Good morning!!
Eric is at it again- see our sunroom all painted (and blinds removed) over at Soup Up My House!
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Want to see what 2,000 business cards looks like?? :D
Who hoo!! My order from Print100 arrived! I got $2,000 business cards (with hot stamp printing and double sided printing) for $226 USD. Not too shabby. I am extremely impressed with the quality. The best part? FREE SHIPPING! That is such a huge seller for me. Anyways, these cards should keep me stocked for a while.
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Introducing Black Zen Glo Bars…
Dark. Mysterious. Powerful.
These are my new favourite Glo Bar!
They are filled with chia seeds, black sesame seeds, and poppy seeds!
Also note that this is the new bar size. Any future orders will be in bar sizes unless a special request is put in for sample sizes.
I am tracking my US food shipment with such anticipation! I really hope that it gets through customs! I may know tomorrow or today even…I’m currently ‘stalking’ the package across the border! haha. Gotta love online tracking numbers. I must say if it doesn’t get through this time I really am at a loss here!
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I’m still keeping up with my Green Monster challenge by making a new green monster recipe each day.
Here was yesterday’s:
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup frozen blueberries
- 1 cup soy milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cubes ice
- 1/2 small avocado
- 1/2 Package Amazing Grass Pom-mango Infusion
- 1 T chia seeds
- Kyolic garlic extract (1/4 t?)
- 1/2 banana
This was a very random mix of ingredients! It had everything but the kitchen sink. I think cantaloupe would have paired wonderfully with this Amazing Grass blend, but I am all out. :( The result looked pretty and it tasted pretty good too. I think this smoothie would have been amazing with spinach instead of kale. Kale has such a strong overpowering taste and is not for the faint of heart. The avocado made it SO thick and smooth. It was a nice change, but overall I prefer the taste that pumpkin adds. I think I prefer to eat my ‘cado on bread and pita. :)
Curious as to what I fueled myself with after my 8-mile run yesterday?
- As soon as I got in the door, I had an Amazing Grass Chocolate Infusion Meal Powder mixed with almond milk and water (1 cup AM + rest water). My serving was the entire cup but I drank it too fast before taking a pic. :) This gave me a nice 10 grams of muscle repairing protein!
- Then I had a high protein/high fibre pita with about 1/4 cup of my favourite hummus (Loblaws finally replenished their stock after 2 weeks!!!), red pepper, chia seeds, and avocado. I drizzled the avocado with Ruth’s Hemp Dressing. Perfection!
- This post-run meal was over 25 grams of protein and 60 grams of carbs. Boy, did I feel amazing after this snack. Lately, I have been much more mindful of my post-exercise nutrition and I really think it is helping my recovery.
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Relaxation is good for the soul:
Today, I want you to all read this relaxation exercise and see if you can apply it to your life! I love doing these. :) The book is called, ‘Five Good Minutes In Your Body: 100 Mindful practices to help you accept yourself & feel at home in your body’ By Dr. Jeffrey Brantley.
Appreciate the moments…
Click to enlarge:
I applied this technique on my run yesterday. During my last mile, I turned off my music and simply listened to my thoughts and surroundings. I was surprised by how much I was missing out on by having my music on. I heard birds, nature, and saw beauty around me. I said to myself ‘this is happiness’…not wishing to be someone else or someone better…but right here, right now. This is good enough.
Try it, it will put a smile on your face!
Today’s question:
Do you have a hard time appreciating the ‘now’ or present time?
I know I sure do. I am constantly making plans for the future and looking forward to this or that, and I have a hard time appreciating what I have right this second. I really need to work on it more. Of course I think goals are awesome and keep us happy and motivated in life, but it is also important to appreciate the mundane day to day things too.
See you later for the winner of the Amazing Grass giveaway!
The bars looks delicous! BTW, love my package, recieved in on Sunday.
I went for a morning (5 am) run last week and had my ipod on at first and then took it off and enjoyed the sounds of the birds and other morning sounds. At 5 am there is very little traffic, so all I could hear was the wonderful sounds. However, I did notice that I ran at a slower pace w/o my ipod, but it was so nice to enjoy the morning and I am going to enjoy these moments more. It really is a great time to reflect.
I just finished reading (OK, listening) to the book “POWER OF NOW” and I am trying really hard to apply it to my life as I am so used to always multitasking. I always feel if I am not doing more than one thing I am not accomplishing enough. so the new challenge is to enjoy each moment and be present NOW.
I am keeping my fingers crossed for the shippment as I am dying to try some of your bars. Your biz. cards look awesome.
Holly- I can understand your concerns about processed foods…I am the same way!
I find the AG to be a great option for me because I am not at the stage where I am making my own wheat grass yet (soemthing I’d like to do down the road). I love that their products are vegan, organic etc. It is the best powder I have looked at (and I have looked at a lot) in terms of overall quality and nutrition. I don’t think it should be a supplement to real + unprocessed foods, but I do think it is a nice ‘add on’ to an already healthy diet. While I hate relying on convenience foods, somedays I HAVE to because I am so busy and I love that I can mix it up and go (rather than buying some junk at the corner store). ~A
LOVING the sound of those new bars Angela!!! What an awesome mix of flavors!
I’m definitely with you on taking a step back and just living in the moment. We should never rush life… it’s just too darn short as it is! It’s definitely a challenge, but it’s an important lesson to learn. :)
xxoo
Heather
I *love* the challenge of living in the moment. I really think it’s one of the most important keys to overall happiness. It’s fun to come up with our own ways to remind ourselves of this.
Good luck on shipping to the US! I bet you’re pretty excited because I promise that you’ll get tons of new clients if it works. :)
HelpMeghanRun.com
Thanks so much for sharing that from the book! SO true!!!
Those new bars sound yummy! YAY for the biz cards and a great deal!!!
Angela, that looks like a great post-run snack. I totally agree that per-workout nutrition (which for active people means pretty much every meal!) is so important for recovery.
I struggle with staying present, but one thing that really helps me come back to myself is to rub my fingers together. I find that just taking a sec to re-establish some connection to my physical self really brings me back. As a high performance athlete, these small tricks are crucial for bringing my mind back after a mistake or when my thoughts start to drift from my “here” and “now”. Great question!
I definitely think about the future way too much and have a hard time focusing on the present! I love to dream and plan out my life, even though I know a lot of it will just depend on timing and luck. I have had moments where I just start freaking out about how nothing is going to work out in the future because of X reasons, and my mom will just tell me to BREATHE, and just think about *now* for a moment. I think she has a point, and I’m going to try to embrace this more!
Wow, I was going to post on this today – about being in the moment, taking a moment to enjoy the present as it is – the present! We only have this moment – ONCE! :)
Love it Ange, thanks!
That book looks really great, too.
-Courtney
I am downright terrible at appreciating the ‘now’ or present time. Hence the focus of my blog. Appreciating the everyday. I am getting better but I still have to take a moment to stop and think “this is amazing, enjoy it!”
Happiness Awaits
I can’t wait to have business cards! Isn’t that funny? :P
The bars look fantastic.
Thanks for posting about the book – I will have to check it out.
Thanks so much for your response, Angela! I really appreciate your input :o)
Those bars do look so dark and mysterious!! I’ve never heard of black sesame seeds, but they sound delicious!
I’m pretty good living in the “now,” but I still spend too much time worrying about the immediate future. Something I’ve got to work on!
I went to a workshop last weekend that was a combination of half an hour of guided meditation and an hour of trance dance (free dance, blindfolded). Sometimes experiences like that can really bring me into the now but sometimes my brain keeps chattering and I just enjoy the movement!