SUMMER!

Bloggers! It's been so long! I miss blogging, but I'm super excited for the summer and to hopefully be blogging lots!! :) I'm starting the summer off with nothing too exciting...but lots of reading! 

Plans for the summer..? Doing lots of yoga, reading lots of books, camping, going to the cottage...I know, I'm boring. So excited to not have to think or stress about anything and focus on fun stuff like:

Books!!!

Road trips, camping, cottage going!

Doing my nails :)

Happy summer! And congrats to California on this historic day for LGBTQ rights! Love Is Love <3 

Tim Horton's, Halloween, and "A Bit of a Weirdo"...

So I haven't posted in like, forever! Did ya miss me? I know you did, you so did! Anyhoo, here's what's been happening...

[For the month of September, we had an international student from Spain staying with us. She was awesome and we had a great time. We visited Ottawa and Montreal, I even got to see things I never had before! When she left I was so sad, we wanted her to stay. I cried like a baby! She had become part of the crazy Collard family, and I felt like a part of the family was missing. Now, we have another exchange student, from Columbia staying for the month of October.] ~ I wrote this over a month ago, but never got around to completing the post... So, our second exchange student, Maria, has come and gone, in what has felt like a much too short month. As was the Spanish student that stayed with us, Maria is now a Collard. I love her like a sister and wish she could stay longer. We will never forget her, and I know I'll see her again.

One thing I must mention, that I don't 100% get... All the exchange students, and even their teachers that have come with them, seem to be addicted to Tim Horton's! I mean, I do love me some Tim's French Vanillas, but of all things, Tim's seems to be "the Canadian thing" everyone's talkin' about. Although, I guess there's not much else to do in A-Town... :P

Oh! And I must tell you what I did for Halloween! You're not going to believe it... I went TRICK OR TREATING! Yep, that's right. Bekah Collard, who spent last Halloween at exercise class and going to bed early, went and walked around (in the freaking cold, might I add) going up to people's houses asking for candy. I must say it was fun to spend some time some of my bestest fwiends (even though BritterB. ditched), but the candy and chocolate hasn't dome me much good. I've been feeling sick all the time from so much sugar. The funny thing is, as I was sitting on the couch with Maria, stuffing my face with a million calories, I wasn't thinking about the fact that my face would look disgusting in the morning, or that I was going to get fat... I was thinking about how unhealthy it was, the last thing on most teenager's minds when eating junk. I guess this just adds to the previous speculation that I am a bit of a weirdo... Oh well, what can ya do?

So, there it is... A little bit of the past 2 months, and I promise to try and write more often... From a member of one of the weirdest families you'll ever come across,

Namaste. 

Waffles!!!

One of my favourite foods (whether for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even dessert!): Waffles!!!

 Recipe:

2 cups buckwheat flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp apple cider vinegar (or plain white vinegar)

1 tsp salt

2 cups dairy-free milk (soy, hemp, rice or almond)

2 eggs (lightly beaten)

2 tbsp olive oil (or any other cooking oil)

Optional: You may add any nuts or seeds, berries or chocolate chips if you desire.

Vegan option: replace eggs with 2 tbsp of ground flaxseed meal or chia seeds (mix flax or chia seeds with 2 tbsp of water in separate bowl and let sit until it is thick).

Preheat waffle maker on high and lightly oil. Whisk together all dry ingredients in large bowl. Add wet ingredients and whisk until smooth. Pour enough batter to cover the surface of the waffle maker and close lid (cook for approximately 3 minutes). Add preferred toppings and enjoy!

Travels...

So, I know it's been a few weeks since my last post and I can honestly say that the main reason why, is laziness... It's easier for me to go to bed and watch TV then to sit down and write, but here I am, again at 11:00p.m. giving this my best shot.

Although I haven't been writing, I haven't exactly done nothing these past few weeks. I spent a week with my dad and the fam at our cottage near Calabogie, a family tradition. It was great to see my aunts and uncles, cousins, my grandparents, my brother and my dad, whom I don't get to see very often. We went swimming every day, even though it rained quite a bit, we went for runs walks in the rain, we went canoeing, played games (like monopoly!), watched movies... We had an amazing time!

Also, on the list of things I did this month... Spending a week in P.E.I.! My first trip to the east coast! My mom, Andy, Jess and I drove down and stayed in a cute little cottage right on the ocean (less than a minute walk to the beach!). Though Mom got sick :( we still had a great time! We ate ice cream almost every day, visited 2 lighthouses, went to Anne of Green Gables...!

Ice cream at Anne of Green Gables. 

Reading on the beach! 

I have now been to England and 4 of the provinces in Canada! Okay, so I still have a ways to go, it's a start right!?

Pudding

The other night around 10:30p.m, after watching Big Brother, I was hungry and really wanted pudding! So down to the kitchen I went and less than 30 minutes later, mom and I were eating homemade coconut almond pudding! Yes, I randomly decided to make pudding at 10 o'clock at night, and without using a recipe, we made some pretty kick-ass pudding! Here's what we did (in case you were wondering)...


Coconut Almond Pudding (vegan and gluten-free!!!)

1 can coconut milk
1 cup almond milk
A pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp maple syrup
Agave syrup
2-4 tbsp corn starch (can also use potato or tapioca, if so 1-2 tbsp should be sufficient)

1. In medium sized pot, whisk together coconut milk, almond milk, salt, vanilla and maple syrup.
2. Heat on high until it's almost boiling. 
3. Add agave syrup until desired sweetness. 
4. In small jar, mix together starch (starting with 2 tbsp, if using corn starch, if using potato or tapioca starch, you will probably need less so start with 1 tbsp) and small amount of almond milk (no more than 1/4 cup).
5. Slowly pour contents of jar into the pot while mixing. (If after 2-3 minutes, it has not thickened enough, repeat steps 4 and 5). 
6. Pour into bowls (approximately 3-4 servings) and chill if desired.

Bon appétit!

Mother Daughter Camping Trip

Almost every year since I was a kid, mom and I have been camping. Whether with NVM and Sarah B-Dot (NVM's daughter and my bestest friend) or with my aunt and cousin Jess. Going on at least one camping trip  a year has been a sort of tradition, up until a couple of years ago. We’ve been to a few cottages in the years since, but it’s not the same…

So this year I told mom that we absolutely had to go camping. We had planned to go at the end of July with NVM and the B-Dot but they weren’t able to make it… Knowing how much I had been looking forward to it, on Sunday morning, mom decided we were going to go to Voyageur Provincial Park (camp site about 40 minutes from home). Impromptu mother daughter camping trip? Sounds good to me. So out we went to the shed to get our camping stuff (or at least what was left of it), only to find that our tent had huge holes from the mice chewing it.... little buggers! But that didn't stop us. A few hours and a borrowed tent later, we were off.

It ended up being a great trip! We had yummy veggie food, read lots and spent a few hours at the beach cuz life's a beach so I could get my fix of playing in the sand (for some reason I have this obsession with sand...?). NVM came to visit and went swimming with me (because my mom hates swimming, for some strange reason...).

So there we have it. I got my camping trip I've been wanting so badly, and got to spend some quality time with mom (managed to go over 24 hours without Internet, though I can't say the same for mom, online shopping while camping! Honestly?!...)

Namaste

Yesterday, just like most Saturday mornings, I was woken up by Mom whispering, "Bek, you coming to yoga?" As I usually am at 9:30a.m, (yes, I know it's not early at all, but going to bed late and getting up early don't really mix, okay?) I was half asleep and not really in the mood to do yoga. Not wanting to break our (NVM, mom, and my) new routine of Saturday morning yoga, I sleepily got up, got dressed and came downstairs. Mom then handed me a glass of... Fresh juice! Grapefruit, lemon, carrot, and watermelon.  A little bitter and sour since I had just brushed my teeth, but I drank it and then we were out the door for 10 o'clock yoga. Afterwards, I felt awesome! I was super relaxed, and so glad I'd gone (as I usually am :D). So, after a day of sitting outside on the deck by the pool and hanging out with the fam, I decided to blog about yoga.

Yoga is commonly known as a generic term for a physical, mental and spiritual discipline originating in ancient India. It consists of breath control, simple meditation and the adoption of specific bodily postures, practiced mainly for heath and relaxation. The word Namaste, often used in yoga classes as a final salutation, is originally a Hindu greeting meaning "The divine in me salutes the divine in you." To us, it is simply used as a closing to a yoga class but in India, the word is used as a simple and polite bow of greeting or farewell. As we repeat this word at the end of a yoga class, it's is important that we know it's about truly connecting to the higher, divine essence of this greeting. 

So, as I continue to research and practice yoga, I remind myself that it is more than just something to do. It's about meditation, relaxation and connecting with my inner self. I am definitely excited to learn more about it and I'm sure this won't be my last yoga blog.

“All that is best and highest in me salutes all that is best and highest in you.”

-  http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5516/Namaste-Isnt-Only-For-Yoga-3-Ways-It-Can-Change-Your-Life.html, Article by Jayme Barrett