With the amount of giggling that Julie and I do, you would think that we haven’t seen each other in months and had tons of catching up to do. That’s what our server at the local Boston Pizza up the road, thought of us when we dropped in for lunch randomly on Monday afternoon. No, we just work across the hall from each other and make everyone want to work with us when we go out and have fun.

We love pizza! This is my excited face.

Can you please take our picture for my blog Mister Danny server guy? Thanks friendly man!

Jule-ster had a coupon to use. She’s a learnin’! Saving money = awesome.Full on sugar pepsi. This girl’s gonna be hyper. A personalized Rustic Italian, for the lil’ Italian lady.  Looks like love, right? I had a deluxe pizza, and I posed kinda creepy looking so you’re not going to get to see that one.

By the end of our lunch hour, we were the only one’s in the entire restaurant and couldn’t get our server’s attention for more (!!) pepsi, and our bill at the end of the lunch. Plus, heck man—we were on a time limit. We only got an hour for lunch. It was a tad annoying.

Love breaking up the day with a lunch time date with a co-worker (and not having to get HCG shots Austin done)! So fun!

A few weeks ago, I had an allergic reaction and my eyes puffed up. I didn’t even look like myself when I looked in the mirror. It was the strangest thing. After the swelling went down my eyes started to get parched and dry out so much it looked red, scaly and ever so painful. Thankfully it wasn’t. It just felt dry to me.  I’d like to spare you the details but I think it’s necessary to show you what my eyes used to look like.

This is the biggest photo you’re going to get, the real deal. No need to send over anyone in a medical uniform. When it was enlarged you could see on my cheeks that the skin looked taut and pulled so tight it was creating lines on my upper cheeks. So gross.

I minimized what I wore on my face for weeks, and only used three products in the morning which included my mascara and foundation and only two at night. I’ll get more into that below. This photo was taken two weeks after my flare up. I noticed a few hours later that my skin was still parched and I probably shouldn’t have used a thicker concealer under my eyes. I ended up using a Lise Waiter cream concealer wheel that morning to make my eyes brighter. Unfortunately in this photo you can’t see how bad it looked in real life. I guess I’m thankful that the camera didn’t pick up the flaky skin under my eyes. Lucky for you, you don’t really have to see. Just take my word for it :)

The products that ended up saving my skin altogether happened, literally overnight.

My neighbors back home both work in the health field (The Mrs reads my blog, so hello Mrs. W!) and I e-mailed them asking if I could use Vitamin E oil on my face as an intensive moisturizer. I’ve read that you can buy capsules of Vitamin E oil and break them and use them one at a time. However, we had a bottle of it on hand as we used to use it on our Hedgehog’s quills before he passed away.

My nightlight routine has changed drastically! I used to just use a moisturizer not knowing how to keep my skin replenished and moisturized. It always got so tight after I washed my face with any kind of cleansers.  I present to you, my skin saviors.

In the morning and evening: The first thing I do is always moisturize my under eyes and orbital bone area with the Desonide cream (what is Desonide? Find out here) which I got from the dermatologist since I had eczema on my eyelids one winter. This has been the main help in repairing my eyes lately.

Next the  Bioderma cream goes all over my face and neck. I have to use about three pumps of this cream to cover my face since my skin wants to sop up everything I put on it. No trouble using it all up though, this is a product I got in one of my makeup baskets that I won off Twitter (and blogged about here).

The white tube of  “BB Cream Lab Sample” is my Marcelle BB cream that I mentioned here. This is like a foundation for me, so I obviously put it on only during the morning.

The Life brand Vitamin E oil is a very thick, sticky consistency. I only put this on about  half hour before I go to bed. Underneath is the prescription eczema cream and I wait for that to soak in before I put on the Vitamin E oil. I always wake up with really soft skin near my eyes. Loving this combo!

I had two trial sized bottles of Kiehl’s midnight recovery serum that I used all up this month, and I loved it. I would’ve included it in my skin saviors but I ran out.

My skin is in no way 100% just yet. Once a week I try to go back and use some sort of creamy or liquid under eye concealer, but it ends up being cakey within 20 minutes. It’s ridiculous. So, I guess I’ll have to wait another while yet before it’s fully repaired.

Over the Christmas holidays my Mom and I went to visit some long-time friends. While I was over there I was talking about cooking new foods and experimenting with different things. She gave me a taste of the curry she made the previous night and I loved it so much I asked for her recipe.

It is so EASY.This was the original recipe shown below. But I added chicken and cauliflower to the mix. Next time I’m definitely not adding an entire tin of chick peas and half tin of kidney beans to the mix. It made me gag. I couldn’t handle it. But the sauce itself was scrumptious and I’m already planning my next meal around it. Add more or less curry to your mix, as you wish. Mine was pretty bland tasting so next time I’ll add another teaspoon of curry.

• 2tsp of oil
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 3tsp of curry

Simmer, but do not brown

• Add 1tsp of brown sugar
• 1 tin of chick peas
• 1 tin of kidney beans (I used a half can)
• 1 small tin of tomato paste

Serve over basmati rice.

Well 2011 has come to an end. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year! I’ve decided to do a month by month re-cap of my 365 days.

January
Early in January my Boyfriend and I crossed the boarder to check out the Detroit Auto Show. I’ve never seen anything so huge before, and me being not entirely a car-freak, I actually thoroughly enjoyed being there for hours  on end. Believe it or not, it was fun! I even sat in a fancy car and got chatted up by an ol’ feller. Unfortunately I tried to just get a solo shot of me “driving”, but it didn’t work out ;)

I guess you can’t really say it was his fault. Since I do like to strike up a conversation with anyone. Hi mister Detroit police officer! In case you’re wondering, we were discussing his cottage in Chatham, Ontario lol.

I went to my second (and much larger) blogger meet-up in downtown Toronto. I was a bit scared going into this one since I’ve only met 3 or 4 bloggers prior and there were going to be so many new, yet familiar faces from reading their sites. I had a great time however, and ended up hanging out with some great blog friends like Morgan, Susan, and found some new blogs like Meghan and Lisa!

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 FebruaryI started filming YouTube videos in November of 2010, and I ended up doing my first make-up swap with my friend Katie from Texas (youtube // twitter), I blogged about it and filmed it!

I tried CrossFit for the first time ever and blogged about it of course. I may even go as far to say as I’m addicted to CrossFit! I’m still going strong 11 months later. Wahoo!

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MarchScott and I took advantage of a Groupon and had a date night in Niagara Falls, the next day I shopped the outlets, lol!

I love surprise visits from my neighbours back home in Newfoundland!

We lunched at Tim Hortons while they were driving through my city.

I’d rather not re-live these hair disaster moments in my life again. But, here we go.I had been growing out my hair for about two years. Au naturale, no dying it whatsoever. I decided to try and go for my bold orange look that I had rocked back in 2005. It didn’t come out so great. Not what I asked for.

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AprilI discovered self-tanner. St. Tropez to the rescue of my pale skin!

I cooked a ham and scalloped potatoes for the first time for Easter. Also, please ignore my way-too-dark complexion. I’ve yet to get the hang of self-tanner at this point. :)

After many trips to the hair salon to fix my orange hair (orange gone wrong!), make it more orange, have it fade out. My hair stylist and I finally … broke up.

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MayScott and I drove to Burlington for my Birthday date night and had a classy dinner! Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday…to me! Happy Birthday happy birthday….happy birthday…TO ME. With a hot pink Nike Free’s purchase :)

I went to another large blogger meet-up. This time it was Angela from OhSheGlows birthday. She had a potluck party for her birthday. (Another) Angela  from EatSpinRunRepeat and I drove down together, to her house. Love this photo. I don’t remember what I’m saying but I’m making Morgan die of laughter here! Read about the meetup here.

Oh, I got lost in Mississauga in May as well. That wasn’t fun.

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June
My bathroom tampon carrying case was stolen. Ew.Eating out on our cute bistro set on our balcony. Clearly not much happened this month :)

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July

I bought an iPad 2 on a really crummy day, then I reviewed it.

I also played one of my last games of soccer, ever. I decided to quit. I don’t think I ever blogged about why I decided to quit. Maybe one day I will. It’s nothing major. I just had enough after getting injured frequently. After playing for over 15 years I just ran out of passion for the sport. My team mates even saw it this summer.

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AugustAugust was incredible. The beginning of August I flew down to San Diego, California and met up with some long-time internet friends for the BlogHer11 conference. It was such a relaxing, incredibly fun time with them. I did a ton of re-caps, so you can read them all here.

A few weeks later, my Boyfriend competed in his 3rd Ironman Canada triathlon in Penticton, British Columbia. His sister lives in BC and came along for our trip, and we volunteered at the Run-Aid station at IMC! We also toured around Skaha Bluffs for a bit too — a very popular climbing spot in Penticton.

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SeptemberA new climbing gym in my area opened its doors to us locals, in August. Our city has been lacking an indoor climbing place since they tore down the older gym back in 2006.

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October

I organized a Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign and launched it at work. Prize donations were insane and we raised over $700 with the 30-something employees I work with.

The staff I work with all dressed up for Halloween. I was Mary Katherine Gallagher, from Saturday Night Live ;)

I also flew home to Newfoundland, for the Canadian Thanksgiving, and made homemade pizzas with my cutie patootie nephews.

November

I caught walking pneumonia.

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DecemberI entered in the Tour de Bloc boulder competition and didn’t place last!

Staff Christmas party solo this year and asked your opinions on what I should wear. Just because Scott didn’t go with me this year, didn’t mean I was entirely solo. I ended up taking two of my single female colleagues with me! Two dates is better than one. Scott was out of town that weekend and unfortunately couldn’t make it with me. See past Christmas party, including this years outfits here.

Home for Christmas in Newfoundland!! (I’ve obviously yet to blog about that).

Whoowee, that took entirely way too long to write. Hope you enjoyed my 2011 recap! Night all!

I am a FitFluential Ambassador. What does that mean for my website here at spiffykerms.com?

I’m not going to change who I am, and what I blog about. But I’ve joined a group that influences people to be fit! Since I already am a CrossFitter, Rock Climber and Soccer player I thought it was the perfect edition to my website. Here’s a quote from the website:

FitFluential is a nationwide network of fitness enthusiasts sharing their journey both online and offline through multiple social media platforms.

Go ahead check out the site, and check out all of the people who are also Ambassadors! Or if you’d like to become a FitFluential Ambassador like myself who is interested in fitness blogging, chatting on YouTube  or use FaceBook and twitter. Whatever you do, FitFluential would love to welcome you into the family!

FitFluential members are eligible to receive exclusive discounts and giveaways from their partners. Even in your area. FitFluential is based out of the USA but they welcome their Canadian neighbors like myself. You can take advantage of events in your area, or even take everything to the next level and earn some income by working with the FitFluential partners.

Sounds fun, right?  Signing up to FitFluential is free. Just say I referred you! Remember though, you’re not obligated or committed to do anything, therefore you can cancel your FitFluential membership at any time. 

I went to a health and nutrition store with my co-worker last night. I’d rather not say the name of the health food store that we went to since when I googled it there was only a handful in our area. Not going to be broadcasting that one out there.  She was putting together a Christmas basket for her parents and wanted some really neat things that you probably wouldn’t find in a regular grocery store. Things that are luxurious and would be great for a special treat.

Of course I navigated my way straight to the chocolate, and candy area. Things were imported from the UK, and even the US. The white Reese’s cups are for Scott. I don’t like peanut butter on anything but bread. The Marco Polo’s are for me. They’re very lightweight in my hand and were pretty cheap when it comes to chocolate at $0.69 each.

As you can see in the photo above, some larger than life apples I picked up. $7.01 for three apples. Over two bucks a pop for those. I will spend any amount of money to get another taste of Honey Crisp apples. They’re almost like candy they’re that crunchy, juicy, sweet and so tasty. Last time I had them was in October when we bought 20lbs worth and picked our own, and we were allowed to sample them while we picked.

I’m very excited to try out this Roasted Red Pepper Aioli, to go on my panini’s or sandwiches. I bet it’s amazing. It was fairly expensive at nearly $7.00.

The ingredient list is short and sweet, with things I can pronounce.

Samples of chips were displayed in bowls and I ended up trying a few varieties. I ended up being shocked that I liked a bean-chip. I’m not a fan of beans at all, and I’ve tried so many different kinds. I just don’t like the texture of it. Either way, I picled up this black bean bag of chips for $5.

Low in salt! Bonus. Again, check out the short ingredient list! So fun.

So my bill came to I think $21 in total, which is pretty expensive, and I mean I can’t afford to eat like this all of the time, but once in a while for a special treat is perfectly okay with me.  I love going out to new places and trying out new things.

Why wait until January 1 to make a fresh start? Make those resolutions today, and start now.

Seven tips I would give to a newbie to get into a healthier regimen right now, instead of later.

Tip #1: Simplify your plate. Incorporate more fresh veggies into your daily meal plan. Making your plate as colorful as possible is a great healthy start. Red bell peppers, a bright green spinach salad, white boneless chicken breast, an orange sweet potato. Can you believe I only recently discovered how amazing cauliflower tastes? I tried it for the first time probably a year or so ago, and now I can’t get enough of it. I’m not afraid to pick up a new fruit/veg at the grocery store, and google it when I get home to see what the heck to do with it. Stir frys are always super fun and very fast to make if you’re a working girl. They don’t have to be boring, there are tons of varieties out there. The one’s that I like to make, and if they’re good they go on my recipe page. Like Pad Thai or even Lemon Pepper Chicken. Both are incredibly easy to make.

Tip #2: Don’t be afraid to explore new places alone. When the local climbing gym opened up in August I was afraid to go in and put my climbing shoes on. Bouldering by myself? No problem now! I’ve met a ton of great people and now any time I go in for a climbing session I know a handful of people! Climbers are very welcoming people, we’ll walk up and talk to you if you’re alone or if you are having trouble working on a boulder problem. Find something you love doing and you’ll be much happier. Climbing, and CrossFit are my loves right now. I get excited just thinking about going out in the evenings to do those “workouts” which don’t even feel like workouts anymore since I enjoy it so much. You gotta trust me on this one! Find something you love! :)

Tip #3: Don’t have off-limit foods. I’m trying to convince myself to not eat so much candy. Ha! So instead, I try to save it for indulgences once in a while. (psst, I really need to take my own advice.) Candy often has a lot of unnecessary sugars, and fats. Try replacing your sweet tooth with something almost as satisfying. Often I love to “crunch” on candy. I like to replace candy-crunch with cracker crunch and wash it down with a glass of cool water.

Tip #4: Being healthy doesn’t mean going to the gym all of the time. Start going for walks outdoors, get that heart rate a little high and push yourself. Go up a few hills! If you have a dog (or something else you can walk) bonus! Bonding time for the both of you. I personally don’t like going to a gym as I lose interest within a few months. Which is why I’ve started going to CrossFit, and also climb in my spare time. Unfortunately for me, walking or running to the locations is a wee bit too far.

Tip #5: Feel as though you don’t have enough time in your day to work out? Why not have a jaunt around the building during lunch time? Have fun with it! Handstands in the park. What!? Most people I know have a full 60 minutes for lunch. Most of my day is spent sitting on my butt at work. I don’t want it to become flat and square from sitting for 50 years before I retire. I like to move-it move-it. 

(Reel 2 Real reference anyone?)

Tip #6: Set aside some time for yourself. Feeling stressed? Take a back seat and relax. Pour yourself a luscious warm bubble bath, do nothing for one evening after work, veg out, hang out with your girlfriends. I have tons of ideas to de-stress!

Tip #7: Lastly, get a good nights sleep. They don’t call it beauty rest for nothin’!

That my friends are some of my FitFluential tips for you on how to get started onto a healthier lifestyle! Boom!

Say wha?

Parm balls! They’re so delicious. They’re cheesy goodness wrapped up in chicken and covered with panko crumbs. Want to know how to make it? Keep reading!

Rather than me typing it all out (and I may put it up on my recipe page), here is the photocopied recipe for the parm balls. I grabbed it from a Campbell’s cook book at work!

Just a note. I wasn’t a huge fan of the spaghetti sauce on the top of the parm balls. Plus, I’m not sure if rice was the right side to add with it. What would you have put with the parm balls?

This one below kinda looks tasty as well!

]]> http://www.spiffykerms.com/2011/11/parm-balls/feed/ 1 http://www.spiffykerms.com/2011/11/its-a-smores-party/ http://www.spiffykerms.com/2011/11/its-a-smores-party/#comments Sun, 20 Nov 2011 13:05:30 +0000 Nancy http://www.spiffykerms.com/?p=14062

My trip to San Diego in August to go to BlogHer was all about a lot of firsts. First time I met Shannon, Jess, Nikki, Judy and even Kristin from Iowa Girl Eats, my blogging idol! BlogHer was also the first time I tried a S’more at the Hershey booth and first time I tried a Balance Bar. Can you take a while guess as to what my favorite flavor was?
Aw, yes. S’mores no less. It honestly tastes like a yummy chocolate bar. It’s a fair size as well at 50g per bar. August 14 was my last s’more bar, so it was a sad day when that last bite was taken, wrapped in that gorgeous gold packaging.

But I we don’t have to be sad anymore because I’m here to share the tasty amazing goodness with all of you ladies and gents today residing in the states! Who wants to win a free box of my favorite flavor of S’mores Balance Bar? 15 S’mores bars come in a box!

Share or hoard it, I won’t judge. It is a pretty amazing flavor.

But first! I must tell you about all the amazing different types of Balance Bars! There is a great selection of bars to choose from carb loading bars, cafe bars, bare bars (trail-mix inspired), gold bars (which were my favorite because it included the S’mores) and of course original bars. Each “section” of bars has a few flavor variates for you to choose from! There are so many flavors, my mouth is salivating.

Alright, I know everyone here just wants to get right to it and enter away at this giveaway. So I’ll tell you how you can enter and who is eligible to win a free box of S’mores Balance Bars.

The contest will end on November 28, 2011 at 2pm EST. Please do not enter any more comments there after. They will be removed.

Good luck, and enter away!

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Week 39 Day 1.

Floor Press (8×2)
2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2

This one was difficult for me. My upper body still feels a ton more weak than my lower body. I did end up making it to 65lbs though.

The warmup was crazaay…

(Hey it’s me!)

30 box jumps (I used 20″)
20 more box jumps starting from the top and bouncing off the floor quickly (I ended up going down to 16″)

Then the second part of the warmup was an AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) in 12 minutes:

• 3 burpees
• 6 standing rows HP (35lbs) — the photo shown in this one is wrong, sorry. You just stand up straight, and bring your hands to your chest, with the weight. Make sense? Working your outer shoulders.
• 9 overhead situps with a kettle bell (I used 12kg for the first round, then dropped to 8kg)
• 12 double unders // or 36 regular skips.

I was DYING at 3 minutes in. I don’t know how many rounds I ended up doing but it was more than 3 or 4.

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Week 39 Day 2.

[older crossfit journal entries]