Christmas 2012: Gilmore/Lam & Buck

Time has flown by! It's about time to do a little recap of the holidays. It is inevitable that I won't be home every Christmas, but 2012 marked my first Christmas away from home.

I worked until Dec 17th then made my way home that day. We decided to surprise my mom by flying Kevin home from Germany. This would have been her first Christmas sans children, which to be honest, had me feeling a little sad. All three of us were expected to be away on Christmas day. To make up for our absences, I thought it would be great to send her to Myrtle Beach for NYE. For a few weeks, this was the plan, until plans changed. I arranged to have Kevin fly into Ottawa, where Chris picked him up, and they drove through the night. I told mom that I felt terrible that her trip to South Carolina had been 'canceled', so to make it up to her I had Chris pick up a rather large gift in Ottawa. I told her it was too big to wrap and that she was getting her present early. She immediately thought it was something from IKEA (she loves that place). When the boys, and Steph, arrived the morning of the 18th, she had no idea what was going on. She was thrilled to see Chris and Steph and KEVIN... KEVIN, she began to cry. A reaction like that was worth the secrecy and small fibs.

I can't describe to you how happy she was to have us all home. I left December 21st, Chris stayed until Christmas Eve and Kevin came to the rescue on Christmas day. 

Getting to Norfolk proved to be more difficult than anticipated. I left Moncton at 6:15am, landed in Newark at 8:00am, where I was surprised to find out that my connecting flight was canceled, due to weather conditions. After waiting in the customer service line for nearly 2 hours, I was put on standby. This was useless because several flights were canceled, and the planes were full. After several phone calls with Wayne, a plan was created. I rented a car, drove to Philly and dropped the car off at the airport there. I then took a cab to a hotel and waited (...slept) for Alex to arrive. He drove from VA to pick me up - what a great boyfriend. We made it back to Norfolk the following day, just in time to decorate the Christmas tree. An added surprise was seeing a "Lam" added to the herd of Bucks on the front lawn!

The next day was filled with things to do and people to see. It was the Buck Christmas Cookie Party! Carol made 12 different types of cookies and Wayne the eggnog. I did give it a taste, but due to my nonexistent tolerance to alcohol, and lactose issues, I steered clear of the rum concoction. People were flowing in and out of the house all afternoon. I think I heard someone say 125 people came through the house that day. I was surprised that I ate only a few cookies. Sometimes I wish I had more self-control because the leftover cookies taunted me for the remainder of my stay. By the end of the night, I was zonked, and I slept like a baby.

As I said earlier, this was my first Christmas away from home and the Bucks did everything right - I felt like I was at home. They spoiled me rotten and showered me with everything Hello Kitty. I think my Asian side screams "I love Hello Kitty", but in reality I've never even seen the show. Nonetheless, I loved it! I am currently growing my Hello Kitty Chia Pet :) Her hair is thinning, but that is because I couldn't keep a plant alive if my life depended on it. The rest of our stay in VA was spent installing (Alex and Wayne, mostly) new hardwood floors, relaxing in the hot tub and seeing the sights at Busch Gardens. Christmas with the Bucks can only be described as wonderful. I am greatly appreciative of the time and energy put in to make me feel like I was part of their incredible family. 

Mom, if you're reading this, you should know that I did miss you over the holidays, but I knew Kevin would keep the traditions alive and strong - xo.

We left Norfolk and headed North, to Ottawa, for NYE!

I'm C.O.R.E. Certified!

In October, I took an indoor cycling certification, and after writing a theory exam and submitting two 20 minute videos, I finally have my certification. The next step is to co-teach for a few weeks, followed by (fingers crossed) teaching my own class in January. I'm away for the latter part of December so I have a few weeks to get it together. I'm required by URec policy to co-teach and I'm pretty excited for it; the instructors I'm learning from are fantastic. The next goal: obtaining my CSEP-CPT. I'm realizing these certifications are getting expensive so I better get my butt in gear and start applying them.

In other news, Alex is back from Afghanistan - yahoo!! Currently, he's in Argentina, climbing tall mountains, doing his thing. Although he was back in Fredericton for only a short time, it was a great having him home. We will link back up, in Norfolk, where I'll be spending the holidays with him and the rest of the Buck family. I think NYE will be spent in Ottawa, so loads of things to look forward to. I'm definitely excited to have a few weeks off work so I can spend time with friends and family.

Sprained Ankle = Kitchen Adventures!

I love coming across a new recipe that is delicious and super easy to make. I bookmarked this recipe for future use and it was perfect timing because I had a massive apple waiting to be eaten. Have I mentioned that I am slightly obsessed with the blog Oh She Glows? This is where I got the Baked Apples Stuffed with Date Pecan Oatmeal recipe from. It's one that I will use often for all meals: breakfast, snack, or dessert. I didn't have any pecans so I used sunflower seeds instead, and it came out tasting great. A scoop of vanilla ice cream and this dish is irresistable.

In other news, I signed up to play intramural basketball with some co-workers. I thought it would be a great way to have fun and be active. Unfortunately, it was just that, a thought; I heard a crunch and realized I rolled my ankle over my toes. This was in the first 10 minutes of the game too.

The result: My ankle disappeared under swollen tissue. 

I am hopeful that it won't hinder me too long. I can already walk without too much of a limp, especially when I wrap the darn thing. Ibuprofen helps with the swelling and pain. Positive though and applying RICE should get me back in working order soon. To help pass the time, I am experimenting in the kitchen. 

Sometimes I bake things that look delicious but don't taste great, and today was one of those days. I attempted black bean brownies. Looks can be deceiving. The brownies were ooey gooey to the eye, but bitter and pasty to the palate. I think I failed on this recipe because I cut out too much sugar. I like the idea of using beans instead of flour, and it did produce a moist brownie. It lacked sweetness and that 'melt in your mouth' sensation. I will definitely try it again, altering the recipe, but overall this trial was a failure. 

On the bright side, I was successful in making a huge pot of vegetarian chili. I had a bag of lentils and half a can of black beans (leftover from the brownies) to use up and this seemed like a logical dish. I was happy something with the beans turned out. I was also able to get started on Halloween baking. Since I am working 10 hours on Halloween, I thought I'd make some delicious treats for everyone. Gluten-free cake balls were a success and looking rather festive. If I have some time tomorrow, I will attempt some more baking.

A Rainy Saturday = Pretzels & Muffins

I've been back in Fredericton for over a month now, and I think my busy schedule has finally caught up to me. I have been pretty tired lately and drained of energy. Thank goodness for great friends though; I hit up the market with Heather A. this morning, followed by an amazing brunch at the Kaempffer's. The rest of my day consisted of me locking myself in my apartment and not leaving (except to see Jen). I was able to catch up on laundry, and with inspiration from Sarah's previous meal, made delicious pretzels.

I am sometimes amazed by the incredible support system I have here. It's a relief to know that I am surrounded by people who are caring and genuine, especially while Alex is away. So, a big thank you to my friends and family :) You are the best!

Pumpkin Quinoa Muffins

To prep for the day of rock climbing I have scheduled for tomorrow, I made pumpkin quinoa muffins - nom nom. If I make it viral that I'm to go climbing, I feel more obligated to actually go. I am having a hard time mustering up enough motivation to leave my warm duvet. Unfortunately, I'm not feeling that great, which isn't helping my motivation levels. Here's to positive forward thinking and a little less complaining :)

I heart cycling but my behind does not!

Last weekend, I spent two full days in the spinning studio working toward obtaining my Indoor Cycling Certification through C.O.R.E Cycling. I recently started cycling outdoors and I love it. I enjoy it a lot more than running (not that I any good at it). Taking the steps to become an instructor seems like a great way to stay active, push myself and learn. Plus, certifications always look good on a CV :)

Before we set foot in the classroom we were to read the manual and watch drill videos. The manual was an easy read and just made sense. The videos were short and sweet, which made working through the material less daunting. 

Day 1 - We were in the classroom for 1.5 hours and in the spinning studio from 10:00-18:30. Most of that time, minus 30 minutes, was on the bike. We went through bike setup, drills, cuing, prohibited moves and so much more. I am not an avid cyclist and my tush was hurting! I haven't built the tolerance to the saddle just yet. I got home and had to put together a 20 minute class for the next day. This was the practical portion of the certification. There were nine participants in total, but only five of us were to prepare a class. The other four are already instructors and were take this course for extended learning. I gave up around midnight because I knew I had a long day ahead. Who would have thought that a 20 minute class would consume so much of my time.

Day 2 - The morning started off with a 30-40 minute class that took us over some nasty hills. We were given the morning to prepare our rides. My music choice screamed hills and for some reason, I thought it was a good idea to 'roll' with it (sometimes I surprise myself, haha).

Pumpkin Spiced Energy Balls (Gluten & Dairy-free)

It was clear after the first day that some serious calories were being burned and appropriate fuel would be necessary. I threw together some energy balls for the class and they were gobbled up before the day was done. Who doesn't love spicy chocolate pumpkin seed?

I was nervous, tired and did I mention, nervous? I love being around people but coaching in front of a group is not a familiar place for me to be. I was the last to go and of course, I chose to do hills. To my surprise, I found some inner energy and hammered out a solid 20 minutes. The group was awesome and participated the whole time. I was a sweaty mess and didn't care.

I submitted my written exam and just found out that I aced it - 70/70! The next step is to put myself out there and start teaching. Hopefully my employers have a little wiggle room and can find space for me to get some experience.

My 20 minute playlist:
Strip me- Natasha Bedingfield
Jungle Drums - Emiliana Torrini
List of Demands (Reparations) - Saul Williams
Somebody that I used to know - Gotye Tiesto remix
Dead Disco - Metric

This one will be added to the warm up:
Young Blood - The Naked and Famous (Tiesto & Hardwell Remix)

Now I need to work on putting together a full 40-50 minute ride. If you have any song suggestions, send them my way; I am always looking for new and unique stuff :)