Monday, January 31, 2011

Mr. Clean & Mrs. Not So Clean

Weekend was a blur!
Here are some quick random facts about it

- Ate healthy but didn't count calories!
- Skipped the gym for 3 days, eeekkkkkk but felt okay because i ate well
- Had great family dinner which involved a lot of laughing when we all discovered damnyouautocorrect.com

- House shopped a little more (still holding out for my pantry)
- Did a little shopping, can't find cute summer dresses anywhere!
- Woke up to -18 celcius this morning and a huge snowstorm brewing for tomorrow
- Hitting Physique 57 and Zumba tonight, have to get my abs toned for Aruba in 6 days!

Okay here is the actual post...
I love my hubby but he is kind of a clean freak, i on the other hand am not, definitely a tidy freak, not a clean freak

Mopping and sweeping and polishing UNDER the runner in the great room? Not something that would ever cross my mind, i mean you can't see it!  Hubby however likes to do it every couple of weeks or so; yet he will leave a windex bottle on the kitchen desk for a month but after fabulously cleaning something he then leaves the broom, mop and polish and rags sitting around the room and that makes me INSANE

See!  Hubby: clean freak Me: tidy freak

So the question is, how do Mr. Clean and Mrs. Tidy (i've changed my title midpost just cause i can!) live together?  Certainly not in perfect harmony!  More like...

A little nagging - ex: for the love of god woman pick up a broom
A lot of sarcastic texts - ex: i hid the dirty cloths u left in sink on ur side of the bed, luvya xox Some patience - ex: even though i've asked you 9 million times to wipe sink after using it i'll remind you again
Tons and tons of love - ex: you are so damn cute when you clean the toilet and gosh i love you when you have to fold the blanket to specific dimensions

You take the good with the bad people, the good with the bad... :o)

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Mexico - April 2010

Hubby and I's 2nd trip together was to Playa Del Carmen in Mexico with another great couple

We stayed at the Ocean Turquesa and visited Tulum, Chichen Itza, and Coco Bongo, best night club EVER!

Again, no travel blog, i usually avoid them on short 7 day vacations but due to the demand again after Italys I will definitely be doing one for Aruba


Here are my favourite pictures...

Start of the trip, pale and proud!

Gorgeous resort


Tubing in xel-ha


Sneaking into the manatee exibition

Gorgeous water at Tulum

Add caption

Tulum

Coco Bongo!!!!!!!

Water Hole

Chichen Itza



Friday, January 28, 2011

Bikini Countdown: Goals met and Goals planned

I missed you yesterday blog!

Work is incredibly stressful right now, i've mentioned that several times now and i'll probably mention it a whole lot more unless D lets me quit and become a yoga instructor, its not like i ask every day, just every other day and while he says that would definitely be "hot", we like to travel too much and buy too many shiny new things to live off of only one income, sigh!

This week my goal was to get more cardio in, it was achieved!


Monday: Zumba
Tuesday: Long walk with the doodle and kettlebell work out (some wii zumba but not sure if it counts as burning calories when you just laugh at the guy on the screen wiggling his bum in a way i can never achieve!)
Wednesday: Physique 57 and 20 minutes running on the treadmill (my head felt WAY better after working out, yay!)
Thursday: Spin class + Zumba (don't think i've ever sweated that much before!)
Friday: Day off

210 minutes of cardio in 5 days!
& 90 minutes of stregnth training

Confession:  I'm having a hard time right now with maintaining my cool with bikini time arriving in T- 8 days as I don't look like i usually do before vacations..

Let me explain, usually before a beach holiday I would maintain a diet of ridiculously small amounts, i would do one of those herbal cleanses that had me refering to toilet paper as sandpaper (ie: you forgot to change the roll of sandpaper again honey!)

Now, i focus on filling my body with whole natural foods that make me feel strong and while yes my waist isn't as tiny as it was in say Costa Rica, i glow in a way that i didn't back then, I feel strong, i have muscles in my calves and biceps (when i flex really hard, if you concentrate you will see them) and i enjoy food again, you can't keep me out of the kitchen!  I have to remember i'm happier one size up, 4/6 is the new 2/4 right? :o) 


So back to the goals...

My goal for next week is to not eat after 7, lets see how i do with that, D was on 8-8 the past few weeks so we have been eating dinner around 9 which i know it not very good for you

This post has been all over the place but i think i got across everything i wanted to, i will put my Mexico photo post up soon, promise!

I'm excited for date night tonight, off to see "Friends with Benefits" at the movies (we lluuurrrvvveee the movies), then its Vaughn Mills for some outlet shopping tomorrow and Sunday is family dinner and i hope to get some cooking  in!  But until the weekend starts the tea below should help keep me going..


Hope everyone has a fab weekend xox

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Pouty pouty pants

I truly try to post something cute, quirky or interesting every day and if i have nothing i throw up a travel blog for fun,  Mexico and Italy are still to come!
Today will not be one of those days
My "unreasonable time" has me turning into a grouchy monster (and not the yummy green kind)
I have the honour of being graced with a migraine every 28 days and today is that day, at least i hope so because if this sticks around another day my head might start spinning all the way around
I tried to google headache clipart and found some of the lamest pics ever so here is a self portrait of miss pouty pouty pants

I edited the picture to be sepia, if only i could make the world sepia until this headache and my aversion to bright colours and light passes :o)

Hope everyone has a lovely day, the weather is a lot warmer in Ontario today and despite headache i might attempt physique 57 tonight, i need to be bikini ready in 10 days :oÞ

Donna xox

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

God save the QUEEN!


First off, i went to Zumba last night and was FULL of energy, even when we did the new dance that had me going in the wrong direction each and every time for the entire 3m30s song!

While waiting for D to be done squash i used a few weight machines and then hopped on the treadmill, i miss summer running SO bad :o(

Today we  have someone working on the house so i stayed in and utlized Angelas kettle bell 101 tips and then tried my wii zumba game, some how i was chosen to be male and i swear the guy moves in slow motion?  So i finished with some abs that came with a faceful of doodle tail, the furry baby loves to be rightnexttome when i work out at home!  At work now and already feeling it a bit, still trying to decide what classes to go to tomorrow - suggestions?

Not much to say today, i'm having one of those treaded girly fat days, might be because of that very special time of the month is coming (my unreasonable time as D likes to call it), but either way i feel like moo-ing and i can't be reasoned with, it will pass... i hope


Odd title right?  It's the first song that comes to mind when I think about being British!

Yup, thats right, i'm not a "real" canadian, i've lived in Canada for 23 years and still my passport is a shade of plum and i pronounce garage as gar-adge :o)

My accent didn't stick around long, going to school in Canada cured my sister and i of that quite quickly but words not often used around Canadians some times pop up in my vocabulary!

My entire family is british which means everyone but my sister, myself and our cousin all have accents so i'm quite adept at translating odd british words and phrases (did you have to que up for the lift today?)


My uncle and cousin came to Canada about 5 years prior to my parents and couldn't say enough good things about the country, my parents decided to go on an adventure and we moved to Canada justlikethat!  Well not really, lots of tests paperwork, boxes etc...

The memory that stands out the most is my parents talking to my uncle prior to getting on the Wardair flight to Canada and him telling us it was sunny and 25 degrees (in march) and to just pack our winter gear in the boxes being shipped, well we arrived to a blizzard producing about 2 feet of snow and ice, my mum and dad weren't impressed house and car shopping in anoraks and trainers (wind breakers and running shoes) but it was a great introduction to the finicky weather that is Canada

I've been back only once, it was a wonderful trip full of memories of growing up in an entirely different country and i ate A LOT


This post has a purpose, my biggest weakness is british food...

The candy is fab, they use flavours like black currant and raspberry insead of grape and cherry (ewwwwwww)
They lluuurrrvvvveee butter and puddings (desserts)
The grocery stores are full of whole foods, delicous prepared dinners, etc....

My list of favourite british things are

Thortons toffee

Proper english tea
Scotch eggs (though i think they might be scotish)
Pastilles
Scones with fresh cream and jam
Trifle
Banoffee pie

Bubble and squeak
Crisps
Cadbury chocolate buttons
I could go on for DAYS

Seriously, the next time you pass a quaint little british store (you know the one, each town usually has it tucked away in the downtown area), stop in, try something new, you won't regret it, trust me (just don't blame me if you start to moo!)

Monday, January 24, 2011

Egg laying bunnies (and other weekend adventures)

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

I'll do my usual weekend in pics - makes my monday posts so much easier (and fun!)


Saturday after work i went to lululemon (my happy place) and tried on a new running pullover - what do you think? I would need to size up but it didn't really wow me!
Details about the new pullover

Lol, i look super impressed here
The back flares out a bit, kind of looks like i have wings!
I thought i would HATE the no limit tank but in the end i had to force myself to only buy one colour!

Sexy side shot

Not sure where to look, lol!  I got the Aruba colour since i'm going there in less then 2 weeks!

My loot for the afternoon (i miss lululemon calling their sale loot!)

New items here to try - almond crackers (blech), coconut butter (yummm), sunflower butter (double yummm), shortbread (that i might have tried in the car), and the peppermint chocolate soy milk in the back? i might have bough 4 of them!

Doodle and her new cousin tried to tolerate each other

And the piece de resistance - cadbury creme eggs are bbbbaaaaccckkkkkkk!!!!!

PROGRESS: Yesterday was a treat day and when i picked up our normal veggies etc.. for the week (that i can't bring myself to buy from whole foods) it was decided that chips would be our cheat food for the week but i made the mistake of looking at the ingrediant list of my love Sour Cream and Bacon potatoe chips, darn it, I can no longer willingly put MSG in my body, i resorted to natural lays for the hubby, and kettle chips for me - i am a new person, lets have a moment for my previous chips though, kay? kay!

Today is Zumba night and since hubby has squash a little later i'm going to stick around for weights, I've decided this week to amp up my cardio, and introduce green tea back into my routine in the evenings - here goes! (must stop screwing up nose just thinking about green tea) :o)




Saturday, January 22, 2011

St Maarten/St Martin - September 2009

Hubby and I's first vacation together was to the beautiful island of St Maarten
I didn't blog this trip as I was just too excited to be traveling with my new BF, his best friend and his best friends girlfriend!
Here are a few of my most favourite pictures!


















D & D in Sweet Harmony

I have SO been MIA from here with the exception of travel blog up loads, i hope everyone is enjoying them!  Please feel free to comment, i know a lot of people are reading them :o)

Today a quick update and then i've written up hubby and i's love story!

Saturday: Went to Toronto and had the yummiest salad at Canyon Creek, then the worlds worst cheesecake at Jack Astors, had to send it back and it must be bad if i send back dessert!  We had a blast with our friends but were disapointed shopping at the eaton centre, its under renovation but it just seemed shabby (and not in the chic kind of way)

Yummy tofu


Sunday: Got groceries, they had a jazz band playing, was so much fun shopping listening to live music, relaxed and hung out with both our sets of parents

Monday: Physique 57 & Zumba, having sunday off meant i had TONS of energy in both classes, we also tried tofu for the first time and it was DELISH!

Tuesday: Hit up a class i hadn't been to in ages, sculpting circuit, one minute an exercise and you just rotate around the whole room, i love that class because you never get bored and its easy to go really hard when you know it only lasts 1 minute!  Dinner was paninis (roasted turkey and havarti) yumm

Wednesday: Took day off the gym, cuddled with hubby, made spaghetti and meatballs (healthy version of course)

Thursday: Zumba after work and made homemade turkey burgers with feta filling and sweet potatoe fries

Friday: Went to functional training then worked 12-8 at work and called hubby on way home and asked him to pick up a wholewheat pizza from pizzaville, was too tired to cook!

Saturday (today): My 2nd day off the gym, working 8-4 then hoping to get to Lululemon and whole foods tonight - yay!  Making grilled chicken nachos for dinner, i'm just as excited for the nachos as i am for lululemon :o)


Okay on to the explanation of the title...


This title just has SO many layers and its the story of how me and hubby came to be, ready?  Here goes our love story...

We met online, hahahaaaaa! Its true :o)  E-harmony to be exact (see you are appreciating my title even more now right?)

One year of being on my own and dating and I decided to dive into the dating pool, unfortunately the pool was empty (ouch!), all my friends were in relationships, i don't go to bars and i work with a whole lot of women (most of who are going through the change), how was i to meet a guy?

I googled e-harmony, found a coupon code for 3 months at $29.95 (please bow to my thriftiness as its normally like $49 a month), and i put myself out there

First date? awful, he was like 5" shorter then me, (guy has to be taller then me in heels, its a rule!), he frequently broke out into dancing, and he had a fit when i mentionned i was previously married - not cool!

I turned 30 that summer and one of the guys i had been matched with had added me to msn messenger and he stayed up with me till midnight till my birthday, he called me kid, he loved photography, and when i mentioned i was free that Saturday he jumped at the opportunity to take me out


Our first date was to a local pasta restaurant (neither one of us ate much we were too nervous), glo in the dark golf (i wiggled my bum, he pretended not to be staring), then to his house to watch a movie (big deal, i was the first girl he had asked back and he was the only guy i've ever gone back to his place with)


His house was clean and not in a i-have-a-girl-coming-over clean kind of way, he showed me the lights he had hung on his deck he was so proud of and where the rabbit he used to hate lived but now he leaves lettuce leafs for her/him (i fell in love with D then and there)

He showed me he was taller when i had my heels on, and then he picked the longest movie he could find and at 2:30 that morning i finally drove home thinking this could be something great

I texted him the next day (he said he was waiting but was totally going to text, we still argue about it) and i told him since he kept me up so late he should pack for me as i was leaving for Vegas and San Francisco the next day, he asked if he could come over... He brought a scary movie to encourage cuddling and met my dog, she approved!

After leaving to meet my parents who had flown out 2 days before, i texted him the whole time from my trip, my parents were excited, i was glowing the whole vacation


I came home after a red eye from San Fran, showered, hugged my sister and furbaby and headed straight to his house

We have been together ever since, we moved in together after 8 months and pretty soon i am going to marry him and make cute babies (how is that for decisiveness!)

So while we did meet online, his financial advisor is my coworker and has the office next to mine, we go to the same gym, we have the same doctor and I helped his cousin once, she reminded me at a family wedding when she came up and said "you are the banker that helped me after i split with my ex, you said the first one was just practice and you were so nice, i'm so happy you are dating my cousin", we were destined to meet!


He makes me laugh, he will be totally silly with me and we regularly have our own private versions of amazing races (picture us paddling on a river in mexico with flipflops to beat the supermodel team in the innertube next to us), he puts his arms around me when i'm cooking in the kitchen and i swear thats what heaven feels like, i let him rub my feet and i rub his (this is a big deal, i think feet are icky), sometimes he looks at me like i'm the best thing since peanut butter, he tells me every day i'm beautiful and how lucky he is and he uses the word appreciate often, i appreciate this!  He regularly calls me his mrs. and he treats the furbaby as his own, I love him so :o)

Oh and as you can tell from the title, m.d/hubby/bf has a first name that starts with D!



To sign off of this post i thought i would leave you with the mortifying things that happened when we first started dating
 MM (mortifying moment) 1: I split my brand new gap khakis in the arse on a waterfall photography date
MM 2: I set my hair on fire by getting too close to a candle in the bubble bath

MM 3: I stumbled out of bed with a charlie horse leg cramp, fell asleep while i was hopping around, fell on my face, broke my nose, passed out and bled everywhere, he actually ran out of bed and tried to help me but i was so mortified i hid in the bathroom till the blackouts subsided and i had cleaned the blood up, i have a little scar on my nose to remember it by!

So thats our story, there is so much more ahead of us and i look forward to it all but everyday i am grateful for each day we get to love each other, mushy mushy i know :o)
At the hamilton tigercats game



Thursday, January 20, 2011

Las Vegas & San Francisco - June 2009

So hubby and i had our first date on a Saturday
Sunday i made him come over and help me pack 
Monday i went to Las Vegas to meet up with my parents who had flown out 2 days prior, we were celebrating my 30th birthday, woot woot!
I spent the whole time texting hubby, after 2 dates i missed him, i knew it was something special but Las Vegas and San Francisco were something special too!
Here are my favourite pics, sorry no travel blog to accompany this time!