Taking Care of Myself (Or Not)

Hello!  Long time no “see”, eh?  My life got a little out of control there for a week or two, which I admit is totally my fault.  I let myself get stressed out about something I have no control over and as a result haven’t been paying enough attention to “ME”.   April is an extremely hectic month because Noah’s (yes, I’ll be using their “real” names now) soccer and hockey overlap.  We are in the midst of hockey tryouts for next season and his soccer team is ramping up for their season which starts May 1.  I’ve either been here: He’s the one with the orange cleats.  Or I’ve been here: He’s on the right.  While I LOVE watching him play, both sports are rather cold at this point which doesn’t help matters!  HA!  There hasn’t been near enough of this: RELAXATION!!  Although, Noah has no interest in chilling out.  He’s quite the energetic kid which is why we put him into sports.  The extra activity has done wonders for him.  I, on the other hand, need a sense of “balance” in my life and running from rink to soccer field 6 days a week, having zero time to clean my house, sacrificing my gym time over my lunch hour to run home and get something done at the house, meals on the go, not getting enough water into me and not getting enough sleep due to worrying about everything that’s NOT getting done has (had) me feeling anything but.  Thankfully, hockey will be done until September by this time next week.  That and I gave myself a real kick in the ass Wednesday night for not dealing better.  So even though we had a soccer game last night I committed myself to drinking lots of lemon water, preparing a decent meal for everyone and turning a blind eye to the house.  And you know what?  I slept GREAT last night!  And it’s great to be home today for Good Friday with everything closed because it forced me to just sit for a few hours.  Between my hubby and I, the laundry has been done, bedding is changed, the dishwasher has been run.  Vacuuming will wait until tomorrow.  This afternoon we left the kids at home and walked down to our favourite “hotspot”, The Red Brick Cafe: It’s a 3 mile walk, round trip with loads of hills….AKA, just what the doctor ordered!    My hubby got his standard; a vanilla latte and I rolled with a soy chai tea latte: We stopped atop a bridge to take a few pictures of ourselves…..so vain, I know!  :) Even though I look exhausted, the fresh air felt so. damn. good!  And I know it did me good, too!  I took a few more pics along the way to test out my point and shoot camera, a Canon Power Shot SD980 IS Elph.  We may have bought a new little surprise that I hope to share with you all very soon!  PURDY!!!  :)
And now for some eats.  These are pretty much all a week old b/c as I said, I haven’t been eating well the past 5 days or so…. That pancake was GOOD!  It was from last Friday morning.  The kids had asked for pancakes for breakfast so I decided to get decadent with mine.  It’s topped with whipped cream cheese, dark chocolate chunks and agave ample syrup.  Looking at this makes me really want another!
The above stir fry was today’s lunch.  I tossed together cooked wild rice, broccoli, avocado and tofu then mixed in some mango chipotle dressing and this Tabasco that I’m addicted to these days:
As the commercial goes; “I put that sh*t on EVERYTHING”!!!!!  Has anyone tried this??    
I haven’t really been eating a lot of oats for breakfast lately.  Instead, I’ve been inhaling this cereal like it’s my job: LURVE!!!  One lunch I did enjoy last week was one with my hubby.  We met at another Red Brick location closer to our jobs one day and I ordered a roasted red pepper and goat cheese panini with a side salad: And my hubby had a salami/provolone/apple panini with a pasta salad: We both enjoyed French vanilla coffees on the side: AND, we blew through a pack of this gum in no time at all! Well, I think that’s all I’ve got for now.  Thanks for letting me vent!!  I’m positive things are on an upward swing so I expect life to settle down somewhat sooner rather than later.  In the meantime, what are your top 3 stress busting “do’s”??  I’ll sign off with a photo that never fails to make me smile.  Pepper LOVES chasing leaves out on the deck and insists on trying to bring them in the house once he catches them. BABY!!!
Bye for now!!

What I Did Yesterday (In The Sunshine)

We finally had some GORGEOUS weather yesterday!  Sunny and warm.  It’s funny how 15*C feels warm in the spring, but downright chilly in the fall!  LOL  Seriously, though….it was pretty awesome to be outside in just a t-shirt and light jacket.  DS had his first outdoor soccer game yesterday and the temps were perfect for it!  They lost 3-0, but played like warriors so it was all good.  Plus, they’re still in exhibition games.  The season actually starts May 1.  I took numerous photos, but this one is my favourite of the bunch!
 
He insisted on picking the brightest cleats in the store!  It worked out well yesterday because the other team showed up in the same colour jerseys’ as our boys, hence the green pinney’s.  After the game we made our way over to the rink for an hour of ice hockey practice.  One of the families has a 6 month old chocolate Lab named Douglas that always comes with them because the rink is at a large park.  It didn’t take much begging on my part to have them let me take him for a walk!  He’s pretty good on the leash until a scent distracts him. LOL 
Seeing as DS had 2 hours of sport “stuff” practically in a row, we decided to take him for ice cream and a walk along the river later in the afternoon.  He choose some neon blue bubblegum ice cream which he wasted no time diving into!
I went with a peach/blueberry frozen yogurt….my favourite fruit combo!
SO delicious!  Here’s a close up… We won’t discuss how it ruined my appetite for dinner!  ;)  Next was a quick trip to the mall.  I stopped in David’s Tea for a refill of my favourite blend, Read My Lips:
I drink a cup of this at morning break everyday at work.  Love.  While there I found a blend that seriously perked my interest.  Check it out: I’m too much of a chicken to dish out the cash on a bottle of the real stuff because I’m afraid I’ll HATE it, but figured I couldn’t go wrong with the tea.  Plus it smelled amazing!  I’ll be test driving it later on today for sure.
A few other tasty, new to me food items I’ve been enjoying are this trail mix; It’s chock full of nuts and dried fruit…..a real winning combination!   I’ve been enjoying it out of hand and mixed into my oats.  I’ve also been digging this cereal: We have the blueberry pomegranate one, too.  Both are delicious!  Now that it’s warming up some out there, I’ve been craving cereal a lot more.  I’ve been using these sprinkles on just about anything deemed “sweet” lately, too! Here are some other eats I’ve been enjoying the past week:  This pancake kicked ass, BTW!  I made a batch Friday morning using Bisquick, then topped mine with whipped cream cheese, PB chips, pecans and maple syrup.  Divine, I tell ya! 
  Lastly, the 4 of us in the payroll department at work were treated by this beautiful arrangement as a thank you from a teacher: After admiring it for a bit we dove in!  Those strawberries were amazingly sweet!! Well, I’m gonna sign off now and go enjoy a lazy Sunday!  Hope everyone has had a fantastic weekend so far.  We’ll catch up again soon….
Bye for now!!