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!

Bangin' Banff

I'm blogging live from Banff, Alberta.

It is one of the most beautiful places I've

ever been lucky enough to visit. 

The drive here was no joke either.

I watched the Rockies get closer by every mile.

The beautiful Bow Falls.

I rode the gondola to the top of sulphur mountain.

The view was disgusting. Disgustingly awesome!

I took a drive around a lake or two.

They were still frozen and looking pretty frigid.

I made some new friends.

 A mom and baby. The dad was around with his giant

horns. But, sadly, no bears yet. But I've been told

I should spot one soon.

I'm obsessed with Banff. Whenever I travel I think to

myself "Could I live here?" For once- this is somewhere I

could see myself living. With George of course. It's so

amazing here. I'm sure the winters are a serious b*tch,

but I could overlook 8 months of winter I think.

I'd, of course, need to obtain a visa and a job. 

Let's get the ball rolling on this.

Why Calgary Rocks!

After a hell of a day of travel and some stolen money..

I made it Canada. Calgary to be exact. And it's

beautiful here. It's better than I expected. Ok- I don't

even know what the heck I expected. But here

are some reasons Calgary rocks.

They have amazing parks here. Some of the

best outdoor space I've seen. (listen it doesn't look

great because everything is still brown but take

my word for it.)

The downtown area is easy to navigate, is clean

and pretty.

Everyone is so active here. And why wouldn't they be

with all the beautiful running/walking/biking/roller

blading paths? Roll on.

The have the 15+. What is that you ask?

It's indoor sidewalks that connect the entire

downtown area. During the winter you don't

have to take a step outside. The architect who designed

it is a brainiac.

Tim Horton's out numbers Starbucks.

Also- there are a lot of attractive men here. All

the major oil/gas companies are here so people

are constantly coming in and out of the city for business.

This = lots of men. Probably women too if you are

interested.

My hotel leaves snacks in the hallway. I'm pretty

sure I'm the only person taking them. I have a stock

pile in my room for the drive tomorrow.

Calgary is a beautiful, clean and easy to navigate city.

The mountains are only an hour away. The people are

friendly here and they don't even try to run you over

when you cross the street! Visit. You won't be sorry.

But I will tell you I really miss the knucklehead.

But clearly George moves on quickly.

This is his boyfriend, Bruno. Yeah, you read that

right. These two are seriously in love. My parents

say it's getting out of hand. At least he picked a dog

that can easily lift things and protect him.

I also miss this gal. My beautiful niece, Lily.
She is 5!! Can you even believe that? I can't.

Ok- back to the streets to work.

Not in that way...



There is always champagne.

Happy Hump Day.

Half way through the week never felt

so freaking good. It's been a rough week

over here. My running pains are getting worse

and I'm officially sidelining my self.

I really need serious rest. Not just because of running

but also because of the weekend we had.

Celebrating Ashly's 25th... there was champagne.

There is always champagne.

We had some fun. Too much?

The next day we got to know our city a little better.

We went on the duck boats!

Now I am taking it easy after all the excitement

and running pains.

This concept is a bit foreign to me.

It meant yoga with Bethenny.

My bedroom acted as a make shift yoga space.

I gotta work with what I got.

I wasn't relaxing with this.

I was 25% interested and 75% disturbed.

This isn't real fueling food. It's not even really

good "hi, I'm so hungover that I'm going to eat

so bad all day" food. It fake food wearing a costume

trying to pull some serious trickery.

Instead of those greasy numbers.. I've been eating

loads of these.

OVERNIGHT OATS!! 

I'm seriously addicted.

I'm heading off to the great white north this weekend.

Yes- Canada! I'm flying over to Calgary on

Sunday. Another city.. another business trip.

Two breakfast deep

It's Saturday am and I've already accomplished

so much. I'm two breakfast deep and a run already under

my belt.

This was a good week full of quinoa.

Curry quinoa with brussel sprouts and an egg. Sounds

like a weird combo- but it was awesome.

Yesterday for lunch I had a huge arugula salad

with quinoa, beans, craisins, walnuts and loads

of veggies. And a few hershey kisses followed.

I wish I were eating these.

Sadly I am not. But maybe bagel Sunday is in order.

See- I believe in balance. Lots of people try and avoid

things but I'd go crazy if I did that. So I try to

 eat really healthy about 85% of the time. I eat pounds

of veggies everyday. I snack on them, eat tons at dinner and I try 

to include them in breakfast by hiding them in these overnight oats.

This was like eating chocolate pudding for breakfast.

Here is the recipe:

Chocolate Pudding Overnight Oats:

1 banana

1 cup almond milk

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tbsp almond/peanut butter

1.5 tbsp chia seeds

handful of kale

Blend ingredients.

Pour over 1/3 cup oats

Refrigerate overnight.

Enjoy!

See- balance can be awesome. I won't lie- I eat

chocolate everyday. I don't miss a single day. If I did,

I'd just die. Ok, maybe not. But I feel that way!

Luckily I love fruits, veggies and healthy things. You get one

body and I'd like to keep my insides in tact and healthy. 

I try to avoid lots of "franken" foods and eat whole foods instead. 

Everyone is of course different, 

but if I can't read it.. I try not to eat it.  

I went for a little 4 miler today to test my legs.

Yup, still in pain. It was a crappy run. I am aiming to 

get my mileage down to under 9 minute miles right now.

Today... eh. 

The rest of the day should be an awesome day. Eventful 

to say the least!

 At 3ish I'm heading to...

watch the B's games. Playoffs baby!

I'll be sitting a cozy box enjoying a beer or

two with friends and cheering on our boys.

Tonight I'm heading out to celebrate Ashly's birthday!

We have lots planned for a fun filled weekend. 

Have a great Saturday!