Decision Made: Wedding Dress

I have finally decided on what to do with my now almost 2.5 year old wedding dress! 

(Vera Wang White Collection)

I decided I am going to take it to a seamstress to get it made into another more "everyday" kind of dress. I know it's probably a little too fancy to be an everyday dress however, I do want to be able to wear it again to other random dressier events! 

I am a little worried though that I've left the dress too long without being dry-cleaned that it might not be salvageable anymore. I know there is plenty of fabric to use, but when I pulled the dress out of my closet last week, I realized the dress is a lot more filthy than I remembered (keep in mind we did get married outdoors in the pouring rain late November 2013). 

If it turns out there is not enough dress left to be altered into something more wearable, then my back up plan is to trash it (because let's be honest it's already pretty ratty) . So, in that case, I plan on doing some sort of volleyball wedding dress mess! 

I would love to hear some suggestions on the style/shape I should turn the dress into! The dress is currently a strapless organza draped bodice with an A-line tulle skirt. 

I'd love to hear what any of you or your significant others have done with your wedding dress? 
-Linds 

Happy Easter!

Not much more needs to be said other than this: 
The picture below is one of my guilty pleasures, and of course, favorite parts of Easter

(Cadbury MiniEggs)

Never forget that no matter how hatd you work, you always deserve a little treat! Everything in moderation ;) 
Happy Easter everyone!
-Linds

Women's 6s Winter Volleyball League

This past week was the Pool A finals for the Winter Season of my Women's 6s Volleyball League. We took our semi-final round to 3 games and came out with a win and then won our finals match in only 2 sets! 

(From left to right: Me, Lauren, Jackie, Vanessa, Barb, Jill)
(Missing: Tanis - Jackie & Lauren were kind enough to sub again this week) 

Our season had a few hiccoughs along the way (team member quitting early in the season, down to three or four players a couple of the nights, some family emergencies, some sicknesses, etc.), but all in all this has to have been one of the most fun seasons of volleyball I have ever played - some nights there was literally never ending laughter. 

Us ladies really came together as a group this winter and formed a great bond, and we also got the opportunity to welcome some new faces into our community of volleyball people when we needed subs! I am so grateful to have gotten to play competitively, and let's be honest pretty goofily, with these ladies and I can't wait for another season next fall! 
-Linds 

Proper Form is Priority: Downward Facing Dog

Downward facing dog has a very frequent appearance in my Fitness Blender cool down/stretches so I thought I better check in on my form. I have never been much into yoga so my experience with this pose is pretty limited however, the more I do it and try to push my range of motion, the more I enjoy it bit by bit.

(Downward Facing Dog)

Sadly I'm only giving myself a 2.5/5. 

Although I was feeling good doing the move, I see now that I still have a lot of flaws. My hands and feet are too wide apart, my spine is rounded, and instead of pressing down into my shoulders they seem to be a bit scrunched up. I do have to give myself a bit of credit on my flexibility though because I am now able to press my heels all the way into the floor and I do have my fingers spread for better weight distribution! 

How do you feel about the downward dog pose/stretch? 
-Linds

FBFIT Round 1 Results

If I don't already talk about it enough, here is another post about my love of Fitness Blender, although this one is more progress/results related.

On Sunday March 13, 2016 I finished FBFit Round 1. It was an 8 week total body fitness program. It had a mix of HIIT, cardio, strength training, yoga, pilates, etc. I finished the program 2 days early, and here are my Physical Fit Test results:

(FBpft results)

(Top: January 24, 2016; Bottom: March 13, 2016)

Although Mark only joined me for a handful of workouts throughout the program, he did decide to join me for the final fit test. Here are his results:

(FBPFT results)

(Top: February 1, 2016; Bottom: March 13, 2016l

All in all I am pretty pleased with my results. I definitely have noticed a lot more tone in my body and I just feel so much better. My endurance has improved and my ability to lift more weight has majorly improved. I did expect my run time to be a bit better however it was literally torential downpour the day I did it so I felt the cold and wind really slowed me down. Oh well, progress is still progress!

I also am now one week in to FBFit Round 2 and I am super excited to be borrowing my sisters Bowflex Adjustable Weights. Without the adjustable weights my options were two 5lb dumbells, two 10lb dumbells, one 12kg kettlebell, one 16kg kettlebell, and two 20lb dumbells. Now with the bowflex weights I have a way wider range of weight which should hopefully drastically improve my progress! 

Here's to another 7 weeks of improving!
-Linds

Co-ed 6s POCO Volleyball League

Our co-ed 6s volleyball league wrapped up last week and we came in 3rd place. Unfortunately, we lost our quarter final match however, we did take it to a full 5 sets. We were up 2 sets to none, and then slowly the other team picked away at us and we ended up losing. We did however win our finals match and therefore ended up with the 3rd place victory! 

(From left to right: Steve, Mark, myself, Alyssa, Brendan, & Bryce) 

We definitely had some ups and downs throughout the season, and we rarely had our entire team together each week (lots of subs for various people and various reasons) however,  all in all it was a fun, competitive, and challenging season and I look forward to playing in it again!   -Linds 

Harry Potter - En Français!

It took me 51 weeks but I did it! I finally finished the 1st Harry Potter novel in French! 

Most of you probably already know the Harry Potter story so I don't need to do my typical summary & review. However, I will go ahead and say that if you are planning on using reading as a tool for improving your language skills, I would recommend choosing something that is not in the fantasy genre. I spent so much time translating words I didn't know, only to realize that they were made up words in English as well. 

Anyway, I can barely believe I actually completed this so I am so freaking stoked and that's all I really have to say about it! 
-Linds 

Changing Perspective

One of the hardest parts of changing how you see yourself, is getting other people to change the way they see you. 

I lost 15lbs in 2.5 months and no one said a word. Sure, the scale told me I made progress, and I felt happier and healthier than ever before however, it was tough to put on a smaller size pant, or fitted style shirt because I assumed that since no one noticed or commented on my weight loss, I must still look 15lbs heavier - bummer. I've kept the weight off for a following 2.5 months (and counting), and yet I still find myself wondering if my body looks as good as I hope it does. 

Is it only because I know how flabby my belly was before that I think it seems so flat now? Is it really flat? Am i really any more toned? Do I have defined muscles? 

I'm currently 5'8.5", and I weigh on average 138lbs. I workout (variations of HIIT, cardio, strength training, yoga, Pilates,  and stretching) minimum 5 days a week, I play volleyball twice a week, and when I look in the mirror, I feel good! (Well, of course, if I'm being completely honest, I will always have my "problem" areas that I'm not sure I will ever feel good about, but overall I feel good, and am so proud of the changes in my body). 

I know since I feel so much better than I did 8 months ago that I shouldn't care so much whether other people have noticed my fitness improvements (I'm really only doing it for my own health benefit-eating cleaner and working out consistently improves my outlook tremendously) but, I find I keep hearing a little voice in my head saying "It's not enough. People will let you know once you've really made progress." 

So I am stuck in my brains twisted dilemma of trying to change perspective. How do I teach my brain to stop desperately hoping for approval from others that I've done a good job, when deep down I already know that I have because I feeeeeeel so much better. How do I tell myself to believe that I am fit and not just because I'm stronger than 6 months ago by comparison, but because I can see and feel that I actually have gained and toned muscle?

Have any of you had body image struggles? How did you overcome your negative perceptions? 

-Linds

Feeling The Pressure

I am nearing the final 8 week mark of my #FBFIT round 1 program and I fear that I will be dissapointed with my results. 

The first 4 weeks I was super motivated and making leaps in progress, but then week 5 hit and I started to fade, and then week 6 and 7 I had a terrible sickness that lingered (and to be honest is still kind of hanging around) and really slowed me down. Now I'm on week 8 and have my physical fit test scheduled on Tuesday (for comparison), so needless to say, I'm getting pretty worried. I really want my results to be impressive but I just don't think I pushed myself hard enough in the second half of the program to be fully satisfied with the outcome. 

So, I've got 4 days left to really let the pressure get my but in gear and hope for, well let's be honest, a miracle. 

-Linds

Goal Driven

I love to be working on something...there's no doubt about it. When I'm given a project, task, activity, etc., I go full force. I rarely procrastinate because nothing beats the satisfying feeling of getting a project done well, and not only on time, but early!

For a long time I had school to work on (always submitting assignments, or studying for exams), a few times I've had trips to plan, or moving to accommodate, however, lately I've noticed that I haven't really had much of a "project" to work on. 

So, I'm trying to think of what's next? 

What should I be working on, or working towards? 

I know I've got all my new fitness related projects (working out 5x a week, practicing my handstand, trying to do chin-ups, running my womens league, and working on setting up a 4s league), but I just don't quite feel that rush that I get when I'm really enlightened by a project that has more substance to it. 

So I am left wondering...where should I focus my attention...
-Linds 

Pinterest Project: Pineapple Sausage Skewer

I had a shift at Langley Memorial Hospital last month (my first in about 6 months). I hadn't been there in so long, that I literally missed the entire pregnancy of one of my fav techs there. However, one of my other fav techs gave me the heads up that they were throwing a baby shower potluck for her at lunch the day I was scheduled to work! 

Since I found out on pretty short notice, I didn't have much time to plan a dish to bring to the potluck so, of course, I quickly scowered Pinterest for some simple, quick ideas. 

Here's what I found: 

(Glazed Kielbassa Sausage Pineapple Skewer)

Ingredients:
-1 Kielbasa Sausage 
-1 can pineapple chunks (save the juice for the glaze)
-toothpicks
Glaze:
-3 tbsp teriyaki sauce
-1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
-1 tbsp honey
-1 tbsp pineapple juice (leftover from can)

Directions
-Soak your toothpicks in water (so they don't burn while baking) 

-Preheat oven to 425-f degrees. 
-Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

-Stack a piece of pineapple on top of a slice of Kielbasa sausage and place on parchment paper (wait until after you drizzle the glaze to put the toothpicks in) 

-In a small bowl combine glaze ingredient

-Glaze the kielbasa and pineapple bites
-Stick each portion with a toothpick 

-Bake for 15 to 20 minutes
-Let cool slightly and serve

What do you think? 
-Linds

Monthly Mayhem: February 2016

My February went something like this:

Travel:
-none

Volleyball:
-about 3/4 of the way through both Wednesday POCO co-ed 6s league, and Thursday Aldergrove Womens 6s league

Events/Activities:
-Taboo Show February 6, 2016
-Family Birthday dinner February 7, 2016
-Birthday February 9, 2016
-High Tea February 12, 2016

-Mount Thom hike February 13, 2016

-Nona's surprise 80th birthday party February 21, 2016 (actual birthday February 24)
-Watched Deadpool in the theatre February 22, 2016

Fitness:
-Still working on FBfit (Mark joined me)

-Started practicing handstand - videos\pics to come

Food:
-Pineapple sausage skewer - potluck at LMH (recipe to come)
-Banana chocolate chip ice cream muffins
-Excessive use of my new Nutri-bullet that Mark bought me for my birthday!

Ink:
-50 pages left of my French Harry Potter novel

I also ended up getting sick last week. I felt crummy Tuesday and Wednesday, and by Thursday I was so congested and full of shivers all over, I felt like I could barely function. Thankfully by Saturday I was starting to feel a bit better, but to be honest I still have a lingering head/chest cold. Hopefully I can shake it off soon!
How was your February?
-Linds