Weekend Fun plus a little poll

Hello lovelies!!

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend.I sure did!! I went to my home town and official tourist hot spot in BC. We have two lakes, a channel to float down, golf, wine....which basically equals lots and lots of tourists. Which was lots of fun as a teenager, but I've grown out of that stage a long time ago and prefer a less drinking, more sleeping,healthy eating, but still a good party, kind of weekend(Does that make sense?? LOL!)


Before we left on Friday I watered my garden as much as I could because there would be nobody to water it on Saturday and it was supposed to be scorching all weekend. That's when it hit me as to how much lettuce was ready and needed to be picked. So, I grabbed handfuls at a time and still it looked like I hadn't picked any at all.

Yumm!! A mixture of butter lettuce, romaine, and leaf lettuce:) If you live in the Fraser Valley and want some lettuce, message me and I will gladly give you some of mine!!

Then I just happened to see this lovely creature hanging out on my sunflower plant!

Thankfully when we left it wasn't so hot because that would be a little hard on Nemo. Yes, Nemo is loving the adventures!! He especially loves hanging out in Grandma's yard:) We made it there safe and sound. I count my blessings every trip because driving the highways in Summer aren't exactly the safest times. Friday night was a write off as were both crazy exhausted.

Saturday morning I did some intervals on the treadmill mixed in with some bodyweight exercises. What a great way to start the day!! For Breakie I had a green monster with frozen blueberries, a half a banana, cinnamon, and loads of greens. I ran out of Vega right before we left so for my added protein I had a piece of sprouted toast with almond butter..yum! After that we were off to the market! Boy oh boy it was busy and with more vendors than the last time I was there.

This is is the stash my mom and I picked up! Beautiful local produce! Everything from beets to chard to tomatoes to patty pan squash and mulberries

Mulberries look like a blackberry but are more gel-like and have a less sweet flavor. I really liked them. According to the lady selling them they are very good for your heart and your eyes.

Patty pan squash! One of my favorites!


Then we bought three different flavors of organic popcorn! Chipotle, lemon dil, and Masala! Yum! She even placed the ingredients on the bag so I will try to make it at home (for significantly cheaper I'm sure:) My fave was the masala flavor! Something else really cool about the bags is that they are compostable, even the label!!!

Check out all that seasoning goodness!!

There was this booth set up as well and I signed the petition to support Bill 474 to stop GM crops from further advancement! If you see this booth at your market sign up!! Canada is thinking about allowing GM wheat and alfalfa and we simply cannot allow that to happen.

I also found a new raw food stand which was a company selling bars and raw energy balls etc! When all of a sudden this guy asks me if I know who he is. It's one of the guys I graduated high school with AND he never spoke to me in high school so I was taken aback why he was doing so now. He was working with the folks at the raw food booth! He himself was a raw foodie. I was so shocked because this guy was in the "popular" crowd and was kind of arrogant and closed-in back in the day. Holy, what a change! He gave me a huge hug (and my mom too!) and told me that him and his coworkers are actually in the midst of opening a raw food restaurant in town. I could barely contain myself I was so excited!! I think they said September would be the opening so I am anxiously awaiting for that to happen:) In the meantime, we bought a little bag of chia crackers with a dip ( I'm thinking a raw hummus, I forgot to ask.

For $4 it was a little steep! So I won't be buying these again but I sure want to learn how to make them:)

When we got home from the market I made a quick lunch with some cooked quinoa, cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, dijon, and some salsa.

Such a refreshing salad!

It was then time for the beach!! My first beach trip is always fun because the water is usually a little on the cold side so I have to slowly inch myself in, about 1/2 hour later I will be swimming and will have forgotten why I was hyperventilating when I exposed my "sensitive" areas to the cold water lol!

Ahhh my favorite lake!! I was so relaxed sitting in the sun that I fell asleep (as did Ryan). Luckily I don't burn so I was alright, Ryan, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. He got pretty red and so I've been on aloe duty every night lol!


Another view! Lots of sunbathing action happening, as well as seadooing and boating! In a couple of weeks there will be about a foot of space between you and your neighbor..jam-packed!

After the beach it was time for dinner and since my mom was dog sitting we went over to where she was taking care of a little cutie named Sandy! Plus two bunnies, but they were camera shy.

This is the dog of my old massager. She is THE best masseuse. I feel like I have a new body after she does her magic!

Her house has an amazing view of the valley. You can just see the lake where Ry and I were at:)

Her hubby is a architect so the house is full of very cool designs and unique furnishings.

I just love this sofa!



And this!! Have you ever gone in one of these contraptions before? Apparently its supposed to decompress your spine. Feels pretty cool, except the head rush isn't fun:)

My latest drink obsession is San Pallegrino sparkling spring water.

With a touch of lemon! Who needs beer?

Dinner was market fresh and so delicious!

Bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, onion, tomato, cucumber, vinegar, and S&P salad, chicken and salmon for the omnivores, cooked chard, quinoa salad roasted veggies, and watermelon.

Oh yum! onions, beets, potatoes, squash, zucchini, and peppers


patty pan anyone?


On Sunday mom and I went and picked 40lbs of cherries!! 30lbs of which were mine! I love being in the orchard picking fruit. It's something my mom and me have done since I was really young so its a special time:)

Then I bought a cherry pitter because I want to freeze some of them and possibly try to dry some too.

A pitted cherry outside in the sun!

So, I've been eating cherries non-stop (don't worry my stomach can handle it!) Yum! Plus I know Angela , Aimee, and Oh She Glow's Angela have some cherry recipes that I really want to try. If you have any cherry recipes that you love, let me know!

Now for a little fun! I've been running this blog since December and I want to know what you would like to see in the future. If you wouldn't mind taking a minute to vote on some of the topics, I would greatly appreciate it. The poll is on the side bar and I apologize for the light text in some areas. I don't know how to change it:( And if you have any other ideas please feel free to email me (its on the side bar now too!) or comment. Thank you!

Hope you have a wonderful day!! I'm busy getting ready for my best friend's wedding in a couple of weeks. My bridesmaid dress should be arriving shortly..wahoo! I am also organizing the stagette and I'm making them something for the big day but I have to keep it a secret!! Sorry Ky if you are reading this:)

Weekend away

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I just landed in Vancouver from my delayed flight out of Castelgar! I'm not drinking a soy latte but I am having veggies and hummus..so sophisticated, right? I am very disappointed cancel-gar didn't happen but oh well, workshop time it is for me. I am actually doing a Dale Carnegie workshop on creating outstanding presentations. I'm not sure why my bosses wanted me to take this workshop as I don't do presentations as part of my job..lol! I foresee that is going to change! Anywho, today I wanted to share with you my long weekend trip!

But before I get started, I just wanted to say thank you so much for all your sweet comments on my gratitude post. Wow, I was totally taken aback by your kind words and how I provided a reminder of how good our lives really are:) To be honest, I thought people wouldn't really be interested in what I'm grateful for. Boy, was I wrong! I'm excited to see your gratitude posts in the future too.

Onto the weekend!We left pretty late Friday night as it was Ry's second last shop day at school so the teacher let them stay late to finish up their projects. We had a full car load once again, including out fur baby who wasn't too impressed to be locked in his cage! After half and hour he settled down and was content at looking out the front window.

I was fasting so no road trip eats for me, but I stocked up on some goodies for Ryan!

Some organic apples and bananas, goji berries, walnuts, Brazil nuts, medjool dates, and Vega shake and go that I won on the Vega site! No, he didn't eat all of this food...I wanted to have some healthy eats for the whole time we were there. Whose kidding who, this lasted about a day..lol!

The trip went smoothly and we luckily didn't come too close to hitting any dear or wildlife. There was one massive dear that crossed in front of us but thank goodness it was in a 50 zone!
We got to my mom's after midnight so that night was a write-off! The minute I walked into the door there I felt like I was on vacation...and it felt gooood!

Saturday morning we slept in and made breakfast. Mom saw this Dr. Oz show about some benefit of eating bacon, so whenever Ry comes over she practically shoves it down his throat. I've told her that it isn't good for her fragile health to be consuming that crap but she doesn't listen. So I'm done trying to convince her otherwise! I went with the toast plus I tried the Vega Shake & go!

Mmmm....I had the tropical flavor and it was delish! Surprisingly filling too:)

After breakie we headed down to the local farmer's market and holy has it ever grown since a couple of years ago!

Complete with dancing girls...lol!

There was one raw food stand there but the prices were a little steep to say the least! But, I did pick up a few goodies!


This is called Mizuna and its a relative of kale! Tastes like it but a bit more tart. I really liked it

A bag of local spinach and radishes! The lady who I bought these off of even said that I could eat the radish greens. I gave it a try and they are actually really tasty!

I couldn't resist trying some dried cherries! They are so pricey in stores and so this was my chance to try some homemade dried cherries...yum!

We did a little more grocery shopping and we picked up this awesome pineapple. Can you believe that 3/4 of that went in my tummy! Ya, I totally paid for it with the next day with chapped lips and the inside of my mouth was super sensitive but it was very worth it!

I ate this out in the somewhat sunshine...yes, this is when I got the half burnt face...lol!

Nemo is apparently no sun worshipper!

Saturday night we made an amazing meal and had Ryan's dad as our guest! We picked up some local asparagus and I was dying to get my share of this short season!

Mom marinated these and they were beyond delicious! Melt-in-your-mouth good!

Mom also cooked up this long-grain wild rice. I really enjoyed this variety..mmm!

Ya, check out that scrumptious plate...oh I love this dinner- yam fries, asparagus, wild rice, salad with mixed greens, carrots, cabbage, mizuna, arugula, chives (with flowers) and Dijon dressing:)

We finished the night by eating some dark chocolate chips..lol!

On Sunday I started the morning with my TT workout! Love working out in the morning Even though I had to do that last set indoors because of the rain:) After my workout we headed to my bestie's parent's house to hang out with her family and meet her beautiful daughter:)

I love this place! It's so beautiful and peaceful! Can't wait for Ky's and Jason's wedding to be held here in July..wahoo!

And the beautiful star attraction...CJ! Isn't she just too precious! That hat is courtesy of Auntie Mel:)

Me with my beautiful BFF and her gorgeous daughter! How far we have come from grade 8 hey ky? Loved seeing you and the family and can't wait to be a part of your wedding in July! love ya lots:)

It is such a blast to hang out with Ky's fam. They are such a hoot! We had many a laughs and even got down to a little wedding business too!

We got back late in the afternoon and we were pretty pooped and so we just hung out and laid around and chatted! We ended up renting Kung-Fu panda later on that night. It's such a cute movie! We even had popcorn made in Mom's ancient popcorn maker!

She wasn't prepared for the off-shoot of popcorn lol! hence the two bowls and popcorn everywhere! It was pretty funny.

I also made some blueberry-banana softserve for mom to try out. I think the bananas had been in the freezer a tad bit too long so the taste wasn't as great as it could have been..but I still devoured it:)

I love Mom's place for summer hangouts! It's so awesome and purely relaxing! Can't wait to spend some serious time under that veranda!


Mom loves to garden too and so I'm always in there raiding something! She has some great chives, oregano, and arugula ready right now!

Remember I said she was trying to grow some goji plants from seed. Check them out! Going strong. Can't wait to see if these will produce some fruit in a couple years!

On Monday morning I was feeling a bit guilty of my many indulgences over the weekend so I headed to my old elementary school and did some hill sprints! After that good sweat session, we made some Thrive Pancakes! Oh these are so, so good! I highly recommend them.

I had mine with a homemade blueberry sauce ...mmmm!

I love this sauce dish mom put the blueberries in..soo cute!

So there's most of my weekend..at least what I took photos of:) Have a great night! I am about ready to get out of the airport now and tackle the skytrain and bus to get to my mother-in-laws! It shall be interesting! I'm not sure when I'll be able to post next as the rest of this week is going to be insane with the move and all our friend's visiting! It might have to be from my new house...does the giddy dance...lol!