Before and after; back and dinner

Happy almost weekend!!! Hooray!

Thanks for all the juicing suggestions … I’ll keep them all in mind!

Remember in my gym tour video I told you I’d post a before picture of your new gym room? Well, I forgot … so here it is now: Pretty bad, huh?? Yeah, it’s MUCH better now!

Tonight I came home to our newest piece of gym equipment … some “mat” flooring to go under our dumbbells. Love it! Only problem we might have? Thus far, it seem to be a dirt and dog hair magnet, ha! We’ll just have to sweep a lot! Tonight as far as lifting was concerned … it was back night. Ha, I could easily have called it frustrating night. I’ve always had a hard time really focusing on working my back effectively, and in the right places! So we worked on that a lot.

(Please excuse the laundry in the background … Erik did a lot of it today! He’s the best!)

As you can see, Erik was wearing his special lifting shoes tonight. They are oftentimes otherwise known as slippers, or house shoes. Haha.

      And then after lifting as Erik was walking out the door to run a few errands for his dad he told me, “I left you a little hint on the counter of what I want for dinner".

I was just kinda like … okay? Ha, here is what I saw when I went into the kitchen … It made me laugh! He even took out all the seasonings and pots and pans.   So … pasta with ground turkey it was.

Here is dinner being born …. yum! The dogs were more than willing to help me cook and all sat right outside of the kitchen just in case I dropped any food. (They always pick it up for me ; )

P.S. Why there is a stamp on the floor by Adrian’s leg, I have no idea!

That’s all that’s going on in my evening … and now … the weekend ; )

Any fun weekend plans??

Juicing Combinations?

Happy cold weather!

Ha, why I seem to like talking about the weather so much, I have no idea but I do! Here’s a look at our weather for the next few days. Wind chills of –25? Yes, that’s cold enough for me.

Actually, I’ve been good this winter. Normally I constantly say “I hate winter” but this year, I really don’t hate it. I simply decided to enjoy it instead and it’s amazing how that works, ha. Attitude is everything. It’s currently flurrying and I always love the sight of freshly falling snow. There’s just something about it that’s cozy and wonderful! How’s your weather?  In The Gym

Tonight was my “off” night, so I didn’t work out. My trainer has me lifting Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays.  It’s nice having the night off but I’m not gonna lie, I kind of missed my workout!

At least for now, lifting is definitely my niche …. it hurts so good!  One of these days, I’ll post what a my typical “bulking diet” day-in-food is currently like. More video posts are coming as well!

Juicing

One of the things I got for Christmas is a Jack LaLanne juicer that looks just like this (though it didn’t come with the freshly juiced orange that’s in the picture ; )  …

I was very excited to get this because I’ve been wanting one for a really long time!!! I used it a lot when I was stuck in Nebraska after Christmas but haven’t used it much since I got home. Tonight was the night to break that streak. Here was my experimental combo based on what I had in my fridge:

• Small organic Fuji apple
• Broccoli
• Celery
• Cherry tomatoes

Does anyone have tasty, mostly veggie based juicing combinations to suggest to me?? I know how to make a fruit drink taste good, it’s not that hard because fruit is just good! Ha. However, I’m having a hard time coming up with tasty veggie drinks so far.

This combo was just all right. Something threw it off a little and I’m not sure what it was. I think either the celery or the broccoli? I know you guys will be able to help me out on this one! ; ) Now I’m off to eat some dinner … I’m hungry!!

Don’t forget to tell me your favorite veggie based juice combo! ; )

Cold night in Kansas City

Obsessed with blogging enough? Ha. We went to Kansas City tonight and I brought my laptop so I could blog on the way home! Yes, I’m weird.

Anyways, first off, thanks for all the positive feedback on my first video post! : ) You all made me smile! More videos to come!

After work tonight I rushed home, changed, worked out (bis and tris), changed again and off we were …

As I mentioned last night, we went to Blue Bird Bistro tonight with a couple of my coworkers (they’re friends too, haha) and their significant others. As we were pulling into the Big City, I tried to snap a few decent pictures. (I’m still trying to learn how to take good pictures, ha).

We had a good time and ended up hangin’ out and laughing for almost 3 hours.

I ordered the same thing as last time … stuffed acorn squash.

“Organic Garden acorn squash stuffed with organic quinoa, organic sliced almonds, and organic raisins drizzled with Elmer Gingrich Farm sorghum syrup and served on a bed of JCCC Farm spinach”

Yes, it’s good! Ha, one thing I like so far about my figure competition “bulking” diet is that I get to consume a large amount of carbs! :) My squash wasn’t quite as good as last time I had it there but I still enjoyed it!

Erik was extra hungry (well, that’s actually a normal amount of Erik food, ha) and got two bison burgers. Sadly, they had a very weird, tough texture and tasted very salty. It must have been an “off” night because normally they’re really good. And here’s a lovely picture of us girls : )    

We just pulled into our garage,  it’s about 11:00, I have to get up at 5:30 and I need to go to bed!!!

Did anyone watch Biggest Loser tonight? Erik and I recorded it so we can watch it later ; )

Happy Wednesday!

The official Lesley Lifting Life video gym tour

Hey guys!

Hope you had a fabulous Monday! (Mondays CAN be fabulous, I promise ; ) 

Last night, Erik and I shot Lesley Lifting Life’s very first video! It’s the official new gym tour. More on that in a minute … first, tonight.

One thing I LOVE about working out at home is that we can be complete weirdos and no one but our dogs are there to care, haha.

We’re good at being weirdos so it’s a nice fit ; ) 

And that brings us to the video! Here’s some things to keep in mind, ha:

Firstly, I’m video shy! Erik had to tell me to pretend like I was talking to my friend at work because I was nervous and didn’t know what I was going to say.

Secondly, I apologize for saying “and we’re thankful for that” … I didn’t realize how “thankful” I was for everything, haha, until I watched the video and noticed I said it after juuuust about everything. Oh well … it’s true.

Thirdly, I was forgetful and lost several words I was trying to say. You will see.

Without further ado …. here is the official gym video tour …

Hope you guys enjoyed it! You’ll have to let me how you liked it and if you’d like to see more Lesley Lifting Life on video ; )

Have a great Tuesday!!! We’re going to Blue Bird Bistro tomorrow night with some friends and I’m looking forward to some delicious carbs in the form of a stuffed squash with quinoa :)

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