Blogger Spotlight - Mission to Another Marathon

Just when I think I've found all the awesome blogs out there I find another one!!! Such was the case recently when I started reading Mission to Another Marathon.

It's not a food blog but it is a training/weight-loss blog. Marlene, the author, has come so far in such a relatively short period of time! If she's not an inspiration I don't know who is. :o)

Plus by all accounts she has a really good heart. Often participating in charity races. In particular, I was drawn by the fact that she is currently helping to organize a race in Toronto called Run4Rett.

You see, Marlene has a friend with a daughter that suffer from Rett's Syndrome and started this event.

Rett's syndrome is an unfortunate disease caused by a random genetic mutation. Essentially it's a severe neurological disorder affecting 1:10, 000 female births. It is often misdiagnosed as autism, cerebral palsy, or a non-specific development delay. Many girls experience seizures, scoliosis, and the inability to communicate verbally. As a result girls and women with this disease are dependent on families or caregivers for life.

This year will mark the second year that Run4Rett will be held. Last year's event raised over $50,000 for the Ontario Rett Syndrome Association and attracted over 425 people!

Marlene is helping to organize this year's run/walk 5k and 1k which will be held on Saturday, October 17th in Richmond Green Park (in Richmond Hill, Ontario).

If you happen to be in the Southern Ontario area in October I highly encourage you to sign up through the Running Room.

And even if you can't make the race I do hope you'll consider checking out Marlene's blog! She's an inspiration and a blogger with heart! :o)

Vacation Recap - Merida, Yucatan

Hello peeps!

So I say it's time we return to the Mexico vacation recap. When last we left off I was in Tulum with the fiance and my mother. The purpose of our trip to Tulum had been to go and check out a potential wedding site. It turned out to be everything I hoped it would be. Gorgeous. Perfect for a destination wedding. And also bleeding money.

Unfortunately, on our second night there the lady who ran the place told us (and believe me she was gutted while explaining things) that they didn't know if they would be around in a couple of months. Much less in November 2010. I was sad - in fact I'm still disappointed. Nonetheless I was determined to still have a fantabulous time on my Mexico vacation!

And next was the beautiful colonial city of Merida - the capital of the Yucatan. Our trip to that city had nothing to do with wedding related activities. We were just going because we had heard it was beautiful. You see once upon a time Merida was once amongst the richest cities in the world (all thanks to the production of henequen into fabric). And it shows!!!

Do you see that ridonculous mansion!?!?! I took the picture on the Paseo Montejo. A massive tree lined avenue very reminiscent of the Champs Elysees in Paris. Simply stunning.

To be honest I was expecting Merida to be nice but I was really WOWed by the city. It was full of beautiful architecture, fantastic museums, wonderful stores (I picked up an amazing silver bracelet and some beautiful and inexpensive designer linen pieces), expansive plazas, and beautiful hotels.

Now not all of the city was as sparkling and clean as the Paseo Montejo and the restored hotels. Some of the city had a bit of a gritty appearance mixed in with the history. In that way it was REALLY reminiscent of Europe. I figure it's bound to happen with old historical cities! I think it only added to the city's charm!!

The history of Merida was absolutely pervasive everywhere we went. Take for instance the Cathedral - stunning architecture and constructed in part with the building stones of an ancient Maya temple.

The public buildings of the city were also incredibly beautiful. In fact some of them were reminiscent of the Sorbonne (Paris IV) buildings where I studied in Paris.

The art inside the buildings was also absolutely incredible. They were full of gut wrenching works that showed the history and beliefs of the Mayan people. Such as the fact that the Mayan believe man was created from corn.

The paintings also showed the brutal way in which the Spanish Conquistadores destroyed Mayan artifacts.

And the way in which the Mayans were ultimately enslaved by the Spaniards.

Such beauty and sadness mixed together in one magnificent locale!

On the whole there were a couple of things that stood out from my trip to Merida - the first being the people . . .

So proud of both their history and the fact they were Yucatecan! A pleasure to be around!! :o)

And probably the biggest highlight of my trip to Merida was my hotel. Oh. My. It was magnificent!!!!

We stayed at the Hotel Hacienda Merida and I could not have loved it more. In fact it's been voted one of the Best New Small Luxury Hotels of the World by Conde Nast. And I can see why:

The Hacienda was very small and wonderfully appointed. The love that had gone into creating the place was evident throughout! You see the place is owned by a French man of Corsican descent (an incredible host) who turned his vacation property into a hotel. He's filled the place with wonderful touches such as paintings done by his father:

On our one night in Merida (yes our time there was too short) we enjoyed a glass of wine while enjoying the beautiful courtyard. It was honestly one of the most memorable moments of our trip!

The arcade was light up at night making the setting romantic . . . relaxing . . . perfect!!

Needless to say I LOVED LOVED LOVED the Hotel Hacienda Merida. It was absolutely special! I've travelled all over the world and I can honestly say it ranks right at the very top of my favourite places I have ever stayed. Maybe even at the very top!

Not only would I wholeheartedly recommend a trip to Merida but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend you stay at the Hacienda Merida. In fact, I can honestly say I would stay there in a heartbeat!!!

All in all my time in Merida was too short. I loved it there and I look forward to going back sometime in the future. Swine flu or no swine flu! :oP lol

PS: It was 45 degrees and I was dripping in sweat in the above picture. Hence why I look all hot and bothered and my wet hair is pulled back! :o)

PPS: The Hacienda is super reasonably priced for what you get too! Awesome value for your money!!

My First Rocky Mountain Dinner Invite!!!

Running Towards a Half - Update

So I'm happy to report that my week and a bit of Dr. imposed downtime has come to an end. Aside from a mile here or there and 2.4 miles on Friday I've kept running towards a minimum. I've also been super careful to adhere to my Dr. prescribed exercises and stretches. Have to keep my muscle and knees happy. :o)

By my calculations I am now slightly beyond 3 months out from my half. Which means tomorrow I will start my 12 week Novice Half Marathon Training Program. I'm really hoping my body will hold up enough for me to get through all the weeks without any further injury breaks. Wish me luck!!

I've also decided to start working out more as a whole. You see I've noticed my weight creeping up since I started work last November and I am NOT at all happy about this. When I lived in Victoria I walked everywhere, worked out hours everyday, and was generally more active. Now I drive everywhere, live in a non-walking friendly city, and work out significantly less.

No more.

Mark my words. I'm going back to the way things were. I'm going to sweat my way into my former physique. I liked being as fit as I was before I became a lawyer. And I'm determined to get back there!!!

Towards that end tonight I did a couple of go arounds of SELF magazines "8 Minute to Slim" boot camp style workout. Although I buy SELF and SHAPE all the time this is my first time doing one of their routines. I had my doubts but I have to confess that by the end of my circuits I was drenched in sweat!!!! I then topped this all off with Rodney Yee's Power Yoga: Flexibility. Not bad for a lazy Sunday evening. :o)

Tomorrow's schedule calls for stretch and strengthening but I think I will also head out for a 2 mile run in the morning.


Weekend Recap

I had a wonderful weekend bloggies! Today was a relaxing day spent with the fiance and yesterday we scored our first ever dinner invite here in the Rockies. We were so psyched and it was such a lovely evening!!!!!

But let's start at the beginning.

On Saturday I woke up a bit late and headed out to the local farmer's market. It was my first time going to this particular one and I was happy to see a fairly good turnout.


There were a good number of stalls featuring crafts, fresh baked goods, South African meat snacks, plants, and sausages. Unfortunately there was not much in the way of veggies. I think it's too early on but August should be perfect. I'm looking forward to the heirloom tomatoes I'm told will be coming then!!!

All morning long and I was out and about doing errands. And I have to confess the only thing I ate was a cookie courtesy of some young kids that had set up a stand. Most people were by-passing them and I was determined to show my support.


I was quite impressed with the cookie. Usually I find most cookies too dense or too sweet but this one was just perfect. In fact I think I may become a regular supporter of those little kids! :oP

I didn't make it home until 2pm by which point I was starving marvin!!! I quickly whipped a quick meal together based on whatever I could find in my fridge. Mostly I was trying to avoid cooking anything as it was just way too hot!


I loaded my plates with a sliced nectarine, half a WW pita, some cherries, two falafel balls (I only ate one), some olives, and yellow zucchini. It really hit the spot. Not too heavy and it still left plenty of room for the amazing dinner that was to come!!!!

You see one of my co-workers (she's cool beans and has even run Boston!) invited the fiance and I over for dinner. She's not from this area either so I think she's also eager to develop a bit of a social scene. I was in charge of appetizers.

You'll have to believe me that I prepared a lovely platter full of strawberries, olives, WW multi-grain baguettes, and cherries. Of course we were kind of hungry and wolfed everything down right away. I only remembered to take a picture after mostly everything was done! Ooops!


I also contributed a lovely salad made up of slices of fresh tomatoes, basil, pearls of fresh mozzarella cheese, a bit of sea salt, lovely extra virgin olive oil, and a drizzle of aged balsamic. It was delicious and perfect for a summer meal!


Our wonderful host had prepared quite a spread made up of bbq wild Coho salmon:


A beautiful mixed berry pie she made herself!! YUM!


There were also some beautiful oven roasted potatoes:


Some beautiful grilled veggies:


Not to mention the juicy steak:


It was an amazing spread!!!! And my servings of this delicious feast looked something like this:


I didn't have more meat and frankly didn't taste the salmon but I did double up on the veggies on my next go around. They were by far my favourite part of the meal! :o)

Oh and did I mention I washed all of this down with some amazing South African wine? It was seriously good!!!!


By the time I ate my slice of pie I was a happy camper indeed! The pastry was perfectly flaky and the berries set just so . . . Le sigh!


I went to sleep absolutely happy! Not only because of the wonderful eats but because it was really nice to have experienced our first dinner invite in the Rocky Mountains. I'm not going to front - being out here has been somewhat lonely. We've found the community to be very insular and dinners like the one on Saturday night (not to mention rafting on Canada Day) go a long way towards making us feel welcome! :o)

As far as today it was a rather quiet day. There wasn't much by way of eats since we don't tend to eat very much when it gets really hot (we just nibble on fruit here and there). But the highlight of our day was a mid-afternoon outing.

Rather than eat our lunch at home we decided to pack some goodies up and head to a local park. We sat ourselves by the side of the small lake and enjoyed the breeze, the sound of the leaves rustling, and the baby ducks swimming nearby.


Our eats included a spicy hummus that turned out to be a big hit, some mixed olives, pita bread, and chorizo that I purchased at the farmer's market:


For dessert we feasted on a homemade fruit salad featuring blueberries, strawberries, and wonderfully ripe mangoes! Delish!!


It was a good day bloggies! And a wonderful weekend on the whole. Very relaxing. Just the way I like it! :o)

I'm not completely ready for the week to begin. I do wish my weekend lasted a day longer but it's all good! Especially because I'm heading on a vacation in a a couple of weeks. Yup - another one!!! lol

This time I'm going to Cabo - I got a crazy deal on a tricked out all suite hotel. I'll tell you about that soon. I'll also wrap up the recap of my last Mexico trip and giveaway the little souvenir I brought back for you guys.

But for now - it's bed time! Nighty night!!!

It's a Stampede!!!! (The Finale)

So where were we . . .

Oh right! I had just gone back to the hotel after a fun night of rodeo action.

The next morning I woke up and was all gung ho to have one of the Calgary Stampede's famous pancakes breakfasts!!! It's right up there as one of those must do things. A lot of times they are free and held at different places around the city. The morning I was there the breakfast was at the actual Stampede. But it ended way too early for my sleepy self so instead we settled for the hotel's Stampede breakfast:


Do you read that never ending selection of eats? There were no substitutions and yes it read like a lot of stuff but I was still shocked when this appeared in front of me:


So much food!!!!!!!!! LOL

I ate the eggs, and yes the bacon (it had been so long since I'd had any) and the pancakes. I didn't even touch the beans or the sausage although I hear both were awesome. And I asked to get the corn bread to go since it wouldn't go bad on the drive home. Usually I don't like corn bread (at all) but this one was amazing. I had it with a little bit of preserves for breakfast the next day.

After my feast I rolled out of the hotel and headed down to the Stampede grounds with the fiance. On the schedule that day was the full on rodeo but we had some time to kill before hand. We ended up watching the World Blacksmith Championship. I bet you didn't even know they had one of those! :oP


Basically these are the Manolo Blahniks and Christian Louboutins of the equestrian world. Lucky horses indeed! :o)

After we finished watching the finale we headed to the Grandstand for the main event. Previous to the Stampede I'd gone to two separate rodeos and I enjoyed them both so I knew I'd have loads of fun during this rodeo.


For several hours we watched bareback riding, the one where they tie the little calfs, cowgirls riding really fast around barrels, and of course some bull riding. If you've never been to a rodeo I recommend it! And this is coming form a girl who isn't country at all!!!!


After the rodeo we headed back to our car but stopped briefly in Chinatown for more yummy eats. We may or may not have gone overboard when ordering! lol Okay massively overboard. But we packed the leftovers up and lived off of them for the next couple of days.


Shanghai hot and sour soup. Amongst the best I've ever had!!!


Ma po tofu (amazingly thick and delicious sauce), incredibly fragrant bbq fried rice, and an extra plain steamed rice.

lol Can you believe all that food was for only two people!??! Yeah neither could the staff! :oP In fact the above are all after pictures. Hahahha kind of embarrassing!

We barely managed to make in the dishes. We barely ate any of it it was just so much. But no regrets. You can't get Chinese food of that quality in my particular Rocky Mountain town.

After lunch the fiance and I headed back to the car and drove back across Banff to our little corner of the world. All in all I would say we had a completely lovely weekend! And so not bad for a spur of the moment trip (we decided we were going on Friday morning).


'Twas a lovely weekend indeed! :o)

It's a Stampede!!!! (Redux)

I'd heard rumors that the Stampede is essentially like the Disneyland of the West - everything is over priced. So we decided to pick up something to eat before hitting the rodeo. Since we were close to Chinatown (and much deprived of awesome Asian food) we headed to our favourite Calgary Chinese restaurant: The MBA Bbq Noodle House

It was a short walk from our hotel which was perfect since by this point the temperature had dropped and a storm was coming in. This type of weather called for a soup:


I'm a bit of a seafood fiend (it doesn't give me the heavy after feeling of meat or chicken) so I ordered the mixed seafood soup. It was delicious!!! I finished all the seafood, about half the noodles, and maybe a 1/4 of the broth.

On this go around we also tried something we hadn't previously eaten at this restaurant - dim sum! The fiance wanted something porky (lol - yes those were his words) so we ordered siu mai - a pork and shrimp dumpling.


Oh my word!!!!! I have had a lot of amazing dim sum in my day but this one was just out of this world! So light! So not oily! So delicious!!!!!! My two dumplings turned out to be the unexpected highlight of my meal.

After dinner we decided to take the train to the Stampede grounds. While waiting on the platform I unexpectedly ran into two friends from law school. It was kind of a crazy meeting considering none of us live in Calgary! lol In fact they were out there from Vancouver!!! We caught up with each other and said our goodbyes at the rodeo entrance.

The fiance and I took our seats and prepared ourselves to watch the chuck wagon races. Basically they are races with those wagons the pioneers used to get out West (or the one that Kevin Costner used in "Dances with Wolves").

It was kind of cool to choose a wagon and cheer for that one. There were a lot of close races and good laughs. Having said that apparently this is the original "extreme sport." It appears that there can sometimes be rough crashes and people have died. Thankfully nothing like that happened while we were there! Mind you I guess the potential was there because it kept on raining off and on during the races. At one point the rain stopped for a bit and we got to enjoy part of a beautiful rainbow:


Ater the chuck wagon races the organizers took an intermission to set-up the Grandstand Show - part concert, part circus, part fireword display, and ALL over the top! :oP The fiance and I headed indoors to do some shopping at this time and I took the opportunity to take some pictures of the masses in cowboy hats! Including a bunch of navy guys! lol

When the Grandstand show began we were treated to a cacophony of sights and sounds. There were little kids dancing in what looked to be acts inspired by High School Musical. There were some dancers from SYTYCD Canada. Some scantily clad misses and gents cheering here and there. An incredibly awesome set of stunts by some motorcyclists. And a hilarious comic!

Unfortunately in the middle of the show it started to pour. I mean the heaven's opened up and just let it rip! The stage was completely exposed (as were most of the spectators although not us) and the performers got soaked. In fact it was so bad they had to cancel one of the performances and showed us a video from the night before.

Still the fireworks went ahead and I'm glad because they are the second best fireworks I have ever seen (2nd only to the Millennium Fireworks in Toronto). While the fireworks raged above the singers and dancers performed to a song with lyrics to the effect of "This will always be my country . . . I belong here in Canada!" It was kind of really cool but at the same time the lyrics and the outfits were a bit surprising. You see us Canadians are very proud of our home and native land but we tend to show our patriotism in a less overt way than our friends to the South. But here at the Stampede they did it in style - no word of a lie I thought I was in Texas for a second! :oP

Here's a low quality video of the fireworks to give you an idea of the awesome finale:



To be Continued . . .

Watch out!!!!!! It's a Stampede!!!! :oP

Hola bloggies!

Oh boy has it been a hard week thus far. On Monday and Tuesday of this week I had long days and ran the trial I'd spent so much time and effort preparing for the last several weeks. Let's just say that after everything finished yesterday I was just drained. Completely gutted.

I work in a particularly trying area of the law (criminal) and some of the files I deal with can take an emotional toil on me. Having said my work is also intensely rewarding! I love being able to help people and there's basically nothing else I rather be doing at this point in my life.

But still - I woke up this morning and honestly came close to taking a personal day to recuperate. Instead I went to work and I'm glad I did. This afternoon called for a nap and some relaxing. Tomorrow I hope to get back to more regular training for my half. I've been good about giving my knee some rest and I think I'm ready now.

Wish me luck!!!


It's a Stampede!!!

Knowing that I had a hard week ahead the fiance and I took an impromptu trip to the Calgary Stampede this past weekend. Yee-haw boys and girls!!! :oP

Stampede is essentially a huge rodeo (the biggest in the world) slash agricultural expo slash theme park. It's Calgary's biggest party and I'd heard rave reviews for years. Being so near the action we took advantage of a free hotel night (thank-you Starwood Preferred Guest Points) and headed towards the action.

Before leaving British Columbia for Alberta we stopped at one of my favourites - the Kicking Horse Cafe in Invermere.


It's a place known for their amazing coffees brewed in house. I love their stuff! Plus they have names that feature Rocky Mountain locations - like the Hoodoos or the Bugaboos.


They also make some delicious food which is what brought us to the cafe on this particular occasion. Bring on lunch!!! :oP


We waited patiently in line and deliberated on what to have for lunch. So many choices and such a small stomach to fit it into! lol


As an appetizer I shared a boconccino, tomato, and cucumber appetizer with the fiance.


For my main course I had a completely yummy Greek sandwich. It was loaded down with fresh summer ingredients. The bread was also not too chewy and not too dry. Perfection. :o)


I topped it all off with a cup of green genmaicha tea (green tea with roasted brown rice). It's basically my favourite tea so I was a happy camper by the time we wrapped up lunch and continued over the Rockies!


While in Calgary we stayed in the Eau Claire market area. Conveniently closed to everywhere we wanted to go and in a super cute area!!!


Our hotel (the Sheraton Eau Claire) turned out to be fantastic. It's pricey (!) but then again so are most hotels in Calgary. If you can find a good deal then it's a wonderful place to stay!


After getting settled in we donned our cowboy hats (okay maybe it was just me) and headed down to the rodeo for a yee-haw good time! :oP


To Be Continued . . .

The German Edition

Hello Bloggies!

Here in the Rockies I live not too far from a city that fancies itself a German/Swiss city in the Rockies. Truth be told it comes pretty close!

A short while ago the fiance and I decided to head up there for a day. We were originally going to make a trip further a field but we pulled the plug on that (the fiance had just finished working overnight). Instead, we headed to Kimberly, British Columbia for a bit of their farmer's market, yummy eats, and a wonderful hike!!!

I started off the morning with a GLORIOUS pretzel!!! It was actually the smallest least rich baked good they had in the place. It was delicious!!! Just like being in Munich!


While munching on my pretzel I looked around the place. Turns out the head bakers of this particular place have won a ton of culinary competitions. I was pleasantly surprised although not shocked - their goods are really first rate.

After breakfast we wandered around the stalls. There wasn't a ton of produce but there were a lot of random sellers. I ended up picking up a shirt and a summer dress made from recycled saris. It's VERY cool!!!!!!!!! And a wonderful green colour! :o)

The store were I bought my stuff was really great. Kind of funky. Kind of casual. Kind of sporty. Kind of ethnic. Just up my alley. And they also had an acupuncture massage and spa clinic on the premises. Don't be surprised if I head that way again! Especially since the summer weather has done a number on my face (you could basically fall in my pores if you're not careful).

After wandering around the village for several hours we headed up to some local gardens. They're operated and run free of charge by the local mining company. And they have done an outstanding job. They're wonderfully maintained and oh so peaceful. Made me wish my Rocky Mountain town had something like this garden!

Eventually we headed back to the village where I had THE most amazing meal. I think it's the best food I've had in the Rockies. And it all started with something so humble and relatively ugly looking - morel mushrooms:


Aren't they fantastic!?!?

In fact we were going to eat somewhere else and were actually headed there when Chef Bernard poked his head out of his restaurant and lured us in. And he came showing the platter above to show us the beautiful mushrooms he picked at 5am that morning in the Rockies!!!! Did I mention I'm a foodie? Hook. Like. And sinker.

So in we went and I ordered one of the dishes that featured the mushrooms - the schnitzel. I've had schnitzel in many places - including Germany - and this is the yummiest one I've ever had:

My dish came with a tiny little dutch oven type dish (cute!) filled with this German pasta like thing. I forget what it's called right now but I've been told they essentially grate the dough over boiling water. It was oh so fluffy!

It also came with a salad and the highlight - my schnitzel!! I was stunned by the number of mushrooms on my plate. I thought they'd cheap out or cut them up. But nope! In fact I think there was more value ($) in those mushrooms than what I paid for my dish.

It was amazing. In fact I would have licked the plate if I had been in private! LOL Trying to keep it real.

Oh and I should add that for a while I wondered whether the Chef was making up the story about picking in the mountains. But one of my co-workers told me it's indeed true. Apparently people go pick them up in the mountains. Having said that they ONLY come out after a forest fire. I guess they're sort of like the woods' beautiful sacrifice. Yummers!

After our beautiful lunch we went on a hike. Eventually we ended up here:


Isn't it spectacular?!?! Needless to say it was an awesome day. It just goes to show you that a stay-cation can be just as good as something further afield. :o)