Sunny Spring Girl Time Thai Party

One sunny May Saturday, my sister invited us to have a fun evening ... just girls and our favourite Thai food (our boys don't really like it). What a beautiful night it was to be!

Melanie brought a few bubbles for the girl party!

Cheese, had to show off my new hair of course!

Stephanie is a walking menace now!

Walking menaces have to pause to eat their cracker.

Ok, now Melnaie to the rescue.

OK, now come into my arms so you can be safe and not walk onto the road.

Forget it, that didn't last long, Stephanie is on her way to see the neighbour playing hockey.

Now for indoor sports. Driving my little pink car!

Hey, is it me or you driving this car?

Here's the new blond haircut!

I wanted to match Lorna.... still gotta work on my tan though!

Here's the healthy yummy Thai food we shared. Mango salad, Chicken and veggies stirfry, and of course cold rolls.

The yellow plate girl team. Enjoying fun times talking about fashion and shopping and lack of sleep (that would be Julie)!

The blondish hair team.... I look like a ghost next to Lorna who had returned from Florida the day before. Such a fun night to catch up, no testosterone! Just girly, girl fun times. Thanks Julie for the fun date... Can't wait to do it again!

Healthy Lifestyle Update

Well, whatever I did... it worked!

I went for my visit #16 at the Wharton Medical Clinic and guess what??? I lost another 3 lbs, for a total of 97.2 lbs. Woohoo! That is so close to that huge milestone 100 that I can taste it! Getting really excited about crossing that threshold and celebrating with a pedicure and a latte (thanks Julie!!!!).

Now, seriously, this is what I did. I changed up my routine a bit. I started walking a couple times a week first thing in the morning on an empty stomach for a 30 minute power walk. Thought behind that is that this will wake up your metabolism and it will get your body using your stored fat cells as energy. An another thing I started was making some whey protein smoothies. I add the powder to milk and frozen fruit and put it in the magic bullet and voila... now being used to regular smoothies with yogurt/milk and berries, there is a bit of a taste... but it's still good and fills me up!

Ok, one last thing... I have started resistance training, working with bands to build my muscles, probably do this a couple times a week too. And in fact that is one of the first questions my doctor asked after seeing my big weight loss number... are you doing resistance training? yes, I am!!!

.... and folks after 20 months of Healthy Living... this is what it looks like! Same park, some person, but completely different person inside and out. Wearing clothes 4 sizes smaller, doing laps around the park to get her 10,000 steps, sweating and breathing hard... and loving it!

Nice Nails- Orange you glad I made this design

So I had seen this nifty idea on Pinterest, so I finally got the courage to just do it!

The first night you paint your nails in one colour- chose Zoya- hot pink colour. People at work think you've gone 'normal'.  And the next night, you go home and do some crazy 'stuff'. Take some tape and jagged craft scissors, cut a piece of tape and place it on each nail. So now you have a 'decal-like' stencil to paint your contrasting colour- another Zoya product-mac and cheese colour ( not the real name, just really looks like it).

Et voila, the final product... ok, it doesn't look as pretty as the images I saw, but I gave it my best shot. Maybe next time, stripes!

Awesome Leftover Chicken Idea

So, sometimes you have leftover chicken, and sometimes you have some leftover baguette... there's always cheese and veggies around. So let me show you what you can do.

Take your chicken breasts already cooked, add some BBQ sauce, cut your baguette into little semi-cut sandwiches.

Place the chicken on the bread, then add your veggies.

...add your cheese, add more veggies.

Melt away in the oven and serve a big salad! And there you have it, fabulous!

More Matters

What? I am talking about fruits and veggies of course!

You see, I bought this 2 pack of cucumbers at my local grocery store and this is what the wrapper said. I am all about eating more fruits and veggies and 'imposing' my staunch views on my families. Our goal is to eat 5 fruit and 5 vegetable servings a day! We are maniacs (or trying to be)! So, this just tickled me pink!

Here is the other side of the wrapper. Canadian cucumbers, gotta love them!

Awesome way of Raising Hope

Lately, I have been needing to shop for some smaller-sized clothes... going to stores like Winners and finding fun, colourful clothes... like this!

This was a t-shirt, with awesome, amazing words about being a woman, going through some life-changing experiences... I had to buy one, and one for my sister... and my special friends too!

Look, it's a great cause. What an awesome way to clothe yourself and support women who need some help. Thanks Winners for these great t-shirts!

Fruit Pizza - Fabulous Brunch Idea

Look what I made for one fine morning brunch one day!

Fruit Pizza!!! Perhaps the best ever kind of pizza!

Here's what you do:

Oat & Yogurt Fruit Pizza

(Adapted from : http://www.theyummylife.com/Healthy_Fruit_Pizza#EmbedRecipe_304)

Ingredients

FOR YOGURT PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING:

    2 cups (16 oz) Greek yogurt - (I used low fat vanilla)

    2/3 cup peanut butter (I actually omitted this all together)

    1 teaspoon vanilla

    3 tablespoons honey

 FOR OATMEAL COOKIE CRUST:

    1/3 cup grapeseed, vegetable, or coconut oil

    1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

    3/4 cup packed brown sugar

    1 large egg

    1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

    1-1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or half white and half whole wheat flour)

    3/4 cups rolled oats (not instant)

    1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

    1 tablespoon flaxseed meal (optional)

    1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

 FOR FRESH FRUIT:

 Varied colors make a pretty presentation. Choose from sliced strawberries, kiwi, bananas; halved grapes or cherries; whole blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries; canned mandarin oranges or peach slices (drained & dried)

Directions

(1) MAKE THE FROSTING:

In medium bowl, add frosting ingredients and stir until well combined. Taste and add more honey, if needed. Cover and chill at least 1 hour.

(2) MAKE THE COOKIE CRUST:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12-inch pizza pan with parchment paper, extending it 1 inch from the pan edge on at least 2 sides; set aside. In large bowl, whisk together oil, applesauce, brown sugar, egg, & vanilla until well combined.  Add flour, oats, baking powder, & flaxseed; stir with wooden spoon until well combined. Stir in chopped walnuts. Transfer dough to center of parchment-covered pizza pan, and spread with back of wooden spoon evenly to edges of pan. Bake 15 minutes until starting to slightly brown around edges and is firm in center. Cool 15 minutes in pan on cooling rack. Use parchment paper "handles" to remove crust from pan and transfer to cooling rack; cool completely. Invert onto serving plate; carefully peel off parchment paper. Turn crust over.

(3) FROST AND TOP WITH FRUIT: Frost crust with chilled yogurt frosting, spreading evenly all the way to the edge. Arrange fresh fruit on top in circles, beginning on the outside edge and filling towards the center. Serve right away, or chill for up to 4 hours before serving.

MAKE AHEAD TIPS. You can make the crust and frosting ahead and store for up to 24 hours in advance so they're ready to assemble the next day. Bake the cookie crust, cool, cover, and store at room temperature.  Mix the yogurt frosting, cover and chill in fridge. The next day, frost the crust, slice and arrange the fruit, and it's ready to serve.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION for one serving using 2% Greek yogurt in frosting:

--Using peanut butter (or other nut butters) in frosting: 336 calories, 18.2g fat, 34.6g carbs, 3.1g fiber, 19.2g sugars, 11.3g protein 

And now, the step by step photos... make the giant cookie....

Let it cool (I did it 2 days ahead), and put it on your platter.

Spread the yogurt mixture... I LOVE GREEK YOGURT.

Place your lovely cut up fruit... fresh ones for me only.... and make a lovely pattern. And there you have it, a delicious, nutritious and beautiful desert/brunch/snack idea!

evolution of smooth

Ok, new favourite product plug. Have you met these? eos, the evolution of smooth.

They are totally awesome spheres of smooth. 100% natural and 95% organic- sorry about you last 5%!

They come in a rainbow of colours/flavours. Here is my collection. I have a few, you see I am addicted to lipbalm and need one everywhere... in my purse, nightstand, gym bag... and a spare of course.

This is what it looks like when you unlock the sphere of love, a big round smooth ball. My current favourite is sweet mint... check out some of the other flavours! http://evolutionofsmooth.ca/

Nice Nails - Bikini so Teeny

Well, I finally found a bikini that fits!

LOL, well, it's a nail polish colour that I saw last summer on a friend's nails and I have been looking for it ever since... finally this spring I found it at Walmart... of all places! Anyways, the it's like a periwinkle blue, you know the colour of forget-me-not flowers. So of course, I had to add a flower on one of my nails.

Did I ever mention how I love nail polish names... that's a job I would love, naming colours!

Marilyn Monroe- what does she know about coffee?

She would know that tired moms love pretty coffee shops! Happy Mother's day to all the moms out there. This special gourmet coffee shop if just perfect for moms needing a nice break!

So check it out.... this is the inside of the Marilyn Monroe Cafe downtown Oakville. Fabulous right? Totally glamorous in it's decor, white, gray, modern, and pictures and silent films of Marilyn Monroe everywhere.

Here's my dearest friend Janice- who is a mother- checking out the menu... so delicious!

So here's what we picked, a decadent red velvet cupcake, we were sensible... and we shared!

Nice close up for you!

Ok, had to show you how everything is branded with the marilyn monroe cafe. With the dot on top of the i as a star, because we are all superstars just like you Marilyn when we eat at your cafe...

... or spend 3 hours chatting like mom's who love to take a break from life and relax and revel in the cool, modern surroundings of your cafe.

Real Homemade Maple Syrup- now that's natural!

I love how we are all connected... someone knows someone who does this or that... and then you end up with 2 litres of fresh, real, from the farm maple syrup.

Thanks to my friend and colleague Kim's family- her parents run a farm just outside Peterborough. I was able to place my special order with the Smith Family Farm for some fresh, authentic, no additives, no preservatives maple syrup.

This is a picture Kim took of her family's real honest to goodness old-fashioned maple syrup making equipment. That's all, maple tree drips into a can, they collect it and boil it! I LOVE IT!

And here I am making Kim proud... Kim's favourite thing on earth is Tim Hortons coffee, this one's for you Kim. Homemade French toast with your family's maple syrup- clean and pure... next to a Timmies coffee, well... not so pure :-) . It's all about balance folks!

Artsy Fartsy

I have been meaning to create some more pretty art pieces to hang in my 'newish' bedroom. Since art is so expensive to buy, I decided to make my own... 'cause that's how I roll.

I took some of my brother's old canvases and painted the exact wall colour of my bedroom over them (thanks Charles!). I then got some inspiration, because of my bed linens to cover them with wild flowers. Using the colours in my bedroom, I made pretty white, purple and green circles.

... oh and I did that twice and added some plaint 'splotches' for drama!!!

Then I went to my local dollar store and bought some fake flowers and glued them on some of the circles, my favourites are the white and green 'balls'.

So here you have it, hanging above my bed two pretty, flowery masterpieces, and the hot glued balls have not yet fallen on my head!

Oh yeah, one more thing, I needed something in my bathroom for the other wall, I found these lovely art cards at Ikea and frames... so I matted them in white and voila! Fun, don't you think?