I’m stuffed. Time to get back on track.
One Gorgeous Girl
being gorgeous has never felt so right
Category Archives: Holidays
That’s a Wrap
Oh Seattle. I love you. Your people are laid back and I never want to leave the waterfront. Vacation was incredible. I ended up touring down the west coast of Washington with my aunt and cousin and I can not wait to go back. The first night we woke up at 5 am and quickly showered and hopped into the car. Alberta roads are incredibly quick and it felt like we made it to Merrit, BC in no time at all. I have been through the mountains many times so this part of the trip was more just getting to our destination. We did however see the oddest thing at the Merrit Boston Pizza. These two girls were eating dinner with their pants half off. Maybe it is a new fashion statement I am not quite aware of yet.
The next day we woke up semi early to get out of the scariest motel in the world (seriously, totally gross) and hit the border. We were Seattle bound. Luckily we did not have much trouble navigating the road way to and around Seattle. We only ended up getting lost one night and then decided that we should probably use the Tom Tom. Looking back I wish we would of spent a whole week in Seattle. There was so much to do and see. We walked down to the waterfront, went on a duck tour, shot up the Space Needle, shopped at Pike Place Market and visited Jimi Hendrix. Next time I would take more time to walk around downtown and experience all of the little independent shops and restaurants. Food was the one thing that we really didn’t focus on. Once we finally found an elusive grocery store we bought some staples and mainly stuck to eating dinners out. I will be back to Seattle as soon as possible, I just loved it.
After Seattle we were Forks, Washington bound. Yes, we did the Twilight Tour. Forks was a cute little town but you could tell the Twilight fanaticism was dying down. I would never go back to Forks for twilight but I could have easily spent the entire summer there enjoying the beaches. La Push was cute and Ruby Beach was to die for. Next time I go I want to spend more time in the national parks. It was incredible driving through the coast with water 5 or 6 feet away. One day I will end up by the beach, but until then I will miss it every day.
After leaving Forks we had the driving day from hell. Twelve hours through mountains, rush hour and smokey interstates. Luckily our hotel in Spokane was easy to find, clean and super comfy. After a night of good sleep we decided to find breakfast and hit the mall for a bit of retail therapy. We did not have a lot of time due to the fact that we did not want to lose daylight while driving through Banff to our last hotel. I actually managed to not take a single photo while we were in Canmore. Partly due to the fact that we were only four hours away from home and wanted to leave ASAP, partly out of sheer sloth.
After embarking on a road trip being at home has never felt quite so good. I can stretch, use the washroom and do whatever I want. With that being said I would never hesitate to do another one. There is something so unique about driving to your destination. I would have missed a lot of experiences had I chose to fly down to Seattle. I have not yet done the official weigh in post vacation but I feel like I am up a couple of pounds. My choices left a lot to be desired but there really is no reason to dwell on it right now. I am already back to eating healthy and have resumed my workouts. After all I do have a half marathon to train for.
Road Tripping
Vacation is over and life is getting back to normal! I’ll be back on Monday with a recap of my tour through the coast and how I plan to get back on the half marathon training plan. I hope everyone’s weekend is lovely.
Back To Reality.
Now that the holidays are over and life is getting back to normal I should probably get back on some sort of routine. Sleeping in and enjoying time away from work and school has been really nice but it is certainly time to get some semblance of normal back . School starts again January 9th and I am really looking forward to classes. Last semester showed me where I excel and where I need work ( otherwise known as getting my ass out of bed and to class on time).
With that being said I am so excited about the new year. It sounds very cliche for me to talk about January being a clean slate and a fresh start but it just feels like it is this year. My relationship with Eric is getting stronger, friendships are more meaningful and I am learning how to make better, more mindful choices for health and exercise. I was talking to Natasha earlier today over breakfast ( pancakes for the win) and I was telling her how frustrated I was that I haven’t already lost 50 lbs. In my mind eating healthy for 5 days should equal 50 lbs of weight loss. We all know its not actually that easy to lose the weight, but it just shows how impatient I can be. Part of respecting my body this year is all about patience. I need to let these healthy changes add up. Eventually the weight will come off, my cardio will be improved and I will be able to fit into my skinny jeans.
Just A Quickie
The Christmas season is well under way, and I thought I would just step in and share an extremely thoughtful gift I received from a friend. We do an exchange at work, budgeted for $30, and her gift was just to awesome to not share.
This is step one. It is three different masks, all chocolate inspired, and a pair of cute tweezers. The little card that she wrote up for step one is all about the pampering for my face. I love masks, and this by itself would of been awesome.
Step two is all about the love for the hands and lips. There were two vanilla sugar lotions ( my fave!), nail effects and two lip glosses. I can’t wait t try out the Bigelow lipgloss.
Step three is all about the legs and feet. This box contains two nail files, a pumice, a revlon nail polish ( in plum seduction), some shaving creme, razors and a lemon sage foot scrub.
Honestly this is one of the best gifts I have ever gotten. I think I lowered my expectations with the work gift exchange ( because it is always just a box of chocolates or a gift card) and she knocked it out of the park. An at home spa package is right up my alley, and I can’t wait to start using all of these products!
Exams are Finally Done!
Tests are finally done, and as of right now the only thing I really have to worry about is a couple of shifts at work. Christmas is only a few short days away and I can’t even believe the end of the year is so close. I have very mixed feelings about 2011 ( mostly that it sucked) but if I take an honest look back, there were some pretty good moments ( which I will recap in a later post)
Eating healthy has been kicking my ass over the last two weeks. I am still trying to follow my new set of rules, yet chocolate and chips are still sneaking there way in there. Everyone can make a thousand different excuses, and I am no different. Over the last few days I have used test stress, lack of time and the old “we have nothing to eat in this house” excuse. The only person I am trying to fool is myself, my waistline knows the truth. I am trying to reserve the indulgence for holiday treats. Chips and candy are available year round, but a big turkey meal and freshly baked pie is not. Christmas will not be the start of a bad eating year for me. Breaking everything down to just one choice at a time really helps me with healthier choices and eventually I will get to be where I want to be.
I have been trying to include a big smoothie in my meals everyday. They are filled with fruit, spinach and dairy and usually replace either my breakfast or my dinner. Nothing makes me feel better than a straight shot of vitamins.
This time of year tends to be really stressful. From trying to find the right gifts for people to trying to find time for everyone in your life it can get a little bit hectic. There are only 11 days left of this year and I am going to make those days count.
How do you battle the holiday bulge?
Are the holiday’s a stressful time for you?
Wish List 2011
With Christmas just around the corner I thought it would be a good idea to post a holiday wishlist. I love this time of year. Sure running around like a mad woman trying to find the perfect gifts makes me a little crazy, but it is always worth the time and effort. While it may be a little bit to late to actually get anything on this list, it is always nice to dream ( or buy it myself).
1. Prada Galleria LG Tote, in Cornflower Blue - This bag isn’t even available yet, but I am already drooling over it. Ever since I saw it on a Aleeza’s youtube page I am drooling over it. It is certainly pricey, but a girl can dream right. One of these days this bag will be mine.
2. Kindle - I really want a kindle. Nobody in my family thinks I need one. Sure I have the app on my phone and my iPad but I just don’t think it is the same as an actual Kindle. I love to read and think the size of this Kindle would suit my needs perfectly. Starting at only $79 how could you go wrong.
3. LaVanilla perfume - I adore this company. They claim to be a healthy company with their products void of chemicals and nasty stuff, plus this smell is incredible. I recently ran out and am coveting more. Every single day I wore this I recived a compliment. It is to die for.
4. Canon Rebel T2i - I really want a DSLR, and I have heard nothing but good things about this brand. In all honesty if I don’t expect to get one for Christmas, but I am hoping they go on sale for Boxing Day. I’m not lining up at 5 am at Best Buy for nothing.
5. iMac - Only in the last couple of weeks have I really wanted an actual desktop to use. I love the big screen on the iMac and to be honest I am a bit of an apple whore.
Now I realize that this wish list is a little crazy and to be honest I do not expect anyone to buy me any of this, other than maybe the perfume. A girl can dream, can’t she?
Long Weekend Goodness
This weekend was certainly one for the books!
It is not very often that I get to enjoy a full 3 day long weekend and this long weekend certainly looked promising… until I came down with a wicked summer cold. I started to feel run down and tired earlier in the week and didn’t really put any thought into why. With our new schedule at work we all work early one day and then late the next. Having no consistency makes me pretty tired after a few weeks and I just figured the long weekend would give me plenty of time to relax and refresh. Boy was I wrong.
Eric and I had plans to take in a Capitals baseball game and then watch the city fireworks. My body had other plans. Rather than a fun night out I just laid in bed, ate soup and whined. Saturday wasn’t much better for me. I felt a bit better in the morning, only to take a turn for the worse. I cancelled movie plans with friends but decided to attempt to keep my dinner plans with them for later in the evening. If you are ever in the Edmonton area you should check out The Melting Pot. The food is delicious and the serving staff is quick, personable and incredibly well trained. Nothing brings you back to childhood like playing around with your food, dipping in cheese and assorted broths. The highlight of the night was the Cookies and Cream chocolate fondue. Dark chocolate swirled with marshmallow fluff and then sprinkled with oreo crumbs and lit on fire. So yummy.
I went home after dinner, crawled into bed and slept for a full 12 hours. Waking up after a sleep like that was great. I managed to eat some breakfast and then went back to sleep. My body just did not want to stay awake for any longer. After another five hour nap I woke up feeling a bit like myself again. I packed a lunch for tomorrow, I started some laundry. Life seems to finally start to be going back to normal after 4 days of kleenex, colds pills and Big Bang Theory re-runs. I am more than happy to be sitting out on my deck, enjoying a hot tea and taking in the last of my weekend sunshine. Even after a weekend of self pity and sickness I feel pretty good about the up coming week.
