Busy spring is busy

20 Oct 2012 3 Comments

by Gwen in gardening, getting healthy, home, my other half, reflections Tags: , , , , ,

Just when I think I’ve settled into a nice routine, another big change happens.  There’s no way I could’ve done the Ultimate Blog Challenge this month.  Kudos to those of you who are!  And to those of you preparing to do NaNoWriMo.

No more working from home on the weekends soon.  I’ll be working a more solid Monday-Friday.  No more days off in the middle of the week that were so handy for running errands!  I have never had weekends off for any extended period of time, so it will be different.

Ben’s job has had a major delay that means he has the next 2-3 weeks off.  Although we could really use the money, part of me is sort of happy about that, because I’ll have more home-cooked meals made by his hands.  I enjoy cooking, but I am a firm believer that things taste better when someone else cooks for me.    He’ll have more time to bake new healthy treats for us.  I keep meaning to post a bran muffin recipe that he’s been making every two weeks or so.  Must do that this week sometime.

Weeds, weeds, everywhere!Garden updates:  I’ve discovered that this place is heaven for weeds.  There are thousands of weeds sprouting in that veggie bed…I’m going to spend the next year picking them out.  It’s horrible.  I’m guessing this is because the landlord just turned the soil over before we moved in.  I really don’t know.  I never had so many weeds to get rid of in Christchurch at either house we lived in.

My arch-enemy cleavers is here as well, smiling at me from beneath the camellias and mandarin bush out front. Ok, I’ll stop grumbling now!

I planted some peas and beans in the garden bed about 10 days ago, and remember dreading the weather shortly after that.  So much rain in the past week and a half — some really torrential downpours — I thought for sure the peas and beans wouldn’t sprout due to rot or being washed out.  As I was glaring at the weeds today, I spied them pushing through the soil, so I’m very happy about that!  Will need to get some twine to make a trellis for them soon.

Growing cherries on the treeI’m fairly sure the lovely flowering trees on this property are cherry trees now.  Still not sure if they are eating-cherries or not, though!  They are still beautiful, even without their flowers, but they add to the weeds too.  Hundreds of cherry seedlings beneath the trees to weed out…it’s going to take me two weekends to get all the weeding done around here!   Not grumbling again, I swear.  I’m sure it’ll be good exercise.

And on the topic of exercise, I’ve managed to lose 12 pounds since August.  I’m feeling really good about that.  Ben and I joined a gym and for the first time I have a regular exercise commitment to myself.  I really enjoy Ben being my work-out buddy and I think having him involved is the difference this time around!  While he was working he was too tired to go, so I have been by myself quite a few times.  I am down a pants size and I can finally see my collarbone again.  Another thing I’m happy about.

Taking time to note these positives is what keeps me motivated!  Only 38 pounds to go to reach my long-term goal.

Have you made any goals lately?  Reached any goals lately? Let me know!

Planting again & staying busy

31 Jan 2012 3 Comments

by Gwen in gardening, getting healthy, home, reflections Tags: , , , , ,

Time for a quick garden update!

It looks like it’s time for me to replant my tire planters with flowers — the nemophilias were lovely, but they decided they’d had enough and started drooping horribly over the sides.  I’ve pulled them all out and will plant some new seed tomorrow.

I also pulled out my sugar snap and snow peas.  The snow peas had stopped producing and the sugar snaps were really yellow.  I discovered the sugar snaps had powdery mildew towards the bottom of their vines, which has now spread to the crystal apple cucumber plants. Doh!

I did find that there’s a cucumber growing!  Exciting news!  I’ve seen heaps of flowers but this is the first fruit on the vine.  The cucumber vine is super prickly — I get little splinters stuck into my fingers if I’m not wearing gloves.

I’m thinking I might put some lettuces in the tire planter on the back patio, now that there’s really no room for them.  I really loved that red sail variety.

It’s still raining here, and when it’s not sprinkling, it’s extremely muggy, so I haven’t been outside much this week.  I have been keeping busy with zumba and free-stepping while watching tv on the Wii.  Tomorrow, I’ll do some running (ever so briefly…) on the treadmill I think.  Super tired today from zumba, but I really did well.  Sometimes it’s hard for me to get into the workout but today I pushed myself to commit to every song.  It’s a good feeling.

What are some ways you enjoy getting exercise?  How are your gardens looking?

Quick spring couscous salad

27 Oct 2011 2 Comments

by Gwen in food, getting healthy, recipes Tags: , , , ,

I don’t think I’ve actually shared any recipes yet!  This salad works great as a main meal (serves 3ish) or as a side (serves 4-5) if you take the tuna out.  I’ve been eating this a lot lately (since it’s gotten warmer out, at least) and love eating the leftovers for lunch the next day :)  The best part is it takes about 5-10 minutes  to prepare and tastes really fresh & light.

Spring couscous saladIngredients:

  • 100g dry couscous
  • 185g can of chunky tuna, drained
  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 100g fresh or frozen veggie mix
  • 1T good extra virgin olive oil
  • juice of 1 lemon (fresh is best)
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • Whatever chopped fresh herbs you have around, I prefer cilantro!  Parsley would work, too.

I usually start by putting my water jug on to boil and measuring out my couscous.

Place your dry couscous into a bowl that you can fit a plate on top of to seal in the steam from your boiled water.  I usually put my couscous into the bowl I’ll be eating my salad in, so I don’t create extra dishes.  Once your water has boiled, pour enough into the bowl containing your couscous to cover it by about 3-5mm, or whatever the package suggests.  Place a side plate (or large plate if you’re using a larger bowl) on top of your bowl.   If you can’t create a good seal using a bowl & plate, just use plastic wrap (I avoid using plastic wrap usually).

While your couscous is rehydrating, heat up your veggies in a small pot or in the microwave (I tend to use the microwave if I’m just using a frozen veggie mix).  If you would rather have a cold salad, pre-blanched veggies work fine!  Just make sure your veggies have a crunch to them still.

Drain your tuna, & cut up your avocado.  Place these ingredients into a medium-sized mixing bowl along with your veggies of choice.

Your couscous should be done by now!  Fluff it up with a fork and add to your mixing bowl.

Squeeze your lemon juice in, drizzle your olive oil, and get your salt & pepper in there and gently mix, so you don’t smoosh your avocado chunks into a paste!  Top off with your fresh herbs and you’re done!  I usually scoop mine out into the bowl I had my couscous in and put the rest into containers to eat for lunch the next two days.

You can pretty much substitute anything in this recipe for something else, except the couscous of course!  I tend to use whatever I’ve got in the pantry, fridge and/or freezer.

If you’ve got fresh garden veggies, peas give a lovely crunch, or if you want a more mediterranean feel, pitted olives & fresh tomato works a treat!

If you don’t like avocado, half of a small can of bean salad or about 130g of a bean & feta mix from the deli section in your local grocery store tastes lovely in this as well.  Substitute the tuna for shrimp or prawns and you’ve got a lovely seafood starter!  The possibilities are endless, really.

Couscous works with so many ingredients.  Have fun creating your own favorite couscous salad! :)

Meet The Beast

19 Oct 2011 2 Comments

by Gwen in getting healthy, home, my other half Tags: , , , ,

My last post was such a monster of a post :( My bad! It was a long day, and I only really told you about half of it — here’s the other half that I thought was best to save for this post (it’s not exactly kitty-related)!

While Leon & Moose were at the vet’s having their stuff done,  I decided to go out and get some more potting/veggie mix because I wanted to take my mind off of thinking of all the complications that could happen at the vet’s.

New plantsI got a bit more than veggie mix.  Oops!  It was all very cheap, I tell you!

They were having a plant sale!  I’ve been reading up on companion planting lately, so I bought some marigolds to put in the beds, and some lettuce, since my sprouts are still a ways off and my red lettuce seeds never sprouted.

The two things with the chopsticks next to them are swan plants — monarch butterflies lay their eggs on them and when they hatch, the caterpillars live exclusively off these plants.  Ben’s Mum’s one is looking pretty sad this year, so I picked her up two plants.

Treadmill control panelI used to have them in my garden at our old flat, but I know now that Moose is a butterfly-killer, so I don’t think it’s fair to have them anymore.  It wouldn’t be very nice of me to raise healthy butterflies only to have them die a slow death while Moose plays with them.

I managed to lug home a 40L bag of veggie mix along with the plants without munting the plants too badly! Let me tell you, 40L is a heavy amount to walk home with from a bus stop.

I hadn’t been home very long when our doorbell rang and a really awesome guy named Ben (lol) had our new treadmill for us!  Yes, we bought a treadmill.  I named her The Beast.  She was half price in a $1 reserve auction on trademe.  Exciting times!

We almost didn’t get it into the house, but Ben (the driver) helped Ben (my Ben) to squeeze it down the hall and into the lounge.  He really was an awesome dude — I called his company and left a voicemail about how great he was.  I don’t just complain when service is bad, I comment when it’s good, too.

Then Ben (my Ben) and I spent the next hour and a half getting the treadmill up & running.  All I can say is that we still have one bolt that doesn’t want to go into place, and that I really, really hate bolts now.  There was a part that wasn’t even mentioned in the manual!  But it was in the picture, so we knew where it went.

Now I have no excuse — I can walk/run everyday regardless of the weather or temperature outside.  Time to lose some weight!

My friend, Beth, and I also have this challenge going over on sparkpeople.com — we’re both doing the 28-day boot camp video series, and will be completing (hopefully) a free work out that’s available on youtube everyday.  I’m behind already (shh don’t tell Beth) but I’m going to make it up tomorrow morning and do three videos before work.

If you want to lose some weight, or maybe find a new way to stay focused on what you eat, how you work out, etc., you might want to give sparkpeople.com a try.

SparkPeople.com: Get a 100% FREE Online Diet

Do you have any handy tools that have helped you lose weight or stay focused on being healthy?

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