Workout Wednesdays- Stress Relief

Welcome to another edition of Workout Wednesdays, where I share my journey on trying to get swole, while eating 500 cookies a day. That's do-able, right??

Here were my workouts for last week:
Monday- Rest
Tuesday- 5km run
Wednesday- Wednesday weights workout
Thursday- 9.3km run
Friday- Rest
Saturday- Friday weights workout
Sunday- 11.5km run

Please note I refer to my weights workouts as Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but I rarely ever complete them all on their appropriate days. Monday's workout actually happened the Sunday before.

Before I get into today's topic of stress relief, I want to share my Friday workout regime progress, since I haven't done that one yet. I actually just upped a bunch of weights in this workout last weekend so yay! Progress!

Ok, so onto stress. Many people have this crazy notion that I handle stress well, and in some cases I think that is true as I work well under pressure and I can be pretty go-with-the-flow when it comes to plans with friends (anyone who has heard the tale of Europe 2008 can attest to this!). However, when I DO get stressed, I am simply a mess. My heart is racing, I can't concentrate, I can't eat (and have been known to lose a lot of weight rapidly if the stress isn't cured), and I can't sleep. I am basically an irritable wreck and generally my stress is caused by situations out of my control, so I can't do anything about fixing the cause of it.

Thursday was like that. After a pretty quiet week at work some stuff went down on Thursday that was BAD and I didn't know if it could be fixed. I work in a really small office of 3 people so when stuff goes wrong it is generally directly related to my job and I am very invested in my work and take pride in it, so this sucks. Thursday evening I was so grumpy over this stressful event and the last thing I wanted to do was spend 5 hours at home stewing over it and making myself more stressed.

So I ran 9.3km. I cannot express to you how much joy I have in my life now that I have running. My stress melted away as I pounded the pavement. I went over the problems in my mind and suddenly they didn't seem so bad as I could clearly work out all the outcomes and plan how to react to them. I also tired myself out and was able to sleep soundly that night. It was glorious!

For some reason running just takes away all distractions and I can work through an issue with such a clear mind. I do my best thinking while I am out there. I don't worry about timing and I take walking breaks, and it sure took my a long time of training to be able to even run long enough to sort out a major problem, but I am soooo happy I have this outlet! I really have to recommend a good workout to relieve stress. It really gets your mind off of things.

As for the work problem, it ended up being satisfactorily solved before lunch the next day and all that stress was for nothing (which, to be honest, happens 9 times out of 10, but I can't seem to stop stressing in the first place!).

Another bonus? Check out these developing muscles! I just noticed this definition line the other day.

Please ignore my monster sized feet :) Oh, and my new mirror makes me look like Olive Oyl...my calves are normal-sized.

Condo Tour June 2015

Can you believe I have been in this condo for 6 months now?? How time flies when one is having fun! I thought today I would update my home tour because the one currently on this blog is from when my condo was a sad, dirty space. Let's begin!

Front Hall:

The front hall has been updated with CIL's Barley Beige and the walls have been filled with hooks for coats and my gallery wall of maps! A new bench gives a place to rest a purse or a bum when changing shoes!

Den/Office:

In the den, which sits next to the front hall, I added a wall of built-ins, using Ikea's Billy and Besta bookshelves, some trim, and a whole lot of sweat. I still need to do the finishing touches with some trim, and pick a paint colour, and build in a desk, but the room is certainly coming along and I am loving all the storage!

Bathroom:

I haven't done too much in here beyond a good deep clean and a new shower head. However, I recently got a new faucet and some new accessories so this place will probably get a mini-makeover in the next couple months. I eventually plan to replace the vanity with something larger and get a smaller mirror and a medicine cabinet.

Bedroom:

The bedroom recently got painted in CIL's Storytime- finally! But otherwise in here I have a new bed, some bedside shelves, and a few little accessories. Next up is figuring out a headboard and getting a dresser with more storage.

Kitchen:

In the kitchen I have gotten a new faucet, microwave, and dishwasher, which I still love! I have picked out new hardware, but still haven't trekked out to buy it, so there is one lone updated pull :). I also am going to buy a new oven and fridge with sales this Christmas season. Then I just need some new lighting and this room will be complete!

The Living Room:

The living room got painted in Barley Beige as well, and got all new furniture (since I had none), including a couch from Equilibrium Furnishings, a TV stand from Walmart, an ottoman from Home Sense, a table and chairs from Craigslist (Ikea), and a desk from Craigslist (Ikea). This room is mostly done expect for accessories and art. The far end of the room is Cam's zone, which is where all his music equipment hangs out. I recently got a quote on replacing the vertical blinds with some roller blinds, but with about 40 feet of windows in here, I am in no rush to replace!

Balcony:

Out here so far I have only installed the flooring...I really need to buy some outdoor furniture so Cam and I can enjoy it before winter shows up again! The chairs in this picture are not for outdoor use. (update...bought some chairs on Sunday and will snap some shots this week!)

So there you go...how my run-down little condo looks not-so-run-down after 6 months of work. I only have the den and bathroom left to paint and soon I will be at the fun stage- getting to make little tweaks and raiding HomeSense for the perfect accessories. I have had no regrets with making this move, as I am loving all the extra space and it really feels like home now!

Workout Wednesdays- The Early Morning Workout

After last week's post about how I simply could not get up early enough to work out before going to work, I decided to see how terrible it actually was. So I got up early on Monday and Wednesday and worked out from 5:30am-6:20am!

And it wasn't that terrible! On Monday I did my usual Monday weight routine, but on Wednesday I went for a run and I must say I prefer running in the morning to weight lifting. The crisp cool air woke me up and felt great. Definitely will need to keep trying to do this as the heat of summer comes on. However it is hard to go very far unless I get up even earlier...but I am uncomfortable with running in the dark so early morning runs might have to be shorter runs.

I will say working out in the morning has some great benefits- like how I ended up working super late on Monday and 100% would have skipped my workout if it had been in the evening.

Here were last week's workouts:
Monday- Morning Weights
Tuesday- Rest (and painting my bedroom!)
Wednesday- 6.5km Morning Run (and painting my bedroom some more!)
Thursday- Rest
Friday- Evening Weights
Saturday- Evening Weights
Sunday- Morning Weights

Sunday was supposed to be a long run, but it was really cold and rainy out and the gym had no free treadmills so I just got ahead on the next week's weights.

PS- how do people look so good in their gym selfies? I look crazy.

Here is my Wednesday Weights Workout Progress!

That darn deltoid raise is the only time I use 8lbs weights now. I am dying to increase to 10lbs, but my deltoids are apparently babies. Maybe next week!

Storytime in the Bedroom

Hey remember how over two months ago I painted a bunch of swatches of bluey-green paint on my wall and decided on a paint colour? Yes, well it is a distant memory to me as well...and yet I stared at those swatches for weeks while they taunted my laziness at buying paint. I finally went out and bought the paint and now I can finally cross "paint bedroom" of the very long condo to-do list!

I went with the colour Storytime by CIL (BTW- I am a really big fan of their Realife paints at Canadian Tire. A little bit pricy, but I did this whole room with just one gallon!). The colour is the perfect marriage of green and blue, but without being too jarring. In bright sunshine the room looks almost white, but in artificial light it is much deeper and cozier. Not to mention fresh paint just looks good all around after 6 months of dingy off-white paint! I took these photos on a rainy morning, so the colour is very saturated.

I actually painted the room in two evenings after work. Sometimes the need to be productive just grabs a hold of me and last Tuesday I painted half the room after I got home. Then Wednesday night I pushed all the furniture to the other side and painted the other half! There was a lot of cutting in with the big window, 3 doors, the bedside shelves, the recessed lighting in the soffit, and the soffit/closet area itself but I managed to get it done in about 5 hours total. Not too shabby! I must say my paint skills are improving too because there is much less paint on the ceiling this time.

You might also notice I hung my race medals up by the window! Cam kept saying I should hang them somewhere and I came across the old shadow box from the old front hall and I just repurposed it. The colour I had previously painted the back of the box is very similar to the wall colour, so it kind of is a neat look- like a display case.

I still have a few more projects for the bedroom:
- hang mirror over table
- hang full length mirror (I have no idea what my bottom half looks like most days)
- acquire/build bigger dresser (I am 99% sure on what I plan to do for more storage, but not in any rush)
- replace blinds with a sheer pull down blind and curtains (...one day)
- fix broken closet handle
- paint doors and trim
- build headboard

So, you know, basically everything else!

...but for now I am happy just to enjoy my new bluey-green walls!

5 Things Friday

I hope everyone is excited for the weekend!! It has been such a nice week, but apparently will be cold on Sunday. Sigh #Canada.

Onto my 5 things for this week!

1. My Gladiolus is Growing!

Cam got a gladiolus bulb for teacher appreciation day and I planted it in this old flower pot of mine using dollar store soil (amazing place to buy dirt if you only need a small bag- FYI!). I really didn't know if it would grow because I have a bit of a black thumb but after two weeks it actually sprouted! It is actually even bigger now than when I took this photo a few days ago.

Fun Fact- up until I looked up how to plant this thing, I thought these were called gladiolas. I feel like my whole life is a lie now...

2, I Got a New Bathroom Faucet!

I love my Delta Trinsic faucet in the kitchen, so when the bathroom faucet started leaking, I was more than happy to shell out some dough for the bathroom Trinsic model to replace it. I didn't really realize it when I ordered it, but it is really the exact mini replica of my kitchen faucet (minus the pull-out sprayer). Can a faucet be cute? Because this one makes me go "aww". I even ordered the matching towel bar, towel ring, and toilet paper holder. I feel so adult with my matching bathroom set. Now I just need to install everything. That should be fun. 

3. I am Going to See Princess Pop this Weekend with my Niece

My Niece is 3.5 years old now and I have been waiting all these years to be able to take her out on fun auntie & Maddy adventures and finally she is old enough! I saw an ad for this play in Toronto with all the Disney princesses in it and I knew she would love it. Plus, after the show we get to MEET THE PRINCESSES!!!! I am actually a pretty big Disney fan so I feel like this will be fun for both of us.

4. I Painted My Bedroom- Sneak Peek For You!

There will be a full reveal on the blog- next week hopefully if lighting cooperates- but I painted my bedroom finally! I did half the room on Tuesday night and the other half on Wednesday night! I love how it turned out!! The colour looks super different under various lighting too, so hopefully I can get a somewhat true representation with my good camera (this was iphone). It is kind of a light bluey-green colour, leaning more towards the blue side of things. It looks almost white in natural, bright sunshine, but quite turquoisey under lamp-light.

5. I HAVE A NEW NIECE!!

I saved the best for last! My best friend Steph had a sweet little baby girl on Wednesday and I am soooo excited to go and meet her soon. I won't go into Steph's private life, but this baby was a long time coming and a total miracle and I actually teared up with joy when she arrived safely. I can't wait to one day take her to meet the Disney princesses too :). Being an auntie is awesome.

PS- how is it June on Monday? I swear May just started...

Workout Wednesdays- Working Full Time and Working Out

I am changing up my Casey Gets Fit(ter) series and bringing in what I am calling "Workout Wednesdays, which will focus more on my fitness plans than my weight. This also is coming around because I am not longer really following a diet plan. I was started to get frustrated by the really low calorie count I needed to see even a slight drop in the scales and I was missing my favourite foods.

Plus, it is summer and I want to enjoy my refreshing beers and ice cream cones, guilt free. So I am switching my tactic for the summer and I am going to focus on balanced eating, without calorie counting, and I am going to go whole-hog on my workouts and getting in shape. I thought today I would discuss working out while working full time!

First of all, I would like to bow down to all the full-time working parents who find time to work out. I literally have no responsibility outside of my 8-4 job so I have no idea how people with kids do it. Seriously. Have a pat on the back.

Anyway, I get up every morning at 6:35 and I am out the door for work at 7:15 and I get home at 5:00pm. I love working out in the mornings, but the idea of getting up at 5:30 is rough so I do all my weekday workouts in the evening. This will probably need to change as I start my half-marathon training in June as it will be hot as Hades in the evenings. But for now I am generally doing weight training 3 days a week and a short run midweek and a long run on the weekend. I will probably stick with this until I start training and then drop one or two of the weight days to focus more on runs.

Here is a typical workout week for me:
Monday- Weights
Tuesday- Rest
Wednesday- Weights
Thursday- short run (5-8km)
Friday- Weights
Saturday- Rest
Sunday- Long run (8km+)

It often gets all mixed up with various plans and some days I combine a run and weights in one day or two weight training routines in one day, but usually I hit all 5 workouts in a week! I rarely have a day where I don't work out without a legitimate reason like all-evening plans or a sore muscle. Which is crazy, because I used to be a very lazy, anti-gym kind of person. Just goes to show how a person can change if they put in the effort! Now I crave working out if I haven't gone in awhile!

I started weight training in mid March and I have actually stuck to my 3 workouts a week every week since then!! I really like it because I feel I am getting so much stronger and following my Jefit app is a breeze.

For the record- here is my progress on my "Monday" workout from March 16th (day 1) to this past week (each exercise is 3 sets of 10 reps each)!

The workout takes roughly 35-40 minutes as I try and go slow and take a 60 second break between exercises- but man oh man am I tired after some of them and I am getting so much stronger! I haven't even touched the 5lbs weights in weeks!! In the last couple weeks I also added in a few ab exercises too so right now I am fairly evenly targeting abs, back, biceps, chest, shoulder, triceps, and upper legs (according to the pie chart on my app, anyway).

I don't think my weight training exercises burn a lot of calories in and of themselves, but a muscular body naturally burns more calories while doing nothing and looking toned never hurts one's confidence either! Plus it is really easy to fit this kind of workout into a really busy day so it is a plus for me there too as I always seem to be on the go during the week.

So there is your motivation for today! You DO have time to workout and you can even follow a workout plan like the one above at home, if you invest in a set of weights!!