Mount-Mes & Other Recent Happenings

Well, this is where I open with another thousand apologies for not writing because I know you're all hanging out just waiting on my next post. Yeah...right! I don't even have a good excuse because I'm unemployed right now. Yeah, no job. That's right. What a bum. Kidding, kinda. I don't have a job again until March 4th and it's awesome. Remember in my last post back in January where I was bragging about big news... Yes, this is it! NEW JOB. I'm really excited about it because at first impressions - it's everything I want. The manager has made a great impression, it's the right size of organization and well, I get to earn a little extra cash and get a few extra days off. ALL WINNING, ALL THE TIME. 

Arizona Sunrise

Ok - so back to playing catch up.... I am pretty sure I am still on a holiday induced high and I've been home for approximately 2 weeks now. I don't even know how that happens, but it did and it does. My holidays started with accepting a sweet job offer, shortly thereafter, I boarded a plane and spent 6 glorious days in the Phoenix area golfing and relaxing with my grandpa. My grandpa is seriously the best. We golfed, ate, golfed, ate, slept... I got him turned onto Nutella (he even ate it out of the jar with a spoon), we drank Blackberry Sangria, Moscato wine, Bahama Mamas, had a few food successes, some failures (if anyone ever suggests going to the Golden Corral, for the love of god, refuse - BUFFET HELL IN AMERICA) and just a general good time. Now, I'd like to expand further on why I think my grandpa is awesome outside of the fact that we have some of the same DNA. He is another person in my life who has taught me that life is really all about attitude. He always tells me, "Life is choices." He's really right. Not to get on my high horse, but sometimes it appears that people have a sense of entitlement to happiness, like it's just supposed to happen to everyone. But, really it's all about the lense through which you look at everything. As I've probably shared before, "Change your perspective, change your world." And well, it's a choice to change perspective. I admit, not an easy one, but seriously - take out those rose colored glasses and put them on once in a while! I also loved that we were driving down the road, and out of no where - he just announces that life is good. It just melted my heart. I love my visits with my grandpa - nothing is forced. We can talk or we can not talk - silence is ok between us and there is just a feeling of general acceptance and gratitude of our relationship. So, grandpa if you ever read this - I love you tons! Looking so forward to our next visit! I also would like to say thanks to my dad for paving this relationship with us. He always encouraged visits with grandpa - that was a good move! Oh and golf - it's actually improving! I really like it and when I get really frustrated and swear (yes, sometimes in front of grandpa) I feel like a real golfer!

Now, vacation re-cap PART 2. After relaxing to the max in Phoenix, I boarded yet another plane and flew to Vegas and met up with a ridiculously awesome group of people for some rugby related fun! Lisa and I were lucky enough to join up with a rugby team from Grande Prairie - got a few games in. I was so, so, so excited to play again and even more excited when I got a bloody nose, for some reason...I get satisfaction out of getting beat up. Sick, I know! And I don't mean sick cool. After we played, we watched a whole lot of 7s rugby at the USA 7s. That too, AMAZING. Now, what really made this whole entire trip was the group I was with. You get a good group of people in an already very fun place and it's an explosion of fun, laughter and pure ridiculousness all the time. We were all cranked to the max the whole time! 7 of us girls dressed up as Mounties (AKA Mount-Mes) and the costumes were a hit! I will give Kendra full credit for coming up with this idea. While I only rocked my sweet outfit for 1 day, the girls committed to being on the force for 3 days. Yes, for 3 days they wore mountie hats, moustaches and their mountie issued t-shirts! So fun. Now, you're probably going to ask if I saw anything - well.... if you count the inside of several casinos, Freemont Street, a stadium, some awesome rugby, funny costumes, mucho laughter, and 'The Strip' a good meal at the Bellagio, and a ride on the New York New York rollercoaster...then yes...otherwise - no. This wasn't your typical sort of Vegas vacation. I was there to party and there to play and watch rugby. Also, I was suppose to leave on Sunday, but after realizing every other person was leaving on Monday - I changed my flight for a mere $30 and stayed an extra day. WORTH IT! I came home on Monday, beat up and poor but so happy! Then, I got to go to work the next day and quit my job! It was pretty awesome!

Game Time Intermission

Members of the Force

So, now thanks to the Vegas vacation of the year - I've been seriously considering coming out of rugby retirement. I have gone to a couple practices and feel super rusty but have so much fun and if the old knees hold up through indoor and the start of outdoor practices - I'm going to give things a go! I am pretty excited. I miss the team thing so bad. Like really, really, really bad.

Spa Day!

It's the year of 30th birthdays! Mine as well...but not for several months - this will give you all time to plan your presents for me. Jana is the first of my close friends to turn Dirty 30 so Dale and I worked on a birthday scheme to knock her socks off! I showed up at her house on last Saturday morning unannounced and whisked her off to the spa for the day. There, we had pedicures, manicures and massages and relaxed in the sauna and hot tub. It was SWEET! We decided that a yearly spa treatment would become necessary in maintaining our friendship. After our day of beauty, Jana and I went back to her place where Dale had a party set up for her! She had no idea! It was so cool! I think a good time was had by all. I did my best to stay up until midnight - I was still suffering from Vegas. HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY EVERYTHING FRIEND! I love you!! xoxoxoxoxo

Another cool thing I did last weekend - first backcountry trip! My dear friend Stacy aka Radass aka Dr.Radics invited me to cross-country ski last week! It was really beautiful! We went out to Lake O'Hara. The ski in was really hard work - pretty much all uphill for 13 km. Everything was great until about 8 km in when I started getting blisters. I grinned through it and we made it safely to the hut! The hut was SO COOL. It had everything you needed. We shared it with 2  other families. Stacy even brought cake mix and made her friend a backcountry birthday cake! Neat, right!? We did puzzles, played some games and went to bed super early! The ski out was all downhill thankfully because my blister was unbearable! Stacy had a really generous friend who offered her boots to me so I could ski out otherwise I was hiking it. Stacy and I both agreed it was a nice time and that we'd both rather hike it than ski it! Perhaps this summer! :)

Handwritten Fortunes!

Ok - food time! Quarterly Sunday Brunch was held yesterday! It has been 1 year since we instated these brunches and they've been super successful!!! The group always ends up between about 7 up to about 15 and you never know who will show up and never know what people will show up with. My friends have been bragging about these brunches so much that they've even started inviting their friends! I seriously love it. This would be one reason I'd like a new house - hosting guests! The theme this time was countries  Once again, the ladies outdid themselves! We ate the following:

• Indian Puffed Rice
• Indian Rice Pudding
• Shredded Pork Tacos
• Hungarian Crepes
• Scones with Jam
• Tim Horton's Coffee
• Swedish Meatballs
• Mini Donuts
• And the winner... Fortune Cookies with Handwritten Fortunes!!

Again, due to pure laziness at this time - I have no recipes to post but I have created the following: 

• White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies (with no brown sugar so the cookies look funny and I hate it)
• Mini Donuts - Mexican Chocolate and Pumpkin Spice
• Shredded Pork Tacos

And...I think that's it. There's been a lot of salads and a lot of salmon in an effort to clean myself up!

Apologies for this poorly written entry - I'm exhausted today. I had my first Monday night class, and feel like I haven't been sleeping enough! I promise on the next post - you'll get a recipe out of me! I've got a request for cookies in exchange for some workout programming. GOOD DEAL if you ask me! :)

Till then.... TTYL! xo

Foodie Penpal January!

What a failed blogger. Geezus Kyla, where's the committment!? Here's the deal...the kitchen is still hot as ever and going strong but I've been so freakin' high strung with stress and excitement that I can't sit down long enough to write anything that is worth reading. But, for you guys - I'm going to try!

So first things first, its the end of January. DUH. It's awesome though and here's why:
1) My cousin had her baby last night. We have a new little baby to the family! He was born at 11:04pm and named Cohen. He's a beauty! OMGSOEXCITEDTOMEETHIM.
2) I leave tomorrow for 10 days. I'm headed to Phoenix to embarrass my grandpa with my lack of golf skills on the courses for 6 days and then I'm flying to Vegas where I'm meeting a crew of fantastic ladies and some other randos that I know to play rugby and watch some rugby for 4 days! I hope I come home alive. I know I'll come home pickled and probably go on a cleanse. YESSSSSSS. I have my mountie costume all packed. No, I didn't stutter. Mountie costume. I'm Canadian - it makes sense.
3) BIG CHANGE POST VACATION but can't let the cat out the bag yet. I have to leave you all in suspense and I'm not sorry.

OK, I've done a lot of cooking lately. I've been more into the cooking than baking because I find I eat my baking supplies too much. But more than that - I'm just finding the experimentation of spices and such so exciting! What's been on the menu!?
1) Remember those Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs? Yeah...here's picture of them.

2) They are accompanied by mashed cauliflower. Sounds gross right? It isn't. Just make it. All you do is cook some cauliflower, put it in a food processor, add some butter and salt and pepper and it tastes like mashed potatoes. No, not feeding you a mouth full of shit. Promise. Make them. They aren't shit.
3) Mustard Glazed Chicken Thighs from the same recipe book which I'm loving more and more and more.
4) A whole chicken. Yes, a whole one. Fcuk, it was good! So good in fact, that I only got one picture of it's thigh. Also followed from this book. And also took tips from J. Bath. She told me to make sure to rub the spices under the skin, massage your chicken and give him a name. I named mine Randy and no, I didn't feel bad eating it after I gave him a more human element.

5) Failed Cinnamon Buns. I blame the yeast I bought from Superstore. I spent 2.5 hours making 2 different batches of these f*ckers and neither turned out and they kept me up until 1am. They were about 10 pounds each, not at all light and fluffy. I suck. So, in an effort salvage these, I ate the sugar and pecan glaze. It was good but karma made me burn my mouth with it and it hurt for 2 days. But, let's remember that time they turned out! Oh and speaking of fails - check this girl out. She is devoted to posting her failed pintrest projects!

6) Bison and Butternut Squash Chili, again...from this book (enough already, right!?)
7) Coconut crusted chicken fingers (egg free, grain free, dairy free) for my friend Rebekah! She came over to rub me in oil (yes, for real) - a massage you creeps....and I fed her. It was nice!
8) Eggs Benedict - one time with smoked salmon for J Bath and I. A few times with bacon. All times delicious. Well wait, except for the time with J Bath because I poured the butter too fast and the Hollandaise was like water instead but still tasted like Hollandaise! SO GOOD. I'm obsessed.

And now, on to the title of this post! My foodie penpal also has a blog that you can go and check out here! My January Foodie Penpal is named Jo and she lives in BC. Sadly I didn't get a picture of my package because I opened it at my Aunt and Uncle's farm and then ate it all. But, Jo was lovely and sent me the following:

• Honey
• Dried Fruit - this is where Kirby and I learned a life lesson. Dried Plums = Prunes. TMI?
• A piece of jade to promote good health
• Pocket calendar

Thank you Jo! I have to take a break from the Feb penpal since I won't be around! But I'll be back at it. Who doesn't love getting a package!!!?? And a surprise at that. Want to know what I sent? Visit here!

Still haven't got your FOODIE PENPAL!? Get on it. Seriously.

OK check you guys later!

Happy Belated New Year To My Peeps

Holy Hell! Ok, sorrysorrysorry! Miss me? Hate me? It's ok to do both you know. I've been slacking and have no real explanation for you guys. Christmas was wonderful, thanks for asking. I skied for 3 days of it - 1 day at Louise and 2 days at Kicking Horse. Each day was wonderfully awesome including the day I punched myself in the face while sliding feet first on my belly down a double black. Don't worry - I'm ok! I didn't do the traditional Christmas thing this year - I headed out to Banff with my little sister and her mama. We ate a lot, hot tubbed, went for some good dinners, skied and just generally relaxed. It was a nice change of pace though I did miss my Aunt, Uncle and cousins a shit ton! Then, New Years - rang in at the Rondo Motel in Golden. That place is wicked! $75/night and they have a hot tub they let you drink in! WINNER. Skiing was great, and the company was great! I'd say it was one of the best New Year's Eves I've ever had! YAY to starting the year off right. And to think that my hotel mates and I were almost headed to bed at 12:01am. Pffffttt.... 4am, what!? haha. Work on January 2nd was a tough day, as I imagine it was for many! Big thank you to Jackie for inviting me!!! I had a blast!

So, yes....this is still a food blog. And yes, I still cook food. I made a lot of it this weekend, none of which I'm going to post here because I forgot pictures. But for the sake of bragging, here is what I whipped up: Frittata, Butter Chicken (from scratch...none of that bottled shit), Banana Brownies, Banana Muffins, Meatloaf, Chili...and I think that's it!

Now for recipe time:
Bacon Wrapped Smoky Chicken Thighs from Practical Paleo
4 chicken thighs
8 pieces of bacon
2 teaspoons Smoky Spice Blend, also from the same book (see below)
To make the spice blend, this makes about 5 tablespoons
1 tbsp chipotle powder
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp onion powder (I only had garlic powder and it was fine)
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp pepper
Shake it all up!

Sprinkle your chicken with 1 tsp of the spice blend. Wrap the bacon (2 pieces per thigh) around the chicken thigh. Sprinkle the top of the bacon wrapped chicken with the spice blend. Bake at 375 for about 40 minutes. EAT! They are really good! I promise.

I served them with green beans and mashed cauliflower that had lots of butter so they tasted like potatoes. Again, I suck because there is no picture. I trust you all have great imaginations!

Also, just in case you're wondering, I've knocked a couple more places off the restaurant list! Want to know where?? Eagle's Eye - it's at the top of Kicking Horse Mountain! Talk about a wicked view! They also serve delicious cold beer and make pretty coffees. Also, finally hit Vin Room for some delicious wine, some lobster nachos, arctic char and house made goat cheese - you should go there too! Just sayin'!

Next time I'll do better and provide pictures and I'll stop slacking! Love you all! Hope you all had a fabulous holiday! WELCOME TO 2013!!!! xo Oh and I'm so sore I can barely move.... I didn't know slacking through December and having shortbread for dinner could wreak such havoc - a sign of age I guess! haha

Hump Day Inspiration

Howdy ho! ho! ho! (A little Christmas spirit for y'all) So, I've been thinking a lot lately about my current focus. I'm 6 months into going to Crossfit really consistently....and am starting to feel a bit unmotivated. I've taken another break this week because I'm on the brink of getting a full blown, awful cold....and yes, just got over strep so I really don't need to do this again. I'm a little burnt out - it's time for a mental and physical break. Then, work isn't going exactly as I had expected. That being said - I still have NO (none, zip, nada) regrets about leaving my last job. I'm not quite getting the experience that I really wanted and have been shoved back into the world of recruiting and marketing. It's been good in some respects because I've gotten to do more than I have done in my previous role and am essentially the boss of the recruitment function for the company and am now leading my US counterparts into the possibility of a huge recruitment/marketing/branding project. It's a fantastic opportunity, but not the one I expected here. I was so focused to get my HR Certificate done, get my professional designation, get my generalist experience and then start really taking off in my career. BUT, as it seems - I need more patience. 

PATIENCE. This seems to be something that keeps coming back up in my life. PATIENCE. There is this big part of my that just wants to grow up SO fast (in my career anyway) and just get on with life....The thing that is becoming more and more apparent is just how immature I am. I'm immature in my career and immature in my knowledge of the way the world works. I want everything NOW. I WANT.IT.NOW.NOW.NOW. I still have so much to learn and it's actually a pretty exciting thought. It's pretty exciting considering I was lamenting over the prospect of turning 30 thanks to my regularly appearing gray hairs, my terrible hangovers, my easier weight gain, and the fear that I haven't done enough....Anyway...I'm rambling. 

So, where all of this came from was that I was listening to some mixes I found on 8tracks. I will admit that I was listening to some cheesy inspirational mixes, one in particular called, "Powerful Beyond Measure" which is basically a bunch of speeches. Among these voices are: Muhammad Ali, Arnold, Rocky, etc. Yes....I know. I know...Cheese. That said, I've gotten some very good advice and would like to share a few points Arnold shared:

6 Secrets To Success By Arnold Schwarzenegger:

1. Trust yourself

Trust yourself, dig deep down and ask yourself: ‘who do you want to be?’. Not what, but who. Not what your parents or teachers wants you to be, but you! Figure out for yourself, what makes you happy, no matter how crazy it may sound to the people.

2. Break the rules

We have so many rules in life about everything, break the rules! It is impossible to be a true original if you to well behaved and not break the rules, you have to think outside the box. What is the point of being on this world if all you want is to be liked by everyone. The only way that I ever got any place was by breaking some of the rules

3. Don’t be afraid to fail

Anything that I’ve ever attempted I was always willing to fail. You can’t always win, but don’t be afraid of making decisions. You can’t be paralyzed by fear of failure or you will never push yourself. You keep pushing because you believe in yourself and in your vision and you know that it is the right thing to do, success will come.

4. Don’t listen to the naysayer

How many times have you heard: you can’t do this, you can’t do that. It has never been done before. I love it when someone says that no one has ever done that before, because that means that if I do it, that means that I am the first one that has done it. Pay no attention to people that say that it can’t be done.

5. Work your butt off!

Leaving no stone unturned. Muhammed Ali, one of my greatest hero’s had a great line when he was asked: ‘how many sit ups do you do?’. He said: ‘I don’t count my sit-ups, I only start counting when it starts hurting, that is when I start counting, because then it really counts, that’s what makes you a champion’. That’s the way it is with everyting, no pain, no gain!

Someone out there at the same time is working hard, someone is getting smarter, remember that! I’ve always figured out that there is 24 hours a day, you sleep 6 hours. That means you have 18 hours left. I know that some of you out there answers: ‘wait a minute I sleep 8 or 9 hours’. Well, than sleep faster I recommend.

6. Giving back

Whatever path that you take in your life, you must always find time to give something back. Give something back to your community, give something back to your state or your country. Reaching out and helping people will bring you more satisfaction than everything else you’ve ever done!

Yes, he made some bad movies, he made some good movies, he has some big muscles... but gotta say - maybe he got it right!

Feelin' Festive

LG!!

HEY YOU GUYS! I'm feeling much better thanks for asking! The hives have finally cleared. It's quite an improvement. I'm going to chalk it up to Liquid Gold aka LG. What the eff is LG, right??? Well, Saturday night after 3 delightful margaritas and some delicious beef tacos from Anejo, Andi dragged Jackie and I into a natural health store called Medicine Buddha. I was so desperate for some reprieve from the itching that I asked the store owners for anything that would help cure the itch of my hives. A wise and healthy looking man suggested that I take some LG. It came in a 1 litre and 2 litre bottle and he let us all have a sample. It doesn't taste good. It doesn't look pretty. BUT, all 3 of us bought a bottle at $24.95 and felt a whole lot healthier for it. To be fair, looking at it makes me want to vomit but once you get it in you, it's not nearly as bad you would anticipate. GO Liquid Gold! I am now on Day #4 of the "program" and am anticipating some positive reports from my counterparts. We agreed to have a weekly check-in on Saturday. I EXPECT they've been downing 1 ounce of that sh*t too. 

Ok, so onto cooler things..... On Sunday I hosted a (drum roll please) COOKIE EXCHANGE!! It was A-MAZING. So, you know how I've been hosting brunches, this sort of took it's place. The girls once again outdid themselves! I baked a few things and then had 12 (or 13) fabulous ladies come on over with their baked goods. I didn't really think about execution but it was pretty casual. The rule was - take as many as you bring and sampling was encouraged. While the girls took, I still some how ended up with an a$$ load of cookies. I'll try my best to remember all the wondrous creations:

Cookie Exchange!

• Santa Thumbprint Cookies
• Rocky Road Bars
• Graham Wafer Chocolate Bars 
• Nutella and Sea Salt Cookies
• "Grinch" Cookies (Mine. They were just chocolate chip cookies colored green)
• Truffles (Yes, AGAIN. Had to cater to my allergic peeps...but I rolled them in colored sugar and coconut for a more festive feel)
• Mini Apple Pies (OMGSOGOOD, pastry to die for)
• Lemon Drop Cookies
• Cookie Dough Balls
• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Oatmeal Cookies
• Ginger Crinkles
• Vegan Pumpkin Spice Muffins
• Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
• A few store bought cookies
• Oreo Cheesecake Peppermint Truffles (Don't know the real name but a FAN FAV!!)
• Sugar Cookies (mine again, you can find the recipe here - it's tried and true)
• Sugar Cookies - Sri even painted pants on the little men! Pants! SO CUTE

This was a fantastic success - THANK YOU LADIES!! Again, you all are so awesome. I feel very blessed! Next brunch will probably be Valentine's, and I believe it will be the 1 year anniversary of the get-togethers! It's so amazing that this is becoming a growing tradition. It started with less than 10 of us and is growing. Even all the new mommies showed up with their babies! What cute kids! I love being an Auntie! :)

Oh and one other very cool thing - ADOPT-A-FAMILY. All of the girls donated money towards this cause. We raised quite a few bucks. It'll be fantastic to be able to give someone a very Merry Christmas! I LOVE THIS.

This Christmas season is shaping up to be a very happy one! To top this off - my lovely co-worker who I super love brought me a bag of shortbread. She makes 2 different kinds and WOWEE....That's good stuff! One is light and fluffy and almost melts in your mouth, the other is a little harder and slightly crunchy and is also so, so, so good! I'm pleased I know so many people that know how to cook and share it! 

Anyhows, off to bed I go! Crossfit kicked my a$$ the last 2 nights after a week off. LOVE TO YOU ALL. Oh, and a little shout out to Rebekah tonight! She read the blog, got inspired and made some badass Pumpkin Chili. While I can't take credit for creating it, I CAN take credit for spreading it. TTFN (ta, ta for now). xoxoxoxox

Pretty Sights Like This Make Me Like Winter

November Foodie Penpal!

Reminder of what a dickie is

Another day, another dollar! Or something like that, what? Ok.. I don't even know what that means. For the record, I'm not making any dollars today (well,  I am because I'm a salaried employee) because I'm sitting at home covered in hives. Head. To. Toe. Hives. It starts at my ears and I actually have some on my feet, no joke. I've taken Reactine, spread hydro-cortisone cream all over my body (it reminds me of diaper cream), taken an oatmeal bath, itched, whined, etc. etc. and nothing has stopped it. I suppose you're wondering how I found myself in this wondrous position. Well, on Tuesday I started to get a terrible sore throat which could only be strep throat....and the hives slowly started on my neck. When I woke up on Wednesday, my neck looked like I was wearing a dickie of hives. Remember dickies? Those fake turtle neck things...yeah, it was like that but it was hives. Anyway, the clinic gave me penicillin. I took it. Turns out I'm allergic. When it was prescribed to me a small voice mentioned that mom had said something about being having a childhood allergy. Guess what?! It's an adult allergy as well. So, I'm a hive monster. My plans for the weekend are pretty much cancelled. BUT, on the upside, the sore throat is dissipating quickly! Eating my first solid food meal since Wednesday afternoon as we speak. VICTORY!

Ok enough of that BS. It's Foodie Penpal time! Remember that Foodie Penpal program that I rant and rave about!? Yes, it's another month of it. It was, once again - fantastical! I did, however find a glitch. I got it delivered to work and then proceeded to eat all of the delicious things Alissa sent me without taking a picture. OOPS. I will however give you a quick recap and post the measly little picture I did take of what I didn't inhale. 

Alissa was super generous, she gave me the following:
3 handwritten recipes I can't wait to try
A foodie magazine
Eggnog flavored coffee
Maple flavored coffee
Ginger chewy candies - SO GOOD.
Dark chocolate covered blueberries - Eaten instantly.
Roasted Soy Nuts
LUCKY ME! THANK YOU ALISSA!

I sent my package to Mojgan out in Toronto! You can see what I sent when you visit her blog here.

Happy Friday People! I need to get back to tending my hives! ha.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things!

Hello Again Everyone! Today is Friday. And today is over a week since I've written for this! Shame, shame, shame.... But at least it's still coming along! I'm afraid to report that baking hasn't been a first priority lately. I've been doing a lot of cooking but it's been boring old repeats. I made that delicious Pumpkin Chili again and then I fed Stacy with it after spin class on Wednesday. I added extra pumpkin and honestly, I think it was better the second time I made it. The other thing I made over the weekend that is not picture worthy but delicious was a Cilantro-Lime-Coconut Shredded Chicken in the slow cooker. There was no real recipe but I imagine if there was, it was something like this:
3-4 chicken breasts
1 bunch of cilantro
sliced peppers, I used red and yellow
sliced yellow onion
garlic
1 can of coconut milk
1/4 cup (ish) lime juice
salt
pepper
cumin
Put it all in a slow cooker and cook it real slow! Once it's done, get in there and shred up the chicken. Eat it! YAY.

Ok so now that, that's out of the way - it's time to share a few of my favorite things. I'll relate them all to food and cooking. 

Favorite Blogs (in no particular order):
PaleOMG - I've made so many things off this blog I should be paying her for her ideas. Most everything has turned out perfectly and has been so delicious! She's really a food genius.
Dinner With Julie - I really like looking at her recipes and pictures, plus she's local so that's a bonus. I haven't made a ton off here, but again - what I have made was SO good! re: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake complete with chocolate ganache and cream cheese peanut butter icing. FLIP that was good!
Health-Bent - they've got a lot of creative recipes! It's awesome. They were the ones who created the Pumpkin Chili with Avocado Cream. SO. GOOD.
Epicurious - They basically take every delicious recipe in every magazine ever created and put it on a website. I've taken a lot of ideas off here and I don't seem to be the only one! YUMMY!
SmittenKitchen - Just go here. She has lots of really good recipes and her pictures are pretty! I made some really delicious things off here - all baked goods of course!

Favorite Ingredients:
Cinnamon 
Cumin
Spinach - I swear I put it in everything I can
Coconut Oil
Garlic
Vanilla
Onion

Favorite Kitchen Items:
Garlic press
Good knife
Cookie sheet
Whisk
Silicone Mini Loaf Pans
Frying Pan

Favorite Things to Eat Right Now (this will change):
Eggs - pretty much everyday
Chocolate Covered Almonds - duh
Coffee - but that's not really eating but it's sort of a food
Spinach - yeah, I actually like it and as mentioned above, it's in everything I make
Pumpkin - pancakes, chili, smoothies, soup, etc.
Peppermint Tea 
Coconut Milk
Mini Loafs - turkey, pork, beef, who cares! It's mini and it's cute.

Ok folks, that was pretty boring but at least I wrote something! There are going to be some events worth documenting coming up here shortly - Cookie Exchange with the girls! In lieu of brunch - we all bring cookies or some sort of Christmas Treat and a container and fill your container with different treats than you made yourself! I can't wait! YAY!

http://poppedculture.soup.io/tag/cats

Side Note: Faye sent me this picture at work one day. I printed it and put it on my bulletin board. Isn't it awesome!? 

Happy Weekend Everyone! xo