Simple Ways to Move Your Butt

Hi there!

I discussed the importance of exercise in my last post, and it might have gotten a few eye rolls, but I hope it also offered some encouragement.

I understand that life is busy and that it can be really difficult to find the time to exercise. Between a 10 hour work day (which includes my commute), getting dinner and lunches ready, hanging out with my kiddo, walking Parker, cleaning the house….and ahem…watching The Bachelor, sometimes the last thing I want to do is work out. But I do it anyway. I look at it as a part of my schedule, just like brushing my teeth. And I feel much better because of it. There’s never a time when I’m like “dammit, I sure wish I skipped that workout!” It could also have something to do with my intense stubborn streak…I’m a Taurus so there’s that.

I’m making myself sound like some hardcore athlete/gym rat here which is totally not the case. Since Ryland was born, I actually only go to the gym about 3 days per week for an hour tops. I do a spin class on Monday nights and about 30 minutes of cardio + 15 minutes of resistance training mixed with a few pilates moves on the other 2 days. There was a time in my life that I was at the gym six days per week, 2 hours per day. I can guarantee that part of history won’t be repeating itself.

About once a week I take Parker for a 5k round trip hike close to our house. It’s quick and easy, but I always get my heart rate up and break a sweat. The other days mainly consist of lots of walking. And I am a FAST walker. I could never go for a leisurely stroll, my legs just won’t let me. I pop Ryland into the baby carrier for some of our walks to add resistance (26+ lbs to be exact!).

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Point is, I move everyday. I take stairs instead of elevators and I walk at any available opportunity. To and from the train station, on my lunch breaks, around the office a couple times a day to stretch my legs. I get all twitchy if I sit too long. Sometimes I’ll just randomly do some squats. I used to do them while holding Ryland…but that’s getting a little too difficult these days ;).

Ok, ok, so now that I’ve covered what I do, let’s talk about what you can do!

• If you loooove vegging out in front of the TV, do jumping jacks during commercial breaks. Or sit-ups. Or squats. Or all 3.
• You can also do one or all of these things during bathroom breaks.
• If you have a set of stairs that is accessible to you, climb them once a day.
• Park your car at the far end of the parking lot.
• Put on music and dance!
• Follow workout videos on YouTube or buy your own.
• Walk, walk, walk. If your destination is within walking distance, walk there!
• Get a pedometer. You’ll be more inclined to move if you’re trying to reach a goal.
• If you work at a desk all day, write/set little reminders to get up and stretch your legs here and there.
• Love dogs? Thought about getting one? Do it! They’ll get you out walking everyday!
• Join something. Always wanted to try salsa? Yoga? Go for it! It all counts as exercise!
• Get a workout buddy. Encourage and motivate each other to stick with it.
• Explore the outdoors. Find local trails and hikes and get out there. There’s nothing better than fresh air and dirt under your feet. (Well, under your shoes).
• Live by the mountains? Go snowshoeing or skiing. Live by the water? Go for a swim. (Assuming the water is clean and warm-ish). I love swimming but I’m not a fan of public pools so I try to get to some nice lakes during the summer.
• Sign up for a walk/run for a good cause and start training for it.
• Get a trial membership to a gym. Give it a few sessions before you decide to sign up.

Once your start incorporating little bits of physical activity into your daily routine, it will get easier and easier and you’ll continue to add on to those little bits. You’ll start to feel better and that right there is one of the biggest motivators to continue moving. It’s never too early or too late to start. I also find that the more active I am, the healthier my food choices are.

I try to do bits of exercise in front of Ryland and I also make sure he gets outside everyday (unless it’s even too miserable out for Parker). One of my biggest mom goals is to make sure Ryland knows just how important it is to be active. When I was a kid, I was always outside. Rollerblading, swimming, riding my bike, playing soccer or softball, running around with friends. Sure I watched a bit of TV, but it was never my first choice and my parents made sure of it.

With all this being said, I’m also human and I definitely have moments or days when I’m just a lazy sloth. And we’re all allowed that once in awhile. If I go away on a tropical vacation, I do not step foot into the hotel gym. I say I will, but I don’t. You’ll find me on the beach or at the pool bar, thanks. With high-calorie margaritas and snacks in hand.

This was taken on our honeymoon in the Bahamas a few years ago. There was most definitely a Corona in front of me!

This post was meant to be encouraging and motivational…I very much hope that it was!

Have a great day :D.

 

Friday Favorites

Hi!

Seriously, TGIF. It was nice to have a little break from work on Wednesday, but it was so busy the other 3 days that I felt like my head was spinning. In case anyone’s interested in what I do for a living, I’m a legal assistant. It’s a good job, great company…do I want to do it for the rest of my working life? Not so much. I’m really hoping to go somewhere with the whole nutrition deal.

Anyway.

A few blogs that I follow do this “Friday Favorites” thing so I thought I’d have a go at it. But first, here’s a picture from a Remembrance Day parade that we went to. It was a really great event. I started to get choked up thinking about my Grandpas and all of the other amazing men & women out there. There really is a lot of good in this world.

Before we went to the parade, I put together this smoothie bowl.

It was super tasty and refreshing, and of course packed full of nutrients.

I. LOVE. PEANUT BUTTER. Usually just the all natural, unsalted, unsweetened stuff, but I bought a jar of this stuff and it’s ridiculous.

How much is too much PB??

They have a few different flavors which you can bet I’ll be trying as soon as this jar is done. Which will probably be in the very near future :/.

It’s currently cold, grey, and rainy, but it was gorgeous on Remembrance Day. There’s just something so beautiful about fall colours. Not to mention that handsome fellow sitting all pretty for the camera.

And then there’s this face, my favorite face in the world. I just can’t get enough of this guy.

Sometimes I miss how tiny he used to be (well all the time, actually), but he’s just so much fun these days! A few weeks ago he started giving us really tight hugs…my heart explodes every. single. time.

And of course Fridays themselves are a favorite of mine. Even though they’re just a little different since Ryland came along ;).

A few girlfriends and I are going out for a little girls night tonight so I’m pretty excited about that. They definitely don’t happen as often as we’d like…life is really friggen busy when you’re a grownup! We also have a mini family photo shoot on Sunday so I should have some pretty awesome pictures to share next week. Other than that…the usual weekend chores will surely be calling my name. Yay :/.

Have a great weekend!

Beat it, Cancer!

Hey hey! How was the weekend for ya? Awesome, I hope. Mine was pretty good. Did a little baking, hiking, wine tasting…as in the better part of an entire bottle. Fine, the entire bottle. I also participated in the CIBC Run for the Cure yesterday in support of a coworker of mine that is unfortunately battling breast cancer. She’s just started chemotherapy but managed to make it down to the event to see us off. I admire her strength and courage so much. I can’t imagine how terrifying it must be to have that monster in your body. My aunt beat breast cancer earlier this year, thankfully. I know too many people affected by it in some way. I wish cancer was a person so that people could beat the living you-know-what out of them. Seriously, just BEAT IT, cancer. No one likes you anyway.

The event itself was pretty amazing. The weather was absolutely perfect and the energy was so positive and humbling. And so much pink! The best was seeing so many grown men wearing tutu’s. Two thumbs up to them. I brought Ryland with me….he slept most of the time but here we are just before the finish line:

Other highlights of my weekend included a Saturday morning hike with 2 of my favorite dudes. Let me tell you, it is HARD WORK going uphill with 25 lbs strapped to your chest.

 

And because I did all that hiking and walking, I felt like I really deserved this:

Good thing I burned a bunch of calories because I’m too embarrassed to even tell you how much of this I ate. Did I share with Duncan? Nope! Did I hide it in the back of the freezer so that he doesn’t finish the tiny bit that’s left? Quite possibly.

Oh, we also went to my nephews first birthday on Saturday. There were about 8 kids, although it felt like 50. Such a sweet group of kiddies though. Most of us parents are friends from high school so it’s really awesome to watch our next generation together. Getting a decent picture was basically impossible, but at least they’re all in it!

And here’s my jellybean.

I just love him so much. It’s ridiculous, actually. And I love bandana bibs almost as much. Paperairplane.ca makes the BEST bibs for such a reasonable price. And it’s great to support other mamas.

Wow, I didn’t realize I had so much to talk about! I better leave it at that for the day. Have a good one!

Happy 1st Day of Fall! (…Right??)

I always think the first day of fall is September 21st…but everyone is saying it’s today so I guess I’ll go along with that. But I’m pretty sure it’s the 21st. Anyway. Happy pumpkin everything season! I have a confession…I don’t love pumpkin. I would never order a PSL and I don’t like pumpkin pie. I mean, I like pumpkins themselves, for carving and decorative purposes, but not in my food or drinks. But I do love other fall things. Scarves, boots, pretty leaves, Halloween candy…because they’re small and that makes it ok to eat 5 in a row. Or 10 depending on things. We’ve gone to a few pumpkin patches over the last couple years and I can’t wait to go again this year. Apple cider, fudge, hayrides, PUMPKINS…can’t be beat. Another fall favorite of mine are the Christmas markets. So many cool local goodies at those things. I make my own cards for every occasion…like a friend or family member would be really insulted if they received a store bought card from me. I’ve always wanted to rent a table at one of these fall/winter markets to see how my cards do…but I always seem to forget that I basically need to start making cards as of January 1st so that I have enough worth displaying. Ok then, New Years Day 2016, I better get busy!

This is from last fall. Isn’t he handsome??

And here’s Ryland modeling some of his fall wardrobe. I have no sense of style when it comes to myself, but I love dressing this little dude up. His sweater (which I have a matching one of) was locally made by a family owned company called Whistle & Flute and his bandana bib was also locally made by paperairplane.ca. I loooove their stuff and love that it’s local.

I can’t even handle how cute he is. I’m totally not biased or anything ;).

Well, as they say, less is more and I’ve rambled on enough. Enjoy this beautiful 1st (?) day of fall and I’ll see ya later!

Mini Muffins & Weekend Happenings

Did the weekend even happen?? I feel like I blinked on Friday and when I opened my eyes, it was Monday! Well I hope you all had a great weekend anyway, if it did in fact take place ;).

I always buy bananas on Sundays, let them ripen up throughout the week, and bake with them on Fridays. This time around, I made mini banana oat muffins and it was the easiest method possible. I put all the ingredients into the blender (in 2 batches – so I basically divided all the ingredients in half) blended until smooth, and poured into a greased (with coconut oil cooking spray) mini muffin pan. The recipe produced 24 perfectly moist and sweet-but-not-too-sweet 2 bite muffins.

Banana Oat Mini Muffins

• 3 very ripe bananas
• 2 1/2 cups quick oats (you can also use old fashioned oats – use gluten free if you have an allergy)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp coconut oil (melted) or olive oil
• 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/4 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp chia seeds (optional)
• 1 tbsp hemp hearts (optional)
• 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350º and grease a 24 cup mini muffin pan – I use coconut oil cooking spray
2. Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend well. Depending on the size of your blender or processor, you may want to divide the ingredients in 1/2 or even 1/3’s.
3. Pour batter into muffin tin so that each cup is about 2/3 full.
4. Bake 18-20 minutes. Let cool in pan for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. These are good for about 3 days so you may want to freeze part of the batch.

**You can add a handful of mini chocolate chips if you’d like, but fold them in after blending.

Replacing regular flour with oat flour means a denser finished product, but I find the blending method makes them a lot fluffier. And the cleanup is so easy!

On to other things.

We had a very rainy Saturday so we did some super exciting indoor activities including Home Depot for wood primer and stain (working on a fireplace mantle), and the mall for some food court lunch and playtime in the kid zone for Ryland. He is obsessed with slides. I need to find one that will fit in our condo, which is already overflowing with toys. Yet all he wants to play with is tupperware, coasters, remote controls and shoes. Seriously though, I don’t think he’s ever had so much fun in his life then he did on that slide. Melts my heart!!

About once a month, Duncan gets up early to make a pancake breakfast. We love pancakes!!

I took Parker for a quick hike after breakfast while Ryland (and Duncan) were napping. I try to spend quality time with just him when I can because I hate to admit it, but he definitely doesn’t get the attention he did before Ryland came along. I promised myself that wouldn’t happen and constantly feel guilty for it. Sometimes I feel like there needs to be two of me.

When we got home, Duncan & Ryland were all geared up and ready for football Sunday. We’re a Packers family while pretty much everyone else we know are Seahawks fans so it was a highly anticipated game. Lucky for us, the Packers cleaned house!

Our little Cheesehead!

We put Ryland to bed after the 1st quarter, but he was right into it for that little bit. Future NFL-er?? I hope not…I’d have way too many heart attacks.

That about wraps up our insanely fast weekend. I hope yours was great and I’ll see ya soon!

Monday already?!

Good morning! Another weekend has flown by and here we are, back to the Monday grind. It’s funny, before I became a mom, my weekends consisted of sleeping in and spontaneous outings. Boy did that ever change! We don’t set the alarm clock on weekends so I basically just sleep until Ryland gets up. Sometimes this is as late as 7:30 and I consider that sleeping in! But waking up to that sweet little face is so worth it. I honestly don’t know how my heart hasn’t just exploded with love yet.

Although it takes a little longer to leave the house with a toddler in tow, it definitely gets easier as he gets older. It was pretty nice out yesterday so we decided to go to the park that we were married at. The ceremony took place in the most beautiful little rose garden that smells absolutely out of this world. Here’s our little guy sitting in the exact spot where we tied the knot:

And here he is being his ridiculously cute self:

So we’re walking around in the rose garden, reminiscing about our big day and Duncan says “yup, Ryland, that was a year and a half ago.” I’m like “ummm….try almost 3 and a half years buddy.” Seriously though, I can’t believe it was that long ago! If only there was a pause button.

We also went to visit some friends of ours on Saturday. They have two dogs, both named Bear. Unfortunately Bear Junior was hit by a car about a month ago. His injuries were pretty extensive and he had to have a few surgeries, but amazingly he was back to his usual self. Dogs are so resilient! Here he is with his pal, Parker (on the right, for those of you that don’t know Parker yet):

The rest of our weekend included pancakes, laundry, and baking. I made some pretty delicious banana blueberry oat muffins. They’re toddler approved and make a great addition to his lunchbox for daycare. I’ve rambled enough for today so I’ll post the recipe tomorrow.

Have a great Monday!