Leg Day: the last day I’ll be walking this week ; )

Happy end of the weekend, everyone!

We had a nice Sunday, though we woke up to even more snow and even more cold! We slept until 8, went to church at 11 and then ate at Chipotle. I usually get a salad, but today I had a burrito bowl because I wanted plenty of carbs for my workout later. The ingredients were: rice, black beans, steak, a little corn salsa, a little tomato salsa, a little cheese, and some lettuce. Yum!

Erik got a burrito with about the same ingredients minus steak, plus chicken. When we got home, I drank some tea (cold weather calls for large amounts of tea to be consumed ; ) And then it was off to the gym! (or rather, downstairs to the gym).

We still have to move some things around, but these pictures will give you a general idea of what our newly renovated downstairs gym looks like. I plan to do a complete post to give you the tour later on … perhaps even a video post, so stay tuned!

Anyways, today began my 2010 workout prep for my figure competition. It’s quite a ways away but I figure it’s never too early to start! I’d rather have plenty of time than not enough. I started out with a bang and did legs today.

First, I jumped on the elliptical for 15 minutes to get my body warmed up. I must start out by saying that squats and lunges (and, well, legs in general) are the WORST but they also make me feel the most hardcore. Let’s just say I am going to be SO sore the next few days and I may have trouble with stairs ; )

My leg workout was as follows:

Squats: 5 sets of 20 reps, 45 pounds.

Rocky and Adrian helped … obviously ; ) 

P.S. If you’re wondering what that weird color is on Rocky, it’s the new color of my bathroom. She decided to say hi to me while I was painting and walked against the wall.

Lunges: 5 sets of 20 reps each leg, 15 lb dumbbells in each hand

Every time I do legs and get done with squats and lunges, I joke that I finally got the two devils out of the way.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you’re either not doing them right or you’ve never done them, haha ; )

I was sure to snap a picture or two of Erik as well : )

Leg extensions: 5 sets of 20 reps, 80 pounds.  Hamstring curls: 5 sets of 20 reps, 45 pounds

Calf raises: 5 sets of 20 reps on each leg holding 25 lb dumbbell I finished it up with another 15 minutes of easy cardio.

And that’s it for now : ) Hopefully I’ll get the official new gym tour up soon!

How was your weekend?

Cold weather, hot tea, Matisyahu, paint, and Amy’s pizza

I love three day weekends!

Erik and I have gotten a lot done in our house; painting, rearranging, redoing the basement, etc.

We slept in and woke up to really cold weather …

BRR!  I immediately made some hot tea, complete in a Christmas mug :)

We lounged around for a couple hours before we got to work. Adrian was being funny this morning and I couldn’t help but take some pictures. Erik is being licked, ha.

I also listed to this song by Matisyahu several (plus a few) times. I love it! Such great lyrics!

The rest of the day pretty much consisted of paint, Amy’s pizza, Larabars, laundry, and cleaning. I’m thankful for Amy’s pizza on a busy day!  My pizza of choice was pesto … yum! The only thing I don’t like is how salty they are … they make me really thirsty! Throughout the day, I probably ate about half of the pizza and a few nibbles.

I can not wait to show you all our new gym! Erik has been hard at work all week (plus some) and we’ve got one AWESOME home gym … it will be perfect for my figure competition prep I mentioned in my 2010 goals post ; ) Pictures will soon follow : )

Anything exciting going on in your life this weekend?

Goals of 2009, fitness goal announcement

Hey guys!

How’s your January thus far? Ever since posting some highlights of 2009, I’ve been anxiously awaiting to share my goals for 2010!

I was a busy bee all day! Ha, well, we slept in until 10:00 :s I had SUCH a hard time staying up until midnight last night so I probably needed it. I’m finally relaxing this evening with a Wild Sweet Orange Tazo tea in a mug my MIL gave me for Christmas : )   It’s a perfect mug for Lesley Lifting Life!  It is a wonderful life :D

I don’t typically think much about goals or resolutions each year but this year … I’ve got a nice list of things I’d like to accomplish!

First off … I have a confession … I have slob-ish tendencies. Ha. Seriously. If there is a piece of paper on the floor, some people go crazy until that paper is picked up. That is not me. Typically, I don’t mind if that piece of paper sits there for awhile. Which brings me to my first goal for 2010:

• Prioritize maintenance cleaning and keeping my house organized. I’m so good at letting it get messy when I could just do easy maintenance cleaning. Instead, I’m typically left with hours and hours of cleaning when I finally get sick of it all. I don’t want to do that anymore. Ha, it makes both Erik and me crabby!

Thus far, I’ve done a good job. I spent my January 1st taking down the Christmas tree, doing dishes, laundry, painting my kitchen, painting some cabinets, and cleaning out my fridge.

• Be more social. Ha, for whatever reason, Erik and I were homebodies A LOT this year and apart from going to KC a lot (with ourselves, mind you ; ) we didn’t do much with other people. I think it was a combination of working large amounts of overtimes that we weren’t used to, adjusting to be homeowners and painting, renos, etc, and then Erik’s dad getting sick.
• Run a 5k. I’ve never loved running much, but have started to enjoy it more this past year. I’ve never actually been in a race so I figured it’d be good to at least run one : )
• Help those in need. Little or big, I’d like to participate in organizations that help others, be more giving and be more loving … basically, I’d just like to work on helping others more in whatever ways I can.
• Prioritize reading the Bible. I got a tweet this morning from my church (@wolc) and it said, “It's a new year. Why not resolve to read through the entire Bible in 2010, starting today! RT @One_Year_Bible: Gen 1-3 http://bit.ly/7rfCIL” And I thought … yeah … why not?

And for the last one … which also happens to be the fitness challenge I told you all about.  I’m very excited and very nervous about this one …

• Compete in a natural figure competition. Since I discovered my love for lifting weights, I decided this would be a great way to motivate myself. When working out and lifting, I find that I do a much better job if I have a goal to work towards. I’m really nervous at the thought of actually being in the competition as I’m typically a really shy person who does NOT like to be in the spotlight. However, I like to experience new things and push myself out my my comfort zone and this will DEFINITELY be both of those things : )  I’m tentatively going to be in a show in either September or October. There’s a show close to me in October, and that will give me plenty of time to get in shape.  Ahhh! I’ll definitely keep you all updated.

So that’s it for me. Here’s to a new year! :D

Highlights of 2009, blogiversary

Happy New Year!

Not only are we at the close of 2009 and at the beginning of a new year, but Lesley Lifting Life (which used to be Lesley Living Life) is just a little over one year old today : )

I had no idea I would still be blogging a year later. I was simply googling/surfing the web for healthy recipes/nutrition articles and I came across the wonderful Itzy’s Kitchen. I’d never been a blog reader but I saw Erica sharing her delicious healthy recipes, talking about Body Attack, etc and I thought, “Fun!” Haha. Shortly after, I started my own blog and discovered there was endless amounts of blogs out there!!

I started my blog late December of ‘08, so …. HAPPY 1 YEAR BLOGIVERSARY to Lesley Lifting Life! ;)

I thought it’d be fun to share some highlights of this past year so here goes …

• Erik and I made numerous trips to the Big City (KC) and discovered we love it there. We’re very thankful it’s just 45 minutes away!

• I became much more confident in myself and my abilities.
• Fruit and Freedom

 

• We had our 2nd wedding anniversary
• Blog update/recap/2nd anniversary

• Tried out a bunch of new (to us) restaurants.
• Eden Alley Cafe
• Jerusalem Cafe
• Blue Bird Bistro

• Local Burger
• KC Juice

• Started working out at home and built up a home gym. (We’re currently redoing our basement workout room … pictures to follow soon!)
• A very happy husband

 

• I discovered my love for lifting and realized I’m much more tough than I thought.
• My health story

• I began writing for Examiner.com as the Kansas City Healthy Living Examiner. (And I need to get with it and write more!!)

• We got new furniture and have been doing house renos (ha, they are never ending!)
• Welcome to my house and my Sunday

• I had a chance to interview Tosca Reno for Lesley Lifting Life
• Interview with Tosca Reno

• Got a new “old” dog and we can’t help but love him! (Bubba is my father-in-law’s dog but we’ve had him since August)

• Got a blog makeover by Mommy Doodles (she comes highly recommended by me!! :)

 

• We decided to start a new business venture, Originally Organic Vending. Our machines should be launched the beginning of 2010!
• Getting Down to Business

All in all, it has been a great year and  I’m looking forward to seeing what 2010 will bring!! : ) Thank you, each and every one of you, for reading!! : )

Have a great time celebrating the new year and be safe!

A better plate of food

A little bit after I got home from work Erik said that he was really hungry and wanted a burger. Since it’s close, and for the sake of quickness we got Carside to go. We don’t really love Applebee’s buuuut every once in awhile it’s okay. 

I decided to take this opportunity to share some things I do to choose a healthy restaurant items.

• I typically stick with chicken, fish, lean meats, or veggie based meals Tonight, I chose the chicken and mushroom portabella sandwich on a whole wheat bun.
• If eating bread, choose wheat instead of white.  Most every restaurant will have a wheat or whole grain option and will be happy to switch buns.

• In place of fries, I get veggies or fruit. With my dinner tonight I ordered steamed broccoli with no butter (remember to say no butter and save yourself a lot of calories and fat ; )

• I watch out for sauces and dressings. This sandwich typically comes with a marinara sauce and I ate it sans marinara. There can be a lot of added fat, calories, and sodium hiddin’ in sauces and dressings.
• Order dressings and sauces on the side. You can easily save calories and fat by simply putting on half of the dressing or sauces, rather than all of it.

Erik decided on a quesadilla burger without the Mexi-ranch sauce and with no bacon served with steamed veggies rather than fries.

• Whenever possible, I get online ahead of time to check out my options. Looking at a menu ahead of time prevents diet disasters and it helps knowing what healthy options are available.
• I’ve learned not to be afraid to ask for what I want. Typically, restaurants are more than happy to cook your meal the way you want it; without butter, on different bread, with no sauce, etc. Just ask!
• Drink a lot of water. Not only will the water make you feel fuller, but it will help your body burn fat faster.

While most restaurant options are very high in sodium, it’s possible to get a much healthier option at just about every restaurant and cuisine.   

What are some things you do when eating out to choose a healthier option??

New art, new food, quick & lazy dinner

Hey friends!

I was gone from the blog world yesterday but I’m back tonight. I’ve been tired since I got home from work and I’m not sure why. It was a bit of a nerve wracking day for reasons I won’t mention at the moment (but hopefully I’ll be able to mention it soon ; ) 

Anyways … here’s a few things happening in my life the past few days …

New art, new food

One of the things we brought home with us from our Nebraska Christmas weekend was this painting. My dad painted it years ago and it’s hung up in my grandma’s basement for years and years and she said that we could have it. So it’s now hanging in its new home that is our dining room : )

If you remember, I recently tried coconut milk kefir and didn’t care for it unless it was in my oats. So I decided to try regular kefir milk. Thus far, it’s much better than the coconut milk kefir! The flavor is very sweet and tangy and it’s thick like plain yogurt. I’m excited to try it in other forms! 

Erik has recently taken a liking to these babies … and I think it’s both good and bad that they’re in my house. When cookies are around, I eat them! Ha. But they’re so good! I really like that they’re so small because I don’t feel like I’m going overboard with them.

Dinner

Being how I’m tired and feeling lazy tonight, dinner was quick and very easy. I threw some Smart Chicken breasts in the oven with some Mrs. Dash garlic and herb, sea salt, a chili powder.  Served with peas and carrots … … and leftover Christmas couscous. Yum!     

What did you have for dinner?

The new year is almost here!  I’m very excited for what it will bring. I plan on starting it with a long term fitness challenge that I’m still quite nervous about!!  More details to come …

Wii made it back

Hey bloggies!

Well, we are officially back home in Missouri after our extended holiday in Nebraska. We’re  glad we ended up staying a day late, though I’m not thrilled about not having a break to get my home back in order before having to go to work. Oh well!

On our extra free day at my parent’s, we hung out with my sister and her husband playing Wii and being entertained by her dogs.
While playing Wii, we snacked on frozen grapes. I had never tried grapes frozen but they were so good! Erik and I are definitely going to have to freeze some grapes of our own to snack on … the purple ones were the best!

Have you ever had frozen grapes? If not, you should serious try it … they’re surprisingly delicious ;)
For the rest of our lazy day, we hung out at my parent’s house doing just about nothing. (Ha, that can be both really nice and really boring at the same time).   

We finally left Sunday morning to head home. We figured the roads would have some bad patches and sure enough, they did! Here’s the worst of it …  Several cars were in ditches and we drove by an accident probably seconds after it had happened but we made it home safe. Thankfully, the sun came out and the roads melted more and more as the day went on.

We came home to find that we had to dig ourselves into the garage and into our house, ha. Here’s what Erik’s Jeep looks like …

And now it’s back to reality and another work week is upon us. Then we’ll begin a whole new year! : )

Exciting things are in store for 2010!

Have a great Monday!!