Workless Holidays Are Marvellous

My Friends!

To all the Canadians who read up on lil space, Happy Thanksgiving weekend! I hope your belly’s are filled with all kinds of turkey, pie and goodies.

Okay maybe Halloween comes first…but fyi in my world Christmas >>>>> Halloween. Just saying.

I’m linking up with Healthy Diva Life with to share my Marvellous Weekend (hello five days!) with you all. Thanks for the party Katie!

1. Getting to actually enjoy the holiday and the famjam is so Marvelous

It is rare that I get a Thanksgiving weekend that isn’t right in the middle of midterms so I totally took advantage of the fact that this year my two first midterms were right before the long weekend by doing what any tired student would do…

 

Amirite?

The best.

So yes, I actually got to spend time with my family when they came up for dinner on Sunday for Thanksgiving and didn’t have to have my mind elsewhere or have to run away to study. Also, I got to do what I love doing which is cooking a big part of the dinner!

2. Remembering that gelato is amazing too is quite Marvelous.

Due to being home I knew my Friday Ice Cream Challenge Day would take place at my favourite ice cream shop. Unfortunately for me, my favourites (salted caramel and caribous caboose) are apparently seasonal and got the boot September first. After crying on the inside a lil bit I decided to wander over to their homemade gelatos to find Snickers gelato..

Yes Snickers gelato! It had so many mixin’s too which is why I was not going for my beloved gelato because I really have come to love those mixin’s and gelato is generally smooth.

On the top was pralines and creme which is really good (caramel and more caramel) but I’m kinda kickin myself for not getting the Reeses (peanut butter gelato with Reeses and peanut butter…I know I would smack me too) gelato along with my other candy inspired flavour (which was amazing btw!).

Peanut butter and caramel = love in my eyes.

Next time it’s going down!

3. Dem shoes are Marvelous 

Got my shoes ladies and gents! Aren’t they purdy. Yes, I’m that girl who wants the loudest colours possible! Went with the Nike Frees and they are super comfy so I’m happy. The flynet 5.0’s were great but unfortunately the smallest size they manufacture was still too big for my child-size feet.

Sometimes being #DollSized is not cute.

Speaking of shopping…

4. Binge-Buying Lululemon after a craving is also Marvelous

Three items…

Wunder Under Crop Hi-Rise

332 bucks..

.

Swiftly Tech 1/2 Zip

Oppps. But hey, I’m content.

Wunder Under Pant iii In the herringbone

Plus my Dad bought me a cute lil hat from Honey, a cute lil boutique that makes me wish I knew about this place when prom hit…

Looks like this but its a rose colour all around…and not a baby hat 😉 

5. Food is Marvelous

Turkey on the grill via Dad..

Sides by my Mama and I…

Mom’s new addition was her craving for a sweet mashed potato. It was simply mashed sweet taters with booth, brown sugar, cinnamon and a hint of nutmeg.

Plain mashed potatoes with buttah and milk for the gravy dumpers..and my Dad.

Roasted root vegetables by moi….purple sweet taters (thank you Whole Foods for bringing back my favs!), regular sweet pots, brussels and green beans with rosemary, olive oil and thyme

Roasted Asparagus

My Mom’s infamous roasted mustard glazed ham with roasted pineapple. Always a crowd pleaser.

Maple roasted carrots that I made for my Mama

Stuffing..not homemade, we will tackle that one at Christmas

My Dinnah plate..

Hit the spot.

Oh and the unpictured peach pie and MY ICE CREAM (the Kawartha Salted Caramel Truffle my Dad bought for me a while ago)…which I haven’t touched yet…Fear Food:1, Chelsea:0, was the dessert for the fam. Yes, peach is not very Thanksgiving like but when it’s made with the last of the in season peaches from the farmers market, you bring that **it out in all it’s glory. The fam really enjoyed it. We did good Mom!

6. Finally making what you meant to make eons ago is Marvelous

Remembering that I had some beautiful ground lean elk in the freezer that I wanted to make up using the grill ended off becoming a foil pan full of freezer ready sliders (X2 servings), meatballs (X1 serving) and burger patties (X2 servings).

Sorry for the horrible pictorial…it was getting dark by the time I snappsied the goods.

I really love the flavour of elk. It’s my new favourite game meat.

For these I simply seasoned with Worcestershire sauce, diced onion, garlic powder, chill flakes, fennel seed, and lots of cracked black pepper and then formed them up and tossed them on the grill.

Easy Peasy and now I got #RedMeatGains for days that I can just pull out of the freezer as I please.

7. Stocking up on your ‘at home goodies’ is always Marvelous

Those things that you can only really get when at home.

So you make sure to get allllll them goods. For me, it’s taking a trip to my Freezer Place (a hidden gem here in Acton with all bulk frozen stuff but that includes organics, my game meats and lotsa local fish for great prices). So I hustled my lil tussle over to there and picked up a few hundred things essentials

~1 Arctic Char Fillet

~2 4ounce Venison Medallion Steaks

~2 4 Ounce Elk Medallion Steaks

~1 Package of Jumbo Sea Scallops

Thanks Mom and Dad 😉

8. Seeing my new Coach who will lead me to better health the way I want it to be done.

I expressing great gratitude to a family friend, Michael Grayer, for taking my challenging self on as I have finally accepted that I need help in this weight restoration process. The difference between him and a dietician…

Bodybuilder, Torque Barbell Club Owner and very successful Prep Coach.

He will push me to gain weight I need to in the way that is more focused around my goals. Weight that is not just weight but that is strength and beauty. #MoeMusclesPlease

Yes we are working towards the same picture, but I know this process will still be tough. I need to give my control to him and know that he will not steer me wrong and that will be very hard for me. He will bring my physique to new heights which will not only make changes aesthetically, but it will bring me back up to an acceptable health status as well.

I can’t thank him enough. See more about him here.

Well thats it my friends! I have one more day off tomorrow (that is our winter ‘reading break’…one day HA! but hey I will take it) and that is when I trek over to the Barbell Club to chit chat with Michael and plan out how things are gunna be from now on. I’m nervous for the change but more excited then anything to see what he can bring for me.

Have a great week!

❤

Favourite Thanksgiving side dish? I make a mean savoury and spice sweet tater mash that I really enjoy, but roasted veggies are always good.

-Chelsea

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It Can Bring You Up Or Tear You Down…

The mind.

The mind is quite powerful as I have mentioned before.

With that in mind (no pun intended), you should want to use it’s power for good right?

Sounds easy and logical but in these days where negativity is the norm and it seems like thinking positive just takes too much effort, its actually quite difficult.

My friends, I was told today that I was a pure inspiration this morning as I was beginning my gym sesh.

Where did that stem from?

Let me share part of the conversation I had with a lovely women I tend to start my mornings with as she comes in to train with Jack (her trainer at Goodlife).

Her: Hey how are you?

Me: I’m good thanks, you?

Her: Ugh, it’s Monday. I hate Mondays. Smiles.

Me: Aww, Monday is a fresh start. Don’t think of it as negative…

Her: See this is why you are so inspirational. Geesh, I always say to myself if she can be here then SO CAN I!

I was super flattered by her comment, after all, I love spreading any form of motivation for people to better their health and themselves, but I was also moved by how such a lil statement (stay positive) could make such an impact.

It really made me stop and think whether I take my own advice. I don’t think anyone could say they are 100% peaches and rainbows every day of their life, but maybe if we worked at being just a lil bit more positive on a more daily basis, our moods might be better for it!

After I heard The Online Coach say this…

“Guys, no matter what you know you have to do in a day, start your day saying that today is going to be a good day.”

….

I have been actively trying to do this more often.

If I wake up and I’m tired, I’m going to avoid saying the typical…

Uggghhh I’m so tired, this day is going to suck

And replace that with something like…

I can’t wait to train.

OR just simply, as The Online Coach said exactly…

Today is going to be a good day.

As I said, use your powerful mind to your benefit, not to your days demise.

This picture is actually my display picture on my phone. A constant reminder to be happy and positive even if you feel the rest of the world is miserable.

Try it out and watch your mood shift. Set the mood for your day as a positive one. 🙂

Here are some examples of ways you can turn things around if life throws you a curve ball that gives you the urge to be negative.

Work stressing you out…..Obviously I’m good at what I do because people feel they can depend on me. Take things one at a time and I will get them done.

You’re stuck in traffic….The sunrise is beautiful. The day is bright and therefore so will mine.

You failed a test….Okay so I didn’t do as well as I wanted, but now I can take this and figure out the pieces I didn’t understand as well as I thought I did and move forward stronger.

You’re workout sucked…I’m not a machine, I can’t be wonder women every day. So maybe my strength is not there today, but I can work on my endurance and take this opportunity to increase my repetitions to challenge myself in a new way.

You fell off your diet…By me feeling as if I need to eat those ‘restricted’ foods, it means this way of eating is not right for me. I need to educate myself on something that is enjoyable for me and fits my life.

Wow less then 1000 words, now that’s something.

Be you’re own motivation.

…

In fact motivating and inspiring yourself on this Monday (and every day!) is quite Marvelous.

Thanks to Katie for inspiring me to put a lil bit extra Marvelous in this Monday.

What negative thoughts make an appearance often for you? What would you say instead to put a positive spin on them?

What is one phrase you hear others say that really just irks you?

-Chelsea

The Only Marvelous Thing Snow Can Do

 

 Sorry to the London folks who apparently like 3 feet of snow and were expected to be all bright eyed and bushy tailed in class this morning…

#Fail. And I’m sorry but I LOL’ed pretty hard at this tweet.

So I decided to swing in on the Marvelous In My Monday linkup with a quicky lil post. Thanks to Katie for the linkup!

As much as I hate snow…and the cold in general…there are some Marvelous things about snow. In particular, what Marvelous things come with a snow day you ask?

1. Empty gyms are Marvelous

Yeah, it was like 1/2 employees and 1/2 members this morning no joke.

Except when you need a spotter... You see, although I wouldn’t skip anyways, I see these days off as an even bigger push to go because, well, what else are ya gunna do when everything is slow and closed other then my school work?

Permission to hog the squat rack for my entire workout granted cuz not ones there to care. 😉

2. Pj’s all day

Ok that is nothing new for me. #NoShame.

3. Family dinners!

Sorry Patty…

Sat down with my housemates for a lovely family din-din with Millionaire Matchmaker

4. Get to do things you didn’t think you had time for.

You know how you justify not doing your work because you would have been in class anyways? Yeah.. I made my pesto. It’s a big job okee. 😀

5. Skip out on the busiest day of my school week.

Lab cancelled weeeooo.

6. I get to make new Vlogs and chatter with you all!

Clicky on the thumbnail for the video. 😀

NOTE! The intent of this video was for getting past that mental barrier not about never skipping a gym session. I’m one that rarely misses a day, but that’s me doing me. Please don’t feel like I’m trying to make people feel bad if they don’t do the same. This was just something I wanted to share with you all to show that everyone has days where they struggle and how I personally got past it. XO

Well there’s no snow day expected for tomorrow and a 5:30am alarm with my name on it so I gots to go. Hope you enjoyed something Marvelous of your own today. If you did, share it with me in the comments. 🙂

Happy Monday friends

-Chelsea

The Littlest Things Can Be Marvelous. MIMM

Hi friends! Happy Monday!

I had a jam packed day (Oh the Mondays’) and I’m pretty wiped, but I felt some things were some kinda Marvelous this past weekend so I just had to make a quick share of those things with you all!

Thanks Katie for the linkup!

So was was so Marvelous you ask?

1. Listening to my body and letting myself sleep in on Sunday…

I’m someone who is a hard core scheduler and on gym days, especially when I don’t have a class to go to, it’s 6am sharp for that bounce outta bed wake-up call. This weekend though, I was really tired and I told myself that one hour extra will help me in the long run (yes I know it was just one hour, baby steps I say) and I don’t have to be perfect with my schedule all the time.

And guess what?

I didn’t die.

And my shoulder workout was fab. I even PR’ed. See #4

😀

2. Crossin things off my to-do list like it was my job.

Messing writing. My excuse…it’s a lefty thang

Oh the satisfaction that comes from crossing things out. Why that is, I have no idea, but running my pen through all those quizzes, assignments, readings, etc, just feels amazing.

Don’t you agree?

This is why I write lists…to be able to scratch them to pieces over time. 😉

3. Making new traditions with my housies.

Make that, enhancing traditions. Emily, Rita and I go to the farmers market every Saturday morning after my lifting session and I absolutely adore our little tradition. What has made it even better is that GoodnessMe! finally opened up and because it’s practically right across the street we make a hippity-hoppity over there too.

Makes me happy…

But not my wallet.

Why do I love health food stores so much…

4. Finally up’ing my overhead press.

That is one hard exercise to advance in let me tell you. Or is it just me? I know Max Chewning said that it’s a hard lift, so I’m gunna go with that.

Finally moved from 50lbs to 55lbs for four clean…errr grinder on the last one…reps. Weeeooo. Yeah, doesn’t seem like that much, but I’ll take it.

Stubborn shoulders.

5. Random girl chats.

You know, I really loved being at home for Christmas and being with my famjam but I have to say that I really love my girls here. Last night Emily parked her lil tushie on the stairs and we talked and laughed about old medical traumas that we had as kids. Not funny then, but now? Lolz. I love our random chats.

So happy to be stickin by them in our new apartment next year. ❤ 🙂

6. Looking forwards to a week packed full of friends.

I have a dinner date with Lexi from my high school at the Red Papaya tomorrow after my last class. Then on Friday, I’m meeting up with a friend (fellow bodybuilder, but she’s competed a few times) from back at my home gym, Sue, for coffee and catch up. She is the nicest person you could meet. So sweet and encouraging! Lastly, the boys are back. Emily’s boyfriend, Chad and his friend Cameron are trekking it from Montreal to spend the weekend with us ladies so that should be all kinds of funtimes.

Well that’s all my Marvelousness for the night.

I’m going to go and have my Marvelous smore’s questie and protein pudding with some Top Chef Canada before heading to bed for my Marvelous 5:30am wakeup call tomorrow morning. Gotta love hittin the gym before earlier classes.

Peace Peeps

-Chelsea

 

Surviving My First Week Is Marvelous…MIMM

Hey Friends,

This first week has been a lil bit crazy which is why you haven’t heard from me lately. Trying to adjust back into school life after taking the year off is a lil different but I’m slowly getting into the groove of things. Please give me a lil time to get back to your wonderful responses on my last post!! I will get my act together soon. I decided to jump into Katie’s Marvelous In My Monday linkup to give you all a quick lil update on this lil bloggers life because, well, I think surviving the first full week (let alone the move to Guelph!) is quite Marvelous!

 

So many changes all at once was a lil overwhelming for me as I’m not a fan of change at all (type A, OCD personality type looses her sh**, jokes…kinda)

So what changes do I speak of…? Well I will tell you but in light of MIMM and trying to keep a positive outlook, we shall make the best of these changes. kapeesh?

Anyone else in the same boat? Any change-avoiders?

Change is moving to a whole new city alone…

Zee Griffin welcomes you all to Guelph University

 

Moving to a new city is scary but it can be Marvelous because…

• It’s a new adventure
• Meet new people
• See new places
• Eat at new restaurants

It’s also great for personal growth. It forces you to get out of the routine your used to and break out of what you’re comfortable with. Being uncomfortable is needed for you to gain more confidence in yourself and your abilities plus it teaches you new skills.

Why do I have a picture of a toilet all up in yo face?

Because I had to unclog my first toilet this morning. FYI I didn’t clog it (thought I should make that known) BUT I did fix it.

See, personal growth. 😀

Change is…Leaving my friends

But meeting new friends is Marvelous.

It’s sad that I don’t have a picture of my housemates and I yet but they are amazing peeps! I really lucked out with my girls and I’m enjoying spending lots of time with them while we are all still kinda chilled out.

Ainjel: The youngest of all of us, she just turned 19 before school started and is in 2nd year as an English major. Although she is the youngest, I appreciate the fact that her maturity is not that of a freshie because that would start to drive me crazy after a while. She’s super sweet and has been our lil tour guide as we are all new at Guelph except for her.

Rita: Coming all the way from China, Rita astonishes me at how strong of a person she is at only 20 years old. I mean, she is truly independent. She has no family here in Canada and still struggles with English, but she manages just fine on her own and is the nicest person and and it’s really cool to see all of her Chinese traditions, especially in the kitchen. 😀 Oh and she’s an Environmental Architecture major who is actually taking french as an elective.

Emily: Also 20, Emily is an Environmental Governance major and is pretty much what you would picture a daisy to be in human form. Does that sound weird? She is actually cute as a button and the sweetest girl you would ever meet. I’m currently teaching her how to cook and O’m loving the enthusiasm she has for it. She made her first piece of fish ever the other day and the way her face lit up just made me smile. #ProudTeacher.

This was from our first housie date at Lemongrass Thai. The food was really good but the place was really small. A lot more sketch than what I thought when I searched for the nearest “Thai Restaurant” on Google Maps.

Change is….Leaving my gym

This is a wound that I’m still trying to heal. I miss my gym family a lot. I miss the Pulse but sometimes something Marvelous can come from changing my second home…

My gym fam…some of’em. Chelsea’s spot crew wassup!

The Athletic Club is a great gym with new equipment to explore and some great classes that are free because they are part of my membership. Hello free hot yoga! Oh and more recently, aerial yoga. Holler. I have no excuses not to stretch now.

I have also been on the radar of some of the trainers already which is alll part of zee plan (mwah ha ha ha) on building up my rep and hopefully snagging a PT position at that gym. Wish me luck!

I’m really not that cynical and have some weird master plan, but I did really hope to gain some attention early so that it might help my chances of getting in.

To start, I marched myself into the personal trainer office this morning after my workout and shook the hand of the director and introduced myself. Something a younger version (two years younger even!) of myself would have never done. D’aww I’m growing up.

Like I said, I still do miss my Marvelous spotters. My friends. My supporters. Thank you for always encouraging me to push harder in the gym and being proud of my accomplishments both in an outside the gym. So much love for your guys!

I did get the pleasure of celebrating one of my spotters’s, Vince, birthdays before I left. I made him a cute (healthy!) protein cake which he then cut just like a birthday cake and shared with everyone at the desk.

“Vince smile I want a pic of you with your cake”…

Would you believe that this oozing double-decker cake is healthy? Cake batter protein cake with a peanutty, greek yogurt ‘icing’

Yeah I’m short.

Change is…I’m a student again.

But Marvelous is the fact that I’m now studying to be what I’m pretty sure I was born to be. A Registered Dietician. Someone to help others struggling with food. To teach about the importance of a healthy diet and to hopefully, combine food and fitness later on down the road as my main career.

Life of a student bodybuilder. Forever eating in class..

Time to put my study cap back on and get on that studious grind once again. Here goes nothing…But first…

Some cool things I have seen, done and bought in the first week. Photo reel time!

Of course a trip to the Farmer’s Market had to happen ASAP and Emily came with me to enjoy it! Let me tell you, this market was probably the best market I have ever been to. Almost all of the vendors were organic and local…

All of the meats were grassfed…

Yeah the weird “I’m not taking a picture of your sign” camera angle…

Their fish was from Nova Scotia and looked amazing! I snagged a beautiful piece of wild caught swordfish to enjoy. Plus, if you like to eat, well they have you covered. Aside from some different cultural dishes and samples, they had tons of organic baked goods, a smoothie bar, gluten free and vegan options and this lil numba…

The doughnut roller coaster. Hot and steamy cinnamon sugar doughnuts. These things were flying off the counter.

The space was cramped despite being surprisingly large and the atmosphere was that hippy-like vibe that I love seeing at the market. People just looking to boost their health and looking for the best of the best in quality food.

Only a fellow Tea Addict will understand why having this place 5 minutes from my house is bound to be a problem..

Trip one cost me a infuser mug along with two delicious sample bags of their new fall line teas, Snickerdoodle and Forever Nuts (smells like pie!). The Forever Nuts would probably be my favourite of the two.

To cut this post off before it gets beyond monstrous, I will leave you with one of the posters I bought at the poster sale that I have hung on the outside of my bedroom door for all to see.

I love motivational quotations. They make me smile. 🙂

I wish all the best to everyone starting off school life again and I hope everyone is transitioning well. I have had a few questions about balance and how to transition into school while maintaining a healthy lifestyle and I hope to get to that post (or video) soon!

Enjoy your nite and a big thanks to Katie for hosting.

Put a positive spin on a big change you had face lately. Post them up in the comments section.

-Chelsea

The Walrus Is Back..Marvelous In My Monday (MIMM)

Hey Friends!

Four whole posts in one weekend…

Who am I?

Kidding, I would love to be able to keep up with this pace but this is a busy up and coming week for me, work wise, starting this afternoon. Sigh. Life never stops. But hey, that keeps it interesting right?

Before I leave you guys for a few days I really wanted to share some of the Marvelous things that have happened over the past week so I’m linking up with Katie over at Healthy Diva Eats for this blogger party.

Check out Katie’s and the other bloggers marvelousities (HA a Chelsea-ism at it’s finest) over at her blog. 🙂

I have a lot to share but gotta keep it short and sweet as I have to run off to work soon so …

Challenge “keep short” accepted. GO!

Marvelous is…

Getting some amazing and sweet feedback from my new client at the gym…

Things like that make me just so happy!

Marvelous is…

Getting to wear my new vibrams! Weeeoo purple feetsies. 😀

Please excuse my gross pale lookin legs. Not my fault, even us slightly darker skinned peoples got hit hard this winter…

So now, I have this pair for everyday wear and my old pair for the gym. I no longer have to feel gross about wearing my gym shoes when I want to be active outside or just comfy.

Marvelous is…

Randomly running into a nice lil festival downtown Dundas when I was just running a quick errand.

The quick errand turned into a longer 1.5 hour errand as I…

Watched an Ex Cirque Du Soleil performer do his thang on the streets sans safety gear.

Parooozed the many booths including this interesting stand…

Yes, that would be potato chips on a stick…

Apparently any food can be kebab-ed these days.

Marveled at the metallic lady cowgirl…

…and wondered how annoying it must be to get all of that paint off herself after her day is done. Howdy!

Marvelous is…

Meeting up with my parents to have a nice and light dinner at…

WHOLE FOODS. Best place ever? Yes.

Also marvelous is the fact that the Oakville WF’s hot food bar is now getting more and more fish options which is a nice treat for me! Now, dinner was light for a reason….

Marvelous is…

Indulging in and fully enjoying gelato after a year of not having it.

Drrrooollll…

My love. Pistachio. Only the best!

Despite me craving this thing of beauty for months now I told myself that I couldn’t have it, for both mental and physical reasons, so this was a hurdle that was hopped this weekend for me.

Pistachio (obviously) and wildberry sorbet…Oh and can I have more pistachio than sorbet please..? 😉

Because I was testing the dairy waters (I took two lactaids with this, but still had to be careful with deeee tummy), I had to resist the chocolate peanut butter gelato along with my pistachio. I did totally sample that though! 😉 When I’m feeling brave I will have both. So to have one dairy free option, I went with this beautifully pink and really yummy wildberry sorbet.

The gelato walrus is baaaackkk…

Hopefully. It didn’t kill me this time. Let’s pray that lasts. 🙂

Marvelous is…

Getting to watch Maggie go nuttzo along the Burlington Lakeshore Boardwalk following said gelato while listening to the Sound of Music Festival that was going on in the background.

Marvelous is…

Reaching 1000 followers on Instagram!

You may think this is a small victory BUT it’s so nice to see so many supporters of my craft..aka my food mostly HA!

So, I didn’t do too bad eh?

..only 600 words 😛

Quite Marvelous I say!

What was Marvelous during your weekend?

-Chelsea

A Childhood Memory…MIMM

Hey Friends!

What are some of those activities that you used to love as a child that never do anymore?

Last weekend I got the opportunity to go apple picking and do some much needed pie baking like I did when I was younger. It was truly Marvelous as it was something I ALWAYS looked forward to. The time spent with family, the smells of the fresh goodies baking and the laughter are all things that remain near and dear to my heart.

Although not as eventful as the yearly apple pickin, pumpkin carving was another family affair that always used to be done before Halloween. The actual carving part began to fade when I was in high school. Freshly carved pumpkins were replaced with uncut, faceless lil pumpkins. Despite that tradition not holding it’s own for as long as some others, I always loved going to the patch to pick out my own pumpkin. There is just something about searching for that perfect one that every lil kid finds appealing. Apparently though, that appeal holds true even today as my excitement to pick up my pumpkin with Andre yesterday made me smile like a lil kid.

It was a great day, one could even say it was Marvelous….

Sunday was truly Marvelous because of a number of things….

1. I got to nap. Like hardcore nap. Like 4 hours worth of nap! I had been getting like 5 hours of sleep every day that week and was literally CRAVING sleep. Is that possible? Anyways, I had the whole day off (no work and no gym) so I got up, ate breaky, went back to bed and slept till 11! I can’t remember when I had slept that long but I suppose I needed it.

2. Andre and I making up for not having Thanksgiving together by having our own lil private dinner that I made with a nice, large, on sale roasting chicken. Dinner was delish! I roasted up said chicken…

Seasoned with fresh rosemary leaves, garlic, onion, chili flakes and italian seasoning. Baked in no salt chicken broth.

…along with some sprouts (my fav!), kabocha (my fav!), broccoli, onion, asparagus and red peppers. All with rosemary, garlic and onion for the seasoning.

Good noms. Good noms!

3. After our dinna, we got all set up for our lil pumpkin carvin partay! We had picked up our pumpkins earlier in the day and I picked up this lil beauty..

A PINK pumpkin! Sorry I’m not sorry, I had to. They had all kinds of cool types, fantasy, white and pink…and normal of course, but who wants the typical pumpkin when you can get this one?!?! Not me! 😉

The carving was a lot of fun….

Pumpkin guts and seeds for daaaayyyz. Those seeds got roasted up later for the boys to shnack on.

Slightly messy…

Matt Squared

Slightly technical…

My babe diggin deep…get your minds out of the gutter!

…but we had some good chatters goin on while we stabbed away at our lil gems. Okay that sounds violent, but technically that’s how carving is done when all you have are steak knives..

And I would say that our pumpkins were quite the success

Those luscious lashes were quite the challenge to carve let me tell you!

Ma girl always flirtin.

The crew all lit up. Oh and if you’re wondering what that inappropriate looking monster is beside my lil ‘kin, it’s my boyfriends ‘dickolanturn‘. Yes, ladies and gentleman, I’m dating a 5 year old.

As if our Sunday Funday was not enough Marvelous-ness to cap off my weekend, I also received a lovely message from my client that made me smile

Have a wonderful rest of your Monday and don’t forget to stop over and say hi to the truly Marvelous Healthy Diva herself, Mrs. Katie, here

-Chelsea