Food Addict

Hello Friends! It's been a while!  It has been a crazy few months that now find me in a completely new, hectic but unbelievably rewarding routine. For those of you who don't know, I've gone back to CHBC TV as Producer/Anchor of CHBC News at 11.  It's a position I worked in for almost nine years, but left six years ago to pursue other passions--fashion and small business. Now, I'm doing both and managing family and household.  At first thought, it seems impossible but it has all fallen into place. I still have the store - Influence.  I work there in the morning, however, I have reduced my actual 'in store' time.  I still pick up my girls from school and ferry them to their various extra-curriculars.  I still make dinner and eat it with my family.  The change comes after dinner.  Instead of curling up on the couch, I slip into a skirt and blazer and head off to work.  It's a whirlwind that sees me return to my driveway at 1...

Hello Friends. Where did the time go?  It's a statement that runs through my mind numerous times a day.  I'm always pushing the limits.  Just five more minutes on the treadmill, just one more minute on Facebook, whatever it may be I'm wondering when I will learn that there aren't any more minutes in my day.   Something always has to give.  It's something I'm trying to drill into my children as well.  I'm sure it's a universal thing, but mine are always trying to negotiate one more minute to do this or that.  Ava 1 Day Old On another 'time' front...how is it that I have an 11 year old child? (well, almost 11)  I dropped her off at the 'babysitting' course today.  I found myself surrounded by other mothers and daughters, many of whom we went to 'Small World' pre-school with a decade ago.  It was a moment for me.  Ava 3 yrs Old We aren't close friends, but I see these mo...

Hello Friends! It's been a month of  'cleaning' for me...not my house but my diet.  I have considered myself a 'clean' eater for years now, but I've discovered in the last four weeks I wasn't as 'spotless' as I thought!  A nibble of this, a gnosh on that...it all adds up!  So I tightened the reigns and guess what?  I lost eight pounds in the first 10 days.  Now, I am not a scale person.  I usually go by how my clothes and bathing suits fit/look.  I do like the scale now and it propels me forward. I have increased my workouts as well.  Six days a week I do 30-50 minutes of cardio in the morning, followed by targeted weight training immediatly following the cardio or later in the day. (Usually P90X)  I've also come across some great synergistic workouts (working multiple muscle groups at the same time).  Jillian Michaels Trouble Zones is a great one!  P90X Plyometrics and Core Workouts are great too!  I use these if...

Hello Friends! This is the most excited I've been about a food find in a while!!  I've been eating 100% clean, no sugar etc. for 10 days now.  I feel fantastic, but sometimes there is a need for a bite or two of something sweet!  I came across a recipe from Jamie Eason for Protein Ice Cream.  It's very simple to make...and the possibilities are endless.  My kids and my husband were amazed. Basically it's 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk (regular, vanilla or chocolate) 1.5 scoops of protein powder (I used chocolate/peanut butter) Fill a large ziploc bag half full of ice and pour in half a cup of table salt. (not your fancy sea salt...just regular because you are not eating this...salt makes the ice colder!) Mix your protein powder and almond milk in a bowl, then transfer to a small ziploc bag.  Seal it, place it inside the large bag and then seal that.  Now put on some oven mits (or something to keep your hands from freezing) and shake for abou...

Hello Friends, Well it's been a few days...some changes have been occuring that have kept me from the computer keyboard.  Nothing, life or death, just some moral and physical dilemma's that have forced me to look deeper at what I believe and the life I intend to create for myself.  I made the decision to adopt a Vegan lifestyle in February.  I later became an almost-Vegan when I added Whey (milk) protein back into my diet.  This week I became Vegetarian (for reasons I will discuss at a later date) I added egg whites, cottage cheese and yogurt back in.  Last night, I became a 'Pesce Vegetarian' as I prepared and ate a meal of fish.  Sounds like a slippery slope, doesn't it?  I can assure you though, this is as far as I intend to go.  I don't like labelling anything, we are all free to eat the way we want.  In many respects, a diet free of animals and animal products was a positive choice for me.  However, in terms of my da...

Hello Friends, I've had some moments recently where I've been feeling taken advantage of.  I'm keeping it real here...it doesn't really matter what the situation was, I just know I spent a lot of time thinking about how lucky 'those people' were that I was so understanding!  Anyway, I was out for a run yesterday with Dr. Wayne Dyer chatting at me in my ipod.  He related a poem that caused me to actually stop in my tracks and laugh out loud!  "Wayne, how did you know I needed to hear this?" The Cookie Thief ~ Valerie Cox A woman was waiting at an airport one night With several long hours before her flight She hunted for a book in the airport shop Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop She was engrossed in her book but happened to see That the man beside her as bold as could be Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag between Which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene She munched cookies and watched the clock As this gutsy cookie thi...

Hello Friends! How many vitamins and supplements do you take?  I'm always reading health magazines that tell me I should be taking 'this' and 'that'...but how much of it is really necessary?  My husband would say none of it is...he loses his mind when I come home with bottles of pills. I feel I have whittled it down to a respectable number of bottles...I even bought a little pill organzier to keep it all straight.  OK, so here it goes.  This is what I take on a daily basis. Vitamin B.  As a vegetarian I'm not getting B12 in my food...this is the solution. Don't you find you just have more energy when you take Vitamin B?  Someone also told me you lean out when you have B6...don't know if it's true..but I like thinking that it is! Here's some bone builder...standard.  Although, my mother-in-law says something about too much Calcium actually having the opposite effect on our bones???  Ugghh...who knows?  I'm taking it anyway! He...