Salad ingredient found in the back of the fridge:)

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Did you have a great weekend with your family, especially your mom? Well, if you are like me, my mom doesn't live in the same town so it was a simple phone call (and a card sent earlier in the week) for me! I know she was a bit lonely but I reminded her we would be visiting in 2 weeks and that made her a bit more chipper:) Other than my Sunday call home, my weekend was pretty lazy I must say. I worked both days and after that I had very little motivation or energy! So, it was just the usual - work, grocery shop, clean, coffee. Ry is almost done school which means we are moving back to the coast soon! Right now all I want to do is to move back because we finally get to live in our new house we bought 9 months ago. Yet, I really like the lifestyle and easy vibe that Nelson is all about. I know I'm going to hate the traffic and busyness but I'm planning on spending a lot of time in the woods this summer so I won't go through major withdrawals right away..lol! We have moved so much since we got together 4 years ago its not even funny! So, moving back to OUR house is such a relief because we can finally settle down and make the house a home!

On the Transformation Contest front, I just wanted to thank you all for your loving and supportive comments! Wow, I didn't expect such love in return and I'm feeling truly blessed! So, Thank you from the bottom of my heart:)

Things are going pretty well! I've been making a food journal and have been really conscious about eating. Am I really hungry?, when will I have time to eat next?, can I make it a more healthier choice?..etc! And I've really noticed something...I am a comfort eater and I have these thoughts that I should eat more so that I physically feel stuffed. I've been working on eating until I am satisfied and so far its been okay (I am very determined so that helps). I am not saying it has been easy...no change is easy right away, but I want to train myself to feel comfortable when I am satisfied..not when I'm unbuttoning my pants! So, I'm learning a lot and there is already change in my body, no joke! I don't own a scale, but by the feel of my jeans I'm down some inches which is pretty cool. I even made a fun cover for my workout journal. I got the idea from Shannonmarie who created a notebook to help keep her cupcake recipes handy. Thank you Shannonmarie!

I took a bunch of old magazines I had laying around and cut out inspiring words. I just taped them to the front. Well, the hubby helped tape them to the front. Ever tried doing a craft project with your loved one?....well, let's just say it strengthens the relationship...lol!

As for the food portion of it all, I'm keeping it pretty basic. I eat a lot of veggies and fruit, a small amount of grains ( mainly quinoa), lots of sprouts, Vega, lentils, nuts and seeds, and lots of healthy foods in between! If you want to check out my food journal you can do so by going to fitday.com and I'm under contagioushealth. For workouts, I'm going to be doing bodyweight workouts only for the next 4 weeks because my gym pass expired and I'm not paying $68 for a month. Doesn't that seem like a crazy price to you? To me it's insane for one month at the gym! I'm used to paying between $20-$40 a month so I just couldn't fork over the dough for the last 4 weeks, and besides, its getting so gorgeous out and who wouldn't want to workout with this view?...

The beach...not me..lol!

As I'm always on the hunt for great, nutritious salad ingredients, I couldn't believe that there was a wonderful food hanging out in the back of my fridge. No, its not a new craze to eat moldy kale! It's all about the picked beets!! Have you tried them? like/dislike? I literally grew up with everything pickled -cukes, beans, carrots, beets, cabbage and I'm always raiding my grandma's pantry for something in a jar when I'm there visiting! When I was looking for something else to jazz up my salad yesterday I was so shocked to find the pickled beets shoved to the back of the fridge, how dare me! I immediately brought forth the jars and opened one up! Yumm!! My mom knows how to treat those beets right I tell ya! I began scooping them out of the jar ever so carefully as beets = stains and added them to my salad. Oh yum! These were so delicious mixed with my romaine, carrots, sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, and even the avocado that was hiding in there!

MMMmmm..the taste it brought to this salad was amazing and I loved how it stained my miso dressing pink:)

Oh the goodness! Seriously I could eat salads for every meal..yumm! Oh and here is someone who does actually eat them for breakie!


I know what I'm having for dinner! Have a wonderful rest of your day. I'm off soon to run to the beach and do my workout. It's hard to workout in public but with my tunes on and a lake to look at, I should be okay!

PS the lovely Averie is having a chia seed giveaway! You know you want some! This contest ends tomorrow (May 12th)

Pink phones and Bikini's

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I'm so glad that everyone is having fun with all the surveys out there. I love reading them and I learn a lot about the person writing them too! Check out my survey answers here. So, did I get your attention with my title? I've got one fantastic announcements and one that is pretty personal so kindness from ya'll would be greatly appreciated:)

First up, the hubby got the job he has been waiting 9 months for! I'm going to back track here a moment and tell how it all came about. So, before Ry and moved to Nelson for him to go to school, he worked for a closet/blind/glass installation company. Another piece of this story revolves around the fact that he chronically loses his cell-phones. So, the last time he lost his phone I asked around my family if anyone had an old one (because we know he will most likely lose this one so no iphone for him). My cousin-in-law said she had a spare one I could have. So, I go to her house to pick it up and she thought the phone was for me and didn't tell me that it was pink or "salmon". Because he needed a phone stat, I took it and he's been sporting it ever since (go figure this is the phone he doesn't lose). So, one day at a job site he had to use his phone for something and this guy made a comment about the color (in a kind way) and that kick-started their conversation which led the guy offering Ry a job helping him build staircases and other construction jobs. This was about a month before we were moving to Nelson...bummer. Yet, the guy said to call him when he was done school and maybe something would still be available. As we are less than a month away from moving home (wahoo!), Ry called him and he still has the job! The guy even said "I have been waiting for your call." How cool is that? We are both elated because this is the kind of work he is passionate about and loves doing! Go figure a pink phone could lead to a job. Way to go Ry!

Okay now onto the more personal aspect of this post. I know I've been keeping the suspense high with my bikini talk and I'm here to lay it all out and tell you what's going on! So, you have heard me mention that I used Turbulance Training workouts at the gym. I really do love them and they push me beyond what I would normally push myself! So, when Craig announced that it was time for another Transformation Contest, I felt that it was my time to push myself even further. I am one of those people who would run away when the going gets tough..and I want to break this and prove to myself that I can push through the tough times and make it over those mountains! So, what is the transformation contest? Well, its a 12 week long chance to shine! You have to use Turbulance Training workouts (you don't need to buy them if you don't want to, he offers tons of free ones on his blogs) for 12 weeks, take before and after pictures, and write a 300 word essay about your experience. These 12 weeks are not only about losing weight, its about me learning about my body (I don't do this enough), and pushing to be the best I can be! If you get the most votes (the public votes) I can win $1000 plus a three year membership to his site. Not bad, hey? There are also second and third place prizes as well. I am really looking forward to this experience because I know its going to teach me a lot about myself.

I am watching what I eat a little more than usual but nothing crazy. I am trying to consume more veggies instead of my raw treats (although I'm not going to be depriving myself completely ) and so basically I'm getting most of my carbs from fruits and veggies!

So, where does the bikini fit into all of this..well as I'm already started into the contest I took my "before" photos..and yes, in my bikini. I almost took them outside too because I though the lighting inside was too horrible, but we worked around it indoors. I wasn't going to post the pictures but I think doing so will only increase my motivation. I'm not saying that I'm fat or anything of that nature...this is all about me pushing to another level and thriving on the "I can" mindset. So, without further delay..here are my before picts!



Phew...it was hard to insert these! Don't mind the sleepy face in the first pict...it was early:) and the paper in the back...its part of the rules:). I know another lovely lady who was nervous about posting picts that show more than the face....so please be kind:)

So, during the next twelve weeks I will be posting a little more on the nutrition/workout side of things but don't worry I'll be keeping it light:) Thank you for your support! And as always...

This handsome guy wishes all the ladies (and even the gents) would hear his message!

Just in case you needed to see it again!!!! (Don't mind my recycle bag in the back..lol)

PS I'm starting a new goal today...to learn more words for my vocabulary! Here are two:

Imbricate - Having overlapping edges, as tiles on a roof, or scales on a fish

Scarper -To flee, especially without paying one's bill

Have a fantastic rest of your day!!!