovely, vivacious girl is incredible. I find myself falling in love with her more and more each day. She is strong, intelligent, charismatic, passionate, brave and creative.  She is feisty and loud but possesses incredible leadership abilities. The attributes that drove me crazy in her toddler and preschool years have helped her become the incredible young woman she is today.

 



Quote of the week: C.S. Lewis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mudderella 2015

 

I recently returned from a delicious weekend away in Whistler. It was a whirlwind of late nights, delicious food, wine, mud, conversation, shopping and a delicious evening at a spa.

*Bliss*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I am so glad Jennifer had her iPhone  in a zip lock bag and was able to take some photos of our actual race.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The value of time apart

 

It is days like today that remind me how important it is to give your life partner time. .. time to pursue the hobbies that give them purpose outside their role as a parent or husband. Time to fill up their reservoirs.

Nathaniel uses his "free" time to do a variety of  things. Sometimes it is a two hour jaunt in a tree stand twenty minutes from home. Other times, it is ten day trip into the wilderness to hunt caribou. Sometimes it means searching for bonsai, admiring rare varieties of orchids, doing woodworking in his shop, searching for creatures in tidal pools, tending his bee hives, working in the garden we have at a farm across the road, shooting his bow in the meadow behind our home, snorkeling in the ocean, mountain biking with a friend, working out in the gym, rock climbing, or fly fishing.

Thankfully, Nathaniel also understands how essential it is for me to have hobbies outside of my role as a mother and a wife.  I use my "free time" to run, breath new life into furniture, journal, ride my bike, read, blog, re-arrange furniture in my house, make cards for my friends, take photos, document my family's memories, lift weights, have tea and good quality conversation with a friend, bake, play dress up, and have the odd weekend away with girlfriends.

 

I feel as though these hobbies allow us to grow and invest in ourselves as well as our relationship. While Nathaniel is my partner in life, I can't possibly expect him to  fulfill all my complex and varied needs. To do so would be unfair and unrealistic. Having time away to pursue our interests allows us to draw from something other than each other to fill us up.  I have NO desire to spend two weeks in the wilderness hunting for some elusive beast, but I am more that happy to send him with a guy who is over the moon to do so. When my husband returns he is beaming from ear to ear, elated, tanned, bearded and smelling of evergreens. Conversely, he has NO desire to spend hours having deep conversations or go trail running through the woods. Thankfully I have girlfriends who are just as enthusiastic as I am about doing those things. *BLISS*
Being away from each other gives us chance to appreciate each other. I KNOW my husband appreciates me on another level after he has taken care of three children on his own for a weekend, and I appreciate him when he returns from a hunting trip because he pounces on me like a wild animal. *snicker*

More than anything, I love that we continue to find one another interesting.