What's YOUR Strength & Motivation

I asked a very general question to a selection of friends. Friends who inspire me and friends who I know take their health pretty seriously. There are so many people who could/should have been on this list, but I selected some friends who I thought would be more than happy to share how they honestly feel.

I sent a message which went as follows:

"Hey hey! I'm doing a blog post on strengths and motivation and I wanted to do a survey on some of my friends. If you're not comfortable, it's ok .. cause it will be posted. So ... motivate me!!I will be mentioning first names but NOT last names. So, What do you think is YOUR biggest strength?What keeps YOU motivated to stay healthy?"


Very general, I know. It could have been taken in many ways but that's fine, because I loved the responses and different perspectives.

I won't give last names to keep it mysterious (dun dun dunn) though I'm sure you'll all have a pretty decent idea of who they are (some). And as much as I'd love to tag them on Facebook, since Facebook is like .. sooo popular and sh!t .. I'll avoid doing that also.

So, the great responses from some of the most AMAZING friends went as follows:

My Mother

(obvious if I had said her first name anyway)

Valens

"My strength is that I am a nerd and I track my performance. I set goals for myself; whether it be the distance I run, the time it takes me to run various distances, or the amount of weight I can lift for a specific exercise (squats, dead lift, bench press, military press) or reps for body weight exercises (push ups, pull ups, dips).


I track my exercises in a notebook and I check my progress every month to make sure I am on track. This also helps me make adjustments to my calorie needs based on my performance.


There is nothing more motivating for me than to see that I have gone up by 80 lbs in squats or dead lifts. Or that I've shaved off 5 mins on my 10 km time. Competing with myself is the best motivation! The limits to your performance are set by you and not anyone else. I have often surprised myself by what my body is capable of and I hope I keep on pushing these limits.


I never thought I would be able complete a half marathon after breaking my ankle. Let alone doing it in under 2hrs on my first attempt.

Do not underestimate the power of the mind."

Emily

Shaneen

"Biggest strength is probably the ability to maintain a healthy, yet balanced lifestyle.
Motivation is to decrease risk of acquiring preventable chronic illness and maintain a optimal health and well-being."

Honey ;)

Rob

"Motivation for health: when I look 20 or 30 years down the road I want to be able to live life, look good, feel confident, and not carry around the weight of regret from years of not treating my body like I should.

Biggest strength: my care for others and my longing to help people find the best in themselves."

Nicole

Joanne

"I'm not sure what my biggest strength is . I do love a challenge and that is what keeps me coming back....the want to push a little further...balance a little longer....walk a little farther. I don't like to be normal...My massage therapist says that I am extreme. I really love the mind fu*k....like your saying....Your body can do anything, you just have to convince your mind.

I really love the free buzz that you get from exercise. It's free and lasts way longer than any that you have to pay for.

I also have a partner that loves the same stuff so that really helps. We go on a lot of adventures...big and small. I just find I really feel alive when I am doing these things. I love it when I see a friend start to exercise and they start to glow and have more energy and feel good about their body."

Steven

"Perspective:my ability to shift it and roll with the punches. My life just runs better when I stay healthy, sometimes I have to remind myself of that."

Stephanie

Shawna

"Ahh what keeps me healthy? I think from working in the healthcare sector, that I can see the importance of long term healthy-active living. It's a driver to keep me going. Also, I always like the challenge of pushing myself and feeling the reward after the workout. It's a very personal achievement that noone helps you with. It's all from your strength and determination to keep pushing."

Karla

 

Tobi

Christopher 

"Victoria, this might sound super stereotypical, but my family is what keeps me motivated. Waking up early and long days: the only motivation is to put bread on the table. Stay healthy as possible: the need to be always top shape to support the fam."

Courtney

"What keeps me motivated ??? It started one year ago when I saw how fitness changed my best friends lifestyle and how happy it made her ! Vic motivated me every step of the way .. in and out of the gym.. When I joined Heavy Weights she was there pushing me through it, always saying anything is possible and keep going your doing it. Never one bit of negativity and from there I saw changes.. Motivation is different for each and everyone, however for me the biggest motivation was Vic (little does she know) as I saw Vic change her lifestyle and the way she lived, it made me want to me more like her and place those lifestyle changes into my own life ... Then it was the motivation of the NLABBA that kept me going. I realized that once you had a goal that you set, that anything is possible.

My biggest motivation was getting to the stage. It didn't matter to me where I placed , I just new that having the support from friends and my trainers Kayla and Jon were all I needed.. But my biggest motivator and biggest strength was Victoria .. We done it together , we trained our asses off and meal prepped And we done it as a team.. We were team mates ! My biggest strength was teamwork. Working together and doing it together !! It was never a game of doing it for myself, it was the strength of knowing I'd do it for the 16 weeks and was doing it for me and Vic ! And well we did !!! In November as i walked the stage of the NLABBA

Out of all the blog posts I've written to date, this has been one of the most touching. And obviously, it wasn't I, who wrote it. The reasoning behind some of these people made me really question what keeps me motivated. It had me thinking about my biggest strength, and to be honest, I don't have a paragraph to share with you guys because I haven't really figured it all out yet. I am, however, on the path to figuring it out. Strengths and motivational reasoning are continuously changing for me, so maybe some time I'll check back.

Side note: Courtney, I had goosebumps when I read what you wrote. Seriously. I actually had stomach knots. The good kind :) You inspire ME, and your NLABBA pictures, and living proof of what hard work, motivation and determination can accomplish!


Finishing up, I would like to give a HUGE thank you to:

• My Mom
• Valens
• Emily
• Shaneen
• Honey
• Rob
• Nicole
• Joanne
• Stephanie
• Steven
• Shawna
• Karla
• Tobi
• Christopher
• Courtney

You guys are truly, amazing!

I've re-read your posts over and over and over. Not kidding. I've had this written for days and days and was waiting for the right moment to post it.

You guys ALL rock!

Stay awesome and thank you SO much for everything shared for this post :)

Treadmill Roulette & Donuts for Days

18 days of Christmas vacation starts today! F*ck yaaa! So pumped. Like, so so pumped! I can't wait to go to bed, turn off my phone and have zero alarms set. That's ZERO alarms! yippee!!

Like mentioned in previous posts, I plan on staying active throughout the holidays and hopefully, kick running back into gear.

Don't like running? Don't think you're coodrinated? Never ran a mile in your life?

You're probably better at moving those legs than you think! Perhaps it's time to start switching it up and making running fun! This can be done, I promise you.

If you have me as a friend on Facebook, you'll notice that last night, I posted a picture of a Treadmill Roulette I had planned for the evening. I had big plans to get my jog on after work but was a little lazy. I figred if I posted it on Facebook, then I'd be held 100% accountable for my 'roulette'.


What is Treadmill Roulette you ask?


I got the idea from CNC (obv) when she posted this last January. I mentioned it to Tiffany months a go, and she actually tried it before I did. It's a great way to stay motivated while running and you can make your own rules according to how you feel. Don't quote me, but I remember Tiffany texting and saying how she loved the idea and had punched out 4+ miles with her 10 selections.

My roulette was similar to the one CNC used, but I changed my speeds (because when it is your roulette, you can make the rules, friends).

There are definitely a number of questions you could replace with determining your speeds and that's where I need your help. I'm looking for suggestions :)

I'm hoping to pick up the pace next time (maybe?) but I realistically, 10 songs can be pretty lengthy .. but again, it's your game so you choose  the rules.

First, I was gonna lower the speeds cause my back is still sore from my jog on Monday. I decided to keep as-is because I had pizza at work (what!!?!) <-- I feel justified to admit that .. so I needed to workout workout workout .. and I am so so so glad that I did just that!

The morning started with Victoria skipping all of the above ahnd feeling pretty damn good about it.

Then it was lunch time and it was a Mary Brown's lunch that my old boss invited me to for the scaffolders. I accepted the offer but only for social reasoning (cause I miss them o so much). So instead of donuts and chicken, I opted for protein pancakes and spaghetti squash.

And then I was on the go for the afternoon and came back around 4, starving! One of those 'give me anything and I'll eat it'. The sadest thing was, there were healthy alternatives in the fridge but at that moment I had that 'whatever , everyone else had it and I've been good all week'. So I ate two little squares.

After work, I was determined to rid the pizza calories so I headed directly to the gym, and actually had a deadly workout. My totals are below:

4.21-mile run in 41:05. It's actually not an overly fast pace if you average it out but I was definitely feeling it.

Side Note: I have gum in my jaw in that picture. I'm not missing teeth. Just sayin'
Double Side Note: Something great I've started to notice from having a blog is that I no longer care too much about how I look in online pictures (as you can tell by what I post on a weekly basis)

After my run-izzle, I did some crunches and kettlebell swings.

 

So, some questions to sub in the roulette game are:

1. Is the song by a single artist or band? (yes/no)
2. Is this a new addition to your playlist? (yes/no)
3. Is the artist(s) over 25 years of age? (yes/no/unsure)
4. Have you listened to this song more than 10 times in the past week? (yes/no)
5. Is this a dance beat? (yes/no)
6. Is the lead singer/artist single? (yes/no/unsure)

But that's just a few ..

Gonna take some brainstorming I think.

While I'm here, I just wanted to share my 'Try Something New Tuesday' from earlier this week. I was busy this time around so didn't get a post completed, but I did try something new.

This is definitely not something I had planned on trying, but when I came across the package (and was extrememly hungry at the time), I said f-it and got a box.

Smart For Life is actually an energy bar! It's chocolate covered and absolutely delicious! And BIG. Like a lot bigger than you'd think it would be for 190-calories.

Definitely something I'd eat again!

Anyways, I'm gonna go plan finish up my morning, day dream about holidays and get pumped for The Annual Kris Kringle that takes place tonight! Yayyy x 10!

Happy Thursday, friends :)


Questions:
1. Do you like treadmill running?
2. What do you do to keep your running interesting?

Snow Days are Sweaty Days

Hi guys,

How goes the beginning of the week? (well a day in). Mine is g-g-great! I had yesterday off (technically work went ahead, but myself and a few other decided to kick it at home due to the snow the night before). When I woke at 4-am yesterday morning, I was snowwwed in .. so I didn't feel guilty staying in bed. It wasn't until around 10-am that a good chunk of the snow had melted and I was able to steal the neighbors shovel and shovel myself out for the first time at the new house! Muscles magee - right here!

After I got my sweat on for a good 30-40 minutes, I headed inside to start my day. My late morning began with a catch-up on blogs like Carrots 'N' Cake, 125, Losing Weight in the City and Peanut Butter Fingers. I then chowed down on my classic protein oat pancake, sipped one two black coffees, updated my playlist and wrote down a few daily tasks.

druggy there with the pills photo-bombing my picture..
ps. antibiotics from the lymph node infection

After breakfast, I did some things around the house, grabbed a quick shower (I was heading to the gym anyway, but just felt like I needed a wake-up) and read some more of my book. I started The Happiness Project a while back and then stopped when I started a different book. I've started from page 1 again and am loving this book!

After I got out of 'relax-Vic' mode, I headed to the gym for a treadmill run / incline walk.

I was gonna do a short fast run but was in the mood for a long cardio session (been really missing it lately) so I decided to slow it down and stretch it out. My run was broken down into the following:




ps. new playlist additive - Spiderwebs by No Doubt!

GREAT tune for jogging

After the jog, I did the 1.0-mile incline walk (second picture) at 4.0mph. Kinda just wanted to stretch out the legs.

And then I did a 10-minute upper body workout.

rough face I got .. I was tired

3 x 10 reps - Dumbbell chest press
3 x 10 reps - Side lateral raise
3 x 10 reps - tricep dips


Since I'm here rambling about my run jog, how about I update you with my treadmill playlist?

1. Monster - Eminem & Rihanna
2. Home - Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
3. Get it Right - Miley Cyrus
4. I want your love - Royal Wood
5. Elastic Love - Christina Aguilera
6. Glam - Christina Aguilera
7. Spiderwebs - No Doubt
8. SOS - Rihanna
9. Man Down - Rihanna
10. Only Girl - Rihanna
11. The way we touch - We Are Twin  < -- DOWNLOAD IT / YOUTUBE IT
12. Chain my name - Polica

Note: All of the above are hyperlinked to the associated youtube video. Please listen to the bolded songs. They're ma fav:)

I was at the gym for over an hour and a half, and I can't lie, I was pretty beat from the jog. I had planned to finish my Christmas shopping, but instead I headed home as I was sick to my stomach with hunger. I knew if I stayed in town, I would probably eat something that I would regret later so I trucked to Pouch Cove and had some leftover vegetable pesto spaghetti squash.


..and then wrapped Christmas for 2+ hours

I finished my evening pretty early. I was sitting in bed reading at 9-pm and asleep shortly after 10-pm. O happy days!

So, the plan for tonight? I need to shop, workout, write up Christmas cards, read (last on the list), and be merry :)

Also, before Thursday morning, I really wanna get some baking in. Though I'm with the structural team now, the scaffolders still have my heart :) Le sigh .. and I wanna make them Christmas cookies but I'm pressed for time (guess I should have hopped on that train yesterday when I had a snow day). Anyhow, I saw this quick and easy recipe from Julie @ pbfingers and it looks pretty delcicious, so perhaps I'll have a little date with Dominion tonight. I can drink coffee, bake cookies, blast music and dance!

One more thing ..  totally gotta give credit to Lizzie @ lizziefit for this one! I noticed this recipe on her website this morning and totally have to make it! I'm a HUGE fan of oats and she said they're delish! Time to switch it up for the holidays I think :)

On a side note, can I show you guys two items that have been saving my life lately?

Is anyone else experiencing sore lips and hands from the cold weather lately? oh.my.god. Both are killer for me. I have pretty much every kind of Burt's Bees lip balm but this passion fruit flavour is an absolute must have.

The vanilla lotion is from Bath and Body Works and has been a saviour with my hands cracking up from being in and outdoors.

Moving on ..

My back is SO sore today .. and my sneakers were giving me some arch issues yesterday so now it's inserts vs. new runners, right? Yup, new runners for sure!

I'll leave it at that as my I'm writing this post through my breaks at work and have to go be productive and give myself credit for being like the most awesome person in the world. Cause I am, obv! ;)

Happy Tuesday, friends! :)

Question
1. How much do you generally spend on Christmas gifts?
2. Any quick and easy cookie recipes?
3. Do you miss running/jogging when you give it up for a while?

Sources for this post
http://mariandaniells.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/happiness-project.jpg
http://lizziefit.wordpress.com/
http://www.pbfingers.com/

I'm so all over the place

Hey hey hey! Just wanted to stop in for a quick weekend hellooo! I haven't been writing much lately because I've been trying to get to bed earlier in the nights seeing how I'm constantly exhausted (blood work is coming).

Anywho, just wanted to recap my pumping Saturday night and see how everyone elses weekend is. Like the title says, this post is soooo all over the place. But I don't care..

Saturday after work, I was planning a workout but I decided to get groceries instead. The gym closed at 8 and I didn't get back to town until almost 7. I tried to justify it by telling myself that I needed to straighten out the physicals, and that would get me in a positive mindset for eating and exercising. I had very little groceries and I still had 5 days left of work. I had no poultry and was OD'ing on protein powder to get my protein. Not good. Definitely not even close to natural. My house was also a mess!! It actually deserves wayyy more exclamation marks. Worst. O, and I needed to empty the dish washer/re-load, empty the dryer/fold, wash more clothes and tidy the back of my car.

So .. though Costco was closed (rattled since I needed my lovely little egg whites), I headed to Dominion.



On the grocery list
bananas
apples
Chinese bean sprouts (wtf?)
romaine lettuce
spaghetti squash
avocado
field cucumber
mushrooms
sweet potato

egg whites
whole eggs
honey greek yogurt (this was on sale so I tend to avoid the sugars on the bottom)
shrimp ring (it's Christmas)
pork loin chops
COD (yup, gonna give this sucker a try)

simple lunch pre-made salad
olives
roasted red pepper hummus
vegetable hummus
tzatziki

Ok, not sure what your thoughts are, but I only paid like $70.00 for all of that! That's a steal for groceries, correct? I thought so anyway.

After I left Dominion, I headed home to get some things done. My eating has been a little all over the place so I decided to make a healthy weekly casserole of some sort.

Choice? Vegetable Pesto Spaghetti Squash. Ha, totally winged this but it turned out a-m-a-z-i-n-g! Like, amazing! (I probably always say that .. it doesn't take much to please me in the food department). The recipe you ask? O, ok. Here goes ..

Vegetable Pesto Spaghetti Squash

1. Cut a spaghetti squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Bake squash in oven on 350-degrees for approximately 30-minutes.

2. While the squash is baking, cut up some vegetables of choice (I used mushrooms, red and orange peppers, broccoli slaw, Chinese bean sprouts and green onion) and mix in 1-2T of Epicure seasoning and 2T of lemon infused olive oil [you could definitely use extra virgin olive oil. Emily stocked my cooking cupboard with some new treats :) ]

3. Saute your selection on the stove top.

4. Then using a spoon, scoop out the inside of the spaghetti squash until all the noodles/strands have been completely removed from the outer layer.

5. When the squash has been scooped out and the vegetables are cooked, add to a casserole, mix and serve! Yum :)

And now I have lots of meals that are healthy and delicious! I waste SO much food but have recently made it a point to reduce greatly .. so this means I'll have to eat it allllll!!

Moving on ....

After cooking, I grabbed a shower, did my laundry, did the dishes and was in bed by 9:36-pm! Bam! And that's how it's done, friends! (minus touching the back seat of my car that is covered with gym clothes - yes, both clean and .. not so clean) .. "omg, Vic is sooo gross". O shush!!

So, about that skipping the gym (cough again cough) thing. What are your thoughts on structure in correlation to chores? If you have a messy house, so many little tasks you've lost count, have been eating half bad and know that when you get home you'll have no supper nor lunch ... are you generally more inclined to have a poor workout?

I find when I have my chores done, my meals prepped and a plan, that I'm more likely to have a deadly workout. When all is failing, I feel like a slob, who just wants to skip everything and go to sleep in the hopes that the morning will be better. Poor attitude, I know. 

So today came. Big bad Sunday. I woke up early, got my coffee and ate like a champ all day! I got lots done (but was still a little tired).

Check out this HUGE apple that I had before lunch .. oops



this.was.massive

And I got a present at work from my amazing boss and his awesome wife (Hi, Tobi). He's technically my x-boss but he's still my favourite and I don't like the 'x' -part!

Some random thoughts (cause that's what I have to result in when I have nothing interesting to say):

• I wanna shave the underside of my hair. I'm constantly googling the scrillex look. Love love love!
• remember that beautiful handmade pillow I ordered a few days a go from Feeding the Orphans? Well I ordered another one (ordering one didn't seem right) and then my mom got me to order her two! Isn't that awesome? That's $40.00 for the ladies who make them. Makes me feel so tingley inside 
• Lorde finally released the song Team. Absolutely obsessed with her album! Love
• I need to step up my cardio. I miss the treadmill O so much
• everyone in the office ate Mary Brown's today. I had pesto spaghetti squash. I'm ok with this though
• I'm definitely gonna follow all the tips I left a few days a go on eliminating holiday weight gain .. BUT, I kinda-really-wanna make a 'set' schedule of workouts .. but I'm afraid of being over-optimistic. Then getting rattled. Then eating nanimo bars for breakfast .. we'll see, we'll see
• Ok, it's a little early but I'm starting some Ireland planning as soon as the new year hits! I've already got lots in mind ..  (waves at Rob)
• I need to shave my legs

So, seeing how I've given you my grocery list, told you I washed a damn dish, shared a 'winged' recipe, was vein and showed a gift and had a little rant, I figured I'd leave you with a list of some things that this princess is loving lately.

anddddddd ... GO.

Paradox Thermal Shirts

Omg, guys! These Paradox shirts are my absolute favourite. I've posted pictures of myself wearing the blue one in the past but I just had to buy the other two. I'm not a huge fan of pink but for $14.99, I couldn't go wrong .. Costco, baby!

These shirts are warm, comfortable and affordable! I have the grey pants, also :)


David's Tea

David's Tea are a win win always! I drink it regularly but Karla left me this variety pack when she left and I'm havin' a tymeeee 'on da tea'. Loves.

Lulu Racer Backs

So I have 8+ racer backs from Lulu but none with a real design. Val surprised me with this reversible racer when she got back from Florida/New York and it's my new favourite! O, and it's reversible (so I can trick the boys at the gym) dun dun dunn..

Heritage Pumpkin Scented Soy Candle

I was so disappointed with my experience at Target. Maybe it was my mood? I don't know, but I found the store far too overwhelming and scattered. You actually needed a day to cover all of the departments. After spending maybe 20-minutes there, I walked out with Christmas tags and a heritage pumpkin candle. Omg. The candle.. The candle is the nicest smelling candle I've ever lit in my LIFE! No joke .. it puts me in a very 'zen' mood haha (I know, it's all in my head) <-- wannabe yogi here.


Louisiana Hot & Spicy Epicure Dip Mix

I started putting this seasoning on like everything!! I stocked the cupboards with a Christmas order for cooking and baking in the new year. You're probably bored with reading about my love for this, but  I just can't help it.

Merry 25th Christmas, V

To: Victoria

From: Victoria

'hope you've been good' ;)

EAT PRAY LOVE

And I already decided that I'm not watching this movie over the holidays. Not watching it ONCE that is!! ha, this sucker is going into my computer and being played until I can walk away with a life lesson (so many life lessons to be learned. watch it bah)!

Spring Scarf

I have this weird feeling that I already told you about this but I wore this baby for my photo shoot (just took the tags off) and fell in absolute love with it. It was supposed to a Christmas present .. oops. (Spring - 20.00) <-- I'd buy every color if they were available.

And that's a wrap. I truly hope everyone is having an exceptional weekend and have the best week everrrr!! 4 more days and it's Christmas holidays! Woop whoop, KBAC!

Ps. pleaseeeeee make tomorrow a snow day!!

Questions

1. Have you had any crazy workouts this week?

2. What do you usually buy when you go grocery shopping?

3. Do you like spaghetti squash?

4. What is your #1 fav thing right now?



Random Weekly Rant 5.0

• sooo CONGRATULATIONS to Ms. Stephanie O'Reilly on her engagement ! Totally had to be the first point in this post as it's HUGE news and cause I'm so so so happy for that beauty :) 
• omg. The dog next door is a small squeaky barker! The yappy kind. The 'hey Victoria. I'm not gonna bark all evening until 10 or 11 when you're trying to sleep. And FYI, Victoria? I like to loiter outside your damn bedroom window)
• NL running recently updated the 2014 Road Race Calender :) yayy check it here
• I have a post coming VERY soon (as in a few days) that describes the strengths and motivation behind some friends that inspire me and don't even know it. I'll give you more detail when I actually hit publish! Here's a sample ..

• I've been loving my blog lately, guys. Thank you thank you! (YOU are why I love it)
• baby tomatoes + almond butter = not so much a time
• I'm still SO obsessed with Songza and 'Blogged 50'. Fav song?

please please please DL it?

• I'm having such a great week! And it all started cause I'm been starting my mornings at the office with a great attitude :)
• ok, confession .. I've got twitter. I was told that I have to do it for the blog. That is all.
• haha, had the "I think my email is down at work" moment this week . Where I say: "ya, my Internet is down" and he says "mine isn't" and I say " ya, I haven't go en an email in almost 3-hours. Something must be up with the server" and he says "weird..I'm getting them"..and I said "O shit, nevermind, just got one. They just started coming in" and he says "no. I just sent you one to test your theory. Not as popular as I thought I guess..
• got another safety award at work this week..the George Foreman get meh skin-nayyy

  

  bring on grease-free 2014 steaks maybe?

• my fav blogger, CNC is PREGNANT! Fun fun .. but .. this could be a good vs bad idea for me. I'm seeing a lot of healthy living blogs turn to mommy blogs (dear Mothers, I'm not anti-children .. just like the variety of reads)
• I never finished the mulberries .. I couldn't get past the bird food comparison. Ugh .. even the smell
• look what I found at lunch the other day :) It was knee high

• my #1 fav blogger, Liz, just landed a new job. Look at her description:

"I wanted a job where I could actually contribute to something worthy. Help grow and build a company. Make a difference. And I found it! From the colourful walls, the fully stocked kitchen, the unlimited vacay(!), the open concept office, the friendly hellos, my 1-on-1 steak welcome lunch today with the CEO, the welcome gift basket, the multiple screens, brand new laptops, Windows 8.1 (which I lurrrve), it’s night n’ day to what I’m used to. The company moves fast, and I am ready to jump all in, and hit the ground running." [source] doesn't it sound amazing?

• thank you for all of the kind words when I was having a sh!t week last week. Drama mama .. right here! Ugh
• I have so many Christmas cards to write up (cause I'm obviously sooo popular, right?)
• I have so many Christmas presents to wrap (cause I wrap for myself, papa and mom)<--only a little for mom
• Things I'm looking forward to over the holidays
• peppermint lattes
• Christmas tree and fire place setting while reading books
• skating at Bannerman park?
• Starbucks at Christmas (man, what an exciting I live)
• Christmas baking
• festive dinners
• hosting a Christmas brunch (pesto egg wraps and crockpot surprise)
• champagne and orange juice on Christmas morning
• gift exchange with Tiffany and Shaneen
• Secret Santa on the 20th (pot luck .. helloooo)
• boxing day celebrations with family / Tif & Adam Wall
• blogging blogging and more blogging
• drinking drink and more drinking
• this morning a Toyota Corolla .. with a spoiler, 'badass' stickers, tinted windows and souped up rims, burned rubber in the Tim Horton's drive-thru, after reving 'er "rawr rawr' to get the ladys attention. They didn't get a coffee.
• Ok, scrap the fatty salad dressings and try either mashed avocado or mashed sweet potato!! Seriously, this was the best salad I have ever eaten!! (and yes, I made it and yes it was leftovers haha) <-- get over yourself, Miss Wade 

• I need a playlist update BAD. It would improve my excitement for a run tremendously
• I took 3 days off the gym this week. F it!
• I'm so exhausted lately. Like, BEYOND tired ..
• I'm also so hyper lately. Weird, hey? Over-tired I'm thinking
• I've started my '2014' list ! Yayyy .. it's consuming me
• Sneak Peak of 2 Items from the 2014 List
• Bring a meal or coffee/coffee shop treat(s) to a homeless person atleast once a month
• Document 365 days (my365 app) of my year! Of memories that I can look back on in January 2015 (as you can tell, I got 7 photos deep last year.. oops)

 

• I'm so pumped to take a night this week and sit, sip a peppermint latte and read blogs (so behind)
• I really wanted to do something nice for the less fortunate over the holidays. A guy at my work told me how he's sponsoring a family this Christmas
• look what I ordered yesterday guys?



source

I recently read a blog post by pbfingers that she did on "Gifts that give Back". She featured the item above by a organization called 'Feeding the Orphans'. Feeding the Orphans actually have their own site and blog that can be found here. This organization handcrafts different items by single mothers in Africa and the profits goe towards helping the mothers provide clean drinking water, food and an education for their kids.

The description for the pillow is as follows:

" These beautiful handmade throw pillows are cut out by one of our single moms and then sewed together by another mom. Each purchase is providing a sustainable income for both moms PLUS providing food, water and education for other children. They are approximately 13 inches x 13 inches and make the perfect accent for any couch!"
[source]

Ya.. pretty excited. It's so beautiful and it's for such an amazing cause :) I kinda wanna order another

• I ate this on Wednesday/Thursday - I try to avoid baby 'bleached' carrots and cut my own, butttt I had so many vegetables left from the housewarming last week

• and then this for the next 3 days!

• I ate this Friday. I deemed this a 'treat day'. Ha, I had 1 donut I should say .. damn Jeanine and her every-second-day treats to the office (she's ma boss)

• But then I kicked out a chest/tricep workout with Rob last tonight and I'm feelin' like a rockstar ;) 
• the I sat at Starbucks with a grumbling stomach and drank/ate non-beneficial-post-workout-snacks

• I really wanna try snow-shoeing
• I'm not religious but please please please God (even capitalized 'his' name) give me a snow day tomorrow
• I've been loving white wine lately and can't wait to drink it and feel classy over Christmas
• I can't wait to shave my legs, do my hair, do a hair treatment / skin treatment, paint my toe nails, pluck my eye brows and dress like a lay-day .. I sometimes I forget that 
• ok, finishing up with an "OMG THIS MORNING I SAW 11 STARS ON THE DRIVE TO WORK! F-yahh! The Geminid meteor shower is supposed to be the biggest this year (approx. 100/hour). So awesome/exciting, right?
• new awesome website containing photography and general livestyle: www.nllights.com .. check it .. dare ya
• sorry if this blog post is boring haha
• in case I don't have time to write tomorrow, I just wanted to let you know that some awesome, special, adventurous young fella has a birthday tomorrow :) Happy Birthday ya beaut!

Later Lovers :)

If you'd like to check out my previous rants, click the links below:

Random Weekly Rant 1.0 (September)

Random Weekly Rant 2.0 (September)

Random Weekly Rant 3.0 (October)
Random Weekly Rant 4.0 (December)