My friend Jenn.

My friend Jenn.

I met her back in the summer of 2005; we met through the mutual love of a band 30 Seconds to Mars.
We became friends online before meeting up for the first time at a 30STM concert in Daytona.
I had no idea that I was about to meet one of the dearest friends of my lifetime.

Let me tell you about Jenn.
Firstly, she blows you away with her striking looks. She has the most beautiful eyes that gaze deep into your soul.
She is tall and elegant.

Beautiful Jennifer

Beautiful Jennifer

She is tender and sensitive, fiercely loyal and true, funny and silly, and patient and kind.
Not once have I ever experienced one teensy ounce of bitchiness from Jenn. She is a rare gem.
I have never once doubted her love for me. I have never doubted that she always has my back.
It’s a pretty rare occurrence these days to find someone so genuine and sincere.
I cherish her. I love her.
She is a true friend and it is an honour to have her in my life.

Jen is wildly talented. She is one of the most talented artists I know.
Her paintings are outstanding and breathtaking.
She remains modest and humble.

Jimmy Gnecco

Jimmy Gnecco


One of my absolute favourites!

One of my absolute favourites!

Jenn loves Gwennie and Gwennie loves her back… very much!

Jenn with baby Gwennie

Jenn with baby gwennie


At the beach today!

At the beach today!

Jenn is moving to Washington State next week.
My heart is so sad. Sad that I cannot just get in the car and drive to see her or vice versa.
I am so proud of her for doing this though.
She has been through many challenges and she is standing up and fighting back and is making a positive change in her life.

I can’t wait to go visit her.
We will ALWAYS be friends.
The one thing I have noticed is that miles can get in the way at times, but true friendships withstand those miles and can never be torn apart.

I love you, Jenn. I miss you already. You are always here in my heart and I will see you soon!

Jenn and I in Seattle... we got matching star tattoos behind our ears this night!

Jenn and I in Seattle… we got matching star tattoos behind our ears this night!

Maximus Max… big name for a little guy!

So it is about time we welcomed the new addition to our family.
His name is Maximus Max and he is a guinea pig.

It all started with Gwennie wanting a horse.
Yikes!
We managed to whittle it down to something a lot more smaller, thank goodness!
So Gwennie asked Father Christmas for a guinea pig.

Dad was amazing… he got on the case right with me and helped search for the perfect piggy!
He found Maximus at his local shelter and cared for him for a few days until it was time for F.C. to bring him to Gwennie on his sleigh (or rather in the back of a Surburban GMC!).
Max was in a cage with 3 other guinea pigs when Dad went to see him. He had been bullied and was covered in scabs.
He was just a baby… about 5-6 months old.
Dad and his wife, Pat, did a great job of nursing the little guy back to health and getting him ready for his big, special delivery to our dear little girl!

Grandpoo and Maximus

Grandpoo and Maximus

Gwennie was so thrilled when she discovered her wish had come true.
I have to say she has been absolutely amazing with Max.
The novelty has not worn off and she cannot wait to get home from school each day and let Max out of his cage and spend time with him.
When she is at home, Max is always hanging out with her.

He lives a very exciting and adventurous life now. He gets to go on walks around the neighbourhood…

Walkies with Gwennie & Kate

Walkies with Gwennie & Kate

He gets to talk to Granny in the UK every weekend….

"Hi Granny! What's up?"

“Hi Granny! What’s up?”

He regularly gets a check-up from Dr. Porter…

"Take a deep breath in...."

“Take a deep breath in….”

And he gets to hang out with the big “guinea pig”…

Kate: "At least it isn't a puppy!"

Kate: “At least it isn’t a puppy!”

He loves being with his best friend, Gwennie…

Self-portait!

Self-portait!


Zzzzzz...

Zzzzzz…


Sharing a moment!

Sharing a moment!

I never thought I would become so fond of a guinea pig, but he really is the dearest little chap!
He is so calm and docile and cuddly… and is very good-natured.
He has certainly landed on his paws and enjoys a wide variety of wonderful culinary delights, such as kale, oranges, celery, apples, strawberries, and carrots.

Kate has been ever so good with him!
She was very curious at first and definitely wanted to check out his cage and food situation, but now she just ignores him for the most part!

So welcome Maximus Max! We love having you be a part of our family!
Here’s to making lots of lovely memories with you!

Merida feeds her sidekick!

Merida feeds her sidekick!

Happy New Year! And a cleanse!

Goodness, it is January 12th and I have written anything in my blog yet this year!
Happy New Year everyone… I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and I wish you a happy, healthy, successful, and love-filled 2013.

Our Christmas and New Year was lovely. It all went by far too quickly and whoops, here we are back into the swing of the normal routine: early mornings, school runs, ballet classes, work, etc, etc.

We do have a new addition to our family. Maximus the guinea pig arrived on Christmas Day via Grandpoo.
He is the dearest little guy and I will have to do another post solely focusing on him!
Gwennie is completely enamoured (as am I !).

We all tend to indulge a little during holiday times. Well, I certainly do. Lots of rich food to taste and a little more drinking than usual.
I decided to do a cleanse this past week to purge my old body of some toxins.

A friend of mine works for a company called Beyond Organic. She suggested I try the 3-Day Suero Viv cleanse.
The Suero Viv cleanse is designed to support the body’s natural cleansing and detoxification systems and help you reach a higher level of health than you’ve ever experienced. Available in three options: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. I took the Bronze one which consists of two flavours… Raspberry Lemonade and Citrus. You drink 6 bottles of these juices per day… and eat nada. The drinks are made up of whey culture and potassium and sodium to help cleanse out the cells of the body whilst protecting the body’s natural flora.
You can watch a video describing the cleanse right here!
The cleanse was designed to be a group one and ran from January 8th-10th.

Day 1: This was the toughest day for me. I was teaching two classes at The Bar Method that morning and felt a little foggy in my head. By the late afternoon, my head was crashing and I couldn’t really focus on anything much. I texted my friend and she told me that I should have slowly weaned off caffeine before the cleanse. Whoops! I took some Advil and went to bed early.
Day 2: My headache had pretty much dissipated and I felt more human. I found it much easier to teach class today and even took a class, which I found challenging but got through unscathed!
Day 3: I felt really tired on this day. I didn’t teach, but I did go in to take a class and found it a real struggle. No protein = no bueno for muscles. By the third day I was just craving the sensation of being able to chew something and I was really tired of the drinks. They didn’t taste that great… they were both very citrus-y in flavour and left a yukky taste in my mouth so I had to clean my teeth every time I drank one. I have a confession to make… on this day, I ate a baby carrot! I gave one to Maximus and the temptation was too great! I had to have one of those cold, crunchy things too! It was uh-mazing! Hahahaha!

So, I made it through the cleanse.
Down sides; I got really fed up with the flavours of the drinks. I would have liked more variety. And I should have detoxed off caffeine beforehand so I wouldn’t have been so tired. If I choose to do a cleanse again, I would definitely start/do it on days when I am not working. (I did have horrible dreams whilst I was cleansing. Was it cleansing my brain also???)
Up sides; I wasn’t hungry at all during the 3 days. I wanted to chew food, but I wasn’t physically hungry. Impressive! I lost 3 lbs… not as much as I would have liked to lose, but it was something. I definitely lost that bloated feeling that I had post-holiday nosh-up! And my skin looks great.

If I do the Suero Viv cleanse again in the future, I think I would opt for the Silver one, as it has 3 varieties of drinks.
A little more variety makes a heck of a difference when that is all you are drinking for 3 days.

Cleansing isn’t for wimps! It definitely takes some willpower and I am so relieved I made it through 3 days.
Hopefully I did myself some good and got rid of some toxic sludge! Mmmmmmm!!!!!