::*::16 for 2016::*::

I'm curious as to how certain people hold onto their motivation..if you will..if that is something that you can even do. 

Man oh man, was I ever gung-ho on the gym lately - and still am!! But then there are days like today...where I really cannot be bothered to get out of bed. And all it really takes is just one day...ya know? Friday I was sick and couldn't function even remotely normal so passed...yesterday was too busy and today -- too rainy? Lol. 

I guess there is a lot on the go as well - did I mention we're moving?!!! YA!!! 

As much as I am going to miss this place {and the view!} we decided we wanted something bigger {cheaper!} and more home-y. So have signed a new lease on a townhome about 10 minutes from where we live now {and closer to work!}. Not only that, but it's close to everything else {grocery stores and the mall!!} and it is just a fabulous new place to make NEW memories in all over again. :) 

I'll be sure to share a tun of pictures! 

I'm still going to probably drag my ass to do a sesh of cardio - but in the meantime, I am going to share a recipe post as well as my beloved book post - as my email is being bombarded with new things to read and I did promise myself and my GoodReads app that I am going to read 16 books in 2016. I have already read one...so 15 more to go. :) 

Make sure to let me know if you've read any of the ones below or if you have any suggestions for great - new - books! 

HA...I just figured out how to do split screen on my MAC - this is going to make posting this a heck of a lot easier. Lol. 

The 52 Lists Project: A Year of Weekly Journaling Inspiration by Moorea Seal$16.95 CAD

I wanted to pick this book up immediately ~ unfortunately, you cannot find it anywhere! This book in Canada is available in select stores...and the only store closest to me that has it, is Woodbridge {TOO FAR AWAY} and they only have one copy! Regardless...it's definitely at the top of my list despite it's 3-6 week waiting period. Ugh.
Why I love this book and want to get it, is because I want to really get back into writing this year. I always used to be a HUGE writer...journaling constantly, writing short stories and poems and just haven't been able to get back into it for some reason - a workbook like this is ideal for me. To ge the creative juices flowing. It's technically a journal - but to me, it's so much more.

642 Tiny Things to Write About by San Francisco's Writers' Grotto and Polly Bronson$14.95 CAD

Another book along the same lines of the 52 Lists Project but I feel is a tad more thought=provoking. According to the book description, this little gem is great for writers that are trying to get past their writers block and get inspired by writing again.
I feel like this book is the nitty gritty - a diamond in the rough - where the 52 Lists book is a diamond...pickin' up what I'm throwin' down? LOL!

Cravings by Chrissy Teigen$34.70 CAD

Yes, this book is a little steep in price...but I have been waiting for it, FOREVER!! I have been a long-time follower of Chrissy Teigen on insta and just LOVE her posts on the food that she cooks {and those cute puppies!!}. She strikes me as a very down to earth woman and was super excited when I found out that she was releasing a cookbook.
I cannot wait to get my hands on this one - if the book is anything like her, then we are all in for a treat! 

Nom Yourself: Simple Vegan Cooking by Mary Mattern20.69 CAD

I am a HUGE book lover...and an even bigger cookbook lover. And you will probably notice that there aren't going to be many cookbooks on this list...it seems to me like a lot of books are really becoming repeptitive...so it's up to me to really go through, read reviews and try to scrounge up some good, innovative books to try recipes from.
This definitely strikes me as that sort of book. I also want to really cook healthier meals to match my current lifestyle and avoid meat as much as I can.
This is definitely a book that strikes me as all of the above for a great price and great reviews - not to mention the lovely full colours pages of the recipes.
I think this'll definitely be a staple in my new kitchen. 

Wytches Volume 1 - by Scott Snyder & Scott Jock$11.33 CAD

Scary book time!! I am really wanting to read some books here that take me away from the everyday montony that is life at times! Sitting behind a desk for 10 hours a day monotny. Lol.
This book has great reviews and is touted as "a triumph" by the one and only Stephen King! Can't wait to see what this one is all about.

"It's fabulous. A triumph." -Stephen King "Dark and brutal... Wytches are like nothing horror fans have ever seen" -USA Today Everything you thought you knew about witches is wrong. They are much darker, and they are much more horrifying. Wytches takes the mythology of witches to a far creepier, bone-chilling place than readers have dared venture before. When the Rooks family moves to the remote town of Litchfield, NH to escape a haunting trauma, they're hopeful about starting over. But something evil is waiting for them in the woods just beyond town. Watching from the trees. Ancient...and hungry. Collects Wytches #1-6. "The most terrifying comic you've ever read." -MTV News "Dark and brutal... Wytches are like nothing horror fans have ever seen" -USA Today "Very, very scary... Much like the works of Mary Shelley and the other writers of the Villa Diodati..." -Paste Magazine "Snyder has tackled horror before, but Wytches sets out to be an entirely new level of scary." -Complex Magazine "An awesome and at times terrifying tale." -IGN

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey$10 CAD

I am desperate to find a book alogn the lines of Maze Runner - or any book like that for that matter {anyone have any suggestions??} so when I saw this, I got super excited.
AND, they're making a movie - or already have made a movie of this book!
Sigh....I just love YA books...

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother--or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

You Are A Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero
$16.46 CAD

This definitely caught my attention because - well, who doesn't want to be a badass??? It's a bit of a more laid-back, humourous approach to stop being a pushover and start getting what you want out of life.
It's an entertaining how-to guide on how to silence that self-saboteur that so many of us live with on a day-to-day basis - it's time to start getting after what it is that you want out of life and I think that this would be a great book for anyone to add to their list of books to read in the New Year. 

The Brain Fog Fix by Dr. Mike Dow$15.66 CAD

There are so many self-help books out there that I desperately want to get my hands on, but this one has been sitting on my wish list for a long time now and only recently did I see it again {my wish list is about 12 pages long, lol!} and thought to myself "WHY didn't I get this book sooner?!!".
In the past, I lived a horribly unhealthy lifestyle - didn't eat well, partied too much, little to NO exercise, gained a plethora of poundage and went into a deep dark hole for a long while {which in retrospect feels like an eternity}.
Now that I've finally cleaned up my act, I still have moments where I'm not entirely sure where my head is actually at. I can't imagine I did much good to it during those years. So there are moments where I am feeling uninspired, not-present, or want to do things a mile a minute but get easily distracted. So I definitely think this book would be a winner for myself and something that I definitely need in my life right now.
So the Brain Fog Fix is a 3-week program that is designed to help you restore {naturally} three huge brain chemicals which are serotonin, dopamine and cortisol. It's important to have these three crucial chemicals balanced out in the brain - and this book is supposedly designed to do just that.
I also love this quote by the author, Dr. Mike Dow, which definitely fits into my holistic approach to dealing with....well, life.
"If I've learned one thing from the thousands of people I've treated, it's that you have to take the whole person into account if you want to think and feel better."

15 Minutes to Fit: The Simple 30-Day Guide to Total Fitness by Zuzka Light and Jeff O'Connell
$27 CAD

I have been a huge Zuzana fan for the longest time - since I seen her on BodyRock.TV in 2010...wow, that's a long time! BodyRock definitely has had their shares of ups and downs. I'm not going to lie when I say that I kinda reveled in reading the controversy between Z, Freddie and Lisa Marie - doesn't make what happened right, but...different people have differing opinions and as to whose "side" they're on. I, for one {and obviously} am on Z's side. Even though she hasn't gained the sort of following she once had, she's still pretty badass and has a body to die for!!
I follow many of her kick-ass workouts so was super excited to see and hear that she had her very own book coming out!
This book has a 30-day fitness regime with a meal plan and step-by-step photo's of how to do her 15-minute workouts properly.
It might be hard to believe that you can get a body like Z with just 15 minutes a day but trust me, once you power through a workout like the ones that she has designed, it'll totally leave you soakin' wet and out of breath!
I also LOVE her positive attitude so I can imagine much of the book reflects that as well. Very excited to see all the details of this book once I get my mitts on it!

There you have it! 
What books in 2016 will you be reading? 
How many books have you promised yourself that you would read this year? Share in the comments! :) 

-S.*