Happy Monday all!!

       How was your weekend? Anyone do some Black Friday shopping? As you know I'm in Canada, so we don't get the crazy deals like my American friends. Yet, every store here on the weekend was having some sort of Black Friday rivalry sale. I did take part but only for some winter boots, nothing too picture worthy there.

Besides shopping, I got so much stuff done this weekend and it felt good to be so efficient.

Application in -check

Laundry-check

Homework- a half a check

Clean bachelor suite- check

Garden clean-up - check

Drop off clothes/housewares to charity - check

Hubby fix oil leak in my car- big check:)

Spend some quality time laughing with friends because of this - check

Make two soups - check

Phew!! Lots going on and some big things checked off my to-do list. I like getting things done now so that I can move on and have fun later. Don't you agree? 

Moving on from my brag fest, what do you think about the new look? I think it looks a lot "cleaner" and brighter! I didn't change it sooner because I thought it was going to be a lot of work but it actually wasn't too bad. I had to google for a tutorial but all went smoothly so I'm happy:) Let me know what you think!

The other day at the grocery store I sort of went a little crazy in the tea aisle. I was set on trying

some new flavors as my tea stash was getting really low.

First up, Candy Cane Lane tea. I saw this crazy tea flavor featured on Katie's blog and thought I would give it a shot. Even though I was quite skeptical. Verdict? It's AWESOME!

 If you aren't in the Christmas spirit yet, one sip of this tea will transform you!

Mmm..ginger peach, chocolaty chai, and jasmine green tea!

 I like them all but the ginger peach has to be my fave.

    Good timing too as Thursday I woke up to this.....

A winter wonderland in my backyard!

Oddie's first experience with snow. It was pretty hilarious watching him play around and even roll in the snow

As I ended up working from home for half the day, it was the perfect time to make spaghetti sauce! I roughly based my sauce on Kathy's recipe and adjusted the spices to taste.

Why on earth is there romaine in my pasta bowl? Well I had a salad before I got to the pasta, and I had a few pieces of lettuce left in my bowl and decided to try it with the pasta and sauce on top. It actually was pretty good. Lots of different textures. You can say weird here if you like:) That slim piece of bread WAS a piece of garlic toast. Yum!! Just take a piece of friend bread, slather on some vegan spread, sprinkle on some garlic powder, and your favorite cheese. Broil for a couple minutes. Delish!

I like to always have some sort of salad with a meal. Here it is romaine, mushrooms, and collards in a balsamic dressing.

The hubby's version with goat cheese feta and sunflower seeds

That's all for today folks!!! Have a great rest of your Monday.I'll be back soon to share with you some great soups and whatever else I concoct in the Kitchie. Until then, Oddie says hi.....

Walls come tumbling down

Hey all,

    I have a different post than my usual food/fitness/fun posts. Today I want to talk about putting up walls in our minds and trying to tear them down. Lately I was involved in a situation where both those events took place and it was eye opening!

On the one hand I saw someone who didn't believe in themself and was desperately afraid of making changes that could greatly benefit their life. It was like looking seeing my old self in the mirror. It made me emotional and frustrated. I now knew what my family and friends used to go through with me!!

I tried hard to build them up and tell them you CAN do it, change IS possible.. But the walls would come up and they would retreat. I wasn't thinking that I could change this person's habits on the spot, but I was hoping for a couple of bricks to crumble at the least. Nada.

They sounded like a broken record. I thought I was finally making some progress and then they would retreat and return to their normal defense mechanisms. It was heartbreaking every time this happened. As I feel life is too short to fester in things and we need to forgive others and, maybe even more importantly, we need to forgive ourselves.

I hated doing it but I had to get out of the conversation.
I had said all I could say and now the ball is in their court. I hope they don't fumble, I really do.

Now, to the other end of the spectrum. Someone near and dear to me finally saw the light! It was so exciting to see someone take control of their life and be strong in a difficult situation.

This revelation was long time coming and I'm so happy to see this person tackle change and see it as a good thing. Change is hard. Period. Even when you know the change will be for the better, you still have to take the actions to get there. Facing scrutiny from others can cause such fear that people resist change all together.

I feel motivated to keep moving forward and to always be open to whatever comes my way!
Being a support to others has increased my belief in myself too.And that's always a good thing:)

Seeing two ends of the wall spectrum unfold in one day is crazy but, quite frankly, I'm exhausted!
On one hand I'm super stoked to see this new leash on life, and yet on the other, I can't help but feel defeated. I know it ultimately comes down to the individual having to make the change on their own but sometimes I feel this will never happen and they need a little push.

 Have you had any experience with 

"wall builders" or "wall destroyers" ?

 Have a great night everyone!! I think it's time for some ZZZzzzzz's!!