May Foodie Pen Pal REVEAL

May was my first month participating in the "Foodie Pen Pal" Program, and I must say, it was awesome! I am excited to participate again in June.

Here is a bit of information on Foodie Pen Pals:

• On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions. 
• You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!   
• The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!  
• You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)  
• Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.   
• Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We've determined things might get too slow and backed up if we're trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. 

If you’re interested in participating for June, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

You must submit your information by June 4th as pairings will be emailed on June 5th!

Okay, so this month I sent Miss Bailey at Onederland or Bust a box of goodies. Go check out her blog!


My box came from a lovely soul all the way over in Quebec. Françoise was kind enough to fill up my box with amazing things for my new house. The items inside were so thoughtful, they will all go to good use.

Inside my box was:
- Hand knitted clothes and a tea towel; These are amazing. They are beautiful. I was very touched when I received something so personal for my new house. These will go to good use.
- A Quebec Magnet; Somehow Françoise new that I collected magnets. I don't have a fridge of my own, but when I do I have about 30 magnets that will be going up. I look forward to adding this magnet to my collection
- Quebec Water; drank this pretty much right away as I had just gotten home from the gym. Was very fresh and clear tasting (if that makes sense?)
- Organic Quebec Oats; Holy yum.
- Quebec Honey; My boyfriend loves honey on his toast. This honey is drippy and tasty.
- Salt and Peppa; Perfect for a couple who doesn't own shakers!

- Minced Garlic; My dad saw this and instantly asked if he could use some on his steak at supper. I kindly obliged. He loved it ;)
- Old Fashioned Mustard; I am a mustard fanatic. I seriously dip everything into mustard. Carrots. French Fries. You name it.
- Handwritten Recipes; Honey Orange Dressing, Carrot Soup, Savory Mustard Pie, and Quick and Easy Tofu Burgers, all of these recipes use the other ingredients sent to me. I have made the Honey Orange Dressing and had it on a salad - it was so light and crisp! I forgot to snap a picture of it.


Here is a picture of the Tofu Burgers:

These were super easy to make and very yummy!


So Foodie Pen Pal #1 was awesome. I am so happy that I took part this month and I am so thankful to Françoise for creating such a personal and lovely box for me.

Honor Your Health

10. Honor Your Health--Gentle Nutrition Make food choices that honor your health and taste buds while making you feel well. Remember that you don't have to eat a perfect diet to be healthy. You will not suddenly get a nutrient deficiency or gain weight from one snack, one meal, or one day of eating. It's what you eat consistently over time that matters, progress not perfection is what counts. (source)

My mantra for healthy living: Consistency and Commitment. Without either of those things I wouldn't be where I am today. This journey started out as a quest of "Skinny" and has brought me to a quest of "Health". Things such as proper portion sizes, exercise, choosing vegetables, not drinking often, indulging in a little bit of dark chocolate - those are the things that bring you health over time.

A lot of losing weight is a mental struggle against yourself. You make a poor decision, you eat the "wrong" food, and it sends you spiraling. You beat yourself up for it. Foods become "good" or "bad". You can't eat out because god forbid you eat over your calorie limit for the day. I have been there. I have experienced all of those things. I think it is part of the process of shedding who you once were and discovering who you want to be.

I have talked about this recently because I believe that honoring your health means more than just eating and exercising - it means living to the fullest, enjoying decadence, tasting dessert and savoring it. Not beating yourself up but accepting food in moderation.

This is no a place you will come to over night unfortunately. It is a gradual acceptance and transition. Be consistent with your food choices, with your healthy attitude. Be committed to yourself - because lets face it, you are the most important thing you have. Be ready for the journey. Be ready to learn. Be ready to fall along the way. But most importantly be ready to succeed.

A review:

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Nine

My New Running Gadget

Up until now I have been a fairly technology-free runner. Sure I use my Ipod, but I have never worn a GPS watch or paced myself. Sometimes I wouldn't even time myself. I was more focused on the experience of running, the joy from it. The more I run (and I finally feel "back in to it" after my wisdom teeth surgery and complications) the more I get curious about my speed. Especially with my recent success, I am hoping to try and one day do a sub 2hr 1/2 and then move on to a full marathon. I think these are both relatively attainable goals. However if I am going to learn about pacing myself more I need the tools to help me do that.

Enter the Nike+ SportWatch GPS.
I researched for hours what type of watch I should buy. The Garmin led the pack for the majority of my search, followed by the Nike+, but the bulkiness of the Garmin finally got to me. Plus: the Nike+ is green. Of course I needed to buy it.

Today was the initial "test run" hehe. I enjoyed it very much! I hardly noticed the watch (it didn't feel all funny) on my wrist, and it's large screen is easy to read. It even said "Great First Run" when I finished :) Thank you GPS Watch, Thank you very much.

It does take about 2min to connect to sattelites, and it offers a Nike+ Shoe Pod that is compatible with Nike+ shoes in case the GPS cuts out, but I am not too concerned right now about that because I don't want to get all caught up in the pace-game. I just would like a rough estimate of my speed as I am going and then will work on it from there. So far, this watch seems to do all that and more.

Do you run with Gadgets? I am still in the need of a good and unbulky hydration system. Any suggestions?

WIAW - Its a Rainy Day

Good day! I have been working lots and lots, which is nice, but also throws me out of a routine. I am going to have to get used to preparing supper for 2 (I like to make Matthias something healthy and satisfying for when he is done work) even though I will be at work myself by the time he is done and home for the night.

Oh! That's right - I suppose I should give an update on the Job Sitch. I told my Remand Manager and she was really good about it. I am finishing up my orientation there and will stay on the roster for casual shifts, once I get my full license (beginning of August) we will see whether I will stay on or not. I also start my Mental Health Orientation on Monday! Nice :) The position is full time Evenings (hence the switch up of routine) but I will get used to it. I generally like the evening shift, I feel like I get lots done during the day because I am up by 8am latest. It will just be different coming home to an already sleeping Matthias. We will adjust.

Here are my delicious food choices for today:

Breakfast; Peanut Butter Cheerios that I purchased on Ebay with Almond milk and Banana
Snack After the Gym; City Roast Monkey's Lunch Mocha - 1/2 skim chocolate milk, 1/2 coffee, no whip (It has a mix of Banana and Kahlua syrup - yum)
Lunch; I don't generally like frozen meals, but I like to try them at least once, especially if they are "healthier" versions. This is the PC Blue Menu Mac and 3 Cheese with mixed in frozen peas. It was just ok.
Snack; Apple
Supper; Huge Salad with Newman's Light Olive Oil Dressing
Snack Numero 3; Cut up, almost past it's prime peach, Square of Chocolate and Carrots to munch at work

Exercise -- Feel the Difference

9. Exercise--Feel the Difference Forget militant exercise. Just get active and feel the difference. Shift your focus to how it feels to move your body, rather than the calorie burning effect of exercise. If you focus on how you feel from working out, such as energized, it can make the difference between rolling out of bed for a brisk morning walk or hitting the snooze alarm. If when you wake up, your only goal is to lose weight, it's usually not a motivating factor in that moment of time. (source)

The one principle I feel I have mastered! I absolutely love exercise.

My love of movin' my bod' didn't start out as love. When I started losing weight of course I knew I needed to exercise. The most I had ever done in the past was dance as a teenager and this was not enough to keep me thin. I loved dance, but knew this wasn't the only type of exercise I could do to lose weight. I wasn't active in gym - I only took it because my gym teacher was cute. I didn't know anything about running, weight lifting, what I needed to do to start an exercise routine.

I have said it before - for me I needed to master the eating part before I could even think of the exercise part. It wasn't until about 7 months in that I started an exercise routine. It started out simple. I tried to do the 30 Day Shred or do 30 minutes on my Dad's elliptical 4 times a week. I had already been paying for a Gym membership since September when they had a sale on joining, but I hadn't used the membership once. I came up with excuses - it was out of the way, I didn't have my gym clothes, I didn't have enough time -- you get the idea.

Once I signed up for my first 10km run I knew things had to change. Excuses wouldn't get me across the finish line. Hard work would. It was still winter when I started running (February!) so I thought what better way to put to use my gym membership. I was already paying for it. I followed my Hal Higdon training plan on the treadmill and as the days got nicer I brought my running outside. I expanded my exercise and tried some classes at my gym. It was instant love. Working out with a group full of other women is truly motivating. It was invigorating to see other women of all shapes and ages trying to get healthy. I really believe that every little effort pays off. Once I started taking classes and running full time I knew I wanted to expand my horizons.

I will do anything that moves me, anything that I think is fun. These things include: Running, Exercise Classes, Spin (!!!), Walking, Hot Yoga, Hiking, and once in a while some work out DVD's (Jillian FTW). If you are just starting out with an exercise program start small - figure out what you love, what you hate, and what you'd like to try and then go for it! You will get stronger/faster/fitter.