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Good Morning, hope all is well for everyone out there.

I have done it once again... Forgotten to blog and keep track of myself, for myself. Well today I'm hoping that will change. I heard once that it takes 22 days to form a habit, so for the next 22 days I will be consistently trying to make an effort to post something once a day, even if its a little picture to show myself what that day was for me.

This morning I woke up early ( my usual wake up) at 6:30 am and got ready to go for a run. Got my 6.2 miles in today (10 km) and then afterwards did a total body circuit. I can't lift quite as heavy as I did in the summer, probably because I took some time to regain my own sanity, rather then lift and run.

My mom went to Costco yesterday, and we are now officially Costco Members! WOO! She bought a bunch of things I love, a big box of unsweetened almond milk, Coach's oats, Hummus, Fresh Salsa, Mary's Crackers, Kale Salad, and my personal FAVORITE...2 HUGE jars of Mara Natha ALMOND BUTTER!!! YUM is all I can say.

Long Run Monday

Good Morning!

Welcome to Monday -- New Day, New Week, New start to your goals.

This week I decided to experiment a little with my food intake. I wanna monitor certain things i am putting in my body, to see if they are the reason for all the stomach pains i get randomly (at least once a week). I follow two sisters on Instagram @purlylori and @purlymichelle. They are currently learning more about what causes them the have the bloated belly syndrome...making it look like your 5 months pregnant. This is something that happens to me also.

Here are my Goals for January 14-20 ( week 1 )

-Increase water intake
-Eat foods slower
-Avoid highly ferment-able foods (minimal acidic fruits)
-Cut out dairy & wheat products.

I was told that this is similar to the Paleo diet. I'm doing to do more research into that form of eating. I'm not into the whole cutting things out of my diet unless its something that is causing me harm. So ...maybe use it as a guideline!

When I woke up this morning I had one word that popped into my mind. Ambition. I decided to need to put that word to us. As of today January 14, 2013 I will be posting a word of the week on my mirror and posting it on my IG feed, #aprilsmirror. Throughout the week whenever I feel I'm losing focus I wanna be able to go to my mirror and look at that word, then look at myself and remember what ambition means to me. I also left room on the page for me to write down what ambition means to me that moment. I wrote down focused this morning. I knew I was heading out for my long run, and i knew i would need to focus on my pace, breathing, pain, heart rate and overall posture.

 Like I just mentioned this morning was my LONG run. I did 9 miles today & abs.

After my workout I picked up my handsome boyfriends beautiful puppy Bella <3.



Then we headed back home to refuel with BLUEBERRY COCONUT PANCAKES!! mmm


3TBSP Coconut Flour
1TSP Baking Powder
1/3 CUP warm water

Cook on pan with coconut oil, top with sliced banana and blueberries heated up in the microwave.
I also drizzled PB2 on my pancakes :$ in LOVE.
Unfortunately I was SO excited to eat that I didn't take a picture :( I need to get better at that.

Have a great Monday Everyone!

New Experience

Happy Saturday!

Yesterday I went over to my Tyler's for dinner and a movie. He had bought Teriyaki chicken and Crab legs! :O. Since neither of us had ever cooked crab legs before it was totally a whole new experience for both of us.

Crab Legs (back), Bukgar wheat (front), Chicken  (grill)

With that being said...they were amazing...absolutely perfect! Chicken breast 2 crab legs with TONS of meat inside them, Bulgar Wheat and a big salad (for me :P )

My Dinner :)

With that being said...they were amazing...absolutely perfect! Chicken breast 2 crab legs with TONS of meat inside them, Bulgar Wheat and a big salad (for me :P )

Tyler's Man meal. No veggies:P

Dinner was amazing, and definitely a learning experience. All we had to do for the crab was thaw them in cold water in the sink, boil them for 5-7 minutes, lets them simmer for 10 ish minutes and serve them hot. On the instructions we were following it said to rinse them legs before serving, but that made them cool off. I think next time we try to make this for dinner, I will rinse them and then pop them in the broiler for a few minutes to get them how and crispy! Then they will be hot and melt in your mouth! mmm I can't wait.

After the amazingly filling dinner, we cleaned up and got his apartment nice and dark like a movie theater! 

Thunder Buddies for Life!

We flipped through the movies on demand and both decided that TED was funny enough the first time that we'd see it again! So TED it was! :D

It was a nice relaxing evening together!

**** 

BRIGHT and EARLY this morning, I got up to go to the gym to get a run in before work. 6.2 miles of intervals at 2 minutes easy (7.1) to 1 minute of moderately fast (8.5). 50 Minutes later I completed 6.2 miles (10km) and had to rush off to work. 

Refueled my muscles at work with a Blueberry, Strawberry, Banana bowl of PROatmeal! :D

1/4 cup blueberries
1/2 cup chopped strawberries
1/2 Banana
1/2 cup oatmeal
3 egg whites

And my green tea on the side for something hot to sip on...along with my 4L of water for the day!


HAVE A WONDERFUL SATURDAY <3

New Gym and Pancakes

 How was everyone's Tuesday? Mine was great, its been busy but I cant honestly say, sometimes i like to be busy on the go. This morning my Great auntie, her boyfriend and their adorable puppy Portia left my house... on their journey back home through the snowy mountains! I saw on the weather channel this afternoon that there was a snow fall warning for the mountain pass they were traveling through! Praying everyone travelling out there tonight has a safe trip.

Puppy Love
Aria, Portia, Bella

Mom and the girls

After the the 3 of them left, what did I do? I went to the gym of course! I recently just switched gyms, from a community recreation center to and actual Fitness Club! I needed a change from what i had been doing for the passed 3 years and figured I go to a different Gym. I am SO happy with the switch! It's much smaller, less people and the members actually have gym etiquette. :) 

Shower

Aside from those things...my membership also includes access to individualized sauna's and the most amazing showers I have ever seen in a gym. I'm in love with my gym.

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ALSO some more LOVING in my life.. my post workout PANCAKES I've been making!

With Blueberries

Blueberry Banana Coconut Pancakes

3 TBSP Coconut Flour
4-5 Egg Whites
1/3 CUP warm water


1. Mix with a fork or a whisk until a thick liquid (add more water or milk of choice if needed)
2. Pour pancake mixture onto griddle with a smidgen of coconut oil on medium heat. Slice up a banana and place slices on top of pancake(s). Allow pancakes to cook 3-5 minutes before flipping.
3. In a small dish, filled with frozen or fresh berries...heat in microwave for 1:30. mash them with a fork and set aside for topping your pancake(s).
4. Enjoy

These are SO delicious..you could top them with anything, I've added almond butter or Greek yogurt. Be as creative as possible :)


One more thing I LOVE

New Years Eve 2012 <3

December 1st

Good Morning, and Happy Decemeber 1st to everyone!


December is by far one of my favorite months only becuase it means CHRISTMAS is right around the corner. I love the Holiday season and everything that comes along with it. Family and friends gathering together to spend time with one another in celebrations.

One thing that i started doing last year that i quite enjoyed, was posting a Christmasy picture on my Facebook account as a Christmas Countdown. Since I'm not a HUGE fan of having chocolates everyday, this was a great alternative for me to get into the countdown and have a little fun with it.

24 Day Till Christmas (Today's Photo)

I wouldn't just post any old Christmas picture i could find. Generally the picture on posted on the specific days had a meaning behind it. For example, my momma bear and I enjoy going to see the Nutcracker every year at Christmas time so I posted a picture of a scene from the ballet for that particular one. If anyone reading this is from the Vancouver BC area, I Highly recommend seeing the Goh Ballet's rendition of traditional Nutcracker. It's a beautiful display of colors and performance. 

Christmas Day 2011

December 1st marks the start of all the Christmas Events for my Mom and I. Although...On Thursday we did happen to go to the Vancouver Christmas Tree Lighting! :D I am a little sad that I work this Sunday because it is the Santa Claus Parade down town. I've ALWAYS wanted to go, but I've always ended up working on that particular day.

***
One of my favorite bloggers, Courtney at Sweet Tooth Sweet Life is holding a Challenge  for the last month of the year! The Challenge is simple, 2,012 repetitions of a few exercise's of your choice. Go on over to her post and check it out! There is already over 300 participants that have accepted her #closeoutchallenge.

Off to do some work on this Blustery Saturday morning.

....Just kidding...its not so blustery as it is....pouring rain! gross.

Enjoy your Saturday!

Full Week Success.

Well...I am proud to announce that today marks the official 1 week stand against Peanut Butter consumption.

I knew if I set my mind to something I would be able to do it. :) I am thinking that I may just keep on going with this though. See how far I am able to go, who knows...perhaps it will be a dietary change for me.

Since I had such great success with that this week, I am thinking that I'd like to do another challenge for myself. I am a HUGE cereal monster....I just absolutely cannot stop at one bowl. So since this could be a bit of a problem when you can consume a entire box to yourself in one sitting , I thought it would be wise to make this a new challenge.

Nature's Path Organic Crunchy Maple Sunrise.
Favorite cereal

1 Week minimum without snacking on the cereals in my house. They are all in a cupboard about the stove, so lets hope and pray that the saying "out of sight out of mind" is true in my case.

****
Jumping backwards yesterday...

I worked the evening shift 3-11pm, typically when I get off work I immediately get ready for bed once I am home. Last night was a odd case. I decided to bake....CUPCAKES. I made chocolate fudge and vanilla swirl cupcakes, with White chocolate buttercream Frosting that I found one Courtney's Blog.  This girl has SO many amazing dessert recipes and dinner recipes. She is definitely one of my favorite blogs out there.

My house currently smells like a cupcake! :D

I hope everyone had a Fun, Safe, and Happy Halloween! :D

Staying Accountable...

Short post for my own personal satisfaction... I decided last night to go an entire week (minimum) without my love...peanut butter.

This may sound like its an easy task to many people...but let me tell you..this is a true test to my own willpower. I'm happy to announce that it is 8:00pm on Friday night and I have no had one single lick of Peanut Butter today. Going strong! gotta keep it that way for 6 more days. I've also up'd my h2o intake, I set alarms for every hour on my phone to remind me to chug some water during the hour.

I thought it would be sorta silly at first, but its actually been so helpful! I've had water by my side literally all day, with the exception of an hour or 2 where I was over at a friends house.

Anyyywaayyyss, thats about all i have for that before i start to ramble. Check in day 1.