Life is Good!

Don't you just love it when everything seems to fall into place? Everything is going great, you feel good, you smile, and life is awesome? I love it!

Last week I didn't update my workout because it was random and she had me doing a lot of diff things, so I couldn't remember it all! What I do remember is she had me do pushups where you crawl across the floor while doing them. So everytime you come up, you move a hand forward. That was tough! One thing I love about working out with her is that we're always moving, always keeping my heart rate up, always moving to something different. We should spend a bit of time doing the pushups, and then some wall sits, and some core, and then I had to run stairs. And then we did some other exercises (sorry, I cant remember them all!) and then do some more stairs. She always keeps my heart rate up and I just love that. I need to keep better track of that I do with her so that I can go back and do it on my own again!

My workout yesterday was awesome. Leah introduced me to the TRX training program. It's crazy hard!

Okay, so I wasnt as intense as this guy when I did it, but it was hard! I'm very sore today. We spent about 30 minutes on that, doing some where you face towards where the bands are tied, and then away. The craziest one was when she put my feet into the handles. I went into plank position, and then had to pull my knees up to my chest from side to side. That was hard! Now that she has taught me to do these workouts, I can ask someone to put up the TRX for me and I can use it. So I'll have to do that soon so I remember everything she showed me.

After that pain I did 10 minutes on the stairmaster. But the stairmaster that's actual stairs. Oh my! That thing is nuts. I was begging to get off by the end.

I also got my body fat percentage done yesterday. I think it will be a better indication of how I'm coming along than just weight. So I'll do that again in probably 6 months to see how I've done.

I'm back being totally committed to working out, eating better, and just feeling good. I was straying for a while, but now I'm back on track!

I shall leave you with a few photos from our trip to Banff. We met up with Gareth's sister and her husband. We had a blast...I love the Rockies!

Lots of love,
Shauna xox

Gareth skiing at Louise

Me and the wicked ice sculpture for 2010 Olympics

Alan...being Alan!

2nd Trainer Workout

Alright, so my plan is to record my workouts on here, so that if/when I no longer have a trainer, I can pull these out, and still have great workouts to do. Sound good? One thing...I'm really bad for knowing the names of things, so I think I will try to describe the workout instead of naming it...or name it something stupid, that's so obivously not the name!

2nd session with trainer

Grabbed a 20 pound bar, the rubber kinds with no weights actually on it. Mine was pink! Headed out to the track. Upper body first (Leah said most of the time she likes full-body workouts)

1. Hold bar in front of you, palms facing toward you. Do a bicep curl, then raise it over your head. Back down. That's 1. Did 20!
2. keep palms facing in. Lower bar, arms straight. Raise bar straight up in front of you, squeezing your shoulder muscles as you raise the bar. The bar stays straight, you just move it up and down. 20 times
3. 20 women's pushups.

Run 3 laps on the track as fast as you can. Last 1/4, SPRINT!

Now onto lower body

1. Wall sit for 1 minute. Feeeeel the burn!
2. Modified burpies. Jump up, squat and touch the ground. Repeat 15 times
3. That's it for lower body! Some core now-Partner Leg throws. Lie down, with your partner standing with one foot on either side of your head. Grab their ankles. Lift your legs straight up, soles of your shoes paralel to the ceiling. Your partner will push your feet back to the ground. Dont't let your feet touch the ground! Repeat 15 times. (This is awesome if your partner pushes your feet in different directions, it works different parts of your abs then).

Run 2 laps as fast as you can.

Back to upper body.

1. 15 bicep curl/pole to the ceiling (see above for directions).
2. 20 bar raises
3. 15 women's pushups. This time, push yourself up and bring your hands off the mat. Hard!

Sprint 1 lap

1. Wall sit for 1 minute. (my legs were shaking!!)
2. Modified burpies. 15 times.
3. Partner Leg throws. 15 times.

Walk 2 laps to get heartrate down.

Onto some core.
1. Sit down on a mat with your partner standing in front of you with a 6 pound medicine ball. Lean back and lift your feet off the ground, creating a V-seat. Your partner will gently toss the ball to you. Toss it back. That's 1. Repeat 15 times (keep those feet up!)
2. Create the V-seat again, while holding the medicine ball in front of you. Move ball from side to side. Repeat 20 times. (try to keep your legs off the ground for the majority of this, it's difficult).

Stretch...and you're done!

Phew!

Addicted to the Gym

Good morning lovelies!

The new year is off to an interesting start. I have to say, I hate winter. It seems to drag me down and bum me out, and I become a bit of a hermit during this cold, dark time. I stay at home, I eat too much because I have nothing to do, and then I feel gross. I'm really, REALLY trying to break this habit, and all I can do is keep trying, right? RIGHT!

One great thing that I've started doing is that I've signed up with a personal trainer. This has forced me to start weight training again. I got out of the habit, and to be honest, I always felt like I really didn't know what I was doing. I have been going to the gym for years, and yet I still felt like I had no clue. Leah is teaching me how to do full-body workouts where I'm maximizing my time. I am going to try to record what do at the gym on here, so I remember the workouts, because the day will come when I no longer have a trainer, so I want to remember all this awesomeness!




Last week, she designed a program that I do myself twice a week. I did that. Then I see her once. That's my weight training for the week. On top of all that, I can do as much cardio as I choose and my body can handle. I counted, and I went to the gym 10 times last week! I go to the gym at lunch too, as I have an hour mandatory lunch and what else do I do? So...

Monday- morning-cardio (1 hr on elliptical). Lunch-cardio (30 min on elliptical)
Tuesday-morning-Trainer. Lunch-cardio (30 min on elliptical)
Wednesday-morning-swimming. Lunch cardio (30 min, 3 km walk)
Thursday morning-weights (workout from trainer). Lunch-cardio (30 min. interval cardio on elliptical)
Friday-morning-break. Lunch-cardio (30 min. interval cardio on elliptical)
Saturday-Day off
Sunday-30 min cario and workout from trainer


Sounds amazing right?! So the way I figure it, if I can JUST get my eating under control, I'll be an all-star! So I'll keep trying, plugging away, to do my best, and to remember to...eat how I want to feel!


Yesterday,
Monday-Morning-break. Lunch-30 min cardio (interval on elliptical)
Tuesday-Morning-Trainer. Lunch-30 min cardio (elliptical)

My other goal is to get back into running. I really dont know if it can happen, as my ankle was twinging as I was sprinting on the track this morning, but I'm going to try. Maybe it just needs to build in strength again. I'm thinking a 10 km will by my limit.


This post is getting crazy long, so I'll be back with my workout from this morning.

Muah!
Shauna

HaPpY nEw YeAr!

Hello friends! Happy new year! Welcome to 2010. A new year, a new decade, a fresh new start!

My holidays started out very busy. Gareth and I hosted Christmas day for the first time so our holidays were very busy to start out with. After christmas things calmed down, and we relaxed, slept, visited with friends, and just enjoyed our time. It was great! During that time I had the chance to think about my life right now, where it is, where it's heading, and where I want it to head. I thought of some key things I can work on, update, think about, to make my life a little better. You could say they are New Year's resolutions, but since I do this from time to time anyway, you could just call them improvements ;)

Work

1. Be at work 10 minutes early every day. This will give me time to get my breakfast ready, my tea poured and brewed, and for me to be sitting in my desk ready to go for 8 am.

2. Dress professionally Monday-Thursday. Jeans on Fridays only, and even on jeans' day remember I'm going to work, not to a football game. It's really easy for me to start wearing jeans and hoodies to work every day as a lot of people dress like that. But their jobs are different than mine, and I am in a role that I should be portraying a professional image.

3. Be thankful I have a job. I have an income. I have stability. Stop complaining about how crappy it is, because some people are a lot worse off than me. Think of the positives.

Health

1. Eat how I want to feel. I want to feel good, so I need to eat good. When I eat junk, I feel like junk.

2. Workout to make my body strong, able & capable. Start thinking first and foremost about making my body healthy, not just thin.

3. Workout on a regular basis. Out of bed and to the gym 3 mornings a week, minamum. This makes me strong, makes me healthy, and wakes me up.

House

1. Put my laundry away!

2. Keep my stuff tidy always, instead of once a week. It's easy to put the mess away as we go.

Number 1 Goal

Save for New Zealand! When I want a new top, new shoes, new whatever, think of New Zealand. It's so worh it. When I was there before, these are the views I experienced (just in case you're wondering why this is so important):

Our goal is to get work visas and be there for a year. So this year will be prep for next year! It will also be to have a great year.

We have some exciting things coming up. My sister in law and her husband are having a two week holiday in Banff comin up (they're English) so we're heading to Banff next weekend. That's the most exciting!

I am going to sort through some photos from the past little bit and I will share some with you soon.

Oh ya, and I'm going back to my original goals on here, so I'll be blogging more!

xox Shauna

Back for the Holidays!

Hello my friends!

If you're still with me, I thank you. I know I havent been keeping up with this blog, and I dont have much of an excuse. Except for the fact that for a little while I really felt like life was kicking my butt, and sometimes I feel like people don't need to hear a lot of negative stuff. People like to hear positives, and that's usually what I try to project. But every once in a while life gets you down and that's just the way it is.

I am happy to report that the long line of unexpected disasters has come to a close, and we are levelling off right now. Gareth is back to work (yay!) with the promise of news on his residency application 3 months away. It's exhausting to constantly hear that I'm blowing things out of proportion, and he should automatically be accepted into the country now that we're married. Guess what folks, life's not like that! The process is working in his favor so that's all that matters right now.

I am now driving a new/old car, as I got my parents old vehicle from them. I am back driving the car that they had when I got my liscence at 16. It's has 4x4 and a car starter, so that should have been a "gimme, gimme!" kinda deal, right? But let me tell you, when you're struggling as much as I have been, giving up one more piece of independence (my very first car) and feeling like you're regressing (going back to the car you drove before you couldn't even legally drink) is a tough one. I really struggled with that. Finally swallowed my pride and exchanged the two (I hope gracefully). So that bug got worked out. Then Gareth was given a work truck, so there's another worry off our shoulders.

THEN to top it all off, we bought a new oven! Gareth searched and found a crazy sale, and it finally came in last week. Just in time for Christmas! Four months without an oven is NOT fun, but we got through, and now it's all over!

Luckily I seem to be coming out of my funk just in time for the best time of the year. Christmas is my favorite holiday as it's all about friends, family, and QT. I'm all about a little QT. My tree is up, our stockings are hung, and now we're just waiting for Santa to come!

We spent Saturday night with some great friends. We hosted a potluck and it was a great night! I am forever reminded of how lucky I am to have great friends in my life, who are wonderful. I feel so lucky right now!


Christmas is going to be a relaxing time this year. I shall return tomorrow with our plans.

I know I have neglected this for a while, but a new year's resolution is to keep up with it.

Back tomorrow!

Love and kisses,
Shauna xox

It's Been a While...

Hello faithful followers,

I bet you have been better at checking in than I have been at writing! Things have been crazy busy with me. Things haven't been too much fun, and I haven't felt like dumping on you all!

Alas, there have still been things to update you on, which I will slowly do the next week.

Gareth and I shared our 5th year together on October 30. We usually go for a nice, romantic dinner to celebrate. This year I planned things just a little different.

First off, we went and played black light mini golf. The decorations are fantastic! We had a blast.



Gareth won this round...so as of right now he's in the lead. But I will fight back!

After our rousing game, we headed over to the Fulton Burger Company for dinner. It's a gourmet, New York style hamburger joint.

Dinner was so good! We stuffed our faces and it was worth it!

Gareth enjoyed his :)

Happy 5 years babe. Here's to always having fun together.

I'm off to another work event, so that's all for today. I promise I will be back soon for more updates

Shauna xoxo

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Happy Friday everyone!

I have a busy day at work today, as we are carving pumpkins and having a pizza lunch. I said busy, not productive!

This day means a lot more to me than just the day before halloween though. It's mine and Gareth's 5 year anniversary! I know, I know, we're married now, so why am I still counting this one? Because it's special! And it's a milestone! And it's an excuse to go on a date ;)...as if we need an excuse :P

Anyway, I thought it might be fun for us...okay for me, to have a little walk through memory lane, photo style.

This is either the very first, or one of the first photos we have with each other. Adelaide, Australia, at the Grace Emily pub. 2004


Back in Canada, going to Bar None, a yearly party put on by the Agriculture students at the U of A.

New Year's eve! I'm going to say 2006.

My trip to the UK to meet the family!! We did some sightseeing as well ;)

Stonehenge

The night before I ran my first half marathon! 2008

And of course...

Wedding day!! August 8, 2009

And our honeymoon xx

So there you have it! We've done tons, we've been a lot of places and changed a bit I think!

Happy anniversary babe, love you lots!

Shauna xoxox