Posted on August 11, 2020
MONDAY MUSINGS: A NEW CHALLENGE!
Hi Guys!
How was your weekend? Good I hope! We were in feast-food mood over the weekend. When life is sort of boring, I head to the kitchen to play!! Fish ‘n chips Friday, home made coleslaw with carrots, red and green cabbage and enough garlic to keep all the vampires away! Delicious Indian take-away meal on Saturday. Chocolate ice cream pops for dessert each night, Purdy’s finest Belgian chocolate for extra dessert and Cadbury’s chocolate hazelnut bar all the way from England — yummy dum dum!! I was on a high!! Alas, I discovered on Sunday morning, my bathroom weighing scale was on a high too! And all that rich food had me feeling kind of yucky!
Being a creature of extremes (Sun opposition Jupiter in my birth chart), it’s either a feast or a famine! So in the flick of a switch, I decided I’m taking on a whole new challenge! The success of my NMS (No More Stuff) Challenge, which reached its 10 month anniversary yesterday, has encouraged me to go a little further and try a new challenge. I decided there and then Sunday morning that I was going to become a Vegan for 30 days! As you read this I am on Day 2 of my 30 Day Vegan Challenge.
I bought the above book some time ago as it was on sale and the recipes in it looked delicious, so the notion of trying a Vegan lifestyle has certainly been brewing in my head for a while. I know two girls who became Vegans and in all honesty, I’m in awe! They are both thriving and Catherine, a friend from TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly), has kept her pounds off and then some!! She became a Vegan because of her Father’s ill health. Her Father had a heart attack due to his dreadful eating habits! She took over and got the two of them onto a Vegan diet and they haven’t looked back since! So I guess I was impressed!
I’m an impatient cook at the best of times. I want my food NOW!! So no labouring over hours of preparation. I plan on doing a batch of something which will last for days. A big bowl of quinoa with tofu and seeds and veggies, hummus with veggies, nut butters with apple slices, felafels wrapped in lettuce leaves, veggie burgers, Cauliflower done to the yin yang and overworked from pizza crust to rice! See, already I’m planning easy peasy Vegan dishes! Maybe a lentil chickpea curry tomorrow, which will last at least three days. A blueberry protein smoothie for breakfast which I had today and it was so filling, I wasn’t hungry until supper time!!
I really want to look back on 2020 and be able to tell myself that NO it wasn’t a waste of a year — Hell No!! But instead, I want to look back on it with a level of pride in achieving something — maybe my next book finished? A Vegan lifestyle? NMS Challenge taken on for a year, and achieved. This is my journey. These are my challenges. I have NO control over anybody else’s life (well maybe Coco my dog’s!!). The same applies to YOU. The only person you can control is yourself. Only YOU can make YOU happy! It’s taken me 6 decades to learn that — and I’m still learning!! LOL!!
On that positive note, what Challenge would you like to take on?
Is 2020 a waste of a year for you? If so, still plenty of time left!!
STOP LOOK and LISTEN to what your heart is telling you!
What Challenge can I Challenge you to take on?
Wishing you all a very happy new week. Keep doing what you love, and love what you are doing. Love yourself and love the people God has put in your path. They are in it for a reason. We’re forever learning…
Hugs,
Patricia and Coco xxx
Updated on August 7, 2020
FEEL GOOD FRIDAY! TAKING CARE OF YOUR SKIN.
TGIF Guys!
Are you looking after yourself? Being a Good Momma Bear to YOU? I hope so! With that in mind, I’ve been updating my beauty routine, trying new products, etc. I was getting a little curious to see what I may be missing out on. And I was!!
Today, I want to share with you three of my very FAVOURITE new products. They are unbelievable! I never go without make-up but with these new products, my skin is looking good enough to go bare naked! I can’t say the same about my bodeee!! I’m no J-Lo! But, hey, as you get older, it’s the face people notice first, and how good your skin is looking. The cheeks that meet the eye. Right? These new products are MAGIC!! And at my age, I’ll take magic whenever and wherever I find it!
There is something glamorous about a product that is produced in France. When it comes to fashion, beauty, food and perfume — Vive La France! They are the aestheticians supreme! (the men aren’t bad either!) At one point, I lived in Paris. The only thing I couldn’t endure was escargot!! Yuck!! And the Monsieurs with the very garlicky breath! Oh yes, the raw bloody meat too… Apart from that everything else was tickety boo! It was in Paris I had my first experience of using gel nails. I remember it well!
The best of French products for me are Vichy. I cannot believe how I did not discover them earlier! Their prices are very affordable too. I think they have come a long way in recent years. I especially love these products below:
Vichy Liftactiv Peptide-C Anti-Age ampoules.
Vichy Neovadiol Phytosculpt Neck and Face Contour Creme
Vichy Neovadiol Rose Platinum moisturizing day creme
I began using the anti-age Peptide-C ampoules recently and already I’m noticing a huge difference. My skin looks and feels smoother. I get three uses from each capsule, though they say enough for two uses, morning and evening. So unlike French cuisine, their portions are generous! I think the idea here is you use them for a month to boost your skin and then every so often when your skin is looking and feeling tired. At least that’s what I am doing.
I regret not being nicer to my neck a long time ago! It keeps my head and body together, yet I never felt it deserved expensive treatment. Poor neck! I remember a blogger I follow relaying a very sad story about when her mother-in-law was being wheeled into surgery (she later died!) her last words to her were “Don’t forget to take care of your neck too!” They had been talking about beauty treatments, etc. as a distraction I guess. I think that’s when I began being nice to my neck!
The BEST by far neck creme I have used is Vichy’s Neovadiol Phytosculpt Neck and Face Countour Creme. I apply it also to the contours of my face. It is thick and rich and as I apply it, I can really feel it is making a difference. The texture of the cream is really nice, not soft or messy. This one sticks!
If I was told I could only have ONE Vichy product — Only ONE! — I would choose the Vichy Neovadiol Rose Platinum day creme. It is a complete experience. I love the visual of the pink fluorescent jar, the sweet delightful scent of roses from the creme, and if that is not enough, the creme has a pink colour, which gives a soft pink glow to ageing skin. I feel like a blushing teenager again! Seriously, you gotta try this one!! The perfume of the roses reminds me of my mother’s guest bathroom. She always used rose scented hand wash! So this product scores on many levels. It also feels wonderful on my skin too. I really love it!
If you use any of the above, I would love to get your opinion too! Great price. If you’re a Senior like me (55+), you can get 20% off everything at Shoppers Drug Mart, a wonderful store here in Canada.
On that very happy note, Au Revoir for now! Have a fabulous weekend and take care of yourselves! Do what you love and love what you do!
Hugs,
Patricia and Coco xxx
Updated on August 4, 2020
MONDAY MUSINGS: NOSTALGIA
Hi Guys,
Hope you enjoyed your long weekend and had a chance to chill and relax! We had the girls over for a visit from Vancouver and what a fabulous weekend it was! I get moments of nostalgia for the good old days when our girls were little and we’d go out for adventures around the town and do lots of things together. They were — and still are — ‘My Besties!’ Being a Mom to three amazing daughters reminds me how lucky I am!!
Nostalgia for the good old days hits me in waves, especially during the C-19 pandemic and all that social isolation. I don’t let it bring me down, but rather handle it like a grown-up now — or so I like to think! Eckhart Tolle once said that the past is useless to us, unless it helps us in our present moment! After all, to live a positive life, it is essential to live in the NOW! Right?
With all that in mind, I keep a Pandora’s Box of very happy memories stashed away in my head. In moments of nostalgia for the past, I open the box, and choose my favourite memories to pull out. I re-live moments from my childhood with my parents, siblings, friends, loved ones no longer with me, and my kids when they were all younger and still living at home. These memories sustain me. I know that one day we will all be reunited in Paradise, along with my pets!
This weekend, my darling daughters and I re-lived some of our fondest memories with a visit to all our favourite haunts, such as Beacon Hill Ice-cream Emporium, Naughty Nelly’s yummy fish ‘n chips for a take-away, Chinatown, Le Roux French Cafe for coffee and decadent desserts and of course our drive all around the town and beach like we love to do. It was truly wonderful. I was sad when they left so Coco and I hung out together. She was sad too but glad to have Momma all to herself again!I hope when you have moments of nostalgia for the past, that you don’t let those memories overwhelm you with sadness for departed loved ones, but rather ‘Treasure the Memories’. Keep them in a special place in your heart. Open that box and enjoy the good ones, just like a box of chocolates.
That way Nostalgia is healthy and not sad!
Have a wonderful week ahead!
Hugs,
Patricia and Coco xxx
Posted on July 31, 2020
FOODIE FRIDAY: VEGETARIAN LASAGNE
Hi Guys,
Several of you asked for the recipe for my Vegetarian Lasagne. Here goes! The secret ingredient is LOVE — lots of it! I have found that when you use the magic love ingredient, everything tastes so much better!
INGREDIENTS:
Two packets of Yves Italian flavour ground round. 340 g x 2. You can substitute it with any ground veggie mix. Add some Italian herbs to flavour it up!
1 jar of Alfredo sauce
1 onion
1 cup of chopped mushrooms
2 fresh tomatoes
1 can best quality chopped tomatoes
1 jar of tomato pasta sauce
Half cup of grated cheese for top of lasagne
Garlic — as much or less as you like! (I like at least 6 cloves organic garlic)
Olive oil for frying onion, 1-2 tablespoons.
Oven ready lasagne sheets — you can use GF ones too as they taste good!
Oven 350 degrees F.
METHOD:
Fry chopped onion, crushed garlic, chopped tomatoes and mushrooms in olive oil until soft and cooked. Add crumbled veggie ground. I use my masher to flatten it so it resembles real meat. Keep adding water so it does not stick to saucepan. I just judge it by eye so never measure the water component. Add can of crushed tomatoes and tomato pasta sauce to the mix. Stir until everything is mixed well together! Reduce heat. Add a little more water if it starts to dry out. After ten mins. of stewing slowly together, get out your lasagne dish, grease it, and put one layer of pasta in it. Cover with sauce and repeat this layering process 2 more times. Three layers of pasta in total.
Finally, spread alfredo sauce all over the mix. Top with grated cheese and pop into the oven! Usually takes about 45 mins.
Allow sit for 10 minutes to settle, before cutting into it. I find it always tastes better that way!
Enjoy with some nice creamy potatoes, mixed veggies, and a caesar salad.
Cheers and Happy Cooking!
Patricia xxx
Posted on July 27, 2020
MONDAY MUSINGS: THE JOY OF SIMPLICITY!
Hi Guys!
I don’t know whether it’s all the crazy C-19 restrictions, or just getting older, or maybe it’s a mix of both, but recently I’ve become help-bent on keeping my life simple! Easy peasy, simple pimple. And it’s such a peaceful feeling. I began this journey with the NMS Challenge back in October. Seeing the success of that, I’ve been motivated to look at all areas in my life that could do with some simplification! Namely, cuisine, wardrobe and make-up! Clutter zones!!
Looking at our coffin freezer in the garage (hate the name!!) filled with food, was stressing me out. It was like a filing cabinet that needed to be weeded! We emptied it out completely, and decided enuff is enuff! Now I just shop for food once a week — just once! I make a list of all my meals for the week ahead. Wow! Why did I never do this before? Am I just waking up now?
Monday – Wednesday: Meatloaf for Kevin (lasts 3 nights!) Veggie Lasagne for me. I don’t have to cook Tuesday or Wednesday — how easy is that!! Every other week, I’ll change it up with a Shepherd’s Pie for Kevin. I could eat falafels every night!!
Thursday: Meat burgers for Kevin (left over mince from the meat loaf). Veggie burgers for me or fish tacos. Side salad.
Friday: Fish and Chips night with coleslaw. Home cooked and yum!!
Saturday: Omelette, chips and beans.
Sunday: Steak for Kevin with spuds and veggies. Traditional Sunday dinner! Followed by ice cream tubs or ice-pops! I’ll have a veggie option, falafels , dhal curry, or veggie curry with rice. I freeze them after I make a big dish. Sticking to this weekly routine is not only saving us money, but also saving time on shopping during the week. One weekly shop. I actually enjoy planning the meals for the week ahead.
Sticking to the same formula is SO easy! I was inspired by the character in a book I’m currently really enjoying. His name is Ove and every night he has the same supper — mashed potatoes and sausages! LOL! ‘A Man Called Ove’ by Fredrik Backman. Great read!
I’m doing the same with clothes and dressing too! I don’t shop for those any more until my current supply has been well used!! Now I just plan what I am going to wear for the week ahead and sometimes will wear the same thing for 2-3 days in a row! How easy is that? I’ll change the underwear of course! LOL!!
Ditto with the make-up station! After all the years, I now know my favourite mascara, favourite eye-make up colours, favourite lipsticks. No more experimentation. It’s the old fogey in me! But hey! it’s working!! I’ve housed all my brushes in a neat pile. One lady vase for the brushes. One neat little container for the make-up and That’s it! No more!! I’ll replace the same products when they are finished. Smart? Eh!!
What are you doing to simplify your life?
What things stress you?
How can you make your life more peaceful?
As we approach a brand new week, full of endless of possibilities, I hope some of my suggestions above may help you find peace and calm in your life.
Hugs,
Patricia and Coco xxx
