The Butt Bible

What a grand Sunday. I don't have to go anywhere, my leg doesn't hurt, and I've finished whatever homework I need to do. I also haven't mentioned this all week for obvious reasons, but my parents have been out of town since Tuesday and get home tonight. I've been by myself all week watching the pups, and we've had a wonderful time. They are so considerate and let me sleep as late as I want. I make sure to return the favor by rubbing their bellies, feeding them, giving them yummy treats, walking them, and scratching their butt. Dogs totally dig that. 

Snack

I got a small pang of hunger in between meals yesterday, so I made up a very amusing snack. Lately, I've been taking Triscuits and dipping them in cottage cheese. I like them both, and putting them together works well for me. 

I was feeling more innovative yesterday, so I filled the surface of small plate with the crackers and then broke apart a couple of baby spinach leaves and placed a piece on each cracker. I put a small spoonful of cottage cheese on top of that, and then topped  it with either cheddar or mozzarella shredded cheese. 

I melted it in the microwave for 30 seconds. It came out looking like a complete cheesy mess (I laughed out loud when I saw it), but it didn't do anything bad for the taste. I liked it so much that I made it again today. 

Dinner and Blackhawks

Last night, I went to my friend Kate and her boyfriend Dan's new apartment. Kate cooked dinner, Dan taught  me everything I needed to know about watching a Chicago Blackhawks game, and I brought the beer. 

Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale and some regular Bud Lite. 

Kate grilled burgers, chicken and potato slices. She also made a great salad. 

Dessert: A chocolate meringue cake from Trader Joe's and chopped pineapple and mangoes. 

I never really ate mangoes until I met Kate. Now, they are one of my favorite fruits. There is nothing to not like about them, except for burning acid holes in your mouth from eating too many of them. I guess I can blame Kate for that. 

The game (see the creepy witch troll watching the game on the couch?)

My first time wearing a Blackhawks jersey. Thanks for showing me how to hold the hockey stick, Dan! Apparently, I was holding it the same way that I would sweep the floor before he corrected me. 

Probably the wrong way to hold it....

Breakfast

I had another almost-rotten banana sitting around, so I made it into another smoothie this morning. My smoothie contained:

• one very ripe banana
• one handful of washed baby spinach
• one scoop of chocolate whey protein powder
• 1/2 cup uncooked oats
• 1/2 cup soy milk

I used to be so disgusted when I first read about food bloggers putting spinach in their smoothies. Here's the honest truth about it: you can't taste it at all! I put a whole handful in there, and look at my smoothie. Do you see anything green floating around in there? Heck no!

It's such a great way to sneak greenery into your food. You'll never know it's there, but you're still getting the nutrients. My only regret was the oats. They made my drink too chewy. Next time, I'll add cooked oats or omit them all together. 

The Butt Bible

I feel like I've been sneaking around on you guys for discovering such a great workout and not telling you about it! I realized several weeks ago (we're talking about right after I finished summer school) that I needed to find a better way to work my lower body. I wasn't challenging myself enough, and I wanted to tone up down there. I found "The Butt Bible" on Xfinity (on demand TV workouts for people who have Comcast) and did the Lower Body Level 1 workout a few times. Then I went to San Francisco and had my exercise-free time while Alastair was in town. When he left, I decided to seriously commit to this workout. 

Source

The Butt Bible is six "badass" workouts created by Pauline Nordin that work the entire body. There are three levels of intensity, and each level has an upper body and a lower body workout. Each workout ranges from 20 minutes (level I) to about 40 minutes (level III). If you decide to do the whole thing, then you finish all of them over six weeks. You do one level for two weeks, and then you move to the next one. Xfinity pulled the majority of the workouts when I was on week six (they do that from time to time), so I'm so lucky that I was able to do the whole series for no additional charge. Since it's no longer there in its entirety, though, you can download her workout or buy it online. 

I was shocked at how well my body responded to the Butt Bible. On most weeks, I did the lower body workouts twice a week and the upper body three times a week. I started seeing results almost instantly, especially in my lower body. While the workouts aren't very long, Pauline had me working my ass off (no pun intended) the whole time. The lower body workouts ranged from normal squats and lunges to using chairs to floor exercises. For upper body, we used both weights and body weight. I could only do about 5-ish push ups on  my toes before I started the program, and now I can do 20. I'd say that's a big improvement. She also incorporates abdominal work into the upper body workouts. 

Not only did The Butt Bible tone my body, but Pauline Nordin is great entertainment. I laughed so much throughout the program because of her. She has a very silly sense of humor, and she uses that to make the time pass faster. I wish that there were either more workouts of hers or that I could recruit her as my friend. I like her that much. 

The other good thing is that you barely need any equipment. You'll probably need two sets of weights (I used five pounds, eight pounds and sometimes ten pounds) and a chair. If you want a new workout program, then I highly, highly recommend getting your hands on this! I was in a rut before this and really dreaded exercising for a while. When I did this program, I was always excited to get down to the basement and do it. 

I just started P90X (I'm one week in), so I'll be sure to give it a starting review in the next couple of days.