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A Waffle Wednesday Giveaway!!
I have a spectacular post in store for you today.
First and foremost the BIG NEWS.
You ready??
I passed my personal training exam!!
I am now a certified personal trainer.
Even more – I got 93%
Just 0.5% less than my written exam ;)
How I did this is beyond me. I should explain I suffer from major performance anxiety. I’m the girl who dropped classes that had presentations in the syllabus. When I saw my Personal Training Specialist course included a one-hour practical exam, I seriously considered not doing it. Instead, I did what I do best. Ignored it and pushed it to the back of my brain.
Unfortunately, the day still came. One thing that really attracted me to personal training is that it’s one-on-one. I’m good at that. But the idea of going through an hour-long session with an instructor watching me like a hawk sent the anxiety rushing through my veins.
Today I sent my mom a text: "”I’m freaking out!! Worst idea ever :(“
She immediately called to give me a pep talk. She told me to keep my weaknesses in check (I’m a mumbler) while playing up my strengths. She knows I’m good at putting people at ease, and told me to be my genuine self.
That’s exactly what I did! (thanks mom) I got docked marks on a few nitpicky things, but my instructor said I aced it based on my enthusiasm, attentiveness and communication with the client. I am thrilled beyond words. I feel like I can really do this PT thing now :D
Anyways, all that aside, I am still moving this week. Phew!
As I was packing yesterday, I found an old teddy bear I’ve had since the age of four. Freddy the Teddy (I was a clever child). Finding him brought back a slew of childhood memories and I couldn’t bare to cram him back into storage.
Now I have two teddy bears :)
The money shot!
Aahhh, I’ve been trying to catch Archie yawning since he got here. Animals yawning are so cute :)
I awoke this morning after having a strange and vivid dream. My mother’s house had been overtaken by cats, and then I almost burned it down. What on earth does that mean??
I needed waffles to soothe my subconscious.
A wafflewich made with two Nature’s Path Pomegranate Waffles, one fried egg, smoked salmon and pure maple syrup. An amazing combination of flavours.
And the mandatory citrus on the side.
On my Favourite Food Pairings post, Lara said hers was eggs + citrus. I would have to agree. What is it about eggs that makes me crave oranges??
Now, for the really good stuff.
It’s no secret that I love waffles. It’s a love that goes way back to the days of Eggos before elementary school, covered in real butter and Aunt Jemima. Clearly, I’ve matured plenty over the years, celebrating Waffle Wednesday every week. My first appliance upon moving into my current (soon to be old) apartment was even a belgian waffle maker.
I feel bad though. Every Wednesday, after devouring my latest batch of protein waffles, I get comments from my bloggie friends, saying they wished they had a waffle maker. If only I could spread the waffle wealth!
Enter: CSN stores.
Many of you in the blog world have probably already stumbled across this website. They seriously carry everything, from counter stools to pot racks.
When I was contacted by CSN about doing a review or giveaway, I was overwhelmed. Too much to choose from. I didn’t need or want anything extra because I’m moving halfway across the country. And what on earth could I give away that would make sense on my blog??
Then I found it.
The Chef’s Choice International WafflePro.
Finally, a Wednesday where I can actually share my waffles :)
To win this, all you have to do is leave a comment in this post. That’s it! It’s open to everyone. To make it as fair as possible, I will not be responding to comments in this post – I’ll draw a random comment next Wednesday, May 12 at 8pm EST.
A special thank you to CSN for hosting this giveaway :)
And an even bigger thank you to everyone out there in blog world and real world who has been SO supportive throughout all my endeavours. Sometimes I get people telling me I inspire them, but in all honesty, you inspire me. <3
We Have a Winner!!
Well you guys. It is finally here. April, the long weekend, oh yeah, and the giveaway winner!!! That’s at the end of the post. Always got to save the best part for last ;)
Started this fine Thursday off with 6 miles on the treadmill. I always do some form of intervals on the treadmill, otherwise I’d fall off out of sheer boredom. Usually speed intervals, because the incline button intimidates me, and the “whirrrr” the machine makes as it rises scares me.
Anyways! Not today. I swallowed my fear and lived to tell the tale!
| Minutes | Speed – MPH | Incline |
| 0-5 | 3.6 | 0.5 |
| 5-10 | 5.8 | 0.5 |
| 10-15 | 5.8 | 1.5 |
| 15-20 | 5.8 | 2.5 |
| 20-25 | 6.0 | 0.5 |
| 25-30 | 6.0 | 1.5 |
| 30-35 | 6.0 | 2.5 |
| 35-40 | 6.2 | 0.5 |
| 40-45 | 6.2 | 1.5 |
| 45-50 | 6.2 | 2.5 |
| 50-55 | 6.4 | 0.5 |
| 55-60 | 6.4 | 1.5 |
| 60-65 | 6.4 | 2.5 |
| 65-70 | 3.5 | 0.5 |
In all honestly, it was almost too easy! Again, I use the term “easy” lightly here. I just felt like I could have pushed myself a little more and still have felt fine. I still tend to think of myself as a slow newbie runner, so I tend to underestimate what I can do. Perhaps inclines aren’t as scary as I thought :)
Breakfast was inspired by Holly’s banana split overnight oats. I went into this with full intentions of making it as such – but it turned into spiced banana raisin oats.
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 3/4 cup almond milk
- 1/3 cup yogurt
- 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
- cinnamon, and lots of it
- 2 tbsp raisins
- 1 tbsp almond butter
- 1 tsp banana extract
You may also notice by the above picture that when I opened it at my desk today – it was still soupy!! This is like fail #56 on overnight oats for me. I must be missing the overnight oats gene or something.
Thankfully, the microwave room was unlocked this morning, so I was able to zap it.
Muuuuuch better. It actually turned really creamy with the almond milk and yogurt (plus that yogurt tang was an excellent addition!)
The bites with little hunks of almond butter were my favourite :)
Oh. And I think I have discovered how to avoid exploding oats in the microwave. Put them in a bigger bowl. Duh. Hey, I never said I was a clever person here :P
I kept up the same flavour theme with a homemade apple cinnamon protein bar midday.
Lunch was a ham, egg white, pickle, mustard and laughing cow sandwich.
And deceptive orange. Looks big, was half the size after I peeled it. I got gypped.
Then this afternoon I snacked on a bag of strawberries dipped in unpictured vanilla cottage cheese and a cheese string.
That vanilla cottage cheese by the way, is President’s Choice brand, which is available in Superstores/Loblaws across Canada. I also highly recommend their Mediterranean flavour. It’s great in salads and pitas!
Hey, speaking of salads!! ;) It’s what I had for dinner.
It contained a million ingredients, including a whole head of romaine, whole tomato, pickled beets, sauteed tofu, baba ganouj and feta cheese.
I don’t even want to remember life before pickled beets.
I’ve also been experimenting with this stuff over the past few days:
I’ve noticed that my fibre has decreased ever since upping my fat and protein (obviously). I like to get this sort of thing as naturally as possible, but my body also needs max amounts of fibre. I suck at digesting, and suck even more at it without fibre.
One packet is about 1 tsp of tasteless powder for 5 calories, 3g carbs, 3g fibre. So far, I haven’t been able to detect it in anything I put it in. Even my nightly protein dessert.
1 1/2 scoops chocolate protein powder and a benefibre packet dissolved with a dash of water, topped with marshmallow fluff and pretty sprinkles. Protein + Fibre = Win.
Well, it’s a new month which means a new set of monthly goals. Holymoly. I can’t believe it’s April. Wasn’t it just Christmas??
Goals for April 2010
Continue the spirit of the sleep challenge, aiming to get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. I think 7.5 hours may actually be my magic number, which means I need to be snoring by 10pm. Totally do-able.
Get rid of as many of my belongings as possible. This includes donating clothes, books, and other random shiz. The less I have to cart halfway across the country the better.
Get my bike on the road. Ahhhh, cycling. It feels like nothing but a distant memory…
Pass my personal training exam. Ie, study like hell until April 16, and practice instructing people as much as I can before my practical.
Chill the eff out. There was a time when I made decisions so I could enjoy life more, not stress myself out more. Must remember to find excitement in the chaos again.
Five goals, not too shabby! I’ll be checking in every week as per usual. How about every Thursday this month? Why not.
Okayokay….you’ve made it this far. Now time to reward your efforts. Here’s what was up for grabs:
Ready???
66. 
Ftiness4Looks, on March 30, 2010 at 4:21 pm Said:
Mangos are awesome! I usually try to get about 7-8 hours of sleep! It’s tough finding energy in the morning to work out, but good for you for going to spin class!
Wooo!!! Congrats!! I’ll be e-mailing you shortly :) And thank you to all of you who participated. I had tons of fun seeing new names pop up, and have a plethora of new blogs to check out!!
Question of the Day: What are your goals for the coming month?
Bonus question: Did you do anything for April Fool’s? I didn’t, and thank goodness no one did anything to me!!
Goals and a Giveaway!!!
Woooonderful suggestions on my Strength Training at Home post. A lot of extra pieces of equipment like bosu balls, jump ropes and medicine balls were suggested. Be sure to read the comments if it’s something that interests you :)
So I started my day after a solid 7.5 hours sleep and took off for a spin class. I thought I’d kill it today after a whole weekend off exercise (goofing around in personal training class doesn’t count). Usually after two whole days off, my body is mega energized. But today notsomuch. Albeit, I’m very worn out after two weekends in a row of “work,” but I think it was actually a nutrition thing. I just could not push that high intensity like I normally can, and I felt a little dizzy once I hopped off the bike.
Looking back, I was very protein heavy in my eating over the weekend, and I think I was lacking in sufficient carbs to draw from this morning. Ever since I increased my fat intake, my protein has naturally increased while my carbs have gone down, often being my smallest percentage of macronutrients. Not good for someone who is as active as me! What a delicate balancing act it all is ;)
Anyways, I raced to the office this morning to gobble down my breakfast and refuel.
Two boiled eggs and a marshmallow protein bar.
I have a vague memory of my old roommie (hi Meghan!) telling me the cause of grey yolks in boiled eggs…
I think it happens when you put them in the fridge right after boiling and they cool too quickly. Is this true? Am I making it up?
In other news, the geranium in my office is thriving.
I can’t take credit this, it’s all because the cleaning lady waters it regularly. But hey, at least it didn’t wilt in my presence like most plants. It’s very pretty, makes for a more lovely work environment :)
Mini bagles > regular bagels.
Why would you want to eat one bagel when you can have TWO?? Topped with laughing cow cheese and veggie ham slices. Paired with a melt-in-your-mouth mango.
It’s been forever since I had mango!! It was amazing.
This afternoon I broke down and had a molasses cookie that someone brought to work. I am so glad I caved and ate it!! Molasses cookies are one of my favourites, and it was hands down one of the best I ever had. Totally worth the unplanned splurge. Sometimes giving in to the office treats is worth it ;)
I was met with a bare fridge when I came home, so I ended up with another three ingredient dinner.
- roasted butternut squash
- baked chicken breast
- bacon peanut butter
Not gonna lie. It was awesome. And crazy filling.
I’d like to say that’s why I had a small evening snack, but let’s face it, there was a lot of snacking in between!
A new-to-me product: President’s Choice vanilla cottage cheese. Of course, I had to spice it up with some cinnamon and raisins.
Yum!! This little container has 110 calories ,12g protein and 3g fibre (with added inulin). Not too shabby!
It’s Monday! Time for…
Final Monthly Goal Check-In for March
1. Work on getting my car sold and apartment subletted. Um, so yeah. The guy who was supposed to sublet my apartment backed out last week! The day after he signed the agreement and gave me a deposit. I’m keeping the deposit, but it means I have to find someone else. Giant BOO.
2. Apply for a bazilion jobs in Toronto. I started sending out unsolicited resumes today to fitness companies saying they need me as a content writer/editor for their website. Why not, right? ;)
3. Take more initiative at work so I can finish my contract knowing I made a mark. I knocked off a bunch of recruiting publications at the university I work at. SO nice to see my work put into hard print. I was also sorta offered a job to work as a recruiter in admissions. But that’s not my bag. I’m not perky enough.
4. Learn as much as I can about personal training. Finished personal training classes!!!
!!!!!
I also skipped lunches last week to study. Working hard on cramming that poor brain of mine.
5. Run outdoors again. Fail. Rightfully so. The weather last week sucked. Woke up to snow every morning, cold, windy, rainy, wet. Miserable.
On top of my monthly goals, I set a weekly goal to get more sleep. I did alright on this. I failed on one day, but got a solid 7.5 hours all the other nights. I actually had my lights out by 9:45 every night before my 5:30 alarm. Much better that the 10:30-11 I was doing before. This is 100% something I’m going to keep up. It’s all about resetting my thinking to seeing 9:45 as my lights-out time instead.
I also challenged all of you to do the same thing. In order to motivate y’all to tuck in early, I promised a gift for those of you that participated. Well I’m following through on that promise! Here’s what’s up for grabs:
- Mountain Maples blueberry syrup
- 100% pure honey
- The Simply Bar in Peanut Butter Chocolate, Cocoa Coffee, and Lemon Coconut flavour.
- Taste of Nature bar in Quebec Cranberry Carnival flavour
- Greens + “Hip to be Healthy” square
All Canadian goods, the syrup and honey being from right here in New Brunswick. The syrup is actually from my hometown of Riverview, NB!
So, I told those of you participating to keep track of your hours slept so I could see you at least tried. Well, I’m also an awful liar, because this giveaway is open to everyone, everywhere!!
That’s right, sleep or no sleep, blog or no-blog. All you have to do is leave a comment with your name and e-mail address. That’s it!! I’ll pick a random winner on Thursday, April 1, 9pm Atlantic Time. Consider it an April Fool’s gift of sorts – or a present from the Easter Bunny!
Aaaaand go!
