New Food Processor!

Finally I bought a Food Processor! I'm excited! I see a lot of Salsa's and Sauces in my near future ha! I also have a recipe for fish cakes I've been wanting to try and I need this little guy to help with that.

Do you have one of these? What are some things you make with it? Let me know!

It's Wednesday and the week feels like it's dragging! I wasn't feeling well today so I took the day off to relax.

I made sure to make dinner tonight because yesterday we didn't!
I made Quinoa, mushrooms and peppers with spicy chicken legs. Yummy!

Now... to fit in a workout...

My New Wok! and more.

Day 1 of the week for at home cooking!
I bought this new wok and made my favorite meal Coconut Red Thai Curry Shrimp!
I loaded the broccoli in there, along with red peppers and mushrooms. Dinner was delicious! and I didn't snack at all tonight :) I made good choices all day!

I really love the purchases I made over the weekend. My favorite pieces include this gray blazer. I have a black one already and I would love to find a red one! These blazers are great for both work and pleasure. At work with a pair of dress pants and pleasure with tights or jeans!

I bought this shirt too that can be worn underneath the blazer or I can even wear a long sleeve tight black shirt under it and that would look great too.
Aldo had these booties/shoes for 50% off. $40.00! Although when I brought them home I felt like it was soo wrong to add to my other 6 pairs of black boots!/booties. I think it's time for some color!! I like the heal on these, it's a little thicker. Where I walk to work my stilettos always get caught in the interlocking, and I've been ruining alll my heals! grr!
This week we are completing our reno's and hopefully will not be doing anything else until summer. Reno's are a lot of work! A lot of cleaning! I'll have pics of what we did and the end of the week!

Are you doing any reno's? I think you know how I feel :)

Shopping, babies,Party and Oscar weekend

I thought I would have had a better grasp on my schedule in the New Year but if you read my blog you can see that... nope... I do not. But it has been a very fun beginning to the new year.

Saturday I spent the day with my sister shopping! I bought a spring jacket ( now we just need the spring!) I bought some tops for layering, a pair of pants and shoes too! Our shopping day left us both exhausted!

(Spring is not in sight! Yesterday we had a little snow storm.)


We also went to visit my bff and her new baby boy! Both mom and baby are doing well :)
Me and baby A...

Look how adorable he is!

My eating has not been great this weekend... I did make a good BF yesterday (whole wheat english muffin, a piece of cheddar cheese, scrambled eggs with a tbsp of coconut oil, with cucumber and tomatoes on the side....


but I cheated... a lot! Especially with these cupcakes for my nieces birthday party. My sister made them and they were to die for!!

My niece had her skating bday party today. And Boy, taking care of energetic kids has me pooped!

Now it's time to relax and watch the Oscars!! What movie are you hoping to win a Oscar? I hope Social Network wins!!

Hair, Birthday and Goals

Friday I cut my hair! As you saw in my previous posts. A little shorter than I wanted, but my hair grows super fast so I didn't mind... although I was having an issue with it the last couple days but this morning I think I got it right!

Yesterday was my husband and my niece's Birthdays!!! A turned 10!! And My husband which is also A turned 32!!

Whats a 10 year olds birthday with out Justin Bieber!!! haha!
My sister and I bought my niece a couple outfits from PINK. Here is one of the dresses we bought her, she's so cute in it. If they had my size I'd buy one for me too! haha!
Since A and I have been carpooling, my schedule needed to be re-worked. I'm still working on it but so far only 2 meals of the day BF and Lunch are on track. Dinner is the issue as we always find so many things to do together right after work! So I need to get back on track with cooking home meals at least 4 days a week!

I haven't weighed myself in a couple weeks, but it helps me not focus on the number too much and more on the healthy choices, and I'm ok with that... for now haha!

This weeks snack choice - Blueberries and yogurt!! Yum!!!

My New Healthy Items

Over the weekend I went to the apple farm to buy their delicious fresh apple pies. While I was there I bought their homemade apple raspberry jam! It tastes great! So far I found a BF that I love and has been working so far! 1 piece of multi grain toast with all natural peanut butter and jam sprinkled with chia seeds! (chia seeds are very high in fibre and omega 3's) I add them to my salads too.

Over a year ago on a trip to the Dominican Republic I bought a couple bottles of coconut oil to cook with and use on my body. Those bottle were over with months ago. On twitter I follow @joyoushealth and she is always talking about the health benefits of Coconut Oil. So I bought Coconut butter and oil! I can't wait to cook with it, and lather my skin with it! :)
It smells sooooooooooooooooooo good!

Have you bought some new healthy products lately???

Back to salads for lunch!

I wishhhh this was my view right now!
It is cold cold cold here! So I'll pretend that this is where I am as I write today ahahh!

It's Wednesday and so far I'm doing great with watching my calories!
BF - 1 piece of Whole grain toast with organic peanut butter sprinkled with chia seeds
Lunch - Spinach/chickpea/cottage cheese balsamic salad
Snacks - whole grain bar/fruits /yogurt with blueberries
Dinner - Home cooked meals!
And I'm back to just 1 coffee a day! I just need to increase the workouts again. The reno's messed up my schedule a bit, but I guess cleaning the house over and over is a great work out too!

I have a question for the mommy bloggers or soon to be mommy bloggers - what pre-natal vitamins you take? I noticed in the USA they sell the vitamins with DHA as well. Here in Canada they don't. So I was wondering if anyone has taken the ones with the extra DHA vitamin??


Happy Hump day!

Reno's completed!

So our first reno's of the year are done!

We installed pot lights. Here are some before and after pics. I'll take better ones once the house is actually cleaned from all the dust!

Before Living Room
After Living Room (and hanging kitchen pendants on island)
Before Dining Room
After Dining Room

My husband also painted our spare bathroom and master bathroom. Thanks hunny!

Tonight I went grocery shopping and bought lots of fruits and veggies! Last week I was sick with a bad tummy ache and even swollen glands! But I'm all better and my ultrasound ruled our gallbladder stones!! Whew! So I know what that means for me. Take care of my insides!

This week I'm planning veggie filled salads for lunch, fruits and veggies for snacks and lots of home cooked meals!

Happy Monday!

No Pop! No Fries!

Tonight was gym night! We walk to and from the gym which is a great 'warm' up before and after working out, but let me tell you again, it's cooold here! Burrrrrrr.

I'm a little amazed that I'm ending week two and I've had noooo pop! and nooooo fast food! I've gone out for dinner last weekend and once this week but no "fast food"! I feel great about that! Seems weird to write that because really I should not have been eating fast food every week... but I was! Busy schedules will do that to ya! So I'm really sticking to my schedules and so far it's working great! Although I wish my energy was a little bit higher. Doc is sending me for blood work so hopefully my B12 isn't low again.
I've been making more of Quinoa and just love it! Now I just need to find more recipes to make it different ways. Know any?

I'm sooo glad the weekend is almost here, although I have a lot going on this weekend. We are doing some reno's in the house and I'm not looking forward to a mess! I'll have some before and after pics next week.

Then Sunday it's my BFF's Baby Shower!! Can't wait to see all the great gifts her little man will receive! She is due in a month!!!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Tuesday Basement Workout!

Tuesdays are my basement workouts. So as soon as I got home I put dinner in the oven and went to workout!

Yesterday was such a busy day at work. My food choices started off great, but I was so busy in the afternoon I had no time to eat my snacks and I left work an hour later too! So my husband met me near by after work for dinner. We went for sushi but decided to order a dinner dish instead, I choose the Salmon (I'm sure it's still way above the calories than I wanted).... I really don't want to be eating out during the week, so I was a little upset that it was MONDAY and I already ate out! Glad today was a better day :)

I bought this new peanut butter and just love it!!

Since I've been having salads for lunch, my breakfasts are either Kashi Cereal and Coffee or 1 piece of 12 grain toast with peanut butter sprinkled with chia seeds and coffee. Since I bought this peanut butter, I'm choosing this breakfast a lot more haha!

The next couple weeks my schedule will get tighter, so I'm trying to be pro-active and picking out the days when I can fit my workouts in. So far Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sunday nights fit well. As for Hot Yoga, I really wanted to go every week,(I found a time slot that is 60mins :)) but its so hard to fit it in. It may be a every other week thing, I hope!

Week 2! How is your second week of January going??

Down 2.5 lbs!

Last week went great great! I followed my goals with counting my calories, eating at home during the week and exercising, so yesterday mornings weigh in, I was down 2.5lbs!

I'm being much more attentive with eating out as well (because we love going out for dinner on the weekends!) So Friday night my husband wanted to go for a lobster dinner. I skipped the rice that is came with and I also skipped dipping the lobster in the butter. So I saved some calories there! And still enjoyed this yummy lobster!

Yesterday morning we woke up to all this snow! So what a perfect day to try HOT YOGA! HA! Let me just say WOW! It was HOT!
It felt great! Although the truth is, it was a little intimidating with all the VERY fit women doing all the poses correctly and there I was full figured falling around and not being able to do the full 1.5 hours HA! I wore a tank top and yoga capri's I was soaked with sweat right through my bra! I'm not good with hydrating myself so of course I didnt drink enough water as I should have and that caused my day to be a little off with a massive headache. I also had killer lower back pain (oh boy!)

I will definitely be going again. I need to look at their schedule to find a shorter class, 1.5 hours was wayyy to much for this beginner!
This week we are planning our trip to San Francisco for February! I'm really excited! My husband and I have a tradition of going to buy a travel book of where we are going when we plan trips, so we did that yesterday. I know some of my followers live there or have visited so any suggestions you have just let me know! :)

Hope you are all having a great weekend. How are your weight loss goals coming along???

This weeks Goals I will follow:
*1500 Calories/day
* Tracking calories on Iphone "my fitness pal app"
*Drink lots of water everyday! A MUST!
* 3 bite rule on sweets or no sweets at all!!!
* 3 different workouts this week (Fitness DVD/Gazelle/Gym)

Working on those goals!

The best thing to do after setting goals is to start working towards them right away!

So in the process of begging my sister to join yoga with me (she won't!) we decided that we will join the gym instead!


It was great! We use to work out here all the time when I lived in the area. I use to live just down the street from my mom, and my sister and I would meet up a couple times a week to workout or do fitness classes together. All the good memories flooded back and brought me back to some of my happiest times when I lived in the city. Good thing my mom still lives in that area so I still feel part of that community. (Although I do love where I live now, A huge piece of me is with our first home, I have sooo many amazing memories from the 4 years we lived there so I love thinking about it :)
It's snowing like crazy out there! And we decided to walk to the gym it's not that far... but it was a blizzard! ahaha!

Annnnnd I decided to try Hot Yoga! My cousin and I will be going this weekend... EEK I'm nervous about that! Hot Yoga??!!!! Wish me luck!

Food : I'm doing really well with making Breakfast, lunch and dinner! And controlling my calories too. I love New Year Goals! I need to drop some weight already! The scale # is a little scary! I'm not going to lie.

But the key is to set yourself up for success! (says Anthony Robbins!) So I'm doing just that! Buying healthy foods in order to make healthy meals for BF, Lunch and Dinner! Planning my weekly schedule ahead of time with alarms on my phone that remind me just in case! and It works! Set up exercise dates with family/friends that way you commit to it! These are my New Year strategies.

Another goal I'm attacking, is the traveling. We decided on our first trip! Husband and I can't take a week off work until the end of March so we decided to take 2 days off and do a 4 day trip to San Francisco! So I'm in the process of planning that!

Have you begun attacking those goals?? ....We can do this!

Healthier eating during the holidays

Christmas is just around the corner which means visiting a lot of family and friends and eating a lot of delicious food with no calorie counting! (not allowed on Christmas!)

So I want to focus a lot on what I'm eating this week before the Christmas weekend.

I have been having the Kashi cereal for breakfast. Let me say it's not my favorite breakfast but it's not too bad. I've been doing really well with having only 1 coffee a day. It's actually half a cup of coffee since I do half milk half coffee. Too much coffee gives me a BIG headache so it's forced me to give a lot of it up. I'm also skipping the sugar and putting a dash of cinnamon instead.

Everyday for lunch this week I'm going to have a big salad! Lettuce, Cucumbers, cilantro, tomatoes and avocado. Yum!

Tonight I bought some new products. I follow @joyoushealth on twitter and and she posted a cozy warm healthy drink.

Earl Grey tea
Honey
Almond Milk
and vanilla.

I'll be trying this out soon!

Monday Night Groceries

Tonight I went grocery shopping and I really wanted to buy the yogurt with granola that I use to have for breakfast, but they don't carry them anymore. They had other brands but the calories seemed high for yogurt! So I bought Kashi cereal, the commercial got me haha! I also bought cottage cheese for my salads and it can also be a sweet treat by adding cinnamon to it :)

My workouts are going well. I never listen to music while I workout, not sure why but I never liked it. So I usually work out in front of the TV or in silence. But since I moved my gazelle to the spare bedroom I've been searching for health related pod casts in my iphone that are about 30-45 mins long and listen to them as I work out. That way I don't focus on the time and just wait until the podcast is over and when it's over I'm done my workout. It's working well for me so far :)

Looking forward to a healthy week!

Hope you all are having a great Monday! :) We are freezing over here! -10!

(Some pics from last weekend My nieces :)

Oh just can't get enough of her softness!

Breakfast suggestions?

My schedule feels like it's getting tighter and tighter and I really want to incorporate more workouts in my week! So I decided to bring my gazelle up to one of the spare bedrooms where I have my trampoline. This way I can sneak in workouts in the mornings.

My goal this week is to have at least 4 /20 min workouts and at least 2 45 min workouts. Oh It's on!

Breakfast has become an issue for me. I really love having smoothies but since it started getting colder I just can't do them brrr! I was having oatmeal for a while but now I feel bored with it.

So I bought these 100 cal bagels, they are cute haha! pretty good with a little bit of peanut and jelly!
But I'm looking for some variety... any suggestions for a quick healthy BF?????

Let's talk synchronicities...

Today I went out grocery shopping and made sure to buy a lot of fruits and veggies. I've been low in Vitamin B before and been feeling a little sluggish lately so I must make sure I'm getting those much needed nutrients!

I also bought persimmons. I haven't had these since I was a kid! I was reminded of them lately.... What do you think of these synchronicities.

2 weeks ago while grocery shopping I got the feeling and the taste in my mouth of a persimmon. (weird right!). It reminded me of my grandfather. He use to eat them all the time but I couldn't remember at all what this fruit was called or even what it looked like at the time but I could taste it! So I just forgot about it and left it at that.

Then this week at my mom's house, my sisters fiance was eating this different looking fruit (soo weird that he brought that fruit from home to begin with!)... he asked if I wanted some... I said what is that!? And then he told me it's a persimmon! My memory went straight back to 2 weeks ago and how I was strangely tasting that fruit. So I had some to be sure, and sure enough it was that fruit!

I know our souls live on and I know our loved ones always send us signs.

I didn't even connect this all until yesterday. I was driving to work and I thought of the whole situation and just knewwwww it was my grandfather saying hello! and possibly telling me to eat more fruit Ha! I was getting a little emotional about it and then it got more interesting....

My SIL sent me a email yesterday morning. She said she was talking to a cousin of mine that was always close to my dad. He was telling her about things my dad would say about me. He told her that my dad would tell him that anything I do in life, I would succeed. That I'm eager and luck is on my side. (I started to cry when I read it)

This was so random and so strange that I had just put together the persimmon fruit situation. So I took a longer lunch and went to the cemetery to visit my grandparents and my Dad. I miss them all so much! My grandmother was such a sweet kind hearted lady and she loved my dad so much, he was her little baby. They are all together and I KNOW the 3 of them are our angels. If I ever have a little girl she will be named after my grandma. :)

Pretty cool huh!

Hope you all have a Happy Weekend! I am having my family over tomorrow to celebrate being chosen for little M's Godparents. We are excited. I love my family!

Oh and I added some more Christmas decor. Our Stockings! For me, husband and Zoe. Lets see how long they last. Last year Zoe would play with them until they fell off haha!
Sorry for the longer than usual post Ha! But I had to tell this story!