A view into my world, as the journey continues, to become a healthier version of ME. I also hope that I can help inspire, and motivate you throughout your own journey...
I am back in the kitchen again. So that means new recipes will be posted soon.
I made two batches of bean brownies. The first made with black beans. The second with white kidney beans. The daycare kids loved them. They loved them because they didn't know what was in them. I'm sure if I put a bowl of black beans in front of them(well some of them), they would turn their noses up. The brownies tasted great and they are packed with protein.
Black Bean Brownies White Kidney Bean Brownies
I will work on posting those recipes on the weekend.
Another recipe that I prepared for dinner tonight was some healthier fried chicken.
I saw the recipe floating around on Facebook and I changed it up slightly by changing the flour. I would have change the oil, but my husband is not a huge fan of coconut oil. Next time I will cook my in coconut oil. I have posted that recipe on my "Cook with Me" page.
Now don't go crazy and eat this ALL the time. BUT it does make a nice home cooked comfort meal. Plus, it's better than eating out a fast food chicken place.
This post took me much longer to write than expected. I know it is very short, but once I got to the chicken part, I switched to my "Cook With Me" page and posted the recipe.
PLUS...my husband put on the movie "Run Fat Boy Run". It's funny and inspirational. And yes, the emotional sap that I am, I did tear up during the running of the marathon. It's a great feel good kind of movie.
Another great day of Body Revolution workout, Just Plank It! Challenge and eating right. I did eat a few more calories today than I probably should have, but it was GOOD clean food.
I almost forgot...I also made a Avocado Chocolate Pudding. I will post that on the weekend too.
I may try adding a touch of milk to smooth it out more.
Since we have had some "crazy winter weather", as some people may call it. I call it a true Canadian winter. We haven't had a winter like this since I was a kid.
In December there was a major ice storm that hit some areas very, VERY hard. Many lost power for days, and some of those days were through the week of Christmas. So with no heat or hydro for some, I thought I might share some information JUST in CASE it happens again.
The other day I was checking out the things coming up on my Facebook wall and I found a couple links.
The first an idea on How to Easily Heat Your Home Using Flowers Pots and Tea Lights...
Now remember your fire and safety when doing anything that involves an open flame or flammable materials(such as in the second video link)
We have not yet tried this heating system, but my husband is very excited to try it.
We cooked an egg using it. My husband used a can from orange juice rather than a beer can, and it worked all the same.
Here is the stove in action.
We had it sitting on top of our stove for safety purposes.
Here is the egg we cooked.
Well this was while it was still cooking.
My husband was pretty pleased with how it worked, he ended up cooking a second egg. We found a container to store it in, and look forward to trying it again while camping this year. Or if our power goes off, at least we have this emergency option.
Again, be sure you are safe while using these two emergency options.
Today was the start of the Just Plank It! Challenge. I hope you got your 20 seconds done. I actually forgot to do it after my workout this morning, so I snuck it in while waiting for my son to come home from school. It doesn't take long, it's ONLY 20 seconds. You CAN DO IT!!!!
So I mentioned about the LOOMING that has been going on in my life, and today was no exception. With my daughter not in school today, and with another girl the same age in my daycare...we LOOMED for part of the day. I was quite impressed with my daughter's skill of listening and following instruction. She doesn't seem to hear me when I say, "It's bed time now", but yet she listened and was able to complete this(more difficult) Starburst loom bracelet with only a little bit of help from me.
By using the different coloured bands to make up each starburst, it made it easier for her to see which band she needed to loop next.
She is a star!
My second day of logging and completing my journal on www.myfitness.pal.com I feel like that spark is coming back to me. That same spark that helped to motivated so many of you. So if you have been having a rocky journey like me, I'm here for you.
If you have just been slackin', look out!!! I'm going to get you moving again. When I know that I have inspired you, YOU then inspire me.
Yes I am late! I can't believe that we are almost at the middle of January already. I have been quite busy these late few weeks and haven't had time to sit down and get this post written.
I hope you had a wonderful ringing in of the new year, and you are enjoying this year so far.
On the fitness front, I have been doing Jillian's Body Revolution program again. Today was the start of Week 2 of Phase One. So that means I rocked out Workout 1 - Chest, Shoulders, Triceps, Quads and as Jillian puts it "a little bit of abs". I have added some weights were no weights are required and trying to build my muscle and strength back up to where it was when I was at my best.
As this is my journey, and like any journey, there are the UPs and the DOWNs...I had enough DOWNs last year, there is only one way to go now and that is...UP!
So...today is the first day in a Looonnnnnnggggg time that I have logged all my food into my journal on www.MyFitnessPal.com and completed my diary for the day.
I got back on my spin bike the other day. I asked my daughter, "Should Mummy go downstairs and workout or should I ride my bike?" She replied, "The bike. You haven't been on that in a long time. It's fun!" She was SO right! There will be more spinning this year than last...for sure.
The Hed-Chog is a versatile product to be worn on the head. It can be worn for all seasons, for children and adults. For more product information please check out the website.
I wore two "Chogs" to keep me warm while shoveling the driveway during the very frigid temperatures were had last week.
I wore one as a head band and the other to protect my neck and face.
As I am trying to get the word out about the Hed-Chog, I have also decided to start up an Ambassadorship Program. For more information about the program, shoot me a email at phatsoslim.staystrong@gmail.com
So along with designing, manufacturing, ordering, shipping, working, getting the kids up and off to school, working out and many other things, my kids have got me LOOMING.
The Rainbow Loom is all the rage right now and it has hit our home too. My niece also has me hooked into it. She messaged me yesterday to say she made a certain kind of bracelet, so I tried it too. My daughter is getting better at it, so she will soon take over the loom and I will never see it again. Thankfully. It kind of SUCKS you in and makes you loom for hours.
Speaking of my daughter...you have seen her on here through pictures and I think some video in the past. Well...she is loving the camera now and is making her own little shows. She does them all on her own and I must say I am quite impressed with her directing skills...LOL.
Here are a few of her shows...
This first one takes places while I was downstairs sewing and she was in her room making the Lalaloopsy Show. I love when the lights go out and because the hallway light is still on, it casts the "moonlight" (as she told me afterwards) down on the house. And I AM HER TRINA!
In this next one, she makes it sound like her Dad, my husband lives across the street. He does not. We all live happily under the same roof. She is SO crazy! The part in this one that cracks me up is when she goes to look for her costume. She can't find it because all her dress up things are in a big pile beside her bed. LOL
I hope you enjoyed these two videos and I hope that brought a smile to your face. I know that if I am ever feeling down and she is not around, I know that I can watch these and I will feel better. If she makes you SMILE, please share to keep the silliness and laughter going.
So on my Facebook page I announced that I will be starting the Just Plank It! Challenge TOMORROW. Here's the scoop...
We start tomorrow the 14th of January and we will hold the plank for 20 seconds. We will do this each day until February 13th and then the last day will be Valentine's Day February 14th, on this day we will hold the plank for as long as we can. The reason I set it up like this is because it's 2014. We start on the 14th, hold for 20 seconds and then end on the 14th. I hope you will join me and the others that have already indicated that they are in.
Well I must go now because I have a loom bracelet to finish...haha.
It's been a rough year for me and I'm glad that it is now almost over.
I am not going to get into the things that made this year CRAP, because I have already written about them all. BUT...I will remember this year for running my first Half Marathon. Yay me!
After running that race, I took it easy, very easy, too easy. I didn't go running until about 7 weeks later. On that day that I went out running for the first time in weeks, it was -13 degrees Celsius, that would be about 8 degrees Fahrenheit. Brrrr. I only went out for 20 minutes and it felt great.
I achieved my fitness goal for the year and I was pleased with that. Now to focus on setting some new goals, NOT resolutions, but rather GOALS for the New Year.
I did gain some of the weight back that I had lost over the last two years due to unwanted stress. And now I am saying, "SCREW YOU" to all the things that will try and stress me out. Stress is not wanted in 2014. I know that I will get some stress caused by being a parent, but that I can handle...to all the rest...SCREW YOU!!!
Two days after I wrote my last post, my husband and I went to Toronto for the weekend to celebrate our anniversary. On that Friday night, I won a trip for two to Colombia through the store MEC in Toronto.
The middle of the month, I won a Hamilton Beach 6-speed Stand Food Mixer through GhettoFoodie.com.
What was going on?!?!?!
At the end of the month, I won tickets to the One of A Kind show in Toronto. Unfortunately we didn't make it to the show, something else came up the day we were planning on going. That's okay though, it was still all good.
The ice storm hit Ontario the Sunday before Christmas, but we were some of the lucky ones that did not lose power. My sister and her family had lost power for 4 days and enjoyed a "Pioneer" Christmas. My Mum had also lost power and our family Christmas plans were all crazy just like the rest of this year. We still had a great Christmas.
The last few weeks I have been working on something cool that will be coming soon... www.hed-chog.com
You may recall the contest I had running for naming the NEW product I had developed. Remember my husband won with the best name. And that name was and now is the name of the NEW product by Maus Wear...
Introducing the Hed-Chog...
It can be a kerchief/bandana, a head band, a neck and/or face protector(from the wind), a hat, a hair band. For those with long hair, you can use it to put your hair in a ponytail or bun.
The Hed-Chog is available in sizes from children to adults.
It can be worn ALL year. For fitness or fashion.
It's light weight. Inner fabric has wicking properties to help keep you dry.
Tonight I sit here on the last day of 2013 with my family and you. I wish you all the happiness for the rest of this year. I know there are only hours left, but make the most of it. For those of you that have already entered into 2014...Happy New Year to you! The rest of you will have to wait until tomorrow...LOL.
