Hey guys! Just popping by the blog to say “hi!” before the week gets underway. How was your weekend? We had a great one that was mixed with busyness and low key moments – just perfect if you ask me. We were out in Banff, Alberta (anyone been here before? A touristy but still neat little mountain town about 2 hours from Calgary) for a conference and a film festival…but I’ll let the intro to this quick workout video tell you the rest of the story:

My original plan was to go for a long run in the morning while Mikey was at his conference but it was really dark in the morning, I didn’t know where to run in the area for 10+ miles and the hotel said I could use their gym.

I couldn’t say no to a locker, a shower and no one else in the gym, so I decided to stay in the gym. I started out running on the treadmill and just knew it wasn’t a day to run. So I finished a mile as a warm up and then did the above workout, finishing it off with 50 more burpees to get me to a total of 100 burpees for the morning (I’m taking a note from Courtney, whose blog and personal workouts and honesty – and abs! – inspire me!) and some extra core work. Done and done. Much better than forcing myself ot run long when my body didn’t want to – still burned calories, had fun and pushed myself!

(In other news, I finally bought a watch this weekend since mine busted during the move and I use one every day at work…I tweeted to ask what people think and got some positive responses but I’m still testing it out. Too crazy or kind of neat? I wanted something different than the typical black sports watch but couldn’t find ANYthing – spent 2 weeks of free time during errands looking! Too big or is it okay?)

The rest of the day was spent coffee-shopping-it-up so Mikey could work on school assignments and me on prepping workouts for clients for the week. While we were at the Banff Centre checking out the booths for the Banff Mountain Film Festival, we actually ran into one of said clients, who has been nursing a bad knee and had it go out on her while walking around. We both knew we might run into each other and we did so while she was waiting for the paramedics to arrive to take her to the hospital. It was so hard to see her like that! Sharon, get better soon! I’ll miss you this week!

In between study/prep moments I Skyped with my best friend, Anna. Funny how a Canadian girl ended up in Texas and a California girl ended up in Calgary! It was great to connect, coffee shop to coffee shop (she was doing lesson prep in Starbucks). It was fun to see one another face to face – sure helps when you’re so far from those you love! Crazy how it helps you feel and stay connected too, even if it’s been a while since you’ve physically been in the same geographic place!

We said goodbye to Anna and headed to see some great films – I LOVE being inspired to move outside the gym! One was about back country snowboarding (we’re talking BACKcountry – in real wilderness, huge, stunning mountain ranges around the world) and the other about a group of 4 guys who kayaked the world’s biggest rapids in the Congo – the Inga Rapids. It made the Grand Canyon rapids (which were still huge hits of water) seem like nothing! So inspired to use what we do in the gym to help us get outside and experience life more…isn’t that what it’s all about? Oh man – love the inspiration!

Sunday, after watching the sermon from church online (didn’t get the chance to go in today – daylight savings plus Mikey’s school studying schedule!), I got to work around the house to clean it up and prep for dinner – we were having our small group over! Love connecting with these guys. So I got out in the sunshine for a walk to the local market, bought some overly priced groceries but enjoyed their convenience and made haste in the kitchen!

On the menu: Jessica‘s recent Lightened Up Chicken Enchiladas with a big salad, wine from friends, some of Julie‘s pumpkin spice puppy chow and homemade caramel apples (I got this idea from one of Jessica’s posts too)! I bumped around recipes to make the caramel and struggled after a few attempts but finally got something manageable to work with. Have you ever made caramel sauce before? Hard! Especially without a thermometer.

concentration…

After some time, I finally got it, and here’s the fun, finished product (with a Bonnie twist – of course I don’t have any popsicle sticks or tooth picks so I used our bamboo cutlery – what? You don’t have bamboo forks, knives and chop sticks as a staple in your kitchen? Hmm):

The end result?

It was fun to tackle something a little different for me, but the best part of the night was hanging around with friends, even if I did break a vase and got some baby spit up on me – all in a day’s night. Mikey and I later got on Skype with my parents and it was great to connect with them too – a people-filled evening we both enjoyed.

So tell me…

Do you workout to get outside more? Or do you simply love working out (I do and know others do too!)? Do you do it to maintain or for a specific purpose?

Ever tried to make caramel before?

Want to come hang out in Banff with me and get some workouts in so we can go summit mountains together?

Cheers to a great week – let’s start it off well, friends! Have a healthy, happy day and remember to make a conscious choice to live well & be well today,

Bonnie

(Workout at home in our extra room – don’t you love the black and white tiles + brick walls?! A little messy but you can plank ANYwhere! Remember that and make it happen this week!)