Giveaway Announcement!!!!

If you missed Q and A Part 1 (Exercise, Diet, Weight) look here.
If you missed Q and A Part 2 (Hubby, Education, Life) look here.

If you have a question ask me here!

I am so glad Monday is done. Mondays and I don't get along very well.
Going back to real life after a weekend is TOUGH!

Last night I enjoyed a grapefruit, my favourite winter fruit:

I have noticed lately that people either love or hate grapefruits ... what about you? Do you love them or hate them? Or are you in between?

My siblings and I have always loved pink grapefruit juice. We would fight over the last glass when we were kids. We also got it in our stockings. Sick, I know.

Breakfast this morning was one of the best bowls of oatmeal I have had in a long time. I made it with 1 cup of Almond Breeze and 1/2 cup quick oats. I topped it with 1 scoop of chia seeds, 1 t maple flakes, 1T almond butter, and 5 yogurt covered raisins. The yogurt covered raisins got all melty, and it was perfect!

Lunch was leftover veggie pizza (a couple slices) and an orange:

For dinner I made fajitas! I had 2 and dipped them in green salsa:

This evening I made an amazing tropical smoothie.

Tropical Smoothie
(Reminds me of an Orange Julius!)

- Juice 5 pineapple rings, 2 pears, 1 mango
- Throw the juice into a blender with 1/2 cup Coconut Flavoured Coconut Bliss (Ice cream made with coconut milk instead of dairy) and 1/2 a frozen banana.
- Press the smoothie button and blend until smooth!





Wow! It was sunshine yellow, and tasted like I was on a beach in Hawaii.

GIVEAWAY ANNOUNCEMENT
(Open to readers in the US and Canada)

I was fortunate enough to receive an email from Cat who is a PR Rep for Skin MD Natural. She offered to send me a bottle of Skin MD Shielding Lotion to try and review. She also offered to sponsor a giveaway in which one of my lucky readers will win a bottle themselves!

I am VERY picky when it comes to lotions. I refuse to put anything on my skin that has chemicals in it, and ingredients that are in any way unnatural. Our skin is our largest organ, and what we put onto it should be as high of quality as what we put into it.

I wash my hands a lot, as I spend quite a bit of time in the kitchen. I also use drying hand sanitizer at work. I wash my hands at work, or use hand sanitizer 10-20 times a day. I also live in windy, cold Saskatchewan, where my hands literally take a beating.

I have VERY dry hands in the winter. It gets especially bad when the seasons change, which they do so drastically in Saskatchewan.

I was very pleased when I read this information about Skin MD Natural's Shielding Lotion:

"Made in the US using high quality natural ingredients, making it over 90%
all natural. All ingredients are considered to be of food grade and are also
on the FDA's most safe list. It is free of harmful fragrances, parabens, and
colorants making it hypoallergenic. We don't participate in animal testing
nor does the lotion contain any animal products. Our lotion is also
vegan-friendly and gluten-free."

"A shielding lotion is unlike any other conventional, artificial moisturizers
because it works with the skin to naturally moisturize and heal. Most
conventional, artificial moisturizers only add moisture to the surface of
the skin, but do little to repair the skin's natural barrier against
moisture robbing irritants. Continued use of artificial moisturizers can
cause the skin to actually begin producing less of its own natural oils,
thinking that the skin has enough moisture. This can cause skin to form a
dependence on the moisturizer for hydration. Skin MD Natural breaks the dry
skin cycle by working to help restore skin's natural protective abilities by
bonding to the outer layer of skin, strengthening skins natural barrier
against toxins and irritants that can dry the skin, while locking in the
skin's natural oils."

When I received this lotion in the mail last week I tried it right away.

It absorbs instantly, and leaves no sticky or greasy feeling.
You can't even tell you have lotion on after about 10 seconds.
My hands felt instantly softer, and they were noticeably less dry after 2 applications.
There is no smell to the lotion like there are to some other lotions.

I love that you can use it on your face, hands or body!

You only need a VERY small amount, as it goes a LONG way! I like that because I want this lotion to last me a very long time. I will definitely buy some when my free sample runs out.

Want to win your own Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion?
(120 ml bottle, $18 dollar value)

I will be holding a giveaway that will close Tuesday March 2nd.

To enter:

1) Leave me a comment telling me what kind of lotion you currently use!

For Extra Entries:

2) Blog about this giveaway and leave a comment letting me know.
3) Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment letting me know.
4) Become a follower, and leave me a comment letting me know.

The winner will be chosen randomly and Skin MD Natural will send the lotion directly to you!

Busy Thursday!!

This post is going to be short and sweet because it is past my bedtime!! I have had a really busy evening, visiting my SIL in the hospital (she had her gallbladder removed!) and running errands. I had a great day at work though, and cannot believe that tomorrow is Friday already!!

Today was all about cravings. I was craving nutrients this morning.
I am weird like that.

I made a potent GREEN monster with 3 cups spinach (steamed), 1 cup almond breeze, 1 scoop chia seeds, 1 pack Amazing Grass wheat grass, 1 T almond butter, 1/2 cup Greek yogurt. It was protein rich and high in nutrients:



I also had my usual morning java:



Lunch was leftover chicken chow mein that I made last night. Someone asked if it was homemade, and yes, it was. I also had an orange and some cheese:



And I had about 6 or 7 chips with salsa at work. It is teacher's appreciation week this week, so we are loaded up with goodies!

I had b-ball game to coach after work (we are 4 and 0!!!) and only a few minutes to eat dinner after the game. We had some boxed asparagus soup:



And a grilled pear and cheese sandwich with dubliner cheese, and an Irish stout cheese:



I love adding pear or apple to grilled cheese!

After all our running around this evening I was craving protein! I had 2 scrambled eggs with Sriracha hot sauce - the world's greatest hot sauce:



I am loving the questions that are coming in on my "Ask Me Anything" feature! Keep 'em coming and I will do a couple Q and A posts this weekend!!

I am VERY excited to be going out tomorrow night to celebrate my good friend Alaina's b-day!!!
We are having dinner at a restaurant called Teppenyaki, and then going out dancing. I have another b-day party at a friend's house Saturday night.

What do you have planned for the weekend?

Ask Me Anything!

ollowing with a very popular blogging trend, I have opened the lines of anonymous communication with an "Ask Me Anything" feature.

Have a (friendly) question for me that you want to ask anonymously? Click here to do so, and I will share some Q and A with you all as the questions come in. Just be sure to click on the anonymous box if you want to remain anonymous!

It is finally starting to warm up in Regina, and I can sense that spring is not too far away - just the idea of it is making me giddy! I cannot wait to start doing the C25K (couch to 5k) program again. I didn't make it very far this fall, as it started to get too cold. The second the snow starts to melt I am getting my running shoes on! It is so foreign to me to be excited about running, but for some reason I really, really want to run.

Are you a runner? If so, what do you love about it? Did you love it right away? Were you good at it from the start or did you suck like I do now? :-)

My eats this morning were simple, but delicious (and very carb-laden now that I look at the pics). Breakfast was a lovely bowl of banana and coffee oats topped with almond butter and maple flakes:





The maple flakes are SO good. I am not a huge fan of maple flavour typically, but I love these. They add a little crunch too.

Lunch was leftover spaghetti and meatballs, and an orange:



My water bottle is SO dented (from dropping it constantly) that people at work were making fun of it. Hehe. One of them said it looked melted. I don't think you can melt metal that easily, but who knows. It does get HOT in Regina in the summer time.

For dinner I made chicken chow mein:



I plan on having some fruit or veggies as a snack and curling up with the hubby to watch some American Idol! I just love that Ellen is the new judge!!

G'nite.

Got a question for me?

Fighting it Off

woke up this morning and felt the beginnings of a cold in my throat and head. I had to drag myself out of bed. I needed something to boost my immunity, so I had an immunity smoothie with a banana, TwisterPower Superfood Blend that Navitas Naturals sent me to try, some Amazing Grass, chia seeds, and Almond breeze:

It was a delicious, chocolaty elixir:

I felt okay throughout the day, but not 100%.

Lunch was leftover stew from my Irish dinner party:

As well as an orange and some cheese:

I picked up some homeopathic cold pills on the way home. They have worked for me in the past, so I am sticking with them.

Dinner was curried chicken, some brown rice with salsa, and 2 mini samosas.

Samosas are one of my most favourite foods.

Have you ever had a samosa?

I wanted some cold-busting vitamins for dessert, so I had an orange and a grapefruit:

I also had 3 of my valentine's chocolates and a mini KitKat.

I am going to bed early to try and outsmart this silly cold. You can't get me coldy, no, no, no.

What is the first thing you do when you feel a cold trying to get you!!??

I usually:

1) Go to bed early
2) Take homeopathic cold pills
3) Take vitamin C and D
4) Load up on citrus and other healthy foods
5) Gargle with salt water

I have kept 2 or 3 colds at bay already this winter with those 5 things, and have not developed a cough yet this winter (which is a first for me I think).

Our Valentine's Day

It was so nice to have the day off today! It is family day in Saskatchewan. The hubby and I spent the day celebrating valentine's day, since we had a "family" day yesterday.

Last night was my father-in-laws birthday dinner. We had a very German meal with potatoes, perogies, sausage, and creamed corn:

My favourite part was the perogies, which I topped with sour cream:



For b-day cake we had cheese cake. I had a sliver.



This morning the hubby got up earlier than me and made buttermilk pancakes for breakfast. They were wonderful. I dipped mine in some syrup and had a pear on the side:





He also gave me the most wonderful chocolates in the world - Bernard Callebaut chocolates. If you are EVER in Canada, or in one of the two states that sells these chocolates you need to try them. They are uber expensive, but they are seriously the most divine chocolates I have ever tasted.



I ate about 3 yesterday, and like 6 today. I am hooked. The texture blows me away. Hard and crisp on the outside, but soft and creamy on the inside. They taste SO fresh, and so pure. All the ingredients are TOP quality.

The hubby also bought me tickets to see "Tuesday's with Morrie" at the live theater. We are going on Saturday afternoon.

We were out grocery shopping this afternoon and picked up a sandwich from the deli at Safeway for lunch. I had the Italian Garden sandwich with provolone cheese, artichoke hearts, and other veggies:



After lunch I made a cup of tea, had a bath in epsom salts and read a magazine. It was the perfect way to spend the afternoon. I tried this tea that Navitas Naturals sent me:



The aftertaste was JUST like the aftertaste you get after eating a piece of chocolate. It was excellent. I would definitely buy this tea.



I made the quintesential romantic dinner for tonight - spaghetti and meatballs.

We started with a goat cheese and mixed green salad with fig balsamic dressing:



And then we had some of this wine that our dear friends Jeff and Alaina gave us:





The wine and food were delicious. What a great night!



I had a wonderful 5 day weekend, and am actually feeling good about going back to work tomorrow. I feel relaxed and refreshed.

How was your weekend? What was the highlight?

Happy Valentine's Day and GIVEAWAY WINNER!!

Happy Valentine's Day

Giveaway Winner!!

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 20 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

The winner of the "Things I Love" Giveaway is Anais from ThroughGreenEyes!! Please send me your address and I will ship out the package tomorrow!! Congratulations!!

Saturday Re-Cap:

Saturday morning the hubby made a lovely breakfast of eggs, toast and OJ:

We spent the afternoon with our nephew having a play date at a friend's house. We had fast food for lunch, which we rarely ever do. I had a small flame thrower from DQ and some fries.

It wasn't that great:

Last night I had a bunch of girls over for a girl's night! We had appies, drinks and good conversation. It was lots of fun. Everyone brought a different dish to share.

I had 1 slice of pizza, and 1 breadstick:

Some fruit and dip:

A piece of this veggie/ cream cheese dish:



Some mini quiche and 2 jalepeno poppers (not pictured):



My favourite thing was triscuit crackers topped with cheese and apples tossed in cinamon and sugar. It is a weird combination, but it totally worked:



I had a really fun night, and met some new friends :-)

Today we are spending the day with family. We had brunch with my side of the family (I had the southwestern breakfast):



We are having dinner with the hubby's family for my father-in-law's b-day.

We will be celebrating valentine's day tomorrow in our house - tomorrow it is a holiday in Canada (Family Day) so no work for us!!

How are you celebrating Valentine's day?