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

Dirty Apron Cooking School in Vancouver

We had a blast this past weekend at The Dirty Apron Cooking School.

The whole experience was all around exceptional. It's in this brick building tucked in Downtown Vancouver. The 4 of us took a cab over as we didn't want to be cooking in soaking wet clothes from the down pour of rain coming down. We were greeted with welcoming smiles and a lovely glass of sparkling wine. There was about 20 people in the class and we all gathered to sit and watch the chef teach us our first course. After teaching us our first recipe he let us free to find out cooking stations.

Chef and his Students

Our first course was a goat cheese and arugula ravioli in a walnut sage sauce. For the first time in my life, I made fresh pasta people! I'm never going back and Scott & I are investing in a pasta machine. After we were done cooking the appitizer we all got to take our dishes back to a long dining table to enjoy it. Yum! The common comment around the table was "I made that?!".

Our main entree was grilled lamb sirloin with ricotta herb gnocchi and chanterelle sauce. They were nice of enough to provide a piece of black cod for me (being the veg and all). It was also nice that the gnocchi wasn't potato based but instead a ricotta base which made it much lighter. It was all super easy to cook and the staff was great at coming around to check on your progress and offer tips.

Again we came back to the long wooden table and enjoyed the meal with our friends over a delish glass of wine. Our desserts, lemon panacotta that we made were brought out to us after we were finished our entrees. I accidentally forgot to put the gelatin in mine (oops lol). Mine came out like a soup but it was great to dip my biscotti in!

The whole experience was exciting and worth the money. It's something different to do with friends if you are looking to change up your typical dinner night. We got to take our nice aprons home and the recipes we made. The only flaw I encountered is the food is a bit on the unhealthy side but it was nice as a treat.

How was your weekend?
-Michelle

Weekend Warm-Up : Cooking School (Dirty Apron)

Happy Friday everyone!

A big TGIF for me this week. I think I've accidently slept in about 3 times this week. I tend to need more sleep when I'm stressed in life. No matter how many naps I catch, still not enough. Hopefully next week will be alot different and I can get back into my groove.

Special Sushi Making Party Night

The past few weekends we've been on a trend of creating different foods we've never tried cooking/making before. Scott created a wonderful sushi meal a couple weekends ago. We all got a turn to make our own rolls and they turned out amazing. I thought I could totally nail it but mine was the worst one! lol. By the time all the prepping was complete we were starving. I don't think I've ever eaten sushi that fast, tsk tsk on me.

This weekend we are heading to The Dirty Apron Cooking School here in downtown Vancouver. For Scott's birthday present, his best friend bought all of us a night out together at the cooking school. This has been a dream of Scott's for a while. I think this will really take his passion for cooking to a new level. The school has been nice enough to offer me a non meat dish to cook. Greeeat now I'll be "that veggie girl" again haha! I'm really looking forward to it all, should be fun.

Lovely Links: 

• Vega Kitchen is really putting out some good recipes lately. Apple, Cinnamon & Oatmeal Protein Shake. 
• Tips for Dealing with Daylight Saving Time this weekend.
• Taylor Morgan posted some crazy photos of Hurricane Sandy Aftermath
• Southwestern Chicken and Speghetti Squash Salad. easy on the dressing ;)

 What are you doing this weekend?
-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

Monday Review: Dog Photography

I got a little sneeky this weekend!

Meeka & Kailey

I've been taking my dogs to Uptown Dog (dog daycare) for years now. There I met an incredible person, Kelley. She recently opened up her own business on the side doing outdoor dog photography named Mutts Be Loved.  My mom had wanted to schedule a session with Mutts Be Loved before she was diagnosed with cancer but once the treatment started and the costs for medications came into effect there just wasn't room in our budget for a photo session. Kelley contacted me earlier this week and wanted to surprise my mom with a photo session with our dogs.

Kelley was incredible with the dogs and did an absolutely amazing job. She picked them up from my house and took Meeka & Kailey (our dogs) out to a couple parks and trails and began her camera magic. She quickly got the photos edited and we were able to print some out to surprise my mom with them on Sunday. My mom had no clue this surprise was coming except that I kept confirming with her that we were having coffee at 1pm exactly so she thought something was off (silly me). Kelley presented them to her and she instantly started to cry.... and of course made the rest of us tear up. It truly touched our hearts how thoughtful it was of Kelley to do this for my mom. Every bit of happiness and positivity added to her day will make a difference. Seeing those incredible pictures of her dogs will add a smile to her face all the time.

It's beautiful the affect animals can have on our wellbeing. A simple touch to a dog can calm your heart rate and bring a softness to your own body. My mom has told me that Kaily & Meeka have been an important part of her healing process. They've been there for her during the rough nights of being sick and they lean up against her when she needs a hug. Now when I'm babysitting them and she's missing them she can look at these pictures too.

Thanks again Kelley! - Mutts Be Loved (facebook page)

-Michelle

Weekend Warm-Up : Pictures & Pinterest

A short week has come to an end!

What's everyone up too this weekend? We are heading out to see a DJ (Morgan Page) downtown tonight. It's a nice chance to let go. Lately everything has been so high strung and the idea of relaxing is forced. I've made sure to meditate in the morning to ensure I'm get some "grounding time".

I've been wandering through Pinterest this week so I thought I would share some of my favourites and a couple of my own pictures from the week.

This is from last weekend at Joe Fortes. Lucky for us we showed up at happy hour and scored a perfect spot on the roof top patio (score!). Everything in this picture made me feel blah! It's amazing how you can feel the difference between "fresh/whole food" and "deep fried/proccessed" food. Don't get me wrong... it all tasted in INCREDIBLE. The best part of the appies was the bread with lobster oil and balsamic vinegar dip.

via Pinterest

This is a great DIY project I would actually take on. We haven't put anything up on our bedroom walls yet. It's been 9 months since we moved in! Can you tell I'm not much of a interior designer?? Help me!

via Pinterest

Love this look! Not a huge fan of the braclet though. I can't believe how excited I am getting for Fall fashion.

via Pinterest

This is what fills me :  FAITH - HOPE- LOVE

Have a wonderful weekend!

-Michelle

Weekend Warm-Up : Labour Day Long Weekend

Did you read that? woop woop it's another long weekend! 
What do you have planned for this lovely long weekend?



The last of the Summer Flowers

 I'm taking this weekend to rest and go with the flow.. mostly. I think I will be heading out on Sunday for a very early morning adventure to the beach to listen to the waves and smell the sea. I'm really looking forward to it.

I also plan on taking this weekend to read a large part of my book "The Charge" by Brendon Burchard. I've always been interested in how the brain works and how to get the most of it. So far the book is great.

Photography - a must for this coming weekend. I don't know what has been holding me back from getting out there and taking some photos (which I love doing). Maybe I'm bored with what is right in front of me. It's time to go roaming and appreciate the little things. Hopefully I'll have some awesome pictures for you guys next week. I want to brush up/learn new skills - anyone have some awesome YouTube tutorials they would recommend?

• WestJet airlines proposed a question: Where would you take 135 of your friends if you had a jet? I said I would take everyone to one of my favourite resorts in Punta Cana. We would celebrate family and friends.
• I've been lazy at cooking this week as I'm a bit tired. This would be perfect to throw together on the BBQ and ta da it's done and ready. Dinner is served!
• And the talk of the town.. FALL. It's just around the corner. You can sure feel it's colder in the mornings and evenings. Time to get a new jacket. This one is perfect for keeping warm while active.
• Diner En Blanc -Vancouver took place last night. The pictures posted on Twitter were gorgeous. It was a beautiful summer night for them. I would love to go next year. I just found out about it last night. Oops a little late.
• Beautiful performance and song! How will you leave your mark on the world?

To leave you with a quote to ponder.
It's shown up in couple places in my life this week :

"Ask not what you are getting from the world but, rather, what you are giving to the world"

Have a wonderful weekend!
-Michelle

Weekend Warm-Up : Food & Recipes

Can you tell I'm hungry this Friday?


Smoked Salmon Crostini's


 Food is on my brain and I'm itching to try out so many recipes this weekend. Okay, let's be honest here... I won't be doing the cooking but I'll suggest some ideas to the cook in the house, Scott (BF). We went out for dinner last night and by changing up my usual eating routine in the week it got my stomach wanting some new tastes. It doesn't help that Pinterest is amazing for some food photos. Now I just have to convince him to cook healthy food. He still loves his butter and fat, like every other meat & potato's man.

We have come a long way from the first days of dating though. I swear I gained 15lbs when I first started dating Scott. I couldn't refuse his home cooked meals. It was just such a sweet offering. After several plates loaded with dairy (cheese!) and covered with condiments, I just couldn't take it any more and had to start suggesting alternatives to the fat ridden ingredients. Slowly but surely we've come up with healthy versions of the classics. He also used to be a huge meat eater who loved his steak, ribs, and chicken. Scott has also started to incorporate more fish into his diet which makes it easier to plan meals together.

What are you eating this weekend? Are you splurging and having a "cheat day" or are you sticking to your healthy nutritious meals?

A few healthy recipes I've found this week from across the web:

• Pasta for lunch? Smoky Tomato Roasted Pepper and Arugula Pasta
• My friend Angie over at "Dishes Undressed" featured a Mid West Vegetarian Burger. I might have to try this one out this weekend.
• The clouds have been making an appearance around town. Time for some soup!
• Beautiful natural vibrant salad. I could eat this every day for lunch.
• Any one use Tofu on a regular basis? I'm not an average user but these Tofu Triangle Bites look good.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Don't drool too much over all the recipes ;)

-Michelle

Weekend Warm-Up : Mind, Body, Green

Welcome weekend... another one has arrived!
 

via source


Who's ready for the weekend? Me me ME!

Have you ever felt like everything is going wrong and there's no hope for changing it. I sure did on Monday and I'm lucky that I have learnt that I am the only one who can change my environment. My surroundings are only a reflection of what is going on inside me. I had to start by changing the constant negative chatter in my head. It was mostly feelings that were reved up by me creating stories to go along with them. I had to get it out. Oh and I did! I laid on the ground on my back in the middle of our living room and just let it ALL out. You know what happened? - I felt relieved! There was more space inside me for positive energy and emotions.

Think of it as wearing a backpack. If you fill your backpack with emotional negative heavy text books you end up walking around feeling miserable and unhappy. Dragged down and moving slowly from this baggage. So releasing these emotions into the air to disintegrate it left my backpack open to light loving experiences to come. I can now fill it with love notes, healthy tid bits and experiences that would bring me happiness. Doesn't that even sound lighter to you? I choose to be happy. Everyday you have the choice of what your day will be like. Do you choose to be happy?

One of my favourite sites is Mind, Body, Green. Here are some of my favourite posts from their site:

• 4 Qualities of Lucky People
• How Mind, Body, Green came to life. Very inspirational story of the creator of the site.
• 7 steps to unplug into the present moment
• 5 Things you will never regret in Life. Live each day to the fullest!
• Not from MBG but thought you would enjoy this interview between two of my favourite people. Gabrielle and Danielle. It's a fun one!

 Have a wonderful weekend!
-Michelle

Weekend Warm-Up : Head in the Game

Happy Weekend! Happy Friday first of all!

I havent't kept up to my usual quota of blog posts for this week but you might just understand due to my last post. My head is slowly getting back in the game and my focus has shifted a tiny bit. I want to help people be aware of all the possible chemicals and processed ingredients that they may be feeding their bodies on a daily basis. The best way to avoid these pesky toxins from your body is eating a diet full of fresh fruit, fresh veggies and fresh seafood (or organic meat). I'll be doing a post coming up on how to navigate the grocery stores to avoid common unhealthy choices.

I'll admit that I don't usually go for the Organic Fruits and Veggies but that is my latest goal. I know that eating foods covered with pesticides and chemicals is no good for my body or yours. This is just another way to avoid cancer cells developing our bodies. Have you heard of the dirty dozen? It's the list of fruits and veggies to always buy organic and the ones that are low in pesticides. Here's a convenient way to remember.


img source



Here are my interesting finds from around the web this week:

• Heading to a BBQ and need a healthy dip? Avocado Hummus or 5 Layer Greek Dip will do the trick.
• Educate and Donate to F*ck Cancer. Hey and maybe get the cool T-Shirt too.
• 6 Core Strengthening Exercises using a ball.
• 5 Life Lessons from Olympians. Very inspirational! I can't get enough of the Olympics.

Have a wonderful weekend!

-Michelle

Weekend Warm-Up : Long Weekend Style

Happy Weekend Time!

Healthy Watermelon Popsicles

It's British Columbia day on Monday and we get the day off (a big woohoo!). What's everyone's plans this weekend? This weekend my goal is to keep my healthy eating habits and workout routine on the same schedule as the weekday. I've worked way to hard this week to let it slip.

This is just a quick post as I'm itching to get outside and enjoy this sun. I've got to get some work done and then I'll be running. Oh yeah... and if you haven't noticed yet on the side of the blog, I've recently made a Facebook Page for my blog and hope you can join it so we can keep a conversation going on all things health, fitness and travel.

Here are my favourite links from around the web from this week:

• This new book from Kris Carr comes out in October and looks delish!

• How do you reward yourself? Cupcake or Manicure? This made me think.

• I need a new crop pant and this one has been my favourite to wear while running.

• This tank is perfect to lounge around in and workout in.

• I'll be trying this Healthy Alternative to Pizza over the weekend. Great idea!

Have a wonderful everyone!

-Michelle

Weekend Summary : Fireworks and Rides

Hello lovely people!
This past Saturday was one of the busiest Saturdays I've had in a long time...

My BF and I started our exciting adventure by taking the bus to our local fairgrounds/amusement park called "Playland". The company I work for put on this event day in which they paid for our admission and had a BBQ inside the park. I've been to Playland many times but recently I've had no want to go. It's in much need of an upgrade. The last few times I went on the crickity old wooden roller coaster, I've walked off with bruises from being thrown around lol. We made the best of it and it was nice to see people from work out of the office.

After a couple hours at Playland we headed downtown Vancouver to watch the Honda Celebration of Light Fireworks. This is our annual fireworks display that is on a large barge right off the beach downtown. It's always a guranteed spectacular show put on. It runs on 3 different nights and each country in the competition has a night to display their talent. We got to see Vietnam. The fireworks go to music which you can tune into on the radio. On Saturday it attracted 300,000 people to the shores to watch.

Fitness Goals for the week:

• I love this routine that FitSugar posted. I'm going to add these quick little routines to my cardio in the afternoon.
• I'm also going to beat my time in running my 4k trail with my dog.
• I'm going to do 3 sets of abs each day.

What is your fitness goal for this week?
-Michelle

Weekend Warm-Up : In Memory of Captain the Dog

In memory of Captain

As some of you might have noticed, I am a huge animal lover and especially dogs. I've always felt a close connection to animals and love them with all my heart. It breaks my soul what happened recently in the Vancouver area. A German Shepherd named Captain was brutally beaten by a man and then left out in the hot sun in a dumpster in a back alley. A neighbour found him still clinging to life and took him right away to the SPCA (our local animal shelter). A team of doctors worked on him trying to bring him back to life and unfortunately yesterday Captain passed away. It is reported that the injuries sustained from the beating were so horrific that they couldn't even determine what was wrong. They had to put Captain in coma and it was thought if he did survive he would be paralysed in all 4 legs. Captain was originally in the Police Academy training (RCMP) to become a police dog but he was let go due to being too friendly. The RCMP sold Captain to a man who then sold it to the now accused man. I'm sorry to give you the whole sad story but I think what this man did to Captain is disgusting and unforgivable. People who harm animals should be prosecuted and punished for hurting helpless animals.
In honour of Captain a fund was set up to help the SPCA prosecute this man and any others who have harmed animals. It takes approximately $10,000.00 for the SPCA to gather evidence and prosecute each person. I have donated to this fund and it would mean so much to me if you could find it in your heart to help this cause.

You can donate at: Justice for Captain and if you would like to see who started the campaign (to ensure it's not a scam), you can find Nat & Drew from Virgin Radio here.

Thanks to everyone who donates *big hugs xo
You can find the full story on Captain here.

07/23/12 UPDATE: Their goal of $10,000.00 has been smashed but let's keep it going so the SPCA can prosecute more of these people who are cruel to animals.

Check out this little girls contribution to the cause - great job!

On a happier note - This week's neat tid bits from across the web:

• A different twist on the typical Mojito Recipe

• Great interview with the lovely lady from Rifle Paper Co.

• The Wheatfield Shop on Etsy by Katie Daisy - some of my favourite prints

• No excuses- exercise anywhere - no equipment necessary

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

-Michelle

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Weekend Summary : Seattle & Mariners Baseball Game

That went by way too quickly!

Seattle Adventure

I was going to post this yesterday but had a bit of health scare. I've had this sharp pain in my sternum that started on Sunday evening and yesterday it turned into swelling on my whole right side. I saw the doctors and they are a bit confused. Luckily the swelling went away while sleeping last night. Hopefully all stays well (fingers crossed).

Back to my weekend. We had planned on and were on our way to leave for Seattle from Vancouver at 10am in the morning. Little did we know that plans were going to go hay wire and change quickly. A friend was going to drive with my mom and I was going to drive with the BF down to Seattle. Our friends car sprung a gas leak and only made it 5 blocks from his house. Luckily he noticed and he had to call the fire department to ensure the gas was all soaked up. We eneded up having to pick him up from the side of the road and wait for a tow truck to come. 3 hours later... we were on the road again.

When we arrived at our hotel (Silver Cloud Broadway) we only had 30 minutes to get everything checked in to make it for the first pitch at Safeco Field. Well... that didn't happen. Instead, my shorts ripped (across the butt - no hiding it) and I hadn't brought anything else. I had planned on buying some shorts the next day while shopping. ooops - a quick rush sew job later and we were on our way. We arrived 30 minutes late but the game was moving at a super speed pace. I've never seen a baseball game move so quickly. By the 7th inning we were running to the food stands to grab some snacks but had to be so quick because we could possibly miss a whole inning. The game only lasted 2.5 hours! That was the shortest baseball game I'd ever seen in my life. By the end of it we were laughing uncontrollably. We were all in disbelief on how the whole day unfolded. Then again ... it might have been boring if you we didn't have some challenges lol. We did get to enjoy some of those snacks. We had some spicy nachos that were slathered in pulled pork (I picked some chips out from around it), a little bit of kettle corn popcorn and a couple drinks. All in moderation remember.

After the game we had fun going out to a pool hall that was right beside our hotel. It was really large (20 tables). After that exciting day we were all tired and headed to bed. We woke up around 7am and grabbed a coffee from Tully's. It wasn't my favourite coffee in the world but it did the job. I tried Peet's coffee while I was in Silicon Valley a couple years ago and fell in love. I only wish we could get it closer to us in Vancouver. We made a couple shopping stops along the way home. The weekend was over - where did it go so quickly? All around I had an awesome time filled with so many laughs and unexpected moments.

Oh and in case you want to know: Seattle Mariners WON! against Texas.

How do you deal with unexpected speed bumps in your travel plans? Do you freak out and get nervous? Or do you go with the flow and everything happens for a reason?

-Michelle

Weekend Warm-Up : July 13th

Freaky Friday the 13th - nope not for me. It's my lucky day!

My mom and I have always believed that Friday the 13th wasn't a bad luck day but instead an awesome day (and lucky). So far so good with this idea. 

Past Family Trip to the Seattle Mariners Game

This weekend we are heading down to Seattle and going to watch a Seattle Mariners game. We are leaving early in the morning and it's supposed to reach 34 degrees while we are there. Yes! I love the sun and heat and can't wait to sit in the stands and enjoy a nice crisp drink.
It's funny how excited we get for the baseball food. I usually don't eat greasy food but when it's a special occasion (haha) like a baseball game.... I'm all for giving myself a little break and letting loose on the diet. I don't go overboard or I feel absolutely terrible after an hour. I usually go for the garlic fries - oh yum. There will definitely be an order of kettle corn popcorn too.



What is your favourite food at the baseball field to indulge in? Or any sports event, what food do you snatch up right away?

Here are some interesting links from the past week:

• Mala Beads - how to choose the right ones for you.

• A mexican twist on quinoa - a must try recipe for me next week.

• Sushi restaurant that doesn't serve fish ?! new in New York

• A perfect recipe to take along for a picnic on the beach or in the park

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
-Michelle

5 Tips on How to Avoid Weekend Weight Gain

I have to admit: I fall into an unhealthy eating blunder on the weekend more often than I would like. Weekend weight gain!


Appies & Brunch on the Weekend


This past weekend there were a bundle of events happening and I didn't want to fall into the trap of wasting all that hard work exercising and eating lean and green to go to waste. Sometimes we can get caught in the moment of having fun with friends and family and get carried away with our food choices. I've learnt how to make minor adjustments and plan ahead. I wanted to share with you how I'm making changes to avoid the weekend weight gain.

On Saturday evening we decided we were going to have an "appy night" so I knew I had to get in more exercise than normal to counter the calories I would be taking in later on. We went for an hour hike along the lake on Friday evening and woke up early Saturday morning to fit in some tennis before the sun was too hot to handle. Knowing how much work I had just done helped me be conscious of what appetisers I chose and how many I consumed. Your appetite may increase from doing more exercise so be careful not to eat more as you actually may not need that extra food and it may just be your body craving some protein or even water.

Stay Active - Get Outside

Sunday came around and that's always a hard day to push through for me. I had brunch planned with a girlfriend and I created a plan in my head before I left. Okay.. what am I going to eat? What is a healthy choice that I will find to be delicious? This let me look at the menu in a different way when I got to the restaurant. Instead of feeling limited, I now was excited to find exactly what I had planned on eating. No last minute decisions and no stomach winning over the brain. My girl friend and I decided to split a fresh veggie eggs benedict. It had just a touch of sauce on top and was placed on a whole wheat english muffin. To go along with the one egg, we split a crisp seared ahi tuna salad - more protein and vegetables = perfect.


Being honest here: I love to have a couple drinks on the weekend (really.. who doesn't?). Well I've noticed over the last few months that if I go over my "selected amount" of drinks, well.. I can see it in the mirror and it ain't pretty! There's the bloating, puffy face and the weight around the mid section that sneaks in. So I decided I needed to take control of this nasty habit. Not eliminate completely but just take control and give it some guidelines. I've set a limit for each day and I don't allow myself to exceed it or if I do... a big warning goes off in my head reading : "Muffin Top Growing". I've also found "Skinnygirl Cocktails" and love the Lime Margarita one over ice. Fits right into my "healthy liquid" plan for the weekend.

Here are 5 tips to help you avoid weight gain over the weekends:

• Set your day off right and rev up that metabolism by eating a healthy breakfast meal full of protein and fibre. This keeps you feeling full and prevents you from grabbing for those munchies

• If you're heading out to eat and being a good girl by eating a salad or veggies: avoid creamy dressing/sugar dressing and ask for a balsamic dressing. Calories saved instantly.

• When choosing an alcoholic drink: think simple. Less ingredients and fresher the ingredients the less it will stick to the body. Try a vodka soda with a lime. Avoid those sugar blended drinks. It's a meal in a drink!

• Water, water, water - you may think you are hungry but it may just be that your body is needing some water to keep up with you on the weekend. Try to have a glass of water between each special drink you have. Frappes included!

• Stay active - you may not want to hit the gym on your weekend but find another way to exercise. Maybe even take the dog out for an extra long walk in the morning. Just don't do nothing, find something fun.

Do you have any tips to staying on top of your healthy eating lifestyle over the weekend? I would love to hear about them in the comments below or you can find me on twitter @mishy_moe and tweet me your smart tip for keeping lean through the weekend.

-Michelle

Weekend Warm-Up : June 29

This weekend it's our long weekend here in Canada. It's Canada Day!
Happy Canada Day!

As you can see from the picture above... it's raining in Vancouver again. A look at the positive though, it's supposed to get sunny (and stay sunny) by next weekend. Finally!

There's a festival that goes on every year in our community called "Golden Spike Days" and we usually don't make it to it because of other obligations with family or friends' Canada Day parties. This year though we were all ready to head down to the festival and have a couple drinks and then walk back to our place to watch the fireworks from our patio. It looks like we will just have to throw our own little celebration inside and hopefully the weather is clear enough for us to still watch the fireworks from our patio. We are on the 18th floor so shouldn't be too much of a problem (crossing fingers!).

Any plans for the long weekend or just the normal weekend?

• If it was hot out and I needed a Margarita, this Margarita would definitely do!

• This isn't a new product from Nike but I'm itching to get it lately. Who doesn't love a game of tag too?!?

• Kamalame Island - can you tell I'm dreaming of sunshine and beaches

• This Vlog from Gabrielle Bernstein really made me think this week. I pondered what I might be trying to control in my life. Let go and enjoy some surprises in life.

Have a wonderful weekend!

-Michelle

Weekend Warm-Up

Happy Weekend!

Crazy, did this week ever go by quick?! Don't get me wrong... not complaining at all. This weekend we have plans for a birthday dinner tonight and I've been craving these sushi cones from there. They are not your typical sushi cone. We asked the waitress last time what makes them so different because we tried making them with rice paper once before and it just didn't taste the same. The secret wrapping ingredient - soy paper! Now we have to go search for it.

My pups and mom are coming over for a visit on Sunday. I've really missed my dogs lately (the Bernese mountain dogs). My mom took over looking after them when I moved into my condo recently. We have my boyfriends dog, Keena but I just miss my Big Fluffy Bears!
Oh! and we are going to make some Paella. I'm thinking of doing a blog post on this recipe as my boyfriend makes a crazy paella dish! Mmmm drooling already.

Here's some interesting tidbits for the weekend:

Blueberry, Strawberry and Jicama Salsa - perfect for the beginning of summer.

Have you heard about Tough Mudder? It's happening in Vancouver/Whistler this weekend. It's crazy and I think I might make this a future goal.

Job well done! Congrats to the people of one of my favourite sites, The Everygirl. They made the Forbes Top 10 sites to follow for Millennial Women.

Have a wonderful weekend!

-Michelle

This Weeks Wind-Up

Father's day this weekend. Happy Dad Day to all those fathers!

I actually don't have my dad in my life anymore and always take the time each year to think about how my mom took the responsibility of not only being my mom but being my dad to me too. Now being older I see how much she had to take on being a single parent. My grandfather has also been a great father figure to me and so "Happy Father's Day Gramps".

Father's day got me thinking about exercising with family. This morning on my way into work I saw a mother and daughter going for run and thought it was great. Last week I also saw a father taking his young daughter out for a run through the trails and was impressed that he was starting his daughter off on the right mentality towards exercise. I love exercising with my mom. It's a great way to interact while it benefits your health. Next time your family wants to meet up for coffee or food why not suggest going for a walk first or even grab a coffee and walk. It's amazing how easy conversation becomes while you are moving.

• Mistakes you may be making in your fitness class

• This pizza looks incredible for a summer time meal. It's made with whole wheat dough too.

• The new Mac Book Pro Air is out. Here's a great comparison review.

• New Blog Book is coming out by OhJoy!

• Alkaline & Acidic Foods Chart: The PH Spectrum.

 Have a wonderful weekend!

-Michelle