Weekend Warm-Up : Getting Close

It's almost time...

Time for me to escape the hectic stressful days (positive thoughts, positive thoughts) and lie on the beach for a week. This weekend I'm tieing up all my loose ends before I leave for Cuba next weekend. It's amazing all the little things you remember you have to pack. I wish I was one of those travelers who could bring the bare minimal. I always decide to bring the "just in case" items. Hey.... you never know when you might need a different pair of shoes.

Over the past couple weeks I've been amping up my workout routines and scaling back my "treats". I've barely ate any salt lately and have only had one glass of wine this week. I'm craving a nice bowl of ice cream right about now lol. I feel amazing though and I don't think I'll change too much in regards to my diet, once I get back from Cuba. I feel Cleeeeeeeeean.

 Some lovely links from around the web:

img via Lululemon

• For my American friends: How to NOT eat too much at Thanksgiving

• Have you heard? Starbucks is trying out the Juicing Business now.

• I was wandering the bookstore last night and found these amazingly comfy cozy throws and blankets.

• With cold rainy season in full swing, it's time for a new waterproof jacket from Lululemon.

Have a wonderful weekend!

-Michelle

I won I won! : Trip To Cuba

I'm baaack! I took some time away from my computer and the internet while I was on my stay-cation. I'm happy to be back and get back into providing health tips and stories.

The Announcement in the newspaper.

While I was on my stay-cation I got some exciting news... I won a trip to Cuba! Can you believe it? I couldn't! I had entered a contest through 24hr newspaper to win an all inclusive trip. I had totally forgot about entering. I was driving along in my car and missed a call, so I checked my voice mail once I stopped and was listening to the lady from the paper talking about how I won a contest. All I could think was "oh that's cool, I probably won a gift card to a restaurant or something". She didn't mention that it was a trip to Cuba till the end of the message, just slipped that in at the end. I started freaking out by myself in the car. People around me thought I was crazy. I instantly called the newspaper back and claimed my prize. We are able to travel whenever we would like and the travel agent is calling us this week to book the trip. The prize includes: flight, 7 night accommodation at the all inclusive - 5 star resort, Sandals Royal Hicacos (Varadero).  Scott and I can't wait to go. We have been wanting to get away for over a year now.

My hot chef in the kitchen, celery rose, sunset and hockey - perfect combo!

During my time off we had the pleasure of celebrating Thanksgiving at Scott's parents house and the food was excellent! Stuffing, sweet potato casserole, broccoli and cauliflower gratin, all were yummy. The weather was mostly sunny during my time off and I was able to relax and enjoy the beautiful sunsets from our condo. I was also able to catch a hockey game that my cousin was playing in.

All in all it was a great time off and I was able to rejuvenate and prepare for the upcoming busy months. I also had a chance to try out the Vega Sport Pre-Workout Energizer and I'll be posting my review of it this week - stay tuned!

Hope you all have a wonderful week!
-Michelle

Weekend Warm-Up : Staycation

Roasted Butternut Squash via Oh She Glows

Happy Friday! Today is my last day of my "day job" before I head home for a stay-cation. I'm totally stoked for this. Luckily it came quickly for me and now I have the time to relax, rejuvenate and decompress for a while. I can't wait to catch up on blogs, write some new posts and study my butt off. Lately I haven't had the time to keep up to my goal of 3-4 blog posts per week because of school, work and everything else in between. This will also give me time to get outside and adventure on with my camera in hand.

 

This week I bought a new 2012 Ford Escape and am loving it. I think I might take a tiny road trip with just me and my camera and probably a dog to keep me company on the ride. On Saturday we are heading with a couple friends to go for a hike and then heading to dinner. I still haven't figured out how I'm going to look presentable to go for dinner after a hike?! With my natural wavy hair it loves to flop or go frizzy in the fall weather. I just might be rocking a sexy ponytail for dinner.

Any plans for the weekend?

Lovely Links: 

• Needing to cleanse? Ambitious Kitchen created a green monster smoothie that's drool worthy.
• Quinoa, Apple, Almonds and chickpeas - brilliant combo recipe
• Steven Jobs passed away one year ago today. The man had an amazing outlook on life.
• Looking for some new tunes to workout too? Fitsugar provides.
• I've got to come clean... I'm a Martha Stewart fan. Here's her Whole-Wheat Turkey Stuffing. I've used her stuffing recipes many times for Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners.

A quote from my horoscope for all the ARIES people :

Don’t forget, o’ charging Ram: sometimes the most brilliant ideas can come from looking back.

Have a wonderful weekend! aaand Happy Thanksgiving fellow Canadians xo

-Michelle

Thanksgiving & Gratitude

Sunflowers at Kits Whole Foods

This weekend here in Canada it's our Thanksgiving. My family usually gathers at my mom/grandparents house or my aunts house to dive into delicious food. This year though there's been a mix up in dates with my cousin's hockey tournament and my aunts family will be out of town. So my mom and I will be joining my boyfriends family on Sunday for a quiet Thanksgiving there. I'll miss my own family dinner but this will be nice to spend some time with his side of the family. I don't know if I'll be able to grab pictures of the thanksgiving spread before it's rummaged apart. It's good food over at the Kennedy's!

Like everyone else I find Thanksgiving a great time to slow down and appreciate the people around us. Ponder how the year has gone and what I'm looking forward to in the last few months of the year.

Do you take the time everyday to be grateful? Should we have to wait for Thanksgiving to share with family what we are thankful for? I think I'm going to suggest to my family the next time we gather all together for a meal that we say what we are thankful for. A new family tradition!

Practising gratitude every day can create a positive environment for you and the people surrounding you. Think about what happens when you roll through your gratitude list. Soon there's a smile on your face, your feeling a little lighter, you forget about the minuscule problems in life and fresh ideas pop into your head. People around you feel this energy. They notice a smile on your face and imitate it, thus creating a domino effect. Try starting your day with a gratitude note. It doesn't have to be perfect, it's just to get the ideas strolling through your head.

• Over at Lululemon they wrote a great blog post about Gratitude : Today I'm Grateful For...
• and our local girl, former Bachelorette, Jillian Harris wrote about what she is grateful : My 2012 Thanksgiving Thanks!

img via

My Personal Thanks:   I'm thankful for, are you ready for this one.....  My mom's tumour on her neck has decreased in size and the chemo has made the cancer in her lungs go from a black mass to a grey matter! Woohoo. I'm grateful treatment is working. I'm grateful she continues to laugh and smile (laughter reverses cancer - studies actually show!). I'm grateful for my family who unconditionally love and support me. I'm grateful that I have a soul mate who knows me so well and who continues to be there for me even when I get very aggressive or mad when there's waay to much going on in my head! I'm grateful for my job, new SUV (the perfect health coach mobile) and my health. I'm grateful for gaining knowledge to become a health coach so I can teach people that cancer is preventable: don't give Cancer the chance to be a part of your life.

Are you grateful for anything special this year?
-Michelle