Amazing Adventure - Family Day

I hope you all had an amazing Valentine's Day/Family Day weekend!  Today I want to share with you some of the Amazing Adventures my daughter and I had on Family Day (Valentine's Day recap to come soon).

If you recall, when I started my healthy journey a few year's back,  I would go on these fun outdoor treks with my daughter. I called them Amazing Adventures.  Well, it is with great pleasure that I share with you the latest installment in this series. This time- Frozen Lake Edition.

We were meeting my sister for a Family Day Café a little later, so we thought we would take advantage of the fact that it wasn't -35 with the windchill and go for a walk by the lake before our date.

We went downtown Oakville, 'the bottom of Navy' park we call it, but it turns out it has a name- The 'Homecoming' Trail. 

We were totally frozen, but had so much fun feeling the wind on our face, the air in our lungs, the frigid cold on our legs... we were giddy with excitement!  Couldn't believe the Canada Geese, mallards and loons all bathing in the water as if it was nothing!

Just check out Melanie's broadcast debut, Australian Outback accent and all, reporting on the Frozen Canadian waters and the fowl that inhabit it without any issue!

Well enough of the cold Canadian wildlife, this bunch of Canadian girls- warm toques and all- was ready for another Canadian favourite....

That's right! Warm coffee with lots of milk and hearts on top.... aka- latte time!  

Hope you were all able to spend the weekend with the special people in your life and share amazing adventures or quiet times with the ones you love!

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.

Cafe Latte Downtown Date

One of my sweetest, dearest friends from way, way back in High School ( a few 30 yrs ago)- Holy Cow that hurts to say... is my dear friend Roshni. She has traveled the world with her family and for now has settled back down to Oakville in a beautiful home, not too far from where she lived growing up. We made a special date recently to reconnect- 'sans' little girls (she has 2) and we met up at my favourite little cafe downtown Oakville for some sweet Latte!

 I LOVE MILK ART!

 

We window shopped and talked about our hopes and dreams for our little girls! Here's Roshni standing 

Some winter greenery.

 Some high-fashion model shot!

A trip to our favourite store.... Anthropologie. Find your Cup!

Shoot back to our our special Valentine's cookie... we shared this delicious treat!

 

And there is my sweet friend blowing us all a kiss! Over our latte's my 'skinny', her's ;decaf'!

Thanks for an awesome date Ro! Loved our special time together!

Second Cup Saturday Mornings

This is what my Fall Saturday mornings looks like folks....

 Nice start eh? Well, Melanie is taking a drama/singing/dancing class at the Living Arts Centre- right in the new downtown Mississauga.  So this is where I end up....

 ...but this is where I statrt. I go for a nice 1 hour long power walk in the neighbourhood. Oh, my how it has changed.

 Water fountains, and pretty parks...

 Giant planters with beautiful flowers...

 ...and lots of them- just like in Toronto's Distillery District.

Groovy close up...

.... and then my treat for walking long and hard on a Saturday morning... a giant coffee!

Healthy Homemade Iced Capp... you won't believe it

So, there are so many beverages out there that 'trick' you into thinking that they are good for you. One of those is 'Frappacino'. It tricks you and says, 'It's hot out there, I am a frozen coffee beverage, I am just like a cup of coffee with ice chunks'- but do not be fooled... an Iced Capp from Tim Horton's has over 250 calories- and it's all sugar. Here, then, I have for you a 'Healthy Alternative' that you can make at home so easily for less than 50 calories (it's just made of milk!)... ok, here's the end of the drink shot for you at least!

Healthy Frappuccinos

(adapted from http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/08/01/healthy-starbucks-frappuccinos/)

(Serves 2)

•             2 cups milk of choice

•             1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

•             2 tsp instant coffee

•             1/16 tsp salt (don’t omit)

•             sweetener, such as 3 nunaturals stevia packets or Splenda (or 2-3 tablespoons sugar) 

Mix the ingredients together in 1 or 2 ice cube trays. Freeze- (I did overnight). Once frozen, pop the blocks out of the containers. Thaw until just soft enough for your blender to be able to handle it. (I was using my Magic Bullet so I had to let it thaw for almost 1 hour).

Blend each serving individually, until desired slushiness is reached. Pour into two glasses and enjoy.

On my way to the Spa... with gratitude

Recently, I was given a wonderful gift. You see, my boss recognized that I had worked really hard at putting on our big conference and to say 'thanks' she gave me a day 'off' to go to the Spa. Nice!

Even though I was working long, late, hard hours, I was feeling the love, was feeling appreciated and giving love and appreciation back to all the great people who were helping me put this on... everyone pitched in and I was able to run a successful conference because of the people that were helping me in all different ways. Number One rule in the Law of Attraction- You GET what you GIVE- Give Love and Appreciation and you Get Love and Appreciation. It's so true, and I never felt it so much as I had here.

So I was off to a Spa in Streetsville where the flowers bloomed...

...and bloomed....

...and bloomed...

...and bloomed...

... and bloomed, have I mentioned I LOVE flowers?

Here is where I went to enjoy a morning of relaxation and peace.  The Body & Soul Spa. Really nice place, great service - here's the link http://bodyandsoul-dayspa.com/

Oooooh, it was so fancy in there... I knew I would be well taken care of when I sat down in the reception area and checked out the complimentary beverages- Keurig coffee, teas, and bottles water... took a water for later. I was taken to the upstairs and given a robe and slippers- and guess what folks.... the robe fit me, in the past I would just never wear it, it just wouldn't ever do up. Success!!! I was taken in a dark purple room for a nice aromatherapy massage and then to a teal room for a beautiful facial... where I was told my skin surely did not look like a 45 year old's - ah, gee, thanks... good genes- thanks Mom! But most of all, thanks to Claire who made this morning so special for me- Thanks for the Thank You gift!

After my most enjoyable treatment- this is what I spotted across the street, I didn't want to go home yet....

... I wanted to bask in the GLOW of this amazing feeling, inside and out. See... I am glowing (because I was scrubbed, masqued, washed, and moisturized for 1 hour). I was prepared to now enjoy a nice treat!

I had the largest of the large skinny latte and a grilled cranberry orange scone. I sat right by the window and was checking out all the people walking by.... so happy inside because this was such a nice way to end a perfect morning. Thank you!



A fabulous day off- Part 1

Recently I took a Friday off and went on an Amazing Adventure with my little sister and her little baby. We set out to go and enjoy a nice walk by the lake and soak in the sun, wind and surf. My sister is like me, she loves the wind and the waves. So that's why I brought her to one of favourite park by the water. Lakeside Park.

So here we are, Julie bought us some nice hot beverages at our local Tim's and we set out on our tour of the park. Here she is with sleepy Stephanie.

Here's a little photo of me- I had to buy new capris and t-shirts because of my success in my weight loss journey. These capris are 4 sizes smaller than last summer... and my pride about this success.... 4 thousand times bigger than the Earth!

Julie and the fountain... and believe me... we wanted to jump in, it was hot and humid, like up to 35 in May.

I think I've told you, they have a splash pad at this park and in the cement, they have layed out the whole solar system. Well, I had to take this photo... just for my little brother!

Julie loving the view and the big Canada Geese on the water.

Stephanie, well, she was just hanging out, not too much into the scenery... yet. She just loves being outside and walking around, she just slept the whole time.

This was such a random strawberry, just sticking out there on the ground by itself in the middle of all the wood chips. Pretty cool pic.

It was time to change and feed Stephanie, so we sat on a park bench and were all one with nature.

She was so comfy, she didn't want to wake up.

Look at those little lips.

... and look at those eyelashes too.

P.S. This is what you do with your old dirty diapers, you place them in your empty Tim Horton's cup in the cup holder. Fabulous!



Weekend Decadence Part 1- New Spot - Panera

After a very, very, very busy 3 weeks at work, I wanted to spend a weekend with my daughter just enjoying the good things in life. That started with an early morning breakfast at this new restaurant called Panera. I have seen these pop up all over the place and wanted to try it out.

You know, Panera means bread basket in Spanish.

No, I didn't have one of these.... I tried a little cinnamon bagel (although it was huge)- it was a nice treat!

And a delicious, huge cup of Latte.

The place was just a few weeks old, so service was a bit messed up. But it was a nice atmosphere, and the art on the walls is great. It all has to do with bread.

and some more bread art...

...and some bread and bicycle art,

And another- this one is 'rolling the bread dough'.

One of the wonderful side effects of losing all this weight, is the energy I have now. You would think that after weeks of working hard, long hours, I would want to sleep in- but instead I woke at at 7:30am and asked Mella to get dressed and let's try that Panera place and then go pick some flowers before the big crowds!

And of course she said, 'Yes, Mommy, let's go on another adventure'.  This is just part 1..... and we had a blast and got to reconnect.