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)

Canada Day - the Way it was Meant to Be!

Hola bloggies:

Sorry for the unexpected absence in the last couple of days. I got back to work after my wonderful day off (O' Canada) and immediately got slammed with work. In fact on Thursday I worked all day and most of the night. I barely slept. Then yesterday I went to work and kept on writing my appeal. Filed it and then headed off to do interviews for a two day trial next week. I didn't get home until 11:30pm (!). Eek!!!

I don't know about you - but I think I earned my weekend. Big time. :o)


I bet you're all wondering how my Canada Day went - it was GLORIOUS!!!

I don't know that I have enough superlatives to tell you how absolutely wonderful it was and how much fun I had! I now have the answer to the question "What do people do in the Rockies for fun?"

I have to admit being a city girl through and through I sometimes miss the conveniences of my big city life. But my Canada Day outing made me want to give up my city slicker ways and become outdoorsy! lol

It all started as we made our way to a local mountain lake to inflate our raft. We were greeted by stunning scenery (my picture doesn't do the place justice):


Amazing.

We got in the raft and proceeded to make our way down to the river. But first one of the people on our trip did a quick bit of fly fishing. And he caught a fish!!! In no time at all!!

He then gave it a kiss and let it go. lol Turns out he does it just for sport. He wouldn't eat the fish but likes playing around. In fact he has in the past been a fly fishing guide down that very river. It was amazing to see how he knew every twist and turn of that wonderful river. Like the back of his hand.


We rafted for hours down some gorgeous scenery. The river wasn't too high and consequently not too crazy but I wasn't bothered too much. I still paddled and paddled. I wanted to make sure I got my workout in. :oP And boy did I ever!!! In fact it hurt to hold my files the next day. Hahahah! I loved it!!!

Eventually we stopped in a beach area and unpacked a glorious picnic. Everyone contributed something - whether it be homemade beer using maple syrup (I don't even like beer and I can say it was great), freshly baked breads, hummus, olives, cold cuts, desserts, more beer. lol

It was awesome! Check out the spread!

First here we are getting ready to unpack things:


Oooo la la! Here's everything out and about (or as much as I could capture in one shot):


It was truly a gourmet spread! And see that salmon? It was probably my favourite part! lol Although I will admit that for a second I wondered if a grizzly would smell it and pay us a visit. Thankfully no grizzlies came a calling.

And here is my plate:


Picture the plate above a couple of times over (but without the salami). The follow ups were mostly veggies, olives, and smoked salmon. Perfection.

Oh and I took care of dessert. I was going to bake but it was REALLY hot so I decided to pick something up instead. I'd say it still worked out pretty well.


Canada Day cupcakes!


Maple fudge!


And fresh local cherries!!!

Frankly it was too hot for me to have sweets so I just ate a handful of cherries. Then we were off! For a couple of more hours of rafting before it was time to head home.


I loved every moment of my adventure bloggies. I couldn't think of a better way to enjoy Canada Day than to be out in the glorious outdoors. And I had so much fun on the water I'm considering getting a kayak (one of my co-workers has volunteered to teach me)!

O' Canada indeed!!!!

Now I'm off bloggies - I'm heading on an impromptu overnight trip to the Calgary Stampede!!!!!!!! Yee-haw! LOL

It's not my usual type of thing but I figure when in (or near) Rome . . . :oP Besides it's probably the only time I'll attend in my life. Tonight we're heading to the chuck wagon races and then sticking around for the grandstand show featuring performers, singers, fireworks, and the winner of SYTYCD Canada. Then tomorrow it's Rodeo time. I'll make sure to take lots of pics!!!

I've scheduled a post for tonight and I'll write again when I get back tomorrow. Time to go find my cowboy and head on out of town! :o)

But before I go - A Very Happy 4th of July to all my American friends! Have a wonderful weekend!!!!