Seattle is cool

I'm packing it up and shipping up to

Boston. This trip is almost dunzo.

My 36 hours spent in Seattle has been

enthralling. Yeah- sense the sarcasm. Don't get

me wrong, Seattle is cool. But I am tired. Beyond

tired. After that fun time in the ER and the other

mishaps on the trip, I'm ready to slam into my bed

and make sweet love to it... aka sleep.

I did make a little time for the sights!

Original Starbucks!

They were tossing these babies around.

Elephant garlic?!? It was the size of my hand.

Some views from the space needle.

Does this look familiar? This is Seattle Grace from Grey's!

It's actually a tv studio and it didn't feel like McDreamy was

around the corner.

Today I had meetings all morning/afternoon. Once

I finished I figured it was a good idea to visit the market

one last time and do my own food crawl.

It included 6 mini donuts, 1 french baked good and

this.

Good lord. My belly is full. So that counted as

my lunch and dinner. Now I'm pounding some

drinks before my flight tonight. By drinks I mean

plenty of water so I'm hydrated and can catch a cat 

nap. See you kids on the east coast.

Ain't no sunshine when I'm here- Vancouver

I'm blogging live from the Amtrak Cascades

train to Seattle. I woke up super early this morning

for the last leg of the trip so I am exhausted.

Stick a fork in me. I'm done.

I traveled by train from Kamloops to

Vancouver on Friday. It was a nice trip filled with

good food and nice scenery. And somewhat

peaceful sleep. We followed a river or 5 for most of the trip.

This is basically what the entire trip looked like.

I did see like 4 or 5 bald eagle's so that was a nice touch.

They did serve me some wine and cheese.

Once I arrived in Vancouver I opted for a run around the seawall.

My legs/body were craving the pavement and I felt

I should listen to them and get them moving.

I'm pretty sure the sun didn't shine the entire 36hrs I was there.

Ain't no sunshine when I'm here?

I did about 6 miles and my legs felt it.

Pain. I'll now be in pain for days to follow.

I did a little city tour to get to know and to get

personal with Vancouver. I saw some nice sights.

The totem polls. I'm part Native American and

I actually like to boast about it pretty often.

So this gives me another reason to brag.

The first narrows lion's gate bridge.

Built by the Guinness family actually.

I made it over to Granville Island for the market

and my own afternoon delight. The produce was beautiful.

And the crepes weren't bad either. This is my kind of

afternoon delight.

I saw some amazing hilltop views of Vancouver. And yeah-

still no sun happening.

I went into what felt like part of the movie Bio-Dome.

It was a tropical rain forest with birds.

And I finished the day with a walk around the seawall

to stretch my legs. And let's be honest- take in the

views. 

Vancouver is a great city. It's actually rated in the top 5

of most livable cities in the world. I can see why.

I could easily be a west coaster since they love

soy/almond milk, they love recycling /saving the planet

and they prefer to walk/bike/run/roller blade to where they're

going. Yeah- I made all these observations in 36 hours.

But be warned- it spits a lot here. It actually rains more than

a foot per year than Seattle. Which brings me to my next

 destination.

Question: Ever been to Vancouver? Seattle? West Coast?

What are your opinions?

Middle of nowhere, Canada

Ok if we are being honest- my eating habits

take a back burner when traveling. It

becomes really difficult to explain that

I refrain from dairy and meat as much as possible.

Yeah- try explaining that in a town where

cows out number people. And they want to 

serve you that cow.

I was supposed to be on a train today traveling through 

the amazing country side but a train derailed and 

blocked the entire track. So- a bus to Kamloops 

was the answer.

Sure there were some beautiful sights like this.

And then there was a lot of this.

 Middle of nowhere Canada. Not to belittle the place

because I am from middle of nowhere America and extremely

proud of it! Just disappointed that my day was spent

differently than I hoped.

We reached the hotel in Kamloops where I buried my troubles

in this.

A tasty quinoa and roasted veggie combo... and some fried

pickles. Well- there is always tomorrow.

But- I did get a work out in. Did it ax out the damage

done today? HELL NO! But it was something to keep

my muscle memory in tact.

Here I am in this little gym getting a sweat on.

A sweat it better than nothing, folks.

Sweet gym. 

I'm a firm believer in working out. Vaca or no vaca.

I like to keep my head clear and body clean. 

Not to lose weight. But because it makes me feel 

good and makes me feel strong.

I'm no bag of bones and honestly, I don't want to be one.

 I workout for me. Not for you or anyone else.

Not for a guy to turn his head, but because when I work

out, I think I am a sex pot. It's much like the LMFAO song- 

I'm sexy and I know it. And my wish is for every woman 

to feel that way. 

I really just wish women would stop bashing themselves.

Shoot, everyone around us already does it for us.

So layoff yourself and start thinking how friggin awesome

you are. And if someone doesn't agree- Screw them.

You are sexy and you know it.

Jasper, eh?

This trip has certainly been an adventure. I made my

way for the gorgeous Banff to Lake Louise

for a hot second. I had a quick meeting.

I got to see the beautiful (frozen) lake from the Fairmont.

After my meeting, it was on to Jasper.

It was kind of long ride and due to the drugs the

doctor gave me, it was near impossible to keep

my eyes open. But, alas, I did! And the sky was doing

whacked out things.

After a few meetings in Jasper, we had some time

to check out some sights. And meet some new friends.

Then we made a trip to one of the many awesome

lakes. Patricia Lake!

To prove I'm really in Canada.

The amazing mountains around the lake.

I even dared to put my toes in the water. COLD!

Then I was so happy because I got to take a short hike.

By myself! Happy face... dancing came later. (Yikes- my

blond hair is actively trying to come back!)

The slot canyons were beautiful. And deep.

The water coming through was straight from the 

glacier and the most beautiful blue ever.

It was unreal.

I clearly love me some nature. And hikes!

Jasper is pretty great. It's no Banff but they've got some

sweet animals, hikes and glaciers. Tomorrow- I take the train

to Kamloops and then finally to Vancouver on Friday! Woop Woop!

The killer kool aid is killer.

The last 48hrs have been crazy!

I've been to my work holiday party, my family

Christmas party and a welcome home party.

Friday was my work party. It was a 1920's theme

and it was at the Fairmont Copley. So beautiful!

The 20's was a cool theme and everyone looked awesome.

Including me. I was rocking the red lips. Seemed like a

good idea until it was staining everything.

Saturday morning I woke up before the sun was even out.

I hit the road for Maine. I had a family party first.

The kids passed out gifts and we all just got together

to celebrate the season. It was nice. I snapped a few pics of

Lily being Lily.

Then it was off to the rest of my weekend. We had to

welcome Adam home from Iraq! I got a little

shin dig together to surprise him. It worked and

we all had a super fun night with way too many drinks.

We drank too much killer kool-aid. It's a real drink

and it really was killer. It was really a killer this morning

when I had to function like a normal human being.

I'm still trying to be human again at 9:30pm. Better luck

tomorrow. Warning: The Killer Kool-aid is killer.

Good news though- this is a short week and Christmas

is almost here :)



My mad smoothie skills

Tomorrow is Thursday.

Then it's Friday. Which means- Our work party.

The theme is 1920's. I have been attempting to

get the perfect red lip. I think I finally got it today

in Sephora but you'll have to wait for pics from the

party to see.

I will say I love all the Too Faced products.

Mostly this post is dedicated my mad smoothie skills.

I love smoothies. I love them for breakfast and dinner.

Sometimes as a snack. So today I present you two new

recipes for smoothies. Get crazy and get creative!

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

1 cup almond/soy/cow's milk

4 or 5 ice cubes

1/3 cup canned pumpkin

1 scoop protein powder (you can use chocolate or vanilla)

pumpkin pie spice

Mix it up!

This was so creamy and delicious. It was a perfect breakfast!

I've seen people use yogurt as well for extra thickness.

Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie

1 cup almond/soy/cow's milk (I suggest choco soy for extra

choco flavor!)

4 or 5 ice cubes

1 scoop of choco powder (I added a little extra for the

extra choco kick)

1 tablespoon of PB

1 banana

You could say I really enjoy chocolate :)

This baby will be breakfast in the morning.

On another note- we are in the full swing of the holiday season.

This means a few things for me.

-I still get in workouts almost daily. I'm fighting that

holiday weight gain.

- eating healthy. Getting my veggies in to prevent getting

sick and just to stay healthy.

- being thankful and thoughtful. Tis the season after all!

- staying positive. I'm constantly trying to remember all that

I have and the wonderful people in my life.

What are you trying to do this holiday season? What are

you thankful for?