May 1st Race Day

Hey all,

I can’t believe that tomorrow is already May 1st and Race Day.  It’s also 4 days before my birthday.  This time last year I celebrated the end of my 20’s with a leap…I literally jumped off of a 150’ bridge and plunged into my 30’s.  It was such a thrill to bungee jump. 

Bungee Jumping from a 150 foot bridge.

As for this year, I’m getting ready to compete in an adventure relay race. 

So this week I’ve been busily trying to get ready for my race this Sunday.  I’m definitely getting excited because I’ve never competed in an actual ‘race’, but the butterflies are beginning to multiply and are fluttering around in my tummy now.  I also found out that they changed my route, which kind of sucks. 

For the past months I’ve been training on trails as my leg involves trail running, but since the mountain still has too much snow, I am now going to be running about 8km on the road, downhill.  I’m just going to take it as it comes and go with the flow.  I will be taking some Ibuprofen before hand to control possible knee inflammation. 

As for the weather, it looks as if it will be sunny and warm.  I was actually hoping for an overcast and cool day because I get hot when I run, but I packed up my hat, water belt, sunscreen and sunglasses.  I think I’m ready. 

My team and I are spending the night on the mountain at my friend/teammates family’s cabin so that we don’t have to get up extra early and drive the distance.   

That’s all folks…wish me luck and will let you know my results soon.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Bea

xoxo

Long Weekend Bliss

Hopety Hop Hop…it’s Easter Weekend time.  I’m sure happy it’s a long weekend..and the weather man is calling for a bright weekend of sunshine and warmth…finally

It seems that everyone is packing up their cars and trailers and are heading camping..this seems to be tradition around here.  I, on the other hand, have plans to use my weekend to my fullest advantage. 

Not only will I attend my bootcamp classes Friday and Monday, but I’m planning on getting in some more training sessions for my Relay Race taking place May 1st.  In case you didn’t read my post about this race, here is the video to give you an idea.  I am competing in cross country running leg. 

Taking place May 1st, 2011

I’m also going to do some spring cleaning.  I have a deck that is in need of a serious clean and de-cluttering. My BBQ also needs some attention…it’s a bit rusty.  I’ve been hearing the HUMMINGBIRDS a lot too, so I’m going to go out and buy another feeder, since mine keeps leaking. I haven’t been having a lot of luck in past years with these little birds coming to feed, although I am surrounded by trees and bush.  But I will try again and see what happens. 

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I also cooked up a batch of BROWNIES.  I usually make mine from scratch, but I LOVE this brand and they were on sale.  I just have to make sure that I ration them so that all my hard work at Bootcamp isn’t undone.  I forgot to take a picture of them when they came out of the oven..but they were very gooey and chewy.

Since it was such a beautiful evening, I decided to fire up the BBQ again.  On the menu tonight……

Grilled veggies drizzled with Truffle infused Olive Oil and Tuscan Sea salt.

Bison T-Bone Steaks with a Jerk Rub

My plate of yummy goodness.

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What are you planning on doing this long weekend? 

No excuses

So I really have no excuses for not posting more frequently.  So much going on, I lose track of time and then it’s off to bed.  I will try to get better, so please bare with me.  So for this post, I’ll try to not bore you too much… how about a quick recap of what’s new and the food I’ve eaten.

Food pics first…..

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Chicken tomato bake

First I cooked some boneless, skinless chicken thighs.  Then in a casserole dish, layer together:  chicken thighs, onions, spinach, garlic.  Then I added a jar of tomato sauce.  Top off with some grated cheese and stick in a 350F oven for about 35 minutes.  Serve with whole-grain pasta or rice.

Turkey 6 bean spaghetti

Another quick and easy weekday meal.  In a large pot, sauté onions, garlic and carrots.  Then golden in color, add ground turkey.  Cook until no longer pink.  Add a can of beans of your choice (I used a 6 bean mix), a can of diced tomatoes and a jar of tomato sauce (about 475mL).  Cook for about 20 minutes or until sauce has thickened a bit. 

Asian-inspired Stirfry

Slice thinly some pork tenderloin.  In a wok, sauté the pork with 2 Tbsp  green curry and some grated ginger.  Then add stir-fry veggies of your choice.  I used baby bok choy, broccoli, red peppers and mushrooms.  After about 5 minutes, add some fish sauce, 1 Tbsp peanut butter, worstershire sauce and reduced sodium chicken broth.  Allow to simmer for a few minutes.  Then add your pre-soaked rice noodles and continue to cook for about 10 minutes, or until the noodles are al dente.  Sprinkle with some peanuts before serving.

BBQ Salmon with Mushroom Risotto and garlic veggies

I used my BBQ for the first time this spring to whip up this awesome goodness.  For the salmon, I made a rub of brown sugar, dill, cumin, salt and pepper.  I mixed the rub a bit with some olive oil and then basted the salmon fillet.  It took about 15 minutes on the BBQ, skin side down over low heat.  (The skin was burnt, but the salmon juicy and nice and firm). 

For the Risotto…it actually contains mushrooms, but they were underneath, so you can’t see them.  I added saffron to my risotto to make it nice and yellow. 

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And some other stuff…..

1. I had a follow up appointment with my doctor a little while back and found out I am pretty anaemic, even after taking an iron supplement every day. I eat a lot of iron-rich foods too, so this is a mystery to me and my doctor.  I’m tired of always feeling easily exhausted.  So I was given several referrals, one of which was for a surgeon.  I had an appointment last week and he’s scheduled me for a colonoscopy and gastroscopy.  Not fun, but I do want to get to the bottom of this anaemia.
2. I’ve been training for my 8km adventure relay race. It’s less than 2 weeks away now…May 1st is the big day…eek   I just got the trail route today and am hoping to be able to run/walk it next week to familiarize myself with the route before the event.
3. I won a free week of bootcamp and loved it, so I joined for month.  This is now the second week and I can already feel it.  After the first week, I could barely sit down on the toilet or walk the stairs as my legs were shot.  It hurt to sneeze too… we worked out abs.  Classes are Mon/Wed/Fri.
4. I went to a concert Friday night…. Fefe Dobson came to town and put on an awesome concert. 

Hope everyone is having a great start to their spring.  I’m really looking forward to seeing more sunshine and warmer weather soon. 

With love

Beaglebea

xoxo

Weekend funnies

First of all…what do you think about my new header picture?  I took this one last summer…it’s Myra Falls.  Quite magnificent in real life.  Here is another picture of the wonderful beauty right in my backyard.

Lower Myra Falls is one of the few waterfalls in the Northwest that drops straight into a lake and can easily be reached. This is probably one of the most popular waterfalls in Strathcona Provincial Park. The formation of Lower Myra Falls, also known just as Myra Falls, is interesting as well. All along the west side of Buttle Lake is a fault, which has repeatedly dropped during several earthquakes of the past, causing a sudden change in the elevation of the bedrock. So, with a series of 6-8 drops, Myra Creek plunges down the resulting wall, straight into aqua-blue Buttle Lake. The trail to the falls leads to the large pool in between the two major parts of the falls. Above the pool, you'll have the view pictured here, but to see the remaining 100 feet of the falls, you'll have to scramble down narrow paths to the lakeshore, then, if the water level isn't too high, walk around to a gravel bar jutting out in front of the falls, allowing a look back up the small gorge. Don't forget to bring your bathing suit, the pool at the trail's end is a great dipping hole (just stay well out of the main current).

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Instead of a food post this weekend, how about a cute post for all of you animal lovers?  The kids and I were browsing around YouTube this morning while cuddling on the couch and we found this cute video.  I think my favourite part is the dog in the bubble bath..we laughed so hard. 

AFV Funniest animals

And a bonus clip for you…one of my dog Buster and Bonnie the puppy playing together during my visit to Vancouver a few weeks ago.

Buster and Bonnie

Enjoy and have a great weekend.

Bea

xoxo

My bad

I’m still here.  It’s been a crazy week and I haven’t had ANY time to update my blog.  Every night I kept thinking that I should be adding more entries, but by the time my day came to an end, it was 9:30pm and I was not in the mood.  And as far as food goes, I didn’t do any interesting cooking either.  But I promise that it will get better as of next week. 

The last time I posted I mentioned a hockey tournament.  That was last weekend..and it started last Friday.  I rushed out of work that afternoon, had a doctor’s appointment and then was off to the rink for a 4:30pm game.  We lost that one , but it was really close (2-1).  I ended up staying at the rink because I was scheduled to work from 7:30 to 9:30pm selling bar tickets and raffle table tickets.  Would you believe me if I told you we cashed out with just over $3000.00 in drink tickets alone?  Crazy, I know. 

I was back at the rink Saturday morning for an 8am game.  This one was a 2-2 game.  Unfortunately the other team scored the tying goal with only a few seconds of the game…ah..so close, but not enough.  But it was an awesome game..great scoring chances from all of us on our team.  We had our third game of the tournament Saturday at 4pm, so I was only at home for a short period before having to go back to play.  After dinner I went back one last time to sell more bar tickets and raffle tickets.  Unfortunately, we lost our 3rd game and didn’t make it to the playoffs. 

On an unfortunate note, one of our players from another team went down and slid into the board’s feet first.  She ended up breaking her leg and needed surgery to repair her femur.  She is going to be in a cast for the next 2 months while she heals up.  There has been a lot of support from our league, from donating money to making meals.  I jumped right in and volunteered to help with some meals.  The first batch was delivered yesterday, so I cooked up some of this:

Once the weekend came to an end, I was exhausted and sore.  I’m going to miss the games and the wonderful ladies.  But I’m sure that September will be here quicker than we think, so I will enjoy the spring and summer months to their fullest. 

This week I also started riding my bike to work.  It’s been a cold commute every morning (below freezing). Not complaining though…it could be raining.  On top of biking, I started up the running club at my school again this week and am happy to report that about 16 kids (grades 4 to 6) have been coming out to run during their recess time.   Way to go kids… I’m so proud of them.  I will keep you posted on their progress.

Well, time for me to log off and say good night.  Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and see you all early next week.

With love,

Bea