Be mine: hot choco

So here in the great YVR a few hot spots got together for the Hot Chocolate Festival.We think end of Jan and into Feb is a great time to warm us up.
Today marks the final day of the Hot Chocolate Festival (boo). But we did get out there and try a few (even though our intentions were to try as many as we could).
We loved some and didn’t love others.
We have a tie for our favourite! They were both so different but both so good. So in first and 1st place is a) the Vegan hot chocolate from Cadeaux Bakery and b) the Bees knees squeeze from Chez Christophe
Let’s talk about a) first. We both love some coconut so to have that hint of coconut with the rich chocolate was a win in our books. Then b) this was delightful sweet treat with honey and lemon notes.
Second place has to go to strawberry fields forever, a dark chocolate and strawberry delight also from Chez Christophe.
Third place is the hot chocolate in a cone from Mink. The cone was a yummy addition. Just wish the drink was warmer (however we get having a super hot drink in a cone doesn’t bode well).
The middle 2 are from Baggio. They weren’t cheap and was underwhelming. They were barely warm and did not have much flavour despite the amazing descriptions. We tried the Almond Joy and Tiramisu for 2.
And sorry to sayEast Van Roasters, you make a mean salted cookie, but your fragrant hot chocolate was just not our thing. We are sure others loved it. But we didn’t get the flavour fusion of the Umami Experience.
We have to say, the Hot Chocolate fest was a great way to get us out and about. And we love that they support women and children. Yummy in a cup plus a good cause. Now that we can get behind!

You’ve gotta fight, for your right, to heeeaaaalllttthhhh care! (cont’d)

Last week I talked about my car accident that left me with disabling back pain, the struggle to get a specialist appointment… all while completing my masters & working fulltime.

So the doctors ordered surgery. Finally, I was getting somewhere!

The next hurdle.  I was put on the list for surgery, but was told that it could be years before I get it.

I cried.

I was not going to make it.

I wasn’t thinking about hurting myself, but I understood why those in chronic pain end their lives.

More ideas from the physiotherapist

Thankfully, my lawyer was also there to help me. She got my surgery done in a private clinic a few weeks later. I walked out of surgery standing tall. (also vomiting, but I was able to stand up straight).

Heading in for an MRI (post surgery)
  • Here’s what I realized:  I know my body. And after this whole ordeal, I really learned about my body.  
  • doctors also know what you tell them. Which also means that what the doctors hear and what I say can be 2 different things.
  • I need to ask. Ask for referrals to be sent. Ask for results, ask for the better imaging.
  • And when I hear, well you need to do A before we can do B. Ask that B also be started.

The other thing I learned was that I have put a few other parts of my health on the back burner because I just didn’t have energy to to keep advocating for myself. I wasn’t happy about this…also annoyed, that I would have to speak up again to have my health taken seriously.

As women*, we are often not taken seriously when we tell the doctor that something is wrong.

We are often viewed as overreacting or unable to manage the slightest bit of pain.

We often have to put our health on the back burner because we need to care for others.

This has got to stop!

And it will stop with us advocating for our own health.

Yes, this is a scary thought. BUT we deserve it. AND we need to support each other. We don’t need to do it alone. Please share with your sisters*. We don’t need to be embarrassed. We need the support and their motivation to get through.

My back surgery and injury was a motivator for me to get my health in order. As I have shared before, I need to keep active in order to keep my back health in check. BUT this also motivated me to get the other health issues in my self checked out. I will post on those later.

But please, today, share with your closest person the health concern you have and what you need support with.

And advocate for yourself! You are worth it.

You’ve gotta fight, for your right, to heeeaaaalllttthhhh care!

Since we have been focusing on health I think we also need to talk about advocating for our health.

If you are a woman*, you know that this means you have to advocate for your health.

Going to the doctor can be stressful because we are often not listened to and treated as though we are overreacting.

A couple of years ago I was in a car accident. My car was written off and I was left with lower back injuries that increased in pain every day. Instead of getting better, I got worse.

In my professional life, I’m a strong advocate. In my personal life, I don’t like to do this. But my back injury left me facing my biggest hurdle: advocating for myself.

I was going to doctor appt after doctor appt: telling them that the pain is getting worse. After many appts, I convinced my doctor to get me a referral to a specialist, which was set for months down the road.

By this point, I had troubles waking up in the morning due to the pain.

It would take me a long time to sit up and work towards a stand, which was basically me hunched over, holding onto the dresser, breathing through the pain, hoping I won’t wet myself before I could make it to the toilet. I would slowly get ready and hobble my way to the car. After sitting in the car I would have to continue to breathe through my pain before starting the car and driving to work.

Yes, I still went to work. Mainly because I was told I needed to keep moving. And secondly, I couldn’t really afford not to as I was also working on my Masters degree. My accident was in January. By the summer, I couldn’t stand up straight. The pain was so overwhelming I thought I was losing my mind.

I saw the specialist and as soon as he asked me why I was there, I could barely talk through the tears. He told me that I needed a MRI and to see a surgeon. I was on the verge of a complete breakdown, but I was told to keep working and keep moving.

Meanwhile. I finished my Masters and started a full time job. Finally, I was scheduled for the MRI 6 months later and for an appt with a surgeon for a year later.

It was at this point that I knew I wasn’t going to last another year, let alone 6 months. I was taking it day by day. And near the end of August, I walked away from work because I was hunched right over, having tunnel vision due to the pain and absolutely losing it. The pain was so great I couldn’t think. I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t sleep. I just couldn’t. I went to the doctor and I was given Morphine and offered methadonefor pain management. I declined the methadone. (I know way too much about it to accept it.) So, I took the morphine. It made me sleep but unfortunately did not kill the pain.

Thankfully I had a good lawyer, who was able to somehow convince the insurance company that paying to see the surgeon privately and for an MRI privately was the best option.

This moment changed everything.

I knew it was bad. By this point I had a dropped foot with no feelings below my ankle. It felt like bugs crawling on my skin and I wasn’t able to stand up straight. I wasn’t seeing straight, was on meds that weren’t working, and was hanging on by a thread.

I stopped checking in the doctors to give them the insurance information/updates and started to tell them I need help now.

The MRI showed I had 2 bulging discs and a herniated disc that was pressing itself into my sciatic nerve.

And, no amount of rehab was going to change anything.

I would need surgery.

Stay tuned next week for the conclusion of this article.

Welcome to 2019, you gorgeous N&Kers!

While most others are focussing on New Year’s Resolutions posts… here at N&K, we like to do things a little differently.

First thing is first: let’s look at the importance of routine. We feel that routine rules the roost. Once we get back on the horse, many things fall into place- eating better, drinking less alcohol, watching nutritional intake, exercising more, meditating more, increasing awareness of snarky moods.

NY Resolutions are like “diets”… people think that a new year is going to automatically & magically change behaviours. People don’t think things through, don’t plan for obstacles, then fall off the wagon and say… FML, I’m going back to my old habits.

So… During the holidays, we have likely all have stopped our daily healthy routines. We have been indulging in sweets & savouries, taking lots of down time, having lots of sleep-ins. Or, maybe we’ve been the hosts of a huge family/friend gathering and the anxiety of making things perfect for the guests. Perhaps we are in retail business, so we’ve been stressed with working: making quotas, working OT, plastering on smiles…

Nals started the downward spiral in early December. I was getting ready for a performance. So, I was practicing a lot & doing late night dress rehearsals. I was going to bed late, not eating at my usual times, and not doing meal prep… I wasn’t exercising at my usual times or places so it all went to hell in a hand basket PDQ. Right now, I’m probably sleeping off the ringing-in of The New Year in NZ. (BTW, one of the first folks in the world to do so!) So when I get back into GVA, I’m going to start off by getting proper groceries, doing meal prep, and getting back into my early-to-bed early-to-rise routine. That’ll be best, & also will help me mitigate that bloody jet lag.


Kells’s routine was mucked up due to the common December cold. Usually I just power through the cold and keep it going… but this year I was exhausted and slightly feverish. So I missed one day, then a few days, then a week. Yikes! And here’s the thing, it was so easy to fall. Way to easy. I was getting pretty proud of myself for not falling…be even the mighty fall. Hahaha!

Ok…so I got a cold and I’m not going to the gym, and it wasn’t far after that, I wasn’t eating well and wasn’t drinking lots of water! And it didn’t help I made 4 types of cookies. And we all know it’s coming…holidays, cookies, turkey dinners and we plan for it…even I planned for it. I was determined not to fall but down I went.

But now its time to get back in the swing…and honestly I’m not looking forward to squeezing myself into the gym with all the new years resolutionars. But unfortunately it’s part of the process of getting back at it after the holidays, just happens to fall in January.

I just want to suggest that before you dive into the gym, work on your SMART goals and figure out your motivation (what is motivation, what’s your motivation and how does your motivation help you). Nals and I have talked about it many times in our previous posts so I really recommend scanning through those.

How about you guys? How will you get back on track?

Bad Ass Supercurls

I was browsing some much-needed mascara, when I happened upon this purple goddess called 24 Hour Supercurler by Rimmel.

And guess what I thought? It’s Mascara Monday time for our gorgeOUs N&Kers!


Let’s re-state our review rules:

  1. We bought all mascara ourselves (which means nobody is paying us).
  2. We wear each mascara for a week.
  3. All mascaras purchased were black, and the darkest black they had available.
  4. Every mascara used was put on the exact same way, with only two coats. All eye makeup for the comparison pictures was exactly the same.

That’s it…there are no more rules.

Wait…maybe one more…the opinion is ours…take it or leave it. Believe it or not. These are just our 2¢.


What we want in a mascara

Lasting Curl

Staying Power

Colour

Separation

Volume

Length

Most reviews talk about these 6 points. The first 5 are important to me since I’ve got naturally long lashes2.

The problem is that my durn lashes ramrod straight. So, I’ve got to bust out the eyelash curler first1. Doesn’t matter if it’s a mascara dipped in gold. Without that lash curler, the mascara will not reach its full potential.
Application. So after curling and applying Rimmel London’s 24 Hour Supercurler, I found that the product applied quickly, without much fuss.
Curl power. This product didn’t curl my lashes very much. But, once I cyborg’ed it up1, the mascara worked well.
Staying power. It lasted quite a while. In fact, I found that I needed to get a Q-tip in there after cleansing to ensure all the product was out. (Lots of other people experienced this as well. See some other reviews.)
Separation. That curved brush is thick and it’s got some junk in the trunk. Angle that brush around & work it for your lashes. As the product has a thin consistency, lashes were separated beautifully with no porridge-y clumps.

Colour. Yep, the colour was “very black”. See Volume as this affects appearance of Colour.
Volume. Oh sigh. Here’s where it falls short. I got length, separation, curl power, colour… do you really need volume, too? Can all 5 equally co-exist in 1 mascara? I layer my mascaras anyways, so I’d just pair it with a volumizer.

Interesting tid bit: Rimmel London gives a dupe on fake lashes here. Did this dupe work for you?Did this dupe work for you?

Would I buy again (Yes!) & would i recommend it?

For newbies this is a good starter mascara.

For the seasoned mascara-ists, you’ll have to pair with a volumizer.

Footnotes
1 Mr Nals calls me cyborg when I’m using the curler. I’ve found that when I put curler under the hair dryer for 2-3 seconds, the curl is intense and adding a good mascara suspends it in curl-perfection.
2 My lashes have lengthened and volumized with EyEnvy eyelash conditioner! Our review is available here.

Last Day of N&K Christmas: Fun stuff

N&K’s 7 Days oChristmas 

comes to an end

 


K&I pledged on Giving Tuesday that we’d get the word out about giving back.  And if N&K win the contest, our fave charities (Canadian Women Foundation and CARE, Nellies) will get to split $2500!


And on the 7th Day…

Drumroll…

Kells & I are always up for haviNg some fun.  Can you mix ‘giving back’ with ‘fun’? Yassuh!

 

🌲 Day 7 🌲

F u n   s t u f f

St. Paul’s Hospital Lights of Hope

Stanley Park Xmas Train

Snowball Fight 

Press Box Las Divas jam session to raise funds for DTES

Festival of Trees 

Keithmas – rock out to Keith Richards

Canada Helps

Christmas Charities Calendar of Events

Holiday Giving: 20 ways to give back and help those in need

N&K’s Christmas: Day 6: Women

N&Ks 7 Days of Christmas


K&I pledged on Giving Tuesday that we’d get the word out about giving back.  And if N&K are winners un the contest, our fave charities (Canadian Women Foundation and CARENellies) will get to split $2500!


Kells & I Are passionate about womens issues.  This is Why we chose the 3 organizations to win $2500.

Historically (& we’d say even currentLy), women have gotten The shoRT end of The attention Stick.  

Health, safety & well being of us ladies is not consistently addressed.

N&k Felt today – December 6 – was the perfect day to bring this topic to the Forefront.

 

🌲 Day 6 🌲

We remember: women

What is  the big D about December 6?  Here’s what happened in Quebec, Canada in 1989. 20 Years Later, a movie was made about the Events.

Atira

DTES Womens Centre 

BC Womens Hospital 

Canadian Womens Foundation has tips on other ways to give

Battered Womens Support Services 

My Sister’s Closet 

Women Against Violence Against Women

If you are a Woman* in crisis, here are some supports:

WAVAW (Lower Mainland) 604-255-6344 or call our national toll-free line at 1-877-392-7583

Transgendered People can be at a risk of violence within relationships as well as from strangers.  If you are in crisis, please contact:

https://www.translifeline.org/

YouthLine or call 1-800-268-9688

The Hotline:

US: 877-565-8860

Canada: 877-330-6366

GLBT hotline

Transline

Males can also be victims of relationship violence. If you need help or more info:

Mensline

Mayo Clinic

Hotline

Canada.ca

Family violence:

Justice BC

 

N&K’s Christmas: Day 4: Seniors

N&Ks 7 Days of Christmas 


K&I pledged on Giving Tuesday that we’d get the word out about giving back.  And if N&K win the contest, our fave charities (Canadian Women Foundation and CARE, Nellies) will get to split $2500!


Kells & I love The Christmas season. People are cheerier, more smiley & Gallant.  We also love spending Time with family & friEnds.

For many folks, Christmas can be a super sad time.  If you don’t have many resources or a support network, it can be extremely isolating.

Often, the focus of Christmas is Children.  

Certainly, an overlooked population is our Seniors.

 

Imagine that you have lost your spouse or close friends to (age-related) diseases.  Maybe you’re now in a care home because of your own changing health…  Now you’ve lost some independence.  Maybe you can’t bake or eat certain Christmas treats. Maybe your mobility is restricted, and so are your finances, so you can’t go shopping whenever you want… and you feel that you can’t spoil those peeps around you.

How about we spend some time with Seniors this year? Chances are, those very seniors spoiled you when you were a kid.  And we know that they fought for us to enjoy today.

 

🌲 Day 4 🌲

SeniorS

 

Canadian Resources for Seniors 
BC GovERNMENt site has some tid bits here
BC Seniors Guide 
City of Vancouver Outreaching Seniors 
Seniors Centres – search online for Centres in your area. Typically services are a lounge, game times, tea parties, bazaar meals, holiday gatherings.
Go Volunteer
Better At Home 
Family caregivers of BC has some great tips.
Give back locally… take your neighbor-senior to get groceries to the doctors, or just go for a walk.
Elder abuse comes in many forms: physical, verbal, financial. See Seniors BC for deets

N&K’s Christmas Day 3: Blankets & Sleeping Bags

N&Ks 7 Days of Christmas continues!


K&I pledged on Giving Tuesday that we’d get the word out about giving back.  And if N&K are winners un the contest, our fave charities (Canadian Women Foundation and CARENellies) will get to split $2500!


 

K&I love to be warm and cosy.   And, here in the PNW, it’s getting pretty nippy.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could all be cosy?  A good coat or blanket can cost >$50.

But what if you couldn’t afford this? Or you have  dependents to feed & keep warm, too? This brings us to the list that we’ve compiled for you generous N&Kers.

 

🌲 Day 3 🌲

BLANKETS, SLEEPING BAGS, COATS

 

Blanket Drive  – an oldie but a goodie
Nightshift Ministries – a faith-based organization that meets the needs of people where they are at.
Many companies have partnered up So that you can drop off at a blanket at convenient location: Blanket BC.
Got coat? The Straight has a fab list right here.
Coats for Kids & Families 
Lotus Light did a Care Package last year with sleeping bags.  Nothing listed yet for this year but here’s a link to 2017.

N&K’s 7 days of Christmas Kicks Off Today


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N&Ks 7 Days of Christmas kicks off today!

K&I pledged on Giving Tuesday that we’d get the word out about giving back.

And if N&K are winners in the contest, our fave charities (Canadian Women Foundation and CARE, Nellies) will get to split $2500!

K&I love non-human animals.   So why not help the organizations that support pets?

🌲 Day 1 🌲

PetS & non-human animals 

BC SPCA
Humane Society
Wildlife Sanctuary
Wildlife Rescue or this link
Recycle Christmas Trees for bird pens
Burnaby Lake Park
Critter Care Wildlife 
Raptor & Owl Rehab 
Northwest Wildlife Association
An app discusses how to coexist with wildlife, developed by kidlets
Wildsafe BC