It was Sunday morning and Sundays are always a great day, getting to church to learn, soak and breathe in the very scent of God. This Sunday was no different. I arose early as Hayden was on sound and thus, I had a couple hours to sit in the back and read and just be. The service and worship was fantastic, as usual, but it was after that I got to enjoy creation up close and personal.
Our friends, Nick and Ashley, asked if Hayden and I wanted to go snowshoeing with them. Well, beings it was about 6 degrees Celsius out on a bright, sunny Sunday, how could we refuse! Plus, the company was quite enjoyable. We ate lunch and then gathered our gear, layered our clothes (we knew we would get quite warm out there), and then the four of us headed out to the Cyprus Hills for a walk in a winter wonderland.
We arrived at Whispering Pines Camp and climbed out of the car. We all donned our snowpants, toques, mittens, sunnies and anything else we deemed worthy of taking, strapped on our snow shoes and off we went. At first, it's quite weird trying to walk about in snow shoes, but one quickly gets the hang of it and the motion of walking becomes fluid and natural. I was and remain absolutely amazed at how these simple contraptions can keep one from sinking into the deep, soft snow. The snow we were walking on would probably have come up to at least my waist, if not higher, but yet, we skimmed the surface, sinking a bit here and there, but never reaching the true depths hiding below the snow.
The boys were our leaders, our "trail breakers" if you will, as they both know the area quite well. Plus, it was helpful to follow in their freshly made path. Up and up we went, high into the hills, crossing boundary lines, climbing over hidden trees, always going up. Finally, after a long while, we reached the summit. My legs were so tired by this point as it was like having climbed hundreds and hundreds of stairs. The view at the top was worth every step, however. It was beautiful! The air was fresh, cool, and lovely. We were slowly stripping bits of our layers off here and there to stay cool as we continued on along the ridge. Finally it was time to head back into the woods and start a downhill journey. This is where the fun began.
Climbing up is one thing, trying to walk downhill in snow shoes is an entirely different story. Especially in snow so deep. To keep ones balance proved most difficult and toppling over became a common occurrence for Ashley and I. At one point, I fell straight sideways, landing my arms into the snow up to my shoulder. How can one push oneself up when there is no ground on which to push on. Ashley came to my rescue as the boys were far up ahead. Giggles and squeals ensued the entire trek down. It was most enjoyable in every way. As we neared the bottom I had just started to get the hang of jumping and sliding. Then it was time to emerge from the protective trees and cross the large open field back to the camp. This is when we stopped for some pictures :)
Nick doing up his zipper :P
Our awesome friends Nick and Ashley.
Me and my honey in the winter wonderland :)
I just love this guy!
Close up!
Just being silly now :)
The four adventurers together
We still have quite a ways to hike across the field!
After an hour and a half of snowshoeing, we were getting a bit tired.
The camp is just around that last bend! So close!
Breaking trail :)
All in all it was an absolutely fantastic way to spend a warm, winter Sunday in February. I hope we can do this again sometime soon indeed.
That night, after supper, Hayden and I were relaxing on the couch watching some Smallville when I suddenly had a craving to eat something sweet, something "desserty". As I still can't have sugar, I needed to be creative and come up with something ASAP! This is what transpired…..my very own chocolate delight dip!
I took a cup of plain greek yogurt (which is also very high in protein, just as a side note), and added 3 Tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder to it. I whipped it together with a whisk until is was all blended. I then added 20 drops of Dark Chocolate Stevia and 10 drops of plain liquid Stevia and stirred together. What transpired was something reminiscent of chocolate mousse, but thicker and having a bit of an almost cream cheese taste to it. I then cut up some fruit and dipped it in this thick wonderful mass of goodness. The whole batch was about 215 calories, but I only ate 1/2 of it. Not bad for something that tasted so good. I would highly recommend this treat for those of you on P3 who need a little sweet pick-me-up, or anyone else who just wants to eat healthier.
I have such a sweet tooth that I'm always looking for ways to get a little sweet treat without the refined sugar and calories. If you have any delectable recipes you would like to share, please do! I would LOVE to have them!
Well, this is the end! Hope you enjoyed reading about my adventure. Time to go get ready for bed and read for a little while.
till next time!
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