Lately [03]

1>> I have recently decided to give the tv show the American Horror Story a shot and I'm addicted!! I'm not usually a scary movie/show kind of person but this isn't really scary, it's more of a thriller. Which is super exciting and it hooks me into watching 7 episodes in one evening! hahaha.. oh well.

2>> I got a NutriBullet for Christmas and almost every morning since I have had a smoothie for breakfast. My body is so used to it at this point that anything heavier, honestly, makes my body cringe. I love it because it satisfies any hunger I have in the morning and sustains me for at least 3 hours without feeling heavy in my stomach.

3>> Halifax has had the most bizarre weather this winter. It seems like we are stuck in a loop of super cold weather, a big snow storm and then it warms up and almost all of the snow goes away. I'm hoping to get at least one or two more big snow falls where I can go out and take photos during the day. Anyone else find the day after a big snow fall to be so beautiful it's almost magical?

4>> Matt's fro was recently cut but right before hand I took this photo. It was so long we could almost fit all of it in a ponytail!

5>> We've been really good over the past few weeks at getting fresh, healthy food for groceries. Not only is it nutritious but fresh fruits and veggies make for great props in photos!

6>> I was strolling around Chapters last week looking for the next book club book and stumbled upon this. Who knew that Nicholas Flamel was an actual person? Not me! Can't wait to read this :)

What have you been up to lately?

Creative Collective: Playlist

I am officially loving link ups. Even though I have only participated officially in one (Monthly Wishes), it was a huge success! I read through lots of other bloggers posts about their goals for the month/week, commented on their posts to help support and motivate them and even got some blogger love in return! I find this very exciting.. is that lame? I don't care even if it is, it's my blog anyways :P

The Nectar Collective is hosting a year long link up called The Creative Collective. It's 23 posts that will help to inspire creativity in the bloggers and readers and encourages us to connect in the big, ol' blogosphere. Sounds pretty awesome right? Well it is. You should go check it out if you want to participate.

This week's Creative Collective post is to create a playlist with new music. Most of the time when I listen to music I throw on a local radio station Radio 96.5. The play all different genres of music, new and old. Which is why I like this station so much. I want to start jogging again in the spring which means I am definitely going to need some new play lists. And here's the first one of the season!

It's short and sweet since I'm currently only doing interval workouts at home that are less than a half hour. Expect some longer playlists in the not too distant future ;)

Here's a little sneak peak of the playlist too:

What are you listening to??

February Monthly Wishes

  

Keeping on track with my 2014 resolution of setting goals each month and melding it with the Weekly Wishes linkups over @ The Nectar Collective, we have February's installment of Monthly Wishes.

Last Month's Wishes

1. Workout 3 times/week - This went well over all. Some weeks I did more, some less. I think it averaged out for the month though.

2. Eat out only once/week - This was great until the last week of the month. Matt got a new job so we got lazy we may have celebrated a bit more than planned.

3. Post 3 times/week. This was great for the first two weeks. Then because of poor planning it fell to the wayside. 

February's Wishes

1. Rolling over #3 from last month. I have planned it a little bit better this month so here's hoping more success!

2. Practice yoga 3 times a week. This can be either at the studio or at home. Doesn't matter. I'm just a much happier person when I practice yoga regularly. Therefore I will be committing to this plus some regular work outs throughout the weeks too.

3. Spend more time reading. I tend to go through on again, off again phases with reading. I'll get addicted to books for a few months and then get bored and move on to something else. I read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and the Hollow City follow up this month for book club and I'm now craving more books. Have any recommendations?

What are you focusing on accomplishing this month? If you would like to share it with us link up to The Nectar Collective below.

Help Us Save Tinkerbell's Legs

Hello readers,

I would like you to meet Tinkerbell. She is one of the cutest, most rambunctious, full of character, 8 month old puppies I have ever met. I have given a little piece of my heart to this puppy after having gotten to know her over the past few months.

Tinkerbell is just like any other dog. She loves her toys...

Especially when they are covered in peanut butter....

And even sometimes, she goes a little bit crazy for them...

But unlike other dogs, she doesn't have full use of her legs. Tinkerbell was recently diagnosed with Legg-Perthes disease. Pretty much, this disease.. "disrupts the blood supply to the head of the femur, which is the 'ball' portion of the hip's 'ball and socket joint.' Portions of the boney tissues, starved of their blood supply, begin to die and the overlying cartilage that lines the hip joint collapses. This leaves a painful, poorly-fitting hip joint." (source)

Although Tinkerbell is so happy and playful most of the time, she is in pain and you can even see the amount of muscle loss already because of under-use of one of her legs. Her x-rays show that this disease is present on her left and right hind hip joints. Therefore, the vet has recommended that both of them be treated via surgery. The surgery itself is pretty basic, but it isn't cheap. For both legs it will be between $2000-$2500.

And this is where we could really use your help. A website has been set up to take donations to help fund this surgery. If we can't raise enough money for the surgery, my friend will not be able to keep her beautiful puppy. Please, please, please donate HERE if you can. Anything you can give would mean the world to us.

Edit: Just found out from the surgeon that only one hip needs to be operated on which brings the cost down to $1500! Great news but we still have a way to go! Any help you can provide would be amazing :)

And here is one last photo of Tinkerbell for the road :) Isn't she the cutest?!

February Desktop Calendar

People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road does not mean they are lost. - Dalai Lama