It's Friday, which means that it was my fifth day of taking RushFit seriously and working out according to the fitness calendar. I honestly feel so alive and good right now, it's pretty unbelievable. Exercising is like a well kept secret that people discover and then forget about over and over again. I forgot how good it feels to accomplish a workout, even if I had to get up early and I was pretty tired crawling out of my puffy cloud of warmth and comfort of a bed!
I wanted to use my Friday post as a way to recap how my week of working out went.
MONDAY -
Day One was the "Strength and Endurance" workout. This is one of the tougher workouts but it's a good one to start with because my body was fresh and not sore. In the second picture I am showing how sweaty and tuckered I am. The workout did what it was supposed to do. I started Monday very bitchy. My attitude sucked and Rob was there for the first part of it encouraging me all of the way. He pointed out as he was leaving for work and I was going into my third round of the workout, that I sounded a lot happier. The truth was; that I was a lot happier after having worked up a sweat. I weighed myself after the workout as I was getting into the shower (yes.. naked) and I believe our ancient scale read 139 pounds. As I mentioned before; if I feel and look better, it doesn't really matter what the scale says at the end of the day. Day one was a success!
TUESDAY-
Day Two was a Cardio day. I had previously committed to going to my friend Lisa's Happy Fit Stroller Sample Class. I have never been to anything like this before and I really enjoyed it. Not only was it nice for me to have a reason to leave the house by ten in the morning, but it was also really nice to meet up with other moms and of course, Lisa. There were three moms and three little ones with us. We ran with the strollers and at times, we parked the babes while we did drills. At the end when we were stretching, the kids were placed on a blanket in the middle and they all got along really well. I didn't think to take pictures at the stroller class, so I took a couple from Lisa's website. The picture in the middle is the emblem for Happy Fit. The third is a picture of Lisa holding one of the wee ones that attended one of her stroller classes back East.
WEDNESDAY-
Day Three was the "Abdominal Strength" workout. In the picture of me in my bedroom I look less than impressed. Alina ended up waking up half way through round five, so I had to feed her and stop a couple of minutes early. I skipped any of the squats in this workout because my legs were pretty sore from day one and two of squatting. But, I feel like I sweat enough on day three, so mission accomplished. For lunch I ate Lisa's Bean Spinach Salad and it was very satisfying and most importantly healthy.
THURSDAY-
Day Four was another Cardio day and I went to the fire hall to jog on the tread mill. Before I started RushFit I was getting up in the morning to run at the fire hall everyday but it became too mundane and repetitive. Plus I don't really enjoy running or jogging very much. So it's nice to reduce the running to twice a week. I am enjoying RushFit because everyday is different. It provides me with variety and that's what will keep me exercising. I had to capture the sunrise I saw as I was heading home to share on my post today. That's another reason why it's nice to exercise. I was outside early in the morning, I felt refreshed, energized and I got to experience a beautiful sunrise!
FRIDAY-
Day Five was the "Fight Conditioning" workout. Five rounds of combination kicks, jabs and uppercuts. It was definitely hard on me because I'm not very coordinated. I'm especially bad with watching someone kick their left leg and jab with their right arm. But considering how hopeless I can be, I did very well. Any workout that includes a "roundhouse" kick is definitely okay with me. I felt like Patrick Swayze kicking ass in the movie "Roadhouse" during this workout. I have been eating porridge for breakfast every morning and I am making sure to eat a lunch as soon as I get hungry again. Exercise is important but eating properly goes right along with it. I am beaming with joy in my Day Five picture because I am so happy to have accomplished a full week of my workout. I did it!
Week one of exercising has gone better than I could have imagined. I feel a bit sore, but not too much and in all of the right places. Already, because I've been working hard, I don't want to eat badly this weekend. I hope to keep up and not cheat by missing any days next week. As long as I'm consistent with working out, I should be successful.
I'm wishing a Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American Bloggers out there. Enjoy the long weekend, with your family, friends, beers, football and stuffing your faces. Amanda from Rhyme and Ribbons asked me to join her and some other bloggers to give thanks for what we appreciate the most in our lives. You can check out what I am most grateful for on Amanda's blog - HERE!
I'm going to keep my post simple today because I'd like to write a big recap post about my progress in my first week working out tomorrow.
My first ever recipe post had surprisingly great feedback, so I figured I'd give it another shot. This time I will be introducing a salad that I just learned about from a new friend, Lisa, from Happy Fit . Lisa is a certified personal trainer, a certified kettle bell and joint mobility and movement instructor, a pre and post natal fitness specialist and precision nutrition trainer. So basically she is just plain awesome at everything fitness and nutrition. Plus to top it all off; her and her husband just moved to our neck of the woods (no one moves here) and the two of them are really nice, personable people. As long as they stick around, they will be friends of our's, for sure. (That's a threat.. DON'T leave....) Lisa and Josh had us over for dinner a couple of weekends back and Lisa introduced me to this salad I am completely obsessed with. I had it as a side salad for dinner last week, we're having it again tonight and I believe Rob and I have both had it a couple of times for lunch this week.
I'll call this salad, "Lisa's Spinach, Bean Salad."
What you will need:
//1 Any kind of Spinach from your grocery store.
//2 A can of drained red kidney beans.
//3 Shredded cheddar cheese. (I'm sure any kind of cheese will do.)
//4. Rice Works brown rice crisps. (Obviously not everyone will be able to buy these, depending on where you live. So just find a crisp that you like, that is healthier than say a Dorito Chip. Or not! It's your salad, after all. In which case, I bet a Dorito would be really, really good...)
//5 Diced tomatoes and chopped green onion.
//6 Catalina salad dressing. (Again, you can choose whichever dressing you prefer. But to get the full effect of this particular salad, go Catalina all the way.)
Basically that is it..
All you need to do is pour in the amount of spinach you plan on scarfing back. Add a handful of kidney beans, sprinkle with cheese, onion and tomato. Crush up a handful of crisps and pour your desired amount of salad dressing over the salad and bingo bango; you have yourself a delicious lunch, or dinner salad.
The reason I'm so obsessed with this salad is because I'm new to Catalina dressing, I love the Rice Crisps, they add a crunch and a nice taste to the salad. Plus, I think it's great to find a way to eat kidney beans other than in chili.
This picture was taken for my weekly workout recap. I regret my terrible photography skills now that I'm centering a post around the salad. But, just trust me; it's worth making and definitely worth eating! Plus, after this weekend of pigging out on stuffing, turkey and mashed potatoes I have a feeling that salads just may be the thing everyone will be wanting...
**Update: I made the salad tonight with dinner, so I decided to take a little bit of a better picture of it to add to my post today.**
I posted THIS in August, talking about how we, as women are too hard on ourselves. We see ugly when we look in the mirror because we judge ourselves too harshly. Later in my post, I showed a very embarrassing photo of myself at the beach this summer. I am by far, in the worst shape I have been in my life. Obviously it's because I had a baby eight months ago. But that was eight months ago and it is time for some changes.
Rob has been faithfully going to the gym before work since August and he is beefing up quite nicely. He feels good and looks even better. Sadly I see less of him because once Alina goes down at eight, he is falling asleep on the couch within minutes. But he has inspired me to get off of my flabby ass and to start pushing myself. I had no idea how hard it was going to be to start exercising again. I have never, ever been this out of shape before. When I was pregnant, it became increasingly difficult to do simple tasks, like walking to work or bending down to pick something up. I was used to being pregnant for nine months, then I became so busy being a new mom and then I just didn't have any interest in working out, with a baby, that the result is I've let myself go. Sarah from Venus Trapped In Mars also inspired me with this post to document my goals on my blog in order to commit to them. That way, if I say I want to do something I will be more likely to, if all of Blogland (the small portion of bloggers that visit my corner of the interweb) knows about it. It's like going to the gym vs. running on a treadmill in your living room. I always push myself way harder because I am so aware of all of the other people in the busy gym. I think (for some crazy reason) that everyone is looking at me, judging how fast I go or how long I run for. But that's what motivates me to run my ass off without breaks. If I'm alone on a treadmill, I am more likely to take little breaks and to walk instead of run. So Blogland will act as my eyes at the gym. Even though you all can't see me working out every morning, whenever I post about my progress, I'll have to be honest.
My method for working out is through a program called RushFit. Rob and I have both done RushFit in the past and it worked tremendously for us. I used to come home from work and go through the work out everyday and I was in shape in no time. I just have to commit fully and just follow the videos and the work out calendar.
This is the first four weeks of the program and then I can work my way up accordingly. I have this on my iPhone to refer to everyday.
My goals are simple. I don't want to look anything like I do now. I want the flabbiness of my belly to be tightened back up the way it was before I carried Alina around like a sack of potatoes. I simply want to look as good, or as tight as I did in 2010 after my wedding. My legs are and have always been my trouble area. So I would also really like to tighten those up. The flabby thighs and cottage cheese ass can hit the road as well. Those are my goals. My weight is currently 139 pounds in the morning. The day I found out I was pregnant, July 15, 2012 I weighed 136 pounds. That was actually the heaviest I had been in awhile. I was actually at the point where I knew I needed to start working out again and then I got pregnant. It would be ideal for me to reach 135 pounds once everything is said and done. But if I stay at 137-139 pounds but look and feel better I will consider my goals met.
The pictures on the left were taken of me in August, 2013. I had Alina five months before that. I would like to think that I don't look that flabby and awful now. But, let's just assume that I do. I did take a picture of me on Day 1 of my work out. So I'll be able to compare my progress through pictures once a week.
The pictures on the right were taken of me July 11, 2010. The day after my wedding. I was in the best shape I had ever been in. I didn't even work out, I think it was due to all of the stress that comes with getting married. Plus I looked so well groomed because I just got married. I had my nails done (um, first time ever), eyebrows freshly waxed and dyed (done once before), my hair was freshly cut and dyed, I was super, duper tanned and skinny as hell. Plus! I was super happy because I was a newlywed.
Okay, okay, I realize that this isn't a fair comparison at all. I literally just popped out a baby in the first picture, so I look like serious hell. I have huge bags under my eyes, I'm pretty sure I pushed so hard that my eyeballs are sticking out of their sockets a little and luckily there isn't an image of me in a bathing suit after I had Alina. All I can say is that the sack of potatoes that was my stomach would have looked like a very empty, saggy sack of potatoes. Plus the picture of me all gorgeous, tanned and skinny was again, right before my wedding day. But if I have this awful picture of myself to look at, I can really feel motivated to look better!
So here's to looking great, feeling even better and to wearing my regular bathing suit to the swimming pool again! (After I saw the picture of me on the beach in August, I carefully tucked that bikini top in a safe place and replaced it with my maternity top. I haven't worn anything else since..!)
And since I put up so many BAD pictures of myself today I have to counter balance with some good. So here's that same picture of me in full bathing suit, the day after my wedding. I looked hot, felt hot and want to look hot like that again damn it!!!!
*** Oh wow- I just found THIS POST from 2007. That was the best shape I've ever been in. I remember now that I was working out daily and running. But I'll stick with looking like Me in 2010. Me in 2007 was 21 with plenty of spare time to devote to my body!***
This morning I woke up slowly with Rob and Alina. Rob left the room for a minute and returned with purpose. He just looked at me quite seriously and pointed the remote at the t.v. to turn it on. On the t.v. was the Shaw Holiday Burning Log. Now, this burning log has been a part of all of our Christmas' together. Our t.v. provider; Shaw Cable always features a Christmas fire 24/7 until the holiday season is over.
There is a story behind the burning log. The burning log is a twenty minute clip of a fire crackling in a fire place and from time to time an arm will stoke the fire or put fresh logs on. We always wondered who the arm belonged to.. Well, the arm belongs to a man named John that worked for Shaw Cable in 1999. He decided to film a fire for Shaw to show on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to avoid himself or any of the Shaw staff to have to work during the holidays. Shaw Cable would just play the fireplace on a loop all day. When the burning log failed to return the following Christmas, a group of university students in Victoria petitioned for its return. They won and the burning log has been on the air ever since.
Like I mentioned, we are big fans of the burning log. We include it in all of our Christmas pictures throughout the holiday season. We have a 46 inch television and so it seems like there is this big fireplace in the center of our living room. Plus, the sound effect is the best part. It crackles and pops and it feels like you are sitting in front of a warm, cozy fire.
The collage is just a sample of all of the times we posed with the burning log throughout the years. Rob with his cotton Santa beard at my sister and brother in law's apartment in down town Victoria, in 2007. I posed with Rob on my lap, with a similar Santa beard in 2009. Before my Christmas party all dulled up, in 2010. There are two pictures of me pregnant with Alina last Christmas, decorating and then on Christmas morning. This year, Alina was introduced to the burning log while we were in bed. She must be related to us because her attention was all over the holiday fire. (Don't mind her crazy morning hair.)
Christmas is in the air! Once the burning log was reintroduced to our lives, we couldn't help but hum Christmas tunes and discuss what weekend we want to put the tree up. Rob ho hummed if he was going to put the outside lights up or not.. By noon the decision was made; and he was outside trying to remember what lights went where. I tried to write this post earlier but Rob wanted my help and Alina woke from her nap, so I dressed her up warm and Christmas-y and we kept him company while he did all of the work.
I leave you with the Shaw Burning Log.. please enjoy the next thirty seconds and just imagine having this on in your living room while you sip hot chocolate and read a good book, or blog... Ahh, bliss. (Unless, of course you have an actual fireplace and then you can just call me deprived.)
This will be my FIRST EVER recipe post! I will always remember my mom's teriyaki chicken wings. Seriously, they are to die for delicious! She would make at least one hundred wings when she made them. It would take her all day, but the result at the end of that long ass chicken making day was just pure finger licking goodness.
I have made these wings a zillion times but I am always this happy when I get to eat them again!
Ingredients:
For the Sauce:
3 Tbsp Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade and Sauce (see pictured)
3 Tbsp Water
1/2 Cup of Vinegar
1 Cup of Sugar
(Yes, I realize that that is a lot of sugar. But trust me, these wings are worth all of that sugar intake!)
1/2 tsp Salt
2-3 lbs Chicken Wings (I don't even know how much that is. I usually just use a family pack size of chicken drumettes.)
1 Cup of Margarine OR Butter (I have margarine in my fridge, so I just use Margarine)
1-2 Eggs
1 Cup Flour
Okay, so the beer doesn't go into the recipe. But it does go into the person cooking the wings!
I usually use two pans so that I'm not waiting around forever for my wings to cook. Set your burners to Medium Heat. Melt butter or margarine into pans.
Dip wings into beaten eggs and then into the flour. Fry all of your wings until golden brown.
While your wings are frying, mix all of your ingredients together to make your sauce in a medium size bowl and stir together.
Ignore the pot on the stove top. Rob's sister is a vegetarian and I was making her French Onion Soup for dinner..
Place cooked wings in a casserole dish or turkey roaster and pour small amount of the Teriyaki Sauce and Marinade over the wings straight from the bottle.
Once all of your wings are ready, pour the teriyaki mixture evenly over the wings.
Set the oven to 350 degrees and cook for 40 minutes covered. I do check on the wings just to ladle the mixture over the wings as they cook. After 40 minutes, remove the lid and cook for another 10 minutes. You don't want to overcook because you don't want your teriyaki sauce to burn. The wings should be candied when finished.
It's pretty easy to do and like I said, the result is amazing. I also encourage you to save some for the next day, or later that night to eat cold. They are the best, in my opinion, when they're cold!
If Kikkoman Sauce isn't available to you where you live, I'm sure you can substitute with another equally good Teriyaki Sauce/Marinade and the result will be the same.
This will be my second time participating in the "Boys Behind The Blog" link-up. Five questions are posted on Mal or Stephanie's blogs on the first Thursday of the month. These questions can be asked to any of the men in your life. It could be your husband, brother, dad, uncle, etc. The link-up is always on the third Thursday of the month and it is really fun to see what your favourite blogger's men are all like.
This month, I introduce BlogLand to my big brother, Lincoln. He was born... a baby. (Major points for the person that can tell me what movie that quote is from.....!?)
Linc and I were introduced promptly after I was born in July of 1985, by our mother. I think he was pretty excited about me at the time. But the excitement wore off once I started talking and annoying him. One thing I do remember is that Linc tolerated me a lot more than I've ever given him credit for. I followed him everywhere. I wanted to be where he was. I wanted to play G.I Joes even though I liked my Barbies and Polly Pockets better. I wouldn't care what we did, as long as I was included. In Kindergarten we had to dress up like our heroes and I went as Lincoln. I wore his baseball hat and clothes. Later in life, I was in grade seven and for Halloween I went as him again. I looked pretty cool, if I'm being totally honest.. A little bit like a lesbian, but a cool lesbian. The point is, that I've always loved my brother, since day one. I still do and I was excited to interview him for my blog. He was cooking supper when I asked him over the phone, the five questions. The questions couldn't have been more suited to him and his tastes. He loves music and so it was an easy interview.
Again I will write word for word what Lincoln said as he answers and I will commentate when I feel like it..
//1 Who is your favourite band or musician?
Linc: For Punk bands- Mad Caddies, Bouncing Souls and Green Day. For Rock bands- The Beatles. Let's just stick with those four because that is a really hard question for me to answer.
I am surprised that the list wasn't longer. I know for a fact that Linc would have me on the phone any other time, for hours telling me who all of his favourite bands are. But, it was right before supper on a week night, so I don't think he wanted to keep me. Lincoln is the type of person to have me listen to a full song over the phone because he loves it so much.
That is a typical picture of my brother as a teenager. Notice the Beatles poster on the wall and his coveted c.d. collection. Also note the look of annoyance on his face.. I must have taken the picture. (The upside down rainbow wallpaper was already on those walls when we moved in.. just so everyone knows that my parents weren't super goofballs.)
//2 What was your first cd/tape/record?
Linc: Tape was Copperhead Road by Steve Earl. CD was Weezer, self titled and Foo Fighter's, self-titled. Record was Michael Jackson's Bad. He's wearing a white suit and somewhere on the record there's a picture of him petting a tiger.
Does this picture bring back any memories there big brother!??! Oh and I talked to my mom yesterday and told her about this post. She corrected Linc and said that his first record was Beat It. This would explain the white suit and tiger a bit better.
3. Who was your first concert?
Linc: New Kids On The Block all the way, fourth row. The security guard let me sit on the top of the bleachers so I could see and Donny looked at me.
When I read that question I actually laughed out loud because I knew that New Kids was Linc's first concert. My sister, mom and him went and had a really good time. My mom said at the end of the concert the girls all rushed the stage, so she had to elbow, push and punch people to keep them from trampling my siblings. Good ol' mama bear.
Yes, I hoped to find the cheesiest picture of the New Kids.. and I believe I more than exceeded my expectations....
4. What is your favourite Thanksgiving Food? Linc: Stuffing all the way with gravy on it.... I'm sick of turkey.
We're sick of turkey because Thanksgiving was last month! I am sick of turkey too. I always make turkey pies out of all of my left overs and we have already eaten both turkey pies that I froze.. I'm with Linc and happy to wait another month for turkey again!
The year I made turkey dinner on my own. BUT- Lincoln was there to coach me on how to make the gravy. (Linc used to be a cook and taught me well!)
5. Finish the sentence, I am thankful for . . .
Linc: Money... no, I'm kidding. No, I'm thankful for baseball. I'm thankful for family, but everyone says that. (Long pause.) Looking at pictures of the babies (his nieces and nephew) and stuff makes me smile more than anything. So yeah, family for sure.
Amen brother. I am with you on the family train. Nothing makes me happier than a bunch of drooling, babbling mini-drunk/zombie-like infants stumbling around the backyard. I love kids and especially when we get credit for how cute and funny they are! Oh.. and baseball. You know I love me some baseball!
Like I mentioned, I always copied my brother.. So it is obvious that I would also be into baseball and actually- I'm not half bad at it. I can thank my brother and dads for that. (Playing catch in the backyard for years and years really does make a difference!!!)
Linc with those babies he was talking about.
Thanks for getting to know my bro a little bit better. I am really enjoying the "Boys Behind The Blog" link-up every month. Also, a super duper big shout out to my brother, Lincoln. Thanks for playing along!
It's that time of the month (no, no not that time of the month) where I enlighten the world with the craziness that is my life and my husband... To visit Crazy Shit Rob Does! Chapter One check it out HERE- you will not be disappointed.
Chapter Two: "The Crazy Shit Rob Does ... through texts."
//1 Well it should be no surprise that Rob is a texting fanatic. But I definitely like that about him. Whether it be through text, a quick phone call in between jobs or a little bit of Facetime on his lunch breaks- we are always communicating throughout the day. On Friday we were talking on the phone and I could tell he was eating his lunch. At one point he said, "I'm not sure if I lost my piece of pizza or if I ate it..."
I believe I was just sort of surprised hearing this, even from him. I mean, who can't remember either eating something or losing it? I know that when I am on a lunch break at work, I know exactly where my food is at all times. If I had two pieces of pizza and one of them wasn't in my tummy, I would just know.. He had to let me go, so I decided about ten- fifteen minutes later, to text him..
As soon as this all happened, I made sure to keep this conversation with him because of course, this is great material for my blog. And hey! He didn't lose it, he just simply misplaced it. And by it we're talking about a piece of pizza.....! This man is nuts.
//2 The other day we were together when we came across this house. But Rob made sure to swing around so he could capture a picture of it. He later texted me the picture and I just found it today, as I was going through my text messages..
At a quick glance this looks like a house with an unfortunate colour of siding; peach and red. But if you look a little bit closer, you will see what is just so special about this place...
Yes, there is a huge deer painted on the garage door. We laughed so hard at this house and we were both surprised that we hadn't seen it before. This house is just a block from my mom's place and I have driven passed it many, many times. Imagine being a teenager that lives there?
"Umm.. yeah my house is on ______ Street. Uh-huh. Well no, you can't miss it really. I mean it's peach... well and.. there's a giant deer painted on it......."
//3 This is a repeat offender, but it was just too funny not to show again. This was a picture Rob texted to me on his way home from fire practice one evening:
The text read: "Obviously a shitty rescue place. All the dogs died."
//4 I'd like to call this one; "Texting Abuse"
I'm sure it's clear who I am in this texting conversation.. I was beginning to think that I didn't have enough funny texts saved for a complete blog post today. Then, I came across that little conversation. Thank you smart-ass husband. (HAHA- I just looked at the time on this one and what the hell am I doing eating Chocolate Reese Peanut Butter Cups at 8 AM!??!)
I have some good material for just having my phone for a little over two weeks. Sadly, all of the real gems are probably stored in my old cell phone that I don't have anymore. Give me a few months and I'm sure I'll have more funny text messages to share..!
Oh and Alina wanted to say Hi- Happy Monday Blogland.. !
I have come to realize that Q and A blog posts aren't always interesting for people to read... But I also know that I will read the entire Q and A if - 1. the questions are interesting 2. the answers are funny and there are pictures that keep me entertained. So, I decided that I would answer 10 questions asked of myself and other bloggers by Deidre at Decoy Betty. She tagged me in her post and instead of following any of the rules that go along with being tagged, I am going to just answer the questions instead!
1. When life gets busy how do you stay motivated to blog?
One thing I made a rule of, was to post every other day. I don't think I could handle the pressure of having to come up with a post every single day. It would get boring for my readers because I would be reaching for topics to talk about. I also believe that the quality of my posts would drop drastically. I need that extra day in between to think up a good post to feel inspired and excited to write about. I have realized that my little eight month old Alina is growing up and she needs me more and more. So it's hard to set her aside, to play on her own, while I type out a post. My posts take me at least an hour to put together and it's just not fair to her. Short answer: I don't burden myself with having to post everyday.
2. What recipe is like "your thing" to make?
To be honest we don't really have people over for dinner. We do have bbq's in the summer time. So my favourite bbq food that I am proud of is my pulled pork in the crock pot, my tuna pasta salad, my mother in law's bruschetta (it's to die for!!!) and my mother in law's Buffalo Chicken Cheese Dip. It's really bad for you, but deeeeelicious. I have recently discovered Martha Stewart's Classic Chicken Pot Pie and I've already made it twice because it's really delicious AND I always, always do well when I make recipes by Amanda from Rhyme and Ribbons. Seriously, just make her Mongolian Beef recipe. It's amazing.
Martha's Chicken Potpie that she made from her website and my Mongolian Beef. The picture doesn't do it justice!
3. You are throwing a blogger dinner party which five bloggers do you invite?
Eeeeeek! That's me squealing at the very thought of- 1. getting to meet my favourite bloggers. 2. having the chance to sit down and TALK to and DRINK with my favourite girls. This is going to be hard because I have a lot of favourite blogging friends, but I'm going to be honest and choose the girls that I've had real connections with.
Seriously, Sarah has the BEST sense of humour of anyone I've ever read so far. She would have me probably peeing my pants at this imaginary dinner party and I think I would encourage her to wear that 'bird hat' she's wearing in the picture. If you haven't visited her page yet, please do so and to get her humour, just check out her "About The About Page" she has on her home page.
Amanda @Rhyme and Ribbons
Oh sweet Amanda. She is an American born actress living in England with her English boyfriend. She enjoys being silly, giving me A-mazing recipes to try and exploring all of the history that England has to offer. I love this chicky because she's genuinely sweet and a child at heart.
I don't "know" my twins, but I think I know that Areeba is on the left and Noor is on the right...!
Noor @ Noor's Place and twin sister, Areeba @ I Have A Messy Bun are a packaged deal, so they only count as one guest. These two I have connected with so much in the short time that I've been blogging full time. I adopted them as my little twin sisters. They can come to their #BigCanadianSis anytime they want and I sincerely mean it. I am ignorant when it comes to other parts of the world and these girls are happy to answer any of my questions! I would enjoy sitting right smack in between these two at my imaginary dinner party. They love their food and so do I! We would stuff ourselves.
Miss Jade resides in South Africa, living her adventurous, outgoing, spirited life to the very fullest. I have a feeling that if she came to my imaginary dinner party, it would indeed become a party. I know Jade and I would probably end the night together. Everyone else would retire after a few drinks (this is an assumption- imaginary prove me wrong other guests) and the two of us would just drink and gab for hours..!
I love Helene. I see her blog on my Bloglovin' feed and I'm excited to check out what she has going on in her world. She's a good blogger and those aren't always easy to come by. She is also really funny. Check out this post and watch the video to really get her sense of humour. It wasn't until I saw this back in October that I realized how FUNNY Helene is. It's hard to read certain kinds of funny. But she certainly showed off her humour in that tutorial. She would bring her weekend playlists to this imaginary dinner and get the party started!
Alex and I have one important bond and that is that we're Canadian girlies. I had to have one of my fellow Canucks join me for this imaginary blogger dinner. I feel like Amanda and I have connected with some personal experiences in life. I think we would end up having a good time chatting at this dinner and I also think afterwards, maybe the day after, while we're all nursing hang-overs I could convince her to watch The Conjuring again, and she would see that it really is a scary ass movie!
I just realized, as I was proof reading that I totally cheated and have SIX bloggers listed. (Technically SEVEN because I made the twins a packaged deal... Oh well- my imaginary dinner- my rules!)
4. When the dentist asks you, "Have you been flossing everyday?" and you say, "Yes of course." are you lying?
Simple answer; yes of course, I am totally lying.
5. If you have a life list type thing what are the top five things you want to tick off in the next year?
I haven't made a life list, but I could think up some things that I'd like to realistically do this year;
1. I'd love to at least have the children's story I have in my mind written.. I really want to have illustrations drawn out as well. But that's a little too ambitious. I don't think I'll find the time to really work on it as much as I'd like to!
2. I hope for Rob, Alina and I to have a mini holiday once the winter has passed. I will be back to work in the spring and I know I don't have any holidays banked. So it will have to be a short get away. But leaving the mundane day to day behind, will be a nice break for all of us.
** To be honest- I'm boring myself answering this question because I am being realistic and this next year isn't going to be too interesting for me because I can't really take time off of work, so I'm just going to quit at 2. **
6. We all say we love to receive letters but what's the one thing that inhibits you from writing and mailing them?
I am a great letter writer and sender! I have a number of pen pals that I write to. I even dedicated a postto letter writing and how much I enjoy it.
7. What's your guilty pleasure? (t.v. book, movie, snack)
T.v : Gilmore Girls. I could watch episode after episode of that cheese fest of a television show and not get sick of it. It used to be on t.v. all of the time and Rob would complain that he was sure I had seen every episode at least once. Try at least three times! I loved their sweet town, Luke and his diner and of course, bad boy Jess in the early episodes.
Book : Guilty pleasure reads... I would have to say that I am obsessed over any kind of romantic situation in a book. I enjoyed the Twilight books because of Bella's lust and desire for Edward and how it was a struggle for them to be together.. I love any story line where two people are totally into each other and the whole book is about trying to get them together again. I seriously won't put the book down until my lovers reunite even if it's just passing by in a coffee shop. I remember in the Twilight series, when Bella and Edward are a part, I would skip through the pages until I saw the name Edward again.. I would be pissed that it would be at least twenty pages until he was mentioned. Yeah, that's a guilty pleasure. Romantic stories aka Haley's porn.
Movie : Again, I love a chick flick. I would have to say that I love all good, mushy lovey, romantic, tear jerking movies. I especially love it when it's funny, actors with good chemistry that kiss well and it's a big bonus if it's set around Christmas. There's nothing better than a chick flick but if it's during Christmas... well talk about the best of both worlds! The movies I have chosen as my top four favourites are the ones I remember being a touch obsessed over and I have certainly seen them a time or two or ten..
Snack : This would have to be separated into categories to be a fair question to ask..
Salty: Old Dutch Jalapeno n Cheddar Crunch Chips (talk about a mouthful!)
Sweet: Assorted candies from the convenient store OR chewy gobstoppers OR Mike n Ikes.
Chocolate: Any chocolate with mint OR chocolate covered almonds OR Charleston Chews. (Seriously, this is just what I'm craving right now! This would certainly change from day to day!)
Finger Food: Wings! Oh, I make a mean Teriyaki Chicken Wing. It has sugar in the sauce so it turns into like a candied wing when it's cooked. That is definitely a favourite. Plus they're suuuuper good to eat cold right out of the fridge at night, or right before bed the next day for lunch. In fact, I'm making them for supper tonight!
8. What is your favourite thing to clean around the house and why?
I feel like this question is some sort of sick joke. What do I like to clean? Hmmm... I don't mind folding towels and Alina's baby clothes. I also really enjoy putting her clothes away because I have total control over her dresser drawers. I won't let Rob put anything away because he doesn't get that each pile is categorized; Pants, Sweaters, Long sleeve shirts, t-shirts, onesies, sleepers, etc. She's still new to me, so putting away my daughter's clothes in her very own room brings me joy.
9. What does Thanksgiving day with your family look like?
We had Thanksgiving last month and I wrote about it HERE.
10. What is the most liberating thing you've ever done and why?
I survived pregnancy and giving birth. I honestly feel like a real woman through and through. I'm not saying that women that don't have babies aren't real women. But for some reason, when I was pregnant I felt like I was doing exactly what nature intended.
Man, do I ever look tired in both of those pictures!!
Thank you for reading through my questions. I promised that the answers would be funny and entertaining and I know for a fact that they all definitely weren't. So if you bared with me throughout the entire list, I leave you with a funny and entertaining video as a reward:
It's #BackThatAzzUp Friday with Yoga Pants and I have a song that we played as we marched up the 'aisle' once we were married. It's a fun, catchy tune that always has me tapping my toes plus it brings me back to one of the best moments in my life! Please enjoy Jon and Roy's "Little Bit Of Love!"
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