Photo a Day May: Something sweet – 27.

Coke floats.
It is indeed something sweet. 
I simply just had to have it, in order to fulfill today’s challenge.  Rrriiiight. 
Well thee most awesome toddler had gone to bed.  Poochy was being camera shy, and K & I were not up for sweetness.  So coke float it is.  Something sweet oh yes, in so many, so many ways. 
Happy Sunday all. And the only reason I can say that is I have tomorrow off.  Something sweet.

Photo a Day May: A favourite place – 19.

A favourite place – the place that is the ice cream happy place.  Its a good place to be isn’t it? 

Photo a Day May: Something you made – 18.

Hummus and veg platter.
Its all I’ve got today folks.

Photo a Day May: Snack – 17.

Happy birthday to my love, the one who is the most incredible father to our son, the one who owns a doggy like no other, the one who encourages me to embrace my beauty and fly.

This one’s for you.

Photo a Day May: Kitchen – 11.

Not going to lie, my kitchen, our whole house, has turned into toddler town.  Really? There’s a small block in the pot in the cupboard? Bizzaro. And his play kitchen has a sock, a cracker, and a toy on each of the play shelves. Its amuaing and fascinating to me. 

I sometimes struggle with the general tidyness issues that are a direct correlation to having a toddler. Not because I don’t want him to explore, but because I just feel like I am drowning and can’t keep up.  For the amount of stuff we have, our kitchen is probably proportionately the smallest room in the house, and so when its out of sorts, I can be too. I am learning, people. I have got a lot to let go of, and as i said, l-e-a-r-n-i-n-g.

So despite the sometimes chaos (at times fun chaos) I sort of like the kitchen. I like making food.  Creating dishes.  Seeing what new healthy meal or snack I can make for my family.  This is a way, only one way, of which I thoroughly enjoy nurturing and nourishing my family and my friends.  So a kitchen can be chaotic, but its got a lot of stuff, too. Memories of routine family togetherness.  Good conversations had over  glass of wine or a cup of tea, both beverages might I add, may just help us all solve the world’s problems.  Today, as real as I am trying to be, you will not see the mess, the dirty dishes, the clean dishes yet to be put away, the stacks of mail, the floors that need a deep cleaning, or the table that has the lasting remnants of something wholesome.  You get to see from my kitchen, looking out.  Because you know, thats kind of  priviledge.  We just don’t have anyone in here, you know.  It is for you very special souls, who help make our kitchen into what it is.

Photo a Day May: Fun – 4

Today just had to be a tie.  And it was almost tripled because I received some absolutely delicious looking flowers today at work.  Mother’s Day accidentally came early. No qualms here, but I figured the two chosen photos more captured the essence of fun than did flowers, as fun as flowers can be and are.

So I present to you, readership, one of the best ways to start the weekend off, eating a Thai meal with your loves and then frolicking in the outdoors.  Kind of perfect if you ask me.  And… fun.

I <3 Autumn.

Autumn is both kind to me and aggravating.  But mostly kind.   Out of all the seasons, autumn and I get along the best, and I think the boy is going to be the same.  He seems to be thriving now that the leaves are falling.  He is happy, and his sleep is totally getting in check.  But most of all, he is happy.  He enjoys fall food.  He loves slow-cooked chicken and vegetables, squash, sweet potatoes.  I’m pretty certain he is going to take a liking to the pumpkin muffins + loaf sitting on the counter cooling off, too.

Autumn is nostalgic to me, every year, but particularly this year.  Last fall, I was in such anticipation for the baby in my belly.  I wanted to meet him or her so bad, but I knew it would be some time.  Kyle was gone a lot with work, and so it was just the pooch and I.  We’d go for a walk every morning, and loved the crisp air.  After I got home from work, we’d walk, and then make supper and crash for the night.  I’d feel my baby moving around inside of me mostly at night, and so that’s how I fell asleep.

This year, fall is different.  I love it just the same, and every year brings about the need for change in my life.  In the past, fall always signified back to school, which was always a big change, especially from elementary to high school and high school to university.  Now, I just ache and yearn for a different haircut, or a different style.  New shoes.  Different things to cook.  Different activities to do.  House re-organization.  Nesting things, really.  Last fall, I nested hard.  While I’m nostalgic, and obviously life is completely different now that it has been so delightfully graced with a mini, it’s hard to crunch in the leaves, feel the fall air, when I know, that it’s different this time.

Last fall, I anticipated my baby so much.  I anticipated being done work, and focusing all my energies on my growing wee one, being home with the babe and the pooch.  This fall, my stomach aches, flips and flops, when I think about what the next month brings.  Work.  Out of home work.  When I left my job, as much as I really do love my job (I do!), I was done.  Pregnancy brought about hormones I didn’t know existed in me, and with that, I was a bit of an… assertive woman, though like I’ve said before, some might say, aggressive.  Bossy.  Snotty, even.  I still do and always will beg to differ :)  Needless to say, I was really really excited to just be off, away from everything work-related, for a whole year.  It sounded like such a long time.  And now… I’m so close to it.  So close to going back.  I’m excited to be surrounded by some amazing work cronies (and friends!), but it’s getting me down.  It’s going to be such a change.  I think the boy is going to adjust better than his mama.  I really do still have a lot to learn from him.

But for now, I really don’t want to think about it or talk about it.  It’s a constant theme though.  Instead of last fall, “when’s your last day?” it’s now, “when do you go back to work?” said with such a sullen, gloomy disappointment.  For good reason.

But, fall!  Fall is glorious.  Like I said, every fall I want some sort of change.  This fall, I’m aching for a new wardrobe, a new sense of style.  I would love a personal shopper who can tell me what I need to wear to look awesome.  I don’t even so much care about fashion as much as this makes it sound like I do.  I just need a look that is me, and I don’t even want to have to apologize for that.  I have spent too long fighting against myself (that is another post for another day) and for now, I just want to work with it, with this body, with this mind, heart + soul.

This fall, I am all about the pumpkin.  I have been pinning and searching for pumpkin recipes and pumpkin latte recipes like mad.  I almost picked up baking and cooking supplies to make pumpkin muffins, loaf, AND lattes this week, but I stopped at muffins.   Actually, I’m going to share this recipe from a friend because it turned out so wonderful.  And I can’t bake.

Streusel Topped Pumpkin Muffins

Streusel Topping:
2 Tbl spoons brown sugar
2 Tbl spoons finely chopped nuts
1 Tbl spoon all-purpose flour
1/4 Tbl spoon margarine or softened butter

Muffins
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
1/3 cup oil
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup rainsins (optional)

Pre heat oven to 400. Will yield 12 muffins.
Mis wet ingredients until blended, add the dry. Add mixture to either lined or greased muffin tin. Batter will be clumpy.
Sprinkle streusel topping evenly over batter.
Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

I doubled the recipe and made 12 muffins and one loaf.  Also, I used 1/2 cup of brown sugar and then about 1/3 cup of agave nectar, just to cut down on the sugar.  I also used whole wheat flour instead of white flour, and they turned out lovely as lovely can be.

I also ventured into the borscht making territory last week, and it was an absolute and total SUCCESS.   Seriously, that stuff is so healthy and so easy to make, just takes a bit of time to grate up all those hearty beets.  For anyone who doesn’t know what borscht is, here.

I decided to just wing it, and so I didn’t really measure anything.  Instead, I will present to you my recipe for:

The Best Thrown Together Borscht.  Ever. 

 

3 Beets (I grated them but you can chop them up too)

3 Celery Stalks (chopped)

8 Carrots (chopped)

1/2 Onion (diced)

A bunch of dill

Veggie broth (I think I made 8-10 cups worth)

Pepper to taste

Toss all those delicious ingredients into a pot, and boil for a bit.  Then cook on medium for a bit more, and then simmer for awhile until the veggies are nice and soft, the beets are cooked, and everything looks marvelous and you want to swim in the delicious red soup.

Make sure you make a huge mess with the beets and make your kitchen look like it has potential to be a crime scene.

When I eat my borscht, I add a bit of cream to it, just because, well, you know.  I also add a bit more pepper.  You can even add cream when you are making it, too, but I prefer to just add to taste.

 

So, with that, I went from talking about the awesomeness of fall, to the darkness of fall that I sometimes slip in, to food.  That about sums up autumn.  Happy October!  Go do some good in your kitchen, make something awesome, and let’s have a food-off.  xo.

 

 

 

Bananarama!

Totally did this and did not publish.  Woops.  So I haven’t posted every day but technically I have.  Just not published.  Sigh Sigh.

Anyway this is my favourite treat as of late and is super duper easy and not THAT unhealthy, plus kicks the sweet cravings like that.

*picture stolen from Pinterest, so not my fingers shazam*

Take a banana, cut it in 4-6 chunks, depending on banana size.  Melt about 1/3-2/3 carob or chocolate chips and 1/3-2/3 peanut butter (we used the natural stuff for an extra dose of health.  Roll those bad boy bananas in the delicious melted mix, and then put them on a wax paper lined cookie sheet.  Sprinkle coconut on  top and freeze for an hour-ish.  I read somewhere that the banana would taste like vanilla soft serve and I don’t know if it does or if psychologically I just psyched myself up for that, but, it kind of does.  Magical really.

This would be a good treat for kiddos, adults, and even poochies.  Dunno bout yours, but my canine companion loves bananas, probably her favourite food, as well as for her birthdays we often make her a ‘cake’ with natural peanut butter (just peanuts) and carob in place of chocolate, so this stuff is totally doable.  Birthday banana bites anybody?

Enjoy my friends.

The Best Bean of All.

Before I got pregnant, I drank coffee nearly every single day.  I didn’t really think much of it, and it just became a habit, part of my daily routine.  When I got pregnant, even though I know it is okay to drink coffee (in small amounts), I decided that since it was such a habit, an addiction even, that I would kick it and just try and be as healthy as I could be for little Kiwi (now Cade) and I.  It wasn’t that difficult, and since a lot of drinking coffee was social for me, I just replaced it with peppermint or chamomile tea and all was well.

Fast forward about 16 months, and here I am again, drinking coffee like a typical coffee drinker.  Every single day.  It is social, and it has just become a part of my daily routine all over again.  And not to mention, it’s a wonderful get-through-the-day-aid on those days where the little one decided night-time sleeping was at the very bottom on his priority list.  Except since I resumed my relationship with The Best Bean of All in the summertime, my drink of choice has been the iced version of this timeless beauty.   I’ve been constantly on the hunt for the perfect iced coffee.  Not the bought kind, although that’s always fun too, but the made in my own kitchen kind.  A friend made me the most perfect tasting iced coffee with soy milk and *coffee connoisseurs, stop reading here because this will be an atrocity in terms of coffee* instant coffee.  So naturally, in my search for the best homemade iced coffee, I followed suit.  I’d make up the coffee, stick it in the freezer, then fill a glass with ice, pour over the coffee, and top off the glass (er, mason jar, because cool people drink coffee out of mason jars, right?) with vanilla soy milk.  It took me several tries, but I eventually made it just right.  Either that, or I got so used to it that I just drank it anyway.  Whatevs, it hit the spot.

Today, on one of the hottest days of the year, or at least month, we visited a new coffee shop called Leven’s Coffee Company and I consumed a coffee that wasn’t iced.  Gasp.  It’s located in the Market Mall and their philosophy is a simple menu, fair trade + organic, and daily roasted in-shop beans.   We started off with a sample of their Mexican brew, which was delicious and fresh, and topped that little ditty off with an explanation of Cafe Femenino (best name ever), which is a social project that supports female coffee growers.  Our ‘tour guide’ also recommended a documentary to us, Strong Coffee which Kyle and I are eager to watch.

We made our way to the counter, and took a look at the indeed simple menu.  Daily Grind, French Pressed Express, Tea and… something else.  I think there really were only 4 things to choose from.  Kyle had the Daily Grind, which he thought was phenomenal.  The large was $2, so totally affordable and dare I say, WORTH IT.  I had the French Pressed Express, which I thought was absolutely friggin’ unbelievably mind-blowing phenomenally amazing omg I am so happy to be a coffee drinker again.  They put it in a regular ol’ cup (biodegradable and compostable, like all of their cups, lids, “cup sleeves” are) and stick on a SmartCup XPress lid, which has a rod, press and filter and manifests your regular cup into a portable and single-use French Press!  I had the medium grind, Brazilian coffee, and it was fantastic.  So smooth, a little bit sweet, almost nutty in a very subtle way, and just tasted like an amazing cup of coffee that I have been dying to have.  Yum yum.  For $2.95, I’m totally sold and I wish I could wake up tomorrow morning with one by my bedside, awaiting to be pressed of course, because that’s just a fun part of the deal.  They also sell beans in 1lb packages, and they keep them fresh by packaging them right after roasting them.  I highly suggest next time you are cravin’ a delicious cup of coffee to check this place out.  It’s designed in a fun and minimalist way, it’s a local company, they have an awesome philosophy and great customer service, and bonus, they have fun books on each table for their customers to peruse (such as The Book of Awesome)

How convenient that we’re almost out of coffee in this house.  Timing really is everything.

Keep Calm + Carry On.

Well well well, another evening post wherein I have not learned that posting in the late evening is probably not my best bet.  I shall attempt this over and over again until it REALLY bites me where I don’t want to be bitten.  But for now, I will obey my post every day in September personal challenge, and just DO it.

Since I spent 9 weeks (!!!) posting incessantly about running, running, and running, I feel it somewhat necessary to make this a sort of ongoing (ish) theme of this here blog.  I haven’t talked about running in a LONG time, so here goes nothing.

Laura from Ink and Sheep (go check out her amazing crafty abilities, she wow’ed me, let her wow you too!) commented yesterday, and asked some questions that prompted this post:

“I’m curious to know if you’re still running now that you finished the 9 weeks and what your next running goals are? Or maybe it inspired you to make other changes in your life? Or maybe other things you’d like to achieve, whether they are running related or not.”

I am shocked and apalled, slightly, that I managed to let running take over my life for several weeks, in fact – I welcomed running into my life – and then I just kinda forgot about it.  On my blog, anyway.  I am happy, proud and so satisfied to announce that I am in fact still running.  And I am still giving it my all.  Ish.  It’s a weird thing, you see.  I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned it, or maybe I have and just forgot, but we got temporarily gifted a used jogging stroller that was not being used, and so since I wanted to do the program all over again and focus on speed, I thought, hmm, jogging stroller – check, C25K program again – check, I may as well combine the two, and so I have.  It feels like a completely new endeavour, in a sense.  It’s weird doing the program again – because part of me wants to slack a bit since I know that I can do it, and so it’s not AS challenging, but part of me is struggling just a tad because well, it’s harder jogging with a stroller.  I never realized how much I used my arms to gain momentum, and to help push me, but turns out I use them more than I thought I did.  It also turns out that while jogging strollers glide smoother than your regular ol’ everyday stroller, you’re still pushing weight and running while pushing that weight, and while that makes for a bit of a strength-building workout combined with running, it makes for one tired mama.  Add Lily and her leash into the mix and it’s sort of a mish-mash at times.

BUT, it’s really not that bad, and dare I say it, easier than I thought jogging with a stroller and a dog would be.  It’s probably a blessing that Lily only weighs 5lbs, but that’s beside the point…

So that is my current running goal.  To finish the C25K again, with Lily AND Cade, both my babies.  Lily still loves it, and Cade also loves chilling out in the stroller while we run throughout the streets, takin’ it all in.  We’ve been going in the morning before his morning nap, and it works out well.  It’s been incorporated into our routine easy enough and I love that I am able to take Cade with me, and that he will actually SEE me working out, running my face (+ heart + soul) off like crazy, to the best of my abilities.  When he’s older, this will be even more important, but for now it works and I am glad that it is just one more activity we are able to do together that is healthy, and that I can tell him about when he is older.

Becoming a mother and learning how to run and how to not fear running (or parenthood, for that matter) have been two of the most transformative experiences of my LIFE.  I don’t feel like I have the proper words, energy, or insight (like I said, I suck + it’s late) right now to capture this in the essence that I’d like, but they have literally made me do a 360.  Sounds so cliche maybe but I am learning that I can do things.  It’s so simple but not.  It’s so difficult but not.  I. can. do. things. Like be a little bit selfless, but not so much so that it is damaging to my family.  Like take care of myself.  That one is the clincher.  I need to take care of myself more than ever, because I want to be able to run around the yard and the park, playing chase, playing tag, running after pseudo-animals Cade has created in some crazy toddler game.  I want to model healthy behaviours, habits, and lifestyle to Cade and our future children, so that they can adopt these practices and ways of living into their life, and then pass it on to their little ones, our future grandchildren, that is if they choose to have children (please!  I can’t wait to be a grandma ;).

I have never eaten so healthy in my life.  I have never done so many ‘green’ things in my life.  I have never cared SO much about my health, ever.  Health is so holistic, and too often when we think healthy, we think eating and exercising right but it is SO much more than that.  That is a small tiny fraction of the whole deal, and while it’s important, it is not the be all end all.  Emotional connectedness rings so true with diet + exercise.  Look at the whole issue of overeating and eating disorders and stress and what have you.  Now tie that to issues with weight, be they being “too thin” or “too heavy” (yes, I know, according to what standards, that’s another issue for another day though).  Emotions and eating are one and the same for a lot of people.  How many people eat when they’re happy?  Sad?  Excited?  Proud?  Angry?  Hurt?  Anxious?  I know I’ve certainly got an issue with food and I am pinpointing it by the DAY, analyzing when I eat and how I eat.  I don’t obsess over it but I have certainly noticed patterns, and they often aren’t healthy.  I have begun to change these patterns, and I have abolished eating at night, almost completely, unless I’m really ravished and I can grab something healthy.  I am trying to stop rewarding myself with food, because this is such a temporary fix, and I have seen how damaging eating for social reasons is and can be.  I still do it though.  I still eat socially.  It’s like someone who has issues with alcohol, my issues with food are similar.  I don’t want to down play someone’s issues with alcoholism at all and that’s not what I am trying to do, but I think food addiction is real, very real, and takes some serious acknowledgement and inner healing work to combat.  Honestly, having a year off of work to stay home and learn about my son, get to know him, has helped me to get to know myself better too, because the person I am projecting to him, the person I am to him is the person that I AM, plain and simple.  Who do I want him to know as a mother?

I have had a year to get to know myself better, and to work on things that were not jiving with my life.  Taking up running was one huge step in the right direction, and it completely helped me to begin to tackle these weird eating habits of mine.  Begin to tackle, being the key words there.  It is an ongoing process for me, and I think it will be, always.  It takes much serious dedication and empowerment.  While diet + exercise are not the be all end all as I touched on before, they do go hand in hand for me.  One motivates the other, and for me, that works.  They also motivate every other aspect of health that I need to focus on too, and they all go together like a nice and neat puzzle.  It just fits together, so, so perfectly.  When I’m running, and taking care of THAT part of my body and my mind, I need to put the appropriate fuel and energy into my body, or I will crash, and crashing never got anyone good did it?

I am not perfect and I do not make perfect choices.  My choices are sometimes motivated by something that isn’t healthy or wholesome for me.  Will I go ahead and have that social drink, those few social wings, just because I want to and it’s fun to sit around and reminisce over a couple cold ones and some sticky appetizers?  You bet I will.  You can also bet I won’t do that everyday, and you can also bet that I will be putting ten times as much good stuff into my body, not to make up for that, but because it’s what I need, it’s what I crave.  Likewise, there will also be days where I sit on the couch and decide not to run, because my body and my soul and my heart are craving a break, some downtime, and I need to feed my body what it is feeding me.  It is a two-way street, and because it is giving me, allowing me, the time to reflect and to have some quiet, down-time, I feel that I need to respect that, and listen to what my body is telling me I need.

And on that note, my body is severely screaming and yelling and fighting me right now for sleep.  It has been since I opened up WordPress to type this here ditty to y’all.  I made an imperfect choice and ignored that need, and now it’s time to give in.

So tell me dear friends, dear readers, what positive and healthful changes have you made in your life recently?  What inspired them?