Finally Free WIFI

Well we made it past Jasper, to the little town of Blue River. We were going to stay in Valmount but it didn't look super nice there so we decided to try out the next town, and here we are!

Here are some notes from the last few days...

Day 1 Thurs. Aug 19: This was the first day we stayed in the trailer. Not bad, it was only the night as we stayed in the house during the day for the Internet and food. Sleeping was nice and comfy, although the trailer is a disaster zone! LOL

Day 2 Fri. Aug 20: I was fortunate that we got so much clean up done that I went to the city with my Mom and brother. While in the city M drove the trailer to Calmar and we parked just in front of my parents house. We were going to leave today, but decided to stay one more day in Calmar so we could enjoy Calmar Days. It was pretty fun and nice to have an extra day to spend with my family :) The sleep was still pretty good, but trailer is still a disaster!

Day 3 Sat Aug 21: Woke up early and went to the pancake breakfast...well M enjoyed the breakfast, no Vegan option...actually I was told by my Bro that I was the only Vegan currently in Calmar! LOL I just had some toast at Mom's when we got back. We worked for about an hour organizing our storage then made our way to the main street for the town garage sale. Once done browsing we went up to say good by to Dad and Jay then back to Mom's to get on the road!

After gassing up we were on our way...First stop: Medicine Lake, AB. Where we met up with M's siblings. We camped out for the night having smokies and hotdogs for supper...funny my Vegan hotdogs tasted sooo much better today then before :) Went for an awesome bike ride with M then a great walk with my SIL. Lots of fun times before we actually depart!

With it being the 3rd day in the trailer I really only have one complaint, which is the 10 inch square air vent above the bed....its awesome for fresh air, but sucks as it lets in a lot of light at around 5 am! Once we get to an RV place we will be looking for some covers for this! LOL

Day 4 & 5 Sun/Mon Aug 22/23: Woke up and cooked up a lot of food...so I could have some food for lunch on the road. So while M cooked up his eggs, I roasted some mushrooms, peppers and faux chicken kabob YUM! After breakfast we cleaned up the camp sites and said our goodbyes and departed...Made our way through the windy road back to the highway and off to Edson! Once in Edson we noticed that there was a Wal-Mart, so we made our way there and set up camp...that's right we stayed in the Wal-Mart parting lot LOL We decided to look around town to see if we could fix a few problems that we noticed...First we needed to remove the spare tire lock...Which the Awesome people at Fountain tire helped us out with no charge! If ever you are in need of Fountain Tire services please visit the Edson Store! their customer Service ROCKS! Next scary enough M noticed that our trailer brakes were not engaging. So off to a local mechanic shop as Ford was booked up solid, and again the customer service was Outstanding! Dwayne's Mechanic Shop in Edson they helped us out even though they were also very busy! As we rolled into Edson on a Sunday afternoon, and we didn't get everything fixed up until Monday afternoon we decided to stay an additional night at the Wal-mart.

Living at the Wal-Mart...Pro: Free and convenience of shopping Con: No trailer service...so no electricity/Water/Sewer so pretty boring once the sun went down..thankfully the laptop has enough battery life for a movie :) YAY

Day 6 Tuesday Aug 24: Left Edson and making our way to Jasper. Not too much for wild life so far...saw a deer and a couple of coyotes on the way to Hinton and throughout our whole trip there have been a large population of crows...Blah not my fav...

Noted to self that next time we drive through this way we are to stay at the Hinton Wal-Mart as there are more shopping options then Edson :)

Rolled into Jasper and spotted out our camp ground. Site # 16 @ Wapiti was home for 2 days...Although we knew that sharing a campground with mostly seniors we are surprised how quiet it was and how early they pack it in! LOL We do have electricity here, but no water and no WIFI...Although we are not concerned with this as the scenery is breath taking! First night we tooled around Jasper and went into the shops a bit...** Note if you are Vegan, there isn't much here, at least not that I saw! I had a great walk up the Athabasca river while M napped :) Still not much for wild life, but did get a squirrel to pose for a pic :) (Pics will be on a different post!)

I must say that for my first time in Jasper, I really like Banff better, I am not sure what it is I just love Banff!

Day 7 Wed. Aug 25: Day 2 in Jasper. I have talked M into taking the Gondola up to the top tower on Whistlers mountain. from there, there is a trail up to the summit of the mountain...WOW it was an awesome climb and being on the top of the summit the view was breath taking...Although the gondola was nerve racking it was sooo worth the $30 each to go up! After our climb we stayed for a bite as the restaurant offered vegan Chili...YAY! and it was pretty good! After coming down off the mountain we went back to home base to relax...M and I strolled down to the river and saw some rafters....M wanted to go see if we could go too, but unfortunately we were too late for today and we are leaving tomorrow :( But I know this is sooooo not our last chance to do this actually I read that Hope offers some great rapids...I will keep you posted.

Supper was awesome. We finally tempted to try our stove...I cooked up a mushroom/onion mixture then steamed some broccolini added a side salad for a super YUM meal...Sorry no Pic:( Tonight I will use the left over onion/mushroom mix and make a pasta sauce.

Day 8 Thurs. Aug 26: Today we left Jasper...Although last night was rainy, we woke up to a nice sunny day. Got cleaned up and set off to the town of Blue River. With a couple of stops (a huge rest area about an hour out of Jasper....WOW did I have to GO!!!!) funny as you drive the Yellowhead, you see some signs that state...High Mountain Road Careful: Weather can Suddenly Change! We walked into the Info Centre with the sun shining....when we were leaving it was pouring! LOL so we rested and hung out in the trailer and had lunch until it let up a bit. Back on the road, the drive was nice...still no wild life. But I am keeping my eye out! We got to Blue River and YAY for WIFI! we are just hanging out in the trailer as it is raining...We haven't decided if we are spending another night here yet as its suppose to be rainy tomorrow too...but really nice for the weekend! Well I will now attempt to post some Pics :) Enjoy! and promise to take more Food Pics!

Been too long!!

WOW Its been quite a while since I have written! I think more than a month!

Well I kind of fell out of sight for a bit, there were some stressful situations that happened and a little drama thrown in...then frankly I just kind of went through the motions for a bit...

Well now that I have woke up, I am getting back on the proverbial horse! I did not take any pics today, but I ate pretty healthy:

B= Oatmeal w fresh peaches and raspberries some walnuts and cinnamon and a splash of silk

L= AP&J I am trying to eat up my almond butter before I go so I can pick up a new jar (we have limited space so I would rather travel with a full jar!) I used the last of my black current compote and put a few over ripe raspberries on the jam and then mushed the two pcs of bread together...WOW super YUM! I also ate the last pit of the tomato/cucumber/pepper/onion/olive salad

S=my version of Vietnamese noodle soup: onion mushroom, pepper, celery, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli with some vermicelli (made from green beans and peas) noodles with veggies broth and water

Snack= peach and cherries

No exercise yet...hopefully motivated tomorrow... :) I would like to go for a nice 6 K to gear up for some mountain trails :)

Blah Day!

Well...We are getting down to crunch time! One more week prepping for Cheryl's wedding then M and I are going to spending time on getting the trailer ready for our big trip! I brought some of our maps in to start mapping out a route and create a budget so we can make our trip more of a holiday :)

Its been so rainy lately that we have not been able to go to the farm and work, I find myself very stir crazy and wish to get back to work...I know that once we are in our new location I will be looking for a job ASAP! I need to be out in the world interacting with other humans! LOL

I find when I am feeling this way I don't make the best choices for meals! So I hope the weather passes and I get back on track!

Today I had woke up pretty late, so I had a sandwich and tomato soup for Breakfast/lunch then in the late afternoon I have a few slices of pizza (leanne's veggie, no cheese) Then for dinner I had baked a butter nut squash (for the first time :)) fried up some tofu topped with Asian 5 Spice sauce and sided with some fresh red pepper and cucumber...It was very tasty!

The G-sale went ok...We were rained out Saturday, and Thursday/Friday I think we barely made over 10 bucks! BOO! But Sunday was a lot better, and we were not even open! LOL So that is the last of the G-sales...and we are having pretty good luck with selling the other big/expensive items.

Later :P

Busy Day!

Well today started off a bit on an early foot! I was up at 730...It was another hot night and I had lots of trouble falling asleep which has been happening off and on for a few months now..Boo to little sleep!

Upon waking I prepped my usual #1 favorite, Oatmeal..YUM! then started going through the kitchen for any kitchen items that could go in the garage sale.

Then off tho the farm...

M and I attacked this pump house and painted a good 2 coats of white...If the weather is nice we will do touch ups and trim tomorrow....but I think that its suppose to rain all day! BOO! I will post an updated pic of the completed project :)

Around 3 we finished up and headed home to get ready for the garage sale...lots of stuff left to sell! I sure hope the rain holds off until Monday (or until the late evening)

The garage sale as a bit of a bust...not too many people showed, but we did sell a few items...

Tomorrow existed of more of the same, so I hope I will be able to sleep tonight!

Vegan Chocolate Bunt cake

This low-fat and vegan cake recipe uses applesauce instead of eggs or oil, making it nearly fat-free and guilt-free! Though its a little bit heavier than other cakes, the generous amount of cocoa makes this vegan cake absolutely heavenly. If this doesn't sound like the recipe you're looking for, try checking out my dozens of other vegan cake recipes.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes
Ingredients:
· 2 cups flour
· 1 cup sugar
· 1 tbsp cornstarch
· 2 tsp baking soda
· 1/4 tsp salt
· 1/3 cup cocoa
· 1 1/2 cups applesauce
Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt cake pan. Note: You can use other cake pans, but because this cake is a bit heavy, layered cake pans are not recommended.
Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Add applesauce and mix well until batter is smooth.
Bake for 50-55 minutes, until done. You can always tell that a cake is finished baking by sticking a toothpick in the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, that is, not covered in batter, then your cakes is done baking.
Frost, if desired, and enjoy!
Nutritional Information: Makes 8 fat-free cake slices. Calories per slice: 242, Calories from Fat: 7Total Fat: 0.8g, 1% RDA Cholesterol: 0mg, 0% RDASodium 390mg, 16%Total Carbohydrates: 56.9g, 19% Dietary Fiber: 2.5g, 10%Protein: 4.0gVitamin A 0%, Vitamin C 1%, Calcium 1%, Iron 11%

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/desertrecipes/r/applesaucecake.htm

This is the link to the recipe I followed, although I did alter is a bit, I added 2 cap fulls of vanilla, used 2 mashed banana's and about a 1/2 C apple sauce (instead of the whole amount of apple sauce), 1 Tbsp Cinnamon, 1/2 C soy milk, 3/4C walnuts, 1/2 C chocolate chips

So while I mixed all the dry ingredients together, when it was time to add the wet (apple sauce) that is when I added the banana/apple sauce mix, vanilla and soy milk, once everything was mixed well I added crushed walnuts and chocolate chips....for visual effect I put whole walnut halves on the bottom of my bundt cake pan.....Enjoy!

Cake, Shower and Running

Hope every one's week was great! I have some pictures that are backlogged for the last few weeks to fill you in on...so I hope you bare with me :) First though I will update my goings ons...Which isn't too much! this week M and I started to exercise together which is awesome! I have started slow with 6K once on Sunday and once on Tuesday then we are going to get tomorrow too and try to keep this schedule going :) Although M doesn't like to run so he bikes beside and he is quite enjoying it! YAY

I also made a cake this week...it turned our awesome! I got the recipe from About.com and adapted it to what I had on hand and used the comments as a guide. This cake was sooo delicious that I will also make it for Cheryl's gift opening and for the upcoming family reunion :) Pic to follow.

Sunday was Cheryl's Bridal shower. It was really nice her friend really went all out! although I was a little disappointed that there was food served as I was told that there wouldn't be, the food looked great, but having different dietary needs I usually like to know in advance so that I can prepare something for myself so I am not left out, but other than that it was an awesome time! We all thought it was funny that M won the clothes pin game! LOL

Here are some Pics...Food and Farm findings :)

Finding #1! I found this awesome pic of M while going through the recent pictures I took...WOW this one is my favorite of him so far!

Here M found a Frog while weed eating...looks like a little tree frog...its funny how M looks so excited to be holding it...He's so cute!

We found this beetle out at the farm, and although the picture doesn't show very well...the beetle was huge!!

This was lunch yesterday...after a good 6K I had left over stir fried veggies and sweet potato along with a peach and a green Monster....sounds like a lot..but I was super hungry...

I made this awesome salad on Monday...consisted of spinach, cucumber, tomato, blueberries, raspberries, soy nuts, pumpkin seeds, green onion...very good!

This was the awesome cake I made...I will post the recipe in a post on its own :)

My fav #1 breakfast: Oatmeal coconut (although I am using sweetened Blah), slivered almonds, pumpkin seeds, blueberries, raspberries and a splash of soy milk

Fav Breakfast #2! Tofu scramble! YUM! tofu cut in little cubes, green onion, green pepper, mushrooms and salsa along with a potato cake, orange and toast.

WOW....Been a long time!

Funny how life seems to get away from you! sooo What have I been up to lately?? Well I passed my drivers test and got my licence in the mail today...but I will need to go to the registry office on Monday as the expiry date states Jun 23 2010...LOL

I have been spending most of my time at the farm weeding, WOW what a work out THAT is! and let me tell you its not like there is a little garden its 4 acres of land! and we are still not done! I will be going back Monday to continue to help out, not like I have anything else to do and frankly its nice to be doing something other than sitting on my butt for most of the day!

Last night I went out to the city for my sister in laws stag...It was pretty fun! but WOW the bar scene is sooo different and on of the bars we went to was sooo gross that we only stayed for about 10 minutes! LOL I also had a bit of trouble as I didn't have any ID...funny as I know I look great for 33, but really I know I could not pass for under 18! but I guess everyone has their procedures!

My eating has been pretty much on board...usually oatmeal...I cant believe how much I love the oatmeal I make! although I ran out of unsweetened coconut and used sweetened for the last couple of times, and really I am not a fan of it, but I have 2 packages to eat up so I guess I will grin and bear it...I bought some blueberries so I will have them instead of banana tomorrow!

I am trying to continue to eat up the food we have in our pantry as we are hopefully leaving in August...YAY I am going to spend tomorrow cleaning up the trailer and organizing, butting our stuff away...I am super excited that its getting close to our departure!

Thinking of our travels, I was also getting ideas for different jobs, I am still wanting to work in an accounting office as I really enjoy bookkeeping, but I was thinking of trying for part time as I don't really want to be sitting behind a desk M-F 5 days a week! My sister in law has a cleaning business and I am thinking that I might do that, easy and fun...especially if I have music ...still exploring that idea and need to pick her brain a bit...

I have also been future thinking...and have been entertaining that idea of looking into starting a small business, of course I have lots of research to do and it would depend where we decide to settle down, I think it would be great to live in a not too small not too big town with a little shop :) I will post future ideas and what not as it comes up :)

I am hoping to bake a cake tomorrow night and will be off to visit my parents...I will snap a pic of it to show and I will sport my new apron too :)

Well I am going to finish up my tea and head to bed...getting up early to get in a run before it gets too hot!
Have an Awesome Sunday and Happy 4th of July for all the peeps down south :)!