A Picnic on the Beach!

Going on a picnic is #68 on my list.  It has been so beautiful on my holidays - I wanted to get this done!    I was grateful my neighbour agreed to come on a picnic with his kids. Kids love picnics & beaches! To add to the fun, we decided to walk to the beach on the bike path - which is about 6km round trip.

Dylan - 4 yrs old, he doesn't look impressed, but he is actually quite excited!

Blurry pic - but we are about halfway there! No complains by the kids yet!

Having our picnic & then a swim in the river

Even the puppy was tired when we got home!

There is something about true stories...

A couple of weeks ago - I read a book written by my uncle, Jacques Kahale.  He is currently retired, and his dream was to write a book about his life so his kids could have something tangible about his past.  As much as I thought I knew my uncle, reading his book helped me learn more about him.

His book was an easy read - I learned a little about Egypt, the war, the culture. I was amazed at some points of the book I laughed out loud and at other points my heart was hurting. 

This book starts with the life of his parents (by stories told to him by his father) and finishes with him leaving Egypt and coming to Canada. He is currently writing his next book in which he will talk about the beginning years in Canada - including when he met my aunt, my mother's sister! Can't wait!

Many people have the aspirations of writing a book - but never put the plan in to action.  I am very proud of him! 

Another book read for #13 on my list! 

Am I 14 years old again?

When I was younger, I used to be in a 5-pin bowling league. I stopped playing when I was about 14 years old.  #84 on my 101 list is to go night bowling - which is what I did this weekend.  My husband and our friends drove to Watertown, NY for the night, shopped, and went to Seaway Lanes for the evening.  

Even though this was 10-pin bowling, it brought back a lot of memories.   I did well the first game!

Me in front of our lane

My score: 102  ---don't listen to the others if they say I cheated ;)

 

April Challenge with the Hubby :)

Living a paleo lifestyle 90% of the time is what I strive to accomplish.  It can be difficult when the person you spend most of your time with isn't quite on board with this way of living.

In March, I asked my husband (who loves his sandwiches, snacks and beer) if he would do a 30 day Paleo Challenge with me in April.  After some consideration, he agreed and for 30 days we did not have any sugar, grains/bread, dairy, or alcohol.  What we did eat was meat, fruits, vegetables, seafood/fish, nuts.

The first week was a challenge, but after 2 weeks - it got much easier. We both noticed after 30 days we were calm, collective, our communication with each other improved drastically, we had a lot of patience and we were sleeping much better at night.

He is now starting to understand why my goal to live a Paleo lifestyle is important to me and we now try and make all our meals Paleo.  Of course with him having the occasional sandwich and beer on the weekends ;)!

Below are some photos of the types of meals we ate and continue to eat after the challenge.

Breakfast was by far my favorite meal of the day. 

Paleo Pancakes, Organic Sausage & Organic Bacon

Organic Bacon, Scrambled Eggs with left over beef, fruit & avocado

boiled egg, avocado, fruit and pecans

Here are some examples of our dinners (which we often had left overs for lunch)

Grass-fed steak on the BBQ!

organic chicken meat pie with sweet potato
    

Organic Chicken & Veges with Salad

Organic meatball soup - big hit in our house! Lots of leftovers

Organic Beef Goulash

Organic Shrimp with Asparagus

Here are some photos of the snacks we had:

homemade beef jerkey

Larabars if really having a bad day. I usually cut them in 3 pieces for 3 snacks

Tuna Balls

Organic Dates with Pecans - tastes like pecan pie!

coconut milk ice cream - expensive, but delicious!

It was a fun challenge and it helped that we did it together.  It's something that we are proud of! I can't wait until he does the challenge with me again.....he thinks otherwise ;)

This challenge allowed me to scratch #10 off my 101 list!

Almond Coconut Balls

Remember those peanutbutter balls with coconut?  Well here is a Paleo version.  I found this recipe in one of my Paleo Cookbooks from http://www.paleocookbooks.com/  but I didn't have hazelnut meal in my cupboard so I changed it slightly.

These were SO SIMPLE. Honestly took me 10 minutes to make.  This would be a perfect recipe to get the kids involved too!

No cooktime. Just mix, form balls and put in fridge.
Definitely satisfies my sweet tooth too!


Recipe

1 cup of almond flour
1/2 cup of coconut flour
1/2 cup of almond butter
4 tbsp of honey
2 tbsp of cocoa
coconut

Mix ingredients, roll coconut on balls, cool for a few hours in fridge.

Gotta love Massages!

I put 4 massages per year on my 101 list (#58) - but I really believe I need to get a massage more frequently. 

February, I had Ted Casselman, who owns Serenity Massage & Wellness in Cornwall give me a relaxation massage.  My goal is to get a massage at least every 1-2 months.  I asked Ted to focus on my back/neck (bad bed) and right arm (blackberry usage).   I always feel so much better after I get the massage!  

Luckily, I recently purchased a new bed - so my back issues have improved a great deal.  However, I'm still a chronic computer/blackberry user.  I want to avoid carpel tunnel as much as possible, so will continue to get Ted to massage out the tension!!

The Happiness Project

The Happiness Project is my 20th book out of 30!  I'm lucky I have a book club that encourages me to finish books within the month!

This book was a unique book.  It's not like any other book I've read - as it's a women telling her story about trying to improve herself in order to be the happiest she could be.  I could definitely relate to it because I am always trying to improve myself. Probably one of the main reasons I started this 101 list! :)

For those who enjoy reading self-help books you will probably enjoy this one! For a full review of the book - check out the book club blog :
http://www.womenwholovewords.blogspot.com/ .  If you've read it, feel free to comment!