Hello friends!

I have had a wonderful and relaxing (almost) two weeks off! I've gotten quite a few things done around the house and the yard, finished off some projects I've been meaning to get done and put another good dent into my Christmas shopping. It feels great!

This past weekend we had our Thanksgiving, although it was a week late, it was still absolutely wonderful! For dessert I made Strawberry Cheesecake Bites like these:



These aren't the ones I did, this image is via www.pleasedontburnette.blogspot.com. I didn't take any pics of mine.

They turned out great and are SUPER easy to do. One thing I would recommend is making them the day you'll eat them. I did mine the night before and put them in the fridge, but the strawberries became a little soft. I will definitely make this recipe again.

Here's the recipe:

About 20 strawberries (was a little over one carton for me)
8 oz package of softened cream cheese
1/2 cup of icing sugar
1.2 tsp of vanilla
12 graham crackers

First you want to core out the middle of the strawberries (I just used a sharp knife). With an electric beater, beat cream cheese until all of the lumps are out. Add icing sugar and vanilla. Mix until blended.
With a piping bag, pipe cream cheese mixture into the middle of each strawberry.
Crush up graham crackers using a Ziploc bag and rolling pin. Dip the strawberries into the graham cracker crumbs to cover the cream cheese at the top.

Simple and so delicious!

Hello holidays!

I am in heaven today! While I think of my co-workers at the office, I am sipping tea and having a piece of toast. I am on holidays! I needed to use up two weeks of holidays. Noel is home for a week of them on his regular days off, which will be great! But the best part is, we have no plans! I have never taken a holiday where I just stay home. It is complete bliss!

I have some projects that I want to get done while I'm off. Some of them I've been wanting to tackle for a while -- ok maybe years -- so I'll be happy to get those done. I want to organize our office closet, which if you saw it would understand that it is not a small feat! I also want to go through my closet and get rid of the clothes I haven't worn in forever. For some reason when I do this there are some items that I just can't get rid of and think that I will wear them again -- but that never happens and they continue to hang there.
I also have a fall wreath I want to make. I've never made a wreath before but I'm looking forward to trying it! I will post pics when I'm done. And I am going to make two bow hangers for my nieces for Christmas. I'm really excited to make these, they are so darn cute! Will also post pics!

So, I'm off to clean up the yard and clean out my pots -- with the low temps (-2!!!) at night I think they're done for the year!

And I'm backkkkkkkk!

Hello blog world! :) Wow, it's really been February since I last posted?! I took an impromptu bloggy break. But I'm back. I'm feeling inspired and I have a lot to talk about!

Let's see over the last eight months -- In May I ran in my first 10K race. The experience was amazing. I pushed myself like I have never before and I couldn't wait to do it again. In June I ran a 5K race. Weather was cold and rainy -- a much different experience than the 10K. But I finished it and I was proud.

Since then running has really fallen off my radar. Life has gotten so busy. My cakes are really picking up. I've done some wedding cakes and birthday cakes as well as cupcakes for different functions. While this is a good thing, it certainly has taken up a lot of time.

In July Noel and I also took a week vacation to B.C. It was so amazing to get away. I came back feeling refreshed and relaxed. The crazy thing is that it's the most time Noel and I have spent together in about two years! With him working in the oilfield he is often away. It's an adjustment for sure and after two and a half years of this life I still sometimes find myself getting used to it.

That leaves me to now. Unfortunately I have gained some weight back. I'm working on fixing this though! I signed up for a six-week challenge at my gym. It's the first week and has been going well. We meet three times a week at 6 a.m. Wowza is that early for someone who isn't a morning person! But honestly, it feels fantastic to get my workout done in the morning and I honestly think I'm more of a morning person than I thought! :)
I'm excited to get back into a routine exercise-wise. I have really come to the conclusion that I cannot do it on my own.

There you have it! I'm looking forward to being back! :)

I feel so loved!

Hi! First of all, I have to say that I have been in a real blogging funk lately. I don't know why, I have no answers as to what's going on, but it is what it is. I just haven't felt inspired enough lately to write a post. Please don't break up with me! :)

So, since I've been on a blogging hiatus for the last little while, I have a lot to update you on!

First of all, I am so feeling the love from my family, friends and of course Noel lately. I have been struggling through some family issues -- more on that in another post when I have 10 hours to sit down and write J -- and my "support team" has stepped right up. They have been amazing and I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such incredible people!

Of course Monday was Valentine's Day. Noel is right in the middle of his two week work stretch, but unexpectedly he was home on Monday! It must have been meant to be! :) So, we played it low-key. We ordered in dinner, snuggled on the couch and just watched some TV. Noel was pretty tired as he had worked a really full day, but it was great to have him home nonetheless.

In Noel's true romantic fashion I got this cute little bug at work on Monday morning



Then when I got home, these were also delivered -- also from Noel



And these were sitting on my porch with a note from my mom



I feel really lucky! And totally spoiled!

In other news, I've lost three pounds in two weeks! I'm happy about that!

That's all for now.....more fun news to come!

Fun times with some great ladies!

I recently joined a 'dress club' where a group of ladies gather once a month to have some fun!

Last night was our first meet up and it was a blast. There are 12 of us in total (one for each month of the year). Every month, all the gals put in $20. A name is drawn and that lady gets to take home the money and spend it on something for herself -- clothes, spa, workouts, etc. The money can't be spent on kids, bills, groceries etc. It has to be something for you. So each girl wins once a year and the person who's name was drawn the month previous hosts the next get together.

Going into last night, I only knew two of the girls and was able to meet another nine fantastic ladies! It was so much fun. We all met at 7:30 and before I knew it, it was already 10 p.m.!

I'm really looking forward to being able to meet new people, make new friends and learn about these fabulous women!

In other news, I weighed in at 197.4. I'm glad the scale is going down, but it's not as much as I would like. I have been on TOM so that definitely plays a role.

My trainer and I got back to it on Tuesday. I also had another workout with him yesterday afternoon and he's really kicking my butt!
After my workout on Friday I'm heading for a therapeutic massage. While I love how it feels, man does it ever hurt! I'm quite sore so I think it's going to be a pretty painful hour. But the benefits definitely outweigh any pain!

Update!

Good morning blog world!

Not much is new with me, but I promised to update my weight every week, so here we go!

First of all I have to say that as of yesterday I am fully back on my meal plan that my trainer developed for me. Whole foods and nothing processed, eating every two to three hours and I feel fantastic! It's amazing what a little shift can do!

So having said that I am currently weighing in at 196.8. Better than last week and given that I just really started yesterday, I'm happy.

I have had a really tough time this year getting out of the holiday rut. No motivation at work, no motivation to go to the gym or to stick to my meal plan. But on Sunday I asked myself what the heck I was doing! I'm definitely not doing myself any favours by prolonging the holiday mode! So up I went to the grocery store and got all the foods on my plan and started fresh on Monday morning.

Last night I attended a zumba class at my gym. What a fun and awesome workout that was! I'll definitely be going again!

So, here's to getting back on track! I need to reach my goal by the end of the year! No excuses!

Welcome 2011!

Ok, yes, I realize I am a few days late with this...but it'll have to work! :)

We had a great New Year's Eve. Noel made it home from work at about 8 p.m. and we popped in a movie and waited for the countdown. I think I went to bed at about 12:02! But honestly, it's exactly what we both needed -- quality time together and some relaxation. I couldn't think of a better way to start 2011!

So of course with the new year brings the reflection of the past 12 months and the looking forward to the months ahead.

2010 was a little bit of a blah year for me. Not much happened, which can be a good thing if you choose to look at it that way. However, I would say a highlight for me was turning a new leaf and becoming more active and living a healthier lifestyle. Yes, I do have a long way to go and I will touch on that a little later. But I'm excited as next month marks my one year anniversary with my trainer! So hard to believe.

Looking ahead, I have high hopes and big plans for 2011! Noel has hinted in the next couple of months we will get engaged! Yay! Finally! :) And depending on when that happens, there could be a wedding later in the year as we both want a destination wedding.
I'm not holding my breath, but I am very hopeful.
Also, May marks our 12 year anniversary! Amazing! I can hardly believe it! It feels pretty incredible to be hitting this milestone.

Personally, one of my big goals for 2011 is to learn to relax! This is going to be difficult as I am a pretty high strung person. I am one to sweat the small stuff and it really has to stop -- for my own health! So it will definitely be a work in progress for year, but I'm hoping to see a significant difference by the end of the year.

As for fitness, I plan to stay the course on what I've been doing. One of my goals for this year is to run a 10 km race. My trainer and I are currently working towards this as we speak. More specifically though I hope to lose 50 pounds this year. Yes, I know, it's a big goal. Overall though I hope to become stronger, thinner and healthier in 2011!

So as part of this, I'm going to post my weight and progress weekly, so that I can be accountable to all of you as well! The more people I am accountable to, the better!

Here goes my first one and I will never see this number again -- thanks to my indulgence over the holidays I'm sitting at 197.4.

Hope you all had a great New Years!!!!!