Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Things I'm (already) thankful for this year, 3 miles, Eliptical Advice

Thanks for your sweet notes about my resolutions - and for sharing your own! I'm so inspired this year to get things accomplished that I have to remember to enjoy accomplishing them....the process, not just getting it done! I MUST focus on this or i'll drive myself crazy! I don't know about you guys, but so far this year there are already several things i'm thankful for. Here are a few!
  • The second day of the year was a Sunday. A day of rest. I took full advantage making those two videos yesterday: video 1 and video 2! So very exciting. This also gave me a chance to start working on my resolutions!
  • Being off work Monday. Yes, my company gave us the first Monday of the new year off. Woo! I needed one more day of nothingness.
  • Having an extra week of vacay. January 2010 marks 5 years of working at my company. This means 5 extra days of vacation bringing me to 23 days. I think this is going to make SUCH a difference.
  • Having an xBox in our bedroom. I know this seems ridiculous- but we have a home server so now i'm able to watch ALL of our movies off the server in our bedroom via xBox, not to mention NetFlix on demand. I can even watch the movies I make as those are on the server. Lovely! I think it's time to cancel our cable subscription for reals.
Yes, from that list it's clear that I value vacation and entertainment. haha

Sunday was truly spent making videos, hanging out with Austin and doing as little as possible. I will say that we watched The Town and I loved it. I didn't know anything about the story going into it, but really enjoyed watching it unfold although my heart was racing the whole time and it's always strange when you find yourself rooting for "the bad guys." Great recommendation from Stacy - so glad we watched it! And MAN were their mask choices creepy.

Monday was very chill. I slept in then ran errands (Wal-Mart, Michael's, Joanne's Fabric, Homegoods). I must say I hadn't been to Wal-Mart in forever and I didn't miss it - it's just not very nice, especially compared to Target. Yes, Target has spoiled me. (although wow - you really can't beat wal-mart's prices). After errands I played with the pups, cleaned up a bit around the house, then hit the gym for a 3-mile walk and 10-minutes on the elliptical. Not too bad. Then I got home, showered, paid bills and read some of Joanne Fluke's Cream Puff Murder. It's cute! So far I like it better than the last one I read (Key Lime Pie).

And, to share some of the recipes I made during marathon cooking last Thursday, here is a new recipe for Skillet Chicken with Mexican Green Rice:

Recipe adapted from Mel’s Kitchen CafĂ©

Makes 4 Servings


Nutritional Information: 420 calories, 57 carbs, 6 fat grams and 31 protein grams.


See the recipe at Healthified Kitchen!


Q: As far as the elliptical, what should I do? How do I track it? I got on there and put the resistance at 5 for 3 minutes, 3 for 3 minutes, then 0 for 4 minutes to total 10. I was going fast and working up a sweat - but there's no way to track it I feel like - maybe each elliptical is different? - help!

Q: Are you back in the swing of things yet? I'm having a hard time adjusting! I really enjoyed my time of way and am just not ready to be productive yet!

18 comments:

Erica said...

That is SO fabulous that you had Monday off! What a treat! I really dislike Walmart. I only go there when I have to and Josh and I go at odd hours (like 9 pm on a Wednesday). I am finally feeling like I am back in the swing of things. Of course, we have visitors coming this weekend now- ah!

Heather (Where's the Beach) said...

I'm soooo trying to get back on track. Just not feeling it regarding work though. I really hate using cardio equipment at the gym. What I've noticed is that ellipticals can be very different from gym to gym depending on the type, model, etc. Some have inclines, some just resistance. I think my gym it does calculate miles, pace, and speed. But I just try to go by my heart rate to help me figure out how hard I'm working.

Kimmi said...

Hi Kelly -
Happy new year! I love your list, we got rid of cable last year and I havent missed it a bit! We do the streaming netflix and fileserver for movies too. I have an elliptical for cross training (I have the princess 1/2 marathon coming up so I mostly just run outside).

If you're like me you'll have to do workouts totally different from your running workouts bc you'll keep trying to compare the feeling. I do HIIT (see wiki HIIT) workouts on the elliptical at a moderately high resistance. I can get close to the "runners' high" in about 1/2 hour.

* I'm not a trainer, or health professional... this is just what I personally do :o)

3 min easy warm up
5 min of heavy resistance
2 min to recover
15 min 1min:1min intervals
5-ish min 1min:30sec intervals and or recover

xoxo kimmi

MaryT said...

Hola homie!!! so I just stalked your blog for a while and feel caught up on the life and times of Kelly :) xbox in room is awesome....as as your extra vacay days!! as for the elliptical - I have found that each machine can be drastically different. Some are easy at a resistance of 8 when others KILL at a resistance of 3. I would say track based on time and calories via your heart rate monitor (not based on the machine). Let me know if you want to try a new yoga class sometime - I'd love the company! holler.

Shelli said...

I loathe Walmart! If I had a Super Target I'd be in heaven!! Wal-mart is gross but it's one of the only places you can pick up grocery items and non grocery things!

I liked The Town too!

Anonymous said...

I'm almost in the swing of things. It's tough getting back to a routine!

Genesis said...

i loved the town too. im not much of a action movie kind of girl but like you i was on the edge of my seat with this and the different story lines were amazing and i too was rooting for Ben Affleck.

Kacy said...

I watched The Town on Sunday too. It was really good :)

Jenny said...

I'm having the worst time getting into the swing of things this year and coming off of this break. Ugh. I feel like I can't catch up.

Unknown said...

Well for me, I do three elliptical miles...I track by distance and calories - I get a least 300. I always crank up the resistence (between 6 and 7) because I don't feel it in my legs otherwise.

Beth @ bride in the little white dress said...

What a great way to ring in the New Year with the first Monday off. Lucky duck :)

Target's dollar section alone is enough reason why it's way cooler than Walmart. But yes Walmrt does have the better prices.

Gabriela said...

Each elliptical is definitely different!! I just try to go at a quick pace and work up a sweat- as long as I'm breathing hard and sweating, I know I'm getting a good workout!

lee said...

Oddly enough, this full week has been going by pretty fast for me.

I do intervals on the elliptical. That way I make sure that I'm not just taking it easy the whole time.

Lea @ Healthy Coconut said...

23 days of vacation? Whoa...that sounds like heaven compared to my 5 days :( So sad!

I saw "The Town" recently on DVD too, I liked all the actors and the story. I was really impressed that Ben Affleck directed the movie too.

Pining for Pinterest said...

My husband and I have talked about actually buying another xobx 360 just for our room. I love all of the other features that it has!!

Val said...

The Town was awesome! I was born and raised in New England so this movie spoke to me. Walmart gives me straight up anxiety!! lol. I wish we were neighbors cause, I'm seriously hungry after seeing your food.

Journey2Goal said...

I just watched the Town this weekend & loved it! I agree, the masks were a little scary!

lee said...

Oddly enough, this full week has been going by pretty fast for me.

I do intervals on the elliptical. That way I make sure that I'm not just taking it easy the whole time.