Workouts

Sun
Rest

Mon
Run 0.75 mi to Y
Run 2 mi on dreadmill
Cycling class
Run 0.75 mi home
Zumba
~I was a very tired lady at the end of the day...~

Tues
Snowshoeing!  Only for about an hour, but it was an absolutely lovely day
PowerFlex

I'm SO EXCITED to see that one of our local sports stores (the same store that puts on the Bighorn Trail Run) will be having a snowshoe race on February 27.**  Now the question is...do I sign up for the 5K or 10K??  Mind you, I've never done a snowshoe race before & even with all the snowshoe "running" I've been doing recently, it's only within the 1-2 mi range.  My good angel (or maybe in this case it's my naughty angel?) immediately says "Yes!  10K!  Sign up for the 10K!  Challenge challenge challenge!"  The other angel is quietly whispering "6.2 miles on snowshoes?  Are you outta your f***ing mind?!  Stick with the 5K, it will be tough enough."

Most of it will depend on the trails.  As you've read in my recent posts, I was only able to do short bursts of running while on snowshoes.  Today, I was out snowshoeing with the pups, but the trails have become much more packed down due to higher volume of traffic & warmer weather.  I noticed I was able to run slowly for much longer periods of time on the packed trails.  Ah, decisions, decisions...

**Note:  If you happened to go to the race calendar website I posted above, you may have noticed the incredibly odd name they picked.  The local sports store is called The Sports Stop, but they created this race calendar website & called it WASP Wyoming.  Oops.  Um, not sure who decided on the acronym or name, but let's just say they probably would not be able to get away with such a name in any other state...  Welcome to Wyoming.

Drive home

The drive home from Sioux Falls after Christmas were some of the worst roads we'd experienced.  It was slow going & dangerous.  Luckily we made it home safe, but here are a few pictures I snapped along the way.

These hay bales are not small...and they're completely drifted in.

The dogs trying to stay comfortable.

Slow going...

Poor guy drove most of the trip - he wasn't too happy with the terrible conditions.

After the constant snowstorms in Sioux Falls, we hadn't seen the sun in days.  I was ecstatic when the sun began peeking through the clouds!

The roads were terrible, but I had to smile when the sun came out.

Rainbow Cupcakes, take two

As you might recall, I attempted rainbow cupcakes a few weeks ago with little success.  I decided to give them another go for a New Year's party.  Again, I used this batter recipe, but also tried the frosting recipe.  As you can see below, even trying a new technique with the batter (completely covering the previous layer), they didn't turn out as it shows on the website.  However, they did turn out better looking than the last round. The frosting, on the other hand, was a smashing success!  To keep the frosting festive, I followed the frosting technique from here.  Everyone at the party loved the look of the cupcakes.  I'm not sure if I'll continue trying rainbow batter, but the frosting is definitely to be used again.

Workouts

I have plenty of pictures to post, just have not gotten around to it.  Soon...

Tues
Run 5K
PowerFlex class (a free weights strength training class I instruct)

Wed
Cycling class
Zumba

Thurs
Cycling class
Run 400M wu, 4X400M, 400M cd
PowerFlex

Fri
Cycling class
3X 12 dips, 75 squats
Zumba

Sat
Snowshoeing!

Workouts

Fri
3 mi run w/Steve

Sat
Snowshoeing w/Steve (x-country skiing) & the pups...pictures to follow

Sun
Rest


Mon
Cycling class
Zumba!  I'm training into it so I can someday instruct it

Sioux Falls Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas in Sioux Falls this year.  We left Sheridan earlier than expected due to incoming storms (stayed overnight at my parent's house a little less than halfway) & stayed later due to storms.  They received over 16" snow & we enjoyed every minute of it.

Steve taking off on his skis.  We didn't notice Brewer in the picture until we were looking back at them later.

Elf Ninja!  It was cold

Brewer & Gidget wrestling

Guinness moments before going down the slide (he went down the slide on the right of the picture, not the circular slide) & Steve doing a "sweet jump" on some playground equipment

New Years & Workouts

I'm not one for New Years resolutions - I never follow through with them, so why bother?  I think it's great if someone sets new goals for themselves, but working at a gym, it's apparent the failure rate of New Years resolutions.  It's sad, but true.  Everyone vows - no, swears - they'll get healthier.  The gym becomes absolute mayhem.  The early morning hours & evening hours (esp between 4-6 pm) are generally busier times, but after January 1, they become insane.  For those that workout on a regular basis, it is incredibly frustrating.  We show up at our regular times to workout, only to find the classes full & machines taken.  Give or take 1-2 months & everything begins to quiet down.  I wish people would make resolutions & stick to them or not make them at all.  I don't mind the gym being busy & will adjust my workout schedule if it were to be like that permanently (which would be great!)....but the chaos created with "Resolution Warriors" is annoying.

I have not planned any New Years resolutions, but instead continue to work on making a life together with Steve.  In my free time (at this point, I sadly have A LOT of free time), I'm attempting to work on my kitchen skills - baking & cooking.  *Gasp!*  You heard it folks.  I want to become comfortable with whipping up a yummy homemade meal without thought.  Part of this stems from a desire to eat from a more natural menu.  The key word here is homemade.  Just knowing how it was made & controlling what goes into the dish makes it that much healthier for you.  I would like to get more into menu planning so we always have a homemade meal for dinner & leftovers for lunch.  With today's crazy society & busy lives, it's so often we won't plan anything for dinner & by the time we're ready to eat, we're reaching for the same meals over & over; I want us to have more variety.  Variety is the spice of life, after all.  It's a work in progress, folks.

My kitchen skills have improved exponentially & I noticed the best thing in the kitchen is to be confident & comfortable.  I don't mind reading a recipe for baking, but when it comes to cooking, I prefer to read the recipe for a general idea of directions & then take off on my own.  If I'm too busy walking back & forth to read the recipe, measure ingredients, re-read the recipe, & so on, I get too stressed & it all goes to hell.  Instead, I let the food take over & go with the flow.

Here's to a new year of continued prosperity (a job would help, but at least we're prosperous in love), health & happiness!!  And continued "fun" & adventures in the kitchen.


Thurs
50 min self-taught "cycling class" (No classes until the New Year, so I hopped on an upright bike at the gym & did my own)  :)
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Jumping pull-ups & dips