Menu Plan Monday 2015 #12

Wow! It has been a while since I have written one of these! I wasn't feeling well there for a while and fell a bit off the wagon...but, I'm back!

So...on the menu this week...

Breakfast
Sunday: Cereal
Monday: Same; applewich for kiddo; cereal for hubby
Tuesday: Apple cinnamon oatmeal
Wednesday: Applewiches
Thursday: Peanut butter banana toast
Friday: Apple cinnamon oatmeal
Saturday: Egg sandwiches

Lunch
Sunday: Avocado toast with fried egg
Monday: Leftovers/eggs/smoked meat
Tues-Friday:
Kiddo: Sandwich with egg and fruit or leftovers
Hubby: Hard boiled egg with cheese and nuts
Me:
Tuesday: Avocado toast with egg
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Ladies lunch...still not sure what I will make yet
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Broccoli rice noodle soup

Dinner
Sunday: Easter...eat out
Monday: Tacos
Tuesday: Chicken legs with potatoes and broccoli
Wednesday: Hamburgers with rice and squash
Thursday: Rotisserie chicken with potatoes and broccoli
Friday: Pizza and salad
Saturday: BBQ chicken with rice, salad, whatever leftover veggies there are

Snacks
Hard boiled eggs
Cheese
Apples and pb
Pepperoni
Nuts

Workout Schedule

• Sunday: 5 mile run, challenges, and stretch
• Monday: Warm up, quick sweat workout, 5 minute workouts, challenges, stretch
• Tuesday: 2 mile run, challenges, stretch
• Wednesday: 3 mile run, challenges, stretch
• Thursday: Warm up, quick sweat, quiet apartment workout, challenges
• Friday: 5 mile run with a boot camp in the park
• Saturday: Stretch and challenges, possible bike ride
• Sunday: Challenges and yoga

Goals

• cut final bit of added sugars {my one cube of sugar in coffee is all that is left *le sigh*}
• no processed foods {gotta get off the cereal, which is a recent reintroduction and I do not feel well after eating it}
• finish Hawaii section of scrapbook
• get balcony set for spring
• organize craft supplies...don't have many but the few I do have are a bit out of control ;)
• make packing lists and itineraries for Berlin and London
• keep up with A to Z Challenge

Weekend Fun

• Saturday: Bike ride to enjoy the sun and 60 degree temperatures
• Sunday: *possible* trip to Keukenhof, but may put this off until next weekend

Doesn't look to be an incredibly busy week, but should be relaxing and full of getting stuff done! What are you up to this week?

P.S. Linking up with Mommy Run Fast, Jill Conyers, and I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Currently, Vol. 4

I am really loving this link-up with Becky over at Choose Happy! I love finding out what is going on with my bloggy friends and sharing my thoughts with others!

Finishing....our itinerary for our Berlin Trip in May.

Pinning....Paleo Macadamia Nut Chicken Salad and other healthy recipes. Looking to cut down on sugar and going to completely cut it out during March, so gathering ideas.

Watching....Gilmore Girls. Lots and lots of Gilmore Girls. Didn't watch this when it was a new series so catching up now!

Best. Line. Ever.

Planning....our 16th Anniversary trip to somewhere warm so we can be in bathing suits and sunning all day....

Thinking Santorini is that destination!

Loving....Saturday night date night with the hubby, I forgot how much I love us getting all dressed up and going out.

So, what are you up to, Currently?

Currently, Vol. 2

Well, this weekend sure was a busy one! The hubby left on a business trip and the kiddo had a showcase for cheerleading plus my Scottish friend had a get together for Burn's Night. So much fun to be had, it passed all too quickly! But, here's a run down, plus my currently.

Saturday I took the kiddo down town and we found a floating bike rack...because, ya know, it is Amsterdam and when you have underutilized floating space you turn it in to stuff...

After some shopping we grabbed some pasta and I'm such a little old lady with my Ginger Ale, but I have to stop drinking carbonated beverages they really hurt my stomach.

Then I headed to my friend's house for burns night...it was so fun and the Haggis was delicious! ...seriously, I actually really enjoyed it.

Sunday after the kiddo's cheer competition we had to go buy a printer so stopped at this Asian restaurant. The Ajax had either just played or were getting ready to play and the place was PACKED! So packed you could hardly even get in the restaurant, but that was the bar part the part to eat at was nearly empty! ha!

Check out the rest of the party over at Choose Happy

Thinking about...the hubby. He is out of town on a business trip then he is going to visit our parents over the weekend before he comes home. He get to be there for Super Bowl, so fun! 

Wishing for....some bbq sauce, a box of kraft dinner, and a fit bit and possibly a copy of the Thug Kitchen Cookbook  *hint, hint, wink, wink*, but he really didn't have much room left in his bags, so his safe return will do just fine!

Thankful for....all the one-on-one time I'm getting with this girl. Over the last few days we made some t-shirts together. She sat with me while I embroidered this Nirvana Quote for her and we worked together to churn out 5 other shirts for her. This is quality time and I feel like I am teaching her something valuable about homesteading like embroidering/sewing, ironing, and creativity by creating your own clothes.

The shirts we've made are all her idea...I just helped execute! To see more of the shirts we created come on over to Instagram.

Craving....coffee. Lots and lots of coffee. And sugar. Lots and lots of sugar. I am trying to cut down to just my morning coffee and I am trying to cut down on the amount of sugar I use in it. I am a coffee and sugar addict and my lower abs are not happy with that. As reference check my photo from burns night...my upper and middle abs are there, my obliques are looking awesome but that fabulous genetically inherited pot belly needs to go. So, sugar is the first thing to go. Next week...upping the veggies hardcore, but one step at a time.

This was the humorous picture I sent to the husband when I told him I needed coffee and he said get some! So I did! 

Watching...Mad Men. I was talking about it with a friend who visited a couple weeks ago and he said it was a great series. I thought since I went to high school with a guy who is in it I should give it a watch...Netflix has all the seasons. I am totally addicted and can not get enough! I'd be interested to know how much the series actually reflects life in the '60s because some of that stuff is shocking! 

Laughing about....this horse and carriage I saw riding down the bike path today! My pictures suck because it was moving at a pretty decent rate and iPhone + quick moving horses + balancing on my bike = we are lucky I even got pictures and lived to tell about it! ha! I will say though either I am the only one who noticed the horse and carriage on the bike path or I'm the only one who found it amusing because everyone else was passing this sucker and paying it no nevermind....Oh Amsterdam. How I love you and your people.

Feature Friday #3

Woohoo! Friday it is! Does anyone have any fun plans for the weekend? 



I know we have New Restaurant Friday and then Saturday the Teenager is having a couple friends spend the night. Sunday will actually be relaxing since there is no cheerleading. Hoping to fit in a run that day.

If you missed last week's Feature Friday make sure to check it out here. This week has been a great week in the blog-o-sphere! I've found lots of great stuff to read!

What I've Read:

The first article I read that really spoke to me is from another fitness mama. She's Rachel & she is over at Random Kings. She writes about Birth Stories and why they are a big deal. I have never judged someone for how they choose to give birth. That is obviously a very, very personal experience and what is right for the goose is most definitely not right for the gander. My friend Rachel had two completely natural births..good for her..I am jealous. I wish I could have done that, but I am a huge wimp and got the epidural...like as soon as I could! I had the most enjoyable, lazy birth. I will say when I tell people my birth story they are amazed my epidural worked so well. I have never felt judged by it though. Maybe I am just not that sensitive to notice if someone was judging me. But, as women I do feel that when we are in online forums and talking with our friends no matter what we should support them, especially with a birth story. Everyone makes the best decisions they can at the time and things don't always go as planned no matter how much you try to plan! So tell me what you think? Have you ever felt "judged" by your birth story? Have you ever judged someone for how they chose to handle the birth of their child? Better yet, leave her a comment on her site ;)

Next, I read two articles that I wanted to feature. Tomorrow I have a travel article coming up and these two ladies posted nice articles about places they have recently visited. The first is from Cosmos Mariners she writes about How to Have an Inexpensive Trip to Scotland. This spoke to me because we just got back from a fairly inexpensive trip to London. We love to save money so any tips on making trips less costly are always appreciated! The final article I am going to write about is from Megan Joy Jaunts.  She writes about visiting Seville, Spain! While there they visited a beautiful cathedral: Catedral de Seville. Go check out her beautiful pictures, this place is definitely on my must visit list some day! 

What I Wrote:

During my Meal Plan Monday post I write about 5 things you can do on Sunday to make your whole week run smoother & make sure you don't miss those workouts ;) This week I also continued on my weekly deep cleaning series: Living Room and Dining Room. Finally, if you didn't see this beauty yesterday I posted my recipe for making Granite Cleaner Wipes. Go over and check these out. Let me know what you think! :)

What I Watched:
I don't really have any links but this week we have been crazy into Big Brother Canada! Any one else watching? I love how they had the new house guest come in! Excited to see how that will shake the house up. 

I've also been way in to Reign.  It's getting super interesting. I love how they are going down an interesting sexual path with the King. This last week when he screwed the woman right out the window was shocking! Who else watched? What do you think?

I'm linking up over at Blogitudes today, if you are a blogger go link up too ;)

Menu plan Monday #33 + a weekend recap, of course!

Happy Monday! I hope those of you who suffering from nearly insufferable weather are faring ok! I know it is pretty darn cold out there for many of you so stay warm...here's a couple of fun jokes to get you through...

Comic Source

Comic Source

As for us we have had a shockingly mild winter! I can't even believe all the sun we have had. This time last year I was taking a Vitamin D supplement everyday, suffering from a hip issue caused by Vitamin D deficiency, and hadn't seen the snow since October 15th! Much different story this winter. I am a happy, happy gal!

That being said, since the weather was so nice we were able to get out a little this weekend since I was finally feeling better. We did two New Restaurant days (Friday & Saturday). The first was just to the new Five Guys they built. Of course we've been to Five Guys but it had been so long & all 3 of us really wanted a burger so off we went. I didn't take any pictures because we were all so hungry that I forgot! But, it was really good. It is on Robson St in Vancouver past Granville. Definitely recommend visiting if you want a good basic burger when you are here in Vancouver, those can be difficult to find.

Our second was impromptu...we didn't realize we would be going out, but were glad we did as the place we went was decent.

The inside was really nice. It is supposed to be like a classic English pub. They did serve traditional English dishes but we aren't too keen on those so we got some poutine which wasn't too salty so that is a first! Hubby loved it. Hubby had a jerk chicken burger. He said it was pretty bland, not much jerk flavour at all. I had the salmon...it too sadly was bland. But the broccoli & sweet potato fries were great! Lastly the drinks were phenomenal as they should be at a pub so all was right with the world in the end. We would definitely go back for drinks and appetizers, though!

The rest of the weekend looked like this:

Working on my new Beachbody Business

Worked on my #1 goal of flossing every day!

Worked toward my goal of better nutrition by having my Shakeology while helping my daughter clean out & organize her room (thus working on another goal toward a tidier home)

Finally, did a little shopping & bought these super cute workout shirts...I love the pink one it says "anything can happen". Yes, yes it can so long as you work hard enough! 

But, enough about us...on to the menu for the week!

Org Junkie Menu Link Up

Now, in my house since I have recently taken the step to becoming a beach body coach all of us have decided to take the beach body challenge and see where we can get ourselves so our menu is going to be full of whole foods and lot of healthy goodness to fuel our bodies for P90X3!

Monday

Breakfast: Waffles & eggs

Lunch: Shakeology

Dinner: Homemade Hamburger Helper with zucchini & corn & whole wheat pasta!

Tuesday

Breakfast: Paleo Pancakes and egg whites

Lunch: Leftovers

Dinner: Chicken breasts with rice & veggies

Wednesday

Breakfast: Paleo pancakes & egg whites

Lunch:  Sandwiches loaded with veggies; the husband will probably want a break & will eat out

Dinner: Crockpot beef tacos with salad & leftover rice (make it dirty rice to go in the tacos)

Thursday

Breakfast: Egg sandwiches with fruit salad and 

Lunch: Sandwiches and salad

Dinner: Lean pizza burgers with salad

Friday

Breakfast: Paleo Pancakes and egg whites

Lunch:  Tuna Salad/chicken breast & cucumbers for the husband

Dinner: Homemade calzones & salad

Saturday

Breakfast: Blueberry muffins, bacon, and fruit

Lunch: Snacks for cheer competition

Dinner:  Eat out....will be out of town at Cheer competition

Sunday

Breakfast: Blueberry muffins and fruit

Lunch: Big thick shakeology shakes

Dinner: Potatoes with bbq chicken legs and veggies

Snacks: Shakeology, nut thins & hummus or cheese, popcorn, peanuts & raisins

So, that is it for us for the week! I can't believe how late I am getting this thing posted...whew! I hope you all have a great week! Leave me a comment or two letting me know what you have planned to make for the week! Anyone out there trying a new recipe or two?

Menu Plan Monday #32 +holiday meal planning help and a weekend recap

Hello, Everyone!!! We are just two days away from Christmas! Can you even believe it?! By now, most of you should have your Christmas menu planned. If you don't here are a few resources to help you plan it...better late than never right?!

Org Junkie Menu Planner

Clean Mama Menu Planner

Clean and Proper Menu Planner

Now, for us, we are actually going to go our for dinner. I cooked a huge meal back in October for Thanksgiving and I still have leftovers frozen in the freezer! So, we decided we would go out since some places are going to be open we figure we would go and give those waiters and waitresses some business and tip them quite well and bring some fun baked goods along with us.

This past weekend was a fairly busy one....

We started off the day with a trip to the coffee shop, then we headed out for lunch where the kiddo and the husband were goofy as ever! Their faces depict how we were all feeling for sure. Then, the kiddo dared her Dad to eat a lime. He started to not take it then she accused him of being boring so he did it. He obviously hates limes lol The winter punch was the best thing I ate at that meal so it is what got featured! We then finished getting all of the kiddo's snow boarding gear, will talk more about that in the future as that has been quite the learning experience! After that 4 hour trip we headed out to our friends house, they live in the suburbs so it's a bit of a drive. We stopped at her salon because the husband needed a haircut and we all had a glass of wine while she snipped away. It was fantastic. They cooked us a great meal and then we all drove around checking out the Christmas lights in the area. We saw some really great ones, many of them were to benefit the Children's hospital, which is wonderful! 

Sunday, we lied around and hardly moved from the couch. We watched the entire first season of Breaking Bad...it's kind of depressing and I can't say I am a fan. But, typically unless it's funny or talks about history I tend to not be a fan. Any Breaking Bad fans out there? Should I stick with the next four season?

Now, let's move along to what you are all here for....

Org Junkie

Menu Board

Breakfast ideas: cream of wheat, eggs & bacon, pancakes, waffles, Cinnamon Buns for Christmas Day, leftovers

Lunch ideas: leftovers, grilled cheese, soup, baked potatoes

Dinner:

Monday: Stuffed, twice baked potatoes

Tuesday: Chicken alfredo bake and salad

Wednesday: (Christmas) Currently planning on eating out, may possibly make steak, prawns, and lobster with corn and salad though

Thursday: Slow cooked BBQ beef with corn and salad, possibly some rolls

Friday: Smothered Chicken with mixed veggies and salad

Saturday: Date night with friends, going to share a plate of Korean BBQ

Sunday: Calzones with salad

Here is the set up of my menu board:

I really love this because it is just to the right of my bedroom door so when I come out in the morning I can look right at it and I'm not guessing about breakfast and it reminds me to take the meat out of the freezer if need be or to run to the market to grab some fresh.

Happy Monday, y'all! I hope you all have a great week and a very Merry Christmas if you are celebrating it!

Menu Plan Monday #28 +Weekend Recap

So this weekend in the city consisted of a whole lot of trying to stay warm inside! We've yet to go shopping for our skiing stuff because these three Florida babes just cannot make ourselves go out in O Celsius weather! Brrrr! But, here is a look at what our weekend was like in pictures...because we all know a pictures is worth more than words...

It started off with lots of fun at the Xbox One Launch at our local EB Games. My husband is in the industry and was always told being a gamer will grow old...they apparently didn't know he was still 10 years old deep down inside and being in the industry only makes his passion for every game that comes out that much more exciting...

Her winter coat has a hole...in the side...so she decided to come out in three hoodies lol! She wouldn't let me get a picture of it so I am posting this more embarrassing one instead ;) 

He came out in a thick hoodie & a thick fleece lined leather jacket! LOL I live with a bunch of winter wimps! How those two will survive snowboarding this year I have no idea!

Pleased as punch with this day one console!

I love how for all their exclusive games, those that picked them up on day one Xbox marked them Day One with the date. Makes it that much more awesome. Very classy, Microsoft!

Again with the "Day One"...this really makes the effort of getting it preordered and waiting a bit in the cold that much more worth it!

Friday brought about a trip to the dentist for my little and then we went to see Catching Fire...it was amazing go see it if you haven't. Then of course we couldn't give up our New Restaurant Friday. So we went to this little diner on Davie Street called Hamburger Mary's Diner. Not quite so sure why the reviews are so low on it. The food was great, drinks were awesome, and it was quite cozy to hangout with the family.

I think this was called the sunset. It was quite delicious and warmed me right up! ;)

These two sipping on the a couple of amazing milkshakes...Cherry & Strawberry! YUM! Btw, isn't this the most adorable father/daughter picture ever?!

Saturday I had some errands to run and was full of just tidying the house and spending time as a family...

I found some washi-like tape at the dollar store. It's not rice paper it's on, it is more like a wax paper but it is great for embellishing planners, cards, gifts,etc. Plus, three roles for CAD$1.25 can't be beat!

That night was spent around the table enjoying some monopoly, cocoa, Christmas carols and time unplugged as a family. Can't ask for more on a cold fall night.

Sunday was spend going to yoga with the teenager (I wrote about this on my facebook page), then she had a friend come over and they took off to hours of tumbling and cheer, then the husband and I just spend some nice romantic time alone. I swear, after 15 years you would think that gets old, but it doesn't. 

I did reach a goal this weekend finally...the entire weekend, at the end of each day I saw this...

This app is the Waterlogged App. During the weekend I get so busy that I forget to drink water, so this weekend I was determined to make sure I reached my 64 ounces every, single day...and I DID! YAY! 

So that way our weekend....here is my menu for the week...

Org Junkie

Breakfast

Monday: Cereal

Tuesday: Eggs hash (with peppers, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes)

Wednesday: French toast bake and hard boiled eggs

Thursday: (Happy American Thanksgiving, Friends!) I am keeping the kiddo home in the morning from school to watch the parade so we will have some gingerbread pancakes and maple syrup, we'll split a hot cocoa

Friday: Hard boiled eggs and leftover pancakes

Saturday: Leftover french toast bake or pancakes

Sunday: Big brunch of omelettes, bacon, and whatever is leftover of that french toast bake or pancakes

Lunch

Monday: 

Kiddo: Leftover pizza and an apple Me: leftovers of some kind

Tuesday:

Kiddo: Turkey wraps and peppers Me: Turkey wraps and mushrooms and peppers

Wednesday:

Kiddo: Sandwich with an apple Me: Leftovers of some kind

Thursday:

Kiddo: Turkey salad with apple or pear slices, almond butter for dipping Me: pumpkin spice protein shake and a turkey wrap

Friday:

Kiddo: Eat Out Me: Lunch with the hubs

Saturday:

Hamburgers with a big salad on the side

Sunday:

We will have eaten a big brunch so we will just snack on popcorn, cheese, etc.

Dinner

Monday: Chicken Alfredo with side salad 

Tuesday: Tacos with salad (these will be traditional & bean & veggie)

Wednesday: Ribs with salad, corn, and acorn sqush

Thursday: Pork chops and chickpea patties with sweet potatoes, potato wedges with cheese & bacon, and sauteed mushrooms & peppers

Friday: New Restaurant Friday

Saturday: Spaghetti (I will make spaghetti squash for me), with garlic bread and a big salad

Sunday: Sausage & peppers with salad and any leftover squash

• So, how was your weekend...did you meet any goals you were wanting to meet for the week? I did, I met my water goal! YAY!
• What is your favorite meal you are most looking forward to cooking this week? There are two, one the chicken alfredo because it is my hubby's favorite meal, my second are the ribs because those are my favorite!

Weekend Recap

Wow! What a weekend it was, obviously, since I am just now getting to my weekend wrap up! It has been such a hectic few weeks since I switched the name of the blog trying to get all the links and what not updated, it has take quite a bit of my time. But, I think they are all updated and are all repinned to pinterest! If you find one that isn't feel free to send me an email through my contact form on the right & let me know so I can get it fixed!

Anyway, moving on...we went up to Whistler for the weekend. This is a prime skiing location, but since we don't ski (yet) we went up before the season started so rates were cheaper and we didn't need chains to get up the road! ;) In any case here is the weekend in pictures....

When we first arrived our room wasn't quite ready yet so we took a look around the village...

Here is my husband climbing up on a very icy, slippery chair...he finds the most amusing ways to almost kill himself when we are doing something fun!

The gondola up to Blackcomb...there is another just to the right for Whistler.

Whistler mountain and the lifts...isn't it beautiful! In fact, they have gotten so much snow up there they are able to open for the season 4 days early! 

\\

Breakfast at Elements on Saturday. Absolutely delicious and pretty good service! You can check out my review of the place on yelp. After this we just toured the village some more, took a nap, and enjoyed the hot tub next to all the snow. It was a rainy day, but we made the best of it. We enjoyed a great italian place for dinner.

Sunday, we did a distillery tour up in Pemberton. They produce an organic vodka that actually uses local potato's! It's the only vodka I have ever heard of that is sort of a farm-to-table type deal. So anyone who like to "eat local" and you are in Vancouver you can now get Vodka and Whiskey that are considered "local".  Here are a few shots of the place and the equipment....

The guy was quite knowledgeable and really enjoys his job. His wife helps him run it and his brother, uh, "volunteers". They did a great job explaining everything (if only I had known you could get a Master's degree in distillation when I was in University!) and letting us taste all the goodies they produce. My favourite was by far their schnapps.

The last thing we did on Sunday was after a terrible dinner at Ric's, we popped over to the Bearfoot Bistro and did a vodka tasting at their Belvedere Vodka Room. It is kept at -25 Celsius so when you go in you have to wear giant parkas. I was in a dress & open toed heels and my toes were freezing by the end! So if you go I recommend wearing uggs if possible! ha! The guy who hosts the tastings is very knowledgeable and loves his job so be friendly to him and he will treat you right! ;)

So those are the highlights of our weekend. It was a ton of fun....can't wait to share with everyone the food, but that needs to be a separate post!

Check out What we ate in Whistler here!