Giveaway Winner

Happy Saturday Folks!!

Hope you are having a great morning so far! I've just stopped in for a minute to announce the winner of my little giveaway!

Drum Roll please...

HEIDI

Congrats girl I'll be in contact with you to get your details!!


Have a great day everyone. I'm off to the gym, then the bank, and then its me and Mr.Organic Chemistry for a couple of hours. Then who knows..:)

Chow XOXO

Gentle Barn

Good Morning everyone!!

  How are we doing this fine Thursday?  I'm pretty good. I finally caught up on some sleep last night. I was dozing off at 7pm last night..albeit to my chemistry text..but still! I went to bed at 9 versus 11 and was even able to get up earlier than normal too!

I try to get to work an hour early a couple times a week so that I can get some studying done. This way if something comes up more interesting than studying NMR..like changing diapers, scrubbing the tub, pushups...then at least I've done some work already:)

I'm on the last assignment for my organic chem class (hallelujah) but then I have to re-do a first year chemistry class that I apparently did horribly on. All this time I thought the organic chem grade was the problem...well there goes a LARGE chunk of change down the toilet. Yet, knowledge is power, right? Ughh

It's very strange to go back and re-do a class. I seriously don't remember ANYTHING from organic chem. Everything I learned was so foreign. Strange how the brain rids itself of that useless  info but where does it go? Any Psychology majors in the audience?

I'm going back even further to first year chemistry for this next class so I pretty much will be learning it AGAIN for the first time. Good fun!

Speaking of changing diapers, Ry and I babysat on Tuesday night! We gave our good friends a Christmas gift that I thought any parent would enjoy - date night. We babysat while they enjoyed a night out at the movies!

There were lots of laughs! Our godson loves when we visit, especially Ryan. He goes crazy and has to show Ry EVERYTHING new since our last visit. His dad told him we were coming and said that Ry would give him his bath.  So what does he do the minute Ryan walks through the door? He drags him upstairs and starts the water. So cute!!! He even asked me to come sit next to him so we could eat our salads together:)

They are great kids and we didn't have any issues putting them to bed. Their parents have done a great job with scheduling and being consistent..and it shows! Tina was even talking about this the other day.

Anywho...

Now to change topics a little bit...I saw a tear-jerker on youtube this morning. My friend Paula posted it to her facebook page. Paula is awesome! She has rescued so many animals and so she's a wealth of knowledge when it comes to rescue organizations, pet care, and animal welfare! I emailed her when Mr. Oddie was so sick and she helped me out a lot and provided lots of support:)

Now look at him:

Don't let that peaceful face fool you...he's a typical teenager lol!

Keeping a watchful eye! Oddie likes to play pounce-on-Nemo...a lot!



 Where was I? Oh right, the video. Well, it was from Gentle Barn an amazing non-profit organization that rescues farm and domestic animals. They don't stop there! They also have programs to help at-risk youth, special needs, and school children develop higher self esteem and learn from a more positive example. The animals are the teachers! I think that animals are amazing teachers and healers. Just look at the pet therapy programs in seniors homes or even dog rehabilitation programs in prisons. They are huge successes! In BC we have a program in women's prisons where they help to rehabilitate troubled dogs! In fact, after finding out the nursing home where my grandma resides does not have visits from therapy animals, I'm considering taking Nemo to a consulation with Pets and Friends. They train pets and owners so they can take part in pet visistation at various institutions! How amazing would that be?

Back to the video...The video that Paula posted featured a cow that was rescued and was crying for her new-born calf....and lets just say there is a happy ending:) check it out here. Sorry they wouldn't let me embed the video!

I had tears welling up big time!! It gives a little taste of what it must be like to mother cows who are seperated so quickly from their calf in many dairy operations. I have this wish that one day we will live on an acreage and can be the forever home to rescued farm animals:) 

Have a great day everyone. Thanks for listening to me ramble on today:)

PS don't forget to enter my giveaway!!! It ends tomorrow:)

It's about time for a giveaway!

Happy Tuesday all!


             How was your weekend? Mine was a lot of fun! Ry was away with the boys and so I got to do some funny girly stuff with my cuz downtown. We went shopping at Metrotown which I think is the biggest mall in BC:) My cousin introduced me to Forever 21! I'm officially hooked. Love their clothes and the accessories were pretty cool too! I have to take a picture of the owl earrings as they are too fun. We spent over two hours in the store..ha! Just so you have an idea...this place is two floors of bliss:) I went a little crazy as I haven't shopped for myself in a LONG time. It felt really good  and brought me back to the days when I had no responsibilities and could spend at free will...ahh good times.

We stayed downtown all day and enjoyed dinner at The Brewhouse in gastown. I had one of the best lagers I've ever had and chowed down on a portabello burger. Sorry no picts. I didn't want to lug around my big camera and my blackberry died too:) I need to get a point and shoot for times like those!

Anywho, Since it's been such an amazing month here on Contagious Health I though it was perfect timing to give something away to my amazing readers!

First up!

One of my favorite health crusaders just wrote a new book...

source

I recently saw Kris in two different interviews ( here and here) and just love how radiant she is and how she is so REAL! I don't have the book yet but I am planning on it soon. If you are curious what other people think about the book check out the comments on Amazon!!

Second is a book that I NEED in the kitchen.

Source

This will be a huge resource for anyone who cooks and bakes. I know I've had a few flops when baking without the usual eggs and dairy.What a great resource to have!

What do you have to do to get your hands on these gems?

1. Tell me why you would love to have these books (1 comment)

2. Blog about the giveaway and leave me a comment with a link (1 comment)

3. Tell me your favorite place to shop! (1 comment)

That's it folks, easy peasy!

***Open to US and Canadian Residents only***

Contest ends Friday Jan. 21st 2011 at noon pacific.

Mantra

Happy Thursday all!!

We had a little bit of a snow storm yesterday and because I work in the boonies, I got the day off:)

I was on my way to work, well the hubby was chauffeuring me because he has 4X4, and I got the text to stay home. So, he dropped me off at home...but no snow day for him. Sucker..Just kidding:)

The beautiful white stuff!! Unfortunately it's already raining so everything has turned to slush..boo!

Anywho, I've been meaning to share with you something interesting astrology that was in the local paper awhile ago. I don't believe everything about astrology but sometimes it's eerily accurate. Have you ever looked up your birthday in the big birthday book? My boss brought this book in one day and it was pretty crazy how accurate some of the characteristics/stats/dates were to my life. If you are ever in Indigo or Chapters be sure to check it out. Good  fun!

The paper covered predictions for each sign in 2011. Me, I'm a Pisces!!

I like reading what astrologers have to say about my sign. It was good entertainment!!

Then I saw my so-called mantra for 2011 and I couldn't agree more!!

This is especially true come September because.....

I GOT ACCEPTED!!!!

I'm officially going back to school in September to start my schooling to become a naturopath!! I was a bundle of nerves from the beginning of the week because I knew the call would be coming. I had just finished bodyrock.tv's hit your but workout and so I was high on endorphins when my phone rang. I don't know if my heart has beat that fast EVER...well maybe on my wedding day..but this time I didn't know what would happen lol!

When Mark, BINM's director of admissions, actually said the words "welcome aboard", time stopped for that split second. I had made it, my dream was going to come true. I choked back my happy tears while the details were laid out for me, all the while pinching myself to ensure I hadn't passed out and was dreaming (bodyrock has that potential). Once I was off the phone with Mark, I did a major happy dance with lots of happy tears. I immediately called the special people in my life, changed my status to Dr. M, and then began to clean the house.

Ha! I couldn't sit still!!

Thank you all for being so supportive! I feel so blessed.

 Even though I haven't met you in person, you all have given me so much strength and courage. Seriously!

I can't wait to take you along on this new, crazy exciting part of my life!!

Cheers to a great start to 2011!!!

Yep, I had mimosas on a Wednesday night!! Hear me roar:)

Weekend in the sun!

Hey Everyone!!

               How are you all? Did you have a blast on the weekend?

First off, I wanted to thank you for your support and kind words regarding my interview. You are all so sweet and really help to bring my thoughts back to more positive places and out of the "what if" black hole.  I had a moment of weakness where I thought of everything negative and really brought myself down but I took some deep breaths and continued on to enjoy my weekend!

It was absolutely beautiful here on Saturday and Sunday! I bet you the ski hills were packed:)

Here's a random fact about me: I live within driving distance of 5 great ski hills and I've never visited any of them in the winter to ski, snowboard, or any other activity that involves snow! This is a sad fact, people!! I hope to change this soon. One of the local mountains has these cool events where you snowshoe in to their little lodge. They will host a local band to play for a couple of hours and you can grab a beer, then you snowshoe back! Sounds like a blast to me:)

While everyone was enjoying the powder, I was enjoying the sun downtown by the ocean!!

 I love these chairs!! Although they were a bit too cold to sit in:)

Yes, people this is B.C in the winter! Welcome to the temperate rainforest!

I love the country but one in a while I NEED to come to the city to get my fill. I love the vibe, the scenery, the stores, and of course, the food!

I love how these townhomes are curved!

Then we headed to the heart of the downtown and walked around in the hustle and bustle! Including the beautiful Vancouver Art Gallery. Once I saw those lions I knew I wanted a photo shoot!

 I don't think Aslan would approve of my riding skills!

But hugs make everything better:)

After my visit with Aslan we saw this group..not really sure what there cause was. They also had harmonicas?? It will remain a mystery.

We were planning on taking a tour of the art gallery but the admission price was just too high ( in my opinion). They have a donation night on Tuesday's so we plan on coming back.

Love this building. Sorry for the brightness...no photoshop:(

Lots and lots of great shops on Granville Street! I was on one mission, and one mission only, to find a kettlebell. Unfortunately I failed at my mission. Every fitness store I went to was sold out!!

Listen to the message kids...you don't want to be in Ryan's shoes! Some good scare tactics in the parkade.

Bye Bye big city...until next time!!

As you probably noticed there are no food picts..my bad! We did have a fabulous lunch from Choices market (similar to Whole Foods). I had a Thai noodle salad and Ry had a vegan chili. I also treated myself to some Macasure chocolate and natural licorice. I also had a soy tea misto without the vanilla ( I added honey). Yum this was good! I haven't had one in a long time. PS Saturday was my rewards day so I ate all my faves:)

I'm trying a new technique to combating my sweet tooth that creeps up in the evenings. I'm avoiding the call for sugar for 6 days, then on the 7th day I eat whatever I want. I really like this approach so far and it has been working for me.

Do you designate reward meals or reward days? Or do you simply have a few treats here and there during the week? I find I eat too many sweets at night. I'm not one of those people who can just have one square of chocolate and leave the rest..at least not yet. Eating clean 6 days out of 7 also has a little bit of science behind it that I won't go into here. I'll give that it's own post!

I did cook up some great things this weekend too!

Mexican and Indian spices combine to give this dish super amazing flavor. I added in chili powder, cayenne, paprika, turmeric, and cumin for the spices. The veggies included frozen peas/beans/carrots, orange pepper, and onion. I added in some of my homemade salsa which made this one of the best tasting tofu scrambles yet!

Then for dinner last night I made a delicious acorn squash using the same spice blend as I did for the tofu!

Oh this was good!! I loved the flavor of the spice and squash too. I think that spice blend is a real winner!!

And for dessert on Saturday night it was Averie's Rice Krispie treats. These are so yummy!!

Here's for something different. At Choices Market we found this dairy alternative. It's really quite good. Nice and thick, very similar to the real thing. In fact, it's one of the closest alternatives I've tried so far! If you aren't a fan of coconut don't fret! The coconut flavor is not very strong in this milk at all. I actually would prefer more coconut flavor, but that's just me!

Have you tried it? What did you think?

On Sunday night I finally saw Black Swan. Fantastic movie!!  I love movies that can keep me guessing!! Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis were exceptional. The weight loss that both of these already-thin girls had to do for the film was pretty extreme. If you have seen the movie, you know what Natalie's back looked like and it's not pretty. I was never in dance so I don't know about the pressures in the ballet industry first hand. All I know is what I've read and seen in the media. Considering this I can only imagine the pressure to be thin is very high. Yet, there is another greater theme to the movie that I won't talk about right now as the movie is still in theatres and I don't want to spoil it for you:)

Have you seen the movie? What are your thoughts?

Have a great rest of your day!!

I made it through!!

Happy Thursday night bloggies!!

Thank you for all your support for my interview and the sweet comments about the "boys" and us looking for a new puppy.

Thanks Bitt for even tweeting about my previous post. That was so kind of you:)

Well, the interview is over and I'm at home trying to come off the adrenalin high:) I don't like waiting games. I'm kind of impatient.Especially when it comes to finding out if my life is about to change in a HUGE way.

It went pretty well..I think. It's so hard to answer multiple questions when you only have a few minutes with each interviewer but I tried my best. I'm kind of hard on myself too but I made the decision to not spend the next week going over the interview in my head a million times and asking the what-if's as I normally would do. I may not have given the BEST answers I could (who does in a time-restricted interview?) but I still tried to be as honest and thoughtful as possible given the circumstances. I learned a lot from each interviewer and got an even greater insight into the field and what kind of person they are looking for. Hopefully it's me:)

I talked to the other interviewee's and we all felt similarly about the process - sometimes you caught yourself rambling, sometimes you were stumped for an answer, certain interviewers were easier than others, and sometimes you wished you were on a beach in Hawaii (okay maybe this last one was only me).

The questions were pretty typical of interviews except I expected more to be based directly on my application. Live and learn. There were a lot of hypothetical situation questions, questions on stress management, sustainability, course load, and of course the biggest question "Why do you want to become a naturopathic doctor."

I find out either way in a week or so. Talk about pins and needles!!! I'm going to be glued to my phone during business hours and anyone wanting to talk more than a minute will have to call back after 5pm..including customers Ha! I may need to change my voicemail message!

There are three possibilities -

1. I get in - YIPEE!!
2. I don't get in - poop!!!
3. I get placed in limbo - I can get put into the "maybe" category where I have to wait it out until April to see if I get a spot. I really hope that I don't end up here. Recall the I'm-not-patient aspect.

I'm remaining positive and that's all I can do at this point! Please send some good vibes my way and maybe a time warp machine while you're at it:)

Thanks again for all your support!! I really appreciate it!
Have a great night everyone

Big Day

Hello All,

    Happy New Year!! I took a little break from writing as the hubby had some days off and I wanted to take full advantage of them as I know we will be back to our busy schedules soon enough:)


Now for some exciting news...Ry and I have decided to expand our little family to include one more:) No, we are not planning on having babies just yet. But we are getting a dog, most likely a puppy:) I'm so excited. Ryan says I ask him every week if we can get a dog. I don't remember if this is the case, but I don't doubt it lol.

We have been researching breeds and searching the SPCA and Petfinder.com for our future pup. I also had a good conversation with some shelter workers yesterday as to what types of dogs would suit our lifestyle. We are looking for a larger breed to take hiking, running,and camping with us. The pup will also need to love the boys as they rule the roost!!!

The shelter workers said the best bet for us would be to get a puppy (any breed ) and socialize it really well with other animals, people, children etc. Ryan and I both agreed to this logic but we are still going to look at all ages of dogs in our local shelters.

The shelter I went to didn't have any dogs that would be suitable for us. Yet I wanted to take all of them home:( I also visited the cat room and was happy to see that they were not overcrowded. I talked to a shelter volunteer in there for quite awhile and she got me interested in volunteering again. I applied online today and hopefully can start soon. Yay for tackling a New Years goal already:)

We have found a puppy that we are very interested in but it's located on Vancouver Island so we haven't decided if we should go or wait. I'll keep you posted:)

Besides the excitement of getting a new furry friend (eek so excited, you have no idea!!), it's a big day for me tomorrow.

 It's my interview for ND school.

It's finally here and I'm surprisingly not wanting to throw-up or come up with a fake illness to get out of going. This is huge for me!!! Such a change from previous years when I would panic and over think everything to the point of talking myself out of things. My mom asked me today if Ryan would be driving me to the school (about an hour away) and I said no..  She then went on to say how she wouldn't be able to drive as she would be so nervous. So you see, I've come a long way:)

I'm not going to lie, I'm still a bit nervous, but I also feel at peace with who I am and what I have to bring to the school as a student and future ND. And that's enough to keep my mind and body at ease. I also know a little how the interview process works and who will be involved. Ladies (and gents) I'm telling you that if school is in your future, go visit the campus and introduce yourself you learn a lot of insider information that can make the application process a lot less intimidating. I failed to do this so many times in the past but I got through my insecurity and began introducing myself to the people at Boucher who essentially hold the key to my future dream career.

In the meantime, please pray, send positive waves, and peaceful thoughts my way for tomorrow.

Sometimes it takes a tiny bit of discomfort to discover the greater comfort of becoming our true selves. ~ Tama Kieves


 

I'm experimenting with my diet a little bit this month and once I have a little more experience with it I'll share how it works and what my thoughts are on it. It's nothing too crazy!!

Sorry for the lack of picts, I haven't been taking many lately. The Nikon needed a breather:)

I find January a little hard as everything goes back to normal and there are no long weekends lol! Although I find it's the perfect month to do something you've always wanted to do like take a class, learn to knit, cook more, read a book etc. Because before you know it spring will be here and the garden will be calling your name:)

Have a great day everyone!!!