Thursday, June 30, 2011

thursday thought.


*do what you can, with what you have, where you are.  --theodore roosevelt

yay long weekend! see you all tomorrow!
--m

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

top 5.

when it comes to travel.. well I basically adore it.  I feel travelling is a valuable educational experience that is completely irreplaceable by any type of "typical" education.  the opportunities are endless and I feel that it is a totally humbling experience to see the rest of the world.  many people are oblivious to what is out there and ignorant in a sense because they think the only world that exists is the one they are living in.  when in reality, each country, city, or town is one small piece of the puzzle.  I thrive off knowledge and I am always itching to learn something new.  the learning experience of travelling to a new country or even city is one that is indescribably satisfying in my eyes.  sometimes I can feel totally at home, so to speak, in a place that I have just arrived in.

I mentioned that hawaii was in my top 5 places to travel so I figured I would give you the complete list.  I also have a top 10 list and I would honestly like to see as many places as I can in my lifetime.  I hope that I have the opportunity in my time on this planet to not only visit but really learn about the way of life in several different areas on this globe.

so here are my other 4 locations in my top 5 must travel list:

1. the galapagos islands



2. ireland.


3. greece


4. san francisco


obviously, they all have one major thing in common. the ocean.  the diversity in flora and fauna is what really attracts me to many places as well as somewhere rich in culture and history.  the galapagos speaks for itself-  of course I am extremely passionate about marine creatures and just creatures in general so this place is a must see in my opinion.  the geography of all the regions in my top 5 is phenomenal which attracts me to them as well- ocean, mountains, volcanos, beaches- I'm there!!

looking forward to my opportunity to see each of these places, but even more so, I look forward to the places I will stumble upon along the way, that will take me by complete surprise and leave me in awe of their beauty :)

happy travelling friends.  
--m  

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

we are booked...


have you guessed??



for one week on oahu!! oh my goodness- I am SO excited.  hawaii is in my top 5 places I want to visit so I can't wait to spend some time there.  this is D and I's first trip together out of the country so another reason to get excited and D's first time off the continent! good times await.. I am so glad we did our research and found the perfect area to stay.  we decided to stay in honolulu for a couple nights to do some of the tourist-y things and then we are escaping to a smaller town on the east coast.  the town of kailua and the world famous kailua beach.  we snagged a wicked vacation rental really close to the beach and we plan to just totally veg out. what an adventure it will be.  is it too early to start a countdown?? :)

night friends.

Monday, June 27, 2011

sunday baking.

my monday posts comes to you early today.  I have a busy evening after work so I wanted to get this post in early.

first things first. sunday baking- peanut butter and jelly swirl blondies.  I have made several variations of blondies before but discovered this recipe the other day and thought I would give it a go.

blondies are so so simple and come together so quickly.

pre-baking.



straight from the oven.

D and I dug in immediately.  these won't last long in our house :)

while the blondies were baking, I prepped my fruits and veggies for my lunches for the week.  this makes packing my lunch a breeze each evening.   


having my lunch made the night before makes my morning routine that much quicker.  here are a couple other tips for streamlining your morning routine.  I have to be at work shortly before 8 am if not earlier and I like my sleep so anything to get a few extra zzz's is a blessing.

*packing lunch night before and also prepping my breakfast.  most often- overnight oats.  I make them in a tupperware container and eat them when I start my day at the office.  I have been discussing some lunch ideas here and here.

*picking out my outfit the day before- even if I don't lay out the clothes I always have an idea in mind so I don't waste time deciding.

*packing my bag for yoga or zumba with a pre-workout snack the day before.  have everything ready to go at the door in order to not forget it in the morning!

well that's that! off to work I go.
happy monday!
--m

Sunday, June 26, 2011

sunday hike.

D and I took advantage of the gorgeous weather today and got outside for a nice hike. we walked around this park in may for birthday celebrations and decided we wanted to go back and explore more of the area.  we hiked our way up to this lake, looked around and then made our way back.  it was such a nice way to spend an afternoon.





after a couple errands we returned home to make dinner.  we made veggie quesadillas, asparagus and rutabaga fries.  I honestly thought these rutabaga fries would be a hit and I was quite disappointed.  boo :( 


back to work tomorrow! hope everyone had a lovely weekend.
--m

birthday boy.

had a great time at our nephew, rhys', first birthday party.  I can't believe how fast time flies. 

rhys & nana


love this little guy.

I will be back later with some more weekend updates.
happy sunday!
--m

Friday, June 24, 2011

friday fun.

I took the day off work because I was feeling exhausted from a busy weekend and week.  I needed some time to rest and to catch up on lots of errands.  I did just that. after a little bit of a sleep-in, I picked up a couple groceries and headed to yoga.  after my 75 min class I was feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of my errands.  had the chance to squeeze in a short visit with my parents, drop off D a brownie at work, and visit with my co-workers from my previous job! I miss them so much.  AND the best part ever- one of them invited me to join a book club! I am over the moon excited about that- I have always wanted to join one so I can't wait to get started! can't beat good books and lovely friends.

in other news.. one of my friends introduced me to podcasts a while back.  I started listening and was hooked! it is a nice switch up from music and makes the time fly if you have episodes that really interest you.  I have discussed yoga podcasts before and I absolutely adore them.  other podcasts I love are radiolab and this american life.  okay- it gets better! if any of you read joy the baker, then you will know about her awesome blog and how her posts always manage to make you laugh.  so I just discovered HER podcasts! totally awesome. check it out! I instantly downloaded them all and uploaded them to my iPod. love love love it.

finally, just some other eats from the week. I made a huge pot of soup using the mix pictured below.  it is a spicy thai soup that is really delicious! I simply used veggie broth and added lots of tofu and mushrooms and a squeeze of lemon juice when served.  I would have also added zucchini and broccoli if I had some.



doesn't look overly appetizing- but it sure satisfies the taste buds.

finally, I have heard this idea several times before and again last weekend when I was hanging out with the girls.  it is fake ice cream in a sense- simple blend up frozen bananas and they become fluffy and creamy like ice cream.  I tried it out and was pleasantly surprised! I would love to add berries or cookies to jazz it up next time!

pseudo ice cream

that's all for now! wishing everyone a great weekend!
if you are looking for some weekend recipe ideas- check out brooke's blog for her latest ideas.
--m

Thursday, June 23, 2011

thursday thought.


*avoid any diet that discourages the use of hot fudge.  -don kardong

LOVE this one. I am a full believer in indulging and a diet that cuts out chocolate of any kind is a no-go in my house.

it's friday for me! yay for 3 day weekend!
--m

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

vegetables.

okay people- let's talk vegetables.

I have been trying to brainstorm some creative ways to incorporate more veggies into dinner.  we do eat a fair amount but I need more variety.  I do pretty well with cramming in veggies at lunch because I usually eat a salad or a large side of veggies.

my go-to veggie sides with dinner are corn, sweet potatoes(homemade fries normally), roasted asparagus and mixed green salads. but I really need to switch it up- I am looking for suggestions!

this week I bought a rutabaga that I am to make into rutabaga fries, which I have seen on multiple blogs.  hope it will turn into another one of our frequent sides! also, kale chips are on my list to try.

any veggie that can be made into "fries" is a good veggie in my books! 

rutabaga and sweet potato for fries!


lunches this week have included:

*green salad including lettuce, radishes, celery, cucumber, fresh dill and cheese with a side of strawberries and grapes.



*veggie burger on lettuce with a side of cucumbers and celery.


so any creative veggie side dishes or veggie lunch ideas are more than welcome!!

on a side note.. here is an article of possible interest- aka. the "ocean-lover" in me would really appreciate it if you read this :)   ten things you can do to help heal our oceans

be blue people! the oceans are so valuable.

--m

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

firsts.

a first- a new skill that you mastered for the first time.  derek would always come back from downhill mountain biking and say, "I had two firsts!" aka. he did two new jumps or landed two tricks that were new to him.  I quickly latched onto this concept and would come back from yoga and tell him about my "firsts" that class.  this started a long while back when I was just beginning to really get into yoga.  at that point, I was achieving a first at almost every class.. 

my first headstand..

my first handstand..



my first side crow.. mine wasn't quite as pretty as this. but I'm getting there!



but as time went on and I practiced on a regular basis, I wasn't mastering many firsts because the majority of the poses I had usually tried at one time or another.  now, I have developed a new concept for firsts and I don't classify them as a completely new skill but taking a pose to a new level.   that could include something as simple as a longer hold or even a smile!

for example, some recent firsts include..

*binding my side angle pose

*achieving balance for the complete hold of eagle pose on both sides


*taking my 100th chaturanga of the class with a smile! (maybe not quite 100, but sometimes it really feels like it!)



these simple goals and achievements make my practice that much more rewarding.  I just can't get enough yoga. class today was phenomenal- although it felt kinda like a yoga bootcamp? steph incorporated lots of lovely yogi push ups and core exercises to get us sweatin'.


happy yoga-ing!
--m

*all photos from yoga journal

Monday, June 20, 2011

oh monday.

monday comes too fast. always. sometimes certain weekends are especially busy and I don't feel I have time to complete everything on my to do list while finding time to relax.

regardless of this past weekend being extremely busy, it was still lovely :) for fathers day we went golfing in the morning and then had a nice dinner at moms in the evening.  I think dad was really excited about his gifts!

after my normal workday, I headed to yoga which was just fabulous as always. filled with lots of planks, chaturangas and spinal twists.  my favourite pose of todays class: dancers pose.


on another note, I stumbled across another great blog- eat save travel. check it out! and one of the bloggers also writes pause the moment which is a travel blog. SO awesome.  eek I have a serious travel bug right now.  really itching to go somewhere- I love reading about travel adventures and they have some great tips.

finally, just wanted to do a quick review on the book I'm reading.


left neglected- so far, so good! I'm loving it.  the author also wrote still alice, which was one of my favourites.  the story follows a successful business woman with a husband and 3 kids that gets in an accident and is left with a condition called left neglect.  I love the way this author writes- I am hooked on her books!

happy monday.
--m

Sunday, June 19, 2011

my dad.

happy fathers day dad- you are the best ever! and a really good golfer too :) I will work on my game for a round 2 next year! 

me as a wee one.

highschool graduation


easter 2011

fathers day outing last year

the new grandpa!

all the kids!(and grandkid)

new york 2008
gabriola island adventures 2010
love you.
--m

Saturday, June 18, 2011

baking up a storm.

by 1.30 today I had done dishes 3 times- 3!! thats gotta be some sorta record. I think I deserve a prize. thankfully I have prizes in the form of blueberry muffins and peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. my taste buds are satisfied :)

I started with the blueberry muffins which I made with a recipe from brown eyed baker.. they turned out just perfect!  I owe tye some muffins so he will be receiving half the batch of these bad boys. hope he enjoys them!

*I apologize for the not so nice quality of the photos- my camera battery had died and I have yet to replace it! these ones were taken with my phone.


since I was in the baking mood, I also quickly whipped up some cookies.  using this recipe.  anything with peanut butter is a winner in my books.  I think D will love them too.  And I can sort of pretend they are healthy since they have some oats in them :) score! I meant to make these much earlier in the week but never got around to it.  so now we will have some sweet treats for the weekend!




my baking soundtrack for the day was homes by jon and roy- I am seriously addicted to these guys.  love love love them. thanks to tye for introducing me to them!



happy saturday!! hope everyone has a great fathers day tomorrow- I can't wait! 
--m

Thursday, June 16, 2011

canuck fever.

the boys cheering on our canucks.. there is always next season! still very proud of the team for making it to game 7 of the finals.  



apparently, abby didn't get the memo.. she continues to cheer for the bruins even after she received lots of canuck loot for her birthday!! 



enough of hockey! lets enjoy this 3 month period until it starts again.. oh yah, football just started. oh well, such is life! (go riders)
yay for friday!
--m

thursday thought.


source

*don't compromise yourself. you're all you've got.  --janis joplin

--m

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

6 things I'm loving now..

*derek and morgans infinite playlist. I stumbled across this cd the other day and couldn't help but smile. I loaded it onto my computer and my ipod. I made this cd for derek almost 3 years ago- it included songs by fiest, sarah mclaughlan, radiohead, jack johnson and a couple others. out first trip away together was to victoria and we stayed overnight and attended some free outdoor concerts including fiest and sarah- we had such a good time and following that I made this cd and included those artists. the others are just some of our favourite road trip tunes. it was a nice surprise to stumble upon it :)

*halls lozenges- so, on the weekend I wasn't feeling quite myself. I had some vitamin c halls lozenges and each individual wrapper had a little inspirational quote on it! how adorable! totally, totally awesome. I'm a sucker for that kinda stuff!



*blazers- I have been searching for one that I really like and I found these two from forever 21. cuteness! I have to order one of them pretty quick. thoughts and opinions? I can't decide!







*the glass castle-- just finished this book and absolutely loved it! definitely a must read if you haven't already.



*my sunroof- even though my car is basically an antique, doesn't have a gas door, has squeaky brakes, has a speedometer that only works when it wants to and several other quirks, I am totally so thankful for my sunroof. letting the sun shine in is wonderful, even if I have to struggle to get the sun roof open from time to time :)

*this post from carrots 'n' cake- oh my goodness, is their pug cute or WHAT! wow.

originally this list was 7 things and I included the sweet video of acro yoga allstars joe and steph doing some AMAZING stuff. unfortunately, that didn't upload and I was really disappointed. I'm sorry :(


game 7 today- eep! keep your fingers, toes, legs, arms crossed so that the canucks win it all!!
--m