Summa 2011

My Summer theme song;)

I am officially on holiday!!! Let the summer begin:) I have some amazing plans for this summer! Starting with the last 5 days of my Yoga Teacher Training in July!

Last summer I went to the Yukon and then my friend Tess and I drove across US and I drove home through Canada! This summer I am driving to an Ashram near Montreal and staying for a few weeks then heading to Ottawa and Toronto for a few days... I will get to see some of my good friends and have a wee break! So exciting! I will also be taking a break from Blogging like I did last Summer, but this Summer I am going to still keep in touch with a series of photos that I will take everyday at 3pm no matter where I am or what I am doing (except if I am not allowed to take photos, which maybe the case in the Ashram) This was inspired by my friend Lori who said she had a friend who did this when they were traveling and it helped them keep in touch with their family! I will try to upload them as fast as I can while on the road! I am so excited!!! Don't worry I am not leaving you all until the 10th of July when my Yoga Teacher Training starts.

Do you have any big plans for your Summer my Lovelies?

Oh I almost forgot tomorrow is Canada Day!!! I believe I will be celebrating with my friends in the big city! Oh my... what shenanigans can we get up to this year?!?!? Happy Canada day my Lovelies!

School's out for Summer!

What a wonderful way to celebrate;) I can't think of anything better!!!

Mad Hatter Tea Party

Nat and her amazing chocolate covered strawberries;)

Danika and Andrew-The Bride and Groom

We were all wondering what the 10/6 ment on the Mad Hatter's hat and this is what I came up with after some research,
10/6 is the price tag of the hat, 10 Shillings & 6 Pence.  Mystery solved!

The Groom's Dad

Kiddies playing

Erin (My bro's lovely Girlfriend) and I modeling our fun hats.

Cupcakes!

The Bride and all her Bride's Maids except one:( We missed you Tia!

Boy's playing lawn games



Erin and I showing off our OPI colours. Her in Mermaid's Tears and myself in Teenage Dream;) Oh, and we were warming our hands too...


The Mad Hatter Tea/Engagement Party was a success! We all wore fun hats and ate insane amounts of food. The rain held off for most of the night and I think everyone had a great time! I really love the hat Carolyn (the Groom's Mother) picked out for me. I of course, had to leave early because I had Yoga at the crack of dawn the next morning:(

All Images taken by SandyLee

trust yourself

Watermelon

I am addicted to watermelon right now! I really can't get enough of the stuff! So I thought I would do some research on why it's so great, and this is what I found... I wonder if it's still as great if I add a wee bit of vodka to it...

Health benefits of watermelon:


■Rich in electrolytes and water content, melons are nature’s gift to beat tropical summer thirst.

■Watermelons are very low in calories (just 30 cal per 100 g) and fats yet very rich source of numerous health promoting phyto-nutrients and anti-oxidants that are essential for optimum health.

■Watermelon is an excellent source of Vitamin-A, which is a powerful natural anti-oxidant. It is essential for vision and immunity. Vitamin-A is also required for maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin. Consumption of natural fruits rich in vitamin-A is known to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.

■It is also rich in anti-oxidant flavonoids like lycopene, beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin and cryptoxanthin. These antioxidants are found to be protective against colon, prostate, breast, endometrial, lung, and pancreatic cancers. Phyto-chemicals present in watermelon like Lycopene (4532 mcg/100 g) and carotenoids have the ability to help protect cells and other structures in the body from oxygen free radicals. Studies have also shown that lycopene protects skin damage from UV rays and from prostate cancer.

■Watermelon fruit is a good source of potassium; Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure; thus offers protection against stroke and coronary heart diseases.

■It also contains good amount of vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine), thiamin (vitamin B-1), vitamin-C and manganese. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin-C helps body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful oxygen free radicals. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase.

Source

stop looking for it

Mom, there’s an octopus sitting in our dip!

OMG this is soooooooooo very cute;) I can't wait to make one!

11 Foods to Avoid for a Flat Stomach

Because it's Summer and we all want a flat stomach, and we should be avoiding these foods anyways, well, except of the dark chocolate...


11 Foods to Avoid for a Flat Stomach

If you want to make sure you are burning stomach fat — make sure you are staying away from these 11 foods. Instead of making your waist smaller — these foods will only expand your waistline even further.

Candy
For most of us this one can be hard to avoid — but snacking on candy won’t help you get a flat stomach. They taste delicious and can give you a quick pick me up — but you will just as quickly crash and burn while you add more inches to your waist.

White flour
White flour is highly processed — which means lacking in nutritional value. This type of flour – also known as enriched wheat flour – has lost any nutritional value during processing and can actually cause more health problems if too readily consumed.

Soda
Yes soda is tasty and it quenches your thirst — however its full of sugar and dies that aren’t any good for you. Cutting out soda from your daily liquid intake can save you TONS of calories, making a flat stomach even MORE possible.

Potato chips
Oh who doesn’t love chips!? But the only reason chips are tasty is because they are covered in unhealthy oils and fats — not to mention WAY too much sugar than any one person needs to eat.

Cheese
Adding cheese to a sandwich or a salad can make it taste THAT much better. However, adding that flavor to your meal is also adding fat to your diet. Cheese is full of fat that will help you gain weight instead of gain a flat stomach.
Cookies
This one might be a no brainer — but it might not be — there are cookies out there that say they have low calories — however these cookies are still filled with lots of sugar (to make them taste good).

Fatty meats
When trying to lose weight quickly its important to stay away from cuts of meat that are high in saturated fats. Avoid various cuts of meat such as beef, bologna, and pork that are high in fat and calories.

Whole milk
Drinking milk high in fat when trying to lose weight won’t help you lose any weight as it adds more fat to your diet as you are trying to lose fat.

Alcohol
Alcohol is full of empty calories. A 12 oz beer has 150 calories — calories that do nothing for you except send you to treadmill for a longer workout.

Chocolate
Yes, some forms of dark chocolate are good for your health (in moderation of course) however, if you are trying to lose stomach fat quickly chocolate should not be a part of your diet. Eating chocolate only adds additional calories and sugar that your body will turn into fat – requiring you to spend more time in the gym to burn it off.

Fried foods
When trying to lose weight its important to stay away from fried foods. Fried foods are full of saturated fats — some are made up of more than 50% fat! Avoiding fried foods – no matter how convenient they may be will help you reach your weight loss goals faster.

 Get Rid of Lower Belly Fat

Alter your diet to include more vegetables and lean proteins and less fat and sugar. Lean proteins will help you build muscles and burn fat in your lower belly. Even if you simply cut your fat and sugar intake in half, it will make a big difference in your fight against lower belly fat.
Do at least a half hour of cardio three times a week. Walking, jogging, biking and dancing are great options. Doing cardio will help you lose that extra layer of fat that keeps your abdominal muscles hidden.

Work your lower ab muscles to strengthen the muscle wall and burn belly fat. Do a few reps of scissors after your cardio exercise. Lie on your back with your hands underneath your buttocks. Lift your legs about a foot off the ground. Contract your lower ab muscles, and move your legs in a crisscross motion: move your right leg over the left, then open your legs apart and move your left leg over the right. Be careful not to bend your knees. Do about 10 to 15 reps.

Do a few reps of double leg reverse crunches. Lie on your back with your hands behind your buttocks as in Step 3. Raise your legs off the ground and bend your knees. With your knees bent, slowly lower your feet until they’re three inches off the ground, and hold this position for a few seconds then return to starting position. Do about 10 to 15 reps.

Complete your lower belly workout with a set of the Pilates 100. Lie on your back with your arms at your sides. Lift your legs straight at a 45-degree angle. Keeping your arms straight, lift them a few inches off the floor. Contract your abs and lift your shoulders a few inches off the ground. Maintain this position and start pumping your hands up and down as you count to 100.

Via runloveyoga

lovely

Bonfire Pizza

 Here are some pictures from our Summer Solace celebration. We ended up doing 108 Sun Salutations and having bonfire pizza and a lovely summer berry cake:) My friend Lori came up with the idea for bonfire pizza and it is amazing!

I have yoga teacher training all weekend, as well as a Mad Hatter Tea / BBQ Engagement Party Saturday night for my friends that are getting married at Christmas! Should be a good time! I will share some pictures next week:)


Hope you have a fun weekend my Lovelies! xo

Images taken by Sandylee

happy

how i dance...

Olympus Stylus Tough

automatic

fisheye

drawling

pinhole

popart

panoramic

I finally broke down and bought a new take anywhere camera. I still have my Canon T1I but I can't take that camera in the rain, if it's too cold, underwater and if I dropped it I might have a heart attack... So after looking around at many cameras I decided to buy the Olympus Stylus Tough. I love it so far! I took it to my parent's Rock Quarry to test out some of it's features and I was in love! I love the fisheye lens and also the popart one! What sold me on this camera is it takes amazing photos and you can do anything to it! Drop it of a roof, put it in the freezer, take underwater photos, spill drinks on it, pretty much anything that a klutz like me could come up with and it's suppose to be able to still take pictures! I think I will be testing that out this summer!

out into the world

Better Decisions

I don't know about you, but I have never been good at making decisions. So when I saw this guide on Oprah.com that's using the approach of listing to what you really want and knowing yourself, I thought I would share it with you. Hope it helps you make any decisions you may have, big or small...

7 Steps to Better Decisions

A handy guide to weighing your options.

1. Identify your goal.
As David Welch, PhD, professor of political science at the University of Waterloo in Ontario and author of Decisions, Decisions: The Art of Effective Decision Making, explains, "People who aren't self-reflective are going to end up making bad decisions because they don't really know what they want in the first place." Before you switch jobs, ask yourself: Do I really want a different career? Or do I just want a different boss? Don't make a decision based on the wrong problem.

2. Eliminate choices by setting standards.
If you're trying to buy a digital camera, list the features you'll actually use. Any camera that has them is therefore good enough for you; ignore anything fancier. Speaking of which...

3. Don't worry about finding the "best."
How good you feel about your decisions is usually more important than how good they are objectively.

4. Be aware of biases.
They can lead smart people to make dumb decisions. For example: We hate to lose more than we like to win, which can result in behavior such as holding on to a tanking stock instead of accepting a loss. We remember vivid examples better than facts, which is why plane crashes stick in our heads more than statistics on air safety. And we're susceptible to how information is framed—a "cash discount" is more appealing than "no credit card surcharge." Keeping these biases in mind can help you think clearly.

5. Try not to rush.
People tend to make poorer choices when they're in a bad mood or under a lot of stress. When facing a complex decision, use your conscious brain to gather the information you need, and then take a break. Go for a walk. Spend a half hour meditating. Take a nap. Have a beer. The idea is to give your unconscious mind some time to do its work. The decision you make afterward is more likely to be the right (or at least a perfectly acceptable) one.

6. Don't sweat the small stuff.
When possible, eliminate the need for decisions by establishing rules for yourself. You will go to yoga every weekend. You will not have more than two glasses of wine. You will buy whatever toilet paper is on sale.

7. Do a postgame analysis.
After each decision you make, ask yourself how you felt afterward and what about the experience you can apply in the future.


Image taken by SandyLee
Source

why not you?

Summer Solstice Ritual

Happy longest day of the year! Every Midsummer I try to do something fun! This year my friend Lori and I are going to try this Summer Solstice ritual from ehow. We are making pizza over a bonfire for supper with herbs from her herb garden and going to try to perform as much as the ritual as we can:) We are also going to give 108 sun salutations a try;) Wish us luck!

 

How to Perform a Summer Solstice Ritual
 
The Summer Solstice, or Midsummer, celebrates the longest day of the year. Celebrate it outdoors if you can, or if indoors, during the day so the sun is a prominent part of your ritual.

What you will need:

• Piece of cloth or cloth pouch
• Midsummer herbs
• Piece of red string or yarn
• Midsummer flowers
• Gold or yellow robe, shirt or dress
• Yellow or gold candle
• Summer fruit

1. Prepare for the Summer Solstice ritual by gathering a piece of cloth or cloth pouch and midsummer herbs. Use any combination of sage, rosemary, thyme, basil, lavender, Saint John's wort and vervain that appeals to you. Meditate on your pain, troubles, sorrows and illnesses. Tie up the cloth or pouch with a red string or yarn and save it for the ritual.
2. Think about the qualities of fire because the Summer Solstice ritual is a fire ritual. Contemplate what you need protection from (debt-collectors, a jealous friend, an abusive family member). Write down in what aspects of your life you need strength because the Summer Solstice ritual is a time to gather courage.
3. Collect flowers for your Summer Solstice ritual that are golden yellow, deep red, white, pink and purple. Whatever you wear, choose a gold or yellow color to honor the sun. Use a gold or yellow candle to represent the god in ritual.
4. Cook dishes with midsummer herbs such as basil, sage, thyme and rosemary. Tomato soup or sauce, with its fiery red color, is suitable for the season. Eat fresh fruit or fruit salad at the close of the ritual for a sweet end to summer.
5. Set up your altar with your summer flowers, golden candle, pouch of herbs and any other tools you wish to use and cast the circle. At the point most suitable to you during your Summer Solstice ritual, hold the pouch of herbs in both hands. Mentally pour all your troubles, sorrows and pain into it. At the end of the ritual, bury the pouch deep in the ground.

Image taken by SandyLee

A Midsummer Night's Dream

I  had to share this with you! Just for fun;)

Lysander from Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' might have thought that 'the course of true love never did run smooth,' but on this midsummer night that dream of love can finally come true if you invoke and allow a little assistance from the faerie realm. Ancient tradition and custom suggests that on this night of the Summer Solstice the faeries that frolic in natural surroundings are actually also mingling amongst us! Just ask my friend Signe Pike, who's actually had some intentional run-ins with that realm. Like Shakespeare and a host of informed others, Signe says that these faeries can grant us a wish or two if we ask ever so nicely for their potent intercession. Of course, we have to show more than faith that the faeries can make our romantic dreams a reality, and that we have to offer a little appreciation in return. One particular custom calls for leaving the little ones food and drink in the garden for the entire night. If you don't have a garden or a backyard then it's okay to leave a little something outside on a windowsill in the hopes that the wee ones will make an empowering appearance. This is an evening when the faeries are allowed to bestow great fortunes and good luck on we mortals, so get puckish and ask! Sometimes, if we really believe, they even leave a charm or a crystal in their stead. Get clear on your intention and then get cooking, a recipe for success in manifesting a wish is waiting right outside your door!

Source

believe them

The first time someone shows you who they are, believe them.

-Maya Angelou

Once a day

Image taken by SandyLee

Leah's Birthday Party

 

 

Here are a few pictures I took from Leah's Birthday Party on the weekend. I believe the birthday girl had heaps of fun with her friends and family:) And she loved her Chocolate chip and smarties cookie pizza I made her! (I actually ended up making two because my Dad wanted one for Father's Day too:) And as you can tell I had a lot of fun giving the girls watermelon manicures, calling out the moves for many games of Twister and eating crazy amounts of sugar!!!

Images taken by Sandylee

a complicated girl with simple needs

What you are is a complicated girl with simple needs. You need your books and time to read, and you need a few friends and you need someone-not to take care of you, but to care for you. If you have all those things, you’ll always be alright.

-Brian Morton

It's getting to be that time of year again...

It's raining two and a half men...

So much for the beautiful valley sunshine this weekend! I woke up ready to go for a run and it was thunder and lighting and raining sheets of rain! So I had to use my new waterproof camera to go out and take a picture;) I love thunder and lighting sooooooo much!

Hope the weather is sunnier where you are today...

Image taken by SandyLee

Happy Father's Day Weekend!

My Dad and his puppy Nova.

Happy weekend my Lovelies! I will be spending the weekend with friends and family in the beautiful valley sunshine:) Saturday at a birthday party for my friend Leah who asked me for a big choclate chip cookie for her birthday present that I will be making tomorrow morning, I found some massive Smarites to put on top-she will be super excited:) And of course some time with my Dad, who claims to be half Dad, half Bear on Sunday:) I am also hoping to get some reading in here or there for yoga...



My Step-Dad and his puppy Izzy.

Hope your weekend is filled with sunshine and of course some quality time with your Papa!

First image taken by SandyLee
Second image taken by Heather Banks

send them love and move along

I align myself with people who support my growth; if you meet someone whose soul is not aligned with yours, send them love and move along.

-Wayne Dyer

Also, so very true...

Hot, Hot, Hot!

Because I really can't remember the last time I saw the sun I thought I would share some pictures from last summer's road trip of our hottest stop, Washington DC. I remember this slushie being the best. slushie. of. my. life. I can hardly believe I drank a Super Big Gulp all by myself.

Pictures stolen from Tess' Facebook