Will you gobble and wobble or have fun and be fit?

I've been in a bit of a workout slump. I've been getting compliments about how I'm looking thinner and have more confidence for sure! Just pressing play each day has been a bit of a struggle. 

The deadline to join our team 21 Day HEALTHY HOLIDAY survival group is this FRIDAY! This group will kick off on November 30th and end just before Christmas!

This group is specifically designed to help you through the holidays. You can enjoy your treats, your food, your drinks but not start the NEW YEAR 10 pounds heavier then what you are right now. If you are looking to lose 8 -12 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas so you can look and feel awesome while you ring in the New Year then this group is for YOU!

This group will provide you with:
Yummy meal plans
Yummy Holiday Recipes
Holiday Dessert & Drink Recipes
Group support from me and my team
Daily tips
Daily Motivation
Lots of FUN!

Source: Pillsbury (trust me the irony of the source did not go unnoticed!)

As a bonus Hermie our Elf on the Shelf will be making some fitness related appearances! Some fun ideas to use your family elf to promote fun and fitness to your kids!

If you want to more please message me! This program is only on sale through the end of November, and it is only offered on sale 1 - 2 x per year! This is a great chance for you to get the program that is changing lives and save some money. You could also give this to yourself as your gift of health, or maybe you have a family member or friend who would like the program- snap it up now!

DIY Wedding Dress Shopping Survival Bag

As of the date this post gets published, there are 263 days until my sister says "I DO!"

I am so excited for her! Jordan is a great guy and my kids adore him. You can tell a lot about a person by how they treat the people around them. Uncle Jordan has been pretty great since day one and Austin loves hanging out with him when we're all together.

When he popped the question a couple of years ago it was not a huge surprise but a really exciting moment none the less. I immediately went into planning mode and sent my sister a planner, several magazines and a few other little things the day after she called to tell me the news. She, understandably wanted to focus on graduating from University first. I mean I get it...it's just...priorities...planners gotta plan!

In May of this year my sister graduated with her Pharmacy degree. We all flew to St. John's to be part of the exciting event. And to make it even better we went DRESS SHOPPING!!!!

While we found a few contenders, we didn't find the dress. Halloween weekend my sister flew to Halifax and we hit the bridal shops. I meticulously planned out the appointments, accounting for travel time and hockey games.

Since the days were going to be jam packed- we only had 3 days to find the dress- I decided to make a Wedding Dress survival kit for her.

The happy bride to be with her Starbucks and Bag at our first stop

I found a great tutorial on Style me Pretty and it includes the image. I somehow managed to muck up the transfer because in barely showed on the bag. What's a girl to do? Grab a gold Sharpie and go over the image! I have to say I was thrilled with how it came out.


I added a few useful items and gave it to her the morning of our first appointment. She loved it and we used everything in it so I consider this a successful DIY Pinterest project.

Bride to Be Wedding Dress Shopping survival kit:

Materials

• 1 Canvas Bag (I got mine at Michael's Craft Store)
• Iron on transfer paper
• Bride to Be image
• Gold Sharpie

Survival Gear of choice. I included:

• Elastic headband
• Hair elastics
• Hand cream
• Ibuprofen
• Lip gloss
• Manicure Kit
• Pen
• Protein bar
• Small note book
• Tic Tacs
• Tissues
• Water bottle

Follow the directions to print the image on the transfer paper. Trim the access paper around the image. Follow directions to transfer image to canvas bag. If you like it the way it is great, For a little extra something, trace the image over in gold sharpie, fill with goodies and give it to your bride to be!

Oh and in case you are wondering- we found a dress on Day 2!! Janice is going to be one GORGEOUS bride.  We also knocked out colours and bridesmaids dresses. I love me some wedding planning!

NO Excuse NOvember + a recipe!

We are a nice, "normal" family.

At least that is what we like to believe...

We've got bills and are stressed for time. I decided a while back that I wanted to make our life a little more flexible. I wanted to give us options to be debt free and not so stressed. I'm getting organized (Oh how I LOVE my new planner- have you read about it? It's awesomeness is detailed here) and I'm taking care of my health.  My babies are growing and it's harder to keep up with them. I'm over being tired and overweight.

I decided after two years ago to get healthy. I work out, I eat healthy but not all of the time, at least until March. I had ordered the 21Day Fix from Beachbody awhile back and thanks to my awesome coach I got back on board. At my last weigh in I was finally down below Amelia's delivery weight and had gone down 2 sizes. I am also helping other people reach their goals and it feels so good knowing I'm making a positive impact on other people. 5 Rounds of the Fix and my challengers have lost a collective 245lbs!!! That is incredible and I'm very proud of them :)

As a Coach I am also earning an income that is helping my family's bottom line. I earned enough with Beachbody since March to pay off a credit card balance and boost our savings account. But most importantly I've found a renewed purpose and drive in my life. I love helping people achieve their goals and become happier people. 

This week I started my NO excuse NOvember challenge group. We're just getting underway and I'd love to have a few more people join. If you want to hear more about the program let me know!

It's getting colder and we all want comfort food. One of the things I love about the 21 Day Fix is that I get to eat real food and I am not doing math to figure out how much I can eat. I'm also only making one meal for the family so we're all getting healthier!

One of my kids' favorites from the Fixate cookbook is the chicken soup. It's a lot like I used to make anyway and I've tweaked it ever so slightly. Enjoy!

Chicken Noodle Soup
*adapted from Fixate

2 Green
1.5 Yellow
1 Red

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
• 1/2 c chopped onion
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 2 c sliced celery
• 4 cups of low sodium organic chicken broth 
• 3 cups of shredded, cooked chicken breast (I roast two organic chickens on prep day and use the bones to make stock and the breast meat for the soup and chicken salad)
• 2 c sliced carrots 
• 1 c cubed turnip or rutabaga
• 1tsp Red pepper flakes
• 1tsp chopped rosemary (1/2 tsp if using dried)
• 1tsp chopped fresh thyme (1/2 tsp if using dried)
• dash salt, pepper to taste
• 1 1/4 c of cooked whole wheat bowtie pasta (I use Catelli SMART pasta because my kids won't always eat brown pasta willingly)

Cooking:

1. In a large pot add the oil and heat
2. Add the onion and garlic and saute until fragrant 
3. Add celery, carrots and turnip and cook 2-3 minutes
4. Add broth and chicken
5. Heat on high until boil
6. After boil, reduce to low and cover for 30 min (or until carrots are soft)
7. Add pasta during last 8 minutes of cooking.
8. Measure out 1.5 yellow of pasta and put into a bowl.
9. Top with soup (about 1-1.25 cups)