Alberta Adventure Girls Weekend Retreat

This past weekend, I had the incredible opportunity to join a bunch of fantastic ladies on an Alberta Adventure Girls retreat in the mountains! The Alberta Adventure Girls are a group of women from all over Alberta who share a love for adventure, the outdoors and the mountains. While there have been some smaller meet-ups for members, such as hiking, snowshoeing and axe throwing, this was the first ever weekend retreat!

The retreat took place in Kananaskis, and started out with a morning snowshoe hike to Chester Lake. I met up with Ange and Jen early Saturday morning to carpool and we arrived at the trail head just before 10a.m. The hike up to Chester Lake was intense as it's a pretty steady elevation climb of 310m (1,017 feet) and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't huffing and puffing for most of it! The good news is, it's all downhill on the way back! It's a 10km return trip and it took us about three and half hours including a half hour break at the lake and several stops to catch our breath and take some photos.

It was probably one of the most challenging winter sports activities I have ever done as snowshoeing while climbing a mountain is no nature jaunt. Snowshoeing seems to require use of different leg muscles than I'm used to, probably because of the wider gait and pointing of your toes to engage the crampons. It's a fantastic workout though, and is quickly becoming a sport I really, really enjoy! Here's my favourite photos from the hike. It was hard to narrow it down!

Once we got back to the car, we headed to the Delta Lodge at Kananaskis to check into our hotel rooms. Then we hightailed it over to Woody's Pub to celebrate with a beer and some much needed carbs in the form of a warm pretzel!

We had about half an hour before we had to meet the group for pre-dinner s'mores and Hot Toddy's, so we took advantage of the hot-tub in the hotel to soothe our muscles and get rid of the mountain chill that had set in.

Dinner was held at the hotel restaurant, The Fireweed Grill, and my meal was fantastic. I went with the Katsu Chicken and while I thought I'd be saving half for the next day, I ended up eating it all. Snowshoeing makes you hungry! Oh, and another beer was also enjoyed.

Post-dinner, I joined a few ladies for a dark walk around the hotel grounds before changing into my pyjamas for the pyjama party! More food, wine and girl talk were enjoyed before I crawled into bed shortly after midnight.

Sunday morning, we had a private yoga class which was such a fantastic way to start the day! Our instructor Sarah Elliot lead us through a 75 minute Yin practice and I think I found my new favourite style of yoga! So peaceful, calming and just what my tired body needed.

Up next was a delicious brunch buffet! I was famished and had no problem polishing off most of my plate.

After brunch, and once we had checked out of our rooms, we headed to do one last trail hike before heading home to the city. Troll Falls is a 3.2km return hike with very little elevation gain. It was perfect for stretching our tired legs while breathing in the mountain air. I say it every time I go to the mountains, but there's just something so healing and rejuvenating about being in the mountains. It does my heart and soul good. We didn't explore around once we hit the falls, but I plan to return one day to do so!

And that was my weekend! I walked/hiked almost 23 kilometres this weekend, I spent time with good friends and made some new ones, and I got in some much needed mountain time. Thanks to the Alberta Adventure Girls and Delta Lodge at Kananaskis for putting on such a fun weekend retreat!



Tell me something you did this weekend!

Do you prefer the mountains or the ocean? (I'm a mountain girl at heart!)

Favourite winter activity/sport? 

Linking up with Her Heartland Soul for Weekend Snapshots!

Fitness Friday

Today, I'm jumping on the Fitness Friday recap bandwagon. I've been thinking lately that I want to start keeping track of my workouts in hopes that it will keep my accountable and motivated week to week. I know some people enjoy these types of posts, and other's won't. That's ok, I hope to provide some inspiration or motivation if I can, but ultimately these posts are probably for my benefit.

That being said, I'm not really sure how I will approach said recap posts. Whether or not I will post weekly ones, which day of the week I will post them on, what I will call them, or if I will switch up the title posts. So many decisions! (Also, any input is always appreciated!).

Since this is my first ever fitness recap post, I'm just going to jump right into it. Also, while I'd love to have started this at the beginning of the year, I didn't, and my brain won't allow me to go that far back in time to recall all of my workouts. So I'm starting from last Saturday and working forward from here on out!

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Saturday: my official return to the gym! I took in a BODYFLOW class at GoodLife Fitness which is a mixture of yoga, tai chi and Pilates. A great hour of waking up my dormant muscles. Plus the seven minutes of relaxation at the end of the class are the best!

Sunday: the return of my beloved BODYPUMP! I met up with some good friends for this class. I've never before had friends who go to the same gym as me, so this is a really nice treat!

Monday: off. So sore from BODYPUMP! I started a 7-day foam rolling challenge on instagram.

Tuesday: off again. Still sore, and so incredibly tired. Got in my day 2 foam rolling challenge.  I actually went to bed at 9 p.m. for the first time in months.

Wednesday: BODYPUMP. This time, sadly, I had to go alone, but it was a great way to end my day.

Thursday: 30 minutes of hill walk/run on the treadmill, followed by the infamous 8 Minute Abs video that Jo and Kaella have been talking so much about!

Friday: 30 minutes walk/run on the treadmill.

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This upcoming weekend I'm heading to the mountains with the Alberta Adventure Girls (AAG) for a girls adventure retreat! We'll be snowshoeing on Saturday and yoga-ing and hiking it up on Sunday (amongst some other fun things)! To say I cannot wait is an understatement! I haven't been this excited for a weekend away since I went to Waterton on a bloggers retreat last fall!

Make sure to follow along on our adventures this weekend on instagram (and search hashtags #AAGRetreat & #AlbertaAdventureGirls) and on snapchat (user name: slicebrie)!


How was your week of workouts?

Group exercise classes: love it or hate it? (I LOVE IT).

Anything fun planned for the weekend?


*Linking up with Kris from Canadian Girl Runs for Fitness Friday, and Jill Conyers for Living a Life of Fitness Health & Happiness!

This post was written as part of the GoodLife Fitness Blogger Ambassador program. 

All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Weekending: The Return of Body Pump, Meal Planning & New Books

Happy Monday, friends! Before we get into it, I want to congratulate Becky for winning my Blogiversary Giveaway! And thank you again to everyone who entered!

So anyway, I'm sitting here, looking in my day timer at how busy my week ahead is going to be, trying to figure out which meals I've picked out for the week to make on which days, and where to squeeze in some workouts at the gym. This past weekend, while not a very exciting one in the grand scheme of things, it was a pretty great one for me. I found myself back in the gym after a very long break (too long I might add), and I realized how much I really did miss group exercise, especially my beloved Body Pump.

But let's back up.

On Saturday, I took in a Body Flow class which is a mix of yoga, tai chi and Pilates, and it was such a great way to "wake up" my body and dormant muscles. At the end of the class, there are seven minutes of relaxation with the lights off, where you are just one with your mat, and I was shocked at how many people leave right before this. I get that people are busy and have other things to get to, but it's only seven minutes, and I feel like the relaxation part after a yoga/mind-body class are SO important. I also couldn't help thinking that maybe these early leavers just aren't mom's and don't realize how precious seven minutes of silence and calmness truly is!

Once I got home, there was no way we were going out anywhere, thanks to the nearly -20C weather! Instead, we finally got around to hanging pictures in our house and a new mirror that I bought like five months ago! It feels so good to check some things off the never ending house to-do list. I also finally took down all the Christmas decorations and Christmas tree. Wait, don't judge me! Ok, I really, truly do hate taking down the Christmas decorations, so I put it off for as long as possible. But this year, Sully has been over the moon to come downstairs each morning and turn on the Christmas lights all on his own, and I just couldn't take that joy away from him right away. Then of course, this morning he wasn't even phased by the lack of tree or lights so I guess I could have taken them down a lot sooner! Toddlers, I tell ya.

I also got my meal-planning done a day early since I knew I wanted to get out for groceries after the gym on Sunday morning. I really struggled to find/think of recipes for this week, and I'm actually finding that the hardest part of it all is deciding which recipe to eat on which day. I have to take into consideration ingredients I want to use up from the previous week, what activities we have going on during the day and therefore how much time I will have to make dinner, and what needs to be defrosted . It's been a big learning process, but I've been on track for two full weeks now and it's making a world of difference for us!

Here's a look at what we ate this past week leading up to the weekend:

Creamy Spinach Artichoke Pasta from Budget Bytes. Add this to your meals to make list. I will definitely be making this again. I threw in some chopped chicken to up the protein!

Creamy Chicken Curry. My aunt gave me a photocopy of this recipe from an old Walmart magazine, and I loved that it was simple and was all cooked in one pan on the stove top.

Cheesy Gnocchi Skillet from Budget Bytes. Another super easy, affordable recipe. Unfortunately, this makes a lot and I personally don't enjoy leftover Gnocchi (and neither does Sully), so I'd probably half this recipe if I ever make it again. (Also, food pictures, in the evening when there's no natural light aren't very pretty, so I apologize for that!)

Honey Garlic Salmon from Rasa Malaysia with Cheesy Baked Cauliflower from Healthy Recipes. This  salmon recipe was a bit too vague for me. I'm a pretty good cook, but when trying a recipe out for the first time, I like a little bit more direction. And some of the instructions were conflicting. I couldn't get the "glaze" like it said I was supposed to so my salmon dried out a bit. Still yummy, but didn't make for very good leftovers. The cauliflower on the other hand - DELICIOUS. Would also be good if you subbed the cauliflower for broccoli, especially given the price difference! Six dollars for a head of cauliflower right now! Which seems ridiculous, but then I can't help but think how most of us have no problem dropping 5-6 dollars on ONE drink from Starbucks, yet balk at the cost of produce.

Mini Chicken Pot Pies from Be What We Love---- which were little muffins of heaven. So quick and easy!

All of these recipes are pinned on my pinterest page as well!

Sunday, I was up and out the door by 10am so that I could meet some friends for a Body Pump class. It's been over two years since I did this class and even though I'm pretty sure I will be sore for the rest of the week, it felt so good to be back at it! I've missed this class, and to be able to do it with some awesome ladies made the experience that much better! Afterwards, we had a healthy brunch at Freshii and I had a delicious Teriyaki Bowl with chicken which I devoured.

{Jo, Jen, Saba, Ange & Me}

The rest of the day was spent reading books (both mine and Sully's), playing, listening to music and sorting through Sully's old clothes. I don't even feel like I buy him new clothes that often, yet I'm amazed at how fast the outgrown items pile up!

I started reading this book on Thursday night thanks to a bunch of you who recommended it after this post, and it is SO good, but it's also getting incredibly sad. My heart is so torn while reading it that I had to set it down last night and take a break.

Also, this book has been on my radar ever since Jo started mentioning it on her blog, so I took advantage of the free top-up points from Chapters last weekend and ordered it, and it arrived on Friday (the other two are still in transit). I'm not sure when I will have time to get to it, but I'm really looking forward to it.

Anyway, longest "weekend recap" ever, am I right?!


Tell me how your weekend was!

Best meal you ate? 

Book you're reading right now?

Body pump - have you tried it? Love it or leave it?

Linking up with Her Heartland Soul for Weekend Snapshots!