Story Time! (Lip Syncing)

Consider this more of a Friday night rant. It will be enjoyable. I hope. If not, see you next post!

Does anyone here watch Jimmy Fallon? I am in love with his show- I think he’s hilarious and comes up with some great skits and games that really make me look forward to each show- regardless of who the guests are! Anyways, did anyone watch the episode last week with John Krasinski? I’ll humor you with a clip from what John and Jimmy did…..LIP-SYNCING!!!!

Yes. I laughed a lot. To the point of tears because it was so hilarious. And it reminded me of my lip-syncing days. The elementary school I attended in Southern California was a private (Catholic) school that hand an annual lip-sync event. To the best of my memory, it was probably the most exciting thing that all the kids looked forward to each year. 

Here’s the kicker—they made us try out. And a lot of kids wouldn’t make the cut. Talk about a kick in the pants to a group of pre-schoolers whose parents really wanted to get video of their kids lip syncing the hokey pokey–and would never get the chance.

So here’s where my experience kicked in. I made it. ONLY ONCE. It was kindergarten and there was a big group of us that lip synced Splish Splash. I remember I wore a white and pink polka dot skirt and did the Twist for the entirety of the song. I really only have that on VHS so there’s no way in hell you guys can ever see that.

First grade: didn’t make it. We tried to do a song from the musical CATS

Third Grade: didn’t make it. I don’t remember the song, but it was something somewhat religious (our parents thought that would make us a shoe-in at a CATHOLIC school). And we had to wear jeans and I almost kicked my mother because I DID NOT want to wear jeans. 

Ah, and here is where I have a picture to share with you. Second Grade. Me and my two friends, Tess and Cassie, decided to do a Mary Kate & Ashley Song. Here’s what the song was:

Called ‘No One Tells The President.’ Aka: Clinton Administration.

Well that dates myself. Back to the time when the Michelle Tanners were making music videos. I was addicted to their jams. My other top fave was ‘Brother for Sale.’ Please tell me someone else knows these tunes.

We didn’t make it that year. Here is us looking pretty dejected after our try-out:

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I’m in the red shorts. The ones that are pulled up higher than necessary (they were AYSO shorts from soccer. Again, anyone remember that?!) And I remember I helped my mom make the shirts. I am so DIY savvy.

I moved the summer after third grade to yet ANOTHER Catholic school- this time in Northern California. They didn’t have Lip-Sync Concerts, but they did have Wheel-a-thons and St. Francis of Assisi day where you could bring in your pets to get blessed.

If you like this story, please let me know because I have about a half billion others from my silly silly upbringing. Like these:

  • The time I made up a song about face wash at a Girl Scout camping trip
  • The time I had a halloween party at my house and we thought we’d be sneaky and play spin the bottle with a mustard bottle, but my dog stole the bottle and ended up trailing yellow throughout the house.
  • The time I wore a plaid shirt, khaki pants and Airwalk shoes to a school dance and no one would dance with me (ok, maybe that was about 2 or 3 times)
  • The time I used to pull my school sweater over my head during recess so that Julie and Erica would be my friends. They never did become my friends, but Julie gave me a Cayola crayon holder for my birthday one year.

I had a really awkward childhood. Which is great because now I can tell you ALL about it. Have a good weekend!

Winesday Wednesday: 5/14

Happy Winesday Wednesday, everyone!

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I hope you guys are having a good week so far (if not, drink more wine!) I am in the final stages of the interview process for a job, so I have been sitting at the edge of my seat just waiting to hear back. I’m going to jump right into this week’s submissions and butt in for anything random that pops into my head while doing so. (Did anyone else ever have to do that for English or Creative Writing classes? Just write any and everything that flows through your brain for a specific period of time? I did for a senior year elective- we were instructed to write in our composition books each day for five minutes on anything that came to our heads. Well, one day I was in a bad mood, so I basically wrote the F-word over and over again for the whole five minutes. And my professor was a monk- so that was awkward.)

Keith, who blogs at http://keithsodyssey.blogspot.com/ wrote in the following:

This Barolo was bottled in August 2008 so it’s coming up on 5 years. This is what 5 years of dust looks like. Dust and wine bottles go together. When it was only a couple years old it was very much an up in your face wine. There was a big bold taste that went with the spiciest of marinades. So today I paired it up with some barbecued Beef Tenderloin in a marinade with a bunch of Mama Africa spice. It went very well. The wine has mellowed a bit, being merely strong and assertive, with some of the ruffty tuffty corners knocked off. There’s a bit of black currants (which I hate) and other dark fruit (blackberries, plums, blueberries, prunes) here, and a hint of raspberry sweetness. This was a Mondial kit, meaning all juice. It takes these a long time to come into their own. If you can’t stand seeing a bit of sediment on the side, and don’t have the patience to wait years for it to ripen, don’t get this kit.

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For Keith, that’s 5 years of dust collecting. For our house, that’s about 3 days worth of dust. No lie. We are planning a HUGE all over house cleaning this weekend and I expect to fill at least 2 garbage bags with dust, lint and dog hair. Gross.

Katie, who blogs at http://katieenpursuit.wordpress.com/ celebrated QUITTING HER JOB with some fine $3 wine! Methinks from her latest post that she is pursuing training? HOLLA ATCHA GIRL- that’s exactly what I aspire to do one day!

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When I was younger, I ALWAYS wanted to have my own cinnamon bun shop. Now, I would kill to just train or do anything fitness-related. So my now-fantasy is having a cinnamon bun shop in the front and gym in the back. So I can fatten people up, then slim them down. Haha I am so clever. Or dumb.

Nicole, who blogs at http://hauterunner.blogspot.ca/ had Sir Perry Pear Cider! I actually tried this about a month or so ago and it’s pretty tasty- especially when it’s ICE COLD.

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Not that this has anything to do with pear cider, but I remember one of the first times i visited Canada I was passed a can of Palm Bay. I was all WTF is this. And they were all IT’S SO GOOD AND YOU’LL GET DRUNK! So of course, I chugged it. Should’ve read the can- it’s a VODKA COOLER…IN A CAN. I was in love love love with that stuff. Then I barfed a lot and haven’t had it since.

My best friend Kristin (I think I might be the only person left who still calls her Kysha?) made FANCY margaritas!

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The recipe: 1 oz agave nectar, 2 oz tequila and fresh squeezed lime to taste.

Dang, I want one. Speaking of margaritas, I like them a lot. And so does Tyler. I mean…HELLO COSTCO TEQUILA:

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Last weekend, we amped them up with raspberries (I called it my antioxidant beverage)

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I am STILL on the hunt for super huge margarita glasses so we can throw an upside-down Corona in those suckers. 

Michael submitted another awesome beer for this week. He wrote: Long Strange tripel from Missouri. Arguably one of the best tripels NOT made in Belgium nor by monks. That makes me laugh, since the college I went to was run by monks. I’m not kidding. 

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My friend Ashley sent me a pic from when she went to a BACON AND BEER festival. Um, I lived in Boston without knowing that existed? I’m ashamed. And jealous!

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My mom drinks margaritas with a fake goose. Her name is Moddy.

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That’s not random, either. When I was really young and living in Irvine, CA we used to go to the park that was right next to the library. The park had one of those big ponds with the ugly water feature in the middle and you couldn’t really picnic there because of all the ducks and geese and poop. But anyways, there were two immaculately white geese that my mom had named Helen and Moddy because they were asshole geese (we fed them anyways). My understanding is that my mom named them after two of her Aunts- so we can all guess how THOSE ladies must’ve been. So when my mom found these big clay geese somewhere a LONG time ago, she bought them and painted them and put them in the backyard and named them Helen and Moddy.

Gotta wrap it up for this week, I have to get ready for the Big Rock Brewery’s Brewmaster’s Dinner tonight!

Monday Moves #6

Holy Canoli, I can’t believe it’s already week 6 of this series! I hope these posts are sparking ideas for your workouts and/or reminding you of moves you might not have done in a while. Let me know if you’d like me to post specific exercises….and I might actually do it.

So, yeah, I’ve got FOUR moves for you guys this week. Fancy fancy.

ONE: MARCHING HIP RAISES

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- Lie on your back, with your feet planted on the ground.

- Raise your hips up in the air

-Keeping your hips high, drive your right knee to your chest.

-Bring your right knee back to starting position, and repeat the same with your left knee. Keep your hips high throughout the exercise.

TWO: OFFSET DUMBBELL REVERSE LUNGE

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-Start with feet together, dumbbell in left hand at shoulder height.

-Step back with your right foot into a reverse lunge.

-Come back to starting position. Repeat desired reps and do the same with opposite leg and weight in right arm.

THREE: BICEP CURL WITH STATIC HOLD

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-Holding a weight in each hand, allow the left arm to hold the weight at your side, and the right arm to hold the weight with your elbow at a 90 degree angle.

-Keeping the weight in your right arm still, perform a full bicep curl with your left arm. Continue until you complete desired number of reps and repeat with the opposite hand.

FOUR: SIDE-LAYING LATERAL RAISE

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-Start by laying on your side, feet stacked. You can prop your head up with your bottom arm.

-Hold weight in top hand, with palm down. As your raise your arm up to its fully extended position, rotate the wrist so that is facing away from you.

-Bring the weight back down to your side, again rotating the weight back to starting position.

*******

Like I said, fancy fancy. And now I must wait for my nails to dry and go to bed. Tomorrow is my final interview which will hopefully end up in the job offer! Fingers crossed (after they dry, of course).

Question: Favorite exercise lately? What’s the last workout that made you sore??

Exercise and Eats: Week of 5/13

There was LOTS of fun had over the past few days. Some of those things might come up later on this week- maybe. I have my FINALA job interview tomorrow morning, so I might be a working lady soon! (And of course, some celebrating will be done!)

Recapping last week’s eats:

Monday: Avocado Egg Salad Wrap

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Tuesday: Crab Cakes

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Wednesday: I opted for a smoothie after yoga. YUM

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Thursday: Rice pasta with pesto, mushrooms and zucchini

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Friday: Fish Tacos

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Here’s what’s on tap for this week:

  • Monday: Gazpacho and Grilled Cheese
  • Tuesday: Chicken Sausages and veggies (we got the sausages from the farmers market this weekend- Tyler’s is something spicy and mine has fig and fennel!)
  • Wednesday: Big Rock’s Brewmaster’s Dinner (downtown!)
  • Thursday: BBQ chicken
  • Friday: Homemade Pizzas

Onto the exercise.

Well, Last week’s workouts took a HUGE unexpected turn. It was supposed to be week 6 of Best Body Bootcamp, which I’ve actually been following pretty closely this session, but YOGA got involved. You can read about my first experience with yoga here. Look at how much my workouts changed from what was originally planned:

Sun, 5/5: Walk with the pups, TRX circuits
Mon, 5/6: Best Body Bootcamp Strength Workout A, 30 min run
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Tues, 5/7: 40 min spin, 20 min row 75 min YOGA
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Wed, 5/8: BBB Strength Workout B, 20-20-20 cardio 75 min YOGA
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Thurs, 5/9: 60 min run 20 min spin, 20 min run, 5 min row, 65 min YOGA
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Fri, 5/10: BBB Strength Workout C 65 min YOGA, river walk with pups
Sat, 5/11: HIKE!!!!!! off
On tap for this week:
  • Sun, 5/12: River walk with pups, LOTS of yard/house work
  • Mon, 5/13: 65 min YOGA, BBB Strength Workout A
  • Tues, 5/14: 60 min run
  • Wed, 5/15: BBB Strength Workout B, 30 min spin, 10 min row
  • Thurs, 5/16: Run, abs
  • Fri, 5/17: BBB Strength Workout C, 20 min spin, walk with pups
  • Sat, 5/18: TBA

That’s all from this end for now. Stay tuned for Monday Moves!

Question: Any good eats recently? Favorite workouts? I wanna know!!

Winesday Wednesday: 5/8

Happy Winesday Wednesday, folks! It’s that time of the week again where I share all the tweets, instagram shots, emails and facebook posts with YOUR recent bevvies. (I now know A TON-too many- preggo people now. You can STILL submit your non-alcoholic drinks!) Let’s get right to it to see if any of this week’s goodies spark your interest!

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Keith (<—link to his blog) sent in another goodie! I immediate read his description aloud to Tyler to see if it piqued his interest in throwing together another batch of vino. Keith wrote:

This is the last bottle of the Australian Bush Vine Grenache. It was bottled Nov 2007. It’s been a very reliable go to wine for a variety of purposes. It goes well with lots of food, and can hold its own with all but the spiciest. It’s a bit tart in a blackberry plum sort of way, but lots of other flavour to roll around on your tongue.
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If Keith’s pictures haven’t inspired any of you to consider making your own wine, I don’t know what will. OK, maybe tasting it would. 
 
Check out Athena‘s wine corner! How cute! I told her I had just been eyeballing the exact same wine bouquet- it’s so neat!
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Monique @burpeestobubbly (twitter) tweeted TWO different #winesdaywednesday pics and I wish I enjoyed BOTH with her! This is seriously a girl after my own heart…work hard, play hard(er). She recently started up her own bloggity blog which you should check out (in case you were wondering, we know each other from working out together in Boston. Lucky her, she still lives and teaches TONS of fitness classes in that great city!
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Margies for drinko de mayo ;)
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and Sam Summer (hint: if you go to my wedding…this just might be one of the draft selections!)
 
Chelsea @RunnerGirlChels (twitter) gave me the heads up that she had a really awesome wine to share. She mentioned it was a red blend that she tried at a friend’s BBQ over the weekend. And yes, the name is pure genius. I would buy it just for that.
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Sara @Turner_SR (twitter) enjoyed some beer and hockey this weekend! She later followed up with another tweet saying she swapped to twisted iced tea with the hashtag #whateverisinthefridge. Again, my kinda gal.
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I remember resorting so some incredibly questionable drinks when I was younger. Like tequila and coke. Or vodka mixed with shaved ice. Now think of what questionable drink you may have had and proceed to shudder. Oy.
 
Katie @kepotts (twitter) FINALLY got to enjoy a glass of vino after work tonight. If you don’t read this girl’s blog, you should. She’s smart, funny, and a bunch of other positive adjectives. In my opinion. Of course, most of the people who submit WW pics have blogs, but by sharing with you WHICH METHOD of social media they submitted, it will allow you to check them out- in at least ONE way.
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(BTW: that’s A by Acacia Chardonnay)
 
Ja had sake! Oh man, it has been AGES since I’ve had sake! Ja mentioned that it was smooth and creamy and a nice way to end the night. (Just bumped Sake back up on the to-do list! Thanks, Ja!)
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Oh my gosh, so apparently I had funny settings on my facebook page, but I JUST noticed that Michael submitted a beer pic way back in the beginning of April! Gah, sorry Michael! But I found it, so now I can share it!
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With the pic, he wrote:
Sweet Baby Jesus Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter. Tastes like liquid Reese’s peanut butter cup. 6.5% alchocol, probably 300 calories a glass, and totally ruined the workout I did but it was all worth it
Again, so sorry for overseeing this, Michael! Keep em coming!
 
Here’s my mama drinkin’ a margie on Cinco de Mayo:
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And finally (I hope I didn’t forget anyone else) here’s what I had on tap
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An organic Malbec from Argentina. Not too shabby, but definitely a wine to have with food and not alone.
 
K that’s it folks! Hope to see you all- AND MORE!- next week!

My New Love

Holy crap you guys. I have a new found love. (And I’m not just taking about this guy:)

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I did something for the first time ever last night, and after the 75 minutes, I was over the moon. I. DID. YOGA.

I NEVER wanted to do yoga. I always thought it was crazy and that I wouldn’t have the patience for it. I preferred high-impact, crazy workouts. Only lately have I been feeling the urge to give it a go- not only for a change, but to see how it could affect my body.

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I lucked out with Hot Yoga on Crowfoot- not only are they just around the corner form my house, but they have been voted the best yoga studio in Calgary.

After my early morning trip to Target yesterday, I swung by the studio to get more information on rates and class types and speak with them on which class I should do as a yoga virgin. They were super helpful and suggested I try Traditional Hot Yoga first. So I did. 

The next TH class was offered at 6pm, so I basically went home and hydrated until class time. I got anxious and nervous and almost backed out. 5:30 rolled around, and I arrived at the studio to pay a new student 7-day trial ($25 for 7 days of use!). There was already about 20/25 people lined up along the corridor waiting to take the same class as me. 

This is insane. Already that many people waiting and it’s still 30 minutes before class is scheduled to start? Eek.

Ok, so the doors finally open and BAM it was hot. And I loved it. Being a California native made me a-ok with this heat. Especially in Calgary.

I always think of this image when I remind myself I am a warm-weathered person somehow living in Calgary:

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(Source)

I immediately darted to the back corner to lay out my mat. As people were ‘ready’, they were laying down. I had no idea that about 5 minutes of laying down in 108 degree heat would get me so prepped and excited for a workout!

This is how the studio’s website described the TH class:

Traditional Hot Yoga (TH) is a series of twenty-six postures performed in a precise order, in a room heated to 42 °C (108 °F). The postures combined with heat help cleanse the body and warm the muscles. This class systematically works the entire body, concentrating on the essence of every organ, bone, joint, muscle, ligament, tendon, blood vessel, nerve and gland. Incorporating strength, balance, and flexibility, Traditional Hot Yoga teaches students how each pose stimulates the mind and restores and shapes the body. This class is available in a 65, 75 or 90 minute format.

I whispered to the girl next to me asking her if it was going to be hard and she said no. I must be a trusting person, because I took her word for it.

Come to find out, it wasn’t hard at all. There were a ton of challenging positions, but never once did I find myself straining or wishing I was elsewhere. And the instructor was AMAZING. She had such a warm and welcoming presence and fluently instructed each move and the purpose of doing each. She varied from walking the room to demonstrating moves. 

The only thing that felt funny about that class was the collective sound of people’s exhales. Seriously, just a weird sound to me.

OH. And I sweat. A LOT. Ghastly amounts. Lovely amounts.

There were some floor exercises towards the end of class that made my lower back a bit uncomfortable, but the combination of those and the heat made me realize AFTER class that the pain was gone. And my posture was better. And I woke up this morning feeling 2 inches taller. (Oh God, 2 more inches?! I’m already a giant!) I EVEN TOLD TYLER LAST NIGHT THAT I FELT GREAT ABOUT MY BODY<——that never happens, people.

Of course, I am now sore as hell. But it’s a good sore. One that makes me excited to jump back into my usual strength and cardio training for today. Only downside to this new found love is the price-tag that comes with it.

I know there are a lot of at-home yoga options, and my gym even offers classes, but neither come close to the hot yoga experience that I had. (Plus, creepy Jen noticed that there were about 30 gals my age in the class, meaning creepy Jen can actually have an opportunity to make friends!!) I seriously can’t wait to start working and making money so I can continue taking classes at this studio.

Namaste

Life as of Late

Well shit. I had this whole post written out, and my computer went and deleted it. I want to scream, but then the puppies would come and rub their wet noses into my sides and that would be gross and uncomfortable. I really don’t think I can re-create the post, either, because that first one was pretty awesome. DANG IT. Let’s try this again.

I figured since my posts as of late have been pretty day-specific, and generally about exercise or food or stuff I found on the internet or booze, I would revert back to my old ways and catch up on some life stuff. (See: that’s not funny. The first draft’s intro paragraph was way better.)

Here we go.

1. I won a photo contest from Quest Nutrition Bars that I didn’t even know I entered. The prize was a whole box of their protein goodness, so I obviously went with chocolate chip cookies dough. Want to see what pic got me free stuff?

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2. I have a new sister wife.

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Tyler got a brand new 2013 Mustang (followed by a bunch more fancy words that makes the car sound super awesome. whatever). We’ve only really taken her out once, and it was pretty awesome. I can’t drive her, though. Not because of any Man-Ego-Bursting reasons, but simply because I don’t know how to drive standard. Nor do I really want to because the last thing I want is for anything to happen to my sister wife while I’m out with her. Yaknowwhatimsayin.

3. About a week or so ago, I made a batch of cake batter blondies. Solely for the purpose of eating sprinkles. And I needed something to put them in. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for ordering an extra cup of sprinkles with my soft serve (EVERYONE should be doing that), but I didn’t want to run the risk of having Tyler come home to me on the floor in a sugar coma with empty sprinkles jars. Although, similar things have happened (namely with brownie batter and Nutella).

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I pretty much followed the recipe you’ll find online. Honestly, if you just google it, there will be about 2305972039 search results, all posting pretty much the same recipe. Only difference with mine was that I added extra almond milk AND I threw in some pb2 powder. Um yeah, that was the best decision ever because those suckers were the bomb dot com. But then I wasn’t craving them the next day so I threw them out. This would be different if I HAD A JOB in which case I would bring excess treats into work to share. BUT NO….Sigh, I’m not going there today. I will probably cry. I go plop my mug into that big ass tub of nutella I recently purchased. No, can’t do that. I have a wedding dress to fit into. Sidenote: It is a TERRIBLE idea to have the final fitting for your dress SIX months before the actual wedding. And it doesn’t help that it is sitting in the bridal shop 3000 miles away so I can’t even visit it and make sure I don’t look like a sausage in it!

4. The three of us (Me, Tyler and the Sister Wife) drove out to Canmore on Saturday. 1.) So Tyler could break in the new gal 2.) To enjoy the friggin FIRST nice day of the year, and 3.) To go test out some beers and enjoy a nice lunch on the patio. We went to The Grizzly Paw for our first stop and enjoyed some beers. (The first draft had a really good joke about getting sun burns, but now I totally forget it, so your loss)

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Maybe it was something about how it was so nice to sit outside and enjoy a great afternoon of drinks and food even though we each only got burnt on one side of our bodies? I don’t know, I think there was some mention of altitude in that joke as well.

The beers were really good! The only one I didn’t care for was the IPA. (Canadian joke: IP-eh! hahaha I’m so silly)

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And we both got Bison burgers. My side HOUSE salad had beets and egg and a whole bunch of other delicious things that I immediately shovelled into my mouth.

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5. Beer + Lemonade= Shandy

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This stuff was WAY TOO EASY to drink. That is all I will say about that.

6. Tyler is SO good on the grill. We had filet mignon with caesar salads and grilled corn the other night. The dogs were going nuts because we kept ‘mmmmm-ing’.

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Also, the corn was from the US so of course it was good. 

7. Now that the sun has made its appearance for 2013, I have to take what I can get and say VAMOOS to tank top tan lines. Those don’t make for good wedding pictures..or so I hear.

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I was not intending for that picture to look scandalous, but I guess that’s what happens when you unhook the straps of a bathing suit. (for no tan lines people!)

Other tidbits as of late:

  • I made these and these and loved them both! I can’t wait for Sally to come out with her cookbook!!!
  • Target opened in Calgary today. I was bummed they didn’t have a larger grocery section, but HELLS YES I stocked up on Double Stuf Oreos. THEY WERE $1.88!!! 
  • I finally got my first Iced Coffee of the year from Starbucks. Crazy nees: Did you know they don’t offer iced coffee in the winter months? I suppose it’s not in high demand when the weather is -20, but I STILL WANT IT!

Now you tell me something!!!