BT Calgary Blogs

West Island College hosted BT on their last day of class before Christmas break.  We chatted with the student leaders (thanks Chris, Tyler, Padan, Britney, Kristin, Camille and Courtney for taking the early shift!), hung out with the basketball team (go Wolves!), and some of the business students showed us a simulation of the foreign exchange market.  AND we had a Christmas sweater fashion show and a special performance from the Grade 7 music students.  The students are all so bright and well mannered it was a treat to spend the morning with them!  Click here to see all the clips – we posted them on our Facebook page!

We celebrated French Christmas traditions at Ecole Madeleine d’Houet this morning.  It was a special treat because the school is my alma mater!  The lockers are a little smaller than I remember.  I also found a few pics still hanging on the wall – one from grade 4 and one from grade 9.  I have the same best friend as I did back then and far less eyebrow hair now

Thanks to Mme Monique Baker the principal of the school for organizing the all the kids for us (I took a picture of Mme Baker in action action shot here – teachers are awesome!)

Thanks to all the kids for performing for sharing the meaning of Christmas with us!  The students were well spoken, generous, and so supportive of each other just like when I was there.  WE LOVE MDH!!

Edelweiss is a beautiful shop, delicatessen and bakery counter in Northwest Calgary.  They opened up early to share some holiday traditions with BT.  Little Simon and Johann made some Christmas Bunte Teller and Spritz Gebäck (a colorful plate filled with yummy chocolate and cookies).  Cameraman Nick spent all his downtime in the candy aisle on the hunt for the biggest chocolate bar.  I sampled some Feuerzangen Bowle (Fire Tong Punch), perused through some German tabloids and found an spectacular album featuring the vocal styling of three men in lederhosen.  Ah-mazing!  We had a blast.  Thanks Stan and Marianne for hosting BT for the morning!

The Italian community knows how to celebrate and we had an amazing time with our friends at the Calgary Italian Club!  The Gli Azzuri dancers performed for us and I got a lesson in how to play bocce ball.  Roma catering made breakfast for us – delicious uova purgatorio (eggs in purgatory) which cameraman Nick raved about all morning.  They graciously agreed to give us a simple recipe for rosa sauce (after learning I get mine from a jar) – here it is!

ROSA SAUCE

Saute 1/2 onion, 1tsp garlic, 3 Tbsp olive oil

ADD about 20 roma tomatos or 1 32oz can

1 small can crushed tomatos

3oz tomato paste

2 cans of water

Fresh basil to taste

Simmer for 30min!

The kids at the Foundations for the Future Charter Academy are so creative!  Our favorite craft specialists Allison Orthner and Christy Riopel took us through some fun holiday activities with puffy felts, border makers and the iRock blingy tool thingy.  Go to http://www.AllisonOrthner.blogspot.com to link to Allison’s blog – she posted where you can get all the fun tools we used on tv this morning!

I was wide awake this morning for our show at the Centre for Sleep and Human Performance! Cameraman Nick and I absorbed as much information as we possibly could from the team of experts there.  I tried to answer as many questions as I could from my Facebook and Twitter feeds – here you go friend!

RE: SNORING

There are normal snorers and then there’s sleep apnea.  Click here to find out more about sleep apnea.  All the questions you need to answer are there!

For the normal snorers there are solutions that are not surgical like nasal spray or mouth guards like these ones.  Of course you should consult your medical professional for diagnosis – I’m a tv girl, not a doctor

RE: SLEEP HOURS

Optimum amount is 7hrs!  If it isn’t consecutive, that’s ok – new mom’s – that means you!  A great resource for mom’s or shift workers is a book by Dr. Sara Mednick, “Take a Nap, Change Your Life”.

 Dr. Samuels from the Sleep Centre recommended some great books on getting your kids to sleep through the night!

Dr. Jodi Mindell – Sleep Through the Night

Shelley Weiss – Better Sleep for Your Baby and Child

THE TRIFECTA

Basically the long and the short of it is for optimal health you need your nutrition, activity, and sleep in check!  Dr. Samuels recommends turning your blackberry off at 6pm!  He also said you should leave a 4 hour window between intense exercise and bedtime.  Also, remove technology from the bedroom – that means laptops and tvs!  Watch The Bachelor in the comfort of your living room.

If your one of those who toss and turn at night, try covering your clock.  A great book for the busy minded is Say Goodnight to Insomnia by Gregg D Jacobs.

Oh yeah – that iPhone app on sleep cycles?  Doesn’t work according to Dr. Samuels.  It doesn’t take brain activity into account so not a true measurement of a sleep cycle.

This morning the Calgary Royals went through some training with us at Crash Conditioning.  The guys are getting ready for the Mac’s AAA Tournament in December and showed us the ropes.  The workouts are super tough – Doug Crashley took me through part of the warmup and I complained the whooooole way through – but it’s definitely a great workout if you’re looking to take your game to the next level!

Check the video below to see the real athletes in action!  Thanks to Doug and the team at Crash and the Royals for a fun morning!

We love the team from Home Depot!  They brought down 500 Christmas trees to the Calgary Interfaith Food Bank and sold them for donations all morning.  Thanks to the A Cappella Fellas who serenaded us with Christmas tunes and to Ron from Horsin’ Around who brought down a horse drawn sled to add to the festivities!

There are still trees left so you can go to the Food Bank at 5000 11th Street SE and pick one up before the holidays!  Just head to the main desk and the friendly staff/volunteers will set you up with a tree.  They’re selling for a minimum donation of $10!

The CP Holiday Train rolled in to Calgary this morning for a special appearance on Breakfast Television!  What a beautiful sunrise at the Alyth train yard.  Canadian rockers The Odds woke up bright and early to have coffee with us and play a jam.  Scott the engineer showed me around the locomotive – it was awesome!

Check out the Holiday Train in Calgary this weekend – it’s a free show with a donation to the Food Bank!

Saturday December 11
9511 Horton Road S.W. (the gravel parking lot behind Schanks South)
7pm

If you haven’t picked up your Christmas tree you are going to want to hold off till December 13th! I’m going to be on location Monday at the Calgary Interfaith Food bank – at 5000 11 street SE.

You can pick up a tree for a $10 donation and all proceeds will go to the Food bank!! We’ve teamed up with our friends at Home Depot who have donated all of the trees!  Come down with your $10 bill and holiday spirit between 630am and 9am and we’ll send you home with a tree! Ho ho ho!