My Love of Coffee

Dear Coffee,

  I just wanted to take a few moments to tell you how much I adore you.  I love the smell when I open the bag of beans first thing in the morning.  And then the soothing sound of grinding you up!  Some mornings I don't take the time to appreciate you, Coffee, as you just needs to be flowing in my veins ASAP!

  It's a comforting sound hearing the the coffee pot go drip, drip, drip as you brew all your goodness into the pot.  And then the best part of the morning is hearing those lovely 3 beeps of the machine letting me know you are ready.

  Nothing makes me more happy then the first taste of hot yummy goodness in my belly.  Now if I could only finish a whole cup of joe that was still hot at the last sip, I would be in heaven.  But Coffee, you must wait if the kids want their breakfast!
  (Although, I am working on that with my ever growing collection of coffee mug warmers. Because who doesn't love a little sweater for their coffee cup!)

 Thank you, Coffee, for all that you do. For keeping me sane and happy, each and every morning.

 Love Me

My FAV tank!

** 'Runs on Caffeine' tank from DickTees. Hoop from Meg at HooperFit**

**This is a personal weblog. The opinions expressed here are solely my own and I am not paid to promote these businesses**

My First Half Marathon Experience

Well, I did it!  I can finally cross this off my bucket list!

21km Half Marathon.......CHECK!

  I have always enjoyed running, although I don't do it as often as I would like.  It's a great escape from every day life and a perfect stress reliever.  Just throw on your running shoes, some good tunes and just go!

  So a few months ago my sister, Kim, asked me if I wanted to run a half marathon with her.  I of course said yes, as it is something that I've always wanted to do.  I told her she needed to sign me up so I didn't chicken out!  She also said she would run the whole thing with me (which I am so grateful for as I didn't think I'd be able to finish on my own) So she signed us both up for the Victoria Goddess Half Marathon Run.  And she gave me some pointers on training.  (My sister is amazing...she has ran in lots of difference races and events, even completing a 24 hour race!!)

  A few days go by and I do one 6km run (my usual route).  And then denial sets in. "Im not really going to run 21kms, am I?"  I kept telling myself I had lots of time to train, that I would run 'tomorrow'.  Well, needless to say, the race day approached a lot faster then I planned!  I did manage to get a few runs in, including a 13km (my longest ever!) but that was it. I think I fooled myself into thinking that it wouldn't be too hard plus I knew my sister was going to push me and keep me going. 

  The day before the race, Kim and I head out to pick up our registration packages which included our race numbers and pretty purple event shirts.  Then we went for drinks, appys and a huge steak dinner. Isn't that what you're supposed to do the night before a half marathon? Ha ha....ummm no!

Race Day: 

  We wake up super early (I don't think I slept much anyways between excitement and my youngest daughter waking with a nightmare. Her words: 'I fell on my head then a giant bird came to eat me' -where do kids get this stuff?)  We sneak out of the house and head to the nearest Starbucks to pick up coffees and head to the start line.

  Adrenaline is flowing at this time, or the caffeine has kicked in, not too sure.  We lace up our shoes and pin our numbers on the front of our tanks.  My mom meets us at the starting line and gives us a quick hug for good luck.  Was so nice to see her as she had been gone on a 5 week holiday in Spain!

  Countdown starts.  Heart was beating fast.  Thousands of women standing together, ready to go. The energy was incredible. 

  And we're off! Now I won't go through all the emotions I felt during all 21kms as much of it was a blur!  But I do want to talk about the ending.  My sister had told me that the last few kms could be the most hard. Just knowing you are so close and trying to push through and finish strong.  And I totally agree now that it does happen. 

But something pretty magical happened to me near the end. 

(mini back story)

~A few days before the race, my daughters and I put nail stickers on.  They were 'good luck charms' for my race.  I had a bird, Shayla had a butterfly and Kelsie had a ladybug.  They were to help me fly faster for the run.~

  So during the last 2kms I look up and see an eagle soaring overhead.  Eagles have been present many times in my life, especially when I need extra strength (my sister and I saw one right after we were close to having a car accident) They are always there when I need them.

  Not long after a black and yellow butterfly flew right in front of Kim and me.  I almost lose it as I tell her about Shayla's sticker and why we all had them. This was my sign from Shayla to keep going.

  And then as I round the last corner, I look down and see a ladybug on the ground.  I can hardly hold back the sobs.  There was my sign from Kelsie.

  I run to the end on wobbly legs and the tears are streaming down my face as I see my girls at the finish line cheering for me.

My biggest fans cheering me on!

  We high five them as we pass and from somewhere deep down, I get one last burst of energy so I can beat my sister across the finish line (sorry Kim!  Might have been the only time I would ever win against you!)

I win!!

  My mom, sister-in-law and daughters congratulate us with big hugs.  What an awesome accomplishment and I'm so proud of myself!  My time was 2:40, which I'm happy with. I'm glad I completed it and didn't give up!

  I don't know if I will run another half marathon, but a 5 and 10km are on my bucket list now.  It is amazing what your body can do if you set your mind to something.

  But I wouldn't have been able to do it without my sister.  She pushed me through and kept me going the whole time (with a few walking breaks)  I'm so happy to have ran my first race with her.  She inspires me!  Love you Kim!!

Love my sister!

 "The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul" Proverbs 13:19

Victoria Day Tea Party

  Since Canada is the only country to have a national holiday to celebrate the late Queen Victoria's birthday, it only seemed right to celebrate with a tea party with my 2 daughters. So that is what we decided to do! I had told them the night before that we were going to have a tea party luncheon for Victoria Day. Do you think my youngest daughter was just a little excited?!?! She woke up a few times in the night and would only say 'is it time for the tea party yet?' 

  So on the day of our tea party, we got up as usual, had our breakfast and then I answered the question 'is it lunch time yet?' many times throughout the morning! They were just a tad excited! The girls have played tea party in their room with their dolls before, but this was going to be the first time they had a 'real' one with mommy. 

  I decided to bake some mini cupcakes for dessert but didn't have a recipe. So I thought I would try my white cake recipe and cut it in half. It worked!

  They turned out great and it worked out to exactly 24 for my mini muffin tin. (Recipe at the end of this post)

  We also had little sandwiches, ham and cheese bites and apples with cinnamon sugar sprinkles. I set their little table up with our fancy tea cups and a cute polka dot 'tablecloth' (which was a piece of fabric leftover from a project) 

  The girls both got dressed up (as Rapunzel and Tinkerbell, of course!) and we had tea (pomegranate green tea, which Kelsie loved!, Shayla not so much)  We had a wonderful time eating and drinking tea with our pinkies up. We tried out our best English accents and had lots of giggles. It's days like those that I will cherish. The girls both had so much fun and told me it was the best tea party ever! 

~Kari

Mini White Cupcake Recipe

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1/2 sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 24-mini muffin tin.

2. Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add in the flour and baking powder and mix well. Finally stir in milk until batter is smooth.

3. Divide evenly into prepared mini muffin tin. Bake 10-12 mins. Remove from pan and let cool on a rack before you ice them.

*Icing: I just used a little bit of icing sugar and milk with a drop of pink food coloring to make a simple icing. Top with fun sprinkles!

Happy Mother's Day!

  Happy Mother's Day to my mom, my mother-in-law and all of the other awesome moms I know out there! 

Tomato Basil Summer Side Salad

Tomato Basil Summer Side Salad

  This is the perfect summer side salad for your outdoor BBQ and easy to whip together for when you have company coming over. I love this salad (and could probably eat the whole thing in one sitting!)

Ingredients:

• 1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered (I always put them in a strainer as I cut them, so I won't have as much juice in the salad)

• 3-4 fresh basil leaves, chopped (must be fresh, dried won't taste the same!)

• 3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled (or more if you like....can never have enough cheese!)

Dressing:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp packed brown sugar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp minced garlic
dash of sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions:

1. Mix tomatoes, basil and feta in a bowl and set aside

2. Whisk the remaining of the ingredients for the dressing

3. Pour over tomatoes and mix well. I let mine sit in the fridge for an hour or so to soak up all the flavor

4. Transfer to a pretty bowl and top with a sprinkle of feta before serving

5. Enjoy! (It can keep in a air tight container for a few days, but there usually isn't any leftovers!)

Serves 4

Super Yummy Homemade Honey Almond Granola!

Honey Almond Granola Recipe

  I love granola! I used to buy it all the time to eat with my greek yogurt in the morning for breakfast. And then I started reading the labels. There was always so much sugar and extra preservatives added! So I decided to do some research and find a homemade recipe that was easy and yummy! And this smells so good while it is baking! I also use this granola in my Awesome Oatmeal Cookie recipe (will post that recipe some time soon!)

Ingredients:
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 cup liquid honey
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pure almond extract

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 325F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray (I use canola oil and water combined in a spray bottle, no more buying aerosol cans!)

2. Mix together the rolled oats, almonds, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. 

3. In a separate small bowl, combine the honey, vanilla and almond extract.

4. Mix together dry and wet ingredients and combine until the oats are coated. 

5. Spread the mixture out onto your prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30 mins (or until golden brown) Make sure to stir it up every 5-6 mins (I set the timer for this so I don't forget!) Granola can burn easily so check it often. (Ovens vary with temp, so you may only need 25 mins or so)

6. Let it cool and store in an airtight container.

*This batch makes approx 4 cups of granola. I use about 1/2 cup on my plain greek yogurt in the morning for breakfast and top it with some craisins! So yummy!*

Enjoy!