How a sick Mama makes homemade soup...

Ok so I am now on round three of having strep throat since Sept..what is UP with that!! Because I bring new, yummy, healthy recipes to my clients each week a client decided to share one with me :D...Lentil Soup mmm mmmm.

Lentil Soup - Serves 6 , 192 calories a serving
Need:- 1tbsp Olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1tsp ground cumin
- 1 each carrot, celery stalk, potato diced
- 1cup dried red lentils
- 1 box chicken stock
- 1tbsp lemon juice

To do:Heat oil in pot, add onion & garlic cook 5min
Add cumin cook 30 sec
Add carrots, celery and potato, mix well
Stir in lentils & stock
Cover and cook on low for 30min
Add lemon juice, puree


So since I have a VERY sore throat I thought that a nice warm soup would do it some good. So as I was chopping the veggies my youngest pulls up a chair to the counter because he wants to help....and what one does the other must do to....so my oldest then joins him on the chair.

Oldest child - "What are you doing Mommy?
Me - "Making soup"
Youngest child - " HOT!!" (he's a child of few words right now)
Me - "yes the stove is hot right now, stay back please"
Oldest Child - " I want to put the carrots in Mommy"
Me - " Sorry buddy the pot is too hot for you to do that"
Oldest child then starts to cry because he wants to help, while the youngest child now starts trying to push his brother off the chair because he doesn't want to share the space anymore....boys are both now pushing each other and crying.

I put everything in the pot and put the lid on, "OK! everyone out of the kitchen and up to bed"

After finding my oldest sons 'blankie' and my youngest son's TWO 'blankies' and his soother we headed up stairs for diaper changes, pull-ups on, changing into PJ's, reading books, kisses and cuddles and promises to stay in bed and go to sleep right away, I walk down the stairs and smell something......OH CRAP!!! the soup! I run to the kitchen and lift the lid on the pot and see that all the liquid has boiled off...LOL! Ok it could have been worse!
So because I like to puree my soups I pull out the blender, put the 'soup' in it and added the rest of the chicken stock that I had in hopes it would help to thin it out.....welllll not so much....it was as thick as peanut butter, but it tasted GREAT!!! So I divided it up anyways and put it in the freezer saving one serving for the fridge and for lunch the next day....I figure I can just get more chicken stock and add it to each serving as I eat it :)



'Live in YOUR awesome!'

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I found my middle woman!

So what some people don't understand is that although this journey has been fun, awesome and exciting it's also had it's lonely times...

The issue was that I didn't have a middle 'man' so to say. I had the people in my life who knew me before this journey who are happy with what they are doing in their lives and took interest at first in my journey (as good friends do) but there became a point where they lots interest or just couldn't connect with the 'new' Gail anymore, I found.

Then I have the new people I have met while par-taking in all my new adventure of boot camp, road races, adventure racing and triathlons. Now these people relate to me being not only being excited about a upcoming race or hardcore workout but also that I enjoy it...and they get that! Now what these people don't get are my 'worries' about slipping out of the healthy active lifestyle or that I didn't just stuff my face with Halloween candy JUST on Halloween night as a 'one time' thing, but I did it for the whole week after Halloween...they don't get THAT!


Well as we know a journey is on going and I am not a church going person but me and the 'big guy' we get along pretty good and once again he's taking care of me :D

Due to the fan page I made when I went to the Marylin Denis show casting call and the demo tape I made for it and posted I get e-mails weekly from other woman who are ready to start their own journey of feeling awesome.
One night I was saying to one of my trainers that I just wanted to go out and show them what they can do in their own living room so they can start feeling good about themselves, feel changes in their bodies and feel stronger!....she said, "So go!"

So I DO!!!! I am now a Personal Health & Fitness Motivator and of course it's...wait for it.....AWESOME!!! I am SO touched that these woman let me be apart of their journey when it's the hardest time...the beginning. Because in the beginning people..it's NOT pretty and it doesn't feel that great yet. But in doing this I have found my middle man or should I say middle woman! These woman are just like me and they tell me it's SO great that they are able to relate to me while doing this because I'm not a trainer who has been skinny and healthy all my life...I know how it feels to start a new healthy active life as a plus size woman.



So not only do I get to live in my awesome but I also get to see others living in their awesome!!...like the other day I was having a client do sprints on the treadmill and I had a feeling that she could go up in the speed, but before I was able to say that SHE said to ME, " I think I can go up in speed"!!!! WOW!!! I just got to share the moment this woman believed in herself! WAY COOL!...I can't stop thinking about it and in fact it brought tears to my eyes just typing it now.

These woman thank me all the time for my help and time but I want to thank them because just by them having the courage and strengh to reach out to me they have just made this Van Awesome journey a little less lonely xoxoxo

Mr. Van Awesome??!

So I get a lot of people asking me while I am working out with the kids and going for runs with the kids and pumpkin picking and training and house work, where is my husband?


Well just to clear up matters because my husband is THE most wonderful person you will ever meet.....he's working, working, working and then when he's not working he's with the kids for the day as I go train or go to the gym or go for a run. Or he is waking up early getting the kids ready on his own in order to bring them to see mommy in a race :D


During the summer the wonderful man worked three jobs, some days he'd go from one job right to the next and not get home until 9pm at night. Most weeks in the summer there would be two days in a row that he didn't get to see the kids awake....but he would make up for it on the weekend. But he's always there as my rock right there beside me cheering my on and letting me know that he's so happy that I am happy and what a great wife and mother he feels I am xoxoxox

In fact some of this exercise stuff has even rubbed off on him. He's gone for a few runs and bike rides himself. Last Fri while we were watching TV and I was warming up to do a workout in the living room while we watched our show. So I was jogging on the spot. Suddenly my husband jumped up and said, "OK I can't just watch you do this anymore! I have to do something too!" LOL! So we both ran on the spot for 20min, he even brought out the weights......Wooo Hoooo nothing like sweating it out with my hubby on the living room floor on a Fri night....kinda reminds me of when we didn't have kids!! :O....But that's a whole other blog people!


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From the mouth of babes xoxox

Although my oldest is newly 4 I find that he teaches me and reminds me of something new everyday.

We were running out of time to get our pumpkins for Halloween and my sons b-day party on the Sat (Day before Halloween). So on the Tues I told the boys that we were going to get pumpkins after school.......as we started driving there a few drops of rain turned into a MAJOR down pour! :(
I explained to Nicholas that we might not be able to get to the pumpkin farm and that we might just have to get them at the store instead. His responds was, " OH Mom you just have the believe".......what the!!!...I couldn't believe my ears LOL!...I looked back and said, "Did you say believe??"...he shook his head yes and looked at me with big, wide, pleading, blue eyes!!! OH MAN!
My responds...sigh, "Ok buddy we'll keep going"....how can you say no to that!!!


So we got to the farm and it was STILL pouring. I even got a great laugh and a warm fuzzy when I saw that there was another family under the tent by the pumpkin patch...then I looked closer and noticed that it was another Mama that I knew and always love seeing!!!! I called out to her that I was VERY glad to see I wasn't the only crazy Mama out here :) We got out and while Nicholas walked with his umbrella I held Owen and my umbrella in one hand and my purse in the other...but it was SO windy my umbrella flipped inside out LOL!!!...You know how hard it is to 're-flip' an umbrella the right way in the rain, wind and holding a 22mth old and your purse!?
Final we got to the pumpkin patch...so now I have Owen and the umbrella in one hand and my purse and pulling the wagon in the other hand....we got our pumpkins and even picked up some cookies :P
As we were driving home my son happily munched on his cookie and said, "See Mom I told you! You just have to believe!"
My response was, "Yup buddy your right!"

Good words to live by and I find myself thinking of them often these days as I venture into more unknown territory in my life.....

....you just have to believe!







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Puddles, Pee & Pancakes

So with trying to get over being sick with a cold and strep AGAIN for the second time in three weeks I've been itching to get active again. I realize that I can't just step back into my old routine but need to work my way back up....so I just wanted to go for a nice long brisk walk.

It rained for most of the day on Mon, but after I picked up my oldest from school the weather was starting to clear up. By the time we got home the sun was even coming out! So I sat both the boys down (3 1/2ys & 22mths) and explained to them that mommy REALLY needed to go for a walk and that I was going to put them in the big jogging stroller and put a nice warm blanket on them and that Nicholas could bring his blankie and Owen could bring his soother. I asked them to just sit and have fun in the stroller, enjoy all the things they saw around them and to NOT fight with each other PLEASE!!!

So I packed them up and off I went! I was so excited to get out and moving in the nice air and in the sun. The boys were perfect and got along great and I praised them every 10min for it and thanked them too.

I took the route: South down Burloak, west along Lakeshore then North up Hampton Heath. As I was coming back up I saw that my oldest had fallen asleep and had his head on the 22mths old shoulder and that was how they were sitting...awwwww SO sweet :)

As I was crossing New St and 15 min from my house, the sun disappeared and it started to rain...hard...and cold! Now the kido's were ok cause I just closed the cover on the jogger....but I was getting soaked, to the bone!....so I started to run a bit but couldn't do it for long. As I was walking as fast as I could and had cold drops of rain dripping of my nose and down my back I thought, " This can't be good for my sickness recovery!"

We made it to the house and I went right into the garage. As I was trying to wake up Nicholas I got a whiff of pee....what the..... then it dawned on me. He had peed himself while sleeping and there was a big puddle of pee at the bottom of the stroller...great!...and he didn't want to get out of the jogger but just stay there and sleep. So I picked him up kicking and screaming, brought him in the house stripped him down naked (cause EVERYTHING was soaked in pee) and layed him down on the front chair, threw the blanket over him and rushed out to see what the 22mth was doing cause he wasn't answering my calls to come in the house. I was relieved to see he was just squatting by the drain pipe watching the water come out. As I scooped him up and said it's time to go inside he showed his dislike for this by taking his soother and throwing it......right into the puddle of pee in the jogger.......AAAWESOME!!!!

So after cleaning the pee puddle, spraying down the rest of the jogger, changing into dry clothes and dressing Nicholas....we sat down to a nice warm dinner of apple, flax seed pancakes............

I just wanted to go for a walk....


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Always up to something!

So I heard on the radio the other day about this casting call for the new Marilyn Denis show. They are looking for people who have a passion for something to be guests on the show. I figured this would be a WAY cool out of the box thing to do....so I'm going down!

My passion is to help and share with others about the awesome journey that I have had and encourage them to have their own regarding health and well being and for the parents out there how we pass that onto our kido's :)

I have to put a demo tape together and I am collecting info/comments/stories on a fan page that I made. So if you all could add your 2 cents to it and share your stories, pictures or comments and hit the 'like' button that would be so great!! It would show that there is a need for this out there and it's already impacting people....as I have had the enjoyment of already learning.


SO exciting and I can't wait to take you along with me...cause I can't do this on my own!! Spread the word :D


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Trying to get back at it.....

Ok so I have been trying to get back at it after being SO sick. I did hit two Phat Chicks bootcamps last week...one night I had both kids in tow as well. I also hooked up with a friend that I've been trying to find some time to ride with for awhile now. We went out on Sun morning and boy the weather was just perfect!!!! We rode across Burlington into Hamilton along the lake...breath taking! a total of about 36k. It was great just what I needed...until I wiped out! ;Z. It was the worst one this summer cause I was on an open trail and had lots of room to fall and tumble all over the place...ouch! right over the handle bars and a drop roll to the right shoulder. As I laid there calling out my friends name so he would look back and realize I wasn't behind him anymore I was doing a 'is anything broken' check and thinking, "Oh crap did I just screw my family over?!"....So I'm happy to report nothing but my ego is broken :)...and I am showing off all the war wounds as they surface!!

And now....now I have a cold...sigh...really! But it's forced me to slow down, the last two nights the kids were in bed at 7pm I was in my PJ's at 7:05pm and sat on the couch with my husband just watching TV and resting until 10pm!!!! WOW it felt strange to just sit and watch TV cause still most of the time I am working out in front of the TV, AND to be in a room with my husband for that long was nice cause our summer has been SO busy with me training and him working 3 jobs!....I was like, " Hi I'm Gail and I am your wife, I live in this house too" LOL!!

I find it hard laying around day after day. It reminds me of two things. First when I was younger I suffered from depression and that's all I did, then when I became over weight and unhealthy that's all I did too. So although I'm not either of those anymore it reminds me of those times and starts to feel like it again....and as I've always said all along I wasn't in this for the looks of things, but how I feel!

I was reminded the other day that although I might be doing the same thing (laying around/resting) it's for a different reason...I need to remember that....for a different reason.....


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