Cheap and Easy Edition #11 Ingredients

Logo Credit Nate Williams 

This is an EXCITING week! To those people who have been after me for a great Crock pot recipe, this is by FAR one of my Favorites! What's more is I have co-workers who can vouch. BOTH our engineer and our producer. I'd made this after a long week (less for me, a long week for them) this recipe makes A LOT and I thought, hey, maybe I can brighten their day and brought some in for them...it did brighten their day. I think our engineer was shocked I could cook. Our Engineer has been here working away ALL week, and that made me think of this recipe. BONUS a bunch of the ingredients are on sale too! SO here are your Ingredients with where to get the most bang for your buck. Going to try something new too. I'm going to list a couple options with the prices. I figure people east may not want to go west for the best buy or the other way around either. SO I'm giving a couple options in hopes it may be easier on you!

5 fully cooked sausages- 2.99/lb no Frills, Johnsonville 3.99 at Superstore for a pack 4.49 Schniders @ sobeys
2 Cups Chicken Broth
1/2 cup white wine (optional, I usually get a cheaper dry white wine I keep in the house, but I don't have any now so I'll be omitting it)
1 cup brown rice- Min rice 2.97 @ No Frills
1 can stewed tomatoes -Aylmer 1 @ Superstore, Hunts 2/1 @ Sobeys
1 can black beans or kidney beans drained and rinsed  (I wasn't a fan of the black they were a little overwhelming so I'm going Kidney next time. IF you hate beans these are also optional) .77 @ No Frills 1 @ Superstore
1/2 an onion chopped 3lb onion 1.50@ No Frills  2lb .99 @ Chocran's
1/2 head garlic chopped (or pressed)
3 Celery ribs chopped .99 @ Chocran's
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 Can corn .67 No Frills
2 cups peeled shrimp-3.99 @ No Frills (only need 1 pk)

The 7 Grocery Shopping Mistakes!

So I came across this article talking about the biggest mistakes we make when grocery shopping...yes there IS a right way and a wrong way to do it. I saw this and couldn't resist, I HAD to do something with the list so here goes.

1. Buying Fresh over Frozen. While there are SOME on this list that I'm guilt of, this is not one of them. a Perk to buying frozen over fresh, is less food waste. I've done a lot of research on this stuff and when you buy frozen you're NOT sacraficing nutrients. I used to think this too. PERFECT example, when I was 18 and first started living on my own, I bough canned spinach. CANNED doesn't have the same nutrients (but it is awesome), but by the time I was 20, I was thinking of nutrition (I was out of college by then). So I started buying fresh. NOW I'm not saying I never buy fresh anymore, because I do. I just need to know what I'm buying it FOR. If I'm giong to boil it or cook it in something, I SURE DO go frozen. If I need it for salad or a toping on a sandwich or something, hello fresh. I supposed this is the LONG way of saying, don't be a slave to fresh...

2. Shopping on an empty stomach. Uh, I think I've known this one for YEARS. If you're not aware of it, come into the light. If you've ever done research on how to PROPERLY diet, you're aware, you're not supposed to starve yourself. This is when you'll binge. WELL it's a similar idea. when you go to the grocery store and you're hungry, everything looks AWESOME! What's more it makes it's way to your cart

3.Hitting the produce sectrion first. I was not aware of this one. Apparently when we go to those sections we're bombarded with "sales" there and in the bakery section. So they say to start in the isles of the store and THEN the perimiter. This will keep you away from the buys that are too good to pass up. I don't know about you but for me personally, that's ALWAYS the section I forget stuff in too, so it's a tip I think I may have to try out

4.Anything at the checkout. I think most of us are aware these are the impluse items. This is the want stuff, not the need. I can't tell you how many times I've walked out with the new cosmo, ore Every day with Racheal Ray..they weren't on my list

5. Over buying Sale items. These are the "too good to pass up" Items. The ones we have a ton of but don't nessecarily use. I've fallen vicitim, I have a bunch of KD at home...and I RARELY eat KD.

6. Shopping without a list. I've done it with, I've done it without...and I DEFINATELY prefer with. When you go without, that bill can add up QUICK. If you have your list, and STICK to it, you're less likely to add "other" stuff. NOT to mention for me anyway I usually have a rough idea WHAT I'm going to end up paying

7. Being obsessed with coupons. Ok, guilty. This is actually how the KD thing happened. I think I have found a healthy level though. I'm a flyer reader, and I often go through my shoebox of coupons to see what matches up. I can't say I ever pay full price for coffee, or laundry detergent. But keeping in mind what I need VS what I need to get ot use a coupon, and knowing the difference? That's what's important. I DO usually use a couple each week, but I'm not extreme couponer.

Anti Bully Blog Series Edition # 30

 Logo Credit Nate Williams

SO can I just say in last week's post, I screwed myself. I said I can usually sit down and fine SOMETHING to post about pertaining to the Anti-Bully Blog. I sat here for a good 10 min staring at a blank screen...I suppose I should have knocked on wood. I really don't have one large topic to talk about this week. It would seem what I DO have are little snipits, more of a news letter thing. SO bear with me and my random all over the placeness.

Somthing I've talked about in past posts, is the movie Bully. How I feel not only should kids be seeing this, it should be shown in schools. If you're actually reading this, odds are you probably agree. I know there would be people out there who would fight it being shown in an assembly or a classroom, but these are the people who think their child can do no wrong. Sorry folks, I'm calling you out. Unless things have changed DRAMATICALLY since I was a kid, the "can do no wrong" Kid, is USUALLY one of the worst offenders. Well now that I've reiterated what I've said in the past (hooray for repatition) the latest on what I've seen. For starters, I've been watching Empire theaters website CLOSELY on this one. I typically have a weekly feature in my show where I announce the new additions to the box office. Well lets start here, unless I'm mistaken, Bully was SUPPOSED to be released the same weekend as American Reunion...and wasn't. IF you go to their website it's still under the coming soon listing. BUT if you click on it looking for show times, there are none. NOW if you read through the reasons WHY they may not be there, the top 2 are, the movie may not be playing there, and the other that the times are not listed. SINCERELY hoping for the later, but there's one little problem. They say typically speaking they update thsi stuff on Tuesday night...it's Wednesday. I'm not jumping the gun. I'm waiting for now...but I'm not sure how ANY theater in NB can justify NOT playing it. We've had so much making headlines in the more recent months, how we could ignore this tool we're being given is something I can't wrap my head around. LIKE I SAID I'm not jumping the gun, but this isn't looking good. ALSO sometimes limited release, comes out a little down the road too, so that's a possibility. So that's that.

Quick reminder of the Walk for kids help phone. I sure did talk about this last week. Kids help phone is a fantastic tool out there for kids and it's been around for years. I support it 100% to the extent I'm hosting it this year. So pleas go to walksokidscantalk, get your details and please join us at rockwood park on May 6th at noon.

I did want to mention something too, more recently I've been getting a LOT of messages from Kids, apparently aware of the blog, and asking me what to do in the case of bullying and telling me about their stories where they were bullied. I do this blog so I am aware that I can be a resource for some. The PROBLEM is when people come to me and want the advice, and I give them a qualified source that ISN'T me. While when I was 13, I was a "Peer Helper" and was trained to listen to people and try and help them resolve things, I'm NOT qualified to flat out tell you what to do. I never have been. I can come up with ideas and options, but in the end the decision is ALWAYS yours. So if you ever message me, please don't be offended when I send you to Bullying Canada. THEY know what they're doing, I wouldn't send you there to brush you off, I send you there because they could help you better than I could.

So that post became FAR longer than I expected. I'm not sure how many people remeber the days where I used to feature people's stories here, and I could keep them anonymous, or shre the name if given permission. That didn't go away because I didn't want them anymore, they went away because people stopped sending them to me. I SO hope it's jsut people being shy and not that this blog is becoming stale. BUT on that note rememebr anything you feel you can contribute to the anti-bully blog, or any questions you may have, you can FB me or e-mail me nancy.wood@mbsradio.com

Movie Review: The Lucky One

SO over the weekend I went to the movie theater....which is unheard of for me. I'm typically a "Wait until it's on DVD" Person...ACTUALLY there are a couple movies playing RIGHT NOW that I would gladly go see...well...this one wasn't on my list. This past weekend though, my girl friends and I had a night without the guys...and this is a REALLY rare occurrence. I was basically outnumbered and a good sport, so we went to see "The Lucky one". Not going to lie, I went for the hot Zac Efferon scenes. Before I start into this, I'm going to confess, not into chick flicks. My Genre's of choice? Comedy, Action and Thriller. IF this is your Genre, you may love this, my friends were telling me how great they thought it was. It WASN'T awful, but it seemed to stick to the formula. My friend Amanda sat by me, and I could have TOTALLY pissed her off there, because I knew what was going to happen 5 min before it did. Where do I begin?  Zac Efferon, he was the nice guy who had his guard up...personally I think he played that up too much, and came off as too serious and cold. I think he could have softened a LITTLE. The character WAS a nice guy, like an above and beyond nice guy, the BEST scenes for this character was interacting with the son in the movie. Taylor Shilling, played a fantastic mom, like amazing mom! SLIGHT SPOILER! She was a strong woman, but she feared her ex and his powerful family. She was one, who you could predict what was coming, when she was going to find her strength, when she was going to be scared, when she was going to cry, and the list continues. Honestly while I liked the character, I think I found myself paying attention to her outfit more, because I already knew what was coming. The bad guy? Her Ex! Played by Jar R. Ferguson. He did a GOOD job of making you hate him, but HE was the MOST predictable character in the WHOLE movie. POSSIBLE SPOILER! You knew when he had a Beer in his hand, things were going to get bad. When his ex tried to talk to him he was going to be a prick. When Zac Effron's Character was there he was going to be a REAL prick. You see EARLY on in the movie why he's the way he is (his father). AND when he has his major freak out considering he's a cop, it's what you would expect. My Two FAVORITE Characters were the Grandmother, and the kid. The kid, Ben,  was multi talented, and he was SHARP. He had some of the funniest lines in the movie. Ben was athletic, artistic, and a smart kid. What's more he is what always softened up the hardcore soldier. The Grandmother, was the wise one with the life experience. She was played by Blyth Danner, and could say A LOT without saying anything. She was what she needed to be in everyone's life. This movie was your stereotypical Chick Flick, if that's your thing, you may love this. I'm not saying it was horrible, I'm saying it wasn't for me. I'd give it a 6.5, which is .9 more than what IMDB gave it.  Like I said though, not my Genre, if it's yours, might be a good fit :)

Where'd the summer goals go!?

So, you might (or might not) be wondering where my "summer prep" posts have gone. Well much like any time some one decides to restrict themselves TOO much...it's disappeared. A couple years back, I dropped a bunch of weight. FANTASTIC! I had myself on a strict diet, one that probably wasn't overly healthy. And I exercised, like CRAZY! It was a pretty intense few months. The problem was, after I did it, I discovered something...I deprived myself of some stuff I like, and I found myself looking to make up for lost time. Welcome back MOST of the weight! In my head I've thought, hey if I want to do it again I can...problem is, I don't want to! Yo-yo dieting isn't a good thing, neither is self loathing. So have I thrown away my "summer prep" goals? Not entirely. I don't know how I did it, but back when I was in college, I had a period of time where I had the state of mind, that I liked how I looked, and if some one else didn't...that was THEIR problem not mine. My goals AREN'T gone, they've just changed. They're healthier, for me physically, AND mentally. I'm NOT in a healthy weight range right now, I'm not far from it, but I'm not THERE. My goals are NOW to get in my healthy range, and stay there. I'm not doing a food journal...I have seen that suggested online SO many times it's not even funny. NOT trashing them, they're a fantastic starting point, and if you're looking to drop more than like 10lbs, they're a good idea. Instead, I'll be making more healthy choices, and I'll indulge in moderation....but I WILL indulge, and enjoy. I'm not perfect, and I think the important thing is accepting that, instead of striving to be that way. WHO I am is far more important than the size of my jeans. I'll NEVER be a size 0, baby got back! I'm good with being a happy size 7, who can have that bag of Loads of Dill pickle chips!   I'll choose healthy foods (most of the time) and move, be it walking, running, yoga, or some wii boxing. I think I'll go nuts if I try and do more than that. Lately too, with one of my dearest friends having a kid, and I've had mommy posts on FB more often, I've thought to the future too. One day, I COULD have a daughter...I don't want her to think that her clothing size some how determines her self worth. I want her to be healthy and happy.  I plan to teach her what I've posted above, to make healthy choices, and move...mush like my father wouldn't allow me to sit on the couch like a lump, I wouldn't allow my kids to either..but how could I teach these things, if I'm not living them myself...kind of makes me a hypocrite doesn't it? So summer goal? Be Healthy, and happy! That's a good one I think...

Cheap and Easy Edition #10

Logo Credit Nate Williams

So what's GREAT about this post is that I didn't HAVE to test it out this past weekend...because I've made it before! It's also pretty kid friendly. I know when I was a kid I LOVE Ramen noodles...Actually in my friest year of college, I legit tried to live off them alone (for the record...not a good idea). So they get their noodles, but this is a new way to do them! So Friday I gave your your grocery list, here is your ingredient list::

12 cups of water
3 Green onions chopped (I cheat and use scissors )
2 Carrots thinly sliced
2 tblsp Fish or Soy Sauce
1 Tblsp Hot sauce
2 cloves garlic minced ( I cheat and use my press)
2 tblsp Ginger thinly sliced (I put optional, since I don't like ginger I don't use it)
1 tps Basil
4 packs Ramen noodles
1 package of Shrimp (tails removed)
1 Package spinach thawed and drained (or 2 cups fresh)
1 cup sliced mushrooms


Bring water to a boil, add the next 7 ingredients and the ramen noodle packets. Boil for 5 min

Add the remaining ingredients cook 5 more min

Serve...yeah that's ALL there is! This makes A LOT too might I add! Enjoy!

Cheap and Easy Edition #10 Ingredients

Logo credit to Nate Williams

I was going to share a DIFFERENT noodle recipe, but there are a few key Ingredients in THIS one that are on sale and one is TYPICALLY on the pricey side. However THIS week, it's SO not. This recipe takes us back to a Childhood favorite and it ROCKS! I've made this a FEW times over and I'm not tired of it. Here are the ingredients you'll need to pick up

Green Onion

Carrots

Fish or Soy Sauce (I use Soy because I had it on hand) Soy 2.19 @ Sobeys

Thai Hot Chill Sauce (I subbed in Franks red hot...because I love it)

Garlic

Spinach- Frozen 1.25 @ Superstore

Ginger (optional, I don't like Ginger so I don't use it)

Basil- BOGO Freeze Dried Herbs @ Sobeys 3.99

Chicken or Oriental Ramen Noodles (I prefer Oriental) Mr. Noodles 3/.99 @ Sobeys

Shrimp-Shirmp Ring 2.79 @ Superstore

Mushrooms- BOGO @ Sobeys 2.99

Recipe on Tuesday! If you want to make it ON Tuesday have that frozen spinach thawed :)

Anti-Bully Blog Series Edition #29

Logo Credit Nate Williams

So quite often with the Anti-Bully Blog, I find I have VERY little material, but always have ONE thing I can write about. So I take that topic and then I hope that there will be something the next week. For the most part there always is. If there weren't material then the problem would be gone...and I don't see that happening ANY time soon (unfortunately). So this week once again, I have just ONE thing to talk about, but it's rather important.

So last year I interviewed a lady from Kids Help Phone about their annual walk. Last year it was a last min thing and there wasn't heavy involvement. This year? WHOLE new ball game.

I've been asked to HOST the Walk for Kids Help Phone, at Rockwood Park on May the 6th. It's SWIFTLY approaching and I'm pretty proud they've requested me to host it.

Kids Help Phone is a pretty well known service. I remember when I was in school we'd get agendas and Kids Help Phone would ALWAYS have a page! And the numbers are PRETTY high for kids who ACTUALLY use it. In a time where we hear of kids killing themselves on a regular basis, because death seems better than dealing with their lives, do we need the service? UH MORE THAN EVER! Speaking from my OWN experience, I used Kids Help phone in Middle School. One time the issues weren't mine, it was some one I was friends with, but I didn't know how to handle their situation. Kids Help Phone told me what I could do to help my friend. I remember another day I don't know if I was picked on that day or over whelmed by school or what it was, but I just needed some one to talk to that would just listen without judging me. And that was provided to me from Kids Help Phone. Because the service is anonymous people probably don't realize how much it's utilized, OR all the services it has to offer. Kids Help Phone has been around a LONG time, and there's a reason, it's a needed service.

If you can get involved in the walk, that would be AMAZING! I'd love to see you out there on the 6th. More details are available at walksokidscantalk.ca.

Remember anything you think would make a good contribution to the Anti- Bully Blog series, is appreciated! You can FB me, or e-mail me nancy.wood@mbsradio.com with questions and material ANY time. Also now with the way that FB has timelined...there IS an up side! you can also message the K100 FB page as well, and I can get back to you! just make sure you make it clear the message is for Nancy.

Cheap and Easy Edition #9

Logo Credit Nate Williams

Chicken Penne with Brocolini

Ok so tried THIS recipe for the first time Sunday. I couldn't get over how fast and easy it actually was to throw together. I mentioned that if you couldn't get Brocolini then Broccoli COULD be subbed in. BUT the other option( I didn't put this in the post, it was actually in a comment on my page) you could use greens too, and I used Kale.

Here are the ingredients again:

1 lb Ground Chicken

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive oil, divided *

1 bunch Brocolini @

1 Onion chopped

4 cloves Garlic thinly sliced

Parmesan cheese to taste #

1/2tsp Crushed red pepper$

* I mentioned not to spend more than $10 on this in my last post. I was actually in Superstore, and I've been running low, it was less than $6, great time to grab some (should be effective until Thursday at close)

@ This is not easy to find, I've literally NEVER seen it when I needed it. So you can sub in Broccoli (the sale @ OTV is over though) OR some leafy greens. I chose Kale. IF you go this way, omit the stems, they have a bitter taste you'd like to avoid.

# This is optional, and while I'm not a HUGE cheese fan, it kind of put that perfect final touch on

$ So I discovered I was out of this when I made the recipe, so what I ended up using was my club house seasonings, Red peppers and garlic, it worked.

So first you need to get that Penne on. Cook according to the directions on the package. Make sure you salt the water for more flavor. Reserve 1 cup Starchy water when you go to drain.

Meanwhile get half of that oil into a skillet over med-high. Cook the brocolinin (or sub) until softened about 6 min, and transfer to a bowl

Add the rest of the oil to the pan, cook onion for 6-8 min, add garlic and peppers and cook for 2 min.

push to the side of the pan and cook crumbled chicken until it's no longer pink. Season with Salt and Pepper

Add Brocolini back with pasta and 3/4 water and toss. If needed add the rest of the water for sauce.

Top with parm and serve :)

Cheap and Easy Edition #9 Ingredients

Logo Credit Nate Williams

This week's recipe is Chicken Penne with Broccolini! Never made it before, but I found it on Pinterest, and this is a FANTASTIC week to try it out because of the specials!

Ground Chicken-4 @ Sobeys (I picked it up today and ALMOST missed it, it's in a chest at one of the ends)

Extra Virgin Olive oil- So this is a splurge item, but SERIOUSLY can be used for SO many things, so in my head it justifies it. Don't spend more than $10 on it though, because it's marked down ALL the time. Most I've EVER spent is $7. When I say you can use it for A LOT, I use it in my face scrub, I use it to moisturize my dry/sensitive skin (doesn't clog pores) It's an AWESOME shaving cream...YUP, AND it's a GREAT eye makeup remover...I use it for ALL of these things!

Brocolini- HUH? Yeah I thought the same thing, I've only ever seen it at Superstore and it's about $3 a bunch. Otherwise YES you can use broccoli and it's on sale @ On the vine 1.29

Onion- Bags aren't expensive but if you just want the one shouldn't be more than a buck

Garlic- no more than buck

Ground Chicken- 4 @ Sobeys

Parm cheese

Crushed Red Pepper

Tis all!

Anti-Bully Blog Series Edition #28

Logo Credit Nate Williams

So hoping I'm not screwing myself today with the Anti-bully Blog because I actually have 2 things to talk about. I didn't choose JUST one because I didn't want to choose. So hopefully I still have material for next week.

Last week there wasn't a post because well, I was home,sick, and doing EVERYTHING the Dr. Told me to do (and there was a LOT). If you've EVER watched Daytime TV, you kind of know...it sucks. BUT then there are times where something obscure comes on, that can be interesting. A while back I was watching Slice and caught a movie called Girl fight, based off a true story starring Twilight actress, Jodelle Ferland. Well Slice came through again! I caught another movie I recommend calles Cyber Bully, starring Hannah Montana Actress, Emily Osment. The movie covers the struggle that a young girl goes through when cyber bullied by basically her entire school on a FB type site. AND what's more is it shows her mother's struggle to seek justice for her daughter. Yes, it's another one I recommend. Kudos as well to young actresses who are portraying these roles. They're not well known titles so I can't IMAGINE it's a MAJOR asset to their careers professionally. While I REALLY think that this is one that KIDS should see, I think it's a good one for parents too.

So that's one thing I wanted to cover. Here is the other. I'm a TOTAL backer of Bullying Canada! I get their news letters all the time and I think in the past I've even used some of their material to do anti-bully posts. Well that's basically what I'm doing today. Typically speaking when I cover bullying, I talk about the kids. The Kids seem to be the most common victims...or are they? I think we may HEAR about them the most, because adults have a tougher skin or something. When I FIRST took on this project, I was focusing on the kids. Along the way I discovered, the adults are victims too. The LATEST newsletter I got, was talking about bullying issues at NB power...People have reported this to Bullying Canada. There have been meetings with Bullying Canada and MANY calls. Bullying Canada sent out numbers for specific dates and areas (no names for the sake of confidentiality). One day I just looked at...23 calls...and they mentioned not ALL areas are covered. Actually I don't see SJ on there once. I'm not sure if this means they don't have their numbers to report or if it's one of the better areas. SO Adults, I apologize, for over a year I've neglected you and you've been victimized just as much.

Ok so I'm getting a little personal here today. I REALLY didn't want to do the blog at all today...I'm having a rough one, it's my dad's birthday. I feel REALLY weird not having sent him a card or called him or anything like that...it's a bit of a struggle today. I think because it's HIS though, I kind of had to do this post. My dad was my hero, so you've probably seen me gush about him on here. Dad was also a MAD supporter of the Anti-bully blog, so I think it's kind of weird that his year his Birthday popped up on the same day as the blog. So like I said, I didn't want to do it today, but dad was the driving force...I bet he's thinking "oh sure but when I told you to do your homework as a kid you never listened to me"!

I'm not a Feminist, I'm and Equalist!

So you may or may not have seen my post last week about a healthy relationship. Lets go back a couple decades where the man ruled the roost ok? Remember how women fought for equal rights? I'm TOTALLY for equal rights, I've been called a feminist before. Let me stop you RIGHT there! It would seem these days the stereotypical "feminist" has lost the old vision. Nope it would seem the pendulum has swung the other way. These days WOMEN seem to rule the roost. NO, I'm not a Feminist, I'm and equalist. I would LOVE to tell you that I've always been this way...I haven't. I had one bf, that it was my way or the highway. It was Highway for the record. I was 16 granted, and it would seem that's when this mentality is seen most. Girls think the boys have to do EVERYTHING the girl says. I DID learn from that situation. When I was 17 there was a girl who patted my guy friend on the head and told us all she had him well trained as she leaned back on two legs of her chair....I kicked the chair out from underneath her. He's not a dog. If that was a man doing that to a woman? You think that the girls at that table wouldn't have FLIPPED?! It's cool to be a strong woman, but that's not a strong woman. As a matter of fact that is an insecure woman.

I'm not saying that a woman should do what her man says, and I think I've made it clear I don't think a man should do what his woman says. There should be equal, and do things based on mutual respect. Who wants to be with some one who degrades them like that?

Another thing? EVERY relationship has a more dominating personality. I'll point out in admiration a couple who are DEAR friends of mine. HE is the dominating personality...he's pretty in your face...even more than me. She is more quiet and laid back, but by no means a doormat. They're equals, and treat each other as such. GENERALLY she and I ARE the plan makers, but she says I'll ask him, and if it's the rare occasion I'm planning with him, he does the same. He looks to be the more dominant personality, but there's equality. AND when she does speak up he listens.

Much like my relationship. I'm the more dominant personality (I know it's shocking). Hubs is pretty laid back, and is usually up for anything, but when I make plans with THAT couple, I too say, I'll ask him. I don't think hubs makes plans...it's usually I said for them to talk to you. But we both try and be fair.

There is always a more dominant personality...and there always will be. It's just the respect that is there is what counts.

Like my post last week I'll say, I'm not a trained professional as far as relationships and advice go. This is just MY opinion. Last week it was geared more to what a lady should never settle for, this week, it's more how to be fair in a relationship. Nothing actually brought this on. It really just came to my head and I thought...I'll blog.

Summer Prep Week 3

SO with this blog series...I'm learning a lot. Something I've learned in adulthood, with guidance from my Uncle and my own experience...it's not necessarily a BAD thing to fail. If you fail and learn from your failure you can no longer call it a failure. PREFECT example...ok parents I'm about to either become a good role model for the kids or a REALLY bad one. Looking back at my High school years...I should NOT have graduated when I did. I should have been held back, I wasn't a hard enough worker, I slipped through the cracks. THEN I got to college and applied the SAME mentality...I failed one class...but it was enough to turn my 2 year course into a 3 year course. I'm really actually proud of this story, because let me tell you, my family thought that I had just ruined my life when I did this. I was in school for Radio (granted the class I failed...really had nothing to do with the radio side of broadcasting). They thought that was the end of the road for my post secondary career. THIS was my wake up call! I realized if I wanted my career in radio... I had to work hard. I'm still in a male dominated industry, and I was the ONLY female in my class. Well I went back and like I said THAT was the wake up call for me. I graduated ALMOST with honors (seriously was a fraction of points away) AND I was furious I didn't. BUT I walked out I think I was tied for MOST awards at our ceremony (with one of the TV students, again only female in her class). My dad told me he was SO proud of me. BUT I needed to fail. I needed to fail to REALIZE that I needed to WORK for what I wanted, and some times that included work I didn't want to do.

Well...this is a FAR smaller scale...but it applies with my progress on my weekly goals in my Summer Prep. SO now you're like, Nancy failed at her goals...no, I didn't, I learned my weakest point.

I got one room GLEAMING in my apartment and thanks to my father in-law I ALSO have the shelf I've been meaning to put up since Before Christmas on the wall too. Mission accomplished.

My 8 Glasses...I didn't do a GREAT job of keeping track. I kind of got it without noticing to be honest. It was actually when a co-worker said to me "you're going to the bathroom again? Are you ok?" that's when I realized the increase in the H20 was there. Mission accomplished.

My Weakness? Exercise. THAT is where I dropped the ball... SO this is the goal I need to go back and examine.

Ok so exercise, why do I avoid it?

Because it's easier to sit in my recliner and play with my laptop?

Because I can think of a BUNCH of things I'd RATHER do?

What DO I like about exercise?

There is a sense of accomplishment when I do it

I'd like to see the results of consistent exercise

I tend to be MORE productive over all if I've exercised

Another thing about exercise? I need it to reach my summer goals. I haven't mentioned these before BUT I have 2 goals this summer. One is to Do marathon by the sea in 1 hour this year. That's shaving about 15 min off of my time (and Jay's) last year (that being said Jay could probably have done it last year). My other goal? Complete Treego. Last year, I went and I did two thirds...at the beginning of the second part, I did the tarzan rope, and my arms weren't strong enough to do it THAT way (there was an alternative, I should have taken). Come to fins out, when I climbed down, I'd just completed the HARDEST part of the course. SO exercise, is going to help me achieve these goals...it needs to improve.

SO re-examining the Exercise goal here is THIS weeks!

Exercise a minimum of 30 min per day. Seems smaller than the previous goals, but I apparently need to start from square 1. I'm also going to need some added structure here, so my alarm is NOW set for 6am. Tomorrow morning when it goes off @ 6I'll be getting up. I'll be eating something and FIRST choice of exercise is running. I just WISH I could find my freakin Ipod! So this IS the goal that will be getting the MOST attention this week...because it would seem it needs the most focus. BUT it's not my ONLY goal, I have to look at the other two categories too.

Get another room completely spring cleaned...THIS time, the Kitchen! I know that' s a scary one, but it's the one I have my sights on

And finally...and THIS is a BIG one...cut back on the caffeine...I know we NEVER expected for me to go for this one...BUT there is reasoning behind it...more on that in future goals...and that will be another tough goal! SO we'll see how that goes for THIS week.

So these are the goals...lets see how I do...