Buh Bye Blogger

Well folks, now's the time for that announcement:

I have a new website: www.thebexfactor.com. Please visit me there.

Book Worm

Ever since I was a kid I've loved reading. While most kids would get in trouble for watching TV at the dinner table, I would get in trouble for reading my book at the dinner table.

I went through a period in college where I wasn't reading for entertainment. Far too much reading for learning purposes which made me not want to read much more when the day was done. I've since gotten into the habit of reading before bed, which isn't always as much time as I'd hope, but it's the best I can do with my busy schedule.

Running vs Walking

There’s no denying that cardio should be an important part of your fitness regime. Not only does it keep your heart strong, but it’s a great calorie burner. I have always gone for a short run around my neighborhood after my evening class. 

My Running Trail

Weekend Report

After months of harassing my cousin (who's pretty much like a brother to me) to come visit, he finally made the trip down from Calgary to hang out and catch up. Apparently having a girlfriend has become more of a priority than hanging with his favorite cuz....Pfft. I still don't think this girl exists outside of photos since I haven't had the pleasure of meeting her yet.

Sweet Caramel

A coworker brought me a little surprise the other day. She picked up these little sweet treats at Nutters and gave me a couple packs to try.

I take my coffee black as adding sugar and cream, while delicious, add so many extra and unnecessary calories to your morning caffeine fix. If I'm looking for a sweet fix, I keep some packets of Stevia in my desk at work but I may just be hooked on these little delights. Before pouring in my coffee I decided to try a little taste first. I nearly died. So much caramel sweetness. Half of a package is a perfect amount for one cup and even tastes delicious in a cup of Keurig brewed French Vanilla.

It's not quite the same as my frappachino or latte addictions from Starbucks, but those are only once in awhile treats and the Krisda Cafe Caramel will make a fine substitute in the mean time. They even come in almond and vanilla flavors, which I may have to pick up now.

Speaking of Starbucks: from now until May 15 it's Frappachino Happy Hour (1/2 price frapps!) from 3-5pm. I've been finding it very hard not to go everyday now that they have my ultimate favorite the Mocha Coconut, which I discovered only previously existed in Hawaii. I'm holding out until my weekend cheat day but I'm dreaming about it daily until then. If only they didn't have calories.....

My daily fix in Hawaii

Stay Tuned!

I'm very very very excited for an exciting announcement regarding this blog!
Stay tuned to find out more...

Or if you're really curious I will accept bribes!

Orrrr maybe I'll tell you when I reach 4000 hits to this thing?

May Showers

Saturday was a very special day, my best friends bridal shower. I was very fortunate that her boss and coworker who are very close friends to her decided they wanted to take over the planning for this. They did a wonderful job hosting and made for a very memorable day. I'm so honored to have such an amazing best friend and to be a part of this precious time in her life.

Spring Cleanup

Hey guys

I have had so many things I've wanted to blog about the past few weeks but my life is so hectic right now I just can't seem to find the few minutes to sit down write!

Not Feeling the Love

Dear Friends and Loyal Readers:

I know you're there lurking. I've discovered I can check the stats of my blog. See where you found me, where you're visiting from, what you're looking at. Super exciting stuff! I know how many people creep me daily but I'm just not feeling any love from you guys.

There's a serious lack of comments, lack of feedback, lack of anything aside from creeping. I really want to continue to entertain you, share my love of music and quest for total health and fitness and all the fun stuff in between. I want to know what you think, who you are and what keeps you coming back!

So please, share the love, leave some comments!
xo
B

The Worst Concert Experience EVER

Every time I go to the concert I leave on this natural high thinking to myself that it was the BEST concert I had ever been to. Of all the bands and artists I've gone to see live, I couldn't pick out one favorite show as they all bring a unique experience.

Show Me Your Fit

Today's blog is inspired by the Fitnessista. She put out a call to her readers to send in pictures of what they do to keep fit, whether it's something they eat, wear or them doing something active. I wanted to submit something myself but couldn't decide on one thing to include, so I decided to put together a little pictorial of a typical day for me.

Earth Day!

Tomorrow is Earth Day and in celebration both Starbucks and Good Earth Cafe are giving away free coffee or tea when you bring in a travel mug.

I've never tried Good Earth's coffee before but I'm headed there right now to try it out and plan on taking a walk down to Starbucks tomorrow.

Positive Monday

Today's positivity comes from that Canadian hip hop artist I went and saw perform last week.

La Casa Pergola

Today I attended a lunch with my department for a coworker who’s off to get married (Congrats Kyra!). We went to a locally owned Italian restaurant, La Casa Pergola, right across the street, which has always been a great choice. I was a little concerned about what to order today as I wanted to keep it clean after a little indulgence yesterday. I was informed that the owner trains at the same gym I go to and that she would be happy to cook me a clean meal. I mentioned this to my server and she was very accommodating and happy to custom make me something fit for my eating requirements. It was a refreshing change from dreading all the things I ask them to change with my meals!

I ended up with a half order of Insalata Mista (artisan greens, tomato, cucumber, red onion & kalamata olives), grilled salmon made with no oil or butter and a custom made balsamic dressing with hot sauce (I can’t remember the other things she said she threw in there). It was perfect and so delicious!

As I was out with coworkers, I didn’t think it was acceptable to whip out my phone for a snapshot, so my apologies for no picture of my salad creation.
I wish customizing food orders was this easy and un-intimidating at all restaurants, it would definitely make eating out a lot less stressful for me.
If you are ever looking for a nicer meal, clean or not, La Casa Pergola is wonderful and their staff are amazing! Go check them out!

Stay Classy

East Coast hip hop artist Classified made a stop in Red Deer last night while promoting his latest album 'Handshakes and Middle Fingers'. I was excited to see how Class has progressed since I last saw him at play at Shark's Garage on Canada Day, 2007.

Canada Day 2007 Me, Classified, Ashley

Silver

Yesterday marked my parents 25th wedding anniversary. With today's divorce rates being so high, it's so refreshing to see couples reach milestone anniversary dates. While my parents might not be perfect, they get mad at each other and disagree with each other once in awhile, these things are completely normal and at the end of the day I know they still love each other. They are each other's best friends and when the time comes I aspire to have a long lasting marriage like they've had. Here's to 25 more guys!

Bucket List: Be Involved With a Charity

Back in January I hinted that I was working on crossing a couple things off my Bucket List . I'm happy to finally share with you one of those things today!

Stuffed French Toast

I follow a pretty strict diet like I've discussed on here before. But the key to not going insane is letting myself have a cheat meal once a week. I usually do this at Sunday morning when I go for brunch with my favorite people. It's one of my favorite things to look forward to, not just because I go crazy eating whatever I want, but spending time with people I love.

We usually try somewhere new for brunch. If we really like somewhere we might go a couple times. This past Sunday we went to Glenn's Family Restaurant.. Glenn's is a locally owned restaurant that has a very extensive tea menu and a large home cooked food menu.

This weekend they were at the Red Deer Health and Wellness Show  Vegan cafe, so if you are looking for Vegan options in Red Deer, Glenn's is a great place to try.

My meal for the morning was no where near vegan however. I always have a hard time ordering healthy breakfast as eggs give me horrible stomach aches which makes breakfast choices very limited. I decided to roll with the Stuffed French Toast with extra blueberries on top. It comes stuffed with cream cheese, topped with mixed berries and grilled to perfection. To me, anything with cream cheese is perfection.

It was obviously delicious because it sure didn't last on the plate long.

If you are ever in Red Deer looking for a good home-cooked meal, breakfast or not, try Glenn's, I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Five: Albums I'm Listening to Right Now

Alright folks, it's been awhile since I've talked music so I thought I'd share the top 5 albums that I can't get enough of right now. It's a pretty eclectic mix, as all my music is.

Recipe: Amazeballs!

So thanks to fellow Rocky Mountain Houser Danielle's addicting blog, I've now added another blog obsession to my daily must reads, Fitnessista. Gina is an adorable girl down in the States who blogs twice daily with recipes, workouts, etc. I'm obsessed.

A reoccurring food item in daily eats is something she calls 'amazeballs', which are little balls of protein goodness that I've always wanted to try and make. The look and some DE-LISH!

Well, the time has come. Yesterday my nutrition guy switched up some of meals to give me better pre and post workout meals. My pre-workout meal was a new recipe for a protein bar which is very similar to Gina's Amazeballz. Whilst making them I was a little skeptical of how they would taste but after a small sample I knew they were amazing. And hence, I now have my own amazeballz that I can't wait to consume before my daily workout. I'm obsessed.

Here's the amazeball recipe for you all to try and fall in love with:

4 cups oats, dry
4 oz unsweetened shredded coconut
4 tablespoons natural peanut butter
4 scoops Whey protein (I have vanilla but I think a chocolate would be super good too)
2 cups cottage cheese

Combine all ingredients in large bowl and mix with hands.

Roll into 24 balls (they will be a bit larger than a golf ball). I put them all on a cookie sheet and then popped them into the fridge to harden overnight but you can stick them into individual bags, or whatever storage you like.

No need to bake them, just mix, roll, chill and enjoy before your workout!

AMAZEBALLZ!

Nutrition Info for 1 ball:

150 calories

11g protein

5 g fat

14g carbs

1g fiber

2.8g saturated fats

2 g sugar

80mg sodium

14mg cholesterol

20mg calcium