Not a labour filled weekend!

If you have not figured it out, I LOVE long weekends. When a weekend is called labour day... that to me means no working on the weekend. We did do some work this weekend but also had time to relax.

We made some yummy food this weekend including:

 

tomato gazpacho, roasted garlic and manchego on ciabatta, and wine

 

bagel thins (on sale half price!) with porchetta and provolone & E's blueberry freezer jam and provolone

 

and tacos!

It was a delicious weekend of simple food.

Some other things we did this weekend was run errands, clean, workout, buy B some new shirts, picked up a piece of Sophie (a wedding gift that came in), and bought an iced tea pitcher that currently has earl grey iced tea chilling in it!

There was also a beautiful sunset on Sunday evening. Sunsets in Edmonton in the "fall" are beautiful.

It is supposed to be hot all week (summer is NOT over!) so I will hopefully be able to spend evenings outside! This week I want to do some killer workouts, tackle some items on my to-do list, and continue to read the book I started this weekend... The Shop On Blossom Street. Yes, I enjoy books about knitting.  B thinks I am weird.

Always have a plan

B and I talk lots about plans. We try to plan for anything and everything while still being flexible as we know things change.

Finances - yup, we have a plan for our spending, saving, & emergencies
1. 3 months expenses in savings
2. no debt
3. keep my grocery spending under control... what can I say, I love fresh!

Food - meal plans set us up for success when we are busy during the week, it also keeps us from eating junk!
Breakfast - we have been loving the breakfast cookie
Lunch - leftovers, wraps, or salads
Dinner - protein and veggies
Snacks - fruit, Cliff bars, Lara bars, veggies & hummus

Workouts - here is my specific plan, we see our personal trainer together but do most of our other workouts individually:
Sunday - long cardio & core
Monday - Force class
Tuesday - workout with personal trainer
Wednesday - Force class
Thursday - AbSolution class
Friday - workout with personal trainer
Saturday - Force class

 source

This weekend it is a long weekend. We plan to sleep in, work on some financial stuff, workout, update our items for sale on Kijiji, and I have some cleaning to do (nothing significant, just tidying!)

Have a great long weekend!

Awkward & Awesome Thursday

I am a big fan of Sydney's style from The Daybook.One other thing I enjoy reading almost every week is Awkward & Awesome Thursday. Bloggers are real people with crazy lives, crazy stories, and things they love. Here is what is currently awkward & awesome in my life:

Awkward:
1. See above photo I took of myself on the iPod. What? Do I ever do my hair? Do I need to smile like a maniac? Probably not...  to both of the previous questions.
2. Having do use the depiller on the arms of my sofa so they look less ghetto.
3. Using the defrost in the car in August.
4. Trying not to buy any fall or winter clothes... but I really want to go to Lululemon.
5. My extreme exhaustion this week = not waiting to get out of bed. And that we now have a name for when you are throwing out clutter - "channeling your inner Chelsea". I am happy know know I have made an influence on the lives of my family members. Would we call that an influence or do I scare them? I am just not a fan of clutter... it genetic.

Awesome:
1. See above day planner. I love "back to school", especially when I do not go back to school. I still like to buy a new day planner and I am a huge fan of this one. There is lots of space for lists, I can plan my workouts, and it counts down to the weekend... yesterday's countdown was "hump surmounted". I could talk about my new day planner FOREVER! Oh and nothing work related goes in it, purely personal stuff.
2. Living in TOMS at work. I have flat ones in coral and sparkly silver and wedges in pink. They are so comfortable and actually have arch support that my feet like.
3. Long weekends
4. Working out with a trainer.  She kicks our butts, makes me grouchy when I have to do burpees, and never caves when I ask to do something other than burpees.
5. Our new title as a couple. B got his dissertation accepted and I love to brag about him.

Maybe I will be awkward & awesome more often.

August

Today is the last day of August. I cannot believe summer is basically over. We do not have any specific plans for the long weekend yet, but hopefully we will do something fun.

Maybe we will go out for a nice dinner to celebrate what's officially official. I'm such a proud wife, I love to brag!

What did we do this past month? Relaxed at home, B went to Texas, both of us got sick, started working out with a personal trainer, and cleaned the condo! It was a productive month. We did not travel near as much as we did in June & July... but we do have some exciting trips planned in the next 4 months.

Last night for dinner we had grilled corn and tomato salad, something we have not had since last summer. I have adapted this recipe from a Sunterra recipe I have had for years. We also had a piece of sun-dried tomato ciabatta on the side. It was freshly baked at the Italian Centre, we could not resist!

Recipe:
4 cobs of grilled corn, cut off the cob
6 diced tomatoes
onion
cilantro
grated smoked gouda
toasted cumin seeds
dressing: EVOO, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, fresh ground pepper

Mix it all up and enjoy. This is a great late summer dish as corn on the cob is very plump and juicy right now.

Last evening, we also spent some time with my aunt. Her dog had a toy pig that has a built in sling shot and oinks when slung. Not only did it amuse him... I could not get enough of it!

See you in September!

Just a tease

I could not wait to share this:

Can't wait to share more soon!