To Cook or Not To Cook

Moving out on my own means that I have to cook for myself again. It has been about 5 years since I've done that and even when I did I was not a very good cook. I am a decent baker and I love to bake everything. From cookies, cakes, muffins, bread. I love to try random recipes I find on Pinterest or old recipes from my mom. Cooking on the other hand... I am not good at. I find things on Pinterest I want to try but I don't have the patience for cooking. I can spend 4 hours making cinnamon buns, but take 30 minutes to make dinner, nope don't want to. My mom got me a Crock Pot for my birthday this year and I am super excited to try out some new recipes. I am trying to eat healthier and that is requiring me to learn how to cook. There has been some trial and error already. Who knew you could mess up spaghetti.  Cooking will be an ongoing process of learning patience and practice. I decided that my New Year's Resolution will be to try at least one new recipe a week. Instead of sticking to the 2 things I know how to make (stir fry and perogies). I don't usually go for the whole idea of New Year's Resolutions but I thought that this year I would try one. So far it hasn't gone that well, but I did make my first stew in my Crock Pot and it turned out pretty good, which makes me hopeful for other meals. Next week I will be trying to make stuffed peppers. The pictures look so good and I love peppers so I thought it would be a good one to try. I am finding that recipes online are made to feed more than 1 person and trying to half recipes or alter them for one person requires some brain power that I don't always feel like using. Weekends have become my meal planning days. I plan what I am making each day and write my grocery list based on that. Since I don't have much in my house yet of spices I have to get them with eat new recipe I will be trying. It's amazing how many different spices there are out there! I am a pretty picky eater as well so it makes it a little harder to find recipes that I like. I am willing to try pretty much anything, which may sound weird. I have my foods that I completely avoid, but others I try whenever someone else makes or orders them. So I am exploring foods that I had written off in my past. I could always try a cooking class to learn some recipes too!!

Nothing better than baking cookies!

Song of the Day: John Mayer. Anything sang by this man is fantastic. I can't pick just one song.

Mind, Body, Health

Over the many years of doing yoga on and off again, I found that when I was doing yoga is when I felt the best. Since my teacher had us do an assignment about making a change in our lives and writing about it each week, I have found that it has been easier to stick with my yoga practice. I have books and videos about yoga but the best place I have found yoga workouts is on YouTube. I have gone to classes and didn't feel very comfortable in class. Yoga for me is very personal and I felt in a class I couldn't relax and enjoy it as much as I do at home. Yoga is not my only form of exercise. I do a lot of at home, body weight workouts. I used to work at a gym and have done the weightlifting, cycling classes and other workout classes. I loved all that. It was a great way to get me into taking care of my body and finding what kind of exercises and workouts I like to do. There are so many options out there and finding the right fit for me has just been trying different classes and talking to personal trainers to find what works for me. I found with the cable machines and other machines at the gym I was not physically able to use them. I was just too short (4'11'' for life!). With moving I have found it too expensive right now to get a gym membership so I have had to just work with body weight workouts and using the park as a great alternative. There are so many different ways to get out and get active that I couldn't possibly try all of them. I love talking to people and finding out what they works for them. It is so unique to every individual. I find a great motivation for me is having a motivational board on my wall. Mine is different coloured sticky notes stuck on my wall with quotes and different sayings to remind me why I do what I do. I also love checking out The Berry and their Daily Motivation post. They put great recipes and different workouts each day. My main thing is just loving my body and all the things that it can do. I have discovered that I am stronger than I ever thought I was and can push my body farther than ever before. The body is an amazing thing and I have learned to love it. That has been a very hard concept for me to accept, but I can finally say that I love my body, curves and rolls and all.

Album of the Day: Marianas Trench Astoria (really all of their albums)

Traffic, Traffic and more Traffic

Moving to a city means traffic or more like sitting in traffic commuting to work everyday. When I started my job I was working about half an hour away from where I lived. No big deal...except when you need to go to work. Leaving for work at 6 am to get to work by 7 am was the worst. I work a split shift so I was driving back and forth twice a day, everyday. It wouldn't have been that bad if I was actually moving when I was driving. Most of my commute was spent sitting in traffic, not moving at all for the most part. Every morning and every evening. It wasn't so bad when I was done my morning shift and heading back in the afternoon. Moving closer to work has been the best thing ever. Not only do I get to sleep longer it now takes me about 5 minutes to get to work. I took for granted the traffic in Medicine Hat when I was driving to school everyday. The traffic here can be insane and when bridges get closed or there is an accident on a major road, it clogs everything up and makes it impossible to get anywhere. It doesn't help that the cities all bleed into one another. To make that a little more clear I'll explain. I live in New Westminster, if I cross the street I am in Burnaby, if I go down the hill, outside my house, I am in Coquitlam. I cross the river I am in Surrey and so on and so on. It can get really confusing when trying to figure out where you are going. I like to call it the Greater Area of Vancouver, kind of like Toronto. Traffic the last couple days has been horrible. An accident on one bridge plugs up all the roads to the other bridges. It can be a nightmare. I am looking to get a bicycle so that will help with avoiding traffic!!

Turn up the Music

Music... 5 simple letters that mean something different to every person in the world. It has millions of styles, genres, rhythms, languages and on and on. For me music is everything. I can listen to it when I am happy, sad, mad and every other emotion. I find silence so loud. I almost always have music playing, or I'm singing or playing my guitar. There is always some form of music around me. I love exploring new music and finding out what music means to other people. Music is a very personal thing. I find it fascinating to talk to people about the music they listen to and why they like it. I may have a completely different reaction to a song or artist then somebody else. Some one may connect to the lyrics of a song, others the beat, or the intricate guitar playing. Music is open to your own interpretation, which is one reason I find it so beautiful. there is a quote that says something like "when you are happy you hear the music and when you are sad you hear the lyrics". I find this to be true. I can hear a song one day and think one thing about it and the next day be in a different mood and it changes the meaning of the song.

My musical taste ranges far and wide, from the likes of Queen and Led Zeppelin to Christina Perri and Adele to the country music of Florida Georgia Line and back to the rock of Foo Fighters. There is no possible way for me to list all the artists and types of music I like so I post a Song of the day, album, or artist. 

Growing up in my house there was almost always some form of music playing. From my dad playing his old records in the living room, playing banjo or bass upstairs, cassette tapes/cds in the car, and me playing guitar or music. I don't know where I would be in my life if I didn't have music. It has been a saving grace for me. When I was at my lowest it was there to remind me I wasn't alone. Music has helped me through the good, the bad and the terrible. It has helped me to express things when I didn't have the words. It sounds cheesy, but it's true. I am so grateful for all the artists out there who make music for us to enjoy.

Song of the day: Send My Love (To Your New Lover) by Adele

Found the quote thanks to Pinterest!! 

New Year, New...

...Address!!

This new year is bringing me a new address. I am moving into my own place. It has been 4 years since I have lived on my own and I am super excited! I am incredibly grateful to all my family that has let me stay with them these past 4 years. I would not be where I am if not for all of you. This move is another part of the adventures that I hope to continue this year. I do not really have a New Year's Resolution other than just continuing to explore and try new things. This past year was full of ups and downs and figuring out who I am. I feel like I am in a much better place than I was at the beginning of 2015. I am proud of myself for how far I have come in being confident in who I am and exploring who I am. I know I could not have done it without all my girls and teachers from CYC. They have been huge influences in my life and I am so glad I met each one of you. 2015 was adventure and here's to another year of adventures of all kinds!

I hope everyone has a Happy New Year!!

Album of the Day: Astoria by Marianas Trench




Got my keys!!