Recipe of the Week ~ The Best Vegetarian Chili in the World

When I made this chili, I didn't expect there to be so much! I also didn't expect it to be so yummy! It's a little spicy, so if you don't like spice too much, I would lay off the jalapeno peppers, or maybe even cut it down to 1 pepper.

I found the recipe and photo here.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon salt
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chile peppers, drained
2 (12 ounce) packages vegetarian burger crumbles
3 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and season with bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until onion is tender, then mix in the celery, green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, garlic, and green chile peppers. When vegetables are heated through, mix in the vegetarian burger crumbles. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 5 minutes.

2. Mix the tomatoes into the pot. Season chili with chili powder and pepper. Stir in the kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and black beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in the corn, and continue cooking 5 minutes before serving.

Prep Time: 15 MinCook Time: 1 Hr Ready In: 1 Hr 15 Min
Servings: 8
Calories per Serving: 342
Total Fat per Serving: 7.7 g
Cholesterol per Serving: 0 mg

My Notes:

- I wasn't able to find Garbanzo beans so I got a can of mixed beans. That worked out really well.

- I couldn't find chili peppers either, so I put in some chili flakes.

- Warning: this chili is a little spicy!

- Some of the ingredients can be purchased fresh instead of canned (recommended). Just be aware of the additonal prep time.

- When reheating, you may need to add a tiny amount of water. Add to desired consistency.

- I used TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein). I'm not sure if it the same as the Vegetarian Burger Crumbles mentioned in the recipe, but it works amazingly well. My dinner guest thought he was eating chili with ground beef!

- I served this with garlic bread (toasted with olive mixed with crushed garlic). It can also be served with crackers, but the bread was extra yummy.

Clarisonic Competition?

No doubt, the Clarisonic gets mostly rave reviews. This product claims to cleanse the skin so well that it will help skin to look & feel younger as well as to absorb skin products a lot quicker. Of course, it comes at a hefty cost (there are several packages, most in the $200.00 range).

Photo from here

Being on a more modest budget, I opted for something that has a similar concept but costs much less:

Round Handle Facial Brush from The Body Shop. Total cost: $3.00 CND (I actually bought mine on sale for $2.50).

When I first tried this brush, I immediately noticed smoother, softer skin. I use a cream cleanser in the morning and an apricot scrub in the evening. My skin also does seem to absorb cleansers more. It takes just a minute to cleanse your entire face with this brush. When finished, rinse & store. The brush has a plastic cap so that it doesnt have to sit directly on any other surface (to prevent bacteria). I never completely snap the cap back on so as to allow the rinse water to evaporate from the brush.

I imagine that this brush brings very similar results to the skin as the clarisonic. For about $200.00 less, I'll take this one!

I would love to recieve comments or questions from anyone! It would be really motivating to know I have readers :) Thanks!

Mini Haul ~ Foundation

Yesterday I went by the mall & stopped in Sephora to see if they had any Brush Guards, introduced in this video by Michelle Phan. The brush guards were nowhere in sight, but I remembered my recent split with an old bottle of MAC foundation. I was previously using MAC's SPF Cream Foundation in NW20. Probably due to age, the foundation was beginning to look really streaky. I sadly had to throw it out with 1/4 foundation remaining (anyone who knows me knows how hard it is for me to throw things out!).

Since I've heard so much about Smashbox & Make Up For Ever, I took a look at their cream foundations. I ended up with the following:

1. Smashbox Photo Finish, Oil-Free, Foundation Primer: $44.00 CDN

2. Make Up For Ever, High Definition Foundation: $46.00 CDN

3. Make Up For Ever, High Definition Powder: $34.00 CDN

Total Cost: A whopping $119.10 CDN

I can justify this because when the associate helped me to find some products, she put them on my face and proved that these are great products. I haven't used them on my own yet but I'm pretty excited! I'll do a review after I get more experience with them.

Do you use foundation? If so, which products are your favourite?

Vision Board ~ Always in Progress!

Ah! I just finished about 99% of my post and it was deleted! Back to the drawing board!

Many people have heard of the concept of the "Vision Board", which gained popularity by the movie "The Secret".

I not only remember creating a variation of a Vision Board in high school, but I still have it in my old bedroom at my parent's house! There is something so very personal about it that inspires me to hold onto it forever. However, many of my goals have changed since that class in a stuffy portable.

Shortly after I moved into my new home, I was sitting at my desk and looked at the barren white wall beside me. I thought, I'm not going to paint this place for awhile, so I might as well cover it with something else for now. Aha! I'll make a Vision Board.

It started as a small collection of pictures cut out from magazines and junk mail ads, but has quickly grown and is ever-evolving. It has costed me nothing aside from the cost of tape (very little tape required!), and is extraordinarily fun to work on. I didn't paste onto any kind of backing simply because I originally believed this would be temporary, however it is really growing on me. I often find myself sitting back and looking at this beautiful collage, processing what I'm seeing even if not consciously thinking about what each picture means.

This is what it looks like as of now:

To the right is a 4-month wall calendar, also useful!

As I know from experience, there are many benefits to having a vision board:

- Inspirational
- On bad days, just look at some of those dreamy pictures of beaches and sunshine, and you'll feel better
- Helps to prioritize tasks in every day life
- Quicker movement toward reaching goals
- Filters into the subconscious mind after looking at them without a second thought
- Fun to find, cut out and place pictures
- Can be done with others & as a family

Note that vision boards are very personal and often very private. If you want your vision board to be for youre eyes only, do not paste the pictures directly on the wall! I chose to do so because I wanted to make it unavoidable to look at. I also wanted to be proud enough of my goals so that anyone could look at it. However, if you know anyone who likes to shoot down your ideas, it's good to either keep them away from the vision board room or to have a mobile board that you can hide during particular visits.

Do you have a vision board? If not, would you ever consider having one?

Procrastination can be very bad for your health!

Hi all! Happy Friend's Day, Valentine's Day & Family Day! What a weekend! My 1 year anniversary with my boyfriend also fell on this weekend so we're celebrating today by going to Niagra Falls (woohoo!).

Anyhow, I haven't been posting on my blogs for so many reasons, but it really comes down to one thing - procrastination!

As I've posted before, I'm taking a course for the first time in a couple of years so I'm quite rusty on my studying mentality. I've also been busy with work, health related issues/queries/research, writing in a journal again, trying to adjust my schedule to fit stretching & yoga sessions in the mornings, & so on.

My time management has not always been a strong point. It really behaves like a roller coaster. I suppose that due to all of the changes I've been making lately, some of my hobbies have fallen to the wayside (such as blogging, cross-stitching, having a social life, etc!). They'll be back though!

I'm really excited to share the new discoveries & experiences that have been so positive for me!

Just remember, procrastination only causes stress & chaos!!! Get things done when they need to get done, & you will be a much happier, peaceful person. I'm working on it, & I'll see you soon! :)

Recipe of the week ~ Avocado Sandwich, Grilled Balsamic Portabella Mushroom Burger & Garlic Press Review!

2 recipes this week! One is pretty close to the standard sandwich so it's not really a new recipe...but its the most delicious kind of sandwich that I've ever sunk my teeth into!

The main recipe is the Grilled Balsamic Portabella Mushroom Burger. The sandwich & the burger sort of tie in together at the end and make a great combination if you really like trying new things.

Avocado Sandwich

Avocados are absolutely full of healthy nutrients & healthy fats. They are not only good for our bodies, but it is said that they can help ease ailments such as depression.

I personally love to have pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, cucumbers, olives & mustard on mine (it makes a pretty big sandwich). All of these ingredients go great with avocado. Unfortunately I forgot to buy the olives, the grocery store didn't have alfalfa (I searched in the vegetable section 4 times!) & I couldn't open the bottle of pickels (whoops). At home I used my hamburger buns instead of sliced bread (it's all the same). This is how it turned out:

YUM. I ate TWO for lunch :)

Grilled Balsamic Portabella Mushroom Burger

When I feel like eating a burger, I usually crave vegetarian burgers. Throw in my favourite kind of mushroom & I'm a happy camper :)

You can see the full recipe here.

Ingredients

4 large portabella mushrooms, 5 inches in diameter

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon sugar

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Raw portabello mushrooms

Directions

1. Clean mushrooms with a damp cloth and remove their stems. Place in a glass dish, stem (gill) side up.

2. To prepare the marinade, in a small bowl whisk together the vinegar, water, sugar, garlic, cayenne pepper and olive oil. Drizzle the marinade over the mushrooms. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for about 1 hour, turning mushrooms once.

Marinade pic with flash: reflects the olive oil

Marinade pic without flash: shows garlic

One of the mushrooms bottom-down on marinade, ready to be put in the fridge for 1 hour. The stem is cut off the bottom for maximum soakage, but I saved it (as you can see below). The only dish I had that was large enough to place all four mushrooms was much too large, so I opted for one shallow soup dish per mushroom.

3. Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal grill or heat a gas grill or broiler. Away from the heat source, lightly coat the grill rack or broiler pan with cooking spray. Position the cooking rack 4 to 6 inches from the heat source.

4. Grill or broil the mushrooms on medium heat, turning often, until tender, about 5 minutes on each side. Baste with marinade to keep from drying out. Using tongs, transfer the mushrooms to a plate and serve immediately.

My Notes: I broiled the mushrooms in the stove & although it is a good alternative to grilling, I think grilling would be the best choice. You can use this as a side or as a burger as I did:

To tie to two recipes together, I threw some sliced avocado in the mushroom burger & voila!


This was DELICIOUS. The only problem I had was keeping it all from falling out of the bun!

P.S. ~ I always find that good garlic presses are hard to find. I bought this President's Choice garlic press at the Superstore. I think it costed somewhere between $8.00 & $12.00 & was worth every penny. It makes garlic mincing effortless.

I hope you'll enjoy these yummies as much as I did!

P.S.S ~ I totally didn't purposely make links for some of the ingredients above. I tested them & each ingredient leads to a detailed definition ... ? I would love to know how this happened, but it works for me.

Products I would not purchase again (but they aren't necessarily bad!)

I was inspired to make this post by juicystar07's Products I Regret Buying video blog. I can't honestly say that I regret buying these products, but I just know I would not buy them again for various reasons (explanations below!). In no particular order:

1. Bathtub Tea Bags

This is one of the products that I actually really liked, but was a little dissapointed in. I was actually planning to do a review on these alone, because I thought the idea was so neat! I experimented with hanging these in the shower & also putting them right in the bath.

I got Clarity Bathtub Tea, Refresh Bathtub Tea & Love Bathtub Tea.

The problem with putting these in the shower is that the smell, although very nice, is so subtle that any other scent from a shampoo or body wash will easily overtake it.

Hanging from my shower caddy

The problem with putting these in the bath is that again, the smell was really subtle if you like to squish the tea bag like me (I'm like a kid, yes), it will eventually break. Just make sure you have one of those drain strainers to catch everything as you drain your bath water.

I might not have good a sense of smell as other people, so if you want to try it, you can find them at http://www.hydrasoap.com/. Otherwise, I'm not sure where you can buy them as I bought them in a small privately owned store in a tiny little town!

2. Crest Whitening Expressions Cinnamon Rush Paste

I bought this toothpaste because it was on sale, and it was something new. Although it's a pretty red, sparkly toothpaste, I just feel like it might be made more to motivate kids into brushing than anything. I guess you can call me old fashioned, but I like good old fashioned tooth paste. This one doesn't lather up on my teeth like other pastes do, & it tastes a bit like candy. I don't have that clean & fresh feeling that I enjoy after using other types of paste. So, I have no problem with crest tooth pastes, I just don't like the new fancy pastes that all companies have been making lately.

3. Victoria's Secret Body 3-In-1 Wash for Shower, Bubble Bath & Hair

As you can see, I'm almost finished with the Juiced Berry. I'm excited to move on to the Coconut Craze because a) the scents are fabulous & b) I can't wait to move on to a body wash product that seems worthwhile. Am I contradicting myself? Perhaps.

Again, I am glad I tried these out because they are really fun colours, really nice scents & in nice packages. I won't buy them again because I strongly prefer more natural and exfoliating products to wash my skin, which just goes to show how personal product reviews can be! As for hair cleansing, it left my hair really dry. That is one thing I will not use this for.

I think almost anyone would really like this, but not everyone would continue to use them because they have so much stuff in them & don't seem to have any positive effects on the skin (besides making it temporarily smell good). Now I'm starting to sound like a tree hugger :) haha

4. Atmosphere Tea Tree Oil Facial Wash

Why do I feel so sad as I add this product to the list? Well, it promotes health, is made in Canada & is not tested on animals (I'm not sure if the other products are tested on animals - how can one find out?).

I don't know about how other's skin would react to this, but mine did not do well. This is what I started using right before I started to break out so badly. Is this the cause of my acne explosion? I may never know. All I know is that it did not help the situation!

I have combination skin. I get really really oily in the T-Zone, & although I can get slightly oily in other areas, it tends to dry and flake quite easily. While I was using this, the oiliness and flakiness just skyrocketed. However, it could just be a skin sensitivity.

I think that this product might work for you if you have very oily skin. I also would probably use it every other day instead of every single day.

I'm definitely still interested in this company though. They might just have something that works for me!

If you have any products that you would not use again, I would love to know in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

Rice Water Skin Toner

Hello everyone, how was your week? I hope it was fun & that you had a great weekend! Mine mainly consisted of working, studying & catching up on some Zzz's.

So I really really wanted to introduce this cool skin care idea a long time ago because it is a totally natural & free thing to do. Not to mention the fact that it is so easy.

I got this idea from MichellePhan a.k.a RiceBunny's Rice Water for Healthy Skin video. If you're interested in this idea, please watch!

When I tried it on my own, it just took a few short minutes to do it all. Unfortunately, the bag of rice that I had was once in a little bit of water due to a leak. My mom kindly scooped out the "good" rice from the top of the bag & I discovered that even this rice was not good any more. Because of that, I don't have the best pictures.

When I mixed the rice in the water, I got cloudy water like this:


Then I used a strainer to drain the water into a glass (the darkness of the water will depend on the type of rice you use):

You can use a cotton pad or paper towel like Michelle Phan does to soak up the rice water. I decided to try a cotton ball to see if that would work as well & it definitely worked.

I cleaned the skin on my entire face & neck with the soaked cotton balls, & it felt more fresh and clean after (not to mention the fact that I saw quite a bit of dirt on the used cotton balls!).

Although Michelle explains how to contain the excess rice water, she doesn't explain how to store it. I would suggest putting it in the refrigerator & only keeping it for up to one week (this is just what I would do). If you use it every day, it should get used up pretty fast.

Since I realized that my rice was not the freshest anymore, I threw the rest of it out along with the excess water. I'll be doing it again with my new batch of organic rice. Please remember to do this with organic rice, as it is so much better for your skin.

If you try it out, please let me know what you think.

P.S. ~ I found out how to upload videos on youtube! It is so easy :) I experimented uploading an old video I took from my camera a couple of years ago of my cats. I don't have them any more (I had to give them away) but I do think about them a lot! You can see the 3 second video here.

I wanted to know how to upload videos because I have a posting idea that might be easier to demonstrate on video.

Thanks for reading!

MIA for now! Just this week, I promise!

Hi everyone!

So last week I managed to get 4 out of my 5 blog posts up for the week (I post 3 days/wk on this blog & 2 days/wk on my other blog).

It was the first time I missed a scheduled blog & I was quite dissapointed about it, however I have a bunch of things to catch up on & I realized that I'll have to miss a few posts in order to catch up. Then I'll be blogging away again just as I have been for the last few weeks :)

I really find this blog motivating & since I have just lost someone in my life who really meant a lot to me, I will just be putting my energy into positive activities & goals even more.

Remember - if you're having a bad day, week, month, or even year, just put on your rose coloured glasses & start to see everything in a new light. Its hard but totally worth it :)

See you next week!

Recipe of the week ~ Lentil-Walnut Burgers (optional: with Yogurt-Cilantro Sauce)

I found the recipe here. It includes the photo with ingredients & instructions. My personal notes are at the bottom with additonal & substitution ideas.



Ingredients:

Lentil-Walnut Burgers:

3/4 cup toasted walnuts, cooled

1/3 cup plain dried breadcrumbs

3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

Coarse salt and ground pepper

3/4 cup lentils, cooked, drained, and cooled

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 large egg (I'm not sure what can substitute this. It is used to make the mix stick together in order to form patties)

Yogurt-Cilantro Sauce:

3/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt (I think soy yogurt will work well with this)

Coarse salt and ground pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice


Instructions:

Lentil-Walnut Burgers:

In a food processor, combine walnuts, breadcrumbs, garlic, cumin, coriander, pepper flakes, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; process until finely ground. Add lentils and 1 tablespoon oil; pulse until coarsely chopped (some lentils should remain whole).

In a large bowl, whisk egg. Add lentil mixture; mix well. Divide into 4 equal-size parts; roll into balls, and flatten with the palm of your hand into 3/4-inch-thick patties.

Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add burgers; cook over medium-low heat until crisp and browned, turning gently with a thin-edged spatula, 8 to 10 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain.

Per serving (without sauce): 460 calories; 28.9 grams fat; 18.7 grams protein; 35 grams carbohydrates; 13.6 grams fiber

Yogurt Cilantro Sauce:

In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt, cilantro, and lemon; season with salt and pepper. Serves 4

Prep time: 40 minutes Total time: 40 minutes


My Notes:

- I added a small amount of flax seeds to the food processor.

- I added a small amount of flax seeds, finely chopped green pepper and finely chopped mushroom to the sauce. Add to your own discretion.

- Easy on the salt..the cilantro is really strong!- If you can't find corinander, use cilantro as an excellent substitution. I ended up putting a little extra cilantro in the sauce.

- You can replace the yogurt with vegan sour cream.

- If you would like to use an egg replacement: 1 tbsp ground flax seeds + 3 tbsp water, whisked together. It seems to have worked really well. I had no problem shaping the burger and it also kept its shape quite nicely.

Salt Water Rinse

I used to use Listerine Mouthwash every evening after brushing & flossing my teeth. It stung, but made my mouth feel fresh.

During my last visit to the dentist, I was told that I still have mild gingivitis (yuck). It doesn't seem to matter what I do, I still have it! I brush twice per day, floss once per day & rinse once per day!

I asked the dental hygenist if she thought that mouthwash was good, & she told me it helps a little. In fact, if you use it too much (I think she meant more than once a day), it can dry out your tooth pockets (or was it sockets?) & cause an environment for bacteria to thrive in. What is better than mouthwash is salt water rinse (ew ew ew). Funnily enough, in the very room that she was telling me this, there was a bottle of Listerine on the table beside us (haha..I guess it's ok to use at the dentist!).

So I looked up salt water rinse recipes (I know, its obvious!) & it turns out that this is all you need to do:

Dissolve 1 Teaspoon Salt in 1 Cup Warm Water (stir if necessary).

I've been doing it daily now for a few days & have gotten used to the taste & my mouth definitely feels cleaner. The water will look a little cloudy / whitish (see picture above with salt water in cup).

So there you are; a very inexpensive (as you can see in the picture, that entire box of salt only costed me $1.29!) & healthy way to rinse your mouth!

Product Review ~ Bioré Deep Cleansing Pore Strips

In the last few months, I started to experience the worst acne of my entire life (including my teen years). I couldn't understand what the problem was. I was using a new cleanser in the evenings but I thought it wasn't working at all on my skin. I soon realized the opposite: the cleanser was overworking my skin to the point that I had an explosion of acne that I had never before experienced. My face literally hurt from the acne.

Last week I decided to start using some new skin products to help turn my unfortunate situation around. One of the products I purchased was a box of Bioré Deep Cleansing Pore Strips.



The next two pics are really pore quality (haha..get it?). Anyway, this is the shape of the nose strip:

Below is a pic of (eek!) my nose with a strip on it. It's really easy to put on (instructions can be found in link above). If you look at the skin around my nose, you can see how it is discoloured & reddish. That's when my acne was pretty much at it's worst. I cropped the rest of my face out because the acne was just that bad.

The Result:

It works!! Out of all the products I used, the first place that pimples started to disappear from was my nose. You can see (& touch) all the dirt & oil that comes out of your pores.

I was so eager that I was using the strips daily. It is not necessary to use daily. I would use weekly as instructed on the box, or you will be wasting strips (they take out so much dirt that there is little to nothing left to remove for several days).

So I totally recommend this product. Next time, I will be purchasing the nose and forehead strips.

Note!!: I have finally found a skin care routine that is working for my skin so I'm going to post all of my skin care steps soon! It has made such a huge difference that I think I should share more than just my positive review of the nose strips. I'll probably get that post up soon!

Recipe of the week ~ Vegetarian Cannelloni

This recipe is healthy & delicious! Sorry I do not have a photo of it just yet, but it looks pretty much like this & this when cooked.

Ingredients

1 Pkg (475 g) Ricotta Cheese

1 Pkg (300 g) Frozen Chopped Spinach, thawed & well drained

1 Egg

1 Cup (250 ml) Primo 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided

1 Tsp (5 ml) Dried Basil

1/2 Tsp (2 ml) Salt

1/4 Tsp (1 ml) Pepper

20-24 Primo Oven Ready Cannelloni

1 Can (680 ml) Primo Thick & Zesty Original Pasta Sauce

Directions

1. In medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, spinach, egg, 1/2 cup (125 ml) Primo Parmesan cheese, basil, salt & pepper. Mix well.

2. Fill cannelloni with spinach mixture.

3. Spread 1/2 cup (125 ml) pasta sauce on bottom of 13 x 9 x 2" (33 x 23 x 5 cm) baking pan.

4. Arrange stuffed cannelloni in single layer & cover with remaining sauce, making sure to cover all pasta.

5. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.

6. Cover with foil & bake at 350 F (180 C) for 45 minutes or until tender.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Preparation time: 25 minutes.



My Notes

-The bottom of the cannelloni tends to get dry so I think more than 1/2 cup sauce is a good idea.

- My other idea is to spray some oil on the bottom of the pan, which I havent tried yet but will definitely try next time.

- Sometimes the top of the cannelonni will be a little watery after the baking time, so to avoid this, check it periodically & if needed take off the foil toward the end of the baking time so the water can evaporate more quickly.

- If you like mozzerella cheese better than ricotta, you can use less ricotta & substitute that amount with mozzerella.

10 things about me

I was tagged by Kay* of Ice Cream & Peonies to reveal 10 things about myself & then tag 7 other people. Now, I don't have 7 followers (don't laugh too hard, but I am one of my own followers!) but I will tag all of my other followers & that will leave 2 other bloggers. I will choose 2 bloggers that I follow & notify them on their blogs. So lets go!


1. My family is from Terçiera, Portugal in the Azores. I have been there 4 times in my life, but I have never set foot on the mainland (something I will do some day).

An areal view of the Island

2. When my sister & I were younger, we were asked to be on Tiny Talent Time to play piano but we were too shy & didn't do it. I did, however, win an award at a piano concert for being a good student!

My sister & I in front of our piano (I'm the little one)

3. I love camping. It's in my blood. I haven't camped in 2 summers & it just kills me.

The sunset at Oastler Lake Provincial Park

4. I'm 29 years old & have no idea how that happened. My boyfriend, on the other hand is a whopping 4 years younger than me! (I used to scoff at dating guys even 6 months younger than me).

LOL..bf hiding behind a Jar Jar Binks frisbee after we carved our Halloween pumpkin

5. I work at a University, in Copyright. I enjoy it but don't see myself doing that for too much longer.

6. I never finished my Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. I just started taking classes toward completing it & I am sooo excited.

Some Geese at the place where I work & study. I practically live here!

7. I'm afraid of the dark. I live alone so unless someone is sleeping over, I always leave my bedside lamp on (the light is annoying but it's better than being scared).

8. I'm borderline obsessed with mixing nail polish colours to make new & more exciting colours. It's a very hit & miss hobby. This is my latest creation. At first I hated it but now I feel lukewarm toward it.

The polish has started to chip off a bit..

9. I'm a perfectionist / procrastinator. If something isn't perfect, I tend to let it fall apart. This explains why my condo is either meticulously clean & tidy or looks like the aftermath of a hurricane. I'm trying to become more balanced :)

10. I'm hyper self-aware. This can be a complete curse or a total blessing. I usually feel like it's a curse but if I could change it, I don't think I would.

I hope you enjoyed the 10 random things about me!

Now I would like to tag: 1. Sami of A Mommy's Story 2. Queen Bee of Lyfe of a Queen Bee 3. Christine of Skinny Girl Trapped in a Big Girl's Body 4. yummymomma08 of The New Adventures of Mommyhood 5. Sarah-Lyn of i bake cupcakes 6. Lauren of Pure Style Home 7. Joanna of ~ Chandelier No. 4 ~

Aloe Vera Juice & a little about me

One of the first pieces of advice that my father gave to me when I told him that I was really sick was to start drinking Aloe Vera juice every day. My father has ulcerative colitis; a form of IBD (inflammatory bowel disease). He was diagnosed around 5 years ago & was prescribed a lot of pills. In an attempt to help my dad in any way, my mother read some alternative medicine books to see what they had to say about colitis. At least one of the books suggested Aloe Vera juice because of it's natural healing properties.

Before my father started drinking it, he asked his specialist what he thought. His specialist said "Yes, its very good. One of my patients was almost cured from it." Almost cured. Wow. Now, the medical community has not found any cure for IBD, so this is a big statement.

So ever since, my father takes a shotglass full of Aloe Vera Juice every morning & he swears it has made a difference.

Where I come in:

My life changed in January of 2009. I had always experienced many health issues growing up, but never anything really major. It seemed normal to me to feel the way I did. It didn't seem normal to everyone else. Well, in January of 2009 I got sick. Really sick. I thought to myself - ok there's something going on here...this isn't normal. I looked up some of my symptoms online & BANG. There they were in front of my face. Every symptom led to 3 things: Crohn's Disease, Colitis & Celiac Disease. It never occured to me that I could have what other members of my family had (1 has Crohn's, 3 have Colitis).

So I went to the doctor & pushed for tests. They found stuff. Scary stuff. So far: a hyatial hernia, an ulcer, acid reflux disease & I honestly forget the other thing... (who would want to remember?). I have all the symptoms of Crohn's Disease, but it seems that the specialists in this city are rather busy (grr). I also have recurring eye infections, other recurring infections or ailments & I am always using up my sick days from work.

Now my life isn't horrible, but it takes more "fight" in me to get through the day without any sort of medication (besides Prevacid).

Anyway, the bottom line is that while I'm working toward getting healthy, I'm making a commitment to taking a shot of Aloe Vera Juice every day.

The Juice:

Aloex Aloe Vera Juice is the juice that my parents introduced me to. My mom bought it in the health section of the Superstore. I'm sure you can find different brands in health stores as well as the health section of any grocery store. You might even find it in pharmacies. I'm positive that it's amazingly healthy for everyone to drink but if you're not sure, check with your doctor first.





The Taste

I won't lie, it's gross. Thats all I can say. It tastes a bit like what you might imagine paint thinner to taste like. But you get used to it. Sorry for the bad news. Try different flavours & see what you might prefer :P

Thanks for reading my story!

If anyone is interested, here is the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of Canada Website

Recipe of the week ~ Asian Chicken and Rice Wraps

Oh my goodness, my boyfriend LOVED these wraps. In fact, it is the first meal I ever made for him (cue the "aww") heehee.

The full recipe & info can be found at the knorr website.

Ingredients

1 pkg Knorr Sides Plus Vegetable Fried Rice 1 pkg

30 mL olive oil 2 tbsp

5 mL minced garlic 1 tsp

5 mL minced ginger 1 tsp

500 g boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch (1 cm) strips 1 lb

10 mL Bovril Liquid Chicken Bouillon 2 tsp

30 mL chopped green onions 2 tbsp

50 mL hot water ¼ cup

250 mL shredded napa cabbage (optional) 1 cup

250 mL shredded carrots 1 cup

250 mL sliced bell peppers 1 cup

2 mL hot chili sauce or red pepper flakes ½ tsp

20 mL hoisin sauce 4 tsp

4 large flour tortillas 4


Directions

Prepare Knorr Sides Plus Vegetable Fried Rice according to package directions; set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add chicken and sauté for 5 minutes or until starting to brown. Stir in Bovril Liquid Chicken Bouillon and hot water. Sauté for 8 to 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink inside. Add green onions, napa cabbage (if using), carrots, peppers and chili sauce; sauté for about 3 minutes or until veggies are tender. Remove from heat.

Spread 1 tsp (5 mL) hoisin sauce down the center of each tortilla. Top each tortilla with one-quarter of the Knorr Sides Plus Vegetable Fried Rice and one-quarter of the chicken mixture.

Fold the bottom of the tortilla up two inches (5 cm), then fold in both sides to enclose filling. Enjoy hot or cold!


My Notes:

- Add a dollop of sour cream to your wrap if desired.

- I served fried mushrooms & garden salad as side dishes. These sides complimented the wraps perfectly!

P.S. ~ I will be posting the Recipe of the Week every Friday :)

How I manicure my finger nails

I've been told that when my finger nails are painted, it looks very 'neat' (as in tidy haha). I have never had a real manicure in my life, except for the one's I do to myself. I wouldn't say Im very vain, but I just can't paint my nails unless they're neat & tidy...I just can't!

Forgive me for the pic quality. I don't know why, but these items (including my nails) were the hardest things I've ever photographed.

This week I decided to paint my nails with "Opening Night" Nail Polish from Sephora ~ $12.00
This is a swatch from the sephora website (omg the link is working - yay!):



This is the bottle - it almost looks black without the flash:



So this is how my nails look like if I haven't painted them in awhile:

(I had to adjust the size of the pics so my hands may look a little distorted - pls disregard that)



Sometimes I dont trim them evenly & I don't maintain the cuticles particularly well. They are just my regular nails. I don't like the feeling of fake nails.

Step One: Trim the cuticles

"Trimming" cuticles sounds gross to me, which is why I am very careful when I do it...I don't think they should be trimmed to often or too much because they grow in order to protect that area of our hands / nails (I don't have the full scientific explanation of the purpose of the cuticle but I might just look into that now). My cuticles used to grow very fast and a bit thicker than I wanted. I would only recommend trimming cuticles if there seems to be an overgrowth.

I use this cuticle trimmer. It was part of a gift package & I don't recall where it was from. However, I know they can be found in pharmacies & beauty supply stores.



Step Two: Shape the cuticles

I use the wooden shapers that were given to me as part of my gift. They work fine for me & believe they are very well priced. Again, these can be found in pharmacies & beauty supply stores.

I push gently on each cuticle to reach my desired curve.



Step Three: Trim the nails

I use a clipper to trim off any large sections of nail that I want to remove (usually the corners), so that I don't need to spend too much time with a file. The end result is usually a haphazardly looking nail. Don't worry - filing is next!

Step Four: File the nails

PLEASE recommend good files for me! I have yet to find a file that is worth buying!

I never use metal files. I just hate the feeling & the result I get from using them. I always use files like this:



I use medium roughness files for my nails, & at times fine roughness for touch ups. I believe this decision is best made based on the thickness of your nails. The thicker your nail, the rougher the file (I think).

I file as smooth & even of a curve of each nail as I can.

Step Five: Buff the nails

I always use a fine file to buff my nails. This should be quick & gentle. Mine are not naturally even, & they have some ridges. I believe this has something to do with the fact that I used to bite them A LOT! That is a habit I'm happy to say I stopped doing years ago!



Step Six: Scrub the nails

Grab a nail scrubber & go to town! I put any body wash soap on the scrubber, wet my hands & scrub away. My goal is to scrub off any residual nail "dust" from filing, as well as any residual unwanted cuticle.

Step Seven: Paint the nails ~ coat #1

Woohoo, getting closer to the finish line! Now when I paint my nails, it looks sloppy. I always go over the nail boundary and onto the skin when I paint them. The reason is that if you stay within the nail line, you will probably have some "blank" spots (unless you're a pro or just very gifted at this).

The smaller the finger nail, the less paint I put on the brush ( have tiny fingernails). If there is waay too much polish on the nail, it might develop little pools of polish on the sides of the nail that will never fully dry, & will actually chip off a lot faster than if you put less polish.

Ok brace yourself (I'm not usually quite this messy - but pretty close):

HA :P


Step Eight: Paint the nails ~ coat #2

When the first coat dries, I put a second coat of polish. I find that when I put a second coat, my nails look a lot more shiny & the polish looks more even.

Step Nine: Scrub the nails & fingers again

This is the last step! Before scrubbing your nails, be SURE that the polish is 100% dry. Otherwise, you're polish will come off or have marks on it.

The purpose for this scrubbing is to remove the polish that is on your skin around the nail, as well as the cuticle. I find that using a q-tip with nail polish remover will not give as much of a finishing look as simply scrubbing the stuff right off. You can also just let it fall off naturally but it will take longer. Washing your hair is another great way to get it off.

This is how my nails look after the residual polish has been removed:

And that is the final product! It might seem like a lot of work, but its actually quite relaxing & can easily be done right in front of the tv. There are many methods for giving oneself a manicure - and my method is admittedly very simple, low cost & doesn't involve any trendy chemicals or creams.

If you have any tips that could help my self-manicures improve, please let me know! Thanks for reading & I hope you enjoyed :)

P.S. ~ ohmygosh I don't want to forget to tell you that I stumbled upon my old blogs that I thought were no longer in existence! Check them out (there is a recipe on one that is totally delish!) Now I don't know if I should keep the old recipe blog & just post recipes there or what..that would make 3 blogs (eek):

http://www.mymantram.blogspot.com/ (try the recipe!)