Dinner at Wine Bar and Other Saturday Happenings

Is it seriously Monday tomorrow? It feels like the weekend just started.

Yesterday was a busy day. In the morning, I worked out with a friend. I explained last week that I’m usually a loner at the gym because few of my friends are active. Well, one of my closest friends just joined GoodLife so it looks like I’ll now have a gym buddy to go with me sometimes.

There weren’t any classes yesterday so we did free weights followed by twenty minutes of cardio. My friend had no idea what to do with the free weights (much like me a few months ago) so before we went, I wrote down the sequence of exercises from The New Rules of Lifting for Women Stage 1, Workout A and showed her how to do all of the moves. I then did my own weights workout – Stage 2, Workout A – followed by 20 minutes on the elliptical.

After the gym, it was time to do my weekly grocery shop. I decided to try Organic Garage because I heard it’s cheaper than Whole Foods.I wasn’t overly impressed. It wasn’t that much cheaper than Whole Foods and I couldn’t find half the stuff on my list (they didn’t have Granny Smith apples or regular milk, for example). The store is also tiny and cramped and you constantly have to manoeuvre your way around other people’s carts – disaster. I’d rather pay a little more and get everything done in one peaceful trip complete with free samples and a delicious hot bar.

For lunch, I improvised and came up with this little combo:

Turkey, brie cheese and tomato on whole grain toast with a side of snap peas and hummus. The tomatoes came straight from my grandpa’s garden and they were soooo much tastier than the ones from the grocery store.

After lunch, I read and took a nap. I’d say the hardest part about working full-time is not being able to take afternoon power naps. I would love to pull a George Constanza and build a bed under my desk.

Later in the afternoon, Josh called me up and asked if I wanted to go to a barbecue at his friend from University’s house. We had evening dinner reservations at Wine Bar, so we could only stop by for a quick beer. Then it was time to eat!

Wine Bar is a Tapas-style restaurant with a constantly changing menu and local ingredients. From the Wine Bar website:

“We use only the finest local and naturally-raised food, produced by Ontario farmers and artisans. Every finished meal incorporates Chef Burke’s masterful layering of tastes and commitment to creating distinct dishes that are healthy, sustainable, and ethical. You also need to know that our supply of ingredients changes from season to season. It can even change from week to week – or day-to-day. That, in turn, means our menu is constantly changing, too, and there will always be something new to savor.”

Josh and I shared four plates of food and dessert:

Lamb Poutine

Chorizo Sausage with Mustard

Beet and Goat Cheese Risotto

Lion Paw Scallops

Bread and Butter Pudding

Every plate was delicious and the portions were perfect – enough to satisfy but not so much that we were too full to really savour every bite. We would definitely go back as there were many other items we wanted to sample (you should have seen the careful deliberation process that went into the selection of our food).

This morning, I woke up early for a 10 km Tempo Run. It’s funny because 10 km used to seem like such a big deal but now I actually look forward to them as a nice break from my Speedwork and Long Runs. 

Plans for the rest of the day include a family lunch at my grandpa’s house, then going to watch “The Help” with my mom. Enjoy the rest of your weekend! 

No pain, no progress

I woke up this morning with some serious pain in my lower back and forearms. Clearly, not what should be hurting from the exercises I did yesterday (although my hamstrings and shoulders also hurt, so I suppose I did something right). Obviously, I lifted too heavy. To add insult to injury (literally), when I was leaving my step class this morning, I saw a girl pick up the very same barbell with what appeared to be very little effort and carry it across the weights room like it was nothing.

So I could become all defeatist, figure I’ll always have a weak upper body and accept it; or I can stay the course with my weight lifting program and get stronger. I’m going with the second option and when I think about all of the progress I’ve made since adopting a healthy lifestyle a year and a half ago, I know I can do it.

For example, in March of last year, I couldn’t run for longer than two minutes without having to stop. The very first time I ran, I went with a friend of mine who happens to be a national athlete and certified personal trainer (not a wise idea, in case you were wondering). It was so frustrating not being able to keep up with her but you know what? I kept at it and within five months, I could run 10km without stopping.

Another example – at the beginning of last year, I had no idea how to cook; the extent of my culinary skill was popping something frozen in the oven for twenty minutes. Today, after more than a few demoralizing kitchen disasters, I consider myself a pretty competent cook. If my old self could see me now, she’d be pretty damn impressed. But I never would have made so much progress if I’d given up at the first obstacle.

So what’s the point of this long-winded post? Basically, that I’ll be back in the free weights room next week, as planned.

Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox for a minute to review my weekend so far. Last night, Josh and I met up in Toronto to watch Brown Balls, a play my friend Renna is producing. The play addresses common stereotypes about Asian males and it was quite thought-provoking. You can read a good review of it here if you’re interested. Here’s a pic of Renna and me at the event:

 

There was also dinner before the show, a nice pan-Asian spread of various curries and noodles, as well as beef ribs and rice. I had vegetarian chapchae, vegetarian red curry with rice and beef ribs followed by a bit of vanilla ice cream with strawberries and a glass of wine.

I’ve spent most of today running errands. In light of my back pain, I did a fairly light (but really fun) step class followed by some light weights (just biceps and quads, nothing I worked yesterday). After, Josh and I had lunch at Whole Foods:

I am officially obsessed with their Kamut Power Blend. Ingredients are kamut, rice, sweet potatoes, edamame, almonds, sunflower seeds, raisins, parsley, raspberry vinegar, apple juice and dried figs. So much good stuff in every bite and it’s so crunchy and sweet. Mmmm!  

Plans for the rest of the day – laze around until it’s time to meet up with Josh, Eleanor, Chris and a couple of friends for dinner. Happy Saturday!

Got my hair did…

I went in for a little trim today and while I’m loving how my hairdresser updated my look, I’m a little freaked out by how short she cut my side bangs. I’ve had them short before but that was in my previous life as a couch potato. I have a feeling these are gonna be a huge pain in the behind during my workouts – time to invest in some bobby pins!

I also got my eyebrows threaded today and, I have to say, grooming takes up a heck of a lot of time. The day has just flown by despite the fact that I woke up super early to watch the royal wedding to do my weekly grocery shop before heading to the gym. I feel like kind of a party pooper for not watching (especially since I’m technically a British citizen) but I was only interested in seeing Kate’s dress and figured I could look at the pictures later.

I got some cool stuff on sale at Whole Foods today – organic strawberries for $1.99 (thanks to A Foodie Stays Fit for the heads up) and Celestial vanilla rooibos tea for $2.99. I didn’t realize there are only two Whole Foods locations in all of Ontario and one of them just happens to be in Oakville. I will never complain again about having to drive twenty minutes to get there!

After Whole Foods, it was off to the gym for Body Attack, which I’ve been neglecting lately. I seem to go through workout phases where I become obsessed with one or two classes or activities to the exclusion of everything else. Right now, it’s running and Body Pump and, to a lesser extent, RPM. Meanwhile, my enthusiasm for Body Attack and Body Step is waning. I’m sure the reverse will be true in a month or so. I might be fickle but at least it compels me to switch up my workout routine on a regular basis.

No major plans for tonight, just dinner and a movie with Josh. We might see “Insidious” although I’m not sure my heart can handle it. We’ll see if I chicken out or not…

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