09/30 Marvelous in My Monday

Hi All,

Hope you are all having a great Monday so far :)

{I'm linking up with Healthy Diva today}

09/30 Pics from the Weekend

Morning friends!

Hope you all have a great start to your week!!

I am just about to head out to see a doctor about my tragic foot issues, so fingers crossed it is as simple as letting it rest for a week or two! I'll let you go how it goes :S

Pics from the Weekend

Other than the fact that I can't really walk and can only hobble about between icing my poor damaged foot, I had a great time visiting with my Dad and the rest of the fam (except for my little sister - you were missed, Dayna!!), hanging out in the sun on my balcony and reading, as well as a catching a flick with a friend of mine.

I met up with a friend of mine and her boyf at the Mayfair theater on Saturday night to watch Sharknado, which is a mixture of sharks and a tornado, aka the worst movie ever made. 

09/29 Prep and Fitness for the Week

Hello friends!!

I hope you are having a wonderful sun-filled weekend :)

I am kind of in shock - as I write this, I am sitting in the sun on my front balcony, eating some delicious quinoa salad (recipe to come!)

A Beautiful Fall, I Mean Summer, Day

Oh my goodness, how amazing was it outside today in Ottawa??

09/27 What I'm Loving Friday

Welcome to Friday folks. A wonderful day that bridges me, a 9-to-5 worker extraordinaire, to the wonderful world that we like to call weekends. Where you sleep in (if you're lucky), ignore all responsibilities of having to do work (again, if you're lucky), and have fun times!

Organic Week {& Star Struck by Bloggers}

So, I had a total freak-out moment yesterday when I realized that a couple of bloggers that I have been following for a while, Fannetastic Food and PB Fingers, are doing a PR tour in my own backyard - Chelsea and Wakefield, QC.

Fingers crossed I will casually run into them on the street...is that creepy? Okay, maybe a little. But still, I am start struck via twitter.

@TourOutaouais @fANNEtasticfood @jennsmithnelson @PBFingers @eatdrinktravels @candicewalsh: OMG I grew up in Chelsea, enjoy Soup'herbe!!!
— Fitness à la Anna (@FitnesslaAnna) September 24, 2013

Yes. Star struck by fitness bloggers. This is what my life has come to ;)

09/25 What I Ate Wednesday

I want to start off by saying my condolences to the family of Annemarie Desloges, a Canadian diplomat who was killed in the recent attacks at Nairobi's Westgate Mall.

I am intensely saddened and shocked by this event since it hits hard on two fronts. Firstly, she was a member of the Canadian foreign service, and her sister works for the Canadian International Development Agency like I do, therefore we had a moment of silence at work yesterday in her memory. I did not have the pleasure of meeting her or her sister, but many of my colleagues here at work knew both ladies and are pretty devastated.

Army Run Half Marathon Recap

Hi friends! Hope you all had a wonderful evening :)

I finally conquered (most) of my growing mound of laundry, nothing like the sight of clothes on the drying rack to make you feel like you've had a productive night! 

Army Run Half Marathon Recap

I loved this race. The route was beautiful, the energy was amazing, and there were live bands playing the marching drums along the road which saved me since my ipod decided to break conveniently two days before the race. Sad trombone. BUT I honestly don't think that I will run another race with music again I know, wild.

Fall into Fitness

Morning friends!

Welcome to the start of a new week :)

To Bike or Not to Bike

My ultimate dilemma this morning.

But, I decided that it would probably be good to warm up my leg muscles a bit this morning and stretch them out at work, otherwise I would be hobbling all over the place. I don't think I stretched enough after the race yesterday, so I was feeling a bit stiff this morning.

It was such a cool ride in this morning with the mist coming off of the Ottawa river, I'm glad I chose to ride in!

09/22 Prep and Fitness for the Week

Hope you all had a wunderbar weekend and are taking some time tonight to chill out and prep for your upcoming week :)

I had an amazing race at the Army Run half marathon in Ottawa. If you were ever considering running it, I HIGHLY recommend it!! It is such a great route, lots of entertainment along the way and the crowds were amazing even thought it was a bit of a gloomy day.

Banana-Based Oatmeal

Hello friends, I hope you all had a great Friday night and are having a fantabulous start to your weekend :)

I went over to a friend's place last night to play Settlers of Catan.

[Source]

Loves it!

09/20 What I’m Loving Friday

Happy Friday!

It may not be a freaky Friday the 13^th this week, but I am happy to be that much closer (8 hours?) to the weekend!! One of my closest friends is coming down this weekend to run the Army Run half marathon, and I am so so SO excited to see her!! 

Maybe that's the reason I decided to buy someones bib a few days beforehand without really training all summer? I'm hoping that all of the shorter runs I've been doing for the past couple of months, 2-3 times a week, will allow my muscles to remember what they did in May 2013.

Me and my grandparents, my biggest fans ;)

What I Ate (on) Wednesday & A Running Surprise

Morning friends!!

I hope you all had a wonderful evening! I have been working on a craaaazy report at work, so I ended up staying a bit late at the office again last night.

Proof that government workers really do work ;)

Ginger and Heirloom Carrot Soup

Happy hump day!

I woke up to another beautiful, yet crisp, morning.

So I busted out the mittens for my bike ride into work ;)

Workout

Yesterday, I had an amazing run with my work running group. It was a perfect fall day, with a bit of crispness to the air when you were in the shade, but a tingle of warmth from the suns rays.

There is definitely starting to be leaves on the ground, although the trees haven’t started changing colours too drastically yet. That’s my fav part about fall, other than wearing comfy sweaters and busting out my boots J

Today I plan on doing another bodyweight hiit workout at home after work. I’m going to do this bodyrock-inspired circuit:

Bodyrock-Inspired Circuit 

Complete one exercise after the other for 50 seconds work, 10 seconds rest for a total of 12 minutes

1 - High plank and jump legs out and in

2 - 10 High knees and 10 Mountain climbers

3 - Push-up burpee

4 - Alternating wood chop with weight

Canada-Mathare Education Trust

Morning friends :)

I hope you all had a wonderful night.

I biked home after work yesterday and busted out the burpee challenge workout that I posted yesterday.

Its crazy how only 12 minutes of work can make me such a sweaty mess. Loves it.

Burpee Challenge Workout

Good afternoon :)

Hope you are all having a wonderful Monday!! Gotta love the start of a new week, full of fresh new opportunities! 

And yes, its sunny here. Could you tell? Haha I am feeling very chipper ;)

Chilly, but sunny!

09/16 Pics from the Weekend

Happy Monday everyone!

I hope you all had a great weekend :)

Pics from the Weekend

I kept myself pretty occupied this weekend, here are some pics of my wanderings.

The Cardboard Crowns

09/15 Prep and Fitness for the Week

Hello beauties,
 


Hope you are all enjoying your weekend :)

I had a ton of fun hanging out with friends, catching up with family (I think I spent an entire afternoon on Skype, gotta love whoever invented it. Genius) and got in a run, a bikram yoga class (addicted), and biked around the city a bunch today!
 


My new best friend

A Saturday for Runners

Hey guys! Hope you're having a great start to your weekend :)

A Saturday for Runners

I woke up to a bright sunny morning here in Canada's capital city, and was instantly inspired to switch up my schedule a bit and make it a Saturday runday!

The air definitely has the crisp feeling of fall. In fact, as I sit out here on my balcony writing this post, my fingers are getting a bit chilled...it might almost be time to bust out the mittens.

Almost time to bring the plantitas back inside

What I’m Loving Fridays

Thank Gawd It’s FRIDAY!! I have a pretty full weekend booked with lots of girlfriend time :) 

What I’m Loving Fridays

I have just recently discovered ‘link-ups’ for bloggers, so I’m linking up with a few bloggers for What I’m Loving Fridays! See the link below for all of the lovely ladies who are sharing some love on this beautiful Friday afternoon.

As for me, here’s my little list of recent loves:

Bikram Yoga

I went again. I actually ended up getting a week-long beginners pass when I went for my first class a few days ago since it was only a few dollars more for the full week instead of only one class.

This girl always appreciates a good deal ;)

I gave my body a full day to recoup from my first class since I hadn’t done a lot of those postures for a long while, but I couldn’t help but go back again with one of my roomies again last night.

As I mentioned in my Focus On: Bikram Yoga post, I get addicted to it.

Loves it!!

Sandy Hill Lounge Grill

Morning friends!

I hope you all had a great night :)

I had these views on my way into work this morning:

Back on the Mat

Hello friends!

I hope you all had a wonderful night J

Back on the Mat

Man, it felt so so so good to be back on the mat in a studio last night!

Same mat, different day

Bikram Yoga

Good Afternoon!

Hope you are all having a great day! Its raining cats and dogs here. Isn’t that the funniest expression? I never quite understood it…but if it means raining like crazy, it is crazy cray here.

[Source]

Home-Style Yoga

Guten Morning!

I had a pretty relaxed night. I had to stay a bit late at work to deal with a last-minute request, and then biked home afterwards. Although I am usually pretty firm in keeping my work schedule as it is and not bringing work home, it is nice to be able to stay a bit later when I need to and not stress out that I’m going to keep my carpool people waiting.

‘Cause I’m the only one in this carpool now ;)

I made some pan-fried salmon and steamed broccoli, but was still hungry afterwards and had some leftover rice with sriracha hot sauce (my fav), but was still hungry so I had one of my roomie’s sugar-free, gluten-free, vegan cookies.

I feel spoiled.

Home-Style Yoga

The at-home yoga class that I posted about yesterday was definitely a success. It was so nice to be in my bedroom getting my Om on.

It was great because I could just follow along with her voice, which was a lot better than always looking up at the computer screen to switch from move to move.

Since it was only a 20 minute class, I decided to do a bit of a warm-up beforehand. I don’t usually do that, but I felt like it had been forever since I had done any type of weighted workout, so I busted this circuit out a couple of times before using the yoga flow as a cool-down.

Circuit x 2 or 3: 50 seconds work, 10 seconds rest

1 - Weighted squats

2 - Burpee, stand up and chest press (hold weight and push out from chest)

3 - Bent-over row (stand bent over with knees bent a bit, and row weight up)

4 - Step back lunge and tricep press (hold weight overhead when standing, and bring back into a tricep press when in a lunge position)

5 - Inch worm (kick back into high lunge position, then jump your legs halfway up and then jump feet to hands, and then jump back to high plank position)

6 - V-hold and switch weight side-to-side (like you’re kayaking with a weight)

Maybe that’s why I was so hungry afterwards ;)

Question of the Day:

• Have you ever used yoga as a cool-down? Or does that seem crazy cray??

Yoga At Home

I love how many online resources there are for workouts. I usually use workouts from a couple of sources on a weekly basis from the following resources: bodyrock/dailyhiit (I have a Focus On post on the website and their workouts here); toneitup; blogilates; fitnessista; pbfingers; or anything else that I find online from magazines like Womens Health or Self.

One thing that I have not tried yet is online yoga. Which is about to change!

Yoga At Home

I used to work at lululemon while I was at school in Montreal, and then transferred to the Westboro store in Ottawa, so I still get their updates on fbook.

 A recent fav.

I saw a link to one of their Ambassador’s [link], Edith Parinas, website with a picture of a hatha flow class. I printed it out immediately, but never got around to trying it out. I was going to go to a nearby studio tonight with one of my new roomies, but she found out that she has to work late. Womp womp.

But then I remembered this!

[Source]

And I thought, why not?

I’ll let you know how it goes :)

Question of the Day:

• Have you ever tried doing an at-home yoga class before? Did you love or not-so-love it?

I think that there’s a lot to be said about being in a studio and joining the energy of all the others in the room...but I guess I’ll just have to make up for that myself, in the comfort of my own room ;)

09/09 Pics from the Weekend

Morning friends!

I had a pretty relaxed night last night after my run. I made my fav quickie dinner or rice and a lentil medley with some kale, garden tomatoes, and chillie flakes.

Pics from the Weekend

This weekend seemed so long, in the best possible way!

Flowers from a coworker to brighten my day :)

French toast

Parliament

Byward Martket

Pumpkins are out already!

Doing my grocery shopping 

Catch-up tea with my bro :)

Avett Brothers with the gang

09/08 Fitness for the Week

Hope everyone has had a great weekend!

I caught up with an old friend who just got back from the summer in Vancouver, and saw my little (*ahem* big) brosef for a bit. He just started at the University of Ottawa, and now lives in residence two blocks away from my new place.

Crazy cray.

My stepdad and little sister also stopped by today out of the blue - I realized that I had left my phone charger at work, so my phone died today. Mega fail. Although its impressive that it lasted so long...

Anyway, I voluntold them to help me rearrange my bedroom - it feels (and looks) so much better now! Although the colour is a bit dark, so I think I may try and paint it. I will def need a ladder, though, because the ceilings are SO HIGH.

Which I love :)

I was feeling a bit lazy after getting home from my hangouts, but I got changed and went out the door for a run along the canal. So glad I did!

I need a running watch. 

Fitness for the Week

Monday: Yoga

Tuesday: Run

Wednesday: Strength

Thursday: Run

Friday: Tabata

Saturday: Active Rest Day

Sunday: Runday

Well, I'll be back later with some pics from the weekend. Have a great night!

Question of the Day:

• Do you make weekly fitness plans? Do you find it helps to keep you more accountable for your fitness goals? I find that I am much more likely to actually get out and do something when I have it written down ;)

Ottawa Folk Festival 2013

Hey friends,

Its so weird being able to write a post whenever I feel like it...like at midnight when I am too excited to fall asleep after watching an AMAZING show.

Ottawa Folk Festival 2013

After a bit of a late night yesterday at a friend's place (okay, understatement of the year...I didn't wake up until noon today), I took it easy and hung out with a few friends today and walked around to a few garage sales in the area. I got an awesome mirror for $3. Great success.

It looked kind of like it was about to rain all day, but I decided to suck it up and head out to meet some friends at the Ottawa Folk Festival at Hog's Back Park.

So I busted out the ol' bike and rode along the Rideau Canal

Bike selfie (I forgot my helmet at work - I swear I will usually wear one!!)

Such a beautiful ride!

The vendors outside the festival grounds

Where all the magic happens

Chris Hadfield. A surprisingly good singer, with very witty space jokes.

When asked whether he was sad that he would never be able to go back to space, he gave a really interesting and quite an inspiring answer. He mentioned how he did not want to regret anything in his life or look back on the past with sadness. Instead, he wants to constantly appreciate the present and look to the future for all of its new adventures that it holds.

He was clearly talking to me ;)

A house to colour

Pad thai. With spicy sauce. 

The Folk Festival is smaller than bluesfest, so I noticed that there was a lot of initiatives to make it as green as possible, with free water bottles being given away, all of the food stands used reusable plates, and there was recycling bins everywhere. Loves it!

A really blurry picture of Hey Ocean. A very lively and fun band!

The Sheepdogs in the distance. A solid oldies rock band.

The Avett Brothers, the headliners for the night

Started off with a cool acrobatic show first. The moves this girl could make...crazy pants

If you haven't listened to them already, just do it. Seriously. 

My bike ride home was very wet. A got SOAKED!

Also, the bike path along the canal is close to the road at parts, so a couple of taxis completely sprayed me from head to toe when they went through a puddle near me.

Ah well. I made it home safe, and was on a music high from the night. It was actually my first time checking out the Folk Festival, and I would definitely go again! The location is awesome, and I really enjoyed all of the acts.

Hope you are all having a great weekend, and I will be back tomorrow with my exercise and meal plan for the week!

Question of the Weekend:

• What is your favourite music festival? I have to admit that Osheaga in Montreal is still my fav :)