Category Archives: Holly

A Weekend Wouldn’t be Complete Without…

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So it had been awhile since I skipped a regular post, as I have stuck to my Monday, Wednesday, Friday posting schedule like a fly sticks to sticky fly trap paper. But last Thursday night as I sat down to write my Friday post, the fly got unstuck from the trap and I decided to skip the post as I was more preoccupied with other things. Nothing outrageously exciting, but more exciting that forcing Freddy Fingers to type out a post I just didn’t have the motivation to write. Call it writers block, or food block, or picture block. I just needed a break. So break I did, but now I am ready to share with you a random compilation of thoughts about what my weekend needs to be complete:

A weekend would not be complete without a new foodie find.

Since mustard is one of my favorite dressing ingredients this new Wasabi mustard was not only delicious but a beautiful color. I love the shade of wasabi green!

Stub’s Wasabi Mustard.

A weekend would not be complete without some new foodie experiments.

Like sun-drying tomatoes…

Sun drying tomatoes

Just kidding! The fly’s would get to it, and I’m sure my method would be quite unsanitary. This just happened my accident when the cherry tomato (fresh from the garden) fell off my plate and I forgot to bring it inside. Thus it became sun dried.

A weekend would not be complete without something happening to Holly.

Like getting stung by a bee on the eye…

Holly’s Bee Sting

A weekend would not be complete without harvesting something from the garden.

It has been a great year for our cucumbers so far! The cherry tomatoes aren’t as plentiful as they were last summer, but they still have loads of green fruit on them, so I’ve just got to be patient.

This garden cucumber had a hole done the center

A weekend would not be complete without a fun info graphic find…

If you follow me on pinterest you may have noticed that I love info-graphics. Information and graphics are two of my favorite things (separately) so once they are combined it’s like magic! One I found this weekend was a tool that allows you to see which Olympic athlete best matches your body type. You can see it here. Although this may be triggering to some who struggle with comparison, I found it quite interesting and motivational to start trying to build muscle again!

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What would your weekend not be complete without?

Have you harvested anything from your garden?

Do you like mustard? If so what is your favourite flavor? (I love horseradish mustard!)

All for the Love of Chocolate

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Poor Holly managed to get a block of 100% pure unsweetened dark baking chocolate. You know what that means?

It means being rushed to the vet to induce vomiting. It was quite the medical care she received, she even had intravenous. She’s healthy and home now though. The things we do for chocolate eh?

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Do you have a pet that has ever eaten something poisonous? What would you do for chocolate? (I would totally parade around in a funky cone protector if it meant chocolate)

I've Finally Figured Out the Reason…

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As the title suggests: I’ve finally figured out the reason… the reason why after showering at the gym my hair is so…different than usual!

A few months ago I filled up a little bottle with shampoo I found in the bathroom to take to the gym with me. Turns out it’s dog shampoo!!

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Have you ever used something thinking it was something else? (ie. someone else’s toothbrush) What is your favourite brand of Shampoo? I love Root Awakenings, but mostly because I love the smell of it!

Pause the Life Train

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It must be the Christmas magic: the magic of traditions, the magic of being surrounded by family, the magic of Jesus’ birth. It is exactly that magic that, while lying in bed Christmas night after all the days excitement, convinced me it would be just great if I could pause time right now.

No more growing up, no more changes. Just pause. Unfortunately (or fortunately) the magic of Christmas doesn’t come with a magic remote to pause life, so it seems I will be staying on this fast moving train called life. Thankfully everyone else is on the same train. Thankfully the Life Train serves some refreshments.

Mint-Chocolate Spread

I haven’t used chia seeds in ages, so I figured some chia experimentation was in order. What emerged was a frozen ginger treat, somewhat inappropriate for the winter. But who said you can only have frozen treats in the summer?

Chilly Chia Treat

And now I’m off to fill my day with knitting, reading, card games, jigsaw puzzles, and maybe even some shopping

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How have you been filling your days lately? Do you eat frozen treats in the winter?

These are a Few of my Favourite Things

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So far this winter I haven’t had any “snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes”. Nor have I seen any “girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes”. How sad it is that gone are the days with “wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings”, I guess I will have to come up with a few of my own favourite things!

Reading the Newspaper Comics at breakfast instead of textbooks or notes

Pre-Exam Traditions

Yesterday was my last pre-exam “coke latte” of the semester. Incase you’re wondering it’s simple: Coke mixed with coffee. Taken before all exams.

Tuna

Cute Christmas plates

Fluffy Socca Bread: 3 tbsp chickpea flour, 1 tbsp pea fiber (or replace with an extra tbsp of chickpea flour), dash of salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, 1/4 cup of egg whites

Mix all ingredients and microwave on high or 2 minutes, flip, then microwave for another minute

Roasted Veggies

Doesn’t look very filling, but you must keep in mind the copious amounts of hummus and greek yogurt salsa dip that was included with this meal. In addition to the fruit dipped in peanut butter for dessert.

Holly

Holly was my sister’s Christmas present a few years back (hence the Christmas name). She is loving all the company she has gotten since the holidays have started

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What are a few of your favourite things? Have you gotten snow this winter (if you live somewhere that usually gets snow?)

NOTE #1: The above is by no means an accurate representation of a full day of food. In reality there was probably twice as much as that!

NOTE #2: I decided to compile some of my most imaginative pictures into a new “envisage” page. Located on the top side bar. Feeel free to check it out if you have time :)  

Take 5

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Five is a common number. It’s the first part of the times table you learn, it’s the number of fingers you have on one hand…

…and it’s the number of things I’ve been loving lately:

1. Watching movies while I’m on the treadmill

In the summer when I’m running outside the only entertainment I have is my music, but now that the weather had gotten chillier and I’ve moved my self indoors, I’ve been loving that I can watch movies at the same time as getting my heart beating.

2. Scarves

It’s one of the few ways I manage to stay warm during the cooler seasons. There is just something about having your neck covered that makes your whole body feel heated! I have quite the collection, but can always justify buying another. If it wasn’t for scarves I would not leave the house, and instead curl up on the couch with Holly.

3. Doodling

When I was growing up, I was always the sibling recruited to make homemade birthday cards for grandparents, aunts, and parents. I like to think I had some talent back then, unfortunately now I can only laugh at how my doodles end up…

Joy is my middle name by the way. I titled this doodle “A girl, a boy, and a CREEPY dog”. Fitting for the halloween season.

4. Shrimp

Lately I’ve been baking some shrimp in the oven at 450 F, and love the way they turn out! I don’t like soggy shrimp, but baking makes them nice and dry.

5. My Younger sister

Okay, so it’s not only lately I’ve been loving her…I’ve been loving her always. However, I just recently told her about my blog and I’ve been loving the closeness I’ve been having with her again lately. A flashback of the good old days with my sis…

…yup, I always loved food.

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What have you been loving lately? Do you like scarves?

Just Me-int

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We all have our own preferences right? Our own opinions, enjoyments, and pet peeves?

Take for instance one of my food preferences: I don’t like the chocolate chips in mint ice cream. I just don’t, never have and I never will. Yet I worried that if I posted my recipe for Just Me-int ice cream I would be misunderstood for trying to make the recipe healthier. But that’s not the case it’s catered to Just Me!

Just Me-int

Based of Katie’s Icecream recipe}

  • 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/16 tsp salt
  • stevia packet
  • 1/2 cup almond breeze
  • 1/4 cup of coconut milk
  • 1/4 tsp pure peppermint extract
Step 1: Mix all ingredients, pour into ice cube tray, and freeze.

Step 2: Pop out and blend in food processor, blender etc (I used magic bullet)
Step 3: Enjoy

It pains me to see others trying to mimic and imitate someone else. However isn’t that how we learn what we truly do love and hate? We see someone else doing it so we give it a try too then we can determine our own opinion. But how will our kids ever learn to form their own opinions if they look up to someone who can’t stand up for what they like? That is why I decided to come up with a few ME things. Which are all things that I can honestly say are my own opinion and not based off anyone elses

  • I don’t like raspberries…the seeds get stuck in my teeth
  • I like love math and school. I just hate the pressure of excelling
  • I would rather spend money on notebooks, pens/pencils, and books over food. (GASP)
  • I prefer running over lifting
  • I am a cat person not a dog person. Sure, I have a dog now, but only because my Dad and sister are allergic to cats. Growing up I asked my parents for a cat pretty much everyday for 5 years straight.

I still love Holly though!

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Your turn, I would love to hear some things that make you YOU! Things that you honestly enjoy from the bottom of your heart! If you made a Just-Me icecream what would the flavor be?

Weeekend E's: Running Update

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Yesterday marked my fourth month since I started blogging, and I just wanted to acknowledge how much I have enjoyed it! I appreciate all of your comments on my posts and I love the blogging community. You guys all rock! Now it’s time to get to…

Experiences: 

The heat wave it seems we’ve all been having is expected to cool down a little bit. I won’t complain because I would prefer a heat wave over a cold wave, but last Thursday’s ‘Feels Like” temperature being 120F was pretty darn hot.                                                                         

For the weekend  I’ll be expecting to experience a little more of this type of lounging…

Edibles:

So far this morning I’ve already ate an incredible oat bran combination, Peanut Butter Chocolate Molten:

Oat bran, almond breeze, eggwhites, cocoa powder, peanut flour, vanilla cupcake flavor drops. Topped with greek yogurt mixed with more cocoa powder and drizzled with runny peanut flour paste

Exercise:

It’s been a while since I’ve posted my Nike+ running miles, so this chart pretty much sums up the month of July so far:

See those two recent peaks? Those are when I run with my dad which are always my favorite runs. My Dad has been running for a long time and has done several marathons and he has never had a running injury. So when I run with him I follow his every move: his pace, his posture, his stride. It’s amazing how great it feels to be in sync with another runner.

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How long have you been blogging for? Do you ever go running with someone else? What have you been up to this weekend?

Running Advice From Strangers

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I hope you all had terrific weekends! The past few days have been fun but tiring. Here is what went down:

Experiences: I didn’t buy anymore shoes this weekend. But I did take a trip to Costco! I stalked up on almonds…

…and some new lunch containers! These are great because they are glass and are a variety of sizes. I’ve got a feeling I’m going to be using these in the house too, because I’m always looking for microwave safe bowls.

Edibles: I didn’t do much experimenting in the kitchen this weekend. But that’s alright because I enjoyed some old favorites

puffy protein pudding 

Exercise: I went to those dance classes, and had a great time! I went with my best friend who also danced in high school so I also had a great time catching up with her. I left the class very sweaty and  woke up immensely sore the next morning so it just goes to show that dancing really is a great form of exercise.  I already knew that of course, but many people don’t.

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On Sunday I went out for a nice long and slow cemetery run. I know it may sound weird to run in a cemetery but the cemetery I run in is over 200+ acres and there are always tonnes of runners, bikers, and families taking advantage of the well kept pathways. It just so happens that on Sunday I was stopped by a biker who started off with saying “You’re going to hurt yourself if you keep running like that…” I was so startled and have heard that saying a few too many times in the past. I started to tear up for no apparent reason, but then he continued “…you can’t swing your legs out from side to side you got to keep them straight forward your going to hurt your hips and your lower back”.

Curious George Holly had fun with a dropped frozen cranberry

At first I didn’t know what to think. I have always considered myself a decent runner, I mean I did a bit of track in high school and I ran a half-marathon. I guess my feelings were a bit hurt at first. Then it dawned on me: this person cared enough about my running form to stop me. I should take his advice to heart. I mean I never actually learned proper form. So I thanked him for his advice and ran off consciously trying to swing my legs the right way. It got me thinking though…

where did you learn how to run?

Other questions for discussion: Are you a fan of Costco? What are your favorite things to buy there?

CyberChimps