1. Frozen Planet. I am all about the BBC’s “Frozen Planet” this week. It is probably the coolest and most intriguing documentary I have ever seen. I’ve learned so much from it. These guys filming the North and South Poles have the coolest jobs in the world (figuratively speaking, as well).
After watching the behind-the-scenes video of the filmographers capturing footage of the penguins in Antarctica, their job also looks like it has to be the scariest adventure too. If these guys are caught on the coast filming penguins when 80-120 mph winds pick up, they’re screwed. Camp is 2 miles away…and they have to get back somehow (with all of their equipment). They could either lose one of the camera guys (they struggle to not get blown away), or get lost when those winds come down.
Other times, they felt their cabin getting ready to be lifted up while they were in it…and this was during the summer! It’s like an Antarctic Hurricane.
I keep watching these guys thinking…I so want to be on that adventure!
The cat even sat down on the couch to watch the white wolves in the Arctic as they were hunting. She’s enjoying the program just as much as I am.
In America, Discovery released the video of the same footage as narrated by Alec Baldwin. I prefer the untainted BBC version (because they’re the ones that filmed it).
Check the videos out online. Discovery has many of the videos available online for consumption. Not only did I learn a lot, including discovering species I never even knew existed, but I enjoyed the scenery. It was absolutely beautiful. I especially enjoyed watching how a snowflake is created. No two are ever alike. 🙂
Even though I picked up these DVDs from the library, I’m definitely going to have to buy them. I love the show!
Can’t wait to start booking some nature trips in the near future.
{I also learned that I don’t like killer whales. They’re beautiful, highly intelligent, but absolutely cruel. They need to learn to eat just fish…not seals or other whales. I’m having a hard time watching the killer whales while they hunt.}
2. Seaweed Chips. Since hockey is still ongoing for me, I like to pick something up for dinner on the way to the arena (because I can’t always eat what they offer for the media meal). I think the Devils are used to my weird diet and how it’s difficult for me to eat, so they just let me do whatever and bring my own food.
Well, while I was picking up some soup and aloe water, I saw Seaweed Chips with Olive Oil. I thought…why not? It would be a healthy alternative to the chips and onion dip offered up in the press box.
Gotta say…I LOVE THEM! I think the perception when most people look at it is that it will taste horrible, but they’re actually really good. For 30 calories per serving, I’m good with just making it my meal. It can be filling and very easy to digest.
It has a little bit of a salty after taste, but no salt is added. That’s the natural sea salt you’re tasting. It’s not added, because seaweed comes from…SALT WATER. It’s the sea salt from the ocean you’re tasting.
What’s great about the ‘easy to digest’ part…seaweed actually helps to boost your metabolism and get rid of BELLY FAT!
While I could say, “Eat Up!” I know people go haywire and overindulge in something they find out is good for you (or in this case…trigger word was ‘get rid of BELLY FAT!’). Like everything, eat in moderation. I usually eat 1/2 a pack of seaweed chips (comes in 2 serving sizes) if I’m snacking. If it’s my dinner, I eat the whole pack (60 calories). That also means that I eat this one or two times a week, not every single day.
Your body needs a lot of different things…just not all at once. So add this to your diet, but don’t overdo it.
They’re a good, healthy snack to add to your diet. My friend recommended this to me during a time when I needed to find a strategy in sneaking iron into my diet. Seaweed chips were easy to get down and digest (i.e. something that my stomach liked). Now, I eat them as the healthier snack alternative because I choose to “Have Fewer Things, But Better Things.” 😉
3. Spaghetti Aglie, Olio, e Peperoncino. Thanks to Fab Fatale for directing me to this recipe from Yum Sugar. It’s a great way to get me into the ITALY state of mind (t-minus 26 days and counting until I hit Italian soil).
What is it? It’s spaghetti with minced garlic, olive oil, and chili flakes. What did I do differently? I added grated parmesan and freshly grated Romano to the recipe (I also used whole grain/whole wheat penne and fusili instead of spaghetti). I mixed it up and used it as a base grain for the week (easy to grab during the week).
As a base recipe, I was able to take this basic pasta and make a few different meals out of it, so it was like I was having something different every night. One night, I added chicken with a tomato sauce on the side. Another night, I added ham and peas. Tonight, I’m going with capers, fresh tomatoes and fresh bell peppers.
It’s so delicious! It beats having just the plain pasta with nothing on it in the fridge (and then it ends up getting tossed because I won’t eat it or come up with new recipes).
4. GabiFresh. If you’ve noticed what are the latest things trending around the world right now, you might have found that one of my favorite bloggers, GabiFresh, has become the subject of some controversy over one of my favorite posts she’s done recently on her new bathing suit.
Now, for those of us followers, we knew about the bathing suit long before the blog post. When I first saw the bathing suit (before the post), I thought…wow, that is so cool. She looks fabulous. It’s daring, but she looks fantastic!
I would never be brave enough to pull off the bathing suit (you should see the Muslim one I adopted for travel in Africa), but I thought it was incredible that she did it and she was willing to share her brave moment with the world. Not once did I ever think that anyone could look at her fab photos and think something negative…until I saw FATKINI trending.
For those of us who are loyal to GabiFresh…we know what her blog is about. It’s about inspiring women, no matter what your size, to be comfortable in your own skin. It’s about being brave enough to wear something so scary as a bikini or even a pair of skinny jeans or a sexy dress that hugs all of our curves. In other words, there are ways to look, be and feel beautiful in your own skin…it all begins with being brave enough to take that chance to wear something you’ve always dreamed of wearing and just take the plunge and do it! That is the message of her blog. And that is exactly why she is this week’s favorite blogger that I love to stalk that I’m sharing with all of you.
I think I’ve been following Gabi since December. All along the way I’ve found her site to be very inspiring not just for me, but I realize for other women out there. I know what it’s like to be so overweight, you can’t wear anything they put out in the stores. Designers snub you if you’re bigger than a size 12…and sometimes a size 8.
I remember the days when we were stuck with mumu dresses, sweatpants, oversized sweaters and tees. We were too fat to be fashionable. We were the world that the fashion world stuck their nose up at, and said crap about how unhealthy or overweight we were.
It’s bad enough that we say this crap to ourselves…even worse when the world echoes those depressing feelings. We’ve all been there at one point. So I applaud Gabi for going out on a limb and empowering women to be comfortable in their own skin and showing us how.
And if you don’t like it…as Rich Hardesty sings, “If you don’t got nothing nice to say, then don’t say nothing at all.” Just look for the beauty of the moment like most sane people do.
5. Pekka Rinne. Now, there’s a reason why Pekka makes my top 5 loves. I’m helping to promote him for the NHL 13 cover. He’s currently up against Claude Giroux after defeating Henrik Lundqvist and John Tavares. I mean…he BEAT Lundqvist. I have no idea how that is possible, but he did.
Pekka is also part of the Puck Agency family (you know…the agency that represents Ilya Kovalchuk, Anssi Salmela, Anton Volchenkov, Johan Hedberg), so of course I’m going to lend my social media world of support for Pekka, especially after Scott Hartnell decided to tweet something about sending Rinne back to Finland (almost ranks up there with that BizNasty’s ‘commie’ tweet).
So for those who are not Flyers fans, vote for Pekka Rinne. He’s probably the nicest (most innocent) guy I’ve ever met…and he’s never been suspended for getting pissed off and delivering a headshot to some innocent guy out on the ice (like Giroux did).
I still find it funny that Pekka is petrified of Las Vegas. We were able to snag an interview with him for Inside Hockey while we were in Vegas last year for the NHL Awards. He had just become an uncle for the first time right around that time. But the whole Vegas deal…this guy spends 82+ games a year stopping a flying puck made of vulcanized rubber from entering into his net…and he’s scared of Vegas.
UNBELIEVABLE, but true.
So fans, vote for Pekka Rinne in the NHL 13 Cover Vote and vote often HERE.
