Green Memories

With all this cold winter weather we have been having, Mike and I have been taking full advantage of our Netflix membership. Which made me start thinking about movies I haven't seen in a long time.

One of my favourites as a kid... FernGully.

If you haven't seen this movie, you should definitely look it up. The movie is about a group of magical forest creatures working together to protect their home from the destructive Hexxus. The main plot also includes stories of friendship and love. Not to mention, it has to be a movie with the most direct message around the toxins and direct effects of clear cutting forests. It is a child-friendly cartoon with adult humor undertones especially from 'Batty' a witty bat that has seen the effects of human product testing voiced by Robin Williams.

This weekend if you need to cozy up on the couch and stay warm, consider FernGully as your movie of choice, it is already on my list. Have you seen it? What did you think?

Today's Green Tip

Fridge temperatures. Have you ever looked at the temperature dial in your refrigerator? Ours looks similar to this one:

(Picture taken from Google images)

Of course, your first instinct is to switch it to normal without a second look. Instead, I decided to put a thermometer in the fridge to measure what the 'normal' temperature is. Is it the ideal temperature or just half way from warmer to colder?

In the end, the 'normal' temperature is too cold. So we kept moving the dial warmer until the thermometer continuously read between zero and four degrees Celsius.

In doing so, we will be able to save money on our electricity bill by not pumping unnecessary cold air into our refrigerator. All you need to do is go out and buy a thermometer and ensure the temperature is between zero and four degrees. Warmer than this, you run the risk of spoiling food and if it's colder you could spoil food by freezing it. We have repeated these steps for our freezer as well.

Sunday Food Prep

On a snowy winter weekend, I tried to find everything possible to stay indoors. We settled for catching up on the DVR, starting some DIY projects with the materials we have on hand, and jumping into the kitchen.

I follow a tonne of blogs and most of them include some Sunday food preparation techniques. Over the last few weekends, Mike and I have been working on a routine for our food preparation.

Today I think we finally got the right routine down pat. We started with our meal plan for the week:

The meal plan led to our grocery list and off we went with Starbucks in hand.

Once we got home, we started on bread for our sandwiches for the week. A bread maker makes the job really easy. It starts with water and yeast to do a little work, add the rest of the ingredients and 3 hours later you have bread.

 After we got the bread maker running, I put some eggs in a pot to be hard boiled, started another pot for oatmeal, cut up vegetables and cheese.

 The end result is a fridge full of prepared foods, all ready to eat.

It makes for a great week of healthy food to eat without having to spend a lot of preparation time during the week. It doesn't even eat up your whole day. We started creating out menu and grocery list at 2 pm and by 5:30 pm all the of the preparation including dinner for the evening was ready.

Do you have any food preparation tips?

Today's Green Tip

Using the oven? Use the light to look through the window rather than opening the door to check on something. Every time you open the door you lose 10-15 degrees of heat. It likely won't disrupt the cooking cycle of your meal, however your oven will continually have to work to increase the oven back to temperature. 

Making the Most of It

For those of you that live in Ontario, Alberta, Quebec, or a northern state, you can probably still feel your bones defrosting from these frigid temperatures. With the -40 degree temperatures we have had the last couple of days, all of the precipitation we have been getting just keeps turning to ice.

That all being said, sidewalks are like ice rinks right now, but the dog still needs to be walked! So instead of getting frustrated and maybe not taking the dog out.. we decided to have some fun! Mike and I got all bundled up and instead of our planned walk we took a bit of a 'skate' through the neighbourhood. Rocco was leading us every step of the way.

I felt like that little boy in the Christmas story all bundled up in my snow suit and just had some fun like I was a kid again. It really does help alleviate the stresses of life to just let loose and have some fun. A study in the Psychological Science suggests that holding a smile on one's face during periods of stress may help the heart and just genuinely makes you feel better!

Have you had a kid moment recently?

Today's Green Tip

Take a look around your office, are their stacks of papers everywhere cluttering everything?

I know... you will get around to filing it one day! One solution is to stop those stacks of paper from even coming in the door. You can sign up for an e-post mail box. All of your bills will come to one place so you only have to worry about one login and password instead of remembering those 30 passwords. Be mindful that not every supplier is available but they are adding new companies every day.

Just hoping to make those 'Get Organized' resolutions a little easier this year. Best of Luck.

What a Year!

Hi Everyone,

I was looking back at my blog posts today reminiscing on where this year has gone. I know my last post was quite some time ago so I realize there is a lot of catching up to do. Where do I begin...

January 1st, 2013

Ringing in the New Year at my place. Great friends, great drinks and some awesome games.

February 23-24, 2013
I went on a ski trip to a ski resort just outside of Collingwood, Ontario. Don't be fooled, that does not mean I know how to ski! I went on a little ski lesson and a few bunny hills. I am happy to report there were no broken bones and the hot tub was perfect.

March 30, 2013
Helped my friend move into her new apartment in Burlington! Yay Dana.

April 30, 2013
There isn't much to say between January 1st and April 30th but that I survived tax season once again to make it out to a celebration with co-workers and friends... welcoming me back into society!

May 18, 2013
Mike and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. It is funny how time flies, it felt like just yesterday we met at a friend's party playing foosball. We celebrated by attending my cousin's wedding. It felt a bit reminiscent of our upcoming wedding and a reminder of all the wedding planning we still had to do of course!

May 25, 2013
Celebrated an epic bachelorette party for a friend of mine. Sorry I can't say anymore.. what happens in ....well enough said!

June 15-24, 2014
Another girl's trip to Sarasota, Florida. We got to just relax and enjoy the beautiful weather and sandy beaches.

July 21, 2013
My mom, aunts and fantastic wedding party threw me a fantastic wedding shower. I couldn't have been more thankful for all those who attended and the amazing gifts we received. I could really feel the love in the room that day.

July 27, 2013
Our epic adventures in completing the one and only Tough Mudder Buffalo 2013. It was quite the race and really puts it into perspective on how much preparation you really need to do before jumping into it! Look forward to some posts about our 2014 preparation, we are looking at one in August, 2014.

July 28, 2013
The teenager in me was ecstatic today! My cousin and I were lucky enough to get tickets to the epic come back tour...

Boys II Men

98 Degrees

New Kids on the Block 

Summer 2013

I am sure the rest of my summer was filled with all sorts of events but it was a bit of a whirlwind filled with all sorts of WEDDING PLANNING. The big day was fast approaching with very little checked off of my list to this point. I want to say a big thank you to the wedding party, my mom, aunt, and to everyone who lended a helping hand during this stressful time!

September 7, 2013

Mike and I got to celebrate our Stag and Doe with all of our friends and family. I can't say to much about the night because lets just say there were a lot of people flowing drinks in and out of my hand. We had a fantastic night with tonnes of games and prizes, despite all of the rain.. it's goodluck right?

Fall 2013

Filled with the last of all of our meetings and projects to get us through the last stretch to the big day. It was a crazy stressful time.. sorry everyone! Oh and yet another bachelorette party.. but this one was mine. It was an amazing night.

November 14, 2013

Rob Ford said WHAT?!

November 16, 2013

Our Big Day finally arrived. I can honestly say that everything went off without a hitch. We had no problems the day of and all of our suppliers did such an amazing job of getting what was in my head to our beautiful day... which wasn't always easy. 

We could really feel the love in the room that day and want to thank all of our friends and family for their support. It was a long time coming and a very long adventure to get there, but I was so happy to be able to marry my best friend.

I am now officially Mrs. Dawn Lagesten

Saying goodbye to 2013

We ended 2013 with our first Christmas as Mr. & Mrs Lagesten. I ate alot of food and enjoyed alot of laughs, it could not have been any better. 

December 31, 2013

Another evening with family and friends to ring in the New Year.

Happy New Year from all of us in the Lagesten household (even Rocco).

I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2014 full of love, laughter and all of your friends and family around you.

And to end the blog with a little outlook on what I have to expect from 2014, here is what my horoscope as to say:

Life is full of situations that support and challenge you. This year brings plenty of both! Work, home and love are all in the spotlight. Some things will be out of your control, but how you respond is up to you. Start a new business venture in June. Dare to move out of your safety zone.

Your most romantic month

January, a time to connect more deeply with yourself and others. In April, take a step back and reevaluate.

Love tips

You are going through profound changes. And what happens with your love life can teach you valuable life lessons. When you see yourself reflected in someone else, you gain more clarity about who you are and what you want to achieve. Yes, it’s possible to fall madly and deeply in love, and it is this soul type connection of the heart that can lead to a lasting union. To move forward with a clean slate, be prepared to deal with the past — and leave it behind.

Business and finance

This year is very much about walking a fine line between visualizing your grand plan and being patient enough to put in the hours of work and strategy to make it happen. You can have it all, Cancer, although at times it will feel turbulent and you will wonder when the spinning will stop. Get out of your own way and let life take its course.

Angel’s advice

Don’t get caught up in the details. Let life unfold without too much attachment.