stockholm weekend pics

i caught a stomach bug accompanied by waves of nausea so i stayed indoors all weekend, but at least the sun came out for a bit, its rays shining in through the windows.  and, our stuff arrived early!  we are surrounded by boxes and boxes and boxes in every single room and i simply couldn't just rest in bed, i had to start unpacking.  now, we have a well-equipped kitchen with my favourite dishes (not even one broke) carefully put away in the cupboards and a living room with a (non-static!) sofa, pillows, and a damaged marble coffee table top (thank goodness for insurance).

kai had fun with the boxes :)

hope you had a healthy and lovely weekend. 

juice fast





there comes a time when i have to say to myself… connie, enough is enough, no more daily indulgences like candy cane chocolate and ice cream and carbs galore.  because what happens is that i want to eat more of that stuff, have low energy, become lazy, bloated and grouchy, there's weight gain and just feeling and looking blah.   so, i did a juice cleanse!   

i have heard wonderful things about juicing from friends and they love it.  i have wanted to try it for a such a long time now so when stefan agreed to do it with me it wasn’t so scary anymore.  for 3 days we consumed 100% raw fruit and vegetable juice 5 times a day with a simple salad of kale and apple for dinner.  that #1 was pretty delicious (apple, carrot and beet) but that #5 (tomato, cucumber, celery, parsley, and lime) was gross.

we bought organic fruit and vegetables, prepped them ourselves (time-consuming!) and used our awesome new juicer (it works brilliantly!).  we used the juice cleanse recipes from spud bc (next time we’ll just get them to deliver the ingredients and save the multiple trips to the store!). 

i felt really good during and afterwards.  i feel energized and light, like it was exactly what my body needed.  i did it for three more days... six consecutive days in total!  and the most surprising thing was that i didn't feel starving or anything.  i have now continued to nurture my body with a juice or two daily while paying attention to eating healthier (with the occasional treat :)... the ultimate indulgence.

would you ever consider a juice fast?  this documentary is compelling. and this video about a couple doing the master cleanse (not for me!) is funny.

ps. i haven't forgotten about my 52 weeks post, check back later this afternoon if you like.

weekend pics, 33 hours

33 hours is the amount of time i was on my own this weekend while stefan and kai went on their annual boys-only camping trip to the sunshine coast (they had fun!).  if you'd like to read about it, this is what my 33 hour weekend without them looked like:

do: i went to the khatsahlano music and art festival popping into shops; stopping to listen to the variety of bands playing, my favourite was e.s.l and the lion, the bear, and the fox; sipping on iced tea, the one from david's tea really did taste just like a pina colada, it was so refreshing; and i really really wanted a corn on the cob but couldn't because of the braces (argh!) but i did have a snow cone :)

exercise: over the course of the weekend i went for a run, worked out at the gym, and cycled to kitsilano pool for a lovely long swim.  i am feeling good despite the indulging...

indulge: i ate biscotti (my favourite) dipped in tea and came across a gluten-free salted chocolate chip cookie from culprit coffee that was the best i've tasted thus far.  i will definitely return and bring my boys with me.

watch: i went to the movies to watch before midnight and while one person walked out of the cinema in the middle of the movie and another, at the end, turned to me to say it was a waste of money, i actually loved it.  i enjoyed strolling through greece with jesse and celine, their dialogue and the realism of their relationship was mesmerizing.  if you haven't seen it, be sure to see the first two movies in this trilogy first, before sunrise and before sunset. 

eat: i treated myself to a japanese meal from shizenya.... their tofu and avocado salad with black sesame sauce is incredibly delicious.  and i cooked a one-tray bake for my boys' return home (thank you for the suggestion lyda!).

pamper: i ended my 33 hours with a pedicure and manicure from pure nail bar. 









 



 

 

dog swoon... isn't this the cutest mohawked dog you've ever seen?

 



espresso coloured toes!





despite missing my boys - that kai of mine grows more quickly when he's away from me, he did the same thing last year - and not enjoying being home alone at nighttime (remember this post about noises in the night), i had a lovely weekend on my own.  i hope yours was lovely too.

kale

truth be told, i didn't think i would like kale.  and i have no idea how i came to form this idea.  so, a few weeks ago when i asked stefan to pick me up some spinach and he came home with kale i was not happy.  how did he mistaken a box that screams "i heart baby kale" for spinach?!  and more importantly what would i eat for lunch?  not inspired by anything in the kitchen i decided to endure the kale.

well... after a few bites i realized i wasn't enduring my kale salad but enjoying it!  now i buy kale all of the time (and yes, i sheepishly apologized to stefan).  loaded with calcium and vitamin k, kale is ridiculously good for us.  and it makes the perfect yummy and satisfying meal.

last night, without any other greens in the house stefan used the kale as a base for the. most. delicious. nicoise salad ever.  the best part was watching kai eat up every single morsel... i believe, getting smarter and stronger with every bite.



 

now i am on the look out for more ways to inject kale into my/our diet.  if you have any recipes you love, please do send them my way.

inspiring seniors

image from here

have you heard about the vancouver couple who climbed mount kilimanjaro back in september of 2012? 

well, according to the guinness world record they have recently become the oldest couple to successfully climb the mountain.  inspired by his sister who suffers from dementia, the couple took part in the climb to help raise money for the alzheimer's society of british columbia.

martin kafer, 85, and his wife, esther, 84, are life-long mountaineers.  they met on a mountain, honeymooned on a mountain, and climbed mountains all over the world. they will celebrate sixty years of marriage this year.  sixty years!  martin says, "a couple who do things together stay together."  quote from here

for the sedentary folks, they offer, "be active all of the time, eat well, use your arms your legs and your head. most of all your head. take every day as a bonus day."  quote from here

on living life, he says, "i feel great.  you gotta keep going, you know... if you're going to keep yourself alive, you have to do the things you like."  quote from here

about the climb itself, the couple are very modest, "it’s just another mountain, but it’s a bit higher than some." quote from here

i can only hope to age as well as esther... in mind, spirit and body.  so amazing!

weekend pics

i started the weekend off at the year of the snake event with good friend patrycja; this is her year!  we celebrated with hair makeovers, live hip hop dance competition (wow, did we i feel old!), and chinese food.  with chinese new year fast approaching, it's a big event in Vancouver, there is plenty to experience in the next couple of weeks like parades, more food (but of course!) and a good excuse to visit the chinese gardens and temples in the city.



image from here





the potato tornadoes were my favourite

 



image from here



after a much needed haircut for kai we had a little take-out sushi picnic in a nearby park.  it was quite cold but food, some frolicking, and a blanket kept us warm!  that evening i was lucky enough to spend time with patrycja again but this time our boys hung out with us... playing whoonu (i learned a few things about kai, like he prefers spicy food over bowling!!!), eating (goulash stew, black bean chocolate cake and european candy), drinking (give me a sparkly rose anytime!), and enjoying.  thank you p+s.

the black bean chocolate cake is much more delicious than it sounds or looks... very moist and not too chocolate-y which is my kind of chocolate cake





if you have never played, do so and expect laughter!







don't you love her stack of bracelets?

on sunday we spent time on the mountain again. we weren't meant to go but our little guy who had a tummy ache the night before and was sick (throwing up kind of sick, my friends, it wasn't pretty) awoke feeling much better in the morning so after much persuasion we went up the mountain.

this time i had stefan to keep me company on the snowshoe trail and we discovered a little trail loop at the peak; it had such beautiful views; i hope you don't mind my sharing yet more snowy pics! 

after collecting kai from his ski lesson we made the rounds for hot chocolate infused with honey nougat and bits of hazelnut from bella geletaria for me (the hot chocolate festival is still going on... i rank this one as my favourite, sorry thomas) and coffee from mink for stefan. kai didn't partake in the drinking treats...  we wanted to be cautious with his tummy but the lovely chicken noodle soup we picked up from the stock market on granville island hit the spot... for all three of us.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 





other scenes from the weekend:

don't judge, it's been awhile!